Romancing My Love (Love in Bloom: The Bradens) Contemporary Romance

by Melissa Foster

  “I’m not sure I understand.” She reached for his hand. “I told you what my past was like. I didn’t hide anything.”

  “Just assure me you’re not really married, or running from something dangerous.” He tightened his grip on her hand so she couldn’t escape the question. He had to know, and it didn’t matter how much he liked her. Better to know now than to find out after his heart had taken the plunge into never-never land.

  “What would ever give you that crazy idea? I’ve never been married, and I’m not running from anything.” She pulled the elastic band from her hair and shook her hair free, looking sexy as hell as she slipped the elastic band around her wrist and closed the distance between them. Her hands were warm on his bare skin, and the way she looked at him, like she really liked him, softened his worry. “Did I miss something?”

  “No, I’m sorry. I just…” He leaned down and kissed her rather than explaining, and when she pressed her body to his, he was instantly aroused.

  “Mm,” she mumbled against his lips. “This is what a run does to you?”

  “This is what you do to me.”

  AFTER THEY WORKED out, Pierce left Rebecca to shower alone—partially to give her privacy and partially to keep from rushing her into going any further, even though the whole time she was in the bathroom he could think of nothing else than lathering her up and how her soapy body would feel against him. To take his mind off of Rebecca, he pulled out his phone and checked his voicemail. He had two calls from his brother Wes.

  “Dude, do you ever turn on your phone? Call me.” He deleted the message and listened to the next one. “Holy Christ, Pierce. What are you doing out there in Reno? How do you get anything done? Pick up your damn phone.”

  Pierce dialed Wes’s number, and it went straight to voicemail.

  “Hey, buddy. Sorry I missed your calls. Forgot to turn my phone on. Catch up when you can.” Pierce ended the call and eyed the bedroom, then turned away as he began to imagine Rebecca’s naked body again.

  After they showered and had breakfast, they took in an early-afternoon movie, and in the evening they ate dinner on the patio again. Pierce could get used to this. In fact, as they cuddled together and watched the sun set, he was getting used to it. Rebecca was tucked beneath his arm, like the space was made just for her. One of her hands rested on his abs, and every so often she’d touch his skin beneath his T-shirt. He was aroused, but more than that, he realized that he was happy. Truly happy and content, just sitting right there with her. As the day progressed, Rebecca’s edginess had ceased. The transformation was like watching a person with emphysema breathe through new lungs. He felt himself changing, too. They’d talked all day about their lives, his siblings, and a myriad of other topics, but she hadn’t asked about what exactly he did for a living. As much as he loved that she didn’t seem to care, he wanted to tell her before she started work on Monday. There was no way that he was going to be able to hide the fact that he was dating her, and he knew it was only a matter of time before someone mentioned him by name. He worried that if she found out from someone else, it might change things between them, and even though the relationship was new, he wasn’t about to risk it.

  “What do you usually do on Saturday nights?” Rebecca asked.

  “Work, mostly. I haven’t spent a Saturday like this in a very long time.” He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. “How about you?”

  “Work, usually. It’s weird not to have a job to go to today, but I’m really looking forward to starting work on Monday. I know that probably sounds silly, since you work in the executive offices, but to me, the job holds the opportunity for a future.” She looked up at him and slid her hand under his shirt again.

  Work in the executive offices. Hearing the words made him feel like a liar, and he didn’t like that feeling at all, especially where it concerned Rebecca. “It’s not silly at all. Becca, I want to tell you something.”

  “Wait.” She pressed her face to his chest and settled her hand over his heart. “You’re a little nervous, which is different from how your heart felt when you were turned on. Should I worry?”

  “You can tell that from touching my chest?” He couldn’t see her face, but he sensed her smile.

  “No. It’s a cheek-hand combo thing. I learned it when my mom was sick. It’s just intuition or something, I think. I could always tell when my mom was scared. She’d never tell me. Even right before she died, I asked her if she was afraid to die, and she looked me in the eye. I remember her eyes were so puffy from the medications and treatments that they were almost closed, and she was so tired, it was hard for her. She said, No, mi dulce niña. Nothing scares me anymore. I know you’ll be okay.”

