Daintily, with the tips of her fingers, she pulled the collar up to her nose and took a long deep draw of the scent. Just as she thought: strong, wild and masculine. She let go of the collar and dropped her hand to her shoulder, lightly. She ran it down the soft Italian cotton sleeve to the open cuffs hanging low at the tip of her thumb. Smiling, she stared at her reflection in the six foot tall mirror, swinging side to side in nothing but the shirt that hung on her like a thigh high dress. She loved how the fabric of his shirt felt against her skin. She loved it even more that it was on his body just a moment ago. Besides his scent, it still held his warmth.
Her eyes fluttered, closing at the feel of his large palm at the back of her neck. She tilted her head to the right, trapping his thick digits between her cheek and shoulder. His thumb pressed down on the pulse at her nape, then swept up and down the curve ever so lightly, sending shivers down her body. Distracted by the
Rafe tried to concentrate throughout the presentation, but with Talia seated right next to him, her scent washing over him, it was near impossible. He couldn’t understand why the hell he was reacting so strongly to her—or it. What was it? It wasn’t flowery nor a brand he could easily recognize, but it was very much designed to entice a man. He was reacting way too strongly towards her for it to be anything else. It wasn’t like he was a curious, horny teenage boy. Rafe has always prided himself for being in control, especially of his emotions, and now that control was being threatened and it shook him to the very core. It was that damn scent. Surely she must know that? She must know the effect her perfume had on men? The kind of frenzy it instigated? He was tempted to look at the man seated next to her and ask him if he was having the same problem. It couldn’t possibly be just him getting drugged by that scent.And that stupid pen she had in
Talia had hummed throughout the entire meeting. Sitting so close to DeLuca had her mind going back to that dream about him and his mouth between her legs. It didn’t help that he kept on side eye spying on her. She’d wondered from time to time if they were meant to be reproaching glances because her knees just wouldn’t stop bouncing! But he would have said something; he wasn’t exactly the type to spare someone’s feelings and avoid public humiliation. Poor Harry had been sweating from the moment DeLuca had entered the boardroom. How she had even found herself sitting next to him was a mystery to her. Usually, there was just one seat at the head of the boardroom table, but the place had been so packed with executives, she’d been forced to shift to sitting behind DeLuca. When she saw all the suits file in, she’d forced herself to smother a laugh. She was willing to bet her left kidney they were beyond curious about what DeLuca was up to and how it would affect them. It was finance, the mo
“Don’t you have anything to say?” he demanded a little louder, making her flinch. “I was notified of the meeting just this morning. And right after Mr. DeLuca hung up, I called Henry to let him know.” “Why didn’t you call me?” he screeched, drawing the attention of those walking by them. Fabulous! There was nothing Talia hated more than public attention, especially if she was being scolded. “I did. I even sent a text,” Talia responded with strained patience. She’d called him right after she’d called Henry to tell him about the meeting. It wasn’t her fault he never picked up, nor was it her fault he didn’t read the text message. He had the habit of never reading texts, playing the old school card of texts being a younglings thing. Ha! I wonder how that excuse passed with the suits, she thought with a snide inner laugh. But then again, nothing was stopping him from blaming it all on her. Talia watched as Mr. Per
Startled, she sucked in a breath, her heart beating a tattoo in her chest, but she still couldn’t move. She refused to. Her breath came faster and her left hand went up to her neck, rubbing down to the exposed part of her upper chest then back up again to her neck as she forced herself to take deep and even calming breaths.She went rigid when she felt his body brush up against her back. The breath from his lips was right at her left ear. She swallowed hard, eyes tightly shut; she held herself perfectly still. His forehead brushed against the side of her head, from her chin to her cheek and up to her temple. His lips quickly and lightly swept over her earlobe. Her knees buckled then and she bit down hard on her lower lip.“Talia,” he whispered heatedly into her ear.She swayed on her feet. She felt his hands on her waist. A light pressure followed as his fingers pressed into the sides of her abdomen, his thumbs into her back in a light squeeze.
Talia stared at the screen not sure if she was reading the words right. Her throat tightened and her heart pounded hard against her ribs as she looked in disbelief at the words on the page. After several more seconds of reading and re-reading the email, with the mouse in her right hand, she clicked refresh but nothing changed when she read through it again. The words on the screen remained the same. Her hands grew clammy as she clenched and unclenched them, tension like a circuit ran up and down her body, through her arms and down her legs repeatedly. Surely those words couldn’t mean what they said. She thought to herself seeking comfort as the words settled heavily on her head, the reality too great for her to admit. There must be a mistake, there had to be. No, no, she was reading the words wrong, that had to be it.“Carrie,” Talia called over her shoulder, a slight tremor in her voice, “come here real quick. Just for a sec.”“What
Rafe sat at the yacht’s bow sofa, a glass of whiskey in one hand and his head filled with thoughts of Talia.She must have gotten the email by now, he thought to himself, flooded with a mix of guilt and shame.For the first time in his life, Rafe had run from a fight. Knowing Talia’s reaction and refusing to face it had chased him out of the office early. He had also for the first time in his life knocked off work early and, making it worse, not for the most honorable of reasons. He had taken the cowards way out and scheduled the email to go out an hour after he had left the office, all to avoid the confrontation that was sure to come. The shame, also due to another cowardly act, had him reject her project proposal without even opening the cover page to read it.He sighed heavily, rubbing his free hand over his face. She haunted him, in his sleep and in his waking hours. He closed his eyes and sighed. He couldn’t count with both hands
Talia stirred, turning onto her belly and burrowing further in the soft plush pillows under her cheek. She didn’t want to wake up. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so well and so comfortably. It felt like she was laying in a bed of clouds. Had her mother been here? She didn’t remember her beddings being so soft and wonderful. Just as she was drifting off back to sleep, the bed swayed from side to side under her and Talia froze. What was that? Was that an earthquake? No, earthquakes didn’t sway, they shook, loudly, and when was the last time there was an earthquake in Boston?Talia opened her eyes then, blinking a few times to clear her vision. She tilted her head a little in wonder, pushing her chin further into the pillow. Since when was the wall so close to her bed?Were those shutters?She turned her head to face the other side. That window did not look familiar.Shouldn’t there be a build
Twenty minutes later, Talia made her way out of the room. In the short corridor, straight ahead the open door allowed her to see into another bedroom. That bed appeared to be just as large as the one she had occupied.Was that his room? The nosey part of her wanted to go in for a little tour. She had thought that the one she was using was his because it smelled of him. But then again, he had been in there a few times when he looked after her. As she walked ahead a few steps, on her right was another room but with two single beds. The yacht was like a small luxurious three bedroom apartment, she could see its appeal. Why stay in a hotel when he had such a beautiful space? And even better — depending on who was asked — he could take his floating home anywhere in the wide, quiet ocean. Just thinking about her noisy neighbors, the loud car horns, and the kids playing in the alley, she could definitely see the appeal. If she wasn’t so afraid of being sur