Winter's Heart

by Warneke, A. C.

  With that, he smacked her on the ass and sent her off. Reluctantly heading back to her room, she wished that her family was there with her, or at least Fallon was. It would be easier to pretend to be an outsider if she had someone to be on the outside with. Sure, there was Harry but he was going to be insanely busy with the food and directing his small staff. If she were just a normal party planner this would just be another job and she’d just be overseeing all of the pieces and parts.

  But she was sleeping with the birthday boy’s father and it wasn’t just another job. It was her first job, it was Storm’s birthday party, it was Winter’s house. She was so out of her comfort zone.

  Dressing in the pirate costume, she turned and studied herself in the mirror. In the six months that she had known Winter, she had acquired more confidence, standing straighter, walking taller. He did that for her, allowing her to see what was already there. Smoothing her hands over the flowing sleeves of the shirt, the tight bodice that cinched in her waist and plumped up her breasts, the voluminous material of her skirt, she smiled. She liked the Flynn Rogers staring back at her.

  With a hop in her step, she raced down the stairs to make sure everything was progressing as it should. Hopefully everything went as planned because she wanted to be there when they brought Storm around to see the pirate ship, which was freaking amazing. She wanted to be a little boy just so she could explore all of the nooks and crannies her dad had built. Not only were there nooks and crannies but monkey bars and swings and a few slides and a plank that hung out over the pool that was only accessible through a door that Winter could lock up. It was an amazing piece of practical art and she was absurdly proud of her brother for designing it and her father (and his crew!) for building it.

  As she skidded to a halt near the pavilion on the side lawn where the tables were set up, all of the air in her lungs disappeared. Winter was standing across the way looking sinfully sexy in a pair of tight leather pants and a billowy shirt that hung open, revealing the hard planes of his chest. She doubted there was ever a pirate that looked as good as Winter but in that moment, all she wanted was a pirate for her birthday. A Winter pirate. His black hair gleamed in the sunlight and even from the distance she could see the whites of his teeth as he smiled at whomever he was talking with.

  Forcing her feet to move and her tongue not to drag on the ground, she turned her head a little and saw Melissa and Storm standing next to him. Storm was adorable in an almost exact replica of his father’s costume, only his pants were linen and his shirt was closed. He had a little wooden sword that he was using to fight off an imaginary brigand and Flynn put her fingers to her lips to hide her smile.

  Melissa, on the other hand, looked exquisite in a costume that looked like something from the boudoir. It was made of a billowy, pale green material with a tight, rose-colored bustier holding it all together and she looked more like a mythical siren or a mermaid than a pirate. She was smiling at Winter with utter devotion in her eyes and if Flynn didn’t know it was an act, she would have sworn the woman was in love with him. Melissa played the part of his lover so very, very well and not for the first time Flynn wondered how Melissa was going to end things, since today was their last day of their twisted bargain.

  There were other guests as well, many she recognized from various films and television shows and she had to remind herself not to gawk or act like a total mad woman because not everyone appreciated her kind of crazy like Winter did. But then Winter just got her.

  Apparently, they had invited every famous actor or actress that had a child around Storm’s age and a few that Flynn knew had no children, including Nolan Mars. Her stomach clenched and she wanted to vomit because as much as she liked to tell herself that she never thought about Halloween night, she had and the only thing that eased the sickly green feeling she got was the fact that she’d never see Nolan Mars again.

  Except she forgot the man was almost as famous as Winter and likely to be hanging with the same crowds. She just couldn’t believe Winter would invite him to the party. Pressing her hand against her rebelling stomach, she made her way along the fringes of the crowd, coming to a stop when she saw Trevor Malone sitting at a table by himself nursing a beer. Glancing around to see if anyone else recognized the famous stage actor, realizing they were all even more famous than the talented man, she made her way over to his table and sat down, ignoring the glare he gave her.

  “Hi,” she beamed.

  “I don’t sign autographs outside of the theater,” he informed her haughtily, his attention returning to drinking his beer and scowling at the other guests.

