by Beth Rinyu
“Well, I’d rather be just sexy.”
“Guess you’ll just have to work a little harder on that!” I giggled.
He took my book from my hand and threw it on the floor. Grabbing my arms, he hovered over me and pinned my wrists to the mattress. “Am I sexy yet?” he asked, peppering my neck in kisses.
“Still absolutely adorable.” I laughed.
He lifted my top over my head, teasing my breast with his tongue, gazing up at me with a grin when I shook my head. Pulling off my pajama bottoms along with my panties, his lips trailed down my stomach to my inner thigh.
“You’re getting sexier…much sexier.” I let out a pleasurable gasp when his mouth finally reached the spot that was yearning for him so badly. “You’re extremely sexy.” I arched my back, reaching down and running my fingers through his hair as his tongue began to work its magic.
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After waking up late and running around Alex’s apartment like a crazy lady to get ready, we were finally heading into work. “People are gonna talk when they see us coming in together,” I teased as we stepped onto the elevator.
“Let them.” Taking me off guard, he took my face in his hands and pressed his lips to mine just as the elevator doors opened to our destination. I pulled away first, trying my hardest to wipe the huge grin from my face as Judy, the receptionist, and some brunette woman whom I’d never seen before stood on the other side of the doors staring at us. The color drained from Alex’s face when he set eyes upon this stranger.
“Hello, Alex.” She raised an eyebrow and flashed him a sarcastic grin, then eyed me up.
Alex was speechless, and for the first time ever, he appeared to be a little nervous. I stood there, waiting for an introduction, but judging by the look of contempt on Alex’s part, I didn’t bet on that happening.
“Since Alex seems to have lost his manners, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Vanessa, Alex’s wife.”
My entire body broke out in a sweat. The room began to spin and a wave of nausea churned inside my stomach. This had to be some sick joke. There was no way he was married.
“Ex-wife.” Alex finally found his voice, trying to soften the blow, but not by much. How could he have kept something like this from me?
She covered her mouth and laughed. “Sorry, it hasn’t been that long, so it’s hard for me to get used to being called the ex.”
“What the hell do you want, Vanessa?” Alex barked.
I pulled in my bottom lip when his remorseful eyes met mine. I wanted to cry. I wanted to punch him for not telling me and, most of all, I wanted to smack the smug smile from her face. But instead of doing any of those things, I stormed into my office, ignoring Lucy’s good morning greeting and slamming the door behind me. Taking a seat behind my desk, I turned on my computer, willing myself not to cry. My mind was going at warp speed as I tried my hardest to turn it off and focus on work instead. I didn’t respond to the knock on the door, knowing exactly who it was, wishing he’d just go away when he took the first step in.
“Rose, let me explain.” He approached me cautiously.
“There’s nothing to explain, Alex. You lied to me about something very important. Once again, I look like a fool.”
“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you.”
“Same difference.” I stood up and turned my back toward him, staring out the window and focusing on the busy street below.
He inched closer and gently took my arm.
“Please don’t touch me.” My voice wavered.
“Can you please sit down so I can explain myself to you?”
“There’s nothing—”
“Rose, please?”
I followed him over to the conference table and took a seat. My eyes were looking everywhere except at him because I knew once they did, the tears would fall.
“Rose, I was separated from her for over three years and my divorce was finally final a few months ago. Believe me, it would’ve been final much sooner, but she kept holding it up.”
I finally made eye contact with him, unleashing the anger that had built up inside me since the moment we stepped off the elevator. “Okay, that may be so, but did it not ever occur to you once to have shared that information with me? I don’t know…maybe before the first time or tenth time we slept together?”
“I’m sorry, you’re right, I should’ve told you. She was just a bad memory from my past that I wanted to forget.”
My bottom lip quivered and the dam holding back my emotions finally caved in.
“Rose, I swear to you, I didn’t mean to hurt you by keeping it from you. She’s just an evil bitch I wanted to forget.” He reached over and wiped away the teardrop rolling down my face. “I met her when I was young and stupid. She was one of those girls who hung out at the bars around the military base, trying to trap some unsuspecting guy into marriage.”
“So, what are you trying to tell me, you have a kid too?”
“What? No! I was twenty-one when I met her, and we were married two days after my twenty-second birthday. I was cocky as hell and thought I knew everything there was to know about life just because I was a Marine. I was thinking with something other than my brain, and I let her talk me into believing we were meant to be together. I’ll admit, part of it was to piss my father off a little, but then the joke ended up being on me.”
“So, what happened that made you realize she wasn’t the one for you?”
“After we got married, my father cut me off. He may have been a dick, but at least he had brains. He knew what she was all about, and he didn’t want any of my inheritance going to her. I didn’t care one way or the other because I never wanted to live off my family’s money. I wanted to make my own way.”
His inheritance? Another tidbit of information about himself he failed to mention.
“I should’ve known then she was only after one thing. She got so angry when she found out what my father did, and I couldn’t understand why. She kept telling me to get back in his good graces, so I’d be put back in his will, and I refused. God, I was so stupid at the time for not seeing her for what she was, but again, I wasn’t thinking with the upper half of my body.”
