Bachelor Unclaimed Page 10

  Reaching what Ainsley figured had to be the laboratory, she leaned close and pressed her ear to the door. She didn’t hear a sound. What if this was the one night Dr. Chambers had decided not to work late and retired to bed already? If that was the case, she would certainly be in a fix.

  She drew in a deep breath thinking her wandering around in search of the doctor was madness and gave credence to just how desperate she was. Honestly, did she want her old job back that badly? She knew the answer to that one. It wasn’t that she wanted her job as much as she needed a life outside of Claxton. If she didn’t return to New York, then it would be someplace else because she doubted she would ever live again in her hometown.

  Her parents were super and had been understanding. They’d also given her the support she needed. However, like most parents, they longed for the day she would settle down and give them a grandchild. Since she was their one and only, that meant the task fell solely on her.

  Then there was the thought of starting over at another paper, working her way back up to the top. That was something she’d rather not do, and to ensure that she didn’t, all she needed was this story on Dr. Chambers.

  Breathing in deeply, she reached up and knocked softly on the door. When she didn’t get a response, she held her breath and knocked again. She let out a sigh of relief when she heard a somewhat muffled voice say, “Come in.”

  Knowing this was probably her one and only shot, she drew in another deep breath, opened the door and quickly stepped inside, firmly closing it shut behind her. The last thing she needed was for Winston to show up and ruin everything by snatching away her golden opportunity.

  She adjusted her eyes to the lack of light and glanced around. Surely the man wouldn’t be working in the dark. “Dr. Chambers,” she called out softly, not wanting to admit that being here was beginning to give her the creeps. Maybe she should have thought things through more before deciding to track down the man.

  Suddenly, the air surrounding her stilled and the next thing she knew she was shoved back against the door. She opened her mouth to scream when a husky voice asked, “What are you doing here?”

  Ainsley closed her mouth upon recognizing that voice and noticed how his hands had closed around her waist, holding her firmly against the door. She tried to ignore the prickling of awareness his touch elicited. “Why is it that you’re always manhandling me?” she snapped.

  “Maybe you should ask yourself why it is that you always put yourself in a position to be manhandled. Twice you’ve come to this island uninvited and now you’re someplace where you don’t belong. That only leads me to believe one thing.”

  Although she had a feeling he couldn’t see it, she slanted him a hostile look. “And what one thing is that?”

  “That you like my hands on you. Rough or easy.”

  His words pissed her off and abruptly she lifted her chin. “I don’t want your hands on me. I didn’t know you were here. I assumed I was meeting with Dr. Chambers.”

  She saw the whiteness of his teeth when he smiled. “So you deliberately disobeyed me.”

  Yes, she had and maybe she should feel some remorse for doing so, especially since he’d given her shelter for the night, but she didn’t. All she could think about was that he’d blown her one and only chance for that interview which had her seeing red. She stiffened her spine and squared her shoulders. “And what if I did?”

  “Then I’m going to make sure you pay.” And then he leaned in and took possession of her mouth.

  * * *

  The moment his tongue entered Ainsley’s mouth every single remnant of Winston’s control took a flying leap. Her taste combined with her scent was so overwhelming that he couldn’t help but gather her closer, hold her tighter and kiss her more deeply.

  She’d hesitated only for a quick second before kissing him back with just as much passion. That led him to believe he’d been right. She liked his hands on her and she’d been on the edge of losing control just like he had.

  Whether she ever admitted it or not, that first night had impacted them both. He had finally accepted it. Although he could understand the why of it, there was more to it than just the scent of her and how her aroma had remained in his nostrils or the way she felt in his arms or tasted on his tongue. There was a primitive male need to bed her again, as if she was his mate for—

  He tore his mouth from hers when he saw the crazy path his thoughts had begun to travel. He didn’t need to be fooled by any notion that this or any woman was meant for him. There was no reason to think she was different than Caroline.

  Breathing deeply, he stared down at her, looked into her eyes and felt all kinds of emotions while doing so. He couldn’t remember ever being so sexually aware of a woman. At that moment he was filled with an urge to strip her naked, touch her and taste her all over, make love to her while attempting to find that deep connection they’d shared the last time, a connection so profound his insides were smoldering. The one he couldn’t forget or shake off, no matter how hard he tried.

  She was as stubborn as he was and had proven that, like him, she went after whatever she wanted and refused to let anything stand in her way. They would continue to be at an impasse unless new guidelines were established since the old ones weren’t working.

  “My ultimatum that you have to sleep with me to get an interview with Dr. Chambers is off the table,” he leaned in to say against her moist lips. “You’ll get the interview with him tomorrow regardless. I give you my word.”

  Her pulse quickened. Had he just said she would get the interview with Dr. Chambers? And that the proposition he’d made and that she hadn’t agreed to was off the table? “What’s the catch, Winston?”

  He nibbled the corners of her mouth. “No catch,” he said in a low husky voice, lifting the hem of her blouse and sliding his hand over her skin, driven with a need to touch her.

