She had learned a hard lesson, one she would never forget. There were the Eltons, the Waltons, the DuPonts and…the Di Meglios, and everybody else. Even Mac and Sam had married well, even though Sam’s family was already wealthy. Hadn’t the Di Meglios tried playing matchmaker for Sam countless times? The rich always married the rich. It was as simple as that. No one—not even Mac and Sam—knew about Matthew Elton and the pain of his rejection.
She heard her cell phone ring and smiled. Evidently Angelo had already forgotten what she said she wanted for breakfast. She picked up the phone off the nightstand. “Okay, what did you forget?”
There was a pause on the other end. “Mac and I should be asking you the same question since you haven’t bothered calling to let us know if you’re dead or alive, still single or married,” said Sam.
Peyton rolled her eyes. “I didn’t know I had to check in.”
“Don’t be a smart-ass, Pey. Happy birthday.”
She smiled, hearing Mac in the background. They had her on speakerphone. “Thanks, guys.”
“Well, how is it going?”
There was no way she was going to tell Sam about her and Angelo sleeping together. “Everything’s going fine,” she said. “This is a beautiful place, and I want to thank you both again.”
Mac and Sam proceeded to sing “Happy Birthday” to her in their off-key voices. “Thanks, but I don’t feel any older.” And she meant it. Whoever said age was nothing more than a number knew what they were talking about. In fact, she felt wonderful, full of life and sore as hell.
A few minutes later she hung up the phone, feeling good about herself and the day ahead. She had the lighthouse until early afternoon and although she enjoyed Angelo’s company, she needed time by herself to think and regroup. Besides, once they left Dunwoody Cove they would go their separate ways. She would swear Angelo to secrecy about their affair. The less anyone knew the better. There would be no questions asked. She eased out of bed, remembering she wanted to take a shower and be dressed by the time Angelo returned. She didn’t have to imagine what would happen if he found her still in bed without any clothes on.
* * *
Angelo stepped off the elevator and almost laughed out loud. Peyton was belting out a few lines of “R-E-S-P-E-C-T.” He shook his head thinking Aretha Franklin she was not. Not even close.
He set the bags on the small kitchen table and glanced around. He followed her voice into the bathroom and entered just in time to see her toweling her body dry. He leaned against the door unobserved. This was the woman he wanted. Regardless of the fact that she couldn’t carry a damn note.
When she came to the end of the song, he said, “I hope you’re not holding out for a record deal, Peyton.”
She spun around, clutched her hand to her chest and took a deep breath. “What are you trying to do, scare me to death?”
He smiled. “No more than your singing that song is scaring me. Aretha ought to sue you.”
She tossed her head back and lifted her chin. “Kiss my butt, Angelo.”
He moved toward her. “If I remember correctly, I did that very thing plenty of times last night. I bet you have passion marks all over your backside.”
Her cheeks blushed, and he couldn’t help but shake his head at the comparison of her behavior just hours ago. The woman had been a temptress in bed last night and now she was shy and demure. She held the towel tightly around her body, as if he hadn’t seen her naked already. “I wasn’t expecting you back for a while.”
He shrugged, deciding not to tell her that he had hurried because he didn’t want to be away from her any longer than he had to. “The café wasn’t crowded.”
“Oh.”
“I’ll set the table while you put on some clothes. Otherwise, we won’t be eating.”
He knew he didn’t have to spell out just what that meant. He wanted her again. She was already in his blood, under his skin and connected to him in a way no woman had ever been before.
He turned to leave. “Mac and Sam called,” she said.
He turned back around. “Did they?”
“Yes. They wished me happy birthday.”
He put his hands in his pockets. “You knew that they would.”
She nodded. She didn’t say anything for a minute but continued to look at him as if there was something else on her mind. “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”
“I didn’t mention anything about you being here.”
He could tell by the way she’d said it that she expected an argument. He didn’t intend to give her one. He simply shrugged. “That’s your prerogative.”
“You don’t have a problem with that?”
“Like I said, it’s your prerogative. I’ll get breakfast ready.”
She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later. He took one look at her and knew why he’d fallen for her and fallen hard. Dressed in a pair of black leggings, a print mini dress and with her hair pulled back, he thought she was beautiful.
He exhaled slowly and turned back around to take the food out of the bags. It was either stay busy or cross the room and take her hard—just where she stood.
“I’m starving,” she said, interrupting the quiet.
He turned back to her and smiled. “So am I.” She didn’t need to know he wasn’t starving for food but for her. “Come on, let’s eat.”
Chapter 13
“So what do you have planned for today?”
