by Lily Zante
“I’ve had a lot of crazy messages from Briony and Max, about the Gala,” she said. “I told them they ought to consider a career in becoming personal stylists. I don’t know what I would have done without their help.”
“You still would have looked amazing.”
She shook her head. He had no idea. “I doubt it.”
“Glad I convinced you to come?”
“Naturally.” She was. The secrecy was gone and it was out in the open, that she and Tobias were an item. She didn’t relish the thought of returning to work and was pleased that they had taken this week and gone away. It saved her from dealing with people’s immediate reactions. Hopefully, by the time they both returned to work, the shock and surprise of her and Tobias being an item would have died down.
“Don’t you get scared to speak in front of people?” She had been filled with pride when he had made his speech. Public speaking frightened her more than the thought of dying.
Tobias shrugged. “I’m used to it now but it didn’t come easy at first. At first I was so concerned about trying to look confident, trying to be slick and professional. I didn’t want to trip up while reading, so I always practiced for hours, days sometimes, until I knew the speech by heart. Back to front, upside down, you name it.” Savannah tried to imagine him lacking confidence, and being unsure. Tried and failed. Tobias was the epitome of cool self-possession. Resolute, poised and fearless—she couldn’t see him as anything but that. And yet he was telling her he hadn’t always been like this. “After a while it’s like most things, you become used to it. When the message you want to deliver is more important than the way your gut is churning, you forget the physicality of the moment and deliver the words. These days, when making speeches for events such as the Gala dinner, I still have to do my homework and prepare well. I make sure I have my facts correct, but when I’m giving presentations about our business and speaking about the markets and financial analysis, I don’t have to have it written down. I know what I’m talking about, and when you know that, it gives you a confidence that’s on another level altogether.”
“You captivated the audience.”
“That’s odd,” he remarked, casually. “Because I was looking to mainly captivate you.”
“You did that already, the moment I stepped out of your bathroom.”
His eyes sparkled and his lips almost turned into a smile. Almost. He put away the newspaper which he’d been reading. “I don’t want to talk about work or our colleagues. This vacation was meant to be downtime for you and me.”
He got up and held out his hand. She felt a rush of warmth pass over her stomach as he headed towards the bedroom, her heart starting to race, making her skin tingle. She had missed him in her bed last night, and felt as if their Gala evening had been cut short the moment Morris had dropped her home. But now they had five glorious nights together. As soon as he had pulled her inside and closed the door, his lips were instantly on hers. She tasted mint and sweetness as he pushed her against the door and pressed his body against hers. She wondered if he could feel her heart thumping as his chest pressed firmly against her breasts.
“What about your pilot?” she asked, nervously, eyeing the bed.
“He’s in the cockpit,” Tobias replied, his feverish tongue and lips teasing the dip at the base of her neck. He stopped for a moment, “He can’t see a thing.” Slipping his hands around the hem of her A-line summer dress, he lifted it high above her head and pulled it off. She started to undo his belt, her hands trembling as he unclasped her bra.
“Slow down,” she whispered, trying to pry open the stubborn button on his jeans.
“I can’t,” he croaked, and rolled her panties down to her ankles. “I need to be inside you.” He’d already beaten her to it. Within minutes of getting her into the room, he’d stripped her naked while he himself was still fully clothed.
He lifted her up and strode over to the bed with her legs clamped firmly around his waist. Throwing her onto the bed he pinned her in place with his scorching gaze as he peeled off his shirt. His hungry, roving eyes slowly took in every inch of her naked body as if he was going to devour her completely.
She could barely wait.
Chapter 17
“What news channel?” Colt asked, zipping up his trousers as the hooker wiped her mouth. She grabbed the bills he threw at her as if they were her next meth fix.
They probably were. The door slammed behind her.
“Sheryl says you might wanna see this. Happened over the weekend, looks like.” His friend hung up.
Colt switched over and blinked at the celebrity couple walking past a sleek black car. What the hell was this? Merle’s wife was a celebrity-whore, always buying the latest magazines and following celebrities online like a faithful Chihuahua. He peered closely at the screen, expecting enlightenment. Then he peered even closer. The sexily dressed woman looked familiar.
She looked like Savannah.
Heat numbed as it spread across his face. He tried to swallow but his throat stopped working. It was Savannah. He turned the sound up. Those eyes, those legs. That was his goddamn ex-wife. And who the fuck was he? Colt stepped closer to the screen, his eyes narrowing on the man beside her.
Who the hell and how?
“Hearts are breaking everywhere now that its official, news that the billionaire New York hedge fund owner, Tobias Stone has a new woman in his life. Rumors continue to spread, but sources close to the billionaire remain tight-lipped. Tobias Stone has rarely been linked publicly to anyone since the death of his wife in an automobile accident four years ago. He shies away from the public eye and continues to remain an enigma, as well as a heartthrob to many. However, it is claimed that this new sighting might mean true love at last for the reclusive billionaire. His new girlfriend, rumored to be an employee at Stone Enterprises, is a single mother with a young son. The couple attended a charity dinner at the Waldorf Astoria over the weekend before leaving yesterday for Miami where Mr. Stone owns a multi-million dollar home. Let’s wish these lovebirds well. Moving onto other news…”
“I’ll be damned,” Colt rasped, blinking at the images before him. She’d been lying to him the whole time.
