Look Don’t Touch Page 8

12

  I'd carried my laptop out to the pool area to do some work while I enjoyed my new houseguest. I decided to create a proposal letter, my first for my new company, DNA Investments. Of course, at the moment, the company was only twelve hours old and a mere seed of an idea. I'd decided to take some of my capital and pursue products more geared toward people my age, products for the outdoor adventurer or the talented beer artisan. I was sure there were plenty of great millennial minds developing goods and services that people of our generation just couldn't live without, and I wanted to be the first investor at the door when they were ready to stretch into the business world.

  It was strange but even though Shay had just moved in to the house, I was already feeling more productive. Or at least I was until she walked out onto the patio in the tiny pink bikini I'd bought for her.

  She had brushed aside her long bangs, giving me a clear view of her incredible face. And as incredible as the face was, adorned only with a smear of light pink lip gloss, the body beneath, was breathtaking. The delicious curves of her breasts were only slightly concealed behind the small triangles of pink fabric on the bikini top. And, for all the lack of coverage from the top half of the bikini, it looked like a sweater compared to the teensy triangle of fabric covering her pussy.

  She plucked a towel off the patio chair and headed out to the pool deck. She swung her hips back and forth as she sashayed past my lounge to the one lined up next to it. With an exaggerated movement, she turned her ass to me and bent very low to smooth out her towel on the lounge.

  "You don't have to try so hard," I noted as she spread her feet a bit and reached across to kick back the farthest corner of the towel with her finger. "My cock has already taken on a pulse of its own just seeing you in that bathing suit."

  Shay smiled victoriously at the bulge in my swimsuit. She turned around and placed her little finger against the corner of her lip. "Oh wow, did I do that. And, I'm not trying extra hard just because I want a million dollars. I just like my towel to be really smooth." She added a visual by running her palm over her smooth, tanned stomach.

  I laughed dryly. "Here I thought I was hiring a pretty pussy to entice me for the next few weeks. I had no idea that the pussy would belong to a ruthless business woman. I think this is going to become a contest of who can master the situation."

  "I don't know what you mean, boss." She wore a sly smile as she straddled the lounge and sat back on it. She made a show of lifting each leg onto the lounge and then stretched her arms back to curl them around the top of the lounge. Her breasts followed, lifting like two perfect pillows and nearly sliding free of the pink triangles.

  "Boss. I rather like that. You can call me that whenever you like." I shut my laptop, stood up and stared down at her, stretched seductively on the lounge. Her thighs were parted only slightly. In my mind, I grasped both of her ankles and pushed them father apart. I swallowed hard, in a pathetic attempt to ease the ache of wanting her. I hadn't thought through the million dollar bonus. It seemed my erotic piece of cake was going to tease me mercilessly, hoping I'd break. I liked that. There was nothing I loved more than a fucking challenge.

  "I admire your initiative, darlin'." I leaned over and lowered my face down so close to hers I could smell the scent of the gloss on her lips as she stared up at me. I'd startled her and knocked her off her game some. Her breasts rose and fell with a quick succession of breaths. "But I think you're outmatched. As gorgeously fuckable as you are, I'm not going to break."

  She released an audible breath as I straightened. I turned toward the pool and dove in.

  I swam ten fast laps, hardly coming up for air, hoping to cool the heat in my blood. I was seriously wondering about my sanity and questioned why the hell I had gone straight to two weeks. One week with Shay and I'd be ready for a damn rubber room. I was going to have to throw my mind even deeper into the new business to keep control, and that was a good thing. Maybe this wasn't such a crazy idea after all.

  I swam through the water and saw a flash of pink at the shallow end. Shay sat down on the top step. Her long legs floated out in front of her. The strip of fabric on the crotch of the bathing suit was not more than a half-inch wide. As her legs opened and closed, I caught a nice view of her pussy.

  I swam toward the steps. Shay dipped her hands in the water and splashed her face. My focus landed on a bead of water that made its way down her neck and into the hollow of her throat. She leaned her elbows back on the step, pushing her puckered nipples against the skimpy, wet fabric.

