A Burning Obsession Read online

  “Oh, I feel so sorry for you,” she teased. She wiped her palms on her rib cage just under breasts.

  “And I did warn you.”

  He sucked in oxygen so hard, the whoosh of air made her grin.

  “You know it seems to me that I’m not taking advantage of my…assets.”

  “What do you mean?” At first he’d thought she’d been speaking about the game, but he’d been very mistaken.

  She placed her pointed finger between her lips, licked it like someone about to turn a page in a book or magazine, then held the finger just inches from her nipple.

  He couldn’t have looked away if a tidal wave had threatened the boat. Kimberly might have been hesitant to come here with him, but she certainly had spirit. He stared in fascination as her finger lightly circled one erect nipple then the other. And all the while she watched him, like a cat about to pounce on its favorite toy.

  “You don’t play fair,” he kept his tone soft and even. Although he was complaining, his heart felt as though he’d just run a marathon.

  She grinned at him, hesitant, but no longer shy. “You know the Irish have a saying, ‘Hunger is the best sauce.’ Are you hungry?”

  Starved. “They have another saying I like better. ‘He who follows his own will is king.”’

  She chuckled, her breasts quivering. “Well, if you don’t move your piece soon, I’m going to think that I’ve stolen your will.”

  With a groan of real distress, he forced his gaze back to the game board. Within five minutes, she had his pieces surrounded, and while he’d planned to let her win this round, she might have done it on her own. He simply couldn’t think with her skimming her fingers between her neck and the swell of her breasts.

  “My turn.” She turned her chair and then she climbed onto it. “Come here, big guy.”

  He did as she asked and immediately understood that her breasts were inches from his mouth. But it was her turn to choose which article of clothing to remove. Her turn to take a kiss.

  Slowly, she unbuttoned his shirt, each movement of her fingers and hands causing her coral-tipped breasts to tauntingly tremble. At least with him standing, his pants gave him a little more room, but he expanded further to take up the additional space, finding no relief after all.

  She slid her fingers between the buttons, stroking his chest, making a production of each inch of flesh that she bared. And if her caresses alone weren’t enough to drive him wild, her wanton display had beads of perspiration popping onto his brow.

  “I didn’t know you had such a wicked mind,” he commented, pleased that his breath fanned her nipples into extended nubs that reminded him of precious pink diamonds.

  “Neither did I.” She leaned toward his neck. With her teeth, she stretched his shirt back from his shoulders, taking the time to nuzzle his neck, nip his earlobe and brush her breast against his shoulder along the way.

  “Are you having fun?” He now spoke between gritted teeth. He didn’t know how much more of this he could stand.

  “Uh-uh.”

  Her mouth was too busy to speak, licking hot sparks of embers down his chest. She swirled her tongue over his nipples, exploring, exciting, extemporaneously working him over.

  Her tongue on his other nipple drove him wild. He sank his fingers into her hair and tugged her head back. “You’re supposed to pick one spot to kiss.”

  She shook her head loose from his hands. “I don’t want to play by the rules.”

  At her words, he snapped from the rigid pose he’d been mostly holding, leaned down and swooped her into his arms. “In that case, I’m taking you below.”

  “No.”

  He groaned. “You don’t want to make love?”

  She remained silent, her gaze sweeping over the boat as if she needed a perch from which to dive overboard and escape him.

  Surely she wasn’t going to make him wait longer for an answer. Or refuse him? The excruciating thought didn’t bear examining.

  “I’m dying here,” she told him. He’d read her dead wrong. “What about right here? Right now.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “On the deck?”

  “Why not?” She reached behind his head and pulled his lips close to hers. “There’s no one around except those flocks of birds and they aren’t going to mind.”

  “All right, darling. Here is good.”

  But he didn’t set her down. Not when her lips had finally found his, shooting his temperature off the scale. If kissing her could make him this hot and bothered, he could hardly wait to see what making love with her would be like.

