Chapter One

I woke up cradled by a pair of tan, muscular arms and sighed contentedly. This time I knew immediately where I was: Vincent’s bedroom. He was playing big spoon to my little, and as I lay there reminiscing, the previous twelve hours played through my memory in a pleasant haze. Vincent had, on balance, been very supportive about the situation with my ex-boyfriend Marty. I hadn’t wanted to talk to him about it so early in our dating—I hadn’t even told Riley until yesterday—but after seeing how it worked out I felt much better.

Turning over, I took in his handsome face breathing slowly and smoothly. His distinctive masculine scent was becoming familiar, which was both comforting and a major turn on. He slept like a man without a care in the world, and yet I knew anybody running a business as large as his had plenty to worry about. I admired his ability to deal with stress.

Over his shoulder I read the bright green digits of his alarm clock: it was only six-thirty. My mind immediately went to dirty places; my sex drive had always been mediocre at best but now it was through the roof.

I ran my hand down his sculpted abs toward the impressive cock below and was pleasantly surprised to find him hard. He had morning wood. It was difficult to take credit for turning him on while he was still sleeping, but wrapping my hand around him even through the soft cotton of his boxer briefs still made me wet. I softly ran my fingers up and down his shaft, eager to pull him out of his underwear.

He stirred. “Feel something you like?” he grunted sleepily. His eyes were half open and he looked sexy as he wiped them and yawned like a lion.

“I was feeling jealous of whoever was turning you on while you slept,” I said coyly.

“You shouldn’t be. You’ve been the only woman in my dreams for a while now.”

I giggled, unsure if his claim could possibly be true. He knew what to say to make me feel special, at least.

“Nothing like the real thing, though.” He kissed me on the forehead and moved his arm under me, cupping both buttocks through my underwear. “I like the way you look first thing in the morning.”

I was sure my hair was a total mess, and my makeup was probably all over the place, but I blushed at the compliment anyway. Vincent, with his wavy hair and manly stubble, was built to look amazing right out of bed. I was jealous of how effortless it was for him to look as enticing as he did.

Leaving his erection for a moment, I planted my hand on his hard stomach and scooted myself up to smooch him on the lips.

He kissed me back more passionately than I’d anticipated, his tongue probing against my mouth. I broke the kiss and started another, this time ready, and our tongues wrestled playfully. I could see myself waking up to this on a more frequent basis.

Smiling against his mouth, I reached down toward his waist and slipped my hand beneath the elastic band of his underwear to grip the throbbing head of his cock. He was so hard I shuddered, imagining how he would feel inside of me. My pussy ached in anticipation of the way it would stretch around him.

His grip on my butt tensed before he picked me up and turned me onto my back, never breaking our kiss. Only once I was down did he grab the hand holding his cock and pin it to the bed.

He leaned down and nibbled on my ear, his hot breath tickling me. “I have to get to work,” he whispered.

My heart sank. I’d been looking forward to one more round of sex before I had to return to reality. “Okay,” I said.

When I moved to sit up, he smiled and easily pinned my shoulders down to the bed with his free hand.

“I said I have to get to work. You stay put.”

Before I could answer him, he moved lower until his face was between my legs. I half straightened in surprise, ready to tell him he didn’t have to do that, but quickly threw my head back on the pillow. My fingers gripped the sheets as the sensation of his tongue fluttering around my pussy radiated through my body.

He looked up at me and grinned.

“You remember me telling you that you have a beautiful cunt last night, right? Because it’s gorgeous and glistening for me right now.”

I closed my eyes. “It wants you inside,” I said, not wanting to see the expression on his face. Talking dirty still made me feel uncomfortable but it was rapidly becoming second nature.

His hands left my legs and I felt the bed bounce up. “Keep your eyes closed,” he said. I heard footsteps, then the sound of a wrapper being torn. “You like the suspense of not being able to see, don’t you?”

I nodded and waited for the bed to bounce again with his weight.

Instead, his strong hands grabbed my thighs and he pulled me across his smooth bed sheets until I was on the bed’s edge, legs high and spread. Exposed. He entered me swiftly, throwing me off balance. I opened my eyes afraid I was going to fall. I found his face and was comforted to see him smiling and holding me steady.

“You should trust me more,” he said, thrusting slowly but steadily. “I told you I have a million ways to make you feel good and better.”

