One Night Only, page 10
Lucas, already endowed with that effortless French charm, looked at Essie as if he possessed X-ray vision and could clearly see the delights the dress barely concealed. Well, fuck that. For as long as it took to extinguish this all-consuming need—one surely brought on by something in the English water—Ash would be the only one sampling anything Essie had to offer.
While he’d tied himself in knots, fucking around with trust and rules and control, the answer had been staring him in the face all this time. He was never more composed than when in the bedroom. She’d said she could separate sex from their professional relationship. Time to test the theory. A win-win situation.
Ash placed his hand in the small of her back, wincing when she turned a sharp glance his way, presumably with the shock. He didn’t need to explain his actions—he was done fighting this forest fire of need—and she’d suggested he take the driving seat. Time to buckle up, Ms Newbold.
‘Lucas, this is Essie Newbold, my manager. I’ve told her all about La Voute, so thanks for the tour.’ Now he wished he’d simply brought her to the club anonymously, because all he wanted to do was get her away from Lucas and onto the packed dance floor so he could legitimately put his hands on her some more and draw her close enough to feel those nipples.
Lucas laughed, took Essie’s hand and pressed it to his lips.
Smooth bastard.
He held out his arm and directed them to the bar. ‘The best way to enjoy La Voute is to experience it.’
The barman had clearly been pre-warned, because, on seeing the boss, he brought over a tray of luminous shots that glowed in the neon lighting as if radioactive.
‘The house speciality. Enjoy.’ Lucas handed one to Essie and, without taking his eyes from her, swallowed the second. ‘I’ve reserved you a VIP booth upstairs.’ Lucas replaced his empty shot glass on the tray and nodded to the barman. ‘Make yourselves at home, drink whatever you want and, if you have any questions, you know where to find me.’ He shook Ash’s hand, which rolled into a fist when he turned to Essie and kissed both of her cheeks.
Ash forced a smile, a move that almost cracked his jaw, the tension in his facial muscles was so pronounced. He downed the shot and jerked his chin at the barman to indicate another round, getting himself back under control. He never succumbed to such puerile emotions as jealousy. What was she doing to him? Perhaps the extreme self-denial had infected his common sense.
‘This is fantastic.’ Essie’s eyes sparkled as she bobbed in time to the music. She’d stood on tiptoes to yell in his ear but she hadn’t touched him.
Ash nodded, his eyes dancing over the unselfconscious sway of her body to the beat.
‘You asked Josh to create a house cocktail. I liked that. What else do you want to do to The Yard?’
Her wary eyes warmed at his simple compliment. ‘I love that graffiti art over there.’ She pointed to a wall of exposed brick decorated with vibrant tagging. ‘We could do that in the basement, get an artist in. Use neon paint so it glows in the UV light.’
He nodded and bent closer, although he’d heard her just fine. His own lips were only millimetres from her ear so her delectable scent curled around him like an aphrodisiac cloud.
‘He’s right.’ He flicked his head in the direction Lucas had disappeared. ‘Clubs like this have the X-factor. We should immerse ourselves, while we’re here.’ He handed her the second shot and tossed back his own with a grin of challenge. ‘Let’s dance.’
She eyed him while she slowly pressed the rim of the shot glass to her plump bottom lip, holding it suspended there for what seemed like an age, taking his stare captive. At the last second, the tip of her pink tongue poked out and dipped into the blue opaque drink. And then she tossed it, slammed the glass bottom up on the bar and turned for the dance floor with a sassy sway of her hips.
He groaned, adding seriously fucking sexy to her growing list of attributes. Ash followed, walking with his hard-on torture. He took Essie’s elbow to keep them together as they weaved through the crowds. The crush of bodies moving under the strobe lights hemmed them in on all sides, forcing them to dance in the bubble of close personal space that suited his intentions just fine.
