Seduced by the Rich Man
highlight_author
Maureen Child
highlight_reads
19,3K
highlight_chapters
12
One
Max Striver picked up his drink and let his gaze sweep the room. The club at Fantasies resort was packed with people drinking, laughing, dancing. The music was loud, and colored lights speared from the ceiling onto the writhing mass on the dance floor. A wall of windows overlooked the ocean and a bright moon spilled out of a black sky.
He leaned one elbow on the bar and took a sip of his single-malt scotch, letting the smooth liquor slide down his throat in a wash of heat. It had been so long since his last vacation, he felt out of place in the room full of partying people. And that wasn’t a feeling he was comfortable with. Maybe it had been a mistake to come at all. Maybe he should have stayed in London.
He smiled to himself. But the chance to steal away his old friend and competitor’s executive assistant had just been too appealing to ignore.
Still, he’d had no actual hope of hiring Caitlyn Monroe away from Lyon Industries. The woman was too loyal. But it had been fun to torment her boss, Jefferson Lyon. Max took another drink and laughed at the mental image of finding Jefferson sleeping on a chaise beside the pool that morning. Seeing the great Lyon brought so low was entertainment enough to keep Max chuckling for a long time.
“What’s so funny?”
Max shot a look at the brunette sitting two seats down from him at the bar. Her dark brown hair was short and spiky and her big brown eyes shone. Her skin was the color of warm honey and her body looked curvy under a pale green tank top and white shorts.
His own body tightened as he felt a stir of pure sensual interest. “Just thinking about a friend,” he said.
“And this friend’s funny?”
“Not purposely,” Max admitted, then asked, “Are you alone tonight?”
She shifted on the high red cushioned bar stool and swiveled it around until she was facing him. Tipping her head to one side, she smiled. “I was.”
Intriguing, he thought. He liked a woman who was up-front and not afraid to let her interest in a man show. He liked even more that his own interest was spiking. He’d been spending too much time with work lately. Hell, it’d been months since he’d had a damn date. But that looked as if it was all about to change.
“Can I get you another drink?”
She glanced at her nearly empty glass, then back at him. “I think that would be a good start.”
He signaled the bartender, then speared his gaze into hers. “Would you like to dance while we wait?”
She smiled at him and he loved the way her mouth moved.
“Another good idea,” she said and slid off the stool.
As if prearranged, the music shifted from pulsing rock to slow and smooth. Max guided her through the mass of people to a shadowy corner of the dance floor and pulled her into his arms. She fit against him just right, the top of her head hitting at his chin level. And when she swayed into him, Max felt his blood start to pump.
It had been far too long since he’d been with a woman. Far too long since he’d allowed himself a chance to relax.
The music poured over them in a silky wave and she tipped her head back to look at him. “I like your accent. British?”
His arm tightened around her waist. “Yes. You?”
“California.”
That explained the lovely tan, he thought and stared down into her deep, dark eyes. “And what brings you to Fantasies?”
“My friends.” Janine Shaker felt a ripple of something hot and swirly move through her. That accent of his was really doing a number on her hormones. Or maybe it was just him. Tall, with broad shoulders, a squared-off jaw and black hair that was long enough to brush across the top of his collar, he also had eyes the color of chocolate and a mouth that just begged to be kissed.
Oh, boy.
“So, not alone then.”
“My girlfriends,” Janine clarified.
She’d come to Fantasies with her two best friends, Caitlyn and Debbie. It had been her idea, though heaven knew, she couldn’t really afford this trip. But she and her friends had all been dumped by their fiancés over the last few months and this trip was supposed to be a life-affirming-screw-men kind of thing.
So Janine had taken the money she’d put aside for the wedding that had never happened and splurged it on a three-week trip to Fantasies. She’d go home broke, but she’d worry about that later.
At the moment, a man who was the perfect distraction had his arms around her and that was all she wanted to think about.
“Girlfriends, eh?” He smiled down at her and tightened his grip around her waist. “I’m relieved to hear it.”
“Are you?”
“Oh, yes.”
Seriously, that accent seemed to ripple up and down her spine with delightful results. She was probably making a mistake. Heck, she was sure of it. But she’d lived most of her life being a good girl. Doing the right thing at the right time. Never taking a risk.
And still her world had imploded around her.
Maybe it was time to stop being careful.
At least while she was at Fantasies. After all, the very name of the resort conjured up all kinds of wonderful images.
“Are you flirting with me?”
He thought about it for a moment, then grinned. “Yes, I believe I am.”
“Well, good,” Janine said. “I think I like it.”
His hand on her back slid up and down in a slow motion that might have been considered soothing, except for the flash of heat zipping through her body. “Then we’re well on our way to a beautiful new friendship, aren’t we?”
