The Billionaire’s Bride Of Vengeance Page 7
Yet when he smiled, a strangely erotic shiver trickled down her spine.
‘Enough of this chit-chat,’ he said, and abruptly scooped her up into his arms. ‘Time to get down to business.’
CHAPTER TEN
RUSSELL scooped her up into his arms and laid her down in the middle of the bed, kissing her with cold deliberation before withdrawing to stand at the side of the bed.
That storm had arrived just in the nick of time, reminding him of why he’d brought Alistair Power’s daughter here in the first place. Not just to satisfy his lust—which he was certainly aiming to do—but also for a far more satisfying goal.
Revenge.
Which was better taken slowly and with a cool head.
For several seconds he just stared down at her, drinking in her exquisitely beautiful body, which was even more tempting than he remembered. She looked delicious spread out like that with her legs slightly apart and her hands laid on the pillows beside her head.
The sudden thought that he would prefer her tied to the bed startled Russell. He’d never been partial to that kind of thing before. But the image of her spread-eagled and bound and totally helpless almost brought his resolve to be cool and controlled totally undone.
He had to pull himself together, had to find some composure or all would be lost. There would be no triumph for him if he became her prey. She was the prey here. She was the instrument of revenge, even if she didn’t know it.
Clenching his teeth hard in his jaw, he willed his wayward flesh to behave, then slowly, very slowly, began taking off his clothes, not dropping them on the floor but draping each item neatly over a nearby chair: jacket, tie, shirt and belt.
Once he was naked to the waist he extracted his wallet from his trouser pocket, took out two condoms and put them on the bedside chest. After that he took off his shoes and socks, placing them tidily under the chair before unzipping his trousers and removing them with all the speed of a snail.
He was playing for time, of course. Time to give his painfully swollen flesh the chance to subside a little.
He wasn’t all that successful. The sight of Nicole’s near-naked body was way too arousing. So was the thought that, soon, she would be his.
Another flash of lightning came, along with a clap of thunder even louder than the last. The storm was getting close. So was the storm which was about to break in this room, a storm which had been years in the building.
Nicole shivered, both at the sound of the thunder and the sight of Russell’s almost naked body. He was magnificently built. Tall and broad-shouldered, with a flat stomach and an enviable tan, making her wonder how he had acquired the latter. Not from a gym, that was for sure. Maybe he surfed, or swam outdoors.
He had a smattering of dark curls between his welldefined chest muscles. His legs were long, with nicely shaped calves and powerful thighs.
She could not help but compare him with David, who’d been extremely handsome, facially, but not so impressive without his clothes on. He’d had no shoulders to speak of, plus pale skin and a flabby belly.
Russell’s abruptly dropping his boxer shorts had Nicole swallowing hard. Oh! Now he very definitely left David in the shade.
Thinking about David, however, brought a jab of panic which found voice when Russell joined her on the bed.
‘I…I should warn you about something,’ she blurted out.
His face immediately darkened. ‘There’s nothing you can tell me that I want to hear. Not right now, anyway.’
Russell took a few moments to don protection, after which he rolled back and kissed her. Then kissed her some more.
A big mistake.
But he could not seem to stop, especially when she wound her arms tightly around him, one of her hands finding the back of his head and pressing his mouth down on hers even harder. The sounds she made deep in her throat were as exciting as they were distracting, heating his blood and turning his head to mush. Desire dictated his actions as his hand slipped down between her legs, her gasps of pleasure bringing him dangerously close to the edge. There was nothing cold-blooded in his actions when he spread her by then trembling thighs and surged into her. Revenge was far from his mind as her hot flesh closed tightly around him, his mouth bursting from hers with a raw groan, his heart going like a jack-hammer in his chest.
Her eyes met his, wide with excitement and something else.
Wonder shone up at him; a wonder that was as surprising as it was achingly sweet.
She looked as if she’d never felt anything like what she was feeling at this moment.
A minute or two ago, Russell would have experienced triumph.
Now he just wanted to keep that wondrous look on her face.
It was a struggle to control his own desperately swollen flesh, but he managed, wrapping her legs around his waist before rocking back and forth inside her with a gentle rhythm, finding immense satisfaction, not by indulging in vengeful thoughts, but in seeing the extent of her pleasure. She didn’t have to say a word, her body speaking for her, her mouth dropping open, her face flushing wildly, her head twisting from side to side.
When her eyes closed tightly shut on a strangled cry and her internal muscles stiffened around him, Russell realised he could let himself go. Immediately he scooped his hands under her buttocks and lifted her up hard against him, his heart thundering in his chest as he surged more powerfully into her.
Her eyes flew back open as she climaxed, her gasping sounds still full of that highly seductive wonder, as though this was a first-off experience for her. Russell empathised with how she felt when he found release and it was much more intense than he could ever remember. Consumed with the sudden need to hold her closer, he lifted her up off the bed and pressed her body to his. When her arms wrapped tightly around his neck and her head dropped to his chest with a shaky sigh, he could have stayed like that forever.
