In the Market for Love - By Nina Blake Page 0,18
you see this every day?”
“No, I don’t,” he replied. “But the view is mostly for the clients. To impress them. Make them feel special. The ad business is so much about show. And that’s what this is. A show.”
“A show?”
She’d assumed the spectacular view and stylish offices were a reflection of Jake’s pride. A symbol of his success.
“This firm isn’t a harbour view,” he said. “The firm is made up of people who are hard working and incredibly creative. That’s what makes us so good. Not the offices. Not the location.”
She didn’t know how to respond or what to say. It was hard to think with Jake standing so close to her.
His cotton shirt rustled as he stepped closer. “You know, from where I’m standing the view looks amazing. I’m not taking it for granted.”
She felt him looking at her, his eyes burning through her. The double meaning of his words took her breath away. She turned to face him. Their bodies dangerously close, the air between them surged with a powerful charge.
She did what she had been unable to do at the board table and looked him in the eye. “I hope you were talking about the view of the harbour.”
“Not at all. I was talking about you.”
His voice was like a suede cloak wrapping itself around her and his words sent a current of desire flushing through her.
“The other night,” he continued. “I wanted to kiss you.”
Her mouth fell open. “So why didn’t you?”
“I wanted to…but it wasn’t enough.” Jake tilted his head towards hers. “I wanted more.”
“And what was that?”
“For you to want me to kiss you.”
Her body was flushed with delicate warmth. The downy hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
Was it possible he didn’t know the depth with which she craved him? How could he not sense the torrent of desire surging through her?
He cupped her face in his hands and tilted her head upward. There could be no doubt now. He brushed his lips against hers, gently at first, then nibbled on her lower lip.
Dropping his hands, he slid his arms around her waist, took her in his arms and covered her mouth with his. He rolled his tongue against hers and she returned his passion.
Her hands rested on his upper arms. She slid them over his biceps and across his strong shoulders until they curled around his neck. She wanted him closer. She wanted more. Desperate for his bare skin, she slid one hand under his collar, tugging at the bottom of his hairline, pulling him closer.
He pressed her against the glass. His desire was ferocious, his passion relentless, his body potent against hers. Through her thin sleeveless top she felt the sheer size of him against her. Molten desire flushed through her body.
She was transported to a dangerous altitude, a place she hadn’t been to before. She’d been kissed before but never like this.
The sheer window behind her, Rachel towered over the streetscape below and the buildings and harbour beyond. Only a few centimetres of clear glass separated her from a sheer drop and the hazardous height she had reached. Their weight pressed against the window and their passion in turn pressed on them.
She was petering on the edge of a treacherous precipice. One slip and she’d tumble into oblivion and no one could catch her.
Vertigo hit her like a truck crashing through the window. Suddenly dizzy, her insides were whisked around, her head spinning behind closed eyes as she felt herself spiralling.
But above all else, she felt alive. Deliciously, dangerously alive. And she wasn’t going to let that go.
She clung to Jake, leaning back against the window and the precipice behind her. He wound his arms further around her, their bodies intertwined.
Slowly he loosened his grip. He peppered her throat with tiny kisses and her neck arched upwards. She savoured the aftertaste of his kiss and the warmth of his breath near her face.
Still, she couldn’t resist the opportunity to tease him.
“I didn’t say I wanted you to kiss me.”
“I know,” he said. “I didn’t care.”
He was such a good match for her. He would always challenge her and push her further, yet he’d always make her feel like a woman.
At the far end of the room, the door unlatched. The sound of Marcus’ deep voice and Samantha’s girlish laugh outside the door cut through the air.
Rachel spun around to face the window, straightened her skirt and smoothed her hair.
In the reflection of the glass, she saw Jake