Maggie whipped her head around and saw that Adrian sat in the high-backed chair. He leaned over the arm and grinned at her.
Maggie frowned at him. "What are you doing in there? You could get us both into worse trouble with Mr. Forrest."
He chuckled. "I don't think I'll mind that I'm sitting in my own chair."
"But-" Maggie froze and blinked at him. "Your own chair?"
He nodded. "My own chair."
Maggie stumbled back. Her pulse quickened. "Then that would make you-?"
"Mr. Forrest," he finished for her.
Maggie frowned. "But Mr. Forrest's first name is Randall."
Adrian cringed. "Don't remind me. I much prefer my middle name of Adrian. It's slightly more enticing to the females, don't you think?"
Maggie turned her head and pointed at the French doors. "But that means you let me in, and you know-"
"I know you're here for somebody else, but you wouldn't give the particulars except to Mr. Forrest." He stood and Maggie stumbled back two steps. The firelight at his back cast his face into deep shadow, but Maggie could still see the smile on his lips. "I'd very much like to hear why you've gone to all this trouble of trusting a strange and breaking into someone's home to speak with him."
Maggie shook her head. "I-I didn't mean anything-" He held up his hand.
His voice was soft and soothing. "I know. In all seriousness, I truly do want to know."
Maggie took a deep breath. "It's for my father. He is-well, he was one of your employees, a financial accountant in one of your offices downtown. Today he was fired without just cause, and I'd like to ask you to reinstate him, or at least give him a recommendation so he can find another position elsewhere."
Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Without just cause? Who fired him?"
Maggie bit her lower lip. "His supervisor. He-well, he's never been fond of my father, and when my father was late with a report he took that as excuse to fire him."
Adrian frowned. "Maggie begin to see the situation." He strode over to the desk and pulled out a pad and pencil. Maggie followed him, and he handed the articles to her. "Please write down your father's name, the name of his supervisor, and any other details that you believe might be important."
He pulled out the chair and Maggie took a seat. Adrian lay a hand against the back of the chair and stood by her side. In a few minutes Maggie had written down her account with the names of the parties involved. She raised her head and found him staring intently at her. The strange, heated look in his beautiful eyes made her blush. An unfamiliar but pleasant heat spread through her body. She slipped off the chair on the opposite side and left the pad on the desk.
"E-everything's there," Maggie assured him.
He picked up the pad and glanced over the contents. His eyes flickered to her and a sly smile slipped onto his lips. "Very interesting."
Maggie's blush deepened and she bowed her head. "C-can you help him?"
Adrian tore her note off the pad and tucked it into his pocket. "I think I can get your father reinstated."
Maggie's eyes widened and she whipped her head up. "You can?"
He chuckled. "I am the owner of the company, and in a situation like this I think justice would be miscarried if I let my employees harm one another. At least so blatantly."
Maggie felt herself burst with happiness. She clasped one of his hands in hers and squeezed back tears. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
He tilted his head to one side and studied her. "There is one favor I'd like to ask, if it's not too much."
Maggie smiled and gave a nod. "Anything."
He nodded at the room around them. "I'd like you to remain here for the night."
Maggie started back. Her hands fell to her sides and she blinked at him. "Stay here?"
He chuckled. "Is that so distasteful to you?"
Maggie frowned. "No, but I'd like to know why you want me to stay here."
His eyes flickered to her. Her own widened as Maggie beheld the deep longing in their depths. He clasped her upper arms and lowered his voice to a soft, sensual whisper. "I've never wanted a woman as badly as I want you. You're a fresh breeze for a man who's been trapped inside this musty old house for far too long."
His touch was hot. It melted some of her resolve, but Maggie squirmed from his grasp and stepped back. "But we hardly know each other."
He smiled. "Does it matter when two people feel as we do?"
He took a step towards her. Her back hit the mantel. His shadow fell over her. She felt her pulse quicken. Maggie gasped for breath. He set a hand against the mantel close beside her head and leaned down so their faces nearly touched.
His whispered words brushed over her cheek. "I know you feel it, too, this connection. Your heart beats with anticipation."
Maggie shuddered and turned her face away. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."
He chuckled. The vibrations sent waves of desire through her body. "But I think you do, and I think you want it as much as I."
He wrapped his arms gently around her. Maggie whipped her head around and he captured her lips in a passionate kiss. The connection was like an infusion of lust. Delicious heat swept over her body, and Maggie moaned into their kiss.
He pulled away and studied her face. His dazzlingly bright eyes appeared yellow in the light of the fire. He panted for breath. So did she. He brushed a loose hair from her face. Maggie closed her eyes and shivered.
"Beautiful," he whispered.
Maggie turned her face away and her hoarse reply sounded weak even to her ears. "W-we can't."
He pressed a soft kiss against the quivering flesh of her neck. "We will."
