by Amy Sparling
Theo leans forward, pressing both hands to the glass above his head. “I am trying to protect you, Cara. I wish you’d believe me.”
“You don’t protect someone by sending them away.” My throat feels like it’s full of cotton balls.
Theo sighs, his head tipping forward, sinking between his shoulders. “Sometimes, that’s exactly how you save someone.”
I turn to him now. “Why don’t you just tell me what’s going on? If you don’t have a girlfriend, then I don’t understand. You acted like you liked me on the pier, and then you hated me on the plane, and now you’re being nice again but still telling me to leave. If you’re afraid I’ll become some lovesick stalker or something, just tell me. I promise I won’t. If you don’t like me, then fine. I’ll move on with my life.”
He shakes his head. “That’s not it, Cara. You have no idea how badly I want to throw you on that bed and make love to you.”
My heart skips a beat. And then another beat. And then I might actually be dead because there’s no way he said that. But when his gaze meets mine, it’s filled with passion again. His jaw flexes with determination.
My eyes drift to his chest and I am unable to stop myself from imagining what it’d be like to be carried to my bed in Theo’s arms. I clear my throat as heat rushes to my cheeks.
Theo chuckles and steps away from the window. “But that’s just a temporary fantasy,” he says, his voice so low it makes my toes tingle. “If I truly had my way right now, I’d never leave your side again. I would make you mine forever. Until this entire planet implodes—you would be mine.”
My breathing is shallow. He’s now just a few inches away from me, his sultry gaze peering at me just like he’s done in my dreams lately. I don’t know when it happened, but now his fingers are interlocked with mine, our hands clasped together between us.
When my heart starts beating again, the ache in my chest brings me back to reality. Don’t touch me. The words run through my mind but I can’t say them aloud. I want his touch as much as I don’t want to admit it. I want the sensation of his calloused palm sliding across my cheek.
But deep down I know this man will hurt me again, just like he already has. This is some kind of trick and here I am falling right into it again, without even the help of a glass of gris. I let my hands fall from his and I step away.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Let me take you home,” he says. His tongue flicks across his bottom lip. It takes everything I have not to reach up and kiss him. Instead, I shake my head.
“This is my home now.”
“Let me take you back to Sterling. Please.”
I laugh sarcastically. “I don’t have a home. My uncle’s house is being sold. I literally have nowhere to go back to.”
“I’ll buy you a house.” His hands slide down my arms, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind. “It doesn’t have to be in Sterling. Anywhere you want. I’ll buy it for you. I’ll come visit every chance I can.”
“Fuck that.” I shove him, hard, and he steps backward. “I am not some whore you can buy off,” I say, gritting my teeth to stop tears from flowing. “I’m also not a charity case.”
“Cara, that’s not it. Please,” he comes toward me but I back away. “Let me help you. Anywhere but here, Cara. Please.”
I have never seen a man as desperate as Theo looks now. What’s worse is that it’s getting harder to hate him.
“Why are you doing this?” I say, not even bothering to hold back my tears now. “Why are you playing with my heart? Don’t you see how much this hurts me?”
“I’m trying to help you,” Theo says softly. His hand cups my cheek as he gets closer. “Hurting you is the last thing I want.”
“Then why can’t I stay?”
His thumb slides across my cheek while he watches me with a deep sadness in his amber eyes. “I can’t tell you why, love.”
I close my eyes and lean forward. Theo wraps his arms around me as my face presses against his chest. I feel his chin rest on top of my head, feel the warmth of his hands locking together behind my back. His heart is pounding, just like mine.
“Do you really care about me?” I whisper, my lips against his chest.
“More than you know,” he whispers back. “More than I ever thought possible.”
I don’t know why I believe him, but I do. Maybe I’m the stupidest girl in the world. “Do you feel it?” I say, looking up at him. “The…connection…between us?”
