Irresistible Forces (8 page)

“Because I want you over here with me right now.”

She heard the tenseness in his voice and for a long, endless moment, she didn’t say anything, and then, “Is it necessary?”

“Trust me on this, Taylor. It is.”

She had been watching the television as he’d been doing and recalled what had been playing before it had gone black. The couple had been making out on the sofa, performing oral sex on each other.

He was still staring at her when she finally slid over toward him, coming to sit directly next to him. With a throaty chuckle and not knowing what to expect, she said, “Well, here I am.”

He leaned his face closer to hers. “I want you even closer.”

She felt sizzling heat flow through her veins. “If I get any closer, Dominic, I’ll be in your lap.”

He gave her a sexy smile. “Yeah, I know.” And then he reached out and lifted her into his lap. She quickly realized the enormous size of his erection. It was protruding hard against her bottom. She placed her arm around his neck, which made her bathrobe gape open. Before she had a chance to pull it back together, Dominic’s hands were there. “No, let it stay open,” he said in a deep, husky voice.

The warmth of his touch on her skin sent shivers down her spine. He then leaned closer and gently dropped his head in the center of her chest and brushed a kiss there. Then she felt a flick of his tongue and a lick in that very spot. She could feel the area between her legs getting wet. So easily and just that quickly.

He suddenly shifted positions and she felt herself gently being pushed back against the sofa’s cushions with him looming over her. He had stretched her out on the sofa and had gotten on his knees beside it. “I think reality is much better than sitting here watching a movie,” he said, reaching out and completely opening her robe.

Taylor couldn’t restrain the heat from suffusing her body when Dominic’s gaze roamed over her nakedness. And as she stared at him she saw his eyes darken even more and detected the exact moment his breathing changed.

He lifted his gaze and looked at her. “I think I’m becoming addicted.”

She paused mentally as she took in what he’d said. Would his addiction extend beyond the week they would share here together? They really hadn’t made any ground rules. She’d just assumed he understood that anything beyond this week was not a possibility. She had to start planning her life around a baby and she was sure his schedule was just as demanding. He traveled a lot. He had a lot on his plate. From what she’d read in the magazines, his affairs were more misses than hits, intentionally so on his part. He liked affairs. She didn’t have time for even that much of a relationship. The only reason she had carved out this week was because more than anything she wanted a baby. Not a full-time or part-time lover.

Any thoughts were suddenly snatched from Taylor’s mind when she felt Dominic’s fingers settle between her legs. She recalled what had happened the last time he had touched her there. With the skill of his fingers, it wasn’t long before he had her entire body trembling. There was no doubt in her mind that his intimate touch was being branded on her brain. Sensations were drumming through her and she dug her teeth into her lower lip to stop from screaming out.

She met his gaze and saw the heated lust that darkened his eyes and knew they had to be a mirror of hers. He was deliberately taunting her feminine core, making her want him to the point where she was almost ready to beg.

“You’re extremely wet, Taylor,” he said in a low, throaty voice as he continued to stroke her with expert precision. “Your heated scent is powerful, intoxicating and arousing. Do you know what I want to do?”

Make love to her,
she hoped.
Now.
He was looking at her expectantly since he had asked her a question. Was he really expecting an answer? She doubted her mind could form coherent words to give him one. Instead she pushed herself to say, “No, what do you want to do?”

“Taste you.”

When he lowered his head between her legs it hit her that he hadn’t been asking permission. He was taking what he wanted. And when his tongue flicked out and gave her that first intimate touch, she felt boneless; pleasure of the most intense kind seeped through her pores.

“Dominic.” She closed her eyes on a blissful sigh as he continued to kiss her in the most intimate way a man could. Even while part of her mind was telling her to resist him—to reach out and jerk his head up—the only thing she could do was reach out and grab hold of his head to hold it in place.

But the reality of it was that it didn’t look as though he planned to go anywhere anytime soon. He was assaulting her with thorough, leisurely strokes of his tongue, relentless in his actions. And she was unashamedly enjoying it.

She became aware of the shiver that raced through her body, and his tongue probed deeper, becoming more demanding, greedier. She let out an intense moan from deep within her throat. Her hands holding his head tightened as if to draw him closer and he continued going at her as if her taste was something he just had to have.

