by Ellen Lane
His words still rang in my head, even an hour after he’d left the house. There had to be a way I could spend time with Cecily - just the two of us - that didn’t have to do with my flashing wealth in her face ostentatiously.
It took me a good two hours of brainstorming - hours that I should have spent preparing to go into the office -before I finally stumbled upon a solution. It was so obvious that I could have kicked myself.
If there was one thing I leaned on just as much as the funds I brought in it was my love of adventure. It was probably a little extreme to expect her to jump out of a plane with me, but I could certainly show her the more modest side of my assets with a little jaunt upstate. The idea was so brilliant that I caught myself grinning.
Then I took a look at my watch and cursed lowly.
I was going to be late. Usually, the heads of business empires didn’t worry too overtly about being late to meetings they themselves had orchestrated, but I tried to set a precedent of responsibility. Even if I didn’t want to go to the city, I had to be there. There were things I needed to take care of. Things that, unfortunately, weren’t Cecily.
I shucked my shirt off over my head and was preparing to head to the bathroom for a shower when I caught a glimpse of her and froze. It looked like she was just coming back from her run. Funnily enough, she was wearing something startlingly close to the outfit I’d imagined. A bright green sports bra and a microscopic pair of running shorts that clung to her sweat-drenched skin.
I watched, transfixed, as she slowed on her way back to the guest house, eventually falling into a casual gait. She paused just outside the single garage to stretch, and I swallowed thickly the moment she bent over, lifting that decadent ass of hers into the air. I’d seen just a hint of it the day before, when she left the house, and now, I got the full impact.
I wanted nothing more than to be right behind her, taking two handfuls of her behind and jerking her to me so she could feel just how much she affected me. She was a good fifty yards away from me and I don’t think I could have been harder if she was pressed against my chest. At fifteen, she’d been a sweetly beautiful girl that could turn the heads of men twice her age. At twenty-seven, she was enough to make hearts stop.
When she disappeared into the house I couldn’t repress a low groan of disappointment. She probably needed to shower just as badly as I did...which led to other, far more lascivious thoughts.
I checked my watch again with a frown before glancing down at the tent I’d pitched in my shorts. It took me about half a second to decide just what I was going to do about it before striding to the bathroom and turning the shower on. When I stepped under the spray I was still hard as a rock - so much so that the contact of the water against my cock made it jump as my eyes slid closed in sensation.
I pictured Cecily bent over in front of me just the way she’d been moments earlier - only this time, there was no clothing between us. She was naked, soapy and utterly sinful, gazing coyly at me over her shoulder as she offered herself to me.
I wrapped my fingers around my cock without a hint of hesitation. There was a dark side to me imagining her like this - bending her over and plunging myself into her. Taking a handful of her damp hair for leverage and pounding into her mindlessly. I couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman for as long, or as badly, as I had Cece Warner.
I groaned as I stroked myself. I was so worked up I knew it wouldn’t take long. I could all but hear her sweet cries - the way she’d beg for more, bracing her arm against the shower wall as I fucked her. She’d reach back with her free hand to curl around my hip in a silent plea for me to give her everything and I’d be helpless to refuse. I’d give her all she could handle and more.
She’d be so tight, so hot, so divine I’d spill almost instantly. The thought of her clenching around me and moaning my name deliriously as she came on my cock was enough to tug me over the edge.
I’d never come faster in my life.
A low, hoarse shout escaped me as I spurted against the shower wall, my hips jerking with every wave of pleasure that assaulted me. The sensation was all the more vivid when I imagined the satisfaction on Cece’s face. How she’d tug me even closer and tell me she’d always imagined me inside her.
“Fuck.” Bracing myself against the shower wall, I let water sluice over me. It quickly washed away evidence of my little session and, minutes later, I was both sated and clean. Dear God, if just imagining her did that to me, I didn’t know if I’d be able to handle the reality of Cece in my arms.
I couldn’t wait.
Chapter Five
~ Cece
It was weird to wake up some place that wasn’t my own bed. That said, the sight of the sun rising over the mansion grounds was something to behold, and I delighted in watching it every morning.
After the spectacle was done, however, I was always forced to face the music - and the confusion of being under Rhett’s influence for the first time in half an age.
Though I’d managed to avoid the man himself well enough, there was evidence of him everywhere. He left his dishes in the kitchen, his workout clothes slung over the back of the couch and empty glasses by the pool. Though the temperature for the past few days had been scorching, I didn’t dare head for the pool myself. That would mean Rhett seeing me in a swimsuit. Even more intimidating, however, was dealing with him in his swimming garb. I’d seen him a few times, strutting around the edge of the water in a suit so miniscule it might as well have been a speedo. The tiny bit of cloth merely emphasized his massive, well-sculpted body - and the proportional package between his thighs.
The mere thought was enough to make me warm between the legs - and also to remind me that any sensation I might feel there would never come to anything substantial.
Sighing, I closed my eyes. Though the sun was up, it was still early. I could go back to sleep if I wanted. I didn’t have a stringent schedule here like I did at the office. But sleeping, I knew, was a lost cause, especially considering the territory my thoughts were straying into. Being around Rhett made me recall the other men I’d been with - and just how little stock I put in sex.
