by Katie Kyler
“I didn’t take time to stop for food,” I said, “but I’ll fix you something.” I rummaged around in his refrigerator. There wasn’t much to work with, but enough to make him scrambled eggs with cheese, the way he’d liked it as a kid.
I started up his fancy espresso machine. It looked like it cost triple the one I had at home and had more bells and whistles—meaning it was that much harder to operate. “Show me how to work this piece of shit,” I said.
Jamie turned a knob and punched a couple of buttons, and the machine came to life. I listened to it whir as I whisked a couple of eggs in a stainless steel bowl.
Jamie sat morosely on a barstool, watching me work. I dumped the eggs and some grated cheese into a frying pan, then tossed the bowl toward the sink. It landed with a crash.
“What the fuck were you thinking, Jamie?”
“I don’t know.”
I poked at the eggs with a spatula, blending in the cheese. Jamie still sat there like a pompous ass in an expensive robe. The coffee and eggs were finished at the same time. I poured two cups of coffee and slid one across the counter to Jamie, along with his plate of eggs.
“No, seriously,” I said, leaning across the granite counter. “Why would you do such a thing? You assaulted her.”
He turned his fork around in his eggs, looking lost. “I’m an asshole.”
“Yup,” I said cheerfully.
Irritation flashed over his face. “Can you just say what you need to say and get the hell out?”
“Sure. Stay away from Allison.” It was hard not to say more, not to grab him by his bathrobe and pummel his face in. He was so lucky he was my brother and not some other dickhead.
“She’s a big girl, she can take care of herself,” he argued.
“Yeah,” I said, “but why should she have to put up with your bullshit? Just leave her alone.”
“You get everything,” he said bitterly. “You don’t even have to work for it.”
“I work my ass off. You should, too. You won’t see any results if you just sit around whining in that filthy robe.”
He pouted. “I can’t go to work anymore.”
“Why the hell not?”
He whined, “I can’t face Allison after what I did.”
“Fuck you,” I said. “You owe her an apology. Take Monday off if you have to, but you better be there on Tuesday with the world’s biggest apology on your lips.”
I walked past him on my way to the door, proud of myself for not popping him one on the back of the head like I used to do when we were kids.
Chapter 8
Allison
On Monday, Craig came over to my cube as soon as my ass hit my swivel chair. I jumped up, feeling like I was standing at attention. “Yes?”
“Joshua wants to see you in his office.”
I tried so hard to hide my smile, but Craig looked at me curiously anyway. It was going to be harder to keep our relationship a secret than I thought. I was no super spy; I was a girl who was going goofily head over heels for her boss.
Joshua’s door was cracked open, but I knocked anyway.
“Come in.”
I stepped inside, nervousness making butterflies do crazy-eights in my stomach.
He looked up from his desk and gave me a slow smile. “Hi.”
“Hi,” I said.
“You put on eye shadow or mascara or something.”
“I—yeah.” I smoothed my hands over my slacks. “Just, I had a little extra time this morning.”
“It looks nice.”
His voice alone was causing warmth to pool in my abdomen, and I could feel my underwear getting wet. “Thanks.”
“So, I can’t do this all the time, but I just had to see you this morning. Saturday night was amazing, and I want to do it all over again.”
“I do, too,” I said. The feel of him behind me, controlling me and giving me everything in that boathouse, and the ride home, pantyless in his car…then I frowned, remembering what came before the boathouse. “Except the part with Jamie.”
He grimaced. “He’s not going to be here today. I told him to take the day off. So if you’re nervous about seeing him—”
I shook my head fast enough to make my short ponytail swing back and forth. “I’m not. He’s the one who should be nervous.”
“That’s my girl.” Joshua smiled, looking proud. “I called you in here to ask if you want to get a bite to eat tonight? We can go straight from here.”
“Sure,” I said. Then I looked down at my pantsuit. “Except, I didn’t wear anything for a date—”
“You look great no matter what you’re wearing. But if you’re more comfortable, we’ll get take-out and go to my place. Dress is casual,” he said. “Or should I say, dress is optional.”
