Endless Summer Nights (22 page)

Chapter 4

R
odrigo noted the obstinate set of Sidney’s mouth, which only made her lips more attractive. She stood straight-backed, with the posture of a dancer ready to perform. It only served to turn him on even more.

“What exactly do you have in mind?” he asked. His husky voice betrayed him.

Her eyes widened in alarm. “I just want to talk. I want a chance to convince you that the Bonne Soirée line is perfect for the Belo stores at least, and no matter what animosity there is between us, I hope we can work through it.”

“And that’s all you want?” He could still feel her hand against the front of his pants like a brand.

The air became thick with anticipation.

He noted the movement along her slender throat as she swallowed. It temporarily distracted him, reminding him of how ticklish the side of her neck could be. He used to kiss her there, and then stroke his fingers down her soft brown skin and she’d erupt into a fit of giggles. But that part of her neck was sensitive for another reason, too. It was an erogenous zone that, when touched just so, made her body press into his with a hunger that he could never resist.

When he lifted his eyes to hers, he saw recognition. She knew what he was thinking. One hand lifted to the side of her neck, her fingers barely touching the skin. He didn’t even think she realized that she’d done it. It was an unconscious movement, but one that echoed a need that pulsed through his loins.

“You really shouldn’t do that,” she said.

“Do what?”

“Stare.”

Seconds ticked by. “I can’t seem to help myself.”

“This isn’t what I wanted.” Her voice shook. “This isn’t what I meant when I said I wanted to convince you to change your mind.”

She struggled to breathe and he took it as a sign to move closer. Pressing his palms flat against the door, he imprisoned her against it. “What are we going to do? With these memories between us?
You
came here to disrupt my life.”

“I had no idea about the merger,” she insisted, staring up at him.

“And if you had known, would you not have come?” She didn’t respond, and that was his answer. “You would have come, because you wanted to see me as much as I wanted to see you.” He wrapped one of her curls around his index finger, observing the cinnamon highlights striated throughout the strands. “I haven’t forgotten how you would toss your head back and moan my name. And when you were about to come, you’d sink your fingernails into my arms. Do you remember that?” he asked in a ragged whisper. “Because I do. I dream about it.”

* * *

For a second Sidney closed her eyes against the words. She seemed paralyzed, rooted to the spot, mesmerized by the sound of his voice and drowning in the scent of his cologne.

He twisted the lock on the door. There was no mistaking his intention. But she felt insanely as if he was locking her in instead of locking others out.

“What are you doing?” Her voice quivered.

“What I have wanted to do since the minute I saw you again.” He lowered his head.

“Stop!” She made one last frantic effort to keep everything on a professional level. But the minute he withdrew, her heart thudded in a panicked gallop.

“You don’t want me to.”

He grabbed her hips and pushed his hardness into her stomach. He forced her into the door and she moaned, immediately loving the way he felt against her. Maybe she was insane. But right now nothing else mattered but this man, whom she’d never stopped loving—whom, because she loved him so much, she’d willingly given up.

“You want me to stop this?” he breathed into her neck, his nose nuzzling the sensitive flesh behind her ear. “Hmm?”

She stopped breathing.

“Or this?” Rodrigo’s hands glided up the inside of her thigh to the front of her pelvis and the warm spot between her legs.

Sidney moaned again, dropping her head to his chest, her hands gripping his muscular arms under his suit jacket.

No longer concerned with what was appropriate and inappropriate, she angled up her head and allowed his ravenous mouth to devour hers. The kiss was fierce. She parted her lips so his tongue could enter and trembled under the ferocity of the crushing need that overtook her.

He was demanding, grabbing the edge of her skirt and impatiently yanking it up so his hands could get reacquainted with the shape of her hips and thighs. He stroked her body proprietarily as he pressed his pelvis against her. The winterlike hibernation of her body was replaced by the scorching heat of summer racing through her veins.

She locked her arms around him and he ground his hips into hers. She mimicked his motions, arching her back further. With his right hand he caressed her between her legs, while his left hand roughly massaged her breasts, his fingers plucking at the nipples until they became rock-hard.

Rodrigo didn’t make a sound. She was the one moaning in desperation. She was the one writhing wantonly against his hand, her legs parted to give him better access to the most sensitive part of her body.

