by Amy McKinley
His brows scrunched together, and his fists clenched and unclenched at his side. “She sent me a ticket and said I had to hurry. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I owed you. Besides, you blocked me, remember?”
Heat infused my cheeks. “Right. Sorry about that.” Something else was going on. “Why do you think you owe me?”
“You did so much for me—all the tutoring. Without you, I wouldn’t have passed any of the math classes or done so well on the rest. If my grades had dropped, I could have lost my scholarship. And I didn’t want to lose you.”
“We’re friends. Of course, I would help you. I’ll still do that if you need anything. But this”—I motioned between us—“is never going to happen. We’re better as friends. Deep down, you know that too. You’ll find the person who’s right for you. The one who’s your personal cheerleader. I know it. And, Tommy, Celia’s a snake. Don’t ever listen to her or anyone like her again. Talk to me. Think before you act.”
A red stain spread across his wide face, and he hung his head. “I’ve never been very good at that.”
I laughed because it was so very true. Jumping off the roof, cliff diving, and racing down the insane road we called the widowmaker on our bikes, careening through intersections without thought. Yeah, we’d both done that, but he was always the instigator. I’d gone along because it pushed me even further out of my comfort zone. In a way, he’d been good for me. Not necessarily some of the dangerous parts, but the rest had been.
The murmurs around us filtered in, and I realized we needed to take this little scene elsewhere.
Tommy held out his hand to Stone with a sheepish half grin. “Sorry, man, but it was Addy. I couldn’t let anything happen to my girl.”
“She’s not your girl,” Stone growled. “She’s mine.”
“Well, maybe not in that sense, I guess.” Tommy dropped his hand when it became clear Stone wasn’t having anything to do with shaking his. Then his game face replaced the contrite one. “If you ever hurt her, I’ll be back.”
For that, I grinned. He was sweet, and I would always care about him, just not in any romantic capacity. There was no doubt in my mind he would find someone perfect.
I clapped my hands together, getting everyone’s attention. “So, we’re good now?”
It took another fifteen minutes until everyone was calm and secure that nothing else would happen. Vince and Margaret dismissed the guards they’d called before stepping into the elevator to try to help, promising we’d talk in the morning. The three of us had sat at a table outside overlooking the water, talking. It was good to clear the air and get our friendship back to where it was meant to be. Not only that, but I had to make sure Stone wouldn’t follow through with his threat to mess with Tommy’s career. Another half hour and we’d wrapped up our chat. Then Stone and I had made sure Tommy was on a water taxi back to catch the next flight home.
I leaned against Stone. He hadn’t stopped touching me the entire time, with his hand in mine or securely around my waist. There was a fierce determination that radiated from him. We stood on the shoreline in front of the hotel, as Tommy’s boat grew smaller in the distance.
Waves from the Adriatic Sea broke against the sand, not far from our feet. Inky darkness blanketed the horizon, broken only by the moonlight, and the soft glow of the hotel’s outdoor lamps fell short of where we stood. A warm breeze blew off the water, carrying with it tiny drops of sea spray.
“I thought I’d lost you.” Stone’s somber voice broke the peaceful silence. “Again.”
“What do you mean?” I lifted my head from where it rested against him, peering into his eyes. The wind ruffled his hair, and I brushed the fallen strands from his forehead.
“When he was in our room, I had this awful feeling.” His voice sounded haunted, pain clinging to the quietly spoken words. “It was like losing you all over again. I know that doesn’t make sense, but—”
“—No, it does.” I cupped the side of his jaw then slid my hand around to the back of his neck, toying with the thick hair at his nape.
A faint smile curved his mouth, and he closed some of the distance between us, dipping his head toward mine. A shiver of anticipation raced through me, and my knees threatened to buckle. I wanted to taste his lips and feel his arms around me.
“If he’d left with you... I can’t fully explain it, but it’s as if I’ve lived through that before, and I couldn’t let it happen. Not again.”