Peyton glanced up from taking the last bite of her pancakes and met Angelo’s gaze. She wondered why he was asking. Of course being in the throes of passion when the clock struck midnight was one hell of a way to ring in her birthday. And she didn’t want to think about how those gorgeous, dark eyes staring at her made her pulse race like crazy. But seriously, she knew better than to let good sex go to her head, although she had to admit it had been the best she’d ever had hands down. And she wasn’t about to get attached to a man whose family had money. She had learned the hard way. A broken heart took a long time to heal. Hers had healed years ago—despite the emotional scars—and she didn’t want a repeat performance.
“Why do you want to know?” she asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
“Because I intend to spend it with you.”
Wrong answer, she thought. He would not be spending any more time with her. “I haven’t planned anything yet, but whatever I do it will be alone.”
He tilted his head to the side as if staring her down. “No, it won’t. There’s no way I’ll let you spend your birthday by yourself.”
Did he think he had a choice in the matter? Besides, why was he making it a big deal when it wasn’t a big deal to her? Hadn’t he done what she’d expected? The fact that it didn’t bother him that she hadn’t told Mac and Sam that they had been together pretty much meant that last night had only been about sex to him. It had been nothing more than a one-night fling.
She met his stare. “There’s no way I won’t be spending the rest of my birthday solo,” she said in her most determined voice.
Peyton had to give it to Angelo. He had a way of looking at her that made her think twice about refusing to give in to whatever he wanted. She wondered if it was the same look he gave jurors in the courtroom to win a verdict. If so, then that was just tough. Little did he know, but stubborn was her middle name and she rarely backed down from a fight.
She stood when he didn’t respond and felt the heat of his gaze on her back when she carried her plate over to the sink.
She was standing at the small sink when she felt the heat from his body as he stood directly behind her. He reached out and snagged her around the waist, pulling her body snug against him. She felt his erection, hard and firm on her backside. If she measured his desire by the size of his erection, then it probably wouldn’t have taken much to p
ush him over the edge.
She turned to face him. “Okay, Angelo, I feel you, loud and clear. We’ll have another roll between the sheets before you go.”
If his expression was anything to go by, he didn’t seem pleased with her response. “Do you think that’s all I want, Peyton?”
Maybe it was her, but she really thought it was a stupid question. “Yes, that’s all I think you want.”
“Then you’re wrong.”
If it wasn’t all he wanted, then what else was there? The last guy she was involved with thought her charge card also had his name on it, but Angelo certainly wasn’t after her money. More than once her last “boyfriend” of two weeks had tried getting her to pay for dinner, even though he had been the one to invite her out on a date.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Then tell me, if that isn’t it, what do you want?”
“I want you to get to know me better.”
Now she was really confused. He wanted her to get to know him better and not those sensuous lips of his? Or that humongous erection he was packing?
She reached out and felt his forehead with the back of her hand. He was slightly warm. She wondered if he was running a fever or maybe the tropical heat was affecting him. He definitely wasn’t thinking straight. “Okay, Angelo, what’s this about?”
“Don’t you remember last night?”
Of course she remembered last night. “Yes, what about it?”
“Our agreement.”
She frowned wondering what agreement he was talking about. “Refresh my memory about the agreement.”
“You’re mine.”
She stiffened. “Excuse me?”
“I said you’re mine. Last night before I made love to you I warned you that I would claim you.”
Peyton stared at him, remembering the conversation she’d dismissed as nonsense. She had agreed because she’d wanted him so much that she would have agreed to just about anything. At the time she’d thought it was just his ego foolishly talking about claiming her. Angelo certainly wasn’t the type to claim a woman.
“Fine. Well, now I’m backing out of the agreement,” she said with finality.
“Sorry, I can’t let you do that.”
She glared. “And why not?”
Now he was the one who crossed his arms over his chest. “Because I told you what I want.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Trust me, baby, I am.”
“Well, too bad. No one claims me.”
“I do, and I did.” He reached out and hauled her into his arms.
* * *
Angelo muttered a low groan the moment his tongue touched Peyton’s. If she thought for one minute he intended to allow her to weasel her way out of their agreement then she had another thought coming.
And speaking of coming…
He was convinced he could do that very thing with just this kiss. Fire was quickly spreading to his loins. She was laying it on thick with her tongue, which greedily mated with his, as she sucked on it with a fervor he felt throughout his body. He was the one who initiated the kiss, but she took it to the next level with her lip-lock, exerting so much pressure that it forced him to deepen the kiss even more. Angelo obliged her, going tit for tat, devouring her mouth with a desperation that astonished even him.
Already his erection was throbbing so insistently that it wouldn’t have taken much to haul Peyton over to the bed and lose himself between those luscious thighs of hers. But doing so would defeat the purpose. He wanted her to know that there was more between them than just sex.
But when he felt her hand slip between them to toy with his zipper before slowly easing it down, his mind began debating whether making love some more wasn’t such a bad idea. Lovemaking was a form of communication, and if he couldn’t get her to go along with his plan, then he wasn’t above using whatever means necessary to win her over.
