She swallowed, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. “I...he...he used me, James. He….” He took my love and trust and joy and moved on the moment he could. “He used me.”
He started shaking, fury flashing in his eyes. “That son of a whore,” he growled. “What, is he crazy? Girls like you are one in a goddamn million. I’ll kill him! I really will go over there right now and--”
“No, James!” She half-turned, putting her hand on his chest and rubbing it gently, trying to soothe him. “You can’t. You’ll end up back in jail. Don’t do it.”
His shaking slowed, and his eyes went back from the door to her face. The fury slowly drained out of them as she petted him and gently pled.
“Don’t confront him. Not tonight.” She couldn’t think straight, he couldn't think straight, and in the end, it was she who had to confront Henry. “Stay here with me. Please, just stay here with me.” She reached up and brushed her fingers over the side of his face.
His eyes hooded and he caught her hand, gently turning it over and pressing a kiss into her palm. It was a small gesture, save for the desperate adoration in his expression...and the flood of warmth that ran through her at the touch of his lips.
...Oh.
They stared at each other in a moment that stretched out and out, and the pain Henry caused her seemed to drift apart from her a little as she drank in the quiet warmth in James’s eyes. He had been so patient. He had waited on the sidelines while she made a mess of herself with Henry, because it was her life and what she wanted. But he had been there the whole time, a tough man who found himself softening a little whenever she was around. And Anna, who had never loved and found it returned in equal measure, who had been alone for so very long, realized that the difference between that giddy delight she had felt with Henry and the growing, tender heat she felt with James was the difference between a crush and something real.
She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his, shyly, almost like an apology. He made a soft sound, and his hand slipped up through her hair and caught the back of her head, cradling it gently as he returned the kiss with that same delicacy. His breath shivered against her lips, and she could feel him restraining himself, every muscle tight as he touched her as if she was made of soap bubbles. She smoothed her hands over his shoulders, trying to calm him, trying to reassure him that it was all right; that she was with him now, and her heart, bruised as it was, was slowly freeing itself from bondage to another man.
The room had gone quiet; they had run out of words. Outside snowflakes softly tapped the window, while inside they gently broke the ice between them. Slowly he relaxed against her, his lips moving more intensely over hers and his hands starting to explore her shape through the comforter. She smiled and let it fall open a little, so that his hand slid across skin where he was expecting cloth, at the top of one of her breasts.
He sucked air and paused, then nuzzled at her throat as his trembling hand slid lower, vanishing under the edge of the comforter. He cupped her breast gently as he kissed her, a low rumble like a purr escaping his chest as he ran his big, rough hand so softly against her sensitive skin. She gasped and kissed him roughly and felt him respond, tongue darting against hers as he rubbed and kneaded her breast.
She let the comforter fall open further, fingers in his hair as he kissed his way lower until he took her hardened nipple into his mouth.
He suckled delicately while she moaned and held him, head falling back, glad for the one strong arm holding her or she might have fallen off the couch. She shifted positions, kicking free of the comforter enough to straddle him while he gently ran his tongue and lips over her breast with low gasps and tremors of desire. Still restraining himself. It made her melt as much as his caresses; he could have thrown her on the floor, torn away the comforter and ravaged her with all his strength, but instead, this tenderness which soft-handed Henry had never matched.
She let the comforter fall back off her shoulders, and he groaned softly and pulled her against him, burying his face between her breasts. His body relaxed against hers even as his mouth grew frantic, kissing and nuzzling and nibbling softly, then more and more intensely, until she squirmed against him and started to beg. “Don't stop...Oh please, don't stop….”
He smiled against her skin, and didn’t stop, even when her breath came in tiny gasps and both her nipples were so hard they hurt.
When he finally did, it was only to lift her, off his lap and into his arms, across the room to where his bed laid waiting. She settled into the featherbed, and he took off his boots and climbed to crouch over her. His eyes were heavy-lidded with lust, and his breath shuddered in his throat as he looked down at her. The longing that had haunted his expression for so long when he looked at her was slowly changing to a quiet joy. He pulled the comforter aside to look at her...and then sighed happily and bent down to kiss her.
She slid her hands up under his shirt, up his hard, rippled belly that shivered under her touch, and then helped him out of the thin cloth and arched up to rub herself against him. He caught her in his arms and buried his face in her neck, running teeth and tongue over her pulse.
Time seemed to blur as they explored each other with trembling hands and eager mouths, only little whispers and sounds of pleasure breaking the quiet. His hand worked between her legs and stroked her firmly as he tongued and kissed her nipples; she gasped and sobbed, feeling herself start to go frantic under him. She reached up and traced the bulge in his jeans with her fingertips, then ran her nails over him through the cloth. He grunted and raised his head, eyes feverish. She nuzzled his cheek, then unbuttoned his fly and dragged the zipper down. “Come on...you’ve waited long enough.” So have I.
