She held on to his shoulders for support as her head swam. The hard bulge of his arousal pressed against her, exciting her further. This was Sawyer. Sawyer. Her longstanding nemesis. And yet, he made her blood sing, and it was all so delicious. It was a forbidden melding of the proper and the naughty. The oh-so-respectable Earl and Countess of Melton well on their way to coupling outside, unable to keep their hands off each other.
“Sawyer, no. Not here,” she said throatily when he finally raised his head to steal a kiss. “Someone at a window might see us.”
Her concern was not unfounded. Sawyer’s town house sat near several tony white-glove apartment buildings.
“It’s dark,” he responded gruffly. “And the trees here provide plenty of cover.”
“If the media ever get wind of this, you’ll never live it down.” She added after he stole another kiss, “I can see the headline—‘Media Baron Victim of His Own Press.’”
“They wouldn’t dare,” Sawyer said, but he nevertheless swung her into his arms. “Where to, your ladyship?”
She linked her arms around his neck. “If we’re going to be respectable, then I suppose a bed.”
Sawyer nodded, and then strode with her toward the house. Minutes later, he kicked open the door to his bedroom.
But instead of laying her on the bed, he set her on her feet and backed her against one of the bedposts. “Let’s finish where we were unfortunately interrupted the last time.”
Tamara shivered as a vivid image flashed through her mind of their last romantic interlude in his bedroom.
Sawyer undressed her swiftly, following every inch of exposed skin with kisses, and she thrilled with excitement.
Tamara’s mind whirled. Familial expectations and everything else receded into the background, and all that mattered was her and Sawyer and what was happening between them in this room.
When he knelt before her and gave her an intimate kiss, the breath left her lungs.
“Oh.” She grasped the wood behind her for support, and then as he continued to move his mouth against her, she slid against the cool, notched bedpost pressing against her.
Her cl**ax hit her suddenly and unexpectedly, her back arching, her mouth falling open.
Seconds later, Sawyer straightened, his eyes glittering.
She belatedly realized she was na**d while only Sawyer’s tie was undone.
He quickly rectified the situation, however, by stripping, and she watched with hooded eyes as he revealed an impressive physique. His erection sprang free of his underwear, and he was finally completely and gloriously naked.
She wet her lips. “I didn’t think you buttoned-down types were so…”
He gave her a slow, sexy smile.
Instead of taking her then and there, however, he surprised her by removing the pins from her hair and setting aside the tiara he’d given her earlier in the evening.
She hadn’t worn it with any other jewelry, wanting to showcase her one special piece. It had been an unorthodox move, but one that had felt right.
“Hair down this time, Goldilocks,” he said.
“I thought you hated the fact that I always let my hair down,” she quipped.
He smiled, obviously catching her double meaning. “Maybe I’m loosening up, or maybe I’m a fan of your hair.”
Deliberately, he arranged the flowing waves of her hair over her br**sts, and then drew the pad of his forefinger over a nipple.
She gasped at the exquisite sensation.
And then he kissed her again. He linked his hands with hers and raised her arms above her head, and guided her instinctively until they both fell on top of the bed.
Sliding his hand down her thigh, he pulled her leg up over his hip, spreading her.
She kissed him hungrily, her fingers flexing on his back.
“I’ve been told you work well with your hands,” Sawyer teased gutturally between kisses. “Show me.”
And she did, drawing her palms over him and tangling her fingers in his hair, all the while making love to his mouth until they were both moaning and panting for more.
When Sawyer finally slid inside her, expanding and filling her, she sighed into his mouth with sweet relief.
“Ah, Tamara,” he breathed.
She urged him forward, heedless of everything but the primordial urge to copulate.
And he satisfied her, tirelessly, until a sheen of sweat covered his skin, and his unadulterated male scent filled her nostrils.
She gasped, cl**axing as he pressed her in just the right spot, and calling his name again and again.
And still he kept going.
She came once more, and then with a shout, Sawyer threw back his head and took his own peak.
Spent, he rolled to the side, taking her with him, and she nestled against him.
Her last thought, before she drifted off to sleep, was that sex with Sawyer had been strangely like finally coming home.
Twelve
He felt great.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d woken so relaxed and…satisfied.
Sawyer grinned to himself as he came down the town house steps dressed in black pants and a crisp white shirt left open at the collar. His hair was still damp from his shower.
He would have suggested to Tamara that they shower together, but she’d already been in one of the adjoining bathrooms when he’d woken, and then she’d slipped downstairs while he’d been dressing.
Fortunately, it was Sunday, so he wasn’t expected at the office or a meeting. Instead, he knew his chef would have laid out a traditional English breakfast.
He could begin the day in a relatively leisurely manner, though he’d still consulted his BlackBerry upon rising, and his laptop would be waiting for him within easy reach at the dining-room table.
When Sawyer encountered Richard on his way to the dining room, the butler said with his occasional formality, “Good morning, my lord.”
Sawyer smiled easily. “Good morning, Richard. Another hot day, won’t you say?”
“Indeed.” The butler added, “Her ladyship is already taking brunch in the dining room.”
“Excellent. By strange coincidence, it happens to be exactly where I’m headed.”
Sawyer was careful to keep his expression bland, but he nevertheless thought he detected a knowing glimmer in the butler’s eyes.
When he stepped inside the formal dining room, his eyes immediately connected with Tamara’s.
Though the dining room was done in yellow and blue, with brightly striped wallpaper above the wainscoting, Tamara added light to the room.
She was wearing a shimmery sleeveless top, in a coppery color that played off the red of her hair.