Model Attraction (9 page)

Chapter 9

A
ustin whistled as he walked down the hall toward his office. After two meetings that involved hashing out budgets for a couple of the firm's biggest projects, normally he would be ready to call it a day. Not today.

For the last week and a half, he and Janna had spent every day together. Dinners at his place, movie marathons that included action flicks, long talks over wine, and some serious kissing sessions that only stoked the sexual tension between them. Her presence in his life made him realize just how much he had missed her.

“Hi, Austin. I see you made it back,” Beverly, his secretary, greeted him when he stepped into the front office. She stood and handed him his messages. “Nice tie.”

Austin absently ran his hand down the length of the gift Janna had given him a few days earlier. He tended to wear designer ties, but he had a feeling the multicolored silk neckwear exceeded even what he would normally pay for one.

“Oh, and Janna Morgan called and said she should be here around noon,” Beverly said. Austin glanced at his watch, noting that it was twenty minutes till. “I didn't realize you knew the supermodel. It's going to be great to meet her.”

“Yeah, we grew up together. I'll make sure I introduce you two.” Actually, he was sure Janna would introduce herself upon arrival and make Beverly fall in love with her the way everyone else did.

Fall in love.
He had never stopped loving Janna, but his feelings for her now had risen to a whole different level.

He turned from Beverly's desk to head to his office.

“Oh, and your brother is waiting in your office.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Austin stopped in his office doorway and frowned at seeing his brother sitting in his chair with his feet on his desk.

He closed the door. “Don't you have an office of your own?” He swiped his brother's feet down. “Get up.”

Malcolm took his time standing. At just over six feet tall, he was a few inches shorter than Austin. They had the same build and probably weighed close to the same, but personality wise, they were on opposite ends of the spectrum.

“Yeah, I have my own office, but can't I come and hang out with my little brother sometime?”

“Only when you want something.” Austin stood at his desk and sifted through the messages Beverly had given him. “So what do you want?”

“Your secretary was right. That is a nice tie.” Malcolm dropped down in one of the guest chairs. “As a matter of fact, it doesn't look like anything you would pick out for yourself. I'd say that beautiful supermodel you've been spending so much time with is trying to bring you into the twenty-first century with your style. Thank goodness.”

Austin shook off his suit jacket and hung it on the back of his office chair before sitting down. The way he felt about Janna, she could do whatever she wanted to him. He didn't know what he was going to do when she headed back to New York in three days. He wanted to beg her to stay in Atlanta with him, but she was at the apex of her career. He couldn't put her in a position to choose between him and her job again.

“There you are staring off into space again,” Malcolm cut into Austin's thoughts. “It's a wonder you've been able to get any work done with Miss Hottie in town.”

Austin sat back in his seat and folded his hands on top of his head. “Are you in here for a reason? Because if you're not, feel free to show yourself to the door.”

“As a matter of fact, I am here for a reason.” His brother turned serious. “What would you need from me in order to increase my department's budget? I thought we could go another year with the CAD/CAM, the computer-aided design and manufacturing system, that we have, but I don't think so. Ours is so outdated, I think we're going to have to upgrade sooner rather than later.”

Despite his brother's partying ways, Austin had to admit that Malcolm was the best building designer. As the director of that department, his brother was brilliant when it came to thinking outside the box and offering their customers unique and fresh ideas.

“Do like everyone else is required to do, submit a request.”

“I can do that, but brace yourself. This system is not cheap.”

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

“Come in.”

The door swung open and a gust of adrenaline swept through Austin like a bullet from a high-powered rifle. He didn't think he'd ever get used to the sight of Janna.

Those seductive eyes. That smile that lit up his life. And that body.
God, that body.
It was no wonder he hadn't been able to think straight these last few weeks. Dressed in a red blouse with a plunging neckline and fitted jeans with her signature ponytail, she had his body tightening with desire. Hell, she could wear a burlap sack and still have him drooling. He fought the desire to march across the room and take her right up against the far wall. He couldn't do that. Not only because Malcolm was in the room, but also because he wanted their first time back together to be more romantic—and on a bed.

“Good afternoon, fellas.” She closed the door and strutted into the room with all the confidence of a woman who was used to being the center of attention.

Austin's gaze went to the picnic basket in her hands. Funny how he hadn't noticed it when he first spotted her in the doorway. She carried it as if it were an accessory to her outfit, and damn if she didn't make it work.

He and Malcolm stood.

“Hey, beautiful,” Malcolm said, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek before Austin could get to her. “Surely by now you know you're hanging out with the wrong brother, right?”

She set the basket down on a nearby table and cast smoky eyes on Austin. “Mmm, I think I have the right one.”

Austin stepped around the desk and she walked into his open arms. He covered her mouth and kissed her with enough passion to let her know for sure that she had the right brother and how glad he was to see her.

Once he let her up for air, she said, “I definitely have the right brother.”

Malcolm chuckled. “I guess that's my cue then. I'm outta here.”

Austin ignored his brother and captured Janna's lips again, eliciting a moan from her that spurred him on.

“Don't mind me. I'm just going to go and get back to work,” Malcolm said as he left the office.

“I thought he'd never leave,” Austin mumbled against Janna's mouth. “But I'm glad he did.”

He rested his forehead against hers. “Hi.”

She grinned. “Well, hello.”

Stepping out of his hold, she lifted the picnic basket. “Ready?”

“Uh, yeah, but I didn't know we were going on a picnic.” He glanced down at his clothing. “I had planned on ordering lunch in. That way we could eat while we discussed more of your business plan.”

“Yeah, about that. I forgot to bring it.”

His eyebrows shot up. “I thought the whole point of lunch was to work on it.”

