by Vi Keeland
I grabbed two fistfuls of his shirt and nodded. “There’s no reason to thank me for that. It was the truth. Your struggles with alcohol don’t have to define you. We all get knocked down at one point or another in our life. But you stood taller when you got back up. You should be proud of that.”
He looked down for a while before his eyes returned to mine. “Have dinner with me tomorrow night.”
We’d had dinner together quite a few times over the last few weeks. “Okay…”
“I don’t mean dinner at the restaurant downstairs while we discuss business, or you eating with me because I’m blackmailing you to share a meal. I want a date—a real date.”
I smiled. “That sounds nice. I’d like that.”
“Let’s not get carried away and call it nice. It’s still going to end with my cock inside of you.”
I laughed. “I expect nothing less.”
Unfortunately, I still had a million things to do tonight, things that needed to get done by the morning for the valuation team. So I pressed my lips to his and said, “I need to get going now. I have a lot of work to do tonight.”
Weston didn’t hide his pout. I straightened my clothing and gave him one last quick kiss. At the door, I looked back.
“Oh, by the way, I threw out the roses the day they came, and I’m not allergic to dahlias. You know my room number, so clean up that mess and go get me some new ones.”
Chapter 20
* * *
Sophia
The next day, the deliveries just kept coming and coming. They started at 10AM, and by two in the afternoon, I had four enormous arrangements of dahlias. Each was a different vibrant color, and each from a different florist.
Weston had been in the conference room with his team all day, so I hadn’t even had a chance to thank him for the first delivery when he popped his head into my office. I was on the phone and held up a finger, motioning him to come in as I finished my conversation with my father.
“Yes, I’m doing that,” I said. “They know our deadline, and I’m on top of them.”
Weston shut the door behind him and made sure he had my attention as he reached back and twisted the lock. Meanwhile, my father was busy interrogating me about every decision I’d made here at the hotel and the laundry list of things I still had left to do. But his words started to fade away as I watched the man with the devilish smirk walk toward me.
Weston Lockwood was positively sinful. He had a jawline that would make a sculptor weep and eyes that were perpetually undressing me. But it was his crooked, dirty smile that always did me in. He walked behind my desk, leaned his ass against it, and casually started to take off his tie.
“And what about those open lawsuits?” my father snapped. “Has Charles gotten back to you about the potential exposure we have there?”
Weston tugged the tie from his neck and wrapped the ends around his fists.
“Uhhh… Yeah. He sent me an opinion on the slip and fall, but I’m still waiting for his review of the other two suits.”
“There are four lawsuits pending, Sophia!” my father barked. “What are you doing at that hotel? Do I need to be there every day?”
Weston held his hands up—his tie stretched between them. His hooded eyes raked over my body as if contemplating what he might tie up first. Distracted, I’d heard what my father said, but my response capabilities were running in slow motion.
“I think I need to get back on a plane.”
That snapped me out of my haze. I shook my head, turning away from Weston. “No, no. That’s not necessary at all. There’re four suits. I knew that. I just misspoke.”
“I want an update tomorrow morning,” he grumbled.
“Fine. I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.”
As usual, he didn’t bother to say goodbye. The line just went dead. Normally a conversation like that would leave me sitting and stewing, but it was impossible to feel angry with the glint in Weston’s eyes.
I tossed my cell phone on the desk and swiveled in my chair to face him.
“I think you went a little overboard with the flowers.” I smiled.
His eyes focused on my lips. “Have you ever had sex blindfolded?”
Okay, then…guess we aren’t talking about the flower deliveries. I crossed one leg over the other. “No, I haven’t. Have you ever blindfolded anyone?”
He shook his head, which surprised me. “You’ll be the first.”
I arched a brow. “Sure of yourself, aren’t you?”
“How about in public?”
“Does in a car count?”
“That depends. Where was the car parked?”
“In a parking lot at the beach after it was closed.”
Weston grinned. “Then, no. That doesn’t count.”
“What about you? Ever had sex in public?”
“Not while sober.”
As ridiculous as it was, I felt a pang of jealousy. “Well, then you have, and I’m not looking to be another notch on your belt.”
Weston’s grin turned into a full-blown, cocky smirk. “You’re cute when you’re jealous.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “I’m not jealous.”
“We have a meeting now; otherwise I’d love to argue with you over who’s right and wrong. Or at least prop you up on your desk and eat you out while you try to yank the hair from my scalp.”
Oh… That sounded good.
Weston read my mind and chuckled. “Hold that thought. There’s another problem with the construction, and I told Sam we’d come up to discuss it.”
I should have been disappointed that we had another issue to contend with, but let’s face it, I really just wanted to go deal with whatever it was and come back to pick up where we were leaving off.
I stood. “Okay. Let’s go.”
Weston didn’t move out of my way. Instead, he slipped one hand around my neck and pulled me to him, placing a tender kiss on my lips. “You’re welcome,” he said against my mouth.
“What am I thanking you for?”
“The flowers. And, no, I didn’t go a little overboard. You said you liked them, so you should have them.”
