Forbidden Virgin Read online

  The minute Graham marched through the automatic doors, her heart skipped a beat. He’d replaced the stuffy suit from hours earlier with a long-sleeved white shirt, which would have seemed harmless but it outlined his impossibly broad shoulders and muscular biceps. She sucked in a breath, and her stomach stirred like her airplane snack would make an appearance. God. What if she were lucky enough to screw him? Would she even survive it?

  Kate blinked. When I sleep with him. She’d always wanted to excel at soccer even though a toddler had better skills than she did when she started. And she’d kept at it until she made it to the high school team and earned trophies. Graham would be a delicious trophy she’d most decidedly love to earn.

  Hormones bubbled hot in her bloodstream. She admired his wide chest, then slid her gaze down his dark slacks and shoes that didn’t scream work shoes. Graham always had a good sense of fashion for a straight man. He also could easily pass for a thirty-one-year-old if it weren’t for the few white strands blending with his thick brown hair.

  He found her, and halted for a moment. His navy blue eyes darkened to midnight black, and the contours of his handsome face tightened. Didn’t he like what she had picked? Insecurity poked at her, but she willed it away.

  “Kate,” he mouthed and she could read his lips from several feet away.

  She sashayed to him like a woman would to a date, with a slight swing at her hips and her eyes on his. Pretending to be a cool and collected femme fatale was far easier than ignoring the organic response her body darted at her every time she saw him. Her thighs were sticky with heat, and her clit throbbed at every step.

  “You look . . .” he said when she angled close enough to smell his woodsy scent. Everything about Graham screamed virility, power, and hotness. She always wondered why he’d never married all those years—yet couldn’t hide her happiness at his bachelorhood. Any married man would be out of her league; she’d never mess with bad karma.

  “Thank you,” she said. “Shall we go?”

  He nodded, and gestured for her to go ahead.

  Tension charged the drive to the restaurant. She kept bringing up current events and politics but he didn’t say much and acted like taking her out represented some obligation for him. Still, when they arrived at their destination, she smiled.

  The hostess at the upscale seafood restaurant ushered them to a nice table on the beach. They could have stayed indoors but maybe fate was on her side—this time—and presented her with a gorgeous full moon outside and the dreamy sound from waves hitting the shore.

  Tiki torches outlined the pathway, and crisp white linens adorned the beautifully set table. Maybe the location near the beach screamed cozy, but the number of glasses and cutlery hinted this was one of those fancy restaurants her father enjoyed visiting. Wait. Did he bring her here to impress her father? Or her? “I love this place. Do you come here often?”

  “I used to,” he said, looking away.

  “Is this where you bring your dates?” she asked, remembering her parents had mentioned some Amanda he’d dated on and off for a year.

  “It’s a nice place,” he said, and his gaze collided with hers.

  She winked at him, pretty sure she made him uncomfortable. “So I’m a date then.”

  “No. I wanted to bring you somewhere nice. Your family has always been so good to me,” he said, and she remembered how Dad mentioned he’d met Graham through a church program her family managed. Grandfather had taken a liking to Graham, a man with real flaws and from an unsheltered world—unlike Dad.

  “This is how I know this isn’t a date, Graham. You just told me the least sexy thing you would tell a woman.”

  His lips curled at the corner of his mouth. “I don’t think of you as a woman.”

  Not yet. “Strike three. Should I find a shrink before the night is over, or is my female confidence safe with you?” she said, adding a smile so he wouldn’t think she’d meant it.

  “Sorry,” he said. “You’re a very beautiful, vibrant young woman who would never go for a guy like me,” he added, and she imagined he meant because of his close relationship to her father and family. When they’d entered the restaurant, every woman who crossed his way gave him an appraising glance. Graham could moonlight as a male model for expensive perfume ads.

  He stared at her in silence. His eyes betrayed his speech for a moment and studied her in a way she wouldn’t peg for pure. She would have given anything to know what went on in his mind, but a man a good fifteen or twenty years his senior approached him from behind.

