He loosened the knot that tied her hands, still moving with force inside her warm, wet core. With a little effort he freed her legs as well. Her hands grasped desperately for his shoulders, and her legs wrapped frantically around him, her panting breath heavy. With tenderness in her eyes she leaned him up and turned him gently to his back. Mounting him, spinning her hands up in her own wild hair, she stared down at him. Riding his shaft into the oblivion of ecstasy, she uttered passionately, “You, Monroe, you are mine. I am yours.”
Chapter 16
“Your dress is in the bathroom along with all the lotions and beauty products you liked,” Monroe whispered as he gently kissed her bare shoulder. It was late afternoon, but he could easily be convinced to stay in bed with her until the next morning. If she protested the idea of keeping their dinner plans, his willpower would snap like a dry twig under heavy snow.
“Are you sure you want me at this dinner?” she asked, squirming to press all of her naked body to his as he curled around her tighter. “I won’t be insulted at all if you decide to go without me. The reservation is made. No hard feelings.”
“Don’t say hard,” he groaned, nibbling on her ear. “I’ll be canceling the dinner completely if you keep talking dirty to me.”
“I wasn’t,” she protested, playfully swatting him away. “I laid a lot on you, and I just wanted to give you the chance to back out. I’m not your problem.”
“There you go again,” he said, gripping her hips tightly before she could get away. “Laid a lot on me? I’d say so.”
“It’s a good thing you have your looks,” she teased as she finally broke free of his grip. “I’m getting in the shower. A hot shower. So hot and wet.” She was halfway to the bathroom now, her face lit with a funny smile. Tossing the sheets off in mock fury he made a break for her. She exploded with an effervescent giggle as she rushed into the bathroom and locked him out. Her sound of sheer joy intoxicated him. His own success had been paramount to anything else. That had been the key to his achievements. But getting her to smile was climbing on the list of things he wanted.
As he heard the shower turn off he knew he had to get up. If she stepped out and saw him lying in bed staring at the ceiling, she’d start asking questions. Like most other emotions that tried to infiltrate the rational thought in his life, he’d shake this off. Aria was beautiful. She was incredibly insightful and smart. The kind of woman who, if he ever considered having a future, it would be with someone like her.
He reluctantly pushed himself off the bed and tried to get back to what was important. Dinner with James West. Deciding if the resort was a solid investment or not. He had the documents he needed now. His office had finally sent over all the public financial information he’d been waiting for. Cost analysis could be done. Risk analysis could be completed. Every piece of the puzzle was in his hands. It was time to slide them into place.
“This dress,” Aria cooed as she glided out of the bathroom. “Where did you find something so perfect? Classic nineteen sixties design. This fabric is so rich and elegant. Halter. Flare. I can’t believe how well it fits. The color, magenta, it’s so rich.”
“I can’t claim to have picked it for those reasons. I like the way I knew it would hug those curves of yours. I knew the color would look good against your pretty skin.”
“You did good. You did so good,” she said, running her hands over the fabric and grinning widely.
The ache returned to Monroe’s chest. Like a drunk who’d just been poured a drink, the more she smiled, the more trouble he was in.
“I should get dressed too. We’ll need to leave for dinner soon. I got a text from James. He and his wife landed. They’ll check in and meet us at the restaurant.” Moving by her, he fought the urge to hold her and that perfect dress against his body.
“You know,” she said as she followed him into the bathroom and began pinning up her hair, “I feel like I’ve been waiting my entire life to put on a dress like this. I promise I won’t spill anything on it, and you can give it to the next girl.”
He spun the knobs on the shower and stepped in once it was clear she had no problem hanging out while he did. There was an ease about her and the way she moved through his life. He watched through the glass, unable to pull his eyes away as she applied a ruby red lipstick on her lush smile.
“I don’t pass dresses around to all the women I know,” he chuckled as he lathered his cheeks, ready to shave away the stubble he’d let grow over the last couple of days. Dinner with a potential business partner meant his clean-cut look.
“So we all get new ones?” she teased as she touched up the rest of her makeup.
“Aria,” he said in a low voice as steam began to fill the room and cut off his view of her, “you need to go home. I can help you. I’ll get the answers you’ve always wanted. I can find out what kind of man your father is. I can track down your mother and help find a solution for her. You can’t stay here any longer.”
“I know,” Aria whispered. “But I couldn’t ask you to do all that for me. Just do what you came here to do. That’s what’s important. Maybe later we can talk about it.”
“So you’ll at least consider it?” he asked, his blood pumping faster at the idea of her stubbornness fading. She’d cracked the door open, and he knew it wouldn’t be long before he’d be able to walk right through.
“You could do all that, Monroe?” she asked, and he wiped the steam off the glass so he could read her expression. Her brows were knit together and her eyes glassy with emotion. “It seems impossible.”
“For you kid,” he smiled, his cheeks still half covered in shaving cream, “I could move mountains with my bare hands.”