“Is that what you’re looking for? A friend?”
One dark eyebrow lifted. “For the moment.”
“And after this moment?”
“Let’s be surprised.”
Wow. He really was good at the flirting thing. A quiet but insistent voice in the back of her mind whispered a warning that a man like this wasn’t one to take chances with. He was too gorgeous. Too smooth. Too…everything. But it wasn’t as if she was looking for forever, was it? She’d tried that with John Prentiss, her former fiancé. She’d believed all of his lies. Believed him when he’d promised to love her forever.
She’d believed right up until the moment three days before their wedding when he’d disappeared, leaving behind only a note that read Sorry, babe. This isn’t for me.
So she was through with love. But that didn’t have to mean she was through with men. She was here. On vacation. In the splashiest, sexiest resort in the world.
Was she really going to lock herself up in her tiny room and be a good girl? Or was she going to do just what she’d told Caitlyn and Debbie they should all do? Find a gorgeous man and have mindless, meaningless sex?
With the feel of this man’s arms around her, Janine knew exactly what she wanted to do.
When the music stopped and shifted into another drum-driven number that had everyone on the floor jumping into action, Max steered her through the crowd, back to the bar and their waiting drinks. He sat down beside her and said, “I propose a toast.”
“To what?” She picked up her drink.
He clinked his glass gently against the rim of hers. “To possibilities.”
“I can drink to that,” she said and did.
“Are you going to tell me your name?” he asked, his beautiful brown eyes looking directly into hers.
She thought about it for a second, then shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“Because,” she said, swallowing her trepidation with a big gulp of her Cosmo, “if we introduce ourselves, then this becomes ordinary. No names means no expectations.”
He reached out and stroked the top of her thigh with the tips of his fingers. Goose bumps raced across her skin and she shivered in response.
“No names, then,” he agreed, leaning in closer to her. “So, mystery woman, would you like to join me for a walk on the beach?”
“Yes,” she said, still shivering at the soft touch of his hand on her leg, “I really would.”
The beach was nearly deserted, and the music from the club floated on the cool ocean breeze. Stars flickered on a blanket of black and the moon’s pale light shone down like a wash of silver.
As romantic settings went, Janine thought this one was an A-plus.
She should have been nervous. After all, this wasn’t like her in the least. Taking long, romantic walks at night on a beach with a perfect stranger. And yet, all she felt was the quickening of expectation. A flicker of heat inside that was as dazzling as the look in his eyes.
“How long are you here for?” he asked and his deep voice was almost lost in the sigh of the wind coming off the ocean.
“Three weeks,” she said. “You?”
“I don’t know.” He stopped, stared out at the water and tucked both hands into the pockets of his slacks. “Coming here was a whim.”
She bent down, picked up a broken seashell and fingered it for a moment before tossing it into the incoming tide. “Nothing you have to rush back to in your life?”
He glanced at her and smiled. She really did have an amazing mouth. “Not particularly.”
“Must be nice,” she said, staring out at the sea. “I practically had to give blood to get my boss to agree to three weeks off.”
“What do you do?”
She glanced at him and plucked windblown hair out of her eyes. “I’m a floral designer. You?”
“A little of this. A little of that.” He reached out and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“Well, that was vague,” she said.
“Do you really want to discuss our careers?” he asked.
“I guess not,” she conceded. “But at least tell me you’re not some jewel thief or something.”
He laughed and the sound rolled out around her.
“No,” he said. “Not a thief. Just a businessman, I’m afraid.”
“There are worse things to be,” she said, thinking of John Prentiss…liar, thief, con man.
“Besides,” he said, “isn’t talking about our work the same as exchanging names?”
“No. Work’s generic. Names are specific.”
“Ah, rules to this, then.”
“Aren’t there rules in everything?” She looked up at him briefly, smiled, then turned her gaze back on the ocean.
“Should be,” he conceded. “Though I confess, I’m enjoying the mystery you suggested.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because,” he said on a sigh, “there aren’t nearly enough mysteries in the world.”
When he took her hand and pulled her into the circle of his arms, she went willingly. Eagerly. He dipped his head low, tasted her mouth once, twice, and then devoured her.
Janine felt all of the air rush from her lungs and her heart pounded frantically in her chest. His kiss was electric. Dazzling. She felt every cell in her body leap to attention and shout for mercy.
But she didn’t want him to show mercy. She wanted him to touch her, taste her, hold her.
She didn’t care what his name was. Didn’t care that she knew nothing about him. Didn’t care that only hours ago, she hadn’t known he existed.
All that mattered now was his next touch. His next kiss.
