INSTINCTIVELY SHE KNEW her path was set the moment she murmured, ‘Okay.’
Life’s too short. Give yourself a break and live a little.
Suki knew that there would be no turning back the second she let Ramon help her into the car and he slid along the soft leather bench seat after her. The door slammed behind them, cocooning them in silence and edgy lust.
‘Your address?’ he rasped.
‘167 Winston Street, Vauxhall.’
He relayed the information to the driver, then his mouth firmed. ‘There are two dozen pubs between where you live and Luis’s residence in Mayfair. Why do you choose one so far outside of the city?’ he asked, casting an irritated glance at the establishment that stood on a quiet street in the middle of Watford.
‘A uni friend of ours just inherited it from his parents. Luis promised we’d stop by for birthday drinks,’ she said, a little relieved at the harmless tone of the conversation.
He’d activated the privacy partition and tinted the back windows, and now, trapped in the dark expanse of the luxurious car, his scent once again sliding intimately over her senses, she needed something to alleviate it.
Unfortunately, the reprieve didn’t last long. ‘And do you always do what my brother says?’ he asked, a different type of edge lining his voice.
Her fingers tightened around the strap of her handbag. ‘Are you about to pick another fight with me? Because if I recall, we haven’t resolved the last one to my satisfaction yet.’
In the space of one breath and the next, he closed the gap between them. Her bag was plucked from her fingers and tossed onto the adjacent seat. Firm fingers speared into her hair, the grip firm enough to direct her gaze up to his.
Electricity vibrated from his body, the dark, purposeful gleam in his eyes rendering her mouth dry. He stared down at her for an age, their breaths mingling.
‘Lo siento. I’m sorry for my less than admirable assumptions. I am not in the best mood tonight, but that was no excuse, so accept my apologies.’
The words were deep and genuine, momentarily silencing the voice screaming a warning at her. ‘I... Okay,’ she mumbled.
His fingers moved, slowly massaging her scalp in lazy, masterful rotations, triggering a low heat in her belly. ‘Are you satisfied?’ he asked.
‘That...that depends.’
One eyebrow rose but the rest of his face tautened with expectation. ‘On what?’
‘On whether or not you’re about to start another fight with me.’
‘No, querida,’ he breathed. ‘I’m about to start something else entirely. And you know it.’
‘I don’t...’
‘Enough, Suki. I told you what happens next is up to you. But I get the feeling I need to move things along before one of us expires from impatience. So the only word I want out of that delectable mouth right now is yes or no. I want you, gatito. Do you want me? Regardless of my sub-exemplary behaviour tonight. Yes or no?’
Her heart leapt into her throat. For three long years she’d harboured a growing crush on this man. But nowhere in that secret longing had there been a possibility that he would be here, in front of her, saying these words to her. She’d always believed she would wake up one day to find herself cured. She’d dated a handful of men like Stephen who, even before they’d proved themselves faithless, had fallen victim to not being dynamic enough, confident enough, tall enough or dark enough—hell, even Spanish enough.
Stephen’s betrayal had triggered a numbness of her emotions, had finally pressed home every warning her mother had relayed since she turned sixteen. A desperate part of her wished for that numbness now, yearned for a clap of thunder to deliver her from the ferocious lust threatening to swallow her whole.
Because, staring into Ramon Acosta’s eyes, she didn’t think she was anywhere near numb. Anywhere near cured of her foolish crush.
And now that he was free...
Oh, God.
She shook her head; the voice whispering that this was the worst idea she’d ever had grew into a scream. Swallowing, she slicked her tongue over her lower lip.
His fingers convulsed in her hair and a strangled sound escaped his throat. About to utter the word that would free her from this madness, she dropped her gaze. His velvet-smooth lips were so close. And good heavens, she was so hungry for a taste.
One. Just one.
Then she would satisfy herself that he was no god, that the lofty status she’d afforded him in her mind was nothing more than dreams spun from loneliness and long-forgotten fairy tales.
‘Suki.’ Her name was a fierce, demanding whisper. A silken, alluring chain winding her closer.
Her breasts grew heavy, the slick, damp place between her thighs clenching with a manic need she’d never experienced before.
‘Yes.’ The word poured from her in a swell of surrender.
