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“Only when I know I’m going to win,” she conceded, looking down at her menu rather than meeting his dark-eyed stare across the table.
She thought for a minute of her last assignment. Her photography work gave her a chance to capture and highlight the best in people—and the worst. She was good enough to catch plenty of both, and not everyone was pleased with the results. Her most recent job had turned dangerous when the nation she’d been visiting had politely, but firmly, requested she remove herself from within their borders. It was clear that if she ignored them, their next request would not have been so civil.
On that particular assignment, she’d taken a gamble and she’d thrown in her hand before things got uglier. But she’d be heading back, as soon as she completed her next cookie-cutter job—one of the dull but easy assignments that gave her a measure of financial security. The new catalog shoot would be a walk in the park compared to her usual work and even though it wasn’t as challenging on a social or emotional level as her preferred projects, it would ensure she had sufficient funds to head back to the war-torn country she’d just left to finish what she’d started.
“Do you win often?”
His voice was soft, like velvet, and she felt something deep inside her answer its challenge.
“As often as I can.”
“It’s hardly gambling when it’s a sure thing,” he commented before picking up his menu.
“You can’t blame me for playing it safe.” She nodded toward the printed card in his hands. “What do you recommend?” she asked.
“Everything’s good here but the lamb, in particular, is my favorite.”
“Good. I’ll have that then.”
He closed his menu and put it down. “Just like that? You don’t want another half an hour to peruse your choices and change your mind a half dozen times?”
“Why? Is that what you usually do?” she teased, knowing full well the answer would be an emphatic no.
He gave a slight shake of his head. “I prefer not to waste time. I’ll order for us both.”
“Thank you. I’d like that.”
She watched carefully as he called the waiter over and placed their order, including a bottle of wine. Again the staff showed him that same respect they had before.
“You must tip really well,” she mocked with a laugh. “I swear that guy was about to offer you his firstborn child.”
“Hardly,” Ethan responded drily before realizing that she was still teasing. “Ah, I see, you think it’s fine to bait me? Okay then, I’ll bite. Since you’re clearly not in the habit of bribing waitstaff into providing good service, what do you do with your money?”
“My money?” Isobel pulled a face. “What I don’t use for travel I try to use to help support worthy causes.”
“Seriously?” His face pulled into a frown. “That’s very philanthropic of you.”
“I barely make a difference,” she said, a note of sadness creeping into her voice as she remembered the helpless futility of some of the people she’d tried to help. “For myself, I’ve learned to need very little.”
“What about when you grow older? How will you support yourself then?”
“I’ll worry about that when it happens.” His frown deepened, prompting her to ask, “You don’t approve?”
“I didn’t say that. Different strokes. I’m involved in a family business. We work together, socialize together—we’re all striving for a common goal. With the business we have, we’re looking forward to the future every day. I can’t imagine just living in the day and not planning ahead. But then, as a family business, there are plenty of other peoples’ futures at stake than just my own.”
“I’m the only one affected by my decisions,” she said simply, “which definitely has its advantages.”
Ethan smiled back at her, and she knew that in some way, even if it was small, he probably envied her freedom. Most people did, but without realizing that it came with its own personal cost at the same time. Ethan clearly had a network of people to help and support him, while Isobel was very accustomed to being on her own.
She took advantage of the companionable silence between them to study him some more. In the subdued lighting of the restaurant, his lean features were all shadows and light. His nose a long straight patrician blade, his upper lip narrow but with a perfect bow to it, the lower lip fuller, enticing. His hair was worn short and controlled but she could detect the faintest of hints of curl in it and she wondered what he’d look like if he let it grow out a bit more, let himself look a little less disciplined and a lot more wild. Her fingers itched to reach for her camera in her pack and to shoot off a series of pictures of him.
The tingle that had started in her body earlier ramped up a notch, sending swirls of heat spooling through her belly and lower. The strong shadow on his jaw showed he was probably a two-shaves-a-day man, but somehow she knew she liked him better like this. Less polished, more primal. She squeezed her thighs together as a surge of desire arrowed direct to her core, and in that moment Isobel knew she was probably going to sleep with Ethan whatever-his-last-name-was tonight and, more, that she wanted to—very, very much.
Two
The food was delicious and she was glad she’d left Ethan to make their selections. She slipped up a little sauce from the edge of her plate with a finger and licked it off, her eyes closing briefly to enjoy the blissful flavor just that bit longer. When she opened them again, she caught Ethan staring at her. That earlier thrill of desire jolted through her again and she saw a flare of reciprocal interest light in his eyes.
What would he be like as a lover? she wondered as she broke eye contact and reached for her wineglass. He wasn’t her usual type, which was probably a male version of herself—free-spirited, unfettered, casual. No, Ethan was definitely different. He exuded stability and strength, not to mention an unfair dose of sex appeal, and she found the combination fiercely compelling.
