It should annoy him that she was so point-blank.
It didn’t.
Something about Scarlet Drake thrilled Michael in a way he couldn’t remember ever experiencing. She was intuitive and inquisitive. Downright candid and blunt. Brazen.
It was refreshing. Sexy. Stimulating.
Even if she did push his buttons.
He wasn’t used to a full-court press—from anyone. He had billions in the bank that he’d worked his ass off for, and his professional reputation was hard-earned and well warranted.
He didn’t like being questioned or second-guessed.
Somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to mind in this instance. The beautiful investigator constantly challenging him made him even harder.
Michael said, “I can’t fake an erection. Answers that question.”
“Then your intention really is to make me come on your leg.”
“I got you that excited?”
“You already know that answer.” Looking a bit out of sorts, she said, “I need the ladies’ room.” She whirled around and started to march off but returned to him two seconds later. “How did you find me at the St. Francis, anyway?”
“How’d you find me at the Crestmont?” he countered with a crooked brow.
“By making a hell of a lot of phone calls.”
“Well, there you go. I have a hell of a lot of people willing to do that for me.” He flashed another grin. Then added, “Bathroom’s down the side hall, toward the back, on the right.”
“Thank you.” She spun around again and threaded her way through the mass of people.
Michael’s full attention was fixated on Scarlet’s enticing backside and the small, tight ass he wanted to fuck.
He wondered if she was as spirited and adventuresome in the bedroom as she was out of it. Decided that was likely the case. And followed her.
Propping a shoulder against a jutting wall from the supply closet on the opposite side of the restrooms, in a dimly lit corner, he folded his arms over his chest and crossed his booted ankles, waiting for her.
When Scarlet caught sight of him minutes later and joined him, she had a curious look on her face. She asked, “Afraid I’d get lost?”
“Not in the least. I suspect you have no trouble at all finding your way around.”
“It took a little wandering about and a leap of faith to locate the entrance to this place. Why so covert about our date?”
“Adds an element of intrigue. I get the feeling you like it that way.”
“I do get a rush from it.”
“Hmph.” He reached for her hand again and tugged her closer to him. Then his head bent to hers and he murmured, “Let’s see what else you get a rush from.”
His lips slid over her glossy ones, which tasted faintly of vanilla and vodka. His groin tightened, his cock straining the zipper of his jeans. He snaked his arm around her and hauled her up against him just as his mouth sealed to hers. To hell with the few people coming and going in this area.
Her lips parted and his tongue swept inside to tangle with hers, sending fire roaring through his veins. Her body melded to his again, in complete surrender, and Michael took what she offered, deepening the kiss, intensifying it, silently telling her how hot he was for her.
Dancing with Scarlet had been an alluring temptation unto itself, with her breasts pressed to his chest and her sensational body rubbing against his. Add a scorching kiss to the scenario and he was quickly losing his mind for her.
The immediate and intense chemistry that had sparked between them when she’d appeared at his table at the lounge earlier had reignited when she’d been grinding along his leg. Now he felt a five-alarm rager building within him, and Michael yearned to do something about it.
Breaking the kiss, he led her across the hall and unhooked the chain blocking the access to the stairwell and the restricted area above that led to the catwalks. He gestured for her to precede him as he secured the chain behind them. At the top of the steps was an alcove shrouded by walls, though the sapphire lights reflected on the outskirts so that he caught the intermittent glimpses of Scarlet in the flickering illumination.
He backed her against a wall and kissed her. Her arms wound around his neck, the fingers of one hand plowing through his hair. Her body writhed, all her enticing curves and arousing femininity teasing his senses. This woman was a drug and he was instantly addicted.
He had one hand on her hip and the other skated up her bare thigh, from the top of her boot to the short hem of her skirt. His fingers slipped behind the material and grazed the triangle of her satin thong. Her drenched thong.
Lightning exploded in his head.
He ripped his mouth from hers. “Fuck,” he ground out. His fingers stroked her pussy lips through the soaked satin. “You’re so fucking wet,” he whispered in her ear.
“How can that possibly be a surprise?” she said on a broken breath.
“Scarlet.” His testosterone shot through the roof. His heart hammered in his chest. “I have to make you come.”
She let out a sexy moan over the clamor of the music and the throng below them. If one of the catwalk dancers ventured to the edge of their stage, he and Scarlet might be discovered. But he’d already noted the women in pattern and they lingerie’s generally stuck to the midsections, where they were better viewed by the audience.
