If Sophie had thought the foyer of the hotel was overwhelming, then the suite Rourke’s keycard opened the door to was even more so. The lounge area alone was immense, with white leather couches and lush carpets, ornate white Regency furniture, and a fresco-painted ceiling edged with gold leaf. There was a fruit basket on the low glass coffee table, along with a bottle of champagne on ice and two glass flutes.
Several doors led off the main room to what looked to be bedrooms and en suite bathrooms. There was even a bar, full kitchen area, and dining room.
Rourke gave a grimace when he saw her wide-eyed expression. “The penthouse suite was all that was available at such short notice.”
She shrugged. “At least it isn’t the honeymoon suite.”
“It was already booked.” He grinned. “Maybe Logan and August are staying there?”
“Lord, I hope not.” The couple had been closemouthed about their honeymoon destination. “Can you imagine how awkward that would be?”
Rourke chuckled. “Logan doesn’t like hotels, and I’m pretty sure, wherever they are, it’s somewhere he and August don’t have to wear any clothes for two weeks.”
Sophie hoped he was right. There would already be speculation in the Steele family about Rourke and Sophie having left the wedding together without adding to that curiosity by Logan reporting he had seen Sophie and Rourke together in the Caribbean.
Rourke picked up their bags from where the porter had left them inside the entrance hall. “So, do you want a sea view or one of the extensive gardens at the back of the hotel?”
“Sea, please.” Sophie trailed unenthusiastically behind him down the hallway.
This really was a dream destination for lovers: beautiful unspoiled beaches, a wonderfully clear blue sea, fantastic weather, gorgeous hotels and restaurants, and the people they had met so far were friendly and welcoming.
Accompanied by Rourke, it should have been perfect.
Instead, Sophie felt as if she had a heavy and ominous weight pressing down on her shoulders. She knew that weight had a name too, and it was Stephen Hammond, her own father.
“Here we go.” Rourke hoisted their two suitcases up onto the stand at the bottom of the king-size bed. “We can unpack now, or, as we’re six hours behind UK time and you haven’t eaten since breakfast on the plane all those hours ago, we could go in search of some lunch for you?”
Sophie was a little concerned about the “we” in that statement, even more so when Rourke unzipped his bag before hanging up several items, one of them a suit, in the walk-in closet.
Implying Rourke had assumed, after their intimacy and sharing a bed on the plane earlier, they were going to share a bedroom at this hotel too?
How did Sophie feel about that?
Ordinarily, if this had been the ideal holiday destination and she and Rourke really were lovers, she would have been ecstatic. Instead… “I would prefer to go and find my father.”
Sophie was still having trouble acclimatizing to the fact her father had not only stolen millions of pounds from his employer but he had then fled the country, leaving the unsuspecting Sophie vulnerable to Tillman’s wrath. If her mother were still alive, Sophie knew she would be horrified that her husband’s actions had placed their daughter in danger.
But perhaps if her mother were still alive, this wouldn’t have happened? Her mother had always been the strong partner in the marriage.
Except her father had worked for Zachary Tillman for fifteen years, twelve of them before Sophie’s mother died. Had Brenda known her husband was laundering money for his employer?
Only Sophie’s father could give her the answers to those questions. Answers Sophie wanted sooner rather than later.
Rourke watched the emotions flickering across Sophie’s expressive face. He didn’t know exactly what her thoughts were, but he could guess. Her father was now within touching distance and Sophie wanted to reach out and touch him now.
“You need to eat—”
“As soon as I’ve changed into something cooler, what I need is to go downstairs, find my father, and put an end to the uncertainty of this situation,” Sophie bit out with determination.
From what Haydn had managed to find out about Hammond’s routine for the past week, the older man and his female companion spent most days on the beach, sunning themselves and drinking cocktails. Rourke had every reason to believe that was where they would be today too.
Sophie crossed the bedroom to pick up her shoulder bag. “I’ll take the bedroom next to this one.” She disappeared out the door.
Leaving Rourke to wonder if the two of them were ever going to be on the same page in regard to their relationship.
He had spent the past two years fighting against there being a relationship.
Sophie had spent at least the same amount of time keeping him at a friendly arm’s length.
But the whole myth of there only being friendship between them had exploded into the atmosphere the moment Rourke saw another man’s hands on Sophie.
The past forty-eight hours since then had been a roller coaster of emotions and physical pleasure, for both of them.
As such, they were not taking even one step toward Sophie putting Rourke back into a box labelled “friend and work colleague,” and not necessarily in that order.
He picked up his own bag and strode out of the room and into the bedroom next door. Sophie gave a startled squeak as he crossed the room and threw his bag on the stand next to hers before turning to face her. Which was when he realized the reason for her squeak hadn’t been because he’d entered the bedroom, but because she was in the process of changing her clothes.
She’d already removed the fitted jeans to reveal white lace panties that cupped her mound, and she was holding her T-shirt up in front of her to partially conceal breasts lovingly presenting her rose-colored nipples in a matching white lace bra.
