“Parents,” she said quietly, but couldn’t hide her weak chuckle.
“You have some great ones,” Ozzie said as he slowed the car to turn into the underground car park.
“Yes, they are great. But still, do they have to treat me as if I were eight?”
Oswald didn’t answer and she remembered, too late, he hadn’t had parents for years.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
“For what?”
“I shouldn’t be complaining about my parents. I’m beyond lucky to have them. A second chance at a father to love me.”
“You are lucky. And I’m lucky to have my uncle. Larry was a far better parent than the two who made me. It’s not always about who made you, but more about who loves you.” Oswald circled the parking area until he found a spot in guest parking. It was about as far from the elevator as one could get, but she wasn’t going to complain. She just hoped the lobby and the lifts were mostly empty. The one from the garage only went to the lobby, so from there they caught another car to the penthouse level shared with one other co-op owner. At least in this tower.
Birdie gathered her purse, wrapped his jacket around her tighter, and was ready to climb out when Ozzie opened her door and took her hand.
He didn’t let go while he shut the door. In fact, he backed her into the side of the car and lifted his free hand to sweep back a sodden hank of hair that had fallen down. “In spite of the wine bath, you’re still the most beautiful woman there tonight.”
Birdie blinked up at him, the heat of a blush infusing her from head to toe. “Thank you, but I beg to differ. I’m pretty sure I look like something dragged from the river.”
A smile lightened the severe expression on his face. “You smell a hell of a lot better than something dragged from the river.”
The look in his eyes reminded her of her hotel room in San Francisco. Right before he rushed her into the room and started kissing her. Anticipation made her breath hitch as their gazes locked and held. His body heat wrapped around her and through the scent of the wine, she could detect his cologne. The spicy sweetness she doubted she’d ever forget.
“I wonder if you still taste as sweet as you did…” Slowly he bent his face toward hers, and all she could do was stare into his eyes. Eyes that smoldered, reminding her of heat and uncontrollable feelings, the strength of muscle beneath hot skin.
A car door slammed somewhere in the garage, and the light in his eyes dimmed. “Let’s get you upstairs. That gown must be awfully uncomfortable about now.”
“It—it is,” she stammered, then cleared her throat. “Yeah, it’s getting sticky, and I’m sure my face is a fright of melted makeup. Raccoon eyes, you know.”
One half of his lips curled upward in a crooked grin. “Not so bad, but let’s go.”
Still holding her hand, he led her to the elevator. In the lobby, she waved at the security guard who looked astonished when he got a good look at her. The second elevator was already waiting, so she didn’t stop to explain. Thankfully no one else had been in the lobby or in the car racing upward.
Ozzie chuckled at their reflection in the shiny chrome lining the walls. “You definitely got the worst of the splash, but I didn’t fare so well myself.”
“Most of that came from hugging me, you dork.” God, it felt good to laugh a little.
Ozzie threw an arm around her shoulders. “I said I’d match you if you told me what you were wearing tonight. Now we have matching wine stains.”
It was just too stupid for words, and she bent forward with a good, deep belly laugh. “I don’t think that’s what either of us had in mind.”
It was worth looking ridiculous to see, and hear, him laugh too. In fact, she couldn’t remember ever seeing him let go enough to really guffaw. If she’d thought removing his glasses and watching him smile transformed him from a stiff toad, laughing really changed him. Much like watching a video of David Gandy playing with puppies, Oswald laughing completely melted her heart. He’d never looked better to her.
Their eyes met in the polished chrome, and their laughter quieted just at the car arrived at their stop. Oswald’s arm slipped down her back until his hand rested on her hip. “Get your key out, Courtney.” His voice, low and growly rough, stimulated something down deep and low in her body. The memory of him humming against her, the vibrations traveling up her body from down there, sent a flash burn of heat over her skin once more. This man was going to burn her up.
