by J. D. Fox
“Just what I said earlier. I want you, now and always.”
She pursed her lips.
“It’s too soon to be talking like that.”
“Not when you know you’re with the woman you’ll want for the rest of your life.”
“Be careful, Sam Palmer. You might get what you wish for.”
“As long as you’re granting wishes, there is another thing I want,” I said.
“Yeah?”
I nod and put my fingers at her sweet channel.
“I want you, baby.”
She gasped as I teased her entrance with two fingers, sliding them inside.
“Sam,” she said. “Oh, please.”
I placed my cock at her entrance and made a few shallow thrusts while watching her face.
“Oh, god,” she said. “More, please.”
It was impossible to hold back anymore, but then... oh shit. Why did I overthink things?
“Baby, I’ve got a condom in my wallet.”
“Go ahead if it makes you feel better, but I’m on the pill.”
I paused. “To tell you the truth, I don’t date much,” I said. “Too busy working.”
She chuckled. “Same story here.” We both paused, quiet. “Damn it, Sam. I need you.”
Talia did not need to tell me twice. She was wet and ready and I slid into her hot, silken channel while her chest moved with her panting. Talia wrapped her legs around my hips and pulled me deeper inside of her. My mind jumbled with her softness, gripping me like a silk glove and I lost words as I took her with deep, steady strokes. She groaned and jutted her hips into my thrusts, and I heard the pounding of my heart as we melded and moved as one. Her moans rose to fevered cries, and she shouted my name as she dug her nails into my arms. She throbbed around me. My balls pulled up and blood pumped through me, announcing I wouldn’t last much longer. With one last thrust, I pulled her hips toward me and exploded, crying her name.
Time stopped. I didn’t know where I was. All I could do was collapse and hold onto Talia. I soaked up her warmth as my heart slowed and the world came into focus again. I rolled to my side, still holding her, and she nuzzled my chest as I stroked her hair. I did not want to leave this embrace. My eyes lowered as I fell toward sleep.
I jolted awake at sharp knocks on Talia’s door.
“Has anyone heard of ‘do not disturb’ signs?” I said.
Talia sat up and stared nervously toward her bedroom door.
“We didn’t put out a ‘do not disturb’ sign,” she said.
“Next time, we will.”
Talia’s phone rang from the other room.
“I’d better get that,” she said as she rose from the bed.
“Don’t be long,” I said.
Talia pulled a robe from the closet and sprinted into the living room.
“Yes?”
Silence.
“I’m busy right now.”
I got up and pulled on my clothes quickly. Passing the full-length mirror I see that I’m disheveled from head to toe. But I hurried over to Talia, who paced around the room.
“What do you care about Angela McVee’s purchases? No, she’ll have to wait to get them. I just got out of the bath. Oh, and by the way, I got another one of your gifts today. Yeah, a wedding dress. What the hell is that all about?”
Talia’s voice turned angry as she paced the room, and I can just imagine my brother scrambling to come up with some excuse or explanation. But whatever he’d said, Talia was not buying it.
“No, Lucius, we are talking about this now,” Silence again. “Fine. I’ll meet you in half an hour.” She clicked off the call and leveled her gaze at me.
“Lucius agreed to meet me to explain this mess.”
“Do you want me there?”
“No. This is something I have to do by myself.”
Chapter Nineteen
Talia
Sam left at my request, because I needed a couple minutes to compose myself before I faced his brother. But it wasn’t working, especially as I stared at that beautiful damned dress laying on the floor of my living room. My guts churn and seethe. How dare Lucius drag me into this scheme of his? A wedding dress? For a fake wedding to my fake fiancé? I knew what wouldn’t be fake... my mugshot splayed on the local paper after I murder him.
“FUCK!” I kicked that stupid box and sent it skidding across the floor into the legs of the armchair by the fireplace. My impetuous reaction sent a jolt of pain from my still-sore toe through my body. I cursed and hopped around, remembering Angela McVee seeing me on my ass in the hallway outside my door with embarrassment. Why would Lucius think I’d want to spend any time shopping with that irritating woman? Why would Lucius think that he could slip this idiotic plan by me?
