by Calista Fox
“Sip,” he quietly prompted, reminding her that she still held her snifter in mid-air as every nerve ending went haywire.
Jewel did as instructed, operating strictly on autopilot, because she was now lost somewhere in his heated gaze, somewhere in her heart, somewhere that had once been a safe haven for their love and desire for each other.
Rogen gave her his easy grin and said, “When the monks first started making wine, they anxiously awaited the day their varietals aged to the point where they could sample the Lord’s sacrament. The time eventually came, and they cracked open a cask, tapping the wine with excitement and gratitude for the blessed rite. But something was amiss.…”
One corner of Jewel’s mouth quirked as Rogen’s gaze turned mischievous. She loved this story.
He said in a curious tone, “‘What’s this?’ the monks asked, bewildered to find that a portion of their sacred wine was missing. They tapped several more casks to see if the other barrels were low on wine as well. Indeed they were.” Rogen’s brow jerked up again. “‘But how could this be?’ Unless … They glanced around, suddenly suspicious that perhaps their brothers had been sneaking wine in the middle of the night. Wine meant for divine consumption, not one’s personal pleasure.”
“Those naughty monks,” Jewel teased.
Rogen’s grin widened. “It wasn’t in the monks’ nature to be accusatory, of course, but what other explanation could there be? Mistrust rippled through the monastery, and the monks set up nightly watches to make sure no one violated the agreement to only serve the precious offering as Eucharist and Communion. Yet each cask they checked, they found more of their wine missing.”
“Well, wine does beat the hell out of holy water.”
“Sacrilege!” He feigned shock. Though there was a twinkle in his eye.
Jewel laughed. Rogen had always been good at lightening her heart.
“So, what happened?” she asked, leaning forward in her seat, listening intently, though she’d heard this tale a thousand times before. She loved how Rogen got caught up in the telling of it, his mesmerizing facial expressions, the octave his voice dropped.
“Naturally, the accusations grew, until the monks were fighting amongst themselves, even though none could prove their brothers were the offenders. Then a rainy day brought with it a leak in the roof. So a couple of the monks climbed onto the red tiles to replace the damaged ones and discovered something intriguing.…”
Jewel sucked in a breath for effect. “Whatever could it have been?”
“The entire roof was shielded with the clay tiles. However, only the ones directly above the casks were covered with a thick moss. They found this curious. They reported back to their brothers and they all pondered the mystery of it. And suddenly came to the stunning conclusion that no one was stealing their wine—at least not anyone within the walls or under the roof of the monastery.”
“Then the culprit would be…?”
“Evaporation,” he said in an astonished tone. “You see, a small portion of the wine evaporated during the aging process and escaped through the roof, producing the growth of moss on the tiles.”
“Fascinating,” she said, as though this were the first time he’d ever told her of this phenomenon.
“Indeed,” Rogen said with a nod. “And because the monks were so blessed with their sacrament, they made amends with each other and agreed that the angels in heaven deserved their share of the wine.”
“Aw.” Jewel fanned her face with a hand as mist covered her eyes. A genuine response. “I just love a happy ending.”
“I love how you still get emotional when you’ve heard this story your entire life.”
“It’s sweet.”
“Mm.” He slipped from his stool and stepped toward hers. He uncrossed her legs. Spread them to accommodate his hard body in the V created, the high slit in her skirt working to his advantage. “I think those lips of yours are sweet.”
A thrill ribboned through Jewel.
Rogen’s gaze landed on her slowly rising and falling chest. Then lifted to meet hers. The blue pools were hypnotic … and Jewel found herself drowning in them.
“I came back to River Cross six months ago, Jewel. After years in Manhattan, then Yale, then the Tuscany headquarters. Every day that I’ve been home, I’ve thought of you. Hell.” He let out a sharp laugh. “I’ve thought of you every day no matter where I was.”