Essie’s eyes widened as he palmed her hips and tugged her close. So he’d made an abrupt about-face? Better to switch tactics and settle than go into negotiations with a weak case. And it seemed this captivating woman weakened his body, his mind and his resolve.
He kept his hands and his stare on her, sliding his grip from her swaying hips to her slim waist as they moved in unison to the thumping beat. Her hands reached for his forearms, fingertips just shy of gripping. She closed her eyes, tilted her head back and lost herself to the music, as completely and perfectly as she lost herself to her pleasure.
His hands snaked to the small of her back and he hauled her tight up against him, the small gasp she made and the excitement in the eyes she snapped open spurring him on. His erection pressed into her soft belly. She knew the effect she had on him, one he hadn’t been able to conceal since day one.
She gripped his shoulders, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth as she swayed against him, all sensual movements and lust-drunk eyes. They danced for half a track, heated stares locked, bodies bumping and hands lingering like the most exquisite form of tactile torture.
Fuck this. Fuck the club. If he didn’t get inside her soon, he’d need another cold shower. And he was done with pale imitation. He held the real thing here in his arms. If she’d been a property acquisition, he’d have already closed the deal.
Ash bent close, his lips caressing her delicate ear. The cascade of fine tremors down her neck slammed steel through his spine. But before he could utter one word of his argument, she turned her head so her lips grazed his.
Her stare lifted to his and then dipped back to his mouth.
His fingertips pressed into her waist. ‘You suggested we work this out. We’ll do it in my bed.’
She leaned back, eyebrows lifted.
‘We will?’
He shrugged. ‘Or yours, or the couch or wherever. As long as it involves me inside you.’ He lifted a tendril of hair from her neck and wrapped it around his index finger.
‘I thought you only did one night?’
He could no more explain his about-turn than he could walk away. It was an astounding turn of events for a man used to making verbal arguments and teasing out favourable deals for a living.
He gripped her bare shoulder, his fingers gliding over her shoulder blade.
‘I’m making an exception. And there’s something of an experience gap to rectify, so I’m told.’ His thumb caressed the dip above her collarbone, setting off more tiny shivers.
She pursed her lips, as if giving the matter some serious thought. Fuck, if he’d had any issue with his ego he’d be snivelling at her pretty feet by now. But he hadn’t become one of New York’s top attorneys by misjudging the opposition’s intentions. She wanted this as badly as he did. He hadn’t changed his stance on relationships, but they could still have a good time.
‘Tell me what I need to hear,’ he whispered.
‘Just sex.’ She wavered, her lip trapped under her teeth for a moment.
He nodded, her confirmation music to his ears. ‘I agree.’ He pressed his thumb to her bottom lip, tugging it free from her bite. The only thought in his mind—how quickly he could replace her teeth with his—drowned out all else.
Essie stepped closer until the length of her body pressed to his, her nipples grazing his chest, the heat between her legs scorching his thigh.
He tilted her chin up, his eyes dancing with hers. ‘I’m not the guy for you if it’s a relationship you’re after.’ He couldn’t reiterate that enough, especially considering her past and her profession. Now more than ever he wasn’t relationship material.
She dipped her chin, capturing his thumb with her pouty lips and sucking on the pad. She tongued his digit and then released him with a pop.
‘I’m not interested in a relationship. And if I were, you’d be the last man I’d consider.’
Ash bit back a groan and rubbed his erection into the soft mound of her belly.
‘So we agree. You chalk up a few more...notches on your casual sex bedpost. We fuck this out of our systems. Then we walk away.’
She lifted onto her tiptoes and he bent lower to meet her halfway. Her lips feathered his neck as she whispered, ‘We keep it fun—when the fun stops, we stop.’
She peeled back, challenge blazing in her mesmeric stare.
‘I can do fun.’ Only this time he’d take his time, savour every sexy inch of her, glut himself until he was spent and sated and his head straightened out.
A single nod. ‘What about the tour of the club?’