Waves lapped, filling the silence, and I shook my head, gaze locked on his possessive one. Never again. He pulled me closer. Pressed against him, I was incapable of uttering a word. His lips grazed over mine, and my eyelids closed. From the first moment we’d collided in front of the Verona hotel, I’d longed to feel his touch again.
It would never be enough.
He deepened the kiss, exploring, taking his time. My head spun. Desire raged through my body. I wanted him. When he broke the kiss, I sucked in a breath. While he kissed me, I hadn’t needed oxygen, just him.
“Come with me.” He tucked a long strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers trailing down my cheek and resting on the pulse that fluttered at the base. “Let’s go back to our room.”
When his hand slipped around my waist and he urged me forward, it took a few seconds until I came to my senses enough to hear the waves breaking against the shoreline. In a daze, I let him lead me from the moonlit beach, through the hotel, and finally to our suite.
The doors clicked shut behind us. I wet my lips. He followed the motion, his eyes hungry. We each took a half step forward, as if an invisible thread was strung taut between us. In a lightning-fast move, he drew me close, and his mouth devoured mine. I lost myself in his touch until he rested our foreheads together, our breaths mingling in hurried pants.
“You drive me crazy.” He trailed the pad of his thumb over my lower lip. “Every time you’re near, my body reacts, and I can’t stop thinking about you. I don’t want the separation between us if you manage one of my hotels—”
“But—” I tried to pull back, but he held me fast.
“Shh.” His gaze restlessly bounced over my face. “The best part of my day is when you’re in it.”
All resistance fled, and once more, I melted against him.
“If you go to one of my other hotels, I won’t get to see you, interact, just be with you day in and day out. I want this. Us. Work with me, because I want to date you, Adeline, and make this fake thing real.”
My heart rate sped up, and I let myself trust in us. It wasn’t about my career any longer. I’d have that regardless, working side by side with Stone. It was about being happy with the one person I was meant to be with. Finally, I understood what my mom tried to tell me about how she never regretted giving up modeling to be with my dad, to start a family. While a family wasn’t my goal, at least not anytime soon, working alongside this man and exploring what was between us was. “I want that too.”
“This changes things,” he growled. “We’re not going back to a platonic work relationship. To hell with the contract.”
With a half nod, I dropped all my shields. I didn’t want to fight this attraction anymore. “I want you.” Nothing past that mattered. I took a step back, and his arms slid away. With unhurried movements, I loosened my hair, so the weighty length fell around my shoulders and down my back. He reached out and fingered a strand then trailed his hand down my arm to grasp my hand in his.
The intricate wall paintings, fresco ceiling, and richly elegant furniture faded as Stone led me into our bedroom. Between his words and actions, everything was changing for the better. Our hands pulled apart as I turned to face him. He slid his arms out of his suit coat then draped it over the arm of the love seat. With his focus locked on me, he worked his tie free then the buttons of his shirt. Discarded, both joined the jacket as I stepped out of my wedges.
Broad shoulders flexed as he moved, and my pulse fluttered at the base of my neck. So sexy. Illuminated by moonlight, his taut
skin tempted, and my fingers twitched with the need to explore the well-defined contours.
He advanced, and I retreated, as dark promise swam in his eyes. The swoosh of silk from my dress stilled as we paused at the side of our king-sized bed, the champagne duvet pressing against the back of my thighs. Heat radiated off Stone as he crowded me, and I wound my arms around his waist, urging him closer. The touch of his hand at the hem of my dress hitched my breath. With excruciating slowness, his hand moved up the outer side of my thigh, the fabric bunching above his caress.
Beneath my fingers, the muscles in his back shifted and bulged as he lifted his other hand to cup the back of my neck, angling my head for his kiss. I melted against him as his lips brushed back and forth against mine.
Electricity sizzled through my body with his every caress. Soon, I would be a pile of smoking embers. Leashed strength rippled beneath my fingertips as he deepened the kiss, his tongue teasing then insistent.