  KIMBERLY WISHED she could take this moment, capture it and preserve it for all time. She’d never felt more feminine, more wanted, more cherished. Making love to Jason felt as right as a wild run in the rain, or when she lost herself writing her screenplays.

  The inevitable rightness of this time with him seemed all wrapped up in the sparkling green, the Irish air, the boat gently bobbing on the River Liffey and her melting bones. So many things seemed right to her. The way he’d likely lost that last round on purpose to equal out their love play. The way his eyes clouded with lust, yet he held himself back until she was right there with him.

  And when he laid her gently on the blanket spread over the deck and she gazed into his eyes, she couldn’t bear not touching him and drew his head closer for another kiss. She thrust her breasts upward, loving the feel of his rough curls of hair against her soft and sensitive skin.

  She pulled back, enjoying the feel of her kiss-swollen lips, his ragged breath in her ear, his heady musk scent that she wanted to capture forever in a perfume bottle. “I’ve never felt like this before.”

  He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her nose and her lips. “Like what?”

  “Like I’m wrapped in a sensual blanket. And that blanket is all you.”

  “Ah, Kimberly, darling. Was that a compliment?”

  “It was.”

  He groaned.

  “What? Did I say something wrong?” she asked.

  “No, darling. Everything about you is so right—except…”

  “Except?” she prodded.

  “I just remembered that I left the condoms in the master cabin.”

  She bit his bottom lip. “Are you saying you don’t want to go get them?”

  “Walking in my condition isn’t easy, but for you, I’ll make the ultimate sacrifice. Promise me that you won’t go anywhere and I’ll be right back.”

  “That won’t be necessary.” She reached for her purse that had fallen to the deck with her blouse. After snagging the shoulder strap, she tugged it closer, popped the clasp and rooted inside. She came up with a fistful of condoms. “These come to us courtesy of Maggie.”

  He grinned lazily, smoothing back her hair from her forehead, then plucked a condom from her shaking fingers. “You expect us to use them all?”

  “A girl can hope.”

  “In that case, I shall do my best.” He ran his chin over the tender curve of her breast. “Where should I begin? Here?” He nibbled her belly. “Here?” He wriggled lower between her thighs. “Here?”

  “I think you’ve got it,” she tried to joke, but her voice came out somewhere between desperate and needy, wanting and wanton.

  When he parted her thighs, slicked back her folds and found her with his tongue, she arched into his mouth. “You feel so good.”

  And then he slipped past her dampness, into her wet heat, and it took all her control to hold still. But soon she didn’t bother, digging her fingers into his hair while his tongue flicked over her. His fingers played her like a magical flute and she gave herself up to the moment and the incredible pleasure he brought her.

  “More, please.” She murmured, barely conscious of her words as the powerful needs overtook her, carrying her onto a crest of desire.

  He applied more pressure. “Better?”

  “Ah…ohh.” She exploded beneath his mouth, shattering into oblivion for a few seconds. “Oh, my.” She came to, still
enjoying the shimmering waves of aftereffects, his tongue still creating havoc with her senses.

  She tried to tug him up. But he didn’t budge, keeping his mouth busy, his tongue driving her wild. She hadn’t realized she could orgasm again so quickly. But soon understood the wonderful possibilities as he built from the last peak to take her even higher.

  And this time when she exploded, she lost all sense of self. All sense of place. All sense of time.

  Through closed eyelids, she saw a multitude of exploding stars. And still his mouth kept urging her onward to a place she’d never been.

  “Enough,” she gasped as another orgasm rolled over her, leaving her marveling.

  He stood to remove his slacks and shorts. She’d seen him naked before in the bathtub, but she didn’t remember him being quite this breathtaking. His wide shoulders and powerful chest, his flat stomach and corded thighs with his very erect sex jutting proudly, stole her breath. And left her wondrous with the sheer pleasure of enjoying him.

