Love Unbound (A Steamy Billionaire Romance) Page 6

  “Don't wear any,” he says. “No one will know but us.”

  My heart quickens at his words.

  “Take off your dress,” he says.

  Somehow I find myself doing exactly as he says, my old peach-colored dress falling to the floor around my feet and I know what's coming next.

  “And your bra and panties.”

  He doesn't take his eyes off me and as if mesmerized I find myself unhooking my bra and slipping it off. I hear his sharp intake of breathe before I slip my fingers into the sides of my panties, pulling them down and off.

  I stand there naked in front of him and his eyes drink in the sight of me, my nipples hardening under his gaze.

  “Beautiful,” he says. “Fucking beautiful. Hold up your arms.”

  He slips the jade dress over them and down over my body.

  He has hardly touched me since the kiss when he arrived—but I am on fire.

  “Time to go.”

  I look down. “Don't you think this dress is a bit too revealing?”

  “Nope. It's perfect. You look every inch a movie star.”

  It's a red carpet dress for sure. Where is he taking me?

  Miller whisks us away. I must say I could get used to this swanning about with a driver at my disposal. We stop outside a restaurant I've not heard about never mind been to. The waiter ushers us to a private table at the side of the restaurant.

  “I don't want everyone to be mesmerized. The chef doesn't like it if the patrons can't eat their dinner.” He laughs. “You'll need to get used to this.”

  “I can't believe my life will change like that overnight. There's no way that's going to happen.”

  “Not overnight no, not until the film comes out.”

  “Are you really that sure I'm going to get the part?”

  “I've talked to the producer and director and sent pictures of you. They are very excited to meet you on Thursday.”

  “But there'll be a lot of people auditioning, right?”

  “Yes, but they need a lot of dancers. There are twenty or so speaking parts so don't be alarmed if there's a whole crowd there.”

  “So I could get a part even if I don't get the starring role?”

  “I want the lead role for you. I won't be happy with less.”

  “I'll be happy if I earn enough to eat.”

  “I know we can do better than that.”

  “Do you eat in this kind of place all the time?” I ask. I dread to think how much a place like this costs. It must be nice to eat here any time you like.

  “I eat out a lot. But it's usually spoiled in one way or another. Stars can be very demanding—if they are not asking for their lettuce to be washed in mineral water, they are creating a fuss about some peculiar diet they are on.” He looks at me. “I was glad you told me you didn't have any food fetishes. I was afraid you were going to tell me you were unable to eat anything but cauliflower and sprouted seeds.”

  “I eat anything just about but I forgot to say I draw the line at liver and kidney.”

  “Thank the fuck for that.” We both laugh.

  The food is delicious and looks like a painting. We both laugh at the tiny bits of cauliflower and pea shoots artfully arranged around the hand dived scallops on my starter. Just as well those vegetables weren't all I was getting to eat.

  We drink champagne “to toast the future” and I really do feel like there is something to celebrate tonight. Maybe the champagne lowers my guard. I don't know. Maybe it's just Ash.

  “Do you go to a lot of shows in London when you're scouting for new sign-ups?” I imagine him in seedy bars all over the city.

  “I don't.”

  “Just the Tempest? You don't look like a regular.”

  “I've never been there in my life before the other night when I saw you dance.”

  “What made you go there that night?”

  “You did.”

  “I did?”

  “I saw you on the street. I was surprised to see you going in the side entrance and curiosity got the better of me.”

  “You followed me?”

  “Yes. Does that worry you?”

  “No.”

  “Maybe it should.”

  “Why? Are you dangerous? I know where you live. And at least fifty people have seen us together tonight. I think I might be safe. Even if you're a serial killer, you'll get caught.”

  “True. I'm not dangerous. I'm the one who's in danger.”

  I can't believe that. “From what? You seem like you're in complete control to me.”

  “I wish! It's like I'm dangerously out of control with you.”