  “I don’t want your autograph.” Crap, she should have held off on saying that in case she could have gotten his autograph for her sister. Oh, well. At the lift of his eyebrow, she leaned forward, blushing when his eyes dropped to her chest and his expression warmed fractionally.

  “If you want to sleep with me, you’ll have to do a better job of showing me the goods.”

  “Oh, God, I so don’t want to sleep with you,” she said a tad too loudly as a few of the guests turned their heads and gave her an odd look. Lowering her voice, she leaned in closer, “I heard you went to high school with Winter Mitchell.”

  The glare was back but now it was positively glacial. Taking a drink of his beer, he bit out, “What of it?”

  Glancing around and seeing no sign of Winter, she lowered her voice even more “What was he really like back then?”

  Licking his lips, he turned his head away from her. “I’m not comfortable discussing this.”

  “He told me he was this huge theater geek,” she continued, eager to learn more about the man she loved, even if she had to pry it out of one of his oldest friends, whose loyalty to Winter she found admirable if not vexing. “But he’s so magnetic and I just can’t imagine him being an outcast. Was he, like, painfully shy?”

  “Ignore Miss Rogers,” Winter’s sinfully sexy voice wrapped around her, stealing the air that had just recently returned to her lungs. As he sat in the chair, he reached up and twirled a strand of her hair between his fingers and gave her a warm smile, “She’s trying to rewrite my history to make me something I wasn’t.”

  “Winter,” Trevor said with genuine fondness as he reached out and shook Winter’s free hand. Glancing at the fingers in her hair, he pursed his lips and scolded, “I thought you were with Melissa Irish. Isn’t that what is splashed over all of those magazines that feature your ugly mug?”

  “Not for much longer,” Winter said through clenched teeth, showing the strain of his faux relationship with Melissa. “But if she doesn’t do something about it soon, I’m going to have to deal with it and I doubt she’d like my method.”

  “So I take it you’re involved with this bit of fluff?” Trevor asked with a slight sneer, making Flynn wonder if he had recently been burned, even if Winter had said the guy was a man whore.

  “You could say that.” Winter’s eyes gleamed as he looked at her. As if realizing he was touching her, he jerked his hand back to his lap, a hint of color staining his cheeks. “This is Flynn Rogers. Flynn, Trevor Malone, my oldest friend.”

  “Who doesn’t sign autographs outside of the theater or sleep with girls unless they do a better job of enticing him,” Flynn added, catching the startled look in Trevor’s eyes as he finally looked at her and saw her.

  “So, not a bit of fluff,” he conceded, tilting his beer in her direction.

  “Not a bit of fluff at all,” Winter agreed, holding back his laughter.

  “It’s almost time to reveal the pirate ship,” she murmured, the world narrowing until all that there was, was Winter.

  “I think he’s more excited about that ship than the birthday cake.”

  “But Harry really outdid himself,” she murmured. “He gave me some of the frosting and I swear I saw angels.”

  “Did you have him put some aside for later?”

  Her belly warmed and she lowered her lashes as he continued to gaze at her with na
ked hunger. An unfamiliar laugh interrupted their private interlude and she remembered that she was not there as Winter’s date but as his employee.

  “I should go and make sure everything is going smoothly.” Standing up, she put a hand on Winter’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze but as she almost bent down to kiss his cheek, she stopped herself in time. Stumbling over her feet before she caught her balance, she offered the two men a smile before returning to her official job as party… event coordinator.

  Fifteen minutes later, once everyone had gathered in the main tent, the emcee took the stage and commanded everyone’s attention, letting them know that it was time for the unveiling of Storm’s birthday present from Winter Mitchell. As the crowd dutifully stood and followed the man, Flynn lagged behind to make sure everyone knew where to go, pleased with how everything was progressing. Once the pirate ship was unveiled, the party would be officially underway. The kids were going to be allowed to play on the ship slash jungle gym while the parents could choose to either socialize with their peers or play on the ship with their kids. She knew which option she’d choose and the choice wasn’t even close. Pirate ship all the way.

