by Kahlen Aymes
* * *
Two hours, two bottles of wine, and lots of laughter later, the two of them ended up on some big pillows on the floor in front of her sofa, on their sides face-to-face and their feet tangled.
Quiet and serious, Alex's hand finally reached out to touch her, pushing a tendril back behind her ear. She closed her eyes as the back of his knuckles brushed across her cheekbone. She drew in a long breath, reveling in the wonder of the sensation. It was light, warm… electric.
“Alex,” she began as her eyes found his.
“Shhh… you said I could touch a little.” His open palm moved over her shoulder and then, with slight squeezing massage, down her arm. It was dark with only the glow of the muted television to cast a blue glow around the room. His eyes were darker and more intense. Maybe it was desire that filled his gaze, and she found herself hoping… wanting, her body involuntarily leaning toward his.
“Angel, tell me who did that to you in college,” he said it softly, but his tone was demanding. “Who could hurt you like that?”
“How do you know? I mean… ” Angel began to withdraw, but his hold tightened, keeping her close.
Alex shrugged slightly and his brow furrowed. The muscle in his jaw twitched. “I just know. Just tell me who it was, so I can kill the motherfucker.”
Angel’s eyes stung with tears as they began to glisten. Alex hadn’t moved other than to keep rubbing her arm and to finally bring her hand up to his mouth for a soft, open-mouthed kiss on the inside of her wrist.
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. Trust me.” His fingers continued over the flesh of her arm and shoulder, up behind her neck as he applied gentle pressure and squeezed.
Angel saw understanding and sadness in Alex’s eyes that propelled her to share something that she’d never told anyone, save Becca.
“No. ” She shook her head. The waver in her voice broke as a tear slid from each eye. “I mean I trust you. But I can’t tell you who it was. I don’t know.”
Confusion filled his features. “What? How?”
“I told you. I was drugged. Ruffies. I don’t remember any part of it. Except the next morning. I woke up in a bedroom alone, missing my clothes and…”
Alex’s chest was feeling constricted and fire rushed under his skin. “And?”
“And, there was blood.”
He sighed heavily and leaned his forehead against hers, his hand coming up to cup her cheek. “I’m so, so sorry. You should be worshiped, not abused. Sweetheart, I’m sorry.”
“Stop,” she whispered. “You didn’t do it. I’m sorry about it, too, but at least I don’t remember experiencing it. If it hadn’t happened, my life would be different, and I would have made different choices. I wouldn’t be helping anyone.”
Alex studied her face, searching her expression for anything that would signify she was telling the truth about reconciling with it. He was speechless as he stared into her glittering brown eyes, and then moved a soft strand of hair back behind her ear. She was so strong. Alex felt his admiration for her grow even more.
Angel was hungry from his touches, yearning for more even as her brain fought for control.
“After that, I changed. I took self-defense classes, threw myself into school, and shut-out everyone. Until I met Becca. She had so much bravado and guys didn’t fuck with her. She encouraged me to join the band.” Angel paused as realization dawned on Alex.
“Ahh… so you are a professional,” he teased lightly in an attempt to comfort her and ease the tightness in his own chest.
Her eyebrows rose and she smiled as he brushed her chin with his fingertips. “Not at all. It was something I did to be in control of men. I was untouchable, if you will. I could get up on that stage and be someone else. Soon, I became that person.”
“What happened to the band?”
“They’re still together. I talk to them from time to time.”
“Help me understand why you’re not still playing with them. You’re a natural. So good,” he said softly.
Angel’s hand finally reached toward him almost against her will and her fingers brushed his jaw. The stubble was short but sharp, and she knew if he kissed her, the soft skin of her face would feel the sting. It didn’t matter, she wanted it; images of the night before painting vivid pictures and making her body open and moisten. The desire was overwhelming as she scooted closer.
“Mmm… okay, so, we’ve figured out that we’re both good. So where does that leave us?”