  “With me?” Does he really mean that? He's tried to control me every way he can.

  “I like to control everything but don't worry. I get the picture. That doesn't go down well with you.”

  “You got it in one. Why do you need to control everything anyway?”

  “Things get very messy otherwise. Especially with people. I told you I don't do relationships. I'm no good at them.”

  “Maybe you haven't tried hard enough?”

  “I haven't tried for a long time. I'm not sure I can. Isn't it the same for you or did I not understand you right yesterday? What went wrong with Jimmy other than the obvious of him being a prick?”

  “I found him in his office with another woman.”

  “I should have hit him harder.”

  I think he means that!

  “But you still worked for him?”

  “I had to pay the rent somehow. He was a complete pain, kept trying to make me wear a different costume and go topless, but when I refused he still gave me work.”

  “He would have had to be crazy to sack you but there must have been other guys before Jimmy.”

  “Not many. No one long term. A father like mine kinda puts you off. My mother said he always had affairs and he was never around when I was growing up. Now I don't think he remembers he has a daughter.”

  “How can he forget a daughter like you?”

  “Quite easily it seems. I haven't heard from him for a couple of years. I used to get birthday cards when we first came here. Now that he has a new family, I don't.”

  “Why did your mother bring you here?”

  “She's English and never really felt at home in New York plus there was a guy she knew from London who turned her head and she followed him back here. That lasted all of six months. Then she focused her attention on me. It was she who pushed me on the stage.”

  “You hated it?”

  “No I liked it. I was shy, but it was still the only thing I wanted to do—to dance. I was doing well and started to get solo parts at the ballet school. But there was once...I don't know what happened. Maybe I practiced too hard or something and I got a stress fracture. The doctor told me to rest as much as possible and it would heal in time. The trouble was I was just about to take the lead in the end of year production and my mother insisted the show must go on and I could rest after that. She loved to see me dance. She liked the praise she got from her friends. It was unthinkable that my place would be taken by someone else's daughter. After I did that show it was pretty clear I would never dance professionally. There was permanent damage—not enough to stop me dancing but enough to stop me dancing en pointe.”

  “Couldn't you have refused to take part?”

  “Oh you don't know the force that is my mother. There was nothing going to stop her getting what she wanted. Once we knew I wasn't going to be a ballerina she explored other things and made friends with the manager of the local repertory theater.”

  “Did you get a place there?”

  “No I refused to go there.”

  “You stood up to your mother?”

  “She pushed me to meet the manager. I met him alright. He was used to pushy mothers. And to doing anything he liked with their daughters.”

  “He forced himself on you?”

  “No. I kneed him in the nuts.” I know it's not funny. It definitely wasn't funny at th
e time but for some reason we can't help laughing.

  “I'm lucky you didn't knee me in the balls.”

  “You were very lucky.”

  “Your mother will be happy if you get this role.”

  “I don't care if she's happy.”

  CHAPTER 17

  Ash

  I wonder what that “I don't care” is about. Victoria said her mother was pushy but that seems harsh. And then she explains.

  “When I told my mother about the theater manager, she went crazy—but at me. She said I must have led him on. I was fifteen. When I insisted I hadn't she said men were men. They had their needs and I had to get used to if I wanted to get the chance to perform. Before that day I only suspected she cared more about her own ambition than she did about me. But that day I knew.”

  “Do you still talk to her?”

  “I call her sometimes but we don't really talk. I can't seem to break the tie completely. Sometimes I wish I could. She never approved of me dancing at the club. She thinks it's beneath me and I suspect it's something she never mentions to her friends.”

  I grab Victoria's hand. I'm pleased she shared that about her mother but I want to get onto happier subjects. All this emotional stuff is too much for me. I don't want to start thinking about my own less than stellar mother. Not now. Not when I'm out with Victoria. There's no reason to get gloomy.

  “Let's order ice cream,” I suggest. “It's the only cure I know for family blues.”

