Page 18 of Gamble On Passion

'Leo.' She said his name softly, breathlessly, then his dark head bent and his mouth closed over the turgid point of her breast, licking and nibbling, his teeth lightly grazing first one and then the other. Her arms went around his broad back, her fingers digging into the hard muscle as his other hand found the edge of her panties, his long fingers sliding inside to stroke her hot moist centre...

Jacy clung tightly to the strong, massive bulk of his shoulders as she felt the delicious tremors flood her body. Dear heaven! How had she done without this man, this feeling, for so long? She turned her head into his shoulder and bit into his sleek satin skin with a cat-like savagery.

Leo trailed kisses from her breast to her throat while with a firm hand he urged her thighs apart. 'You're ready for me, Jacy; hot, wet and wanting.' He growled the words, lifting his darkly flushed face to stare down at her softly parted lips. 'And God knows I've been waiting for you long enough,' he rasped, before once more covering her mouth with his own, his fingers still working their indescribable magic.

Jacy whimpered her need as the tension spiralled in her body. She stroked her small hand down over his chest, wanting to give him the same pleasure, and slid her hand down his taut thigh, tracing his hard manhood through the fabric of his trousers. She heard his muffled groan of pleasure while drowning in the musky mas­culine smell of him, her slender body vibrating with pleasure.

'Jacy, Jacy...' Leo growled, his hand covering hers at his thigh. Then she felt his hand at the snap of his jeans and tried to help him, her fingers grazing his flat belly.

A string of throaty Greek words encouraged her en­deavours, as soft moans and sighs interspersed with the long, drugging kisses that he showered on her swollen mouth. She was lost in the molten passion of his desire; she could hear bells ringing in her head and it seemed as if Leo would steal the very breath from her body.

'No, no, no,' Leo grated, his hard thighs grinding her into the sofa. 'I don't believe it.'

Reluctantly he lifted his dark head and rolled off her, sitting on the side of the sofa. His broad shoulders shook as he took great gulping breaths, and only then did Jacy realise that the ringing wasn't in her head but was in fact the strident bell of a telephone, echoing in the heavy, passion-laden atmosphere. 'Ignore it,' she whispered breathily.

Leo turned to stare down at her, at her golden eyes beckoning him back, and he gave a mighty sigh. His sensual mouth twisted in a wry smile of self-mockery. 'I can't—it's the company apartment so it must be business.' He bent and lightly brushed her lips before striding across the room to pick up the offend­ing instrument.

Jacy watched him, mesmerised. His broad back was all rippling muscle and sinew, and his dark hair was mussed in appealing disarray. He was gorgeous... and hers. She tensed and shivered slightly at her thoughts. No. He was not hers. It was lust, pure and simple...

He slammed the phone down and turned back to her. 'I have to go, Jacy. You'd better dress.'

'Yes,' she quietly agreed.

With a ragged sigh Leo ran a hand through his short hair. 'God! I'm sorry, I think I will very probably die of frustration, but unfortunately that was from the shipping office in Athens. One of our cruise-liners is in trouble in mid-Pacific. I'm flying to America immedi­ately; I've got to find out what has gone wrong. The company jet is standing by at Heathrow.'

'Oh, Leo, I'm sorry,' she murmured. But was she? she wondered, carefully pulling on her clothes and smoo­thing her skirt back down over her hips. Perhaps she needed more time to accept the kind of adult re­lationship that Leo was offering, and the telephone call was in a way a reprieve. But the screaming frustration of her body didn't appear to agree with her, she thought wryly.

'Not half as sorry as I am,' Leo declared bluntly and, crossing to where she stood, he lifted her chin with one finger and drawled throatily, 'Promise me we can carry on where we left off when I return.'

'Yes, all right,' she said, kissing him teasingly on the nose. This is the best way, she told herself. Keep it light.

His arms closed tightly around her. 'And a word of warning: I insist on an exclusive relationship with my woman—so no other men.'

'There has never been any other man.' The words popped out unconsciously and she felt the tell-tale colour rising in her cheeks.

Leo arched one dark eyebrow sardonically. 'You don't have to go that far, Jacy; just behave yourself from now on.'

She didn't know whether to be glad or sorry that he hadn't believed her, but she had no opportunity to think about it as Leo called her a taxi and saw her into it, his parting words, 'I'll call you tomorrow night.'

CHAPTER SIX

Jacy snuggled down under the rose-covered duvet, de­termined to put Leo out of her head and sleep. But his cool explanation of their past relationship still lingered in her mind. It shouldn't, but it still hurt to have it con­firmed that ten years ago he had never loved her. That was obvious from his revelations tonight. She had been a balm to his bruised ego, and that was all... She sighed, and turned restlessly.

Haughty, handsome Leo... He thought he had some God-given right to ride roughshod over lesser mortals, using them when it suited him and discarding them without a second thought. Unfortunately, knowing the ruthless power of the man didn't stop her whole body flushing with heat as she thought of the liberties she had allowed him earlier that evening. Where had her ice-maiden act gone? No man had got to first-base with her in years, but Leo, in one week, had reduced her to a mindless wanton. If the telephone hadn't rung, they would have been lovers—again...

She lifted a finger to her swollen lips, the memory of his kisses still fresh in her mind ... Perhaps the maturity of her working life was finally spilling over into her private life, because she knew that she wanted Leo and she was going to wait for him. And was it so wrong? She was a bit old to be hankering after the hearts and flowers, and wedding-bells. It was time she was more realistic, she told herself, and she crushed the tiny voice of conscience reminding her that she wasn't the kind of girl to settle for anything less. With a bit of luck she might even win the bet! With that thought, she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

'You're looking remarkably pleased with yourself this morning, Ms Carter. Can I guess why?' Mike, the office junior, stood in front of her desk, a cheeky grin on his freckled face.

'Thank you, Mike. And what are you after?' Jacy re­sponded, looking up from the pile of papers in front of her with a smile. Mike was a dear but he was also always on the dodge; for him to pass a compliment meant that he was after something.

'Nothing, nothing at all. Only I thought you might like to see my newspaper.'

'That rag.' She knew from experience that young Mike had a great interest in the seedier tabloids, which, con­sidering he was a university graduate and supposed to be training as a financial consultant, seemed somewhat out of character. 'You've got to be joking.'

'Oh, I don't know, there's a good photograph of you in it. You can look real sexy when you let your hair down.' He leered suggestively.

Jacy was out of her chair and reaching over the desk to snatch the paper out of his hand in a flash. 'Me... where?' she exclaimed in horror.

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