I bit my lip, trying not to smile. Outside his office windows, his employees continued to work, oblivious to our sexy banter.
He ran a hand through his hair, tousling it. I wanted to touch it, too, run my fingers through it like he was doing.
“I want you so bad right now,” he said. It was as if he could read my mind.
“Yeah, where’s an empty boathouse when we need it?”
A lustful expression passed over his face. “You might want to get out of here before I do something I regret.”
I gave him my sweetest smile. “Does it involve your desk in any way? It looks pretty comfortable.”
“My desk—my god, woman, you’ll be my undoing.” He moved as if to come around his desk and pull me into an embrace, but I turned on my heel, smiled over my shoulder, and left his office.
* * * * *
Although Jamie missed work on Monday, I caught a glimpse of him over the barrier of my cubicle on Tuesday. I kept my head down, eyes on my computer. I wasn’t going to engage him in conversation. I still couldn’t believe what he’d done to me at his dad’s party.
He approached my cubicle and I dashed off to the ladies room. Chicken, I berated myself in the mirror. He’s the one who should be hiding, not you. I’d told Joshua I wasn’t nervous about seeing Jamie, but now that he was actually here, it was harder to be brave.
No. I wasn’t going to let him scare me. I straightened my ponytail and returned to my cubicle.
When he came back again, I was ready with my ice princess glare. “What do you want?” I asked over my shoulder.
“Allison,” he said, his voice low, “I owe you an apology.”
“Um, yeah, you do.”
“Look, what I did was really bad. I’m sorry.” He started to come into my cubicle.
“Don’t come any closer to me,” I said.
“What? I just want to talk to you without everyone hearing.”
I shook my head. I needed to give him strong words, but my heart was pounding like a frightened rabbit’s. “I don’t want to be near you right now. I thought we were friends, and you treated me worse than shit. You wouldn’t even listen when I said no. I could’ve pressed charges.”
“I said I’m sorry.”
Finally I swiveled around to face him head on. I stood up. “I don’t even know who you are anymore. Please leave.”
He shuffled in place, not moving. His eyes were red-rimmed, making his irises look even greener. I wondered if he’d been crying. Maybe just not getting enough sleep. I started to feel sorry for him, just a tiny bit, but then he had to go and open his damn mouth again.
“I can’t believe you’re not accepting my apology,” he whined.
The closest thing I’d ever felt to self-righteous rage rose within me.
“You act like you deserve my forgiveness,” I hissed. “You don’t get to deserve anything from a woman you…you attacked like that. If I feel up to forgiving you, I will do it on my own damn terms, not yours.”
He started stomping off, but then turned and sneered at me. His voice low, “You do know why Joshua wants to keep your relationship a secret, right?”
I gave him my coldest glare. The kind of glare that would turn the sun into
a ball of ice. “Not that it’s any of your business, but it has to do with Scintilla’s code of employee conduct.”
“Right,” Jamie barked back. “Like that would stop the CEO.”
He paused, seeming to enjoy watching me while his words sunk in.
“No,” he said. “It’s more like, my brother’s never had just one girl at a time. There’s always at least one other woman he’s stringing along, usually an actress or a model.”
“I don’t believe you.” Just the same, I could feel tears pricking my eyes.
Jamie must have seen the tears shining there, because he softened. “Look, Allison. I really am sorry for what I did. It was inexcusable. And you’re right—I don’t deserve your forgiveness. I hope someday I can earn it back.”
He pulled a linen handkerchief from his suit pocket and tried to hand it to me, but I waved him away. I swiped angrily at the tears leaking from my eyes. “Just go,” I said.
“I will, I’ll go. I’ll show you I can listen to you,” he said. “But please trust me about Joshua, though. I know my brother. I’m not telling you this to hurt you, I’m telling you so you can protect your heart.”
