Red-Hot Lover Read online

  Her smile wobbled a little as Saul’s thumbs trailed across her lips.

  “Zee.” His stare darkened and with a primal growl he took her mouth once more.

  Heat surged deep inside and radiated outward until she wondered if it was lava, not blood that ran through her veins, that gathered in the core of her pussy and burned with wanton need.

  Mouths still joined, she pushed his jacket over his shoulders, dragging it from him before unbuttoning his shirt with unsteady hands. She thrust it free too, leaving it to puddle on the floor alongside his discarded jacket.

  Their breaths came out in gasps, sharp and more urgent as Saul pressed her against the wall beside the mirror. As her hands found and unbuckled his belt he said hoarsely, “Let me help,” making short work of the button and zipper on his pants before stepping free of them.

  This time it was she who spun him around. His husky chuckle was almost a groan as she pushed him against the wall. She dropped to her knees, looking up to hold his smoldering stare as she tugged down his boxer briefs and released his rigid cock.

  The muscles in his thighs bunched as she leaned forward and took hold of his steel-hard shaft. As his eyelids drifted closed, she gently sucked the velvety head of his cock into her mouth, tasting it and the salty bead of his pre-cum.

  He jerked. Breath whistled through his teeth. His hands dropped to tangle in her hair as he fought for control.

  Her smile all on the inside, she cupped his heavy balls with one hand and held the base of his cock with the other as she suctioned his cock deeper into her mouth. Then inch by slow inch she released the hard length of his shaft.

  His fingers tightened on her scalp. “Stop,” he said thickly, “before I come.”

  She looked up. “I’m not sure I care if you do. I want to see you lose control.” His eyes flashed as she finished, “I want to taste your pleasure.”

  Kicking his boxer briefs free, he stooped to her eye level, his jaw hard and determined. “Sweetheart, the feeling is mutual.”

  In one fluid motion he scooped her into his arms and straightened to his full height. In just three strides they were at the foot of his bed. He looked down at her, his nostrils flaring with need. “I want to taste you too.”

  She yelped as he plunked her on his bed. The next second she was giggling helplessly, passionately, as he took hold of one of her legs and kissed the instep of her foot, trailing kisses along her heel and past her ankle, his tongue swirling as he worked his way down her calf and along the hypersensitive skin of her inner thigh.

  Her breath caught when he parted her legs. His head dipped. Oh god. Fire tore through her body and gathered deep in her womb. She jerked as his tongue flicked the hard nub of her clit, his teeth then gently scraping the sensitized flesh.

  She looked down at his dark head between her legs. It was almost as erotic as the act itself. Almost. Her spine arched. She panted for breath. His tongue swirled and flicked, creating electric, pulsating flashes that rendered her almost insensible.

  He spread her wider, his tongue relentless. Her mouth dropped open, making soundless noises at the exquisite sensations he created. His teeth again scraped the hard nub of her cunt. And when a tidal wave of delight coursed through her body, she couldn’t hold back a long cry of ecstasy.

  He looked up from her drenched pussy, smiling with triumph. His eyes glittered. “Do you know how utterly beautiful you are when you come?”

  “No. Not without a mirror,” she joked weakly, raising a hand before letting it flop back to the bed.

  His stare narrowed, a wicked smile twitching his lips as he released her legs and crawled over her to straddle her. “What a splendid idea, my love.”

  She frowned, her belly twisting. “What…do you mean?”

  His grin widened, the grooves in his brow deepening. He climbed off the bed and leaned down to take her into his arms. He slowly lowered her to her feet beside the bed. They stood sideward to a full-length mirror.

  She closed her eyes to the sensation of skin against skin, heat against heat. Her nipples scraped his lightly haired chest, his cock grazing the flesh of her belly.

  She stumbled, weak kneed. Her eyes jerked open. Saul’s hands moved to rest on her shoulders. His smile all alpha, he twisted her around so she faced the bed.