In theory, it was a lovely idea. To say I hadn’t pictured myself wrapped in Rhett’s embrace several times over the past few days would be a blatant lie. I imagined his hands and mouth on my skin, igniting the same fire he did when he brushed past me, only a thousand times hotter. What kind of lover would he be? Slow and sensual, or hard and rough? Somehow, both ideas titillated me - tempted my hands southward in an attempt to alleviate some of the pressure building between my thighs.
But that was where I always stopped. Always.
When it came to sex, the only genuine feeling I ever encountered was frustration, and I was pretty certain that not even a man like Rhett could change that. The problem lies with me- in my biology and emotional hang-ups. At least, that’s what several articles and medical journals told me.
With that in mind, I’d long stopped telling myself that it would just take the right guy to change my mind about sex. Instead, I merely accepted it as an unfortunate byproduct of a relationship. If I was attracted to someone, I had to have sex with them. Had to endure them pushing and grunting - the slow slide and build of pressure within me and the ultimate, infuriating frustration when it was never relieved.
By the time I finished berating my lack of bedroom prowess, the sun was high in the sky - or would have been, if it wasn’t covered by the thick layer of clouds moving in from the south. Squinting at their dark underbellies, I frowned.
It wasn’t exactly the best day to go rock-climbing.
To start with, I hardly believed I’d agreed with such a ludicrous idea. I was hardly the athletic type. If anything, it was the way Rhett asked me. When I snuck down for dinner late the previous night, he’d still been downstairs. I’d managed to keep from staring at his chest in the thin t-shirt he wore long enough to realize that he was suggesting a trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains. He owned a chunk of property there that he al
lowed to be used as a wildlife refuge, and spoke highly of his experiences climbing there.
In the moment, he’d told me about his adventures, he looked just like he had twelve years before. When he was literally so excited about something he almost stumbled over his words getting them out. It had been adorable then, and I hated to say that it had very much the same effect on me now. Atop that, he insisted that I could only get an accurate portrayal of him if I saw him in his element - what he was really like on a day to day basis. So, of course, like an idiot, I agreed.
Had I ever been rock climbing? No. I could hardly climb a few flights of stairs. But according to Rhett, it was easy, and he’d be holding my hand the entire way.
There was nothing he could do about this weather though, and I half expected a text from him canceling the outing. By the time noon rolled around, however, I received no such indication, even though the sky only grew darker. I dressed as he’d recommended - in old jeans and a loose tee, before grabbing my bag and gear and heading towards the foyer. Rhett was already there, and he beamed when he saw me.
Though I’d just spoken to him the previous night, the sight of him in clinging, faded Levi’s and a shirt that clung to his chiseled abdomen had my thighs pressing against one another. That was what he wore to climb in? Heaven help me.
“You ready for this?” His excitement was so infectious I couldn’t help the way the corners of my mouth quirked upward.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“The plane’s fueling up at the airport. Should take us less than two hours, then it’s twenty minutes to the mountains. Hope you brought some reading material.”
I wondered, wryly, if we’d be joined by the same hostess that served me on the way down - the blindingly beautiful blonde. Something told me Rhett didn’t just keep her around for her excellent customer service skills.
When we boarded the plane, however, the steward was a man old enough to be my father. He and Rhett seemed to know one another pretty well, so I held my tongue. After all, it wasn’t any of my business who he chose to spend his time with.
As long as it wasn’t the blonde.
I expected the ride to be rough, considering the sour weather that was moving in, but once we got above the clouds it was smooth sailing. I took the opportunity to sneak a few peeks at Rhett as he read the paper and had his coffee. The man’s thighs looked decadent in those jeans, and I remembered just how chiseled they were from the few times I’d seen him at the pool.
I barely touched my own coffee. Apparently, the only thing I needed to keep me awake was the eye candy across from me.
When we touched down at the small airport in the mountains, the sky looked even darker than it had in Savannah. Somehow, I was beginning to think suspending myself from rocks hundreds of feet in the air in this weather couldn’t be a good idea. Rhett, however, assured me that the clouds were supposed to burn off before late afternoon. A quick peek at both his phone and mine confirmed that was, indeed, what the forecast predicted.
When we arrived at the edge of the forest it was a mile-long hike before we reached the base of the mountain range. Luckily for me, Rhett was enough of a gentleman to tote our climbing gear. The man seemed to have effortless reserves of energy and I wondered if it came from the coffee or the experience itself. He certainly looked happy to be outdoors - threatening skies or not.
“So how is it working for The Burner?” His question caught me off guard and I stumbled over a root on a trail I was sure that he could see better than I could. Luckily, another trunk nearby saved me from landing on my ass.
“It’s...fine.” I resisted the impulse to tell the truth - how much I hated working for a magazine known as a gossip rag and how my boss didn’t seem to have a shred of respect for the women that bought our magazine like wildfire. “Puts food on the table.” My mom would have been proud of me for that one.
“You sound ridiculously enthusiastic.” Despite the uneven terrain, Rhett didn’t slow his pace for the conversation. It was apparent that he was familiar with this path -which, at the very least, made me feel better about being in the middle of the woods, if not about the adventure we were headed towards.
