The Tycoon's Resistant Lover (10 page)

As soon as he walked out, she felt his eyes surveying the darkness. She also knew the moment that his eyes found her by her car, the heat hitting her even from this distance and in the cool autumn air. He walked directly towards her, not even hesitating as he took her into his arms and kissed her, desire surging through her. His body was hard and muscular, pressing her back against the car as his hands moved into her hair, pulling her head back so he could deepen the kiss. She wasn’t just taking the treatment either. She was ravenous for him, wanting to taste him, to feel him. He might be pressing her back against the car, but she pressed her body against his, needing all of him urgently.

When he finally lifted his head to look down at her, his breathing was just as ragged as hers. “Come on,” he said tightly and took her hand, leading her quickly towards his Mustang several cars away.

He didn’t speak as he tucked her into the passenger seat, bending down to kiss her once again. “I’ll have someone bring your car back to your house so you don’t have to worry about it,” he said just to ease any concerns she might have.

Julianna didn’t care about her car. All she cared about was this need to have him, to touch him and feel his hands against her skin. She didn’t want to wait until they reached his place. She wanted him now. As soon as he slid into the driver’s seat, she moved closer to him. She’d only meant to sit next to him, but he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her again, his hands sliding under her red sweater and feeling her breasts. “I missed you last night,” he growled and bent down to kiss her, his hand going from her breasts to her bottom, pressing her hard against him.

“Bed!” she gasped, coming up for air when all she wanted was to tear off her clothes and have him touch her everywhere, then tear off his clothes and feel him against her. “Hurry,” she said, breathing hard but she didn’t move from his lap, kissing his neck and his ear, biting him just as he’d done to her.

James growled but he knew that they couldn’t make love in his car, no matter how much he wanted to just strip her down and take her right now. If she’d been upset about having sex in her warehouse, he couldn’t imagine her embarrassment once she realized that they’d made love in front of her friend’s house in his car. No, he wasn’t going through that again.

He set her into the passenger seat firmly, strapped her seatbelt on, then moved back to his side of the car. With a flick of his fingers, the engine roared to life and he pulled away from the curb with tires squealing.

They didn’t speak as he drove her through the city streets, but his hand held hers, his thumb rubbing along the inside of her wrist, sending shivers through her body and making her completely aware of him at all times.

When he drove into an underground garage, she didn’t know where she was, but suspected this was just a temporary housing arrangement until his London home in Mayfair was finished and furnished. She didn’t have a chance to look thoroughly around when he brought her through to the top floor of the apartment complex, but she had a sense of space and openness, exactly what she would have thought he would live in before she’d seen his other house.

She wasn’t given much time to consider the issue though. As soon as they walked in the doors, she was taken in his arms and he kissed her, pulling her up against him and thrilling her with his touch and the excitement that only this man could produce within her.

She didn’t stop him, in fact pulled herself closer, her hands fisting against his shirt since she couldn’t get his dark green sweater off of him. She ripped the cashmere over his head, her hands flattening against his stomach with just the cotton shirt keeping her hands from touching his skin. But it still wasn’t enough. With frantic haste, she shoved the material higher and was grateful when James took over and pulled it over his head, dropping it on the floor. He was pulling her through his home but she didn’t bother to look anywhere but at his massive chest, her fingers loving the way it felt to slide through the light hair covering those bulging pectoral muscles and biceps on his arms.

A few steps later, he had her red sweater off and he dropped it by the door to the great room, her bra coming next, kissing her the whole time and dragging her further into the room.

They didn’t make it to the bedroom though. With her mouth against his chest, he picked her up and shook his head, trying to clear his eyesight enough to figure out where they were. When he spotted the couch, he just lifted her up and carried her over to the cushions.

“Don’t wait,” she gasped and worked the buckle on his belt, shoving his dark slacks down just enough so she could grip him with her fingers.

James just about exploded when he felt her hands holding his erection. Her fingers were clumsy and too gentle but that seemed to make her touch even more erotic. He wasn’t about to break the contact though, sweat forming on his forehead as he tried to control the lust she instilled in him.

“Can’t wait,” she urged, pulling him closer. James was all for the pace, needing to bury himself in her heat more than he’d ever needed anything in his life. He grabbed for his back pocket with one hand while pushing her black pencil skirt up with the other. She was wearing leather boots that went up to her knees and then her lacy topped, black thigh highs drove his need even higher.

He tore off the wrapper off of the condom and rolled it down his length, then pushed her back, spreading her legs wide as he looked down at her. With one thrust he pushed into her, filling her up and groaning at the incredible tight heat of her.

She moved her hips, frantic to feel him, to find the release but he was still. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, gasping at the possession she saw there. “You’re mine, Jules. Say it,” he commanded.

