His Forbidden Conquest: A Moment on the Lips / The Best Mistake of Her Life / Not Just Friends - Kate Hoffmann 3 стр.


Nothing. The jacket and skirt are fine. There was a slash of colour over his cheekbones.

So what was bothering him? Her top? Her shoes? Anger flared. The woman shed been last year wouldnt have thought twice about taking off her jacket, strutting round to his side of the desk and teasing him, and she could see in his face that he thought he knew her type; his research mustve dredged up a hell of a lot of dirt. No wonder he wasnt taking her seriously. Well, lets play your little game, Signor Romano, then Ill show you just how wrong you are about me when I turn you down cold.

She stood up, slid the jacket off her shoulders and rested it over the back of her chair. Is this the problem? She fingered the spaghetti straps.

His eyes were very, very dark. Youre playing with fire, Princess.

You started it, she pointed out. So whats the problem with my top?

He swallowed hard. Youre asking me?

Youre the one with the problem.

He raked a hand through his hair. OK. If you really want to know its distracting.

So was he. Especially because tonight there was the faintest hint of stubble on his faceand it made her want to touch. It made her want to know how it would feel against her skin. Distracting, how?

I thought I was supposed to be the one asking the questions?

Distracting, how? she repeated.

Because its designed to make a man wonder if youre wearing anything underneath it.

This time there was a definite challenge in his gaze. Hot. Sultry. She could see how much he wanted her. OK, so it was mutual. But she could keep her head. Push him that little bit further. She gave a half-shrug. Theres only one way to find out.

His breathing was fast, shallow. Just like hers.

Show me, he whispered.

The words were soft, sweet as honey and sexy as sin. The ultimate temptation. Yeah. She could play this game. And then shed stopbecause she could.

She pushed one spaghetti strap down her shoulder. Then the other. Adrenalin throbbed through her veins. Would he make a move now?

But he was waiting.

Not patiently. The tension was coming off him in waves. Any second now his control would snap. Any second

Show me, he repeated.

This was where she was supposed to switch it back to him. Beckon. Let him come and find out for himself.

But her body wasnt paying any attention whatsoever to her head. She couldnt think of a smart retort. All she could think of was how much she wanted him. Wanted this. So she found herself pulling the stretchy top down. Little by little. Every millimetre of skin she uncovered felt unbearably sensitive. Tingling. Worse still, she wanted him to touch her. Desperately. She needed to feel his hands on her skin. His mouth.

The top was pushed down round her waist, now, proving to him that she was wearing a bra. One without straps. Lacy and black, to match her top.

So now you know, she said shakily.

Yes. He moistened his lower lip. We still have a problem.

She knew that. Her breasts felt heavy. Aching. If he didnt touch her right now, she was going to implode. Dante, she whispered. Please.

A millisecond later, he was round her side of the desk and his mouth was jammed over hers. It felt less like a kiss than a declaration of warand he wasnt going to take any prisoners. Which was fine by her. She didnt want him to. She needed thisand she needed it now.

His fingers dealt with the hook on her bra in a nanosecond, and she couldnt help a moan of pleasure when he let it drop to the floor and cupped her breasts. Strong yet sensitive hands. Gorgeous hands. And she wanted more. His thumbs circled her nipples, teasing her and driving her just that little bit more crazy. Her breasts felt so tight; she really wanted his mouth there to ease the ache. She pushed against him, telling him with her body exactly what she needed.

He dragged his mouth from hers, then slowly kissed his way down her throat.

She really was going to go insane if he kept this up. If he made her wait a single second more. She pushed her fingers through his hairso soft and silky against her skinand dragged his head down to where she wanted it. She shuddered as his mouth closed over one nipple and sucked. Dante. Yes. The word dragged out in a hiss of desire.

Then she felt his hand moving her skirt upwards. She changed her stance slightly to make it easier for himand so hed get there quicker, too, because she really needed this.