The massive amounts of stupidity in this situation boggled my mind, but what was worse was that until now I’d gone along with Lucius’d entire script... except for the part about going to bed with Sam. I’m sure that wasn’t in Lucius’s plans, though with the way things were going how could I be sure of that? Everywhere I turned during this stupid weekend I found myself at the ass-backward end, which highlighted my gullibility. I fell onto the couch, painfully aware, due to the throbbing of my toe and my most intimate parts, that I am a clusterfuck of emotions.
The pain in my toe reminded me of the painful ramifications of merging Palmers with my personal and professional life. How... no, WHY did I do this to myself? Lucius was waiting for me downstairs, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to meet him now. The odds of arrest increase exponentially when you attempt murder in broad daylight.
I took a deep breath and sucked the air deep into my body, forcing the air past my insecurities and doubts. Sam disliked the idea of me meeting Lucius alone; not because I was contemplating killing his brother, but because he didn’t trust him. But I needed to meet Lucius face-to-face. because he could not link Sam to what I would do next. I’d made up my mind; I would tell Lucius I was done with this charade. I owed it to Sam, my career and me.
But the kicker is that I did feel the stain of disloyalty creeping into my soul. Lucius had been my boss for two years, and aside from leering at me inappropriately on occasion, he’d been a good one. Not many bosses would be as understanding about my mother’s situation, and he hadn’t squawked once when I took extra time to see to her care.
In fact, for this whole weekend, Lucius had been acting oddly. I had attributed this to the fact that sometimes, family brings out the worst of us instead of the best. If Lucius had faced the high level of disapproval that the senior Mr. Palmer displayed to me for his entire life, then I might almost forgive Lucius for setting up this fake wedding to fool his family. I’m not quite sure what Lucius had hoped to accomplish. After all, liars never remain hidden for long.
I hiked up my figurative big girl pants and walked to the elevator, only wincing twice. The twinges in my toes spiked my irritation, but at the same time my heart beat too fast and I could barely breathe for other reasons.
My hate-on for Lucius Palmer grew, and I decided not to murder him because death was too good a fate for him. No. He deserved the height of a traitor’s shame and humiliation. In ancient England, a traitor would have been sliced open and have his guts yanked out while still alive and in excruciating pain, before being hung by the neck.
Even that sounded too good for Lucius Palmer.
Lucius had asked me to meet him in the bar closet to the elevator. The strong scent of lemon soap hit me when I entered, as if the whole room had been recently scrubbed. A long, wooden bar lined with stools that ran the length of the right side of the room was where the majority of the bar’s activity was concentrated. Different liquors in a rainbow of colors sat on floating glass shelves on the wall behind the bar. Stem glasses hung upside down in racks above the lone bartender's head as he stood behind the counter, cutting lemons and limes into small wedges. A waitress leaned against the bar, talking with the bartender, who did his best not to pay attention to her. A sports channel
played on the big-screen television hanging from the wall to the left of the bar. The air conditioning chilled the dimly lit room, which was empty of customers. Each table stood with the chairs pushed close, looking as though no one else had been here today.
I took a table against the furthest wall. The waitress approached and she grimaced when I only ordered water with lemon. I got it; there was no tip in that order. But it was best if I kept sober for what would be a tense few moments with Lucius. After the waitress brought the water I tapped my fingers against the glass as the condescension seeped under my fingertips. Where was Lucius, and why was he keeping me waiting?
Lucius arrived, all smiles, and made a beeline to me with his trademark confident swagger. As he did he tossed his drink order over his shoulder and the bartender scrambled to mix it. Lucius’s father had said he owned this hotel, so if Lucius wasn’t himself an owner, at least he was someone to be served immediately. He sat my table, and the waitress brought his drink as he settled onto the high stool.