A brief grin lit his face and he sat back to shuck the jeans and free himself. She felt his smooth, throbbing length against her thigh, and he took it in hand and rubbed its head against her sex. She parted her legs further and then wrapped them around him as he descended on her.
He was thick, hurting her deliciously, as he sank in. A hard, trembling groan pushed out of him as he entered. She looked up and saw the bliss in his expression, and her heart filled with warmth, no room left for pain anymore.
“Anna,” he breathed, and then slowly started moving.
He rolled his hips slowly, propped on his elbows with his body pushing hers deliciously into the featherbed. His mouth stayed soft and tender on her, roaming from lips to ears to neck and back again. She cradled him, hands caressing his back and brushing through his short hair, while she lifted her hips to meet his.
The iron control that had kept his longing and frustration in check for months now held his lust in check instead; he took his time with her, only picking up his pace very gradually. The slow ride of his hips against her bought them time to savor this first time together. It was the opposite of what she had expected, and that made her wonder: he looked rough, talked rough but he had always been so gentle with her. That more than anything relaxed and aroused her so that she could forget the pain and the cold outside the room and simply be with him.
Sometimes he shifted them so that she lay over him instead, his hips lifting into her as she straddled him and slowly rocked. Sometimes they rolled back over again. But as the sensations started to run hot through both their bodies, he pulled her up to straddle his lap as he crouched under her, grinding against her tirelessly. She felt the pleasure building in a slow wave inside of her, and squirmed against him, shivering and gasping. He grunted in delighted response to her passion and drove into her more roughly.
Finally, he groaned and laid her back on the mattress, grasping her legs and raising them before pushing into her again. Her whimper bloomed into a long moan as he pounded against her, driving her closer and closer to the edge. She writhed under him, panting helplessly as her body tightened around him. Her nails dug into his back as her heels braced against his legs--and then she wailed with joy as her release exploded through her.
He started to tremble and pant as she contr
acted around him, his thrusts growing erratic and quick and his grip on her almost painful. His back arched; she saw his face, the strain on it--and then his lips parted as his bliss caught fire into ecstasy.
He gasped and shuddered violently, hips rolling hard, and she felt him spasm inside of her. He shouted, little explosive noises escaping him with each tremor of his sex...and then he went still, and settled over her limply.
She wrapped her arms around him, holding him as he caught his breath. Her knees lowered, muscles aching a little, and she dragged the comforter over them. He gasped softly as the cloth slid over his back, every nerve hypersensitive, and buried his face in her shoulder. “I love you,” he whispered against her skin as he drifted off.
She didn't want to come back down to earth after that. She just wanted to stay there, tangled up with him, sated and happy. Back down on earth there was the snowstorm, and the mess with Henry. Here in this quiet room was only pleasure and peace, and the honest, patient love of a good man. She stroked his hair, staring out at the falling snow, and stayed awake like that as long as she could.
Chapter 4: Stolen Things
“Don’t even talk about us to that son of a bitch right now. You don’t owe him an explanation. He does you.” James’s voice was gentler and calmer than usual, his manner more relaxed, but his opinions were as blunt as ever. “He damn well knew you were in love with him.”
“I’m not giving him an explanation. He made it none of his business when he did what he did. But I’m the one who should confront him about that.” She met James’s gaze firmly as they drank coffee on the couch. It was still early, the dim dawn light shining through the storm outside, and she was happily tired and a little sore from his cornering her in the shower not half an hour before. He had pinned her against the wall and taken her with the water pounding them, holding her up firmly the whole time. She regretted going from that to this discussion, but James was right--it had to be done.
He frowned slightly, but then nodded, bringing his cup to his lips. “You want to handle it? That’s fine. He makes you cry again, though, I’m punching his goddamn lights out.”
She sighed and focused on her coffee for a moment. James was stubborn and bad-tempered; those were his only real flaws, and they were directed outward, in defense of her, not against her. Right now, though, they stood to get him in real trouble. Aside from distracting him constantly with sex--something she would happily do anyway--she didn’t have very many ways to get him to cool down besides plain old reason and a dash of her own stubbornness. “I’m the one who should be doing that too.”
“Phff,” he teased, a bit of his anger melting and his eyes twinkling. “Might tickle him a little bit.”
“I’m not that weak.” Except against a giant lump of muscle like, well, either of them. “Anyway, my point is, let me try and talk to him first, okay?”
He sighed, the corner of his mouth quirking skeptically, but he nodded. “Okay, sweetheart, it’s your show. But I won’t let him hurt you again.”
She gave him a smile, grateful for the sentiment even if she really didn’t want to see him brought up on assault charges. Some women might have thought of two men fighting over her as romantic. Anna, meanwhile, was worried about the consequences for everyone involved.