  “And no more deals,” he added. With a flick of his wrist, he undid the front clasp to her bra and within seconds her breasts were freed. He cupped them in his hands, caressed the tight buds of her nipples with his fingertips and heard her moan his name. “Like I said, regardless of whether you sleep with me tonight or not, you’ll get the interview.”

  She drew in a deep breath, struggling to keep a level head, fully aware he was trying to seduce her and succeeding. “Can you make that kind of decision for Dr. Chambers?”

  “Yes, I can and I will.”

  She lifted a brow. “Why?”

  The corners of his mouth curved. “Because I’m hoping you enjoyed what we shared the last time and that you want to repeat it, for no other reason than because we want each other. No coercion on either of our parts. No game playing and no deals. Just total and complete satisfaction.”

  She hadn’t expected this. No game playing and no deals. Just total and complete satisfaction. If she was honest with herself, she would admit there was something about their night together that she couldn’t let go of. Something that had made her regret running out the next morning and had left her wondering how things would have been had she stayed.

  “I want you so much I ache,” he said in a voice that sounded surprisingly tender. He stepped closer and she could feel his hard erection throbbing against her stomach. “Are you willing to admit this desire between us is a mutual thing? And that you want me as much as I want you?” The velvety huskiness of his voice was intimate against her ear. His hot breath set off an erotic throbbing at the juncture of her thighs.

  He lifted his head and she stared at him for what seemed like a long moment, feeling the need for him seep into her pores and drench her insides. She was painfully aware he was staring back at her, daring her to deny the intense desire that flowed between them.

  Finally, when she couldn’t take any more of his mental seduction, she leaned close to him and whispered, “Yes, I’m willing to admit it. I want you.”

  Chapter 11

  That was all Winston needed to hear and quickly scooped up Ainsley into his arms
. He thought about carrying her to his bedroom on the other side of the house but knew he didn’t have the fortitude to make it that far.

  He immediately crossed the room to the cot and placed her on it, grateful it was large and sturdy enough to hold their combined weight. He began tearing out of his clothes and watched as she didn’t waste time getting out of hers. He leaned down to remove his shoes.

  “Winston?”

  He looked up at her, saw she was no longer getting undressed and suddenly a dreadful thought seeped into his mind that she had changed her mind. He drew in a deep, ragged breath when he was unable to read her thoughts. He swallowed the deep lump in his throat. “Yes?”

  “I want you to take off my clothes. I like it when you do it.”

  He straightened to his full height. The relief he felt was so intense every muscle in his body began shivering. “I’d be glad to do so, sweetheart.”

  Sweetheart?

  Where the hell had that come from? Terms of endearment were something he didn’t toss out lightly. To be honest he didn’t use them at all, not since Caroline. He used them all the time with her and she hadn’t deserved a single one.

  Erasing thoughts of Caroline from his mind, he kicked aside his shoes and strolled naked over to Ainsley. He didn’t speak, just maintained a visual contact that was so intense he could feel it in every part of his body. He wondered what she was thinking when she lifted her hips so he could tug the jeans down her legs. What consumed her mind as she stared deeply into his eyes with the same single-minded focus as he was staring into hers? He wondered if at any point in time he’d felt this much need for a woman, this much desire and knew that he hadn’t.

  When he had her undressed to just her panties, he stopped before removing her final piece of clothing and he continued to hold her gaze. The small smile that curved her lips was a total turn-on and he hadn’t known such a gesture could make him want her even more.

  He had to make love to her and he had to do it now. Hard. Raw. They would deal with finesse the next time. But at that moment he had to get inside her. Take her with the intensity he felt in every part of his body.

  He quivered when his fingers brushed her skin as he eased her panties down her legs. The electrical charge between them was so strong the air nearly sizzled. For one quick moment he had a feeling of possessiveness and his heart missed several beats at the absurdity of such a thought.

  Winston took a step back when she was completely naked and let his gaze roam all over her. His mind kept reiterating, if you’ve seen one female body, then you’ve seen them all. But he knew that was a lie, especially when it came to Ainsley St. James. She was in a class all by herself.

  Then there was the passion the two of them could stir. Always hot and steamy when they were of one accord and not on opposing sides. They both wanted this. No egos involved. No deals to be made any longer. The thought that he would be getting another night with her sent sensations rushing through him that were almost overwhelming.

  For a while there was silence between them as their gazes fused. Then he broke the contact to reach for his jeans and retrieve a condom out of the pocket. He was about to sheath himself when he glanced over at her and caught her watching him and it stirred something deep within him, made his groin tighten. He eased toward her, placed his knee on the cot and reached out to her and she took his hand and came to him willingly. He couldn’t let himself think just how much this moment meant to him, how he had dreamed about it happening again. How much he had wanted it.

  Taken away by those thoughts, he wasn’t aware of what Ainsley was about to do until he felt the wet tip of her tongue slide across his chest. He was one who believed in foreplay but wasn’t sure he had the control for it tonight. And when the path of her tongue went lower, toward his stomach, his entire groin clenched.

  “Ainsley...” He heard the sound of his own voice, a low growl of warning. He was too close to the edge and what she was doing could push him right over.