My insides felt all mushy. “That’s sweet. But four deliveries weren’t necessary. The gesture was enough. Though I am looking forward to thanking you for each one.”
“That’s good.” He winked. “Because you have a lot more than four coming.”
Upstairs, the Boltons didn’t even have to point us to the latest issue with the construction. The wide-open wall filled with dry rot was self-explanatory.
Weston and I were already looking at it when Sam and Travis walked over.
“This whole wall needs to come out,” Travis said. “There’re some leaky pipes above that must’ve been trickling for years. The wood is soft and warped.”
The wall ran the length of the entire ballroom. It had to be at least a hundred feet.
“What about the leak itself?” Weston asked. “How much of the pipe needs to be swapped out?”
“We can probably contain the leak and fix the current problem, but that’s only a Band-Aid. The pipes all along the ceiling should be changed. They’re pretty badly corroded. Now’s the time to do it since the walls are wide open. But that also means a delay of a few days at least and another plumbing bill.”
Weston and I looked at each other. I shook my head. “Let’s just do it right. The last thing we need is to start holding events in here and have leaks spring up.”
Weston nodded. “I agree.” He looked at Sam. “How soon can you get us an estimate?”
“I can start working on it now and bring it up to you by the time I get out of here tonight at eight.”
“I won’t be around this evening,” Weston said.
Travis looked at me and smiled. “I can drop it off with Sophia.”
Weston’s jaw flexed. “She won’t be around tonight either. We’ll both be busy, all night. Tomorrow morning is fine.”
Travis gave us a questioning
look, but he knew better than to ask. Instead, he gave a curt nod. “All right. Sounds good.”
On our way out, I teased Weston. “That was the equivalent of peeing on a fire hydrant.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We’ll both be busy all night? You might not have used the words, but it was pretty obvious what you were saying.”
We arrived at the elevator bank, and Weston pushed the button. “Would you like to fight about it? We could cross sex in public off my to-do list. I’m sure it would make Saul in security’s year. He’s been working a lot of double shifts since we haven’t replaced the night guard yet. I’ve been meaning to pick him up a bottle to say thank you. But I think he’d like listening to the way you moan much better.”
I scowled at him as the elevator doors slid open. Weston put his hand on my back, guiding me to enter first.
“Why am I even having dinner with you tonight?” I asked. “You’re such an ass.”
He stood behind me in the elevator and whispered in my ear, “Because you like my cock.”
I squirmed. “It’s often the only part of you I like.”
When the doors slid open on our office floor, I stepped off. Weston stayed in the elevator.
“Aren’t you coming?” I said.
He smirked. “I will later. Be downstairs at six thirty, Sophia.”
Chapter 21
* * *
Weston
Whose bright idea was it to go out to dinner all the way across town, to a fancy restaurant with appetizers, dinner, dessert, and dancing?
“This restaurant is beautiful.” Sophia looked around. “Have you been here before?”
I shook my head. “Did you wear your hair up for me?”
“You do that a lot, you know.”
“What?”
“I ask you a question, and rather than answer it, you respond with a question on a totally unrelated topic.”
“I guess sometimes I have a one-track mind when I’m around you.”
She smiled. “Yes, I did.”
I was confused for a second. She’d jumped back to my question about her hair. “Thank you. But since you did that, you can expect me to be distracted all night.”
Sophia looked even more gorgeous than usual. She wore a red dress with a halter top and a fuck ton of cleavage on display. The way the top wrapped around her neck showcased that collarbone I loved so much. My eyes bounced back and forth like I was in a tennis match, volleying from round, full tits to her succulent neck.
I’d had the menu in my hand for a few minutes with my head tilted down, though I still hadn’t read a single word. So when the waiter walked over to take our order, I wasn’t even sure what my choices were.
“I’m going to have the pistachio-encrusted sea bass, please,” Sophia said.
I handed the waiter my menu. “Same.”
When he walked away, Sophia sipped her drink with a smirk. “You have no idea what was on the menu, do you?”
“Nope. Guess I’m lucky I usually like what you like.”
“What’s going on in that head of yours that has you so preoccupied, Lockwood?”
“You sure you want the answer to that question?”
She giggled, and I swear a rush of heat seeped through my chest. I’d gone out with gigglers before, and Sophia was definitely not one of those. During the day, she wore conservative business clothing and worked hard not to let anything super feminine overshadow her capabilities. She laughed during a business lunch, and wore high heels, both of which I found sexy as shit. But something happened when she went into date mode. She let her guard down, and all that pent-up feminine stuff came flowing out. So, yeah, I was attracted to Sophia the businesswoman. But Sophia the woman out on a date who allowed herself to giggle freely? She was absolutely mesmerizing.
“I definitely want the answer,” she said.
I reached for my water and slugged half of it back. “All right. You know how I love your neck?”
“I do.”
“Well, tonight you also have the most incredible cleavage on display, so my eyes can’t decide where to look. You look absolutely gorgeous, Soph.”