“Tell me about your travels,” he said, leaning forward to top up her wineglass with a little more of the very fine merlot they’d enjoyed with their meal.
So far they’d kept their conversation very general and superficial. So much so that neither of them really knew much about the other. Isobel preferred it that way. She didn’t like to share too much of herself—at least not more than she was prepared to. She found so many people were critical of her attempts to expose some of the better-kept secrets regarding atrocities against children and families overseas. It was safer, she’d found, to be judicious with the information she shared.
She found it easy to fill the next hour with flip conversation of some of the funnier exploits she’d experienced. Ethan leaned back in his chair and laughed heartily at her recitation of her reaction to a giant centipede coming out of the hole in the ground she’d been using as a toilet during a trip through Nepal. Her own lips turned up in response to his unfettered joy. He had a great laugh, she decided. She liked it when a man could really give in to mirth. It was, in her mind, a good indicator of just how much he’d give in to anything else he was passionate about. Right now, she hoped that was her.
“Can’t say I have anything in my experience to equal or better that,” he said through his laughter. “And none of that puts you off or makes you want to take a more mainstream route?”
“No.” She shook her head. “You don’t really see the world as other people are forced to live it when you do that.”
“Interesting choice of words.”
“What?”
“Forced. Aren’t most people living the life of their choice?”
She gave him a pitying smile. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“I believe it’s up to each individual to choose his own path.”
“In a perfect world, maybe. Not everyone has the privilege of a perfect world.”
Ethan considered her words before responding. “You’re right. I’m being too general and thinking only in terms of here and my life, my choices.” His face suddenly became serious and she felt his withdrawal as if it were a physical thing when in reality, he was no farther away from her than he’d been two seconds ago. “Even I don’t have control over everything in my world.”
He said it so bleakly, Isobel wondered for a moment what had happened to him that was so terrible. She reached across the table, pressing her fingertips lightly on the back of his hand where it rested on the pristine white tablecloth.
“I’m sorry,” she said simply.
“Why sorry?”
“You strike me as the kind of guy who likes to be in charge of what happens.”
“Yeah, I am,” he admitted with a rueful smile. “And at least I can be in charge of how I react to what happens, right?”
They turned their conversation to more general topics after that, Isobel wringing more laughter from Ethan and reveling in the fact that she could. Seeing that glimpse of vulnerability in him had only made him even more attractive to her. It took a strong man to admit his weaknesses and she was hardwired to appreciate a strong man.
They’d been lingering over their coffee and dessert when she saw Ethan look at his watch. Around them, the restaurant had all but emptied.
“It’s getting late,” Ethan said. “Is there anywhere I can drop you off?”
“Oh, I’ll be fine. I’ll just check into the nearest hostel or hotel,” she answered blithely, though she was admittedly a little sorry that their evening was drawing to a close.
The attraction she’d felt toward him all through the meal had only sharpened as she’d spent more time with him, and she wondered if perhaps he was too much of a gentleman to expect their evening together to lead to anything more. As much as she respected honor in a man, she wasn’t feeling particularly honorable herself right now.
“You haven’t booked anywhere?”
“No, I just flew in this afternoon. But it’s no problem. There are a few places within walking distance of here, aren’t there?” She could see Ethan bristle at the thought and she couldn’t help the chuckle that bubbled from her at the expression on his face. “I can look after myself, you know.”
“Like you did back at the pub?”
“I would have shaken him off eventually.”
“Yes, it certainly looked that way.” His delicious mouth firmed into a straight line.
“Hey, it’s not a problem. I can get the restaurant to call me a cab if you’re that worried. I only need a place for a night, anyway.”
One night? One night of no questions, no answers. No recriminations. He would probably never see her again. One night of freedom, of passion. Ethan’s mind expanded on the idea with the velocity of bush fire and with more than a hint of its searing heat, as well. He spoke before he could overthink the situation and talk himself out of the idea that had bloomed in his mind. If she went for it, all well and good. If not, no harm, no foul.
“Why not stay with me? I mean, I have an apartment here in the city. There’s more than enough room for you, as well.”
To his surprise her smile widened.
“I’d like that.” She hesitated a moment before continuing. “I’d like to stay with you tonight.”
A knot of tension coiled tight in his gut. Did she mean what he thought she meant or had his simmering libido simply heard what it wanted to hear? In his whole life he’d never had a one-night stand—had considered them to be the mark of a person with little control, and even less respect for themselves. But his body burned in a way it had never burned before. Still, he felt obligated to be a gentleman about this.
“I have a couple of guest rooms. You can take your pick.”