Her body exploded, seemingly into a thousand pieces, and she let out a high-pitched scream as deep gratification seared through her with the impact of concrete hitting steel. She realized his hold on her was just as immobilizing as her hold on him. He had a firm grip on her thighs, not intending to let her go anyplace until he’d gotten his fill, and that thought sent her over the edge again.

Never in her life had anything happened to her like this before. Not only this time, but all those other times tonight with Dominic. This just wasn’t normal for her and she wondered if it would have been normal for any woman. She suddenly had a fleeting thought that continuing beyond this week wouldn’t be bad if she got to experience something like this. Her job could be stressful and making love to Dominic could certainly take the edge off things.

She finally felt her body floating back to Earth when Dominic lifted his mouth from her. He raised his head to stare down at her while licking his lips in the process, and the gesture was so erotic she reached out and pulled his mouth to hers. She tasted herself on his lips, his tongue, leaving her with no doubt of how intense his intimate kiss had been.

And then she felt her body being lifted into his strong arms and knew they would finish what they had started in the bedroom.

Dominic stood at the window and looked out at the ocean. It was dark outside yet he could see the waves hitting the shore. He turned slightly to glance at the clock on the nightstand. It was almost two in the morning. Taylor was still sleeping. He, however, had gotten out of bed after finding it impossible to sleep. So here he was, standing at the window gazing out into the night. It was either that or wake up Taylor to make love again.

Sheesh.
He had made love to her more times in one night than he had to any woman in such a short span of time. He tried convincing himself not to be bothered by that statistic since to make love was the reason they were here, and the more times they did it the better the chances of her getting pregnant. He could accept that. But what he didn’t want to accept was just how much he was enjoying it. Not that he thought he wouldn’t. He just hadn’t figured on doing so to this extreme—especially not to the point where his erection hadn’t gone down any over the past twelve hours or so. That was simply remarkable.

He shook his head thinking that no,
that
was Taylor.

The woman had the ability to excite him by doing the smallest things. Hell, just looking at any part of her body made him want her, and to think they had six more days to go. If they kept going at it the rate they were doing now, by the end of the seventh day the hotel staff would have to come in with a crowbar to pry their bodies apart.

He rubbed his hand down his face thinking that come morning they needed to get out of the hotel room for a while and take a tour of the island or something. Anything that would get them out of their suite. Taylor was becoming one hell of a temptation.

None of the brochures had mentioned any outside activities since the sole purpose of the procreation vacation was focused on a single activity that was mainly done indoors. But still, if necessary, he was ready to take drastic measures since what he’d told Taylor earlier was true. He was becoming addicted to her and that thought didn’t sit well with him. In fact, it was beginning to annoy the hell out of him. It wasn’t his intent to become obsessed with any woman to the point that he couldn’t walk away when he was good and ready, and without any lingering thoughts. Taylor was making it hard as hell to consider doing so.

Deciding he needed a definite plan before she woke up, he moved away from the window and grabbed his shirt and pants off a nearby chair. Within minutes he was heading out the door to talk to the person at the front desk.

The moment he stepped into the elevator he wished he hadn’t. There was no doubt in his mind what he’d come within mere seconds of catching the couple doing. The woman was quickly getting off her knees and the man was turning his back to him to rezip his pants. Dominic wasn’t sure who was the more embarrassed, so he stared at the elevator door as though he was oblivious to everything and was glad when the elevator came to the lobby. Since the couple made no move to get off, he could only assume they intended to continue what they were doing before his interruption and this time he hoped they had the good sense to stop the elevators between floors.

Glad at the moment that he no longer had a boner, he walked briskly over to the check-in desk. An older man looked up, seemingly surprised to see him or anyone up and about at that time of morning. “Yes, sir, may I help you?”

“I hope you can. Is there anything else around here to do?”

The man, who appeared to be in his late fifties, gave him a strange look as if to say,
the main thing around here takes place in the bedroom and you obviously aren’t there.
However, he merely said, “It depends on what you want do.”

“What I want to do,” Dominic heard himself say, “is something that will take me and my wife away from the resort for a few hours.”

The man looked appalled. “You want to leave your suite?”

