“You look unbelievable,” he says, eyes shifting to my breasts. And I believe him.
I come first, beneath the steady movement of his thumb and the deep movement of him inside of me. Hands bracing on his chest, I speed up through my orgasm, body shuddering.
I open my eyes to his pleasure-pained expression. He’d held off, but judging by the sheen on his forehead, it cost him. I kiss him. He lifts his hips and then I’m the one holding on, face buried against his neck, as he fucks me with piston-strength. Thrusts turn erratic and he growls into my ear as he explodes, emptying himself inside me.
I’ve never heard a hotter sound than Victor St. Clair losing control.
His chest rises beneath mine, strong arms wrapped around my back. I close my eyes and breathe in the scent of him, soap and shampoo and the briefest hint of aftershave.
“Who are you?” he mutters into my hair. “Accompanying me to dinner without your panties. Sending me nudes at work.”
I chuckle. His eyes are molten and sated, the furrow gone from between his brow.
“I’m not sure,” I say. “But it seems to be working on you.”
“That’s an understatement.”
I kiss him again, my lips soft now, and settle beside him on the bed. His arm is beneath my head and his wide chest rises with his labored breathing. He stares up at the ceiling.
“Good thing you didn’t put no physical relations into our contract,” I say. “Or we would both be in breach.”
“This,” he says, “was not something I anticipated.”
“Neither did I.”
He runs his free hand through his hair. I doubt he’s the kind of man who cuddles. I shouldn’t press, and yet… I can’t let this opportunity go. I turn on my side and put my head on his shoulder.
Victor doesn’t react either way, just looks up at the ceiling. His Adam’s apple moves beneath his stubble as he swallows.
“Thank you for carrying me upstairs last night,” I say.
It takes him a while to reply. “Steven uses the gym some mornings,” he says. “Couldn’t let him see my wife like that.”
The words ‘my wife’ feel like they rattle around in my head, in my chest, taking root.
“I have to leave for a conference next weekend,” he says. “It’s Exciteur’s big—”
“Conference. I remember. In Boston.”
“Right. You know about it.”
“I organized Mr. Conway’s flights there last time, and I did yours as well.”
“Come with me,” Victor says. He raises his left hand and strokes it over my back. “I’ll have a suite. You can work during the days. We can have dinner at night. Do this.”
I bury my head against his shoulder. The part of me that he’s just teased into orgasm wants to say yes to that. Three days at a hotel with him, with this, with one giant bed and bathtub and shower.
But I don’t want to accompany him just to be available for sex. He has his job and I have mine… and sex can’t just be a perk. Another part of our deal.
It doesn’t have to mean a lot, but it has to mean something.
20
Cecilia
“Let me get this straight,” Nadine says on the other end of the phone. “You’ve slept together multiple times now. He has apologized for how he treated you as his assistant, which he should have done a long time ago, by the way, and invited you along as his sex toy at a conference.”
“Christ.”