She tried to smile but it probably came out as a grimace because he wasn’t moving inside of her. She put her hands on his shoulders, her muscles clenching as she fought the urge to shift, to make him move. “Yes!” she gasped. “I’m yours. Please! I’m yours!”

He smiled victorious and couldn’t help but respond to her frantic need. It was mirrored within him and he pushed slightly higher inside her, then pulled almost all the way out before pushing back inside. The feeling was so incredible he didn’t want to stop.

As they moved together, their breathing increased until they were both gasping for air as their bodies climaxed together, James growling out as Julianna cried out her release. When he collapsed on top of her, she thought she might be crushed but loved the feeling of his weight on top of her. She wrapped both her arms around him, kissing his shoulder in between gasps for air.

Long minutes later, he lifted himself off and shifted slightly so that she was laying next to him instead of underneath him. “Sorry,” he said while his fingers trailed up her side, making her wiggle with the tickling feeling.

“Sorry for what?” she asked, laughing just because she wanted to. Every cell in her body was tingling and she felt good, relaxed and….just happy. Her leg moved down from his waist to his leg, caressing him slightly and then she froze. “You didn’t take off your pants?” she asked, horrified at the idea that they’d been so frantic that they hadn’t even undressed.

He lifted his head and looked down at her, noting her disdain with a raised eyebrow. “I hate to break it to you princess, but you didn’t take off your skirt or your boots.”

Julianna looked down at her waist, feeling the bunched up material for the first time then covered her face in her hands. “Oh, no.”

He chuckled deeply and stood up, buttoning his pants quickly before he bent down and lifted her into his arms. “This is a very easy issue to rectify,” he said with that almost ever present amusement. He carried her down a long hallway then into a dimly lit room. He set her down by the bed, then turned on a few more lights.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her hands quickly pushing down her black skirt before coming back up to cover her naked breasts.

“We’re going to do that again, but slower this time. And without any of these clothes,” he explained as he came over to tower over her. His arms slipped around to her back, undid the button at her waist, then slid the zipper down, pushing the material to the floor. After that, he lifted her up and placed her in the center of his huge bed and looked at her, taking one of her leather boots in his hands.

“Are you going to take it off?” she asked when he just stared at her for a moment.

His grin was slow and lascivious. “I’m considering it.”

She laughed along with him, delighted that he liked her black leather boots. “Well, let me know when you make a decision,” she said with a pretend yawn. “I’ll be here waiting.”

He threw back his head and laughed, thrilled that she was starting to overcome her shyness. “Think you can be passive?” he asked. He showed her in very great detail that she couldn’t, and didn’t even want to be passive when he touched her.

Chapter 6

Julianna looked around, her body stretching as unused muscles groaned in protest. She didn’t want to wake up, she didn’t want to move actually because she was feeling so good and relaxed.

When she felt James’ arm around her waist, she smiled and sighed with contentment. She really needed to head out. She had appointments today and she already could see the sun coming up over the horizon. But she felt so good right where she was.

James was an incredible lover, she thought with happiness. She had to be careful, or she’d get used to this.

Suddenly, reality hit her and she was horrified. Edward! She’d slept with James last night, willingly and enthusiastically, over and over again making love to him and reveling in the way he could make her feel. And she hadn’t given Edward a thought!

That happy, content and relaxed state instantly dissolved and guilt almost choked her. No, there wasn’t any formal agreement between herself and Edward, but that didn’t mean she had the right to humiliate him by being with another man. And the way she’d acted last night at Gloria’s party! Goodness, she was probably being talked about everywhere by now. And Edward would soon hear about her infidelity. It wasn’t fair that she’d done this to him. He was a good man and he didn’t deserve to be embarrassed like this.

She also knew that it would happen again, so it was only fair to talk to Edward before he heard about her relationship with James from someone else. She looked over her shoulder, smiling once again as she watched him sleep. He was just as intense in his sleep as he was while awake. She almost laughed out loud when she noticed the line between his eyebrows and she wondered what he was dreaming about. She reached a finger up, gently touching that line and his facial muscles instantly relaxed. His arm tightened around her slightly, but then he relaxed back into sleep and she laid there for several long moments, just enjoying the feeling of having his arms around her waist, his leg pressed between hers as if he needed to touch her everywhere at all times.

Slipping out of James’ bed, she tiptoed to the bathroom, gathering up her clothes as she went. She needed to leave carefully, not willing to wake up James in the process.  Around two o’clock in the morning, they’d walked through the penthouse to his kitchen and feasted on ice cream, so they’d picked up the clothes that had been torn off when they’d initially entered his home. She laughed at the memory that scene as she grabbed her red sweater and headed into the bathroom.