She was screwing a billionaire?
Since when?
He guessed she was putting out dirty favors. Women could do that—reel men in with their pussies, while here he was, drowning in debt and risking his life by transporting drugs out of state. Santino more or less owned him.
Screw that.
Colt Brookes scratched his face and pondered how he could turn this new discovery to his advantage. Somewhere in all this lay the solution to his problems. He knew she would never leave Jacob alone for more than a few days. He needed to get to New York; hitch a ride with one of his trucker friends for part of the journey then hitch rides the rest of the way. It would take about a day, he guessed.
His next payment to Santino was due next week. He needed a day to get to New York, a couple of days to figure out how to convince his ex, and a day to get back.
He could do it in a week.
A week to get his life back.
It could work.
It had to.
He imagined the new life he could buy for himself if he convinced her for a little loan. Or even a big one. Not a loan so much, as an offer—if he promised never to see her or the boy again.
How much would a deal like that be worth to her?
Colt grunted like a pig, barely able to keep still as the plan started to come together. The rich dude would soon get bored of her, and so he had to act fast. Better to take advantage of the situation while he still had the chance.
He smiled to himself, loving his new plan more with every second. It was obvious his ex wanted nothing more to do with him. Why had she buggered off and never told him where she was? Why else did she always sound so pissed off whenever he called her?
He could disappear from her life forever. Something like that had a price and he figured Savannah Page
would be willing to pay it, especially when she had access to the kind of money she did. Even if the money wasn’t technically hers.
He just needed to find a way to get to her.
Chapter 18
Only two days into their vacation and she was already imagining a life in which every day was like this. Waking up with Tobias was beautiful. Going to bed with him for the whole night was even better. She had never known such complete happiness away from her son.
Tobias had made it possible for her; he’d given her a life, an inner peace she had not known for so many years and it felt strange to her even now, as if at any moment now it would all be taken away from her.
Many times during this trip she’d looked around, turned to see if the security men were there, even prompting Tobias to ask her what she was worried about. How could she tell him she was scared this would vanish into thin air? This happiness, this deeper love she felt for him, it made her feel whole again. She thought she only had enough love for her son, but she had more.
Sometimes she would watch Tobias sleeping, and her heart would sing. He told her often that she brought him peace, that she did things to him, but he had no idea of the things he did to her, of the happiness that being with him gave her.
“Is that new?” he asked, casting an especially hungry glance over the new hot pink silky satin slip she wore. She twirled around, letting him see the low-cut back with the crisscross straps.
“Do you like it?” she asked, unafraid, and no longer conscious of herself. She liked the way his gaze raked all over her, as intimately as his tongue. She knew that look in his eyes; knew that they would make love all night until their melting bodies succumbed to sleep in sweat-streaked sheets. Then he would wake her up again, as he had done this morning in the most sensual manner, making her smile before she’d even opened her eyes. There was no other man for her. Ever.
“Do I like it?” he answered slowly.
Her hand tugged on the towel that hugged his hips. “Something tells me you like it,” she murmured, running her fingers over the solid muscles of his torso. He drew out a breath and slid his hands over her back, then frowned as his fingers went back over the contours of her bottom. “No panties?” he asked, reaching down to confirm his suspicions.
“No point,” she whispered. He’d have them off in no time.
“You’re a fast learner.”
“You’re a good teacher.”
“You’re a big tease.” He told her.
“That’s exactly why I do it,” she murmured, her voice low but not quite a whisper. Emboldened, she slid her hands into his damp hair, inhaling the clean and freshly showered scent of him. She dipped her tongue into his sweet and warm mouth as their bodies pressed together with a familiar urgency. His fingers explored her body, teasing, and prying as blood rushed through her veins, pumping around her body and heightening her senses.
Making love with Tobias was unlike anything she had ever experienced with Colt. With him it had been mostly one-sided, even back in the days when the sex had been consensual. There hadn’t been much in it for her, and she had used the time to compile to-do lists in her head of things that needed her attention later. With Tobias, she experienced a whole new world of sensations and feelings the like of which she had never before known. With him, she wasn’t afraid to lead or to instigate it.
Three more nights and it would be over. She didn’t want it to end and so she lost herself in the moment, in the white hot heat and desire that bound them together. She placed her hands along the towel that hugged his hips. Her fevered fingers slid along almost-damp skin above his waist before moving along his corded arms then down his iron-hard stomach. After carefully examining the hills and ridges of his stomach, her fingers slid lower then tugged off his towel, leaving him completely naked. She stroked and rubbed him until his breathing was heavy, then pushed him back and onto the bed, staring at his body, her mouth open, her heartrate sky-high.