She kept her face down as he hurried her toward the entrance of the flat. When her hand trembled, he took the key and opened the door. She disabled the alarm as he closed the door. Once she finished, he spun her around and backed her against the wall.
“Courtney.” The sound of her name spoken like he was a desperate man was enough to convey the question. Did she want him?
Soggy and sticky, smelling of wine, she wanted him to kiss her. No longer caring if she ruined his tux, she reached for his shoulders, sliding her hands up and into the hair at his nape.
Ozzie groaned, but he gathered her close and their lips collided, like two magnets irresistibly attracted. The kiss was neither gentle nor sweet. They only pulled back a hair when their teeth clashed, but that wasn’t enough to make them stop. Instead they repositioned their mouths and went back to devouring each other. The cold, sopping material pressed against her body, heating as his body lent its warmth to the combination. He must have felt it too, because he grunted and reached for the fastening behind her back.
“How do you undo this thing?” he muttered, his fingers fumbling.
“The dress is already ruined, Oz, just rip it.”
Chapter 15
As much as he wanted to do as Birdie demanded, the thought of ripping off her dress, here in the foyer of her father’s flat, put a damper on his libido. All he had to do was lift his head and remember they weren’t in his flat several blocks inland from the river.
Besides, if he ripped the dress, thousands of tiny beads would scatter in the foyer, on the tile, making the floor dangerous to walk on. Impossible to clean up before Court and Randi came home.
Courtney’s head thunked against the wall, her face to the ceiling. “Your mind is working far too hard, Ozzie. What could possibly be more important than kissing me senseless?”
“The thought of all those beads on your gown scattering over a tile floor. And getting them swept up before your parents walk through the door and kill themselves on the beads.”
Courtney laughed. “Of course. Safety first.” She raised her head, her eyes twinkling with laughter, but also shadowed with frustration.
He needed to pull this in. Right now. A dozen curses flashed through his head. Tipping his head down, he rested his forehead against Courtney’s. “While I check out your necklace, you need to get in the shower before I offer to scrub your back. And front. And bottom. Wouldn’t do to get caught in the shower together.”
A rosy blush painted her cheeks. “I feel like such a teenager instead of a full grown woman.”
Oswald kissed her nose. “In many ways you’re still as innocent as a young girl. Don’t rush to be grown up. Fortunately for me, you are grown, so I don’t have to feel guilty or pervy about lusting after you.” Purely indulgent on his part, he let his hands slip under the oversized jacket she still wore, to re-familiarize themselves with the very womanly shape of her body. “You are definitely a woman. One I should keep my hands off.” One more kiss, he told himself. One more and then he’d slap her on the butt and send her to the showers. “And more to the point, your first time shouldn’t be up against a wall while wearing a wine soaked dress. Your first time deserves champagne, roses, and silken sheets.”
Courtney shivered and he immediately felt guilty for keeping her from cleaning up. “Give me the necklace and go. Now. Before I forget you’re the boss’s daughter and follow you in.”
Her lips opened, to argue he presumed, but he stopped her with a finger over her li
ps. “Please. I’m trying to preserve both our dignities. What we have left, anyway.”
Certainly not happy, she nodded, cheeks stained with more than the wine. “I’ll see if I can dig up at least a clean shirt for you. Think one of Drew’s will fit you?” She lifted the chain from around her neck and held the locket over his open hand, slowly lowering the chain until it all puddled in his hand.
“I’ll go digging in his room. Go take care of yourself.” How many times did he have to insist? The sooner she got away from him the better. It wouldn’t take much for him to forget where they were, who she was, who he was.
Finally, she nodded and sidled away from him. He watched her walk down the hall toward her room, hips swaying, bedraggled tendrils of hair swinging with her movement. He wanted nothing more than to pull the jeweled pins from her hair and peel that sodden dress from her body, licking every spot where the red liquid stained her skin. If he could suck hard enough, he’d surely not only clean her, but grow drunk on the combination of her sweetness and the alcohol. Hell, who needed alcohol when she was around? All he needed was time to explore the neckline that plunged dangerously deep to the bottom of her cleavage.