“Oh, I don’t think that will be necessary,” she replied softly. “Do you?”
He swallowed and shook his head. “Not if you’re comfortable with that.”
She laughed, the sound thrilling across his raw nerves like a soothing caress. “Oh, I expect to get really uncom- fortable, don’t you? Come on, let’s go.”
Ethan was unused to someone else taking the lead but he couldn’t deny the primal surge of attraction that flooded his body at her confidence. For once, the important decisions didn’t lie solely with him. He didn’t have to be the responsible one. He could just relax into doing what felt right. And this felt very, very right.
Without taking his eyes from her face, he gestured to the waitstaff for their bill. It felt like forever before the account was settled, with his usual generous tip added. Then he was hefting Isobel’s pack up over his shoulder again. With his free hand he reached for her, threading their fingers together—the palm-to-palm contact hinting at the intimacy yet to come.
The short cab ride to his apartment building was executed in silence, the distance between them in the back-seat of the cab miles rather than mere feet. But the instant they alighted, Ethan drew Isobel to him again. She looked up at the midrise apartment building and flicked him a wicked smile.
“Penthouse, right?”
He gave a small groan. “Guilty as charged.”
“I love a view,” she replied as they entered the building and took the elevator to the top floor. They entered a private foyer and Ethan watched as Isobel walked across the hardwood floors through a double-story-height room. She came to a halt in front of the wall of glass that looked out through the darkness, over Kurrangga Park and beyond.
“This is definitely a view,” she said softly before turning around to face him. “But I think I like this view better.”
She crossed the floor toward him as he placed her pack on the floor behind one of the oversize cream leather couches. As he straightened, her small hands slid around his waist beneath his jacket.
“Yeah, I definitely like this view better.”
Isobel lifted herself on tiptoe and her lips caressed his ever so gently, like a butterfly kiss. As soft and near ephemeral as her touch was, the impact on his senses was so strong that it was as if someone had ignited every nerve in his body. He could feel her warmth even though she barely touched him. His nostrils flared as he breathed in the light essence of her scent. It wasn’t enough. His hands reached for her, pulling her hard against him, absorbing her as her curves settled against the hard planes of his body. He lowered his head, watching as she lifted her face to him, her eyelids fluttering closed, her lips parting ever so slightly.
And then he kissed her as he’d been unconsciously dreaming of doing from the moment he’d first seen her. She was the perfect balance to him, light to his darkness, pliant to his inflexibility, warmth to the coldness that had settled deep inside him today. Resolutely he pushed all remembrance of what had led him to cross the same path as Isobel from his mind. She was here. He was here. That was the only thing that mattered in this moment.
Her lips were smooth and soft, her tongue a tiny dart that met his and tangled in a hot mess of need and desire. Her hands ripped at the buttons of his shirt, sending them bouncing onto the floor. She pushed the fabric open, baring his chest and belly to her touch. Her fingers spread across his skin, leaving a searing trail wherever she touched.
Ethan lifted his hands to her hair, letting the shoulder-length, silky strands run through his fingers as he reached to cup the back of her head and draw her even closer. He pressed his hips against her lower belly, instinctively seeking some relief for the increasing pressure that built in his groin. She pressed back and he groaned. He felt her hands skim across his belly to the belt of his trousers, where nimble fingers slid the leather free from its buckle, and began to unfasten his waistband. And then, mercifully, her hand was gripping him through his briefs, her fingers firm yet gentle at the same time. But he didn’t want gentle. Not yet.
He ground against her hand and felt her answering response as she gripped him tighter. At the same time his fingers worked against the knot that bound the halter of her dress at the nape of her neck. The fabric finally gave way. Ethan pulled back from her slightly, allowing the top of her gown to slide down over her breasts, exposing them to his hungry gaze. Her nipples were a delectable, soft, peachy-pink, drawn into taut buds that begged for his mouth. He cupped one breast in his hand, rubbing the hard nub of her nipple with his thumb as he bent his head to its partner, drawing the tender flesh into his mouth and rasping its tip with his tongue.
A shudder passed through Isobel’s body, a soft mew of pleasure emitting from between her lips. Ethan transferred his attention to her other breast, laving it with the same attention before he pulled back and bent slightly to slide one arm behind her knees and sweep her up into his arms. Her hands linked behind his neck and she pressed her lips against his chest as he strode to the master bedroom. Her teeth scraped across one nipple, making him almost stop in his tracks as a jolt of sheer lightning passed through his body. But he regained his focus, eventually shoving open the door that led into the bedroom where he slowly lowered Isobel to her feet.
She shimmied her dress over her hips, stepping out of the pool of fabric at her feet, even as she reached for him again. Dressed only in heels and the barest scrap of silk panties, she shoved his jacket off his shoulders and then dispensed with his shirt the same way. Ethan tugged down his pants and kicked off his shoes. He skimmed his socks off as he pushed his trousers away and reached for Isobel.
