The Relic (14 page)

Oh God!

No, I have to stop
. The last few weeks had been hell and she didn’t want to start that all over again. She shoved him away from her, her breathing so erratic now she thought she could faint at any minute.

“No, Vincent. We can’t do this again. I won’t be your fuck buddy whenever you need an itch scratched.”

Vincent grinned.
He’s grinning at me!
Bastard
.

He reached for her arm as she started to walk away. “But I want to be your fuck buddy…”

“No!”

“…every day.”

She froze and turned back to face him. “What the fuck does that mean?”

The silly grin was still there.
What’s with that?

“It means I want to fuck you every day, but it also means I want to
be
with you every day.”

Her heart starting doing flip-flops.
What exactly is he saying?
“I’m sorry, can you run that by me again? I didn’t quite catch your drift.”

The hand on her wrist tightened as he pulled her against him.

“It means I want to do this…” He kissed her hot spot on her neck again, reigniting the heat from moments ago.

“And I want to do this…” His free hand cupped one of her swollen breasts and twisted the already stiffened nipple.

“Ahh…” she sighed as the pleasure rose from zero to boiling point in microseconds. His other hand freed her wrist then smoothed slowly down her back and over her buttocks where he stopped and squeezed before his fingers inched her skirt upwards.

She had to say something, but her voice was scratchy when she opened her mouth. “Vincent, you are driving me crazy here. Get to the point.”

His deep chuckle just fired her up more as he slipped his hand under her panties and moved a long finger over her throbbing clit. “Oh baby, I think I gotten to the first one. But you have to be patient for the rest of them.”

The clever digit continued its assault, alternating a quick rub with a slow and gentle circle, and before she could stop it, a huge orgasm hit her out of nowhere.

“Oh God!” she cried as her muscles stiffened and the release rushed over her in extended waves.

Vincent turned her head and captured her mouth with his, plunging in and taking everything. His scent, his taste, his talented tongue sweeping, demanding she give back to him, and dammit she did. She didn’t want it to end.

Shit.
It probably was going to end, and badly if she didn’t stop now. She broke the kiss and dragged in some air so her lungs wouldn’t explode before she finished what she was trying to say. “Vince?”

He buried his head in her neck, nuzzling his way down toward her breasts and nudging her spaghetti straps off her shoulders with his fingers. “Mmmm, I love the way you smell, Mags.”

“Vincent!”

“Yes?” he whispered against her skin, sending tingles through to her nipples as they poked through the thin material of her top.

“Um…ah…” Her voice rasped as he took a nipple into his mouth and sucked in slowly.

Grabbing his shoulders, she pushed him away, his mouth making a popping sound as it came off her breast. “Vincent. I seriously don’t understand what you are saying to me.”

He grinned wickedly. “No? I must be losing my touch.”

Judging from the dampness between her thighs, that clearly wasn’t the case, but it wasn’t enough. “Just spell it out for me, will you? I have no idea where I stand with you, Stone. You act like you care, then you act like an arsehole, as if you’re trying to get me to hate you, then you come back into my life again and give me hope, only to leave me again.”

Shit. Now I’m crying.

Good plan, Mags.
Not.
She used her shaking hands to wipe the tears away before they started falling all over her cheeks, but he had his arms around her before she had finished, circling her, holding her close and cradling her head against his shoulder.

“Aw crap, Mags. I didn’t mean to make you cry. I’m trying to tell you that I love you, and I’ve made a real mess of it.”

This time the tears fell in buckets, tracing rivers down her cheeks
. Please God, let it be true
. Given their past history, how could she let go and trust him? “You don’t mean that, Stone,” she sobbed. “You just want to fuck me and you figure telling me that will get you there faster.”

He cupped her face and stared into her eyes. “I don’t blame you for thinking that, Mags, because I haven’t given you any reason to believe otherwise.” He touched her forehead in a feather-light kiss. “Believe me now. I didn’t think it was ever going to happen for me, but I love you, and believe me when I say I’ve never told that to anyone before. I want to spend time with you,” he said just before he kissed the tip of her nose. “I don’t know where this will lead and I can’t promise that I won’t make mistakes, but I do know that I want to wake up to your face every day.”

