“Breakfast is almost ready. I know you haven’t been shopping in a while so I found enough stuff to make some pancakes. I hope that’s alright,” she says with concern.
I look behind her at the huge stack of hot pancakes and can’t resist teasing her a bit.
“Yeah, well it’s actually not alright. I can’t eat pancakes,” I say with a serious face. Inside I am cracking up at the look of horror that shoots across hers.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I can fix us some toast and eggs,” she says nervously as she begins frantically removing the stack of pancakes from the counter.
I reach over the island and grab the plate from her hand and lock eyes with hers.
Fuck me, she’s so gosh damn breathtaking.
“You didn’t let me finish. I said I can’t eat pancakes . . . without lots of powdered sugar on top,” I tease and she slaps my arm. “Ouch! You are ruthless!”
“And you’re mean to pick on me!” She smiles back at me with her hands on her curvy hips.
Damn that shirt is riding up again!!
“I’m sorry. You looked just too damn cute not to try to mess with you. Friends?” I say as I extend my hand to her.
“I’ll get back to you on that one,” she teases and winks back at me. I shake my head at her and sit in one of the large island stools. She turns around and opens the cabinet next to her and begins making our plates.
I wonder if she is wearing a matching bra to those pink panties. That’s it. Reach a little to the left. Oh, sweet Jesus!! Look at those ass cheeks!!
My phone buzzes on the counter and brings me out of my fantasy.
Damn this phone!
My pilot was messaging me that everything was loaded and ready for our noon departure. I message him back that we would be leaving on schedule and lay my phone down on the granite counter beside me.
She slides the hot pancakes over to me and tries to hide her giggles. God it’s so fucking good to hear that sound. When I look back to the plate, I see the reason for her laughter. Not only had she piled a freaking foot of pancakes on my plate, but she had also dumped half a bag of powdered sugar on top. I smirk back at her and watch her as she situates herself on one of the bar stools and places her legs beneath her. I have to hold my breath and lean into the counter.
Is this girl trying to make me blow my load in my pants this morning on purpose?
She is still waiting on my reaction to the monstrosity of sugar in front of me, but I don’t let her get off that easy. I rub my hands together and eagerly pick up my fork and knife and begin cutting into my breakfast. I shove a huge mouthful in my mouth and grin back across to her as I chew.
Holy shit! This is off the charts good!
I eat a couple of more huge bites and listen to her continue giggling while she eats. I would fucking strip down naked and run through the streets if it keeps her laughing like that. For a brief moment, I can see a glimpse of the old Skylar.
Come on, baby, come back to me.
I wait until she’s finished eating and then I decide to make my move. This isn’t going to be received well, but I can’t help myself. I have to do it.
“Skylar?” I call her name and she stops to turn around and face me
“Thank you for breakfast. It was delicious, but can I ask you something?” I say with a serious face and make my way to her.
“Sure, what’s that?” she says while still holding our plates in her hand.
“Do you like powdered sugar?”
She looks at me confused and nods her head.
“Um . . . of course I do. Doesn’t everyone?” she asks.
“Well, I’m really glad to hear you say that actually. It makes it easier for me.”
“Easier for what silly?” she replies.
“Easier for this!” I scream as I grab a handful of powdered sugar out from the bag behind me and rub it in her face.
“Lucas!” She screams through her shock. Her face is now covered in white film. When she opens her fucking glorious turquoise eyes at me, I swear they glow with mischief. The left side of her delicious lips turns up and I prepare for what comes next. I’ll definitely take one for the team.
“You didn’t finish your pancakes. Here let me help you with that! She laughs while grabbing a handful and shoving them in my face. She takes her time smearing my breakfast into my head and then sits the empty plate down and takes off running. I grab for my eye to distract her and pretend to have something in it. I take the full bag of sugar discretely off the counter and wait for just the right time.
Her laughter stops when she sees me bent over and she immediately makes her way to where I am standing.
