Her English Gent: A BWWM Romance (International Alphas Book 9)

by Brandy Blake

  She heard the bathroom door close and she told herself that she had better get a hold on what she was doing. The last thing she needed to do was get confused about how she felt about her oldest and dearest friend. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, trying to still the butterflies that were going wild within her.

  Raina pushed herself up and propped all of the pillows up on the headboard, and then reached for the room service menu. She was looking at it when Aaron came back out of the bathroom, his bare chest covered with a t-shirt, and his pajama bottoms tied up.

  He climbed into bed beside her, sitting with his back against the pillows, and some space between them.

  “What do they have for breakfast?” he asked in an easy voice.

  “Everything, get whatever you want,” she answered him with a smile.

  He took the menu from her and looked over it, deciding fairly quickly on his meal. He called down to the restaurant and placed the order and then turned to look at her.

  “We had the best pillow talk last night. I loved that. I don’t think there’s anything that I couldn’t talk with you about… well, just about anything.” He laughed a little, looking away from her.

  She tilted her head somewhat. “What is there that you couldn’t talk to me about?”

  He looked back at her with serious eyes and an honest smile. “Let me answer that question with a question; are there things you wouldn’t talk with me about?”

  She thought about it and nodded slowly. “Maybe, a few things, but not much.”

  “Exactly how I feel. So, what do you want to do while we wait for breakfast? They said it’ll be half an hour before it’s up here.”

  “Let’s see what movies they have,” she suggested.

  He reached for the remote and together they looked through the list available to them. They decided on a Tim Allen Christmas movie, ‘The Santa Clause’, and nestled into the pillows and blankets side by side.

  Breakfast was delivered to them a short while later and they had an early morning picnic on their bed as they laughed at the movie and enjoyed it all together. They took their time showering and packing, getting ready to go back to San Francisco.

  Raina asked him if he wanted to walk along the water once more before they left, and he said yes. They strolled along for a ways, hand in hand, scarves tucked around them and coats buttoned up, gazing at the city to one side of them, and the sea water rolling into the bay on the other side of them. They stopped at one point, and stood side by side, taking it all in.

  There had been a serene silence between them as they walked, no words being said, nothing needing to be said, though much was felt. Aaron turned to her and gave her a smile as he looked into her eyes.

  “This has been one of the best times of my whole life. Thank you so much for it.”

  He reached his hand up and touched her cheek. She felt warmth coming from him and wished that she could wrap herself in his arms as she had the night before.

  “Me, too, Aaron. One of the best times ever. Thank you.” She smiled, covering his hand on her face with her own hand.

  He hesitated for a moment, and then leaned forward and lifted her chin up to him, closing his mouth tenderly on hers in a soft kiss. He moved his lips over hers just for a moment, and in that moment, everything in her suddenly felt as if it had come alive, as if everything that she was feeling had been dormant in her, waiting patiently, and his kiss had somehow breathed life into all of it.

  She closed her eyes and kissed him back as her heart began to race, and hot blood surged through her. She curled her fingers around his a little tighter, and then he lifted his mouth from hers, staying close to her as his eyes searched hers.

  She was breathless and stunned, unsure what to do, unsure of what to say, or of how she felt. He saw it in her eyes and on her face, and his parted lips smiled a little, and he let her go.

  “Thank you. It’s been a great trip,” he said simply.

  He took a deep breath and put his hands into his jacket pockets, and she tried to remember how to breathe and turned away from him slightly.

  “It really has been,” she agreed, sliding her hands into her own pockets.

  They walked along the water again in silence for a while, and then Aaron brought up a few things about the book he was writing, and she was eager to talk with him about it and get her mind on almost anything else, other than the confusion that was tugging at her.

  Later that afternoon, they boarded the plane and flew back to San Francisco. Neither of them said anything about the kiss that they had shared, and she let herself wonder a little about it, trying to determine if it was the kiss of a friend, or of something a bit more than friendship.

  Aaron was acting his usual self all the way through the rest of the day that they spent together, and she told herself after he left her at her home and drove off, that she had read too much into it, and that it was the kiss of a friend.

  The Final Chapter

  Michael had been texting her constantly, sending heated messages that made her ache for his touch. She had let go of the confusion in her mind about the kiss that she had shared with Aaron, and she turned her attention back to the heat that Michael drew up in her so easily.

  It felt to her as if it had been a long while since they had been together, and she told him she wanted to see him in the city. She had given it some thought and decided that perhaps part of the problem that they had had when he had stayed over at her home with her was that it was too personal.

