Crave

by Z. L. Arkadie

  “And I don’t eat sandwiches. I have a TV show, you know.” Eden turned her attention to me. “The camera really does put ten pounds on me, and the producers are always checking my weight.” She shook her head. “I hate that.”

  “Don’t worry, babe. I bought you green goddess salad, no chicken. The sandwich is for me, and for the heiress if she likes.” His eyebrows flew up twice. He was flirting with me, and poor Eden couldn’t detect it.

  I knew the tactic very well. The boundary he’d just crossed pushed me farther down the rabbit hole. I had to tell Eden about his and my past relationship. I wanted to say something then, but she was smiling and in a good mood. Plus, I had to figure out how to tell her the truth that her boyfriend had kept from her. I wished I’d said something that morning.

  I focused solely on Eden, pretending Dale wasn’t in the room. “How about we leave the modules where they are, and tomorrow morning, I’ll have my team members with me, and we’ll finish up and then get into some really fun stuff.”

  Eden looked incredulous. “Oh, are you leaving?”

  I intensified my fake smile. “I am.”

  “You sure you don’t want to stay and eat something with us?”

  I hung my purse over my shoulder and swiped my iPad off the counter. “No. It’s late, and I have dinner plans for tonight.”

  Eden raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Preferably with a hot guy who’s worthy of having you.”

  I was happy that my smile was genuine. Her compliment had not escaped my attention.

  “She’s a Christmas, babe. They have private chefs and shit, I’m sure,” Dale said before I could respond to Eden.

  “You have a private chef?” Eden asked.

  Do not look at him.

  “Not this time. But”—I clapped my hands, signaling I was bringing all communication to a halt—“I’ll see you tomorrow.” I thumbed over my shoulder. “And I’ll find my way out.”

  “I’ll escort our guest,” Dale said.

  “Nope,” I insisted. “No escorting necessary. Good night.” I turned my back on them and got the hell out of there. I was certain that Eden was baffled about why I’d turned down her lemon of a boyfriend’s offer to walk me to the car. Apparently, she had no idea what he was capable of, or she would never have so genially offered his services.

  When I made it to my car and turned on my engine, which caused the garage door to slide up, I was only thinking one thing. God, I hate that he’s seen me naked.

  Chapter Five

  Bryn Christmas

  Alone in my car, I narrowed an eye at the road. “Eden, Dale and I used to be a couple. Did you know that?”

  “No, but why didn’t you tell me this yesterday?” I said, imitating her high-pitched but sultry voice.

  I sighed. That was a good question. “Sorry. I thought that should’ve been his responsibility. But I do have something else to ask you.”

  I pictured her looking at me even more incredulously than she had before I rushed out of her house. “Like what?”

  I took a breath. “Were the two of you together back in October of last year? Was he the one who suggested you contact me? Because that’s so in his manipulative little wheelhouse.”

  I massaged one of my temples, hating that I’d gotten so worked up over a hypothetical situation. I wanted to know the answer to my last question, though. Or maybe not.

  For the remainder of the short ride back to the resort, I forced myself to ponder what to do about my cell phone. It was probably a good sign that I hadn’t received a message from Jamison since that morning. My fingers were crossed that he’d put my device in the mail and I wouldn’t have to go through the arduous process of turning off my old phone and buying a new one.

  Instead of using the valet, I self-parked. That way, in the morning, I wouldn’t have to wait around for someone to go fetch my car. As soon as I entered the lobby, the concierge informed me that I had messages at the front desk. I yawned and dragged myself over to pick them up. I was starving to the point where I could have actually eaten the messages, and I was dreaming about making it back to my room, stripping out of my clothes, and wrapping myself up in the fluffy white robe. Next, I would call room service and order something fattening and greasy that could compete with the hero sandwich I’d turned down. Then I’d shower.

  The girl behind the front desk smiled when I approached her. I read the name on her tag, and before I could ask Kara for my message, she absentmindedly handed me a slip of paper.

  “Thank you.” I grimaced at the front of the note before turning to view the back. “This is blank. Are you sure you gave me the right note?”

