by Marie Force
“Is it me or are there more of them than there were yesterday?” Liana asked once they were inside.
“A lot more. I should’ve brought a couple of guys with us.”
Liana cast a glance over her shoulder. “There were two men following me yesterday. I forgot about that until right now.”
Travis cleared his throat. “They might’ve been the guys I assigned to keep an eye on you in case the press got unruly.”
“Travis! I told you I didn’t want that!”
“I know, sweetheart. But I was worried that once they realized they had a story here it might get crazy.” He gestured to the crush of reporters outside the main door of the hospital. “Looks like I was right. Forgive me?”
“For wanting to keep me safe? I think I can forgive that.” As they walked to the elevator, she said, “I’ve never understood what they find so interesting about me. I’m just a model. I don’t act or sing or dance. I’m actually pretty boring when it comes right down to it.”
“Boring?” Travis laughed. “You’re the most fascinating person I’ve ever known, and they’re probably interested in you because you’ve never given them anything to chew on—or at least you hadn’t until now—so they’re left to speculate on that glamorous life of yours.”
“Did you know who I was when you saw me at Enid’s wedding?”
Travis flashed her an embarrassed grin. “I knew I had seen you somewhere before, but one of the twenty-something waiters had to connect the dots for me.”
Liana laughed. “Why do I believe that?”
“It’s never been about your public image to me, Liana.”
She slipped her hand through the crook in his elbow. “I know.”
Niki was in pain but relieved to see them since she’d been worried about the upcoming weddings. She gave them a long list of final details that needed to be addressed and filled them in on where to find everything in her office.
“Don’t worry about anything, Niki.” Travis squeezed her hand. “Just focus on getting better.”
“I had no idea,” Liana said when they were in the hallway.
“About?”
“How many details there’d be.”
“Weddings are pretty involved, although thankfully for us, most are not as involved as Enid’s was.” He rolled his eyes. “You want to talk details?”
Liana laughed. “I can only imagine.”
“You’re sure you’re up for this?”
Her eyes sparkled with excitement. “I can’t wait.”
In the lobby they were dismayed to find the press corps had grown during their hour-long visit with Niki.
“Why don’t we find a side door and sneak out,” he said.
She took his hand. “No.”
“No?”
She shook her head. “Maybe if we give them a little something, they’ll get their story and leave.”
Travis raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You think so?” “Not really.”
He laughed and followed her into the maelstrom.
Travis was right. The bride, Justine, and her fiancé, Tom, were star struck when they found out who would be taking over their final wedding preparations. Liana had read their file and sat with the couple to go over every detail, from the arrival of the bridal party to the departure of the last guest. She asked a hundred questions and took tons of notes. By the time their meeting concluded, Justine and Tom had almost forgotten who she was.
Almost.
When Liana looked up from her notes to glance at Travis across the table her heart skipped an erratic beat. The expression on his face reminded her an awful lot of the way Brady had looked at Enid at their wedding. Is it possible? Could he love me? No, Liana, don’t be foolish. He’s grateful. That’s all it is.
She cleared her throat and forced her wandering mind back to the task at hand. “Um, Travis, do you have any final questions for Justine and Tom? Did I forget anything?”
His eyes danced with amusement. “It seems you have everything covered.”
Liana gathered the papers into a neat pile. “We’re going to make sure everything runs smoothly. You just enjoy your day and try not to worry.”
Justine and Tom exchanged glances.
“Do you think,” she said tentatively, “that we could have your autograph?”
Liana smiled. “Of course.”
Justine reached into her purse and produced a copy of their wedding invitation. She slid it across the table.
Liana turned it over and wrote several lines before she signed her name and returned it to Justine.
“Thank you so much,” Justine said.
“My pleasure. We’ll see you Saturday. Call the office if you need to speak with either of us before the wedding.”
Travis and Liana walked them out, and when they were gone he turned to her.
Liana rolled her lip between her teeth as a flurry of details and questions floated around in her mind.
Travis poked lightly at her abused lip. “Why don’t you give that poor lip a break and tell me what’s on your mind?”
“I just can’t believe how much goes into a wedding. I’ve never once considered what happens behind the scenes. You figure there’s food, drinks, flowers, music, cake. What’s hard about that?”
Travis laughed and put his arm around her to lead her to his office. “It gets complicated when the tablecloths have to be an exact shade of apricot and the crab has to come from Alaska and the fresh flowers for the cake are delivered separately from the table arrangements and the band needs fresh-squeezed orange juice backstage.” He closed the office door and gathered her into his arms. “I’d understand if you wanted to back out.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
She rested against him and swayed to a Sinatra song that played on the club’s sound system. “I do have just one question,” she said after several quiet minutes.
“And I have just one answer, but first I need this.” His kiss was deep and searching, his fingers spooling through her hair. “You can’t get so busy that you forget about our fling, do you hear me?”
“Yes, boss.”
He smiled and kissed her again. “Okay,” he said between kisses. “I think I’m ready for your question.”
