Brant tossed the pencil on the desk. He needed to get these reports out, but his mind kept dropping back to Kia. Could he accept she wasn’t a gold digger? Her answers had made sense, but isn’t that what con artists did? They conned you into believing what they wanted you to believe.
And all these weeks she’d been living a lie by pretending to be involved with Phillip. Had even let herself become engaged to him. Just as Julia had lived a lie. Until she’d run off with his own brother.
Hell. He thought he’d been hearing things when Kia had told Lynette she didn’t love Phil the way a woman should love a man. She’d lied to him, dammit. He’d asked her straight out if she loved her fiancé and she’d said yes.
Why? Because she knew he’d have her in bed in no time, that’s why. She wouldn’t be able to help herself. She’d wanted to make love with him, too.
Yet how different she’d been to the experienced women he usually bedded. Women who proudly strutted their stuff. Women who took the initiative, the way he liked. Women who hadn’t shattered in his arms as Kia had. Her passion, her innocence in this way, convinced him she hadn’t been with a man or come alive under a man’s mouth in years. That was something in her favor. Surely a gold digger wouldn’t hesitate to use her body to get men to fall in love with her? Oh, hell. He just didn’t know what to think anymore.
What he did know was that she’d been perfect. Had tasted better than perfect. It’s the reason he’d held himself in check and not taken her fully as he’d ached to do. He wanted to love her slowly, take his time, make up for all those weeks of aching. Tonight he’d brand her with his body and make her his.
When he opened the door to his penthouse that evening, Brant almost forgot to breathe. The soft blue material of Kia’s dress bared her tanned shoulders and arms and fell lovingly over the length of her body to just above her knees, in a simple design that would have looked plain on another woman. Yet on her it looked stunning. She couldn’t look unattractive if her life depended on it.
He stepped back to allow her to enter. “Relax. I’m not going to ravish you on the spot,” he said, even if the thought was more than tempting.
She moved past him in a cloud of perfume that was endlessly alluring, then stopped in the middle of the room and faced him, the light of battle entering her eyes. “That’s a relief,” she quipped, a becoming flush staining her cheeks.
He closed the door, knowing he could always count on her to be defiant even in the most difficult of circumstances. And this had to be the most difficult for her ever. But her uncertainty didn’t change a thing. They would make love tonight.
“Take a seat while I pour you a drink.” He gestured to the black leather sofa. “Gin and tonic, right?”
“Extra large.”
“Oh, no, you don’t,” he drawled. “I don’t want you to forget a moment of tonight. I certainly don’t intend to.”
She moistened her lips. “Brant, I think this is a mistake. I shouldn’t have come.”
“It isn’t a mistake. It’s called being grown-up. It’s about being adults over a situation that we both clearly need to address.”
Her chin rose in the air. “I thought it was more childlike when you give in and take what you want.”
“Ah, so you admit you want me,” he said as he poured the drinks at the bar.
She glared at him. “I think we should leave things as they are. My being here will only complicate matters.”
He picked up the glasses of liquid and walked toward her. “A complication I’ll willingly embrace, if you’ll pardon the pun.”
She ignored that as she accepted her glass. “How do you know I won’t be faking it? After all, I faked the engagement and you never knew the difference, for all your extensive experience.”
“I suspected something was amiss.”
Her mouth set in a stubborn line. “I did it for a reason. To help Phillip.”
“And to keep me at arm’s length.”
“It worked.”
“And now it doesn’t. Accept it.”
Her blue eyes lit with anger. “Look, you said yourself that I’m a gold digger. If you want a woman tonight, why pick on me? Wouldn’t any body do?”
His amusement deserted him. “No,” he said tersely. No other woman in the world would do. It was the reason he hadn’t returned any of his women friend’s calls. Why he hadn’t made love in weeks now. The reason he’d thrown himself into his work even harder. And why he’d been so bloody snappy with everyone lately. It just hadn’t been humane that the one woman who turned him on had been involved with his business partner.
He expelled a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Yes, she had been involved with Phil. Had been untouchable. Had been out of reach.
But she was no longer.
He nodded at the sliding glass doors. “Let’s go out on the balcony. We can have dinner out there.”
Her shoulders stiffened. “I’m not hungry.”
“Then perhaps we should give dinner a miss?”
She immediately stepped forward and strode past him to the balcony, her set mouth telling him what she thought of that idea.
“I figured that would change your mind,” he murmured, following her over to the railing, where she stood looking out over the spectacular sunset view of Mindil Beach and Darwin Harbor. It was glorious out here at any time of year, but during the beginning of the wet season, like now, he loved watching the incredible lightning displays that lit up the sky most nights.
Yet tonight the only thing he wanted to light up was the woman standing next to him. He turned to look at her. The evening sun reflected on the delicate contours of her face, giving her a special glow, making her look more beautiful.
“Do you have to look at me like that?” she said in a throaty voice, a blush creeping into her cheeks.
“Yes,” he said huskily. Right now he didn’t think he’d ever get enough of looking at her.
She swallowed hard. “You’re not making this any easier for me.”
“Nothing worthwhile is ever easy.”
She turned to face him, her expression growing resentful. “That’s the attraction, isn’t it, Brant? You couldn’t have me, so you decided you wanted me.”
“I admit I like a challenge.” His eyes dipped to her parted lips. “But wanting you wasn’t a decision I chose to make. I took one look at you and knew the decision had already been made for me.”
“How nice,” she said with false sweetness.
He smiled. She could fight herself all she liked, but it wouldn’t make one speck of difference. She would be in his arms tonight. And in his bed. He was sure of that.
