Page 33 of The Money Man
She managed to get the key out of her bag and into the lock without a fumble, which was miraculous with him so close behind her that she could feel the brush of his suit jacket against her back.
As soon as they were inside and the front door was closed, he turned her into him and banded his other arm around her waist.
“At the diner, you asked me why I looked at you that way.” He nuzzled back her hair and kissed her neck just behind her earlobe, his lips firm and smooth against the skin. Shivers rippled through her as he whispered, “Because those gold hoops dangling from your ears drove me crazy with wanting to feel the skin right here.” He kissed her there again. “And inhale your scent of violets.”
“You know what perfume I wear,” she murmured.
He brushed his nose against her neck, inhaling audibly. “It suits you in some ways, but tonight it needs a layer of roses. Deep ... red ... roses.” His breath whispered over her skin with each word.
Did that mean that he expected her to be an experienced lover? Had his fiancée worn some exotic perfume that was far more sophisticated than her violets? Tendrils of self-doubt tugged at her shaky confidence.
He dragged his lips along the line of her jaw and then down to the hollow at the base of her throat, the silk of his hair tickling her chin. “I wanted to kiss you because when you talked about swooning, I imagined what your body would feel like in my arms. And I wanted to find out.”
She forgot all about perfume. “I want that too. To touch you.” She raised her free hand to slide it under his jacket, his heartbeat thudding against her palm.
The tip of his tongue grazed her skin. This time she gasped out loud and seized his lapel to pull herself closer against him. When her breasts made contact with the wall of his chest, she arched to increase the pleasure streaking through her.
Then his fingers curled around her bottom, pressing her against his erection, stoking a bonfire between her legs. He lifted his head to claim her mouth, his kiss deep and sensual as he kneaded her buttocks, making her whimper with longing. His fingers were so close to where she really wanted him to touch.
Sheer need made her crook her knee to run it up the outside of his thigh, the feel of solid muscle against her leg making her groan into his mouth.
He hooked his forearm under her knee to support her leg, giving her the freedom to move against that hard ridge under his trousers.
“You’re killing me,” he growled.
She rocked her hips against his erection again. “You feel very much alive to me.”
He flexed his hips to meet hers, making them both moan. “Where’s your bedroom?” he demanded as he released her leg.
“Follow me.” A shameless hussy who she didn’t know existed came to life inside her and put an extra sway in her hips as she climbed the stairs in front of him.
Suddenly embarrassed by her attempt at seduction, she looked over her shoulder and found his gaze locked on her butt. He caught her movement and lifted his eyes. “I’m thinking about how much I want to see those beautiful curves bare.”
She nearly stumbled up the next step. “You’re good at the verbal foreplay.”
“Wait until we get to the nonverbal part,” he said with a tight smile.
Desire unfurled in a hot rush between her thighs. She climbed the rest of the stairs faster than she believed she could in sky-high heels.
He stayed close as she turned left toward her bedroom. She caught a streak of black out of the corner of her eye. Sylvester was bolting from the unexpected stranger in his territory.
She had barely walked through the bedroom door when Derek came up behind her and took her by the shoulders, turning her toward the full-length mirror hanging on her closet door. “This is why I looked at you that way,” he said, bringing his hands down to slide them under her breasts, so they were nestled in his palms. “Because I wanted to do this.”
His touch was magnified by the sight of his hands against the silk of her blouse, turning the moment into an echo chamber of sensual delights. He curled his fingers up to tease the points of her nipples that were visible as they pushed against her blouse. An exquisite shock streaked from her breasts to her belly, igniting a shower of sparks deep within her.
She scrabbled for something to hang on to and reached behind her to find the strength of his thighs, gripping them to keep her knees from buckling. She let her head fall back against his chest but kept her eyes open enough to observe as he played. She’d never watched a man touch her like this, and it made her feel beyond decadent. His erection pushed against her bottom, sending an extra thrill through her.
When he released one breast and slid his hand down to rub his fingers between her legs, her nerve endings lit up all over her body. She was afraid she might come right then.
“Wait!” It came out as a gasp. “I want to touch you. But without all the clothes.”
For a moment, he pulled her in tighter so she could feel just how hard his erection was. “I won’t try to talk you out of that.”
Then he let her go and shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it onto the floor.
Alice smiled, catching his wrists as he reached for the first button on his shirt. “Now I get to take over.”
“What is that smile all about?” He lowered his hands to his sides.