“Rogen.” They couldn’t start something that couldn’t be finished. Regardless of how much she wanted him. Jewel had plans that might adversely affect Rogen. And what about Vin? She’d never shared with Rogen things he really ought to know about her past with his best friend.
Still, she felt the intensity of the moment, the yearning that enveloped them both.
Rogen’s head lowered to hers and he whispered, “I’ll never claim we were fated in a good way, because of all the bullshit we’ve endured. But you can’t deny our current destiny.”
His lips brushed hers. The warmest, most sensual kiss. One that made her heart soar.
He said, “We naturally gravitate to each other. We naturally find ourselves in each other’s arms. Doesn’t matter where we are or how long we’ve been apart. We need each other, Jewel.”
His mouth sealed with hers, his tongue sweeping over hers, then delving deeper, twisting and tangling until she was captured, enrapt, lost.
Rogen’s arms slipped around her waist. Her breasts pressed below the hard ledge of his pectoral muscles. She let the sensations consume her. The sexy ones, the sentimental ones.
A part of her wanted to swing from the chandeliers as pleasure raced through her. The other part wanted to cry a river for the years gone by—and the uncertainty of everything that stretched beyond this one night.
But she clung to Rogen, her arms around his neck, holding him tight. He owned half her heart, half her soul. Always had. Always would.
And he was right—there was no denying their powerful connection. Or the fiery sensations he so easily invoked.
Breaking their kiss, she simply said, “Take me someplace where we can get naked.”
FOUR
Rogen had temporarily forgotten there were surveillance cameras everywhere. He’d been too caught up in the heat of the moment with Jewel. Too wrapped up in her.
Damn, it was crazy how she ensnared him so completely that nothing registered in his mind except her.
He stepped away. Collected the silver satin clutch she’d had tucked under her arm for most of the evening but set on the table when they’d settled in. With his other hand, he cupped her elbow and helped her off the stool.
Her expression was a complicated one to decipher. There were questions in her eyes. Uncertainty. And blatant arousal. No mistaking it.
He wound an arm about her waist and led her back to the stairs. The staff would clean the remnants of their samplings in the morning. Jewel didn’t say a word as they left the Angels’ Share Room and took the Rhino on more cobblestone pathways winding through the vast property to his house. He guided her inside, through the great room, and toward the wall of glass doors where the patio lay beyond.
Snatching the remote from an end table they passed, Rogen hit a button that made the doors slide apart and into pockets along the edges, so that the entire wall opened onto the patio. He then selected the dim setting of accent lamps. Flipped the switch for the huge planters filled with chunks of lava and drilled-holes for copper tubing underneath that allowed the gas flames to illuminate the rocks in the decorative pots that sat atop the half wall surrounding the terrace. There was also a fireplace in the corner and a lit pool. Chaise longue chairs and other furniture and table settings covered the pavered area.
“Nice setup,” Jewel said as she surveyed it all. “Quite beautiful under a diamond-studded night sky and a crescent moon. The vineyard in the backdrop.”
Rogen turned on music at a low level.
She shot a look over her shoulder. “Your patio of seduction?”
“H
ardly.”
Rogen was no monk. That was for damn sure. But he’d never brought a woman here. Whether he was on his own or pairing with Vin, Rogen only ever scratched the itch with one-night stands. He didn’t engage in serious involvements, relationships, whatever. The mere notion seemed false, because he was wholly hooked on one woman.
He said, “I had the house built last year, when I made plans to come back to River Cross and run operations from the mansion.”
“But you didn’t want to live in the mansion?”
“Too many memories in that bedroom.”
She turned to face him. “Yeah,” she said in a quiet voice. “I have that problem, too.”
She stepped toward him, and her manicured nails skated over the line of buttons on his shirt, up to where he’d undone the first few. Her fingers brushed the inner swells of his pecs. It would have been a light, flirty touch, but he caught the tremble in her hand. He covered it with his. Gave a gentle squeeze.
