Layover

by Cassidy London

  Lost in the moment, I was shocked to feel a sudden, strong grip wrap around my forearm. For all his classiness in the looks department, he grunted like a caveman at me, “Come.” And with that, he began pulling me through the crowd. Barely having time to react, I followed tripping and stumbling as I went. I looked over my shoulder at my friends. Krista was giving me the thumbs up and Tanya was still sitting and staring; her mouth wide open in shock. I had talked about this guy so often over the years that she knew exactly who he was just as much as I did.

  He pulled me out of the club and on to the street, stopping abruptly next to the wall of the club. The cool night air, enveloped my heated body instantly giving me the chills. I felt myself back up into the bricked wall and leaned into it for support. He towered over me, forcing me to have nowhere to look but up and into his dark, storm filled eyes. I could smell him, a mix of cologne with a fresh, woodsy smell that was all male. And it was making my insides melt just as much as he had back when I was a teenager. Captain Ricci towered over me, his hands pushed into the bricks on either side of my head. “You work with Krista?” I nodded. “Your name is Ana?” I said nothing. “Is that your name?” For some reason, I just couldn’t say the truth. Millions of questions ran through my mind. Would he know me? Did he recognize me? Would he remember the kiss that had changed my life? Did he remember how he stood me up afterwards?

  It was all too much for my brain to handle in that moment. I needed more time and I wasn’t going to get it. So, I lied. “Yes, my name is Ana.”

  He stood back and rubbed one hand across his chin. “Okay…okay,” he mumbled as he nodded, yet his eyes continued to search mine for something more. It made me wonder if he was not confused for just a moment…

  There was only one way to find out. Normally I always let guys take the lead but this time something was different. I had been waiting a lifetime for this moment and I wasn’t going to lose out a second time. Without giving it another thought, I raised myself up on my toes, reached one hand around his neck and pulled his lips down into mine.

  An explosion of sensation immediately coursed through my body. He didn’t miss a beat. Pulling me into him, my breasts pushed up against his hard chest and I felt myself soften into his embrace. His tongue searched all corners of my mouth methodically, as if he had done it a million times before. His hands roamed my body, reaching, pulling and aggressively molding my curves into him. Then, arching me backwards, he kissed me deeper and deeper. My lips stung, deliciously sore from his assault. He eventually pulled back but only to drag his tongue down my throat. The growing heat between my legs was only enhanced by the feel of his rock-hard cock straining in his pants as he pushed up against me.

  Not since he had kissed me the first time, had I ever felt that way with anyone else.

  Gently he pulled back from my bee-stung lips but his arms never released me. “I’m staying at the Royal Park.”

  “Yeah, we are too,” I answered.

  “Come back with me. We can have a drink at the bar there. It’s more private than…here.” His head motioned back towards the club.

  There was never a doubt in my mind to say “no”.

  “Let me just text my friends first,” I mumbled. He nodded and stepped back to give me space. Fumbling in my purse, my hands shaking, I finally pulled out my phone and sent Tanya a quick text.

  Heading back to the hotel with him. Will be at the bar having drinks.

  My phone buzzed back immediately.

  OMG I can’t believe this is happening. Keep me posted.

  I smiled back at the screen as I threw my phone into the bottom of my purse and looked back up at a stunning Adonis-of–a-man, whose gaze seemed intent on devouring me, whole.

  “Let’s go,” I smiled sweetly, as I raised my hand to hail a cab.

  Chapter 9

  Tristano Ricci

  Royal Park Hotel –Tokyo

  The entire time we were in the cab, I remained a gentleman. But fuck, it was hard. I had to restrain myself from grabbing her and pulling her back into me. Her mouth tasted like the most decadent dessert; warm, soft and wet. And familiar. So, fucking familiar. After that kiss there was no doubt in my mind. I knew this woman. I knew I had tasted her before. The many notches on my belt did not mean I forgot the way a woman tasted. Whether or not she was going to tell me she knew me, remained to be seen.

  What I did know for sure was that our bodies responded to one another in a way that was almost magical. Her profile in the shadowed light of the cab, sent sparks flying in my head. But her name. Ana. She was trying to hide her name from me. She had hesitated. Prudence perhaps. I may have forgotten a few names here and there, but I never forgot how a woman tasted. I wondered what kind of game she was playing. Well, for the record I liked to play. Game on.

  I stole a glance at her as the cab pulled up to the hotel. Her eyes averted mine, her breathing was laboured. Whatever her game was, and whatever she wanted from me tonight, was crystal clear. I shook my head silently. Two in one night. Even my buddy JM didn’t have a track record like that. Yet as soon as the thought crossed my mind, I was disgusted with myself. She deserved better than that. I needed to slow things down. I was losing it.

  “Are you sure about that drink?” I ventured as we stepped out of the cab and I offered her my arm. Liquid pools of warmth stared back at me. Once again, I felt my control begin to spiral wildly out of control. What was happening to me? My palms began to sweat as my heart rate accelerated to a dangerous speed.

