Freefall Read online

  “Get a grip,” he muttered. “Not worth it.”

  He’d loaded a suitcase of her clothes and personal items and her computer into the back of the limo before he let himself think further about what Aphrodite had said.

  Sara had called the dogs. Why? They’d attacked both of them, and Elliott was fairly certain their intent had been to kill. No, Aphrodite was either mistaken, or she was messing with him. Either way, he decided, he wasn’t going to give her little proclamation any more thought.

  He’d gotten everything he’d come for. Walking through the house one last time, he made sure each window was locked tight, all the blinds were drawn, and nothing was on that shouldn’t be on. After he was certain the house was secure, he locked the door behind him and walked around the limo. He was about to open the driver’s-side door when sharp pain exploded in the back of his head. He sank to his knees first, then collapsed onto the concrete floor.

  While he saw stars behind his eyelids, he wondered, who had done this, and why? Had someone been after him, or Sara? If it was Sara, she was in serious danger.

  His last thought was that she shouldn’t have taken her necklace off.

  Chapter Four

  Sara felt revived after her sumptuous dinner of Florida lobster, parsleyed red potatoes, a vegetable medley, and white wine.

  Bryan downed the last bit of wine in his glass and leaned back from the table. “Ready for dessert?”

  She shook her head. “I couldn’t eat another thing. As it is, I’ll have to double my workout time to burn off all these extra calories.”

  He laughed, a low seductive sound that shot all the way down to her toes. “I’m not talking about that kind of dessert.”

  She looked away. The man reeked of sexual prowess, the kind that made for steamy nights and sweaty sheets. The kind that made you wonder if you’d ever walk normally again.

  The kind that made you not care if you didn’t.

  “Did you enjoy our weekend in the Keys,” he asked, a hint of a smile on his face.

  “You know I did. I loved every minute of it.” Except the last one, when they boarded the plane to return to Seattle.

  He stretched long legs out in front of him, tilting his head to look at her. “And after I’d left for Aspen, did you believe I’d come back to you?”

  Ah. There it was. Elliott had told him of her complete lack of faith in him. Still, she wouldn’t apologize. He hadn’t given her a reason to believe he’d come back. Not his phone number or an e-mail address. Nothing. Even the designs she’d done for him had to be e-mailed to an assistant. “No,” she admitted. “I didn’t. I had no way to get in touch with you, and when I tried, it just couldn’t be done. What was I supposed to think?”

  “You could’ve trusted me. I gave you no reason to think I wouldn’t come back,” he countered.

  “True, but you also gave me no reason to think I meant anything to you. You didn’t give me anything,” she said. “I don’t give my trust to just anyone. Like everyone else, you’ll have to earn it.”

  “A woman after my own heart,” he said, inclining his head. “I accept that.” Tracing the line of his chin with his fingers, he thought a moment. “But I did come back, didn’t I? If I told you that I’d cut my meeting short because I couldn’t wait to get back to you, what would you say then?”

  Her brow knitted. She didn’t know what she’d say.

  Bryan gave her a half smile. “I did. I wanted to come home to you.”

  “I had no idea,” she admitted.

  He cleared his throat before he continued. “I know, and that’s my fault. I should’ve at least given you a cell phone number. I’m sorry.”

  She shrugged one shoulder, not really trusting herself to say anything. Yet.

  He laughed softly, pushing a hand through his hair. “I know, this is a lot to lay on you, but it’s true.” He nodded, as if he were only now accepting it himself. “I don’t want to let you go. I won’t.”

  Shock nearly tumbled Sara from her chair. “You don’t really even know me. How can you be so certain?”

  He laughed again. “Haven’t you ever just known something?”

  Well, yeah, she had. She’d known she belonged here in Seattle, long before she moved from San Francisco. She’d known Jimmy was all wrong for her, even after he professed his undying love for her. She knew she had to work for herself, because the man just didn’t give her the opportunities she knew she could handle and at which she could excel. And she had.