  He rested his forehead on hers. “She was worried about you more than herself.” He gathered her in his arms and held her tight. “I wish I could bring her back for you.” He had an overwhelming feeling of not only wanting to protect her, but wanting to bring her happiness.

  “You can’t think like that. That’s why people don’t move on, and I can’t afford to get stuck in the if onlys.” Her voice was so serious that he pulled back and looked into her eyes again to try to decipher why she was so upset. “I’m not coldhearted. I miss my mom like crazy.” She pressed her palms to his chest again. “I can’t live in the past, Pierce. I’m moving forward with my mom in my heart, but not longing for something that can never happen. She’s not coming back, but her memory will drive me forward.” Her brows were knitted together. As if she’d had to shift from the place her mind was in to something else a million times over recent days—which she probably did. She breathed deeply, and the worry lines on her forehead disappeared. “What did you want to tell me?”

  He had so many emotions rushing through him that he didn’t want to try to pick them apart. He just wanted to be closer to her—to climb into her skin and keep anything bad or upsetting away from her. When their lips met, he lost all hope of doing anything else. His insides were clawing for more, demanding more of her, and she was kissing him back like she couldn’t breathe without him, stimulating every erotic nerve he had, bringing his body to life with an insatiable appetite for her. He gathered her in his arms and carried her inside, down the hall, and to his bedroom. He’d pictured her in his bed a million times since he’d met her, and now that she was in his arms, kissing him, moaning hungrily and relinquishing herself to him, she was bringing words like love and forever to mind.

  He stood in the dimly lit room holding her in his arms, kissing her like they only had this moment. And she was hot. So damn hot his mind nearly got lost in her and forgot to tell his legs to move. He lowered her feet to the floor, and she whimpered against his lips.

  “I like being in your arms. I’ve never been in someone’s arms before.”

  He lifted her again. “Jesus, Becca. I’m falling for you, and I barely know you.”

  She pressed her hands to his cheeks and kissed him eagerly, lovingly. Adoringly. Like he’d never been kissed before. Her hands slid to the back of his neck, and she ran her fingers through his hair, driving him crazier, sending fresh shocks of lust through his body like wildfire. She arched her neck, and his mouth met her heated skin. He dragged his teeth over the arc of her shoulder, and she guided his mouth lower and released her hands long enough to draw her shirt over her head and drop it to the floor.

  “Becca, I’ve got to put you down. I need to touch you, to feel you beneath me, to feel your legs around me. I need to disappear inside of you.” I need to love you.

  She grabbed his cheeks again and took him in a deep, greedy kiss, heightening his need.

  “Is that a yes? Because I don’t want to get kneed in the groin.”

  She laughed. “Yes. Yes, Pierce. Hurry.”

  “Oh, baby, I might be anxious to get inside you, but I’m not going to rush making love to you.” He lowered her to her feet, and she wiggled out of her jeans and panties, stealing the thrill of him doing it. He took her by the shoulders and stared in
to her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re used to, but one day you’re going to let me be the man I am and rip those damn clothes off of you, hold your frigging doors open, and open your goddamn trunk.”

  Her eyes widened; then she frantically pushed his shirt up, and he ripped it over his head while she fumbled with the button on his jeans. He kicked them off and Rebecca’s eyes dropped.

  “Holy smokes.” Her lips spread in a wide smile.

  She pressed her hands to his chest and raised her brows, before slithering down his body and taking him into her mouth. He stilled at the feel of her lips pressed around his arousal and her tongue circling the tip. He tangled his hands in her hair, helping her efforts as she drew him in and out of her mouth, stroking and sucking him hungrily, taking him right up to the goddamn edge of release. He tugged her head back, and she licked her lips, leaving them wet and inviting.

  “You’re a dirty girl.” He lifted her easily and laid her on the bed.

