Capture the Rainbow (5 page)

“I thought I could stand a little erotic foreplay, but I hadn’t counted on my responses being quite so urgent.” He took a step backward and drew a deep, shaky breath, releasing her. “I think it’s time we indulged another of my fantasies. Let me see how you look gowned in rainbows, love.” He shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it carelessly on the low chest at the foot of the bed. “I want to undress you myself.”

His hands reached out to cup the fullness of her breasts through the chiffon, and her breasts instantly responded. His grasp tightened around her, his gaze fastened on the pale cleavage bared by the gown. “God, I can’t wait to see you,” he said thickly. “I want to lose myself between your breasts. I want to use my tongue and teeth on them and see them come alive for me.” His thumbs brushed the engorged tips of her breasts and he said teasingly, “I’m glad to see that you feel the same way, sweetheart.” He drew her close, his hands searching for the fastening of her gown. His lips brushed her temple in a butterfly caress as he slowly eased the zipper down her back. “You feel so good against me,” he whispered, his tongue stroking the inner curve of her ear.

A shiver ran through her that had nothing to do with the temperature. Kendra felt as if she were burning up, the blood racing through her veins at a pace that was almost painful. She sagged against him, her knees as shaky as the time she had made her first parachute jump. When his hand slipped inside her dress to rub the naked hollow at the small of her back, she flinched as if touched by a hot brand. A little moan broke from her and her hands wound around his waist as she clung to him almost desperately. “Joel, it’s crazy,” she said. “I never—”

“Do you think I don’t know that,” he interrupted roughly. “None of it makes sense.” His deft hands were feverishly molding and stroking the smooth satin of her back. “I’ve barely touched you and I’m so ready I’m aching like hell.”

She heard the trace of resentment mixed with desire in his voice, but this time she didn’t even try to interpret it. She was too lost in sensation to be conscious of anything but the aching emptiness that throbbed deep within her.

Then Joel was pushing her gown down over her hips until it fell to her ankles in a pool of diaphanous chiffon.

She heard Joel’s breath catch and then expel sharply as his eyes regarded her with lingering possessiveness. She stood before him wearing only a minute pair of satin bikinis and her high-heeled sandals, but she felt no embarrassment or shyness. She thought of her body as a useful tool and cared for it with the same impersonal attention. She had a good body, strong and graceful and in most cases capable of meeting the demands she put upon it. Now Joel was about to demand something entirely different, and she was responding with an eagerness that left no room for hesitation.

He slowly reached out a hand to hover over one full breast. He shook his head in dazed disbelief. “Good Lord, I’m trembling!”

So was she. She could scarcely breathe, her lungs so constricted that they allowed only the most shallow of breaths. Suddenly overcome with an urgency and impatience that brooked no more delays, she leaned forward so that her nipple nestled into his palm. “Touch me
now.
” Her voice was a low, throaty murmur. “Please, I can’t wait any longer.”

“Neither can I.” His hand closed around her with a desperation that was almost painful. “Oh God, neither can I.” He lifted her breast, his head bent, his face taut with hunger. “I need you. I need all of you.” His lips were on her nipple, his tongue stroking her with warmth, with fire, with impassioned need.

Joe raised his head, his face heavy with sensual languor. “I told you I wanted to devour you,” he said huskily. “I think we’d better move to the bed before I lose control completely.” His arm encircling her waist, he half led, half carried her across the room. Even as they walked he refused to relinquish tactile contact. His hips brushed hers with every step, while his hand on her breast moved caressingly over the velvet pink aureole. “I don’t want to let you go even for a minute. Lord, I’m hungry for you, Kendra.”

Then they were beside the bed, on the bed, his weight crushing her into the mattress. He was on top of her, his arms extended on either side of her bearing his weight as he looked down at her. The misty light was a delicate pink on the white coverlet, bathing her smooth skin in its soft light and turning the tips of her breasts a deep, rich carmine. “Beautiful,” he muttered, lowering himself to rub his hair-roughened chest against her softness. “All beauty and color and…” His face suddenly contorted with pain and his muscles tensed. “Damn, I knew I wouldn’t be able to wait. I want you too much.” Rolling off her, he stood up, tearing off his clothes with desperate speed, his eyes never leaving her face. “Look at me,” he urged softly, as he tossed the clothes aside. “I want you to see how much I want you, what you do to me.” He lay down beside her, mesmerizing her with his eyes. “I want to watch your face while I do all the things to you I’ve been thinking about since the minute I first saw you.”