She didn’t hate Henry. She had spent just a little time hating and loving him in equal measure last night, her emotions out of control. But then James had drowned all of that out for her, and she could look at the situation more objectively.
Henry had done something piggish and inexcusable by treating her love as disposable, but neither was he obliged to return her feelings. She wondered more and more whether there was something wrong with him, either emotionally or something going on in his life. Why did he only date casually? Why had he pushed her away so decisively after they had such a beautiful night together? And what had he heard from work and his doctors to make him so distant and distracted?
“I think that I would understand this better if it wasn’t so out of character for him,” she admitted finally. James looked at her over the rim of his coffee cup, eyebrows up, then nodded and set it aside.
“That’s true. He’s been good to us both up until now. Some guys, they’re decent folks until it comes to the whole women thing.”
“Maybe that’s it.”
James had made it very clear, in as many ways that he could, that he didn’t think it had a single thing to do with her. It amazed her. The moment she had finally given into her feelings for him was the moment she had stopped feeling as if her life was over. Now, after their first night together, she looked at him, and she knew that she had almost thrown her life away over something that now felt...a lot less valuable. Because it wasn't mutual. “But he was our friend before all of this. Maybe I need to ask him what the heck is even up before I do anything else.”
James let out a grunt and nodded once. “I’ll try and make sure you get first crack at him. I’m not sure I can trust myself just yet.” He gave her a pointed look.
James’s cell phone went off. He blinked and dug it out of his jeans, putting it to his year. “Yeah.” His face fell, and she sighed quietly as he tried to keep his voice even. “Yeah, Boss, go on.” He listened, brows drawing together. “The snowcat? No, I only took the one. How the Hell could I even drive more than one?” He blinked. “...Yeah, I’ll come up.”
He hung up and stood. “That whole snowcat issue. There’s some kinda wrinkle. I gotta go talk to him.”
She stood as well and went over to him. “Okay. Try and keep your temper. I’ll be close.”
They kissed once, lingering, and then he forced himself away from her and out the door. She heard his booted feet clomp down the hall, and sighed, hand over her heart. What in the world is going on now?
There was only one way to find out. She hurried next door to her own room, and quickly got dressed before sneaking upstairs. Last night the thinness of that damned door had told her ugly truths. Now she expected to hear even more through it. She moved close to it, and quietly listened to the familiar voices in mid conversation.
“...entire fleet was stolen. That’s six total. I know you just took the one. Thing is, the security camera didn’t catch you, but it caught these four other guys.” Henry sounded baffled.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Boss, except I’m obviously a better thief than them.” James sounded almost proud.
“Yeah, how did you stay off the cameras, anyway?”
“Trade secret.” James’s voice was a drawl.
“Okay, well, the point is, until I called them they thought these other guys took it. Now I’m in a weird position where they’re asking me about these four other snowcats and think the two of us have something to do with it.”
“...crap.” James sighed. “Well, I know that if they call the cops, they’ll mess this whole thing up and we’ll both go down. I’m not sure about this one, Boss, might be time to call a damn lawyer.”
“Maybe. But that still leaves me wondering who has the snowcats.”
James grunted. “If folks stole a bunch of snowcats, it could be a rescue like it was with me, or it could be a way to get in and out of a place without anyone else being able to follow them.”
“Some kind of crime, you mean.” Henry sighed. “Guess there’s no way of knowing until they turn up. Meanwhile, what do we do with the one we have?”
“I say hang onto that sucker in case things get really bad here. It’s not like the Parks people can expect us to drive it over to their depot and then walk back.”
“Good point.”
Anna leaned against the wall next to the door, sighing in relief. They weren’t at each other’s throats. There was something weird going on with the stolen snowcat, but at least they weren’t--
“You heard from Anna yet today, Boss?” James’s voice had the tiniest edge to it, and she winced. Oh come on, James, you said you would try to keep it together.
“Anna? No, why?
“Ju
st noticed. The two of you seemed plenty cozy when I picked you up yesterday, but you’ve been shooin’ her off ever since.” His voice lowered to a growl. “Don’t think those are her panties hanging’ off your bedpost there, either.”
“Oh Hell--” Henry rushed awkwardly across the room, feet clattering. A drawer opened and closed. “You know, that is really none of your business!”
James’s voice was hard but steady. “You make that sweet girl cry, I make it my business.”
Henry went quiet. Anna nervously put her hand on the door, wondering if she should push it open and interrupt. Or would that be like trying to put out a fire with gasoline?
James went on. “You have got to be out of your goddamned mind tossing a girl like Anna aside.”
“Wait--what do you know…? How do you know?” Henry actually sounded a little panicked. The situation had fallen out of his control and he didn’t seem quite able to handle it.
BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE: The Unforgettable Billionaires: The Complete Collection Boxed Set 1-12 (Young Adult Rich Alpha Male Billionaire Romance) (Alpha Bad Boy Billionaire Romance) Page 15