She gave him an appraising nod. “So there is a way to rile your temper. I was starting to wonder.”
“You have no idea.” His smirk was equal parts amusement and ferocity.
Aly gave in to her laughter then. “These have been the strangest days of my life. I didn’t have any intentions of falling in love when I went to Anegada, only to build my stores and have a little fun if time permitted. Then not only do two of my friends get caught up in unbelievable drama in the span of a few hours, but another goes from being adored by her fiancé to being hit by him.” She brought her elbows to the table and cupped her hands around her face. “How’d I get so damned lucky?”
Alythia’s playfully exasperated tone went unnoticed by Gage, who’d heard little else following her mention of falling in love. He wondered whether she meant it or if she’d simply been using it to describe how close they were becoming.
Her grin weakened. “Things are moving very fast.”
“Too fast for you?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” She laughed. “Not much compares to what’s been going on. I think it scares me a little.”
“Do I scare you?”
“If you were any other man...perhaps.”
His gaze faltered to the tablecloth. “Why do you suppose that is?”
“It could have a lot to do with your money and who you are.”
“But no?” His tone was hopeful, as if he sensed there was more she wanted to add. “What?” he pressed when she shook her head.
“Discussing this might put us in forbidden territory,” she warned.
“I can take it.”
“All right. It has to do with your friends.”
“Forget I asked.”
She laughed softly. “You really care a lot about them.”
“And I don’t know if that’s an asset or a flaw.”
“It’s admirable.” She laughed again when he snorted.
Gage slumped back in his chair and worked his fingers over the cap of sleek brown covering his head. “The last few days have been like straws breaking my back and it’s weird because I never cared before.” His lone dimpled smile was one of surprise.
“Issues like this creep up often anytime we get together. Somebody says the wrong thing to a woman, somebody’s seen with a woman and called out by another woman, who thought she was the only one.... Our screwups are infinite.” He patted a hand to his chest. “I’m including my own screwups in there, Alythia.”
“And here we are.” Again she scanned the golden-lit dining room. “We’ve known each other all of four days and you really believe you can stay here in Aspen and turn your back on your life in Carolina.”
“Do you remember what I said about being patient?” He watched her give a slow nod. “There’s a lot going through my head about us right now. One thing I do know is that I want to know you and that’s gonna take time, given my own...reputation. It’ll probably take a lot of time.”
The server returned to clear away some of their dishes. Gage and Alythia waited patiently, silently absorbing all that had been said during the course of their meal.
“We’ve already skipped ahead several steps,” Gage continued once the waiter had moved on. “Guess that doesn’t go a long way in proving my rep isn’t well deserved.”
“Hmph. And I guess that can go double for me.”
“Why?” He inclined his head. “Why should it go double for you?”
“Please don’t try and pretend you don’t know.” She grinned broadly. “It always goes double for women. Sex, business—the standards are always double.”
“So would you have a problem if we scrapped the standards?”
Aly stretched languidly in her chair. “I’d love to scrap the standards.”
“Think we can?” His rich, chocolaty stare narrowed.
“Sure.” Her demeanor was cool yet a tad cynical. “As long as we stay in our own private corner here in Aspen like you’ve suggested.”
“But that’s not reality, is it?” Gage sighed as though he were reluctantly turning himself toward that very mode of thinking.
“We’ll have to face it sooner or later, you know? I’d rather face it before things between us get too...complex.”
Gage kept his thoughts silent, admitting that things between them were already “too complex” as far as he was concerned. He knew if she were to ask that they end things right there, he’d do everything in his power to persuade her to change her mind.
“Will you come back to Charlotte with me?” he asked.
“There’re still some things I need to check in on at the shop, but I could—”
“No, Alythia...I’m asking if you’ll come back with me.”
Understanding pooled in her extraordinary eyes. “With you. With you, with you? Like...we’re a couple?”
A teasing wince softened his features adorably. “I promise it won’t be as bad as you’re making it sound.”
“Are we gonna be met by a slew of reporters and paparazzi?”
His laughter drew attention and that was no surprise. The sound was hearty, genuine and oftentimes quite contagious.
“I promise I don’t merit that kind of confusion.”
Aly still appeared doubtful. “I don’t know.... I do my best not to draw attention.”
“And I’m happy about that but you’re too damn beautiful to stay in the shadows and too damn beautiful to venture out there alone.” He tugged the sleeve of her shirt. “I’ve got faith in you and if all this goes to hell, we always have Aspen.”
“Or Anegada.” Aly reached for her mug and raised it in toast.
Gage laughed again and reciprocated her gesture. “That’ll make Clive a happy man,” he predicted.
* * *
After dinner Gage and Alythia strolled the village, which was a forest of white following the previous day’s storm and the light dusting from earlier that day. Alythia kept a tight grip on the arm Gage offered, and not so much out of a need for steadiness, she silently admitted as they navigated the wintry streets.
It was the sheer pleasure of being close. The warmth and security radiating from his tall, lean frame heightened her need at every level. She smoothed her hands over his biceps. The unyielding hardness of it was in no way diminished by the heavy jacket or sweatshirt worn beneath.