  It might have been crossing a boundary that felt more like an invitation into her private life – her home, her bed – and she wondered if that had had anything to do with why he had pulled away so much and so fast. She thought that perhaps if they were intimate together in San Francisco, it might be easiest to do it at a hotel. A hotel was as impersonal a place as she could think of where they could be comfortably intimate.

  She texted Michael and asked him if he’d like to meet her at a hotel. He wrote back with an enthusiastic yes, and they agreed on Wednesday night. She reserved the room and sent him the information.

  That night after work, she dressed in one of her sexier dresses and had roses and champagne delivered to the room. She lit a few candles that she’d brought, and turned on some music perfect for an evening with a lover.

  She picked up a book that she had been reading and waited, anticipating the hot passionate night that lay before her, and she tried to turn her attention to the pages in her hands. When she looked up at the clock a while later, she realized that much more time had passed than she expected. With a frown, she looked over at her phone and saw that it was already almost ten. There was no message from Michael.

  She set her book down and wrote out a text to him, asking him what time he expected to be there, and she waited. Minutes passed and became an hour, which became two hours, and there was no word from him. She worried that he was alright, and she wondered what might be keeping him.

  Raina blew out the candles out and decided to wait until he got there before lighting them again. She curled up in the bed with her book and read, trying to keep her mind on the words instead of on the cold empty pillow beside her.

  She woke up in the morning and discovered that she had fallen asleep reading. She reached for her phone and saw that there was no message from Michael. Anger burned at the edges of her and she set the phone down and went to take a long hot shower.

  The steaming water calmed her and when she got back out of the shower, she wrapped herself in a thick robe and went to her phone. There was still no message. She typed one out and sent it to him. ‘Where were you? Thought we were meeting up at the hotel?’

  She tucked her phone away and got dressed, feeling angry and foolish for having been left at the hotel alone all night. When she was ready to leave, she went to pick up her phone and found that he had finally texted her back.

  ‘Sorry, I had to take care of some things with my family.’ It was all he said.

  She felt
a little wave of guilt wash over her. She hadn’t thought about Joanna. She had only been thinking of herself. She realized that she was trying to have a relationship with a man who had other responsibilities, and she reminded herself that she needed to remember that.

  She texted him back. ‘No worries. I understand. Please text me next time to let me know. Maybe we can meet up another night’.

  He answered her shortly after that. ‘Definitely. I’d love to.’

  Raina knew that she was going to have to forgive him for standing her up, and take into account that there might very well be times when he wouldn’t be able to be where she wanted him, when she wanted him there.

  ‘Friday night?’ she texted back.

  ‘Absolutely. Same hotel, same time?’ he asked in his response.

  ‘Yes,’ she agreed.

  ‘I can’t wait! Just think of it… two days from now. I can almost feel you in my arms already,’ he replied.

  It made her smile with anticipation, and she sent back another message to him. ‘I’m looking forward to it, too.’ And she was. She spent the next couple of days thinking of Friday night with him. She even went out and bought new lingerie to wear for him, and a new perfume. She had a manicure and a pedicure, and had her hair styled.

  She set up roses and champagne again, and turned the music back on the way she had before. She smiled to herself, knowing that it was going to be an incredible night together with Michael. He had been texting her about it over the last two days as well, and both of them talked about how much they wanted it to happen.

  With her book in her hands, she focused on the story she was reading, and she waited to hear from Michael. He said he would text her to let her know what time he would be getting there. She tried not to look at the clock, but she found herself watching it more than she wanted to, and the hours slid by, one by one, as the sky grew darker and her patience began to grow thin.

  There was no message from him again, and again she blew out the candles and turned off the music, climbing into bed with her book. She sent him a text asking him what time he would be there, and there was no reply.

  She stayed awake until midnight, and without a word from him at that point, she put her book away and went to sleep, furious with him for no-showing again, and furious with herself for having waited for a man who didn’t care to show up at a hotel for a night of passion with her.

  Feeling foolish all over again, she showered in the morning and didn’t bother to look at her phone until she was ready to leave. She was a little surprised and greatly annoyed to see a message from Michael.

  ‘So sorry, phone died. Wasn’t sure if you stayed there or not. Didn’t know if I should go.’

  She worked through the anger that she felt and texted him back. ‘I stayed at the hotel all night waiting for you.’

  He responded right away. ‘I’m so very sorry. I wish I could have been there. Will you be there again tonight?’

  Raina sat on the sofa in the room and put her head in her hands. She sighed long and slow, blowing the frustration out of her. He was asking her for her time and she had been waiting and wanting to give it to him.

  With a sigh of resignation, she texted him back. ‘Yes, I will stay here tonight if you come.’

  ‘I’ll definitely be there,’ he answered almost immediately.

