‘No one will come through it unless they want to start looking for a new job.’
‘This is...’
‘Madness?’ His hands felt clumsy as he yanked her jeans down her legs. ‘You need to start wearing skirts more,’ he complained.
She let out a husky laugh, and then her breath hitched as he ripped her panties aside and parted her legs. She was already slick and ready and he growled his appreciation.
‘I’ve never wanted a woman as much as I want you.’
He ducked his head down and bathed her silky wetness with his tongue. Her legs fell further apart and he saw her watching him as he licked and sucked on her sweetness. The picture of his dark head nestled between her creamy thighs nearly unmanned him, and when he felt her inner walls start to tremble with her imminent release he rose up and pulled her towards the edge of the table.
‘Not without me, mi gatita. I want to feel you come around me.’
Quickly applying a condom, Cruz hooked her legs over his forearms and drove into her. Her gasp was raw and shocked and, given everything she had revealed to him last night, he tried to check himself.
‘No, don’t stop. Please.’
Her hands clutched his forearms, urging him closer, and Cruz closed his eyes and pumped himself into her, grazing her clitoris with his thumb to maximise her pleasure. She came hard and fast at exactly the moment he did. Pleasure turned him inside out. The world might have ended at that moment and he wouldn’t have had a clue.
CHAPTER TEN
‘YOU DO MISS IT.’
‘What?’
‘Playing polo.’
‘What makes you say that?’
‘Oh, I don’t know.’ Aspen smiled up at Cruz. ‘The wistful look on your face right now, perhaps.’
They were leaning on the fence post of one of the stable yards, watching the grooms and riders put the finishing touches to their horses before the main tournament got under way.
‘I’m assessing the state of the horses.’
Aspen cocked her head and studied his profile, shadowed from the sun by a baseball cap. His hair curled sexily at the sides. ‘Why did you give it up?’
He turned his head, his black eyes piercing. ‘Money.’
‘Ah. I’m sensing there’s a theme here.’ She laughed.
‘No theme,’ Cruz growled without heat. ‘I didn’t have much when I left Ocean Haven and I knew that polo wasn’t going to give me what I needed.’
Aspen nodded. ‘Money gives you the security that Ocean Haven gives me, but it’s our loss. Watching you play polo was like watching poetry in motion.’
He looked at her strangely and then gave her a small smile. ‘Those days are long gone now. And, while I did miss it, my life is full enough as it is. By the way...’ His tone turned serious. ‘Anderson is here. He was injured last month in Argentina so he wasn’t expected to turn up. I told him to keep away from you.’
Aspen reeled. So it had been Chad she had glimpsed last night in the hotel foyer. She sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She hadn’t seen him in years, and while she really didn’t want to she didn’t want Cruz feeling as if he had to defend her just because she had unexpectedly opened up to him.
‘You don’t have to fight my battles for me, Cruz.’
He shook his head as if he knew better and tapped the tip of her nose affectionately. ‘Somebody has to.’ He took off his cap and fitted it to her head. ‘You need a hat if you’re going to stay out in the sun, mi gatita. Excuse me for a minute.’
He headed off inside the stable, his long stride and two-metre frame seeming to strike sparks in the air as he moved. Aspen tried to feel annoyed at his high-handedness, but after last night and then this morning on his conference table it was hard to stay irritated with him over anything. It had been so long since she had felt this good.
So long since she had just enjoyed herself without the pressure of work and bills getting in the way.
So long since she had felt the freedom of truly being in charge of her own destiny.
And it was exhilarating. She grinned to herself. Almost—but not quite—as exhilarating as feeling Cruz move inside her body. She smiled again. Almost as exhilarating as feeling his mouth on her breasts, between her legs.
As soon as she had that thought liquid heat turned her insides soft and her smile widened, because now that she recognised the sensation she could actually feel herself growing moist. She glanced around surreptitiously, just to make sure no one else could see that she was turning herself on.