Only he could make her feel this way. Only he could drive her so crazy she wanted to beg.

“Even better than I remember,” Rodrigo said hoarsely against her mouth.

She answered his declaration with a moan as he slipped his fingers beneath the top of her thong and slowly slid them into her wetness. Helpless to stop him, all she could do was spread her legs wider to acknowledge that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. Maybe even more.

He cursed explicitly. Finally, a reaction from him, a sign he was not as controlled as he appeared to be. She strained against his slow, sensuous caress as he repeatedly rubbed the moist area between her thighs. She was so ready for him, his fingers were soaked.

He groaned, their bodies rubbing and straining against each other through the barrier of clothing.

“I want to taste you.”

She knew what he meant, knew what he loved to do and what she couldn’t possibly resist. With ease he picked her up, walked around his desk and set her on top of it. “I haven’t tasted anything so good in so long.” He pressed a swift, firm kiss against her lips. “I want you to come in my mouth. You know how much I love it.”

He eased her back so that she lay on top of the piles of paper covering his desk. Then he quickly tossed his jacket aside and moved to slide the thong down her legs. All resistance drained from her body, Sidney allowed him to lift both her legs and throw them over his impossibly broad shoulders, her arms flung out beside her as if he’d nailed her to the desk. His head went between her legs, his hands on her hips holding her in place against the hard surface.

His tongue was slow, teasing at first. Had he not been holding her down, she would have jackknifed off the desk. It was unbearable. Her nerve endings were raw and sensitive.

She thought fleetingly that anyone could see them from one of the adjacent buildings, putting on a show for the city in full view of the windows. But she couldn’t even whisper any kind of refusal and dared not to hint at it in fear he’d stop. It felt deliriously good and was such a sweet, sweet torture.

He pressed soft, tender kisses reverentially against her core, and her head tossed from side to side, her body taut, rigid, aroused. She held his head in place, her legs wide to accommodate him. Her invitation to go deeper was accepted as Rodrigo laved her with his tongue, groaning his pleasure as her hips moved sensuously in response.

Then he penetrated her, moving the moist, pink snake of his tongue around with expert precision. Stroking the most sensitive part of her body, probing the folds, licking at her moistened flesh. He brought her closer and closer to climax but never allowed her to reach it.

He could make her come at any time, but he didn’t. Instead he forced a buildup, licking and stroking, pulling back and kissing the inside of her thigh, then returning to the center of her heat. He was prolonging the pleasure, so that when he did push her over the edge, it would be all the more intense.

The swollen nub at the juncture of her thighs became the center of his attention as he circled it and sucked with concentrated determination. He flicked his tongue against it until she could do nothing but cry out against the exquisite pleasure he was inflicting.

He pushed her over the edge and she bit down on her lip to keep from crying out as her body shuddered uncontrollably against the nerve-jarring ministrations of his mouth. The orgasm racked her body with such intensity that she felt she must surely be losing her mind. He knew she was a screamer, and just as the cry left her throat, he clamped a hand over her mouth. She struggled to get away from him, to relish the moment, her body too sensitive for any more contact, but he was too powerful and wouldn’t release her.

She trembled and pushed at his shoulders with her high-heeled feet, but instead only ended up pressing her heels into his hard back. And still he didn’t stop, pulling her legs wider, continuing unbidden as if he hadn’t heard her cry out her satisfaction. As if he didn’t know she couldn’t take any more of the intense pleasure he was subjecting her to, an almost painful rapture of sensation.

The second orgasm overtook her body mere seconds behind the first, though her cries were still muffled against his palm. Papers fluttered to the floor as her body writhed helplessly.

Finally he lifted his mouth from her and she lay splayed across the desk, panting to catch her breath with her eyes closed. When she opened them, he was looking down at her, his eyes dark with desire and lips set in a grim line.

Without a word, he unbuckled his belt. The expression on his face was indefinable, but he moved slowly, as if to give her time to stop him. Of course she didn’t, because when his pants dropped, at the sight of him long and hard, she became aroused again even though she’d just been satisfied.

After sheathing himself in a condom, he stepped between her legs and shoved folders and papers out of the way. They hit the floor with a loud thump. His expression was so intense, her heartbeat sped up. He grasped her wrists and with her hands pinned above her head, he pushed into her, their mighty moans mingling together.

