When she shouted, Robert halted in his tracks. Only the bar stood between them.
She took a deep breath and tried to form words. "I want to know why you think you can tell me what to do? Who to date? You're my boss, not my keeper."
His eyes narrowed into slits. "This doesn't have a goddamn thing to do with me being your boss and you know it. This is about you and me and last night. You remember last night, baby?" His voice was like gravel, his jealousy on the surface. "You remember me pushing in and you creaming my cock? Goddamn, I remember. It's you and me and nobody else. Nobody fucking else. You want proof? You want me to come over there and prove it to you? Dare me. Come on. Right now. Dare me to prove it." He waited for her little hand to come up in the air to stop him.
Renee held her breath and stared at the incensed madman standing so close to her. All at once a buzzing went through her blood and reached her brain. What would he do?
The words came softly. "I dare you."
Chapter Nine
Robert stared at her a split second before her words penetrated the thick fog of jealousy that devoured him. He moved on her immediately.
He swung around the counter and was on her in seconds. His hands reached out and snagged hers and pushed them behind her back. He held them with one hand while his other reached up and grabbed her hair and pulled her face to his.
His eyes glazed over with lust as he fastened his mouth to hers. The kiss was rough, possessive, uncompromising. He restrained her body while his mouth plundered hers.
Renee hung in his grasp as sensation hit her. Twin feelings engulfed her. Joy, that she would know the full extent of his desire. And pain, because she knew she wouldn't be able to keep him. He disturbed her like no other man before him, and she didn't think she had what it would take to capture a man as intense as Robert Thibodeaux. But that wouldn't stop her from enjoying the experience. It was a once in a lifetime moment, to feel this kind of passion. And she was old enough, and woman enough, to realize it.
Robert hung in the grip of the most intense arousal he had ever experienced. His body was thinking for him. He barely recognized that he had no control. He just couldn't hurt her. He needed her naked, now. But he couldn't hurt her. It was like a mantra in his head.
He let go of her hands and lifted her shirt and pushed it over her head and off. This was going to go fast. There would be no slowing down. But he needed to touch all of her. See all of her. He reached between them and unsnapped the front clasp of her bra. Her breasts spilled into his hands. He groaned and lowered his head and took a firm pink nipple into his mouth.
Renee was inundated by desire so quickly she felt like she was drowning. His mouth on her breast was moving in a sucking motion, making her wet between her legs. Liquid heat spilled from her and she pushed her torso against him. She clasped his head to her breast.
It wasn't enough for Robert and he lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. He dropped her on the bed and ripped his shirt over his head. He caught his breath and watched her lying there, her legs sprawled apart and leaning on her elbows, her chest heaving.
Jesus Christ, he was going to come in his pants.
He stood at the foot of the bed and reached out and grabbed her by the legs. He pulled her to him and unsnapped her shorts and pulled them off, dragging her panties down at the same time.
The suddenness of the movement dismayed Renee and she scrambled back on the bed, away from him. Her chest was heaving from the physical exertion and excitement. She lay there, naked, except for the opened bra, watching him.
He took the opportunity to rid himself of the rest of his clothes. He stared at her the entire time, moving his eyes from her glorious blond hair, down to the perfection of her small, painted toenails. His erection hardened to aching fullness.
Renee closed her eyes at his naked strength. He was large all over.
Robert put one knee on the bed and started for her.
Renee had just enough snap to know it was now or never. "I'm not protected." She watched red slashes form across his cheekbones, and thought for a moment that he wouldn't stop. He gave her a look filled with resentment. "Please. There. In that drawer." She motioned with her hand to the small drawer below her jewelry box.
He turned toward it and came back to her a moment later, protection in place.
He moved back to her immediately, grabbed her legs again and pushed them apart. He stood for a moment, staring at her between her open legs, with one knee on the bed and his huge erection pulsing between them.
Renee began to pant. When he didn't move, she blushed deep red and moved one hand to cover herself from him. He looked up into her eyes. Tension ricocheted between them.
His arms were sinewy and straining with muscles. His features were menacing, his outcome sure, his pursuit accomplished. His hands tightened on her ankles. "Let go. It's mine. Let me see." His voice was a guttural growl, and she wasn't inclined to dispute him.
Renee responded by moving her hand and covering her eyes so she wouldn't see him looking at her there. It was too intimate. Way too intimate. He was asking for the very heart of her. Demanding it.
He moved up on the bed. He pushed her ankles up, and it bent her knees, just as he intended. Renee was both appalled and intensely excited by the position he had her in.
He moved his hard torso between her thighs and used it to hold her legs spread while he reached with one hand and slipped a finger inside of her. She gasped and rained liquid heat all over him. "That's it." He played with her with his fingers while he watched. In a matter of moments, Renee was straining and lifting against him. She had been the recipient of an orgasm like this before from him. She ached to feel it again.
It wasn't to be. Just when she felt like the waves were about to take her, he removed his hand. For the first time, she lowered her hand away from her eyes and looked at him. His attention had moved up to her clit. He began stroking her. "You're so pretty. So goddamn pretty." He watched his hand as he manipulated her.
Renee was fascinated by the honesty and tenderness in his voice. It was enough to send her on the path toward orgasm again.