“It’s a job.” I shrugged, ducking under a low-lying branch as I tried not to stare at the man’s perfect behind. How the hell did he move through the foliage like that? “Not exactly what I was hoping for but not everything is sunflowers and daisies, right?” I was being defensive and I damn well sounded like it -anything to keep from getting too chummy with him. It was enough that just being near him was making my mouth dry and my head light. I refused to let my guard down any further for even one second.
“You’ve grown up, Cece.” He tossed the words over his shoulder, holding a branch out of the way for me to pass through the dense network of greenery before us. “I remember when you were young and idealistic - full of dreams.”
So did I. There was a part of me that was still clinging to those dreams - but he’d never know that. “And I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s noticed.” Rhett continued casually, and I sucked in a breath in anticipation. I knew what was coming next. “Anyone special in your life? Boyfriend? Husband?”
“You might have asked me that before you tried to hit on me,” I replied dryly, hopping over a brittle downed log.
“I figured any guy worth his salt wouldn’t have let you come down here alone...which means you’re still single. Am I right?”
I merely glowered at him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of an affirmative answer. Unfortunately, that didn’t dissuade Rhett, and he merely changed the subject. “How’s Jeb doing?”
The question made me sigh in an odd mixture of aggravation and fondness. Though Jeb and I had our differences growing up - especially after our parents left to go abroad - we’d managed to bury that over the last few years and even developed a kind of camaraderie. Of course, this only made me more pissed off when the brother I knew to be intelligent went from dead end job to dead end job, refusing to put in the work required to actually find a career. “He’s fine. Not asking me for money, so that’s a plus.”
Jeb would be more than a little interested to know I was spending time with Rhett after all these years - which was exactly why I had no plans of telling him. “He know you’re down here?”
Dear Christ, even after twelve years, Rhett had an uncanny talent to guess what I was thinking.
“No.” I kept my answer short and sweet, pausing when I realized Rhett was holding out his hand to help me up over a series of boulders in our path. I hesitated before taking it reluctantly. My heart leapt when he all but hauled me upward with no assistance on my part. The man was strong as an ox - all those muscles definitely weren’t for show.
Not that I didn’t like seeing them… “You know, you could ask me some questions.” I realized, in that moment, that I’d been staring at the solid wall of the man’s chest. I crested the boulders a good minute and a half prior, and now had no excuse to be stationary. My face flaming, I tugged my hand from his grip, wishing he’d wipe that smug smile from his face.
“I’ll be asking you more than enough questions in the interviews.”
Rhett chuckled, starting forward again. “You’re not in the least bit curious what I’ve been up to?”
“Why would I be curious?” I inquired wryly. “I can learn anything I’d want to know about you by turning on the television or flipping through one of the hundreds of tabloid covers you’ve made.”
Rhett surprised me by stopping in his tracks. When he turned to face me, a frown marred his gorgeous features, his expression almost hurt. It was enough to make me feel a twinge of guilt. “You know, you shouldn’t believe everything you read in those rags. Being a proper reporter, I thought you, of all people, would know that.”
Immediately, I bristled. I had no idea what the hell he was implying - if he was making fun of me or if he was being serious. Either way, I didn’t like feeling out of my element, and here, in the middle of the mounta
ins with a man I wanted desperately but didn’t know was about as far out of my element as it was possible to get. “I never write fake news,” I retorted, irritated, “Gossip columns, sure, but nothing blatantly idiotic or untrue. I haven’t sunk that low yet, so you can take that particular point of view and shove it, Mister Wilder.” With that, I stomped past him, heedless of the fact that I had no idea where I was going.
I expected Rhett to let my stubbornness carry me forward until it was apparent that I was lost as hell - or even to make a scathing comment about how pig-headed I was being. Instead, he merely laughed, catching up with me in a few easy strides. “God, I’ve missed your fire, Cece.”
His words were enough to stop me in my tracks so I could gape at him incredulously. He’d missed my fire? I was being standoffish enough to send most guys running for the hills and that was all he had to say? I had never imagined someone the reporters painted as a thin-skinned womanizer would have half the patience he did.
It made me wonder if, perhaps, I might have misjudged him just a little bit.
Thankfully, Rhett let the next five minutes of hiking pass in companionable silence. I was someone who couldn’t attest to being much of a nature girl, despite growing up in the south. I’d moved to Atlanta as soon as I’d been able and enjoyed the amenities the city provided for me. That said, I couldn’t deny that the scenery was beautiful. Even though the sun wasn’t out, the birds were singing and there wasn’t another soul around for miles. The forest was green and lush and the air was pregnant with the smell of rain.
“You need to catch your breath?”
By the time we were preparing to climb, I certainly did. While I was certainly used to running miles at a time, I wasn’t used to rough hikes through the wilderness. Our hike had been just as much horizontal movement as vertical, and I had a stitch in my side that wouldn’t quit. “Drink some water. Just a little bit at a time.” I was so grateful for the reprieve that I didn’t tug my hand away when Rhett’s covered it, guiding the bottle to my mouth slowly.