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“Yes. Thank you. Happy New Year to you, too,” she finished before pulling the phone away from her ear and disconnecting the call.
The wish she’d offered her brother was filled with frustration, and Chaz watched as she leaned over, resting her elbows on the railing. Straight ahead were the Duomo cathedral and glittering lights of the Milanese skyline. A gorgeous sight to behold. But Riley lowered her head and sighed.
Chaz had never seen her this way. Riley Gold was a fierce, intelligent woman who had proved herself as one of the most talented and shrewd businesswomen he’d ever met. If she had a weakness, no one would ever know what it was. If she faltered, nobody would ever witness it. She was gorgeous and on point every second of every day. Until now.
His first instinct was to walk right up, wrap his arms around her waist and revel in the feel of her back pressed against him. He would remind her that there was a time for business and a time for pleasure. Then he would drop a soft kiss on her temple and continue to hold her until she cuddled into his embrace. Then he would...
Chaz cleared his throat and pushed those ridiculous thoughts out of his mind. “Working on New Year’s Eve?” he asked, still standing a short distance away from her.
She jumped, her elbows slipping on the railing so that it appeared she might fall. Chaz didn’t hesitate. He hurried over, wrapping his arm around her waist in the same way he’d just been contemplating, and pulled her back against him.
“It’s okay,” he whispered against her temple. “I’ve got you now.”
For a split second Riley enjoyed the comfortable warmth that engulfed her. But when his breath whispered over her skin and the reality of who he was and where they were hit her, she quickly moved out of his grasp.
“What are you doing?” she asked as she spun around to face him. “Were you eavesdropping on my conversation? Is that why you were sent to this party?”
While her father liked to entertain conspiracy theories about company espionage, Riley prided herself on being a bit more levelheaded. Besides, Chaz had only worked in brand management for King Designs for the past year. It wouldn’t be his job to hire a new designer, if he even knew enough about the industry to do so. But he had followed her out here for a reason.
“I was concerned when you left the party and I wanted to make sure you were all right,” he said and casually folded his arms across his chest.
His legs were slightly spread, so that he looked formidable and enticing all at once. It appeared to be a practiced move—no doubt it was intended to make women swoon because it had a Morris Chestnut feel to it. The fact that Morris was one of Riley’s favorite actors had to be the reason she thought Chaz looked so good standing there.
Riley cleared her throat.
“I’m fine,” she said evenly. “Thank you for your concern, but you can leave now.”
He smiled. A slow and potent action that had her clenching the phone and her purse just a little tighter.
Riley had no idea why this was always her reaction to him. He was just a man, after all. She interacted with a lot of men on a daily basis. There was nothing about Chaz Warren that made him any different from the others. Except maybe the fact that his family was her family’s longest and most detested rival. Still, that never stopped her from reacting to his presence, no matter how hard she tried not to. Even now, the heat that always suffused every part of her when he was around was creeping to the surface. She felt it in her cheeks, in the way her breasts grew fuller and her center began that slow, needy pulsating.
“Not until I’m satisfied you’re not going to jump over the railing because you don’t like your family checking up on your work,” he replied.
“What? Oh, so you were eavesdropping,” she said and frowned.
“You weren’t exactly whispering.”
“It was nothing. And as I stated before, I’m fine,” she said evenly.
Riley took another step back, but not in retreat. She told herself it was self-preservation, something she was very good at.
“Are you afraid of me, Riley?”
Her response was an immediate chuckle. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she replied and attempted to walk around him.
He blocked her path. He didn’t touch her but stood directly in front of her. His gaze was dark and intense, deep brown eyes and thick neat brows staring down at her. Riley didn’t look away.
“You’ve no place to run this time,” he said, his voice going lower. Sexier.
She remained unfazed, at least on the outside. “I don’t run from anything,” she told him. “And I’m not easily intimidated.”
He tilted his head curiously and arched a brow. “Good. Now we can finally get this out of the way.”