‘I’ve seen enough.’ His fingers curled over her hips, the silky fabric of her dress bunching in his grip. The way his body coiled to the point of bursting, he could tear the damn dress in two.
He’d never brokered a more fulfilling merger and, as with the best deals, everyone would get what they wanted. He rolled his shoulders and followed her from the dance floor.
As if it had been painted in luminous orange paint across the ground, he was about to cross a line he’d long ago vowed out of bounds. But damn if he didn’t want to throw on a pair of sneakers and sprint over, hell for leather.
CHAPTER SIX
ESSIE PAUSED AT the foot of the stairs leading to the VIP booths, dragging Ash to an abrupt halt. His brow dipped and he faced her, clasping both her hands between them.
‘Second thoughts?’ He cupped her cheek, pushing back wild wisps of hair from her hot face.
It’s just sex. Fun.
She fought the wave of trembles that doused her from head to toe and shook her head, and then tilted it in the direction of the bouncer guarding the upper balcony.
‘Lucas said we had a VIP booth.’ She caught her lip between her teeth. Her breath stalled as she waited for Ash to get on the same page. Every inch of her craved him. Slickness coated her inner thighs, her core clenched in anticipation and her nipples chafed against her dress with every rapid breath she took. She’d never make it back to the hotel before flinging herself on him and demanding what he’d held out on for so long.
‘I’ve never experienced sex in a public place... That could be...fun.’ She tilted her head, her fluttering heart knocking against her ribs. They’d either consummate this new agreement in the back of the limo Ash had hired to drive them to and from the club tonight, or they’d do it here, in the privacy of the VIP area of this chic, sophisticated club. She held her breath. When had she become such a risk-taking exhibitionist? What was he doing to her, this sexy but closed-off man, who at first glance seemed to have it all?
Ash’s eyes scorched her. ‘You want me to fuck you here? Upstairs?’
She nibbled the inside of her cheek, her flush hopefully hidden by the alternating dim and flash of neon lights. He’d suggested she broaden her horizons, something that worked for her out-of-control libido. What better way to build on the success of her first one-night stand? Keep things playful and risqué. Embrace the heady sense of power she earned from their no-strings encounters. If she focussed on the sex, she wouldn’t think about anything else. Her doubts, her past, her bad decisions.
She nodded, her belly twisting with delicious spasms.
Ash’s stare bored into hers while he clearly mulled over her suggestion. This bold, uninhibited demand was so unlike her. But this was what he did to her, what he brought out in her. And what she hoped like hell he’d embrace. She’d been turned on all day, all week. It was his fault—time to atone.
Because right now she barely recognised the wanton woman he drew out. Hormones raged through her. She pressed her thighs together to ease the persistent thrum of her clit.
Ash scooped his arm around her shoulders, nodded briefly to the bouncer manning the foot of the stairs and escorted a tingling-from-head-to-toe Essie to the upper balcony.
Essie tottered alongside his determined strides, grateful he, too, saw the merits and timeliness of her risqué plan.
At the top of the stairs, he swooped on her, hauling her up with an arm around her waist and his hot and greedy mouth, demanding an uninhibited kiss. Essie clung, losing herself to the thrusting power of his tongue sliding over hers and his strong arms banded around her back, connecting them from shoulder to thigh. Her head spun. This was happening.
Ash released her. ‘You sure about this?’
She nodded, too turned on for speech. And too enthralled for doubts.
He strode ahead, tugging her behind. Now they’d established the ground rules, he was all action. Thank goodness. She didn’t want to have to resort to begging and pawing at him. So tacky.
The balcony overlooked the writhing mass of bodies on the dance floor below. To the left was a row of discreet curtained-off booths, each lined with low, banquette-style sofas and featuring an LED illuminated coffee table. Ash led the way to the last booth in the row, the one closest to what Essie guessed was a door leading to a fire escape.
