Talking Dirty with the CEO - By Jackie Ashenden Page 0,54
the air. Then he stopped and, unable to help himself, pulled her back against him.
“You,” he murmured into her ear, “were amazing.”
Because she was. Strong and calm, laying down the law. Telling her family what she thought of them and their behavior. Telling them that she was disappointed in them.
Magnificent. Absolutely bloody magnificent.
Christie turned, her cheeks pink, the sparkle of triumph in her eyes. “God, you have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to say those things.”
“So why haven’t you before?”
“Oh, because I could never seem to get them out.” She flushed. “You’ve heard me stutter, right? Well, Mum would start criticizing me and I’d try to tell her to stop, but all the words would get caught up inside my head. I’d start stammering and stuttering, being pathetic. It was easier just to ignore it and walk away.”
Joseph raised her hand, her long, slender fingers laced with his. He kissed it, smiling at her. “I don’t believe you were ever pathetic, Christie St. John.”
Christie smiled back, so warm and open his chest ached. “Not now. Thanks to you.”
“Me? I didn’t do anything.”
“But you did.” She stepped close all of a sudden and he couldn’t smell the wisteria anymore, only her. Only lavender and musk and sweetness. “You made me believe in myself. I could never have faced them if it hadn’t been for you.”
Her face glowed bright with triumph and satisfaction, and he couldn’t stop himself from cupping it in his hands, stroking her delicate jaw with his thumbs. “Yes, you could. Don’t underestimate yourself. Surely you don’t need me to tell you that?”
She smiled, then rose up on her toes, brushing her mouth with his. “You could show me though. At home.”
He had the feeling then that he’d forgotten something. Missed something. But he couldn’t immediately figure out what it was. Hard to concentrate on anything else when Christie was in his arms, kissing him as though she couldn’t get enough.
“Then let’s go,” he said, dismissing the odd feeling.
The car journey was silent. He didn’t ask which home she wanted to go to—he took her to his. The bed was bigger, for a start.
In the elevator on the way up to his apartment, he got impatient, pulling her into his arms. And she didn’t hold back, meeting his kiss with her own. A kiss that tasted of sweetness and Christie. A kiss that exploded inside him like a stick of dynamite exposed to a match.
He pushed his hands into her hair, gripped the back of her neck, and deepened the kiss, tasting the soft heat of her mouth. Her fingers curled into his shirt and he felt the pull of the fabric.
God. Could he ever get sick of this?
The elevator pinged as they reached his floor and he released her, taking her hand, leading her to his apartment, then opening the door.
He headed immediately to the bedroom, but Christie pulled on his hand, making him turn back. Her pale face was flushed, eyes so green they looked like a meadow full of new grass.
“What is it?”
She didn’t say anything, merely tugging her hand from his grip and putting her fingers on his hips. Then she pushed him against the wall.
Joseph’s breath hitched. She was looking at him like she hadn’t eaten in weeks and he was a banquet she wanted to gorge on. “What are you doing, Naughtygirl?”
“I want to seduce you.” She leaned forward, pressed a kiss to his throat. Her mouth burned on his skin.
So unexpected, his guarded, insecure Naughtygirl. Except now she wasn’t guarded. Or insecure.
“Go ahead.” His voice sounded rough as she began pulling open his shirt. “Give it your best shot.”
His voice caught as her hands slid over the bare skin of his chest. Her touch was light but not in any way hesitant. She caressed him, stroked him as if he were a work of art she’d been longing to touch. Desperate to take control and haul her off to bed, he nevertheless found himself staying where he was; her touch was gentle, soothing him while at the same time making him so hard he couldn’t think.
He looked down at her. She was staring raptly at the movement of her hands on his skin. Her mouth open, her lips wet from their kiss. Her face glowed pink with arousal, and a fierce determination burned in her gaze. A determination that made his desire coil tighter. She was a woman on a mission and intended to prove herself, that much was clear.
She