He took another step and leaned in before pausing to look down at her hands. Riley had not moved a muscle. She held eye contact with him. A part of her wanted to take another step around him, while another part—the stubborn and inquisitive part—stood still and waited. For what, she wasn’t quite sure. All she knew for certain was that she wanted to know what he was going to do next—almost as much as she wanted Perry Reddleston to come work for RGF.
“Is that a yes?” he asked.
“I didn’t say anything,” she replied.
“Exactly,” he said. “You didn’t tell me to get the hell away from you, nor did you mention calling security. So I’m asking, is your silence a yes?”
Riley licked her now-dry lips. “My silence? What exactly should I respond ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to?”
He didn’t actually need to say it. Riley knew what he was asking. She recalled having a similar conversation with him six months ago.
“This isn’t new, Riley. It’s been brewing between us for years. How long do you plan to keep brushing it off?”
Was that what she’d been doing? Her previous answer to Chaz had been an unequivocal “no.” There was nothing between them and to solidify that fact she’d made a point to stay away from him. Which was probably the reason he presumed she’d been running. But tonight, as he’d just stated, she was standing still...and very close to him.
“One night, Riley,” he said, his voice going lower.
His face was just inches from hers as he stood in what should have been an uncomfortable stance. But he wasn’t trying to move. He just stayed there waiting...for her.
“Give this thing between us one night,” he continued.
“There is no ‘thing’ between us,” she whispered.
He eased closer, brushing his lips lightly against hers before pulling back. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Chaz stood up straight.
“You’re sure there’s no ‘thing’ between us? Or you’re sure you won’t give us one night?”
“I’m sure you’re trying to push my buttons and I’m not in the mood,” she replied.
“And yet, you’re still standing right here.”
“You’re in my way,” she countered.
Chaz stepped to the side.
“Now I’m not,” he said. “And you’re still here contemplating whether or not you’re up for one night with me. You won’t do it. You’ll continue to run because that’s what suits you.”
No. He did not just make this a dare. But as Riley continued to stare at him, she knew that was exactly what he was doing. Her brothers had done this to her so many times while they were growing up and Riley had never backed down.
But Chaz Warren was not her brother. He was a very attractive man who made her body respond every time she saw him, regardless of what her brain warned. He was the man who had just teased the hell out of her with that chaste kiss. Riley wanted more. She hadn’t realized how much until this very moment, but she wanted Chaz Warren in her bed.
“Yes,” she said without another thought.
Chaz shook his head and grinned. “You’re killing me here, Riley. What exactly are you saying yes to?” he asked.
Tired of this verbal sparring, Riley closed the space between them. She reached up to cup the back of Chaz’s head and brought his mouth down to hers for a searing kiss.
CHAPTER THREE
CHAZ HAD NO IDEA. There was no way he could have prepared for how potent the kiss would be. No way in hell.
She looked like any other beautiful woman with hazel eyes and intriguing high cheekbones. Her body was what a teenage boy’s wet dreams were made of and she smelled like sin walking. But he’d been around the fashion industry for more than half his life, so none of that was abnormal to him.
Still, the punch in his gut the moment his lips touched hers was nothing to ignore. The warmth that spread slowly to every corner of his body as his tongue brushed against hers and her body pressed closer to his was way beyond what one simple little kiss should have caused.
He’d kissed women before. And had done a whole lot more. But nothing, none of those times, had left him feeling as off balance as he did at this very moment.
With heroic strength Chaz pulled his mouth away from hers. But he did not let her go. He couldn’t.
“One night,” she said before Chaz had even caught his breath. “In my room. You’ll be gone first thing in the morning. And we will never...ever speak of this again.”
She was giving him the rules. Chaz was never good at following rules, especially not ones that he hadn’t come up with. However, he knew exactly who he was dealing with and what was at stake for both of them if they proceeded.
“I’d rather twenty-four hours, but we can play that by ear. When the time comes, if you still want me to, I’ll leave when the sun comes up, but it starts right here, right now,” he said before taking her mouth again.
