by Lisa Hughey
She giggled. Then wrapped one leg around his hips and yanked their bodies flush. His bare cock rubbed along her matching panties. Her body bowed at the caress. He trailed his fingers along the back of her thigh, feeling a surge of triumph when she shivered at the light touch.
In response, she squeezed his cock harder. “Shit. You need to stop that.”
Now she laughed. She tilted her head, so she could stare into his eyes. Her no-longer-tired blue eyes sparkled with mischief. “Make me.”
RJ picked her up again and tossed her on the bed. Sherry fell backwards and waited for him to join her. RJ flopped next to her and she rolled so she could cage him with her body.
She crouched over him on all fours. RJ reached for her bra clasp and freed her from the lace. Her nipples brushed against his thighs as she leaned over and sucked the tip of his cock into her mouth.
“Round three, here we come.” He tunneled his fingers into her hair, tugging it loose from her ponytail. The wispy strands feathered over his thighs as she bobbed on his cock, her mouth sucking him hard.
“This wasn’t what he’d intended but she’d taken over and was sucking his cock with abandon. RJ tightened his fingers and held her head as she hollowed out her cheeks.
“Damn.” RJ cupped her head in the palm of his hand. “You feel amazing.”
Sherry worked him with her mouth. She lifted her hands and her fingers gripped his wrist as if he were a lifeline. And in the heat of this moment, RJ realized he wanted to be her lifeline, the man she ran to when life’s turmoil got to be too much.
And whoa, where had that come from?
Today, during the ceremony, as he’d watched Penny and Diego, he’d realized he wanted what they had. Diego had committed to Penny in the most public manner. RJ didn’t want to keep hiding his relationship with Sherry.
He wanted to shout to the rafters that they were together.
He needed to show her that he wouldn’t abandon her. That he was there for her.
His cock swelled and all the emotion he had bottled inside erupted. His mind went blank as he freefalled into a heart stopping orgasm.
With his body sated and his decision settled, he fell into oblivion.
Wasn’t this just her luck?
RJ let out a soft snuffle. He’d crashed. So much for taking this final night to enjoy RJ and their physical relationship. The level of disappointment was unexpected. But she’d gone into this with wide-open eyes. So it was on her if she got hurt. He’d never promised her anything but a good time for the weekend.
It was her own damn fault for suddenly wanting more. Wanting that fragile connection to grow into a bond.
She’d seen the love between Diego and Penny, and she wanted that too. Wanted someone to love her like that. All consuming, all encompassing, accepting. For a hot fantasy moment, she’d wanted that with RJ. Probably just wedding fever that gripped everyone single at a wedding.
But as she dressed quietly, she couldn’t help but mourn the seed of hope that was squashed beneath a manly snore.
With one last yearning look, she quietly said goodbye. “It was…a pleasure,” she whispered.
Sherry closed the door to the cabin and headed out.
As she came down the steps, one of Diego’s friends from Boston stumbled past her. Courtney, with the crazy purple hair and smeared mascara, looked about as bad as Sherry felt.
“You okay?” Sherry asked.
“Sure.” Courtney stared at Sherry as if she wasn’t really seeing her. Tears tracked down her face in rivulets. “Don’t settle for being the dirty little secret.” Her words were slurred as she lurched away.
Sherry wasn’t sure if the woman was talking to her or to herself, but she couldn’t leave Courtney alone in the woods. “You sure you’re okay?”
“You heard what I said, right?” Courtney said.
Sherry nodded. Didn’t mean that it still wasn’t going to hurt. “Let me walk you to your cabin.”
“Sure. Thanks.” Courtney wiped at the tears on her face. “I’m never going to see you again, but just in case, please don’t ever tell anyone you saw me like this. I’m supposed to be a hard ass.”
Sherry couldn’t imagine that she’d ever see this woman again. “Done.”
“Every damn time I fall for his bullshit. You’d think after so many years I’d learn.” Courtney continued to mutter, “Slick, stupid, prep school bastard.”
Sherry followed Courtney until she was at the door to her cabin.
Courtney stumbled up the steps and fumbled with the door knob, and even knowing it was a bad idea, Sherry couldn’t help but ask. “Does it get any easier?”
“No. It hurts too much, and you’re worth more than that.” Courtney looked at her through bleary, pained eyes. “We both are.”
Chapter 14
Sunday morning
Yawning, Sherry trudged toward the dining hall in the cool morning air, dew sparkling on the wildflowers lining the path.
Sleep deprivation was not a good look for her. She’d gotten up a few minutes early to apply extra makeup. It was definitely one of those days where she would need her armor.
After back-to-back fourteen-hour-plus days, today was going to be short at only eight. She just had to help get breakfast on. And then, once the wedding guests left, she was on housekeeping duty again to get ready for the influx of the entire contingent of Ramos employees.
“You.” Zinnia marched up to her, far too energetic for how drunky-drunk she’d been last night.
“Good morning, Zinnia,” Sherry said pleasantly, not in the mood to get into it with RJ’s sister.
“You got what you wanted. Now leave my brother alone.”
