Seduction and Surrender (The Billionaire's Temptation Series) Page 6

  “It’s not far from the truth though, is it?” And why the hell did it bother him? It’s not as though he hadn’t been the one to set it all up—and the women he normally dated were far worse and far more blatant about what they wanted from him, even as they lied about it.

  “Actually it is.” She let out a sigh as she shook her head, as if she were tired of fighting with him. “It’s just that I’ve never been the sort to ask anyone for help. If something needs to get done, I do it. So the fact that something as important as the fate of my restaurant is completely out of my control makes me crazy. And yes…I’ll do whatever it takes to keep the Old Port going, since there’s too much at stake. But being blackmailed into being your date or sleeping with you puts my back up and makes me feel exactly like the women who date you just because they want something.”

  “And that’s all because I’ve forced your hand.” When she nodded and looked away, on the verge of tears, he felt a pang of remorse that he’d made a critical mistake with her. He knew she was different—hell, it’d been the reason he liked her so much—and yet he’d expected her to react in exactly the same way as all the other women he’d been trying to avoid. “Come here, Emma.”

  She shook her head and turned away from him, though he refused to let her go, especially when she was clearly upset. With an insistent touch, he took her hand and pulled her to him, relieved when she didn’t fight him. He held her tightly to him as she leaned her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist, letting out a deep breath, some of the tension in her body easing. “I know you think I’m a bastard and it’s probably not far from the truth, but I’m sorry if I’ve put you in an uncomfortable situation. That was never my intention.”

  She pulled away just enough to look up at him and then went up onto her toes to kiss his cheek. “I appreciate you saying so.”

  “Come on. Let’s go for that walk on the beach. I’m not ready to take you home yet.” He brushed the hair from her face as a breeze tugged at her locks, though it was no more than an excuse to touch her skin and continue holding her close. With her lush curves still pressed against him, his body couldn’t help but react to having her so close, and that meant he was left struggling to put a coherent thought together that didn’t involve her naked with his cock buried deep inside her.

  “As long as I get to kick off these heels—and as long as you promise to behave yourself.” He was already leading her towards the beach, the path visible just beyond the parking lot.

  “Emma, I don’t make promises I can’t keep.” And there was no way he’d be able to keep his hands off her for long. “I refuse to lie to you, and I’ll admit, I’m still hoping the night will end with you screaming my name as you come apart in my arms.”

  She gave him a teasing glare, her full lips pursed as if in thought. “I’m starting to think you say that sort of thing just to get me all riled up.”

  “Think what you want, kitten. But we both know that if we were to throw away all pretenses, you’d find that you not only like me, but you want me. Just as bad as I want you. Admit it.” He knew he was being arrogant, but he didn’t care when he knew it to be the truth.

  “There’s no point in continuing to tell you that you’re a bastard. Who even talks like that?” She shook her head as he laughed, though when she tried to pull free of him with a halfhearted attempt, he refused to let her go.

  As soon as they got off the wooden boardwalk and onto the sand, Emma stepped out of her heels while holding onto him for balance, reminding him of their elevator escapade. She tossed her shoes onto the boardwalk but now that Quinn had her in his arms, there was no way he was letting go of her so easily. Not when he’d so desperately wanted her all these months.

  With her curves pressed to his body, he lost what little control he’d been managing to hold onto. He caught her bottom lip between his teeth as he palmed her ass and pulled her to him, his hard-on throbbing with a dull ache against his jeans, insisting on a bit of release.

  “Sweetheart, I want you, and I’m not going to rest until I have you.”

  “You said this wasn’t part of the deal, Quinn.” And yet she wasn’t pushing him away, but rather leaning into him.

  “It’s not.” He trailed kisses down her throat and to her ear, until she was all but moaning in his arms.

  “Damn you, Quinn.” Emma fisted her hands in his shirt and kissed him, her tongue finding his with a needy whimper, her hips shifting and pressing against his cock. And when she spoke, it was with her lips still pressed against his, as if she couldn’t quite pull herself away. “I don’t want to like you. Especially not like this.”