  “You have no idea,” she said with a wicked look in her eyes. “Get over here.”

  “Demanding, aren’t we?”

  He grabbed a condom from his dresser drawer and tore it open with his teeth. Rebecca pushed his hand away and rose to take him in her mouth again. Holy fuck. He gritted his teeth against the best damn feeling he’d ever felt, and when she tickled his balls, she owned him. Completely, utterly owned him. He gripped her wrist and pulled it away from his body. She smiled up at him—smiled—her luscious mouth open wide as she flicked the head of his thick length with her tongue. Jesus, he was never going to last with her doing that shit. He yanked her head back, and kneeling over her, he crashed his mouth over hers in a collision of tongues and teeth. He tore away long enough to roll on the condom.

  “Are you sure, babe?” He was breathing so hard he could barely spit the words out. “No misunderstandings. It’s still okay if you want to back out.”

  She narrowed her eyes and guided him between her legs. “Take me, Pierce. Now.”

  Done.

  He drove into her deep and fast, until he was buried to the hilt, and he forced himself to lie still, to enjoy her—but it didn’t last. He had to move, to feel and taste her. Everything in the dimly lit room fell away; there was only him and Rebecca and this heated, intimate moment when his heart dripped with emotions. And the look in her eyes as she reached up and touched his cheek, like she felt it too, like she was the absent piece of his heart he never knew was missing. It was a feeling he would never forget.

  “Don’t move,” she whispered.

  “Am I hurting you?”

  Her lips curved up. “No, Pierce. You’re completing me.”

  Chapter Nine

  “I THINK I’M addicted to you.” Pierce wrapped his arms around Rebecca from behind. He nuzzled against her neck, and when she reached behind her and ran her fingers through his hair, he nipped at her earlobe. “Careful, or you’ll be late for your first day of work.”

  They’d spent much of Sunday making love and experiencing the pleasures of each other’s bodies, parting only out of need for nourishment or to reluctantly spend an hour here or there seeing to their responsibilities. Rebecca studied for her new position, while Pierce prepared for his upcoming acquisition, and when the alarm went off Monday morning, they’d reached for each other again.

  She turned in to him and cupped him through his trousers. “Mm. If I let go, will you remember to turn your phone on so Wes doesn’t get mad at you again?”

  He’d missed another call from Wes, and Rebecca had heard Wes giving him shit about it. It was such a usual occurrence that Pierce had already forgotten the incident. He held her sensual gaze and tried to act cool. “How do you know it’s not on?”

  She arched a brow.

  “Fine.” He took out his phone and turned it on, privately loving that she remembered, surely saving him from missing calls that he’d have to pay for later.

  Rebecca hadn’t asked about Pierce’s work, or the documents he’d been poring over. And even though he loved knowing that she liked him for him, not for what he owned or what he represented, he wanted to tell her that he didn’t just work in the executive offices. If there was one thing Pierce was sure of, it was that honesty mattered. His mother had drilled that into his mind from a young age. Pierce wasn’t used to wanting to expose his life, or his wealth, to anyone, but this weekend, whether they were laughing over breakfast, teasing throughout the day, or sharing their most intimate secrets, he felt the earth shifting, and he felt himself evolving with every passing hour. He wanted to nurture that change, and he wanted to nurture their relationship.

  “Becca.” He brought his lips to hers and kissed her softly. “Bec, I don’t want any secrets between us.” She was dressed for work in a black pencil skirt and white button-down blouse. She looked professional and so sexy that Pierce felt a flash of jealousy when he watched her dress. Now he felt her body tense within his arms.

  “I need to tell you something, and I hope it won’t change anything between us.”

  She drew back with a furrowed brow, and he brought her close again. “Stay close to me, so I can feel your heartbeat against mine.” Ever since she’d said that she could read his feelings by his heartbeat, he’d been reaching out more, trying to become just as in tune to her as she was to him—and holy Christ was she in tune with him.