I looked away, not wanting to imagine him being with anyone else but me.
“I got sent on back-to-back deployments. I was a day away from coming home when I got hurt.”
He was finally opening up to me about his accident, but part of me wondered if he ever would’ve if this hadn’t happened.
“What happened?” I asked.
“It’s a long story. To cut it short, there was an IED set up. We drove right over it. I was one of the lucky ones who got thrown from the vehicle. I ended up with first-degree burns on my arm and a pretty extensive back injury. I was told I’d never walk again.”
“And that was lucky?”
“Yeah, it was.” His voice cracked. “Most of the guys I was with didn’t survive.” He bowed his head, but it was too late. I already saw the emotion building in his eyes. “I, umm…went into a pretty bad depression after it happened. I didn’t want to see anyone. I felt like half a man. She didn’t want to be stuck taking care of an invalid husband for the rest of her life, and I didn’t want her to. So, we started the divorce process. Then I found out she had been screwing around on me the whole time I was deployed, and it made it that much easier to let her go.”
I softened my gaze. “So, what happened to make her not want the divorce?”
“My father and I made up, and she just assumed, the inheritance was back in the picture. So, she totally changed her tune, and told me how much she loved me and wanted to make our marriage work. But this time I wasn’t stupid. I knew she was trying to hold on for as long as she could, hoping to get a piece of it.”
“I’m sorry, Alex. I’m sorry for everything that’s happened to you, but I’m not sorry for being angry at you for not telling me about her. I value the truth more than anything, no matter how much it hurts, and I just feel like—”
�
��I know, and I’m so sorry, Rose. You have every right in the world to be mad, but I swear, I didn’t mean to intentionally hurt you with this.”
“Why was she even here?” I asked.
He pulled out a beautiful emerald ring from his pocket. “This was my mother’s grandmother’s engagement ring. My mother foolishly gave this to me to give to the woman I married one day, and I was a bigger fool for giving it to her. It was part of the divorce settlement that she gave it back. I thought she’d just ship it, but she said she was in New York for a few days, so she wanted to drop it off in person.” He dropped his gaze to the table and fell silent for a moment. “More like she wanted to create trouble, and I guess she succeeded with her plan.”
“And let me guess, you thought I was just like her when we first met, and that’s why you hated me?”
He looked away and reluctantly nodded.
“I don’t see how, she has awful taste in shoes, and I wouldn’t be caught dead with that purse she was carrying.”
A slow, satisfied smile washed over him. Placing his hands on the sides of my face, he moved closer until our foreheads were touching. “Not everyone could be as perfect as you.”
“Was that supposed to be sarcastic?”
“Not at all.”
“Well, I’m still a little pissed.” He moved my hair out of the way and skimmed my neck with his lips.
I was such a sucker. He certainly knew how to wear me down, making it impossible to stay angry at him for long. “Alex?” I whispered.
“Yeah,” he replied, his mouth moving closer to my ear.
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice and we’re through.” I had to at least pretend I was still holding my ground. He didn’t need to know that each time his lips met my skin, he was breaking down my resolve a little bit more.
Chapter 40
___________________
Alex
WILLIAM DIED ONE WEEK before Thanksgiving, and I was pretty sure he left this world a happy man, thanks to Rose. Rose and I attended the small service Audra had put together, and she couldn’t express her gratitude enough over the part we played in reuniting the two of them. Little did she know, but in a way, William had played a part in bringing Rose and me together as well. If it weren’t for him, I would’ve never seen that kind and caring side to Rose and would probably still be hating on her for thinking she was someone she wasn’t. I would always be grateful to William for bringing her into my life in a way I had never imagined.
My parents had just left after spending Thanksgiving in New York. It was nice to see them, but I was happy to have my place back to myself. Rose had gone to California to spend the holiday with her parents and had just gotten back into New York the night prior, so for the first time ever, I was looking forward to Monday morning. I never realized how long five days was until actually spending the last five without her.
“Hey there!” She poked her head into my office, and I couldn’t contain my smile.
I stood up and checked her out from head to toe. She was definitely a sight for sore eyes, even for just getting in at 2:00 a.m. and only managing four hours’ sleep. She still looked gorgeous. She took a few more steps in as I inched closer, reaching behind her and slamming my office door closed. Taking her in my arms, I planted a kiss on her lips to make up for the past five days.
“I’ll take that as you missed me?” She grinned, taking my face in her hands and smiling up at me.
Lowering my head to hers, I couldn’t resist tasting her lips once again. Her hands moved up my back, and I knew I had to pull it together fast before we started something we wouldn’t be able to finish here. “I think we better save this for later.”
“Are you having a problem there, Mr. Andrews?” She smirked, no doubt feeling the problem down below pressing into her.
“Just a little.”
“I say it’s a lot more than little.” She giggled. “Maybe we should take care of that.”
