"Yes, and I"m glad she"s here for you now, Dad."
Olivia watched as Orin"s blush deepened. "Everything between me and Cathy is strictly business."
She was forced to hide her smile behind the rim of the coffee cup she"d brought to her lips. "Of course, Dad. I wasn"t insinuating anything."
Half an hour later, after her father had left for work, Olivia decided to get dressed and go to the park and paint like she had planned to do the day before. She was about to head downstairs when her cell phone rang. For some reason, she knew who the caller was without looking. Her heart skipped several beats before she clicked the phone on. "h.e.l.lo."
"Please meet with me again, Olivia."
She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply as the sensuous sound of his voice floated through her. "Reggie, I thought we decided that we wouldn"t see each other again."
"I thought so, too, but I couldn"t sleep last night. Thoughts of you kept invading my mind. I want to see you, Olivia. I want to be with you. Meet me today at noon. The Saxon Hotel. The same room number."
Her mind was suddenly flooded with memories of everything that had taken place in that room. And he wasn"t the only one who"d been unable to sleep last night. Her body had been restless. Hot. She had dreamed of him several times, and at one point she had sat on the edge of the bed for what seemed like hours, recovering from the pleasurable memories that had swept through her, interrupting her night and filling her with a need she had never felt...until meeting Reggie.
"Will you come, Olivia? Please."
His voice was deep, quiet, yet persuasive. The sound of it poured over her skin like warm cream, and she couldn"t fight it, because deep inside she wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her.
She needed to see him again, to know, to understand and to explore the pull between them. Was it just s.e.xual, or was it something else? Despite her decision not to become involved with him, she knew that she had to be with him at least one more time. These memories she was collecting would have to be enough to sustain her for the rest of her life.
"Yes," she said finally. "I"ll meet you at noon."
Reggie paced the hotel room, glancing at his watch every so often. It was a few minutes before noon. He had had a news conference at nine but hadn"t counted on a slew of reporters bombarding him after the news conference was over. Nor had he counted on the rumor that had quickly spread that his accounting firm, which employed over a hundred people, was facing possible bankruptcy and definite layoffs.
It was a lie that could easily be proven false, but not before ma.s.s pandemonium erupted at his business, and he"d spent part of the morning calming his employees" fears. He didn"t have to think twice about where the lie had been generated, which made him angrier than h.e.l.l. He"d never suspected that Orin Jeffries would allow his campaign staff to stoop so low.
For a moment he"d thought he would have to cancel this meeting with Olivia, but a part of him had refused to do it. She had consented to meet with him, and he would have moved heaven and h.e.l.l to be here. Now he couldn"t help wondering if she would show up. What if she had changed her mind? What if- At that moment the door opened and Olivia walked in and his entire body went completely still. It seemed as if his heart picked that exact moment to stop beating. He was very much aware of how good she looked dressed in a pair of black tailored slacks and a light blue linen blouse.
She closed the door behind her and leaned against it, saying nothing but holding his gaze as intently as he was holding hers. He could now admit that although he had been drawn to her lips, the total package was what had captured his interest. She had the kind of presence that demanded attention, and just like at the Firemen"s Masquerade Ball and yesterday, she was getting his again today. In droves.
In addition to checking her out, he was trying to get a read on her but couldn"t. The s.e.xual chemistry had hit the airwaves the moment she had walked through the door. With them, it couldn"t be helped. But what about her att.i.tude? he wondered. She had said yesterday that she didn"t want them to become involved. Yet when he had defied her wishes and had called and asked her to meet with him here, she had accepted.
What was she expecting from him? What was he expecting from her?
He definitely knew what he wanted, but wanting and expecting were two different things. For the moment he was just glad to have her here, in this hotel room, alone with him. Had she come to spend time with him or to chew him out for having the audacity to call and ask her to meet with him? He was certain he was about to find out.
"h.e.l.lo, Olivia."
"Reggie." And then, with her gaze still locked firmly with his, she moved away from the door and walked toward him.
His heart somehow began beating again, and it was only when she came to a stop directly in front of him that he allowed his gaze to shift and took note of the cut of her blouse. The low, square cut showed the nice swell of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. They were b.r.e.a.s.t.s he had tasted before and was dying to taste again. Not surprisingly, something primal stirred inside him. His heart rate increased, and he breathed in deeply as a way to slow it down.