Alex’s body quickened at her touch and words, his arms sliding around her, drawing her close to his body. He wanted her. There was no denying it. She sucked him in like a moth to a flame, and for the first time, he didn’t care if he burned into nothingness.
“Wanting. Aching.” The answer was simple. He watched her eyes, and then as her hot, sweet breath washed his face, his eyes dropped to her mouth. When Angel’s little pink tongue came out to caress her upper lip, he gave up. “Ughhh.”
“Kiss me,” she commanded softly, her mouth tilting up to reach for his, and her eyes began to close seductively.
“I promised myself I wouldn’t go there tonight, Angel. More importantly, I promised you.”
“What were the words you used last night? Just a little taste?” she reminded him as their mouths hovered together and her nose nudged his.
“Yes, and look where that ended up.”
“Mmmm…” Her voice was tempting, pulling him down, her breath hot against his lips. “Do you regret it?”
“Would I be here if I did?” His index finger slid down the curve of her face. So fucking gorgeous.
Angel reached up and pulled her glasses off, haphazardly flinging them up on the couch. “So don’t regret this either, then.”
They stared at each other without flinching, each silently daring the other to be the one to break the moment or be the one to give in. He wanted too, so much his breath hitched in his throat.
Alex hesitated a little too long. She pushed away from him and started to get up in a scramble of limbs. “Angel…”
“For Christ’s sake!” she muttered in embarrassment as she struggled against the arms that had now closed around her to halt her flight. “Stop! If I have to force you, just—let go!”
“What the hell? I’m trying to show you this is different!” Alex quickly rolled her beneath him and pinned her to the floor, his knees spreading hers apart and his arms caging her head. They were both breathing hard as she struggled to get free. “That you are different, Angel! Angel!”
She stopped dead and they held each other's eyes, her look defiant and his slightly amused. She was embarrassed that she wanted this man so much that he could reduce her to the state of being on the verge of begging him to take her. She turned her head to the side to avoid his burning gaze.
“Now,” he said seriously, pressing his pelvis into hers and she was left in no doubt he wanted her. She surged up to meet him against her will. “Does it feel like I’m unaffected? I am so fucking turned on I can taste it, but I’m trying to show you that I’m not who you believe me to be. So please stop trying to seduce me. I’m only human.” He said the words, but his mouth found hers in a series of hungry kisses, and their bodies moved to create the friction they both craved. Angel’s mouth and body were alive under his, and her hands frantically pushed the material of his shirt up and away in search of the smooth skin and hard muscles of his back. Soon sounds of wet kisses and soft moans filled the room.
“This is hard enough as it is,” he moaned before coming back for another deep kiss. “I wish I knew what you really wanted.” His mouth dragged from hers as he spoke, the confusion he felt not enough to stop him from kissing her again.
Words were lost as their passion took over, panting heavily and rolling around on the floor, bodies grinding into each other. They knocked into the coffee table and sent the empty wine bottle clattering to the floor, followed by the hallow sound of it rolling across the hardwood.
Alex p
ulled his hungry mouth from hers and pushed the hair, now free of the knot, back from her face in gentle strokes. Her mouth reached for his and he gave her what she wanted, because he wanted it, too. Again their tongues laved and thrust, mouths sucking on and devouring the other. It was magnificent perfection.
“Jesus.” His chest rose and fell heavily under her hand. “I need to leave. Now.”
Her leg hitched and wrapped around his waist in silent protest, and his hips answered hers. “I want you to stay.”
Alex closed his eyes as if he were in pain. “I have to go. I promised this wouldn’t happen, but it feels too damn good.” His lips found the soft skin beneath her ear and his open mouth left a fiery trail down the cord of her neck, while his hand clawed at the neck of her T-shirt and then moved down to cup a full breast.
“Alex,” she breathed his name, and it was all he could do to keep from drowning in her.
“God, you’re prefect,” he groaned and then pushed away from her. Sitting, he pulled his knees up and he leaned on them, trying to regain control. She stayed where she was, but her hand ran down his back and then up again. She wasn’t able to stop herself.
