by ML Hamilton
“Aw, hell, the night’s young. Isn’t it?” he said, turning to Elena.
She forced a smile at him, moving away a little when he swayed toward her.
“You’re not ready to go, are you?” he slurred.
“I’m ready,” she said, glancing up at Robert.
“Well, I’m not.” He clumsily reached for a half-empty pitcher and tried to pour it into his glass. Joshua caught his hand and stopped him.
“You’ve had enough, El,” he said sternly.
Elliot blinked at him, trying to focus. Joshua knew he wouldn’t listen to anyone else. He’d probably start swearing at him, but he wouldn’t try to fill his glass again.
Licking his lips, he nodded his head. “Guess so.”
Joshua narrowed his eyes, seeing the tell-tale signs appearing in Elliot’s face. No, Elliot never got drunk enough to be mean, he just got sloppily, horribly sick.
“Take him outside, Bobby,” he said, rising to his feet.
Robert put his arm under Elliot’s, but Elliot waved him away, reeling crazily to his feet. Elena was up in a shot and moving to intervene, but Elliot side-stepped both her and Robert, careening into the next table. He put a hand out to steady himself, waving Robert off with the other. As he straightened and weaved toward the door, Joshua caught his arm, supporting him. Only when he was sure it was Joshua did he finally let go, sagging against his best friend.
“I’m sick, Josh,” he whispered.
Joshua nodded. “I know, El.” He lifted his eyes to Robert and Elena. “I’ll get him to the limo. Can you manage the rest of the way?”
“Yeah,” said Robert, then he turned to Elena. “You sure you want to come this time. I’ll send the limo back for you if not.”
Elena’s eyes shifted to Elliot. Joshua could see she was uncomfortable with the situation. “I’ll give her a ride, Bobby. She doesn’t live very far from me.”
Robert narrowed his gaze on Joshua, then looked at Elena.
“I’d rather do that, if it isn’t too much trouble,” she said quickly.
Joshua nodded. “I’ll be right back,” he said, pointing Elliot to the door.
“Just let me check with Ralph and Michael,” said Robert, hurrying toward the pool room.
While he waited, Joshua glanced back at Elena. “Sorry,” he said.
She shook her head. “No, I should have stopped him long ago. Thanks for offering to take me home.”
“No problem.” He glanced over his shoulder as Robert called to him from the door. “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay,” said Elena with a worried smile.
She was still sitting at the table when he returned. He drew a deep breath. It was just as well that she hadn’t gone. Elliot had gotten sick the moment they got him in the limo. Poor Elliot, he’d be suffering tomorrow from more than a hangover.
Joshua slipped into the seat across from her and flashed her his most stunning smile. She returned it warmly.
“I didn’t think you’d take me up on my offer,” he said.
“Why not?”
Joshua shrugged. “After what’s happened...”
Elena chewed on her lower lip. “I’m not very comfortable in those kinds of situations.”
Joshua nodded in understanding. Hell, neither was he. “Elliot means well, he just gets carried away.”
“You aren’t much of a drinker. You nursed that one beer all night.”
Joshua looked down at the table. “My real father was a mean drunk. Every time I saw him as a kid, he’d wind up putting me in the hospital. I swore I’d never be like that. So I turned to drugs instead.”
Elena’s brow furrowed at his words. “When did you see him last?”
“Nine years ago when I was in rehab. He came by to visit me and informed me that I was the biggest disappointment in his life.” Joshua laughed bitterly. “I told him to go to hell and he gave me a concussion.”
“I’m sorry,” said Elena, dropping her eyes.
Joshua shook his head in annoyance. Damn it, why did he always feel like spilling his guts when he was with her? He didn’t even tell his psychologist such personal stuff.
Leaning on the table, he forced her to look up at him. “I don’t want to talk about me anymore.” He said it so softly, she had to lean closer to him to hear. “Tell me how you met John.”