Ramon didn’t need further encouragement. With a rough exhalation, he tugged her closer to meet his descending mouth. A hot, demanding mouth that slanted over hers, fusing power and pleasure into her fired-up senses.
His tongue stroked against her lips, tasting boldly, over and over before he demanded entrance. Entrance she gave with a shaky wonder at the thought that she was kissing Ramon Acosta. That wonder melted away in the next instance when he licked his way into her mouth.
Sensation lashed her from head to toe, the onslaught eliciting helpless whimpers that started from deep within and were crushed between their melded lips. The knowledge that she was whimpering sent another bolt of shock through her. She’d been kissed before. Enough times to know that no one kiss was the same, that some were better than others.
But nothing compared to the kiss Ramon was delivering now. Each slide of his tongue against hers, each bold nip of her swelling flesh rained sizzling delight on her, making her strain closer, silently pleading for more.
When the need to breathe forced them apart, he only permitted a second, smoothing his thumb across her lips in a hungry caress. ‘Dios mio, you taste incredible,’ he growled before he took her mouth again, unbelievably deepening the kiss.
The words freed her from a hold she wasn’t even aware of, the guttural utterance lending her enough feminine confidence to unfold her hands from the death grip on the seat. To raise one hand and settle it on his thigh.
He tensed, hard muscles bunching beneath her hand. He tore his mouth from hers to spear her with a rabid look, the light in his eyes sending a thread of apprehension down her spine. Not the kind that made her fear for her safety. The kind that informed her he was stroking the edge of his sensual limits and was determined to take her down with him.
She started to move her hand. He caught and trapped it against his heated flesh, his eyes flashing as he stared down at her. ‘You want to touch me, then touch me.’
‘Ramon...’
He inhaled sharply. ‘I think this is the first time I’ve heard you say my name.’
‘I...what?’ It couldn’t be. She’d said it so many times...in her fantasies.
The hold in her hair propelled her closer. ‘Say it again,’ he breathed against her lips.
‘Ramon,’ she whispered feverishly.
A light tremble vibrated through him. Diving back down, he sealed his mouth to hers. The hand covering hers released her to slide up her arm, stopping every few inches to explore her bare skin. Halfway up, he changed course, his caress gliding over her hip to her waist to the underside of her breast. It stayed here, tantalisingly close to the needy weight that yearned to be touched, the nipples that screamed for attention.
Her breath hitched as hunger ploughed through her. Beneath her hand, his thigh shifted, demanding her attention. She caressed him through the material of his expensive tailored trousers. Higher. To the enormous bulge behind his zipper. And froze at his tight, tormented groan.
‘No. Don’t stop, querida. Touch me,’ he commanded against her mouth.
She smoothed her hand over him, tightened her fist against his virile girth. Thick, inflamed Spanish words spilled from his lips, bruising her mouth with their heat. When one ravenous hand cupped her breast, squeezed and tortured, she returned the words with needful moans. One lane of pleasure rolled into the other, delirium swelling high as he moulded and caressed and kissed.
Suki wasn’t sure when he pushed her back against the leather upholstery or when he tugged her hips to the edge of the bench seat. Not sure when the side zip of her black wool dress was lowered or when he pushed up the hem. But at some point between one potent kiss and the next, he was on his knees between her thighs, his hands sliding up her legs, over the silk stockings she’d treated herself to in a mad moment of weakness last weekend. More fevered words spilled when he encountered their lace tops.
His fingers traced over them, then trailed over her bare skin. A shudder raked her from head to toe. With one last forceful kiss, he raised his head.
‘I need to see you, Suki,’ he rasped, his voice barely recognisable. His hip flexed against her hold, the power of his erection thickening in her hand. ‘Touch you as you are touching me.’
At the back of her mind a warning blazed. A kiss. This was supposed to be just a kiss.
But already her head was moving in a nod, her blood thrilling to the new, unexpected turn the night had taken. There was no way what was happening between them would be sustainable beyond tonight. For one thing, she was too emotionally bruised, her instinct even now shocked at her behaviour. For another, her mother needed her.
Lastly, Ramon divided his time between the many Acosta hotels and his homeland of Cuba. The likelihood of her seeing him again for a very long time, especially once Luis took over the New York flagship hotel, as he was being groomed for, would be low to nil.
