by Barb Han
She pulled away. His disapproval stung. “But you don’t care for it?”
He stood there, his expression told her that he was irritated and didn’t want to spell it out for her. But what? What didn’t he want to spell out? His disapproval? Had Avery finally succumbed to the seduction of fairy tale worlds, thinking this would all work out if she wore a pretty dress and pulled her hair up? Was every woman doomed to eventually trip into that mythical pothole? Damn.
“It’s a pretty dress.”
“But you don’t approve?” she asked, trying to process his response. She would have thought he’d be pleased.
“Those are your words, not mine. Besides, I can think of better things to do than talk about your dress.”
Avery couldn’t place what it was she saw in the back of his eyes, except for disapproval. And, maybe a hint of regret? Her stomach dropped. Maybe he had realized bringing her out to his friends, his social circle was a mistake?
Well, she didn’t have to stand there and take being someone’s regret.
“We can discuss whatever you want. Like when am I finally getting off this island?”
“It’s fine. But wear whatever the hell you want,” he said bitterly.
“I can see that you hate it, so forget it.” And here she’d almost believed him about that woman in the photos. “Will she be here?”
“Who?”
“The woman from the pictures. Is she one of your friends too?” Anger had a heat rash crawling up her chest.
“Where is this coming from?” he ground out.
“You never really answered my questions about her.”
“I told you nothing happened.”
“As in you didn’t sleep with her? Or you stopped yourself in time?”
“I didn’t sleep with her. I didn’t try to. Look. She was all over me. I said no. End of story.”
“Why not?” she demanded, flushed and angry.
“Because I wanted to be with you instead.”
Anger at realizing he hadn’t been completely honest with her before had her head spinning. Forget that he’d just said he wanted to be with her. “Just not in this dress.”
“You’d look beautiful in whatever you wear. I—”
“Fine then. Fine.” She ripped the clothes off and stood before him completely bare.
He didn’t say a word.
“No more dress,” she practically screamed at him. “Better?”
His gaze was narrow, and his back teeth were grinding as he stalked over to her and spun her around to face the mirror. He pulled the pins out of her hair so it came tumbling down in long cascading pools around her shoulders. “Yes.”
His bare chest pressed against her back and sent her heart racing. A swing of the pendulum turned passion into anger, and Avery stood there, flushed, hands planted on her hips looking like a hellcat.
Her lips gave into a momentary pout before they thinned, and she said, “Fine. Then this is what I’ll wear.”
“When you should be quiet, you challenge me. I find that very sexy about you, Avery.” His thumb brushed her nipple, making her back go rigid and her entire body zing and hum with electricity. Awareness circled low in her belly.
She shouldn’t allow it. She shouldn’t give in to his smooth, practiced talk and let him tear down her defenses so easily. Didn’t he have a quick answer for everything? And wasn’t that the first clue someone lied?
“No. Not this time,” she said but she didn’t budge. She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the smooth silhouette of her body against his strong masculinity.
“Oh, God. And how your body reacts every time I touch it,” he said thickly. “And this, this is perfection.” His finger ran along the curve of her hip. Another hand came up and buried inside her hair, and he pulled her head back to expose the skin of her neck where his mouth tantalized her.
She dug her fingers into his jet hair as she threw her head back and her body shuddered. A hot achy feeling fired down her legs.
“I want to be inside you.”
His mouth closed around her nipple, and she moaned as he licked and sucked until it pebbled.
She took his hands in hers and returned them back at his sides as she held his gaze. “Not yet,” she said. This time she would be in charge.
Avery walked him back to the bed where he sat on the edge. She took his erection in both hands and then leaned over, her breasts pushing down on his legs at his knees. A primal gasp growled from him as her fingers closed around his tip. She slowly slid up his thighs until his erection was pressed between her breasts. She rubbed him up and down inside her cleavage, squeezing him.
****
Ryker’s body was enflamed. When he could take Avery’s stroking and teasing no more, he wrapped his arms under her legs until his palms rested on her bottom and lifted her up until her mouth found his.
Ryker spread her legs around him and eased her down on his full erection. She was wet and ready for him. With his hands firmly gripping her waist, he thrust his hips forward and buried himself deep inside her.
“More,” she moaned.
He bucked harder, filling her completely. He pumped faster as her fingers dug into his back. Ryker had to struggle for control. His tongue slid down and caressed her nipple, and then he nipped as he thrust his erection to her core.
She groaned as her hands rose to his shoulders for support until her back arched, nipples stiffened, and muscles tensed. Her breasts pressed hard against his chest as he grabbed her tiny waist and helped force her back and forth in perfect motion with him. Faster. Harder. The eruption mounted from deep inside them both.
Hot tongues searched inside mouths, hips bucked back and forth, hands pulled, tugged, and caressed. He thrust and plunged and breathed her name until she climaxed so strongly, so overwhelmingly and physically powerful, her entire body quaked with aftershocks in perfect unison with his.
He gently laid her on the bed and left the room to shower.
