by Jo Leigh
Trace took a deep breath as he studied her face. She couldn’t ever remember being looked at like that. As if he could see something no one else could. “I sat for a long time after I turned off the machine,” he said. “It was a lot to take in.”
“My life and times.”
He nodded. “I know ‘I’m sorry’ is inadequate. That it makes up for nothing.”
“No. It helps.”
“I should have looked deeper.”
“You had no reason to. I was just your boss’s daughter. No biggie.”
“That’s not true. If it was, you think we would have fought like we did? I always liked you, Piper. What I knew of you. It was the image I had difficulty with, and now I see that it wasn’t even yours.”
“That’s a nice thought, but it’s not accurate. It wasn’t mine to begin with, but it became mine. You weren’t wrong.”
He leaned forward, put his elbows on his knees. The intensity of his gaze held her motionless. “I was wrong. On some very fundamental levels. Not because I’m stupid, but because I’m lazy. It was easier. The path of least resistance. When it comes to working for Nicholas, I’ve always done that. It’s not something I’m proud of.”
“I remember when you used to talk about doing something else.”
He nodded. “I gave up those dreams a long time ago. Didn’t think much about it until this week.”
“What do you mean?”
He wiped his face with the palm of his hand, then he looked away, at the window. “I had a friend in college, Bob Steiner. Great guy, hell of a chess player. We were close. Real close. He went on to work for his family’s company, clothing manufacturers out of New Jersey. I went to work for my family. Well, your family. We kept in touch, but as time went on we didn’t see each other that often.
“Two nights after your seventeenth birthday, Bob called me. He was in trouble. He didn’t say what, he just said he needed me. To represent him in a legal matter. I could tell he wasn’t kidding, that he was into something serious. But Nicholas wanted me to go to England, to finish up the contracts on the Devon hotel in Hyde Park. I gave Bob the name of a lawyer I knew. Told him I’d call when I got back.”
“What happened?”
“I wrapped it up in England. Took a few days for myself in Wales. I had a great time. The weather was perfect.”
She didn’t press him, but she wished he’d look at her. He just kept staring out the window. Finally, his head dipped.
“When I came back I found out Bob had been indicted for embezzlement. But it never went to court. He hung himself.”
“Oh, God.”
“Did I mention how great the weather was in Wales?”
18
“YOU DIDN’T KILL HIM.”
Trace looked at her, finally. His face was flushed and his lips were tight. “I didn’t help.”
“So you think you should have told your father and mine to stuff it? Quit when you were just starting out?”
“I could have done a lot of things. That’s just one of them.”
She went over to the couch, needing to touch more than she needed to see. Her hand went over his. “You couldn’t have known.”
He smiled at her. “I think you’re an amazing woman. And I think your hotel is just as amazing.”
“Thank you.”
“The whole reason I told you my sad tale is because I know from experience that we have to sleep in the beds we make for a long time.”
“What do you want, Trace? I used to know your dreams, but I have no idea what they are now.”
“I don’t have any.”
“Everyone has dreams.”
“No.”
“Everything in your life is perfect? Just the way you want it?”
He shook his head. Turned his hand and threaded his fingers through hers. “It’s looking up.”
“I made the tape so that we could start again. But we can’t do that if you’re not willing to really talk to me.”
“What have I been doing?”
“Okay, you’re making headway, but this dream thing— I don’t buy it. I think there are lots of things you want in your life.”
“Like?”
“More in-line skating. Fewer meetings you could do in your sleep.”
“I see.”
“Making a difference.”
“You don’t think running the Devon empire makes a difference?”
“I think you could do anything you wanted to. Your own practice, maybe doing some pro bono work on the side. You’re a smart guy. I just think it would be great if you were a happy guy, too.”
“Are you?”
“A happy guy?”
“Scratch the last part.”
“Sometimes,” she said. “Hush makes me happy. I really needed to do something with myself. Something I felt deeply about. That mattered.”
“And you are.”
“It shouldn’t matter. Giving rich people a nice place to screw.”
“If I thought that’s all this was, I would have been out of here day two.”
“Honest?”
He nodded. “It took me a while, but I get it now. This is a special place. You make it special.”
She touched the side of his face. She loved the feel of his skin. The look in his eyes. “I’m happy right now,” she said.
He nodded just before he leaned in and touched his lips to hers. So gently. She sighed into his mouth, welcoming his breath in return. They’d passed through something, although she wasn’t sure what. A moment, a truth. For the first time they were both here in the same space. Not in their respective corners.
His hand went to the back of her head, holding her steady as the kiss deepened. The moist tip of his tongue slipped between her lips and she opened to him. He moved closer to her, tilting his head toward perfect. They moved together, a synchrony from somewhere deep, a click, a slide, a fit.
They stood together, parting, but he didn’t let go of her hand. They walked together to the bedroom, and it was so different.