God, she wanted to believe him, she really did. Her heart pounded so hard now she was sure he could hear it. But there was one more thing he had to explain. “Just say I believe you. How then does that explain what you’ve been doing for the last three weeks and why didn’t you contact me?”

His eyes shuttered slightly and she panicked, pushing him away again.

“I knew it. You were with some other woman or multiple women for all I know. This is all for show.”

“No.” He grabbed both her hands tightly, preventing her from moving away. “If you must know I was wrapping up the last case on my books so I could spend some uninterrupted time with you.”

She tugged unsuccessfully as he increased his grip on her wrists. “Let me go, Stone.”

“No. I won’t let you go until you’ve heard the rest.”

“Fine. Talk,” she said, turning her face toward the window.

“Look at me, Mags.”

She sighed, turning back. In his eyes, she could see an emotion she hadn’t seen before. Could it really be the something she’d been hoping to see?

“I’m listening.”

“I know I deserve to suffer for how I’ve treated you, Mags. You’re right about me trying to make you hate me, to push me away. I tried that for the last two years and I thought it was working. But I almost lost you in the jungle… I knew then, and I know now, there is no way I am going to stay away from you.”

His hands relaxed their grip and he smoothed them up to her shoulders, lightly resting there while his warmth seeped into her.

“After I left Penang, I had every intention of calling you every day, Mags, but before I’d even gotten home to Sydney, my business partner called and I had to detour to China. The phone lines are always breaking down there, which made making contact almost impossible. So I decided to just knuckle down and finish the retrieval, that way I can take a few months off to spend with you while we work out the details of how this can work.”

Her heart leaped with hope, beating even faster than before. “You mean it? You really want to try to make this relationship work?”

That wicked mouth kicked up on the corners again. “Oh yeah. You make me hot, Mags, but you also touch my soul. Will you give me a chance?”

The band around her chest burst free and she threw her arms around his neck.

“Oh what the heck? Okay.” Then she kissed him.

The raucous sound of clapping and cheering had them breaking apart and Mags turned toward the door.

Phoe was out in front, the hunk from the party still attached to her via a hand on her boob. “It’s about time you finished it, you two. We were getting bored here waiting for a floor show!”

“Nah, I don’t think we’ll be getting any floorshows from Mags for a while, girls. Let’s let them finish what they’ve started,” said Lyonene, turning back to the door. “Come on, peoples, show’s over!”

Magda winked at Joell who stayed until last, beaming at both of them.

“Have fun, my friends,” she said as she closed the door.

“Oh we will,” said Vincent as he pushed Magda against the wall and lowered his head. “We definitely will.”

The kind of soul-searing kiss that went on and on forever and could be felt all the way down to her toes.
Oh baby.

Her hands found their way up to Vincent’s hair and he moaned as she lightly teased his scalp with her fingertips.
Or was it me moaning?
At this point, who cares?

The kiss continued without either of them drawing breath as Vincent pulled her closer, wrapping his strong arms around her body. He backed up and tracked them both toward the king-sized bed in the center of the spacious apartment. The cold softness of the satin overlay tickled her legs as Vincent carefully lowered her down.

She sighed as he left her mouth and nuzzled behind her ear. She turned her head slightly and heard him inhale deeply.

“Mmm—you smell good,” he whispered, his hot breath tickling her skin.

Magda savored the moment. It felt so good and so right to be back in his arms. Her eyes filled with unshed tears as she slid her hands around his waist and hugged him tight. “I missed you, Stone.”

Placing his hands either side of her head, Vincent pushed himself up so their eyes met again. Her heart stopped when he winked at her and gave her his best naughty-boy grin. “I should hope so, Mags,” he said as he grabbed her top with both hands and pulled it over her head in one quick movement. “Otherwise, I’m wasting my time and making a right fucking idiot of myself.”

She shook her head, but he stopped any coherent thought when his mouth caught one of her breasts and his clever tongue worked its magic. She trembled as goosebumps appeared all over her body and her climax hit her like a steam train.
Oh God! How does he do that?