  Yeah, she knew about things. But Bryan? She wasn’t certain she knew anything about him. “I’ll admit, there are things I’ve known when there was no reason I should.” Her gaze lowered. “But I can’t just jump in with both feet, Bryan. I know I spent a crazy weekend with you, and I really did enjoy it. I did. Now it sounds like you’re looking for a commitment that I’m not ready to make. Maybe you move that fast in your world, but I don’t in mine.” Further proof she wasn’t a carpe diem kind of girl.

  He leaned back, lowered his head but kept his gaze solidly on hers. “I’ll go as slow as you need, Sara, but I’m not letting you go. Don’t ask me to do that.”

  Sara searched his face, the furrow in her brow growing deeper. “You could have any woman in the world, Bryan? What do you see in me?”

  “Beauty. Confidence. Power.” Bryan pushed his chair back, stood, then leaned forward, resting his palms on the arms of her chair. His gorgeous, soft, mouth was only inches from hers. “You’re so strong, Sara, and so capable of taking care of yourself, just like you did tonight. I find that an incredible turn on.”

  “Most guys can’t handle it,” she said softly.

  “I’m not just another guy,” he whispered. “And I can easily handle you.”

  Without warning, Bryan curled his fingers around the nape of her neck and fastened his mouth to hers. After that, her thoughts scattered. If she’d had any more arguments, she decided they must not be very important. If, perchance, they were, she didn’t care.

  He tilted his head further and took complete possession of her mouth. His velvety tongue slipped inside, exploring then retreating, a lover’s dance, one she knew well. He kissed the way he made love, sometimes slow and tender, often dominating, fast and demanding. Tonight he took her feverishly, slipping and sliding against her mouth until her lips were swollen and her entire body sizzled from his touch.

  Until her heart thundered in her chest.

  His hand remained locked at her nape. “Is there any doubt in your mind who I really want, Sara?”

  “No,” she whispered.

  “Tell me, then,” he said, scant millimeters from her lips. “Tell me how you feel.”

  Sara let her eyes close. “I want whatever time you’re willing to give me.”

  His head lowered to her neck. He whispered against her ear, ever so softly, “What if that’s a very long, long time?”

  She smiled but refused to be seduced. Well, not entirely seduced. “Then it’s a very long time,” she answered. “Let’s see if you can handle it as well as you think.”

  “Mmmm,” he purred. “I love the way you tease me.”

  “I’m serious, Bryan,” she said, giving him her best serious glare.

  “I know and I’m very willing to prove to you just how capable I am. But,” he said, a wicked grin coming to his face. “Tonight is for love play and you, my gorgeous lady, need some down time. Wait right here.” He pivoted and disappeared through swinging double doors. The kitchen, she presumed.

  Scanning her surrounding for the first time, she noticed the wait staff had silently retreated to other parts of the house. Another presumption she made was that the staff was just efficient and well trained. Part of her figured they were simply used to Bryan “entertaining” in the dining room.

  That same part of her could’ve gotten very cranky thinking about that, but a second later, Bryan reappeared.

  In each hand, he held a frosted glass bowl. He set them down, then patted the edge of the table. “Sit h
ere.”

  She did, crossing her legs at the ankles.

  “I brought dessert,” he said brightly. “I think you’ll enjoy it.” He dipped a spoon into what looked like pale green ice. As he raised it to her mouth, he nudged in between her legs. “Taste this.”

  Immediately she smelled the mint. Accepting the entire spoonful, she let it melt on her tongue a moment, then swallowed. “Spearmint sorbet,” she announced.

  He grinned. “Do you like it?”

  His eyes sparkled mischievously in the soft amber light. He was every bit as gorgeous as he’d been in the Keys, when he’d worn nothing more than well-fitting swim trunks, a string of white shells around his neck, and oil that smelled like coconut and vanilla.

  “Mm-hmm,” she said, nodding. “My favorite.”

  He dropped the spoon back into the bowl. “That’s only half of it.”

  “Oh?” Knowing Bryan, she had a good idea what the other half would be.