This time it was his tongue pushing her lips apart as he sought the warmth inside. She seemed surprised at first but was clearly ready for their go-round within seconds. Her hands—pressing against the back of his neck as if she thought she was guiding this kiss—felt too good to focus on. There was so much more Chaz wanted to explore with Riley and he only had one night to get it all in.
Her tongue joined his, stroking in a rhythm that seemed practiced and new at the same time. His hands moved down to the dip in her back just before the curve of her ass. Chaz pressed her close to him as he took the kiss deeper. She was tall, probably about five feet seven or eight without the heels she was wearing, so she fit against him perfectly. And with the feel of her body against his, Chaz couldn’t wait to get her naked.
Riley moved her hands, slipping them past his shoulders to press firmly against his chest. Chaz immediately pulled back.
“Not here, not like this,” she said and looked around as if she thought someone might see them.
They were alone on the balcony, the party inside going full swing without a care for the two people who’d slipped out. But Chaz understood. It was no secret that Riley did not like the press. She did the required press releases and interviews, but she tried to stay out of the spotlight. It didn’t matter—her family’s company was one of the most talked about in the industry. There was no way the press would stop doing stories on her; even though Riley and Walter Stone hadn’t married and the phenomenal partnering of RGold Fashions and Stonemill Apparel, a renowned global distributor, was off, they still covered her and they weren’t always kind.
Chaz didn’t answer immediately. He kept his arms around her and walked them back until they were standing on the other side of a decorated and lit Christmas tree at the far end of the balcony.
With her back pressed against the wall of the building, Riley still looked up at him with concern. Chaz touched a finger to her cheek and let it slide slowly down to the line of her jaw.
“I’ll protect you, Riley,” he said softly. “You don’t ever have to worry about that.”
“I don’t need your protection,” she said.
Chaz smiled. “I know,” he told her. “But I’ll do it, anyway.”
He kissed her again, his hands moving down her sides. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him tightly against her. Chaz groaned at the spurt of possession and need. He grabbed the hem of her dress, pushing it up her legs so he could feel more of her skin, get even closer to her. Riley dragged one leg up, wrapping it around his waist until he was delightfully trapped in her grasp.
He couldn’t believe he was here, with Riley Gold, touching her and kissing her. His erection pulsed and pressed eagerly against his zipper. He wanted to be inside her now, but he couldn’t pull himself away from her to get them to the elevators and eventually to her room. He needed something first. He needed to give her something, just this little bit to relax her and to promise himself what was to come.
Chaz moved his hand until he felt the silky skin of her inner thigh. She bucked instantly and tilted her head back to arch into him. He cursed, his mouth sliding over her bared shoulder.
Heat greeted his fingers before he even slipped the thin piece of silk covering her mound to the side. She’d eased her hands inside his jacket and now her nails dug into his chest. He slid two fingers inside her and she gasped. She jerked at the contact, groaning as he pressed deeper and shifted her hips until she could move in rhythm with his thrusts. He gritted his teeth at the delicious feel of her moist heat and the tightness that circled him. Closing his eyes, he clenched his teeth at how good this felt even though it wasn’t his hard dick easing in and out of her.
She gripped his shirt in her fists as her body tensed. The sound of his fingers moving in and out of her echoed in his ears and had his dick jumping. She gasped and stilled, her heated walls gripping him tighter before her release came, her body trembled and she moaned in his arms.
Seconds later, fireworks popped off, and the sound of people cheering and singing filtered out from the ballroom onto the balcony.
It had taken them exactly sixteen minutes to weave through the celebrating crowd in the ballroom and head toward the elevators. When they finally arrived at the door to her suite, Riley unlocked it and led Chaz inside. She dropped her purse and the key card on the sofa table and kept moving through the lavishly decorated space. Chaz stopped at the fully stocked bar tucked in a corner of the living room and asked Riley if she wanted champagne. She opted for wine and Chaz selected water. Now they were sitting on the terrace, finishing their drinks and watching the last of the fireworks show.