She looked down at her ring guiltily. “John?”
He nodded. “John, your fiancé.”
She seemed uncomfortable. “John lives next door to one of the executives who worked at the recording studio. We met last year at the Christmas party the exec threw at his house.”
“How long before he asked you to marry him?”
Elena’s eyes widened, then she laughed. “Second date.”
Joshua frowned in amusement. “Second date? I guess he was real desperate.”
Elena feigned insult. “Well, thank you very much, Mr. Ravensong,” she said, then grew serious. “I think I should have gone in the limo.”
“Why?”
Elena smiled. “You make me forget my promises to myself.”
Joshua leaned forward again. “Such as?”
Elena dropped her eyes. “You know very well such as. Anyway, why didn’t you offer to take that blond home?”
For a moment he didn’t remember what blond, then he smiled. So she had been jealous. “I don’t usually take women home,” he said coyly.
She stared at him a moment in surprise. “Oh, please. You’re not going to tell me your reputation is all made up by the press.”
He understood her meaning and laughed. “No, I don’t usually lie. I mean I usually don’t take women to my home. They take me to theirs.”
Her eyes widened in understanding. “I see.”
“That way it’s easier to leave when you want. Besides, I like keeping my home private...until now.” The words were out before he could think better of it. She flashed him another surprised look and he held his breath waiting to see how she would react.
Her eyes locked with his and he nervously licked at his lips. She followed the motion, then broke the stare. “I keep wondering if we just let things happen, maybe we’d get back on track and stop being so distracted.”
It was Joshua’s turn to blink in surprise. He rose to his feet and felt her green eyes flash up to him. “Let’s go,” he said.
“Where?” she said, grabbing her purse and rising to her feet.
“My house,” he answered, crossing around the table without looking at her. He stopped and faced the door, waiting to see what she’d do. She didn’t move for a very long moment and he was beginning to think he knew nothing about women, but then he heard her take a hesitant step.
Not allowing her to change her mind, he grabbed her elbow and hurried her to the door. Dominic, his bodyguard, would be pissed he’d snuck out on him, but he’d explain it later. The San Francisco fog crept around them both once they were outside and Joshua breathed deeply, allowing it to cool his body. Her heels sounded loud in the stillness as they crossed the parking lot to his car. He pulled the keys out of his pocket and fumbled to unlock the passenger door.
Only when he’d opened the door did he permit himself to look into her face. She was staring at him with huge, dilated eyes, her pulse pounding furiously in her throat.
“Y-you’re serious about this, aren’t you?” she said.
He swallowed and nodded. “More serious than I’ve ever been, lady.”
She drew a deep breath and held it. When she exhaled, Joshua could feel the warm fluttering of her breath against his face. It was almost more than he could stand.
“Elena,” he said, shutting his eyes, “I’ve never wanted a woman like I want you.”
She searched his face with a look that was either pure terror or disbelief, he wasn’t sure. “Did you really mean what you said in there? You’ve never taken a woman to your home.”
“Yes,” he said, “I don’t usually stay the night. I’m not much for pretending things are any diff
erent than what they are. I’m not the hold me ‘til morning type.” He grimaced as he spoke the words, hating himself for being so honest with her. Hell of a way to seduce a woman, Josh, he told himself.
“I see,” she said, dropping her eyes.
Impulsively Joshua caught her under the chin and lifted her face. “I’m not going to lie to you, Elena. I’m not much good at relationships...” He stopped and sighed. “Truth, I’m terrible at them. I’m not promising you anything. But I know I’ve never been so obsessed with a woman before. I think about you all the time. I just want a chance to show you that life is so much more than playing it safe with a man old enough to be your father.”
Tears threatened in her eyes, but she blinked them away. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you either and I keep wondering how I can even consider marrying John when there’s this thing between us. Maybe I just need to have one wild experience without expecting anything more so I can get you out of my system.”