Defeat slammed into Sherry. A. She hadn’t gotten what she wanted. B. Zinnia knew nothing about what she had gotten. “Sorry, not in the mood for riddles this morning. The Ramos crew knows how to party. And I’ve got a lot to do.”
Zinnia ignored her, obviously on a tear. “RJ needs someone who loves and wants him for him, not someone who only wants his money.”
Zinnia had no idea what Sherry wanted. Some days Sherry didn’t even know. “Why do you assume that’s what I want?”
“Isn’t it always?” Zinnia tossed her hair, eyes sparking with disdain.
All that outrage was hard to keep up with.
“I know you hooked up with RJ last year while you were still with London.”
That comment generated a bit of surprise. They had been very discreet.
“You’re done with London, now you’re after RJ.”
After him? He had been the one to pursue her. She’d tried to stay away from him and he’d kept at her, cajoling, entreating, until she’d given in. But Zinnia didn’t care about facts. Which only hammered home the fact that she and RJ had no future. His family would never accept her.
Zinnia shoved a piece of paper in Sherry’s face. “So take your money and get out.”
Sherry stared at it stupidly. It was a check. For a lot of money. He’d paid her for this weekend? Like she was some kind of whore.
Rage boiled inside her.
Zinnia propped her hands on her hips, looking ready to shoo Sherry away.
He’d paid her.
On the heels of that rage came pain. A deep, visceral hurt…that he’d assume that’s what she was after, just like everyone else assumed. And he couldn’t even be bothered to give it to her, instead he sent his sister to do his dirty work.
She’d thought maybe he’d wanted more than just sex from her. But he’d just crushed that hope. Her mother’s words always bore out.
Sherry folded the check in half, feeling brittle, old, and used-up. She couldn’t even bear to look at it. That check represented everything she’d worked hard over the past year to change about herself. And in two nights, she’d destroyed every bit of progress she thought she’d made. She tucked the paper inside her bra to keep it safe until she could deal with it.
“I knew that was what you wanted.” Zinnia’s tone was vicious
.
You have no idea what I want.
She needed to go talk with Heather Tully.
She turned around and headed toward the main lodge, not even acknowledging Zinnia Ramos. They were done.
Sherry knocked on the door to Heather’s office.
“Come on in,” Heather called.
“Hi.” Sherry stomach was tight, uneasy. “I need to talk to you for a minute.”
“Sure. Have a seat.”
“I know this is my last weekend working here to pay off the debt.”
Heather smiled at her, but Sherry couldn’t bring herself to smile back. “Thank you for helping out. I know you shouldn’t have been personally responsible.”
They’d all been stuck when the judge ruled that Sherry had to pay the Tullys in cash and work. “It’s okay. It’s been a good experience.” Until this weekend.
“So what’s up?”
“I was just given a check for the full amount that I originally owed you.” Sherry started to tremble. “If you’d prefer cash for the balance, since I know that just working here likely didn’t cover your outlay, then I’ll give it to you.”
“What will you do if I say yes?”
“Cash the check and give you the balance I couldn’t pay you.”
“What will you do if I say no?”
“Tear it up and send it back in pieces.”
“Who was the check from?” Heather asked gently.
“Raul Ramos, Jr.”
“Ah, I see.”
Did she? Because Sherry still wasn’t sure.
Heather continued, “I’m guessing there’s some personal history there.”
Sherry laughed harshly.
“What do you want to do?” Heather waited. “Because honestly, you’ve been a great employee so we’re square. But if you cash the check you’ll be able to get your savings back.”
“At what expense though?” Her pride. Her soul. Her heart. All three would be irrevocably damaged by taking that money.
“You want an envelope?”
Sherry didn’t even have to explain. She nodded.
Heather reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a legal envelope with the camp logo in the upper left hand corner. Then she handed Sherry a pen.
Sherry tore the check into tiny pieces, scooped them into the envelope and sealed it. She wrote RJ’s name on the front. “Is there any way that you could have this delivered to him?”
“I’ll take care of it.” Heather took the envelope. “What are you going to do next?”
She really didn’t know. “No idea.”
“You’ve been a wonderful addition to camp this summer. I’ve really appreciated your willingness to jump in whenever and wherever necessary.”
The praise felt good. Even if her heart was breaking. “Thanks.”
“Michael still has plenty of connections if you want to look for a corporate assistant job again.”
“Thanks.” She’d been thinking about what she was going to do after her stint at camp ran out. “But I’m done with the corporate world.”
“Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find us.”
Sherry tried to smile but it was a lot of effort.
“Are you okay?” Heather asked softly.
Shoulders back, chin up. “I will be.”
RJ woke up to an empty bed.
He rolled over in the wrecked sheets and smiled. Shit, he’d fallen asleep on her. He’d have to apologize. He’d find a way to make it up to her. Then smiled thinking about all the ways he could pay her back for everything. In bed.
Last night, he’d realized that he wanted to pursue this thing with Sherry. They had something special. A connection and harmony that went past a casual hookup.
She might take some convincing, because she could definitely be stubborn. But he was up to the task.
