by Suzanne Rock
“Jason…”
“Yes, say my name.” He slid his hand around her hips and found her clit.
Desire roared through her center, winding her muscles tight with need. “Jason.”
He moved his finger in circular motions around her clit, just the way she liked it. Ari moaned and arched her back as much as she could, pressing her ass into his hips.
“You like this, don’t you?” he asked.
“Yes.” God, yes. Ari closed her eyes as her muscles tightened around his cock.
He pumped faster, filling her again and again until her mind fogged with lust. Ari opened her eyes and turned her head to meet his gaze. She saw hunger and desperation, possession and urgency. “This is what it’s all about, Ari. Not our pasts, or our futures. Just this moment. Just you and me.” He kissed her hard, and Ari whimpered as he continued to fill her with quick, hard thrusts. When he broke away from her lips, she gasped and faced forward. Jason straightened and grabbed her shoulders, leveraging himself against his thrusts. He pumped harder, faster. Every push sent Ari closer and closer to the edge. She spread her arms out over the car in silent surrender, giving herself over to him and this moment.
“You were made for my pleasure, Ari. Just like I was made for yours. Don’t ever forget it.”
Ari whimpered and bit down on her lip as her orgasm slammed into her body. Pleasure burst through her bloodstream, filling every crevice, every pore. She felt weightless, as if she was floating on a cloud of bliss. She hung suspended there, in the moment, as each thrust sent ribbons of joy through her body.
Jason groaned and pushed harder. Within seconds she felt him stiffen, sensed the urgency in his thrusts. Then he too tumbled over the edge into oblivion.
As the last of her orgasm began to fade, reality settled around her, making her anxious. “Jason, we’re in public.”
With a groan, Jason pulled out of her and set her skirt back in place. His movements were so gentle, so loving, that Ari couldn’t help her heart from melting just a little bit.
“Are you okay?” she asked as she turned to face him.
“Fine.” His phone buzzed and he pulled it out of his pocket. After frowning at the screen, he pocketed it once more and then opened the car door. “But you’re right. We should get out of here.”
Ari hesitated. She wanted to talk about what had just happened to them. She felt she had made a hole in the wall around his heart and wanted to reach out before he closed back up again.
This wasn’t the time or the place, however. After a quick glance to make sure no one else was around, she got into the passenger seat.
As Jason pulled out onto the main street and took them back to his hotel, he remained quiet, as if deep in thought.
Ari started to ask him what was wrong, but then changed her mind. Instead, she turned her attention out the side window, watching the passing buildings as they made their way through the Boston streets. Back at the hospital, she had thought that Jason was starting to confide in her, but she was wrong. It didn’t take long for him to retreat into himself and push her away.
Jason wanted things between them to stay the same, but did anything ever do that? She thought of her best friend Alisha, and how lost she had felt after her death. Ari had hated the change, but it had shaped her into the person she was today. Everything changes, she realized. How you grow and adapt to the changes defines who you are as a person.
This no-strings-attached relationship couldn’t go on forever. If she was going to change and become her own woman, then she couldn’t allow herself to be someone’s plaything anymore. She wanted more from him. Needed more. As they pulled into the parking garage at Stone Suites, she wondered for the first time if Jason was capable of changing, or if she would need to find the strength to move on with her life without him.
“I thought we were going to your apartment,” she said as they pulled into a parking space.
“Later—there is something I need to do first.”
“What?”
“Later, Ari.” He kissed her temple. “Wait for me in the restaurant. I’ll only be an hour.”
“What about my…” She watched him turn his back as she pointed to the trunk of the McLaren. He had already dismissed her.
Ari was so tired of being pushed aside. With a sigh, she decided to leave the suitcase in the trunk and head inside toward the restaurant. She could really use a drink.
She’d only taken a few steps toward the entrance before an uneasy feeling came over her. Something wasn’t right. She took a quick look around, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Frowning, she hugged her purse to her chest and quickened her steps toward the door.
Someone was moving behind her. She could hear the footsteps. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw a large man in an overcoat and fedora following her. He seemed off somehow. His steps were too purposeful, his stance too self-assured. He continued to close the distance between them, his long strides swallowing up two of her small ones.
Something was wrong. Ari could feel it in her gut. Panic rippled through her as she dropped all pretense and sprinted toward the hotel door. The footsteps behind her quickened, and as she placed her hand on the handle, something hard hit her on the side of the head. She tried to gasp, tried to scream, but her brain had lost its command of her body.
Ari wobbled, then crumpled to the pavement as everything went black.
* * *
Jason frowned as he made his way over to the hotel restaurant. With each step, he grew more worried. Deacon had sent him a text saying that he knew who had stolen his identity. He had rushed back to the hotel, hoping he could finally put this entire blackmail mess behind him, only to discover that Deacon was not around. He had checked everywhere, even calling Deacon’s cell. The man was nowhere to be found.
Jason had no idea what had happened to his brother, but he couldn’t dwell on it. If he knew Deacon, his brother was probably out following up on a lead. He’d show up when he was good and ready. Meanwhile, Jason had to get Ari back to his apartment, where it was safe.