He cleared his throat. "I ordered lunch," he heard himself say and watched as she glanced behind him to see the table that had been set for two. "I"ll call them to deliver the food when we"re ready to eat," he said and drew a somewhat shaky breath.
She reached out and smoothed her hand along the back of his neck. "Are you hungry now, Reggie?" she asked, her voice an octave lower than he remembered.
He swallowed thickly. The feel of her fingers on his skin was pure torture. "It"s up to you, since you"re my guest."
A smile touched her lips at the corners. "In that case, we can wait. I"d rather do this now." And then she leaned up on tiptoe and connected her mouth to his.
At that moment whatever control he had been holding on to broke, and he instantly swept her into his arms without disconnecting their mouths. He wanted to head directly for the bedroom, but at that moment the only thing he could do was stand there with her in his arms and savor her this way, not sure when or if he would be granted the opportunity to do so again. He intended to make this their day, just like Sat.u.r.day had been their night.
On the way to the hotel, Brent had tried to pin him down as to where he was going. He had told his friend that he was to be disturbed only if there was an emergency. He could tell Brent had wanted more information, but none had been forthcoming. What he did on his personal time was his business, and this lunch was on his personal time. And he was feasting on what he enjoyed most. Olivia"s mouth.
He wasn"t sure what had changed her mind since yesterday, when she had been adamant about not getting involved with him, but he was just glad she had. There was only so much a man could take.
He finally pulled back from her mouth. It was then that she nuzzled against his ear. The tip of her tongue trailed a path beneath it, and then she whispered. "I want to make love with you again-"
Before she could finish her words, he headed in the direction of the bedroom, sidestepping the table set for two. She laughed when he gently tossed her on the bed, then captured her laughter with his mouth when he quickly joined her there. And then it was back on. The heat was blazing. They didn"t have a moment to waste, and they both knew it. As they lay fully clothed in bed, with their mouths joined in the most intimate way, their tongues dueled, tangled and mated. She refused to stay still. She was moving all over the place, and he eventually placed a thigh over hers. She had become wild, so bold and wanton. And he loved it.
She pulled her mouth back and met his gaze, their hearts pounding loudly in the room. "Make love to me, Reggie. Now," she said.
She didn"t have to say the words twice. He moved off the bed and quickly undressed, trying not to rip the b.u.t.tons off his shirt in his haste. And then, when he was completely naked, except for the condom he had taken the time to put on, he went for her, pulled her toward him to remove her blouse and bra before tackling her shoes, slacks and panties.
When he had pulled the latter two down her hips to reveal the lushness of her feminine mound, he knew he had to taste her right then. He tossed the items of clothing aside and held down her hips at the same time that his mouth lowered to her, kissing her intimately, with a hunger and greed that made her tremble and moan incoherently. But he didn"t let up. His tongue was desperate to reacquaint itself with the taste it had relished on Sat.u.r.day, and he intended to get his fill. And her body responded, generating the sweetness he wanted, and he mercilessly savored her.
He felt her hands lock around his head as if to hold his mouth in place, but that wasn"t needed. He wasn"t going anyplace until he got enough, and that wouldn"t be anytime soon. He proved his point by plunging his tongue deeper inside of her, absorbing the wetness of her sensuality, which was being produced in abundance just for him.
Reggie finally pulled back and licked his lips, while his eyes traveled down her entire body, taking in every inch and every curve, the texture of her skin and the fullness of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, which seemed to be begging for his mouth.
Leaning upward, he brushed his lips against a taut nipple, liking the sound of the quick breath that got caught in her throat. He proceeded to sample her nipples, finding both tantalizingly hot.
"Come inside me, please."
Olivia"s tortured moan had Reggie moving his body over hers. When his heated shaft was at the opening of her feminine mound, he met her gaze, and then, with a hungry growl, he pushed deep inside of her.
Olivia closed her eyes as pleasure washed through her. What was there about being joined to Reggie that made her feel such joy, such mind-blowing pleasure and such spellbinding ecstasy? She felt him lift her legs, and she wrapped them around his waist while he thrust inside of her with whipcord speed and precision. Everything about him was affecting her in an elemental way, and she could barely stifle her moans as she was consumed by a tide of red-hot pa.s.sion. It was only with him that she could feel not only taken but possessed. Only with him could she be not only driven but also contained. And he was making love to her without any restraint and with a voracious need, which was fueling her own. And every time the hard muscles of his stomach pressed against hers, pinning her beneath him, she trembled from the inside out.