“Shall we eat?” he said and took great pleasure in placing his hand under her elbow to lead her over to the small dining table in the middle of the balcony. Her shiver was from desire, he saw it in her eyes, and it sent a hunger for more than food racing through him. But he could wait. He wanted to savor her first.
They dined on prawn cocktail as an entrée, followed by a grilled lamb with zucchini and tomatoes that his housekeeper had made. Brant watched in amusement over Kia’s attempt to go slow as she chewed each mouthful as though it was the last food she’d ever eat.
“This is very good,” she said, taking another tiny bite of the lamb. “Did you cook this yourself?”
He shot her a mocking smile. “Do I look like a cook?”
She stiffened. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with cooking. Lots of men like to do it.”
“And lots of men like to make love,” he said, purposefully seductive. “How many men have made love to you, Kia?”
She almost choked, then recovered quickly. “How many have you made love to?”
“I don’t find men attractive. Now women, that’s more my style.”
Her eyes filled with derision. “I guess it’s more an art form than a technique with you then.”
He leaned back in his chair, curious at her remark.
She pressed on. “I’d say you’ve had plenty of practice hav**g s*x.”
“True. But I’ve always practiced safe sex, so you have no worries on that score.”
“I’m relieved,” she said drily.
“It’s important, Kia.”
She sighed. “I know.”
“So, Kia.” He paused and took a sip of wine. “How many lovers have you had?”
“One.”
He arched a brow as the muscles at the back of his neck tensed. Could she really be as innocent as all that?
She shot him a defiant look. “Hey, you asked, so don’t blame me if you don’t like the answer.”
His eyes narrowed. “I know your game. You think I’ll back off if you tell me you’re inexperienced.”
She placed her fork on the table. “Actually, I don’t care what you think. It’s the truth.”
His gut clenched. “Tell me about it.”
“Why should I?”
“Because I want no more secrets between us, Kia. Not in bed, anyway.”
She considered him for a long moment. Then she said, “I lost my virginity at a party when I was fifteen. It was the one and only time I got drunk and I gave it away to the first boy that looked at me because my father had just gotten married and didn’t want his ‘plain-looking’ daughter at his wedding and I needed to feel loved. He didn’t even ask me my name.”
She said it so matter-of-factly that he believed her. He swore under his breath.
She shrugged. “I hardly remember most of it. I was just so lucky not to have found myself pregnant.”
He scowled. “The boy didn’t use protection?”
“I was too drunk to notice.”
“But surely—” His jaw clenched, then he forced himself to relax. “I’ll make a deal with you. We’ll make love, but if at any time you want me to stop, I will.”
Her throat convulsed. “You’d do that?”
Something softened inside him. “I want a willing female in my bed. I don’t get my kicks from forcing a woman.” Rising, he held out his hand. “I need you. Need to make love with you, Kia Benton,” he said, deliberately saying her name, wanting her to know that he knew exactly who she was, unlike the boy who had stripped her of her virginity. “I promise you this won’t be like your first time.”
Chapter Seven
The evening breeze gently lifted the lace curtains away from the open window as Kia followed Brant into the bedroom. In a way, she felt like those curtains. As if she was lifting a part of herself, unveiling herself for him to see.
Yet it was a risky move to make, and for a moment she hesitated. Did she really want him to leap the boundaries she kept around herself? Today in his office she’d relinquished her body to him. But now, once his body was inside her, once he knew her so physically, what would happen to her emotionally?
Just then, he squeezed her fingers and she looked at him. The sheer depth of desire in his eyes made her shiver with longing. All her doubts disappeared.
“I want you, Brant,” she admitted, unable to stop the words from spilling from her. She couldn’t deny herself this. No matter what happened afterward, no matter what he thought of her, she would always have this memory. “I want you so much.”
Heat flared in his eyes. “Then you’ve got me,” he muttered, pulling her close.
She went willingly into his arms, the palms of her hands pressing against his chest, feeling his warmth and vibrancy through the material of his shirt.
“I have never had a more beautiful woman in my arms,” he rasped, his warm breath flowing over her.
“You make me feel beautiful,” she murmured. And he did. As if someone had waved a magic wand over her and turned her into more than she was.
She lifted her face for his kiss, and his mouth swept down and took possession of hers. And from that moment on she was his. Her need had been smoldering inside her for so long now. She needed this release.
His mouth moved against hers, silently telling her how much he wanted her. She reveled in it, opening her lips, letting him take whatever he wanted yet returning the favor. She wanted to be a part of him, so much a part of him that he’d never forget her.
The kiss deepened, lengthened. His hands caressed her spine through her dress, then eased down the zipper to stroke her bare skin, gliding up to the curve of her shoulders and provocatively pushing the material aside like a maestro playing their song.
He broke off the kiss and skimmed his lips along her jaw. Hypnotized by his touch, she arched her neck, as his mouth continued to her earlobe and then proceeded down the smooth column of her throat. He planted a tantalizing kiss at the hollow of her neck and she gave a soft moan and slid her hands beneath the material of his shirt, not prepared to wait another millisecond to touch him.
Her head spun at the first feel of his warm flesh beneath her tingling palms. “Oh, my God,” she whispered, the shock of his taut muscles running through her body even as she luxuriated in feeling the strong beat of his heart against her palms. Strong and fast.
“You’re playing with fire,” he said, shuddering, then stormed her mouth again in a kiss that sent her up in flames. At the same time he clasped her hips, grounding her against him. She’d felt his arousal once before when they’d danced together. This was different. This was her first full contact of him as a man. It stunned her. Delighted her. It made her ache for him.
He pulled away and in one swift motion tugged at her dress, letting it rush down her body and fall to the floor. But he didn’t stop to stare, though she felt his gaze on her. Her bra vanished next. Her panties followed. Then he swept her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed, laying her out on top of the comforter.