His head dipped head and he kissed her. Softly at first. Tasting her, teasing her, tempting her.
Passion sparked instantly and Rogen let it consume them both. He raised her arm to wrap around his neck. His other hand slid to her ass and he palmed a cheek, pressing her body firmly to his.
He deepened the kiss, their tongues tangling, their breaths becoming one.
Adrenaline pumped through his veins. His cock thickened, straining against the confines of boxer briefs and his tuxedo pants.
When they finally came up for air, Jewel gazed at him with an urgency in her eyes that likely mirrored his own. She worked the buttons on his shirt, then shoved the material over his shoulders and down his arms. It dropped to the pavers.
Her hands splayed over his stomach.
“Jesus, Rogen,” she said in a husky voice, “you are so gorgeous.”
His muscles flexed beneath her touch and admiring gaze. She traced a fingertip over the ridges of his abs, then reached for the fastenings at his waist, unbuttoning, unzipping, while he toed off his shoes.
His raging pulse echoed throughout his body and his cock throbbed in wild beats. His heart pounded erratically.
God, he wanted her. More than ever before. And that was saying something, because he’d always had it bad for her.
Jewel shifted away as he divested himself of his clothing. She released the clasp at her shoulder and eased her dress downward, revealing her teardrop breasts with taut, rosy nipples. Then her stomach, her shapely hips, her long legs.
Holding Rogen spellbound.
She stepped out of the sparkly ice-blue garment and draped it over the back of a chair. Then kicked off her sandals.
Rogen hadn’t thought his dick could get any harder. He’d been wrong.
She was stunning. He was captivated.
With the crooking of her finger, she said, “Take my panties off.”
“Always willing to.”
Rogen knelt before her. He curled his fingers behind the thin strands at her hips and dragged the thong down her thighs. He leaned in close, at the apex of her legs, and inhaled the scent of her.
“Fuck, you smell good,” he told her in a rough voice. His tongue swept over her slick folds. “You taste even better.”
Her flesh quivered. Her fingers threaded through his hair. “You get me so hot.”
He glanced up at her. “What do you think you’re doing to me?”
“Let’s go skinny-dipping. Like we used to in the river.”
Rogen stood. Jewel whirled around and strolled over to the pool, taking the tiled steps into the shallow end. He dove into the deep end. When he surfaced, she dove under and swam toward him, meeting him in the middle. Her arms circled his neck as their legs swirled in the water. Her blond hair was slicked back from her sculpted face and her eyes glimmered in the firelight.
Her nipples brushed his chest, taunting him. He pulled her more tightly to him, her breasts pressing below his pecs again, her stomach cradling his erection.
He kissed her, loving the feel of her soft body against his, savoring the sizzle along his nerve endings, the need mounting with every second that passed. Rogen hadn’t wanted a woman this intensely since the last time Jewel had been in his arms.
As desperately as he yearned to be buried inside her, though, he was glad she’d suggested the quick dip. Might help to cool him down just enough so that he didn’t come the second he entered her.
Watching her strip away her dress and then tasting her pussy had revved him a bit too much.
He felt a little more under control now.
A little.
Her fingers glided over the tattoo on his left biceps. “This is new.”
“Senior year of Yale. I was feeling rebellious.”
She traced the black-inked blade of a dagger stabbed into a chunk of ground, a trio of vines entwined, braided as they coiled around the edges up to the hilt, where they split. Two veering off to twine around the respective arms, one snaking around the handle. All left straggling as though a breeze might carry them anywhere. Separate from one another.
“Pretty symbolic,” she said, catching on quick to what the graphic represented. “Our threesome is a bit twisted, isn’t it?”
So unlike any of his and Vin’s threesomes, at least in the tormented sense …
“I’m not sure exactly how twisted,” Rogen told her. “Vin doesn’t talk about you, as a rule.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” she said. “We severed ties. He went off in one direction; I went off in another. As did you. So … accurate depiction with the tattoo.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” She was here with him now, wasn’t she?