Liana caressed the light dusting of stubble he had left on his jaw just for her. “What do we do first?”
Travis laughed and hugged her to him.
Chapter Fourteen
Jessie took her coffee to the patio that overlooked the sparkling blue bay. Everything was so beautiful here—from the water to the beach to the flowers and landscaping at North Point. Fascinated, she watched a lone sailboat make its way across the span of water and disappear around the tip of one of the islands.
From the moment she arrived, she had been swamped with the sensation that she could spend the rest of her life right here and never want for anything. Having been uprooted from her home at such a young age, she hadn’t felt at home anywhere since—that is until she came here.
She knew she should be ashamed of the way she had thrown herself at Peter, but somehow she couldn’t quite seem to get there. He wanted her just as badly as she wanted him. If she’d had any doubt about that, she never would have asked him to be “the one.” She had a feeling that with him it would be different—everything would be different.
God, I really hope so, she thought with a sigh. I don’t know how much longer I can go on the way I am. As she imagined Peter naked and ready, her whole body hummed with pent-up desire. And curiosity. Crossing her legs tight in an attempt to curb the throbbing, she longed to get in on the secret every other woman seemed to already know. She had no trouble prancing down the runway in scraps of lace that screamed S-E-X, but was unable to actually experience the act itself.
Since this whole business with the stalker began, she’d retreated even further into herself until desire and frustration reached epic levels. Poor Peter, she thought with a giggle. He has no idea what he’s signed on for.
The doorb
ell rang, and she got up to answer it, despite the fact that she wore only the thigh-length nightshirt she’d slept in. Checking the peephole, she was hit with a flush of delight when she saw who was there.
Her heart raced as she opened the door to find Peter holding a bunch of wildflowers. “Morning,” he said, running his eyes over her with appreciation. Today with his trademark khaki shorts he wore a white polo shirt with the burgundy North Point logo embroidered on the left side. The white shirt offset his deep tan, and she noticed upon quick inspection that he hadn’t bothered to shave that morning. The light dusting of gold whiskers only made him sexier—if that was possible.
She took the flowers he offered. “They’re beautiful.” Waving him in, she went to the kitchen to find a vase. “Thank you.”
“I picked them myself.”
“That’s very sweet.” She filled a vase with water and arranged the fragrant flowers to her liking. Turning, she was startled to find him standing right behind her.
As if she were weightless, he lifted her onto the counter. Wrapping her legs around his waist, he pulled her in tight against his instant erection.
Breathless with anticipation, Jessie clutched his broad shoulders, dying to know what he had planned for her.
He dipped his head and captured her earlobe between his teeth. “I couldn’t sleep last night,” he said, his voice husky with desire. “All I could think about was you and wanting you.”
“It was your big idea to wait a week,” she reminded him.
His lips hovered over hers. “Tell me again why I thought that was such a great idea?”
She licked her bottom lip and watched his blue eyes turn to flame. “I can’t remember.”
Nudging at her mouth, he replaced her tongue with his. “Sweet Jessie. I could just devour you.”
“Don’t let me stop you.”
Pressing his erection into the V of her legs, he crushed his mouth to hers. The assault of lips, tongue, and teeth had her body throbbing with need. His tongue mated with hers in a sexy, sinful dance that made her nipples hard and her panties damp.
He turned his attention to her neck, and when he closed his teeth over the sensitive tendon that joined neck to shoulder, she cried out.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, drawing back from her.
She tightened her hold on him. “Didn’t hurt,” she said, panting. “Do it again.”
He ran his hands right up under her shirt and cupped her bare breasts as he clamped down once again on the tendon.
Jessie had never before felt the need to come quite as acutely as she did just then. “Peter. . . I need. . . Please.”
He ran his thumbs back and forth over her painfully hard nipples. And then he scooped her up and carried her into the living room. As they landed on the sofa his mouth took furious possession of hers.
Jessie sank her fingers into his hair and anchored him to her.
With a fierce growl, he parted her legs and shifted to bring his erection up tight against her.
Her shirt flew up and over her head, leaving her naked except for the two scraps of silk that made up her panties.
Before she had time to prepare herself, he cupped her breasts and bent to suck hard on one nipple and then the other.
Jessie raised her hips to seek him.
As he laved at her breasts, his big hand cupped her bottom. He gripped the back of her panties and tugged. They ripped apart like they were made of paper, and he tossed them aside.
Jessie burned from the inside out. She had gotten this far with other men, but none of them had made her want the way she wanted this one. Bringing him back up to her, she pressed her face into the curve of his neck and breathed in the fresh, clean, masculine scent of him.
His hand coasted down the front of her, stopping to pay respect to her breasts before continuing its downward journey.
Jessie squirmed and worked her legs apart to give him access to where she wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anyone else. She felt hot all over and on the verge of something big and powerful. “Please. . .”
His fingers slipped into the heat between her legs. “Oh, God,” he moaned, his face pressed to her neck. “Jessie. God.” Using his leg to spread hers, he slid a finger into her.