  “Now you can watch yourself climax,” he murmured throatily. “See what I see when you fall apart.”

  His cock nudged between her thighs. She spread her legs apart with an eager sigh and bent from the waist, aware that in this position she was every bit the omega. And Saul—he was alpha through and through.

  “Look at us,” he commanded throatily.

  She turned her head just as his cock pushed into her slick, wet heat.

  Oh sweet heaven.

  His strong thighs were jammed tight to the rounded globes of her ass. She quivered when his hands moved, fondling her breasts and tight nipples. He rocked inside her with fierce strokes, causing fire to lick through her cunt at the delicious friction, at the carnal image she couldn’t tear her eyes away from.

  “Saul!” She came with a suddenness that took her breath away, her muscles locking onto his cock as it erupted seconds after.

  His stare caught and held hers in the mirror. “As you can see, we’re perfect for each other.”

  Chapter Six

  In the oldest denim jeans she’d been able to find and a rose-pink blouse unbuttoned at the throat to reveal glimpses of the pendant beneath, Zahlee had never felt more beautiful. She hadn’t glowed in her pregnancy all those years ago, but at least now she understood the term.

  Being with Saul, having him make love to her, she was blossoming again, like a rosebud opening to the sun.

  She turned in the passenger seat of the SUV, drawn helplessly to Saul.

  His profile with the darker shade of growth along his jaw added to his harsh, sinfully dangerous aura. He was in superb shape for a man of his mortal age. Yes, he’d lived a lot in his years—the tough edge of his lifestyle, the suffering and adversity was clear in his rough-hewn features, his shrewd eyes. But despite all that, he looked to be in his prime.

  “You said you wanted to surprise me,” she said. “I think I’m already surprised by the fact you’re taking the SUV out for a drive.”

  He had quite a collection of luxury vehicles in the private, underground parking area of the casino. But aside from a couple of his favorite sports cars he took for an occasional run, he more often than not rode in the back of his stretch limousine, where many a deal had been sealed on a handshake with a business associate.

  “Oh, I think my surprise is a little bit more exciting than the car I’m driving,” he teased, a smile twitching the corners of his lips and totally wiping away his hard-edged expression.

  “In that case,” she said, reaching to select a rosy-red apple from the picnic basket on the back seat, “I might as well enjoy the ride.”

  Saul’s smile widened, his eyes glinting at the double meaning. “Please do.”

  Curiosity about his surprise burned through her mind as she bit into her apple. As she crunched around her mouthful, Saul broke into a husky chuckle.

  At her abstracted frown he murmured, “I can’t help but love everything you do. Even the most mundane things like your healthy appetite.” He took her hand for a moment and squeezed. “I guess that’s true love, hmm?”

  Her throat constricted and she had to forcibly swallow. “How could you possibly love me after everything I’ve done?”

  To you and to my son.

  “Despite my stupid demand that you not fly, I knew who—what—you were, from almost the very beginning.”

  So he had. There had been instant chemistry between them from their very first eye contact at a cabaret show in the casino. They had been at separate tables near the stage, but with their chairs almost touching back-to-back. He’d started a conversation that had seen them turn their chairs ever outward until they’d been facing each other.

  She hadn’t remem
bered one minute of the show and yet Saul’s every word had been seared into her brain. She hadn’t been able to resist him, hadn’t been able to decline his invitation to go out the next night, when he’d taken her to the very same show.

  He hadn’t wanted her to miss it a second time.

  She’d fallen for him. Hard. And in that second night after the show, before they’d even made love for the first time, she’d opened up and told him all her secrets—except one. And just like that he’d believed her. Accepted her. Wanted her, despite her differences or perhaps even a little because of them.

  She’d discovered Saul’s deeper side, his adoration a quality few people ever saw. And she’d thrown it all back in his face the day she’d left him.

  Saul ran an outspread hand through his hair. “I have to admit there are times, even now, I feel a burning anger take hold, but I’m just too damn thankful you’ve come back for any of those feelings to last.”

