Pepper gave a sigh of relief that at last she was in the sanctuary of Hibiscus House. To her, the evening had been interminable, the steady barrage of questions from both of her parents like swords falling on her head. And Kyle? Lordy, he had been beyond wonderful. Where did someone get that kind of discipline and charm? Too bad their engagement was only a fake.
She wondered what on earth he did when he wasn’t pretending to be in love with her. No doubt he had women falling all over him. She’d certainly been ready to fight them off today as they did their walking tour of Bayview. No matter the age, they shamelessly let their tongues hang out wherever she took him. So much so that she eagerly let him hold her hand in his as they walked along.
Tonight at dinner had been next to unbelievable. Mama had spent half the time waving people over to introduce “Pepper’s fiancé” and tell them to watch for the Save the Date postcard. The other half, she joined her husband in giving poor Kyle the third degree. She could hardly believe the personal questions they asked him, but she gave him props. He handled all of them with flare, and she was sure she was the only one who noticed he gave out very little real information.
She had one tiny nervous moment when the bill arrived and he insisted on paying. When he dropped his Black American Express card on the credit card folder, her mother’s eyes widened so much, Pepper was afraid they’d fall out of her head. Even in tiny Bayview, they knew the Centurion Card was issued only to the wealthiest of the wealthy. Who in hell had she gotten herself engaged to, anyway?
Then it had been a struggle to cut themselves loose after that, especially when Mama tried to insist they have breakfast. Finally, they managed to make their escape. On the ride home, she had been silent, wondering who Kyle Montgomery was, exactly. How did he make his money? How rich was he, anyway? Not that it would matter after this little interlude.
Something else kept buzzing in the back of her brain. The entire day had been filled with unexpected, unacknowledged sexual tension. She sure hadn’t expected it when she practically attacked him that morning, and she’d tried to chalk it up to the weirdness of the moment. But it kept getting stronger instead of weaker. She knew that Kyle was feeling it, too. She could tell from the glances he kept casting her way. The way he made it a point to hold her hand and squeeze it. Other things. She’d had to call on all her discipline just to get through everything.
She definitely needed something to settle the sizzle in her system. “I’m going to have a cup of tea,” she told Kyle as they entered the kitchen. “Can I offer you one?”
“Not tea, but I’ll take coffee if you don’t mind working that wonderful machine of yours.”
“Aren’t you afraid the caffeine will keep you up?” she asked, as she busied herself with the ingredients.
“Not really. I discovered a long time ago I have a pretty high tolerance for it.” He laughed. “Not much help when I need to work late and want something to keep me awake.”
She waited until they were both seated at the island counter before she asked the question that had been banging around in her head since dinner.
“So. A Centurion Amex card. Exactly what is it you do, Mr. Kyle Montgomery, that puts you in that elite circle? And feel free to tell me it’s none of my business.”
He looked at her over the rim of his cup. “Not much to tell. Like I said, I’m in real estate development. Sometimes it can be very lucrative.”
“I guess so.” She studied him, his lean muscular body with the broad shoulders, his square-jawed face with the dark-chocolate eyes that could hypnotize so easily. “But don’t you think we should know a bit more about each other?”
Oh, good one, Pepper. In a few days, he’ll be gone and so will this charade. He doesn’t have to tell you anything about himself. Why should he?
“Sometimes talking is overrated.” He set his mug down, slid off his stool, and came around to where she was sitting. “Don’t you think so?”
Ohmigod! He’s going to kiss me.
Her breath caught in her throat. She knew she should move away, but she was rooted in place. The increase in her pulse rate and the heat that streaked from her nipples to her core were significant signs that she wasn’t going to tell him no. She wanted him to kiss her. Had, in fact, ever since that surprise kiss when she’d thrown herself at him that morning. She knew with a certainty what had been brewing between them all day was about to explode.
He was so close to her now that she could count his eyelashes. His very clean, very male scent engulfed her, waking up her dormant hormones and sending them on a happy dance through her body. He had yet to touch her, and already the pulse in her core was thrumming so hard she had to squeeze her thighs together.