His lips covered hers with a slow, heated sensuality, his tongue entering to taste and tempt her own. When he drew back, his eyes were glazed and smoky with desire as they searched her flushed face. “That’s what I want to see.
Want
me, rainbow lady, for heaven knows I want you!”

Want him? Oh yes, she wanted him. The roughness of the hair on his chest against her sensitive breasts made her feel like she was being stroked with fire. Now his hands brought her into the hollow of his hips so that the physical evidence of his need was pressed against her, with only the scrap of satin separating them. He was rubbing against her like a giant cat, his eyes narrowed on her face to catch every expression, every nuance of desire. As he watched, her head began to thrash back and forth on the pillow, her breath coming in little whispering gasps.

Then he was still, his breathing labored. “Sweet rainbow lady, are you ready for me to love you now?”

“Oh yes.” Her hands clutched at his shoulders as he removed the last barrier of material between them.

“I’m glad you agree.” He parted her thighs and slipped between them. “I’m not sure I could have waited if you hadn’t.” The heel of his hand rested on the soft, curly down that protected her womanhood, making it his own, stroking and petting her lovingly. It was both arousing and incredibly tender, and it made her feel deliciously treasured. He leaned forward, his hand still caressing her, and covered her lips with a kiss of infinite sweetness. Then, with a wild, bold passion, he thrust forward with a strength and force that shocked her. There was a white-hot, tearing pain, and then she was full of him and her cry changed to a guttural cry of satisfaction.

He froze into statuelike immobility and she heard him utter a shocked exclamation against her lips. He tried to raise his head, but her arms tightened around his neck and she buried her hands in his hair. Her lips reached for his as her legs curled around his hips to draw him deeper into that breathless unity. His hips moved in a rhythm that had an element of desperation in its forcefulness.

The explosive intensity of the pace at first stunned her senses, leaving her to cling to him in an agony of wanting. Then she was aware of a different need. She wanted to give as well as take the ecstasy Joel aroused with every thrust. She began to move, arching up to him in a rhythm of her own, watching his face intently to see the pleasure she gave him.

She wasn’t disappointed. He lifted his head with a low groan that was half growl, and his expression was infinitely sensual. Kendra felt a jolt of pure, primitive satisfaction.

“You’re driving me insane.” His words were punctuated by the swirls of sensation that spun through the rainbow mists surrounding them. “That’s right, love, move. Come to me.”

How could she help coming to him, she thought hazily. He was absorbing her, piercing her, not only with his body but with his sorcerer eyes and his words of need and desire. She could see the delicate rainbow rays of pink and gold and violet beyond the naked bronze of his shoulders, and it only deepened the beautiful, physical reality of their lovemaking. He had to be wrong, Kendra thought. This was no illusion, no ephemeral
arc en ciel.
Its brilliance was increasing with every passing second, every move, every breath. Then, with a shimmering burst of color that was like the birth of a world, she found it. She felt Joel tense above her and heard his low, savage cry as his arms tightened possessively around her. He sensed it too, she thought joyfully. It belonged to both of them.

He was quiet in her arms, his body heavy upon her, and she could feel the beat of his heart against her breast. Then he rolled over, his arms still clasping her to him. One hand stroked her hair lazily as his lips brushed the delicate veins at her temple. She curled up contentedly against him, her head nestling into his shoulder like a trusting child. She was suddenly so weary she could hardly keep her eyes open, but the sorcerer had given her his gift of joy and she felt compelled to say something.

“Thank you.” Her voice was a drowsy murmur, as she cuddled closer. “Thank you very much, Joel.”