They tumbled to the bed together in a tangle of arms and legs, each trying desperately to get closer to the other, all the while touching and exploring the skin now exposed to them. He wasn’t sure later how she engineered it, but she ended up straddling him, her legs trapping his thighs as she leaned down to trace his collarbone with the tip of her tongue before moving lower until she licked and nipped again at his nipples. His skin had never felt this sensitive, his responses this intense. He’d never felt so powerless, nor so empowered at the same time.
Even so, it wasn’t in him to simply lie there, supine. Ethan stroked his fingertips over the tops of her thighs, then followed the line of her hip as it curved down along the edge of her panties and into the shadowed hollow of her core. He slid one finger under the flimsy covering, tugging the material aside and exposing her as a true blonde in the dimly lit room. She was wet and hot as he traced his finger around her moist flesh, dipping into her center. She ground against his hand, moaning her pleasure. He pressed his palm against her, even as he slid a second finger inside the scalding grip of her body. Again she pushed against him, her hips moving in a tight circle.
She ceased her exploration of his torso, sitting more upright, allowing him deeper access to her. He looked up at the vision of sheer femininity that hovered above him. Her eyes were open, staring straight into his, as if she could see into his very soul. Her breasts were small, perfect globes that shimmered in the half-light, her nipples drawn into concentrated buds. He stroked his fingers along her inner passage, pressed more firmly with his palm. Her body began to tremble, her stomach muscles—already flat and toned—tightening visibly as her whole body grew taut. And then he felt her crest the pinnacle of pleasure. Her inner muscles squeezing in paroxysms of satisfaction, her thighs shaking, a keening sound of fulfillment escaping from her, even though she had caught her lower lip between her teeth.
Ethan rose up and deftly moved her so she was beneath him, his hands now drawing her panties off her body, his fingers tracing the long, lean muscles of her legs. Once the lacy scrap was discarded, he slid her high-heeled sandals off her feet, massaging the instep of each foot before running his hands back up her legs again. The well-trimmed thatch of hair at the apex of her thighs glistened with the evidence of her gratification, and he nuzzled at the blond hair, inhaling the musky scent of her before exposing the swollen nub of flesh hidden inside. He traced a circle around the shining pink pearl with the tip of his tongue.
“Too soon,” she protested weakly, her body still quivering with the aftereffects of her orgasm.
“Trust me, it’s not soon enough,” he argued, closing his mouth over the tumescent bead and gently scraping his teeth over its surface.
Isobel all but leaped off the bed, her hips surging upward in response to his action. Ethan swirled his tongue around her again, soothing her, before repeating the action with his teeth. She may have been in control of her last peak, but he most definitely would be driving her to her next. He increased the pressure of his tongue and began to suckle firmly. The next time he softly closed his teeth on her he felt her break, her body at first stretched as tight as a bow before the arrow of physical delight flew free, turning her muscles slack and supple beneath him.
He brushed his tongue over her again, then again more soothingly, until he finally withdrew from her and dragged himself up and over her.
“You okay?” he murmured, his hands now stroking her belly, tracing her rib cage and moving slowly to rest against one breast. Beneath his hand he could feel her heart hammering in her chest.
“Okay? Yeah, I think I’m just a bit more than okay,” she said, smiling as she caught his face between her hands and kissed him. “But what about you?”
She flexed her pelvis against him.
“We’re going to take care of that right now,” he said. Supporting his weight on one arm, he reached with the other into the drawer of the nightstand.
He shook out the box of condoms he withdrew and grabbed one packet.
“Here, let me,” Isobel insisted, taking the condom from his hand and tearing the foil open.
She slid the sheath from its confines and positioned it over the aching head of his erection before deftly sliding it over his length. It took almost every ounce of his control not to lose it as, once he was protected, she slipped her hand between them and positioned him at her entrance. She gasped as he probed her swollen, slick flesh, the sound vibrating through him as he fought to prolong this moment for as long as humanly possible.
Then, so slowly that it made his body shudder with the effort, he sank within her inviting depths. Her body gloved him, fitting so perfectly that he knew he would not be able to maintain this level of control for more than mere seconds. Bliss flooded him in an instant—potent and undeniable.
He moved within her, her hips rising to meet his every thrust, each one more powerful than the last, the rising pleasure becoming more exquisitely intense with each stroke. And then, he was there—sensation pulsating through his body and catapulting him into a place he’d never experienced so deeply before. He held her firmly to him, his forehead resting on hers, their rapid breaths mingling in the minute space between them. When he made to pull away, Isobel’s arms closed around him.
