by Alice Cooper
She woke to the sounds of his steady breathing. The soft sheets slid over her body as he moved and swung an arm over her. She froze in shock and waited, but he didn’t wake up. Her memories from last night’s event slammed into her head, and she cringed. She hadn’t just slept with her boss. She’s slept with the owner. She’d slept with a multi-billionaire. And half the time, she couldn’t even pay her rent on time.
Last night had been amazing. It had been more than amazing. After a few hours of sleep, they’d woken up and indulged in each other’s bodies all over again. She’d lost count of how many orgasms she’d had. And each time they connected seem to pull them closer and closer together.
She had no doubt that he took women like her to bed all over again. She wasn’t desperate to feel like she was different, but she probably wasn’t. Joshua was so skilled in bed that he probably made every woman feel special and loved. Loved. As soon as the word entered her bed, she felt anxiety nestle in her chest. What the hell was she thinking? She could actually fall in love with this man after only one night. That was absurd.
And yet that was exactly what was happening. She wanted to roll over and stroke a finger down his cheek. She wanted to kiss him lightly until he woke up, and then she wanted to just cuddle in bed and talk.
No. This is not happening. After what happened with Greg, she didn’t want to feel like this again. She wasn’t strong enough for another man to rake her over the coals. She needed to leave. Now. Carefully, she slipped out of his arms and scrambled quietly to get dressed. Luckily, she hadn’t had a chance to unpack a single thing from her suitcase. Grasping the handle, she cast one last look at his sleeping body.
His gorgeous body. Her nerves tingled with the thought of enjoying him one last time, but she couldn’t risk it. In sorrow and regret, she turned and silently exited the room. It was for the best. She had no doubt that when he woke up, he’d be relieved to find her gone.
One lucky perk about being a flight attendant was that she could grab ny open seat available. Her main goal was to get out of London as quick as possible. And if that meant flying to California instead of flying to DC, then that’s exactly what she would do. As she settled in the seat and pressed her head against the window, she tried to tell herself that she was doing the right thing. She simply wasn’t ready for a man like Joshua to break her heart. It would be far more devastating that anything that Greg had ever done to her, and she’d been with him for two years.
“Stupid,” she muttered to herself. How had she gotten herself into this position? Was she such a masochist that she needed to find over-the- top ways to break her heart? Greg wasn’t enough, so she needed the man who paid her bills to destroy her.
She needed therapy.
A few hours into the flight, the captain came over the PA system. “I’m sorry folks, but we’re experiencing some flight difficulties. We’ll be heading back to London to make some quick fixes before departing again. Please check with your flight attendant about making arrangements for your connecting flights.”
Going back? What the hell? She unsnapped her belt and ducked behind the curtain.
“What’s going on?” she asked anxiously. The young flight attendant shrugged. “We’re not sure. The captain has been ordered back.”
Orderedback? Thatusuallyonlyhappenedwhentherewasa dangerous passenger on board. She couldn’t help but sigh as she made her way back to her seat. Of all the flights she got on, she just had to pick the one that didn’t actually want to leave London.
After their unexpected arrival, the passengers began to murmur restlessly on the plane. A stewardess walked towards her and bent down to whisper in her ear. “Selena? You’ve been asked to disembark from the plane.”
“What?” She frowned. “Why? Do they need me to work a flight?”
Sometimes emergencies liked this happened.
“I’m not really sure. If you’ll check in at the desk in the airport, they’ll give you more information.”
“Fine.” It didn’t really matter which flight she was on and whether she did it as a passenger or as a flight attendant. She just needed to get as far away from Joshua as possible. Grabbing her bag, she moved quickly down the flight of steps. The wind whipped around her as she ducked her head and crossed the tarmac.
A ramp had been pulled out for her. She frowned as she crossed it. Of course it hadn’t been pulled out for her. That would have been absurd. Obviously it was left over from the last plane. Lucky her. Crossing the threshold of the gate, she made a beeline for the desk.
“Hi. I’m Selena Cutler. Should I be boarding another flight?”
“I don’t think so.”
Selena felt her heart skip a beat as the familiar voice enveloped her. Turning slowly, she found Joshua standing behind her with anger in his eyes. “What the hell were you thinking,” he snapped.’
Her jaw dropped. “You did this? You turned an entire plane around just to fly me back?”
“Yes, and it cost me a pretty penny to do it. Not to mention that I’m missing my meeting,” he grumbled.
The attendants at the desk were hanging on to every word, and she moved away from them. “What is wrong with you? What did you think was going to happen this morning?” she hissed softly. “One night stands end in the morning. That’s why they’re called one night stands.”
“What gave you the impression that we were just a one night stand?”
He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the corner. She could only gape at him. “My God, you’re serious. Joshua, you own an airline. You own several hotels around the world. Sleeping with flight attendants is probably a hobby for you. I can barely pay my bills. I’m up to my eyeballs in student debt, and you wouldn’t even consider that pocket change. At what point did you think that we were compatible?”
“Christ, Selena, this isn’t about money. I don’t give a damn how much you make, and I know enough about you to know that you don’t really care about how much I make.”
