Wonderland

by Bridget Midway

  "If I say yes, will you try to change my mind?"

  A grin spread across his face. Leaning down, he whispered in her ear, "Say it. See what happens."

  She did. And he did. Repeatedly.

  Later, a knock on the door woke him. Immediately Conall checked the woman who lay curled tight against him. She was still out. He slid from her warm embrace, snagged his sweats he'd discarded again earlier, and drew them on before opening the door in the other room.

  "Yes?"

  His three friends stood there. Steve took in his dress, or lack of, and grinned. The others followed. For a few moments they stared at one another and Conall waited, well aware some comment would be coming.

  "Guess you're not coming to dinner then?" Steve smirked.

  Hell, he'd forgotten all about that. Scratching his bare chest, Conall sighed. Before he could say anything, a tingle skated up his spine, moments before he spied her in his peripheral vision. Sage, dressed—even if she did look like a woman who’d just been thoroughly pleasured—brushed against him.

  "I had a great time," she said to Conall with a smile. "Gentlemen." She nodded at his friends, who parted so she could walk through and down the hall. All of their expressions, he knew, mirrored his own. He stared after her until she got in the elevator.

  Male laughter snapped him from his trance. They stood there with questioning expressions on their faces.

  "Was that the one from earlier?" one of his friends asked.

  Conall felt extremely territorial all of a sudden and had to fight off a snarl. "No one you need to concern yourself with."

  They shared a look amongst themselves. Then as one they all burst out laughing again. "Good luck with that," Ben commented offhandedly.

  Travis gave him a wink along with a smile. "Come on, dinner was your idea. We all managed to get ourselves here. Go get changed."

  So he did, and they went to a restaurant in Starview. He enjoyed his friends, truly he did, but right now he wanted to track down Sage and pick up where they’d left off.

  "Who's Sage?"

  He snapped to attention in his seat. "What?"

  Ben stabbed at some fries. "Sage. You just said the name. On some kind of breathy sigh. I take it she's the woman we saw leaving your room? The same one you warned all of us away from?"

  Shit! "Yes. Let it go."

  Steve shook his head and raised his beer bottle. "A toast. To our friend Conall, who finally found a woman and did what we all have been saying to him for a while—that he needs to get laid."

  Even he couldn't stop the laughter this time. It was true; they had been saying such a thing for quite a while. It wasn't as if he’d had a bad experience with a woman that had soured him. He was just extremely busy with his work and, quite honestly, none of the women he saw did anything for him. At least not until he laid eyes on Sage Addison. So Conall, too, lifted his bottle and clinked against theirs.

  "To our vacation." He took a drink. "Away from nagging family, cranky crowds, and headaches none of us need."

  "Hear, hear."

  Conall got one more bite of his steak in before the inevitable question came. "So who is this Sage woman?"

  Later that night, after he’d finished eating out with his guys, Conall strolled through the hotel lobby and wondered how he would find Sage tonight. He looked at the list of activities available and instead of going to any of them, he headed up to her room.

  He knocked on her door and waited, hands in his pockets, to see if she was there. It swung open, and he smiled at her, only to pause when he noticed the expression on her face. Stress. She held her phone to her ear and gave a half grin. Still, she waved him in and gestured it would only be a few moments. Then she walked away, continuing with her conversation, and he shut the door behind him.

  Her Southern drawl got thicker, and he had a hard time understanding the words she spoke. Her frustration level wasn't hard to figure out at all, however. He walked to the couch, lowered himself onto it, and watched her pace back and forth out on the balcony. She seemed oblivious to the cold, for she only wore a sweatshirt and jeans, no coat.

  Sage eventually shoved the phone back in her pocket, and he chuckled when she kicked at something only she could see on the floor of the balcony. Then she walked back in and gave him a strained smile.

  "Hi."

  He pushed up from his seat and walked toward her. "Hey yourself. Everything okay?"