I quivered with need. His mouth left my lips to trail kisses along my neck. My dress gathered at the tops of my thighs. Putty in his hands, I turned when he guided me. Lifting to my toes, his hips pressed against the curve of my ass, and I arched into him. The bite of his teeth where my neck met my shoulder sent a dizzying wave of desire, and I gasped.
I’d never felt like this with anyone before, and I would have swayed from the overwhelming sensations, but Stone’s hand shifted from my neck to my waist, holding me up. With his other hand, he worked my panties free, guiding them down my legs. My body hummed, hypersensitive to his every touch. “Hurry.” I couldn’t wait much longer. The buildup of desire I fought daily with his nearness boiled to the surface. His gentle caresses changed to urgent, in sync with my escalating need. I didn’t want to go slow. I wanted fast and furious.
“I want you now, Adeline.” He tugged the hair at my nape, tilting my head, so I met his burning gaze that held such promise over my shoulder. My knees went weak. “Later, I’ll explore every inch of you.”
I moaned at the image of this larger-than-life man doing things to me that I’d only fantasized about. “Yes.”
His forehead rested against my shoulder. I heard the slide of his zipper and then the crinkle of a wrapper. He controlled my body, and as he lifted his predatory gaze, my core exploded with heat, slicking the way for his entry.
My legs shook with anticipation. He pressed against my curves, and I pushed back, needing him to fill me. When his fingers traced my seam, I cried out, arching higher to meet him. A sense of urgency chased the feverish nerve pulses, and when he plunged inside, stretching me, I exploded around him in quivering convulsions.
One hand gripped the duvet and the other on his arm that acted like a steel band around my waist. “Adeline, you’re so beautiful.” The tug on my hair barely registered as he angled my head to accept his sizzling kiss.
My head swam as sensation after sensation crested in waves, following each powerful thrust. His corded muscles flexed and bulged against my back and beneath my fingertips. When he slid a hand down my stomach to dip between my folds, teasing the sensitive bundle of nerves, I cried out, my body again convulsing around his.
He moved from devouring my lips to my neck. He whispered my name, heightening the aftershocks of my orgasm. Then his moan vibrated against my skin, and as he chased my climax, following with his own.
In his embrace, I clung to him for strength, unsure if my legs would ever work again. A few seconds passed where neither of us was willing to move, the only sound our panting breaths slowly evening out. When he pulled out, I felt empty, wanting him all over again.
No words were necessary as he turned me around then helped me take off my dress. He drew the duvet back then lifted me into the bed. After tying off and throwing away the condom, he stripped out of the rest of his clothes shoved hastily down his thighs and then climbed in bed beside me.
In the glow of the moonlight from the still open windows, something clicked inside of me, aligning everything I could ever want in this one moment. This was what I wanted. And I knew, with Stone by my side, life would never be dull.
His mussed dark hair begged my fingers to run through it, and his charcoal eyes burned with intense emotion that must have mirrored in my lighter ones. He tugged my body against his. Enveloped in his embrace, I relaxed, tangling my legs with his. Content, we dozed.
I woke sometime in the middle of the night to his fingers tracing the shell of my ear as he tucked my messy hair behind it. A moan parted my lips. I was ready for round two, and with his unhurried touch, I knew he planned to deliver on the promise he’d made earlier. I stretched languidly before his body settled over mine, and I welcomed his weight.
Chapter 15
Stone
Vince and Margaret were called away in the middle of the night when their daughter went into labor. Therefore, Adeline and I had left for Verona after breakfast. I scheduled a tentative call with Vince for late afternoon, or early evening, to see where we were at with the hotel acquisition. I laced my fingers with Adeline’s, needing the reassurance of her touch after Tommy had almost taken her away. The emotions from that incident, merging with the vision I’d had, were an explosive mix I couldn’t shake.