He kissed me then scooped me up. I threw my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist as he placed one knee on the bed and then the other, all the while inside me. The muscles in his shoulders and back bulged. It was amazing how strong he was.

Once he had lowered me back onto his soft sheets, he began to move in and out quickly, building an even rhythm. I relaxed, slipping into a trance, my mind free of everything but the sensation of his body against mine, his cock inside me pushing against the walls of my sex. The heat in my core radiated out into a blanket of sensual pleasure.

“You’re so snug,” he said, pumping.

He continued to move in and out of me with a steady rhythm. My climax was coming fast and I felt my muscles contracting in anticipation. He moaned in response and began thrusting harder, causing me to move my hips against him. Sex with Vincent was like nothing I’d ever experienced. It was exhausting and yet I wanted more and more.

“You’re close, aren’t you?” he said. “Come for me, Kristen. Now.”

He thrust to the hilt and the orgasm slammed into me. My muscles tightened to their limit before my core burst and pleasure wracked my entire body. The sensation was at once too much and not enough; I moaned and thrust my hips out toward him, wanting to take all of his impressive length. I clenched around him and his cock jerked, which made me squeeze harder.

When my quivering had finally wound down, he gave one more mighty thrust then closed his eyes. Convulsions seized his lithe body as he came, the condom filling with his hot seed. I watched his face, fascinated, hardly believing I could make him feel such a strong sensation. It was an unfamiliar power trip.

“Damn it,” he growled, pulling out of me and tying off the condom. He threw it in the trash and plopped down on his back, scooping me up after a second to my new favorite spot on his chest. “How am I ever going to get you off my mind when we have sex like that?”

“And why would I want to be off your mind?” I said coyly.

He gave me a small smile. Then his eyes glazed over as if he were looking off to the horizon. The subtle change in his demeanor was jarring. This must be another one of his sudden shifts. I didn’t want to leave the bed and end the moment, much as I knew I had to, but I could tell for him the moment was already gone.

“Busy day?” I asked, raking my fingers up and down his chest.

Unmoving, he said nothing.

After a moment, I tried again. “Vincent, where are you?”

He shook his head as if warding off an unpleasant thought and looked down at me. His face was another derivative of charming Vincent. The man I’d been with earlier was gone.

“Sorry,” he said. “Lots of work to do. Coffee?”

I hated that he could do that. How could he go from having passionate sex to being all business so quickly? Maybe it was something you had to put up with when you got involved with a man who ran a global empire, but it still bugged me. I nodded because I didn’t trust myself to speak.

When I walked into his kitchen I was greeted by the sight of Vincent making an omelet in his light blue underwear. His impressive bulge strained against the pima cotton even when he wasn’t hard, and it left little to the imagination. With the way the morning light was pouring in his window, the scene looked like something out of a magazine ad—selling anything, so long as it included him.

It was a great recovery. “I didn’t realize breakfast was being served with coffee,” I said.

“Three egg omelet with red and green peppers, onion, jack cheese and ham. I hope that’s all right. I’m a big believer in putting good things into your life if you want good things to come of it.”

“Wise words.” I wondered if Vincent thought of me as a good thing. Or if I thought of him as a good thing. We hadn’t known each other very long; we were still getting to know one another. A good thing could easily turn into a bad one as I’ve figured out from experience. People can be surprising.

He winked. “And yes, you count as a good thing.”

He flipped my omelet deftly onto a plate already containing sliced melon and strawberries and set it on the counter. Pouring me a fresh cup of coffee from a french press, he continued. “I have to go to Rio tonight. I’ll be gone the rest of the week, but we need to keep in contact every day, especially since your ex found out where you live. Are you sure I can’t put you up in a hotel or get you a guard?”

I took the coffee mug from his hand and took a sip, savoring the complex notes. It was so much better than the coffee at the office. “No,” I said. “None of that will be necessary.”

He nodded. “Okay, but after work we’re going to the store before I leave and getting you some protection. Mace, at least. Something else as well. Maybe a gun.”

I was touched he was so concerned about Marty, but I thought he was overreacting. We weren’t dealing with a serial killer here. “That’s fine, but I really think mace will be enough. I don’t need an assault rifle or anything.”

“Eat up, we do need to get to work soon,” he said. “Want me to drop you off at a nearby subway station or at your building? I mean, you know, discretion and all.”