Rourke’s cock engorged so quickly, he felt slightly light-headed from the rush of blood going south. “I’m not letting you out of my sight while we’re here,” he bit out. “I warned you, where you go, I’m going too. Which also means we’re sleeping in the same bed in the same bedroom tonight,” he announced, arms folded across his chest in challenge.
A frown appeared between her eyes. “I don’t understand…”
“I thought I was pretty succinct earlier, but let me make it clearer still.” He crossed the bedroom to stand in front of her, holding her gaze as he gently removed the T-shirt from her slowly unclenching fingers.
Her chin rose defensively once she stood in front of him wearing only those delicate lace panties and bra.
“I’m not one of the boys you’re used to going out with, Sophie. I’m a man, and I don’t play games.” Rourke spoke softly in the hope of his statement sounding less aggressive than the tension he was feeling. “Our relationship has moved to a different level over the past couple of days, and I’m damned if I’m taking a step back by having the two of us sleeping in separate bedrooms. You might as well know now, I also have every intention of fucking you into the mattress tonight and then rolling you over and starting again.”
A blush crept up into Sophie’s cheeks, and she stared at him for several long seconds. She licked her lips before replying. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay,” she confirmed.
Rourke eyed her warily. “Where did the argumentative Sophie go that I’ve grown so used to?”
Grown so used to and love. Sophie finished the saying in her head, but knew love wasn’t something Rourke did. That being the case, she would take what she could get. Which was, apparently, having Rourke pound her into the mattress all night long. Sleep was overrated anyway.
“She’s gone on holiday.” Sophie lifted her arms and curved them about his neck. “Could I have a small taster now to see me through until tonight?”
Rourke growled. “You can have the whole fucking meal.” His arms moved about her waist, and he slowly lifted her until her lips were level with his. “I want you now too, Sophie.” He pressed his denim-covered cock against her lace-covered mound. “Can I have you?”
Her gaze steadily met his. “Yes. But…” Her teasing tone resulted in another scowl marring Rourke’s brow. “That doesn’t mean I’m not expecting you to fuck me into the mattress all night too.” She grinned at him.
Rourke threw back his head and laughed. “I seem to have released a monster!”
Sophie lifted her legs and wound them about his waist, murmuring her encouragement as his hands moved down to cup beneath the cheeks of her bottom. “Take me to bed, Rourke,” she encouraged huskily.
“And your father?”
She grimaced. “I doubt he’s going anywhere for a couple of hours, so the situation with him can wait.” She completely dismissed her earlier urgency. This, being with Rourke, was so much more important.
“A couple of hours?” Rourke echoed gruffly as he kissed his way down the creamy length of her throat. “I hope I can live up to your expectations.”
She chuckled. “I have every confidence in you, and rumor has it, you’re more than up to the task,” she added dryly.
His brows were raised when he lifted his head to look at her. “Rumor?”
She eyed him quizzically. “Several of your discarded women came to Steele Protectors during the first year I worked for you. All with the obvious intention of trying to persuade you into seeing them again.” She shrugged. “A couple of them, before one of your brothers politely asked them to leave, also happened to mention that you were their best lover ever.”
Rourke scowled his displeasure. He hadn’t known about those women’s visits to the Steele Protectors offices, let alone their comments. No wonder Sophie had kept him at a distance for so long.
“I deeply regret you had to hear any of that. It hasn’t happened recently though, has it?” He didn’t see how it could have after his two years of celibacy.
She gave the question some thought. “Not for a couple of years, no.”
He nodded his satisfaction. “I hate clinging women—I wasn’t referring to you!” he protested, his hands tightening on her bottom as she began to unwind her legs from about his waist. “You’re the least clingy woman I’ve ever met.” He continued to frown. “In fact, a little more clinging on your part would do wonders for my ego.”
She snorted a laugh. “Your ego doesn’t need any stroking!”
Rourke decided not to take offense at the accusation. Only time and a lot of lovemaking on his part would convince Sophie of the seriousness of his intentions.
Instead, he carried her over to the bed and laid her carefully on top of the covers before kneeling between her parted thighs. He leaned forward, his cock perfectly aligned with the crease of her mound he could see against her panties as he used the strength of his arms to hold his torso from crushing down on her. “You’re beautiful, Sophie.” His voice was husky. “Absolutely beautiful, both inside and out.” He held her gaze as he lowered his head, lids closing when his lips claimed hers.
Rourke rolled until he was lying beside her, one of his hands entangled in the thickness of her hair as he took his time exploring and claiming every hot and sensual inch of Sophie’s mouth. She tasted amazing. The toothpaste from the bathroom on the plane barely disguised the natural sweet elixir Rourke had realized these past few days was purely Sophie.
An elixir he was fast becoming addicted to.
In between their heated kisses, Rourke removed her bra and panties so that his hands and lips could explore every inch of her silken flesh, from her throat to her invitingly parted thighs. His cock swelled and throbbed with each taste of that delicious flesh.