But, as his excitement faded, Russell came back to earth with a thud. This was Nicole Power he was getting all sentimental over, the rich-bitch daughter of Alistair Power, the man he’d vowed to destroy. She wasn’t some innocent little flower having her first sexual experience. She was a well-known party girl who’d probably had more lovers than designer dresses. The odds of sleeping with him being a super-special, uniquely pleasurable experience were remote. He was good in bed, but he wasn’t that good.
More likely she’d decided to act the ingénue with him tonight, thinking that might appeal to his possibly jaded sexual appetite. Hadn’t he concluded earlier tonight that she might be on the look-out for a rich husband?
For pity’s sake, get real, Russell, my boy, he warned himself. You didn’t bring your enemy’s daughter here to lose your head over her much practised charms.
It was fortuitous that she chose that moment to lift those gorgeous green eyes of hers, her expression unbelievably bewildered.
‘That was amazing,’ she said with soft awe in her voice. ‘Truly amazing.’
Yeah, right, he thought cynically. And I’m the king of England.
Russell almost laughed. Still, it had been a close call there for a while. There’d been a point when he’d almost surrendered to her spell, when all thought of revenge had been banished from his mind.
That was what was truly amazing.
He’d have to watch himself with her. She was different from any female he’d ever been with before. She made him feel things.
Russell came to a swift decision. One night of vengeful sex would have to do, his earlier fantasy of wooing his enemy’s daughter—with a view to marriage—simply too great a risk. Come morning, he would take Nicole Power back to her friend’s place and never see her again.
Meanwhile, however, he aimed to see just how far she was prepared to go to catch herself a wealthy husband.
But, first, a trip to the bathroom was called for.
‘Be back in a sec, sweetheart,’ he said before pulling away abruptly and heading for the en suite bathroom.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
In hindsight, Nicole could see that she’d acted more like a virgin bride than the woman of the world Russell must have thought he was taking to bed. Not only had she run true to form by letting the man do everything again, but she’d also gone all gooey afterwards.
The thought that Russell might be in that bathroom, wondering why he’d wanted her so much, brought a groan of dismay. It was patently obvious, now that her brain was re-engaged, that sex with her hadn’t lived up to his expectations.
Nicole groaned a second time. Why hadn’t she insisted he take her in the car?
She’d wanted him to.
Nicole vowed then and there that when Russell emerged from that bathroom, she would be a lot more adventurous and assertive. She would not wait to be touched or kissed. She’d do the touching and kissing first.
She was lying there, working up the courage to put her thoughts into action, when a flash of lightning lit up the huge balcony outside the master bedroom. Almost immediately, there was the most deafening crack of thunder and Nicole felt the bed under her actually shake.
And then all the lights went out.
Nicole didn’t scream, which was an achievement of the highest order.
But she was clutching the sheet up around her throat when she heard the bathroom door open.
‘You all right?’ Russell called out to her through the darkness.
‘Yes,’ she managed to answer without sounding too much like a frightened rabbit.
‘I’ll see if it’s just us that’s blacked out,’ he continued matter-of-factly, ‘or the whole neighbourhood.’
More flashes of lightning gave Nicole a good view of Russell as he crossed the room, heading for the French windows which opened onto the balcony. He was still naked, she noted, with the sexiest butt she’d ever seen.
Nicole found herself hoping that all of Sydney was blacked out. Then Russell wouldn’t be able to do anything but come back to bed.
‘Bloody hell,’ he swore after he’d opened one of the windows, then swiftly pulled it shut again. ‘It’s frigging freezing out there.’
‘Come back to bed, then,’ she heard herself suggesting with some of that boldness which she’d vowed to embrace. ‘I’ll warm you up in no time.’ Goodness! Had that sounded too slutty?
‘I’m sure you could,’ he said with a wry little laugh. ‘And trust me, I’ll take you up on that promise in about ten seconds. But first, I need to know the extent of this blackout.’
This time, when he opened the door, Nicole heard rain, great heavy drops, hitting various surfaces. The lightning had retreated for the moment, leaving the balcony—and the bedroom—in complete darkness.
‘Well, it’s not just this house,’ he informed her on reentering a short time later. ‘The whole local area is blacked out. But the lights over in the city are still on. It’s the same with the bridge and the north shore. Which means at least James’s wedding night won’t be spoiled. And that reminds me…’
When he lifted the duvet and dived in next to her, Nicole stiffened. It was a last-minute attack of nerves, not a response to his chilled skin, but she decided to pretend the latter was the case.
‘Oh, you poor darling,’ she murmured as she forced herself to snuggle up to his side. But she struggled to keep her hand from trembling as it landed in the middle of his chest before beginning a somewhat tentative journey downwards. ‘You are cold.’
‘Not for long, I’ll warrant,’ he returned in a voice which, in the pitch black, sounded strangely edgy.
Her heart leapt when her fingers grazed the tip of his manhood. So did Russell’s, if the abrupt expansion in his chest was anything to go by.
Nicole took a deep breath. This was alien territory to her. She’d never deliberately caressed any man like this before. Or—heaven forbid—taken one into her mouth. She couldn’t imagine liking the taste or the experience.
