Felix could only stare at her. Perhaps he should be doing something, like getting out and opening the door for her, but he couldn’t get his mind into gear. Instead, she opened the door and stepped in, turning to him.
“You look amazing,” he said.
“That you. You don’t scrub up so bad yourself.”
“How am I supposed to hate you in a dress like that?”
“I’m sure you’ll figure out a way,” she said with a smile. More like he’d be fending guys off her that night.
“You fight dirty.”
Chapter 67
The party was at a house up in the hills. What looked like a sizeable living room had been cleared leaving a massive space, dotted intermittently by standing tables. The view was spectacular, with lights across the town, which shimmered in the latent heat.
This wasn’t technically the first party Shania had attended, but it was perhaps the most formal one. The hosts were gregarious, greeting everyone who arrived as a personal friend—absolutely delighted to meet her.
Felix stood by her side and the host, a Mrs. Holstrom, greeted him by saying how mature he looked. Obviously, this woman had seen him grow up.
“It’s such a shame your mother can’t be here,” she said, a sad expression on her face.
“I think father got Marbella in the divorce,” Felix said dryly.
The woman looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment before hiding it behind a bright smile. “We will see her in London. Your father arrived not long ago.” She looked around as if trying to spot him. “I am sure you will see him here somewhere. Please enjoy the party.” She moved on to greet another guest that had just arrived.
“I take it you know these people.”
“I used to know their son, but he’s a bit of a twat. Doesn’t live here anymore, although I suppose he does come to visit.”
“The parents seem nice enough.”
“Yeah, well, something skipped a generation.”
There was obviously bad blood there. The people here had long histories with each other. Where she was from, the community wasn’t static like it was here, so you didn’t really get to know people on a long term basis. She couldn’t imagine being with people who remembered what you did in kindergarten.
“Do you want a drink?” Felix asked.
“I suppose it is mandatory.”
Felix walked over to the bar and Shania looked around. She didn’t know any of these faces, and wondered if she actually wanted to. These were not her kind of people, not that she particularly had any kind of people. The longer she was away from the US, the less she felt like she belonged in Reno. There really was no reason to go back there, other than to visit her mum. Problem was, she wasn’t sure she belonged anywhere—not like these people who had all claimed this place as theirs.
Before too long, Felix returned with a magenta-coloured cocktail in a flared glass. It tasted alright, even if she couldn’t exactly make out what was in it.
A couple of the guys were outright staring at her, which was kind of rude in a place like this.
“You look stunning,” Felix said. She’d better; she’d just about drained her bank account for this dress. For some reason, it had felt important that she look good and proper good. Maybe she had wanted to prove to everyone that she was more than a bit of trash coming from a neighbourhood with an embarrassing number of trailer parks.
She always used to give the finger to that notion, that she wasn’t good enough. They could stick it, but somehow, probably with this job and her new career, she wanted people to admit that she was good enough for anyone. Because, in a sense, she had come a long way and she wanted some recognition for that.
“You seem a bit distracted tonight,” he said and Shania realised she had forgotten to respond.
“I suppose,” she said, turning back so she could ignore the guys salivating. As if she would be remotely interested. “Thinking about work, I guess.”
“Now’s not the time to think about work.”
With a chuckle, she looked at him. He looked damned good in his black suit. It seemed to work well with his dark hair. They actually looked matched. She’d spent so much time hating him that she’d basically forgotten how attractive he was. His personality was so prickly it seemed to remove that from him.
Again, he looked utterly relaxed. Unlike her, he belonged here in every sense of the word. Perhaps that’s why they hated each other. He was the perfect insider, and she was the ultimate outsider.
“What?” he said.
“I was just thinking of why we react to each other so much.”
“Why do you think?”
“Because we’re polar opposites.”
“Or much too similar.”
“We have nothing in common.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I see something of myself in you.”
“Like what?”
“You don’t suffer fools gladly. You don’t care what anyone thinks of you. You don’t necessarily accept what other people think you should want or be in life.”
Is that what he saw in her? Hardly the reasons why he’d been trying to chase her way with inhuman determination since the moment she’d met him. Yet somehow, here they were, a matched pair at some cocktail party, dressed to the nines and having philosophical conversations about why they were there.
“Equal measure of attract and repel?” she asked.
He seemed to study her as if he was trying to determine what to say. “Absolute in both.”
Shifting his body, he moved to her and kissed her. Sweetness suffused her mind for a moment, taking her completely by surprise. One, because this was in full view of everyone, and two, what the fuck?
When it broke, she raised her eyebrows questioningly. The taste of him still lingered on her lips—both familiar and heady. “And what was that?”
“Testing the theory.”
“What theory?”
“That we attract.”
That was hardly surprising; they did snap together like magnets whenever they walked near each other, which had resulted in some highly inappropriate behaviour in the office. She’d basically risked her career for him.
“And when we fight, we fight with everything,” he continued.