  In thirty minutes, food would be rolled out, the amazing food from Harry’s and the grown up food from Xai’s. Trying to be an adult, she had tasted the truffles when she was doing a last minute check on the food but she wasn’t sure she liked the earthy taste. It had been difficult trying the sushi, especially the squid because she thought it was looking at her, but she managed to choke some down and if it weren’t for the flavor or the weird texture, it might have been okay. Same with the caviar. It didn’t really matter, though, because she wouldn’t be eating with the guests. When she found the time to grab a bite, she fully planned on enjoying her burger later on and in peace where she wouldn’t have to pretend to have a cultivated palate.

  “You look awfully familiar,” a voice she knew all-too-well spoke next to her. Turning her head, she had to keep from inhaling too sharply when she met Nolan Mars’s slate gray eyes. He was studying her too closely and if she wasn’t careful, she was going to vomit all over his pirate shirt. “Have we met?”

  Pasting a blinding smile on her numb face, she shook her head no, “Nope. I just have one of those faces.”

  “But I’m sure I know you,” he persisted. “Are you an actress?”

  If she got out of this without embarrassing herself or Winter, she vowed she would never have kinky sex in public again. “You might have seen my sister. She was a dandelion in an allergy commercial?”

  His brows drew together in a frown but it was obvious he couldn’t think of a likelier excuse. But then he shook his head, “Nooo, I’m sure I’ve seen you.”

  “My sister and I could pass for twins,” she asserted. “We get confused for one another all of the time.”

  His eyes narrowed as he held up his hand and hid the top half of her face. He split his fingers and looked at her as if she were wearing a mask. Keeping her expression as neutral as possible, she smiled blandly, “Well?”

  “Have you ever been to Velvet Smoke?”

  “What’s that?” she asked guilelessly, keeping her eyes large and inquisitive instead of looking away in guilt.

  “Never mind,” he said, shaking his head in frustration. “I just thought you might have been her.”

  “Her?” she squeaked. Clearing her throat, she kept her bland smile and tried again, “Her?”

  “Nobody,” he answered with a wry smile. “In fact, I’m beginning to think I dreamed the entire encounter because no one can be that gorgeous and that uninhibited, can they?”

  “I don’t know,” she answered, having seen some pretty wild things involving beautiful girls and scandalous situations.

  “But taking two men at once?” he asked dubiously and she realized he truly did recognize her. He was trying to bait her and get her to bite to confirm his suspicion.

  With a wince that wasn’t entirely feigned, she shook her head, “That sounds painful, and kind of awkward for the guys. When you were fucking this girl, did you get a little turned on when your dick touched the other guy’s? Or was the girl just an excuse to taste the forbidden fruit?”

  Color flared in his cheeks as he sputtered. Without giving him a chance to speak, she leaned in and went for the kill, “I mean, you’re this famous actor and if it got out that you have some, shall we say, curiosity about how the other side lives, it might be a deal breaker. Or not. It really depends, doesn’t it?”

  “Who the fuck are you?” he managed to say in a rough voice.

  “Who, me?” she asked with her brilliant smile back in place. “I’m just the party planner.”

  With that, she flounced off as her heart threatened to beat so fast it could explode. Figuring the rest of the guests could find their own way, she headed towards the back of the mansion where the pirate ship was located, desperate to get away from Nolan before he could say anything else or she gave herself away.

  “Flynn,” Winter whispered loudly, catching her off guard as he wrapped his fingers around her arm and pulled her into a hidden alcove. “Are you all right? I was worried when we got to the pirate ship and you weren’t there. I know how badly you wanted to see Storm’s face.”

  Wounded, she softly wailed, “I missed it?”

  He tried to comfort her but she stumbled away from him. Concern glowed in his blue eyes as he asked, “What’s wrong, Flynn?”