Dominic couldn’t help but smile. This man evidently took the resort’s ability to produce results—specifically those that came nine months from now—pretty seriously. “Yes, just for a few hours but don’t worry, this place is definitely living up to our expectations.”

A relieved expression appeared on the man’s face when he said, “Thank you, sir, and we do have a couple of activities outside the resort that some of our visitors seem to enjoy on occasion. We can arrange for you to rent a sailboat, and then there’s horseback riding along the beach, a private picnic at one of the remote cottages and—”

“I like the idea of going sailing,” he quickly said, deciding he didn’t need him and Taylor going anywhere slightly remote. “Make the necessary arrangements, and since we’ll probably be gone past lunch, I think a picnic lunch would be nice.”

“Certainly, sir. I’ll take care of everything for you.”

Chapter 7

T
aylor slowly opened her eyes and saw Dominic sitting in one of the chairs across from the bed. He appeared bigger than life and was definitely impossible to miss. The sunlight shining through the window was beaming on him at an angle that made her insides flutter. He was an incredibly attractive man.

She shifted in bed and the ache she felt in certain muscles quickly reminded her that he was also a skillful lover—and she hoped a very potent one. After their passionate encounters last night she was pretty convinced she was probably pregnant already. But they had six days and nights to go.

“Good morning.”

At the sound of his voice she forcibly put those thoughts to the back of her mind. She was still having delicious aftershocks of last night and seeing him sitting lazily in the chair with his legs stretched out in front of him wasn’t helping matters. At least he was fully dressed.

“Good morning,” she said, pulling herself up in bed, making sure she kept a tight grip on the bedspread covering her. He might be dressed but she was still completely naked. So much for all those nightgowns she had brought along. At the rate they were going she wouldn’t be using them. At least she’d had on the red one for a split second before he’d taken it off her.

“How would you like to go sailing today?”

The low, sexy tone of his voice had tiny little shivers moving down her spine. “Sailing?”

“Yes.”

It would get them out of the suite for a while, she thought, and couldn’t help wondering if that was the reason he’d come up with the idea. Was he getting tired of her already?

“Trust me, that’s not it.”

She blinked. “Excuse me?”

He eased his tall frame from the chair and came to stand beside the bed. She thought he looked simply gorgeous in a pair of jeans and a blue polo shirt. “I saw something flash in your eyes just now that I’ve never seen before. Not in all the time I’ve known you,” he said softly.

She bit her lip nervously. “What?”

“Doubt. And you’re one of the most confident people I know, male or female. The only reason I think it’s best that we remove ourselves from this suite for a while is because if we don’t, we’re liable to try every damn position in that book and there’re close to sixty of them.”

She couldn’t help the smile that touched her lips. “Sixty-five to be exact.”

There was an electric silence in the room as if they were both remembering the ones they had tried so far. “I’ll leave so you can get dressed,” Dominic finally said, as he turned toward the door.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t be taking any more showers alone,” she couldn’t help but say.

He stopped walking and turned back around. The look he gave her was filled with desire, as if it wouldn’t take much for him to cross the room and strip her naked. “Trust me. It took all I had not to wake you when I took mine, but the next time I won’t spare any mercy. I plan to have you in there with me.”

His eyes challenged her to deny what he’d said as a fact and she couldn’t. Doing so would be pointless. In just one night she had discovered she enjoyed making love with him way too much. The man was too downright irresistible for his own good…and hers. She had never responded to another man the way she was responding to him.

The moment he closed the door behind him, she eased out of bed, hoping he wouldn’t change his mind and decide to join her in the shower anyway. She moved around the bedroom gathering up everything she would need for her bath and trying to decide which of the outfits she’d brought along would be appropriate for sailing. She placed her underthings on the bed and before going into the bathroom she strolled to the window and looked out. She was again in awe at the beauty of the island. The ocean looked inviting and she would enjoy being out on it in a sailboat.

Moments later she stepped under a jet of warm water thinking a shower was what she needed for her sore muscles because they had definitely been put to the test. The last time when they’d made love before finally drifting off to sleep, they had used another position from that book. A smile formed on her lips. The leapfrog position definitely had had its merits.

