His eyes opened. "What am I going to do with you, Merina?"
"I think you know."
Proving he did, his mouth dropped to hers briefly, then he was up, peeling off his clothes and yanking open the nightstand drawer on the opposite side of the bed. Merina kicked out of her yoga pants, eyes on the gold foil packet between Reese's teeth.
The promise of what was to come rattled her nerves and set her aflame. Maybe she was wrong earlier. Sex with him might fix everything after all.
Panties off, she tossed them to the floor. Reese rolled the condom on, stroking himself once more, twice more. She bit down on her bottom lip, her eyes on those coveted inches wrapped in his strong fist. He depressed the bed with a knee and came to her.
"Say yes, Merina." Her name rolled off his tongue, his deep timbre seducing her ears. He parted her legs with one knee and settled between her thighs.
At the same time the word yes hissed from between her teeth, he buried himself to the hilt. Every. Last. Inch.
She crossed her ankles at his back, holding him close. With powerful thrusts he plunged into her again and again. This need had been vibrating between them for the last few weeks—hell, maybe the last month. The attraction between them had always an inferno they'd tried futilely to keep from lighting.
Pity. Because this was damn good.
One hand at her lower back, he canted her hips and pushed into her again. Her eyelids slid shut as a moan of encouragement eked from her throat.
"Finally," he said through labored breaths. Then he smiled, inordinately pleased with himself. "Found it."
"We'll see," she lied. Because he had. Each sharp thrust pinged an innermost part of her, snapping another thread on her control.
"Give it to me, Merina," he demanded, still working, still thrusting.
"Not until…" Droves of tingles ran a race from her toes to her face. "…you."
"Ladies first. I insist." He drew out slowly before driving into her, and a sharp cry of pleasure came from her parted lips.
They had sex the same way they fought, fighting to maintain control as long as possible. But just as the thought came that she wouldn't let him win this battle, she surrendered. Another thrust and her back arched, an orgasm rocking her. He followed, surrendering with her, his groans of pleasure loud in her ears.
Lights exploded behind her eyes and part of her registered that she was being loud. Which Reese probably ate up with a spoon. Egomaniac. Even that snide thought couldn't erase the buoyancy that overtook her chest, the pleasant blankness that covered her mind, the feeling of being a part of someone else—the closeness she'd mentioned earlier.
Seconds, minutes—hell, who knew how long—passed before she opened her eyes, feeling as if she'd surfaced from a drugged haze. Reese was propped on his elbows over her, eyes hooded, breathing heavy. From inside her, his cock pulsed. She gave him a squeeze.
It drew a smile to his brilliantly handsome face. "You know a few tricks."
She smiled back at him, unable to keep from it.
"That"—he kissed the tip of her nose—"was a good idea."
Merina hummed. It really was. The feeling of lost and lonely had been replaced with light and happy. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this way and could stand to feel it much more often. Reese Crane, as she'd assumed, was dynamite in the sack.
Not that she'd tell him that. Though he looked like he might already know.
"No bragging." She pressed a finger to his lips. He nipped her fingertip.
"No need." He drew out of her, taking her sated groan with him, and he chuckled. "Your body tells me everything I need to know."
There was a thought. Her body was giving away her secrets without her having to say them. Which made sex a bad idea. She rolled to face him as he slipped out of bed.
"Don't worry." He winked. "I won't tell."
She picked up a pillow and tossed it at his naked ass, burying her smile in her elbow, because watching his backside clench and release as he paced to the bathroom was a sight she'd not soon forget.
Chapter 11
The board members ambled from the conference room table, and as per their usual, Alex, Reese, and Tag stayed behind. Alex filled his coffee mug to the brim then lifted and dropped the newspaper onto the table. "Subtle."
"I thought it was nice." Tag shrugged one massive shoulder. The "nice" headline he was referring to was in a Chicago socialite magazine. Not exactly the Trib but anyone who cared about gossip paid attention to Elegant Elite. They were the ones who started photographing Reese with his dates at every charity and dinner function, and they'd mentioned #ReesesRocket on their Twitter feed several times last week. The headline HONEYMOON'S ON! was definitely a step up.
"It's flashy," Alex told Reese.
"Penelope assures me turning the media will convince the board."
Alex grunted.
"Tomorrow night's the retirement party," Reese said. "They'll see then." Reese didn't think anyone would suspect he and Merina were anything but in love after they'd blown each other's minds in bed last night. This morning had been as peaceful as monks. Shared orgasms had put some slack into the tension between them. Getting along behind the scenes was bound to make it easier to parade around in public.
Always productive after sex, he'd typically excuse himself to his office, but when he'd come out of the bathroom, his wife had beat him to it. Merina was up, dressed in her stretchy pants and T-shirt again, and pulling on a pair of sneakers.
"Thanks for the recharge, Crane." She'd grinned. "I have monthly reports to review."
Then she was off, wiggling her round, delicious ass away from him and into the office down the hall. He retreated to his own office but concentration wasn't as smooth as usual. Typically sex freed his brain and he could work, but last night, his mind kept returning to the wonder that was Merina's face during sex. The neat little pleat between her golden brown eyebrows. The parting of her pink mouth when she blew out a ragged breath of enjoyment. Her normally smooth, tamed hair a wild mess over the pillow, a few strands thrown over half her face while she writhed.
Incredible.
Fingers snapped in front of Reese's face and he blinked to see Tag's surly expression and their father standing to leave.