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She wrapped her legs tighter around his hips, her gaze locking onto his. “Now, Alex...I’m so close.”
With a muttered curse, he drove into her then, faster, harder, until a burst of pleasure tightened her body around him and send her spiraling off into a wave of sensation that seemed to go on forever. He groaned as she contracted around him, swelled inside of her and found his own release, his hoarse cry the sexiest thing she thought she’d ever heard.
She lay there, his big body on top of her, limbs entangled with hers, their ragged breathing slowing on the night air. And knew that what had just happened was something incredibly unusual—that intense connection that had fueled everything between them today. She wasn’t so naive she didn’t realize that.
“Okay?” Alex lifted himself up on his forearms to study her face.
A smile she couldn’t hide curved her lips. “More than okay.”
“I’d have to agree with that,” he said softly, shifting onto one arm so he could run a finger down her cheek. “That was incredible.”
The heat that bloomed under his fingers must have been visible because he laughed softly and pulled her close. “A little late for shyness, agape. You blew me away.”
Which was such a switch from what her ex had told her afterward. It was like wiping away the past in one fell, satisfying swoop. “The Greek is...very sexy,” she murmured. “I think I’m a sucker for it.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “I fall into it sometimes when I’m passionate about something.” He brushed his thumb across her lower lip in a caress that gave her goose bumps, his voice deepening to a husky whisper. “I would demonstrate more but it’s late and you look exhausted.”
She was exhausted. And although she wanted to stay awake, to enjoy as much of this amazing night with Alex as she could, she didn’t protest when he shifted onto his side and tucked her against his warm, hard frame. Exhaustion overtook her, settling her lashes down on her cheeks.
Her last thought was that this entire day had been meant to happen for a reason. She had been meant to face up to her biggest fear once and for all. Meant to enjoy this one amazing night with this incredible man. The problem was, she thought sleepily, she couldn’t see any other man ever living up to it.
CHAPTER FIVE
“YOU’RE GOING TO love me as usual.”
Alex held his phone to his ear as he eased away from the warmth of Izzie’s body and out of bed, his PA’s comment making him smile. “I already love you for being up at—” he glanced at his watch as he walked out into the living room “—midnight working.”
“You know I’m a control freak,” she returned drily. “The plane and pilot are ready for you.”
“You are amazing.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Remind me what the red tape is for flying someone else back on the jet...? Gerry just needs to add them to the manifest, right?”
“Yup. And they need their documentation.” Papers rustled in the background. “Oh, and a producer from NYC-TV has been trying to get a hold of you. Is this something about the Messer case?”
He grimaced. “Yes. Tell them I’m in Maui.”
“Is this going to turn into a circus?”
“Very possibly.” But he was going to do his damnedest to shut Frank Messer down before it got to that. “Get some sleep. Come in a bit later if you like.”
She yawned. “As if, with the amount of work on my plate. See you tomorrow.”
He stepped into the shower while Izzie slept, letting the hot sting of the spray ease the tension in his shoulders. As amazing as last night had been, it now seemed like an ill-advised foray into a complication he didn’t need. Every second he spent doing anything other than figuring out how to beat Frank Messer was time he couldn’t afford to lose. He needed to get back to New York, meet with his lawyers and put together a game plan.
He did not need the distraction of Izzie on a transatlantic flight with him. The odds of him keeping his hands off of her were slim to none, and that just couldn’t happen. Last night had been an agreed-upon one-night stand. An opportunity to enjoy each other as two consenting adults.
Also unbelievably hot... The look on Izzie’s face when she’d come apart in his arms on the terrace made his body stir to life under the pounding, hot spray. The extreme pleasure of driving into that tight, welcoming warmth of hers a seriously tempting invitation to put his pilot off a half hour longer and wake her up. But he needed to get out of here, Izzie needed to sleep and she already had a flight booked. The better idea would be to send a car for her and get out.
He shut off the shower, dried himself and slung a towel around his hips. It was better for both of them to end it now. Clean. Neat.