Deciding she needed to get dressed quickly before Dominic was tempted to come find out what was taking her so long, she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower and began toweling dry with one of the huge fluffy towels. Once she was dry she wrapped the towel around her before making her way back to the bedroom to select something out of her closet.

She found an outfit she thought would be perfect, a pair of crochet-trim gauchos with a matching tunic top that tied at the back of the neck. It was an outfit she had purchased last summer while visiting Cheyenne in Jamaica.

Moments later she stood, completely dressed in front of the mirror, viewing the results and finding them acceptable. She hoped when Dominic saw her he would like the results, as well. One thing she noticed was that with the style of the outfit, several passion marks were blatantly visible. A shiver passed through her. She could recall the exact moment each and every single one was made. Dominic had made sure of it.

She took a deep breath as she glanced at the unmade bed and could actually feel her body beginning to throb with the memories of last night. The thought that she could even now be pregnant filled her with intense pleasure as she walked to the door.

“If I didn’t know better, Dominic, I’d think you were a born seaman.”

Dominic glanced over at Taylor, his gaze roaming over her from behind dark aviator sunglasses. He liked the outfit she had chosen to wear and thought that she looked sexy in it. She was leaning against the ship’s railing with the sun in the background, seemingly shining directly on her. It was a perfect day to be out on the water and he was glad she was out here with him.

His mind shifted back to her comment and he decided not to tell her that in essence he really was a born seaman. The Saxons of France had made their fortune in the shipping industry for centuries and his father had been taught to navigate a watercraft before learning to walk. If you bothered to dig up the family history, the Saxons had been and always would be men of the sea. Marcello Saxon had passed his love for the ocean on to him and Dominic intended to pass that love on to his son or daughter. Some of his fondest memories were of the times when his father had routinely taken Dominic and his mother with him on his father’s first luxury cruise liners.

“How are you feeling?” he asked her, more out of genuine concern than a way to change the subject. He hadn’t missed the fact that her steps were a lot slower today and he knew why. She knew why, too, which he figured was the reason a blush appeared in her face.

“I’m fine,” she answered and turned to look back over the ocean.

He smiled. After all they’d shared last night, every single thing they’d done, how on earth could she get embarrassed by his question? He was discovering a lot about his wealth and asset manger turned temporary lover. He knew she was allergic to certain types of nuts, had a tendency to overindulge in chocolate and loved watching scary movies. And in the past hour, with his encouragement, she had shared more about her family with him. There was no doubt in his mind the Steeles were close. She admired her male cousins and thought the world of her two sisters.

It had always been his parents’ wish to have another child but miscarriages before and after his birth made them change their minds and decide he would be the one and only. Listening to Taylor made him realize that, other than Matt, he hadn’t had a lot of friends or family while growing up. He had been sent to private schools most of his life, some outside the United Sates. And after that kidnapping attempt, it was a long time before his parents or Ryder would let him out of their sight.

“Hungry yet?” he decided to ask her.

She turned, lifted a brow and smiled. “What if I am? It’s not like we’re going to find a restaurant out here.”

He gave a soft laugh. “No, but we do have that,” he said, nodding to the huge picnic basket she hadn’t yet seen near the bow.

She followed his gaze and smiled. “Who brought that on?”

“The management of the resort,” he said. “I ordered lunch for us when I requested the boat. I’m ready to eat when you are.”

She smiled. “Okay then, I’m ready.”

“Wow, the resort really did it up, didn’t they?” Taylor said while watching Dominic unload the picnic basket. There were numerous sandwiches, a platter of cheeses, bags of chips, a container of fruit, a Thermos filled with coffee and a bottle of chilled nonalcoholic wine.

“Um, I specifically told them about the nonalcoholic wine just in case you’re in a delicate condition already. And since I’m the captain of this vessel, I can’t drink on the job,” he said, putting the empty basket aside to pour wine into their glasses. “I have to make sure we get back to land safely before nightfall.”

Taylor grinned. “And I appreciate that.” She placed the plate filled with food in her lap. Dominic had done the serving and had given her a little bit of everything.

She glanced over at him. “So, what kind of kid were you while growing up, so I can know what to expect?”

He threw his head back and laughed. “It might be too late to determine that, isn’t it? It wouldn’t surprise me any if you’re pregnant already.”