  She could no longer remember exactly why she’d denied herself, why she’d been fighting the need to taste and kiss and make love. At this moment, from the tips of his neatly clipped toes to his mussed hair on the top of his head, Jason was exactly the man she wanted.

  Reaching her arms out to him, she guided him back down to the deck with her. Took a long, lingering kiss from his mouth before settling her hips beneath his, parting her legs and urging him inside her.

  He took his sweet time, inch by delicious inch, until she stretched to accommodate him. Holding back cost him. She could see the effort to go slowly in a muscle flickering in his jaw, in the muscles tensing in his shoulders.

  “You okay?”

  She pumped her hips, demanding movement. “I could be better.”

  He rolled to his back, taking her with him. She ended up straddling him with his fingers caressing her breasts.

  “Now you can take what you want,” he told her, happily stroking her nipples.

  She had never been quite this bold, but she liked how he made her feel, both feminine and sexy and revered. Every caress of his hands, every stroke of his fingers revealed how much he enjoyed making love.

  She, in turn, reveled in his hard, smooth flesh and the tangy taste of him. In how his gaze found hers and locked on as she rode him, pumping her hips with an abandon she’d never known.

  “Slow down, darling.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  She moved faster, harder and he gave himself up to her, his only concession to her driving him over the edge was that she come with him. He reached between her legs, slid his finger over her slick warmth, until they both exploded, her, then seconds later, him.

  She collapsed on top of him and it took several minutes for her heart rate to settle and her galloping breath to slow. “Thank you.”

  “No. Thank you. Darling, you were spectacular.”

  She felt quite naughty and sated as she snuggled against his chest, resting her head in the crook of his neck. The boat rocked under them and the breeze whisked their skin dry.

  Kimberly closed her eyes, used him for both a pillow and blanket, letting him cradle her in his arms.

  THEY MADE LOVE again before upping anchor and heading back to Dublin. She and Jason shared an early meal in a pub, then walked hand-in-hand gazing into busy stores, their windows enticing with fine Irish linens, Celtic jewelry, European antiques and a bookstore on every block, reflecting the Irish love of literature. They brought fresh strawberries and nuts at an open-air market and munched as they strode along the crowded city streets.

  With a happy heart, she watched street performers—a harpist and jive limboists—along Grafton Street, ground zero for tourists and residents alike. The city seemed especially delightful because Jason was there to share it with her. And she bought several gifts, an antique perfume bottle for her good friend Cate’s birthday present, Irish chocolate and candlesticks for Maggie and fabulous silver Celtic cuff links for Quinn.

  When they reached their hotel, Kimberly squeezed Jason’s hand, kissed him on the lips lightly, her heart skipping with joy. “Why don’t you pick up whatever you need and then join me in my room?”

  “Sounds good.”

  When she’d left the hotel earlier, she hadn’t known making love with Jason could cause this kind of happiness. They’d spent the afternoon making love, walked all evening and she wanted to make love again all night. She didn’t feel the least bit tired. She actually took four flights of steps up to her room instead of waiting for the elevator, her feet practically skipping all the way.

  She reached her room and unlocked the door, just in time to hear the phone ringing. After tossing her packages onto the bed, she breathlessly hurried to the phone, expecting to hear Jason’s voice on the line.

  She fumbled with the phone, lifted it to her ear. “Hello.”

  “Kimberly, is that you?”

  “Maggie?” Kimberly sank onto the edge of her bed, grinning in delight. “Aren’t you still in Tahiti? I thought you were incommunicado?”

  “Silly goose. We brought a satellite phone to Tahiti, but this is the first time we’ve used it, and we didn’t give out the number.”

  “I didn’t expect you to call me in the middle of your honeymoon, but I’m not surprised that Quinn has gone to such extremes to keep in touch by satellite. I can’t even imagine what this call is costing.”

  Maggie laughed her confident laugh that made Kimberly so glad to hear her friend’s happiness. “Quinn can afford it. And I’m finding that spending his money is lots of fun, too. But that’s not why I called, I’ve been worried about you.”