And despite the insanity of the sensations Ramon evoked in her now, she knew the shine would wear off sooner rather than later. So maybe she would allow more than just a kiss. Maybe, she would heed Luis’s words, and live a little. Just for tonight—
The fingers tracing the outer edge of her satin and lace panties dragged her back to the exhilarating present. To the looming presence of the powerful man crouched over her.
‘I must be losing my touch if your mind chooses this moment to go for a wander. What were you thinking about?’ he demanded, his thumb sliding dangerously close to her sex.
She shivered. ‘I...nothing.’
He doubled the caress with a thumb on the other side. ‘Don’t lie to me, Suki. I’ve had enough of those in the last twenty-four hours. Were you thinking of another man?’ he sliced at her, his nostrils flaring with quiet fury. ‘While you lay ready and open for me, were you thinking of someone else? A boyfriend, perhaps?’
Her eyes widened and she tried to scramble away. She didn’t succeed because he refused to let her go. ‘You think I’d be here, like this with you if I had a boyfriend?’
‘Answer the question, Suki,’ he challenged, his tone growing even more arctic.
She shook her head. ‘No, I don’t have a boyfriend. If...you must know I was thinking of you.’
The tension gripping him eased. His eyes gleamed. ‘What exactly were you thinking?’ he probed as his thumbs slid under the thin barrier and caressed her damp flesh.
A moan ripped free, her shaky exhalation rushing through her lips. ‘That I won’t see you again after tonight.’
He stilled. His fingers dug into her. Eyes turned almost black regarded her in abrasive silence. ‘And is that what you want? For us to use each other for one single night and forget the other one exists come morning?’ There was something darkly condemning in his voice, but also enough sexual anticipation that said he wasn’t completely averse to that scenario. The opposing forces of that view left her speechless, unable to decide which one would most please him.
He leaned in closer, bringing his power and might to bear on her. ‘Answer me, Suki. Is that what you want?’ Blade-sharp eyes searched hers.
‘Isn’t it what you want too?’ She forced a laugh. ‘Please don’t tell me you see anything more beyond...whatever this is happening tonight?’
He was silent for an interminable age. Then his gaze dropped to her shoulders and upper breasts exposed by the gaping dress. Lower to the rapid rise and fall of her torso. To the restless hands on the seat beside her hips, twitching with the need to touch him. Finally to her splayed legs and the black panties whose thin, insubstantial material framed her core. His thumbs caressed again, drawing another shameless shudder from her.
‘Sí, you’re right. Nothing more can come out of this. Nothing will.’
The sharp dart of hurt somewhere deep beneath her breastbone disappeared at the pleasure pain of her panties cutting into her flesh one moment, then ripping free of her body the next.
Suki gasped, the move so audaciously erotic, she felt her folds dampen further.
Ramon’s eyes remained on her for a further intense second. Then they dropped to her core.
Heat scoured his cheekbones, his lips parting as he breathed her in. She wasn’t sure whether it was the sight of him on his knees before her or the power of sensations ploughing through her. But the urge to touch him grew too big to contain. She cupped his jaw, slid her hand along over the masculine stubble to his strong throat, then around to his nape. A tight smile whispered over his lips, gone in the next breath.
Then he was lowering his head, his intent very clear. Her grip tightened, pulling him away, her eyes widening at the blatant act he was about to perform.
‘Ramon, I don’t...’ she started. Her train of thought dissolved at the firm kiss he delivered to her core, her fingers convulsing in his hair as pleasure jerked through her. ‘Oh!’
Raising his head, he blew gently on her. ‘You want me to stop?’
The anxious part of her that had rejected what he was about to do frantically begged for more. ‘No,’ she blurted.
At his husky laugh, heat washed up her face.
But laughter and all trace of embarrassment evaporated beneath the deluge of rapture his next kiss brought. He tasted her and pleasured her with bold, possessive strokes, ramping up her pleasure until her eyes rolled in bliss. Until hoarse, alien words fell from her lips and her fingers sank deep into his hair, urging him on, begging for more.
He gave generously, his tongue and lips drawing untold delight from her. When he finally concentrated his attention on her tight, swollen nub, Suki’s back arched off the seat, a ragged scream ripping from her throat before her whole body was gripped in wave after wave of ecstasy.