That was true enough, but it was an easy enough excuse to hide behind. “Okay, let’s consider the fact that we barely know each other.”
“I’m not proposing, Selena. I’m trying to get to know you better. I can’t do that if you take off in the morning. This has absolutely nothing to do with me and everything to do with you. You felt a connection last night, and it terrified you.” Shaking her head, she tried to move past him. “I can’t do this right now.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her back. “Damn it, Joshua, people can see us!”
“If you walk away right now, I won’t come after you. I’ll let you go. But if you do leave, know that you’re not doing it because I did something wrong. You’re doing it because you’re too scared to open you heart.”
“I just went through a break-up, Joshua. You can’t really expect me to jump into another relationship.”
“Really?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “Not once last night did you tell me that you loved Greg. You told me that you trusted him. You told me that you thought things were good. But you didn’t tell me that you loved him.”
She opened her mouth to refute him, but the words didn’t come. He smiled in satisfaction. “You didn’t lose the love of your life. You lost something that you were comfortable with. I don’t think you ever loved Greg. I think he was easy to be around, and it was easier to stay with him than to find someone to love.”
His accusations sunk in, and she knew that he was right. “What do you want from me?” she whispered.
“There is something here, Selena. I just want you to explore it with me. I want you to take a chance.”
She gazed into his eyes and felt her heart skip a beat. Last night had been unbelievable. No man had ever made her feel that way. And no one had ever turned a plane around just to yell at her. Of course, she’d never dated a man that had the money and resources to do that. But no one had ever made that kind of gesture.
Joshua was right. She wasn’t running from love just because of Greg. She’d been doing
it all her life. And she’d never had to face the truth before now. “I live in DC,” she said lamely. He chuckled softly and brushed a finger down her cheek. “Location is not an issue. I own three hotels in DC. Are there any other excuses you’d like to throw my way?”
Short of admitting that she was terrified, there really weren’t any. She closed her eyes and leaned forward to rest her head on his chest. His arms came around her and held her tightly. “I’ve never felt like this before, Selena. I don’t sleep with flight attendants as a hobby. From the moment I saw you, I felt the world pull the rug out from under my feet. Although, I have to admit that I lied earlier. If you walked away, I would have shut down all of the planes to keep you here.”
“That’s a good way to lose millions of dollars,” she said as she smiled into his shirt. “Don’t care. You would have been worth it.” She lifted her head and stared at him. “And if this only lasts a month?”
He kissed her slowly, and she felt that kiss all the way to her toes. “It will be an amazing month.” As it turned out, it lasted more than a month. In his arms, Selena learned to finally trust in love. And when he slipped a ring on her finger and announced to the world that he’d be hers forever, she often wondered why she ever even tried to run from him to begin with.
THE END
MORE STEAMY BONUS READS
WILD ALPHA BEAST
Chapter 1
The snow blanketed the ground outside and continued to fall from the sky. She sipped her coffee and frowned. Trust her mother and stepfather get stranded at the airport three states over. Now she was alone on Christmas.
A knock at the door startled her. With excitement, she bounded down the stairs. She’d just spend her first semester away at college, and she was so excited to talk to her mom about it. “You made it!” she said as she flung open the door.
Her drive instantly changed when she saw who was at the door. Despite the freezing cold temperatures, his wore a leather jacket that was still unzipped at the neck, and of course, he wore nothing to protect his head.
“Cade,” she said with a frown. “What the hell are you doing here?” She crossed her arms to protect herself. Her body always betrayed her whenever her stepbrother was around.
He stared at her like she’d lost her mind. “It’s Christmas.”
“I know, but my mom and your dad flew to Pennsylvania to spend time with your family.”
“Erin, it’s freezing out here. Can I come in before we debate about why I’m not allowed to spend Christmas here?”
She rolled her eyes but stepped aside. Cade brushed the snow off his jacket and filled the doorway as he entered. “Thanks, sis,” he said wryly.
“Don’t call me that,” she snapped. “Why aren’t you in Pennsylvania?”
Her fingers tingled as he stripped his jacket off. As he lifted his arms, she could see just an inch of so of his torso, and her mind immediately flashed back to when she’d spent some time at the beach with him. Six-pack abs. Tanned and smooth skin that was virtually hairless. Perfection.
“If you’d remember anything that came out of my mouth when we were together, you would know that I live here now. I’m starting a business, and New York is the best demographics. Where is Dad and Susan?”
“Pennsylvania,” she said as she crossed her arms. “Because of the snow storm, they’re stuck for at least a few days.”
“So, you’re alone here? No babysitter?”
“Cade. I am nineteen years old. I haven’t needed a babysitter for ten years.”
He smiled at her. “That’s right. You’re at NYU. How was your first semester?”
“It was awesome. My roommate is kind of a bitch, but I think she’s going to fail out next semester anyways. My suitemates, on the other hand, are awesome.” She continued chatting as she followed him into the kitchen and watched as he opened the refrigerator door. “What are you doing?”
“I’d like to feed myself. Maybe we can order Chinese.”
“You’re staying?”