When she inserted her fingers through the opening of his jeans, between the slit in his boxers, to palm his shaft, his mind went blank. Her touch had sparks of electricity shooting through him. She broke off the kiss and started licking the side of his face, using the tip of her tongue in a way that only made him moan her name. He reached out and cradled her face in his hand as she moved lower to his neck. What seemed like firing pistons scorched his abs.
“You’re bigger than you were last night,” she said, pausing long enough to prolong the torment. “I want to see if that’s the case or if it’s just my overactive imagination.”
Yes, he wanted her to see his emotions. He also wanted her to feel them, too. When she released him and began unbuttoning his shirt, he knew she intended to kiss and lick him all over. The thought of that nearly brought him to his knees.
He drew in a deep breath and decided if he didn’t put a stop to this, that’s just where she intended to go—down on her knees, taking him into her mouth. The very thought of that upended what little control he had left. He was certain if she did so, he would be addicted to her mouth. He was a healthy, hot-blooded male, and she was bringing him to heel.
The horn blast from a cruise ship close to shore had the effect of dousing water on a blazing fire. Angelo stopped Peyton moments before she was about to drop to her knees. Taking her by the arm, he eased her back up.
A luscious smile curved her lips. “You sure you want me to stop?”
Although he desperately wanted her to continue, he knew it was best that she didn’t. “No, I don’t want you to stop, but today should be all about me treating you and not the other way around. And since you don’t have any plans for your birthday, I’ll make some for us.”
“Us?”
“Yes, us, so get used to it. I plan to stick to you like glue today and make love to you again tonight.”
She raked her gaze over him. “Get used to what? You sticking to me like glue or you making love to me?”
He lifted her chin. “Both.”
“And what if I don’t agree?”
He reached out and slid his palm up and down the back of her neck. “Then I’ll just have to convince you that it’s in your best interest. And I intend to start doing that later, right over there in that bed.”
She pulled back and placed her hands on her hips. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m supposed to check out of here by four.”
He shook his head. “Not anymore. When I got breakfast at the resort this morning I had someone check the reservations, and this place is still available for the next couple of days.”
She narrowed her eyes. “That doesn’t mean I can afford it.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to. I reserved it.”
He saw her reaction, and it wasn’t good. “You had no right to do that, Angelo. I don’t need you to pay for me like I’m destitute.”
“I wasn’t. Will it make you feel better to say I had ulterior motives since I plan to get something out of this anyway?” He could just imagine what she thought he had in mind, but for the moment he’d let her think whatever she liked. In the end, she would discover just how wrong she was about his motives.
“So come on, Peyton, put your shoes on so we can go. The day is flying by.”
“And just where do you think we’re going?”
A mischievous smile touched his lips. “Parasailing.”
* * *
Angelo and Peyton returned to the lighthouse late that afternoon. Parasailing had been just the beginning. It had been a full day of activities that included looking for buried treasure in the dunes, snorkeling in the Atlantic, bird watching and nature hiking on several outer islands. They even rented bicycles to ride around the island.
Peyton dropped down on the loveseat in the suite, too tired to go any farther. Through the glass windows she could see the ocean and could tell a thunderstorm would be
rolling in later. Angelo had suggested they stop by the resort to grab more clothes. She had been prepared to run into Lela, but they hadn’t. She watched Angelo put the bags on the bed before rejoining her in the parlor.
He kicked off his shoes and dropped down to the floor beside the sofa, lying flat on his back. He was exhausted and understandably so. They had crammed a lot of activities in that day. He had made her birthday special and she’d done things she’d always wanted to do but had never found the time for.
The highlight of her day was when they stopped to eat at a restaurant on one of the piers and the staff came out and sang “Happy Birthday” to her and presented her with a cake with candles. There was no way the restaurant would have done that unless it had been arranged beforehand. The thought that Angelo had gone to all the trouble to make her birthday special touched her.
“Thanks, Angelo.”
He glanced up at her. “For what?”
“For today. You made my birthday special, and I appreciate that.”
He pulled up into a sitting position as a smile curved his lips. “It’s not over yet. Look over there.”
She glanced past him and saw that someone had lined the spiral staircase that led up to the lantern room with colorful balloons. At the top of the landing was a candlelit table set for two. Her hand flew to her mouth in total surprise. It was the most romantic thing she’d ever seen.
She glanced back at him, amazed. “How? When?”
He chuckled. “I made arrangements with the resort staff to come in while we were out.”
She just stared at the brightly colored balloons and the huge one with the words “Happy Birthday.” “You did this for me?”
“It’s your birthday. I wanted to make it special for you.”
As far as she was concerned, he’d done so, starting with the lovemaking at midnight. She was deeply touched by the gesture. “Thanks, Angelo,” she whispered, fighting back tears.
Courting Justice Page 12