He was feeling more and more protective of Ari, and he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Things were growing way too intense between them. Seeing her with the children made him want things that he had no business wanting. Jason had spent his entire life building a wall around his heart. People knew him to be cold and heartless. He wore his reputation like a shield and had pushed everyone away before they could hurt him. Ari made him want to shed his shield and start caring once more. Hell, he had even offered to donate money his company didn’t have, just to protect her reputation. His behavior reminded him of his gigolo days, when women used and manipulated him for their own purposes. After he had left that life, he had promised himself that he’d never become that vulnerable again. Yet here he was, falling into the same patterns. If he wasn’t careful, Jason was going to lose more than just his time and money. He was going to lose his heart.
“Mr. Stone?” a soft feminine voice rose up as the elevator doors opened.
Jason stopped short as his assistant, Micki, materialized in front of him.
“Mr. Stone?” she asked, clutching her clipboard to her chest.
“Yes, Micki?”
She pushed her glasses up onto her nose. “We’ve been looking all over for you. You haven’t been answering your phone.”
“I’ve been busy.” He sidestepped her and headed toward the restaurant once more.
“We, uh, we have a situation,” she said as she hurried to keep pace beside him.
“Really? What?” he asked as they stepped into the bar area. The familiar theme music for the nightly tabloid show echoed throughout the room. Micki started to speak, but Jason held up his hand as he saw that reporter, Amanda, on the screen.
“Who put that garbage on?” Jason demanded. The bartender shrugged his shoulders and the waitstaff all turned away from him, fascinated with their individual tasks.
“Sir,” Micki said as she stepped up beside him.
�
�Just a minute, Micki.” He strode up to the television to change the channel, but something the anchorwoman said gave him pause.
“Today we have our correspondent, Amanda Vaughn, who has been covering the Perconti situation and has an update for us. Isn’t that right, Amanda?”
Jason lowered his hand and scowled at the television screen.
“Yes.” Amanda smiled and turned to the camera. There was a certain gleam in her eye, as if she was holding in some secret she was dying to tell. The woman was in her element. Jason’s stomach rolled as a sense of foreboding washed over him.
“I know why Arianna Perconti left her own wedding.”
“You do? Why?”
Amanda nodded. “Because she has a boyfriend.”
The anchorwoman gasped. “A boyfriend? Were they dating before the wedding?”
“I believe so,” Amanda said. “I have proof.” Amanda waved her hand to someone off camera. “Mason?”
Jason shook with anger as he watched footage of himself and Ari talking to the child with green hair. Instead of focusing on the child, which was the entire purpose of the trip, the camera zoomed in, showing his hand as he wrapped it possessively around Ari’s side.
“Arianna Perconti is dating none other than…” Amanda waited until the camera panned up to show his face. “Jason Stone.”
“Of all the—” Jason fisted his hands and looked around him for something to throw.
“Sir, we have a situation,” Micki said.
“She told me she wouldn’t show it,” Jason muttered.
“What?”
Jason glanced at his assistant. “I paid that reporter not to show her footage to the public.”
Micki blinked. “But she did, sir.”
“I can see that, yes.” He ground his teeth.
“How long have they been dating?” the anchorwoman asked.
“Does it matter? Jason Stone is having sex with his rival’s sister. You have to believe that her older brothers aren’t going to be pleased.”
“What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall during the next family reunion.” The anchorwoman giggled.
Jason grabbed a glass from the bar and threw it at the television. “Turn it off!” The glass crashed into the set, spraying shards all over the floor.
Jason turned and stormed out of the restaurant. His assistant followed in his wake.
“Sir?”
What was he going to do? God help him, his worst nightmare was coming true, and it was all Ari’s fault for wanting to talk to the press.
No, it was his own fault for wanting to go with her to the hospital so he could protect her. Jason had no one to blame for this mess but himself.
“Sir?”
Jason slowed his steps as a thought occurred to him. “Micki.”
“Yes, sir?”
“You didn’t happen to see Arianna Perconti in the restaurant while we were in there, did you?”
“No, sir. She isn’t in the restaurant.”
“Damn.” He ran his hand over his jaw. “Where the hell is she?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, sir.”
“What?” He lowered his arm. “You’ve seen her?”
Micki nodded. “Ms. Perconti is out in the garage.”
“What the hell is she doing in the garage?”
“Someone hit her in the back of the head. She’s bleeding.”
Jason marched quickly through the foyer and hall, bypassing the elevator for the stairs.
“Mr. Stone.” Micki followed him, her heels clicking on the marble floors.
“What happened? Who hit her?”
“We don’t know.”
Panic seized him as he hurried down the stairs to the ground floor. He moved past the laundry room, toward the small crowd that had gathered by the front door.
“Out of the way.” He pushed aside the staff members and made it to the center of the circle. There, on the floor, he found Deacon sitting cross-legged, cradling Ari’s head in his arms.