“Come here,” he murmured, propping himself up on his forearms. She could see that he was desperate to get his hands on her, to feel her, to do those beautiful things he always did. Except that tonight, she wanted to do those things to him.
“No,” she replied, licking her lips as she climbed onto the bed. Placing herself sideways across his body so that both her knees were by his waist, she began to slowly kiss his chest and stomach.
“Kiss me,” he urged, making her lose concentration. She allowed him that, and moved her face up to his, to let him have a taste of her lips. The moment their lips met his hands were on her breast, one hand there and one sliding under her slip, settling against her, making her lose concentration again. She stared into his face; at the face she knew as well as her own. Every wrinkle, every line. A face she had come to love, a man she had come to love. A man who had stolen her heart.
She moved his hand away. “I want to touch you,” he begged.
“Me first,” she replied, coolly ignoring his irritation as she moved down and bent over, her hair falling onto his thighs as she lowered her mouth.
~~
The busy internet cafe near Times Square reeked of fried fat, bubblegum and body odor. He couldn’t wait to leave this shithole. People talked about New York like it was some magical place.
Not from what he’d seen. If his ex wanted to live here, good luck to her. Colt Brookes hadn’t wasted any time. He’d arrived here a few hours ago and had found a place to stay but he didn’t want to stay here longer than he had to, not in this dirty cockroach-infested hostel.
He’d been surfing online, trying to find out things about Tobias Stone. It was so much easier to find things out when the guy was rich and famous. And Tobias Stone was stinking rich.
No fucking wonder his ex hadn’t been returning his calls. She’d been busy doing other things. He stared as the pictures of her and that man filled the computer screen. She’d been his once. Pain shot through him, as if someone had aimed a dart at his chest. It only lasted a moment, a short-lived memory that was gone in an instant. It could have worked, if the economy hadn’t folded. If he hadn’t lost his job. If life hadn’t been so tough. It wasn’t his fault things had turned out the way they had.
But life wasn’t fair. And he was trying to get by.
He’d looked up the phone number for Stone Enterprises and scribbled it down on the dirty napkin with which he’d wiped his greasy Cheeseburger hands. If his ex was going to ignore his calls on her cell phone, he’d have to call her at work. Hopefully she’d be back by then, or the day after. He couldn’t see her leaving Jacob with a babysitter for too long. She might have been a lousy wife, but she’d been a good enough mother.
He slipped the note into his jacket pocket. It was out of office hours now, but tomorrow he’d make sure he got in touch with her. Each extra night here cost him money he didn’t have. Santino’s money. If everything worked out as he envisaged, by this time next week, he’d have a new life and nobody would ever own him again.
He’d clean up, sort himself out and move someplace else if he had to. He’d lived in his hometown all his life and maybe it was time for new beginnings. If his ex could do it, in a city like this and with a child, so could he.
All Colt had to do was to tell her the truth: that he was up shit creek and he’d get killed if he didn’t make good what he owed. Things might have broken down between them but Savannah had a heart and there was no way she was going to let the father of her child get killed.
He’d ask her for the money in exchange for never contacting her again. It seemed simple and he saw no reason why it wouldn’t work. Being desperate and running out of time, he had no option except for it to work.
Still, he found himself staring at the pictures again. She looked so goddamn pretty, not like the woman he remembered. He examined the man’s height and build and rubbed his greasy fingers across his brows.
She’d done well for herself.
It was a good thing, because it could work out well for him, too, if things went acco
rding to plan.
Chapter 19
Candace was in no mood for this. “I don’t accept calls from salespeople. Can’t you get rid of him?” People who didn’t have her direct number were cold callers and no better than parasites.
“This caller sounds real angry and keeps calling back. Please take it,” the receptionist begged. “He says it’s an urgent query regarding Savannah Page and he can’t get hold of her.”
Candace sat up and pressed the receiver close to her ear. She closed the screen images she’d been looking at during her lunch-hour. Images of the two of them on vacation in Miami. “Put him through,” she said, sucking her breath in irritation. “Candace Oakley. How may I help?”
“About bloody time too,” the male caller sounded annoyed. “I want to speak to Savannah Page.”
“I’m afraid Ms. Page is away until Monday,” Candace replied, testily. It should have been her in Miami, not that bitch.
“Monday?” The man’s voice had a rough edge to it, and she wondered what he was after.
“Is it something I can help you with?” Candace asked, sensing this wasn’t a normal cold caller.
“It’s personal.”
“A personal matter?” Her ears pricked up. “Do you have her cell phone number?”
“I’ve tried, but she ain’t answering. Could be ‘cos I’m her ex-husband.” She heard a coarse laugh.
“You are?” Candace sat back in her chair and rubbed her fingers together. Her day had instantly brightened.
“Yes, Ma’am.”
Candace’s voice melted, and she smiled. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I’m not sure.” The man’s voice suddenly dimmed, as if hope was lost. “I was in town and I was hoping to meet up with her and my son.”