Sheri WhiteFeather - The Billion Dollar Pact

His very personal assistant, he amended.

When it was over Jake was beaded with sweat. He withdrew and dropped down on top of Carol, needing to drag as much air into his lungs as he could get. But what he got was the scent of sex, mingled with her citrus perfume.

She skimmed her fingers down his spine. Gone were her claws. There was just softness now.

“Am I hurting you?” he asked.

She nuzzled his shoulder. “Isn’t it a little late to be asking me that?”

He grinned in spite of himself. “I meant, am I too heavy?”

“No, you’re good.” She traced his tailbone. “I’m not an itty-bitty breakable thing. I can take it.”

He could have stayed there all night, luxuriating in her curves, except that he needed to get rid of the condom. “I’ll be right back.”

Jake got up and went into the bathroom to do his thing. When he returned, she was sitting forward in bed, with the sheet partially covering her.

“I should take a picture of you,” he said. Beside her, the ghostly curtains were billowing again.

She tugged the sheet closer. “You better not.”

It was tempting, to say the least. “You just look so pretty, that’s all.” Mussed up and wearing the jewelry he’d given her.

“Thank you, but we don’t need that kind of evidence from this night.” She patted the space next to her. “Now, come back to bed.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He hopped into the spot she offered. “So what kind do we need?”

“What kind of what?”

“Evidence from this night?”

She butted her shoulder against his. “Smart aleck.”

He shrugged, smiled, got closer to her. For the heck of it, he gave her a noisy kiss, and they slid down onto the pillows together.

“I’m not much of a cuddler,” he said.

“Then you’re doing a good job, considering.”

He was trying. “You seem like the type who would like it.”

She sighed. “I am. I do.”

I do. He frowned at her choice of words, feeling the weight of them. Someday, she was going to find a nice, proper guy. Someday, she would become someone’s honeymoon bride.

But for now she was in bed with Jake, snuggling against him, all warm and cozy, where they both knew she didn’t belong.

Six

Carol awakened early. The room was bathed in soft morning hues. She noticed that the window was still open, but there was less of a breeze.

She’d slept soundly beside her lover. Too soundly, she decided. And now she was anything but calm.

She glanced over at Jake. Sometime during the night, he must have shifted onto his side because they weren’t facing each other anymore. His back was turned and he was sprawled out, one leg inside the covers, the other one exposed, along with a portion of his naked butt.

Heaven almighty. What had she done?

A foolish question, if there ever was one. She knew darn well what she’d done. She’d gone into this with her eyes wide open.

She sat up and steadied her breath. She needed coffee, but first she was going to wash the remnants of makeup off her face, tame her hair and brush her teeth. Rather than trudge off to her bathroom without any clothes, she located her sarong and wrapped it around herself.

Just as she was preparing to slip away, Jake rolled over, nearly giving her a heart attack. She’d assumed he was dead asleep.

“Hey,” he said with a graveled voice and a half smile.

“Hi.” Did he have to look so good, so handsome and wild, with a bit of overnight beard stubble? “I’m going to freshen up, then make coffee. Want some?”

“Sure.” He sat forward, dragged a hand through his hair and squinted into the hazy patch of sunlight that spilled over him. “I need to hit the head, too.”

“Okay. I’ll see you in a few.”

As he climbed out of bed, Carol darted off and practically stumbled over her body veil. She picked it up, but she didn’t take the time to look for her panties. Uncertain of what Jake had done with them after he’d peeled them off her, she would search for them later.

She continued to her room, and once she was standing at her bathroom mirror, she removed her bracelet. She’d actually slept in it. The earrings, too, so she took those off, as well.

Then, after she was fresh and somewhat tidy, with her sarong tied a little tighter, she prepared the coffee in the single-serve machine in her room, making each cup separately. She added sugar to Jake’s, the way he liked it. This wasn’t the first time she’d sweetened his coffee and it probably wouldn’t be the last. But it felt different from before.

Everything did.

Because she’d had sex with her boss. Wild, delicious, sheet-tumbling, tongue-kissing, body-scorching sex.

She brought the coffee to his room, trying to keep her hands from shaking. Jake was back in bed, looking as if he’d splashed a bit of water on his face, too. He certainly seemed more awake. She handed him his cup, and he thanked her.

Instead of joining him in bed, Carol opted for a nearby chair. He was still naked, except that he had a pillow on his lap, to protect himself from the hot beverage, she assumed.

Struggling to stay focused, she sipped her coffee, a perfect brew for a nervous day—strong and rich and aromatic.

“Are you concerned about last night?” he asked.

Lying would get her nowhere. Besides, her emotions were probably written all over her face. “It definitely feels weird now that it’s over.”

“Yeah, it does. But we knew what we were getting into when we did it.”

“That’s for sure.” They couldn’t behave as if they weren’t aware of their actions. “Morning was bound to come.”

Falling silent, he let his gaze roam over her, his eyes dark and intense. Then he said, “I don’t think it should end like this.”

She blinked, not quite catching his drift. “What?”

“Us. The sex. We should keep doing it all weekend.”

Confused, Carol debated what to say. She glanced at the nightstand, where the rest of the condoms were. “You want to do it some more, even though you agreed that it seems weird?”

“Ending it so quickly will make it even weirder. We might as well make the most of this couples-only thing. And there’s no denying how hot we are together.”

No, there was no denying it. She could still feel the forbidden thrill of their union. The warm, slick foreplay. The hard-driving rhythm. The orgasmic shivers.

Every moment was embedded in her brain. In her body. Even in parts of her soul. It had been the most exciting night of her life. But the most irresponsible, too.

Dare she repeat it over the next few days? “Are you sure we shouldn’t just cut our losses now?”

“And do what for the rest of the time that we’re here? Hang out at the beach and pretend it didn’t happen? Better to embrace it, I think.”

Her pulse jumped. “By getting naked again?”

“I’m already bare. And under that pretty dress of yours, so are you.” He set his coffee aside. “Aren’t you?”

“Yes.” Her voice all but quavered. She hadn’t put any underwear on this morning. She still had no idea where her panties from last night were, either. Maybe stuck in the bedcovers somewhere?

“So what’s it going hurt?” he asked. “A weekend of fun, sun and great sex. Things could be worse.”

“What about the other guests here? Are we going to try to hide it from them?”

“I don’t see why we should. Besides, most of them probably already assumed that we were a couple, anyway.”

She thought about her conversation with Lena and how it had influenced her to sleep with Jake to begin with. “Lena predicted it.”

“She did?”

“When we talked at the party. But we can’t let anyone figure it out when we get home. I can’t handle people at work knowing.”