Something had changed. Until tonight, they'd largely existed in their own worlds-she hadn't needed to fit into his, and he hadn't tried to be a part of hers. He'd just assumed the inevitable collision would be just how it sounded-a little breathtaking, a little messy, and with any luck they'd survive the eventual end. But she had been flawlessly his, fitting easily into his life no matter what she claimed. She was right in that she wasn't like all those other women, but what she didn't realize was how much his world needed someone like her. He hadn't been prepared for that.
He couldn't have been.
"I want you." Any attempt to sound as if he had it together was obliterated by the hoarse, ragged quality of his words. Propriety be damned, he drove his tongue into her mouth, feasting on his hunger and nearly falling apart when she returned it.
"I can tell," she murmured. "You're not leaving much to interpretation."
"You complaining?"
"No."
"I can show you more."
"We're in the car," she protested, albeit weakly. "Won't Jeeves see us?"
"Jeeves is the butler. Davis is the driver."
"Really?"
He laughed and shook his head. "We don't have a butler."
"Well, I sure hope we have a driver," she said, casting a wary look out the window where the world passed dutifully by. "And I really hope he can't see us."
"Why not?" he teased. "Are you shy?"
"No … I just prefer to have a reasonable expectation he's watching the road."
He started to nod, but then her words hit him. "Wait … you're not shy?"
She shook her head. "Don't get any ideas."
"Too late," he shot back. "I have the ideas. All of them."
"You going to tell me about it?"
Tell, indeed. He uttered every word with her eyes on his lips. "I'm going to show you. Just as soon as this car stops … "
"I think there's a traffic light ahead."
"In our driveway," he elaborated. "And after I get you in the house. As soon as I get you in the house."
She laughed and traced his bottom lip with a fingertip. "Does this mean my little army of plants is going to get a show?"
"You'd better believe it. Brace yourself, Chloe. The bet is off."
Chapter Sixteen
Chloe couldn't breathe. The entire point of betting Knox he couldn't keep his hands to himself was precisely so he would, and the plan had backfired to the extreme. Sex was one thing, whereas sex after a maddening buildup of sexual tension promised to be especially damaging to her whole plan of walking away unscathed. To that end, as much as she wanted him, she held on to the miniscule hope that he was just toying with her.
But he quickly proved to her that he'd meant every word. As soon as the limo door shut behind him, he was on her, kissing her breathless. He walked her backward over the cobblestone driveway, his mouth and hands on her every step of the way, and fumbled with his keys and the security code without breaking contact. Poor Davis-or whatever the driver's name-was assuredly getting an eyeful, but to her surprise, she really didn't care. There was something intensely erotic about a man as powerful as Knox driven to such unrestrained passion … and that she was the subject of his affection was nothing short of mind-bending.
As soon as the front door closed behind them and he'd set down her little bonsai tree, he had her flat against the wall. The cool plaster left her gasping, but no more so than the hard length of his body, holding her captive. He tore at her dress, his palm finding her bare breast while he kissed her fiercely. When he granted a slight reprieve, she hadn't the time to catch her breath before he started on her neck. "This bet," he muttered, "has lasted too damn long."
Her knees were liquid, and gravity had ceased to exist. She knew the latter to be true because when he withdrew enough to unbutton his pants and yank his shirt out of the way, she managed to stay upright despite all odds to the contrary. Only a second passed before he had her again, in one swift motion sweeping her dress up her thighs and lifting her, wrenching her underwear to the side as he plunged deep inside her.
He stilled, and but for the pounding of her heart and the quickness of their breaths, the world lay utterly silent. Then he shifted, pegging her hard against the wall. "Look at me," he said, driving into her at an achingly slow pace. "The only thing I want more right now than to fuck you senseless is to watch you come for me, and I don't want you fighting to keep it from happening because of a stupid bet."
She nodded, her lip caught between her teeth. She couldn't think of anything more unbearably intimate than maintaining eye contact while he sent her flailing over the edge. His every touch left her inebriated, but never too much to lose that singular focus-never so much that she wouldn't fall headfirst in the wrong direction if she shared too much. She knew that about herself-knew she should say no to his deceptively simple request-but some irrational part of her wanted this moment for her emotional scrapbook … as if anything good could possibly come from revisiting it.
He kissed her, deeply, sweetly, as he moved in and out of her, but for all of his surety and strength, he trembled. Knox Hamilton overcome … it didn't seem possible. The rational pace didn't last any longer than it took her to catch her breath. Within seconds, the rocking turned into pounding, the vast entry hall echoing with the wet smack of skin on skin.
Her promise to look at him lodged in her throat for all of a minute before the impossible dam of desire inside her burst, and she was left clutching his shoulders, her ankles snagged hopelessly somewhere behind his back. She leaned her head against the wall and saw honest-to-goodness stars. And hearts … the kind that circled overhead making little tweety-bird noises.
Knox, still pulsing thick inside her, dropped his forehead to her shoulder and laughed. "I think my legs are locked."
She squirmed, her intention to guide her own feet to the floor, but he shook his head and held her tighter. "I'm not finished with you yet," he murmured. "If that's okay. Because that was way too quick, and there's so much we can do in a bed that we can't against a wall."
She laughed. "If you feel the need to redeem yourself, you won't hear any complaints out of me. Besides, I'm pretty sure I lost the bet." And the use of her legs.
"I think it was a tie. Don't let go."
As if. Her legs were numb, her arms felt like lead, and she was becoming increasingly aware of the fact her heart was in danger. She could do nothing but hold on.
He half walked, half shuffled to the bedroom, effortlessly carrying her despite the fact that his pants were somewhere in the vicinity of his ankles, The opulent house passed in a dizzied blur. She'd blame the champagne, but some things were so brilliantly clear … like his eyes. She didn't dare label what she saw there, but while everything else wavered around her, his eyes were steady. Just as his arms were strong, and somewhere inside of him, a piece had to be hers.
He'd never convince her otherwise. But would that ever be enough?
By the time he lowered her to the bed, she could almost feel her limbs again. He graced her with a devilish grin, lacing his fingers with hers and settling into a flawless new rhythm. No greater intimacy existed than what they had in that moment, him staring so deeply into her eyes as he rocked against her, wearing nothing but a smile.
She was almost drunk with the medley of sensation. The thick, soft comforter at her back. A slight chill from the air conditioner. Knox's soft lips. His hard body. And the overwhelming fulfillment only he had ever given her.
He broke free from the trail of kisses he'd left down her neck. "I've never done that before, you know."
"Done what? Wall sex?"
"Bare sex."
He'd always insisted on protection during their previous relationship, and despite the fact that they'd never gone without, they'd both been tested. It warmed her that he trusted her when she said she hadn't been with anyone else … and that he'd chosen her to be his first. It's only sex, she reminded herself. No need to read anything into it. But at least now she understood why he'd quizzed her so thoroughly over the birth control pills she'd left on the bathroom counter. "Was it any good?"
He grinned. "It still is." He dropped his mouth to hers, teasing the seam of her lips until she let him in. He kissed her as deeply as he moved inside, and before she'd managed to climb back up the cliff, she was lost to another free fall, dragging him over the edge with her.
For a long time, there was nothing but the sound of breathing. Then he kissed her tenderly. "You're amazing," he murmured.