by Kelley, HD
I opened the card first. “My apologies for last night. Alec,” it read. My insides quickened as thoughts of his kiss flooded my mind, that passionate kiss that made me want him, the kiss I haven’t been able to stop thinking about.
My mouth dropped open the second I lifted the lid on the hinged box and saw the round cut diamond tennis bracelet inside. But before I could fully process the completely-over-the-top gift Alec had sent, the second such gift in two days, the alarm went off on my phone, reminding me that boarding was about to begin.
Reminding myself this was a business trip, I set the box on top of the wardrobe to deal with later, grabbed my binder off the table, and went to find Todd, the Shipboard Director, and our guide during the boarding process.
• • • • •
Passenger boarding didn’t take as long as I’d expected. Turns out Ultimate had limited the amount of tickets available for their maiden voyage. “Plus, we never book rooms on the same floor as Mr. Payne,” Todd explained when he escorted me back to my cabin. He reminded me about the launch ceremony then disappeared down the hall.
Figuring there would be plenty of press on hand, I ducked inside my room to change into a more professional outfit, just in case I got caught in another unfortunate photo op.
I hadn’t heard from Tim all day. I called him to see if he’d boarded but his voicemail picked up. After leaving a quick message about the launch ceremony, I dialed my voicemail to see if he’d called me back. There was one new message, only it wasn’t from Tim. “I can’t stop thinking about you. I’ll pick you up at one.” I broke out in a full mouth smile as I listened to Alec’s message again. The truth was, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him either. With a smile still on my face, I hung up the phone. When I glanced at the clock that smile quickly vanished. Shit, it was almost one. I scrambled to my feet to find a change of clothes.
Before I could finish getting ready, Alec was knocking at the door. I hurried to put on my shirt while I peeked through the peep hole, just in case it wasn’t him. When I saw it was in fact Alec, I opened the door. “I’m almost ready.”
Alec tapped his watch. “It’s one o’clock, Isabella.”
“Yeah, well, some of us had work to do this morning,” I called over my shoulder as I headed back into the bathroom to freshen up my makeup.
“Are you suggesting I didn’t?” Alec called after me.
“If the shoe fits,” I said, laughing while I pulled a handful of mousse through my hair to calm the frizzy curls the humidity was causing.
“I’m not sure what shoe you’re talking about,” Alec said from the doorway of the bathroom. “Because I got up extra early this morning so I’d be ready in time for the launch. Now hurry up. The ceremony will be starting soon.”
Five minutes later Alec was pulling me toward the pilot house. “Why are we watching it from up here?”
“Did you see all the press down there?” Alec paused for a second to point over the railing. “If they get wind I’m aboard I’ll never get you alone.”
Wait. What? “Is that why Tim hasn’t arrived, because you want to get me alone?”
“I’ll never tell,” he whispered, a wicked grin on his face that said it all. At that moment I realized this wasn’t a business trip at all.
• • • • •
“Stay with me tonight,” Alec said as I packed up my suitcase to leave. I really wanted to stay. The last three days spent with him were the happiest I’d had in months, maybe even years. We’d walked through the garden, had drinks by the pool, and even watched a movie under the stars. Alec took me on a helicopter tour of the islands and snorkeling in Green Turtle Cay. He’d held me in his arms as we watched the sunrise over the Atlantic from the panoramic view of the Star deck, and later that night he held me even tighter as we watched the sun set over the Sea of Abaco from a beach in Marsh Harbour. It was a whirlwind of experiences packed into one unbelievable weekend.
All thoughts of work had been pushed far from my mind. Not one nightmare, not one worry of home. It was exactly what I’d needed. I didn’t want it to end, but deep down I knew it had to. We were back in the real world now, a world with guidelines on client relationships, and travel schedules, and two kids who were mad at me, who would surely blame me for the divorce.
Alec pulled me into his arms, his lips brushing up against mine like he’d done so many times this weekend. As I melted into his arms I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist.