It didn’t take a genius to see that her nerves were more than a little frayed. Probably a combination of the crowd they’d encountered in the hallway and the fact that he was actually in her room. So they would slow down a bit until she was certain of herself and what she wanted from him once more.
“Why are you here alone?” she asked after a few minutes of silence.
Chaz sat back on the lounge chair, his legs spread in front of him.
“I always travel alone.”
“Yet you always find someone to spend your time with,” she countered.
Chaz looked over to her.
“What?” she asked as he continued to stare. “You’re in the papers a lot. With this woman and that woman. Between you, Maurice and Major, I don’t know who the true Fashion House Playboy is.”
Considering she’d lumped him into a category with two of her brothers, Chaz figured the comment wasn’t a total insult.
“For a person burned by the lies in tabloids, you should know better than to believe anything they print,” he replied, anyway, but then wondered if he’d gone too far. The last thing he wanted was to irritate her.
“You’re right,” she countered, quicker than he expected.
“But if you want to know if I have a girlfriend, the answer is no.”
Her fingers moved on her thigh, but she didn’t speak. They’d slowed down, Chaz thought. From the time they’d first come up here, until now, her fingers had gone from clenching together, to rubbing along the stem of the wineglass, to resting on her thigh. Chaz had never seen Riley nervous. He doubted she felt that way often and he almost smiled with the realization that she must be relaxing with him.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
Chaz was almost positive she was single, but he didn’t want her to think he was presumptuous.
“No,” she replied. “I’m not in the market for a boyfriend, fiancé or husband. I’m fine being single.”
Because the other way hadn’t worked for her. Chaz knew and had no desire to rehash any of that for her.
“So am I,” he said.
“Why? Your uncle definitely believes in the institution of marriage. I’m surprised he’s not pressuring you to settle down.”
“That’s precisely why I’m still single,” Chaz admitted. “Uncle Tobias was on his fourth wife when he took me in after my parents’ deaths. Twenty-four years later and he’s on wife number eight. He averages around three to four years with each one, before he decides to trade for a newer model.”
“Wow, that’s a little harsh. You don’t think he’s really falling in love with them?”
“Only if he can fall out of love with them just as often. It seems like a vicious cycle to me.”
“A cycle indeed,” she added. “My parents may be the exception to the rule. They’ve been married for thirty-eight years this coming June. I think theirs is a real, true love.”
“But you’re not looking for that yourself?”
She shook her head. “Absolutely not. My focus right now is on RGF. That’s all.”
“Yes, it’s about to get busy on the work front for both of us. But you should always have a balance between work and play,” he said and then stood. “Do you want another glass of wine?”
Another drink, more small talk, whatever it took to make Riley feel comfortable with the deal they’d made. He could still smell her sweet and intoxicating scent on his fingers and his erection hadn’t abated, but there was no rush. They had all night.
Then what?
Then nothing. They’d get up in the morning and go home. Done.
When she nodded, Chaz took their glasses inside. He poured them both some wine and returned to the terrace. Riley was standing now, too, leaning a hip against the railing as she watched him walk toward her. Chaz handed her the glass.
“Do you have a New Year’s resolution?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Never make them. My professional goals are the same each year.”
Chaz watched as one of her elegantly arched brows lifted.
“What about your personal goals? Balance of work and play, remember?”
She smiled and Chaz felt the air leave his lungs. Straight white teeth and plump lips. The memory of their scorching kisses would forever be emblazoned on his mind. But it wasn’t her mouth that had physically assaulted Chaz in that moment, it was the light he saw flash in her eyes. The little bit of laughter that had joined her smile.
“I want to take more time to paint,” he admitted. Something he’d never told anyone else.
“You’re an artist?”
“Something like that,” he said before downing the contents of his glass. He was suddenly very thirsty.
And very ready to take her. Chaz looked at the empty glass momentarily and then walked over to a table and set it down.