  “And all other kinds of blues,” she says and laughs. “As long as it's chocolate with sprinkles on top and hot fudge sauce.”

  “Do they even have sprinkles here? It would have to be something like ‘topped with a dusting of Belgian chocolate.’ Maybe we'll need to go somewhere else for dessert. Anyway, how can you say you want chocolate when the menu has sun-ripened peach ice cream with passion fruit essence?”

  “Easily. Nothing can beat chocolate in a crisis. That's the first rule of getting through one.”

  She looks me in the eyes and suddenly we're not laughing any longer. I can see her nipples hardening into peaks through the silkiness of her dress reminding me she has nothing on under there and my cock stiffens.

  “Do you really want ice cream?” I ask.

  “No.” The sound catches in her throat and I'm sure it's not from the disappointment of not getting ice cream. I make a mental note to have sprinkles, fudge sauce and the best chocolate ice cream I can find sent over tomorrow so her ice box is well supplied, though I hope there won't be a crisis for her to need it.

  I pay the bill and call for the car.

  As Miller winds his way through the rainy streets of the city back to her new apartment, Victoria rests her head on my shoulder and I wrap my arm around her. Neither of us has much to say but our bodies are doing the talking, pressed up close, not an inch between us. I take hold of her hand and squeeze it. What is she thinking? Have I warned her off too much? Somehow I can't bear it if I have. I tilt her chin toward me and kiss her. One gentle kiss. But she wants more and she kisses me right back. I can smell the light fragrance of her perfume, her shampoo, the jasmine soap and the wonderful scent of pure Victoria in one heady mixture. I wrap my fingers in her hair, and a gentle kiss in response to mine turns into something wild, passionate, relentless as I capture her mouth with mine, swallowing her moans of pleasure with my lips.

  I didn't think I could get lost in a kiss but it is only when I pull back a little to look at Victoria and draw breath that I notice the car is parked outside the apartment already. I don't know how long we have been there. Miller isn't saying.

  Victoria blushes and we get out and I wish him goodnight. Miller remains as inscrutable as ever. He knows when I say goodnight it means he can go home to bed and I'll take a cab home when I leave. I hope I won't be leaving any time soon.

  “You really like it here?” I ask Victoria as the doorman waves us on to the elevator with a polite “Good Evening.”

  “I love it. Thank you.” She smiles. And I can't wait to get to her apartment. But fuck no! I can't wait. We're alone for the first time since we left for the evening. I have to kiss her right there in the elevator. Her soft breasts press against my chest through the fabric of the gown and my hand seeks the smoothness of her thigh and bare buttock through the slit at the side of her dress. She moans. I have to have this girl.

  I pull the top of her dress to one side and bare one breast, taking her nipple into my mouth and suck on her sweet flesh. But the elevator, the fucking elevator, tings and thwarts me. We're there—too soon. She pulls her dress together and fishes in her bag for the key. I take it from her and open the door. Inside the apartment she makes for the lounge, but I hold her back and kiss her again behind the front door.

  “Take your dress off here,” I say. I can hear the intensity, the need in my voice. “I want to see you naked.”

  She just looks at me and I don't know what she'll do but then she delights me by pulling the dress off her shoulders and letting the fabric fall to the ground and pool at her feet. She steps out of the dress, picks it up and puts it on the hall table. I don't care about the dress and what happens to it. I could have torn it off but I think she likes that dress too much to want it trodden on and that pleases me a little too.

  “I'm naked,” she says. “You can see me naked. Now what?”

  “This.” And I'm sinking to my knees, kissing a path down her soft smooth stomach to her mound, my hands on her thighs as I bury my head between her legs, pulling her to my hungry mouth. The scent of her, my God! Then I'm lapping at her folds with my tongue, licking and sucking like a man possessed savoring the sweet essence of her as she squirms and twists and writhes above me, her thighs trembling. She leans against the door as if she can't stay upright without support, her breath coming in gasps, squeals of delight escaping from her lips. I know she's going to come if I carry on but I want her coming on my cock this time with me deep inside her.

