Millionaire in Command(17)

Phoebe  rested her hand on his by the silver platter. "It's really  honorable  that you served your country. You had any number of options  and you  still chose to give back."

He flipped his hand to link fingers,  her soft skin, her warmth, and  just that fast he found himself imagining  how much softer her skin  would be under the dress. "Or maybe I just  didn't know what to do with  myself after graduation."

She shook her head. "If that had been the case you could have simply lived off your trust fund."

"Boring."  He shrugged off her compliment, uncomfortable. He stroked his  thumb  over her wrist, enjoying the way her pulse leapt under his  touch.

Her pupils widened with awareness, but she didn't pull away. "What about your new job? Will it keep you from being bored?"

This  whole conversation was getting deeper than he'd intended. He  didn't  want anyone picking around inside his brain, getting closer,  especially  when he knew his lifestyle and hers ultimately wouldn't be  compatible  for anything more than a casual affair. They needed to keep  emotions  well clear, for Nina's long-term benefit. He also needed to  get this  conversation, this whole outing, back on track.

Still holding her  hand, he tugged her nearer until her breasts brushed  against his chest.  His body tightened instantly in response. "You know  what would keep me  from being bored right now?"

Her head tipped back, exposing her  neck as she stared up at him with  intense dark eyes. "Stop it. I want to  talk. If you really want to  stand a chance at getting me in bed, then  be serious for just five  minutes."

Phoebe's words stoked his barely banked desire. "You're entertaining the possibility of us in bed?"





Eight



Standing  in the jet cabin with her emotions as firmly in the clouds as  her body,  Phoebe couldn't deny it any longer. She wanted to make love  to Kyle.  And yes, there was a part of her that was comforted by the  fact that he  would be leaving soon. The aftermath would be simpler with  time to  regroup. Maybe, just maybe she could keep her heart safe this   go-around.The whole outing had been surreal from the start. She'd never   imagined flying in a private jet, wearing such extravagant jewels or   hobnobbing with international dignitaries in a historic hotel ballroom.   But the man more than the accessories had made the evening. Kyle had   been at his charming best, his smile and strength reminding her at every   turn of the pleasure waiting a simple stroke away.                       
       
           



       

If she dared.

She  knew without question if she didn't take this chance now, she would   regret it for the rest of her life. Kyle was right. She was on fire  with  unfulfilled needs, needs growing increasingly painful the more  time she  spent with him.

Committed, nervous-excited-she flattened her  hands to his chest again.  "As soon as we land, I want us to be together,  to consummate this  marriage."


His eyes went sexy lidded as  he slid his hands around her back, angling  her hip-to-hip against him.  "Who says we have to wait until we land?"

The possibility of  having him now, here, sent a surge of thick longing  through her veins.  But her ever-present practicality tapped her with  reservations. "What  about the pilot?"

"He's behind the partition and has his hands  full flying the plane.  Even if he needs to switch to autopilot and open  the door for some  reason, he would announce himself over the intercom  first," Kyle  explained. His hands roved up the zipper along her spine  and down her  bare shoulders, callused fingertips rasping over her skin  with  tantalizing masculinity. "The bedroom in back isn't large, but  we'll  have privacy, atmosphere and protection."

Need gathering  speed inside her, she eyed the small door behind the  seats. She hadn't  paid much attention to it on the flight down since  his brothers and  sisters-in-law had been along. She also hadn't  realized then that she  and Kyle would be flying back alone.

Very alone. No more waiting and second-guessing.

Delicious  anticipation sent her arching up on her toes until his mouth  waited a  whisper away from hers. "Then, yes, I'm more than entertaining  the idea  of us going to bed together."

His hands spanned her waist and he  lifted her up onto the counter  island. He stepped between her legs, his  breath warm and seductive  against her brow. "Stay right there, just  where you are, so I can touch  you," he sketched his lips over her brow,  "feel you," he kissed over  her cheekbone, "take my time with you."

He  sealed his mouth to hers, his tongue searching, soothing and  exciting  all at once. The thready reins on her restraint snapped. She'd  been  thinking of him, of this, ever since that night he'd given her  the  laptop, the night he'd told her she would be in his dreams. She  looped  her arms around his neck, desperate to get even closer still.  The silk  tuxedo lapels under her soothed along the overheated flesh of  her  exposed shoulders, the fabric a sexy, extravagant luxury for such  steely  strength.

His fingers traced just below the diamond necklace,  dipping between her  breasts far too briefly. Dragging in breaths between  frenzied kisses,  she inhaled the scent of his aftershave, gloried in  the scratch of his  rougher cheek against her skin.

Hot sensation  spiderwebbed over her skin, a network of exquisite  pleasure from the  barest of touches. He cupped her face, brushing  kisses over her eyes and  cheeks while he stroked her exposed shoulders  until her breasts ached  for his attention. She linked her ankles behind  his knees and urged him  nearer, as close as he could come with her  gown bunching between them.

Growling  his appreciation, he inched the hem of her dress up to her  knees,  freeing her to wrap her legs around his waist. He cupped her  bottom and  lifted her off the counter.

She squealed into his mouth, then  held on tight as he walked across the  cabin toward the door. He opened  the door to the sleeping compartment,  angled inside and kicked it closed  again with a final click. The  double bed invited with its thick  burgundy comforter that brought out  the warm glow of mahogany accents  and brass-globe lighting. Dim light,  but just enough for her to make out  the hard lines of desire etched in  Kyle's features as she sprinkled  kisses over his face.

He lowered her to her feet, sliding her body down his with sensual precision. "Patience, Phoebe."

"Later." She swept aside his tuxedo jacket, burning to see him, have him.

He  tugged the zipper on her dress down her spine until the air gusting   from above chilled her back. She trembled in delicious anticipation.   Finally. His warm, bold hands tunneled inside, lower, lower still until   he cupped her bottom and brought her against him for another moist,   searching kiss.                       
       
           



       

Rational thoughts scattered as quickly as their  clothes hit the  floor-both his clothes and hers-and before she knew it,  cool air  blasted over her bare breasts. She tightened in response, her  senses  humming as surely as the engines powering them through the night  sky.

His eyes roved her body as she stood clad in nothing more  than her  champagne silk panties and a fortune in diamonds. "What was  that I said  about patience? I can't seem to remember right now."

Reveling  in the mutual attraction, she kicked aside her dress pooled at  her feet  and savored staring at a gloriously naked man. If she'd had  more space,  she would have stepped back and simply admired him.  Instead, she traced  the angular line of his jaw, down to the hard plane  of his collarbone,  over his pectorals. His muscles jumped under her  fingertips.

He  stepped closer, his skin sealing against hers, the hot, hard length  of  his desire pressed to her stomach. Kyle walked, backing her until  the  edge of the mattress hit behind her knees. She toppled onto the bed  and  he followed her down, ducking his head in the tightly confined  space.

The  small cavern with curved walls, engine droning, gave her the sense  of  being closed off from everyone and everything. They were truly in  their  own private haven.

He stretched over her, leaning on his elbows  to hold the bulk of his  weight off her. She hooked a leg around him,  pulling him full out on  her. She wanted all of him, the full-bodied  experience of him  blanketing her.