She resurfaced to the scent of sex and leather and the sight of a virile, hungry, half-naked man. He’d disposed of his jacket, his shirt hung half open and his trousers were unzipped. Black luxurious hair looked sexily dishevelled as if someone...she...had run her hands through it in mindless caresses.
Her barely decelerated heartbeat kicked up again as she watched him slide on a condom with one hand and roughly push down her dress and free her arms with the other. Next, he unclipped and eased off her bra.
At the sight of her exposed full breasts, he swore low and hard. ‘Santa cielo, you’re exquisite.’
As if testing the reality of her skin, he smoothed his hand down from her neck to her stomach, bypassing the needy, screaming peaks of her breasts. On the upward caress, his other hand left his sheathed manhood. Both hands cupped her breasts, his thumbs mercilessly teasing her nipples for a mindless stretch of time before he sucked one into his mouth. Hard on the heels of her expended climax, renewed pleasure surged. High and heady and unthinkably surreal.
Was she really here, about to—?
‘Oh, God,’ she moaned, her mind fracturing as he grazed his teeth over her nipple.
Still torturing her, he wrapped one arm around her waist and dragged her lower until her buttocks hung off the seat. She was a heartbeat from tossing herself over another cliff into another mind-blowing climax when he lifted his head.
Fervid green eyes met and trapped hers as he drew her legs over his shoulders. Then, with a grunt, he gripped her waist and thrust hard and deep inside her.
Her strangled scream was kissed away, urgent hands holding her in place for his second thrust. ‘Dios...so wet...so tight.’ His voice was gravel-rough hoarse, the words barely coherent.
Suki gave up trying to decipher them, her mind fracturing into useless pieces as she was fully submerged in the fiery enchantment of Ramon’s possession. He commanded her body like a masterful virtuoso, driving her to the peak and pinning her there, over and over, but not letting her fall.
As the limo ate up the miles they writhed beneath streetlights thrown intermittently into the car.
‘Ramon... Ramon...’
She wasn’t sure how many times she moaned his name to his thick encouragement. But she was fully astride his kneeling form, their bodies slick with sweat and his implacable arms around her when he raised his head one final time, looked deep into her eyes and instructed, ‘Now, Suki.’
Glorious pleasure and pressure burst wide open. She could do nothing but hang on as it sucked her deep into a bottomless vortex.
He caught her earlobe in a sharp bite a second before he was hurled into his own release, muttering hot, torrid words that drew out her own pleasure as he jerked inside her.
They were still breathing hard when the car swayed round a corner and drew to a stop. He caressed her for another minute before he set her back on the seat and zipped up her dress.
Unable to meet his eyes or stop the flames of disquiet eating her up, Suki snatched up her panties and bra and stuffed them inside her handbag.
Beside her, having straightened his own clothes, Ramon lounged back in the seat.
‘Um...thanks for the lift,’ she said after a full minute when it became clear he didn’t intend to speak.
He didn’t reply, just stared at her with hooded dark eyes. Okay... Clutching her handbag, she edged closer to the door. ‘Goodnight, Ramon. Have a safe trip back to...wherever.’
She reached for the handle. He beat her to it, catching her hand and tugging her round to face him.
‘No, I’m not about to have a safe trip back to...wherever. Because we’re not done, guapa. Far from it,’ he said.
Exiting the car with the grace of a sleek, powerful animal, he held out his hand to her.
She had no choice but to get out. She knew that. But suddenly what awaited her outside was more daunting than the mind-bending sex she’d just enjoyed in this car. For one thing, her heart and mind hadn’t stopped racing. And the voice screeching in her head that this was over and she needed to walk away was growing weaker under the one howling harder in greedy, grabby need. The one telling her she wanted more. Needed to live a little for longer. Experience more of what had just happened. Of everything.
‘Come out, Suki,’ he ordered.
She told herself that she complied because she couldn’t stay in the limo for ever. Not because the unabated hunger in his eyes called to hers.
The moment she stepped out, he slammed the door shut and tapped twice on the roof. As the limo pulled away he yanked her close, delivered a hard, searing kiss to her mouth. That single spark was enough to ignite the erotic conflagration again. Long moments later, he raised his head, glanced up at the small Victorian terrace house she called home, then back at her. ‘Invite me in.’
She invited him in.
But even before he’d stepped over the threshold into her sanctuary, Suki knew that this was nowhere near the forgettable experience she had convinced herself it would be.