What exactly was he saying? Was that tie around his neck a little too tight and he was losing oxygen? He was certainly staring at her funnily.
“The thing with magnets, though, is that it doesn’t ever stop.” For some reason, he was picking up her hand and threading his fingers through hers.
“Meaning?”
“The attraction doesn’t ever stop.”
“Pfft,” she said, but something like a cold sweat was breaking out across her body. Esme had said something about him being in love with her, but Shania had totally dismissed it. Now here he was, threading her fingers between his, ever so gently. Sadly, there was no denying that the touch, the contact, felt so natural. “You hate my guts, remember?”
“Alright, maybe I hated how caught I was in this. Could be I hated it because I knew it would never stop. Every bit of my body reacts when you walk in the room. The hairs on my arms literally stand on end when you appear, and there had been points when I struggled to deal with that.”
“You mean like yesterday?”
“Maybe the day before.”
“So what’s changed?”
“Maybe I have come to accept the nature of our relationship.”
“We don’t have a relationship.”
“If it walks like a duck… ”
“We’re not ducks.”
“Rabbits, then. Maybe we have more in common with rabbits.”
She gave him a filthy look.
Biting his lip, he grinned. “You know you want to.”
Damn him, because yes, the thought of her raising her skirt in a dark corner and him giving her a good pounding was crossing her mind intermittently. In fact, her insides clenched with anticipation right now.
But this couldn’t go on. She
was going to be his boss soon, and that meant the unplanned fucking couldn’t continue.
“I love that dress, by the way,” he said, running his finger along the sheer armhole around her shoulder. Tendrils of sensation stroked along her skin. “I don’t think you need me to describe what it does for me.”
Chapter 68
After doing a round at the party, Shania found Felix standing by a table as if he was leisurely waiting for her. Fine, she couldn’t deny the connection between them. Just looking at him, she seemed to understand what he was thinking, and right now, he just wanted to be here, with her.
“Don’t feel like mingling?” she asked.
“Why? Nothing changes with these people anyway.”
“Do you want to go?” It would be a shame, considering what she forked out for this damned dress.
“Not yet,” he said, reaching for her arm. There was that touch again, swirling electricity down her arm. “Why don’t I show you some of the artwork?”
“Yes, because I really care about artwork,” she said sarcastically.
Stepping back, he tugged on her wrist. “Somehow, Felix Dunbury, I don’t think you have art on your mind.”
“Depends on your definition.”
Perhaps she shouldn’t take a step, but she couldn’t exactly stop herself. Maybe there was something to this theory that they were compelled to the attraction between them. The tension in her body almost made it hard to breathe, and the prospect of release from it beckoned.
His eyes were dark, full of promise. There was that temptation, the one that called to her and made her do things she didn’t intend to. Although, saying that, she wasn’t entirely sure she had at any point expected this night to end without them fucking.
“Where are you taking me, mister?” she said coyly.
“Somewhere dark, where no one can hear you. Where I will do unspeakable things to you.”
She couldn’t help the shiver running down her body, making her insides clench. Stepping back further, he turned her around without letting go of her wrist, drawing her away. Somewhere in the back of the building, he opened a door which led down to a basement. No, actually, a wine cellar decorated with sandstone walls, racks of wine and a heavy oak tasting table. The light was warm and low, and it was utterly silent down there.
“Did you know this was here?”
“Yes,” he said. “The twat I told you about had a party down here once.”
Pulling her to him, he wrapped his arm around her waist, bringing her flush to him. Shania’s mind wavered with the lush lips seeking hers. The attraction had certainly never diminished, she conceded. Somehow she always ended up in his arms, no matter how much they hated each other.
Warm lips down her neck made her breath hitch. She wanted more of him, wanted to feel him closer than this. Heavy breaths pumped in and out of her lungs, but she couldn’t get enough air. A hand running up her thigh and up to her backside pressed her to him and a delicious flare of tension scalded her. She could feel how hard he was.
“Coconut,” he said as he kissed along her shoulders, referring to the body lotion she had used. “We really should go on a trip somewhere. Maldives?”
Images of sun and sand, and endless sex flashed through her mind. Maybe if she hadn’t spent so damned much on this dress.
Somehow he’d unbuttoned the back of her dress and the shoulders were giving. Soft hands trailed down to her breasts, cupping their weights and teasing her nipples, sending shivers of tension spiralling down to her sex. She was moistening, clenching in want.
Bringing her leg up his thigh, she brought him closer, grinding his cock to her sensitive folds. With hands on her backside, he lifted her up on the table, the slit baring her thighs. Urgent fingers pulled her underwear down and then stroked along her thighs in firm, fluid movements.
His lips sought hers again, diving deep into her mouth. The sound of his zip being pulled down reverberated through off the walls, or was that inside her mind? It might be the most luscious sound she could think of, promising a means to exorcise the tension that made it hard to sit still.