  “Absolutely,” the beauty staring up at me drawled. A twinkle of amusement flickered across her pupils, as she looked at me from beneath those thick eyelashes. She was definitely playing me and I didn’t care.

  I ushered her through the revolving door of the hotel, nodding to the doorman as we went. The wind blew across my face and my senses were once again thrown for a loop. I breathed in her scent, a mix of jasmine and vanilla, so deliciously enticing. A warmth radiated from her body making me steal a sideways glace. That’s when it hit me. Something about her profile beneath the hotel lights made it glaringly obvious. Holy shit. Now I knew for sure. It was HER. Adriana. I no longer questioned it. I was positive. I had stared at that stunning profile for hours from the side doorway of the flight school that summer. How the hell was this even possible? From the first second I had seen her, my body had reacted the same way it had all those years ago. How could this be that she was right here hanging on my arm? I must be fucking dreaming. That– or I did more than just drink tonight. The chances of finding that one girl who had occupied every dark, twisted fantasy I’ve ever had, was almost impossible. Yet here she was. And if she wasn’t Adriana, she might has well have been her long-lost twin sister.

  Our eyes locked for one brief moment as we made our way to the bar. I stiffened, feeling the bartender’s eyes bore into me, as I pulled up a stool for my new lady. Yes, I had just been here with Sophia only a few hours before– but God help him if he was planning on making a comment about it. I stole a moment to glare at him but he just smiled like it was the first time we had met. Thank goodness.

  “What can I get for you and the lady tonight, Sir?” These were his only words, as he casually swiveled a linen cloth inside a glass.

  “Whiskey on the rocks for me and…” I paused looking into her eyes “Another Umeshu Tonic?” I questioned. She nodded eagerly as I repeated the order to the bartender.

  “It will have to be my last one for the evening though,” she said quietly.

  I had to agree; in fact, I’d already had more than enough for a twenty-four-hour layover. “Same here.”

  “What time do you fly out tomorrow?” I casually asked, making polite conversation despite my desperate need to scoop her up and carry her back up to my room.

  “Uhm…10 p.m. local time.”

  Jesus this was crazy. After all this time, here we were halfway across the world on the same twenty-four hour layover together. Adriana had me twisted up back when she was only a teenager, but t
o have her now sitting in front of me–all woman…it was absolute torture. And that included the mental torture. She obviously knew who I was. Krista had announced my name loud and clear. Yet she was pretending she didn’t have a clue. Was it even possible that she truly didn’t? Had she forgotten me? Was everything that I had carried around all these years completely one sided? Impossible! Screamed the darkest corner of my mind. She shared a kiss with me back then, albeit a chaste one compared to the way I just devoured her outside the club. But still…it was impossible that she didn’t remember.

  Questions barreled through my mind but I had to control myself. She was not like the others. This was a woman who was on a different level. I would not allow myself to simply give in, to what my body craved. I needed to know more first.

  I sipped my drink quietly, giving her time to adjust and make the first move. She had kissed me first outside the club. She left the club willingly. And certainly, she knew better than to walk out of a club alone with a man she had just met. So why had she done it? The answer was easy, because she did remember me.

  The clock seemed to tick more slowly as we both drank in silence. Connected but silent. Her eyes were locked onto mine; that soft hazel practically holding me hostage with every look. I tried to gauge her body language but everything about her distracted me. I felt off balance– almost drugged. This was ridiculous. I’d never felt like this around a woman. In fact, I prided myself on my control and always being the one to lead every situation. Yet here was this delicate little flower, with all my power crumpled in the palm of her dainty little hand. I had no choice but to let her lead again.

  Chapter 10

  Adriana Acosta

  Royal Park Hotel –Tokyo

  Every moment, every decision, everything I had ever done in my life had led me to this moment. And now, after all this time, here he was. As cocky as ever, sitting on a barstool next to me in Tokyo.

  My friend Ava used to tease me, asking if the reason I’d become a flight attendant was in the hopes of one day running into him. At the time, I had scoffed at her words but now I found myself wondering if I had somehow willed the universe to give me this moment.

  His presence was addicting. His sheer size overpowered mine and made my knees weak as I looked up into his eyes. The taste of his lips and urgent way his tongue had searched my mouth was reminiscent of every single one of my fantasies that he starred in. Even the slightest touch of his hand made chills streak across my body and an instant, ache had formed between my legs. The question was… what was I going to do about it?

  He had given no indication that he had recognised me. Granted I was using the name Ana, but I had seen nothing in his eyes that questioned that. No. As much as I would have wanted him to scream my name, he clearly had no idea who I was.

  It definitely hurt my pride to know that he didn’t remember me; but being that he had been the one to stand me up all those years ago, it was hardly a surprise. After all, it had only been one kiss. My teenage brain had made that kiss into so much more than it ever really had been. The reality was that I was clouded by the romanticism of a memory that never truly existed. Fuck. If I kept this up, I’d never find a good man. I’d forever be chasing a fantasy. This was my opportunity. My opportunity to get this guy out of my system for good. I was going to have to jump.

