by Dori Lavelle
“You still think that? After everything that’s happened? We kissed. That should make us more than strangers, surely. But we can get to know each other more if you accept my invitation.”
“I don’t know.” I bit my lip. Why the hell was I hesitating? The man of my dreams was professing his love for me, and I was thinking twice?
“Come on,” he said, his eyes dancing, “spend the weekend with me. Or just the night.” He paused. “You can walk away, if I don’t convince you to stay in my life.”
Joy raced through me, leaving warmth in its path. He’d said it. He wanted me in his life. I turned the words over in my mind. “I don’t have anything with me…clothes. I’m not prepared.”
“You don’t need to be prepared. The best things happen when you stop making plans and follow your heart. The first time we met, we never planned to kiss. As for clothes, the hotel has bathrobes.”
A shiver trailed down my spine. Wasn’t this what I’d dreamed of? Having him say words like these? Wouldn’t I be a fool not to take my chance? “Okay.” I giggled. “Let’s do it.”
Chapter Twelve
Nick took me upstairs to a romantic suite with flowers submerged in water-filled crystal vases with tea lights floating on the surfaces.
“When did you do all this?” I looked around, mesmerized. No one had ever done anything so romantic for me. Then again, Chris had been my only boyfriend, and he hadn’t been the candles and flowers kind of guy. He showed me his love in other ways. A day spent rock climbing or paragliding was his idea of romance. I’d never complained. I’d loved seeing him excited to show me new experiences. When he’d been happy, I’d been as well.
“I wanted to create a nice and comfortable atmosphere for us to talk.”
I stood at the door unsure of what to do.
Nick stepped close and removed my purse from my hands. He hung it on the chair. “Please make yourself at home.” With a hand around my shoulders, he led me to the couch and sat next to me. His thigh brushed mine, making the heat rise in my body.
“This isn’t one of your hotels, is it?” I asked for want of a safe topic.
“Actually, it is,” he admitted.
I’d walked past The Lux countless times. Who would have thought it was owned by the man who would change my life? “It’s beautiful. I read in the paper that you’re expanding to Asia.”
“That’s true. It’s been a dream of mine for a long time.”
“Have you ever been to Asia?” I asked, then cringed inwardly. Of course he had been to Asia. He could afford to, and he was expanding his business there. He would have wanted to see whatever it was that real estate developers looked at before reaching a decision.
He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, as if it were the most normal thing. Like we were a couple spending a quiet evening in. “I studied in China, actually.”
“Really? So you speak Chinese?”
He chuckled. “Yes, I do speak Chinese and also Japanese.”
How sexy. I wondered how he sounded in a language other than English, but I was too shy to ask him to say something. “You must love languages.”
“They’ve helped me get my foot in the door. Now enough about me. I want to know you. More than how you tasted when I kissed you.”
My cheeks heated and I smiled. “My life is not as exciting as yours. I only speak English, unfortunately, and I dropped out of college before getting my marketing and sales degree. I’ve never been anywhere outside the U.S.”
“That’s a shame. What country would you want to see one day?”
“I’ve always wanted to visit Greece.”
“Maybe you will one day.” Nick tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear. “Why did you drop out of college, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I couldn’t afford it.” Why should I lie about that?
“But you’re doing so well without a college degree. You must be proud of yourself. Lilliana speaks highly of you.”
“Really? She told you?”
“Every chance she gets. Why do you sound surprised?”
“I’m not. It’s just interesting, that’s all.”
Nick drew in a breath and removed his arm from my shoulders. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Wait a second.” He stood. “What kind of host am I? Let me offer you some of these treats first.” He went over to a table laden with fruits, mouthwatering miniature cakes, chocolates, and a bottle of champagne. “Do you have any preference?”
“No, pick anything,” I said. Actually, I would have died for those chocolate éclairs with the green frosting on the top—maybe peppermint.
He brought over a small plate with an assortment of sweets, including the éclairs I had longed for, and two glasses of champagne.
I reached for an éclair and popped it into my mouth. Chocolate and mint, definitely. It melted as soon as it landed on my tongue. “Delicious.”
“Glad you like it.” He took a deep swallow of champagne and placed the glass on the coffee table. “So, I was about to ask you a question.”
I nodded, still chewing.
“Since the first day we met, have you thought of me at all?”
I swallowed the sweet in my mouth and licked my fingertips. “Have you thought about me?”
“You really like to answer questions with questions, don’t you? Or is it just with me?”
I laughed. “Really? I had no idea. Okay, I’ll go first.” What was the point of beating around the bush? The man liked me or he wouldn’t have brought me here. “I did. A lot. I was surprised to find you were a celebrity.”
He shook his head. “I’m not a celebrity. I’m a normal person. People like to exaggerate. I thought about you too. I couldn’t get you out of my mind. I was afraid I wouldn’t see you again. When I saw you at Stalford, I was pleasantly surprised.”
“You had a great way of showing it.”
“Pretending not to know you was wrong. I was just taken by surprise and didn’t know how to react. Elizabeth—”
“Was the jealous kind. You mentioned that already. Anyway, you’re forgiven.” I reached for another éclair.