  She squared her shoulders and nodded at the balding gentleman whose suit jacket seemed a bit too formal for the environment.

  “Graham Davenport. I thought it could be you,” he said, and squeezed Graham’s shoulder.

  If the man surprised him, Graham didn’t show it. He turned to see him with a grin, stood up and shook his hand. “Mark Preston. How are you?”

  “I’m good. How about you and this lovely lady?” Mark said, and winked at her.

  “Mark, meet Kate Crawford, she’s a trainee at The Port,” Graham said, gesturing to her. “Kate, Mark is a—

  “Of course, I’ve heard of him,” she said, and surged to her feet to shake Mark’s hand. She’d discussed Mark Preston as an accomplished businessman in the East Coast who had certain quirks which often kept his opponents and associates on their toes. “Your book ‘Dealing with Success’ was one of the mandatory reads in my business class.”

  Mark Preston nodded. “Very good. No wonder you brought your new trainee to such a nice place.”

  “I wouldn’t do it any other way. She’s the daughter of a dear friend of mine. I need to keep my eye on her.”

  And hopefully his hands too. “Yes, he’s being very thoughtful. I’m thirsty for knowledge.”

  “Good. Why don’t you take her to my fundraiser party next week? This way she’ll see what it’s like when you have all sharks in one tank,” Mark said.

  “I’d love to,” she said. She could squeal if she wasn’t trying to cling to her composure. I’ve secured another date with Graham. Score.

  “Then it’s a deal.” He nodded, and told Graham, “See you then.”

  She sat in her seat, and studied Graham’s beautiful features as Mark left. Graham pulled at his collar, and she wondered what Graham wanted from the renowned businessman. “Relax, Graham. It’s just us now.”

  He frowned, and glanced around them as if to make sure no one else heard her.

  She leaned in, eyes searching his. “Wanna hear something funny? I think of you when I touch myself,” she said, and a thread of empowerment rolled down her back. She’d never said anything of the sort to any guy. But now she couldn’t not say it—she hated pretending and avoiding. How could she go to Switzerland and make a life for herself based on dishonesty? She wanted Graham, and by the time she embarked to Europe, she’d no longer be a virgin.

  His eyes reached his hairline. “What? No. You’re highly inappropriate, Kate. I should be an uncle-type figure to you.”

  Time to up my game. “Say that to my pussy,” she said, and for the first time she saw a shade of red across his cheeks. She’d just made the great Graham Davenport blush. She hoped it wouldn’t be the last time.

  “Hi. What would you like to drink?” the pretty Asian waitress asked, and Graham made a mental note to tip her fifty percent for the timely interruption.

  “A Mai Tai for me, please,” he said. He doubted nothing short of a whole bottle of vodka would make him forget the words he’d just heard from Kate’s sweet mouth. But at least it’d be a good distraction. When did Jacob’s younger daughter turn into a sex vixen?

  “Same for me,” Kate said.

  Graham gestured with his hand and told the waitress, “She’ll have a virgin one.”

  Good grief. Kate wasn’t even old enough to drink alcoholic beverages and she wanted to use sexual innuendos?

  Kate stuck out her tongue, and the waitress nodded and left them alone. “You’
re no fun, Graham Davenport. After all those rumors about you being quite the womanizer, it’s really disappointing you’re not trying to get me drunk and give me a good pounding.”

  Good pounding. Graham swallowed hard, but the stubborn lump continued throbbing in his throat. He skimmed their surroundings to make sure no one had heard the insanity. Thankfully, the people at other tables didn’t seem to pay attention to them, and a safe distance between tables guaranteed some privacy. Phew. “I hope you didn’t drink at your hotel room. Why else would you be saying all this nonsense?” How else could he explain her talking dirty?

  She looked at him square in the eye, and his gut clenched. Desire stirred inside of him, and he cursed himself for it. “Because I want you. I always have. And now there’s nothing standing in our way; I’m twenty and my family is miles away.” She spoke with the confidence of a much older woman.