Jamie walked away. I was still standing, so I watched him go. As he reached the end of the hallway, Joshua’s office door opened. Joshua stepped out, shaking the hand of a tall, slender woman with blond hair. I didn’t recognize her. Another blonde. He seemed to surround himself with blondes.
I thought back to our first date, when the three blondes had told him they missed seeing him at the club.
I trusted him, didn’t I?
But there was no arguing with the fact that he insisted we keep our relationship a secret. I wondered if maybe there wasn’t some element of truth behind Jamie’s warning.
Edge of Ecstasy
The Edge Series, Book Five
(An Alpha Billionaire Romance)
By
Ellie Danes
&
Katie Kyler
www.Ellie Danes.com
www.KatieKyler.com
Chapter 1
Joshua
Allison lay sprawled on one of the deck chairs. The rhythmic lapping of the waves against the side of the yacht had lulled her into sleep. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the smoothness in her face and forehead—all those little frowns and furrows relaxed while she spent time in dreamland.
I also couldn’t tear my eyes away from the rounded perfection of her ass, or the teeny tiny little strings holding together her silver bikini. The day was deceptively cool, the ocean breeze mitigating the heat of the sun. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t getting burned. Maybe I should wake her and offer to give her another layer of sunscreen.
I shook my head, laughing at myself. Any excuse to touch her. I’d just lathered her up less than an hour ago.
Her phone buzzed on the table next to us and she stirred, automatically reaching for it. She checked the screen and glanced over at me. “It’s Jess,” she said. “I should probably take this. We’ve texted, but not actually talked, for weeks.”
“No problem,” I said, taking a swig of my beer.
“Are you even alive?” Jess’s voice was clear through Allison’s phone, and I walked across the teak decking to the other side of the boat, trying not to eavesdrop.
The yacht had been a good decision. I could use it for business weekends, company retreats, and, of course, spending time with Allison. It was large enough that I could bring on a small crew if I wanted, but small enough that I could take it out on my own if we weren’t going far. This trip, we were staying close to land. We’d anchored out a few miles from Ocean City for the Fourth of July weekend, wanting to escape the crowds and the heat.
The biggest draw, however, was having Allison all to myself for an entire weekend.
“You haven’t been home in days,” Jess was saying. Apparently the far side of the deck wasn’t enough distance to keep from hearing the conversation. “The ‘find my phone’ thing says you’re out in the middle of the ocean.”
Allison stretched, turning over. She caught me checking her out and grinned at me. Her sleepy, sun-kissed smile heated me to the core. I shifted in place, adjusting myself. We’d just had each other on that lounge chair not two hours ago, and I was ready to go again.
“Sorry I haven’t checked in,” she said to Jess. “I am out in the ocean, though.”
There was a pause on Jess’s end. “How?”
“Well, when Joshua found out I’d never been out on the water, he bought a boat.” Allison smiled shyly over at me. I held up my beer and mouthed Want one?
She shook her head, mouthing, No thanks.
Jess laughed. “Like, a sailboat?”
“Um, no. Like, a yacht.”
“What?” Jess’s squeal was so loud I almost dropped my beer.
Allison laughed. “Yeah,” she said. “I mean, it’s a piece of shit. Not even half the length of my last boyfriend’s, um, yacht. But still, the gesture was sweet. He gets points for that, at least.”
I stalked over to stand in Allison’s sun. She looked up at me with a cock-teasing smile on her face and widened her eyes in fake innocence.
Silence from Jess’s end. “He’s there and you’re teasing him, aren’t you?”
Allison giggled. “Maybe a little.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll let you get back to your romantic ecstasy,” Jess said. “But I want full disclosure when you come home. All the details. From the length of his yacht to what kind of drink you’re sipping right now.”
Allison glanced over at the table next to her lounge chair. “A margarita,” she said.
It looked like she needed a refill, so I headed back under the shade of the overhang in front of the cabin. The wide sliding glass doors were open, allowing the ocean breeze to flow freely through the cabin.