  She called down to the hotel desk and asked them to keep the room for her one more night. The hotel staff happily obliged.

  Raina worked that day and all the while she was wondering what would happen that night. She was comforted by the constant flow of sexy steamy texts that Michael sent to her, talking about what he wanted to do with her, and what he was looking forward to doing with her later.

  By the time she left work and got dinner, she was excited again, and looking forward to her evening with him.

  She waited for him, watching a movie to pass the time. The movie ended, and she started another movie. There was no word from him. She wanted to text him to ask him where he was and what time he would be there, but she couldn’t let herself do it, feeling already as though she had lowered herself enough for him, and he needed to be putting forth some effort for her.

  She started a third movie, and a cold stone formed in the pit of her stomach as she watched the clock passing time more than she watched the movie on the television. At eleven o’clock she turned the television off and went to bed. She told herself that if he ever did show up, he could wake her up and make it up to her.

  She awoke alone and disgusted in the morning, promising herself that it was never going to happen again. She didn’t even bother to look at her phone. She didn’t want to hear from him. She didn’t want to know what might have happened. Instead, she showered and dressed and had room service bring up breakfast for her. She thought about the breakfast that she and Aaron had shared in Seattle at the hotel. It brought a sentimental smile to her face and she found herself thinking that Aaron would never keep a lady waiting.

  Raina went to work, and she didn’t bother to check her cell phone for messages until she had gotten her coffee and settled herself at her desk, and turned her computer on. Then she looked at her phone, and she wasn’t surprised to see a message from Michael.

  ‘I’m so sorry. I hope you didn’t wait for me. I fell asleep. I slept for sixteen hours straight! I can’t believe how tired I was.’ He added a smiley face to his note.

  She didn’t answer it. She just turned her phone over and went to work. The anger in her that she felt toward him was so deep that it was cold; not a burning raging anger, but a slow burning bitterness and resentment. She felt a bigger fool than ever.

  Her phone buzzed a few times, and finally she glared at it and picked it up, seeing that she had received a few texts from Michael.

  He apologized again, and told her that he really was sorry.

  She texted him back. ‘Look, you’re making me such a fool; if you want to end this, just be honest and say so, but don’t keep standing me up like you are and then acting like it’s no big deal. We can end it right now if you want to.’

  She had barely set the phone down when it buzzed and she sighed and picked it up again. ‘No! I don’t want that at all. I do want to see you, and I’m sorry it hasn’t worked out. It’s been a crazy week. I have had so much going on with Joanna. I do want to keep seeing you.’

  Raina crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her computer screen. She ignored the text and decided to make him wait a little while, just as he had made her wait so many times. It was a subtle form of punishment, and it might be childish, she admitted to herself, but he definitely had it coming.

  He texted her again ten minutes later. ‘Please, let’s try again. One more night. Give me another chance. I need to see you. It’s just been crazy over here.’

  With a long sigh, she rubbed her fingers over her forehead and realized that a teenage girl probably did cause a lot of drama and problems, and while she was angry with him about his lack of communication, she understood that sometimes life can happen and cause some chaos.

  She relented, and texted him back. ‘Okay. I’ll get it one more night. That’s it.’

  ‘I’ll be there,’ he answered. She doubted it, but she was going to wait and see if he really did show up.

  She brought the lingerie she had purchased for him, and had champagne and roses sent up once more. She settled herself in with a few movies she had been wanting to see, and she didn’t kid herself one little bit that he probably wasn’t going to show up that night, but she did reserve the slightest bit of hope that he might actually stay true to his word.

  She waited through one movie, and then through a second movie, and then she opened the champagne and poured a glass of it for herself. She never once looked at the clock until the third movie was halfway gone.

  Her phone had stayed silent, and it was eleven when she finally turned off the television. She texted him. ‘Don’t bother showing up.’

  It shocked her when he answered her almost rig
ht away. ‘Sorry, got caught in traffic! Unavoidably delayed.’

  She glared hotly at the phone. With fury boiling inside of her, she picked up her phone and texted him back. ‘Traffic at eleven at night? Don’t come.’

  She set the phone down and brushed her teeth, readying herself for bed. When she was settling into the sheets, her phone buzzed and she picked it up. ‘I’m almost there. I’ll be there in ten minutes.’

  Raina groaned and set the phone on the bedside table, closing her eyes and rubbing her fingertips on her temples. She didn’t know if she should believe him or not, but fifteen minutes later, there was a soft knock at the door, and her eyes widened as her heart skipped a beat.

  She could hardly believe that he had finally showed up. She opened the door and the moment it opened, he rushed inside and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her hard and hungrily. She was angry with him at first, but the more he kissed her, the more her anger dissolved into passion.