****
There was so much left unsaid. Avery wanted to go into the bathroom and explain but suddenly felt awkward about bursting into the room, which was probably ridiculous. Maybe it was just the argument that still had her riled. Or that she’d been so jealous. She wrapped herself in a blanket and sat on his bed to wait. She needed a minute to clear her thoughts.
He reappeared ten minutes later with a towel wrapped around his waist and his body still glistening. He moved to the window and glanced outside. He didn’t look in the mood for a party.
“Why is your mother here?”
“Alexandria? Avery asked, shocked. “I told her no.”
“Looks like she didn’t listen,” was all he said before he stalked toward the door. “As for my plane, you may have it whenever you wish.”
Avery’s heart flat-lined the second he turned his back. Slipping on her clothes, she headed downstairs to face Alexandria.
“Why are you here?” Avery demanded.
“Don’t be silly, dear. You invited us.”
“No. I didn’t. Wait a minute? You said us?”
Bits climbed out of the other side of the limo.
If her anger could light a match then she would’ve lit a forest fire. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw other limos arriving and had no intention of making a scene. “Follow me. But you’re both in deep trouble.” She located one of the villa staff and explained the situation that two unexpected guests had arrived and could share a room.
Alexandria protested, but Avery cut her mother short. “You shouldn’t be here at all. You’re not in a position to make demands,” Avery whispered through gritted teeth. She hated how fury made her voice shake.
She would get them handed off, march back upstairs, and pack. No sense dragging out her departure.
On her way, she cut through the kitchen to avoid any other arriving guests and the informal cocktail reception going on in the front hall. It was a relief to see Kyle there in his kitchen, cooking up something that smelled wonderful.
“Guess we�
�ll be seeing a lot of each other today.” Avery painted on a smile while she took a cup from the counter and filled it with coffee.
“Imagine my frustration at the prospect,” he said with a wink and a grin.
“Looks like people are here.”
“Yep. There’s nowhere to hide now. Here.” He held out a large spoon. “Try this.”
Avery did. “Delicious.”
“But it needs something.”
“No, it’s pretty perfect how it is.” Funny how geniuses in their craft could pick apart something others would view as brilliant.
“Nah,” he said. “Not perfect. It needs something. A spice. Let’s see here.” He pulled out a cabinet that must’ve held a hundred or more bottles of herbs. “Curry paste.”
“Really?”
“Just a pinch.” He scooped the tiniest bit onto his finger and knocked it into the pot before stirring. “Now try.”
Avery blew on the spoon before testing it. “Wow. You’re absolutely right. I don’t know how you’ve done it. Tasted perfect before. But this. This is better.”
“A little pinch of spice to liven things up is all it needed.” He rocked his head in approval, then turned up the radio to a contemporary rock song. “Used to tour with this band when we were young.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Bet I could fill a book with what you don’t know about me,” he said ruefully.
Or people in general, Avery thought. And especially men. Alexandria Chase had far more experience in that area. As did Bits.
Speaking of her family, Avery needed to step out and face the music sometime. She was not happy about their arrival, and they needed to be reined in before they became the center of attention.
“Remind me to ask you what that means later,” she said with a smile.
Avery moved out the back door to avoid the crowds gathering inside and came around from behind the house where she could blend into the bushes. A picture froze her faster than an ice cube dipped in the Bering Sea. Alexandria and Bits setting their sights on Ryker. For a tiny moment she feared they would give him a piece of their minds on her behalf, but she blinked her eyes clear, only to see wide smiles on their faces as they approached him.
His posture tensed ever so slightly, but Avery was the only one who knew him well enough to recognize it. Not only were they not standing up for her, they tossed their hair and shifted their weight as they spoke to him, which meant they were flirting.
Avery couldn’t face them or Ryker or anyone else for that matter. In fact, she felt sick.
A walk and some fresh air was all she needed to feel better. She had a busy day ahead, and the last thing she needed would be to start the day off by vomiting or fainting.
Avery strolled along the beach and couldn’t help herself but to think about how much she’d miss the place. Strangely, this felt like home to her now, only some kind of home she’d never known before. Or maybe it was the knowledge everything she saw belonged to Ryker.
None of it mattered now. Looking out onto gorgeous surf like this would have anyone going weak-kneed.
When she’d taken enough air into her lungs, basked in the warmth of the sunshine, and breathed in enough of the scent of salty cinnamon into her soul, she slowly turned and made her way back to the villa. It would be teeming with people by now, and she still had a hell of a lot of work to do. The time had come to roll up her sleeves and dig in, which was normally the fun part. Where she got to see all her hard work and planning pay off.
So why did she feel so empty?
This day would be over soon. She would happily collect her check and leave. Okay, not happily. More like miserably.
Money spent the same whether it came through smiles or tears.
She managed to avoid seeing anyone on her way back to the villa. A tiny piece of her heart wondered if Ryker was avoiding her. Maybe he was on the beach with some random blonde already. Don’t go there.
Besides, that wasn’t exactly fair. She was the one who’d pushed him away. Push or be pushed.
She asked around and found out that Mother and Bits were staying in the last room on the South wing. They’d disappeared from the party, so Avery could only assume they were freshening up. She moved down the hall, careful not to run into anyone, and especially not Ryker. Even if her heart betrayed from the inside out and her chest ached from his absence.
