Alex scrolled through the missed calls and frowned at his Dad’s number displaying on the last three calls. He approached the door and quietly unlocked it before cracking it open to peer into the opulently decorated guest room. They were clear, for now, but even though the guest room door was locked, he didn’t want to push his luck should some equally adventurous souls come searching for a quite place far from the madding crowd.
To his surprise, he heard the multiple heads of the shower explode to life. Alex turned and stared at Tisa scrubbing down beneath sprays that targeted her body below the chest line to preserve her hair and makeup.
“Tisa, what the hell are you doing?”
“You’re not going to shower?” she replied with a lewd giggle. “Querida, you could have at least let me lick the sweat off your...”
Alex’s phone rang yet again. Noticing that it was his father calling for the fourth time, he dashed away from Tisa’s smutty alternative to showering and answered in the quiet of the guest room.
“Alex?” Brad bellowed in his typical manner.
Alex winced and yanked the phone away from his beleaguered ear. The image of his father as a Viking warrior charging through the battlefield with sword raised always came to mind every time he heard his father on the phone. Taller and heftier than Alex, his flowing russet hair and sky blue eyes presented an imposing figure at meetings and events. With a thunderous voice and demeanor to match, it was no wonder he was considered the implacable force behind Stone Advertising.
Like father, like son ... sometimes. Exuberant, innovative, and yet traditional, Alex and his father did not see eye to eye on Alex’s extracurricular activities, and one of them happened to be in the shower singing away like a contestant for Latin American Idol.
“Hey, Dad,” Alex said. “Great reception, isn’t it?”
“How the hell would you know?” Brad gruffly replied. “Your mother and I haven’t seen you since we arrived.” His voice lowered a notch. “Who the hell did you come with, anyway?”
“Marc and Savannah,” Alex said smoothly.
“Bullshit! Marc said he hasn’t seen you since we left the church. Your sister went home; morning sickness again.”
“I ran into a prospective client,” Alex responded smoothly. “He flew in for the wedding but has to head out shortly to Chicago. Relax, I’ll be back in time for the bouquet toss.”
Brad sighed irritably. “Well, don’t make it into a board meeting. Your uncle’s been asking for his favorite nephew.”
Alex sighed. He hadn’t planned on being roped into his Uncle Bennett’s over the top Renaissance themed wedding, but after reviewing the guest list, he decided it would provide some advantageous PR for the company, not to mention an avenue to connect with some very lovely ladies. That was, until Tisa wormed her way on the guest list.
“Not a problem, Dad, I’m just wrapping up the meeting as we speak.”
“Do me a favor, Alex. Before Ben digs his claws into you, stop by the booze pavilion. I want introduce you to our latest team member.”
“Querida?” Tisa called from the bathroom door.
Alex stabbed the mute button and whirled around to see a naked Tisa grinning at him.
“You sure you don’t want me to help you clean up?” she asked, shaking her impressive breasts. “I could give you a nice, hard towel rub.”
Any other time those juicy melons would have whetted his appetite.
“Save it for dessert,” Alex replied, nodding to the phone and waving her away. She grinned and retreated into the bathroom. Alex unmuted the phone only to hear his father’s agitated voice.
“Is that a yes or a no?” Brad bellowed. “I told you a week ago about...”
“Dad, sorry to interrupt,” Brad said, “but my client’s getting ready to leave. Let me catch up with you afterward, okay?”
“You’d better not be jerking me around, Alex. You promised you’d show her around. You know I’m in D.C. all week.”
Alex paused. “She?”
Silence.
“Dammit, Alex, have you even heard a word I’ve said?”
“No, I mean, yes, Dad. I was just confused for a moment. Isn’t Kevin Lacy joining the team?”
“He had to delay his start date another two months. His wife went into premature labor, and their move has been put on hold so I decided to add a second position. I wanted to introduce you to our latest creative assistant. She’s amazing.”
Alex scrolled through his mental Rolodex, but he couldn’t recall the names of any other new employees.
“Don’t bother,” Brad said, reading Alex’s mind. “I mentioned a possible second hire when you were making headlines in Prague, but it must have slipped your mind.”