Alex sucked in a deep breath, as much air as his lungs could hold, turned to look at her and then took her hand in his, fingers caressing as their eyes locked. Rising to his feet, he pulled her up behind him and held her hand as he walked to the door, thumb brushing back and forth.
Angel was bewildered, confused, and hungry. Didn’t the self-professed sexual predator want her? She wasn’t sure if she should let him hold her hand or pull it away.
When they reached the door, Alex pulled her closer as his arms slid around her. “Tell me what you want.”
Angel refused to look at him, standing stiff in his arms, her heart still thrumming wildly in her chest. You, her mind screamed.
“Angel?” When she still didn’t answer, he lifted a hand and tilted her chin up, forcing her to look into his face. “Just tell me what you want and it’s yours.”
She opened her mouth but then promptly closed it. “I’m… I mean, I don’t know.” I want you to stay. I want you to kiss me. I want to be able to enjoy your body and not lose myself in the process. Her emotions were all over the place and she felt completely out of control. “What I want and what I know should happen aren’t the same thing.” The fine cotton of his expensive T-shirt teased her sensitive fingertips as she explored the muscles of his stomach.
“Do you want me to walk out of here and not look back?” he asked softly, his lips brushing her temple.
Her eyes closed, knowing what she should say. “Yes.”
“You’re such a little liar,” he said with gentle firmness. “I won’t let you cheat us out of this, Angel.”
“What is this?” Her head tilted back and her hair fell over the hand that moved up her back to close around the back of her neck and head.
“This is amazing. Just let it happen. We’ll go slow. I won’t touch you until you ask me to.”
“I’m asking now!” she protested, and he shook his head. “Why are you doing this, Alex? You told me this isn’t how you play, so what do you hope to gain?”
“You. Time.” He was seducing her with his velvet voice and the lips that felt like languid butterflies on her eyelids, cheek, and then her open mouth, his hands holding her head and kneading her back gently.
“Sex?”
“If it’s meant to happen, yes. I have to go to Madrid tomorrow, and I’ll be back on Friday. Can I see you?”
“Yes. But I have the show.” To deny him seemed unthinkable. Her logic protested but she couldn’t give it a voice.
He pulled her close and his mouth staked its ownership of hers again, and her arms lifted of their own accord to wrap around his neck, her hands threading into his hair. The kisses were sublime and they feasted on each other until she felt his hardness press into her and her body answered with moist heat of its own. “Ughhhh,” she moaned softly, disappointed when he finally pulled away after placing one last kiss on her neck. “Don’t go.”
“Baby, I gotta go or I’ll never leave. So, I’ll see you in five days. Keep the phone handy.”
He opened the door and her hands fell from his body.
Angel found herself feeling stunned and bereft when the door closed, and she leaned back against the wood, the cold wood a stark contrast to his warm flesh. “Five days...”
She moved into the kitchen and began to clean up the remnants of the meal, forgotten for the past three and half hours, thoughts Alex rampant in her mind. She smiled in spite of herself. Her mind knew he was dangerous. More than dangerous, but damn it, he was funny and sexy and brilliant. Lethal. Surely, she’d suffer in the end but it felt so good, it was hard to deny.
The buzzer to her apartment sounded, startling Angel out of her contemplation, and she hurried to the door, anticipating Alex.
“Hey, you. Back already?” she asked with a smile. “I knew you couldn’t stay away.”
“Dr. Hemming?” a deep voice rasped. It wasn’t Alex and Angel was startled, jumping slightly in her skin.
“Yes?” she spoke into the speaker and then released the button for the response.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll be wise about your comments on Tuesday. Mr. Swanson can be a reasonable man, with reasonable people. We know where you live. And now, your boyfriend, too. ”
Angel’s heart fell to her stomach, thudding heavily, and heat flooding her skin at a record pace.
