by Leela Ash
Her mouth tightened now again as she recalled how her hand had shook as she looked up in shock, her disbelieving eyes zeroing in on where her fiancé was calmly sipping the bowl of soup she had made for him.
“Who is Cindy Jacobs?” she had asked in a shrill voice she barely recognized as her own.
Andrew had paused, his hand arrested half-way to his mouth and then he had blithely informed her, his eyes turning hard as he obviously braced himself and said, “She’s the woman I love.”
Alexandra shut her eyes now in remembered pain as she recalled the strange tunneling sound she had heard after that. A part of her had been afraid she might even be having a small stroke at the time.
Andrew had simply glared down at her as he rose to his feet and announced he had been dying to tell her that he had had enough, but now was as good a time as any. Then before her shell-shocked eyes, he had marched into the bedroom, grabbed a small duffel bag, and was heading towards the door before she could so much as sneeze.
The worst part was that whenever she remembered that encounter, what stood out most in her mind’s eyes was the apparent disgust etched onto his features as he looked at her. The pain was still there, but she wished she could believe it when she told herself that he didn’t deserve her. Her weight had always been a sore subject for her and he had known exactly what button to press. At the same time she knew her own self-worth and she wanted to be with a man who saw her as beautiful. She knew that she had to believe it first though. As he had left he had actually had the balls and gall to say “And lose some weight!” Thankfully, in this one instance she did not regret her temper. Before she had a chance to stop it, she had slammed her fist into his nose before shutting the door in his face. What a dick, she thought now.
At the time, she had promptly dissolved into tears but he didn’t know that, so that was alright.
She had been so devastated that she had actually considered not going on the trip at all. Her best friend and partner, Claire Davies had practically shoved her out the door insisting that Beautiful Designs, their Interior design company, could survive without her for two weeks. Beautiful Designs was her pride and joy; through sheer grit and determination, the company had risen from being a tiny corner shop to a corporation responsible for at least two hundred employees with branches in three states. The best part was, they were still growing and if she had anything to say about it in the next ten years, it would become a mega-corporation. She was the CEO but sometimes, like today, she felt about as clueless as the janitor.
In hindsight, she realized he had actually been gradually moving out on her for a while which explained why he had needed no more than a second to stroll out with just one little duffel bag containing all his belongings.
Raw pain shredded her heart anew and she leaned her head against the headrest of her seat and let the tears flow freely, unchecked as the powerful plane continued to burst through the sky. With every second she was getting further away from what was, and closer to what could be, she realized. Maybe the trip would be good for her.
***
“Sí Señor,” the hotel Manager crooned, bowing so low it was a wonder his head didn’t touch his knees as he smiled up with sycophantic worship at the tall, powerfully built man in front of him.
Alexandra tried not to roll her eyes as she watched the pair. The tall man murmured something in what was obviously meant to be a low tone. Given his very deep baritone voice, however, it carried right to her. She noted disinterestedly that he was speaking Spanish and tried not to start tapping her foot in impatience as the Manager started opening drawers and flipping ledgers in a flurry of urgent movements.
Unable to bear the wait any longer, she said waspishly, “If you two are done with your bromance moment perhaps you would be so kind as to point me in the direction of a bar. Watching the pair of you is so painful I could certainly use a big, strong ─” her voice trailed off into silence as the large man turned to look at her.
All thoughts fled as she locked eyes with what had to be one of the most amazing specimens of human being she had ever laid eyes on. He had a tawny mane of windswept hair that scattered around his head in a most becoming and arresting manner. He also had the most captivating pair of dark, dark eyes she had ever seen. They were so dark they were almost black and so intense she could have sworn she could fall into them. His features were finely chiseled with a granite jaw, a long aristocratic nose, and a firm upper lip. His lower lip was surprisingly full. His shoulders had to be at least a mile wide. There was a quality about him, something that reminded her of a big jungle cat about to spring. His tuxedo spelled class and money and was so impeccably tailored and well-fitted on his large, slim frame that she knew it had to have been custom-made. Expertly, her eyes picked out the unique Dormeuil Vanquish II cut of his tux. The man was the last word in gorgeous and very wealthy by the look of things. That tux had to have cost something in the neighborhood of a hundred thousand dollars!
Alexandra tried not to grind her teeth as it occurred to her that sometimes God did give with both hands.
The man grinned lazily, his dark eyes gleaming down at her as he said, “Big, strong what? Cup of coffee, I hope. Not much chance of you getting much else here miss.”
Alexandra bristled at that. At twenty-eight, she was curvy and voluptuous with large breasts and broad hips, a smooth, unlined face and in her opinion, healthy strong arms. She’d always resented it though, and now was no exception, especially when he made it sound like she had been going to say ‘big strong man’. So she was not the most attractive woman in the world. That did not give a total stranger the right to comment on her looks.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” she began in a low, dark, warning tone “But I don’t like the insinuation.”
Amusement glinted in his eyes as he deliberately raked his eyes down her pretty gamine features. She had wide blue eyes; full blonde curls that made him think of his little nephews and their favorite cartoon character Goldilocks; she had full, pouty lips that invited a man to lean down and taste them, a pair of delectable-looking boobs the size of small throw-pillows, and delectable hips that just made him want to wrap his hands around them. She was a complete knockout in his eyes.