And then an o.r.g.a.s.m rammed through her. Never before had she felt anything so profound. She cried out his name. And he used his tongue, lips and mouth to absorb her cries of pleasure, her moans of pa.s.sion. Instead of letting up, he pressed on and thrust deeper.
The flames ignited, flared and then burned in the very center of her, and when an explosion ripped through her a second time, he was there, and she felt his shaft expand before exploding in his release. And as pa.s.sion tumbled her over into the depths of turbulent, sensual waters, she cried his name once more before she felt herself drowning in a sea of ecstasy.
Propped up on his elbow, Reggie stared down at Olivia. In the middle of the day, she had actually drifted off to sleep. He smiled, understanding why. He had shown her no mercy in taking them both through waves and waves of pure pleasure. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard the sound of his cell, but at that moment he chose to ignore it. His main focus, his total concentration, was on the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on.
He glanced over at the clock on the nightstand. They had been in the room for two hours already-two hours of nonstop lovemaking in which he would get hard again before even coming out of her. They would start another bout of lovemaking right on the tail end of the previous one. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. He felt totally obsessed with this woman.
He could vividly recall the first moment he had seen her at the Firemen"s Masquerade Ball. He had known then, just like he knew now, that she was the one that he would make his. At the time he just hadn"t known the depth to which he would do so. Now he did.
And he also understood why his brothers and cousins seemed so happy these days, so blissfully content. They had been able to find that one person who they knew was their soul mate. The question of the hour was, how was he going to convince Olivia that she was his? Especially considering the fact that they were sneaking around just to be together.
He wanted to introduce her to his family. He especially wanted her to get to know his mother and his brothers" and cousins" wives. He wanted to take her to the Westmoreland family reunion, which would be held in Texas at the end of the month. He wanted to take her to one of Thorn"s motorcycle races later this year. There were so many things he wanted to share with her. But the most important thing of all was his life.
There was no need to tell her that he loved her, because she wouldn"t understand that one thing about being a Westmoreland was recognizing your mate when you saw her or him. Although, he thought, with a smile, he would have to admit some of his cousins and brothers had refused to accept their fate at first. But in the end it hadn"t done any good. Love had zapped their senses just the same. And it had done the same thing to him. It had hit him like a ton of bricks on Sat.u.r.day night, and like his parents, he had fallen in love at first sight.
She had her defenses down now, but he wouldn"t be surprised if they were back up before she left the hotel today. It didn"t matter. He was not going to let her deny them what was rightfully theirs to have. She didn"t know it yet, but in time she would. No matter what the situation was between him and her father regarding the campaign, it had no bearing on the two of them.
He noticed her eyes fluttering before they fully opened, and then she was staring up at him. She had to be hungry now. He would feed her, and then he would make love to her again.
Or so he thought. Suddenly she lifted her body and pushed him back onto the covers to straddle him, placing her knees on the sides of his hips to seemingly hold him immobile. She tilted her head back and looked down at him. And smiled. He felt the effects of that smile like a punch to his gut, and his shaft suddenly got hard, totally erect.
"I thought you would be hungry," he said, reaching out and placing the palm of his hand at the back of her neck.
"I am," she whispered, holding his eyes with her own. "For you."
He drew her head down to brush his lips against hers. "And I for you."
When he released her mouth, she glanced at him with a confused look in her eyes. "What are you doing to me, Reggie Westmoreland? How do you have the ability to make me feel wild and reckless? Make me want to yield to temptation?"
A hot rush of desire sent shivers through his body. "I should be asking you the same thing, Olivia Jeffries."
And then she lowered herself on him, and he knew it was a good thing he"d already donned a new condom, because there was no way he could have said stop when she embedded him inside of herself to the hilt. The look on her face told him that she was proud of her accomplishment. She had wanted, so she had taken.
And then she began moving, slowly at first and then with a desperation that sent fire surging through his loins and made it feel as if the head of his shaft was about to explode. But she kept moving, dangling her twin globes in front of his face with every downward motion.