Chapter 17
“James,” Monroe called in a deep voice as a man and a woman approached their table. “Glad you found the place all right.” Aria noted how different Monroe seemed tonight. From the tone of his voice to his sharp perfectly tailored gray suit, clean shaven face, and slicked back hair. It made him look like a new man. A hot man. A sexy man. But different than she was used to.
“Hello Monroe. This is my wife, Libby. Libby, this is Monroe Redson and . . .” James trailed off as he glanced her way and realized he couldn’t make the introduction without some help.
“This is my girlfriend, Aria,” Monroe announced as casually as if it were true. “Aria, this is James and Libby West. I tell you, judging by the menu, I think we’re in for a real treat tonight. Aria spends more time on the island than I do, and she swears by this place.”
“Wonderful,” Libby cheered as she took a seat by Aria and hung her designer bag over the back of her chair. “Aria, that dress is divine. I saw it in Paris a month ago during Fashion Week. My coloring is all wrong for it. I’m so pale and pasty, but it’s absolutely stunning on you.”
“Thank you,” Aria blushed. “You are anything but pasty. You have the most beautiful porcelain skin.”
James leaned in and kissed his wife’s cheek. “I told her she could have whatever she wanted when we were there, and she left with nothing.”
Libby leaned in and in a hushed voice chuckled out a rebuttal. “I’m still not used to all this money. I come from very humble living, and since marrying James everything is different. I looked at the price tag on that very dress. I saw eighteen thousand dollars and panicked. Someday I’m sure it’ll sink in that when he says I can have what I want, he means it.”
“Let’s hope,” James grinned. “But in the meantime you look stunning in everything you put on.”
“You’ll have to forgive us,” Libby beamed. “We’re still in that honeymoon stage of life. I know it’s terribly annoying to be around us, but we can’t seem to help it.”
“Don’t help it,” Aria replied quickly. “I think it’s wonderful.” She tried desperately not to show the reaction she was feeling inside. How in the world did a girl like her end up wearing an eighteen-thousand-dollar dress tonight? Maybe she should start asking Monroe a few more questions. “How did yo
u two meet?”
James’s and Libby’s eyes met and they both broke into roaring laughter as he explained, “There is literally no way to make that long story short. Let’s just say we were destined for each other. Star-crossed lovers. Doomed from the beginning, but somehow we made it work. Lots of obstacles yet here we are.”
“Let’s get some drinks so we can toast to that,” Monroe said, flagging down the waiter. Aria watched as he skimmed the wine list, conferred with James and Libby, and then selected what she knew to be a three-hundred-dollar bottle of wine. A wine they served often at the resort. She was still trying to believe she heard the price tag on the dress correctly. Monroe, who she thought she’d calculated so perfectly and pegged so easily, was now becoming an enigma.
The chatter was light and friendly as the night moved along. “So tell me Aria, what’s your favorite thing about the island?” James asked, as their meals were all placed in front of them.
“This had better not be business talk,” Libby warned as she pointed her fork at Monroe and James knowingly. “I told you before I ever stepped on that plane we were coming here for downtime. A nice meal, no talking shop. If you two want to go off later and smoke cigars, sip Scotch, and bore each other to death be my guest.”
“I was simply asking what Aria likes about the island. Monroe mentioned she’s spent time here. She picked this restaurant, which is amazing. Purely innocent social question.” James waited patiently until Libby lowered her fork and sank it into her fish.
“Well,” Aria said, drawing out the word. In truth her head was dazed from the wine and the questions whirling through it about Monroe. Why would Monroe call her his girlfriend? Why was he willing to drop thousands of dollars on a dress for her? The extravagance the first night at the hotel was a lot, but she’d found a way to explain it away. He was here to investigate things. He was one of the good guys. What exactly was this business Libby was so concerned they’d talk about? She could hardly breathe as she considered it all.
“Are you all right?” Monroe asked, looking genuinely worried as he touched her arm. “You look a little flushed.”
“The wine.” She giggled. “I had more than I realized. It’s so good. I guess it just got away from me.”
“Story of my life,” Libby said, trying to reassure her. “I swear I have to give my glass to the waiters some nights so James will stop filling it. When you’re having a lovely evening you lose track of how many glasses, or should I say bottles, get poured.”
“Maybe we should call it a night after we’re through eating,” Monroe said, and she could feel his troubled eyes still on her. “I can walk you to the room and come back to catch up with James.”
“Oh just stick with the original plan,” Libby insisted. “Aria and I will take the car service back to the resort, and you two can walk back when you’re through yammering on about stocks or oil or annuities. Or whatever it is you talk about.”
“That sounds good,” Aria agreed, focusing back to Libby. “I’m sure I’ll be fine after I eat. You two should do what you need to do. Libby and I will be all set.” Nothing felt fine. Not her swimming head. Her churning stomach. Or her nervous knees. But if Aria had learned anything in her life, it was how to pretend to be all right. The guests at the resort demanded smiling faces, no matter what the staff had to do that day. Anything besides joyful greetings took away from their perception of the resort and then in turn, their experience.
As Aria pieced things together, she realized the three people at this table were far closer to being like guests at the resort than like anyone who could possibly relate to her. So pretending to be all right would be just another day at the office.