  Kara’s smile grew very large, and her face turned red as I waited for her to address my concern. “Sure,” she replied, staring googly-eyed at something that was happening behind me.

  I twisted my body to see what had stolen her attention. My mouth fell open, and then I closed it to swallow. The tall drink of water who had captured Kara’s attention wore a black wool duster over a white cable-knit sweater and black slacks. His figure and face were things of beauty. He stood at least ten feet away from me. I blinked, guessing that my mind was playing tricks on me.

  Jamison Cox’s sexy lips smirked, and then he waved. “Thanks, Kara. Job well done,” he said without ripping his hypnotizing gaze off me.

  I could hardly breathe. I didn’t know what to say. I resisted the urge to pinch myself to make sure the moment was real. Finally, words found their way out of my mouth. “When I sent you my address, it was for mailing my phone, not hand delivering it.”

  Jamison’s smirk turned yummier as he made his approach and then stopped in front of me. “I wanted to see you.”

  Oh, his presence. My God, his presence.

  A lump formed at the back of my throat. I hadn’t noticed Jamison’s long fingers handing me my cell phone until then. My hand shivered as I took it. Embarrassed about that, I gazed up at his classically handsome face.

  “You didn’t have to.” The words came out in a whisper even though that wasn’t my intention.

  His devilish smirk made my lips want to mug his. But I couldn’t. He was there uninvited, just like the song. Remember that, Bryn.

  “You should really password protect that,” he said.

  My eyes expanded and then narrowed. “Did you go through my messages?”

  His dimples looked more delicious than ever. “I wanted to. But I didn’t do it. Hey, let’s grab a bite to eat,” he said as if inviting me to dinner had suddenly popped into his mind.

  I could feel Kara’s attention and sighed when I turned to glance at her. She was staring at us, her cheeks still red as a tomato.

  I shook my head, knowing that before I arrived, Jamison had worked his magic on her. “Poor thing. She didn’t know charm is your superpower.”

  He stuffed his hands deeper into his coat pockets as he leaned toward me. “Ha. I’m charming? That’s news to me.”

  “Well…” I felt my eyebrows fly up. “At least, when you want something.” My eyes were flirting with Jamison Cox, acting against my more cautious brain.

  His chuckle sounded like a seductive song. “Are you hungry?”

  It was just like Jamison to try another angle. My stomach growled, and hunger pains punched me, but I was certain he couldn’t hear the ruckus in my belly. “A little.”

  “Then let’s get a little food, talk, and catch up.”

  I sighed forcefully. Like a gnat, Jamison was a man who wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted. Before our first and only hot night of mad, passionate… Was that fucking? Sex? Neither word captured how our bodies had merged, his cock inside me, expanding me, rubbing against my dripping-wet pussy walls, our gazes connected, our lips feverish for each other. Skin on skin, soul on soul, Jamison and I had made love.

  Gazing into his eyes, I was experiencing shadow effects of his manhood stretching me. I knew one thing for sure—if I spent any more time with Jamison Cox than our brief encounter in the lobby, he would
end up in my bed, or I’d end up in his.

  “No, um, I’m fine. I mean, I’m tired. So… thanks for my phone.” Walking away from him felt like the worst mistake of my life. But I had to do it. I tried to will my feet to move me away from him, but they stayed stuck to the floor.

  Jamison took his hands out of his pockets and motioned as if he wanted to touch me, but in a split-second decision, he chose to rub his palms on his pants instead. “Come on, Bryn. I came this far, and this is it?”

  I moaned contemplatively while gnawing on my bottom lip. He’d come a long way to return my cell phone, though I was pretty sure that wasn't his sole purpose in being there. But I’d never asked Jamison to fly all the way from San Francisco to Denver. Am I obligated to spend time with him? For certain, I wasn’t. He’d gambled on me providing whatever he sought from me. What is he looking for, anyway? Sex? Friendship? Forgiveness?