“I’ll stop by after I see my client out,” Alex said.
“Make it quick,” Brad said. “Ben’s on the prowl.”
As soon as his father hung up, he dashed back into the bathroom and jumped into the shower. Tisa, still clad in the wispy fragments she considered underwear, watched him with disappointment.
“What about dessert?” she asked hopefully.
“Sorry Tisa, can’t,” Alex called out beneath the water. “Meet me back at the reception. Got to talk to Dad about something.”
Pouting, Tisa slipped into a low cut burgundy damask Guinevere gown that would have been banned in Camelot. After adjusting a flowing gauzy headdress, she slipped on her heels and tottered toward the bedroom.
“Hasta luego, querida,” she said.
Alex emerged from the shower and grabbed a towel. The bathroom was a mess, but as long as no one saw them it would be the cleaning staff’s problem, not his.
“Lock the door behind you,” he said, quickly drying himself off.
Tisa blew him a kiss, then locked the door on her way out.
Glancing at his tan and gold brocade Borgia costume hanging on the door hook, he grudgingly stepped into to the elaborate outfit far too warm for the June weather. He shook his head and muttered to himself as he dressed. Only his eccentric uncle would throw such an outrageous venue, yet he and Alex were far more similar in personality than Alex was with his own father.
He stared at himself in the mirror and reached for his feathered hat. Grinning, he bowed to his reflection with a flourish.
“At your service,” he said, and slipped out of the room.
Chapter Two
Following the trail of Tisa’s cloying perfume down the stairs toward the ground level of the guesthouse, Alex paused by the front door to adjust the flap of his boot. As far as he knew, no one had come exploring during their tryst, and even if someone had, the locked doors would have prevented any awkward intrusion. There were enough bathrooms on the ground floor to satisfy anyone not willing to use the discreetly placed, high-end portable unit on the grounds.
Still, caution was always prudent. There were too many familiar faces in attendance, and a catfight was the last thing Alex needed, especially with Tisa in tow. She had left long enough before him to dispel any undue attention.
His thoughts still running, he absentmindedly opened the front door... and stopped dead in his tracks. He stared unabashedly at what could only be described as the face of an angel. Dressed in a cream silk, pearl-encrusted gown worthy of a Borgia, the gorgeous costume lovingly hugged the lush curves of a full, sensuously ripe figure.
Nora Myers’ surprised expression face melted into a beaming smile, illuminating an ethereal alabaster face from a Botticelli painting framed by a cascade of curly jet-black hair. She smiled coquettishly beneath a gauzy veil fanning from a jeweled coronet. Sea foam green eyes gazed sublimely beneath long, fluttering lashes.
“Why, Sir,” she said, holding his gaze. “You quite startled me.”
Alex emerged from his stupor long enough to glean that role playing was de rigueur, though until now, his only adherence to the theme of the reception was portraying the randy nobleman servicing the ladies of the court. He quickly fell into character and bowed with his now well-p
racticed flourish.
“I humbly beg your pardon, Milady,” he said with his most refined accent.
Nora laughed, instantly captivating Alex.
“You are forgiven, kind Sir,” she said. “Perhaps you might direct me to the ladies room?”
Alex smiled and indicated one of the two bathrooms on the lower floor.
“I thank you, Sir. I will take my leave of you now,” Nora said swishing past him with the delightful rustle of silk.
“Milady,” Alex said, “May I have the pleasure of your acquaintance?”
Nora smiled, sending a shiver of arousal through Alex. Their eyes locked. Alex grinned like a fool, his efforts to remind himself that he was a thirty-two-year-old advertising executive completely useless.
“I am the Lady Nora,” she said, making her way to the closest bathroom.
She paused to cast him a coy smile over her shoulder before closing the door.
Alex stood there, determined to wait, but his phone rang. Seeing that it was his father, he reluctantly answered.
“Dad, I’m practically there.”
“You told me you were on your way twenty minutes ago,” Brad said. “What the hell are you doing? Rappelling through the trees?”