  She lifted her head and her gaze blazed into his. There was a hot and needy look in her eyes and at that moment he saw she was as close to the edge as he was. “I’d like to see you try and stop me,” she warned back.

  He couldn’t help the way his lips curved into a smile. This woman was different than any woman he’d ever met. She defied him at every turn, rarely saw eye to eye with him, refused to let him have his way and could hold her own against him and with him.

  “Then do whatever you want,” he murmured in a raw voice. The scent of her was doing a number on him, stroking his senses at the same time it was blinding his mind with heat and more heat. Intense. Torrid. Explosive.

  And when she dipped her mouth lower he knew he was about to lose it.

  * * *

  Ainsley had known she was in danger of losing control the moment Winston had brought her over to the cot. She throbbed, all the way to her womb. How could she want a man so much? Even more so than she had that first night. There was nothing about him she didn’t like...especially this, she thought as she came nearer his hard erection. What was there about it that made it like a magnet to her mouth, solace to her tongue? What was this desperation in her to taste him again?

  She eased him into her mouth and could actually hear herself groan in pleasure at the same time she noted how Winston’s breath rushed in through his teeth. That was all she recalled before her mouth went to work on him. She became lost in her own world. He seemed to grow bigger in her mouth and it seemed she made whatever adjustment was necessary to accommodate him.

  “Can’t take any more,” he moaned just seconds before he pulled out of her mouth and he tumbled her backward on the cot. Lifting her legs to his shoulders, he slid himself over her body and between her widened legs. At that moment she was all too conscious of him, too fully aware of all the sensations she was feeling and the need that was bubbling inside her. Her blood was roaring through her veins.

  And when he held tight to her hips and slid inside her, she cried out in blissful pleasure. And when he pressed even farther inside of her and began stroking her, moving in and out of her with slow yet thorough thrusts, she heard herself practically beg. “Winston...please.”

  He knew what she was asking for and quickened the pace, set the rhythm, pounding into her, driving deep into her. Then she felt the heat of his mouth on her skin, laving her while stroking her inside. Her response was wild as she lifted her hips off the cot, arching upward to meet him stroke for stroke.

  Then he leaned down and kissed her, took possession of her mouth as if he had every right to do so. And she knew at that moment they were both completely out of control. The more he pumped himself into her, the more she arched her body to take him deeper.

  Then something within her snapped and she screamed as her body was thrown into intense spasms. She heard him scream her name as well and his hold on her tightened as he began pounding into her with the speed of a jackhammer.

  Another orgasm ripped through her and she felt her body fragment into a thousand pieces. Her heart skipped several beats with the greed of his kiss and she returned them with a level of desire she couldn’t contain. Waves of ecstasy consumed her and the last thing she remembered was him pulling back from the kiss and whispering in a low, intimate growl, “You’re incredible.” And then adding with a throaty huskiness, “I want you again.”

  * * *

  Hours later Winston opened his eyes. The first thing he noted was a sleeping Ainsley stretched on top of him, her head coming to a rest beneath his jaw. The second thing he noticed through the high windows was that dawn had broken and the sun was out. The storm had passed.

  He closed his eyes as remnants of last night flashed through his mind. The way he had taken Ainsley on this cot, the number of times he’d done so. But the way he saw it, she’d taken him as well, without shame, without concern for finesse, but with a fierce need that had matched his own. Some sort of primitive indulgence and frantic excitement had enflamed their hunger for each other, compell
ed them to seek out and capture that level of incredible pleasure they could only experience with each other.

  He had driven her wild with passion and she had pushed him beyond the confines of any restraints. Never had he thrust so hard and deep within a woman. Never had a woman screamed his name the way she had, or arched her body like a bowstring to meet his repeated strokes.

  He didn’t want to think about how many condoms he’d gone through last night and was glad he’d had a half dozen or so stuffed in a small box under the cot. This was the first time he’d ever made love to a woman in here, but he’d prepared himself for Ainsley. After all, he believed in operating on the cautious side when handling his business. And last night he had definitely handled his business while allowing her a chance to handle hers. Their desire was mutual, their lust incredibly erotic, and in the end their satisfaction was off the charts.

  Now with a new day came promises that had to be kept. And as he watched her sleep peacefully atop him, he knew he would keep them and wondered how she would handle finding out he was Chambers. Would she care as long as she got a story? Yes, she would care and might even go so far as to think she’d been taken advantage of. That meant he had to do whatever was needed to make sure she didn’t feel that way. And why did he care exactly? Hell, he wasn’t sure, but he did.

  She shifted a little and his erection began throbbing and he knew the exact moment it reached its full potential and poked her in the stomach. Her eyes flickered opened and immediately connected with his. Her smile stretched across her beautiful lips. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning.” He then pulled on one of her spiral curls and brought her mouth down to his. Moments later when he finally released her mouth, he breathed softly against her moist lips and said, “You’re beautiful in the morning.”

  Her heart was racing; he could feel it where her chest was plastered to his. “Last night was wonderful,” he said, wanting to get it out there. There was no way he couldn’t when every fiber of his being felt revitalized.