Second Chances Boxed Set: 7 Sweet & Sexy Romances in 1 Book

by Tracey Alvarez

  Her James.

  She swung her legs to the floor and pulled on her robe. She tied the sash and walked to the open window, suddenly needing to breathe. She felt enclosed, claustrophobic. She stepped onto the private terrace and clutched the rail. Fear. That was it. He’d driven through her defenses and she was scared she’d disintegrate and let go of the tight hold she had on the world. She’d given him the power. She needed to keep the power.

  She closed her eyes as she heard him approach her.

  “Morning, beautiful.” He nuzzled her neck.

  She shouldn’t, she knew she shouldn’t, but she leaned back into his embrace. His hands slipped around her body, one sliding under the fine fabric of her gown, and embraced her. Whenever he was close to her, her fears dissolved into the ether.

  “How come you smell so divine? How come you always smell so divine?”

  “Soap.”

  She felt his laughter against her neck. “Don’t tell me,” he murmured, his breath causing her skin to peak in goose bumps, sending shivers of excitement coursing through her body. “Supermarket brand.”

  “Exactly.” She twisted in his arms, placing her hands on his shoulders, meaning to push him away, as she struggled with her need to retain control. But, instead, his lips found hers and she melted into his kiss. His hands slipped down to her bottom and he pulled her to him and she could feel his arousal pressed hard against her body.

  She had to move away. “James… I—”

  But her words were stopped by a placement of his finger against her lips. “Susie. Give me some credit. I know what you’re thinking.”

  “How can you?”

  “I spent my days with you as a kid, watching you as you reacted to the world, marveling at your courage and strength. I know what makes you tick.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve changed.”

  “No.” He brushed her lips with his own. “Not so much.”

  “A lot of time’s passed since then.”

  “Time in which I’ve thought of you, of what you did, wondering what you’re doing, thinking about you…” He sighed. “I know you’re scared. You’re probably planning the fastest way you can get back to Waiheke, back to Tom, back to your life.”

  She looked at him, amazed.

  “I see I’ve surprised you. But you’re easy to read, so straight up, so straightforward. You’ve worked hard to gain your independence, to be not as vulnerable as your parents were to others. And it’s worked. And you’re not going to lose that now.”

  “It’s scary, James, trusting someone again, giving myself to someone again. We’re so different, you and I, from different worlds. What if you leave me again, maybe not now, but at some point in the future. I don’t know if I can handle that risk. I mean”—she shrugged—“what do I really know about you and your life in the States?”

  He stopped stroking her head and she noticed a slight frown appear between his eyes. Then he started stroking her head again. “That world, it’s irrelevant to us.”

  “But it’s your world.”

  “Was my world. I can’t go back to it, not now. What I want is here.”

  She swallowed as she let his words sink in. She waited for the panic to begin but there was none. She looked at him. “Here? In New Zealand?”

  He grinned and reached for her hands. “Here, with you, Susie. It’s you I want.”

  She looked down, shaking her head as she felt laughter bubble up. Once she’d started laughing she couldn’t stop. Where it came from she didn’t know. But she fell against him and he joined her, holding each other, in helpless laughter. Eventually it faded and he pulled away, lifting her chin as she wiped away her tears, whether of laughter or emotion, she didn’t know.

  “I hope that the laughter is in agreement, rather than not?”

  She nodded. “James… I, you’re all I want too. I trust you.”

  He nodded, his grin spreading wide across his face, his eyes shining. “Good, good. We’ll go back to Waiheke and make a life for ourselves.” He closed his eyes sharply and frowned, turning away. “But I have to go to the US tomorrow, I have… business to tie up.”

  She slipped her arms around his waist and leaned her cheek against his back as he reached for his phone. “I don’t want you to go.”

  He slid around, putting his arm around her, even as he rang a number. “And I don’t want to go but I have to.”