“From the moment I met you.” His bottom lip pulls under his teeth, revealing a raw side to him that he’s tried to keep hidden. My breath catches in my throat. We stand here, looking into each other’s eyes, and right now I realize that I don’t care if I’m being an idiot. I want Theo, and I trust Theo and that’s all there is to it.
“If you really care about me, you’ll let me stay.”
He frowns, then pulls me closer and kisses my forehead. “Me caring about you is exactly why you can’t stay.”
Chapter 19
I have an electric type of attraction to Theo. I feel it between our bodies, holding us together like magnets. I sink my hands into his back pockets and gaze up at him. “What if I refuse to leave?” I say playfully. “Would you still want to be with me?”
“Of course I would,” he says, his voice pained. “But you would regret it.”
“I’d never regret being wrapped up in your arms.”
He groans, a blissful sound that makes his knees bend a little. “You’re killing me. Absolutely killing me.”
“But I get to stay,” I say, grinning like a dork.
He shakes his head, tightens his hold on my waist. “You can’t.”
“Yes, I can.”
Some of the playfulness fades from his eyes. “We’ll talk about this later. There’s still time to change your mind.”
I smirk. “Giving up that easily, huh?”
He shakes his head, an evil but sexy look spreading across his face. “I haven’t given up. I just can’t resist you anymore.”
I’m still processing his words when his lips find mine. That electric feeling between us intensifies when he kisses me. I feel it from my mouth down to my feet, and it is absolute euphoria.
My hands tangle into his hair, and then I’m lifting off the floor and he walks us to my bed. It’s like the hotel room all over again when he gently lays me down, his gaze filled with hunger as he crawls up the bed, his body hovering over mine.
Except this time I won’t push him away.
I haven’t won the war yet, but I won this battle. Theo is now making out with me instead of begging me to leave for some stupid reason he won’t tell me. I let all worries of that slip away while I fall further into bliss. His kisses trail down my neck, to my collar bone. I close my eyes and let the sensation of his lips flood my whole body with pleasure.
His tongue flicks across my neck and then he kisses the same place and my whole body shivers. My hands dig into his shoulders. I let my nails drag down his back lightly.
He leans into my touch, his muscles tightening as he hovers over me on the bed. I want him closer, need him closer.
I bring my hands up to his face, then pull him toward me for another kiss. His tongue tangles with mine, his breath warm and delicious.
There’s this surreal feeling between us as our bodies move together, our clothes annoyingly in the way. I can’t explain it, but Theo is unlike any other guy. It’s like he was meant just for me. Like his entire existence on this planet was formed by fate, waiting for us to find each other.
The feeling is so powerful I can barely breathe.
“You are so beautiful,” Theo whispers, his face casting a shadow over mine. I don’t know what to reply, but luckily, I don’t have to.
His lips find mine again, and I revel in the way this boy kisses. Like a fucking god. I melt into him, letting him take the lead, letting his hands roam up my shirt and over my breast.
When his lips find my collarbone, I gasp, and a
little whimper I can’t hold back escapes me. Theo chuckles to himself. “You will be the death of me,” he whispers. “The actual death of me.”
“So long as it takes a while,” I say between kisses. “I’m not ready for you to go.”
He laughs, somewhat ironically. “Don’t worry. I won’t.”
I slide out from underneath him and press his shoulder, motioning for him to roll onto his back. Waves of electricity are flowing through me, and I’m nervous as hell to take charge like this, but I want more of him.
I bite my lip and move forward, putting my hands on either side of his shoulders.
Then something vibrates in his jeans pocket. I jump off of him, the unexpected noise startling me.
“Shit,” he mutters, stretching out his leg to grab his phone. His face hardens as he looks at the screen. “I have to take this.”
Sitting up, he grabs my face and pulls me in for a kiss. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine,” I say weakly as I watch him stand up and straighten out his clothes. He puts the phone to his year. “Yeah,” he says sternly, his eyes far away. “I’ll be there.”