  “Twenty-four hour layover for you too?” I asked nonchalantly. Mine was actually forty-eight but he didn’t need to know that. He only nodded, his dark eyes lasciviously roaming my body.

  “Well then, as we both need to sleep before we fly out tomorrow evening, you should probably show me that view you were talking about in the cab.” I tried to sound casual but hearing my own words reverberate back in my ears, I was mortified. He had never mentioned a view. I totally made that up. I sounded like the poster child for desperation. Fuck. So much for making this classy. Whatever, that’s what we were both here for anyway.

  “You’re very direct…Ana.” He seemed to pause on my name in a way that made me do a double take. “By the way, is that short for something else?” Tristan inquired politely, as he took my arm once again and led me to the elevators.

  Fuck it. Let’s see how this plays out.

  “Uh yeah actually, it’s short for Adriana,” I blurted out, regretting how reckless the alcohol had made me.

  “Adriana…” Tristan repeated, rolling his R’s in a way that reminded me of his Italian heritage. The way he said my name made me wet my panties. I’d never been this turned on in all my life. No wait–I had… and it was exactly ten years ago.

  The elevator doors closed behind us and for once since that brief moment outside the club, we were alone again. Each breath felt labored, and painfully tight in my chest. He wasted no time in sliding a hand around my waist and pulling me in, making my body crash into his. “Adriana,” he breathed again. Saying my name as if it was the most beautiful word he’d ever heard. I was losing all potential to think as another hand tilted my neck to the side and his mouth crashed down on the base of my neck. He sucked and nipped at my skin causing little sparks of delicious pain to dance down my chest. That familiar dull ache between my legs only intensified as my nipples brushed up against his chest hardening with every touch.

  A low guttural growl came from deep within him as his hands slid further down my body and cupped my ass. I wanted more, I needed to feel his skin on mine, this elevator dance was torturous. He wasted no time in sliding his hands beneath my skirt, and squeezed the bare cheeks of my ass, making me writhe beneath him.

  “Is this what you wanted tonight? Adriana?” His words cut through the heavy fog of desire that wrapped us both in its embrace.

  I found myself staring back into his eyes, unable to speak. I felt the elevator stop on his floor and he quickly pressed the button, halting it in place. He gave me a small shake and asked again this time. Repeating my name as if it tasted decadently sweet across his tongue. Still he gave no indication that he had recognized me, but only that he wanted inside me.

  “Yes Tristano, it’s all good. I already said it. Are you always this insistent about consent?” I was aiming to sound cool and casual but I really just sounded like an asshole. I hated the words as soon as they left my mouth. I hated him for having zero clue as to who I was, and I hated myself for wanting him despite it.

  His right eyebrow raised up and it said more than any words could. Yet, he swiftly nodded his head and ushered me out of the elevator. I had only taken two steps out before he surprised me by scooping me up with one arm and holding me against waist. He swooped me up onto his side lifting me off the floor, as he marched down the hall.

  My heart raced as he swiped his key card across the door handle and carried me inside. He set me down on ground and I took a second to adjust myself. My body was still shivering from his touch and as if he sensed how my body craved his. He brushed a hand up my arm to my shoulder and gently pushed me back into the wall. He smiled, a devastatingly handsome smile. All before holding me prisoner to his wet mouth as it licked its way down my neck and towards my chest. Pulling at my top, he lifted it above my breasts, releasing them from the tight material. I inhaled sharply, my breasts feeling some release despite still being restrained within the confines of my bra. He wasted no time in thumbing across my aching nipples making them diamond hard, pushing through the bra lace and aching for more. His strong hold on me was as captivating, as it was scary. The more he touched the more I wanted; the more I wanted him physically, the closer I could feel my emotions at the surface and it terrified me. I had to make sure I didn’t say something I would regret. After a decade of thinking and fantasizing about this man, getting caught up in the moment was more than my heart was willing to handle.

  An arm slipped around my back as he turned me to the side and arched me backwards. His tongue continued to lick down my stomach which was bare to the cold air. His touch made my eyes flutter open for just a second as a pair of the most beautiful black heels came into my view.

  “Did yo
u bring me a gift Tristan?” A woman’s sexy, sultry voice drawled in the dim room.

  I stumbled, he caught me or tried to– but I crashed to the floor in a split second.

  “What the fuck are you doing in my room Sophia?” His voice thundered across the room as his hand reached down to pick me up. Despite my embarrassment I let him.

  “Did you hurt yourself?” His concern was ridiculous considering the situation. I brushed off his hand, his touch suddenly so repugnant to me. I blinked back tears of embarrassment as the Marilyn Monroe look-alike that I had noticed at the bar hours ago, was now invading my perfect moment.

  “I knew if I waited long enough you’d return to me Tris,” Sophia continued. “Besides,” she continued, as her hand lazily trailed up my arm; her touch leaving me wide-eyed and frozen in place, “she’s kind of cute, in a simple way. I wouldn’t mind you both giving me what I need. Besides… I think you’d like to watch me play with her.”