Alex glanced toward the bathroom before reluctantly leaving the guesthouse. Whoever the fair lady was, it would be easy enough to discover her identity later on. Emerging into the warmth of the afternoon, he felt himself begin to sweat beneath his costume. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, he would change into his casual clothes stored in the trunk of his car.
He hurried across the lawn toward the bar tent, nodding and smiling to the many guests he knew. A tall, leggy blonde dressed in a mauve Rapunzel gown turned to wave at him. Though she called out to him with a more than familiar smile, Alex could only recall that she was a swimsuit model he had met a year earlier in Prague. Trying to recall how and why she ended up at the wedding, he waved and mouthed a greeting, moving on before she could leave the company of a slightly inebriated guest intent on hitting on her.
Tisa suddenly emerged from the nearby buffet tent, balancing an impressively stacked plate of hors d’oeuvres and a glass of champagne. Alex groaned inwardly. Though he liked Tisa, the woman sometimes acted like an octopus whose suckered tentacles were virtually impossible to extricate once clamped onto flesh.
“Not now, Tisa,” he said as she approached with a formidably jiggling cleavage. “I have to meet Dad.”
Alex heard his father’s voice thunder above the general murmur of voices yards even before he reached the bar tent. Jostling through the packed interior, he spotted his parents chatting jovially with an older couple he recognized as former clients. His father stood like a hulking warrior about to launch the longships while his petite Southern belle mother, Delilah Rose, fluttered like a butterfly in a rose patterned damask gown set off by a gorgeous jewel embroidered headpiece.
Brad zeroed in on Alex with the focus of a laser beam.
“Alex, finally,” he boomed without preamble. “You remember the Carters?”
Alex proceeded to shake hands. “I certainly do. Logan, Grace, always a pleasure to see you again.”
Logan, a sun-bronzed golf fanatic, vigorously shook Alex’s hand. “Great to see you too, Alex. Can’t tell you how your campaign blew our climate cap sales through the roof.”
Alex grinned with pleasure. “Glad to hear it.”
Grace, an equally suntanned Amazon, gripped Alex’s head as though she were about to swing a 3 wood.
“We’d love to talk to you about promoting our new line of children’s caps.”
“Sure! Let’s set something up next week,” Alex said.
The well-timed appearance of a serving wench distracted the couple enough to allow Alex and his parents to move aside.
“Darling,” Delilah said in her charming drawl, “Uncle Bennett’s almost ready for the bouquet throw.”
Alex winced, while Brad merely glared at him. “Indulge him. Remember who got you a deal on the penthouse,” he said.
His gaze wandered to a point past Alex’s shoulder, instantly transforming his expression from gruff to grinning. Alex marveled at his father’s Jekyll and Hyde transformation.
“There you are, Nora,” Brad said. “Your timing’s perfect!” He immediately turned to Alex.
“Son, I’d like you to meet our new creative assistant, Nora Myers.”
Alex turned, his eyes widening in astonishment at the sight of Nora’s bemused face.
Without hesitation, she smiled graciously and extended her hand.
“Alex, I’m so pleased to meet you. I’ve heard that you’re the resident wunderkind at Stone Advertising.”
Alex gripped her silken hand and vigorously shook it. The contact was electric, Nora’s grip as firm as his. Behind him, his parents beamed in a way that indicated approval; an event as rare as Alex’s sensible choices in women.
“The pleasure is definitely mine, Nora,” Alex said, looking into eyes that seemed to turn from green to aquamarine in the diffused light streaming in from the tent’s skylights.
Now there’s an ocean I’d like to swim in... he thought.
Nora’s perfectly arched eyebrows cocked as though picking up his lascivious thought.
“I understand we’ll be working together?” she asked, still smiling.
Pause. Rewind.
Alex blinked and turned with a semi-frozen smile to his father.
“That’s ... right, Nora,” Alex replied, trying to focus on business despite the wild thoughts that suddenly flooded his mind. “Dad’s been singing your praises. I can’t wait to brainstorm and hear all of your ideas.”
“Well, Alex,” Brad said, “now that you’ve returned from your business trip, you can focus on bringing Nora up to speed with your campaigns.”
“I think Nora’s just what you need, sugar,” Delilah agreed. “I always told your father it takes a woman’s touch to reach into the shopper’s wallet.”