  "I should have left my phone in the ranger cabin so they couldn't get hold of me. That was my mother, who felt it a good time to berate me for not being home for the holidays. Then we went through the whole 'I want grandkids' spiel. That lovely conversation was followed up with the one in which she told me she had invited my ex for Christmas dinner and he was excited to see me again." She threw up her arms. "Of course he is, I broke it off with him, but my parents like him, so I must be a fool to have done such a thing."

  Conall reached for her and drew her near before kissing her. A gentle kiss, he took his time tasting and teasing her lips until she opened beneath him. Then he slipped his tongue in and sought out all he could find in the wet cavern of her mouth. He licked the sides and top before stroking along her tongue. When she melted against him, he drew back.

  "I should probably say something helpful here," he muttered. "But all I can think of is you saying she wants you with your ex." He shook his head. "I'm not that much of a gentleman to wish the woman in my arms back with her ex."

  "Don't bother trying to be. He was an asshole of a royal caliber. Probably still is one. I don't see him changing at all. But my parents are snowed by him."

  "Want me to add him to the foundation at one of our building sites?"

  Laughter exploded out of her and he had to catch his breath at the pure entertainment at his comment. Lord help him, she was beautiful.

  "No, thanks, but that won't be necessary. Besides, now you've told me, I can't claim plausible deniability."

  He pursed his lips. "Good point, but considering all I was truly after was a smile on your face, I'm good."

  Sage ducked her head while shaking it. He brushed a kiss over her forehead, led her back to the couch, and encouraged her to sit with him. She kicked her feet up and rested her head in his lap, looking at him.

  Conall threaded his fingers in her hair as she lay there, just enjoying the silky feel of it. Whoever said a person of color's hair was coarse hadn't felt Sage's.

  "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

  "No, I just wish my parents would learn that he's not the one for me."

  "They like him that much?"

  "We were in high school together, and college. Hell, before I graduated high school they had us married with children. They got to see his good side. I, however, was always exposed to his dark."

  Conall wanted to beat the man for that alone. His thumb stroked along her full lips, reveling in their softness. She had no idea how much he wanted to kiss her again. So he told her.

  "Why don't you then?" Sage replied.

  Instead of making him come down to her, she got up and straddled his lap before joining their mouths. He closed his eyes and enjoyed how this woman felt in his embrace.

  Chapter Four

  Sage looked around the resort. It was Christmas Eve and the place was rocking. She loved it. This was the most relaxed she'd felt at a holiday for a long while. And she knew a huge reason for it—okay, the reason—was Conall Lennox.

  She was going to miss him at the end of her time here, which, she had to face it, was really only one more full day, since she was leaving the day after Christmas. She would miss him a lot more than she cared to admit. Perhaps in the future she'd have to give this singles mixer type of thing more of a chance. This one surely had worked out for the better.

  Swirling her drink around, she readjusted where she leaned against the wall and continued to watch the crowd. She recognized a few of the other singles she'd taken the time to get to know during a meal or out on the slopes. She hadn't been a com
plete recluse, even if she did prefer to be in a quieter setting than a party all the time. Nevertheless, tonight was all about fun.

  "He should be down soon."

  She looked to her right at the statement, not at all surprised to see Ben standing there. She'd gotten to know his friends a bit as well. Ben was the one who reminded her of Shemar Moore. A whole lot of hot-ass man, right there.

  "Good evening to you as well," she said with an easy smile.

  He flashed a grin. "Sorry, just thought you might want to know he wasn't standing you up."

  "Actually, I was thinking this wasn't such a bad thing for me to come to after all. Kind of figured he'd be down when he gets here."

  "You are definitely different than the women he usually dates."

  "Is that a good thing?" She sipped her drink. The peppermint hot chocolate they served here had quickly become an addiction for her. That and the Irish coffee.

  "Yes. Normally the women around him are money-grubbing bitches who think nothing past how much of his money they can spend."

  She wasn't sure what to say to that so she merely nodded.