The elevator dinged, and we exited to our suite. After dropping off the bags and a quick kiss, I headed out with the intent to see Adeline next in the rooms that functioned as our offices. There were things I had to handle—specifically, Celia.
“Mr. Crenshaw,” Steve flagged me down when I stepped off the elevator onto the second floor.
Sawdust coated his pants. He stood with arms full of paint cans, and a grim set to his mouth. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but I don’t want what happened to reflect badly on Delilah. She’s a hard worker and gets along with my guys and her team. Or most of them.”
“What’s the problem then?”
“The Tuscan tiles Delilah ordered were sent back.”
Banked anger simmered. “Let me guess, Celia had a hand in that?”
Steve nodded. “One of my guys saw her intercept the delivery.”
“Thanks, Steve.” I clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ll handle it.”
I found both women in one of the second-floor guest rooms. Ignoring Delilah and the other two members of the design team who were busy replicating the missing, or torn, sections of nineteenth-century wallpaper with careful application of paint. I walked straight to Celia. She was off to the side of the room, flipping through one of the sample books for the project.
“A word?” The vein in my neck pulsed as her expression went from indifferent to calculating when she zeroed in on me. I waved my hand toward the doorway. We needed to have this conversation where it wasn’t overheard.
As she passed, her arm brushed against me, and my fury over what she’d done went up another notch. Following behind her, I took in her sleek hair, designer clothes, and ridiculous heels. It was so obvious she wasn’t here to get any actual work completed. The rest of the team wore jeans and shirts with paint splatters on them from their efforts in replicating the wallpaper.
Once we were in the empty guest room, I shut the door with a resounding click. I turned to face her. She was too close. When she lifted a palm to rest it on my chest, I moved away, unable to stop my anger from erupting.
“Get your things and get out of my hotel. You no longer work for Stone Enterprises.”
Other than the slight flair to her pupils, she appeared unaffected. “You don’t mean that.” She spoke as if she was chastising a small child. “We both know Adeline isn’t good enough for you. Not to mention she’s engaged to that football player.”
I refused to involve myself in the bullshit she was spewing. It was never about family standing to me, nor would it ever be. “You put one of my employees at risk with your latest stunt.”
“Hardly.” She lifted a slim shoulder and let it fall.
“He tried to take her away against her will! That’s harm. Not to mention you disclosed private company info
rmation. We were in a meeting at the time, which you knew.”
“Nothing was confidential.”
“How did you know about it?”
She waved her hand, virtually dismissing my question.
“Celia,” I growled.
“I have access to her calendar.”
“That’s login and password protected.”
She shrugged. “Adeline had the email open with all the information for everyone to see. None of that will matter since she’s leaving. And I’m sure the happy couple will iron their misunderstanding out.”
“That isn’t happening.”
“They’re much more suited for one another with their backgrounds.” That calculating gleam intensified. “As for no longer working here, if you’re suggesting we move our relationship to the next level and my employment is a problem, I agree.”
“That’s not—” I growled.
“—There is a fundraiser coming up that will be important for us to attend. I’ll accept the invitation on our behalf.”
“I’ve informed your uncle you no longer work here. You’re fired, Celia.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, something I knew she rarely did, as it was too visually confrontational. I didn’t have the patience for this.
“I’m not going anywhere, Stone. You promised me we’d end up together, that we were perfect for each other.”
Goddamn it. “No, Celia. I did not. We had one, maybe two dates when we were younger, both of which my mother twisted my arm into. I never gave you the idea we would get married.”
“Our mothers—”
“—are friends. I have no control over their gossiping about what they hoped would happen. And I never gave you the impression anything further would come of us attending the obligated family functions.”
Yanking open the doors, I left her standing there. If I’d stayed and tried to reason with her, I wasn’t sure I could keep my voice to a reasonable level or stop myself from shaking some sense into her to in an attempt dislodge her particular brand of crazy.