  "Did you grow up in California?" I rested my arm on the edge of the pool.

  "Yes, all twenty four years. Some of those good and some bad."

  "How come you never learned to swim in the land of swimming pools and beaches?"

  She sat up and ran her hands along the surface of the water. I'd already noticed that when we landed on a topic she didn't like, she pulled her expressive brown eyes away from mine. She concentrated on the pattern her long fingers made in the water. "I never lived in a place where there was a swimming pool. Not even a public one. Actually, not true." She took a deep breath and finally lifted her gaze. She had one of those faces that left an impression every time you saw it.

  The bright sun above highlighted the spray of freckles on her nose. "When I was eight, my mom and I moved into a little apartment complex that was named the Golden Palm, but the palms were far from golden. In fact, most of them were dead, and as you probably know, it takes a lot of effort to kill a palm tree."

  "True."

  "The big yellow sign on the rental office bragged about the lovely patio area and sparkling blue pool. For a brief moment in time, as my mom signed our new lease agreement, I thought I was going to finally live in a place with a pool. I had visions of me diving into the deep end and doing somersaults underwater like I'd heard kids brag about at school. Then the building manager, a roly poly man with more hair on his lip than on his head, showed us to our new apartment. It was overlooking the pool area. And just like the palms weren't golden, the pool area was not lovely and the pool was far from sparkling or blue. In fact, the only thing swimming in it was a family of frogs." She tilted her head side to side. "Which was kind of a cool trade off since I wasn't going to be able to swim. I pretended we were living next to a pond instead."

  I grew up without a lot of the cool things my schoolmates had, but we did have a pool. Of course my dad let me use it only for exercise. The words pool party were never uttered in our house. But at least I knew I always had a home. I never had to suffer the stress of wondering if there would be a roof over my head. "So it was just your mom and you?"

  "For some of my childhood." I'd stepped onto another topic that made her pull her gaze away. She splashed water at my chest and changed the subject to my least favorite topic, me. "I confess, I Googled your name."

  "A little background check, eh? Smart girl. And what did Google tell you?"

  "Well, you're not a descendant of Jack the Ripper, which was a plus. I actually put both your names into the search bar in the little quotes but no matches."

  "Not sure if Jack the Ripper comes up on any family trees because they never found out his identity. That said, I'm pretty sure there's no connection."

  "Good to hear." Shay coasted off the step and moved her arms through the water but kept her feet on the pool floor. "But I did read that you are the son of a billionaire, David Archer senior, and you work for a private equity firm. And as one newspaper article boasted, you are close to passing your dad up on the Forbes list."

  "I was working for an equity firm, but I don't think I was that close to brushing past the old man on Forbes."

  "Did all this come from family wealth?"

  "Nope. I earned every penny."

  Her brow lifted. "You don't expect me to believe that."

  "Believe what you will, but if you met my dad you'd know I was telling the truth."

  I climbed up the steps and walked over to my towel. I could feel Shay's gaze on my back.
The thought of her looking at me sent a surge of heat to my cock. I was in trouble if the mere thought of her could make me hard.

  I sat on the lounge and watched as she climbed out of the pool. Drops of water splattered on the cement around her as she stopped to twist out her hair. The movement displayed a good sized bruise on the inside of her arm.

  I sat up. "Did that asshole from Fantasm give you that bruise?"

  She glanced down at the bruise as if she'd forgotten she had it. She quickly pushed her arm down to hide the ugly mark. "No. That bruise came from one of many stupid decisions I've made in the past few years. But that decision is gone now."

  I rested back, but my jaw was clenched at the idea that some asshole would hurt her.

  Shay sat on the lounge. She stretched back but not in a teasing way. Not that it mattered, because she was a sight to see even just sitting on a lounge.

  "I noticed you had some textbooks on the front seat of your car," I said. "I know so little about you. Are you going to school?"

  "Those were from summer quarter. I didn't register for fall. I was having a hard enough time keeping my head above water. But I plan to go back. I still haven't decided on a course of study anyhow."