“Você está tão linda, perfeita.” You’re so beautiful, perfect.

Sidney’s brain struggled behind a fog of pleasure. She arched up as he pushed down, open to him, taking each powerful thrust. Moving faster, he tightened his hand around her wrists, his eyes focusing on her reaction.

He lowered his head to kiss her throat and she turned her mouth to his. The sexy kisses heightened their awareness of each other and before long she was crying out again from the force of another climax. He captured her whimpering cries in his mouth, gnawing at her lip with his teeth. Her legs tightened on his hips, her feminine muscles contracted around his shaft until he came, too. He groaned into her neck, thrusting his hips hard as an orgasm ripped through him. Above her his body shuddered once, twice. Until he collapsed, sapped of energy and crushing her between him and the hard desk.

When he finally moved from on top of her, he fell back into the executive chair. Still spent herself, Sidney only managed to rise up on her elbows. The desk looked as if a tornado had blown across its surface, tossing files to the floor and strewing papers in disarray. They both breathed as if they’d just finished a ten-kilometer run.

Rodrigo’s gaze skimmed her thighs. His tongue swept across his mouth and his eyes darkened as if he were imagining tasting her again. “This is why you have to leave,” he said in a hoarse voice.

Chapter 5

T
he phone rang as they were getting dressed. Rodrigo swiftly put the receiver to his ear, and Sidney used that time to step into her thong, feeling his eyes on her as she did so. Behind her, she heard him speaking to someone in Portuguese. When the call ended, he ran his hand over his head, smoothing down the rumpled hairs she had caused by running her fingers through the strands.

“I have a meeting to attend.” He sighed. “But we need to talk about us. About what just happened.”

She nodded her agreement. “Business calls, though, and I understand.”

He looked distracted, his gaze sweeping the room and noting, as if for the first time, the disarray around his desk. “We really need to talk about this.”

“Go to your meeting. We’ll talk later.”

He caught her chin in his hand. “It is obvious, isn’t it, that it isn’t over between us?”

Responding to him was out of the question because she still wasn’t entirely lucid after what had transpired between them.

“This meeting has been planned for months and, unfortunately, I do have to go, but as soon as I can break away, I will. Though it may not be until much later.”

“Whenever you get finished, call me.” Her voice sounded normal enough, but what she really wanted was to curl up with him and be held. Having him walk out so soon after they’d made love made her feel empty. Used. Her only consolation was that he looked uncertain and it was obvious he didn’t want to leave.

“This is not the way what we just shared should end.”

“I’ll be fine.” She smoothed her hands over her skirt in a futile attempt to rid the fabric of its crumpled appearance.

He stepped closer. “Sidney...” He seemed at a loss for what to say. He cupped her cheek, frowning. His hand was warm and gentle against her skin. She saw in his eyes the exact moment when he changed direction from his earlier thought. “Where are you staying?”

“At the Rio Hotel,” she replied.

“Then I will call you there later,” he said.

After a short hesitation, he turned to leave. As soon as he was gone, she picked up her case to make her exit.

She mumbled a quick goodbye to his secretary, not bothering to look at her. She was fairly certain his assistant knew what had happened in the office, no matter how quiet they’d tried to be. Fortunately his office was located at the end of the hall, which diminished the chance of anyone else having heard them.

In her shell-shocked state, her movements were stiff and robotic. She dipped into the women’s bathroom and was happy no one else was in there. She rushed into one of the stalls and leaned back against the door, clutching her briefcase to her chest as if it were a lifesaver. She took a deep breath.

She was shaking. It was impossible to be in the same room as Rodrigo and not crave him. Lesson learned.

All she’d wanted was to do her job and to get out in one piece, but she feared she wouldn’t be able to hide the way she felt for much longer. The passion between them had taken her—and him—by surprise. It seemed it had grown even stronger since their time apart.

She felt as though trying to close this deal was like making a deal with the devil. Not because of Rodrigo’s evil nature. In fact, she understood his initial anger at her, so it wasn’t that. It was because this time, she worried it wasn’t just her heart at stake. She feared she would lose her soul, too.