  “I’m glad.” Even more so because of the fact that she knew love and forgiveness had never been high on Saul’s list of priorities. He hadn’t become wealthy and successful by being soft, romantic and kind.

  She turned to look out the windshield when he slowed and flipped on the indicator, turning off the highway onto a dirt road. A sign read Big Tree Heights and then they were cruising along the gentle rise of a narrow lane with eucalyptus trees towering along either side.

  She opened the window and breathed in the invigorating, crisp country air. Twenty minutes later Saul turned onto another road, this one rough and uninviting. He slowed again as a large metal gate came into view. “Private property” was emblazoned in large print across a sign on the gate.

  Retrieving a remote from the SUV’s console, he pushed a button so that the huge gates swung inward from their posts. As they drove through Zahlee noted the seemingly endless, high chain-wire fence that enclosed the property.

  She arched a brow. “We’re visiting someone? Is that the surprise?”

  He laughed. “Not even close.”

  With the gates closing behind them, the road ahead inclined sharply. The SUV lurched over the rocky, potholed road, but Saul drove with a confidence that mirrored his personality, tackling the near-vertical rise that made her giddy with an adrenaline she realized she’d missed.

  He slowed as a large adult goanna, a couple of meters in length, ambled across the road in front of them, its reptilian forked tongue flicking in and out. It turned its mottled black and gray head toward them, assessing the danger. An instant later it took off running, using its sharp claws to climb the nearest paperbark tree with effortless ease.

  Zahlee clutched at the overhead hand grip as Saul accelerated again. “I believe you, we’re not visiting anyone. No human I know would choose to live out here.”

  Her mouth snapped shut. Her eyes went wide. A three-story house reared up at the top of a summit ahead, almost as though it was a part of the mountain. Sunlight gleamed against its huge tinted windows, the valley of trees that fell away from the driveway its extended front yard.

  “Wow,” she breathed. “It’s beautiful.”

  Saul turned to her and smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”

  She tore her eyes away. “It’s yours?”

  “No.” He grinned. “It’s yours.”

  Her heart stilled for a beat. “No way!”

  “Yes, way.”

  “But…why?” He voice wobbled. “I don’t understand.” Why would you want to reward me after the heartache and grief I caused you?

  “After you left me, this was my outlet, my sanity while I waited for your return.”

  Joy filled her from the inside out. Not because he’d spent millions of dollars and quite obviously countless hours building something for her. He really had believed she’d return. He’d never given up on her!

  “Aside from Pascal and business,” he continued hoarsely, “perfecting this house for your needs was my main focus.”

  “But I never expected—”

  “You left because you craved your freedom, craved the skies.” He shrugged, but there was no casual indifference in the gesture. “You couldn’t do that just anywhere, not without being seen. So I bought out all the surrounding farms in the vicinity to create the privacy you would need.”

  He didn’t say it, but the unspoken message was clear. Despite his desire that she not fly, he’d all but given her the skies, or at least a nice chunk of it. She had no reason now to leave him.

  Her chest squeezed. Pressure built behind her eyes.

  Saul had always been romantic. But this? It was the most amazing thing anyone had ever done for her. No. Not the most amazing. Saul had brought up her son, had taken care of him in her absence. And that was a gift she’d never be able to repay.

  She sucked in a breath. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Don’t say anything. Just enjoy.”

  Love for him bubbled over. “I don’t deserve you. You know that, right?”

  He cut the engine when they stopped beside the paving stones that led to the front double doors and turned his full attention on her. His brilliant eyes were a force field all of their own when he said hoarsely, “Do you have any idea how special you are? Do you have any idea at all how lucky I feel knowing you’re here to stay?”

  Before she could come up with a coherent answer he swung out of the driver’s seat and moved around to open her passenger door with a flourish. “Welcome to your home.”