  "Are you hungry?" I asked.

  "Starved."

  "I'll order some food. Do you like Italian?"

  "I like anything that doesn't bite back. I probably should have warned you that I have the appetite of a lumberjack."

  I sat sideways on the lounge and dragged my gaze along her curvy but lean body. "I find that hard to believe."

  "Well, maybe a small lumberjack. But it's all right if you don't believe me. Just know you've been warned."

  13

  Shay dipped her napkin in her water glass and dabbed at the spot of spaghetti sauce on her t-shirt. She had pulled it on over the bikini, complaining the swim followed by the air conditioner in the house was making her cold. Physically, I'd needed a break from seeing her mostly naked anyhow. I was sure by the end of two weeks I'd have nerves of steel and my cravings would subside to a normal level, but at the moment, the woman had my blood on fire.

  We carried our plates to the kitchen. "You did warn me," I said as I took her empty plate and put it in the sink. "And yet, I doubt I could ever get that turned on watching a lumberjack lick marinara off his finger."

  She attempted to hide a victorious grin.

  "Well played, by the way," I added.

  "Thank you." She rubbed her arms. "I've got gooseflesh. I'm not used to air conditioning, or the pool, or the coastal air. Yesterday, my car got so hot, my Chapstick melted into a blob."

  "You should take a hot shower. In fact, take a hot shower." I was having hard time remembering that she wasn't here just for a friendly weekend but that she was here for a specific job. "Everything you need is in the cupboards, but use that bargain shampoo. I really like the fragrance."

  "A hot shower sounds great."

  "I'll just rinse these dishes and then I'll be in."

  Her lips parted in surprise as she blinked her big brown eyes at me in question.

  "I'm not joining you, but I will watch."

  She seemed flustered at first but then she straightened her posture and nodded confidently. "Of course, boss. I look forward to it."

  I cleaned up the lunch and headed down the hallway to Shay's room. She was humming in the shower. It had the same sultry, gritty quality as her voice and her laugh. I stopped outside the door and swallowed hard before walking into the steam-filled bathroom. The crystal clear glass surrounding the shower stall gave me an unobstructed view of the bathing beauty.

  "Welcome," she said airily.

  I leaned against the vanity and rested my hands on the edge of it. Shay stepped under the shower head and lifted her arms to rinse her hair. Water streamed over her rose-pink nipples causing them to pucker into tight nubs. She took the washcloth from the soap rack and filled it with body wash.

  Shay lifted her head from the water and gazed at me through the steam. Her thick lashes were clustered in long spikes, like stars around her brown eyes. She ran her tongue along her bottom lip to lick the water, but she did it slowly, teasingly and it caused my balls to tighten. Blood was already rushing to my cock, and all she'd done was lick her lip.

  She turned toward me and kept her dreamy gaze on me, her lids dropping heavy over her eyes as she smoothed the cloth over her breasts, making them slippery with soap. She took her time rubbing the cloth around every curve.

  My cock was fighting to get free of my jeans. Every muscle in my body tensed with wanting her. I gripped the edge of the quartz counter so hard it seemed it would crack under the pressure. She peered up at me, almost coyly as she smoothed the cloth over her stomach and down to her clean shaven pussy. She even added in a lip bite as she scooted her feet a little farther apart and pushed the cloth between her legs.

  Between the cloud of hot steam in the room and the flaming blood in my veins, I was in a fucking trance. Shay was a formidable opponent. I thought I was inviting a pretty, flirty woman into my home to entice me and help me kick my insatiable need for fucking. But I was wrong. Shay was as clever as she was seductive. The offer of a million dollars had made her as shrewd as any other person I'd ever faced off with in business.

  "What would you do to me?" her raspy voice floated through the fragrant mist, pulling me from my haze. She walked up to the side of the shower and pressed her naked tits against the clear glass. "If you were in here with me," she said in a near whisper, "what would you be doing to me?"

