The Tycoon Takes a Wife Read Online Free Page A

since his sun-bronzed face lowered toward hers.
    Before she could breathe, much less protest, his mouth covered hers. His eyes stayed open, which she realized must mean hers were open, too. Just like a year ago, she stared at his eyes, the kind of blue poets wrote about. His wild and fresh nature scent was the same sort evoked by a literary walk through Thoreau’s Walden.
    And just that fast, her lashes fluttered closed. She savored the taste of him on her lips, her tongue again. Her hands slid up to splay on his chest, hard muscles rippling under her fingers.
    Then unease niggled at the back of her brain, a sense of unrest. Something was off about this kiss. She remembered what it was like to be kissed by Jonah, and as nerve tingling as it felt to be pressed against him, to inhale the scent of him, this wasn’t right.
    She tried to gather her thoughts enough to think rationally rather than just languish in sensation. His broad hand moved along her waist, lightly, rhythmically.
    Totally in control.
    Where everyone could see.
    He was putting on a display for the partyers on the boat, damn him. Indignation, anger and a hint of hurt smoked through her veins, chasing away desire. She started to pull back then reconsidered. The damage was already done. Everyone at the party had seen them kiss. They would assume the worst. She might as well take advantage of the opportunity to surprise Jonah for a change. And yes, even to extract a little revenge for how he’d staged this whole encounter tonight to knock her off balance rather than simply notifying her through their attorneys.
    Eloisa slid her arms around his waist, not that anyone could see behind him. But what she was about to do wasn’t for public viewing anyway.
    It was all for Jonah.
     
    Eloisa grabbed his butt.
    Jonah blinked in surprise, her hand damn near searing through his pants. He started to pull away…then sensation steamrolled over him. This kiss wasn’t going the way he’d planned. He certainly hadn’t expected her to take control of the game he’d started.
    Now that she had? Time to turn the tables again.
    Gasps of surprise drifting on the wind from the boat, he cupped her neck and stroked his tongue along the seam of her lips, just once, but enough, if the hitch in her breathing was anything to judge by. Her body turned fluid as she pressed closer to him. Her hands skimmed up along his spine to his shoulders. Then she speared her fingers through his hair, sending his pulse spiking and placing his self-control on shaky ground.
    Without question, he wanted to take this encounterfurther, but not here. Not in public. And he knew if they moved to the limo, reason would pull her away again. So with more than a little regret, he ended the kiss. He’d made his point anyway.
    Jonah eased away from her, still keeping his hands looped behind her back in case she decided to bolt—or slap him. “We’ll finish this later, princess, when we don’t have an audience.”
    When he could take this to the natural finish his body demanded. And when she was totally consenting rather than merely acting on impulse. The kiss may have started as a staged way to make her family aware of their connection, but halfway in, he’d realized his instincts were dead-on.
    He couldn’t walk away without one last time in her bed.
    Her lips pursed tight as if holding back a retort, but her hands shook as she slid them from behind him to rest on his chest. He watched over her shoulder as a small group left the boat and started toward them on the boardwalk. A trio led the pack. Thanks to photos from an investigator, Jonah IDed the three right away. Her stepfather, Harry Taylor. Her half sister, Audrey Taylor. And Audrey’s fiancé, Joey.
    Eloisa leaned closer and whispered through tight teeth. “You are so going to pay for doing this.”
    “Shhh.” He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead, liking the taste of his revenge so far. His appetite for it—for her—only increased the longer