  She looked up at him brightly. “I know! I’ll come too. Tom will be more than happy to stay at my aunt’s for a few more days and play with his mates and we’re not busy at the winery until next month. How about it?”

  James frowned. “I’ll be busy. There’s the winery’s annual winter party I’ve organized. Other things I have to attend to.”

  “Party? Sounds good fun.”

  He hesitated only a moment—a long moment in which she was beginning to wonder whether he really did want her—before he nodded. “Okay, Suse. A few days there to sort out business and then back to Waiheke. For both of us.”

  “Both of us.” She sighed as she sank back into his arms, against his lips and his body as he tossed the phone on the table and rolled back onto the bed.

  Chapter Ten

  Twenty-four hours later, Napa Valley, California

  “We’re nearly here, baby.”

  Susie felt the softest of touches on her cheek and turned and kissed James’s finger. She stretched and looked out the window at the moving countryside, softly blanketed by a mist through which the bare branches of tall birch trees rose like giant feathers dividing fields of gnarled vines. But it was neither of these that made her gasp. The entire ground was carpeted with the brightest yellow flowers.

  “Mustard blossoms. They always surprise people. It’s not what you imagine in winter.”

  “Nor is the fog, to be honest, but it’s all beautiful.”

  “Looks like the fog will burn off soon. We get a lot of clear blue skies in winter too. We also have great food, great red wines, roaring fires, hot pools… and when we’ve tired of that, there’s bed.”

  Susie sighed. “Bed… Yes, I like the sound of it all, but especially bed.” She turned to face him, tracing her finger down his shoulder, his arm, to his hand, firm on the steering wheel. She followed the undulations of his knuckles and shook her head in disbelief at the shivers of need that her touch inspired. “But not to sleep.”

  She was rewarded with a deep intake of breath from James. The muscle in his jaw flickered as he tried to rein in his desire. Just seeing how she affected him fueled her own desire. He put his foot down hard and they roared up the road. She closed her eyes and smiled to herself.

  James swung the Porsche around the circular drive with a flourish. He reached over and kissed her. “Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty.”

  “I’m awake all right,” she murmured against his lips, as she slipped her hand around his head and brought him closer to her. She felt him groan against her mouth, as their kiss deepened. His hand moved up the bare skin of her legs, under her skirt. She clamped his hand so it couldn’t move. “Unless you want me here and now, I suggest you stop.” She grinned at the look of total frustration on his face.

  He sighed and nuzzled her neck. “Susie, you have no idea what you do to me.”

  “Oh”—she opened the door—“I have some.”

  He slammed the door shut and walked up to her, putting his arm around her, drawing her close. She snuggled into his body, still amazed that she was here, with him. With him… she repeated to herself.

  “Then perhaps you’ll describe it to me. I’d like to hear you tell me what effect you have on me.”

  “You want me to talk dirty?”

  Just then the concierge walked out to meet them. James kissed her chastely on the top of her head. “Later,” he murmured before greeting the concierge.

  Susie looked up at the soaring cream limestone columns and arched portico. “Wow. This is grand.”

  James took her hand and they followed the concierge and p
orter into the marble interior of the winery. “The previous owner had it designed to be a modern take on a classical Italian winery. It won all the architectural awards when it and the hotel were built five years ago. Come on, you can get settled, enjoy a mud bath if you like.”

  “A mud bath? You’re joking. I wear my gumboots to protect me from mud. I don’t want to roll around in the stuff. Not without you, anyway,” she whispered in his ear. Her words had the effect she wanted—she could see it in his eyes, in the grip of his hand as it tightened around hers and in the way he plucked the key from the desktop and quickened his pace. When they reached a wide flight of steps, they began to run, up the stairs and across the mezzanine to one of the half a dozen doors that led off it.

  Laughing, they burst into the suite, flung down their carry bags and she jumped into his arms, her legs curling around his hips, his hands skimming around her bottom, slipping under her panties as he walked over to the bed. They fell, laughing onto it, as he pushed up her dress and she struggled with his zip.

