she could barely breathe, he began pounding her relentlessly. She didn’t just want to scream any longer, she did scream. She screamed as she climaxed, and she felt Branden grow and swell inside of her just before he cried out and climaxed as well. They lay there panting and gasping for breath, both of them able to feel the heavy beat of each other’s hearts in their chests.
“That was…” She breathed out, unable to form a coherent thought. “Sorry. I can’t seem to find the right word.”
He chuckled and nuzzled her neck. “How about fabulous? Incredible? Fantastic? Wonderful? Marvelous?”
She shook and her breathing still wasn’t quite back to normal, but she giggled anyway. “Any more adjectives in that mental thesaurus of yours you’d like to add?”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “I can come up with more. Mostly to describe your amazing body. And how brilliant you make me feel. I’m on fire when you’re around, Cara. On fire, and at peace.” He rolled onto his back and ran a hand through his hair, but kept an arm around her, holding her close. “I’ve never felt that way before. You’re beyond compare, Cara.”
She hitched a breath. Yes, men had told her sweet nothings before. But mostly as a perfunctory act. Like it was their job to tell her she was pretty or she made them feel good. None of them had ever made her believe it before.
None of them had been Branden.
She realized his breathing had settled into a regular, deep rhythm and his arm under her had relaxed. He’d fallen asleep, with her in his arms. A wry grin crossed her face. He’d left her tied up. She opened her hands, gathered the silk in each one, and tugged.
Her binds were released in an instant.
She lay there, relishing the steady rise and fall of Branden’s chest and wondering what it was about him, what kind of power he had, that made her so willing to do anything…as long as it pleased him.
The more it pleased him, the more it turned her on.
She hitched around and came up onto her elbow to stare at him. The drapes in the bedroom hadn’t closed completely; the corner of one had caught on a modern glass bookshelf and the faded light of New York’s nighttime illuminated the room with a yellow-gray glow. Under the muted light, sound asleep, Branden looked younger than his thirty-plus years. The vulnerability she’d seen in his eyes when he spoke of his sisters now was prevalent in every line of his face. The soft way his lips were gently closed. The ease around his eyes. The lack of frown lines furrowing his brow.
In sleep, the powerful mogul Branden Duke looked sweet. Soft. So very real.
He looked like someone she could fall in love with.
And that thought scared her more than the knowledge someone had spied on her and taken pictures. Scared her more than any exam she’d ever taken at school. Scared her almost more than the day she’d come home from school to see her mother in the cold and dark living room, shaking with sobs, unable to talk—to form words to say her father had died.
She closed her eyes and snuggled into him. She would analyze it all tomorrow. Tonight she just wanted to sleep and feel the strength of his arms around her.
Once again, Branden and Cara were awakened by the doorman’s buzzer. Branden was alone on his own side of the bed and Cara was curled up on hers. Something struck him—he was thinking of that half of his bed as Cara’s.
When had that happened? And why so suddenly? He’d never identified any part of his life as belonging to a woman he’d dated before.
“Oh dear God, does that thing ever stop buzzing?” Cara mumbled.
“Not when Alex is involved,” Branden said in a sleepy voice. He reached over and hit the button. “Good morning, Nolan. Is it Alex again?”
Nolan let out a little laugh and said, “Yes, sir.”
“Send him up.”
“Sir, he has several police officers and a detective with him, as well. Is it okay to let them all come up?”
“Yes, Nolan. Thanks.”
Branden groaned and rolled out of bed. He turned to look at Cara, who was still lying with her face in the pillow. Her blond hair was splayed out and she was covered to the waist with the sheet. Her slim, smooth back was so tempting he wanted to touch her.