Joshua didn’t know why her words made him feel like arguing with her. Isn’t it what he wanted? A night with no promise of any more and then to walk away in the morning without any guilt. Still, part of him bristled at the casual way she was thinking about sleeping with him, until he realized he usually thought the same way about all the women he took to bed.
“Right,” he said in a forced light tone, “maybe that would allow us to get beyond this physical attraction and really be friends.” He looked away. Shit, it all sounded so clinical and cold.
Turning back to her, he caught her by the shoulders and pulled her against him, lowering his mouth and capturing hers. She gasped against him, then gave in to the kiss, parting her lips and accepting the urgent probing of his tongue. He drew back just enough to look into her glittering eyes.
“Are you ready?”
She swallowed, then lowered her eyes to his lips again. “Yes,” she said.
CHAPTER 6
Elena’s heart was hammering and her palms felt sweaty. Oh God, what had she agreed to do? She glanced at Joshua from the corner of her eyes. Since they’d left the pizza parlor, he hadn’t said anything to her. She looked down at the speedometer. He’d been keeping to speeds of seventy since they got onto the bridge.
She’d never had a one night stand before. What the hell was she thinking? This was Joshua Ravensong. The man had bedded more women than she cared to believe.
Shaking her head, she shut her eyes and tried to relax. Oh God, what was she doing? She’d so casually agreed to go home with him as if this was something she did every day. She couldn’t look down at her engagement ring for all the guilt she felt. She knew she was betraying John’s trust, so why didn’t she call it off?
She looked at the rock star sitting next to her again. He was so damn handsome and he knew it. She had watched him flash a lazy smile at those two blonds, knowing he could have them if he wanted. They’d melted under his absent attention like ice in the sun. It was disgusting. But she was no better. When he gave her one of those looks that made her wonder if she’d forgotten to dress, she thought the most wanton thoughts.
Her heart beat faster. God, this was wrong. She was truly terrified of what she’d agreed to do. She hadn’t been with a man since...no, she wouldn’t allow herself to think about that now. There was a world of difference between agreeing to sleep with a man and...
Before she could get her thoughts under control, he pulled into the driveway of a large, handsome white house. She glanced frantically out the window at the quiet neighborhood with its white houses and wrought iron fences. It wasn’t what she’d expected from Joshua. Looking through the window, she marveled again at the opulent beauty of his home with the ivy growing up the front of it and the columned entrance. He turned in the seat and looked at her.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed, her heart thudding loud enough for him to hear.
“It backs up to the ocean,” he said, looking up at it, pride evident in his voice.
“I didn’t...I mean it’s not what...” She paused, not sure she wouldn’t offend him.
“It’s not what you’d expected?”
She nodded.
He gave her a wry smile. “That’s what my neighbors thought. I worried they’d burn a cross in my front yard at first, but when I didn’t have any drug parties or hookers over, they learned to accept me.”
She looked down, unable to meet his gaze. He was silent for a moment, then reached for the handle on the door. “Come on,” he said brightly. “Let’s go for a walk on the beach.”
She lifted her eyes to him gratefully and opened the door, stepping into the cool ocean breeze. He held his hand out to her and she took it, following him to the side of the house. He pulled out his keys and unlocked the gate. She moved closer to him, feeling a little uneasy in the darkness, but he led her surely around the side of the house and out onto the beach.
She gasped in delight, taking in the pounding surf and the enormous extent of clean sand. He led her down to the breakers and she turned around, staring at the backs of the houses with their intricate balconies and myriad of windows.
“Oh, Joshua, this is so beautiful.”
He smiled at her, turning to look out over the surf. She moved close beside him, surprisingly glad for his warmth. “When I saw this view, I just had to have the house, no matter how much the neighbors hated me.” He looked down at her with a wistful smile. “You should see Tiffany out here. God, she loves it so much.”
“Why don’t you have her this weekend?”
His jaw hardened. “Terry’s punishing one of us, I’m just not sure which one.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, but he shrugged.