He palmed his morning erection. More than up to it.
Someone banged on his cabin door.
Too much to hope it was Sherry. He yanked on some shorts and tossed his clothes from last night into the corner. Bang. Bang. Bang.
He yanked open the door, still smiling.
His sister. “Zin, what’s up?”
“I took care of your problem.” She bounced in to his cabin.
RJ was getting bad feeling. “I don’t have a problem.”
“Not anymore.” She slapped her hands together. “I got rid of Sherry Washington for good.”
Foreboding rose within him. “What did you do?”
“Gave her the check from accounting.”
His mind went blank. Zinnia had given Sherry the reimbursement for the lawsuit. But….
His first thought was okay, good, now that wasn’t between them anymore. But…he didn’t think it would be that easy. And he’d wanted to explain to Sherry why he did it.
“How did she seem?”
“Sad. I thought she’d be happier about getting a big chunk of cash.” She dismissed it. “She probably was hoping to snag you not just money.”
That wasn’t what they’d talked about in the heated darkness, and she’d been fending for herself for a long time.
But she had taken the money. So maybe that was what she’d been after all along. Disappointment struck him.
“But it totally makes sense that she’d try to extort money.”
“You know if you stopped accusing her of crimes you’d realize she’s pretty awesome.”
“Huh, a lot you know. She’s working here to pay off a debt.”
“Yeah, Zin. I know,” RJ snarled. “A debt we bear a responsibility for.”
Zin went white. “What are you talking about?”
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Sherry? His hopeful heart leapt.
But when he opened the door, it wasn’t Sherry. Heather Tully? “Oh, uh, good morning.”
“I’ve got a delivery for you.” She didn’t smile.
Okay, but her vibe was way weird. “Is something wrong?”
“You tell me.” She slapped an envelope at his bare chest and turned to walk away.
RJ frowned at her and opened the envelope. Pieces of paper tumbled to the floor. He squatted down to pick them up and noticed they were pieces of a company check signed by him.
He wasn’t putting things together. “Why are you giving me pieces of a check?”
She whirled around. “You’re asking the wrong person.”
He looked down at the pieces again and spotted Sherry’s name. And he realized that maybe he should have had the check made out to the camp, not to Sherry personally, even though he knew she’d already paid the camp the funds she had. “The check was supposed to reimburse her for paying you. To fix everything.”
“Well then, you screwed up.”
“How did you get it?”
“I’m just the messenger.”
But RJ was getting a very bad feeling about the pieces. “If you didn’t tear up the check, then….”
Shit.
“Where is she?”
“Give me one reason why I should tell you?”
Zin peered over his shoulder. “She tore it up? But why?”
“You know why she was working here, Zin?” RJ was pissed, and what he needed to do was find Sherry. But right now his sister was an easy target. “Because you screwed up the contract and she had to pay the price.”
“But London Automotive—“
“Didn’t have her back,” RJ said. “You screwed up and the company took care of it. But Sherry had no one.”
She frowned.
“No one.” RJ slashed at the air. “And London Automotive screwed her. So she’s been working here all summer to pay off her debt.”
Zin’s face was disgruntled. “How was I supposed to know that?”
“Seriously? You didn’t even try to find out, you just judged her.” And the more he thought about it, the more he realized he needed to do something big to show her what she deserved.
Zin’s face reflected hurt. “She’s changed you.”<
br />
“No. She’s allowed me to be who I am.” He grabbed Heather’s hands. Squeezed. “Can you tell me where she is?”
Heather studied him for a minute. “Only if you promise not to screw this up too.”
“Zin. Make sure you get everyone to the breakfast area on time,” RJ demanded. “Even Diego.”
“He’s on his honeymoon!”
“I don’t care. We’ve got some things to discuss.”
She huffed.
“You aren’t serious.”
“This is a motherfucking company retreat and we’re going to have this morning’s round table. You’ve been shirking your company responsibilities all weekend.”
“But I was helping our cousin.”
“Not my problem.”
“Fine.”
He was going to fix this. Somehow.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
She should have taken the money. After all, she was never going to see RJ again, and the tens of thousands were a drop in the bucket to a guy like him.
She laughed bitterly. She supposed she could go back and tape the pieces together. She felt as though she was like that check, a patchwork of pieces that should make a whole but somehow didn’t fit together anymore.
Sherry stripped the sheets from the bed in one of the guest cabins and stuffed the dirty linens in the laundry bag.
Heather Tully had given her a pass on working for the last day of her indentured servitude. But Sherry had turned a new leaf and was determined to finish out her sentence. Even if the pain of staying when she knew RJ was close by and believed that giving her a check for her services was okay.
He’d clearly not listened to a thing she’d said in the past two days. He thought she was the same person she’d been last year. And why that hurt so much was a mystery. It was impossible to fall in love in two days.
Except if she were honest, she’d been daydreaming about their time together last year for fourteen months. So maybe she’d been a little bit in love with him ever since.
Chapter 15
RJ’s stomach churned.
As CEO he had to finish out his duties for the camp, because even though they’d had an impromptu wedding, the camp visit was still the company retreat.