“Thank you,” he murmured before turning his bright gaze to me. “Did you enjoy your shopping trip?”
My indignation rose, like a cobra ready to strike. “You brought me here to discuss shopping?”
Lucius’s eyes widened, and he took a nervous sip of his drink. I wasn’t used to seeing Lucius deep in thought, and for a moment it deflected my attention from the reason I was there. He pulled some papers from his jacket pocket. It hit me then that Lucius also wore suits, despite the business casual atmosphere of Denver. I had grown so used to it that I didn’t pay attention anymore. I guess you can take the man out of Boston, but you can’t take the Boston out of the man.
He pushed the papers toward me with a pen.
“I need your signature on this.”
“What is it?”
“An application for a marriage license.”
“What? I am not signing that.” I couldn’t believe the idiot actually expected me to go along with this crazy plan. And then I thought about the other papers Lucius had pushed toward me at dinner the other night, and suspicion colored my thoughts.
“That was no employment contract you had me sign the other night, was it?”
“No, there was an employment contract there.”
“And a prenup,” I accused.
He gave a shrug of his shoulders.
“I had to make it look good, in case people asked questions.”
Involuntarily my voice rose an octave and the bartender and waitress turned their heads toward us. I lowered my voice, though it grated with irritation as I spoke to my soon-to-be-dead boss.
“People,” I said, “like your father?”
“Talia, please. I need your help.” His gaze was so earnest I almost believed him. But I steeled my marshmallow thoughts by remembering what a duplicitous asshole he was.
“I’ve always helped you, Lucius. That’s why I don’t understand why you’ve lied to me. Did you honestly think I would marry you?”
He stared at his drink again before glancing at me again with those Palmer puppy dog eyes, that I now knew were a secret weapon the whole used to make women do anything those men wanted.
I.
Would.
Resist.
“Would that be a bad thing?” he asked, disingenuously.
“Lucius!” I exploded in indignation.
The corner of Lucius’s mouth twitched.
“How did you know about the wedding?”
Really? That was what occupied his reptilian brain? He’d better start thinking about how he would fix this so I didn’t throw my drink in his face, or reconsider my murder plans. It was then that I regretted not ordering something painfully alcoholic. I glowered at the jerk in front of me before I spoke.
“The event planner delivered the dress to me, after she got done asking me to okay changes for what obviously is a wedding reception.”
“Damn,” he murmured under his breath. He leveled his gaze toward me. “She wasn’t supposed to bring you the dress until tomorrow.”
“Is that supposed to be better?” My voice rose with each successive word. “What is this nonsense?”
He shrugged and sipped his drink for a long moment before he set it on the table with a thud. Lucius then sucked in a breath and scrubbed his face with his hands.
“It’s all a mess,” he said with a sigh. “It was the only way I could think of to get my father out here.”
“What?” I couldn’t believe this. Did he arrange this whole ruse to get a visit from his dad?
“We’ve been on the outs for several years now. He won’t even return my calls. Hell, he didn’t even tell me about his heart attack earlier this year.”
Lucius’s voice carried honest distress, but he has always been good at spinning words. I caught where the manipulative jerk was working to pluck my heartstrings. What a bastard.
“That doesn’t track. Your father has done nothing but look for you all morning.”
“Yeah. Now he knows what it feels like.”
“Lucius.” I spoke with indignation, as I should. I don’t appreciate getting dragged into the middle of this family drama.
He sighed. “No. I was busy.”
What could be as important as mending your relationship with your family? Nothing. I glared at him.
“Doing what?”
“None of your business,” he snapped.
“Hardly a thing to say to your fiancée.”
Lucius opened his mouth to respond when the clatter of high heels hit the wood floor.
“Oh, there you are, Lucius.”
I turned to my head to see two middle-aged women, one dark-haired and the other blonde, wearing sleek designer suits and more make-up than I applied in a year, barreling toward us.
