She leapt away from Justin as if she was a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Her face heated and she knew it was bright red.
“Good morning, Karen.” Justin grinned at Hannah as if he knew what she was thinking, then turned his attention to the woman in a uniform who’d come in with a cart. “Set it up on the table please.” He waited while the woman set up their meal as if they were dining in a private restaurant.
Once she was done she turned him. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
“I’m good, thank you.” He turned. “Karen, I want you to meet someone. This is Hannah, my wife.” He turned to Hannah. “This is Karen. She is in charge of the housekeeping on this floor and has been in charge of my laundry and making sure this place stays stocked for me. If you’ll let her know what you like, brands of shampoo, perfume, whatever, she’ll do the same for you.”
“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am. Please let me know if there is anything you would like me to do differently or to make you happy, and I will.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Karen. Give me a few days to settle in then we can sit down and discuss things, does that sound all right?”
“Yes, ma’am.” She nodded in Hannah’s direction then turned back to Justin. “Anything else, sir?”
“That’s all for now, Karen. Thank you.”
“Thank you, sir.” She went back to her cart and pulled it along behind her as she went to the door and out the door.
“Come eat before the food gets cold.”
Hannah followed him to the table where he pulled out her chair. Once they were seated, he took the covers off their plates revealing a full breakfast of eggs over medium, hash browns, sausage, toast and she wasn’t sure…she poked at the small bowl, she thought it might be grits.
“How do you like your coffee?” Justin picked up a small carafe and poured her a cup.
“A little sugar’s fine. I can do it.” She sweetened her coffee and took a drink while she watched him.
He dug into his breakfast as if he was as starving as she felt. A small smile curved her lips as she watched the pleasure on his face when he took a bite of the sausage. There was an honesty about his reactions that she wasn’t used to seeing.
“What?” he asked, having noticed her watching him.
Hannah shook her head, set down her cup and picked up her fork. She didn’t know him quite well enough yet to share all her thoughts.
“What is the plan for today?” The wedding had been a little sudden and she wouldn’t be surprised if he’d been unable to reschedule everything, or had even tried, it wasn’t like this was a romantic match. There was no reason he needed to rearrange his entire schedule to spend time with her.
“I have one meeting this morning I couldn’t get out of,” he checked his watch, “it’s in forty-five minutes, and shouldn’t take more than twenty or thirty. After that I’m free. I can show you The Aussie, or the Strip or we can check out the rest of Vegas, whatever you would like.”
Hannah was a little surprised he’d even tried to take the day. But she would take what she’d get. “I’m open to whatever you’d like.” She smiled and realized it was true. She enjoyed being with him, talking with him and getting to know him.
“Hm. I think I’ll show you around The Aussie, then maybe around town a little.” He looked her up and down. “If you’re comfortable, that’s fine, but so are jeans. I’ll probably change after the meeting.” He tugged at the open collar of his shirt as if it pulled at his neck. He looked at her a moment, watching her eat. “How are you this morning?” His voice had taken on a husky tone. “Sore?”
“A little, but I’ll survive.” She shrugged and tried to ignore the heat in her face.
“You’ve got plenty of time, why don’t you take a bath? Soaking in hot water will ease some of that.”
“That sounds nice.” Hanna looked down at her plate and wondered if she should say what she was thinking, then decided why not. “Will you have time to show me how the tub works before you go?”
Heat flashed in his eyes. “You have about three minutes to eat while your food’s hot, then it’ll get cold before you have a chance to finish it.” He picked up his cup and took a long drink, his eyes never leaving her.
She finished her sausage and her toast, without rushing then pushed away the plate, it was still more than she was used to for breakfast.
“I’m all yours.”
Justin took her hand and pulled her into the bedroom, she couldn’t help but laugh at the eager look on his face. He started the water running in the tub then turned to peel her clothes off. She reached for his shirt buttons, but he stepped out of her reach.
“You’re the one taking a bath here, remember?” He lifted the hem of her shirt up and over her head.
“Tell me about your meeting.” She didn’t want to think about being naked in front of him while he was still fully dressed.
“It’s a video conference with a barrister in London.” Justin made a face. “That’s what they call lawyers over there. Barristers.”
She laughed. “So, it will just be you in front of a computer?”
“Yeah, so much fun.” He tugged her pants down. The elastic waist slipped off her hips way to easily, and the soft pants fell in a puddle at her feet, leaving her only wearing a pair of tiny black lace panties and matching bra.
“Can I ask what the meeting’s about?” She wasn’t sure he’d tell her, he had told her so little about himself. But then, she’d known him less than a day. She reached back an unhooked her bra, but left it in place.
“You can. You can ask anything you like. I may not answer every question, but you can ask anyway.” His eyes skimmed her body, followed by his hands, which pulled the loose cups away from her breasts and paused a moment to squeeze and knead them a bit before sliding down her tapered waist and rest on her hips for just a moment before he looked up and met her gaze. She tossed the loose bra aside. “These will just get wet in the tub.” He hooked his fingers in the lace waistband and pushed them down until they fell on top of the pants he’d just removed.