  Wide-eyed, she clung to his arm as he led her across the front garden, halved by a path of stepping stones that were choked with white, star-shaped flowering ground cover.

  Clumps of ruby and bright orange kangaroo paw softened the stark tinted-glass walls of the beautiful house. A light breeze brought with it the sweet, honeyed scent of the yellow, flowering wattle trees that grew to one side of the house, where brightly colored rainbow lorikeets shrieked and squabbled.

  He keyed in a security code in a pad beside the door. She looked up at the impressive, clean lines of the building that glimmered beneath the midday sun. “How do you get anyone here to clean? And how on earth did you build at such an inaccessible site?”

  He swung open the doors. “There is a helipad at the top of this building. I fly an army of cleaners in once a month.” He offered her the crook of his elbow, as though he was leading her for a leisurely walk through a city park. “And the driveway was once smooth and very accessible.”

  “It was?”

  He grinned. “To be honest, I’m not quite sure what the construction crew thought when I instructed them to chop up the road and make it almost impassable.”

  “So that no one would be tempted to trespass and see me. See me fly.”

  “Exactly.“ He swept out a hand. “Come, I’ll give you the grand tour.”

  Her heels clacked on the wooden floors, the sound echoing in the vast space of sweeping glass and cream-colored walls. He’d clearly designed this with her love of open spaces in mind.

  In the warmer alcove of the kitchen, she leaned against the double sink and stared out at the panorama spread before her. “I wouldn’t mind stacking the dishwasher if these views were my reward.”

  She leaned back into his warmth as he stepped close behind her, his arms circling her waist. “I never asked you to be my maid. I’ll get paid help for that.”

  She twisted in his arms and looked up at his serious face, his open adoration making her heart swell. “No. Don’t you see? I want to do things for you, with you. I want to cook and clean. I want to be alone with you here. I want to make you happy.”

  His smile was all warmth and love. “What if I said having you as my lover for the rest of my life would make me the happiest person alive?”

  Her chest ached, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. How had she stayed away from him for so long? All those wasted years. And already he spoke of his mortality. It was almost too hard to bear. She swallowed back heartsick anxiety and nodded solemnly. “I’d say that would make me the happies
t person alive too.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose. “I believe the tour isn’t yet over.”

  Moving away from the spacious living room and more intimate kitchen, Saul steered her to a curved staircase. At the bottom of the stairs, she stilled beside a life-size, female gargoyle statue that was nothing like the ugly ornaments she’d too often seen.

  She reached out a hand to touch the statue’s exquisite lines. “How extraordinarily beautiful.”

  Saul nodded, watching her closely. “That she is. But then she was sculpted by the best artist this country has ever seen. Your son.”

  Her touch turned reverent. Pride seared through her. Her son had created this. Her son! “Who’d have thought a love of Play-Doh as a five-year-old would see him become a—”

  “Creative genius,” Saul supplied mildly. “A master sculptor.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re looking at an image of the love of his life. Celeste Diamond.”

  Zahlee frowned. “She’s a gargoyle?”

  “That’s debatable. Research—discreet research—suggests she’s human, but has her gargoyle father’s wings as a permanent legacy.”

  She stared at the statue, a lump in her throat. “I can see why my son loves her. She’s very beautiful.”

  Saul nodded. “Inside and out.”

  She looked up at him. “Thank you,” she whispered, awed and touched all at once.

  His eyes softened. “What for?”

  “For being there for my son, for guiding him and nurturing his creative side.”

  Saul released a slow breath. “I’d love to take credit, but I was never the perfect role model. He wasn’t cut out for my lifestyle, though I tried for a long time to enforce it.”

  She covered her mouth with a hand. “Oh Saul, no.”

  He shook his head. “Pascal was strong, he stood up to me.” He chuckled. “He made me proud and angry all at the same time. He really was my son in every way.”

  She turned back to the sculpture as Saul stepped behind her. She let out a sigh. “I wish I’d been there for him…for you.”