Lucius groaned quietly but smiled at the women. He rose from the table and held out his arms to give each woman a hug.
“Aunt Lily, Aunt Rose. How wonderful you came.”
“Yes, dear,” said the dark-haired woman. “Especially on such short notice. You could have warned us. And who is this? Your bride?”
Lucius smiled with obvious pride, and I wanted to smack him.
Stop this, stop this now. Good God, Lucius. How far will you go?
“Yes. Aunt Rose, Aunt Lily, meet Talia Winton.”
“Talia,” said the blonde, who must be Aunt Lily. “What a beautiful name.”
“To go along with a beautiful woman,” said Aunt Rose. “Lucius, you’ve outdone yourself.”
Lucius gave a shy smile, something I’m not used to seeing on him. “Thank you, Auntie. I am a lucky man.”
I cut Lucius a warning glance, but he ignored me.
“And where did you two meet?”
“At work,” said Lucius. “She’s my best and most skilled sales manager. I tell you, it took a while to convince her to go out on a date with me. In fact, she said the most unpleasant things to me when I asked her out the first time.”
Aunt Lily’s brow drew up in a horrified expression. “You didn’t,” she said.
“Yes, I did,” I said. “I threatened to cut off his man bits if he hit on me again. I don’t believe in hanky-panky with the boss.”
“She drives a hard bargain,” said Lucius. “But so do I. Don’t I, dear?”
“It goes along with your hard head, sweetheart.” I smiled sweetly at him, but I’d surprised him with my comeback and he laughed nervously.
“Hah. Funny, sweetie. But my aunts don’t know we play around like that. You might give them the wrong impression.”
“Oh, no. I wouldn’t want to do that.” I smiled at him sweetly, which should have warned him that at this moment, I was not only dangerous but deadly. I might make the front page of the local newspaper yet. Perhaps even that statewide papers.
Lucius grimaced, but then smiled at his aunts.
“Why don’t you take Talia to the spa and get to know her better?”
What? Oh, hell no. He’s not going to foist me on his aunts and pull a di
sappearing act again. I better work fast to put a stop to this.
“Lucius,” I said. “I couldn’t. I wouldn’t want to impose. They just got here and must be exhausted.”
“It’s no imposition,” said Aunt Rose. “I could use a good massage. And if you don’t mind my saying so, dear, you look like you need one too. My nephew must be wearing you out.”
I swallowed hard, because while one of their nephews had worn me out, but I hoped the sudden flush of my cheeks didn’t announce that to Lucius and Sam’s aunts.
“Rose,” scolded Lily. “You’re terrifying the woman already and we’ve only just met her.”
Rose grinned. “If she wants to be a Palmer then she’ll need the mettle to bear up under the scrutiny of Lucius’s aunts.”
“That’s wonderful,” said Lucius. He sounded very pleased and I wanted to throw my drink in his face. The only problem was that water and lemon was not a sufficiently dramatic drink to accomplish the task properly. “I have some things to take care of and I’m so glad you can keep Talia company. She has no family that could attend, so I’m entrusting you to include her as a part of ours.”
Murder becomes increasingly likely. I shot him a glance that conveyed my honest feelings in the matter, but he avoided my eyes.
Lucius sucked down the last of his drink.
“Darling, sign the marriage license now. I have an appointment in fifteen minutes to get the town clerk to notarize it.”
“On Saturday, dear?” Asked Aunt Rose.
“It pays to have friends,” he smiled. Oh yeah, Lucius Palmer had an endless string of friends, but he was about to lose one here in Aspen if he didn’t back off.
What the hell. No one wonder Lucius was so excited to see his aunts. Whether by design or happy accident for him, he’d maneuvered me into signing the damned document.
Cursing under my breath, I signed the damned thing. Just because we had a license, it didn’t mean we’d marry.
“Now, you ladies have a good time.”
“Lucius,” I said urgently. “We do need to talk.”
He stepped to my side of the table and pressed a quick kiss into my cheek.