  Tears smarted in her eyes and her body began to shake as the adrenaline hit her bloodstream. Irrationally, she seethed, “How could you invite Nolan Mars to the party? He recognized me, Winter. He held his hands up and recognized me.”

  She knew she wasn’t making any sense but she was a little distraught. Pulling her into his arms, ignoring her flailing arms, he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead as he assured her in a steady voice, “I didn’t invite him, Flynn, I would never have invited him. Melissa must have done it after I looked at the final list and I am so sorry you had to suffer through that.”

  Taking a few breaths to get her emotions and anger and fear under control, she pressed her cheek against his chest. The steady thump of his heart, the gentle strokes of his fingers, brought her back down from her torment and she wanted to smack herself. Of course he hadn’t invited Nolan Mars and now she felt stupid for believing, if only for a moment, that he would. Pushing out of his arms, unable to look at him, she muttered, “Okay. I’m okay.”

  “Are you sure?” He drew her back and looked down at her with tender concern. “I can send everyone home if you need me all to yourself.”

  She laughed because in that moment she wanted nothing more than to be alone with Winter, even though she knew it was impossible. When he cupped her chin and forced her to meet his eyes, she couldn’t hide her troubles. At his frown, she threw her arms around his waist and hugged him as tight as she could, “I’m sorry for doubting you.”

  His hands smoothed over her back as he suddenly stilled. It took her a moment to understand why until she felt the thick ridge of his erection behind the leather pants and her lips parted in surprise. She looked up at him, her mind suddenly blank as she realized he was incredibly aroused. “Really?”

  “Always when you’re around or when I remember that night at the club or in the limo or really anytime I think about you,” he muttered through clenched teeth, trying to control his body. The fact that he was still getting wood because of her pleased her more than it should and she hoped it never ended. Curving her hand around the erection, she stroked him through the supple leather, wondering how long it would take him to come if they were to, say, have a quickie. Could he be fast enough not to be caught?

  Jesus, what the hell was she thinking? Hadn’t she just promised not to have kinky sex in public if she survived the encounter with Nolan?

  But who’s to say it had to be kinky?

  Tearing her hand away from her lover’s penis and thrusting it behind her back, she took a step away from Winter and tried not to blush. �
�We should get back to the party. I’m sure you’ll be missed.”

  “I told Miss I had to take a piss,” he whispered, closing the distance between them and sliding his fingers into her hair. Technically, they had enough time, if he was fast enough. Looking down at her with heavy lids, he purred, “Are you wearing panties, Flynn?”

  “You asked me not to.” Her words came out in a breathless whisper and when he hoisted her up and pinned her against the wall behind her, she barely had any breath to steal when he kissed her.

  “Don’t you think it’s time I took my pirating duties more seriously?” he asked, grabbing the hem of her skirts and pushing them up her legs, exposing her skin to the warm afternoon air.

  “What duties are those?” Her hands were working furiously between them, unlacing his pants and freeing his straining erection. Touching him skin to skin was a thousand times better than touching him through leather.

  “Plundering virgins,” he growled, impaling her in one, long thrust.

  “I’m not a virgin,” she managed, arching her back to take him deeper and rolling her eyes back in pleasure as he accepted the offer.

  “And thank God for that.” His hips jackhammered back and forth as he fucked her fast and hard and all she could do was hold on for the ride. “Storm loved the ship, by the way.”

  “How can you still be talking?”

  “Let me remedy that.” Using his teeth, he tugged down her bodice, her shirt, and captured a hard nipple between his teeth. After a not-so-gentle bite, he pulled sharply, sucking the sensitive flesh into his mouth and making her body quicken.

  “I’m so close,” she panted.

  “Come for me,” he demanded against her breast, slamming into her and breaking her apart. As her muscles contracted, he grunted and pushed deeper and deeper until he came. With a few involuntary twitches and jerks, he finished. Spent, he rested his head against the curve of her neck, “Will I ever get enough of you?”