They took each other’s clothes off, slowly, piece by piece. She rubbed her hands over his shirt, feeling the heat of his skin beneath. She opened the buttons easily, spreading the material to reveal the soft, dark hair on his chest. Not much, mostly in the center. She kissed him there as she continued to undress him, breathing in his scent. His nipples had hardened and she moved to the right, swirling her tongue. His gasp went straight through her as she lifted her arms so he could remove her blouse.
The pace quickened as she went to his belt. He unzipped her skirt. He pushed down as she did, both of them taking their underwear along for the ride.
She let him take off her thigh-highs, shoes and bra. The clothes stayed on the floor while they climbed into bed, under the covers.
Close together, touching everything, everywhere, they found each other’s mouths. There wasn’t any urgency, the need to prove a thing. It was utterly unlike the sex they’d had before. She felt as if she needed to learn him all over again.
Long, slow strokes of his hand down her back, her side. The brush of his knuckles across her belly, making her writhe against him. His hard length fitting between her thighs.
He pulled back. “Stay right here,” he whispered. Then he reached over the bed to grab a condom. She didn’t waste the opportunity. She touched him, rubbing his cock with her palm just to feel his flesh. To hear his low moan.
Then his hand was on hers, and she let him go. His hot breath warmed her neck, and his fingers slipped inside her. She was ready. And she wanted nothing more than to feel him.
“Now,” she whispered.
He nodded, moved over her, careful to balance his weight on his arms. Moving slowly, he entered her, and as he filled her, she cried out from the sweetness of it.
Once he was all the way inside, he stilled. She curled her legs around his thighs. No acrobatics, no artifice. Just…them.
“I’ve always wanted to make love to you,” he said, his face inches from her own
, their gazes locked.
“Me, too. Since I was seventeen,” she said.
“It was worth the wait.”
She nodded. “Every minute.”
And then he began to move, those same languid strokes. They kissed, deep and slow. She didn’t even notice she was crying until she felt a tear trickle down her cheek.
HE WOKE when the phone rang. Piper groaned as she picked up the line, and he kissed the center of her back before he headed to the bathroom. There had been a number of calls last night, up until midnight or so. The party preparations were in full swing all over the hotel. Construction, decorations, music, food. It was a madhouse down there. Thank goodness Piper had the staff to handle everything but the biggest issues. By the time he returned, she was slipping on her robe. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“That was my father. He wants to see me. Now.”
“I’ll be ready in ten.”
“No, Trace. Thank you, but I need to see him alone.”
“What are you going to do?”
She studied him for a long minute. “I don’t know.”
He rounded the bed and took her in his arms. “You’ll do the right thing.”
She smiled. “I wish I knew what that was.”
“You do.”
“Oh?”
“Trust yourself. I do.”
“So if I tell him I’m not changing a thing?”
“I’ve been thinking about that. He’ll cut you out of the will. There’s nothing you’re going to say to him that will convince him to do otherwise. He’s stubborn, and he thinks he’s right.”
“What do you think?”
“I already told you. I trust you.”
“That’s not answering the question.”
He kissed her. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
She touched his face. “Wow, huh?”
“Yeah, wow.”
“How about conserving some water?”
“Sounds good.”
She led him across the room, but stopped just short of the bathroom door. “Press conference.”
“What?”
“I have to make a call.” She went back to the bed, got her phone and pressed the buttons. He grabbed his boxers from the floor and slipped them on, not sure if he should wait.
“Dad, it’s me. I can’t see you now. I have a press conference this morning. If you want to talk, you’ll need to come here.”
Trace froze. Watching her expression, he knew Nicholas was not happy. No big surprise. Mohammed didn’t like coming off the mountain, not for anything as trivial as his only daughter. Bastard.
“Okay, well, I’ll call you when I’m done.” Piper turned off her phone, then turned to him, giving him a tight smile. “Let’s do that whole shower thing, shall we?”
“I’ll wash your back…”
She took him by the hand and didn’t let him go until it was time to grab the soap.
“PIPER, WHAT’S GOING ON with you and Logan?”
“Is Logan going to be at the party?”
“There have been reports that both Britney and Christina are coming to the party, is that true?”
Piper held up her hand and moved closer to the microphones. “Okay, first things first. Logan Barrister will not be coming to the party. He will not be coming to Hush at all, as far as I know.”
The flashbulbs went off like strobe lights in a disco. Piper waited, giving them a chance to scribble and point. When the first wave of reaction ebbed, she made sure her smile was nicely in place. “If you have further questions about Logan, I suggest you get in touch with him.”
“Did he sleep with someone else, Piper?”
“Did you sleep with someone else?”
Piper held her hand up. “End of discussion. Now, the other reason I asked you here is to talk about tonight’s party. We’re setting up a red carpet outside the hotel. You can liaise with Janice Foster and Lisa Scott to find out about accessibility and I’m sure all of you will get lots and lots of great photos and stories, but you’re not getting them inside Hush. This is a private party, invitation only, and we’re not giving an inch.”