  “Do you know what I want to do to you?” he asked, letting his dark jacket slide off his shoulders. He pulled his tie over his head and let it fall to the floor. Unbuttoning the first three buttons, he idly slipped his hand inside his shirt to rub the nape of his neck. The thick muscles in his arm rippled beneath cool blue cotton. Muscles that could pin her to the floor in a heartbeat and drive her utterly wild with desire. And then drive into her.

  “I can only guess,” she said absently. Her gaze was riveted to his every movement. Like a large cat, he was graceful, smooth, wickedly sensual.

  “I want to bind your hands behind your back and bend you over my bed. Tie your ankles to the bed frame to spread your legs wide. See every beautiful inch of you.” He inhaled softly. “You have no idea what that would do to me. No idea…”

  Sara conceded it might be a wondrous thing to know what she did to him. To know that she’d made this towering, intrinsically sexual man quiver just the tiniest bit with the mere thought of her bound.

  He pushed her legs farther apart, not waiting for her response. “And then I would sample every bit of you with my hands, my mouth…” His voice trailed off. Both his hands whispered across her thighs, stopping just beneath the hem of her skirt. “Lay back. Close your eyes.”

  Obediently, Sara did as she was told, raising her arms above her head, and lacing her fingers together. Every inch of her sizzled from the power of Bryan’s words. Never before had she allowed anyone to bind her and now the thought that he might do such a thing both exhilarated and terrified her. Letting go was not something she did with ease.

  In fact, she’d never really let go, never trusted anyone enough to give herself over to them. Not like that. Not completely.

  “I don’t think you need these anymore,” he said, ripping her panties apart at the sides and whisking them from her body. “There. Much better. You look so beautiful like this.” He sighed audibly. “I’ve thought about this moment since before we left the Keys.”

  Sara shivered. The need in his voice was unmistakable. The desire. She felt it, too. The all-too-familiar ache in her body anytime he was near. She wanted him to touch her, to make her melt as he had in the Keys. If anyone could make her let go, it was Bryan.

  His hands were nothing short of magical.

  “Keep your eyes closed, Sara. I’ll make you feel things no one else has or ever could. You’ll hunger for my touch alone. You’ll need only me.” He pushed the hem of her skirt up to her hips. “As I need only you,” he finished, his voice low and soft.

  Cool air drifted across her inner thighs, over the moisture gathered along her folds. He traced a path along her cleft, then pushed his finger inside. “I’ve thought of so many ways to make you come for me. I love making you come.”

  No doubt about it, Bryan Hodges was made for sex.

  Pushing her thighs further apart, she felt his wide shoulders brush her legs as he lowered himself and hooked her knees over them. He grasped her hips, bringing her closer to the edge of the table.

  Her body was on fire, aching for the relief only he could give her. Panting softly, she nodded, afraid to whisper even one small word.

  Please…

  He leaned so close, his breath teased the cropped thatch of dark curls. “Do you want to feel me inside you?”

  Another nod.

  With that, he drove his tongue deep into her folds.

  Sara squealed. His tongue and lips, cold from the sorbet, were laced with remnants of spearmint. Her jaw clenched as he plunged deeper and deeper inside, then up against her hot, throbbing clit.

  The mint on his satiny-soft, warm tongue made her toes curl. He sucked on her clit, then raked over it with his tongue and a finger. She let out a soft cry, shuddering, struggling to keep her hands above her head when all she wanted to do was bury them in his hair. He laughed, soft and low, a sound that said he knew just how much it pleased her.

  He dipped two fingers inside her while his mouth remained locked onto her hard nub. Plunging and withdrawing, he deliberately kept a pace that made her frantic with need, made her thighs and hips quiver. Made her body a living pyre.

  She spiraled higher. So close now, she teetered on the edge, ready to explode into a thousand tiny pieces, wanting, desperately needing that explosion.

  “Please…” she whispered.

  He drew back. “Please, what?”