“Alec Payne, what are you doing to me?”
“I told you I was dangerous, baby.” He kissed me hard and swatted me playfully on the backside. “Now let’s go. Preston will see to your bags.”
Alec led me down the elevator to the staff only gangway. He stopped at the top of the stairs and looked around, checking for photographers and overly zealous reporters, I presumed. He announced the all clear then tugged my arm, moving me quickly down the stairs to the waiting limo. “Where are we going?” I asked when we were both inside the car.
“My condo,” he replied with that wicked grin I’d come to enjoy so much.
My insides quickened as I considered the possibilities a night in his private space might bring. Finally! Sex!
“For dinner,” he said, as if he’d heard my private thoughts. He kissed me on the hand, his grin bigger now. I sat back in the cool leather seat, silently wondering what I was getting myself into.
We stepped out of the elevator and into the large foyer of Alec’s condo. I was instantly struck by the breathtaking view of Tampa Bay from the floor-to-ceiling glass wall in the great room. I stared out over the water as thoughts of the first day Alec and I spent at sea flooded my mind. We’d stood on his private balcony, his arms wrapped tightly around me, watching the sea pass by. “I could stand here with you forever,” he’d said. And I’d secretly wished we could.
“Amazing view, isn’t it?” Alec said, pulling me into his arms. He kissed me gently then released me, leaving me wanting him that much more.
Without another word, he tugged at my arm and I followed him into the kitchen. “Sit,” he commanded, pointing to a stool by the breakfast bar. The tone in his voice was stern and it made me think about that swat from earlier. I couldn’t help but smile.
“What are you smiling about?”
“Just thinking about the weekend,” I answered truthfully. “I had an amazing time, Alec. I can’t thank you enough.” Although I was already thinking of a few ways I’d like to try.
Alec smiled silently as he opened the refrigerator and began pulling out ingredients.
“What are you doing?”
“Cooking you dinner.”
“Can I help?”
He poured two glasses of wine then handed me one. “You can tell me about that dream of yours,” he said causally as he began rinsing the vegetables he just pulled out of the refrigerator.
My body tensed, how could he possibly know about my dreams? My heart began to beat faster and a lump formed in my throat. I took a long drink from the glass he’d handed me.
Alec looked up from the cutting board where he was now busy chopping; his eyes finding mine, silently demanding an answer.
“What dream?”
Alec stopped chopping and leaned in until his lips were touching mine, then bit my bottom lip. Hard.
“Ow,” I protested.
He went back to chopping vegetables. “I told you, Isabella. I don’t like half-truths.” My sex tingled and I squirmed on the stool. “Now, are you going to tell me about that dream?” He leaned forward again. “Because I have ways of making you talk.” I bit my own lip this time, my insides quickening.
All this sexual tension had me ready to explode. I took a long drink, adding just the right amount of courage I needed. “Well, I’m not telling,” I said, practically begging him to make me talk. I’d wanted him since that first kiss and right then I didn’t care that he was a client. I hadn’t had sex in months and I was beyond ready.
Alec set the knife down and slowly
wiped his hands on the kitchen towel. I took another drink of wine as he drew near. Without words, he removed the glass from my hand and set it down next to the knife. My eyes widened with anticipation. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, Isabella. I’m very dangerous.” At that moment I didn’t care how dangerous he was. He’d had my nerves on end all weekend, kissing me, exciting me, leaving me wanting. It was time for him to put an end to this misery.
He pulled me into him, my back to his front, snaking one arm around my waist and moving my hair to the side with the other. Trailing a line of kisses down my exposed neck, Alec’s hands roamed my midsection, down to my thigh, under my dress, trailing his finger along the waistband of my panties. His erection pressed against my back and I moaned softly. “Is this what you want?”
“Yes,” I gasped. He pulled his hand back to my waist and turned me around. “Yes, Alec, yes,” I moaned again.
“Not until you tell me about that dream.”
“Alec! That’s not fair.”
He smiled and kissed me on the nose. “I told you, I have ways of making you talk.”