She sighed in pleasure as he stroked her inner thigh, and then his hand cupped her sex. Only the thin barrier of her knickers was between them now and that felt way, way too much. She needed to be skin to skin with him. Right here, right now.

As if he could read her mind, he hooked the material to one side. His finger stroked along the length of her sex, and she rocked against him. And then, oh, bliss, he pushed a finger inside her. She nearly cried with relief, it felt so good.

He was kissing her again, and she was kissing him back, pushing her tongue against his and rocking against his hand.

His thumb found her clitoris; as he touched her, it felt as if she were going up in flames.

And then, shockingly, she was coming. Harder and faster than she could ever remember.

The climax left her drained; all the tension and misery of the last few days were simply washed away in a rush of desire.

And then she became aware of just where they were. Standing next to her desk. Her top was pushed down round her waist, her skirt was hiked up to meet it, his hand was in her knickers Whereas he was fully clothed. Not a thing out of place. Completely in controlwhile hers was in tiny, tiny shreds.

She closed her eyes. Oh, God.

He gently caught her lower lip between his teeth. Whats the matter, Princess? he whispered against her mouth.

She felt like a tart. You know, she whispered back.

Mind-reading isnt one of my skills, Im afraid. There was an amused glitter in his eyes. Youll have to be a little more specific.

He really wasnt going to let her get away with this, was he? Shed just have to try to brazen it out. Its just a bit awkward. Youre fully dressedand Im Practically naked.

You look pretty good to me, right now. He stole a kiss. But you have a point. This isnt what mentoring is supposed to be about. He removed his hand from her knickers, restored order to her skirt and slid the straps of her top back up her arms.

She grabbed her jacket and shoved it oneven though she knew that it was pretty much closing the stable door after the horse had bolted.

He knew it, too. Because he was smiling.

She glared at him. Dont you laugh at me.

Im not. His smile broadened. OK. I admit, Im laughing at you just a little bit. Putting on that jacket isnt going to stop me remembering what you look like without it, Princess.

It wasnt doing anything to stop her remembering what it felt like to be practically naked in his arms, either. Or how hed just stroked her to a quicker climax than shed ever achieved in her entire life.

Ill wear something frumpy, next time, she muttered. And then well both be able to concentrate.

Sure. Though his expression was saying something else entirely. Dont bet on it.

Sure. Though his expression was saying something else entirely. Dont bet on it.

What the hell had she just started?

My office. Eight oclock tomorrow night, he said. Your email address?

She had just enough brain cells working to let her scribble it down on a piece of paper.

Good. Ill email you some things to work on before then.

And then he was gone. Making her feel more like a tart than ever. Hed thought she was propositioning him, when she hadnt been. And then shed thrown herself at him. Practically stripped for him. So much for thinking she could prove him wrong about her. Shed just reinforced every single prejudice he had about her.

Talk about a mistake. She hadnt learned a thing. Dante Romano wasnt even her type. She normally went for refined, arty, intellectual types. Not brooding men whose thought processes were so far away from her own that she didnt have a clue what was going on in their heads.

OK, so he was drop-dead gorgeous. But that still didnt mean she shouldve thrown herself at him like that. And the fact that she hadnt dated anyone over the past year was no excuse at all.

She covered her face in her hands. Tomorrow, shed have a cold shower before she went to his office. A very long cold shower. And maybe shed be able to keep this damned attraction under control long enough to get him to take her seriously and save her grandfathers business.

CHAPTER THREE

DANTE scowled at his computer.

His concentration was shot to pieces, and it was all Carenza Toniellis fault.

Well, maybe not all hers. He couldve said no.

And he definitely shouldnt have said that about her clothes being distracting. Because knowing exactly what she looked like under themand what her skin felt like against his mouthwas a damn sight more distracting than what hed imagined.

For pitys sake. He didnt have time for this. And he didnt want to get involved with a high-maintenance woman whod demand his time and his complete attention, and have hissy fits all over the place when she didnt get her own way.

What had just happened between them definitely wasnt going to be repeated.