Alythia gave a quick laugh when she realized they had crossed the block where her boutique was located. “I didn’t know we’d already walked so far. That’s my shop there.” She pointed toward a storefront boasting a snow-dusted gold canopy and French double doors.
“Take me for a tour?” Gage asked, smiling when she tugged his arm and led them across the lightly trafficked street.
Aly made quick work of unlocking the door and deactivating the alarms. Leaving the blinds closed, she hit the panel for the recessed lighting along the polished hardwood floors and drop ceiling of carved maple wood. The scant illumination added an effective gold dousing to the boutique’s main level.
“It’s very simple.” She smiled contentedly and added a flourishing wave. “I’m still getting a feel for the place.”
“Simple is good.” Gage strolled the area, taking in the coziness created by mock Queen Anne chairs and love seats. He appeared drawn to the rows of clothing, paying specific attention to the array of frilly garments.
“Why don’t you wear this stuff?” His gaze was on the lingerie he fingered.
“I wear it all the time.” Clasping her hands at her back, she slowly approached the lingerie section. “You’ve only known me a week, remember. Not much time to display my entire wardrobe,” she joked.
He nodded, eyes still fixed on the delicates. “What’s upstairs?” he asked.
“Office and fitting room.” She looked toward a spiraling brass staircase.
“Give me a private showing?”
“Ha! You’ve been getting those all week.”
“Not like this.” He waved a few of the pieces he’d taken a great liking to.
“I beg to differ,” she still argued.
Gage continued to wave his preferences. “But the customer is always right, right?”
“Are you in the market for lingerie, Mr. Vincent?”
“I’m in the market for lingerie with you in it.”
“A showing, then?”
“A showing.”
Alythia accepted the pieces he offered and then led the way up the wide oak stairs secured by the brown framework. The stairway opened up into an elegant yet comfortably furnished fitting area. With the press of another button, lighting was activated from stout black lamps that occupied the middles of glass tables next to deep butter suede armchairs along the rear wall of the room.
“The boutique doesn’t make a habit of modeling, sir,” she teasingly informed him, “not even for customers such as yourself.”
He caught her elbow and pulled her to him when she would have moved past. “What kind of customer am I?”
“Persuasive...and a little intense.”
He wrinkled his nose and Aly felt her heart flip over the guileless affect the gesture cast across his gorgeous features.
“That makes me sound scary.”
“Not the vibe I get at all.” She moved closer with every word he uttered. Their lips were but a breath apart when she pulled away.
“Over here are our dressing rooms.” Her manner was breezy as she waved her hands to direct his attention. “Seating areas are here, as well as our coffee-and-Danish nook. Though they’re closed right now due to the time.” Her smile was playfully apologetic.
“What’s there?” He looked toward a small hallway just beyond the fitting rooms.
“My office suite.” She motioned to the garments he’d selected. “Do you have a preference?”
“Definitely.”
She feigned distaste at his one-track mind even though he had every part of her body set on tingle. “Please choose, sir.” She gave the lingerie another shake.
He did so obediently, cocking his head to the left to indicate his choice. Alythia turned for the rooms. She didn’t get far. He had her flush against him the instant she was within reach. He was crushing her mouth beneath his tongue, thrusting, exploring, branding.
Alythia moaned without shame, hungrily engaging in the sultry duel. One hand hung limp at her side, the garments she grasped threatening a descent to the floor as the hold weakened. With her free hand she massaged his nape, her glossy nails just grazing the soft hair tapering there.
“Hey?” She managed to draw back, sliding her finger to outline the alluring curve of his mouth. “You wanted a showing, didn’t you?” She easily sensed his reluctance in releasing her and left him with a saucy wink before sauntering to one of the fitting rooms.
* * *
Needing something, anything, to keep his mind off of her naked and less than twenty feet away, Gage took his own personal tour of the area. He thought of how very much the space reflected Alythia’s personality—airy yet with a warm tug that enhanced the contentment he was coming to cherish about her. It was a place that enveloped its guests in a cocoon of welcome.
“Those chairs are to die for!” Aly called out from the dressing room. “They’ll put you to sleep if you’re not careful!” She was hanging the strap of her bra to one of the room’s satin padded hooks when his arms snaked about her waist. Her legs went to water, his hands smothering her breasts as his mouth brushed her ear.
“Guess I’ll have to find something to keep me up, then.”
“I...don’t allow this sort of thing in here, Mr. Vincent.” Her voice was a breathy whisper. She let her head rest back against his shoulder.
“What sort of thing?” He plied her with examples, his thumbs flicking her nipples until the buds protruded. As he fondled her steadily, his unoccupied hand drifted down the lithe, lovely line of her body. Briefly, he fingered her naval, smiling when she wriggled insistently.
Aly bowed her head, biting her lip while a flurry of sensation engulfed her. Weakly, her hands covered his at her breasts, and she nuzzled her back against his chest, luxuriating in his strength.
Gage suckled her earlobe, his fingers skirting the lacy waistband of the charcoal-gray panties she wore. “Open your eyes, Alythia.”