Even if anyone could catch a glimpse at this secluded spot, they’d only see the shadow Michael created with his back to them. Scarlet was well concealed by his larger frame. So he didn’t give another thought to not having absolute privacy. Just fell into the fated moment and let his rampant desire for her take over.
He whisked aside the material at her apex and his fingertips brushed over her moist folds.
Her body jolted at the intimate contact. “Jesus,” she muttered. And tightened her hold on his strands of hair.
Michael stroked slowly at first, then circled her clit, the knot of nerves swelling under his touch. His mouth crashed over hers once more and he engaged her in another blazing lip-lock as two fingers sank into her and he pumped assertively, the heel of his hand rubbing against her clit.
He absorbed the tremors running through her. Determined to get her off. Needing to get her off. His fingers were coated with her cream and he stroked more fervently, until she tore her mouth from his and gasped.
“Oh, God.” Her nails dug into his nape. Her tremors turned into quaking.
“You’re so damn close.”
So damn fast.
“Yes.”
He quickened his pace, his fingers plunging deep, until he found the spot. And worked her feverishly.
“Michael.” Her head fell back; her eyelids fluttered closed. “Right there. Oh, God, yes. Just like that…”
He took the opportunity presented and his lips and tongue skated up the long column of her neck. In the far recesses of his mind, he cataloged every catch of her breath, the sweet taste of her, the smell of her, the feel of her. The stimulating sound of her throaty moans.
He pumped a bit faster. The heel of his hand massaged her clit a bit harder. He sensed the moment she was about to come undone and nipped at her skin, just below her ear. Then murmured, “Lose it for me, baby.”
Her inner muscles clenched his fingers. She cried out.
“Oh, yeah,” he said on a low groan, everything inside him pulling so tight it was a wonder he didn’t erupt right along with her.
Her pussy milked his fingers as she rode out the orgasm, clinging to him, her breaths mere whimpers of ecstasy.
“You’re driving me wild,” he told her.
When the quaking of her body eased into a mild tremble, he withdrew from her. Stepped away to get a grip on himself. His back pressed to the wall opposite her and he watched the blue and silver strobes reflect against her flushed skin as she fought for longer, steadier streams of air.
That she’d been so damn wet for him before he’d even touched her and had come so quickly made him even harder. Made him want to shove her skirt up and drive deep into her.
She seemed to know it. Closed the gap between them. As she stared up at him with lust in her eyes, her hands slipped under the hem of his shirt. Her fingers traced the grooves of his abdomen before her palms flattened against his solid muscles and slid upward to his chest.
Michael clasped her hips and lowered his head, drawing her into another sizzling kiss.
Her hands skimmed down his stomach again and around to his back, exploring liberally, getting him hotter, then splaying over his shoulder blades. He cupped her ass cheeks, kneading them as he rubbed his erection against her mound.
Christ, he needed to be inside her. And it wasn’t just to sate his own voracious sexual appetite. He desperately wanted to set her off again, with his cock thrusting into her until she fell apart and screamed his name as she came.
He wasn’t sure he’d ever wanted a woman so badly, so urgently.
So when her palms slid away from his shoulders and her fingers toyed with the silver buckle on his belt, it took all the restraint Michael possessed to cover her hands with his to stop her.
Every fiber of his being burned to let her unfasten his jeans, to coax her to her knees in front of him and allow him to fuck her mouth, to have her swallow him down, drain him, quell the throbbing—the aching—between his legs and low in his gut.
But even that wouldn’t be enough. And he knew it.
Breaking their kiss, he told her, “Not here.”
He twined his fingers with hers and led her downstairs. She willingly followed, not even asking where they were going.
“Where’s your claim ticket?” His voice was gruff with the need clawing at him, shredding him from the inside out.
With her free hand, she retrieved the slip of paper from her purse and gave it to him. He collected her coat and helped her into the full-length garment. He tipped the check girl and then guided Scarlet out of the club. They walked the alley in silence and rounded the corner of the building. Took only a few steps before they reached the car waiting for him, provided by the Crestmont.
The driver was on the ball, catching sight of Michael in the rearview mirror and jumping out of the vehicle to open the back door just as Michael and his date reached it.
Scarlet eased onto the leather seat and Michael slipped in beside her.
He couldn’t quite decipher what the hell had come over him—from the moment he’d met her. It wasn’t in his nature to take a woman back to his hotel room. If he had an itch that needed to be scratched, he’d go to her place. Keep things casual, allow for a convenient, no muss–no fuss exit when they’d both had their fill.