Sliding the phone back in his pocket, he turns to me. “Dinner is at seven.”
“I know,” I say, still breathless from our make out session. “Will you be there?”
He nods. Some trace of that phone call is still obviously on his mind right now. “Meet me at the pool at six. Just you, no one else, okay?”
I bat my eyelashes at him and pat the bed. “You don’t want to meet somewhere else instead?”
He grins, then shakes his head. “No, love. This is important.”
I sigh. “You want to talk about stupid things again.”
“Yes. But it’s important.”
He walks up to me and takes my hand, pulling it to his chest. “Promise you’ll meet me at six.”
“I promise,” I say, rolling my eyes. “But you won’t talk me into leaving.”
“Just be there,” he says with a resigned sigh. “Six o’clock. Alone.”
“Fine,” I say, dragging out the word so he knows how stupid I think it is.
“Good,” he says, kissing my forehead. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know. And then you’ll be begging to leave this place.”
I frown and let out my breath in a huff. “You’ve admitted you have feelings for me, Theo. So stop trying to get rid of me.”
“I would never do such a thing,” he says, his voice slow and sexy. “You’ll understand it all soon.” He gnaws on the inside of his lip and it gives me great satisfaction knowing he doesn’t want to leave me. “I just have some things to take care of,” he says with a sigh. “But then I’m all yours. And I’ll convince you that you need to leave, but you’ll understand why.”
I roll my eyes. “Unless you’re going with me, I’m not leaving.”
He hides his annoyance with a smile. I guess it’s kind of sweet that he doesn’t want me to know his true feelings when it comes to being annoyed with me. Still, I’m not sure anything he tells me will convince me to leave this ridiculously awesome living situation. I mean what would be better than living in luxury with the guy of your dreams?
I can’t think of anything.
Chapter 20
Shortly after Theo leaves, a garment cart is rolled into my room by the housekeeper who first greeted us at the door when we arrived. “Formal wear,” she says, giving me a small nod before turning to leave.
“Wait,” I say. She turns back to me.
“You need anything else, dear?” Her thick accent is beautiful but I’m not sure where it’s from.
I shake my head. “I just wanted to know your name. I’m Cara.”
“My name is Malina,” she says, dipping into a quick bow. “I’m the head housekeeper. Let me know if you need anything, dear.”
“Okay, thank you,” I say. “It’s nice to meet you,” I call out as she leaves. There’s a very uncomfortable feeling in my stomach when I’m around her and I’m not sure I’ll be able to get used to it. I’ve never had a housekeeper or anything in my life. I don’t like the idea of telling someone else what to do. Maybe I’ll talk to Henry about it. I’ll ask him to let me do my own stuff so the housekeepers don’t have to.
I turn toward the garment rack. It looks like one of those things bellhops use to cart around suit cases in hotels, only this one has a rail across the top where a few dozen outfits are hanging. Each one is in a clear plastic bag, and I flip through them, admiring the beautiful colors and fancy fabrics.
Theo will see me in one of these dresses tonight. I have to make sure I pick out the exact perfect one, one that will make him so attracted to me that he won’t be able to stand asking me to leave.
I grin as I look through each dress. They are all low cut, sparkly, and probably very expensive. I want to try on every single one and parade around like a princess.
But before I do, I call Riley on the wall screen.
“Heyyy,” she says, dragging out the word. Her face is entirely too close to the screen, and it makes me laugh.
“You don’t have to stand so close, you know.”
“Yes, I do,” she singsongs, flitting her eyes upward. “You can’t see my dress until I come over there. It’s too pretty to be seen on a stupid web cam.”
“You already picked one out?” I say, glancing back toward my dresses that aren’t even out of their bags yet.
“The moment I saw it, I knew it was perfect,” she says, her face still hovering hugely on my screen. “If you want, I can help you pick out yours and then you can tell me all about lover boy, who by the way, is totally hotter now than he seemed at the pier.”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, come over.”