His command was soft, effectively coaxing her cooperation. She watched as his fingers disappeared inside the wispy material at her hips, nudging them lower the deeper his hand journeyed. Her lashes fluttered.
“Don’t you do it.” His command was firm that time. The hand at her breast flexed, giving her a tiny jerk to encourage her to oblige.
In the dressing room mirror, she watched as the panties she wore were pulled to her upper thighs, leaving her most private asset bared to his gaze. Gage smoothed the back of his hand across the bare triangle of flesh above her femininity. Dually attentive, he launched a slow nibbling of her shoulder.
“Don’t do it...” he ordered, more playfully that time when he saw her lashes fluttering as he gnawed her satiny skin.
* * *
Alythia was desperate to shimmy out of the panties and turn to face him. Gage denied that with another flex around the breast he molested. She was left no choice but to stand and witness the play of emotion across her face when his thumb stroked the bud of hypersensitive flesh at the apex of her thighs.
An orgasm-promising spasm rippled through her, helped along by his constant manipulation of her nipples, which seemed to cry out for attention, given their erectness.
Alythia watched her mouth slacken beneath the weight of desire as he intensified the caress to her clit while thrusting his middle finger high, deep inside and then rotating and giving her leave to enjoy the treat, wildly uninhibited.
She murmured his name, turning her head while feverishly brushing the panties down her legs and off of her ankles. She was panting, her mouth desperately seeking his. Unmindful of his instructions against turning, she did just that and without ever breaking the kiss they shared.
Moments later Gage had her in his arms and was carrying her from the fitting area and down the short corridor that led to her office. Inside, there was no need for light. Mutual desire guided their fingertips. She began to undress him. Gage offered his assistance only when she took too long with the button fly of his jeans.
She led him to the sofa, her intention to straddle him and greedily put him inside her. Gage’s intentions differed. The second he felt the sofa, he put Alythia on her back beneath him. She could hear the belt buckle at his jeans clink as the denims were roused. Gage made quick work of checking his pockets for the condoms he’d pushed inside them earlier that night.
Alythia was glad he hadn’t requested her assistance, for she didn’t think she had the strength to perform the task of securing their protection. Those concerns happily vanished when she felt him spreading her, filling her to the hilt with him. Instantly, her hips lifted into a gentle writhe, stirring sensation for them both.
Then came the familiar sounds of moisture squelching produced by their coupling. Gage kept one of Alythia’s thighs pressed to the wide sofa. He set the other high, opening her to a deeper plundering with his thick erection. Ego-soothing arrogance rested beneath possession as he took pleasure in the sighs and cries he forced past her mouth.
Gage emitted his own sighs of abandon. His handsome dark face was sheltered in the crook of her neck, where muffled groans of satisfaction were buried. Without warning, he pulled Aly to her desk, where he positioned her and took her from behind.
The darkened room was brought to life by their mingled gasps and groans of delight. Gage dragged wet kisses between Alythia’s shoulder blades, marking the line of her spine with his tongue. He covered her breasts in his hands, pulling her back against him while his thrusts claimed a lovely savagery. Alythia could scarcely catch her breath, but words of complaint had fled her vocabulary. What remained of their evening passed in a lusty blur.
Chapter 14
“Well, what’s this?” Alythia murmured, crossing her bare legs
and resting an elbow on her knee in order to lift her mobile to a more comfortable viewing level.
Gage shook his head and grinned, not bothering to turn when he heard her across the bedroom. They had finally gotten around to christening his condo. “Let me guess,” he called from where he stood preparing two coffees. “Our destination calls?”
“It’s a text. Orchid wants to see me.”
“About the wedding?”
Aly was stunned. “Do you still think there’s gonna be one?”
“It’d be somethin’ to see.” His torso shook when he chuckled.
“Well, I guess I really should touch base with everybody.” Aly returned her attention to the phone. “I only told Jeena I need to get away but I didn’t tell her where I was going.”
Gage crossed to the bed and handed her one of the steaming mugs of coffee he’d poured from the portable coffeemaker in the bedroom alcove. “They don’t know you have a boutique here?”
“Oh, they do.” Aly tightened her grip on the mug and straightened the pillows at her back. “But not that I have a condo here or that I’ve even thought about moving here.”
“Have you really considered that?” He joined her on the bed. “You could be that far away from your sister? Your only family?”
“I think Angie would be happy about it.” Aly warmed her hands around the mug. “All the sacrifices she made to keep me on the straight and boring path and still I become best friends with the very influences she tried to steer me clear of.” She grimaced then, sending wavy swirls into her face when she bowed her head.
“That’s not fair.” She sipped the perfectly sweetened and creamed coffee. “I don’t know what motivated Orchid or even Myrna but I do know Jeena didn’t set out to become what she is.”
“But we can’t all run boutiques, can we?” Gage reclined on his side of the bed with his arms folded over his bare chest.
“We both dreamed of being businesswomen, since we were kids.” Her expression softened with memory. “For me it was the clothes and the attitude, hmph, and then I realized that it was just about clothes for me. It went deeper for Jeena, though.” Aly lowered her mug and set it on the night table.
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