Whatever He Wants (11 page)

 
     
It all seemed so sterile. And the worst of
it was she didn’t know when James would actually visit her. The longer she sat
alone in this luxurious penthouse suite the lonelier she felt. She wanted to
call Simone but things between them were still slightly raw. Unable to sit for
a second longer she walked around the apartment until she came to her boxes
that were spread out on the spare bedroom floor. She gravitated toward one box
in particular. It was the one full of keepsakes from her mother.

 
     
Noelle opened it and looked through its
contents. She pulled out a photo album and thumbed through the pages. The
pictures brought a smile to her face. They reminded her of a time when she’d
truly been happy. Noelle touched each artifact inside the box, feeling closer to
her mother’s spirit and getting comfort from them. One of the last items she
found was a cookbook which held all her mother’s old recipes. Aunt Frieda had
tried to take it from her but it was the one thing Noelle wouldn’t relent where
her Aunt was concerned. It meant so much to her because she remembered helping
her mother cook in the kitchen. Many of the recipes her mother had come up with
herself.

 
     
A sudden bout of inspiration hit Noelle
when she decided to try a few out for herself. Besides art, cooking with her
mother had always provided Noelle with her greatest source of joy. She made her
way to the kitchen and began searching for ingredients, and was pleased to find
exactly what she needed to make several of the recipes many times over.

 
     
Noelle immersed herself in baking and was
just taking her second batch out of the oven when she realized she wasn’t
alone. She hadn’t heard anyone enter but she felt a presence. Looking up from
her task she saw James standing at the kitchen entrance looking sexier than any
man had a right to.

 
     
Feeling shy in his presence, she placed
the cookie sheet on the stove and placed her oven mitts on the counter. Even in
a suit she was sure cost more than her entire wardrobe, there was no disguising
James’s broad-shouldered ruggedness. He was even more handsome than she
remembered.

 
     
She moistened her now dry lips with the
tip of her tongue. “Hi, I wasn’t expecting you tonight.”

 
     
“You should always expect me Noelle. I
believed you understood that per our contract.” His cool reminder was like a
slap in the face. Not for the first time, she wondered what possessed her to
agree to this madness. The calculated way in which this was all set up made her
wonder who the real James was—this cold stranger standing before her or the charming
man she’d originally met.

 
     
She squared her shoulders hoping he
couldn’t discern her internal conflict. “You’re right.” Noelle took the cookies
off the sheet and placed them on a platter to keep her hands busy. “Would you
like something to eat? It’s getting close to dinner and I can fix us something.
There’s a lot of food here.”

 
     
His expression was unreadable but she
could sense his disapproval. “I’m glad to see you’ve made yourself at home but
it’s not necessary for you to cook my meals. I have a chef for that at my own
house.”

 
     
A lump formed in her throat but she
managed to respond.
“Duly noted.”

 
     
“You’re welcome to hire a chef to cook
meals for you as well. Paul can make the arrangements.”

 
     
“That’s okay. I don’t mind cooking.
Actually I like it.”

 
     
“Noelle, if you’re trying to impress me
with you domestic skills you can stop wasting your time. I didn’t want you
because you can cook.”

 
     
“I’m not. I’m just capable of doing
certain things for myself and cooking is one of them. I offered to make you
something to eat because that’s the hospitable thing to do.” Noelle didn’t know
what his problem was but she wasn’t sure if she could handle walking on pins
and needles around him for the remainder of the night. Maybe it was best to cut
her losses now before she was in too deep. “James, I’ve given this some thought
and I don’t think I’m cut out for this kind of thing after all. I’m sorry I’ve
wasted your time.”

 
     
He stepped farther into the kitchen. “Do
you mind telling me why?”

 
     
She backed away as he moved closer, unable
to trust herself with him in close proximity. “It all just seems so cold and
emotionless. I should have mentioned this earlier but all I could think about
was…”

 
     
“What Noelle?” He continued to advance.

 
     
Noelle walked around to the other side of
the island to put distance between them. “At this point, does it really matter?
This is the first time I’ve seen you since our last date. I haven’t even been
afforded the courtesy of a phone call, yet I’ve been subjected to a humiliating
medical examination to prove I’ve got a clean bill of health, and made to sign
some contract like I can’t be trusted. This hardly seems fair.”

 
     
James raised both brows as though he was
genuinely surprised. “Having a very generous allowance and access to any high
end store along the East Coast isn’t enough for you?”

 
     
“I’m not interested in the money.”

 
     
He chuckled. “But you’re here, so tell me
again my money doesn’t matter.” He continued to advance and Noelle backed away
until she found herself pressed against the kitchen wall, his chest flush with
hers. James lowered his head until the heat of his breath grazed her face.

 
     
Noelle turned her head to the side. “It
doesn’t. I wanted to be here because I wanted to get to know you better.”

 
     
He captured her face in his grasp and
forced her to look at him. “There’s no doubt the sexual attraction is strong
between us, but let’s not pretend the money hasn’t captured your interest
either. Things will go much better if we remain honest with each other. And I
have a truth for you.
Wanna
hear it?”