  He couldn’t help but smile as he trailed kisses down her neck, sucking, nipping, loving how her body responded to him, her little moans of need and pleasure. “Why fight it when I can give you pleasure like you’ve never felt before? Don’t you want my cock filling you, stretching you tight, making you come so many times you won’t be able to keep count?” As if her silence was permission enough, Quinn cupped her breasts, his thumbs making devastating passes against her nipples.

  Emma made a strangled sound, kissing him hard as she gave in to her body’s demands, and gripped his cock through his jeans, stroking it as it pulsed in her hand. Quinn swore he’d come right then if she kept it up, like some teenager touched for the first time, and he couldn’t remember ever wanting anyone more than he wanted her.

  Yet this wasn’t about him. It was all about her. About her needs. Her pleasure. It had to be. And he’d be damned if he knew when that epic shift had happened. He always made sure he took good care of his dates, but it’d still been all about him and his satisfaction. With Emma? It felt different. Completely. Which was definitely uncharted territory for him.

  He spun her around in his arms, so her back pressed against his chest as his hands slipped up to her breasts, cupping the weight of them before pinching her nipples. Her back arched to press her breasts more fully into his palms, even as she let out a needy sound of protest. “Hush, sweetheart…I promise to take good care of you.”

  “You don’t know how long it’s been.” Emma shifted in his arms, rubbing her plump ass against his hard cock, and making it difficult for him to resist taking her right there with her on her hands and knees, fucking her as she pushed back to meet his thrusts.

  He caught the edge of her dress and slipped it up her thighs, nice and slow, the silky fabric shifting to expose her pearly skin as it caught what little light had made its way to the beach. Unerringly, his hand found the lace front of her panties, cupping her, applying just enough pressure over the thin fabric to elicit another moan from her. With his lips at her ear, he let his words dance over her skin.

  “Tell me, Emma… Tell me that you want me to touch you. That you want me to fuck you with my fingers until you quiver and come.” Her head dropped back onto his shoulder as he nipped at the delicate skin of her neck, where her pulse raced just below the surface. “Say it.”

  He could feel her struggle with it, and yet in the end, she still spoke the words he wanted to hear. “I want you to make me come, Quinn. Please…”

  “Such a polite little thing. So proper and obedient, and yet so fucking sexy.” Holding her to him with a firm arm across her chest, he cupped her breast and pinched her nipple, as his other hand pushed the lace of her panties aside and he slipped his fingers against her slick folds. “Oh, sweetheart…you’re already so wet. All those times you told me that you didn’t want me… Such a naughty girl for telling lies when you promised me honesty. I think you might need to be punished…”

  “Bastard…” And yet her hips tilted towards his hand, clearly wanting more.

  Impatiently, he grabbed at the delicate lace and tore it free of her body, loving the gasp that escaped her lips. Now free to easily explore, he dipped two fingers in past her slick opening as his thumb circled and pressed her clit, teasing her as he started to fuck her with his fingers. She was so responsive, like liquid heat in his hands. “You�
��re so tight…and so ready… Do you like that, kitten? And please, be honest with me, seeing as the evidence is literally at hand. Your silky wetness...all for me.”

  “Fuck…Yes.” When he started to pick up the pace, curling his fingers inside her with each thrust, she let out a needy whimper as if struggling to get the words out. “More, Quinn…I’m so close. Harder…”

  Pinching her nipple, he bit her neck and slipped a third finger into her—and just like that, her body tightened around him. She cried out and quivered in his arms as her orgasm tore through her in an intense release, his name on her lips.

  Still holding her to him, he pulled his fingers free of her and brought them to his lips, his tongue flicking out to taste her. “You taste so sweet, Emma. Next time I’m going to have you properly. I’m going to spread you out on my dining room table and make a meal of you.”

