Owned (Office Intrigue Book 8) by Nicole Edwards (bill gates book recommendations txt) 📕

Oh, Lord.

Although I’d been intimate with him, I’d yet to have the opportunity to truly admire him. Without any distractions, anyway. And this … this was a treat.

His cock was so thick, so long, and he was unabashedly erect. I thought about turning away shyly but forced myself to remain where I was. I refused to be the cowering schoolgirl who couldn’t handle the sight of a beautiful naked man. And he was beautiful. All that copper skin covering toned muscle and sinew. I wanted to touch and taste, to explore in a way I’d never wanted to before.

I was so transfixed by his beauty, it didn’t register that he was moving toward me, stepping into the pool, working his way closer.

“Braelyn…”

“Hmm?” I lifted my eyes to meet his again.

Talon dipped down into the water so he was closer to me, his hand coming up to my cheek, the water cooling my overheated skin. But the sensation was lost to a swarm of heat that engulfed me when he pulled me closer, his mouth meeting mine in the darkness. My nipples pebbled into near-painful points, my skin prickling with awareness. Being touched by him was unlike anything I’d ever known, and I wanted more.

I’d never felt such an intrinsic pull to someone as I did Talon. It was as though we were magnetized and I was drawn to him.

Words weren’t spoken as his mouth melded with mine. I gave myself over to it, freely taking what he was offering, giving as much in return. My hands roamed over sleek, smooth skin. He was so warm, so hard. And in the darkness, it was a feast for my sense of touch, heightened by the lack of light.

Talon was the one to break the kiss, pulling back and cupping my face. He stared down into my eyes, but he didn’t speak. I knew he could see the lust burning in my eyes. He could probably feel it because it made my skin sizzle, an electric current firing just beneath. Every nerve ending was alive, eager for him to explore.

Rather than lean in for another kiss, Talon dropped his hands. But he didn’t move away.

I giggled when he lifted me up out of the water, one strong arm behind my back, the other sliding beneath my knees. The shift was fluid, his strength impressive.

“Where are we going?” I asked breathlessly, staring up into his face as I curled my arm around his neck and held on.

“Somewhere private,” he said, the rich baritone sliding like silk over my senses.

My thoughts instantly shifted to our encounter in the shower. Specifically when he’d asked if I liked to be watched. At the time I’d agreed because it’d been erotic. Even now, I was curious as to whether or not I’d get a thrill from it. But privacy would work, too. Anything would work right now.

Talon didn’t leave the water, rather moving into the grotto, the waterfall shielding us from anyone who might be outside. Not that I cared. Not at that moment. The only thing I could focus on was his nearness, his bare skin against mine, the desire pulsing inside me, the ache I wanted him to assuage.

Never had I felt so sexy before. Talon had a way of bringing out my inner goddess, and I found I liked her. I liked how free I felt around him, as though my risqué thoughts were normal. A sexual awakening, if you would.

Inside the small cave, there were lights tucked into the stone, brightening the space, glittering in his dark eyes and allowing me to see the hard lines of his beautiful face.

Talon eased me back into the water by releasing my legs. No sooner was I on my feet again than his mouth was on mine. Then I was in his arms, pulled in tight, my breasts crushed to the hard wall of his chest. Every sense was heightened by his nearness. I ached in a way that was foreign but not unwelcome. This man brought out a side of me I’d thought was buried deep. A woman who sought the pleasure bestowed by the touch of a man who knew how to play her body so perfectly.

When my back met the smooth stone, I relaxed, giving myself over to his kiss, his touch.

This.

This was what had brought me down here tonight. The possibility of this man finding me.

Now that he was here, I wasn’t sure I ever wanted the night to end.

*

TALON

When I had stepped out onto the veranda, I hadn’t expected to see Braelyn down in the pool. At first, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me, tempting me with something I was desperately trying to resist.

In an effort to convince myself she was real, I had forgotten my intentions of going to bed in favor of moving closer. By the time I had approached the pool, I had realized she was definitely real. So fucking real. And so fucking beautiful, her long, lithe body moving sensually in the water as she swam alone, all that long, silky hair snaking out around her. Every so often, I would get a peek of her naked flesh beneath the surface as she moved by one of the underwater lights.

I hadn’t planned on joining her, rather sating my need by simply watching, admiring. When she invited me in, my resistance waned. I was tired of fighting this, tired of pretending I was exploring when the only thing I wanted was to claim this woman as mine. Once and for all.

I was not going to let this moment pass me by.

Now, as I held her, all that smooth, soft skin against mine, I felt like myself again. Back in control, eager, yet willing to take my time to explore. While the urge to dominate her was great, I managed to tamp it down. The only encounters we’d shared had been fast and furious. It was time I savored, for my benefit as