“I’ve been wanting to do this since this morning.” He stroked his knuckles across her cheekbone. “If you want me to stop, this is your last chance to tell me.”
He was so close now she could feel the gentle breeze of his breath on her cheek. She knew she should put an end to this, but her body was yelling Go for it! She hadn’t had a serious relationship in forever, focusing everything on Hibiscus House. This man was leaving in a few days, and suddenly she thought, Why not? Why not enjoy myself?
She’d probably never see him again. Maybe she could have a wild fling, enjoy off-the-wall sex, and not have to worry about repercussions.
Get real, Pepper. He doesn’t have to come here for that. That’s pretty evident.
But while her mind was in turmoil, he moved his head closer and then his mouth was on hers. The contact was gentle at first, like the touch of a butterfly’s wings. But then the pressure became more insistent. Just like that morning, he traced the seam of her lips with his tongue, back and forth, until she opened for him and he thrust inside.
Every part of her body came alive. Her breasts ached for his touch, the thick fabric of her bra abrading her painfully tight nipples. She was seized with an uncontrollable desire to rip off her clothes and climb up his body, and all he’d done was kiss her. But, damn, that kiss was potent. His tongue was an electric flame in her mouth, generating enough heat to scorch every one of her erogenous zones. She thrust her fingers into the thick chocolate velvet of his hair, holding his head in place, drinking from his mouth as he was feasting from hers.
He slid one hand down her spine, fingertips tracing the line before he reached down to cup one cheek of her bottom. Her body tightened, her inner muscles clenching with a sudden desperate need. Breaking the kiss, he slid his lips across her cheek and dropped a light string of kisses along her jawline.
Oh god. She wanted him with a sudden, unexpected desperation. For the first time in longer than she could remember, she wanted a man more than she wanted her next breath. This man.
“Pepper?” He raised his head enough to lock his gaze with hers.
“Yes?” She barely got the word out.
“If I’m out of line here, please feel free to tell me. I don’t want to do anything to make you mad, but something’s happening here. I can’t believe how much I want you. Do you feel it, too?”
She nodded, robbed of speech.
“So if I ask you to come upstairs with me, you won’t damage my manhood? Toss me out on the street?” He gave her a tiny grin. “Scream for help?”
Pepper managed to find her voice. “No screaming,” she whispered. “I promise.”
He lifted her down from the stool and took her hand in his strong, warm one. Just that contact lit flames beneath her nerve endings.
She breathed a sigh of relief that no one was coming or going in the lobby as they crossed it, nor did they meet anyone on the stairs as they climbed them. Then it was a short distance down the hall to the door of the suite. Kyle unlocked it, ushered her through, and closed the door behind them. Then he stood for a long moment looking at her, undressing her with his eyes.
“I want to rip your clothes off,” he told her in a voice hoarse with desire. “But I want to go slow, too, so I don’t miss a thing.”
“Slow is good,” she whispered, mesmerized by the way his eyes devoured her.
She loved the way he cradled her head as he took her mouth in another kiss, this one tempting and teasing but no less intense. He coaxed her tongue to play with his, licked the inside of her mouth, and fed from her like a starving man. His taste was intoxicating, waking up her pleasure points and spreading to every pulse point in her body.
Lazily, he dragged his mouth from hers and trailed it along the line of her jaw and down her neck. She shivered as he drew a line with the tip of his tongue along her collarbone to the hollow at her throat. The pressure of his tongue against that indentation made her limbs turn to jelly and she had to grasp his arms to steady herself.
“I feel like I’m unwrapping a Christmas package,” he murmured as he undid the buttons of her silk blouse one at a time. “Except Santa never left anything like this under the tree for me.”
“I hope you aren’t disappointed.”
“Are you kidding me? This is the best present ever.”
With his gaze still locked onto hers, he undid the last of the buttons, opened the blouse, and pushed it down her arms. The fire in his eyes flared hotter when he lowered his gaze to the bit of peach satin and lace that was her bra. He slid a tentative finger along the upper swell of her breasts, a feather-light touch that sent another shower of chills dancing along her skin.