She had thought the same thing but to hear him say it out loud made goose bumps appear on her arms. “Too bad there’s no way we can find out.”

“I don’t want to know,” he said, taking a sip of his wine.

She lifted a brow. “Why?”

He met her gaze over the glass. “If you knew you were pregnant already then you wouldn’t need for us to stay the remainder of the week. Just think of all the fun we’d miss out on.”

She was thinking. But then she knew that eventually all good things came to an end. “So tell me,” she encouraged. “What kind of child were you? Spoiled I bet.”

A small smile touched his lips. “I guess there was a little of that since I was the only child, but I knew just how far to go in riling my parents. I didn’t have any siblings or a bunch of cousins like you have, but I had Matt.”

“Matt?”

“Yes, Matt Caulder. He’s my attorney and best friend. Our mothers were childhood friends, and in a way Matt and I were raised together. Then his mother died of breast cancer. It was our final year of high school. That was a difficult time for him.”

“I can imagine,” she said, thinking of the time she had lost her father while in high school, as well. “I know how he felt. I lost Dad while in high school, too. He died of lung cancer.”

“Was he a smoker?”

“Yes, of the worst kind. We tried to get him to quit and never could.” She was silent for a few minutes. “So tell me about Matt. Is he married?” she asked curiously.

Dominic shook his head. “Divorced. Unfortunately things didn’t work out. But he’ll be quick to tell you the best thing to come from his marriage was Dee—short for Deena. She’s his two-year-old daughter and was named after his mother. I’m her godfather. I’ve got pictures. You want to see?”

“Sure.”

Taylor watched as Dominic put aside his plate to pull out his wallet. He would make a wonderful father, she thought, and a sense of pride touched her in knowing his child would be hers.

She took the photograph he handed to her. Dee was definitely a pretty little girl. “She’s blessed to have both you and her father in her life,” Taylor said as she continued looking at the picture. “It’s important for little girls, as well as little boys, to have strong male role models.”

“Yes, it is,” he agreed.

Taylor handed him back the photograph and their hands touched. The sensation that hit the both of them, simultaneously, made their breaths catch. Her eyes flew to his face. “Sorry about that,” she said apologetically.

“It’s not your fault,” he said, intentionally not looking at her while placing Dee’s picture back in his wallet.

No, and neither was it his, she thought. It seemed they were two irresistible forces that attracted, even when they weren’t trying to. They couldn’t help it. Weren’t strong enough to stop it. Even now there was a sexually charged awareness between the two of them. The very air they were breathing seemed electrified, sensually combustible.

For the next few moments they ate in silence. That gave her a chance to look around and check out the sailboat. It was a beauty with nice accommodations. While he had been busy getting ready to sail, she had gone below to check out things. There were a number of screened ports as well as multiple overhead hatches intended to circulate fresh air. What had caught her eye was the queen-size berth in the aft stateroom, as well as the built-in lounge seat and hanging lockers. The bathroom was small but contained a shower with hot and cold water, a sink and vanity. Also below was a highly styled gourmet galley with a beautifully detailed teak interior.

When they had boarded, Dominic had said something about it being large enough to sleep six people and that the size of the boat eliminated a lot of rocking. She had to agree since so far it had been smooth sailing. He was the captain and she smiled, remembering that he had made her his mate. After bringing the boat into the wind, he had asked her to hold the wheel while he lowered the sail. She had enjoyed doing that. It had made her feel useful and a part of what he was doing.

She tilted her face up toward the sun, thinking there was a nice breeze in the air and all she could see for miles around was ocean. They had left any semblance of land behind hours ago. It seemed they were the only two people at that moment under a glorious blue sky.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Dominic move and she turned her head and watched him. He was standing up and looking out at the sea. Before leaving the resort, he had swapped his jeans for a pair of denim shorts, and as he stood there with his legs braced apart, his shoulders bracketed against the wind and his hands jammed into the pockets of his shorts it was obvious that he was definitely a gorgeous specimen of a man. And with the sun and ocean in the background surrounding him, he looked totally at ease. Even from where she sat she could feel the sexual tension within him and it was having an effect on her. It was stirring things within her. The need she felt for him was poignant, keen and cutting sharp. It was weakening her with desire.