  She took both hands and cupped him, before drawing up his full, hard length and guiding him to where she wanted him to be. She was still clothed, her dress pushed up, her body trembling with desire. He reached into his pocket and quickly unwrapped a condom. She took it from him and rolled it on, caressing him as she went. He groaned, swept away her hands and pushed into her and held her there before slipping gently out, her body acutely sensitive to the exquisite friction of his movement. She was on the verge of coming and she cried out, pulling him to her, her fingers and nails digging into his taut muscle through the fine fabric of his shirt.

  Slowly he increased his rhythm, thrusting in and out of her with a heightening tension that showed in his face, in the taut muscles of his body, and in his breathing. She clung to him, the coils of delicious sensation tightening, until she cried out as her body clutched and massaged his, wanting everything he could give her. Only then did he come, calling out her name in a long gasp that ended with his mouth on hers.

  He scooped her into his arms and rolled onto his back. She held his face in her hands and kissed each cheek before kissing his lips. “I love you, Mac.”

  And she could see in his eyes that he felt the same way. But then, she saw something else. His eyes clouded as if a sudden thought had cast a shadow over his feelings and he withdrew and rolled onto his back, but only for a moment. Then he swung his legs onto the ground, stood up, and readjusted his clothing. He turned back to her and gave her a brief smile. “I need to go out, Suse. I won’t be long. I have something I need to take care of.”

  “What is it? Shall I come?”

  “For just about everything else but this. Just one meeting, I promise and then we’ll sort out business, go to the winery’s annual winter party, and spend a few days before we return home.”

  “Home,” she repeated, not even trying to stop the stupid grin that she knew spread over her face. “Home, I like that word. It’s different now.”

  “Because I’m in it.” He grinned before turning to pick up jacket.

  She kneeled on the bed and slipped her arms around him, resting her head on his back. “For once, your robust ego is correct—because you’re in it.”

  He turned and kissed her on the cheek. “You have no idea what it means to me either. A home with the woman I love and my son.”

  “Your son?”

  “Susie, it doesn’t matter to me if Tom isn’t my biological son, he’ll be my son from now on. I love him, and I love you.”

  He turned and Susie put her head to one side questioningly. “Sounds like you love Tom more? Should I be jealous?”

  He stood up and walked over to the window, pushing it open, letting the cool winter air inside.

  “James, what is it?”

  He didn’t speak immediately. “It’s just something I have to deal with. I’ll tell you all about it later.”

  “Is it something I should be worried about?”

  “No.” He turned to her with a quick, tense smile. “Nothing. Have a spa—mud or no mud. Look around the winery. I’ll have someone come up and show you around. I’ll only be gone a few hours and when I return”—he approached her and put his hands around her waist—“I want you dressed in your finest so I can show you off.”

  She shook her head, smiling. “Show me off? You’re one mad man. Just as well I love you.”

  He pressed his lips together as if trying to suppress something but there was no smile. He kissed her quickly on the lips. She wondered if it was what she’d said. The words had just slipped out somehow. She’d always been like that. She’d suppressed her feelings for so long, there didn’t seem any stopping them now they’d been released. “Have I said something you didn’t want to hear?”

  “No, my darling, you didn’t. It’s just that… I can’t concentrate just yet.” He pushed his fingers through his hair with the same rueful grin. “Later.” He kissed her once more and then grabbed his coat and was gone.

  She stepped onto the balcony and shivered, watching his Porsche turn around and return the way they’d come. She had no idea where he was going. So… he had a secret. She shivered again, but it wasn’t through cold this time.

  Only a few hours later the cars began arriving, disgorging the rich and beautiful, dressed in their finest. Susie didn’t move. She continued to watch until she saw James’s car amongst them. He was alone and jumped out and tossed his keys to the attendant who drove it away. He was with her in minutes. She stayed by the window. He entered the room and turned on the light.