Get on with it, she wanted to tell him, yet, at the same time, she wanted to prolong each and every touch and contact. Kyle skimmed his fingertips over her shoulders, down her arms, and around to her back where he deftly unhooked her bra. The moment her breasts were free, he cupped them in his palms, gently squeezing them and brushing his thumbs over her now very sensitive nipples. The throbbing in the heart of her sex intensified.
Pepper lifted her hands and scraped her thumbs over his cheeks and chin, missing the appetizing scruff of earlier in the day and sorry he’d shaved before dinner. His very masculine scent filled her nostrils, and she couldn’t stop herself from rising on tiptoe to run her tongue along the line of his jaw. Yum! He tasted as good as he smelled.
“You’re killing me, Pepper,” he rasped. “Testing my self-discipline.”
Her mouth curved in a tremulous grin. “Mine, too.”
As he stroked her breasts and their beaded tips, she tugged his shirt from his trousers and pushed his arms aside so she could yank it over his head. Her mouth watered at the sight of his toned chest with its curls of dark-chocolate hair. Unable to stop herself, she leaned her head forward and ran her tongue over the surface. The little curls were softer than she expected, so she licked again. This time, she dragged her tongue from side to side, finding his flat male nipples and teasing them.
Kyle sucked in a breath at the contact, squeezing her nipples with his fingers. He urged her head up to give him access to her body, reaching for the button and zipper on her slacks, dragging the tab down with painful slowness. His knuckles brushed her tummy, setting off another wave of tremors. When he pushed her slacks down, they slid to her ankles, and she stepped out of them and her shoes.
In slow motion, he ran the tips of his fingers around the lace edging on her thong, stroking the bare skin of her bottom before sliding his hands to the front. Her legs trembled so much from his touch, she had to dig her fingers into his upper arms to give her support. He teased the seam where hip and thigh joined, stroking lightly, rubbing the flat of his thumbs over the silk covering her mound. Then, as if he could not wait another moment to uncover her completely, he hooked his fingers in the edges of her thong and eased the scrap of nothing down her legs.
He devoured her with his gaze, coasting it over every naked inch of her. His nostrils flared as he caught her scent, and the way he licked his lips made her even more turned on. At last, he took a step back, lifted her and, jerking back the covers with one swift movement, placed her gently on the bed. The look he gave her was devouring, as arousing as every touch.
She watched through heavy-lidded eyes as he kicked off his shoes and stripped out of his slacks and boxer briefs. Then her eyes popped wide open. Holy mother, this man was built. His body tapered from broad shoulders to a narrow waist and lean hips. The chocolate curls arrowed in a line down from his navel to his groin, filling out to a thick nest that framed his impressive manhood.
Pepper squeezed her thighs together, trying to still the powerful throbbing in the walls of her sex. She couldn’t ever remember a time when a man had affected her as intensely as this one. The touch of his hands, his mouth, the magic strokes of his caresses all blended to drive her to a peak of excitement.
Raw power emanated from his body as he knelt between her thighs on the bed. The sheer masculinity of him lit a fire deep inside her body. She didn’t know which aroused her more, the feel of his naked skin against hers, the voracious look in his eyes, or the light dance of his fingers along the swell of her tummy. Desire pooled hot and fierce within her. When the tips of his fingers moved lower to her mound, stroking the soft thatch of hair covering her flesh, she couldn’t hold back the soft cry that whispered from her throat.
Pepper reached out her hands, wanting to touch his masculine perfection, to feel the hardness of the sculpted muscles. But when she reached for him, he shook his head, took her hands in his, and carefully licked the tip of each finger. His tongue was smooth and abrasive at the same time, sparking new tremors in her core.
“You smell so unbelievably good,” he told her, his voice hot and sultry. “You taste good. I want to run my tongue over every inch of you, tasting and savoring.”
“And if I want to do the same to you?”