“Taking advantage of a sex starved woman is hardly something to brag about, Mr. Payne.” I reached past him and picked up my wine glass, draining it quickly this time.
Alec’s eyebrows shot up. “Sex starved, huh? You better start talking then.” He started a pot of water then added the vegetables he’d been chopping to a sauté pan.
“What are you making?”
“Pasta, now stop stalling or I’ll be forced to try harder.” Alec unwrapped the ball of dough he’d pulled out of the refrigerator earlier and began kneading it.
I helped myself to another glass of wine. It’d been such a great weekend. I hated to ruin it by even thinking about my nightmares, but what choice did I have? After another long drink I said, “There isn’t much to tell, really.” Alec looked up from the dough he was kneading, his eyes narrowed. “How do you even know about my dreams anyway?” I asked, praying a distraction would do the trick.
“Dreams? As in more than one?” Shit. Shit. Shit. Had he been talking about something else? “How often do you have these dreams?”
“I haven’t had one in days. Now tell me how you know about them.”
“You dozed off when we were waiting for the sun to rise. You were talking in your sleep.”
Dammit! My heart began to race. “What did I say?”
“Not until you tell me about that dream.”
Alec began rolling the dough through the pasta press, but his eyes stayed fixed on me. I didn’t want to talk about this but I knew he wasn’t going to let it go. “They started a few months ago. My doctor says they’re caused by stress. End of story.”
“What are they about?”
Dropping my head, I whispered, “Just a bunch of scattered thoughts. None of it makes sense.”
Alec stopped rolling the dough and looked deep into my eyes. “You sounded really scared, Isabella.”
“Alec, please. I haven’t had to relive those stupid dreams since before we left. I don’t want to think about them now.”
He leaned in and kissed me softly on the lips. “Fair point, baby.”
“It’s your turn,” I said, more than ready to take the spotlight off me for a while. “Tell me more about your marriage.”
Alec dropped the pasta in the boiling water and stirred the vegetables. “I wouldn’t call it a marriage, really. We met. We got married. We got an annulment. Our entire relationship lasted six weeks.”
“Six weeks.” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.
“Six weeks,” he repeated. He emptied the wine in his glass now too, and I knew I’d touched a nerve.
“Oh, speaking of money,” I said, hoping to lighten the mood once again. I opened my purse and pulled out the outrageously expensive bracelet he’d sent to my cabin the first day of the cruise. “I can’t accept this.” The dress was one thing, but diamonds? That seemed way too much too soon.
Alec tilted his head to one side. “Well, I can’t take it back. It was an apology.”
I moved the box closer to him. “What? No cruise line?”
He pushed the box back toward me, his mouth pressed in a thin, hard line. “If you’re going to intentionally push my buttons, Isabella, you’re going to need your strength.” Shit. My plans to lighten the mood fell flat. Alec tossed the pasta and vegetables together then mixed in the white wine sauce he’d made.
Carrying the two plates to the table, he pointed to the dining table. “Sit,” he commanded.
“Control Freak,” I whispered but sat down anyway.
The vegetable capellini he made was delicious, but I wasn’t in the mood to eat. Half an hour ago I was ready to rip Alec’s clothes off and devour every inch of his body, but talking about my dreams had reminded me just how messed up my life had become since that package arrived.
“Don’t you like it,” Alec asked as I moved the pasta around the plate with my fork.
“Actually, it’s delicious. I’m just too distracted to eat.”
His wicked grin returned. “Distracted by what?”
“By you, by this, by what happens next.”
Alec stood up and pulled me into his chest. “What happens next is entirely up to you. But you should know it’s all or nothing with me. I don’t do half way.”
Alec kissed me, softly at first, then deep and hard, dissolving all my doubts. My heart beat so hard I could feel it in my toes. “Can you handle that, Isabella? Can you handle all of me?”