Drawing her to the end of the table, he pushed into her, exquisiteness filling her. She had to admit his cock was utterly amazing, making her gasp with delight as he buried himself in her body. Nothing about this felt wrong; it felt familiar, as if she’d been waiting for this all her years. Everything was stripped away when they were like this. It was just the two of them and how perfectly they fit together. He was like her other half, almost a part of herself.
A notion of fear crept into her, concern in trusting him, of giving in, but his eyes were right at hers, letting her see into his very soul, telling her that this was right. They did belong together. She knew that now. Neither of them had been able to escape it.
A firm thrust sent pleasure spiralling through her body, bringing her closer to the edge. Her head went to fall back with the lovely sensations, but he wouldn’t let her, didn’t want to break the eye contact.
His eyes were showing her just how much he needed this, needed to be with her, buried inside her. Could either of them do without this?
Another thrust made her gasp. She couldn’t hold on, hold away the rush of pleasure that threatened to tear her apart.
Maybe she loved him, loved his strength, even his abrasiveness, because she wasn’t sure she could tolerate anything else. Even his arrogance turned her on. A part of her hated to admit it, but it was true. He was perfect for her, because she couldn’t take anyone sappy or soft, and the desire she saw in his eyes, even when he fought it tooth and nail. He couldn’t resist her and that was inordinately sexy, too.
The tension was building intolerably, but she didn’t want it to be over. Arching into him, her orgasm overpowered her, her insides powerfully clenching around him. The waves of pure pleasure washed over her and he ground to her as if fusing them together. His strained cry echoed off the walls around her. If only they could stay here in this perfection, a thought screamed through her mind.
With heavy breaths, she tried to gather herself. Maybe she wasn’t sorry as they could do this again, over and over again. That was all she saw now—him and her, doing this for as long as time stretched.
Chapter 69
Ricky knew full well that Aggie had been there for the plucking. The way she’d acted, the nervous tension and the dazed confusion after said as much. He turned her on and his instincts told him if he’d just pushed it right, they would have ended up in bed. The basest part of him had been screaming at him to go for it, while another knew full well their friendship would be over.
Obviously, Aggie was both hot and awesome, but didn’t he want to spend the coolest relationship he’d ever had on a quick half-hour fuck. Even if it stretched all night, he’d be giving up something awesome for some mere physical rewards. If any fuck would leave him empty, that one would devastate.
Aggie was not in a state for a relationship. Maybe that would change at some point, but he respected where she was at. She wanted to play the field, take things lightly, the excitement of exploring strange bodies without any emotional attachment. There were certainly rewards in that, and if someone wasn’t ready for the heavy drama of a relationship, then it was the best thing.
Problem was, he was ready for something more complicated—something with risk, and potentially rewards beyond anything he’d ever known.
Irrespective, something had happened between them and that kiss, a simple kiss, might just have destroyed everything. He’d never felt so on edge about anything. Looking back, he shouldn’t have done it. At the time, it had just been a simple thing. He’d never had a problem with a simple kiss, and it shouldn’t have been a problem, except Aggie was hot for him. How had he not fucking seen it?
It had been turning over in his head all day, what to do about it. His apartment had seemed particularly lonely as he had now effectively fucked up the only friendship he had. How could he have been so careless? Because he wasn’t used to taking care, or being r
emotely worried about other people’s feelings. He did care about hers, though.
Hopping in his car when it got dark, he went in search of her. When he’d texted and asked, she’d said she was going to this bar in Porto Banus, some bar he hadn’t been to.
He had to park in one of the back streets. Parking was more of a haphazard affair here, people taking parks wherever they determined they could squeeze their car in, or used the insanely expensive valets. For him, he had better things to spend his money on than avoid what was a mere nuisance.
The bouncer let him in without much fuss. He didn’t know if it was because he was a DJ at Virtue, and Shine, or just that he looked right for the place. Ricky had never had trouble getting into a place.
The place was very neon, with more austere tunes. Not his kind of music, more to what he would call the wannabe hipster market. It was a nice enough place, but not somewhere one went to get off their face and dance until feet bled.
“Hey,” he said as he found Aggie, sitting amongst faces he recalled, but frankly didn’t care about.
“Hi Ricky, how are you?”
He sat down next to her. She wasn’t annoyed that he was there and he was glad. It seemed they had preserved some of their friendship.
“I thought you were working today.”
“I’ve switched shifts with one of the other guys.”
“So we have the pleasure of your company, then?”
It was hard to read her. She didn’t make it easy to tell if she was mad or not. “I’m sorry I kissed you,” he spat out.
“Did you come here to tell me that?”
“Yes.”
“I suppose I made a dick of myself.”
“Of course not.”
Aggie looked embarrassed and he wished she wouldn’t. “I just hadn’t realised, that’s all. Which is kind of ironic considering we were discussing when you know someone is ready for bedding.” Okay, now he kicked himself. There really was no need to make things worse. “When you were saying you wanted to play the field, I hadn’t realised you meant me.”
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