The thought sent a weird little shudder down her spine. Not a shudder of outright revulsion, more a shudder of fear that she might make a total hash of it.
For, surely, Russell would have had scores of experienced partners who knew exactly how to perform to perfection.
Nicole’s nervous swallow was swiftly followed by an irritated purse of her lips. Don’t be such a coward, she lectured herself. Just do the best you can. Think of him as an ice cream, one of those choc-tops you used to buy at the movies and which you always tried to make last as long as you could.
When her hand encircled him, his groan startled her, her head jerking up to stare at where she imagined his face was.
‘You don’t want me to do this?’ she choked out.
‘You know I do,’ he growled back.
She hadn’t known any such thing.
The reassurance of his words, however, gave her a decided buzz. And the courage to continue.
Levering herself up into the darkness, Nicole leant over him.
Once again, he groaned. This time, though, Nicole recognised the sound for what it was.
Excitement.
She felt his flesh swell even further.
His being turned-on turned her on. Suddenly, what she was about to do no longer smacked of desperation but of desire. She actually wanted to make love to him with her mouth.
Amazing!
Russell braced himself for the first contact of her lips. But it was no use. He simply had no weapons against the feelings which had begun rampaging through him the moment she touched him.
He bit back another groan as her mouth encircled him, making his back arch up from the bed and his body break out into a sweat.
She stopped immediately, but she didn’t say anything or let him go. The room became deathly silent except for his own heavy breathing, a good twenty seconds ticking away before the sheer power of his need forced him to speak.
‘Don’t stop,’ he said in a voice that contained more plea than order.
He almost cried out with relief when she actually took him all the way into her mouth.
There was certainly nothing of the ingénue act any more, any illusion of innocence obliterated by the expertise she was now demonstrating. Russell began wondering how many other men she’d enslaved in this way.
Was she playing him like a fish?
Either way, Russell, my boy, you should be lying back and enjoying her well-practised skills, not gnashing your teeth and working yourself up into an emotional lather over her past. That is Nicole Power down there, the daughter of your enemy. What better revenge than to have her service you in this subjugated fashion?
He should not have been worried. He should have been triumphant. But as his swollen flesh teetered on the brink of release, Russell could not get past the thought that he was in danger of becoming the victim here, not her. This would be his humiliation, not hers.
But, oh…the sensations she was evoking were intoxicatingly seductive. All he had to do was surrender and the most mind-blowing climax would be his. He was close now. Achingly, agonisingly close, his eyes squeezing tightly shut as his flesh strained towards release. He felt her lips tighten around him.
It was no use, he accepted with a raw cry and gave up his struggle for control.
Surprisingly, Russell experienced no sense of humiliation, only ecstasy, followed by the most blissful peace.
‘That was amazing,’ he heard himself say afterwards, echoing what she’d said to him earlier.
More amazing was the strange wave of tenderness which washed through him when his hand drifted down to play with her hair.
‘No, don’t move,’ he said. His body was totally spent, his mind was already close to shutting down, and sleep was beckoning.
‘Beautiful,’ he murmured just before the curtain came down.
CHAPTER TWELVE
NICOLE didn’t realise for a while
that Russell had fallen asleep. Her brain was somewhat befuddled by what had just happened. Talk about a mind-blowing experience!
She still could not believe how much she’d loved doing it to him like that. Did that happen to other girls? Or only besotted ones?
Which she obviously was. Besotted, bewitched and, yes, somewhat bewildered.
Even now that he was asleep, the temptation to wake him again was strong. She could do it, her being with Russell having tapped into a side of herself which had obviously been dormant before. She’d suddenly discovered what it was to be a woman in the most primal sense. But to rouse him from sleep to satisfy her own surprisingly fierce need would be a totally selfish act.
He was obviously exhausted.
Not so herself. She was more awake and more alive than she’d ever been in her life.
Nicole decided that the best course of action would be to get out of this bed and away from temptation.
Very slowly and very carefully she left him, the bed and the room.
Her destination was the kitchen, where all the candles were kept. Given the speed of her mother’s departure from this house, Nicole didn’t think she would have taken such incidentals with her. From the looks of it, the only things she’d taken were clothes and jewellery.
The candles were sure to be there in the kitchen cupboard, along with matches. At least that would give them some light. Who knew how long this blackout would last? From the sound of the wind and rain outside, Sydney was being lashed by quite a storm.
Unfortunately, all the lightning seemed to have stopped and there wasn’t a hint of moonlight. Everything was pitch-black as Nicole inched her way down the stairs, shivering a little from the drop in temperature. With no electricity, the air-conditioning wasn’t working and the air was becoming fresh, even inside the well-insulated walls.
Thankfully the candles were still where Nicole remembered, one half-burnt white candle already in a candlestick with a box of matches next to it. This she lit, using the light from its rather meagre flame to search the rest of the kitchen cupboards for more candlesticks. In the end she selected a three-pronged candelabra from her mother’s huge range of silverware, inserted three unused candles from a box of six and lit them before blowing the original candle out.