Which was when Rourke realized he was wearing far too many clothes and his jeans were about to cut off the blood supply to his still-expanding cock.
He removed a condom from his wallet and placed it on the bedside cabinet. His gaze once again held Sophie’s as he moved up to kneel beside her and remove his polo shirt before unfastening his jeans and pushing them down his thighs. He breathed a sigh of relief. The material had definitely been restricting the blood flow to his massively engorged cock.
“Let me.” Sophie moved up to push lightly against his chest until he was the one lying on his back on the bed and she was the one kneeling as she helped him off with his jeans and boxers. She chewed on her bottom lip for several seconds once he was completely naked. “You’re beautiful too, Rourke. Like a perfect sculpture come to life,” she murmured, trailing her fingers down his muscular chest and abdomen, along that defined vee of muscles that centered on his aroused cock surrounded at the base by dark curls.
Pre-cum leaked from the bulbous tip and smeared across his abdomen. But not for long, as Sophie bent at the waist and took that mushroomed top fully into the heat of her mouth and sucked him to the back of her throat.
Rourke enjoyed the intimacy of having Sophie once again suck his cock. She also caressed the inside of his thighs and then his balls and taint, her fingertip pressing against the dark rosette behind. Rourke endured the intimacy of those caresses for as long as he could without spilling into her mouth.
Finally, he had to stop her, sliding his cock from between her lips, his hands on her waist as he moved her until she lay at his side. “You’ll be more comfortable in this position for your first time.” He quickly removed the condom from the packet and rolled it down his length before looking up at her. He voiced his concern at her continued silence. “Are you okay with it being me, Sophie?”
How embarrassing was it to be having this conversation in the middle of their lovemaking? Sophie inwardly damned her virginity. She should have got rid of it years ago. Any one of the guys she had dated during those two years of university would have happily divested her of it. Instead, she now had the bothersome thing between herself and an experienced man like Rourke, who had probably never bedded a virgin in his life. It was so embarrassing—
“Do you have any idea how privileged I feel to know I’m going to be your first lover?” Rourke softly interrupted her chastising thoughts.
She gave him a quick glance before looking away again. “I must seem incredible young and naive to you.”
“Youth has nothing to do with being a virgin. There’s nothing to say you won’t still be a virgin when you’re eighty.”
“God forbid!” she groaned.
“Don’t worry, that’s not going to happen.” Rourke chuckled softly before sobering. “Nor is your innocence naive.” His hands gently brushed the hair away from her face. “I wish I could be as untarnished and new for you,” he murmured wistfully.
Her smile was rueful. “Shouldn’t one of us know what they’re doing?”
He chuckled again. “You don’t seem to have needed any direction from me so far.”
She winced. “I might need a little assistance to be able to get that,” she looked at the thick length of his cock in the condom, “inside me.”
“We’re going to take our time,” Rourke assured. “I’m going to kiss you a lot more, caress you everywhere, use my fingers to enter and stretch you so that when I push my cock inside you, it might be a tight fit, but it won’t hurt you. Sound good?”
Sophie had never imagined that Rourke, of all people, would have so much patience with her virginity. The most she had hoped for was that he wouldn’t even notice breaching it if she didn’t cry out. But the sincerity in his expression as he waited for her answer told her that his patience and concern were very genuine.
She nodded. “It sounds very good.”
Sophie lost track of time completely as Rourke did exactly as he had said he would. Kissing her. Caressing her. One of his fingers slipping inside her, piercing her innocence, before it was joined by another and then another so that she felt stretched and filled to capacity.
It felt amazing to be filled by his cock long minutes later. “Feels so good,” she groaned, arching her spine so that she took him deeper still.
To Rourke, it was nothing short of perfection to be buried so deep inside Sophie, the tip of his latex-covered cock nudged her cervix with each slow thrust.
Sophie was perfection.
Beautiful, sensual, strong, and funny.
More importantly, she was his.
Rourke knew this wasn’t the right time to tell Sophie that. Or that he loved her. Mainly because he doubted, in the circumstances, she would believe him—stubbornness was also one of her less endearing attributes—but once they had this situation with her father under control, Rourke had every intention of claiming Sophie as his. Not just physically, but in every way he could think of. An engagement ring on her finger, quickly followed by a wedding band. He would let Sophie decide when she was ready to have kids. Rourke wanted lots and lots of them, all looking like and having the same strength of character as their gorgeous mother.
Which, Rourke accepted, considering his cynical thoughts at Logan and August’s wedding just days ago, was a definite three-sixty turnaround on his part. But this was Sophie, the woman he—
“Rourke…?”
He dismissed his thoughts for now in favor of lowering his head and kissing away the uncertainty in Sophie’s eyes and expression before he began to make love to her in earnest.
If it wasn’t the time to use words to tell her how he felt about her, then he intended to show her with his touch and his mouth.