His tongue parted her lips and she opened to him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she held on tight even as she went up on her toes to meet his advances. His arms vised around her body, pulling her close enough that she could feel the pounding of his heart against her own.
His hands moved up and down her back next, sliding over her clothes, slipping beneath her shirt to caress her bare skin. Every touch inflamed; every stroke made her want another.
He kissed her deeply, passionately and Janine’s head spun. She’d never felt anything like this. Hadn’t known she could feel like this. She trembled and moaned gently when he tore his mouth from hers to rake his teeth and tongue along the line of her throat.
“Lovely,” he whispered against her skin, “just lovely. I must have you. Now. Now.”
“Yes,” she said, tipping her head back so that she could afford him greater access to her body. She wanted his mouth on her, his hands on her. She wanted to feel his body push into her own and she wanted, more than anything, to experience the wild rush of an orgasm ripping through her system. Because she had a feeling this one was going to be a beaut.
He groaned deep in his throat and his hands slipped beneath her shirt, lifting it up and off her too-warm body. Instantly, the cool ocean wind slid across her skin, and became just another sensation whirling together her mind, her blood.
Bending low, he took first one pebbled nipple into his mouth and then the other. Janine could hardly draw breath. She couldn’t make herself concentrate on even that. All she could focus on was the feel of his hands and his mouth. The rush of her senses, the pulse of her heart.
One corner of her mind screamed at her that they were too close to the resort. That someone might wander down this deserted beach and stumble across them. But a part of her found that thought exciting. And she cringed away from that admission.
The simple truth was, though, that she didn’t care where they were. She knew if she didn’t feel him on her, in her in the next few minutes, her body was going to explode.
Stepping back from her, he lifted his head and glanced around them, assuring himself that they were still alone. Then he tore off his shirt, spread it out on the sand and lowered her onto it. The cool of the cotton felt good against her back, and when he undid the button and zipper of her shorts, Janine lifted her hips, helping him to rid her of the clothes that felt too tight, too uncomfortable.
The wind stroked her naked body and only made her feel more wanton. More wicked. She’d never been the kind of woman to do something like this. And now that she was, she found she liked being this kind of woman.
She stared up at him as he quickly shed his clothes, then knelt between her thighs. His hands roamed up and over her body, tweaking her nipples, sliding over her skin, dipping down into the warm cleft between her legs. He touched her there, intimately, and Janine jolted, hissing in a breath.
He loomed over her until all she could see were his eyes. The depths of them. The glittering shine of a hunger as fierce as her own.
Reaching up, Janine cupped his face in her palms and pulled him down for a kiss. She opened her lips for him; her tongue met his and they tangled together in a furious dance of desire and pleasure. She sighed, heard the heavy sound of it and did it again. Perfect. He was perfect.
She was still kissing him when he plunged his body into hers. Hard and thick, he claimed her, delving in and out of her heat with a passion that stole her breath. Again and again he took her, pushing her higher, faster, than she’d ever been before.
The quickening of her own desire enflamed her and Janine lifted her hips into him, over and over. Meeting each of his thrusts with a wild abandon that took him deeper and deeper inside her.
“I have you,” he said, his voice tight with need that still crouched between them like a hungry tiger. “And I want more. I want all.”
She gave him everything she had and took from him the same. His body pumped and hers kept pace. She raced with him to the precipice that nestled just out of reach.
So close, she felt it. So very close to the edge. Her nails scored his back, digging for purchase as if holding on to him was the only thing that mattered. And in that moment, it was. It was everything.
Janine felt the first spiraling flex of her muscles and knew what was coming. She braced for it, and still was unprepared for the gut-clenching, overwhelming rush of sensation crashing through her. She held on tight and groaned as she took that wild ride into oblivion.
And a moment later, he buried his face in the curve of her neck and followed, his hoarse shout muffled against her skin.
A moment later, Max came back to himself and couldn’t believe what he’d done. He’d taken her with no thought to their surroundings. No thought to safety.
He was still buried deep within her hot center and he knew he should be feeling bad about all of this. But he just couldn’t manage to.
Instead, he wanted her again.
As fiercely as he had the first time.
“That was—” she stopped, took a deep breath and exhaled again before finishing “—never mind. I don’t even have a word for that.”
“Nor do I.” He smiled and shifted on her, pleased when her eyes closed and a sigh slipped from her mouth. His body was hard and ready again, and from her reaction, he knew she was feeling the same need.
Music from the club drifted down to them and that was enough to make Max say, “I’m not finished. But I’d like to suggest we adjourn to my room.”
She licked her lips, sighed a little and said, “Oh, yeah. Good idea.”
