Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 110859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 370(@300wpm)
He held her down, pressed tightly to him, as she struggled with the intense sensations taking over her body. The hand under her shirt pinched her other nipple. His breath echoed over the shell of her ear and just before he bit down on her tender lobe, he whispered, “Come.”
Her cry filled the room as her muscles locked. Moisture flooded her panties and her knees forcefully pulled together, locking Lucian’s fingers between her legs. Her body throbbed and pulsed as her heartbeat filled her ears and Lucian’s mouth sucked hard on her neck.
Scout didn’t remember shutting her eyes, but when she opened them, Jamie’s gaze locked with hers. His chest rose and fell beneath his dress shirt and he looked nothing like the good-humored man she’d met that morning. His eyes set in a narrow stare that made Scout all too aware of how vulnerable she was at the moment. Jamie suddenly seemed very much like Lucian. She recognized the predator hiding behind a friendly smile, a smile that had been replaced with parted lips. His expression was covetous.
Lucian’s hand slowly pulled from between her legs. His fingers were glazed with moisture from her body. He brought them to his mouth and moaned. “Delicious, Evelyn, very sweet.” He righted her clothes and briefly hugged her.
Embarrassed, she turned in his lap and pressed her face into his shoulder. He held her and kissed her temple. She was grateful her hair was down, for it created a much-needed barricade around her.
She heard Jamie stand. “Lucian, as always, it’s been a pleasure. Scout, I look forward to seeing you again.” The door slowly slid open and shut.
They were alone again.
Chapter 14
Safe Word
Lucian’s hands eased Scout back from his chest and sifted through her hair until he found her face. Tipping up her chin, he asked, “You okay?”
She couldn’t look at him. “Why did you do that?”
“Did you not enjoy it?” His gaze moved over her face, taking in her upset. Softly, as if realizing how unprepared she had been for anything like that, he whispered, “I don’t know. I’m sorry, Evelyn. We haven’t reached that stage yet. I shouldn’t have put you in that position.”
Lucian Patras was not the kind of man who apologized easily. Somehow she knew that. She looked into his eyes and found nothing but sincerity. He was sorry. However, the part of his apology about not reaching that stage yet, disturbed her. She had grown up in places where people fulfilled their bodily urges with no regard to their audience. She expected more from the upper class.
Nevertheless, there was something erotic in the act, something that created that reaction in her body. This worried her, worried her about the effect he was already having on her. She had the urge to sever any emotional link that may have stimulated such an emotionally charged result, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Did there have to be an essential connection for her body to react that way?
Lucian kissed her cheek and eased her off his lap. “I have to make some calls in the library. Why don’t you go freshen up and then join me there.” His words were confident, but she detected concern in his gaze. She nodded and went to use the bathroom.
Two hours later she was sitting on a cushioned chair, watching Lucian as he made phone call after phone call. He was like a fascinating storm she knew she should avoid, but couldn’t. He moved quickly and made fast finite decisions that changed the world around him.
She analyzed his appearance. His power made him seem older than he was. He seemed much older than her, but in reality, she’d be surprised if he was over thirty-five. She thought of Jamie. He looked like he was in his thirties. If they’d been friends since they were babies, then that made Lucian about the same. How did someone that age get so much power?
Just from hearing these men work today, she’d learned that Patras was more than a local commodity. There were also Patras hotels in Europe. And she now knew Lucian did more than own a chain of hotels. He developed properties and did things with the stock market and worked on a slew of committees.
He hung up the phone and the room was suddenly quiet. “I’m sorry this has taken so much of my time today. I didn’t expect to be held up here so long.”
Scout closed the garden magazine she had been looking at. “That’s okay. I didn’t have plans,” she teased.
He eased his leather chair away from his desk and lounged back, watching her. “What is it about you, Evelyn, that makes me want to go out of my way to make you smile? See, like that. When you smile you light up a room.”