“And remind you to pack a weekend bag. No going back to your place until Sunday night.”
“But I live next door.”
“Yeah, but this weekend you live with me.”
A strange thrill tickled at her skin. The elevator arrived and they stepped in, Rich pressing the button for their floor. As the doors closed, he pulled her against him, so her back was pressed against his chest. He swept her hair over her shoulder and pressed soft kisses to her neck. She could feel the hard ridge of him pressed against her behind.
When she turned to try to capture his lips with hers, he shook his head softly and kissed her throat again. “If I kiss you, I’ll drag you into my apartment and then our date will never happen,” he told her.
“I can live with that.” Her voice was a gasp.
“No.” A smile played on his lips. “Date first, everything else later. I’m a gentleman.”
It took her less than an hour to shower, wash her hair, and dry it again, then stuff a pile of clothes into her overnight bag. It was so weird, packing to spend the weekend next door, and yet it was thrilling, too.
Not just because it was their secret, but because it meant she’d be spending the weekend with him. The man she couldn’t get out of her mind.
When she knocked on his door at exactly seven o’clock, Rich was wearing a pair of navy pants and a white shirt, unbuttoned at the collar. His hair was brushed back from his face, and he’d shaved the shadow from his jaw, revealing tanned, smooth skin.
And the way he smelled? It made her legs ache. Soft, woody notes that enticed her in.
“You look beautiful,” he told her, his eyes dark as he took in her pretty blue dress.
“So do you.”
He took her bag from her and placed it on his hall floor, then held his hand out to draw her inside. His palm was soft and warm against hers as he led her through his expansive living room to the sliding doors that overlooked the beach.
“I thought we’d eat outside,” he told her.
Meghan blinked as they stepped onto his wraparound balcony. It was so much bigger than hers. Huge pots of flowering plants were clustered on the tiled floor, and in the center of it all was a table for two, covered with a pristine white tablecloth, topped with a vase full of roses. Beside it was a bottle of champagne resting in an ice bucket, and two long stemmed crystal champagne glasses.
“I hope you don’t mind eating here,” he said, twisting the wire cage off the champagne bottle and pulling at the cork. “We can go out if you prefer.”
She looked at the view, taking in the golden sand and the sparkling blue ocean. “This is perfect,” she told him. “And very convenient for getting home.”
He smirked. “That’s what I thought.” Pouring the champagne slowly into the two wine glasses, he waited for the fizz to retreat before handing her one of them and tipping his own against it.
“Here’s to the perfect weekend,” he murmured, lifting his glass to his lips.
“To the perfect weekend,” Meghan echoed. “And it’s only just begun.”
22
The first time they made love had been frantic and needy. Their emotions had been high and it was over far too soon.
But this time was like an opus. He teased her with his fingers, played her with his tongue, made her whole body sing until she wasn’t sure she could take anymore.
And then he slid inside her and she’d reached new, dizzy heights, clinging onto him and begging him not to stop.
His movements were slow, smooth, determined. Filling her up until she couldn’t think, then pulling back until she cried out for more. He held her face in his warm palms, kissing her softly as she cried out, swallowing each sigh as though he was hungry for more.
She loved the way he looked at her. As though she was some kind of precious stone in his hands. Or a winning lottery ticket held by the poorest of men. All she knew was that he made her feel like she was everything.
Perfect, desirable, the most beautiful woman in the world. Like a goddess he wanted to worship forever.
She could feel him swell inside her, his movements faster, more edgy. His kisses were more demanding, his skin hot against her palms as she slid them down his back. He reached between her legs, touching her most sensitive spot and she gasped.
“I’m not sure I can again…”