  “Please, take me there,” she whispered, nearly out of her mind. She was burning up, and the glaze of sweat over her skin was failing to cool any part of her. Only he could extinguish the flames. Only the thrust of his powerful hips, the spread of his shoulders across her body, and his cock filling and stretching her utterly could dowse the living inferno she’d become.

  And he was waiting.

  “Tell me what you want me to do,” he said calmly, as if he had all the time in the world.

  She couldn’t think for the fire in her mind and body. “M-make love,” she said, her breath hitching in her throat. “To me.” And then she told him again, in more explicit terms.

  Bryan sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Lord, woman, what you do to me…” He withdrew from her and waited a moment before bending her over the table. Sara heard him tear open the condom wrapper, then unzip his trousers. A moment later, she felt the thick head of his cock press against her slick folds.

  Her entire body tightened in anticipation.

  He pushed inside her, filling her to the hilt and stretching her deliciously, just as she’d remembered it. Thick, beautiful Bryan, a god among men. He was her dream come true.

  “Sara,” he said softly. “Come for me.” He thrust hard, withdrawing slowly, then plunging into her again and again. Faster, harder, every thrust making him more a part of her.

  The pyre grew hotter, and flames licked at every inch of her body. She welcomed the burn, savored it even. Let it take her to that special place where there were no boundaries.

  He reached around her hips, down between her legs to find her clitoris. He pressed against it with two fingers, then began to rub in rhythm with his thrusts. His other hand came up under her shirt, dipped beneath her bra to her breast. Grasping it fully, his fingers closed around her nipple and squeezed gently.

  Sara moaned, curling her fingers around the edge of the table. Higher she climbed, so that she was aware of only him and what he was doing to her. Each thrust was deeper than the last, each one harder, faster. Her muscles tightened, sizzled. Her hands curled into white-knuckled fists.

  He leaned forward and nibbled the nape of her neck.

  She skyrocketed out of control, her every muscle clenching and pulsing around his erection. She let out one long, soft moan, a release of both mind and body, a shudder, a ripple of pleasure whipping through every inch of her.

  Bryan grasped her hips, drawing her to him as he thrust inside her one last time. He let out a growl and shuddered with his own release.

  “My Sara,” he whispered.

  My amazing lover, she thought.

  “Bathe with me, Sara. Remember what
we did in the Keys?” he asked, stretching out over her body.

  Sara smiled. Who could possibly forget something like that? They’d stayed in a plush waterfront house where the bathroom was huge, and the shower as big as her walk-in closet. Bryan had dragged her half clothed into it, taken the shower head from its cradle, turned it to pulsate and shocked her with a warm steady massage on her clit. She’d held on to his shoulders as her body shuddered in pleasure and purred one continuous, soft moan.

  He’d then slowly inserted the largest waterproof vibrator she’d ever seen between her thighs and pumped at a pace that had her begging for more. Instead, he’d stood her up against the tile, traded the vibrator for his cock, and brought them both to a fevered climax only seconds later.

  What a ride.

  She laughed, recalling the moment. He’d been wild with passion after his toy play. Looking over her shoulder at him, she suspected (and hoped) she was in for more of the same. “What do you have in mind?”

  Bryan stood, zipped his trousers, and pulled her with him. He brushed wayward strands of hair from her face, a glint of mischief in his eyes. “Do you want me to tell you, or show you?”

  She was about to answer when his gaze suddenly dropped to her neck. He took in a deep breath and narrowed his eyes, a sore reminder she’d forgotten the golden pendant. “Elliott should be back by now. Or, at least, have called to tell me what’s keeping him,” he said thoughtfully, a frown knitting his brows. Spinning around, he hurried toward the phone and punched in two numbers.

  Sara, suddenly feeling more than a little dejected, fell back into a chair and waited while Bryan paced the floor. Something was definitely wrong. His normally casual demeanor was gone, the easy grin replaced by a hard, down-turned slash. Before her now stood the man who’d made his first million before the age of thirty, the dot com owner who’d struggled, learned from everyone else’s failures, and made an empire out of an idea. The stories he’d told her about his businesses had fascinated her.