Cade peeked over the kitchen door and shrugged. “It took me two hours to make the twenty minute drive, so I’m not exactly ready to drive back. And besides, it’s Christmas. It wouldn’t be very brotherly of me to leave you on Christmas.”
“You’re not my brother,” she snapped.
“No,” he said with a slow smile. “I’m not.”
Erin Silva shook away the memories and stared at her editor. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”
Leila frowned. “Erin, you haven’t written anything worthwhile in over a year. I know you wanted to take a hiatus after the veteran’s piece, but you can’t keep surviving off travel blogs. You’re a human interest writer, and The New York Monthly is begging me to get you to write up his profile.”
“Cade Marquis? You want me to do an interview with Cade Marquis?” Erin stared at her friend. “Are you insane?”
“No,” Leila said slowly. “I thought you’d have an issue with the project, not with the subject. What’s going on? Do you know Cade?”
Just thinking about him made her chest tighten. “Yes, I know Cade. And no, I’m not writing a piece on him.”
“That’s going to be a problem.” Leila followed her through the kitchen. “Erin, if you don’t writing again, people are going to forget about you. You have the write this piece. I already told the magazine that you’d do it, and I’ve already informed Cade’s publicist. He agreed to it.”
“The publicist or Cade?” Erin snapped as she whirled around.
Leila halted. “Does it matter?” she said nervously.
“Yes, it matters,” she said tightly. “Who agreed?”
“Cade did. He called me last night and told me it was a great idea. He needs more exposure, and he says he likes your style of writing.”
“Did he now?” Erin rolled her eyes. Trust Cade to sweet talk Leila. For all she knew, he was probably pulling the strings at the magazine as well. Obviously, he’d decided his life was empty without tormenting her.
Leila reached out and grabbed her arm. “Erin, this is a big opportunity for you. What the hell is your relationship with Cade?”
What was her relationship with Cade? “He’s my stepbrother,” she said softly. “His dad, Richard, married my mom when I was sixteen. He was twenty.”
She stopped talking for a moment as she tried to figure out what to say next. “Okay,” Leila said. “So he’s your family. That’s even better. You’ll be able to easily intertwine his past struggles with his present success. What, was he an obnoxious stepbrother?”
Erin snorted. “Please. Cade was too old to bother with me at first. But then, things changed.”
“How so?”
Leila had been her friend since college, and Erin had never told her the story. Mainly because it was too personal, and also because it hurt too much to talk about. “When I was nineteen, I gave Cade my virginity,” she said softly.
“What?” Leila’s mouth dropped open. “You told me Chase Hartfield took you virginity. You lied to me?”
“I lied to Chase too,” Erin said with a wry smile. “It just sort of happened over Christmas one year. Our parents were stuck in Pennsylvania during a snowstorm and couldn’t get home. Cade didn’t get the memo, and came over for Christmas. We were alone for a week before my mom made it back.”
“You spent a week in the bed of Cade Marquis? Your stepbrother? You dirty girl.” Leila perched on a bar stool and leaned over the counter. “Tell me everything!”
Erin rolled her eyes. “Leila, it was six years ago. It didn’t just happen last night.”
“So? That doesn’t mean it’s not forever burned in your memory. God, Erin, Cade practically became a billionaire over night. His consulting business is a huge success. Companies all over the world are trying to hire him. And you spent a week in his bed. I have to know everything.”
Erin stared out the window. “Actually, I don’t really remember it. There was a lot of alcohol involved.” She smiled. “You remember how I w
as back then. But I do remember that by the end of the week, Cade turned into a complete asshole. He became engrossed in his business, and I started dating Chase. We haven’t really seen each other since then.”
“So it’s not a big deal that you guy spent a week together?”
“Not a big deal,” Erin confirmed with a smile.
“Excellent. Then you won’t have any issues interviewing him. I’ve set up your first meeting for Monday at three. You can spend the next few days doing some background research on him. The Monthly wants the story for next month’s edition which means you have three weeks to interview him and write it.”
“Wait...”
“I’ve got to go, Erin. It’s going to be great. Let me know if you have any questions!”
Her editor blew her a kiss and sailed out of the room, leaving Erin with her mouth hanging open. How had that backfired on her?
***
Erin propped her long legs up on the couch arm and leaned back as she munched on her lo mein. “This was a good idea.”
Cade stared at her. Every single voice of logic in his head was screaming for him to get back in his car and drive home. It was far safer for him to battle the blizzard outside than to spend even a few hours alone with her. He was twenty-three, about to start his own business, and a hair’s breath away from getting Sasha Oliver to go to dinner with him. He’s been pursuing her for a year. That was the girl he needed to be spending the evening with, not his nineteen-year-old stepsister.
But there was something about her that was undeniable. Her long dark hair practically reached her waist, and he wanted nothing more than to wrap his fists in it and…
“Earth to Cade.”
He tore his eyes away from her slender body and blinked. “Sorry, I spaced out. What were you saying?”
“I was asked you about you business. Didn’t you say you were setting up shop here?”
He cleared his throat. “It’s a consulting business. I would help others with their own businesses.”