But he wasn’t looking for a fast fuck and quick escape this time. Otherwise, he would have used his dick instead of his fingers when he’d had the sexy investigator pinned to the wall.
Unfortunately, it was damn near impossible to keep his hands off her. As the car left the curb, his palm slid over her bare thigh, his fingers grazing the inner portion.
The side of his hand glided along her folds through her panties. She coiled her arm with his, her breasts pressing to his biceps. She wriggled on the seat next to him. Her breathing turned thin and raspy. She nuzzled her face in the crook of his neck, but he heard her murmur, “I need to come again.”
“Soon.”
“Now.”
His cock still throbbed in wild beats. His balls pulled tight. It’d behoove him to adjust himself, but he didn’t move. Scarlet was tangled up in him and used her hand on top of his to force him to rub her clit with more pressure as she apparently tried to keep her writhing inconspicuous. But they were riding in a fully loaded extended town car with a privacy window, so Michael didn’t worry too much about discretion.
He told her, “I want you naked, beneath me.”
She moaned. “I don’t know what the hell you’re doing to me, but it feels damn good. All of it.”
“I’m just getting started. Wait until my head is between your legs.”
Her eyes lids drifted shut. “Oh, God.”
He bit back a triumphant grin. Said, “I’m dying to eat your pussy. Taste you on my tongue. Make you beg for more.”
“Michael,” she said on a velvety breath. “I’m going to—”
“It makes you hot, doesn’t it? Knowing what I want to do to you? Knowing what I’m going to do to you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to fuck you hard,” he whispered in her ear. “Are you ready for that?”
Her eyes snapped open and she stared at him, a bit dazedly. “Yes.”
“Are you on the pill?”
She nodded.
“And—”
“I haven’t been with anyone in over two years.”
His jaw clenched. That was a damn shame considering how passionate she was. Conversely … It was advantageous for Michael.
“I’ve been tested. And Scarlet”—his breath rustled strands of her auburn hair as he told her, “I want to come inside you.”
Then he kissed her. Fiercely. Felt the shiver run through her.
He stroked that swollen pearl between her legs a bit more forcefully.
Her inner thighs squeezed their clasped hands.
She jerked her mouth away and buried her face against his neck again.
“Oh, God,” she squeaked out, obviously trying to quiet herself. “Michael. Oh, Christ.”
Her teeth sank into his skin, stifling her cry as she came. Her body vibrated against his, her panties even wetter than before. Making him insanely hard.
All he had to do was palm his cock through his jeans and he knew he’d explode.
It was damn tempting. Because she had him clinging to the ledge, dangling by his fingertips.
His head fell back against the top of the seat and he stared up at the ceiling of the car, fighting for just enough composure to keep it together a few minutes more, hating that they weren’t in his hotel suite already. He swallowed down a lump of desire and willed some control when all he really wanted to do was haul her into his lap so that she straddled him and let her ride his dick until they both let go and gave in to the free fall of a powerful release.
He still had one hand wedged between her thighs and he raked the other through his hair. Wished his heart weren’t slamming against his ribs.
Her lips smoothed over the spot on his throat where she’d bitten him. She hadn’t drawn blood, but he was damn certain there were teeth indentations in his flesh. He didn’t care about that. What mattered was that he could make her come so hard she nearly took a chunk out of him. And he hadn’t even gotten serious yet.
The car reached the hotel and a valet opened the door. Michael stepped out, uncomfortable as hell and tugging Scarlet along with him. She kept herself glued to him, a little unstable on her four-inch boot heels. He knew it wasn’t from the martini. And gloated inwardly over how he’d completely unraveled her.
Though he couldn’t be too cocky. She was doing the same to him.
They walked through the lobby, mostly empty this time of night. Entering an elevator, Michael inserted his electronic key into the slot above the panel of buttons and hit PH for the penthouse.
They traveled in silence up to the top floor, but the air between them, surrounding them, was sexually charged, crackling with anticipation. It felt like an eternity before the elevator came to a halt. He grabbed his card key and headed for the double doors of his room, Scarlet keeping pace with his brisk stride.
Once inside the penthouse, he tossed the key on the table in the center of the foyer and pulled her farther into the suite, primarily cast in shadows, aside from the dim glow of strategically placed security lights and the wall of windows with the drapes swept away to reveal the San Francisco skyline, featuring the landmark Transamerica Pyramid.
He shrugged out of his leather jacket and left it on a sofa. Then he hastily untied the sash at her waist and divested her of her coat. His fingers curled around the material of her skirt, just below her hips, and he yanked the dress up and over her head, adding it to the mounting pile of clothing.