  He tucked her hair behind her ear, hoping that she wouldn’t suddenly turn into one of those money-hungry women he loathed. “I don’t just work in the executive offices of the Astral. I own it.”

  She smiled. “Own what?”

  “The Astral Resort—and about thirty-two other properties around the world. Thirty-three if all goes well with an upcoming meeting.”

  He felt her heartbeat quicken. But her eyes didn’t widen, and she didn’t smile or look impressed. Her lack of response made Pierce’s stomach sink.

  “You own them? Like, your name is on the deed, own them?”

  He nodded, focusing on keeping her close.

  She dropped her eyes to his chest, and when she looked up at him again, she looked confused. “I don’t understand.”

  “I own the properties. I—”

  “No, not that. I’m not stupid. I understand that you own them, but why would that change things between us?” Now her eyes widened, and when she took a step back, he gathered her close again.

  “You mean you don’t want people to know you’re dating a waitress?”

  “No. No, Bec. That’s not what I mean at all.”

  “I’m confused. So what if you own a million properties? How does that change things between us? I’m a waitress. You’re a business owner.” She shrugged. “Big deal.” She said it easily, as if she’d said, I’m a girl, and you’re a boy, and her smile was so sweet and genuine that he almost fell over. “That’s what we do, Pierce. It doesn’t define us or change us as people.”

  “Are you for real?” The whisper in his voice surprised him.

  “Do you mean because I’m not jumping up and down because you own the resort?”

  He kissed her softly. “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”

  “Pierce, we’re dating, not getting married. I don’t need your money. I’ve never needed anyone’s money in my life. I’m a little bothered that you’d even think it would change things between us. But honestly, it’s a relief, too, because I thought you were trying to tell me that you didn’t want people to know you were dating a waitress, and then I might have had to knee you in the groin for being shallow.”

  He folded her into his arms. “I wish I’d known your mother.”

  “I wish you had, too. She’d have given you all sorts of shit for being such a pretty boy.” She went up on her tiptoes and kissed his lips.

  “Pretty boy?”

  “You know, so good-looking that you’re almost too pretty?”

  He tickled her ribs and she shrieked. “I’m kidding!” He grabbed her ribs again, and she doubled over in laughter. “Okay.” She laughed. “Okay. You’re m
anly and rugged and kinda ugly.” She ran out of the kitchen in her bare feet, and he trapped her against the living room wall.

  “Kinda ugly, am I?” He rocked his hips against hers. “I’ll show you kinda ugly.”

  “Well, you do have a huge—”

  “Hey!”

  “Heart, you pig. Although that other thing makes up for your prettiness, too.” She kissed the bottom of his chin and rubbed her hand over his shoulder. “And you have a hot tattoo, which by the way, I’d love to hear the story behind.”

  “Maybe one day I’ll tell you. If you can get past my prettiness.” He took her in a sensuous kiss, and when he drew away, she was breathless. Just as he’d hoped. “See you tonight, babe.” He headed for the door.

  “Tonight? I don’t live here.”

  He turned back. “Wow. Am I that used to you being around? You’re not going to steal my stuff, are you?” He took a step toward the door.

  “Wait. You’re leaving me here? I don’t have my car.”

  “God, I forgot.” He truly had. “Get your sexy little ass in gear.”

  She wiggled her butt and slipped her feet into her heels.

  “Christ, Rebecca. You’re like a walking centerfold. The customers are going to love you.” He handed Rebecca her purse and slipped his arm around her waist. “I’ve never been jealous a day in my life, and just the thought of you around those flashy high rollers has my stomach twisting in knots.”

  “Oh, please. Do I look like I can be wooed any easier than you can?”

  Most of the women he’d dated treated him as if they were lucky to be with him. Rebecca never did, and that confidence made her sexier than a pretty face and hot body ever could.

  “No, you don’t, but will you do me a favor?” He locked the door behind them, and they headed out to the car.

  “Maybe.”

  “Can you make yourself less attractive when you’re with the customers?”

  She stuck her front teeth out like a beaver. “Is this better?”