Hours later, she fell asleep like a rock. Well, he used her hard toward the end. That first time had been merely a taste, the result of being in a state of semi-arousal since the day before, when he’d seen her for the first time. So the first time had been fast, getting something out of his system. Then he’d gotten down to business, making love to her so intensely at times he thought he’d pass out.
He was curled around her, like two spoons, her head pillowed on his arm. Mark tightened his arms slightly, delighted with the feel of her. The long, slim limbs, that amazingly kissable neck, the two perfect dimples on the top of her ass. God, such soft skin. He wanted to touch her all over, as he’d done during the night, but he knew he shouldn’t. Shit. She was sleeping, probably jet-lagged.
He was jet-lagged, too, but he couldn’t sleep. God, no. Way too revved. Maybe part of it was that he hadn’t had sex in…what? Who knew? A long time, anyway. He actually couldn’t remember the name of the last woman he’d had sex with. Her face was a little fuzzy, too.
Well, he’d had back-to-back missions for well over a year now, not to mention being owner of a company that was growing insanely fast.
Rule number one on a mission was focus. Rule number two—no sex. To be truthful, he hadn’t missed it, hadn’t noticed its absence, busy building his company into one of the finest security companies in the world.
But that no-sex rule had changed overnight. The night with Harper had been overwhelming, like feasting on wonderful food after a year of fasting. But the thing was, it was more Harper herself than the sex.
She was beautiful and mysterious and as self-contained as a cat. Yet in bed she was pure flame.
He’d grown fully erect against her bottom, starting to pull away from her. No use being a hound dog. To his surprise, she wiggled that delectable bottom against his hard-on and he abandoned his not-being-a-hound-dog-and-let-Harper-sleep policy immediately.
He was a hound dog where she was concerned. And if she was rubbing against him, she was up for more.
Yeah. Good. So was he.
He put his face against her neck, sniffing like a dog. She smelled so damned good. “Good morning,” he whispered directly into her ear.
“Morning.” Her voice had a little early morning hoarseness to it. Throaty, sexy.
He kissed her neck, licked behind her ear. She shivered a little. “How are we feeling this morning, hmm?”
Harper gave a breathy laugh. “I don’t know how we’re feeling, but I’m feeling pretty good.”
“Me, too.” He was feeling more than pretty good. His erection was so hard it was as if he hadn’t had sex for years, instead of spending half the night inside her.
He had some control, but not much. He could do a little foreplay if he had to. Foreplay with Harper was really exciting. But being inside her was even better and he wanted to be inside her now.
Mark lifted up on one elbow so he could look over her shoulder and see her fully. She was just so amazingly beautiful all over. Perfect ivory skin, tiny waist, round hips, long sleek legs…mmm. And those breasts, like vanilla ice cream cones with little cherries on top. Cherries that became deep pink when she was aroused. Right now, her nipples were turning rosy again.
He’d never forget the sight of her coming, belly muscles pulling with each contraction, nipples red and hard, mouth wet and open to pull in air.
Mark had always closed his eyes when coming. He hadn’t even realized it until he had sex with Harper and he couldn’t close his eyes, not for a second, because he didn’t want to miss even a moment of her pleasure.
Her pleasure was amazing.
He buried his face in her neck because he’d figured out that her neck was a real turn-on for her. Lots of places were her turn-ons, but the neck was special. He licked her and scraped his teeth along the tendon and felt her shudder in his arms. Felt her breath speeding up.
Was it having other effects, too?
His hand slid from her throat, over her breasts, over that flat belly, down to her mound. She lifted her leg to give him access and he slid a finger inside and—yes!
Soft and wet. Ready.
God.
He whispered in her ear, “Harper.” He could feel her shudder.
“Yes,” she whispered back.
Yes, an answer to her name, or yes, they could have sex right now?
His body decided for him. He reached for a condom—their fourth—and smoothed it on, fitting his hips to her backside.
He opened her up with his fingers and slid inside. She was still tight but a night of sex made his entry easier.
Just the thought of it—that Harper’s sex was being shaped by his penis—made him swell inside her.
“Wow. I felt that.” Harper gave a half laugh. “That must have been one sexy thought.”