  “Me?”

  “How are the love scenes that Quinn wanted you to add to your script coming along? He’s not making you add anything that…”

  “Nothing I don’t want to add.”

  “Because my husband has a very vivid and imaginative mind.”

  Quinn wasn’t the only imaginative man around. Kimberly blushed at how wonderfully Jason had set up her boat scene on the River Liffey. Their lovemaking still fresh on her mind, her skin still tingly from his touch, she wasn’t quite ready to share. “So I take it the honeymoon is going well?”

  “The water here is an unbelievable turquoise—you don’t realize how gorgeous it is until you actually see it.”

  “I didn’t ask about the ocean’s color,” Kimberly teased her friend.

  “This island has one of those tiki huts built over the water. We can hear the waves lapping up against the foundation. Between the balmy sea air and the wave action, I swear it’s like an aphrodisiac. But I didn’t call to brag about Quinn. How are you doing?”

  “I’m having a blast.” Kimberly could tell that Maggie was wonderfully happy and wished her the best. Watching Maggie fall in love had been fun, but not experiencing some passion of her own made having her own news to share even better. “I met Jason Parker and he and I hit it off.”

  “I want details, girlfriend,” Maggie demanded, “especially the juicy ones. There have been juicy ones, right? Or are you holding back again?”

  “Sheesh, Maggie. I’ve been here less than a week. And it took you years to go after Quinn.”

  “That was different. He was my boss. Now quit stalling and tell all.”

  “Jason’s been helping me with my script.”

  Kimberly could hear Maggie’s sigh of disappointment all the way around the world. “Kimberly, tell me why this man is different to you from any other or so help me I’ll tell Quinn not to make your movie.”

  Maggie’s threat was empty. She’d never do such a thing and they both knew it. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but it’s hard to describe him with words.”

  “Try. You’re a screenwriter. If he was a character in your script, how would you write him?”

  “Mysterious, charming, with a dangerous edge. Protective, sexy—”

  “Ohh, I like that part. How sexy?”

  “Let’s say I’m a very satisfied wo
man after a marvelous barge ride up the River Liffey.”

  “Wow. You really made love? He didn’t get you drunk, did he?”

  Kimberly laughed. “We weren’t drinking.” Weren’t drinking anything but one another’s essence. She swore she could still taste the sunshine on Jason’s chest, smell his unique scent that made her want more of him already.

  “I can’t wait to tell Quinn. He’s going to be so happy for you.”

  “Well, I owe you and Quinn big-time. Without you all I wouldn’t have met Jason in the first place.”

  “I don’t know Jason. What are you talking about?”

  Kimberly frowned. While Maggie had been Quinn’s secretary for the past four years, she didn’t always know about her husband’s schemes. Maybe Maggie didn’t know that Quinn had sent Jason.

  “Quinn did more than send me on a fabulous European tour. He sent Jason, too.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Quinn didn’t tell you?” Kimberly had to ask but she already knew the answer.

  “Not a thing. If he’s done anything bad to you, I’ll wring his neck.”

  “Down, girl. Quinn sent Jason over to help me research the love scenes.”

  “What!”

  “It’s okay, Maggie. I don’t know how Quinn picked Jason out as the one for me, but I’m real happy here, so no need to take any skin off your husband.”

  “Quinn!” Maggie yelled for her husband. “You need to come back here.”

  “Miss me already? Dying for my hot bod again?”

  Kimberly grinned as her friend covered the receiver. But she could still hear Quinn. “Come on, Maggie. I thought we agreed. No phone calls. Now you break the rules and you want me to talk about work?”

  Suddenly, Quinn’s voice came over the phone clear and grumpy. “This better be important.”

  “Hey, Maggie called me.”

  “Don’t remind me. She’s talking to you when she could be nibbling on—”

  “Quinn. I don’t need that kind of information. So stop talking and listen to me.”

  “Kimberly, last time I checked, you work for me not the other way around. Are you giving the orders now?”