Hidden Pleasures - Brenda Jackson [40]
She raised a brow. “You looked me up on the Internet?”
He smiled. “Of course. You said you had a business and I wanted to check it out to make sure you were legit. I was impressed. So now I know for sure that you know what you’re talking about.”
He glanced at his watch. “I have some things to do in my garage. You can decide on dinner when I return in a few hours,” he said as he was about to move away.
“Wait,” she said. “Is that it? That’s the manners lesson for today?”
His gaze then swept over her and she felt the heat emanating from the dark orbs wherever they touched. A sardonic smile then touched his lips when he said, “Yes, but there’s always tonight. You can get prepared for whatever manners you want to go over with me then.”
She lifted her chin. “That sounds like a proposition.”
She saw irritation flash in the depths of his green eyes. “The proposition was made days ago. You accepted and as a result you’re here under my roof. Mine for seven days to do as I please. And nothing will please me more than to have you naked in my bed beneath me every night while I breathe in your scent and make love to you until we both reach one hell of an orgasm.”
She gasped at his words and she suddenly felt breathless. Her knees weakened and she was glad she was already sitting down or she would have fallen flat on her face. An image of her naked in bed beneath him flashed through her mind, and she was filled with a wanting she’d never known before.
His voice had deepened to a husky tone and he’d spoken promises he intended to deliver. He evidently didn’t believe in holding back on anything, even words that a true gentleman wouldn’t say, words that put her out of her comfort zone. She’d never dealt with a man like him before. He not only stated what he wanted, but he was letting her know he intended to have things his way.
And maybe that’s exactly what she needed.
A man who was arrogant, sure of himself, a pure alpha male through and through. One who had manners when they counted and refused to display them when they didn’t. She fought the inclination to cross the room and kiss him, which at that moment seemed the most natural thing in the world for her to do. Her, of all people. A woman who before meeting him would never have considered doing such a thing.
But Galen Steele had a way of pulling something out of her, and like Nikki, she was now convinced if there were hidden pleasures lurking somewhere beneath her surface, she would know about it before she left his home seven days from now.
She slowly stood up and placed her hands on her hips, tilted her head back and gave him what she hoped was one hell of a haughty look. With a man like him, a woman needed to be able to hold her own. “Talk is cheap, Galen. We’ll see later how well you are on delivering.”
She inwardly smiled. The effect of her words was priceless. Although he tried to keep his emotions in check, she read the look of startled surprise in his eyes. He hadn’t expected her to goad him.
Brittany pulled in a deep breath when he began walking toward her, but she refused to step back or move away, although her heart was beating a wild rhythm in her chest. He didn’t need to know her hands were trembling on her hips and heat had gathered at the juncture of her legs.
“You’re right, Brittany, talk is cheap,” he said when he came to a stop in front of her. The sound of his deep, husky voice made those already-hardened nipples get even harder.
“But I won’t be doing much talking and neither will you. I believe in action.”
She swallowed. “Do you?”
“Very much so. And just so you know, I want you. I wanted you in New York and I definitely want you now. And I’ll give you fair warning. Tonight is taste-you night. I want the taste of you in my mouth, all over my tongue and embedded in my taste buds when I wake up in the morning.”
Brittany’s stomach clenched. This man of Steele was making her hot merely with his words. He hadn’t touched her yet. And