He headed into the bedroom and pulled on a pair of boxers and a T-shirt.
“What time is it?”
A still half-asleep Izzie sat up and rubbed her eyes. A gorgeous Izzie, he might add, her long dark hair falling over her edible shoulders as she struggled to focus. His gaze dropped to her pink-tipped, perfectly shaped breasts where the sheet had slipped and he got hard all over again.
She flushed and dragged the sheet up to her collarbone. “It feels early.”
“It’s five-thirty,” he said briefly, pulling on a pair of jeans. “I have to go, but you should sleep. I’ll send a car for 8:30 to take you to the airport...”
She pushed her hair back, a confused look spreading across her face. “I—er, aren’t we on the same flight?”
He walked over and sat down beside her on the bed. “The jet’s been fixed. I need to get out of here.”
“Oh.” The wounded look in her eyes made him feel like a total cad.
“I have an emergency to take care of,” he explained, unable to stop himself from sliding a hand under the sheet and cupping one of her gorgeous breasts, the tip hardening immediately under the caress of his thumb. He watched her eyes darken to that same chocolate-brown, almost-black color they had last night when he’d made love to her. “It’s better you rest and take the later flight.”
She nodded, but the slight wobble in her chin near killed him. He bent his head and brushed his lips over hers. “Thank you for last night.”
But what was meant to serve as a brief kiss that would have secured him an appropriate exit was quickly revealed for the mistake it was, her mouth softening and parting underneath his, the attraction that was electric between them sparking to life. He groaned, unable to help himself from enjoying one more taste of her, it had just been so incredibly sweet last night. Tunneling his hands in her hair, he took the kiss deeper until she curled her hands in his T-shirt and this was only going in one direction...
He pulled back before he lost his head completely. “I have to go.”
Her teeth sank into her bottom lip and she nodded. Brushing a chunk of her thick hair out of her face, he tucked it behind her ear. “I left some clothes for you on the chair. They’re too big for you, but they’re clean.”
“Thanks.”
He held her gaze, refusing to issue false promises. “Keep jumping, Iz. It’s the only way to live.”
She said nothing, those big eyes on him. He finished dressing and grabbed his wallet and watch before he changed his mind. It wasn’t until he was halfway through the door that he stopped and turned around.
“No regrets?”
A wry smile curved her mouth. “No regrets.”
“Good.” He turned around and made himself leave, wondering why it was so hard to walk away. He’d done it a million times. This time felt different.
* * *
Izzie took a deep breath as she heard the front door of the penthouse click shut. Took another, tried to calm herself, and when that didn’t work, picked up the nearest missile, which happened to be Alex’s pillow, and chucked it against the wall, pretending it was him. Had he actually just left her here like that? When he knew she needed to get back to New York? Really? She sank back against the pillows, her breath coming out in a long whoosh. How hard would it have been for him to wait? He could have woken her up and she’d have been ready in five minutes flat, much happier to go with him now than wait for her flight.
Unbelievable. She stared at the pink dawn creeping across the London sky through the floor-to-ceiling windows. She’d just been unceremoniously dropped like a hot potato by a man who couldn’t seem to get out of here fast enough. As if he’d thought she’d make a scene.
Scowling, she hugged her arms around herself. Maybe some of his women did that. But not her. She’d said one night and she’d meant one night. The last thing she needed to do was complicate her life right now. Not when she had a seven-hour flight and a panel of network executives to face on the other end of it, if James did indeed manage to persuade them to stay.
Not when she’d promised herself she’d never let a man rule her emotions the way her mother had her father’s.
But heavens, it’d been worth it. The image of Alex on a dartboard faded to one of him naked on this bed, his beautiful body giving her more pleasure than she’d ever dreamed possible. Warmth flooded her cheeks. How she’d let him do those things to her on the terrace in full view of anyone who’d have cared to look... His husky encouragements to tell him what she wanted releasing a completely wanton side of her she hadn’t even known existed...God. That I’d be incredible in bed tattoo he wore across his chest? Definitely not false advertising.