* * *

Rodrigo hung up the phone after his second attempt to call Sidney. He had half a mind to have the driver take him over to the hotel to see her, but he thought better of it. Maybe she’d gone to bed early. Maybe she needed time to think, something he should be doing himself.

Stressed and irritated, he rubbed his temples, wishing the headache would go away. It was
her
fault for coming here. While he hadn’t forgotten about her, he’d managed to tuck away the memories of what they’d shared in New York. He had compartmentalized his feelings so he didn’t have to remember what a fool he’d made of himself over a woman—over her. Sidney was damn near perfect and she smelled sweet, just as he remembered. Like honeysuckle and vanilla. Now she was here, invading his business and bringing that soft brown skin, sultry eyes and tantalizing shape back into his life.

He stood and walked to the minibar on the far side of his office. He reached for a bottle and poured a small portion of whisky into a tumbler. He swallowed the liquid in one gulp, barely registering the spicy flavor as it hit the back of his throat. Then he poured a second, more generous glass.

He’d tried to quickly wrap up the meeting with the Bangladeshi businessmen, but it had been impossible because of the serious nature of the discussion. After the collapse of one of the factories in Bangladesh that had resulted in the deaths of many of its workers, retailers were looking more closely at the conditions there.

Moda and other companies in the industry had combined to establish an initiative to strong-arm the Bangladeshi government into making reasonable concessions to ensure the safety of their workers. The men who’d arrived today owned another factory and had come to woo them back to the country with promises of better oversight. They had put controls into place themselves, without waiting for government intervention. Then there had been dinner and a promise to send one of his representatives over in the next few weeks to inspect the facility.

Rodrigo sat back down again and twisted the chair to stare out at the dark night.

In between the talks with the businessmen, information he’d requested about Sidney’s company had come through. They were struggling financially, and Belo seemed to be their ticket to solvency. No wonder Sidney had come, and no wonder she had been so adamant about staying and finishing the job.

Deep in thought, he leaned back in the chair, swirling the amber liquid in the glass.

He’d spent almost every free moment in New York with some part of his body touching hers. His arms wrapped around her, his hand holding hers. He’d been like a lovesick fool.

Tall and with plenty of curves, he’d noticed her right away at the Coterie Exhibition in New York over a year ago. She’d taught a class on the dos and don’ts of doing business in the United States. But it was her dark brown eyes and the soothing quality of her voice that had kept him enthralled during the forty-five-minute presentation that morning. He hadn’t approached her afterward because he’d had an appointment with an agent to look at commercial space, but he’d made sure to attend her second session that afternoon.

At the end of her workshop, he’d invited her for coffee and had been pleased when she’d agreed. In the hotel café, they’d discussed the retail industry and she’d given him advice on approaches for the U.S. market. It wasn’t long before he’d convinced her to go on a date with him. He’d spent the next four months in New York searching for property and conducting business, but as much as possible, he’d spent time with her. So it was only natural that he’d tell her of his feelings. It was only natural that he’d seen a future with her and had assumed she’d seen one with him, too.

* * *

Sidney straddled Rodrigo’s lap on the sofa. Their hungry kisses had become more amorous and would undoubtedly end the way they often did—with their tangled bodies in bed together. This time, however, Sidney pressed her palms against his chest and dragged away her mouth.

“I don’t want you to go,” she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder.

He didn’t want to leave, either. As much as he loved his home in Brazil, going back there was the least appealing thought he’d had in months. He didn’t want to leave Sidney behind. She’d come to mean more to him than he’d ever expected.

“Come back with me,” he said.

She laughed softly into his shoulder, as if he were kidding. She lifted her head and asked, “Are you serious?”

“Of course.” He smiled at her surprised expression.

“I can’t just up and leave. I have responsibilities. But I could fly down in a few weeks once I’ve had a chance to straighten out a few things here. I have plenty of vacation time saved up, so there’s no problem with me taking a couple of weeks off.”

He cupped her face in his hands. “Not for a visit. I want you to come to stay.”

Her eyes clouded in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“I love you. I want you to marry me.”

Even though he hadn’t planned to propose to her that night, it felt right. They were a perfect match and had the same disposition. He’d enjoyed her company and wanted to introduce her to his family and friends.

Her face changed from confused to saddened, and he sensed her withdrawal. This wasn’t the reaction he’d expected.