I laughed it off then became more serious when she began to undo my belt buckle. I was dying to have sex with her…but at work and in my office? What the hell was I thinking? How could I even second-guess it? If she was willing, then I was certainly able. “We gotta be quick. I’ve got a meeting at nine.”
“I can be quick, and by the looks or should I say…feel of this”—she pressed herself into my erection—“I think you can be quick too.”
I reached over and locked the door, deciding to throw caution to the wind and put myself out of the sexual misery I was in.
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“With time to spare.” Rose giggled as she fixed my tie.
“You surprise me more and more every day.”
She shrugged as if it were no big deal. “What can I say, I missed you too.” She stood on her tippy toes and gave me a quick peck on the cheek.
“Shit,” I muttered when I heard the knock on my door.
“Alex?” my uncle called, turning the locked door handle.
Rose calmly opened the door with a huge grin on her face. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t even realize that was locked. I just needed to talk to Alex in private about some drama I had going on back home.”
I looked down at the floor and grinned. She sounded so convincing. My uncle was the one who seemed a little flustered.
“Rose, I thought you weren’t coming back until Wednesday.”
“Nope, Monday. You’re probably getting me confused with Lucy. She’s out until Wednesday.”
“What’s up, Uncle Henry?” I interrupted.
“Oh…umm.” He looked at Rose, still frazzled. “I wanted you to meet an old acquaintance of mine. He and his son are here from London, and they’re interested in possibly doing something similar to our magazine in the UK. They had a few questions, and I thought maybe you’d be best to answer them.”
I looked down at my watch. “Umm…yeah, sure. It’s gotta be quick, though, I’m supposed to be heading out for a meeting in a few.”
“You know what? We can always reschedule another day.” My uncle seemed all too happy to do so, hastily turning around to make an exit.
“No, it’s okay. I’ve got about ten minutes,” I said.
“Okay, they’re in my office,” my uncle advised.
“Rose, can you do me a huge favor and see if Marisa has the mockup I need to bring to this meeting?” I asked.
“Sure. No problem!” She darted off.
“Wait…Rose!” my uncle shouted, but she was already out of earshot.
“Everything okay, Uncle Henry?” I asked. He was so on edge, definitely not his usual self this morning.
“What?” He snapped out of it a bit. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”
“Okay, can we get moving then? I really need to get going soon,” I asked as he stood in place staring blankly ahead.
“Oh, yeah, sure.”
I followed behind him and entered his office to find an older man around my uncle’s age and a younger one who I’d judge to be about my age.
“Alex, this is Phillip York and his son, Collin.”
They both stood up and greeted me with a handshake while I tried to figure out which of them was smugger—father or son?
“So, you’re the Marine your uncle Henry has bragged about all these years?” the older man asked in a thick British accent.
I stared at him blankly, already disliking him a little for bringing up a subject I didn’t care to discuss with anyone, much less a stranger. “My uncle was telling me you had some questions about the magazine.” I got right to the topic at hand.
“Oh, yes. Like your uncle, I like to think I’m a pretty shrewd businessman, and I’m looking to expand that business by branching off into the magazine industry. Of course, ours will be mainly online. But seeing how this is such a success in the States, I wanted to get a feel for how it’s run, and your uncle tells me you’re the guy to talk to.”
“To be honest, I couldn’t tell you much about the online version of it.”
“Are you not b
usiness partners with your uncle?” the younger guy piped up.
I gazed at my uncle. This was his company, and I never let my uncle or any of the employees think otherwise, regardless if my father owned half of it and put me in charge of his half. “No, this is my uncle’s magazine.”
The two men looked at each other in confusion.
“I don’t get it, Henry, when I asked about buying into the company, you said your nephew is part owner,” the older man remarked.
“My father owns half the business, which is set up in my name. As far as I’m concerned, this was my uncle’s business. He built it from the ground up, so he makes all the decisions…and as far as I know, he’s not interested in having anyone buying into his business,” I intervened.
“Well, lad, I think you may want to rethink that decision you’re making on your uncle’s part. This could be a very successful merger,” the older Mr. York remarked as an arrogant grin spread across his son’s face.
“If my uncle has no interest, then neither do I. Now will that be all? I have a meeting I need to be at.”
“If you’re really serious about not partnering up with us, then I’d love to set up a time where we can bounce some ideas off you for setting up our business. We’ll be in the States into the New Year. We have some other mergers to look into and my wife wants to spend Christmas here. Surely, we’d be able to set something up between now and then,” Mr. York replied.
“I told you, I don’t really get involved in the online version of the magazine—”
“Excuse me.” I turned my head in Rose’s direction as she stood in the doorway with the mockup I’d requested in her hand.
“Actually, this is the girl you want to speak with about the online edition,” I continued.
My uncle shifted in his chair and nervously raked his hand through his hair. I caught his gaze and creased my eyebrows, wondering what the heck was going on with him and why he seemed so freaked out by Rose’s presence. He dropped his gaze to his desk and cleared his throat.
“Maybe another time,” my uncle finally spoke. “My nephew has to be at a meeting now, and I have my morning meeting with my staff.” What the hell was his deal? Was he not even going to introduce them to Rose?