He felt his blood stir as it hadn’t done in a while and he immediately squelched the unexpected surge of desire; the last thing he needed right now was to be attracted to any female of the species.
With deliberate insolence, he gave her a measuring look that swept from the top of her blonde hair, down her tee-shirt, past her shorts, past miles and miles of smooth legs and down to her flip-flops. He needed desperately to put some distance between them, he decided. Besides it was fun to rile her up like this.
He said coolly, “Whatever you say.”
Then he turned around to accept the key to his Suite from the Manager’s outstretched hand.
“I hope you at least had the decency to give him a tiny room facing an alley,” she grumbled as she gave her details to the Manager.
The man gave her a wide-toothed grin, “Very funny, Miss.”
“I don’t hear anyone laughing,” she observed sarcastically.
“He owns half the hotels on this Island including this one. He can have any room he wants,” the man informed her as he returned her documents and key to her.
A flow of rapid Spanish had her looking towards the elevators in time to see a bell boy almost trip over his own feet in his haste to relieve the Spaniard of his briefcase. Alexandra rolled her eyes once more as she headed towards her room. With the reverence everyone was paying the stupid man, you would have thought he was the President of the United States!
Chapter Two
Alexandra Jordan was feeling blue for the umpteenth time in two short days; she was miserable, for want of a better word! She had been in Hawaii for just two days and she was ready to run for the hills.
The place was every bit as exotic as she had ever imagined, true, but it was also a tourist destination which meant that
everywhere she looked, people were in pairs. It was so disgusting, it was like freaking Noah’s Ark, she thought churlishly. Thank goodness that odious Spaniard had had the good sense to hide his face because with the mood she was in, if he so much as called her a child tonight, she would plant her fist in his face and leave it there to take root and grow!
“Would you like a refill?” the waiter asked, hovering solicitously at her elbow, with a faintly harassed expression on his otherwise bland face.
Alexandra shut her eyes; the man had been bending over backwards trying to please her all evening and she had not given him so much as one smile of appreciation! Nor had she even acknowledged his efforts with one word of gratitude. She was, she admitted to herself, becoming a bit of a ….well, a bitch.
“I’m sorry Tom,” she said kindly now, beaming at the waiter, her teeth flashing white in the dark and her cheeks dimpling cutely up at him. “I was a bit preoccupied just then. Please, do top off my wineglass,” she ordered mildly.
Tom grinned at her, mollified as he filled her glass to the very brim. When he made to take off though, she stopped him with a hand on his arm, “Hey Tom, leave the entire bottle behind please.”
“Uh, this is a very powerful wine ma’am. One of the finest yes, but a glass could put a grown man under and begging pardon ma’am you are no man. Just be careful. It is very potent.”
“Oh Tom, look how funny you are,” she laughed as she knocked back half her glass in one gulp.
She saw Tom’s eyes widen before he hastily turned and walked away, leaving the bottle behind.
Twenty minutes later, Alexandra blearily made her way to the elevators, stifling her laughter as she staggered on. The other guests gave her a wide berth. She pressed the buttons for her floor and slowly sank to the floor of the elevator to wait the ten or fifteen seconds. Too soon, the elevator bell dinged right before the doors opened and Alexandra staggered towards the door of her room, trying hard not to laugh at her clumsy movements.
Her key card wouldn’t work no matter how hard she slotted it into the opening. In frustration, she kicked the door; then winced as her foot bounced off solid oak. She had probably broken every last toe on that foot, she thought hazily.
Her confusion tripled as the door swung open from inside and the Spaniard filled the doorway, his eyes as hard as ice chips as he glared disbelievingly down at her.
“Well someone’s due for an Oscar,” Alexandra noted as she brushed past him and into the room.
“What?” he asked tautly, disbelief stamped onto his features at her sheer audacity.
“I should be miffed to find you here, but I’m just too wasted to scold you right now,” she slurred cheerfully as she slumped across the big, wide bed sitting right in the middle of the room.
“You should be miffed?” he repeated, his disbelief escalating.
But she didn’t answer; she had gone straight to sleep. Her only response was a soft snore.
Leandro Alarico growled to himself as his dark eyes strayed again and again to the fairy-like figure sprawled atop his bed. He had been trying to focus on work all day to no avail; his traitorous thoughts had kept drifting to the blonde-haired minx he had seen in reception the other day. And now, just when he had been about to give up and go out for a night on the town in order to try and get her out of his mind, the very same minx had incredibly appeared right at his door, falling down drunk! And as if it couldn’t get any worse, he had just confirmed that she was the Alexandra Jordan he had actually come to Hawaii to find.
The fates could be cruel, he decided, his gaze straying once more to the delectable curve of her bottom, which was revealed by the short hem of her gown which had ridden up as she slept. No woman had affected him as strongly as this one had in...well, no one ever had; and that was why he had been fully prepared to avoid her by relocating to any other one of his hotels for the duration of her stay. He didn’t even know much besides her name, but she was already a thorn in his flesh. He only had to close his eyes for a minute and her pretty gamine face swam beneath his eyes. She had the softest, fairest, smoothest skin he had ever seen on any human being and he felt his blood rush through his veins at an alarming rate as he looked down at her.