Her hands moved down his back and over his buttocks, squeezing those amazing muscles. Vincent shifted slightly, enclosing her hands and moving them above her head, where he held them fast with one hand.

“Vince? I want to touch you.”

He chuckled. “And I want you to, babe, but not yet.” The clever slide of his tongue moved over first one, then the other of her nipples, leaving them taut and almost painful with need. “I’ve been waiting for this for three weeks and I’m not going to rush it.”

“Vince—please!” Her fingers itched to move, desperate to touch him, but his hand held firm.

“Oh yeah. You’re going to be pleased all right,” he murmured hotly, as he stroked a finger from his free hand smoothly along her slit. He moved closer still and blew, and she arched, seeking more, wanting the torment to finish, but praying that it went on forever.

She trembled. “Get to the point, Stone, before I kill you,” she whimpered.

Time stopped as she watched him lower his head to her finally. His wide shoulders bulged and everything else in the room faded. There was only him. His unshaved whiskers tickled her thighs as he clamped his mouth over her clit. She was totally at his mercy and it felt so right.

Desire raged through her body as the sensual torture continued. She bucked when he slid first one, then two fingers inside her and rubbed. The dual attack set off spasms as her internal muscles contracted, sending a flood of her juices over his hand.

“That’s it baby,” he whispered. “Let go for me.”

“Oh God,” she cried, as wave after wave of pleasure shuddered through her body. His mouth and hand continued to softly stroke her until her rapid breathing subsided, but it wasn’t over. The hard heat of his chest rubbed against her body as he moved back over her and released her hands. His mouth claimed hers as he entered her body in one smooth movement.

“Jeezus, Mags, you always feel so good,” he grunted, as he slid out and moved back in, this time close enough to touch her heart.

They moved together, the sensation building higher and higher until they both exploded and bright lights burst across her eyes. Nothing had ever felt this good.

Vincent rolled over, taking her with him, and gently pressed her head in the crook of his shoulder. His heart beat loudly under her and she sighed. His hands rubbed over her arms and he kissed the top of her head. “I guess that’s what you meant when you said you were going to kill me,” he said, a smile in his voice.

She lifted her head and smiled back at him. “Oh no, Stone. That was only for starters. I have a lot more ways to kill you yet, and I plan on showing you all of them.”

He laughed, more relaxed than she’d seen him for years. “Ah…but what a way to die!”

Epilogue

One year later

“She’s adorable,” Magda whispered, counting fingers and toes. “Isn’t it amazing that she’s only four hours old and she’s so alert?”

Vincent leaned closer to the small bundle in her arms. “Welcome to the world, Leila.” I’m Vincent, and this is Magda. We’re your godparents.”

Magda smiled indulgently as she placed the tiny baby back in the crib. Vincent wrapped his arm around her shoulders and steered her out of the nursery. “Joell and Crowe have had enough time to themselves. It’s time we joined their celebration.”

Magda looked down at her belly and rubbed gently. “Just think—in five months’ time we’ll have our own baby.”

Vincent placed his hand over hers. “Our own son.”

Magda laughed. “You seem so sure it’s a boy. What if it’s a girl?”

“Then I’ll love her as much as her mother, but I know it’s a boy. I feel it in my bones.”

“Ha! Like your bones are so accurate.”

Vincent stopped walking. “You wound me, Mags. You’re never going to forget that one time.”

“One time?”

Vincent’s eyes twinkled as he grinned. “Okay, so I sometimes get lost when I’m driving. You know I’m much more at home in the jungle.”

Magda wrapped her arm around his waist and squeezed. “Yes, but you do refuse to use the GPS.”

“That beast lies!”

“What’s that about blaming the tools?”

“Oh look, here’s Joell’s room.”

Magda laughed. Her husband was such a card. “You’ll keep.”

Crowe beamed at them both as they entered to a flower-filled room. “Did you see her? Isn’t she the most perfect baby ever born?”

Magda crossed the room and hugged him. “She is totally adorable.”

“She takes after her father.”

Magda squealed. “Joell! You’re glowing! Motherhood obviously agrees with you.”