I gasp, parting my lips, just as the warmth of his mouth covering mine makes me gasp again. His kiss is slow and searching, taking his time teasing me so that when his tongue finally meets mine, I almost swoon with relief.
Carter's lips are soft, softer then I could have ever imagined, and he uses them with incredible skill. His huge hand is holding me in place, gently but firmly, the better to own my mouth with his tongue. I can taste him, the essence of him, sweet and earthy, as his tongue slides around mine in an intricate dance that has me moaning before I realize the noise I hear is coming from my own mouth.
When he breaks the kiss, I hear myself make a tiny noise of frustration and he laughs a little. "Hello, Sanniyah," he says. His words are polite, but his voice is ragged, gravelly. As my body brushes against his, I can feel his desire pressing against me. The flood of wetness that surges down inside of me is so violent that it leaves me feeling weak.
"Hello...Carter," I gasp.
"Would you like to have dinner with me, tonight?"
I can't even understand why he is asking, I am already halfway into his helicopter. "Yes, I would very much," I say, then pause. "I thought that was pretty clear from the kiss."
He darts a look over my shoulder again. "Then let's get going." He brushes his hand down my back, resting it on my ass for a moment before giving me a boost into the helicopter. It's such a possessive gesture that I blush instantly, and then all the harder when I feel how wet it makes me.
The instant the pilot closes the door, Carter is on me again. The lurch of takeoff has us tumbling into each other. The earth falls away beneath us and the ocean rises, glittering in the last vestiges of sunset as he clasps me to him, crushing me into his chest and twining his fingers into my hair. The searing heat of his lips on mine is all the hotter when he trails them down my neck to pepper my throat with tiny, sucking kisses. "Fuck," he growls. "I thought I had fucked everything up with you last night. God your skin is incredible, I could just devour you, Sanniyah." He looks back up again, his eyes darting across my face, a wicked smile playing on his lips. "That gives me an idea." He deliberately places his hand on my naked thigh, brushing upward to gauge my reaction. I bite my lip as a million objections dash through my brain. We just met, I barely know you, I'm a professional, but my body answers for me, spreading my legs wider so that his hand slips easily between my thighs.
Maybe it didn’t make sense to go on, but it sure as hell seemed like the right thing to do. Carter made the stress in my life melt away. I could pretend there weren’t a million tiny problems pinning me down. There were no expectations or rules.
"Oh my god, you're so wet," he snarls into my neck. "I love how wet you are for me...."
"I never would have guessed you were so dirty, Carter," I pant into his hair. " I feel like I am seeing two different Carter Eastons. He switches from cool and reserved to hot and hungry so quickly that I cannot keep track of who I am with.
"How dirty do you want me to be, Sanniyah?"
I moan slightly. I don't know. My sex life resembles my personal life; coolly professional and only interested in results. The few lovers I've had have amounted to nothing more than a means to an end. A quick fuck to scratch the itch and then long stretches of solitude. "I'll tell you when to stop," I say.
"When I'm done with you, you're going to be begging for more." He says it and I know he's not just boasting. It's a promise.
Chapter Fourteen
Carter
There are no paparazzi hiding in the bushes. No reporters with telephoto lenses nudging their way into my private moment.
Once I know that for sure, I can let down my guard.
I can tell Sanniyah is taken aback, but any attempts I might have made to explain why I am acting strangely are lost to me the minute her lips touch mine.
The minute her lips touch mine, I am a man possessed.
I knew they would be soft. I knew she would taste sweet. I knew all of this instinctually, just like I knew her moans would drive me insane. The moment I hear her let loose and sigh against me, I knew I had to make her make that sound again and again and again.
The good thing about Benson is that he doesn't let anything distract him from his job. He flies the helicopter and doesn't look back into the cabin at all. But I think he knows what I am doing, because the ride out to Annika is taking a lot longer than it normally should. I feel a slight shift under me as we bank and I realize he is circling.
Good man. I need to give him a raise.
Sanniyah's eyes are wide and bright, and her breath is coming in shallow, heaving gasps that do amazing things to her perfect, caramel colored tits. They are teasing me, hidden away as they are underneath that no-nonsense black dress. I mean to have that dress lying in a puddle on the helicopter floor in a second. My fingers itch to shove her panties aside and let my tongue dance into her wetness.
But then Sanniyah groans, arching herself away from me. The shining hunger leaves her eyes and she blinks like she is awakening from a drugged sleep. "Carter..." she says, and her voice is an apology.
I swallow back a rush of frustrated desire. "Are you okay?" I ask instead.
"The pilot," she whispers, darting her eyes towards Benson.
I sigh and pull back, plopping next to her. She doesn't know Benson like I do. He's been approached at least a million times by the tabloids to sell his stories and every time he comes directly to me. The man is loyal to a fault, even though their offers keep getting more and more lucrative. I match their offers every time. Loyalty is one thing, but cold hard cash is an even more effective way to buy silence. "I can wait," I tell her instead. "I don't plan on rushing, tonight."
Sanniyah smiles softly and it is so damn beautiful I feel my heart stop. "I thought you don't plan, period," she says.
"Ah, you were listening?"
"I'm really good at it. Part of the job and all."
"Well how about this." I lean in, brushing an escaped strand of hair behind her ear and bringing my lips close to it. She shivers and I swear it sends a shockwave directly to my groin. I want to make her do that again too. "Listen to what I'm saying. Are you listening?"
She nods, and bites her lip.
"Tonight I'm going to feed you dinner. Watch you eat. And then?"
I pause deliberately, unable to finish my sentence. I can see her heart beating rapidly under her skin. I am as hard as a diamond.
"And then?" she prompts.
"Still listening?"
"Yes."
"I'm going to watch you eat. And then I'm going to watch your face while I eat you."
She flushes over her whole body, her caramel skin suddenly scalding to the touch. I can see her squirming and I know the idea appeals to her. I make a mental note to send my sister an extravagant gift for having the good sense to hire Sanniyah Jones to plan her wedding.
She squirms again. "I wasn't...I wasn't sure...that you..." she clears her throat and looks me in the eye again. "Let me try that again," she says, tossing her head, and my mind is filled with thoughts of how her neck tastes. "I wasn't sure you liked me, Carter. You were so...formal."
"Ah." I lean back. Benson is slowing as we hover over Annika Island before our descent. I am almost in my safe haven. My thoughts are consumed with Sanniyah and the image of her naked body spread out before me. I swallow, hard, then laugh lightly. "I guess I'm old-fashioned."
She laughs loudly. "Hardly." Her hand rests on my thigh. "You don't strike me as a gentleman."
I place my hand over my heart. "Why, I'm insulted," I feign shock, then grab her hand and delibera
tely move it up my leg. She is laughing and blushing in an instant and I am saved from having to explain my paranoia. She doesn't need to know that I am crazy. She doesn't need to know she is dealing with a broken man.
Chapter Fifteen
Sanniyah
This strawberry torte is divine.
This wine is entirely too drinkable.
It is just us, on the deck above the bay. The waves are shushing against the shore like they want the whole world to quiet down so we can be alone. There is no noise except the clink and scrape of my fork as I try to gather every last delicious morsel. I take another sip of the wine, letting the nectar slip like honey down my throat, and I watch Carter watch the ocean.