  "I mean, sure, he owns the company and it's one of the largest in the area, definitely the most reputable, but they wouldn't dream of actually getting dirty or going outside. Fragile little Barbie dolls they are."

  Her insides clenched. Owned? Conall was the owner of his company? Why hadn't he told her?

  "Well, I'm definitely not a Barbie. I love the outdoors."

  "I can see that. You're one hell of a skier. How long have you been skiing?"

  "About the age of three or four, I think, my parents first put me on them." Her mind drifted back to Conall until she ripped it away. "What about you? I didn't see you on the slopes much except with your board."

  "I don't ski very well. I can board, but something about skiing makes me feel out of control." Sage gave him an odd look, and he laughed, which made her follow suit. "I know, it sounds weird, but there we have it."

  "There we have what?" Conall questioned.

  Sage tore her gaze from Ben and trained it on Conall. Damn him for looking so hot. She just wanted to crawl up on him and have him hold her tight. Ignoring the bit of her mind that told her to demand why he didn't tell her about his business, she gave him a smile.

  "Ben was explaining to me how he prefers snowboarding to skiing."

  She watched a look pass between them. It was brief but potent. Ben cleared his throat and gave her a wink.

  "I'll see you around, Sage. Conall." Then he walked off.

  "You okay?" she asked, noting the terseness of his posture.

  "You know the call you had the other day?" When she nodded, he continued, "I just had mine."

  "Ahh, then you need a drink."

  "A big one."

  She needed something big too, but now wasn't the time to say that. "Want me to get you one?"

  He stepped closer to her and settled his palm against the side of her cheek. "A kiss? That would be perfect."

  "I meant a drink, but I can do that too." She pushed up on her toes and kissed him. It wasn't easy to stop when all she wanted to do was increase the intensity of said kiss. Still, she ended it and pressed one quick one to his cheek. "Come on, let's get you a drink."

  There would be time later to ask about the company he didn't just work for but owned. Arm in arm, she led him to the bar and waited for him to get his drink. Then they walked off to grab a table in the back of the room. Numerous couples sat together, heads together and looking as though they were enjoying themselves.

  "They really throw a good party here," she said, leaning back in her chair.

  "Yes."

  She saw him watching her instead of looking around. There was an almost thoughtful expression on his face. "What? Do I have whipped cream on my mouth?"

  He leaned in. "Let me see." The kiss was like all of the others: amazing. "Nope, none there."

  "Then why the look?"

  Conall reached out and smoothed some hair back from her face. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?"

  Sage shook her head. The intensity of his gaze made her a bit uncomfortable. Yes, she knew she wasn't ugly, but beautiful? No, not how she would classify herself. She dipped her head, allowing her hair to drape forward and hide her from his stare.

  "Look at me," he commanded.

  She obeyed, and soon his pale green gaze had snared hers again. His hand slid around and gently cupped the nape of her neck, drawing her closer. She almost held her breath in anticipation of his kiss.

  "Absolutely gorgeous." His tone was one of unadulterated conviction.

  She closed her eyes and moaned at the comforting caresses from his touch on her neck. It would be no problem at all to simply melt into him and allow him to do whatever he wished. The man had magic hands. That wasn't all he had magical on him, though.

  "Can we join you?"

  The masculine voice pulled her eyes back open. She found Travis standing there with a cute woman on his arm. Sitting up more, she held still when Conall's hand tightened on her skin. She got the message; he liked touching her.

  "I don't mind." Conall waved his hand and they joined them.

  "This is Conall and Sage." Travis pointed to the woman beside him. "Guys, this is Kristen."

  Conall tugged Sage closer as she gave the petite woman a smile. "Nice to meet you, Kristen."

  "You too." Her eyes moved to Conall and she said, "Travis tells me you own Lennox Construction."

  He stiffened beside her, and in her peripheral vision she saw him shoot a glare at Travis before nodding. "I do."