His jaw worked rigorously as he took in the sight of her in a red satin and black lace bra, matching panties, and the sexy as sin thigh-high boots.
There wasn’t a woman on the catwalk back at the club who could hold a candle to her. Scarlet Drake was perfection in his eyes.
Michael would have taken a moment to thank his lucky stars that this gorgeous creature was single and standing in the middle of his living room, but he couldn’t keep his hands off her that long.
As his mouth crashed over hers, his arm slipped around her and he unfastened her bra with the pinching of his finger and thumb. Still kissing her, he whisked the lingerie away and then cupped her breasts, every one of his nerve endings igniting as he caressed the full, firm mounds and brushed the pads of his thumbs over her puckered nipples.
She gripped his biceps and held on as he backed her up against the oversized desk. His hands left her breasts and he grabbed her about the waist to hoist her up so she sat on the mahogany surface.
He caught the sides of her skimpy thong in the crook of his index fingers and stripped the material away as she lifted slightly to facilitate the undressing. He left her boots on.
His forearms hooked the backs of her knees and he spread her legs wide, with both heels planted on the desk. She flattened her palms against the surface at her hips. Licked her lips and gave him a provocative look.
“You know I want you,” she said. Stirring his emotions as much as she ratcheted his lust.
Michael’s fingertips glided along her pussy lips. “You know what I want first.”
He sank to his knees and blew a breath over her glistening flesh.
She let out a small cry.
He held her thighs open as his tongue slowly, lightly, caressed her tight, highly tempting pink parts. Sampling her. Teasing her.
She threaded her fingers through his hair again. “This is about to get out of control, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Though he was fairly certain it already had. He’d purposely evaded her for months. Then he’d taken one look at her and he’d had to have her.
At the moment, however, he was solely dedicated to pleasuring her with his mouth.
He spread her folds with his thumbs and his tongue fluttered over her clit. Her hips jerked as she gasped.
“Michael,” she said on a sharp moan. “It’s been forever since anyone’s done this to me.”
“You taste so damn good,” he muttered. Then continued flickering his tongue against the little pearl.
Her inner thighs quivered. Her breathy pants of air filled the otherwise quiet room.
Michael alternated his technique from the flitting to a long lapping motion to the flitting. He could feel the ribbons of excitement race through her, sensed her restlessness as she clutched thick locks of his hair.
He tugged on her folds with his lips, making her whimper.
“That feels incredible,” she told him. “Everything you do feels so incredible.”
“Wait’ll I fuck you.” He toyed with her further by circling her opening with the tip of his tongue before penetrating the narrow canal.
“Michael!” Her hips rose off the desk. “Oh, God. You’re going to make me come again.”
That was certainly the plan. He went back to licking the swollen knot of nerves as he eased one finger inside her. She pressed herself more firmly to his mouth, her pelvis undulating with his rhythm. He worked in a second finger and pumped vigorously. She was dripping wet, her cream coating his tongue and his fingers.
He was rock-hard and wasn’t quite sure how he was going to survive a few more minutes of not being buried in her warm, slick depths. But he was still a man on a mission.
His mouth left her pussy and trailed upward, over her belly to her breasts as he stood. His tongue curled around a beaded center. He continued massaging her inner walls with a steady, purposeful pace, the pad of his thumb rubbing her clit at the same time.
He drew her nipple into his mouth, his teeth gently scraping.
“Yes,” she said. “I love that. Suck my nipples.”
He paid the other one the same attention.
“Oh, yes. Oh, God, yes.”
Michael was caught between the torment of being so damn close to exploding and the erotic pleasure of pushing her higher. Enjoying her body. Thriving on the way she responded to him, the trembling that besieged her and the scarcity of her breath.
She’d come even harder this time. He’d make sure of it.
He kissed her passionately. Stroked faster. Then broke the kiss and returned to her nipple with a stronger suctioning.
“Michael!” she called out. Her inner muscles clenched at his fingers as she climaxed. Clenching so damn tight, making him crazed because he wanted it to be his cock her pussy contracted around.
He didn’t withdraw from her as her hips continued to roll and she stole the last vestiges of orgasm.
Michael left feathery kisses along the tops of her breasts, across her collarbone, up her neck.
“Think I’ve died and gone to heaven,” she whispered.
“Not yet. I’m not done with you.”
“There won’t be anything left of me when you are.”
He kissed her, then said, “I think you can handle it.”
“Then don’t hold back.”
His gaze locked with hers. “I don’t intend to.”