Page 4 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

Before she could figure out where to start, Ajax stepped close and pushed her shirt down over her arms and off. It fell to the floor. He reached around behind her to undo her bra. It too fell away.

For some inexplicable reason Erin didn’t feel self-conscious. Maybe it was because Ajax had already bared himself. He reached for the fastening at the side of her skirt and opened it, easing it down over her hips.

Now all she wore was the matching underwear. Silk and lace. Decadent.

Ajax looked down. ‘I like your choice in underwear.’

‘Thank you.’

Literally words she’d never have expected to be exchanged between them, when up to this evening any dialogue had been focused solely on the dense legalese of delicate contract negotiations.

‘May I?’

She wasn’t sure what he was asking until he was at her feet, looking up. Another revelation. Ajax Nikolau at her feet. She nodded dumbly.

He tugged the sides of her panties down over her hips and thighs until they were at her feet. She stepped out of them.

But Ajax didn’t stand up. He said, ‘Sit on the edge of the bed.’

Erin realised it was right behind her. She fell more than sat on the edge. Ajax put his hands on her knees, pushing them apart. Her heart was thumping so hard she thought it must be audible, but his gaze was fixed on her body, giving her an awareness of sensuality she’d never experienced before.

He stroked the back of his hand over her belly. Her muscles quivered.

‘Your skin is so pale...’

Erin felt breathless. ‘My parents were...are Irish... Or at least...you know...second or third generation.’

Ajax looked at her, a glint in his eye. ‘With a name like Murphy I never would have guessed.’

Her mouth almost fell open. He was joking with her! But now he was looking at her body again, moving between her legs, forcing them further apart. Cupping her breasts.

‘I used to fantasise about this during all those boring moments in the negotiations. You became a distraction.’

Erin struggled to get the words out, ‘You fantasised about...this...?’

He nodded. His thumbs were moving back and forth over her nipples and it was hard to focus on what he was saying—which was annoying, because what he was saying was...unbelievable.

‘I fantasised about what was under your prim suits. The silk shirts, the tight skirts... Do you have any idea how delectable your ass looked in those skirts?’

She shook her head. And then a memory flashed back. She’d been helping herself to some coffee during a break recently, and had bent down to pick up a fallen spoon. When she’d turned around she’d almost dropped her coffee cup. Ajax had been staring at her so broodingly she’d thought she’d done something wrong.

He leant forward now and placed his mouth over one nipple, sucking and then biting gently. Every cell in Erin’s body seemed to spasm at once with pleasure. Ajax put his hands around her back, holding her to him as he administered the same torture to the other breast, until they were throbbing peaks of exquisite pain/pleasure.

And then he pulled away. ‘Lie back.’

She did, almost relieved at the respite. But there was to be no respite.

He pushed her thighs apart and she felt his eyes on her. Then his breath feathered on her inner thigh, his lips glancing across her skin as he came closer and closer to where all her nerve-endings were tingling... His breath was hot, but not as hot as his mouth when he pressed his lips and tongue to the core of her body.

Erin had to bite down on her hand to stop screaming, even though she was pretty sure there was no one to hear them. The man was remorseless, exploring her with a thoroughness that made her whole body clench, as if she could possibly stave off the inevitable.

She couldn’t. It broke over her in an unstoppable wave. She had nowhere to hide. She’d never been so exposed, and yet she’d never felt more liberated. With her boyfriend, sex had felt self-conscious and a little laborious. Her orgasms hadn’t had the power to break her apart. Sex had never felt this earthy or raw.

She was barely aware of Ajax moving, doing something, before he moved her up the bed as effortlessly as if she was a boneless, pliant lump of flesh.

He was on his knees between her spread legs and she looked up to see him rolling protection onto his body. His very hard body... Erin’s inner muscles clenched in response.

He looked at her. ‘Are you okay?’

---