“It certainly does, Lilah,” Brad said, “and you’re certainly an expert in that field.”
Nora laughed, the sound of her voice like a tinkling wind chime on a warm summer’s night.
“I can’t argue that, Mrs. Stone, and neither do the statistics,” Nora replied, eyes twinkling.
“Oh, please, call me Lilah. We’re like family now.”
“Ah, Nora, would you like to grab a bite?” Alex asked, recognizing the conspiratorial gleam in his mother’s eye. She was probably already sizing Nora up for a wedding dress, something that would not be a factor for Tisa, the leggy blonde or at least three other women he recognized at the reception.
“Well, I already had a plate.” Nora replied.
“I thought we could get to know each other,” Alex persisted, eager to get her away from his parents. “I’m starving. You know how it is when you’re a member of a wedding party.”
Nora laughed. “You looked absolutely charming as one of your uncle’s groomsmen.”
Alex grinned. He had to admit Ben’s wedding had been a more interesting experience than Savannah’s more traditional ceremony, but...
“Alex, my boy, there you are! Been looking everywhere for you.”
At the sound of his uncle’s robust voice, Alex could only stand frozen like an insect pinned to a display. He turned toward the advancing wall of a man that was Uncle Bennett, his bulk augmented even more by an elaborate costume suggesting Lorenzo de Medici reincarnated as a linebacker. Engulfing his nephew in an enthusiastic bear hug, he thumped Alex on the back with ham-sized hands.
“Uncle Ben,” Alex chuckled, his voice vibrating from each affectionate blow. “Been looking for you, too.”
“The party’s getting ready for the bouquet throw,” Ben said. “I wanted to go over the abduction scenario once more.”
Alex groaned inwardly, feeling like an unwilling conscript in a stag party. He glanced at his father for help, but Brad merely smirked, shrugged and followed Delilah, arm in arm with Nora,
out of the tent. The other guests also began to file out.
Held captive by Ben’s bear hug, Alex emerged from the tent, his eyes fixed on Nora’s gloriously undulating ass. Though he tried to catch up to her, Ben pulled him toward the guesthouse where the wedding party was assembling for the dramatic final scenario.
“Now, you know what you have to do, right?” Ben asked him, his hand clamped on his shoulder.
Alex craned his neck to see where his mother was leading Nora. At that moment, Tisa’s indignant face appeared, blocking his view. He quickly turned away, horrified to hear Tisa’s voice rise above the murmuring crowd.
“Ah, sure, Uncle Ben,” Alex replied. “Just as Juliette is about to toss the bouquet, Harry and I snatch her and the rest of the guys chase us around.”
Ben’s crestfallen expression instantly clued Alex that he had made a serious transgression. His thoughts raced. Hadn’t that been the plan? Or was he supposed to be one of Ben’s noble band of merry men that rescued Juliette and delivered her safely back in time to toss the bouquet to the waiting wenches of the wedding party? What the fuck was he supposed to do?
Alex’s attention was further distracted by Tisa following from a distance. He tried to send mental images of “go away” to her, but she stubbornly refused to succumb to his remote Vulcan mind meld.
“Alex, Harry’s the snatcher,” Ben said. “You and I lead the men to rescue fair Juliette. I thought you were cool with that?”
Alex pasted on a grin. “Relax, Uncle. I got it. Don’t worry.”
“That’s my boy!” Ben roared, planting a smack between Alex’s shoulder blades that left him reeling.
They finally reached the wedding party milling around in anticipation of the bouquet toss. A team of videographers circled like vultures. While Juliette and her handmaidens drank wine and ate honey cakes in the bride’s tent, the groomsmen assembled in an adjacent tent downing mead and telling tales of yore. Ben winked at fair Juliette, a buxom redhead clad in a red and gold gown reminiscent of a gaudy Christmas ornament, and guided Alex into the tent.
Only then did Ben release him, allowing Alex to finally fill his lungs with air. He quickly grabbed a goblet of mead and downed half of it.
The Alpha's Touch Boxed Set (14 Book Bundle) Page 130