  But still, I liked Jamison a lot. I cocked my head, narrowing an eye, ready to bargain. I was starving and curious about what he’d been up to since we last parted.

  “Dinner, and then I go to bed, in my room, alone?” I said, more to instruct and convince myself than to inform him.

  Jamison’s sexy brown eyes were aglow. “Deal.”

  I waited for him to take at least one hand out of his pocket so we could shake on it, but he didn’t. I wished he had, though. A handshake would have given me a reason to touch him.

  He turned to examine the sign behind him. “Peak 54 Grill?”

  I shrugged. “Sure.”

  “Then after you.”

  As I passed Jamison, he pressed his hand against my back, and my insides fluttered. It was going to be difficult trying to downplay my attraction to him. Indeed, I was playing with fire.

  Chapter Six

  Jamison Cox

  The Day Before

  I saw the abandoned object in my peripheral vision. My chest tightened as I hoped like hell Bryn Christmas didn’t suddenly remember she’d left her cell phone on top of the bar. As she walked away, I focused on her long legs and elegant body. The bartender was busy gawking at her too. I didn’t blame him. She was a sight for sore eyes.

  I didn’t have long to decide. The bartender was too busy looking at her to pay attention to what she’d left behind. If he saw it first, by the looks of him, either I’d be out the five hundred bucks it would cost me to pay him off and let me keep the phone, or he’d pretend to be a decent and moral shit and refuse to take my money. But he wouldn’t return her phone to her or take it to lost and found. The guy had to be aware that Bryn Christmas was above his pay grade. Therefore, he wouldn’t try to call her. He was afraid of being rejected by such a beautiful woman. He’d keep her device and look through her photos. But he’d be disappointed. She wasn’t the kind of person who took personal photos with a cell phone. I knew this, because from the moment I met her, she’d ignited my curiosity, and I watched and studied her as though she were a new client.

  When I first met her, it took me less than twenty-four hours to devise an initial report on her. Firstly, she wasn’t interested in me. She saw me as a preppy, and she knew what that meant. My conservative and clean appearance—the physical manifestation of trust and sobriety—was a front for concealing deeply buried shit that was opposite of what I was presenting on the outside. She was right to prejudge me that way. I’d grown up in that world. I should have been that guy. But when nature and nurture fought to claim me, I’d tried hard to be nothing like my father had been, and I’d succeeded. To change Bryn’s mind about me, I laid bare the parts of myself that I wouldn’t usually show others whenever I was around her.

  Secondly, I suspected by the way her eyes passed over me that she liked what she saw but wasn’t interested in getting to know me better. I chose to wear her down and remain close to her as much as I could. During the weeks we worked together, knowing I would see her every day gave me butterflies in my stomach.

  Then, one night, after dinner with her family, she rewarded me for my efforts. Her hot, wet, tight pussy overwhelmed my senses with a pleasure I’d never known. I wanted to come in less than five seconds. The enjoyment of my cock thrusting in and out of her became the best kind of torture as I fought not to explode. I couldn’t look her in the face, but I did. I couldn’t kiss her, but my lips wouldn’t leave hers alone. She was finally giving herself to me. I wanted to take it all. Her soft, warm skin… her engorged nipples, hard and tasty against my tongue…

  Shit… I forced my eyes off her cute little bubble ass walking down the corridor on her way to catch her flight. While the bartender kept ogling her, I secured Bryn’s cell phone.

  “Shit,” the bartender said, finally looking away from her. “She’s a goddess.”

  “Agreed,” I said, sliding her phone into my pocket. Agreed.

  I’d been on my way to catch my chartered flight when I caught a glimpse of her sitting alone at the bar. At first, I hadn’t realized the leggy blonde was Bryn. The light from above caught the side of her face. She was engrossed in whatever she was doing. I wasn’t one of those guys whose tongue hung out of their mouths every time they caught sight of an exceptionally beautiful woman, but after doing a double take, I stopped in my tracks, rubbed my chest over my heart, and muttered, “Well, damn.” It was her.