“Well, that wasn't the whole point of lunch,” she said seductively. She walked up to him, her hands against his chest and her lips a breath from his. “I also wanted to see you.”

“Is that right?”

“Yep, and I wanted to do this.”

Her mouth settled over his, and he suddenly didn't give a damn about lunch or anything else for that matter.
Strawberry lip gloss
, he realized when he tasted her lips again. A wave of nostalgia washed over him. Like years ago, he was powerless to resist anything she offered. Her hypnotic scent floated around him, weakening his defenses even more.

He thrust his tongue into her mouth greedily and knew that a kiss today wouldn't be enough. He wanted all of her. His hands made contact with bare skin when they went to her waist, pulling her closer so that she could feel the effect she was having on him.
Smooth
,
soft
and
warm
were the words that came to mind when his hands traveled up her back beneath her blouse.

Oh, yeah, he definitely wanted more. He needed more.

Breathing hard, he broke off the kiss. “Maybe we should just skip lunch and take this back to your place.”

“What about work?” she asked. A glimpse at her kiss-swollen lips turned him on even more.

“It'll be here when I get back.”

* * *

Twenty minutes later, they were barely able to get inside Janna's hotel room before they were ripping each other's clothes off.

“I've never seen this side of you,” Janna said, panting and shimmying out of her jeans as she backed her way toward the bedroom with Austin following. She had already tossed her top and they were leaving a trail of clothes and shoes along the way.

When Janna stood just inside her bedroom door in only her skimpy red lace bra and panty set, it was as if time stood still. Austin was less than a yard away in his black boxer briefs, looking like an Adonis.

Janna's heart rate kicked up as she took in all of him.
Beautiful everywhere
, she thought as her gaze landed on him. No doubt national magazines would fly off the shelves if Austin's perfectly sculpted body was featured on the pages. Exquisitely built, from his wide shoulders down to his thick muscular legs, and he was hers.

“Wow,” she finally said, the word tumbling out of her mouth. He moved forward, visibly admiring her lingerie with each step he took. It was the same heated look that was brimming in his eyes when he'd all but ogled her skimpy white bikini.

“Wow, yourself.”

She squealed when he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bed. He threw back the covers, holding her as if she weighed nothing, and laid her down. Before joining her, he placed several foil packets on the bedside table. She hadn't realized he'd had them in his hand, but a ball of excitement bounced inside her gut, knowing that they were really going to do this. She'd wanted him weeks ago, but knew the wait would be worth it.

When he turned to her, his eyes blazing with desire, she squirmed under his watchful gaze as his fingers traced a seductive path from her neck down to the center of her chest. Experienced fingers unclasped the front of her bra and she quickly shrugged out of it.

Excitement pumped through her veins when he palmed her breasts, tweaking and teasing her nipples. Her breath hitched when his tongue replaced his fingers on one nipple, rotating and teasing the hardened bud before moving over to the other.

Janna's eyes drifted closed and her body squirmed beneath him as he kneaded her breasts, sucking and tugging as she groaned in pleasure. His teeth grazed a sensitive peak, sending an erotic sensation scurrying from the top of her head to the pads of her feet.

“Austin,” she breathed. “I don't know how much of this I can take.”

His hands continued torturing her breasts as if she hadn't spoken while he kissed a fiery path down her body, not stopping until he reached the top of her bikini panties.

“Though you look hot as hell in these, they have to go.” Before she could blink, he had slid them down her legs and was back to torturing her with soft kisses against her heated skin. Gone was the boy who was nervous about making love to her as a teen, and here was a man who knew what he was doing. Knew what he wanted.

He raised his head, his hands roaming down the sides of her body. “You're gorgeous with clothes on, but without them, you take my breath away. Absolute perfection.”

His gaze stroked every inch of her and Janna had to fight her natural instinct to strike a pose. She remained still as she lay vulnerable under his heated perusal. She wanted this so badly. She wanted him...all of him.

He sat back on his haunches, his hands still caressing her body. He had that look in his eyes. The same look he had when he brought their intimate moment at the guesthouse to a halt.

“Don't even think about stopping this,” she said with attitude, his gaze holding hers. “I'm not the shy girl you once knew and I plan to have my way with you this afternoon.”

Austin chuckled. “Baby, there has never been a shy bone in your body.” He stood suddenly and removed his boxer briefs.

Janna's mouth dropped open and the smart retort teetering on the end of her tongue froze. When she compared him to an Adonis earlier, she hadn't seen what lay beneath his briefs.
Magnificent.

“As for you having your way with me, I'm all yours.”

From his words, his tone and the look in his eyes as he stared at her from the foot of the bed, Janna knew he was talking about more than just this moment.

“And I'm all yours,” she murmured, barely able to breathe as he slowly climbed back on the bed, the muscles in his body contracting with each stealthy move toward her.

Her thighs fell open of their own accord as if inviting him in, but Austin would not be rushed. He lifted her foot, turning it in his large hand, and placed a kiss on the inside of her ankle. She whimpered as he slowly made his way up her leg, covering her skin with his sweet kisses.

“Austin,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper as his mouth caressed the inside of her thigh. Her stomach tightened and an orgasm teetered on the edge of her control.

It didn't take much for her to reach that point when Austin's experienced mouth did wicked things to her body. His tongue joined in on the fun and passion raged deep inside her core. Her eyes slammed shut. “I can't hold...” She fisted a handful of the sheet in her grasp and her hips lifted off the bed as her sex throbbed with need. “I want you in...inside me.”

Austin lowered her leg and slid a finger inside her slick heat.

“Oh, baby,” he said on a husky groan, adding another finger, sliding in and out of her hard and deep. “You're definitely ready for me.”

“Austin!” she screamed, her hips bucking with each thrust until waves of ecstasy pushed her over the edge of her control and into a hysteria of delight.