Maggie couldn't suppress the wild emotions that sank into her. His words, his voice, his gentle touch. They all combined to ignite a lust she'd never dreamed of. He captured her lips in another searing kiss. His hands roamed over her clothed body. Her coat fell to the floor and his fingers slipped beneath her loose shirt. Maggie groaned into their kiss as his warm fingers danced across her trembling flesh.
He broke their kiss and pressed soft nips down her neck. His hands deftly undid the top buttons of her shirt. Her swollen breasts peeked out from the parted cloth. His hot, wet mouth traveled down to the valley between her breasts. Maggie gasped and grasped his head as he nipped at her heaving mounds.
His hands unbuttoned her jeans. The pants slid easily over her hips and dropped into a heap around her feet. Maggie stepped out of her shoes and rubbed her hips against his. She could feel his thick, swollen need in the bulge of his thin pants. He grunted and pulled away to stare into her eyes. His lustful gaze trapped her in a sensual haze of pleasure. Maggie removed the last buttons on her shirt and parted the sides to reveal more of her body to his hungry eyes.
His lips curled back in a sly, crooked grin. He swept her into his arms and strode over to the bed. The silk sheets welcomed her as he lay her atop them and pinned her with his warm, tight body. His hands explored her body. Every crease, every muscle, every fold was found and touched. Maggie squirmed and groaned. Never before had she felt so alive, so wanted, so hungered for.
His fingers dipped into her underwear. Maggie jumped and her eyes widened when one of his fingers brushed against her sensitive bundle of nerves. Her body was awakened to a new, lustful sensation. It was a craving that overcame her shy nature and changed her very soul. He stoked within her a new her, a her that was a beast of a different character. This beast lusted for his touch and reveled in his attentions. It wanted him so badly it was willing to let him dominate them to appease the hunger that grew that grew inside us with every touch and kiss.
His finger slipped between her wet, hot folds and stroked her sensitive nub. Maggie clasped his upper arms and rocked her hips in time with his finger. Tension built inside of her, sweet, unbearable tension. She hardly noticed as he tore away his shirt and pants, leaving him naked over her. Her shirt, bra
, and underwear soon followed. Their bare, sweat-soaked skin glided over one another, muscle against soft, pliable flesh. His chest pressed against her hardened nipples and rubbed their peaks, sending thrills of pleasure through her hot body.
Her soft groans filled the room. He removed his finger and placed his thick, pulsing manhood against her folds. His eyes stared down at her with an intense, longing gaze that made her shudder.
His voice was deep and more beast than human. "Mine."
He thrust deep into her hot core. Maggie groaned as he stretched and filled her with his heated manhood. He pulled out and pushed back in, and every part of him stroked her quivering nerves. She allowed herself to slip into a haze of wonderful bliss. The world receded to where it was only him and her. Their hips rocked together to the slow rhythm of their sensual love-making. Their pants mingled into a chorus of delight that excited their passions. They were slowly, joyously consumed by their lust. Every penetration deepened their longing for one another.
A carnal desire replaced her soft haze. She longed for him to take her. She needed him to take her, to make her his as no other man had possessed her. She was his to control, to penetrate, and only he could fill the deep, aching longing that swelled up inside her. Only he could take her and penetrate her shy personality with his lustful nature.
The awakened beast inside her took control, and she reveled in the wildness that engulfed her. Maggie wrapped her legs around his hips and quickened their speed. He grunted and matched her movements thrust-for-thrust. Faster, in fact. His speed was incredible, and his sensual strength even more so.
Maggie sank into the lustful abyss that he offered her. Her moans echoed in the room. Her world was him and the sweet desires he stoked within her.
His grunts mingled with her mewing sounds. Their sensual love-making changed to a feral rut as he thrust harder and deeper into her. Maggie clung to him as his speed became too much for her to follow. Her body tensed as the pleasure swelled inside of her. Maggie panted and groaned. The tension became too much. She needed release. She needed satisfaction. She needed him.
"Yes. Oh god, yes," she moaned. Her soft, whispered words tingled his ear. "Take me long and hard. Take me all night long." He grunted and quickened his penetrations. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes as she reveled in the feel of him around her and inside of her. "Yes. Like that. Oh god, yes." Her wild lover growled and pushed deeper and harder. His pants echoed in her ears. Her body twitched and tensed. So close. She was so close. Her eyes widened. "Oh god! Take me! Make me yours!"
The tension burst. Maggie was swallowed in a wave of wonderful bliss. Her body convulsed with the pleasure. She arched her back and screamed his name again and again.
"Adrian! Adrian!"
The bliss faded away. Her strength gave out. She collapsed onto the silk covers. He thrust longer into her until he, too, achieved the heaven he'd given her. He stiffened for a few moments, and then fell onto the bed close beside her.
His muscled arms slipped around her and pulled her close to him. Maggie welcomed the snuggle. She was exhausted and the sweat on her body chilled her. His warmth was comforting, and before she could stop herself she had drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER 4