  Coming off the taxing weekend I’d had with the Lovells, and considering the fact that Bryn was the last person on earth I thought I would see at an airport bar, I’d taken her presence there as a sign.

  Sitting in the airplane, I held her cell phone, rubbing the back of it. There was no signal thousands of miles up in the air at cruising speed. I pressed the home button. Just as I’d guessed, her device wasn’t password protected. Having her phone made me feel as if she was sitting beside me. I was craving her beyond reason. After I ran into Bryn, I’d forgotten about how my weekend with the Lovells had worried the hell out of me. I didn’t want her worrying, though, so without crossing the line by infringing on her privacy, I pulled her phone number off her device. I knew the old number didn’t work anymore, because I’d tried calling it dozens of times to no avail.

  Then I sent Bryn a text message letting her know that I had her cell phone. I would have flown out to Colorado to be with her that night, but I had a meeting in LA that I couldn’t miss. I was going to be sitting down with Pedro Santiago, a political candidate and long shot for winning as mayor of Alhambra, California. My father didn’t know about the meeting.

  I read Pedro’s profile, digging up as much information about him as I could. He was my kind of candidate, not Boomer’s. When it came to candidates, the pickings had become slim for the sort of candidates my father liked to manage ever since he’d chosen to go to war with Jasper Christmas. But Boomer wasn’t worried about the business going to shit. He was flushed with cash, and he wanted me to be the son who kissed his ass and ate from his trough. I never had to bend the knee too much as long as I kept Cox and Cox Management afloat though. By all estimations, we couldn’t survive another year without winning a political race. We needed people to see that we weren’t out of the picture. If I made an unknown candidate a winner, that would send a strong message to those in the political world.

  I squeezed Bryn’s phone, choosing to keep my mind on her rather than on what would happen to me if Pedro decided to decline my services.

  I was served an in-flight meal of cracked-ginger-and-honey-braised short ribs, citrus-butter risotto, and green beans. The meal was a favorite of mine. I declined dessert. The only sweet thing I wanted was Bryn Christmas in my mouth. I couldn’t wait to taste her again. I had no doubt that soon, I’d be indulging in her body.

  “Excuse me, Mr. Cox, but you have a call from your father,” the flight attendant said. I hadn’t noticed her standing by my shoulder.

  Do I want to talk to my father? Hell no.

  “Tell him I’ll call him back,” I said, closing my eyes as I pressed my head against the seat.

  “Yes, sir. Um…”

  She hadn’t moved
, so I opened an eye. “Could I help you with something?” I asked.

  Her gaze penetrated me. “Can I help you with something else?”

  It took a moment for her question to seep in. The stewardess stepped closer, her thin hips inches away from my face. She was offering herself to me. That wasn’t shocking. The airplane belonged to the company. Boomer preferred a different standard of service than I did. I knew what kind of man he was, and so did Stephanie, my mother.

  The one and only time I’d told her that my father was a cheater, her answer was, “Well, that’s relative, darling. And while you’re at it, it’s perfectly fine to mind your own business when it comes to that sort of thing, okay?”

  I was rendered speechless, but I wasn’t surprised that my parents had an arrangement. My mom had grown up in the sticks of Oklahoma. She was beautiful, regal, and mature, and my father liked his women young and thin as nymphs, the kind of chicks who’d ride him, make a lot of noise, and try to convince him that his cock was magical. As far as Boomer was concerned, when it came to casual fucking, my mom’s kind of striking beauty wasn’t required. The stewardess’s average attractiveness was all he needed.

  I looked down at my package. The stewardess must have noticed how dense my cock was. It had nothing to do with her, though. It had everything to do with having Bryn Christmas on my mind.

  “How about this?” I said.

  She raised her eyebrows, and her eyes gleamed with hopeful curiosity. The prostitutes my father hired to play stewardess would have rather had me bang them than have him do it. But I never touched paid-for pussy.

  “Yes?” she sighed.

  “You leave me alone, and don’t come back in here unless I call for you. Nobody comes in here unless I say so. Got it?”

  Her lustful gaze turned confused. “Um, sure. Is that all?”