She smiled. “Thank you. But I have to admit, that’s a lot cleaner than I expected.”
I leaned toward her, over the table. “I wasn’t finished yet. While looking at your beautiful tits and the creamy skin on your chest and throat, I’m envisioning what my cum would look like all over it. I’ve been busy debating if one spill would be enough to blanket everything I want to cover, or if I would need to unload twice to properly drench you.”
Sophia’s mouth dropped open, and she laughed nervously. “Oh, my…”
The only thing I liked better than feminine Sophia on a date was turned-on Sophia with her mouth hanging open. I put two fingers under her chin and nudged her jaw back up. “I’m going to get arrested if you don’t keep this beautiful thing shut.”
Lucky for me, the waiter came back to deliver our appetizers. He spent a few minutes telling us about all of their desserts since some of them needed to be ordered an hour in advance. I was grateful that Sophia passed on the soufflé, because I intended to eat my dessert in private.
When he was gone, it was Sophia’s turn to guzzle some of her ice water. When she set it back down on the table, she immediately picked up the cocktail she’d ordered and drained half of that, too.
I chuckled. “I’m a little envious that I can’t have something to take the edge off.”
“I bet. You must walk around really damn tense from all the crap that goes on in your brain.”
We laughed, which seemed to ease the dangerous sexual tension from a few minutes ago.
“You wore red on prom night, too,” I said.
Her brows pulled together. “Did I? I can’t even remember what my dress looked like at the moment.”
I leaned back in my chair and shut my eyes. “Strapless. A little lighter than the color you have on now. It had a silver, sparkly belt that looked like a ribbon.” I motioned in a circle with my pointer finger. “You wore these silver strappy sandals that wrapped around your ankle. You tried to take them off when we got back to your house, but I made you keep them on.”
Sophia’s face lit up. “Oh my God. That’s right! How the heck did you remember that?”
“You don’t forget what the dress of a woman you’ve spent half your life sneaking peeks at looks like when you finally get to slip it off of her.”
“You…you used to sneak peeks at me?”
“Every chance I got. I thought you knew that. Though your face just told me I had that wrong. Guess I was pretty stealthy after all.”
“Guess so. I really thought you hated me.”
I smirked. “Oh, I did. But I also wanted to fuck your brains out.”
She laughed. “So not much has changed, then?”
“Nah. Now I just wish I hated you.” I shook my head. “You’re impossible not to l—” I caught myself. “Like. You’re impossible not to like.”
Sophia didn’t seem to notice my slip. Or if she did, she didn’t call me out on it.
“As long as we’re admitting the truth, I used to check you out all the time back in high school.” She smiled. “Maybe even middle school.”
“I was itching for a reason to clock that jackass you went out with, even before the night of the prom.”
“Well, somebody took care of that for you. I’m not sure if you knew, but apparently he got into a fight after I left the prom, and his nose was broken.”
“I’m aware. Cost my family twenty grand to stop him from pressing charges.”
Sophia’s eyes widened. “It was you? Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t think it was a big deal. He got what was coming to him. Plus, it wasn’t like you and I were friends.”
“I guess not.” Sophia got quiet for a minute. She traced the condensation on her water glass before looking back up at me. “Are we friends now?”
&nbs
p; “You tell me, Soph.”
She took a moment before nodding. “When I think of a friend, I think of someone I can rely on, someone I trust and respect and also enjoy spending time with. So yeah, I think we’re friends. You know, it’s funny, I spent almost two years with Liam, yet I never felt like I could rely on him.” She shook her head. “I once had a small fender bender, but my airbag went off, and it left me sort of rattled. I called Liam, hoping he would come, but he told me he was in the middle of a dress rehearsal and suggested I call Scarlett.”
I shook my head. “That guy really was a dick.”
She smiled sadly. “He was. You’re definitely very different men. Somehow I know that if I’d called you like that, you’d have been there no matter what you were doing. You have a very protective way about you.”
I nodded. “I’d show up for you, Soph. I would’ve even back in high school. Don’t get me wrong, I’d bust your chops the entire time, but I’d show.”
She smiled. “So…I guess that makes us…what then? Friends with benefits? Pretty sure our families would disown us if they found out.”
“Fuck ’em,” I said.
“Oh… You don’t care?” She arched a brow. “So your family knows we’re sleeping together and have become friends?”
I shook my head. “No, but that’s mostly because I don’t discuss my personal life with them. Neither my father nor my grandfather has ever taken an interest before, and I don’t expect them to start anytime soon.”
“Does that bother you? That they don’t have an interest in getting to know you?”
I shrugged. “It used to. But I’ve spent way too many years trying to get them to see me. For a long time, I thought I was made of poison. Lately I’ve started to realize that venom can come from a family of snakes.”
Sophia looked so vulnerable. Holding her hand out across the table, she nodded like she understood. And I’m sure she did…a little, at least. Though I doubted she fully comprehended what my family was capable of.
Putting my hand in hers, I looked down at our entwined fingers for a long time. “Do you have plans for Labor Day weekend?”