I wondered what he meant but right then I didn’t care. “Yes,” I said breathlessly. Yes, I wanted all of him, inside me, here, now. I greedily ran my hands over his chest, his back, around his waist. I ran my thumb along the waistband of his pants.
He grabbed my wrists and pulled my hands to his mouth, kissing each one gently before wrapping my arms around his neck. “Hold on,” he commanded. I immediately did as he asked. “Good girl,” he whispered after he scooped me into his arms. “I’m taking you to bed now, baby.”
Alec carried me out of the kitchen then up the stairs, not stopping until he was standing outside his bedroom door. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. You can still say no.”
Oh no, he was not backing out this time. I kissed him, hard. “I’ve wanted this since the first time you kissed me.”
Without another word he carried me inside his room and set my feet down on the ground. His eyes were fixed on mine as he slowly lifted the hem of my dress over my head. I squirmed with anticipation. This is really happening. Alec dropped my dress to the floor then held me at arm’s length, staring, soaking me in. “You are so beautiful, Isabella.” His words made me blush and I looked away, suddenly feeling naked and exposed. Spencer was the only man who’d ever seen me naked and I felt self-conscious with Alec’s eyes on my bare flesh.
Sensing my discomfort, Alec lifted my chin until my eyes found his. “Beautiful,” he whispered.
With a trail of warm kisses Alec slowly moved from my lips, to my chin, and down my neck while his hands roamed my body. He reached behind me and unfastened my bra, sliding the straps over my shoulders, letting it fall to the ground. Alec ran a finger along my side from my waist all the way to my breasts then wrapped a hand around each one, gently caressing. I squirmed again. “Patience, Isabella,” he warned.
Alec unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his tan, chiseled muscles. I reached up and touched his chest, his hard body only making me want him more. I pushed his shirt over his shoulders letting it fall to the floor then reached for the buckle on his belt, but in one swift move Alec scooped me up and deposited me on the bed.
Crawling on top of the bed, he kneeled between my legs then leaned down and kissed the top of my panties. Trailing a line of kisses up my body, to my breasts, my neck, my mouth, then back again, Alec devoured my naked form. I squirmed beneath him, my body begging him to take me, each kiss bringing me that much closer to the edge of ecstasy.
“Patience, Isabella. I want to savor you. Lifting my foot he added, “Every inch of you.” Not waiting for me to respond, he began his barrage of kisses once more, my toe, my instep, my ankle, slowly moving up my leg until he reached my sex. I bucked my hips, wanting, needing, ready to burst. “Be still, Isabella,” he warned before starting the process over with my other leg.
I tried not to move but my body was on fire, all sensation and carnal desire. Before I knew it I was squirming beneath him. “You’re so impatient, Isabella.” His wicked grin returned. “I’m going to enjoy fixing that.” Alec climbed on top of me, pinning me under his weight, his erection pressing into me. He kissed me again.
“Alec, please,” I begged when he finally broke the kiss.
Tantalizingly slow he slid my panties over my hips. I lifted off the bed to aid the process but he wasn’t in any hurry as his hands explored my body. My breath hitched as he skimmed the edge of my folds. He alternated kisses and nips on my inner thigh until I thought I’d explode.
“Please, Alec,” I begged again. “I want you. I need to feel you inside me.”
He ran his tongue over my folds. “Every inch of you,” he said again. I bucked my hips, looking for friction, anything to help me find the release I so desperately craved, but he pulled back. A moment later all I could feel was the wet heat of his tongue circling my clitoris.
My body began to unravel. “Oh, God, Alec,” I panted. I fisted my fingers through his hair as I climbed closer and closer to the edge, the sensation almost too much for me to handle. When he slid a finger inside me, expertly moving it around, all my built up tension had me ready to explode. “Alec,” I cried out, unable to contain the pleasure any longer.
“That’s it, baby. Come for me.” His words were my undoing. My body stiffened, my muscles contracting as I fell over the edge of my release. Alec kissed me on the mouth, my salty pleasure still on his lips, leaving me with an overwhelming urge to taste him too.