“I came here to talk to you about expectations.”
He smiled. “I hope you won’t be disappointed.”
“I mean my job here. For the film. I don’t want to let you down again.”
“Forget it.”
She searched his expression. “I don’t know what that means.”
“It means I wasn’t angry about the driveway. I wasn’t angry you had fun with Raine. I was angry because you weren’t in my bed. And that’s not a fair reason to be angry.”
She stilled. Not breathing, staring up at him with desire, trepidation and anticipation all mixed up together.
His hand tightened, drawing her in. He bent his head, parted his lips and met hers in a slow, gentle exploration.
Last time had been too hurried. He’d behaved like a teenager, not giving a thought to savoring the moment, to making sure she felt cherished, to kissing her the way a Frenchman should kiss, the way a Frenchman ought to approach everything in life.
She tasted of fine wine, his own vintage. Her lips were soft and smooth, warm and malleable under his. She was kissing him back, and passion uncoiled within him. His forearm went to the small of her back, pressing her soft curves against his firm body. She was ambrosia, a gift from the gods, an angel set down on earth for him and him alone.
Her tongue flicked against his lips, kicking a jolt of desire from his body to his brain. He struggled to keep it slow, but his mouth was moving of its own accord, delving deeper, kissing harder, bending her backward so that her body arched into his own.
Blood rushed through his system, priming his body, challenging reason. Her hands gripped his shoulders, while small moans worked their way from her chest to her mouth. His lips moved to her neck, and she arched back farther. Her breasts were taut against the dress, cleavage bursting from the V-neck, her nipples outlined against the fabric.
His hand covered one breast, and they both gasped in wonder. He drew his thumb over the peak, and her knees buckled. He held her steady, whispering words of endearment and encouragement.
He lifted her, wrapping her legs around his waist, pushing her dress out of the way and pressing her against the solid door. He took her mouth once more, kissing her deeply. His hands roamed from her breasts to her waist to her bare thighs revealed by the bunched dress. When he touched the lace of her panties, she hissed out a yes.
Her hands cupped his face, and she covered him with tiny kisses. She drew his earlobe into her hot mouth, and his body nearly jackknifed in shock. He slipped his thumb between her legs, over the silk of her panties. She was hot and moist and delectably sweet.
There were condoms in the bathroom adjoining the office. He cradled her bottom, lifting her away from the door, carrying her to the en suite, all the while kissing, caressing and assuring her she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
Inside, he perched her on the counter, stripped off his slacks and the scrap of her panties, donned the condom, then stepped between her legs. The counter was the right height, and their bodies touched intimately.
He smoothed back her hair and gazed into her eyes. Then he drew his thumb along her swollen bottom lip, following it up with his mouth, drawing her lip inside, tasting her essence as his hands roamed lower.
She squirmed forward, bringing his fingers in contact with the fire between her legs. Her hands fisted in his hair, and her moaning little pants heated his ear.
He parted her flesh.
“Now?” he asked.
“Right now,” she gasped in return, and he pushed inside.
She arched back, and he anchored his hands at the base of her spine, pressing her forward, refining his angle, savoring the feel of her body for long moments before he withdrew. Then he pushed in again, swifter, harder.
Her eyes were closed, and sweat dotted her hairline. Her skin was slick and fragrant against his. Her dress rustled against the counter. He drew down the neckline, revealing her breasts, closing his mouth over one pert nipple, laving it, drawing hard, eliciting a groan as her hands tightened and her fingernails dug into his upper arms.
He moved to the other breast, repeating the motion.
Her eyes were scrunched tight. Her hips arched, her body matching his motion. He wished he could rip off the dress and see her naked. But there was no time for that.
His speed increased of its own accord, and her keening cries made his brain buzz with need. There was nothing left but a roar of desire and a primal need to take them both to the clouds and over the edge and straight into eternal paradise.
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as the tremors shook both of their bodies and heat drenched their skin.
Charlotte lay in the tangled sheets of Alec’s big bed. Her cheek rested on his chest, and his breathing was even and strong. A breeze flowed through the open, third-floor window, billowing sheer curtains and revealing the garden lights below.
“I guess we should probably keep this a secret,” she ventured.
“You think?” He trailed his fingertips lightly down her bare arm. “Or should we let Kiefer in with the camera?”
“Or we could hold a press conference right here in the bed like John and Yoko?”
“I can guarantee you the front page.”
She turned her head, resting her chin on his shoulder. “Seriously.”
He gazed into her eyes. “Seriously. It’s our secret.”
She nodded.
“What about Jack?”
Charlotte frowned, not understanding.
“Are you going to tell Jack?”
“No.” Her brother had never been privy to her love life before. “Are you going to tell Raine?”
Alec shrugged. “Your call.”
“She’s suspicious, you know.”
“Really?”
“After you yelled at me this afternoon, she asked if you’d made a pass at me. She thought you were mad because I’d turned you down.”
“She’s not far off the mark,” he said.
“I told her we’d kissed.” Charlotte settled more comfortably against Alec’s chest, toying with the edge of the white sheet.
“Are you going to tell her…” His voice trailed off.
Charlotte didn’t exactly know what to call it, either. A one-night stand? A fling?
But one thing she did know, she wasn’t going to get all needy on him and start demanding to know what this meant and where it was going. She’d gone into it with her eyes wide open. She knew what and who Alec was, but she’d hopped into his bed anyway.
“It’s better if she doesn’t know,” Charlotte admitted. “But I don’t want to lie to her. My grandfather-” She stopped.
She wasn’t going to start borrowing trouble here. Her grandfather didn’t need to find out. Nobody needed to find out. Unless Alec was a complete cad, and she certainly didn’t think he was, this interlude would remain locked in her heart forever.
“How long have you worked for the ambassador?” Alec asked, obviously prepared to move on.
She followed his lead. “Since I was a teenager. I started off helping in the office. Then, after college, I worked full-time. And when his executive assistant quit to get married, I stepped in temporarily.”
“When was that?”
“Three years ago. Right before I met you the first time.”
“Ahh.” He nodded. “Rome. You should have taken my key that night.”
“Right. And I’d have made the front page, scandalized my family and been fired from my job.”