She shivered. “Will you tell me about the meeting?”
“It’s a negotiation. I’m looking at buying another hotel.”
“A second one?” she gasped as he lifted her off her feet and set her, seated, on the vanity next to the sink.
“No, my sixth.” Justin eased her knees apart and stepped between them, his fingers skimmed along her skin until they found the sensitive button of nerves at the apex of her thighs.
“Wow.” All thought of what she’d been asking him flew from her mind as he teased her. His mouth lowered to hers, ever so slowly.
“That’s what I thought,” he breathed just his lips covered hers in a searing kiss. His fingers never stopped moving as they teased her clit, the other hand cupping her breast and gently pinching her nipple until she cried out in need.
“Please.” Her breath came in ragged gasps and she could barely form words.
“What do you want?” He smiled with a pleased look on his face.
“You. Please. It hurts.”
“It will only hurt more if I take you the way you want.” He glanced toward the tub she was only half aware of by now. “But I know what will help.” A knowing smile spread across his face as he slowly sank to his knees in front of her. She tried to close her legs, but he wouldn’t let her.
“You can’t do that!” She wanted to cover herself, but one look from him stopped her. Hannah watched breathless as his mouth descended on her most intimate spot, wondering why. Seconds later her head fell back and she gasped as flames of pleasure licked up her body. Every caress of his tongue sent whips of fire through her until she thought she was going to be burned alive. She fell back until her shoulders and head were pressed against the mirror, but that only gave him better access.
Once she caught her breath and learned to think again she found him watching her with a satisfied smirk.
“I told you so.” He
shut off the water in the nearly full tub that was now frothing with bubbles tall enough she wouldn’t be able to see much around them.
“You did.”
Justin helped her off the bathroom counter and into the tub. “Soak a while, I’ll come back after my meeting and we’ll find something to do.”
“I can think of something to do.” She glanced down the length of his body wondering how he would respond if she did the same to him.
“I bet you can.” He went to the bathroom door. “I’ll see you when I’m done.”
A moment later Hannah heard the apartment door closed and knew he’d left. She sighed, leaned against the edge of the huge tub and closed her eyes, wondering what else this marriage had to teach her. So far it hadn’t been anything like she’d feared. She also hadn’t discovered why he’d sent away for a bride either. There had to be some reason he couldn’t find the right woman on his own.
As she let the warmth seep into her skin and ease her aches, she worried that whatever Justin was after, whatever he’d requested from the agency, he’d find her lacking. She didn’t know what would happen if he sent her back. It was too late for her to be paired with another bachelor now. She’d given up one of the few requirements for women. Her virginity.
Chapter Nine
Justin let them into the apartment more than twelve hours later. He held the door open for Hannah then followed her inside. He’d shown her all around town, or at least the important part, as he saw it. His feet ached and he knew hers had to be worse in her heels. Glancing down at her feet, he realized he’d not seen her in a pair of shoes that weren’t at least three-inch heels. While they made her legs look amazing, the shoes couldn’t be comfortable.
“That was amazing!” She fell back on the sofa, arms flung wide. Hannah kicked off her shoes and propped her feet up on the coffee table. “When is the next show like that? I can’t wait to see another one.” She’d spent most of the last three hours with her eyes glued to the stage, a huge smile on her face.
He’d spent most of the same time watching her. Her enjoyment of the concert had made him enjoy it ten times more than any of the concerts he’d been to before, and there’d been more than a few. “I’m not sure, I’ll have to check.”
“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” She dropped her head back against the back of the couch and watched him as he moved around the room, making his way to one of the chairs.
“I’ve got a couple more meetings I couldn’t get out of. Is there something you would like to do?”
Hannah shook her head. “Nothing. Unless you have something you’d like me to do?”
Justin shrugged. He hadn’t requested that she have any skill. He hadn’t needed anything from her but her connections to society. “What can you do?”
Hannah looked guilty. “Entertain, manage a household, make a welcoming home.” She looked away. “Unfortunately, the things my mother made sure I could do have little marketability. Once my parents were gone, and however they supported us with them, I quickly found out how worthless I am.”
Jared frowned. He didn’t like hearing her talk about herself that way. “I have Garrett planning an event next week. If you’d like, you can help him with it, even take over.”
“I would be happy to. It will be good to stay busy and feel useful. Will you introduce me to this Garrett?”
“I will, before my first meeting in the morning.”
“And what are your requirements for the event?”
Justin shook his head. “Not tonight. Tonight is just between us.” He looked across the space between them and smiled slowly. “Are you ready for bed?”
“I could use a little sleep.” She rolled her shoulders and hid a yawn.
“Who said anything about sleep?”
Chapter Ten
The next morning, after breakfast Hannah went across the hall with her new husband.