Alexandria opened the door. She frowned when she saw Avery. “What has he done to you?”
“Me? I’m fine.”
“You’re not, and I can see it.” Alexandria pulled Avery inside the room and into an uncomfortable hug. Bits sat like a fixture in front of a mirror. She barely glanced up when she smiled that infuriating smile, the one that said poor Avery, and got right back to work on her own face.
“Oh, but I am. This party will be over in a few hours, a job well done, and I’ll happily be on a plane home by morning,” she lied. Avery had some satisfaction in Ryker’s pinched expression when he’d been speaking to her family earlier.
“Shame on him for—”
“What?” Avery fired back. But then suddenly realized they thought he got what he wanted, and then dumped her right before the party.
Had he?
Impossible. Avery had been the one to walk away. Hadn’t she? Her emotions were so out of control it was harder and harder to remember correctly. Maybe he had given her that awful look just to push her away. Maybe he’d invited someone more appropriate. Maybe he’d regretted inviting her.
“He asked me to be his date, but I refused.” Why did she feel the need to clarify this point with Alexandria and Bits?
An exchanged look between them followed by a smirk said all Avery needed to know about what they thought. She didn’t need to stick around and be subject to this anymore.
Hell, no. She had work to do.
“I wanted to check in with you two. No behaving badly. This is work for me. My professional reputation is on the line, and I will not forgive you if you screw that up. Now, that being said, enjoy yourselves.” Although that last part didn’t really need saying, now did it?
“You’re always putting up a brave front, but I know you’re hurting. I can see it,” Alexandria said.
The genuineness in her mother’s tone caught Avery off guard. “Fine. Really. I’d better get back to work, though.” She was a little more than unsettled about the prospect of leaving the island. Having two familiar faces there wasn’t the worst thing to happen.
The melancholy mood carried her toward the kitchen. She needed to check a few things there before making her way back to the room to dress for the party. She had no idea what to wear now that she’d ripped her only glittery cocktail dress.
Maybe a dark suit?
Didn’t matter. As long as she looked professional and pulled off a fabulous party, she could leave things neat and clean. Her heart might disagree with the leaving clean part, but it would heal eventually.
Wouldn’t it?
Chapter Eleven
Avery hid in the kitchen as long as she could before Kyle threatened to kick her out himself if he had to. “Go to the party,” he insisted.
What she wanted was a hot bath, a glass of wine, and a good night of sleep, if that were even possible. Probably not. At least about the sleeping part. She was sure she’d dream about Ryker if she closed her eyes for more than a minute.
The preliminary cocktails had been downed in the receiving room, and it was time to move the party outside. The few times she’d poked her head out of the kitchen she’d seen elated party guests flirting and laughing. So far, so good.
Her heart—that was another story altogether. But she didn’t want to focus on that right now. Better to look toward her accomplishments rather than wallow in her losses. She checked outside one more time just to make sure everything was perfect. Oh, God. The place dazzled. A thousand bright lights under the stars. What a theme. And the cocktail dresses would give precisely the affect she’d hoped for. They would gli
tter as brilliantly as a sea of diamonds. Perfect.
Avery had managed to avoid bumping into Ryker so far, and she told herself she didn’t care that he didn’t seem to be looking for her either. That it was somehow better this way. She had to prepare herself for seeing him with another woman out on the dance floor or at the bar anyway. Ryker Li wouldn’t stand alone in a crowd for long. She checked for him in the receiving room one last time before heading up.
There he stood, near the bar.
Flanked by men in suits, Ryker’s presence practically dwarfed them. His posture was tense, his eyes focused forward. Whatever the conversation was, he didn’t look happy about it. At least Avery knew where he was.
She slipped up the stairs and into his bedroom, where he’d had her clothes moved days ago. There on the bed sat an opened and rather large white box with a note on top that read, “I’m sorry.”
Inside the box was something beautiful. A dress. She couldn’t help herself but to put it on.
It was long and flowing in a peachy-chiffon texture. Spaghetti straps on top with an open back that dropped into a perfect V down her back. There were no sparkly gems or fancy beading. But a braid of fabric ran vertically just below the breast line. Little actual skin could be seen, and yet it was a sensuous gown.
The dress wasn’t like any of the glittery cocktail dresses on the gorgeous women downstairs, but Avery felt beautiful in it. And more importantly, she felt like herself. She slipped on the jeweled sandals at the bottom of the box and gave herself a moment in front of the mirror. It was perfect. She was stunning.
After running a brush through her wavy locks, she strolled into the kitchen, looking for Kyle, needing to steel her nerves before she led the guests outside.
As soon as Kyle looked up, she spun herself around. “What do you think?”
“Oh, Bejesus. Careful. You’ll give an old man a heart attack in that dress,” he said clutching at his chest and grinning his devilish outback best.
“You’re not old. And you’re being kind.”
He stared at her for a long thoughtful moment. Then he shook his head. “You really don’t get it, do you?”
“Get what?”