Thankfully she disappeared into her room, carefully shutting the door behind her. Oswald heaved a sigh, running a hand through his hair. He looked down at himself and realized just how stained he was. Some of the splash had landed on him. What his shirt bore now mostly came from holding Courtney close. Spinning, he looked into the hallway mirror. Damn if he couldn’t see the impression of her body from where he’d held her against him. A damn near perfect hourglass outline was imprinted on his starched white shirt. He might have to keep the shirt and frame it.
He heard voices in the outer hall. Although it was too soon for Court and Randi to have returned, it did remind him they would sooner rather than later. He entered Drew’s room, now Drew and Meilin’s, and headed for the closet. They were fairly close in size. However, Drew had slightly more bulk when it came to muscle from playing rugby. Since Oswald preferred mixed martial arts, he was leaner, tighter. Still, one of Drew’s shirts should fit him well enough to be decent. He set the necklace on the dresser.
And while he was changing out shirts, it wouldn’t hurt to find a towel and wipe himself down.
He grabbed what looked like an older, white button-down with one hand while working the studs on his tux shirt. There were times clothes certainly were a pain to deal with, but he’d learned well the lessons of being well-groomed at an early age. It was all about blending in. His wardrobe was mostly suits, casual to formal with business wear the most common. Yes, he owned jeans, even wore them sometimes, but rarely. The only other clothes he owned were of the workout variety. He could have dug in the drawers for something along those lines, but didn’t feel like mixing formal trousers with a Cold Play T-shirt.
Damaged shirt off, studs and cufflinks in his trousers pocket, he headed for the en suite bare-chested to find a towel to sponge off the worst of the wine stains.
The door easily pushed open, but before he could find the switch, the row of lights over the double vanity flicked on.
Coming into the bathroom from a door opposite, was Courtney.
Beautifully, gloriously, nude.
“Oh,” she said, coming to a stop, one arm coming up in a poor attempt to cover her breasts.
“I—” He didn’t quite know what to say. His brain checked out, and his body took over with an instant salute.
Courtney laughed a little, her face flushing pink as she let her arm drop. “I guess you’ve seen it all….”
“Doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate viewing it all again.” He waved toward the separate room that held the shower and toilet. “You jump in there, and I’ll just use the bath in the hall. I was looking for a towel to wipe down.” The explanation was weak at best, but he couldn’t seem to move with that beautiful tanned skin on full display. Full breasts, slim waist, flaring hips, and the small patch of pale fluff that shyly hid the location to heaven on earth. Yes, he knew what naked females looked like, had admired them in paintings, photographs, sculpture, and in the very decadent flesh, from afar and up close. With eyes, hands, and lips, he’d worshiped the female form in many variations. But none so lovely as the perfect form he admired this very moment. A form he very much wanted to worship over and over again.
“I’ll just leave you to…” He backed from the space and pulled the door shut. Then thunked his forehead against the panel. If he wanted to keep their relationship on a non personal plane, he had to get out of there right now.
Behind the door, water ran in the sink. A moment later, the doorknob turned under his hand and was tugged from it. The door only opened a few inches. Enough for a slender, feminine hand to push through the opening with a damp cloth wrapped inside it.
“Here. Maybe this will do,” she said softly.
“Ta.” Oswald took the offering, then pulled the door shut again. “Lock the door,” he advised her.
Courtney merely laughed, and a few seconds later he heard water rushing through the pipes, hitting tile in what he presumed was the shower enclosure.
But he never heard the door lock engage.
Calling firmly on his strictest discipline, Oswald used the cooling cloth to wipe his torso down. Not just the wine, but also the sweat breaking out. The sensation left his heart racing, cock harder than reinforced steel, and his head reeling in confusion. Since he’d taken his first woman to bed, he’d never had such a feeling in his life.