  CHAPTER 18

  Victoria

  Getting off his knees, he kisses all the way up my body and pushes my breasts together, squeezing, massaging them as if he can't get enough of them, then he takes each nipple in turn into his hot mouth, raking his tongue across the sensitive peaks, teasing and sucking—so much pleasure I can hardly stand it. I feel every sweep of his tongue, every action from his lips and the hard length of him through his clothes against my naked body.

  I want him. I want him now, inside me. I moan in anguish and reach for his belt and he helps me get it undone as I unzip him and pull at the fabric covering him. After one quick pause while he retrieves a packet from his pocket and rolls on a condom, he pushes deep inside me with one slow deliberate stroke. His eyes never leave mine as if he wants me to know exactly who is inside me. How could I forget? I've never felt like this. He's big. Thick and long. All man.

  He stops right there to kiss me and I taste champagne on his lips, moaning into his mouth, urging him on. And then he groans “I can't even—so fucking tight” and he pounds into me—yes pounds—against the door over and over. Just as well it's solidly constructed. There are doors that wouldn't stand up to that. I hope no one is outside to hear it. Oh god my new neighbors! But then I don't care at all. All I care about is what is going on inside me, his body taking me hard, and it feels so good, relentless. I'm stretched wide, getting ever closer.

  He drives his cock deep and hard into me, clutching my hips, pulling me tight to him, grinding against me with every thrust, almost brutal as he rams into me. But I love it, that power! I'm all his at that moment. He can fill me, take me, and have me—whatever he wants. I feel his arms trembling and I sense he's getting near just as he moans deep from his throat, “come for me, baby.” His words set off an almost instant reaction, taking me right over the edge and I come, shuddering around his cock, calling out in pleasure as he pulses into me and rides out his orgasm, a low growl escaping from his lips.

  He kisses my neck, soft kisses all up the side. There's a light sheen of sweat o
ver my body, he is still almost fully dressed. But he holds me and strokes my hair. So rough and then so gentle. I want to cry for some reason but I don't. I'm afraid to frighten him away with that kind of intensity but that's what I'm feeling.

  “Hey,” he says kissing my cheek. Maybe he notices my fear. I don't know. “Sorry I couldn't wait. I didn't let you even get inside your new place properly before I got you naked. Are you okay?”

  “Yes I'm okay, more than okay.” I smile at him.

  He knots the condom and wraps it in his silk pocket square and zips himself up. I feel suddenly shy in my nakedness. I grab my dress. I'm probably just some girl to screw to him. Maybe he's like Jimmy, screwing around he's just better at making a girl feel good in all kinds of ways. It's part of the territory.

  “Leave the dress,” he says, running his fingers tenderly over my nipple. “I'll get you a robe. There must be one somewhere in that closet.” He takes my hand and leads me to the bedroom.

  There are three robes to choose from.

  “I like this one.” He pulls one out. It’s in cream silk with delicate embroidery. I notice it matches the underwear he had delivered to his house. Maybe it's a favorite pattern he buys for women. I don't know.

  He holds it out to me so I can slip my arms in the sleeves and he ties the belt firmly around my waist with a bow as if I didn't know how to get dressed.

  “You know the only reason I'm helping you put this on, don't you?”

  “What?”

  “So I can have the pleasure of undoing it again.”

  I giggle and he kisses the back of my neck. I think he knows what that does to me. My nipples harden again. I can almost feel them throbbing through the silk of the gown and he reaches forward and tweaks one.

  “I think I'm in love with your nipples.”

  I want to ask “Only my nipples?” but of course it's far too soon for that conversation. What am I doing thinking like that? I can't fall for this guy. There's nothing but heartbreak in that direction.

  “Why don't we crack open the champagne?” he says. “I'll have some more sent over tomorrow. I didn't mean to drink your welcome gift.”