“Oh my gosh! Did I get some in your eyes?” She asks and I nod with my back still to her.
Her hand goes to my shoulder and I turn and toss the powder up in the air. White smoke fills the room and so does her laughter. I chase her around the side of the island and she makes a grab for the syrup. She squeezes the bottle and shakes it toward me, but I overtake her and unscrew the top. I hold it up above our heads and drench us both with the dark maple liquid. Taking the opportunity, I grab a hold of her and kiss her on top of the forehead. She smiles and looks back up at me sweetly.
These eyes are seriously going to be the death of me.
And then I see it. There is a faint twinkle of hope in them. I knew all along that it was there hidden beneath all of that pain.
All the pain that he caused her. Please, angel . . . come back to me.
Five Months Later
Skylar
I stand out on the balcony and peer out at the beautiful lights of Monte Carlo at night while I secure my earring into my lobe. It’s been five long months since I found the envelope from him, yet it still sits unopened in my suitcase. I don’t know why exactly I brought the letter along with me, but the thought of being thousands of miles away from his last words to me is completely unbearable. Although I still haven’t worked up enough courage to open it, I find comfort in knowing that it’s with me when I’m ready. Of course right now, I don’t know when or if that’ll ever happen.
Once I had recovered from my one and only hangover, Lucas made arrangements for us to begin our travels. So far we have done everything from skiing in Switzerland to dancing in the streets of Spain. With each place came a new adventure and new amazing memories to go along with it. My birthday and the holidays all went by in one big blur. I’m more thankful to him for that than he’ll ever possibly know. I miss my sister dearly, and even though we Skype as much as we can, it isn’t the same as being able to actually hug her. From our past conversations, I know that something is going on with her and Rylan—I can feel it. She assures me they’re fine, but I remain unconvinced. I had worried that the long distance relationship may have taken a toll on them. I hope she can come to visit us soon when we are back in the States. Maybe then I can get her to open up and be honest with me.
I had picked up some freelance jobs and have just finished a project for my first big client, Kingston Gilbert, from London. My design of their new company logo will be formally revealed at an event in about a month. I don’t know who’s more excited about that, Lucas or me. Since I am Lucas’ personal assistant, I work closely with him every day. Even working in close proximity with each other, he remains the perfect gentlemen and hasn’t once tried to blur the lines of our friendship. Part of me secretly wishes that he’ll push them and the other part of me wants nothing to do with taking a chance on getting hurt again.
Staring down at the envelope in my hands, my chest immediately starts to pound. Sebastian still has a hold on me regardless of my desperation to be free from him. Right now I should just put myself out my misery and see whatever is inside, but instead I slide it back into the side zipper of my satchel and try to steady my erratic breathing. Why do I torture myself like this?
The buzz of my phone brings me out of my thoughts and I can’t help but grin when I see Lucas’ smiling face come up on my screen. Just the sight
of him makes everything in me relax. How does he do that?
“Hey, gorgeous! I just came downstairs. I’ll be waiting on you in the lobby when you’re ready,” he says sweetly over the phone. His voice rushes over me and leaves me with goose bumps.
“I’m almost ready. Give me just a few minutes and I’ll be right down,” I tell him as I grab my clutch and slide my feet into my new Louis Vuitton stilettos that he bought me. Before I make my way downstairs, I check my reflection in the mirror once more and drop the lip gloss and room key into my purse. I hope I look all right, I don’t even recognize myself tonight.
While I have attended many of these events since coming to work for Lucas, this event will be much more formal than the others that I have accompanied him to. I wasn’t certain what to wear tonight and had spent most of our flight to Monaco contemplating if I needed to go shopping once we arrived.
As if he had read my mind, a huge box and garment bag had been waiting for me in my hotel suite when we arrived. Inside the bag was a beautiful long red silk dress by a famous European fashion designer. Damn, this man has exquisite taste!
I can’t help but chuckle at the note he had attached to the dress because he knows that I would protest to this kindness.