“Remember the first time we did this in the river?” she asked, changing the subject.
“How could I forget?” They’d been sixteen and Rogen had come home for a long weekend. Vin had not been with them that day. He’d been getting his driver’s license, just weeks before his parents had died. “You were nervous as hell to take off your clothes. Even though I’d seen you in a bikini dozens of times.”
“That’s not naked.”
It’d taken some coaxing to get her to slip out of her lacy bra and thong. A bit of goading, actually. The effort on Rogen’s part had been well worth seeing all of her for the first time. The water had been chilly and her nipples had been hard. Rogen had been mesmerized.
After their dip, she’d tried to hide behind a towel as they’d lain on a blanket spread beneath a tree while the sun set. Her head had been resting on his shoulder and he’d tugged at the end of the towel that was tucked between her breasts, unraveling the material. She’d gasped, shocked by his audacity but also turned on by it, he’d suspected. He’d whisked the pad of his thumb over a pebbled bead and felt the shiver down her spine.
“Have you ever done it?” she’d asked in her breathless tone.
“Who would I have done it with, if not you?”
She’d nibbled her lower lip, as she was prone to do when anxiety got the best of her. “Some girl at Trinity?”
“Not a chance. I love you, remember?”
“Then maybe we should do it.”
He’d grinned. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
He’d kissed her endlessly. Felt her body relax. Sensed the need and desire blooming within her.
When she’d eventually broken the kiss, she’d said, “I want to feel you inside me.”
He’d stared into her eyes, entranced. Then his lips had grazed hers and he’d said, “I only want you, Jewel. Even if we can’t really be together. Distance and all that. It doesn’t matter. You’re all I think of.”
“You say the sweetest things.” Her eyes had misted, but then she’d told him, “We can’t make any promises to each other, Rogen. All I’m asking is that right this very moment you know in your heart that this is real and special and memorable.”
“Jewel.” He’d swept another kiss over her lips as emotion gripped him. “Every moment with you is real and special and memorable.”
&
nbsp; She’d given him a look of gratitude and said, “Make love to me. Slowly.”
It’d been one of the best damn days of his life.
Now Rogen asked, “Are you still on the pill?”
She gave him a soft smile. “Mm-hmm. Keeps my cycles regular.”
“When’s the last time you were with someone?”
There was a hint of hesitation from her. Then she said, “You were my last time. When I visited you in Italy, while you were doing a summer internship between your junior and senior years of college.”
Rogen’s gut clenched. “Jewel, that was seven years ago.”
“Yes.”
Whoa.
“Don’t worry,” she continued, a tinge of melancholy in her voice. “I don’t expect you to say the same. You are much too virile for celibacy. And we’re just … star-crossed lovers.”
“Yeah, well, don’t go thinking I’ve been sleeping my way around the county since I got back. I’m selective. And, actually, it’s been a while.”
“I’ve heard whispers. Of you. Of…” Her voice trailed off. She sighed. Shook her head. Said, “Hopefully you haven’t been with anyone I know.”
“No.” He kissed her. “No one you know. No one who really knows about us.”
“Rogen.” She smoothed a hand over his wet hair. “There is no us.”
This time it was his heart that clutched fiercely. Painfully.
“There’s always going to be an us, sweetheart. Our history keeps repeating itself.”
“That makes us masochistic.”
“Yes. Now,” he said as he guided her to wind her legs around his waist before he waded through the water toward the steps. “For the record, I just had my annual physical a couple weeks ago. Got tested. All good there.”
Her fingers grazed his cheek. “You want to make love to me without a condom.”
“I want to come inside you. You’re the only one.”
Desire and affection for him flared in her eyes. “I want that, too. It feels so good.” Her mouth skimmed over his. Against his lips, she murmured, “The rush of heat. The very essence of you flowing through my pussy.”