9
Secrets
Alex thrummed his hand on the top of his knee, waiting impatiently for Cole outside his apartment. The neighborhood was nice, but not used to limousines, and certainly not the caliber that Alex or his parents lived in. Neither Alex nor his father were inclined to provide more to Cole without the benefit of some sort of contribution to the business.
He glanced at his watch impatiently and finally pulled out his phone.
“Yeah?” Cole’s groggy voice pissed Alex off. His mouth settled into a thin line.
“Cole, for Christ’s sake! I’m waiting. Get your ass out here. Now! I’m late for my flight.”
There was rustling and the clank of a belt on the other end of the line as Cole crawled out of bed and threw on some clothes. “Where you going, again? What time is it?”
“Just get the hell out here. We’ll talk on the way to O’Hare.” Alex shut off his phone and shoved it in the breast pocket of his suit. The sun had been up for three hours, bright in the sky, but the limo’s dark windows made his expensive sunglasses unnecessary. He pulled them off and flung them on the leather seat beside him.
After another ten minutes, Cole’s unkempt form slid into the seat directly across from Alex as the driver closed the door behind him. Shaking his head in dismay, Alex watched his brother shove a Cubs baseball cap onto his uncombed head.
“Who dresses you, Cole? Have some respect for yourself and for the family. Jesus. Think about what you represent!”
Cole scowled at his younger brother. “Get off your high horse, Alex. Who the fuck do you think you are, getting me out of bed at the crack of dawn?”
“Apparently, I’m your fucking boss. And my high horse, as you put it, needs a good polishing. Dad asked me to straighten your ass out, but this is it. After this, I’m done.”
“Fuck you, Alex. Daddy’s little favorite. It makes me want to puke.”
“You think you can go through life banging bimbos and relying on others to pay for everything you do? Get your head out of your ass. Life isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. At some point, you have to grow some balls and take some responsibility.”
Cole had the grace to flush and look out the window as the limo pulled out of his complex. “I’m not a suit. I have no desire to be Dad’s clone. Besides… he’s got one already.”
“If you don’t want to be a part of Avery, then tell Dad, so he’ll get off my ass. But get a goddamn job.”
Cole sighed and twisted his ball cap around. “What
does Dad want me to do?”
Alex leaned back in the seat and watched Cole fidget. “It’s my call. He suggested mergers and acquisitions, but I have something else in mind. Since it’s not in the office, maybe you can stomach it.”
Cole’s brows lifted slightly. “What does it involve?” His tone was bored and uninterested.
“Supposedly, a local businessman is neck-deep in a rape case. It’s all hush-hush. I want to know who it is.”
“I don’t get it. Why do you give a fuck?”
Alex’s jaw shot forward and he stiffened slightly. He couldn’t admit the truth to his brother because he hadn’t fully accepted it himself. “Just find out. Get Bancroft to help you, if needed, but do it before I get back from Spain.”
The limo pulled up to the terminal, and the driver proceeded to unload Alex’s bag to the curb as the two men slid out. Passengers and airport workers glanced at them, taking in the stark contrast between Alex’s polished black suit and vibrant silk tie to Cole’s wrinkled khaki shorts and rumpled white T-shirt.
Alex replaced the sunglasses in one smooth motion and straightened the cuffs of his shirt under his jacket. As always, his dress and demeanor was impeccable and polished.
Cole studied his brother carefully; certain that the hard tone in his voice went deeper than he was letting on. “What’s the real reason, dude?”
Alex picked up his briefcase as the larger bag was checked at the curb.
“If this asshole is as shady as I believe him to be, there are holes in his business dealings, too. Find out everything. Who he is, what he owns, his relationships, who he employs, who his lawyers are… I want his weaknesses. Get it all. If you need money, Mrs. Dane is instructed to provide whatever is necessary, but not for bullshit, Cole, just this assignment.”
Two flight attendants making their way inside glanced in Alex’s direction, clearly interested. The corners of his mouth lifted in a wry smile. He noticed the shapely legs on one of them, but his interest was minimal.
“Hellloooo, ladies,” Cole said, lifting his hand in a wave.