No arguments! I bought the dress for me, gorgeous.
Lobby. 7 pm.
-L
The dress fits as if it had been custom made for me and I don’t know how that’s possible, especially with my curvy figure. The red strapless number tightly clings to my every curve, exposing my back as it scooped down extraordinarily low on my waist. So low, in fact that it almost exposed my now silver faded scar. I had styled my hair putting it up with diamond pins and allowed my deep curls to fall to one side. Smokey eyes and lipstick the same shade of deep red as the dress I am wearing completed the look.
As the glass elevator makes its way down, I peer down below at the busy lobby. Even though Lucas’ back is to me, I spot him immediately in the crowd of people. He’s talking to several other men who also wore tuxes and are facing me. Judging by the smile on their faces, they find my appearance pleasing. Turning to see what has captured their attention, Lucas’s emerald eyes find mine through the glass elevator wall. Our eyes lock in an intense hold as he watches me make my way to the ground level. I can’t help but sense there’s something very different in his gaze tonight. This look is filled with desire and admiration. His eyes slowly roam my body as the elevator begins to halt. He beams as he greets me at the door with an arm extended. Once I place my arm in his, he brings me close to him and it causes me to lose my breath.
“Skylar, you look absolutely . . . breathtaking,” he whispers in my ear. I smile and feel the blush fill my cheeks. He takes my hand and he leads me to the group of smiling men. I could feel him tense at their reaction to me and he immediately pulls me into him, possessively wrapping his hand around my waist. After he makes the proper introductions, Lucas entwines his hand in mine and leads me to the waiting car.
Never letting go of my hand, he gently caresses my fingers as he quietly stares out the window beside him. Something about him is so different tonight. The ride to the event is unexpectedly short. When we pull up to the tall old building, there’s a massive crowd of people standing near the front entrance. Lucas slides out of the car first and holds tightly onto my hand as I step out onto the red-carpeted entry. Flashes of light flood the air around us as he pulls me close to him and leads me down the long press walk. Since he’s usually a VIP attendee, I have grown accustomed to him being photographed while we’re at these kinds of affairs. He had always laughed when I ducked to the side allowing him to pose for these pictures alone, but tonight he doesn’t do that. Instead of allowing me to walk off, I’m startled when he keeps me close into his side and holds me there. The cameras come to life all around us and photographers urge us to look their way. My body stiffens and I try to follow their direction because I certainly don’t want to embarrass Lucas. I feel his hand as it rubs my hip gently and tries to urge me to relax. When I dare glance up at him, Lucas smiles down adoringly and I can’t ignore how his stare affects me.
Ever since the first time I’d met him, I couldn’t deny the attraction I felt for him. His flirtatious and fun personality draws me in along with his Greek God body and gorgeous face. A woman would have to be crazy and blind to not be attracted to that. But Lucas is quite the free spirit and is not the ‘settle down white picket fence and house full of kids’ kind of guy. He loved beautiful women and what those beautiful women could do for him—if you get my drift. It doesn’t matter where we were; women flocked to him wherever we went. It‘s obvious that many of the women at these events had more than graced his bed a few times over the years. It is no secret Mr. Lucas Alexi Drake is quite the international playboy, but he’s now my boss and best friend. That “best friend” had me starting to feel things that I’m not sure about. I guess it proves that even I’m not resistant to his powerful charms. The problem is . . . I have to be.
Lucas
She is so fucking gorgeous!
Seeing her tonight in that red dress is my complete and utter undoing. Hell, even seeing her crying hysterically in pajama bottoms on the floor of an elevator is sexy as fucking hell. I’ve been with plenty of women in my life, but let me tell you, she puts them all to shame. Never, not once, have I ever felt one ounce of feeling for any woman. That is, until her. This is an emotion that I’m not used to having and, well, I’ll admit, it scares the shit out of me.