I mixed Allison’s drink, reveling in the cool feeling of the crushed ice seeping through the glass. It was amazing how far Allison and I had come, all the time we’d spent together. She was still getting accustomed to living my kind of life, with luxury weekends and expensive dinners, and now, the yacht. I lived to watch her delight when I unveiled the latest fancy surprise.
When I went back on deck, she was off the phone. I stood over her again, pretending to be intimidating. “Ms. Mahoney,” I said.
“Yes,” she squeaked.
“You wouldn’t tell your friend the length of my…yacht, would you?”
She arched her eyebrows at me. “Well, dear, it’s not like I’ve actually measured.”
I grinned. “Maybe I’ll let you, later on. But right now, you look like you can use some more margarita, and some more sunscreen.”
She took a sip of the drink I’d brought her and turned onto her stomach, purring, “You just want an excuse to rub your hands all over me.”
I leaned down and licked the edge of her earlobe, then took it gently between my teeth. “I don’t need an excuse, darling.”
She gave a quiet gasp. Chuckling, I squirted the lotion onto her back and began rubbing it in. She was so soft, so perfect. I kept rubbing, imagining the romantic evening I had planned for her out here. Fireworks, hors d’oeuvres, some sex, some more sex…
“You’re paying careful attention to the area around my bikini bottom,” Allison observed, interrupting my thoughts.
“Have to be thorough,” I said. I dipped my fingers just under the silvery fabric and gave her a little pinch. “Flip over onto your back.”
She did as I asked and I worked over her arms and legs, her stomach and shoulders. She moaned with pleasure. “I still can’t believe you bought a yacht.”
“We talked about boating once,” I said.
“I know. On our very first date. You said you used to go out a lot when you were a kid.” Her eyes were closed, fluttering in pleasure while I rubbed her up and down.
“I’m surprised you remember all that.”
She swatted at my hand but missed because her eyes were still closed. “It wasn’t that long ag
o.”
I sat back on my own lounge chair, the tips of my knees almost brushing her side. What a miraculous woman. “It isn’t that. It’s just that I’m not used to this. I’m not used to someone paying attention, listening to what I’m saying.”
She opened her eyes and gave me the softest, most open look I’d seen on her face yet. “I just want to know more about you,” she said.
I gave a little laugh. My private life had hardly ever been private. With my rich parents, my mom always out in society, we were always interesting to reporters. I wasn’t a celebrity, but the media had always paid attention to my family. They backed off a bit after my mother’s death, but often came circling around again when they didn’t have anything better to report on. “There’s plenty to learn. You can read the articles online, and see all kinds of photos of me from when I was a kid until now.”
“None of that’s real,” Allison said, making a chh sound. “I read some of them, before we started dating. They never said anything real. I didn’t even think those girlfriends were real.”
I sobered. “They weren’t.”
Not for the first time, I thought about how easy she was to talk to. She was real, unlike those other women I’d dated. Spending time with her was like having another great friend. A friend who could make me lose all control and come with a fierceness I hadn’t known existed.
“So tell me something real.” She sat up and shifted her chair so it would support her back.
I leaned back into my own chair and took another swig of beer. “Like what?”
She sipped her margarita and watched me. “I know you went boating as a kid. What else did you like?”
“Horses,” I said, without even pausing. “But I don’t ride anymore.”
“Did you stop riding horses after your mom died?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “It was just too hard.”
“She must have loved the horses very much to try to save them like that.”
Suddenly it was hard to breathe. I didn’t like thinking about it, didn’t like remembering it. How my mom, unable to bear the thought of the horses burning alive, had rushed out to the stables. Our getaway ranch was miles from the nearest town. There’d been a lightning storm. My dad called the fire department as soon as he’d seen the smoke, but he and Mom knew it would be at least forty minutes before they arrived. By then, the horses would be gone. She’d rushed out there while Dad screamed at her to stop. Jamie and I stood at the window, looking out, watching the horses leave the barn, waiting for our mom to follow. She never came out of that barn.