“Get away from her.” Jason dropped to the floor and gently took Ari from his brother’s grasp.
“I was coming back to find you,” Deacon said as Jason applied the cold pack to her head. “I found her in a heap on the pavement.”
“Did you see who did it?”
“No. They were long gone.”
Ari moaned and turned her head to the side. “God, it hurts.”
“I’m right here, princess. I’m right here.” He bent down and kissed her forehead, which made her smile. “Do you hurt anywhere else?”
“No, just my head. Damn.” She winced and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Did you happen to see who did it?”
“Large man. Overcoat. Hat.”
“Didn’t see his face?”
She shook her head and winced again.
“It’s okay.” He glanced around the group. “Did someone call a doctor?”
“I did, Mr. Stone,” Micki said. “They’ll be here in a minute.”
Thank God.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Deacon asked.
Jason rocked Ari, keeping his gaze focused on her. “Get everyone out of here.”
Deacon nodded. “Sure thing.” He stood and waved his hands in the air. “Come on, everybody. Move ’em out.”
“Everything will be okay, Ari.” He inched the cold pack away and tried not to wince at the blood.
“I know.”
Jason’s phone buzzed once more, signaling an incoming text. He slid his phone out of his suit and swiped the screen. The message he found sent ice through his chest.
Thought you could get out of the deal by going to the press, did you? Give us our money, or next time, we’ll really mess up the girl.
Chapter 13
Jason paced back and forth in front of the hospital bed in a desperate attempt to keep himself busy. He felt like a caged animal, a dangerous one that was ready to strike. He was furious at so many people. Himself included.
“I never should have left you in the garage,” he mumbled as he stopped at the foot of Arianna’s bed. “And you should be lying down.”
“I’m fine. Honest. And quit blaming yourself. You had no idea that someone was going to hit me on the back of the head.”
“Doesn’t matter. I never should have left you alone.”
She sighed as he started pacing once more. “Even if you did, I’m not sure if there was anything you could have done to stop it. That guy was fast.”
“You should’ve come with me.” He used both hands to push his hair from his face. He hated to think how long she had been lying there, alone and bleeding, before his brother had found her.
“Stop pacing, Jason. You’re making me dizzy,” Ari said. “Make yourself useful and give me the remote.”
He stopped and stared at the beautiful woman sitting on the edge of the bed. They were damn lucky that she hadn’t been seriously injured. She had a lump on the back of her head, and a small cut that he’d insisted on stitching, even though the doctors said it was unnecessary. None of those injuries would last, thankfully. If Ari had suffered any permanent damage, he’d never forgive himself.
“Does your head still hurt?”
“Not really, thanks to the meds.” She glanced at the hospital room door. “I just wish I knew who knocked me out.” She gingerly touched the back of her head. “And why. At first I thought it was a mugging, but nothing was taken from me. It seems as if it was just a random act of violence. Rather strange, don’t you think?”
Not really. Jason knew exactly why she’d been attacked, and by whom. As soon as he had her safe in his apartment he was going to track down that loan shark by any means necessary and make him pay. If he had to fall back on his old ways and old contacts, including using his brother, Deacon, he’d do it. Nothing was more important than Ari’s safety. Nothing.
He leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. “I’m going to go see what’s keeping the hospital staff. You shou
ld’ve been discharged by now.” He needed to move. The longer he stayed and sat with Ari, the more time he was wasting. Just sitting around and doing nothing was driving him insane.
As soon as Jason was out of the room, he searched for the nurses’ station. A few quick words with the staff revealed that her doctor would see them as soon as he was finished with his current patient. Frustrated, Jason walked a short ways to a visitor rest area. Collapsing on a couch, he pulled out his phone and began to text his brother.
Did u find anything?
It wasn’t long before Deacon texted back. Not yet, but my contacts are working on it. It was definitely that loan shark. I should have the name of the muscle that hit your girl soon.
Jason hesitated. He hated working with Deacon. He had worked so hard to become a new man, and his brother represented a past better left forgotten. Deacon had no desire to better himself, and saw nothing wrong with using people for personal gain. Jason knew he could never go back to that dark time in his life permanently, but if it meant sparing Ari more harm, then perhaps it was worth working with his brother one last time. It was worth a shot, especially since he was running out of options.
He glanced at the clock, then returned his attention to his phone. Meet me in my office in two hours. I have a proposition for you.
Sure thing.
Satisfied that things were moving in the right direction, Jason pocketed the phone and returned to the room. There he found Ari, sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the television screen with her mouth slightly open.
“What is it?” Jason asked.
Ari shut her mouth and pointed her remote at the television set. “That reporter outed our relationship.”
Jason steeled his jaw as he turned to the screen. He had forgotten about the talk show in all of the commotion. It was something else he was going to have to deal with once they got out of there.
“That bitch didn’t mention one word about my charity,” Ari said.
Jason sat down on the bed beside her. “I told you she wouldn’t.”
Ari shut off the television and shook her head. “I can’t believe she lied to me. I feel so … used.”