“That makes me very happy. Since we have that sorted out, will you forgive me for this as well?” He cupped my cheek with his warm palm and kissed me full on the lips.
Fireworks went off in my head, and my skin prickled with heat. “You’re already forgiven.”
“For this, too?” He moved his lips from mine and kissed my forehead, my eyes, my cheeks, my neck.
Electricity charged through me. “Yes.” I moved closer and pressed my lips onto his.
He nibbled on my bottom lip and kissed me deeper.
This was better than any chocolate. Our first kiss had ensured we wouldn’t forget each other, but this kiss was something else. Charged, electric, both passionate and tender.
As he moved his lips against mine and traced my tongue with the tip of his, my world turned. I was drunk on him.
Nick wove his fingers through my hair, trailed my scalp with his fingertips, setting it on fire. I had forgotten how good this felt. Or had it ever been this good with Chris? I wasn’t sure anymore.
“I want you,” I whispered, without knowing how the words had come from my mouth. I startled and pulled back, my whole body pulsing. Please don’t stop, I thought. I couldn’t bear it if he left me hanging on the edge.
“I want you, too.” His voice purred like a new car’s engine. He cupped the back of my head with his right hand and drew me in for a passionate kiss that left me reeling. Then he caressed my closed eyelids, my throat, and my ears with his soft lips.
As waves of desire swept me into the unknown, I felt pressure on my nipples. Nick had one in his mouth and the other between a forefinger and thumb. He had unbuttoned and slipped off my dress without me even noticing.
I moaned. My nipples felt like they might burst, like cherries ripe for picking.
Nick stopped and rose. Our eyes remained locked as h
e undressed himself. Then he helped me out of my panties, and pulled me to my feet.
Pressing hard against me, he guided me to a nearby wall and before I knew it, he had lifted me up and my legs were wrapped around his strong, firm waist, cradling him.
As his lips probed my mouth and he pressed me harder against the wall, I pushed at his firm chest. “Condom?” No taking chances for me. Why complicate my life further?
“Don’t go anywhere,” he said and walked into the bedroom. He returned already wearing the condom. Easing me off the floor again, he whispered, “anything else?”
I shook my head. Now that that was out of the way, I couldn’t wait to have him inside me.
He wrapped his hand around the nape of my neck. Our eyes met and he entered me with just his tip.
I moaned as the sweet spot between my legs pulsed with longing.
“Want more?” he asked, grabbing my bum with both hands, squeezing.
“Oh, yes!” I begged, trying not to scream.
“How much more?”
“All of it.”
“Say please.”
“Oh, please, I want all of you.”
He chuckled into my neck then heaved me higher up the wall and thrust himself deep inside me. He squeezed my bum tighter and slid out and then in, over and over again until I was lost in pleasure.
“You like that?” He flicked my collarbone with his tongue.
“Do you need…to ask?” I gasped into his shampoo-fresh hair. I moaned, sighed, and even screamed as he drove me to the brink of ecstasy.
Together we rose and fell, and then I gripped his arms, dug my nails into his skin, ready for the fall. Soon I exploded, arching my back and pressing myself into him.
“That’s it, baby,” he whispered, as he thrust faster and deeper into me. Then his muscles contracted and a deep-throated roar escaped his lips. He thrust a few more times and stopped, still holding me tight. “My goodness.” He kissed my lips. “That was fantastic.”
“Yeah,” was all I could manage to say. Every nerve tingled.
After a few more minutes in the same position that had brought us so much pleasure, he eased me to the floor. Then he got a fluffy white robe and helped me into it. “Is it safe to say we’re no longer strangers?”
“Yes.” I laughed. “It’s nice knowing you.”
***
“Tell me about your brother, the one you were lighting a candle for,” I asked. Hours had passed, and we’d made love several times. I was lying next to him in a queen-sized bed, his arms wrapped around my naked body, our legs entangled. Talking about his brother could be a thorny topic, but I wanted to know everything about him.
Nick stiffened, but he kissed the top of my head. “There’s not much to tell. I only knew him briefly before he died.”
I lifted my head and gazed into his eyes. “I don’t understand.”
“We didn’t grow up together.”
“So you met as adults, and then he died not too long after? That’s horrible.” My heart went out to him.
He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. “Yes. He was murdered by a deranged woman.” His jaw set.
I froze. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
He sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “It’s all right. But let’s not talk about painful topics tonight.” He rolled me over to my back. “Tonight, let’s just enjoy each other.” He ran his palm along the length of my body, brushing my breast, my stomach, my thigh. “Tonight, I want only you. Again and again.”
I giggled softly as he kissed me, and we melted into each other again, the conversation forgotten.
But before I drifted off to sleep in the arms of the man I now knew I never wanted to live without, thoughts of his brother returned. Something nagged at me.
He had been killed. Just like Chris.
Chapter Thirteen
Sunlight poured through the window and coated the white sheets in gold. I’d been awake for hours.
I rolled and turned to face Nick, who was still fast asleep, one arm curled over his head, his dark lashes resting on his cheeks, hair disheveled. I wanted to wake him, to see his eyes once more.