“Hey, Cara,” she says, her voice taking on a different tone. “Remember when we were kids and they put us in two different dorm rooms at the home because we talked too much and they wanted to separate us?”
“Of course I remember. They separated us in school, too,” I say with a laugh. Riley and I weren’t ever bad kids, but we talked and giggled too much when we were together. It annoyed every teacher and caretaker we ever had.
Riley says, “Remember how we stole a butter knife from the kitchen and cut through the drywall so we’d have a little window to be able to talk to each other face to face?”
Now that’s a memory I had forgotten. We got in so much trouble for cutting that small square into the wall. They made us fix it and then we had bathroom cleaning duty for two months.
“I remember,” I say. “What’s your point?”
She grins. “This is just like that. Only better because we’re talking through technology instead of a hole.”
The call ends.
When Riley taps on my door a few seconds later, I open it to reveal a girl who barely resembles the one I’ve known most of my life. She’s chosen a black form fitting dress that’s so long it trails behind her a little bit. It has a plunging neckline that makes her boobs look bigger than they actually are, and she even looks taller than normal.
“Whoa,” I say, as she does a little spin for me. “You’re totally hot.”
“I know, right?” Riley’s hair is pulled up in a messy bun with strands of her bangs expertly hanging around her face. She’s styled the bun with some rhinestone hairpins and her makeup looks more classy sophisticated than her usual grunge style.
“You did all of that in the ten minutes since they delivered your dresses?” I say. “Did you also find some magic powers in your bedroom?”
“Nah,” she says, waving her hand at me as she walks over to my wall of windows. “I was bored waiting on you and lover boy, so I got started on my hair and makeup before the dresses arrived.”
“His name is Theo,” I say.
She shrugs. “Oh, but calling him lover boy is so much more fun because you get that embarrassed look on your face.”
“I hate you,” I say, turning my attention to the dresses.
Riley walks to the other side of the
garment rack and peeks at me through two of the dresses. “You love me!”
I stick out my tongue at her. “Okay so, here’s the deal. I’m going to tell you what happened with Theo, but I want to just say it all fast and then not dwell on it, okay?”
Riley lifts an eyebrow. “Oh-kay.” She pulls a dress of the hanger and shoves it toward me. “This is the one.”
“I want to try all of them on,” I say, putting the dress back on the rack. “I’ll start from one end and work my way down.”
She takes the dress again, shoving it toward me. “Trust me, this is the one. Now tell me about lover boy. Do we hate him or love him?”
“We don’t hate him,” I say, taking the dress she hands me and walking over to my bed. “But we’re not sure if we love him yet.”
“Love is a strong word for someone you just met,” she says with a nod. “So, what happened? Did you make out?”
“Riley!”
She puts a hand on her hip, a gesture that is so like her, but looks so unlike her since she’s currently dressed like an actress going to the Oscars. “It’s obvious you did. You’re looking guilty as hell right now.”
I roll my eyes and pretend I’m not blushing. I can’t even focus on the dress in front of me right now because thoughts of what Theo and I did on this very bed a little while ago are running through my mind.
“He wants me to leave,” I say, turning to Riley. She still has a hand on her hip, and now her pink glossed lips pucker into a frown.
“Still?”
I shrug. “He begged me to leave and quit this job. He even said he’ll buy me a freaking house if I want, just as long as I leave.”
“Damn,” she says. “What the hell is he hiding here?”
“He said he doesn’t have a girlfriend.” I bite my lip. “And then we totally made out.”
Riley chuckles. “So, that’s good news and bad news. Why on earth would he want you to leave? He works here, right?”
“Yeah, so it doesn’t make sense, unless he doesn’t really like me. But I swear he does, Riley. I can feel it.”
She frowns. “Maybe he has an issue with the boss, that Alexo guy. Maybe he’s about to quit and he thinks they won’t let you date him or something if he does?”