“Hannah, this is Garrett.” Justin stopped in front of the desk in the first room, the room with the leather chairs that had been empty when he’d shown her around a couple days before. “Garrett, this is my wife, Hannah. If you’ll show her what you have done for the party on the sixteenth, she’ll take over. I’ll need you to help her get up to speed on how things work around here, but it will free up some of your time for other things.”
“Yes, sir.” The man behind the desk stood, he couldn’t be any younger than her and was probably a year or two older. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Scarborough. I’m in the middle of a couple things here, but if you’ll give me ten or twenty minutes, I’ll be happy to get you up to speed on what I’ve got set so far.”
“Sounds wonderful. I want to help not make things harder.” She turned and glanced around the room, planning to have a seat until he had time for her.
“Come on in here while you wait.”
Justin’s voice stopped her, he caught his assistant’s eye and Garrett nodded to let them know he’d be in when he was ready. Hannah turned instead and followed him into the office.
“Have a seat.” He motioned toward the seating area on the far side of the room from his desk and went to the glass wall while she made herself comfortable. They’d gotten to know each other well enough that for the most part she was comfortable in his presence. He stared out at the city below for a moment then turned to look at her. “I told you about the party last night, but I didn’t tell you all of it.”
“All right.” She sat on the edge of the sofa with her hands folded neatly in her lap, she’d suspected there was more than he was telling her the night before, but she’d sensed he wasn’t ready to tell her so she hadn’t pushed. Besides there had been other things on her mind.
“It’s more an introduction. I’ve told Garrett to invite all the influential people here in Vegas, but I also told him to invite the who’s who of American Society.”
“I see,” she said slowly, but she really didn’t. She wasn’t sure why he would invite people he didn’t know.
“My plan was to use the party as a reception of sorts. To announce our marriage.”
“We can do that.” She didn’t want to tell him how she’d been abandoned when she needed it most by these people. Just thinking about it hurt enough. Instead she would do her best to give him what he wanted. She did after all, know what kind of thing they expected and how to host an event. “Anything else?”
“Not that I can think of.” He went to the desk. “Come here a minute.”
She stood as he sat in the swiveling chair and turned it to face the window. As she got closer she wondered what he was thinking. She had almost reached him when he swiveled around.
“Oh, almost right. Step in here.” He lifted her up until she sat on the edge of the desk in front of him.
Hannah frowned and wondered what he was up to, it made no sense.
“Perfect.”
She shook her head not seeing it.
“Well, almost.”
“Almost what?”
“I spent most of my meeting yesterday imagining this.”
“Me sitting on your desk?”
“Yes. Though it wasn’t quite the same.”
“How was it different?”
He looked up and met her gaze. “You were naked.”
Her face heated and she knew she’d turned bright red.
“If you’re ready.” Garrett’s voice in the doorway saved her from having to say anything.
She slid off the edge of the desk and sidled away from Justin, giving him one last look before following his assistant from the room.
“I am.”
She sat at the conference room table, her head cradled in her hands. This was a huge job and a ton of work to do in less than a week. Garrett had made a good start of it, but there was still a lot to be done. She’d spent the morning consulting with the kitchens, discussing what would be served and when, food as well as drinks. She’d talked with housekeeping about what was available in the way of decorations and linens and what would need to be acquired.
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br /> “You hungry?” Justin’s voice made her look up.
She blinked, his words taking a moment to register, then realized she was hungry, starving actually.
“I had food brought up, care to join me?”
She stared at him a moment, her mind sluggish as she pushed through the things she’d been doing and struggled to let it change gears. “I would.” A chance to get away from this would be a great relief. It wasn’t that she minded it, in fact she usually enjoyed it, but a party the size of this one usually took several weeks to plan, to get all the details taken care of and she just didn’t have that kind of time. She closed the notebook she had been making notes in and stood. She stared down at the large table with books and notes scattered across it, trying to decide how much she needed to pick up and take with her.
“Just leave it. No one will bother it and it will be here later,” Justin said from the doorway.
“But it’s a mess.” Hannah turned to join him, and with one last look toward the table, pulled the door closed just in case. She trusted him that no one would bother it but they didn’t need to see her mess either.
“Just close the door. How are things going?” he asked as they made their way down the short hall back to Garrett’s office, and into Justin’s.
“Good. There’s a lot to do, so I’m keeping busy. It’s going surprisingly well for the number of things to arrange so quickly.”
“Good, good.” He waved a hand toward a round table with chairs nearby that she hadn’t noticed before. There were several covered trays on top. “Have a seat.”
“Thank you.” Hannah went to the table and took a seat, looking up at her husband of less than forty-eight hours. “I could get used to this.”
“Used to what?” He lifted covers off trays and setting them aside, the food smelled amazing.
“Not having to think about what to eat, or shopping, or preparing it.” She picked up a French fry and took a bite. “Though I’m going to have to find a gym if I keep eating like this.”
Billionaire Bachelor: Justin (Diamond Bridal Agency Book 5) Page 5