She quickly showered, then dressed and snuck out of his room, leaving him a note on the kitchen counter. It wasn’t a big, mushy note. Nothing like what she wanted to tell him. It only said that she had to visit some auctions this weekend and asked him to give her a call when he woke up and had a spare moment.

“Can I get you anything to eat, Miss?” an elderly lady asked just as Julianna was turning around, ready to leave the house.

“Oh!” she gasped, putting her hand up to her chest in surprise. The woman did not appear impressed with Julianna’s sneaking and her face showed her disapproval. “Um…no, thank you very much,” Julianna replied softly, her eyes glancing towards the other side of the large penthouse apartment where James was still sleeping soundly. “I need to head out, but can you make sure that James receives this note?” she asked and slid the note into the middle of the counter where it was more obvious.

“I will make sure he receives it first thing this morning, Miss.” She was abrupt, her wrinkled hands clasped in front of her and her grey and white uniform buttoned up to her chin. There was no expression in her eyes, just withered lips pursed in that continuous disapproval.

Julianna smiled wanly and left the woman with her frowning, disapproving expression while she walked out with as much dignity as possible under the circumstances. She tried to smooth the wrinkles out of the wool skirt, but it was pointless since it had either been bunched around her waist or in a pile on the floor for the night.

Down in the lobby, she asked the doorman to get her a cab. As soon as it arrived, she slipped into the back seat quickly, praying that no one she knew would be out and about this early in the morning and relieved to be away from that horrible housekeeper. If she was going to spend any more time with James in his house, and she had accepted now that she sincerely hoped that would be the case, she would have to talk to him about his domestic help. She wasn’t going to deal with that woman’s judgmental looks whenever she left in the morning. The woman would either have to absent herself, or James would need to come over to her townhouse. She smiled as the cab whipped through the early morning city streets, thinking about James laying in her frilly bedroom complete with lacy pillows and a down comforter covered with a white, embroidered duvet.

She reached her townhouse and was grateful to see her car parked in the driveway. The keys were under the matt and she let herself into the house, ready to pack her bag for the weekend auctions and feeling better now that she was in her own territory.

She thought about James’ penthouse decor, wondering who the real man was. The penthouse was modern and large, spanning two whole floors with rich, masculine colors and bold artwork. While the house he was renovating was the opposite. There were cozy rooms and lots of fireplaces which would need a completely different kind of furniture. The whole atmosphere was different. His penthouse was up in the clouds and his house was tucked away in an elaborate garden.

She supposed James might enjoy both personas. And she anticipated talking with him about his diverse living environments. Goodness, she realized that she was looking forward to talking with him about anything!

She checked her cell phone to make sure it was fully charged. She didn’t want James to think she’d just left him after their night of incredible passion without a word at all. She’d promised him in the note that she would answer his calls as soon as he woke up. She wondered if she should have let him know that she would be out of town on a buying trip this weekend, but maybe when he called, he could meet her at one of the small villages.

As she picked up her bags and headed out the door, she thought about the idea of spending a romantic weekend at one of the luxurious bed and breakfasts she’d reserved for the night. She would love to see James with all of his huge, masculine glory, sitting in one of the tiny, delicate chairs that the restaurant boasted.

By noon, she’d checked her messages about ten times, wondering why James hadn’t called. Was he just paying her back for yesterday when she’d ignored his calls all day long? If so, that was pretty juvenile of him. But it had been petty of her too, so maybe she deserved it.

She thought about calling him herself. As she waited for a red light to change at an intersection, she wondered if perhaps he’d just been overloaded with meetings this weekend. She knew that he was starting up a huge project and it was taking up a great deal of his time. But the whole day?

Maybe if she just called him to check in on him, that would be okay. She wouldn’t disturb him, would she?

She glanced down at her cell phone but there were no bars indicating service. She looked around and sighed. This was a pretty small town, so it isn’t surprising that they didn’t have service. She should have thought about that.

When she ordered room service in her hotel, she felt lonely and betrayed. By that point, she had reached a larger village and she had plenty of coverage. She tried calling James herself, but it just went to voice mail and she was too hurt by his silence to leave a message. She only nibbled at her dinner, not really hungry and wondering why James was playing these games. So she hadn’t answered his calls on Friday. Was it really necessary for him to pay her back so painfully? She’d been nervous and confused back then. She thought he’d understood but obviously he wasn’t the kind of man she thought he was.

By Sunday afternoon as she was driving back to London, she was miserable. She’d given her heart to a man who didn’t deserve it. She wanted his arms around her so badly that she actually ached as she drove home. She’d tried calling him a few more times today, but she was too far out in the country so there wasn’t any cell service in the remote areas she’d been traveling.

The weekend had turned out to be an abysmal failure in almost every aspect. The poorly run auctions she’d been hoping would be a great source of new inventory turned out to be mediocre quality pieces, many of them even fakes that she picked up on immediately. But the worst part was when she traveled back to London and checked her messages, finding none at all. Nor any missed calls from James.