  I released my grip on the quartz countertop. Each breath felt heavy and labored in my chest. I needed to get some fucking control back. She was good. But she was still no match for me.

  I stepped up to the shower. A small gasp left her lips as I reached up and rubbed my finger around the glass directly over her nipple. "That's a good question." My own voice sounded rough with need. I swallowed hard again, hoping it would help clear my throat and my head. But it was not an easy task with Shay standing wet and naked behind a clear piece of glass.

  Water beaded on her creamy skin as she waited for my next move.

  "If I was standing inside of that shower with you, my enticing ballerina, I'd start slow and easy with my mouth." I dropped my gaze to her lips, which parted as I stared hungrily at them. "I'd start with those lips, and I'd take the bottom one between my teeth, ever so lightly, before moving down your long white throat. My tongue would taste every inch of your neck, and I'd lick the water beading in the hollow of your throat."

  Her nipples puckered tighter as I drop my gaze to her breasts. Steamy heat swirled around her naked curves, and it seemed her breathing had quickened. Focusing my attention on her physical reaction to my erotic to-do list helped me temporarily forget the throbbing need I was feeling through my entire body.

  "I'd cover those tight nipples with my mouth and tease them into such an aching frenzy, you'd be crying out, begging me to fuck you. But your pleas would go unanswered." I lifted my eyes and stared at her through the foggy glass. Her eyes were wide with anticipation as she waited for me to continue. "I like to be begged, and I always like to be in control."

  It was at least a hundred degrees in the steam filled shower stall but a visible shiver ran through her as I spoke. "Now turn around," I said in a stern tone. "Turn around and face that tile wall." She hesitated but my expression assured her I wasn't kidding around. She wanted to play with fire, to break me, but she was going to need a little breaking of her own.

  Shay turned around. I took in every smooth curve and the perfect apple shape of her ass. I would have given anything right then to smother my face hard against that ass, all the while filling her pussy with my fingers. For the hundredth time, I questioned my own sanity for devising this torture plan.

  "If there was no glass between us—" I couldn't control the low, hoarse pitch of my voice. "If I was standing inside that shower with nothing separating me from that luscious wet body of yours, I would press your hands
against that tile wall." I waited, silently.

  She followed my directions and lifted her hands, pressing them against the tile. "I would take hold of your hips and pull that unbelievable ass of yours out so far, your hands would slip farther down the tile."

  Shay timidly pushed her bottom out.

  "Not good enough. That half-hearted gesture would earn you a nice sharp spank on that ass of yours. Come on my supple, lithe shower beauty, I've seen you wrap yourself around a stripper's pole. Show me what you can do."

  She met my taunt with her own. Her hands slid down the slick white tile, and as she dragged them down she moved her feet away from the wall. She spread her feet wide. Her lower back dropped and her ass pushed up, giving me full view of her exposed pussy. It was pink and wet from the steam in the shower. I badly wanted to make it wetter.

  "Is this better?" she asked softly.

  It took me a second to hear her over the pulse in my ears. I released the breath that had jammed in my lungs. "Yes." She had outmaneuvered me and I needed to get my king out of check. I had asked for this, and I needed to prove to myself that I still had the self-control of a fucking monk if I wanted it.

  Her hands nearly slipped off the wall as I opened the shower door. Her face snapped up and she watched in shock as I stepped into the shower fully clothed. It seemed as badly as she wanted that million bucks, she was also a little worried about what might happen if she pushed me too far. But she hadn't . . . yet.

  "Don't move," I commanded as I stood behind her, close enough to touch her, close enough to see even the palest freckle on the small of her back. "You don't want to move because we're just getting to the part where you beg me to fuck you. The moment in time when your body is writhing with need and your pussy is convulsing in a hot bath of moisture, just waiting for me to relieve it with my thick cock."

  The smallest sound left her lips and carried up and through the swirls of steam. "With your pussy so vulnerable, I could take full advantage. I'd start with my tongue and push through the folds to your clit. Is it tight and hard, darlin'? Do you think your clit might like to be licked right now?"