  “Susie! I thought you’d have already gone down. You look beautiful. I love the Grecian one-shouldered look.” She looked down at the dress she’d selected because it was the cheapest in the boutique adjoining the winery.

  “You didn’t tell me it would all be so expensive.”

  He frowned. “You don’t have to worry about money any more. I have an account. I told you to put it on it.”

  “I’m not doing that. I have some pride, you know.”

  He sighed and walked over to her, all sign of his earlier strain forgotten. His hands rubbed her cold shoulders while he searched her face. “You, Susie Henderson, are one stubborn person. Anyway, what are you doing here all alone in the dark? Did you have a good afternoon? Did you enjoy the winery tour?”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t go.” She bit her lip. She didn’t want to say that she couldn’t face the tour, not while she was wondering what he was doing, not while she was wondering it she’d just make the biggest mistake of her life. Or the second biggest. “Not in the mood. Anyway…” She turned away in his arms and picked up her bag. “How was your afternoon? Get your mysterious meeting out of the way?”

  “Susie. I’ll tell you all about it. I promise.”

  “How about now?”

  He shook his head. “Not now. I can’t. It’s too soon. I can’t risk…”

  “What can’t you risk, Mac?”

  He sucked in a breath, which made her even more nervous. “Suse, just leave it. You’ve got to trust me on this one. We’re late. I need to change and get down there.”

  They walked under the massive Palladian arch, supported on either side by marble statues of naked men, their hands reaching up behind them as if to support the arch, around which marble clusters of grapes grew, dangling down from the central point.

  “What do you think?” James asked.

  Susie’s flat sandals made no noise on the marble floor, unlike the high heels of the other women, the shouts and noise of conversation that echoed around the massive, echoing marble space, built to impress. Only it didn’t work on Susie. “Think? It’s”—she shrugged—“amazing.” And it was. Beautiful people moved everywhere, fitting into the grandiose design of the building and its furnishings. “And it’s a million miles away from Whisper Creek.”

  “Over eight thousand to be exact.” James grinned. He took a couple of glasses of champagne from the tray of one of the many dinner-suited waiters and handed her a gla
ss. “To us?”

  She raised her glass. “What’s happened, James? This afternoon you were tense, nervous about something, but now you’re happy.”

  He put a possessive arm around her. “Sure am. I’m with you, aren’t I?” He looked around. “Now let me introduce you to a few people.” He acknowledged a wave from a group of people who descended on them, effectively stopping any further conversation between the two of them.

  With each passing hour, Susie felt more and more unhappy but she couldn’t figure out why exactly. Yes, the winery dwarfed Whisper Creek in every respect, from the scale and quality of the building, its operations and the wines, to the clientele, who wouldn’t even have heard of little old Waiheke Island, let alone have been there. And then there were the people. At least here in the cellars where they’d progressed to, the differences between her world and this one, were less obvious. With the light shining down from the far end of the brick vaulted cellar, it appeared never-ending. She jumped as she felt James’s hand on her waist. She leaned in against him with a smile. “I can’t believe you’re interested in Whisper Creek when you own something like this.”

  “Used to own.”

  Susie frowned and turned to face him. He was standing with his back to the overhead light and she couldn’t see his expression, but she could hear the tension in his voice, a tension that had been present ever since they’d landed in the US.

  “But, upstairs, the chairman talked about you as if you owned it.”

  “I did. I’ve just arranged to sell it.”

  “But I don’t understand. What’s going on?”

  “It’s complicated. I should have told you in New Zealand. It’s just that I never, ever expected you and I would…”

  “Become lovers again?”

  “Yes. The most I hoped for was to see your future settled and to have some kind of forgiveness from you.”

  “That’s all you wanted? You didn’t want a relationship with me?” Susie felt a sickening feeling slip low into her gut. The residual flavor of wine soured on her tongue.