 
     
Her breath caught in her throat. The scent
of his cologne and raw maleness assailed her senses. Her brain was mush and she
couldn’t form words. Noelle wanted to argue with him and deny how wrong he was
but nothing mattered in that moment. She was captive beneath his gaze—James’
willing prisoner. Finally, Noelle nodded in answer to his question.

 
     
His lips curved into the most devilishly
sexy smiles she’d ever witnessed. Her heart fluttered in response and her pulse
raced. “I was thinking about you all day, Noelle. Knowing you were here in this
house, walking around with that adorably sexy lost-little-girl look. That one
taste I had of you wasn’t enough and it drove me so crazy, I cancelled all my
afternoon appointments. I broke several traffic laws to get here.
To have you.”
He pressed his hardness against her. “I can
feel the heat from your body. You want this as badly as I do. After what we
shared, there’s no walking away because your body won’t let you. Will it, sweet
Noelle?”

 
     
James knew Noelle was his for the taking
the second he touched her. He hadn’t lied about thinking about her all day and
couldn’t go a moment longer without getting another taste of those sweet lips.
He brushed his mouth against hers. “Tell me you want this.”

 
     
Noelle released a low moan. “I-I do.”

 
     
“Tell me you won’t walk away.”

 
     
She closed her eyes briefly. “I can’t.”

 
     
The two weeks it had taken to set things
up had been pure torture for James. There was something nearly untouchable about
Noelle, a pure quality that almost seemed like a sin to tarnish. But he’d
steered himself from the direction of those thoughts. Growing up he’d been
denied so much and had constantly been told what he couldn’t have. But he fully
intended to have Noelle.

 
     
Her very presence told him that she wasn’t
so above the other women he’d had similar deals with. He didn’t care that she
was just as interested in what he could give as much as the sex. Most women
operated that way in his experience. He wouldn’t allow her to play the ingénue
with him because she knew exactly what she was doing. After he fucked her a few
times she’d be out of his system and he could move on to the next woman.

 
     
“That’s right. You can’t because you want
it so bad you can barely speak.”  He kissed her gently at first,
reacquainting himself with the taste of her lips. James grasped her ponytail
and yanked her head back, allowing him to deepen his kiss. He pressed his
tongue forward to explore the slick sweet cavern of her mouth. She tasted even
better than he remembered, validating his reason for choosing her.

 
     
Noelle was the one to break away, turning
her head to the side. She gasped for air. “James,” she whispered.

 
     
He placed a hand against her breast and
began to massage it. “Does this feel good?”

 
     
She let out a moan. “Yes.”

 
     
“How about this?”
He slid his hand down the length of her body until he reached between her
thighs to cup her pussy. Even through her jeans, he could feel the incredible
heat. He already knew how wet she could get and he was looking forward to
seeing if he could make her even wetter by the time this night was over.

 
     
She wiggled against his hand. “James,” she
cried out his name again.”

 
     
“Tell me what you want me to do, baby.”

 
     
“Touch me.”

 
     
He chuckled. “Aren’t I already doing
that?”

 
     
“Skin to skin.”

 
     
“Your wish is my command.” James pulled
away, taking Noelle’s hand in his and leading her out the kitchen. He already
knew from Paul which bedroom she’d picked so he didn’t have to ask where to
take her. Once they reached their destination, James took a seat on the edge of
the bed and pulled Noelle into a standing position between his thighs facing
him.

 
     
“Take off your top.” He wanted her to
undress for him to make her a willing participant but mainly because the idea
of her stripping for him made James unbelievably hard.

 
     
Noelle hesitated briefly before lifting
her top. James grabbed her wrist to halt her hurried actions. “Not so fast,
honey. We have all night. Do it slowly.”

 
     
She gnawed her bottom lip, a movement, he
realized, Noelle did when she was nervous. Slowly, she pulled up her top in an
unhurried fashion revealing inch by inch of delectably chocolate skin until it
was completely off.

 
     
Unable to help himself James pressed a
string of fluttering kissing against her belly.
“Very nice,
baby.
Now the jeans.
And remember—don’t rush.”

 
     
Noelle unbuckled her jeans, eased the
denim material down her rounded hips and stepped out of them. Once she stood
before him in only a bra that had seen better days and pair of serviceable
cotton white panties she covered her arms over her chest. The sight of Noelle
in her underwear affected James in a way so unexpected it made him pause. That
air of innocence swirled around her causing doubt to creep in yet again.

 
     
Noelle seemed so vulnerable and unsure of
herself. She trembled as if she was cold and her eyes were downcast. A small
part of James felt as if he was about to defile her. He could squash this whole
thing now and allow her to walk away as she suggested earlier but he quickly
squashed that thought. If she didn’t want to be here she wouldn’t have signed
the contract.

 
     
Now more determined than ever to have her,
he grabbed her arms and forced them to her side. “Don’t cover yourself, honey.
This body was made for loving.”

 
     
James drank in the sight of Noelle’s body
and admired what he saw. Noelle had more than a little flesh than he was used
to on his women but it suited her. She was breathtaking, from her breasts that
appeared to be more than a handful down to a small waist that flared into
shapely hips and a generous ass.