Would he be offended? She basically told him as soon as they were done with each other he needed to disappear into outer space. Honesty was a virtue, but maybe that had been a little too honest?
“Wow. Nailed it on the first guess. What gave me away? My attraction to heavenly bodies?”
A bubble of laughter burst from her before she could cover her mouth. Dear God, this man. He was already the most fun she’d had in months.
Worries that had seemed so suffocating minutes ago now felt remote. Family pressures? Gone. Stress resulting from a crazy ex with a greedy streak? Poof. This guy didn’t need to know who she was, and his agenda for her didn’t last beyond the next couple hours. But oh, what hours they’d be. Her family remained, for the moment, far away. The evening stretched out before her like stolen time. Absolute freedom. Nobody would know, and she’d never have to account for it.
She leaned in close enough to inhale the clean scent of no-nonsense guy soap and rested her hand on his forearm. “Anything special on your to-do list while you’re here?” Time to move this to the next level. She trailed a fingertip down to his wrist. “Maybe an activity you just can’t engage in when you’re up in space?”
He dipped his head so his face hovered just above hers. She could count every last one of his ridiculously long eyelashes. “Like…have a drink with my aunt and uncle?”
The tease. Was he giving her a dose of her own medicine? Slowing things down as payback for the cocktail napkin? “I think you just did, right?”
“True.” He threaded his fingers through hers as if to make sure she knew they were in this together. It occurred to her that most people she met didn’t feel quite so free to touch her right from the jump, but she liked it. From him. “Now that you mention it, I have this overwhelming urge to—”
“Yes.” Not a question. An answer. Her answer was yes. To the big hands. The shoulders. Everything. She didn’t want to slow down.
“…go for a swim.”
“A swim?” Her smile froze on her face. “Now?”
One side of his mouth twitched. “It’s gonna take more than a cocky grin to close the deal.”
Holy crap. Her own words, thrown back at her, and he’d played it so well she couldn’t help but laugh. Fair enough. It was her turn to try harder. Her villa had a private pool. She stood and lifted her purse from the back of the chair. “I know just the place.”
“Great.” He stood as well, and pulled her against him snugly enough she felt the hard length of him burning through the layers of their clothes.
Very long. Very hot. Verrrrry hard. One of them moaned softly. Okay, her. The moan came from her.
From him came a whisper that tightened her skin. “And Czarina, after we swim, I would really love to make you come so hard they hear you from space.”
…
Her long legs could cover a lot of ground, even in mile-high sandals. The czarina clearly didn’t mind moving fast. After a preliminary round of icebreaker orgasms, he’d talk her into slipping the heels on again. The extra height they gave her offered some interesting possibilities. Like fucking her onto the very tips of her toes while the wall muffled her cries.
Right now those thought-provoking heels practically skipped along the softly lit path leading to what had been the private villas back when the property was a Tradewinds Resort. He wasn’t sure what changes St. Sebastian had undertaken since buying the hotel from his aunt and uncle earlier in the year, but back in the Tradewinds days the villas had been enclaves of luxury. The room rate had reflected as much.
He doubted an ounce of Russian blood flowed in the czarina’s veins, but maybe the nickname wasn’t so far off the mark? He lifted his eyes from the sway of her hips and caught her looking over her shoulder at him. She smiled and gave their joined hands a little tug.
“This way.” The path split and she veered to the right, toward the line of palms shrouding the big villa. She stopped at a security gate and flashed him another smile, but it hovered uncertainly on her lips. Like maybe despite her flirtations in the bar and her rush to get here, she didn’t do this kind of thing often. “Just a sec. I have a key.” She riffled through her purse. “Somewhere.”
The warm breeze blew a few strands of hair across her face. He brushed them back at the same time she turned toward the gate. His fingertips ended up trailing over her cheek. The move earned him a shiver and a short, self-conscious laugh. Or a nervous one.
Neither worked for him. He didn’t mind moving
fast either, or taking the lead. In fact, he preferred both, but he wasn’t into railroading anyone. Though it killed him to do it, the right move was to make sure she knew she could change the game anytime she pleased. He was a big boy. He wasn’t going to throw a tantrum over a case of blue balls. Not even a severe case. Stepping up behind her, he put his hands on her shoulders and lowered his mouth to her ear. “No hurry, Czarina. As it happens, walking in the moonlight with a beautiful Siberian princess is also on my to-do list.”
She stilled and drew in a slow breath. “A little short on moonlit paths up there on the space station?”
“Mmm-hmm. And beautiful Siberian princesses.”
The breeze flirted with her hair again, and he breathed in scents of vanilla and coconut. His mouth watered. She shifted, and her backside brushed his fly. His vision went momentarily blurry. The accidental contact felt so good he dropped a hand to her waist and let it rest there. Not strong enough to hold her in place if she wanted to step away, but enough to tell her where he wanted her.
Her breath shuddered out, long and slow, and she relaxed against him. He rewarded them both with a nudge of his hips, nearly groaning at the way his cock fit against the curve of her ass. As an attempt to give her space, this was completely fucked up, but he couldn’t bring himself to back off. Especially not when he slid his other hand from her shoulder to her wrist and lightly banded his fingers there, unerringly finding the spot where her pulse raced.
Without dislodging his grasp, she slowly raised her hand. Between her fingers she held a key card. “Found it,” she breathed.
He squeezed her hip in a show of gratitude and then released her. She slid the card through the reader. The gate lock released with a click. He reached around her to push it open, held it as she walked through, and then followed.