  He coughed. His heart rate spiked so much he could hear the throb in his temple. All that time she’d wanted him too? When she’d tried to kiss him at the bonfire party he’d wondered if she acted like a typical brazen teenager. But now . . . he swallowed. Her boldness was real and age-proof. His cock hardened painfully against his boxers; thank God they weren’t standing.

  “You think you want me because I’m a novelty,” he said, ignoring the irony of an old dude being the new thing for her.

  “I disagree. You aren’t a novelty to me. Maybe you being with me would be new, but I’ve dreamed of it for a long time, Graham. Remember, I tried to kiss you once?”

  Time to end the game. “Kate, I’m flattered, but I can’t get involved with you.”

  She licked her kissable lips. “Why? Aren’t I your type of woman?”

  God. “Trust me, you’re every man with a beating heart’s type of woman. It just wouldn’t feel right. You’re my best friend’s daughter and he trusted me enough to ask me to help you professionally. So, if you have a problem with behaving the way you should, I’m going to have to cut this dinner short.” His tone left no room for negotiating.

  “Okay. Change of subject. I get it.” She opened the menu. “So. What’s good here?”

  Thank God. For the next couple of hours, they talked about everything. He asked her about her friends, her hobbies, her expectations as someone who would start a new academic life in Europe.

  She didn’t shy away from any question, and engaged in a smart and fruitful chat. Since the sexual innuendos had stopped, he relaxed a bit, enjoyed his drink and lobster. Also enjoyed spending time with her, truth be told. When he’d met Kate in the past, they rarely spent time together and now talking with her delighted him.

  He didn’t always like talking to people. During his troubled childhood and youth, alone time had equaled security and refuge. Then as he’d grown older, he’d preferred the solitude—never living in the same place for too long, and not making a ton of close friends. Jacob had been one of the few, the reason why he had to preserve the friendship. God, how would Jacob react if he knew of the things Kate had told him?

  “Is it okay if we take some pictures on the beach?” Kate asked after he paid the bill. “This place is so gorgeous.”

  “Sure. I mean, I don’t know how good they’ll be. It’s dark out there.”

  “The flash will take care of the darkness. C’mon. Can you resist the gorgeous moon?

  Resisting the moon would be easy. Resisting her, however . . . “Okay, fine. We can do this quickly,” he said. “One little stroll and that’s it.”

  She mocked him with a salute. “Yes, boss.”

  He stood and pulled her chair out for her, making an effort not to look down at her. She followed him on the pathway to the area of the beach where a few couples strolled. “This is great,” she said, snapping a couple of pictures with the iPhone she produced from her clutch. “C’mon,” she said, and removed her shoes, tilting her head to one side, indicating for them to keep walking.

  She took off, chuckling, and he caught up to her, quickly realizing they were considerably far from any other couples. Lights from restaurants and hotels lightened the way when the tiki path finished. “Thank you for taking me to dinner. This is great. If I weren’t wearing a dress, I’d totally go in the water.”

  “About your dress,” he said, maintaining a polite tone to keep any luscious images of her naked body at bay.

  “You don’t like it?” she asked, smoothing it with her hands.

  “It’s great. But starting tomorrow you need to dress more professionally. You’ll wear a uniform, but even when you’re not working I’d prefer if you dressed with more modesty.”

  “Why?”

  “Because otherwise you may get people distracted.” I will get distracted. Though to be fair, this wasn’t just about him—he couldn’t let her parade her hot body around and have his male employees gawk at her when they should be doing their jobs.

  She shifted her weight from one foot to another. “And it would be my fault?”

  Droplets of water from a more powerful wave splashed near her, and he pulled her away from the sand and behind a big rocky area. “No, of course it’s not your fault. I’m just giving you professional advice.”

  “You know I only wore this tonight for you,” she said and slipped into sexual energy again. “I wanted you to like it.”

  God. “Kate—”

  “Your pants say you like it,” she said, and erased the gap between them. He sucked in a breath, feeling oxygen evaporate from his brain and with it, any possibility of using his better judgment.