To really add salt to the wound, there was nothing stopping her from calling on Edward and explaining what she’d done. She might not be with James since he wasn’t calling her or taking her own calls, but she couldn’t string Edward along either. Not after her experience with James. What he could make her feel with just a touch or a look wasn’t anything like what she felt when Edward was near her. With Edward, it was more of a brotherly emotion she felt towards the man, not that she was going to tell him that. He was still one of England’s most eligible bachelors, but he deserved honesty from her at least.

There was nothing for it, she thought sadly as she drove over to Edward’s house. She had to face this music as well. She wondered why she felt so differently for the two men. Both were amazingly handsome, fabulously intelligent and too charming for their own good. Unfortunately, Edward just didn’t do it for her. No matter how much she wanted it to be different, she needed to break things off with Edward. She suspected that it had been over for a while and they’d just been going along with the flow of things simply because they were convenient for each other.

She rang the bell to his house, feeling awful since she hadn’t even called to see if his was available. As she stood on the front step in the cold, afternoon air, tears were already falling before she even had to face him. As soon as he saw her in the living room where his housekeeper had left her to go get him, Edward knew something was wrong. He saw her blotchy face and pulled her over to one of the sofas. “Julianna? Are you okay?”

She nodded her head quickly, then wiped the tear that escaped and shook her head. “No. Not really.”

“Are you cold?” he asked, his eyes glancing out the window at the overcast day outside. “Is it chilly or does it just look dreary?”

She laughed and shrugged. “I guess it’s a bit chilly. And I’m terribly sorry to come by without calling first. It’s dreadfully rude of me, but I really needed to talk with you about something. Do you have a moment?”

Edward took her hand and smiled down at her. “I always have time for you, Julianna.” He patted her hand and took her coat, making all the right noises to put her at ease.

“Talk to me, Julianna,” he said softly as he sat next to her on the sofa, his hands holding hers carefully.

The concern she saw in his eyes broke through her last line of defense. Seeing that concern, that compassion, caused the damn to break and the tears flowed unchecked down her cheeks. “Oh Edward,” she said sadly. “I’ve made such a mess of things. I can’t believe what I’ve done.”

Edward looked down at the lovely woman with a tear ravaged face and he wanted to hit James, knowing he was the source of her tears even before she offered an explanation. “What’s he done?” he demanded, prepared to go over to his penthouse and smash the man’s face in for making this gentle woman feel so horrible.

“It isn’t what he’s done, so much as what I’ve done.” She explained how she’d slept with James twice now and betrayed Edward. “I’m so sorry and I hope that no one spoke to you about this over the weekend. I had to go out of town but several people saw me at a party with James on Friday night. I know there were people who also knew you and…well,” she was wringing her hands by now, feeling horrid for the position she’d put him in. “I just wanted to apologize for telling you like this. It’s very dishonorable. I should have spoken to you before. I just….didn’t understand what I was feeling for James until it was too late.”

Edward smiled softly and shook his head. “I think we’ve both come to the conclusion that we weren’t meant for each other. So please don’t feel bad about finding some happiness with James if that’s where your heart is leading you. What we had was nice… but possibly too convenient for both of us.”

Julianna smiled gratefully. “Jessica?” she asked, instinctively knowing that the lovely woman had something to do with his change.

He sighed and nodded. “Yes. She drives me crazy sometimes, but we’ll probably get married.”

That statement only made her cry harder and she leaned her head against his strong chest. “That’s good,” she cried out. James made her feel exactly the same way, but she didn’t have the happy ending. Nor did she think things could work out with James anyway. They were too different, their lives so opposite and the way they saw the world and how to move around in it just couldn’t mesh with each other.

Edward put his arms around her, patting her shoulder and he realized that what he felt for Julianna was more like a brother than a lover. Which was probably why he’d never taken things farther than a simple kiss at the end of their evenings together. “Are you in love with him?” he asked softly.

Julianna thought about that for a moment, then dropped her head low. “I think I am, the bastard.” She said the horrid word, but there was no heat in the statement. She was just too surprised at the emotion hitting her full in the face for the first time. She’d been so absorbed in just trying to get through the day, trying to avoid him that she hadn’t slowed down to figure out why.

“I’ve been avoiding him because he scares me.”

Edward laughed, nodding his head as he squeezed her shoulders affectionately. “I know the feeling.”

Julianna looked at him through her tears and smiled ironically. “Jessica?”

He nodded grimly. “I thought you were the perfect woman for me.”

Julianna laughed. “And I thought the same about you. I still think you’re perfect.”

He chuckled as he said, “You’re just not interested in perfect, right?”