“My turn first.”
Bending low, he turned his attention to her nipples again, taking first one in his mouth and gently scraping it with his tongue then moving to the other. Pepper arched up to him, pressing her elbows into the bed to give herself more leverage. But Kyle had her trapped between his muscular thighs, limiting her movement.
By the time he was finished feasting on her breasts, she would have done anything, agreed to anything, if he would just satisfy the fire raging inside her. When he lifted his head, the smile he gave her was a clear indication he knew exactly what he was doing to her.
“I told you I wanted to take my time,” he reminded her. “That hasn’t changed. The more I touch you, taste you, the more I realize that’s exactly what I want. I don’t want to miss one delicious inch of you.”
He eased himself back to gain greater access to her lower body. The path he had traced with his fingertips he now followed with his tongue, featherlike licks driving her crazy. She couldn’t help the little moans that kept flowing from her mouth or the way her body arched and twisted up to him.
When he finally reached the place where he could trace lines with his tongue along the inside of each thigh, she thought for sure she would explode with unsatisfied need. His laugh was low and sensuous and all male as he pressed his mouth against her flesh. When he finally—finally!—ran the tip of his tongue against that sensitive closed seam of flesh, she thought every nerve would ignite.
“Please,” she begged. “Oh, please.”
Pressure and need continued to build and build as he licked and tasted. The touch of his fingers as he opened the wet pink flesh and exposed her to him fully nearly pushed her over the edge, but she wanted to wait, to hold on. To have everything.
But then his tongue captured her hot, sensitive bundle of nerves and pressed it between his lips. She reached for every ounce of discipline she knew to keep herself from exploding. She wanted to feel him inside her, filling her with his hot, hard length.
But, again, he was not to be denied. The hot lash of his tongue as he trailed it around and around, flicking it against the sensitive nub of her sex and then thrusting it between her slick velvety lips. He brought every one of her senses into play, so much so that she was sure she suffered from sensory overload. The coil of need deep inside her body tightened beyond endurance and then began to unwind, slowly, slowly, slowly.
Then, without warning, she exploded, body convulsing, her hot inner flesh spasming over and over and over against his tongue. When he added his fingers, it pushed her up to the crest again and then into a whirlwind of sensual pleasure.
Before she even realized what he was doing, he had retrieved a condom from his wallet, sheathed himself, and, lifting her hips to give him a better angle, plunged into her with one swift move. Without thinking, she wrapped her legs around him and drew him closer to her. His arousal was hot and thick and filled her completely.
“Okay?” he asked, his eyes focused on her in a penetrating gaze.
“Yes. More than. Please don’t stop.”
“Never intended to.”
And then he took her on a wild ride, driving in and out of her with hard, steady thrusts. He still watched her intently, trying to gauge how close she was.
“Don’t hold back,” she said at last. “I’m there.”
That seemed to be all he needed. His tempo increased, he thrust deeper and harder until, with a cry, he took them both over the edge into a spinning, shuddering orgasm. Pepper had no idea how long it went on, only that her body convulsed with his over and over and over.
At last, they were done and he collapsed forward, catching himself on his forearms, touching his forehead to hers. They stayed that way for a very long time, until the last of the aftershocks subsided. He looked into her eyes, and she was sure he could see clear into her soul. She felt as if she could see into his.
Finally, when she could breathe normally, she asked, “What just happened here?”
“Something momentous,” he answered in that deep, sultry voice. “I’m beginning to think Fate had a reason for sending me here.”
“I think I agree.”
“No promises,” he said, “but I don’t think we’re near finished here. I’d like to see where this goes.”
“Me, too,” she whispered.
“I’m glad we’re on the same page.” He kissed her nose. “Let me take care of business and then we can catch some sleep.”
Pepper wondered if the romance novels were right and it was possible to fall in love with someone in less than twenty-four hours. Because she was sure that was what was happening to her. But as she watched the sexy flex of Kyle’s backside as he walked to the bathroom, she wondered if she was letting herself in for a big disappointment.