“That’s life as they say. Come on.”
He caught her hand and pulled her with him down the beach, away from his house. He took her to an outcrop of boulders and helped her climb to the top. They took a seat and looked out over the waves. Elena threw back her head and allowed the ocean spray to bathe her face and gather in her bound hair. She felt Joshua’s eyes on her and looked down.
“I’ve always loved the ocean. When I was younger, I’d come to the beach whenever I was upset about something and think it through.”
Joshua smiled. “That’s what I do now.” Then his look became introspective. “Why are you afraid of the dark, Elena?”
She was stunned. “Why do you say that?”
“The night at your place when you opened the door, I knew you were afraid to go inside and tonight at the gate, I felt the tension in your body when you saw how dark it was.”
She wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged them. “It’s not that. It’s just a woman alone...” She couldn’t finish. He didn’t press her.
Reaching out, his fingers brushed lightly across her hair. “I keep remembering the morning that I saw you sweeping up glass with this mane of hair falling all around your shoulders.”
His questing fingers found the tie and he gently worked it free. Her hair fell down around her in a sensual wave, tickling her face. Joshua leaned close and breathed deeply of the scent. His body brushing against her sent a wave of longing through her. Suddenly she knew she wanted this night more than she’d ever wanted anything else.
She turned to him. “I keep remembering your hair loose,” she said, fingering a strand that had fallen over his shoulder. It was so black and silky. Impulsively she reached for the braid and unbound it, running her fingers through the dense wealth of his hair.
He watched her with narrowed eyes, then caught her hand and brought it to his mouth. Slowly he kissed each of her fingers, his tongue running sensually over the tips. Elena shuddered and parted her lips.
“Come on,” he said huskily, pulling her to her feet. She swayed against him. He half-carried her down from the boulders and then once on the sand, he put his arm around her waist and held her close. Elena found herself sinking into his arms, wishing it wasn’t so far back to his house.
Except when they came to the stairs leading up to his balcony,
she hesitated, her heart pounding again. He bent close and whispered in her ear.
“It’s all right. I don’t expect anything. Let’s just go in where it’s warm.”
She nodded and swallowed at the lump in her throat, then started climbing the stairs. The tension was almost unbearable until he unlocked the sliding glass door and a huge black dog bounded out, jumping up and putting his paws on Elena’s shoulders.
“No, Wolf,” cried Joshua, struggling to pull the dog off.
Elena laughed as the animal licked her. Joshua pushed the dog away and grabbed her arms. “I’m sorry.”
She just laughed again. “It’s all right, I love dogs.” She clapped her hands for him and he brushed against her, wiggling his entire body with his tail. “He hasn’t been locked inside all day, has he?”
“No,” said Joshua, moving out of the way as Wolf pushed between them. “My housekeeper lets him in and out.”
“He should be named Elephant, not Wolf,” she said, laughing as he bumped her into the railing.
Joshua grabbed the dog by the ruff of his furry neck and shoved him toward the stairs. “Go,” he commanded firmly. Then he took Elena’s arm and directed her toward the house. “He won’t leave you alone if you don’t tell him to back off.” Elena watched the huge beast bound down the stairs, then stepped off the balcony into Joshua’s house.
He flicked on a lamp near the couch and moved toward the fireplace. Firewood had already been laid in the grating and he had only to light a match to set it going. Elena looked around, liking the room despite its overly masculine appearance.
The couch was red leather. On either side were two cherry wood end tables and before it a matching coffee table. To the right of the couch was an overstuffed red leather chair and to the left, the fireplace and a fur rug of some sort. Behind the couch was the dining room with a large cherry table and chairs.
Elena moved to the fireplace and held out her hands. “You keep wood ready all the time?”
Joshua smiled. “My housekeeper’s husband takes care of the grounds and he lays a fire for me every night. He knows I like to watch the sunset by the fireplace.”