Pregnant At Acosta's Demand. Maya Blake

of her emotions, had finally pressed home every warning her mother had relayed since she turned sixteen. A desperate part of her wished for that numbness now, yearned for a clap of thunder to deliver her from the ferocious lust threatening to swallow her whole.

      Because, staring into Ramon Acosta’s eyes, she didn’t think she was anywhere near numb. Anywhere near cured of her foolish crush.

      And now that he was free...

      Oh, God.

      She shook her head; the voice whispering that this was the worst idea she’d ever had grew into a scream. Swallowing, she slicked her tongue over her lower lip.

      His fingers convulsed in her hair and a strangled sound escaped his throat. About to utter the word that would free her from this madness, she dropped her gaze. His velvet-smooth lips were so close. And good heavens, she was so hungry for a taste.

      One. Just one.

      Then she would satisfy herself that he was no god, that the lofty status she’d afforded him in her mind was nothing more than dreams spun from loneliness and long-forgotten fairy tales.

      ‘Suki.’ Her name was a fierce, demanding whisper. A silken, alluring chain winding her closer.

      Her breasts grew heavy, the slick, damp place between her thighs clenching with a manic need she’d never experienced before.

      ‘Yes.’ The word poured from her in a swell of surrender.

      Ramon didn’t need further encouragement. With a rough exhalation, he tugged her closer to meet his descending mouth. A hot, demanding mouth that slanted over hers, fusing power and pleasure into her fired-up senses.

      His tongue stroked against her lips, tasting boldly, over and over before he demanded entrance. Entrance she gave with a shaky wonder at the thought that she was kissing Ramon Acosta. That wonder melted away in the next instance when he licked his way into her mouth.

      Sensation lashed her from head to toe, the onslaught eliciting helpless whimpers that started from deep within and were crushed between their melded lips. The knowledge that she was whimpering sent another bolt of shock through her. She’d been kissed before. Enough times to know that no one kiss was the same, that some were better than others.

      But nothing compared to the kiss Ramon was delivering now. Each slide of his tongue against hers, each bold nip of her swelling flesh rained sizzling delight on her, making her strain closer, silently pleading for more.

      When the need to breathe forced them apart, he only permitted a second, smoothing his thumb across her lips in a hungry caress. ‘Dios mio, you taste incredible,’ he growled before he took her mouth again, unbelievably deepening the kiss.

      The words freed her from a hold she wasn’t even aware of, the guttural utterance lending her enough feminine confidence to unfold her hands from the death grip on the seat. To raise one hand and settle it on his thigh.

      He tensed, hard muscles bunching beneath her hand. He tore his mouth from hers to spear her with a rabid look, the light in his eyes sending a thread of apprehension down her spine. Not the kind that made her fear for her safety. The kind that informed her he was stroking the edge of his sensual limits and was determined to take her down with him.

      She started to move her hand. He caught and trapped it against his heated flesh, his eyes flashing as he stared down at her. ‘You want to touch me, then touch me.’

      ‘Ramon...’

      He inhaled sharply. ‘I think this is the first time I’ve heard you say my name.’

      ‘I...what?’ It couldn’t be. She’d said it so many times...in her fantasies.

      The hold in her hair propelled her closer. ‘Say it again,’ he breathed against her lips.

      ‘Ramon,’ she whispered feverishly.

      A light tremble vibrated through him. Diving back down, he sealed his mouth to hers. The hand covering hers released her to slide up her arm, stopping every few inches to explore her bare skin. Halfway up, he changed course, his caress gliding over her hip to her waist to the underside of her breast. It stayed here, tantalisingly close to the needy weight that yearned to be touched, the nipples that screamed for attention.

      Her breath hitched as hunger ploughed through her. Beneath her hand, his thigh shifted, demanding her attention. She caressed him through the material of his expensive tailored trousers. Higher. To the enormous bulge behind his zipper. And froze at his tight, tormented groan.

      ‘No. Don’t stop, querida. Touch me,’ he commanded against her mouth.

      She smoothed her hand over him, tightened her fist against his virile girth. Thick, inflamed Spanish words spilled from his lips, bruising her mouth with their heat. When one ravenous hand cupped her breast, squeezed and tortured, she returned the words with needful moans. One lane of pleasure rolled into the other, delirium swelling high as he moulded and caressed and kissed.

      Suki wasn’t sure when he pushed her back against the leather upholstery or when he tugged her hips to the edge of the bench seat. Not sure when the side zip of her black wool dress was lowered or when he pushed up the hem. But at some point between one potent kiss and the next, he was on his knees between her thighs, his hands sliding up her legs, over the silk stockings she’d treated herself to in a mad moment of weakness last weekend. More fevered words spilled when he encountered their lace tops.

      His fingers traced over them, then trailed over her bare skin. A shudder raked her from head to toe. With one last forceful kiss, he raised his head.

      ‘I need to see you, Suki,’ he rasped, his voice barely recognisable. His hip flexed against her hold, the power of his erection thickening in her hand. ‘Touch you as you are touching me.’

      At the back of her mind a warning blazed. A kiss. This was supposed to be just a kiss.

      But already her head was moving in a nod, her blood thrilling to the new, unexpected turn the night had taken. There was no way what was happening between them would be sustainable beyond tonight. For one thing, she was too emotionally bruised, her instinct even now shocked at her behaviour. For another, her mother needed her.

      Lastly, Ramon divided his time between the many Acosta hotels and his homeland of Cuba. The likelihood of her seeing him again for a very long time, especially once Luis took over the New York flagship hotel, as he was being groomed for, would be low to nil.

      And despite the insanity of the sensations Ramon evoked in her now, she knew the shine would wear off sooner rather than later. So maybe she would allow more than just a kiss. Maybe, she would heed Luis’s words, and live a little. Just for tonight—

      The fingers tracing the outer edge of her satin and lace panties dragged her back to the exhilarating present. To the looming presence of the powerful man crouched over her.

      ‘I must be losing my touch if your mind chooses this moment to go for a wander. What were you thinking about?’ he demanded, his thumb sliding dangerously close to her sex.

      She shivered. ‘I...nothing.’

      He doubled the caress with a thumb on the other side. ‘Don’t lie to me, Suki. I’ve had enough of those in the last twenty-four hours. Were you thinking of another man?’ he sliced at her, his nostrils flaring with quiet fury. ‘While you lay ready and open for me, were you thinking of someone else? A boyfriend, perhaps?’

      Her eyes widened and she tried to scramble away. She didn’t succeed because he refused to let her go. ‘You think I’d be here, like this with you if I had a boyfriend?’

      ‘Answer the question, Suki,’ he challenged, his tone growing even more arctic.

      She shook her head. ‘No, I don’t have a boyfriend. If...you must know I was thinking of you.’

      The tension gripping him eased. His eyes gleamed. ‘What exactly were you thinking?’ he probed as his thumbs slid under the thin barrier and caressed her damp flesh.

      A