Unable to stop herself, she pushed hard against his invading finger.
He added a second finger and rubbed his thumb over the place that throbbed for him.
Jessie’s world imploded. The sensations rocketed through her, from fingertips to toes and everywhere in between. He stayed with her through the whole thing, and then coaxed her up again into a second, more powerful release. Her cheeks were wet with tears by the time he finally withdrew his hand. He had reduced her to a trembling, shaking shell of her former self. Whatever he had done, he had changed her forever.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. “The most beautiful woman I’ve ever known. I want to bury myself inside you more than I want the next breath.”
“Yes,” she said. “Yes.”
“I want to lick you.” He returned his hand to her over-stimulated sex. “Right here.”
Raising her hips against his questing hand, she moaned. No one had ever said such things to her, and the vision of his face buried between her legs was almost more than she could bear.
A ragged deep breath rattled through his big frame, and he rested his head on her shoulder. “This isn’t why I came over. I wasn’t even going to kiss you.”
Laughing, she said, “And yet somehow I ended up naked on the sofa while you’re still fully dressed.” She tugged his shirt out of his shorts and raked her fingernails over his back. “That doesn’t seem fair.”
He trembled from her touch. “I need to get back to work.”
“Okay,” she said but didn’t let him go. Instead she sent her hand straight into the back of his shorts. When he raised himself up to protest, she took advantage of the opportunity to slide her hand around to the front.
His gasp turned to a groan as she gripped his throbbing length and stroked him. “Jessie. . . Jesus.”
She smiled at his reaction to the light drag of her fingernail. “I want to give you the same thing you gave me,” she whispered, awestruck by the size, the weight, the width. Imagining him buried to the hilt in her, she quivered.
“Later.” He tried to remove her hand, but she held on tighter.
“Now.” With her free hand she released his belt and unzipped him. “Sit up.”
“Jessie, wait. Honey. . .”
She pushed on his shoulders to arrange him the way she wanted him and pulled his shorts down to his thighs. Naked and full of her own power, she hovered over him and took a moment to appreciate his long, thick penis. Wrapping her hand around him, she began to stroke.
His eyes closed, and he let his head fall back in surrender.
Since he wasn’t looking, it was all she could do not to straddle him and take him deep inside her. But they had a deal, so instead she ran her finger through the pearly fluid that had gathered at the tip. When she replaced her finger with her tongue, he almost levitated off the sofa. Lowering herself to hold him in place, she took him into her mouth.
His sharp intake of breath encouraged her and fired her with a kind of passion she couldn’t remember ever experiencing. Giving, it seemed, was every bit as exciting as receiving.
Jessie moved her lips slowly up and down, sweeping her tongue over him as she went. She had only done this once before and had no idea if she was doing it right. But then his fingers slid into her hair, and she felt his hands tremble. Apparently, she was doing something right. “Is that good?” she whispered.
“So good. So amazing. But you should stop before we make a mess.”
“I’m not stopping until we make a mess.”
“Christ,” he muttered, pulling up his shirt to remove it from the line of fire.
She took him as deep as she could, sliding him into her throat and lashing him with her tongue.
He raised his hips, up and down, m
aking love to her mouth.
Sliding her free hand down, she cupped his sac and squeezed lightly.
Crying out, he surged once more and sent a warm stream of semen flooding into her throat.
Jessie struggled to swallow it all, but some of the fluid escaped out the corners of her mouth. She wiped it away with her hand and then collapsed against his chest.
Still breathing hard, his hand curled around her head in a protective, appreciative gesture. “Have you ever done that before, honey?”
“Not the whole thing.”
“I’ve never had better.”
Ridiculously pleased, she glanced up at him. “Really?”
“Swear to God. Nothing has ever been that good.”
She nudged his shirt up and flicked her tongue over his nipple. “Are you sure we have to wait a whole week to get to the good stuff?”
He groaned, and his cell phone rang in his shorts pocket.
Jessie retrieved it and handed it to him.
“This is Beck.” As he listened, she watched his relaxed face tighten with tension. “I’ll be there in a minute.” He closed the phone and returned his attention to her. “I have to go. We’ve got unruly reporters at the gate—way more than yesterday.”
Jessie started to get up, but he stopped her. With his hands cupping her face, he studied her for a long moment. “I think I’ll bring you flowers tomorrow, too.”
She giggled and reached for her nightshirt, her body thrumming with aftershocks and the need for more. Knowing she wouldn’t be satisfied until she had all of him, she tugged on her shirt and watched him adjust his own clothes. “Can I make you dinner tonight?”
“I’d love that.”
“Thanks for the flowers. And the orgasms.”
He laughed. “Entirely my pleasure.” Pressing his lips to hers, he added, “Many more where those came from.”
“I can’t wait.”
His heart still beating fast like it did whenever he was near Jessie, Beck took the elevator to the garage to find Travis emerging from his car.
“Hey,” Travis said. “What’ve you been up to?”