Chapter 18
The driver came around and opened the car door, offering his hand for Libby and then Aria. She’d known many drivers in her life and most had a very special demeanor. Sweet, quiet, and passive. This dark-eyed older gentleman was no different. The ride was smooth, filled with jazz music and comfy seats.
“I know you said you were feeling a bit tipsy,” Libby said after the driver let them out and they entered the lobby. Aria tried to avoid the attention of any of her bosses or coworkers, dipping her head low. “Do you think we can walk to the waterfall? They say it’s stunning at night, and the air is so refreshing.”
“That sounds good,” Aria replied with a smile. Libby was kind. Her gentle features were welcoming and her humility refreshing. “I feel better now that I’ve eaten. And you’ve heard right, the waterfall is the prize of this entire place. You can hardly tell it’s man-made.”
Relieved to be slipping into the quieter side of the resort, Aria quickly led Libby to the back of the property. If this place wasn’t such a drain on her soul, she could see the beauty in it. It wasn’t like she blamed the guests for enjoying their stay. Who didn’t love a tropical resort with blue water and white sand?
“Can you believe this could be ours?” Libby asked, practically falling into one of the gliding benches and gesturing for Aria to join here. “You know there were days not that long ago I wasn’t sure how I’d fill my gas tank, and now I have everything at my fingertips. It’s still a lot to take in. How can I get my head around the fact that we could own this place?”
Aria had a poker face. She’d honed the skill years ago, but with that revelation she knew it would fail her. “This place,” she stuttered out but then quickly righted herself, “it’s certainly luxurious. I can’t imagine what the price tag would be.”
“That’s what I was saying to James,” Libby replied, completely unguarded. She was an open book, and Aria needed to flip the pages quickly. “But he said Monroe is the guy to partner with. That’s an impressive man you have there. James was told if you’re going to make an investment, you want Monroe Redson involved. He was skeptical but the more he dug around the more impressed he became. Monroe has a stellar track record. He’s known for finding all the secrets a place or a person could hold. And apparently his gut instinct is impeccable. But obviously you know all this.”
“It’s a useful skill,” she forced out. “And the resort would surely be in good hands with James and Monroe.”
“James is really looking forward to diversifying his investments. Owning a property like this is a great opportunity. I know I’ll enjoy it a heck of a lot more than any of the oil business junk. You and I could plant ourselves right here and read some good books. Maybe redecorate some things. Imagine setting up a little shack on the beach that sells ice cream cones.”
“That sounds amazing,” Aria lied, kicking her head back and staring at the starry sky. Closing her eyes, she pretended to enjoy the serenity of the waterfall splashing and the cooling night air. In reality, she was reliving every conversation she’d had with Monroe. Had he said what line of business he was in? No. She’d leaped to conclusions about him being some kind of reporter or investigator. Hopefulness had distorted her vision of the truth. Monroe hadn’t lied. If he was keeping a business deal quiet, that was his prerogative.
“I don’t think they’d have to change much,” Libby said, as she gave a little push with her legs to get them moving on the glider.
Aria nodded but knew that wouldn’t be true. Monroe had been gathering all sorts of information. He’d improve this place in ways Libby couldn’t fathom. She and James seemed to be compassionate and worldly people who, when made aware of the circumstances, would surely be compelled to fix things.
A weight lifted off of Aria’s chest as she allowed herself to imagine what life on the resort could be in a year. She’d stay by his side as he swooped in and made the needed changes. And maybe . . . just maybe when everything was settled he really could help her face the past. For a man like Monroe, now that she knew more about him, maybe the truth was within reach.
“There you are,” James laughed, a puff of smoke rising above the cigar in his mouth. “I knew you would have convinced Aria into coming to the waterfall. It’s all you’ve been talking about since you saw it in the brochure.”
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“How was your Scotch?” Libby asked, hopping to her feet and sliding herself under her husband’s arm.
“A productive after-dinner drink,” James replied with a knowing nod to Monroe.
“Are you feeling better?” Monroe asked, reaching a hand to Aria on the glider and pulling her gently up. Being next to him again, taking in the earthy scent of the liquor on his lips, Aria felt whole.
“So much better,” she said, wrapping her arms around him. “Just enjoying the beautiful night.”
“Should I order some drinks?” James asked, and the heady feeling of relief had Aria rushing to answer.
“Why not?” She beamed. “We’re in paradise.”
Chapter 19
One more round of drinks and the calm night erupted around them. Monroe noticed a small flashing in the distance. They were practically alone in their little corner of paradise with only a few stragglers and a waiter occasionally passing by, so the flash drew his attention.
“Did you see that?” he asked as a few more lights flashed and then closed in on them.
“James,” a man called urgently enough to have Monroe jumping to his feet and eyeing the newcomer. “James West, are you here for business or pleasure?”
“Pleasure,” James answered, also standing, but gesturing for Monroe not to worry. “I’m here on a vacation with my lovely wife, and I’d appreciate some privacy. You got your pictures. Now you can move along.”
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