His arousal stirred and thickened beneath his pants as his dark eyes rested once more on that tantalizing expanse of bare flesh topped off by a scrap of red lace which promised to be the sexiest pair of panties he had ever laid eyes on. In two seconds flat, he was hard as a rock!
With a muttered oath, Leandro reached over and yanked the offending garment into place. What was he to do now? How had she even known where to find his suite of rooms?
She would certainly provide all those answers once she was awake, he decided grimly but he was not going to babysit her for God knows how long! He would give her two hours to sleep it off, he decided and then he would dunk her unwelcome ass in ice-cold water! That should wake her right up!
Besides, fair was fair; he needed to have a very cold shower right now, thanks to her.
***
Alexandra yawned as she slowly came awake. Her blue eyes scanned the room as she waited for familiarity to kick in, but there was nothing familiar about the big suite she found herself in. It was amazing, and positively reeked of wealth. The room looked to be about the size of a small golf course and was furnished in such opulence and understated luxury that her breath shifted into gasp mode.
The room was done in cream and gold tones and even from the bed, she could see that most of the gold that wasn’t painted onto the walls, was actually real gold. Had she died and gone to heaven? A headache intruded, informing her that she was very much on earth. People didn’t have hangovers in heaven, or did they?
Gingerly, she slid to her feet, trying not to let her jaw drop overly-much as she looked around, turning in a complete three- hundred and sixty degrees to see the room.
How had she gotten here? A hazy memory intruded she suddenly remembered the Spaniard god glaring down at her and looking very displeased. This had to be his room! Dear God, what had she done, she wondered wildly as bile rose in her throat. The door opened just then and Alexandra gulped as she saw six-feet, two inches of bad attitude standing in the doorway, glowering at her.
“Hi,” she croaked.
“Good thing you’re awake, Ms. Jordan. How’s your head?” he asked with surprising equanimity.
“I never told you my name,” she protested, her blue eyes wide in her face.
“Thomas did.”
“Thomas?”
“The hotel manager.”
“Oh?”
“Yes,” he said in a dangerously silky voice. Had he misjudged her, he wondered as he watched her through hooded eyes. What had she hoped to gain by showing up on his doorstep?
“How did I get here?” she asked suspiciously, as she looked back at the dark, brooding man staring quietly at her from across the room.
“You staggered to my door and shoved your way in last night; right before you invited yourself to my bed and proceeded to sprawl onto it, for all the world as though you owned it,” he informed her blithely.
“I don’t like your tone,” she told him frostily.
“Nor did I care much for your intrusion,” he told her in a tone that far exceeded hers in frostiness.
Silence reigned, and then she broke it with a terse, “What’s your name anyhow?”
His upper lip curled into a sneer as he looked contemptuously at her. Now she was going to pretend she didn’t know who he was? Really?
“Leandro Alarico, at your service, Senora,” he said giving her a mocking bow whilst watching her carefully.
Her expression didn’t change; she had obviously known who he was, he decided.
“Since you’re already here Senora and through no fault of yours of course perhaps we should play the hand we’ve been dealt by fate? The night is still young,” he finished silkily, walking towards her until he was so close that his hard chest almost rubbed against hers.
Alexandra’s throat closed up as she stared mutely at him. What? Was he asking her on a date?
Leandro dispassionately read the eager spark of interest in her eyes and with a strange speculative smile playing about his mouth; he said slowly, “Your lips have been driving me crazy all night.”
Before she could so much as draw breath, his head dropped, melding his firm, but surprisingly soft lips with hers. Passion flared, hot and unexpected, sending frissons of electricity coursing through Alexandra’s body and automatically she clung to him.
Her hands shook a little as she wrapped them around his neck, shoving her breasts harder against his chest.
Leandro’s large, warm hands pulled her tighter against his body, holding her firmly in place as he ground his arousal against her belly. His other hand traced her soft curves. Heat rose, fierce and wild and Leandro thrust his tongue boldly into her warm, plaint mouth, reveling in the sensations coursing through his veins.
He slowly reined in his passion, reminding himself fiercely that the woman in his arms could not have wandered into his room by accident. She had designs on him. But what did she want? Did she know who he really was? She would never tell him outright, but he needed time to find out, he decided.
He raised his dark head and looked down at her, his eyes smoldering, his breathing harsh as he enunciated, “What’s your price?”
Desire fled, to be replaced by bone-chilling cold as she numbly said, “Excuse me?”
“What’s your price for a night?” he repeated with deliberate insult in his tone. He was still half-certain she knew exactly who he was. Perhaps she was just a good actress.
A red haze swam before Alexandra’s eyes and without stopping to think about it, she let fly with her open hand, slapping his face as hard as she could and leaving a satisfying welt behind. She wrenched herself from his arms, unconsciously scrubbing her lips clean with the back of her hand as she glared balefully up at him.