On a deep breath, he forced himself to shrug into Drew’s shirt, pick up the necklace, and exit the room. Buttoning as he went, he headed for the kitchen and started the process of making tea. He’d been to the flat often enough he almost felt at home going into the cupboards while the kettle heated. The last tea cup had barely settled on the tray when a key in the front door alerted him to the arrival of Court and Randi. He double checked that the shirt was buttoned, and he had it tucked by the time the couple walked into the kitchen.
Randi rushed over to him and pulled his head down to kiss his cheek. “Thank you for taking care of Birdie. I’m so furious. All I wanted to do was slap that spoiled brat and her friend for putting my daughter through that. Sad to say, but we had to talk to her father like they were in grade school or something. It’s also a shame so many people seemed to catch it on their phone cameras, or rather the aftermath.”
Green eyes swimming with checked tears and emotions surely only a mother could feel, Randi gazed up at him. How had this tiny woman produced a daughter several inches taller than her? “I only did the right thing,” he said.
“Yes, you surely did do the right thing,” Court added with a slap to his back. “I’m very proud of how Birdie handled the whole thing and am so grateful to you for ushering her out in the least conspicuous way. However, I’m afraid Randi is right. Pictures are already popping up on social media. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it in the tabloids come morning.”
Oswald winced. He did his best to stay out of the tabloids, usually showing up only as an accessory to the star of the day. Sort of like a floral arrangement. Part of the scene.
“Where’s the locket?” She glanced at the kitchen island. “Oh look, Court, he’s already set up the tea.” Randi turned her attention to the tray, then reached for two more cups. “Hope you don’t mind us barging in, but a cup would settle us as well. Birdie in the shower?”
“Yes. Least I heard the shower turn on while I was knicking a shirt from Drew’s closet. Hope you don’t mind.”
Randi looked over her shoulder enough for him to see her roll her eyes. “Oswald, I keep telling you, you’re family. Take what you need. Drew won’t miss the shirt, I’m sure. He has more than a few just like it.”
So did he, but that wasn’t the point. The point was he didn’t go around carrying spares in case someone tossed wine on him.
The water came to a boil. “Court, darling, would you look at the locket? I’ll take c
are of this.” Randi warmed the teapot with a swish of hot water, added some loose leaves, then filled it with the rest of the boiling water. She added a strainer, then lifted the tray. “How’s it look?” She nodded at the now open locket cradled in Court’s hand.
Court stood under a bright light looking intently at it. “It looks perfect. Maybe a tiny bit made it in, but not enough to ruin the contents.”
Randi let out a huge sigh. “My mom gave it to her right at the end. It’s very precious in a sentimental way more than anything else. Birdie has a few other charms, but none mean more than that one.”
Court handed the locket to Oswald. “See if your sharper eyes can see something mine can’t.”
Oswald held a towel and used it to polish the edges of the tiny gold book. The woman in the photo was beautiful, her features more like Randi’s than Courtney’s. “It looks pretty good to me, but Courtney will be the final judge.”
Randi nodded. “Excellent. Let’s take this into the living room.”
Oswald set the towel-wrapped bit of jewelry on the tray, then took it from her hands and gave her a smile, one she returned with a little smirk.
“Thank you, Oswald. Always such a gentleman.” She patted his arm and led the way.
Court went ahead of them into the lounge and switched on the gas fire. Beyond the windows a terrace looked over the city glittering on the other side of the river. Raindrops began to splatter against the wall of glass protecting them from the elements.
Randi snapped her fingers. “Let me see if I can find some cookies to go with this. Be right back.”
Oswald set the tea tray down on the coffee table and took a seat in one of the club chairs. No risk of having Courtney sit beside him that way. Across the low table from him, Court leaned back and stretched out his legs, his bowtie undone and dangling from his collar.
“Lord, what a night. I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in such a scene.” He ran a hand down his face. “Mind telling me about it? I’ve only had half explanations.”
Her Improper Affair Page 14