  She spun in his arms and fisted her fingers in his hair, dragging him to her and kissing him, her mouth hard on hers as her tongue clashed with his. His cock ached for release and wild as she was, there was little chance Quinn would be able to resist her for long.

  Yet he managed to bring their kisses to an end, though he hadn’t a clue as to how the hell he pulled that one off. And as much as he wanted her, he knew it was what he had to do. “It’s time I brought you home.”

  “Why?” She shook her head, her brow furrowed in confusion as she started to pull away from him. “What the hell, Quinn? You can’t just make me come like that and then take me home minutes later.”

  He held onto her a moment more, not ready to let her go just yet. “I can and I will, sweetheart. This arrangement of ours is on my terms.”

  “How could I possibly forget?”

  Chapter Seven

  Emma didn’t know what had gotten into her last night, but after her date with Quinn, two things were clear: the man was dangerous and she could not be trusted to act rationally around him. She’d expected him to be an arrogant and cocky bastard and he’d been just that. But worse still was that he’d been damn sexy—enough to leave her incapable of denying him. The way she’d reacted to having him close had totally blindsided her. He may have been far sweeter and more considerate than she’d expected, but it still didn’t warrant letting him get her off.

  “You haven’t said much, Em, and you’re looking miserable and distracted. What the hell ended up happening between the two of you?” Jake was filleting some salmon with a scowl on his face, his knife-work getting quicker the more annoyed he became. “Do I need to pay Ryker a visit?”

  “No. It’s fine. Besides, I don’t want to talk about my stupid date—I want to know how things went here last night with Chef Scott. How was it? Was he amazing?” She’d probably have gotten more out of last night if she’d stayed at work. Not that Quinn hadn’t given her a mind-blowing orgasm. She had to give him credit, even if begrudgingly so. The man was damn good with his hands.

  “Em…” Jake shook his head with a smile, his scowl long gone at the first mention of Finn Scott’s name. “Chef Scott was amazing. I mean, to have him here for dinner service? I wish you’d been here. You’d have really liked him.”

  “I’m sure I would have. He may end up having to cover for me again—if Quinn has any other events he needs me to attend.” After the way things had gone down, she had no doubt Quinn would want to see her again, if only to gloat. He’d said he’d have her screaming out his name as she came in his arms, and she’d done just that. Damn him.

  Normally she could get a pretty good read on people, but Quinn left her baffled. He just didn’t make any sense. He’d flirted, touched, and teased; made her come, even. Yet when she’d tried to reciprocate, he’d put a stop to it.

  What she couldn’t figure out was why.

  “You’re going out with him again? You can’t be serious, Em.” With an angry huff, Jake got back to his prep work.

  “What am I supposed to do? If you like your job here, then I have no choice but to keep this up until he gets bored of me. And frankly, he’s not exactly what you’d expect.” Though why the hell she was defending Quinn, she hadn’t a clue.

  He pinned her with those deep brown eyes of his, so that the flecks of gold stood out, making her want to analyze the color closely. “Then why the hell do you look so miserable?”

  She shook her head with a shrug, not quite sure how to answer him.

  “Chef?” Emma turned to find Bobby, one of her prep cooks, standing there, his gaze not quite reaching hers as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “It’s the walk-in fridge—the big one in the basement. Something’s wrong with it.”

  Crap…this was not a complication she needed. She quickly washed her hands and her knife, and followed Bobby down the steps into the well-lit basement. She opened the door to the walk-in to find it cool but definitely not as cold as it should be. A quick glance at the thermometer verified her suspicions, and a look at the easy fixes, like the plug and the fuse box, didn’t help matters any. “We’ll need to transfer all the vegetables to the other walk-in, but the meat…” She cursed under her breath. “We can’t take that sort of a chance.”

  Having been gone yesterday, she didn’t know how long the temperature had been off, and couldn’t risk anyone getting sick. Luckily, most of the meat was kept in a different walk-in by the kitchen, since it was the most convenient for service, with the basement walk-in housing just the meats that were getting marinated or treated with a dry rub. It was a big loss, but it could have been a hell of a lot worse if it had been her main unit.