When he returned to stand in front of Riley, he asked, “What’s your New Year’s resolution?”
She tilted her head as she contemplated a response.
“To have a kick-ass launch at every event this year,” she replied without hesitation.
Chaz stepped closer, lifting a hand to cup her cheek. “Then let’s not think about work tonight. If this is the only time you’ll have for play this year, let’s make it count.”
He’d been rubbing his thumb over the smooth skin of her cheek when it brushed past her lip. In seconds she was licking the same spot. His cock jumped.
“I agree. We’ll make tonight count,” she whispered.
Chaz took her glass and set it on the table next to his before pulling her into his arms, taking her mouth into a hot kiss. She returned his kiss with fervor, twining her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.
There wasn’t any part of her that he didn’t want to touch, kiss, lick and thoroughly enjoy. He couldn’t thank her enough for agreeing to this, for wanting this as much as he did. Dragging his mouth from her lips, he suckled her neck, his hands going flat on her back before he unzipped her dress.
“Happy New Year, Riley,” he whispered the moment his fingers moved along her bare skin.
She shocked and pleased him immensely by pressing a hand between their bodies and finding his rigid erection before unzipping his pants. “Happy New Year, Chaz.”
CHAPTER FOUR
HE WAS HARD and hot in her hands. When her slim fingers wrapped around his thick cock, Riley sighed with pleasure, while the persistent hum of arousal grew in the pit of her stomach. After unzipping his pants and freeing his erection, she’d closed her eyes to savor the feel of him and the wonder of this moment. She was actually doing this, and she was enjoying it.
Opening her eyes, Riley glanced down to see her hands on him. Their skin tones were different, hers lighter, his darker. Her fingers seemed too small against his length and width, yet she jerked him slowly, sliding her fingers from the base of his cock until her thumb brushed over the tip.
Chaz sucked in a breath and groaned, “Do that again.”
She did, but not because he said so, because she liked it, too. His skin felt silky and the sound of his groan rubbed along the most primal part of her. The part that enjoyed the power she had at this moment.
“I thought about...this.” She’d almost admitted that she’d thought about him specifically instead of simply fantasizing about the physical that was now happening. For Riley there was a distinct difference—thinking about him on a personal level could include wondering what his hobbies were, his favorite meal or movie, while considering how it would feel to kiss him or have sex with him was physical, pure and simple.
“You thought about jerking me off until I came in your hands.” His voice was low but deep.
Her fingers stilled over his tip, feeling the first drops of warm moisture.
“I thought about you, too, Riley. I thought about taking your mouth in a hot-as-hell kiss.” As if to punctuate that statement he cupped her cheeks and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss was chaste for only a second, before his tongue pushed through the barrier of her lips, tangling instantly with hers until she was breathless.
“I thought about getting my hands on you,” he continued when his mouth was moving over the soft skin of her jaw.
Riley continued stroking him while tilting her neck back so he could have better access. Just a few minutes ago they’d toasted the New Year, now Riley felt as if she needed another drink. Anything to cool the heat that was soaring through her at this moment.
“Harder, Riley, honey. Stroke me harder.”
He was pumping into her hand as his tongue trailed a hot path down her skin.
“Yeah, like that,” he groaned and nipped the skin of her collarbone with his teeth.
Riley shivered and clenched her teeth as she fought to hold in the moan of pleasure that soared through her body. This was just sex. It wasn’t some epiphany that would change the way she viewed relationships or even how she felt about Chaz and his family.
She needed his clothes off and moved her hands from his rigid length up to his chest, where she was about to push his jacket over his shoulders. A loud sound stopped her and Riley realized it was more fireworks popping off. She looked around them quickly and felt a cool breeze over her bare skin.
Damn! They were still outside on the balcony. Riley backed away from him, praying no one had seen them. Chaz’s gaze found hers, and before she could speak he scooped her up, carrying her through the glass doors and into the bedroom.