“I ca— I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

“I...I was married once, and I wasn’t very good at it.”

He laughed easily. “What does that have to do with anything? The problem is not marriage—it’s the people who come together. They have to be compatible, and we’re more than compatible.”

“Okay, well...I don’t speak the language and the culture is so different.”

His hands dropped at her paltry excuses. “That’s a strange thing to say. It’s not as if you couldn’t learn.”

“It might be difficult. I’ve lived in New York all my life, and to go to another country...” She shook her head in denial. “What would I even do there? I love my life here, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

He frowned. “What are you saying?”

Her face became guarded and he could tell she was choosing her words carefully.

“My life is here. All my friends and family are here.”

“And what about us?”

She slid off his lap and walked across the room, wrapping her arms around her waist. He waited to hear what she had to say next because surely this had to be a big misunderstanding.

“I can’t marry you.” Her soft voice drifted to him, and his stomach tightened.

Still in denial, he went to her. She remained turned away from him, her head bowed.

“Why not? You love me, don’t you?”

“We’ve only known each other four months. I have a career. I have a life here.”

Taking her by the shoulders, he forced her to face him. “We talked about having children. We talked about—”

“You talked about having children. Not me.” She twisted out of his hands. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to marry you.”

He ran his fingers through his hair. He wasn’t ready to give up. “This does not make sense.”

“I knew you’d only be here for a short time, and I never expected more.”

“Tell me you don’t love me, and I will leave.”

“I didn’t expect you to feel this way.”

“I want to hear you say the words.” He was confident, certain she wouldn’t.

With a vigorous shake of her head, her eyes pleading, she whispered, “Don’t make me hurt you.”

“Say it.”

She looked down at the floor. Her arms tightened around her body and the heaviness in his stomach portended the words he didn’t want to hear.

“I don’t.”

* * *

Like a physical blow, the words had knocked the wind out of him and made him feel foolish. How could he not have seen it? He hadn’t meant nearly as much to her as she’d meant to him. While he’d been thinking about forever, she’d only been thinking about right then.

Afterward they’d argued, of course, both saying things they probably shouldn’t have said. Mainly because he hadn’t been able to accept that she’d turned him down and had continued to push until she’d lashed out. She had accused him of feeling entitled when he really had no right to feel that way.

A fling.
Her words from earlier in the day came back to haunt him.

Rodrigo looked at his drink. The trip down memory lane had been a painful reminder of what had been. She’d gotten under his skin. Having her here was a monumental distraction, but right now he didn’t care if she loved him or not.

He couldn’t think or concentrate, knowing she was only a short distance away. What made it even harder was imagining her moving to Brazil and becoming a permanent fixture in his life, the way he’d wanted. She was the only woman he’d ever asked to marry him, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t forget her. He wanted to convince her to spend more time with him. He wanted to convince her to...stay.

He swallowed the last of his drink.

He suspected Sidney hadn’t told him the whole truth about why she’d turned him down. He felt there was more to her reasoning than she’d let on, and it had nothing to do with him being prideful or feeling entitled, as she’d suggested. He just knew, in his gut, that she was keeping something from him.

But what?

The attraction between them was as strong as ever. Before she left Rio, he’d find out the real reason she’d turned down his proposal, surmount it, and get her to agree to marry him this time.

* * *

After she arrived at the hotel, Sidney had checked in with her mother and then gone down to the hotel restaurant for a late meal. Wearily, she’d undressed when she’d returned to her room. The tension of the day had taken its toll and all she wanted was to crawl under the sheets and forget everything that had happened since this morning. But she didn’t.

Instead, she picked up her purse and pulled out a photo that reminded her of why she’d come. She walked to the window and looked down on the lit street, the moon hovering over the landscape and reflecting in the dark water of the Atlantic Ocean. Cars honked and pedestrians wandered around below. Some holding hands, others arm in arm.

With her fingertips she traced an outline of the person in the photo. A baby.

Only a few more weeks and she could adopt the perfect little girl in the picture, with her big brown eyes and chubby cheeks—Alana. Born to a teenage mother, she’d been given up at birth and, as far as Sidney was concerned, placed with the adoption agency just for her. But she had to secure this contract first and keep her job long enough to make the adoption happen. She could potentially lose her little girl if she didn’t have stable employment.