After All - Romancing Manhattan

I keep going, reveling at how powerful I feel right now, but before I can make him finish, he grips my shoulders and pulls me up to my feet.

“I don’t want to come yet,” he repeats and kisses me long and hard, boosting me back onto the kitchen counter. “And you’re way overdressed for this.”

His hand glides over the skin of my inner thigh, and I spread my legs in invitation to keep exploring. He doesn’t disappoint.

When he reaches my drenched core, his hot eyes spring to mine.

“This is a surprise.”

“Oh yeah.” I sigh when one finger pushes inside me the way he did in the limo earlier. “I’ve decided to go without underwear from now on.”

“You’ll kill me,” he mutters as he presses his lips to my neck and nibbles lazily. He’s suddenly gone from 120 mph to idle, and it’s a jolt to my system. His fingers are taking a slow journey through my folds, over my swollen skin, and back inside where I’m slick and ready for him. “You’re absolutely amazing.”

“I want you,” I say. It’s not a whisper or a whimper. It’s a declaration, here and now, of what I want.

“Do you,” he says and kisses my hand, then presses it over his heart, the way he did earlier.

It’s the kind of move that could bring a woman to her knees.

If I were on my feet.

Which I’m not.

“Carter.” I take his face in my hands and gaze into his ocean-blue eyes.

I love you.

I want to say the words. I long to say them.

But not like this, not when we’re making love.

“What do you need, Nora?”

“You.” I nip his lower lip. “Right now.”

“Bossy little thing, aren’t you?” He grins, and the next thing I know, he’s tossed me over his shoulder and is carrying me fireman style to the bedroom. He slaps my ass, leaving a zing on my cheek in its wake.

“Hey!”

“You said you liked the rough stuff.”

I bite my lip in giddy anticipation.

“I didn’t realize that included carrying me like a caveman.”

He tosses me onto the bed, turns me over, and slaps my ass again, then presses his lips over the sting.

“Let me show you exactly what it entails, darling.”

“Wake up, Nora.”

I bury my face deeper into the pillow.

“I need you to wake up.”

“Hmph.” I turn my head and open one eye. “It’s still dark.”

“It’s four,” he says calmly.

“In the morning?” I scowl and sit up now. “Oh, did you want to—”

“I always want to.” He kisses me softly, cupping my cheek. But before I sink into him properly, he backs away. “But I can’t get sidetracked right now. We have to go.”

“Are we being evacuated? Am I still dreaming?”

He grins, showing me that dimple in his left cheek. “I’m taking you somewhere. The plane’s ready.”

“The plane? As in, the company plane?”

“That’s the one.”

“I haven’t packed anything. I don’t—”

He pulls me to him and quiets me by kissing me once more. “You don’t need anything. I have it all taken care of. Your only job is to enjoy yourself.”

“I didn’t order the plane for you.”

“I have others who can do that for me, you know.”

I narrow my eyes at him, but don’t argue. I’m too excited to see where we’re going.

He unlocks the door of the condo on the top floor and ushers me inside. It smells of lemon, indicative of recently being scrubbed clean.

“Florida,” I say for the third time, wondering if he’s able to read minds. Wasn’t I just thinking the other day that I’d like to go to Florida in the winter? “You rented us a condo for the weekend?”

“I own it,” he says absently and leads me through the large unit, showing me bedrooms and bathrooms, the kitchen and living space, and finally out onto a balcony with a view of the surf hitting golden sand. There are little walking bridges that rise over sand dunes and down to the surf below.

“How did I not know that you own this condo?”

“The building, actually,” he says, stunning me. I stare at him, my jaw hanging open, and he chuckles.

“I know just about everything there is to know about you, and I didn’t know this.”

“You don’t know everything,” he insists and kisses the palm of my hand, then rests it over his heart, which is becoming a habit. “You know what I’ve shown you, and I don’t mean that to sound controlling or like I’m an asshole. But Nora, up until recently you were my assistant, and you took care of affairs that I assigned to you.”

I’m watching the struggle on his handsome face, not a little flummoxed. I was so sure I knew him so well, and yet, he seems to surprise me at every turn.

“How long have you owned this?”

“Do you remember about six months ago when I had to come to Florida for a few days?”