  He pushed her against the rock and groaned. She yelped, surprised, and he lowered his head and captured her lips. She linked her arms behind his neck, and he thrust his tongue into her mouth, the need for her sizzling through his body. He put his arms around the small of her back, and she squirmed against him.

  A kiss. Just a kiss to take the edge off, and that’d be it.

  “Graham,” she whimpered, her voice seductive, and his blood rushed through his veins, hot and thick.

  He nipped her upper lip, and a couple of sexy moans escaped her throat. His breath came in small pants, and he wanted nothing more than to thrust into her until his heart gave out.

  Her hands hovered over his chest, her palm plastering against his shirt. He kissed her harder, and she responded in tandem; her tongue meshing with his, her body teasing. He caught himself pulling her dress down until her breasts bounced free.

  He traced her neck with his tongue, pressed himself against her body. Slowly, he skimmed kisses down until her gorgeous breasts greeted him, and he caught one of them in his mouth. She threw her head back and moaned, touching his hair, encouraging him to keep going. Fuck. With his hand, he cupped her other breast, catching her nipple between two fingers. She kept bucking against him.

  He needed more—the idea of tasting her seduced him, and he acted on it, feeling the warmth of her skin seep through the fabric until he kneeled in front of her sex. He sniffed her scent of arousal before he pulled up the hem of her dress and faced her nakedness.

  His groin stirred. She had the most beautiful pussy he’d ever seen. A strip of light hair descended on the otherwise smooth sex. He kissed her snatch, and her thighs trembled. She was drenching wet. He moved the folds apart, and couldn’t wait any longer—the tip of his tongue outlined her flesh. God. He tasted her, reveling in the sweet essence. She bucked above him.

  “That’s right, baby. Fuck my mouth,” he hissed out.

  He open-mouth kissed her sweet pussy, and licked at her center, when he noticed an extra layer of skin. What? His blood cooled. She was a virgin. He lifted his hand and touched her hymen as if to make sure of his doom. Yup. Crap.

  “Don’t stop, please,” she said, maybe sensing his hesitation.

  Graham inhaled deeply. He wouldn’t fuck her, no way. Her first time had to be with someone she loved or meant a lot to her. She couldn’t lose her virginity to her dad’s friend at some random beach. No. Didn’t mean he couldn’t help her out.

  He re
moved his hand. One orgasm and that’d be it.

  Chapter 3

  Kate bit her lower lip. He found her clit, his tongue lapping at it as threads of pleasure built and burned inside her. She’d fooled around with boys before, but she’d never felt the jolts of climax riding her. She clamped her lips to keep from shouting for the whole beach to hear when he sucked her tender nub and a powerful orgasm spasmed throughout her body.

  “Wow,” she said, seconds or minutes later, she couldn’t tell. Her legs shook, and she leaned her back against the rock for support.

  Graham slowly emerged from in between her legs and pulled the hem of her dress down. He avoided looking at her, and she pulled up her dress to hide her breasts and recompose as small gasps still fled her lips.

  “Everything okay?” she asked him.

  He let out a long sigh, the hint of what was to come. “Far from it. You’re a virgin, Kate. And I almost took you right here like some savage.”

  I would have loved it. “It’s not a big deal, Graham. I want to have sex with you. Maybe I’m not super experienced but I’m a fast learner. I won’t let you down,” she said, insecurity creeping into her. Just because he rocked her world didn’t mean she would rock his. Maybe he wouldn’t want to teach her what he knew. She bit her inner cheek, anticipating his response.

  He snarled at her. “You really think that is the problem?” He ran his fingers through his hair. “You should save your virginity for a guy your age, someone you can build a future with.”

  She folded her arms. Her grandmother could have given her that advice and sadly, her mother wouldn’t be far behind. Growing up, they’d lectured her and her sister about making the right choice. “Is that what you did?”

  Graham blinked. “What? No.”

  “Then why, all of a sudden, am I a regency era lady?” she asked, hands perched at her waist. “Don’t be condescending to me.”

  He gazed at her, his eyes gleaming with an emotion she couldn’t quite pinpoint. “I just want what’s best for you.”