His chuckle reverberated beneath her ear. “You’re very welcome, rainbow lady,” he said. “Thank
you.
I think we can consider this a very even exchange of pleasure.” Just then his relaxed body stiffened warily against her. “Or was that what you meant? Perhaps you were talking about the part? You should have held out for a bigger role, sweetheart. In a town like this, there aren’t that many women who have what you had to trade. Virginity has a definite appeal for a certain type of man. I for one find it very exciting to know I was the first. You would have been wise to capitalize on that.” The hand stroking her hair suddenly tightened spasmodically. “But don’t worry, sweetheart, you won’t lose because of your inexperience in negotiating this agreement. I’m always ready to pay a fair price for what pleases me. I’ll make sure that the next role is juicy enough to satisfy even the most ambitious tastes.” His tone became mocking. “However, you’ll have to promise to stay in my bed and continue to please me. Agreed?”

She didn’t answer and his voice hardened to steel. “I wouldn’t try to bargain too hard if I were you, Kendra. You’ll find I can be very determined and I don’t hesitate to be as ruthless as I need to be to get what I want.” He tilted up her chin; his eyes narrowed on her face. “You’ll give me exactly what I…”

His voice trailed off as he noticed that her russet lashes were closed and her breathing deep and even. How much had she heard before she drifted off so peacefully? Probably not much, judging by how soundly she was sleeping. His lips curved in wry amusement as he realized that she had once more wrested control of the situation away from him—and without even trying.

Why wasn’t he feeling the resentment he’d known earlier, instead of this weird protective tenderness? His throat felt oddly tight as he noticed how vulnerable she looked with her lips parted slightly in slumber. He pulled the white wool coverlet over them and then carefully, gently, he brought her closer into his embrace.

Mine.

Even before Kendra opened her eyes she was conscious of the familiar little ache in her lower back and the even sharper one behind her eyes. She sighed unhappily, and nestled closer to Joel’s comforting warmth. Joel?

Her lids flew open and her gaze focused in shock on the mat of coarse black hair on Joel Damon’s chest. Oh Lord, what on earth had she done? Then, as the memories and sensations of last night tumbled helter-skelter back to her, she realized very well what she had done. Rainbow mists and a sorcerer’s green eyes and a driving, explosive physical magic. How many times had he taken her last night?

She bit her lip in vexation. How stupid to worry about how many times they had made love when the obvious problem was that it had happened at all! How could she have done such a thing? Ending an evening in a stranger’s bed might not have been all that unusual for some women, but it was for her, dammit. It was even more bizarre for her to abandon herself to a hedonist like Joel Damon, who was also her boss. For someone who prided herself on her professionalism, there couldn’t be a bigger mistake. Had it been the painkiller she had taken that was responsible for this insanity? She had rejected that idea last night, but she was beginning to wonder now. Perhaps in combination with the champagne she’d drunk…oh, she just didn’t know. Maybe it was the man himself who’d caused this temporary insanity. He had certainly had an incredible impact on her senses even before her abrupt mood change. Well, the catalyst didn’t matter now. The only important thing was that she had regained her usual cool sanity and could act accordingly.

She scooted carefully away from Joel Damon. With any luck she could get out of here without waking him and avoid a confrontation that would be excruciatingly awkward.

Luck wasn’t with her and she was still struggling with the zipper of her gown when Damon’s eyes flicked open. He was instantly wide awake. “Going somewhere?” he asked as he sat up and regarded her intently. “Your bed manners leave a little to be desired, sweetheart. Haven’t you ever heard that a good mistress makes herself available in the morning as well as at night? Take off your gown and come back to bed, Kendra.”

Kendra could feel the color rush to her cheeks as she hurriedly yanked at the zipper. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible, Mr. Damon,” she said as her eyes searched the floor wildly for her shoes. “I have to leave now. As soon as I finish dressing, I’ll be on my way.”

“Mr. Damon?” he echoed blankly. “Isn’t it a little late for that degree of formality? If I remember correctly, a few hours ago those long, lovely legs were wrapped around me and I was—”

“That was a mistake,” she interrupted, her cheeks definitely scarlet now. “I wish you’d just forget last night ever happened.” She spied one sandal half under the bed and pounced on it. “I realize the entire situation was as much my fault as it was yours, but it still should never have happened.” Where was the other damn shoe? “I’m sure when you think about it, you’ll agree that working together would be very difficult if we allowed any personal relationship to interfere.” How had that shoe gotten under the covers of the bed? “I promise to stay out of your way as much as possible when I come to Sedikhan.”