And he wasnt going to let himself wonder about how it would be to sink into her warm, sweet depths. To feel her body tightening round his. To

Oh, just get on with it and focus, he told himself sharply, and opened up his email.

He dealt with the first three messages as economically as he could. But he couldnt stop thinking about Carenza.

And it really annoyed him that hed lost control like that, instead of keeping things businesslike.

OK. Obviously he needed to get this over with so he could get her out of his head. He opened a new email.

Tomorrow, bring your USP and competitor analysis.

That was better. To the point, businesslikeand mentorlike.

Right. Now he could go back to his business. Focused, the way he always was.

And then his computer beeped.

The email was from Carenza.

USP???

He rolled his eyes and hit the reply button.

Unique selling proposition. What makes you different from the competition.

He thought about it after hed sent it. Clearly she wouldnt have a clue about competitor analysis, either. He added another email.

Change of plan. Ill pick you up at 4 p.m. tomorrow and do the first competitor analysis with you as a blueprint.

A very humble reply arrived:

Thank you very much.

Strictly speaking, he already had enough on his plate.

Franchising Dantes was going to take all his time, and then some. Carenza Tonielli and sorting out the gelati business were distractions he really didnt need.

But he felt he owed Gino, for giving him that first break.

He pushed away the thought that it wasnt the only reason hed agreed to mentor her, and sent her another email.

Dress like a tourist. See you at 4.

Dress like a tourist. Which meant what? Carenza wondered, the following morning. Last night, hed said he wanted her to dress like a frump.

Just before his hand had been in her knickers.

At her instigation. Even though shed intended to stop well before then.

This was bad. Really bad. She needed to clear things up before she could face him again. And she couldnt possibly ring him. It was too, too embarrassing to speak about. She took refuge in the distance of an email.

About last night I dont normally do that sort of thing. Can we please pretend it didnt happen?

He made her wait for an hour before he replied.

Which bit?

Oh, now that was unfair. He knew very well what she meant. Clearly he was going to extract every gram of humiliation out of this.

Not the mentoring. The other bit.

And she wasnt going to write that down.

O. Sure.

Her face flamed. She knew hed deliberately missed off the h. A big O, indeed. He was obviously enjoying this. Shed just bet thered been a big, fat, mocking grin on his face as hed typed that, and it made her want to punch him.

At the same time, she was aware that last night had been really one-sided. That shed been the only one whod climaxed. Shed simply taken everything he was prepared to give.

And she didnt normally act like that. She hadnt even dated since last yearsince those terrible few months where shed gone completely off the rails and slept with way too many Mr Wrongs. Her friends all said shed gone too far the other way now and was too picky, but the men whod asked her out had bored her. Theyd been too fond of their own reflections in the mirror. And she was tired of getting involved with men who didnt meet her needs. It was easier just to have fun with her friends and forget about relationships. Besides, she had a feeling that Toniellis was going to take up all her energies for the foreseeable future.

And Dante Romano was her mentor. Just her mentor. This was business. Theyd agreed to forget about last night.

So just what did tourists wear? Frumpy ones, in particular? She didnt actually own anything frumpyand, given the state of the books, it wasnt a good idea to go anywhere near a clothes shop to buy something especially for this afternoon. Not even a charity shop. In the end, she compromised with jeans and a little cardigan over one of her favourite strappy tops, and pulled her hair back into a neat ponytail. She thought about the shoes, then slid on a pair of her favourite designer heels. Being a tourist didnt mean that you had to wear flip-flops or scuzzy trainers, did it?

Dante called for her at four on the dot, and she had to fight to keep her jaw closed. When he was a shark in a suit, she could just about cope with him. But what he was wearing made her want to rip his clothes off him right there and then. A black vest T-shirt, a pair of faded denims that looked incredibly soft and touchable, a black leather jacket and a pair of suede desert bootstopped off with a pair of dark glasses. He hadnt shaved since yesterday. His hair was slightly rumpledenough to tell her that it curled when it was wet.

And the bad boy look really, really suited him.

Назад Дальше