He reached out and grabbed hold of one, brought it to his mouth, and she threw her head back as she continued to ride him in a way he had never been ridden before. The woman had power in her thighs, in her hips and in her inner muscles, and she was using them to make shivers race all through him.
In retaliation, he covered her b.r.e.a.s.t.s with his kisses, using his lips and tongue to push her over the same edge that he was close to falling from. And when an explosion hit, he bucked until they were almost off the bed, but then her thighs nearly held him immobile. His body was locked so tightly with hers, he wondered if they would be able to separate when the time came. And at that moment he really didn"t care if they couldn"t. He would love to stay inside of her forever, in the place where he would one day plant his seed for their child.
That thought triggered another explosion inside of him, and he groped hard for sanity when Olivia came apart on top of him. Her inner muscles clamped him tightly, and she drew every single thing she could out of him. His lungs felt like they were about to collapse in his throat when he tried to keep from hollering out. Burying his face in her chest, he found a safe haven right between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He knew from this day forward that whatever it took, one day he would make her totally, completely and irrevocably his.
"We never ate lunch, did we?" Olivia asked as she slid back into her slacks.
"No, and I owe you an apology for that," Reggie said, pulling up his pants. He stopped what he was doing and stared at her, watched how she was struggling with the b.u.t.tons on her blouse.
"Come here, Olivia."
She glanced over at him and smiled before crossing the room to him. "I don"t know why I wore this thing when it has so many b.u.t.tons. It"s not like I didn"t know that you would be taking it off me."
He didn"t say anything as he took over b.u.t.toning her blouse. She was right. It did have a lot of b.u.t.tons. That wouldn"t have been so bad if his attention hadn"t been drawn to her flesh-toned bra. "Your bra is my favorite color," he said, smiling down at her.
"I figured as much when I put it on," she said, grinning. "You were right. Flesh tone is a color."
"If you"re hungry, we can still-"
"No. I noticed your cell phone went off a few times. You need to get back to work."
He chuckled. "Have you noticed the time, Olivia? The day is practically over. We"ve been here for five hours. It"s past five o"clock." And he really wasn"t bothered by it. "There. All done," he said, dropping his hands to his sides before he was tempted to do something, like pull her into his arms and kiss her.
"Thanks. Now I definitely need to know something," she said, looking up at him.
"What?"
"Do you have stock in this place?"
Another smile touched his lips. "Wish I did, but no."
"Then what kind of connections do you have?" she asked, with an expression on her face that said she was determined to know.
"My connection is my brother Quade. Dominic Saxon is his brother-in-law. Both recently became fathers. Quade has triplets-a son and two daughters and Dominic"s wife, Taylor, gave birth to a son a few months ago."
"Oh. Proud fathers, I gather."
Reggie smiled. "Yes, they are."
He slipped into his shirt while he watched her stand before the dresser"s mirror to redo her makeup. Although he knew he would probably get some resistance, he decided to go ahead and have his say. "I got the room again for this Sat.u.r.day night, Olivia."
Olivia met his gaze in the mirror before slowly turning around to stare at him. He had just issued an open invitation, and it was one he wanted her to accept. She continued to stare into his dark eyes, and then she shifted her gaze to study his face. There was something, something she couldn"t decipher, in his eyes and on his face.
"Coming here today was risky, Reggie," she finally said softly.
"I know," was his response. "But I had to see you."
"And I had to be with you," she said honestly.
Too late she wondered why she would admit such a thing to him, but deep down she knew the reason. She wanted him to know that she had wanted to be here and that she thought their time together was special.
Reggie crossed the room to her, and without giving him the chance to make the first move, she reached up and drew his mouth down to hers. And he kissed her with a gentleness that he had to fight to maintain.
When she released his mouth, he gazed down at her. "Sure you had enough?"
She licked her lips. "For now." She then smiled. "I"ll get the rest on Sat.u.r.day."
He lifted a hopeful brow. "You will come?"
She smiled. "Yes, I will come."
Although he knew they needed to finish getting dressed and be on their way, he reached out, caught her around the waist and pulled her gently into his arms, immediately reveling in the way her body seemed to cling to his, perfectly and in sync. And then he lowered his mouth to hers for a kiss that would keep him going strong until Sat.u.r.day night, when they would come together once again.
Eight.