Adrenaline slammed through her, shunting energy to every part of her body until her pulse thrummed right down to her fingertips. Her senses heightened, her skin buzzing under the glide of fabric, the music vibrating through the floor and into her bones and her vision eclipsed by the virile, determined man in front of her.
Ash tugged her by the hand and flicked the gossamer curtains closed behind them. If someone came close enough, they’d see through the filmy barrier. But the angle from the ground floor provided sufficient privacy to keep Essie invested in her reckless, spur-of-the-moment idea.
He kept hold of her hand, his body close, taut with energy.
‘You’re astounding, do you know that?’ He scanned her features with heated eyes.
She shook her head, her throat hot. If he didn’t touch her soon, or allow her to touch him, she’d disintegrate into a million pieces.
He flared his nostrils, sucking in a breath, and then said, ‘Take your underwear off.’ A husky command. He held up his hand, palm flat, waiting for her offering. If that was his lawyer voice...he probably sealed every deal he touched.
Essie’s blood turned to melted wax. Ignoring the liquidity of her limbs, she tilted her head, eyebrows arched. Who knew she housed such a perverse streak? He couldn’t get his way all the time, even when his demands benefited her.
‘You’re a long way from Kansas, counsellor.’ But she obliged, because this daring tryst had been her idea. No time for coyness now, not when she was finally getting what she’d craved since the day after she’d met him, when she’d foolishly raised the stakes with her secret scribblings about Illegally Hot. Time to be all in, or get the hell out of Dodge.
She braced herself steady with one hand on Ash’s forearm, while she shimmied her panties down her thighs and then stepped out of them, one foot at a time.
Holding his self-satisfied stare, she dropped her damp thong in the centre of his palm, with as seductive a smile as she could manage. Why deny the effect he had on her? That he’d agreed to this told her he was equally affected.
Whatever else they were, physically they worked.
Ash glanced at the lace and then grinned, tucking it inside the back pocket of his jeans. With one tug he brought their chests and thighs and mouths back together.
‘You—’ he cupped her face and slanted his mouth over hers, eyes open, bold stare pinning her immobile ‘—have been driving me out of my mind for days.’ He took her hand and pressed it to the steely length of him, guiding her to stroke him through his jeans, his hand over hers.
‘I could say the same about you.’ He was rock hard. She squeezed her thighs together, seeking a modicum of relief.
‘With the exception of this rather unorthodox and public time, we’ll be taking this slow. I intend to get my fill of you. To taste every part of you, over and over until neither of us can walk.’
‘Another new experience. I can’t wait.’ Essie clung to him, her eyes just shy of rolling back. ‘I thought you’d never break.’ She looped her arms around his neck and tugged his mouth down to hers once more as she pushed him backwards towards the low upholstered seats lining the booth.
Through kisses, she fumbled with the button fly on his jeans until she’d freed his thick erection behind. He hissed, his hand covering hers to still her frantic fingers.
‘This time, it’s your rodeo.’ He cupped her breast through the fine silk of her halter dress, his thumb stroking the nipple to a hard peak. ‘Next time, and the multiple times after that, will be my way. Understood?’
She nodded, ready to promise anything to get what she wanted—him, inside her, losing his phenomenal control.
Ash fished a condom from his pocket with a wry twist of his mouth.
‘I was a Boy Scout.’ He handed the foil square to Essie and sat back on the banquette, his arms stretched along the back and his stare flitting between her bare legs, her pebbled nipples and her face.
Essie’s mouth filled with saliva. He was hers to play with. Sprawled out beneath her, hard, ready and willing.
Forcing herself to sidle slowly with a seductive sway of her hips, rather than bound onto his lap with embarrassing eagerness as was her natural inclination, she sauntered close until her thighs slotted between his, which were spread wide, the prod of his manhood rising above his open fly.
Essie placed the condom on the seat next to him and lifted her dress above her knees. When his gaze left hers to follow the path of the hem, she slowed the progress down, enjoying the way air gusted from his nose with every rise and fall of his broad, sculpted chest.