Leaning closer, I scattered butterfly kisses on his forehead, his nose, his lips. I prepared to plant another on the side of his neck when a dark, dime-sized, kidney-shaped mark caught my eye. So small and easy to miss, but I’d seen it before. On Chris. The exact same birthmark. Same size, same place.
A knot formed in my stomach, and bile rose up my throat.
Why would Nick have the same birthmark as my dead fiancé? It made no sense. But my gut told me there was more to Nick that I didn’t know—and wasn’t sure I wanted to. I peeled the sheet from my body, grabbed a robe, and tiptoed to the bathroom. I closed the door but didn’t lock it, so as not to raise suspicion.
Gripping the basin with both hands until my knuckles whitened, I squeezed my eyes shut. With every fiber of my being, I wished what I’d just seen meant nothing. That it was a simple coincidence.
But I couldn’t spend the rest of the weekend with Nick. As long as I was this confused, I had to leave.
I needed to find out the truth.
***
I was brushing my teeth with one of the new toothbrushes I found at the basin when Nick walked in, a towel around his waist, his hair messy.
It would be so hard to leave him. Especially since he looked so handsome. His broad shoulders, his smooth, muscular chest and biceps made me want to touch him. But I feared this thing between us might be more complicated than I had anticipated. Maybe it wasn’t a simple story of boy meets girl and falls in love.
“Morning, beautiful.” He kissed my neck, picked up the other toothbrush, and squeezed toothpaste onto the bristles.
“Morning.” I rinsed my mouth, trying to find a way to tell him I had to go.
He held his toothbrush in midair. “Are you okay?”
I wiped my mouth with a fluffy towel, avoiding his eyes. “I’m fine. I’m sorry, Nick. I need to leave today.” I looked up then.
Nick’s eyebrows shot up. “Where are you going? I thought—”
“Home. I can’t spend any more time with you.”
“Did I do something to upset you? Offend you in any way? I thought we both had a wonderful time last night.”
“I did, I really did. It’s just that I promised to help out at Oasis this weekend. I can’t let them down.” Last night, when we took breaks between lovemaking, I’d opened up to him about working at the shelter, and he’d been impressed.
I walked back into the bedroom, and Nick followed, toothbrush still in hand.
I gathered my clothes and felt his eyes on me.
Before he could guilt me into staying, I slipped into my dress and sandals, grabbed my purse, and headed for the door. “Bye, Nick.”
“Carlene,” he called, as my hand reached for the doorknob.
“You don’t really need to go, do you?”
I bit my lip and didn’t respond for a while. He could tell I was lying. But I saw no other way to remove myself from this situation. “I do.” I opened the door and almost collided with someone carrying a breakfast tray.
“Room service?” the woman asked.
I turned to look back at Nick. He had ordered breakfast, and I was leaving him hanging. He cocked his head to one side as if to ask if I’d change my mind.
I shook my head and walked past the woman without looking back.
***
Back at my apartment, I switched on my computer and opened the Internet browser. My shaking fingers flew over the keyboard as I started a search.
First, I typed “Nick Johnson” and then “Christopher Brown.” Nothing useful. There was a lot about Nick, as I’d expected, and little about Chris, except about him being captain of his football team in college.
I’d just closed an article when a thought crossed my mind. Fingers shaking, I typed in “Nick Johnson and brother.” Chris had been adopted, so there was a possibility.
> As the search results came up, I slipped my bottom lip between my teeth and bit on it, drawing blood. I clicked on the first article: “Nick Johnson meets long lost brother.” The first photo was of the two men hugging and laughing. One of them I had loved, and the other I loved. The further I scrolled down the page, the more I gasped for breath. Nick and Chris were not only brothers—they were twins, separated at birth.
I clapped a hand over my mouth and darted to the bathroom, fell to my knees, and retched into the toilet bowl as tears flooded my eyes.
Chapter Fourteen
For one week, I couldn’t face the world. Seeing Nick was out of the question.
How could I see him and not tell him the truth? How could I listen to him talk about his brother when I kept a devastating secret from him? It killed me to willingly choose to walk out of his life, but it was better than being thrown out of it when he discovered the truth. It would only be a matter of time.
“But you love him. You can’t walk away from a good thing,” Melisa urged. She was the only person I could bring myself to talk to.
I placed her cup of coffee on the table in front of her and cupped my own mug with both hands. The heat comforted me. “You don’t understand, Melisa. He will find out.”
“Or maybe he won’t.”
I sipped my coffee and stared out the window, watching the clear morning sky, listening to the sounds of traffic outside. “It’s impossible to keep a thing like that from someone.”
“And yet it happens all the time. For instance, do you have any idea how many kids are raised by men who aren’t their biological fathers?”
“Yes, until the child falls sick and needs some organ only the real father can donate.”
“That only happens in the movies. In real life, people are better at hiding secrets.”
I lifted my feet up onto the couch and crossed my legs. “I don’t want to lie to him. He deserves better.”
Melisa grasped my hand and her eyes grew serious. “He deserves you, and you deserve him.”
“No, it’s not right. I have to tell him. I forgot the slip of paper I’d written his number on at the hotel, so I’ll go back to work on Monday and wait for him to show up.”