  Kristen gave a wide smile and glared at Sage with a calculating gleam in her eyes. "Is that why you're with him, because he owns a company?"

  Sage felt as if she'd been slapped in the face. It was her time to stiffen. "Nope," she said through gritted teeth. "Until recently, I didn't even know he owned one." Dislodging his hand from her, she moved to the edge of the booth seat and got to her feet. "Excuse me."

  Drink behind her, along with the trio at the table, she strode for the door. Conall caught up to her four steps away from reaching it. Surprisingly he didn't stop her; instead, he propelled her along through those just now entering the room out to the hall before the doors where it was a bit quieter. He continued to guide her until he got them to a small place by a large pillar, pressing her between his unbending body and the wall.

  "Where do you think you’re going?" Conall demanded.

  She inhaled sharply and immediately regretted it as his scent swamped her senses. There had to be something wrong with her to be so intently focused on sex when he was around.

  "Didn't think I would want to stay around when I'm being accused of being with you for something—based on you not telling me—I shouldn't even know you had, did you?"

  He flushed before shaking his head. "Can we talk?"

  "Isn't that what we're doing right now?"

  "That's not what I mean and you know it."

  "I'm off to see the lighting of the tree. If you'll excuse me, I'll leave you to get back to your friend and his woman." She tried to pull free. "Maybe she is more your style of woman. No need to wonder what she's after."

  He didn't back off. Thunderheads grew in his eyes and he lowered his head closer. "Really? Do you think I'd rather be with a ditz who thinks only of herself or the money in my wallet as opposed to you, who genuinely liked me even without knowing my financial worth?"

  "How would I know? You didn't tell me. So to me I am not important enough to tell you don't just work for this company but you own it."

  She shrugged, determined to ignore the pain seeping through her. It shouldn't bother her; she’d known beforehand, thanks to Ben's slip-up. It was, however, so different to have some strange woman accuse her of doing such a vile thing. Yes, she knew there were women like that in the world; hell, there were men like that, too. But not her. Not even close. If she were, she would be with Charlie still to this day, for he had money. Lots of it. M
ore than she could ever deign to spend in a lifetime.

  "A mistake on my part. I just…wanted you to like me for me."

  "Part of you," Sage countered. "Not all of you."

  "Wrong. All of me, Sage. All. The money is not me. I'm not a man who wears expensive suits, drives fancy cars, or lives in a gated community. I dress like this, drive an older Dodge, and live in a house on the outskirts of Taos. An older one I purchased and am fixing up when I find time." He cupped her face. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you."

  "Your life, Conall. We're just having a thing now. You have the right to share what you want and not share what you don't. I just don't like being taken by surprise, which Kristen did. Let's forget it."

  * * * *

  Forget it. Not fucking likely. Conall wanted to kick his own ass for his complete and utter stupidity. He'd seen the fury in her gaze before she eliminated it. Therefore, while she uttered her calm words in an attempt to keep him at a distance, he knew it still bothered her. He wasn't even going to address the "having a thing now" statement, because to be completely honest he didn't know if he could do so without losing his cool. He wanted more than just “right now” with Sage. Hell, he was envisioning introducing her to his parents and family. That's not all you're envisioning, his brain chimed in.

  And it was true. He had her married, pregnant, and his forever. Right, nothing like a little possessiveness. He gentled his touch on her face, smoothing his thumbs along her lips.

  "I should have told you."

  She gave a small shake of her head. "Not my business, Conall. I'm going to the tree lighting."

  He could sense it. She had withdrawn into herself a bit with her declaration. Releasing her, he slid his arm around her waist and guided her to the elevators.

  "Where are we going?"

  "Get coats."

  Honestly, he thought she was going to protest, but she didn't say anything at all. He stopped at her floor and left her with a kiss and a promise to be back for her. In his room, he berated himself all over again for doing something so stupid, which could have cost him a woman he had never really thought of as a scratch for his itch. There'd always been something more, from that very first moment he’d laid eyes on her.