  With everyone’s help, they got the food moved from one fridge to the other, but the repair technician was still several days out. With frustration gnawing at her insides and stress knotting her muscles, she got back to work by Jake’s side, trying to make up for lost time.

  “Is it just me, or does it feel like we’ve had shit luck as of late?” It wasn’t just the lease, and the walk-in, but all sorts of other issues. Her accounting files had gotten fried, a shelving unit where they kept their bottles of wine had given way, and her fryer completely died. She’d been lucky that she kept a backup of her files online on a secure cloud server, and most of the wine bottles had still been in crates, so they lost only a few, but she ended up having to replace the fryer at a major cost.

  “Plenty of shit luck. I hate to say it, Em, but you just can’t catch a break as of late.” Jake stopped his prep and turned to her with his brow drawn and a pout on his lips. “I know you’re going to say no, but you know I have money for the repairs. It’s not a problem. Really.”

  She shook her head no. Emma knew that Jake had inherited a sizeable chunk of money from a great-uncle who’d recently passed away. Probably didn’t even need to work, if he didn’t want to, yet she didn’t feel right asking him for money. It was her responsibility.

  “I appreciate it, but I think I’ll be okay. I’ve got a bit stashed in my emergency fund.” Not that there’d be anything left in that account if this ended up being a costly repair.

  A few hours later, she was nearly ready for service when she spied a familiar form walking towards her. It felt like she had the wind knocked out of her, as she was overcome with a wealth of emotions. “What the hell are you doing here—and who let you back here?”

  Quinn’s mouth kicked up into a crooked smile, his eyes bright and lit from within. “Such a warm welcome…” He tipped her chin up and kissed her, his lips lingering with unspoken promise. “I’m meeting my brother here for dinner, so I figured I’d check in with you and make sure things were okay between us after last night.”

  She felt like a jerk for yelling at him, but she could also feel all sorts of eyes watching them—especially Jake’s. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do this—not now and definitely not here. Things are crazy, and we’re getting ready for service. Plus it’s already been one hell of a day.”

  “If I can help in any way…” His brow furrowed with a look of genuine concern, making her think once more that there was a sweet side to
him, and perhaps she was mistaken about him.

  “Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do. Not unless you have a walk-in fridge strapped to the roof of your car. Mine’s decided to die on me.” The fridge wasn’t even old. Just long enough to be out of warranty. She just had some shitty luck.

  He ran a finger down her cheek and gave her a smile. “I can have someone take a look at it—and if not, I can have a new fridge here by tomorrow.”

  He had to be kidding. “No one’s going to come out here on a Friday night to fix my fridge. Not even for you. And I do not want you buying me a new one. That’s insane—even if I’m grateful for the offer.”

  He pulled out his phone, swiped his finger across a few screens, and then ignored her when she started to protest the call he was making. She listened to him, so casual, so cool, as he made arrangements to have some poor man drag his butt to her restaurant on a Friday night. Quinn hung up and gave her a smile. “Ryan will be here shortly, sweetheart.”

  “Thanks.” She didn’t know what to say or how to feel. “And I really do appreciate it, but…I’m just used to dealing with things on my own. I can’t have you rescuing me every time something goes wrong.”

  “Why the hell not? It’s not like it’s of any consequence if I buy you a new fridge or help you get your old one fixed. It was just a phone call, Emma. And if I want to help you, I’ll do just that. Are we clear?” He raised his eyebrows in question, a challenging look on his face as if daring her to turn this into an issue.

  “No, we’re not. You may own the building, but I’m still the one in charge of my restaurant. I’m not some charity case—not yours nor anyone else’s.” She let out a ragged breath and glared at him. “And why do you make me want to argue with you over the smallest thing, when I do appreciate your help, Quinn?”

  He brushed her cheek, as his eyes darkened and his lips pressed together in a kissable pout that made her want to forget they were being watched. “You’re far too stubborn for your own good.”