A collective groan made her grin bigger.
“I know you’ll all survive, and if you play nicely, we’ll make sure that all the biggies come in the front entrance.”
“Do you have a list?”
“Yes, but it’s as private as the party.”
“Piper? I heard a rumor that your father is insisting that you change the image of the hotel. That he wants you to change the ads and take out all the sex.”
She recognized the reporter asking the question. Her name was Holly Wilson, and she worked for the Post. She was a beautiful older woman who often accompanied Piper’s father to social events. There was no doubt that her “rumor” had come right from the horse’s mouth. Nicholas had worked fast. It hadn’t even been two hours since their phone conversation.
“Piper?”
She looked beyond the reporters, searching near the walls until she found Trace. He looked incredibly dashing and elegant, and that was just his eyes. “Nothing about Hush is going to change,” she said, keeping her gaze on Trace. Her stomach tightened as she realized that little sentence was worth a half-a-billion dollars. “This is not a Devon hotel. It’s Hush, and it will continue to be Hush, and no one and nothing is going to change that.”
And still, she looked at Trace. There was such trust and encouragement in his expression that she kept her mouth shut, even though a very large part of her wanted to take it all back.
There were more questions, all shouted rapid-fire, but she’d said what she needed to. Everything was out there. The hotel would make her or break her, but it would be hers. No one else’s.
For the first time in years, she felt herself tremble in front of the cameras. Because it was a new Piper talking. She might be a Devon but she was her own woman now.
She found Trace again and he turned his head, inviting her to follow his gaze. “Oh, shit,” she whispered, as she saw Nicholas Devon’s secretary standing by the door. She didn’t look happy. Marilyn put her cell phone to her ear, turned and slipped out the door.
Piper wondered if her father would ever speak to her again. If he still even thought of her as his daughter. The room dimmed and she had to grab hold of the podium to steady herself.
She knew she should be responding to the questions, but she couldn’t. The reality of what she’d done kept getting larger and larger, and along with it her fear.
And then she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Trace, standing right behind her. He shifted until he was closer to the microphones.
“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. That’s it. I’m sure we’ll see all of you tonight on the red carpet. Remember to see Janice Foster or Lisa Scott if you have any questions.”
His hand went around her waist, and he led her off the podium. She leaned on him, took comfort in his strong arms. A few minutes later, they were alone in the elevator. He put his card key in for the roof.
She rested her head against his shoulder. He hugged her close, all the way to the top. Once they were outside, standing in the garden, the scent of April thick and sweet, he touched her chin with his finger, lifting her head so he could meet her gaze. “You did it.”
She nodded. “I think I’m going to throw up.”
“Sounds reasonable.”
She laughed. “You do realize what I’ve given up?”
He nodded. “I also realize what you’ve gained.”
“A hotel.”
“Your soul and your hotel. It’s going to be sensational.”
“I sure hope so. I’m ridiculously spoiled.”
“I know.”
“And there are lots of people depending on me.”
“I know that, too.”
“And still, you’re here.”
He smiled. “Actually, I just came up to hit you up for a job.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I’m not really a Devo
n kind of lawyer anymore. It’s my obsession with sex. It’s not at all dignified. Frankly, I disgrace the name.”
“Sex, huh?”
“You know me. A firm believer in exploring all things sensual. Hell, I keep a copy of the Kama Sutra in my night-table drawer.”
Piper pinched his butt. In a good way. “A hotel like this needs a good attorney.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“And now that I’m not under my father’s auspices, I’ll need someone to handle my personal affairs.”
“Uh-huh.”
“So maybe we can work something out.”
“First, I need to go talk to my father,” he said. “And then I’ll be heading over to the Orpheus.”
“That’s not going to be pretty.”
He kissed her. “I’ll be back in plenty of time for tonight’s festivities.”
“Okay.”
Then he kissed her again. When he finally pulled back, he gave her the oddest look.
“What?”
“It’s been one hell of a week.”
“I’ll say.”
“It’s as if we’ve just met.”
“New beginnings all over the damn place.”
He laughed. She wasn’t quite at the laughing stage, but when she smiled, it was real. It felt good.
19
IT WAS SEVEN, and the hotel was ready. The party was outrageously large, spanning the entire property. Piper had no doubt that by the time the evening was over, her guests would be hooked. So many were spending the night that they were sold out, and she knew after this that the bookings would go through the roof.
She checked herself one more time in the mirror, blessing Donatella Versace for the fabulous red gown. It was simple, but perfect. She’d had Sam Fine come in to do her makeup, and he’d outdone himself. She was happy; still reeling from her decision, but deep down, she knew she’d done the right thing.
Now, all she needed was Trace.
She could still hardly believe what had happened with him. It had all begun so many years ago, and while she blushed when she thought about what she’d done on her seventeenth birthday, it seemed like something of a miracle that they’d come to this. What this was, exactly, wasn’t clear, but it was good. That much she knew for sure.