kept his word and they shared a bottle of wine over lunch at the restaurant in the central courtyard of the British Museum. After lingering over coffee and cognac they eventually got around to touring the various exhibits.
It was seven in the evening when they walked back to his hotel.
The warmth of his arm felt so right around her waist, and when he stopped and asked, ‘What’s it to be, Charlotte? Dinner with me here or do you want to walk on to your apartment?’ they both knew what he was really asking. The whole day had been leading to this point.
Charlie raised her face to him and saw her own need reflected in the gleaming depths of his dark eyes. The force of emotion flooding through her kept her speechless for a moment.
‘We can call it a day,’ Jake heard himself say in a sudden surprising attack of conscience. Amazingly, he had enjoyed Charlotte’s company. In different circumstances he knew he would have dated her anyway—and he would still have been determined to get her into his bed.
He reached out and ran a long finger over her smooth cheek, and down her throat, his finger resting on the rapidly pounding pulse in her neck. She wanted him, he knew it, but she was still hesitating. Real or acting he did not know, but he knew enough about women to realise they all craved permanency in a relationship. Obviously Charlotte was no different. She was here on holiday and seemed determined to follow the tourist trail—and his quick brain had the answer.
He smiled, an intimate curl of his firm lips. ‘Whatever you decide. I am staying in London for a couple of weeks on business.’ He slowly raked her body with his gaze, registering the burgeoning peaks of her breasts beneath her sweater before he let his eyes meet hers. ‘And after the great time we have had today…’ He paused, his hand softly caressing her throat. ‘Work permitting, I would love to explore the tourist trail with you, Charlotte.’
The only trail he was really interested in exploring was every curve of her delectable body, every hill and hidden valley, until he sated himself in her. But he wasn’t crazy enough to tell her so. Though if he did not have her soon, he very well might, and that really worried him.
In the early hours of the morning Charlie had decided to pursue her relationship with Jake and see where it led, and all day she had fallen deeper and deeper under his spell. Now, with the impact of Jake’s deep eyes burning down into hers, and his huskily voiced desire to see her again echoing in her head, she knew it was the moment of truth. He had told her last night he would never marry, so either she had to accept what he was offering, an affair for a couple of weeks, or walk away. With blinding clarity she realised she did not have a choice. She could no longer deny her basic sexual instinct, an instinct she had only just discovered she possessed, an instinct she knew deep down inside she would only ever feel with Jake.
Charlie drew in a slow steadying breath. ‘I’ve done enough walking for one day.’
‘Me too.’ Reaching for her hand once more, he linked his long fingers through hers and led her into the hotel.
On one level Charlie couldn’t believe what she was doing as Jake ushered her into the lift and the metal doors closed on them. But on another purely sensual level the feelings were so immense she could not deny them, however much she tried. She stole a surreptitious glance at him through the thick veil of her lashes. He was so ruggedly attractive, so overtly masculine, simply looking at him made her heart beat faster. It wasn’t just his looks, though; she had seen men with more classically beautiful features. It was some unfathomable intense connection she could hardly believe was real. But every atom in her body was telling her it was.
‘This is it,’ Jake said, dropping her hand and splaying his palm across the small of her back, his powerful body tense as he urged her out of the lift to a door directly opposite. A quick flash of the card key and she was in his suite. He fought the instinct to simply sweep her off her feet and into the bedroom. Instead he shrugged off his jacket as he headed for the bar.
‘What would you like to drink?’ he asked, turning back to look at her, and stiffened. Damn it, but she was gorgeous, and the way she filled that pink sweater had been causing him agony all day.
Standing where he had left her Charlie glanced around the elegant room. It was as luxurious as she had expected. But Jake’s behaviour was not what she had imagined. She had thought he would sweep her into his arms, and make mad, passionate love to her. How naive was that? she castigated herself. Jake was a sophisticated man of the world, a man of discernment; of course he would never behave so crassly, she thought. But she was wrong again.
‘I’ll—’ She was going to ask for a glass of juice, but she never got the chance.
‘To hell with a drink,’ he growled and in a couple of lithe strides he reached her and hauled her hard against his chest. His expert mouth swooped down to capture hers, a soft moan escaped her, and, taking full advantage, his tongue slipped between her parted lips with devastating effect.
Charlie did not know what hit her. Before his kisses had excited her, but had ended abruptly and left her aching for more. This time Jake showed no such restraint. His tongue swirled around hers, igniting a passion that was red hot. His arms were tight around her, pressing her against his aroused body, telling her without words how much he wanted her. Her slender hands lifted to his broad chest, a finger catching on his shirt button.
She felt his smile as he murmured against her lips, ‘Go ahead, take it off for me.’ His dark eyes gleamed down into hers, an invitation explicit in the black depths.
Feverish colour flooded Charlie’s face, and she was stunned to realise he actually thought she was experienced enough to undress him without a qualm. Her body burned and her finger flexed against his chest. Dared she? Yes—this was what she wanted. She freed one button, and her stomach somersaulted as her fingers scraped the hot skin beneath.
‘Don’t stop now, cara,’ Jake husked, his hands sliding caressingly up and down her back. ‘Or perhaps you prefer I undress you first?’ His sensuous mouth swooped down to taste hers again, and went lower to nuzzle the elegant curve of her neck, and Charlie stifled a frustrated groan when he broke the connection.
‘Patience, cara,’ he teased, a knowing smile curving his firm mouth. ‘First let me get rid of this damn belt.’ One strong hand slid around her waist. ‘It could do a man a serious injury,’ he added, his fingers deftly unfastening the buckle, and the offending item fell to the floor. ‘Now tell me what you want, and I promise I will oblige.’
What she wanted was Jake, and her fingers, with a dexterity she did not know she possessed, swiftly unbuttoned his shirt. Then she stopped, her blue eyes widening to their fullest extent at the sight of a wedge of broad tanned chest, and the dusting of soft black curls that accentuated his powerful pectoral muscles. She swayed against him, her hands tentatively splaying on his naked chest. She could feel the heat through her palms, and her awed gaze lifted to his. ‘You are beautiful,’ she murmured softly.
‘I think that is my line,’ Jake mocked, but his eyes glinted with a hint of masculine satisfaction and something more. His dark head bent and his lips brushed across hers as he gathered her hard against him, and kissed her long and deep. So deep that when he suddenly eased her away from the heat of his great body, she was breathless, her legs felt like rubber and she could hardly stand.
But she didn’t need to.
CHAPTER FOUR
‘THIS is not the place,’ Jake said and swept Charlie up in his arms. ‘And we have too many clothes on,’ he added with a teasing grin as he strode into the bedroom and lowered her down against him onto her own feet, before stepping back, kicking off his shoes and shrugging out of his shirt.
The partial view of his broad chest had not prepared her for the awesome beauty of his naked torso. Mesmerised, she simply stared. His shoulders were wide, his chest broad and tapering down to a lean waist, his skin gleaming like burnished gold in stark contrast to the mass of black curling hair arrowing down his strong body. His long arms were hard and muscular and had their own dusting of hair. His hands…his