He was deep inside her now, held tightly. “You have no idea.” He started moving slowly, gripping her hips.
She looked over her shoulder at him. “Tell me.”
Mark shook his head, moving inside her more quickly.
“Tell me now.” And she gave him a sultry smile over her shoulder, completely irresistible. He’d have to be made of stone to resist, and he wasn’t made of stone.
“All right,” he panted, moving fast. “I was thinking that you’re a little less tight.” He moved faster, harder. “I was thinking my cock is shaping you, so that at some point, you’ll be made just for me, exactly right for me.”
Her eyes widened and he felt her explosion, from the inside out. Her sex gripped him hard, clenching and unclenching, her breath leaving her in one long cry. He stayed with her, moving in time with the convulsions until finally he, too, went up in flames, holding her tightly.
He never wanted to let her go. They were a little sticky with sweat and very sticky in the groin area.
They both fell back asleep, Mark waking up when Harper left the bed. There was an early morning glow around the heavy curtains. Checking his watch he saw that it was seven thirty.
Harper disappeared into the bathroom. A moment later, he heard the shower come on. Most women lingered in showers—and the Ritz’s shower was amazing. Huge marble cubicle, showerheads everywhere, one of which was lavender-scented. He expected her to take her time, but in a few moments, he heard the shower turn off. She didn’t linger over drying, either.
This wasn’t good.
His whole plan for the day included the two of them lingering over pleasurable things every second they could. A businesslike shower didn’t bode well.
Sure enough, she came out wrapped in a huge soft towel and headed straight for her clothes.
She didn’t look him in the eye, intent on getting dressed as quickly as possible.
Was she going to do a bunk on him? Just disappear? Well, that wasn’t going to happen.
She was definitely going to try that I’m-too-busy-to-make-plans-with-you thing. He recognized it because he’d pulled that one himself, often.
He sat quietly, watching her not looking at him. In only a few minutes, she was dressed, combed, made up, looking exactly as she had last night. Beautifully groomed and put together, which was no mean feat, considering how they’d spent the night. You couldn’t tell she’d spent the night fucking, except for the faint hickey right where her neck met her shoulder. Mark usually paid attention and didn’t leave marks on women, but he’d been coming at the time and his control had been shot.
“Well,” she began.
“My driver is downstairs,” Mark said. “Waiting for you.”
She blinked. “I’m going to have to go back to my hotel to change.” She looked down at herself, at the elegant evening outfit. Pale blue and slinky. “I have some research to do and I need more casual wear.”
“Fine.” Mark stood and quickly dressed in jeans, a linen sweater and a windbreaker. Ready for anything. “We’ll swing by your hotel and then I’ll accompany you where you have to go.”
Mark could actually see her mind whirring. It would, yes, be nice to have a car and a driver at her disposal. Paris was a busy city and hard to get around in. But the car and the driver came with him.
Did she want him?
Yes and no. He could read it clearly. She wanted to spend more time with him. But she also wanted to get her business done.
“I won’t be in your way,” he said quietly. “Promise.”
She looked away then back at him. “It’s not really that,” she said with a sigh. “I have some research to take care of at the Louvre. I’ve already booked my ticket but it would take you hours to get in. Sometimes people book a week in advance, otherwise you have to spend a couple of hours waiting in line. I’m really sorry, but we need to split up.”
Mark kept a deadpan face though inside he was grinning. It was as if the universe were pointing a huge red arrow at Harper. It was a coincidence that no one would possibly believe.
“Well, that’s interesting.” He lifted his briefcase, opened it and, yup. There it was. He’d been annoyed to find the printout of the entry ticket to the Louvre with a Post-it—A little culture will do you good.
But right now? Right now, he could kiss his secretary on the mouth, blue lipstick and piercings and all.
He unfolded the printout and showed it to her. Her eyes widened. Just in case she missed it, Mark tapped the date of the ticket. Today. An all-day pass.
“Isn’t that a coincidence?” he said cheerfully. “I was planning on going to the Louvre anyway. I won’t bother you. I’ll just tag along and look at what’s on the walls while you do your thing.”
He met her annoyed eyes and smiled. “And this evening, I’d love to take you out to dinner.”