At the moment, I swear I want to rip my business associates throats out at the way they’re checking her out. Maybe I shouldn’t have picked such a sexy dress for her to wear after all. Perhaps she has a sweater she can wear over it tonight? When I make introductions, I possessively hold her close to me. I want these bastards to know she’s MINE, even if she doesn’t realize that yet.
Tonight I couldn’t let go of her hand. It was as if it was as natural as breathing to be touching her. The entire ride to the event, I couldn’t help but savor the silky feel of her warm skin. Her close proximity always makes me fight to control my desires. For five months I’ve held back, but after tonight . . . well, let’s just say I don’t plan on fighting it for much longer.
When I laid eyes on her almost a year ago, I thought I’d literally seen an angel. I smile as I remember her hitting the hood of my car and the rush of panic I had felt. There was no way I could’ve prepared myself for what I saw when I reached her. Eyes the color of the clearest sea opened to take me in, and I’ve never been the same since. I had no problem with the ladies, but at that moment, I swear I lost every bit of control of my body. Hell, honestly, she made me forget my own name.
Even after learning hers, she became forever “gorgeous” to me. When I left the bakery with her number, I couldn’t wait two minutes before I texted to tease her about enjoying her “orgasms”. Even as I watched her beautiful face through the window from across the street, she held my heart captive. I don’t really think I ever got it back. I remember the thoughts and emotions that I’d been feeling the weeks following meeting her that night. Simply said, when it comes to her, I’m worse than a lovesick teenage boy.
Making matters completely worse is the immense attraction Sebastian Thorne has for her. Sebastian and I have known each other since college and were always friendly rivals, especially when it came to sports and now business. Thorne Enterprises and Drake Corporation have been working together for almost four years now. I handle virtually all of Thorne’s financial investments. Yes, Thorne trusts me with his money, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t trust me with his greatest treasure of all . . . her.
Skylar
After gulping down my third glass of Cristal, I wait for the effects to kick in. I’ve been here now for a mere twenty minutes and already I’m a nervous wreck. Lucas has introduced me to so many different men and women this evening that I’ve lost count. Tonight, the introductions are very different. From the moment we arrived in Monte Carlo, it’s as if I’m n
ot really his assistant, but something much more personal.
I think I’m most nervous about meeting Tomas and CeCe Depreve, who are Lucas’ best friends. Tomas is in charge of the Monaco office for Drake Corporation and CeCe is a renowned artist. I didn’t know exactly how well they’ll like me since they have been led to believe that I had broken Lucas’ heart all those months ago.
The champagne had more than worked its way into my system and my bladder was feeling the pain in this tight dress. After excusing myself, I head to the ladies room. Lucas wanted to escort me to the doors, but I decline. I need a breather from all of this around me and I certainly could manage my way to the restroom.
After I wash my hands, I head to sit in the large powder room just off the ladies restroom. Several very attractive ladies who I ‘d seen shoot daggers at me earlier, give me the cold shoulder and giggle as they stand to leave. I know enough French to understand that they certainly weren’t happy about me being here with Lucas tonight. One even turned back to call me a desperate plain bitch before she exited the room.
Trying to compose myself from their unkind words, I sit down on the padded bench and begin reapplying my lipstick and smoothing my curls. I think I’m alone so I just sit there and stare back into the mirror. Who is this girl? I certainly don’t recognize her, nor do I know who she is anymore. I’m lost. I’m afraid. I’m broken. My eyes are proof of all of that and there’s no way I can hide it. CeCe and Tomas would surely see through all of this and wonder what in the world Lucas would have ever seen in me. I’m a nobody trying to live in a somebody world. There’s no way I’ll ever be worthy of anyone’s love again. Maybe the girl is right. Maybe I’m desperate and that’s why Lucas keeps me nearby because he feels sorry for me.
Standing before the sink once more, I close my eyes and grip the countertop in front of me. I will not cry. I will not cry. No matter how hard I try, it isn’t possible to stop the few tears that manage to escape. I bury my face in my hands and allow the pain free reign. I hate this part. He made me this way. Sebastian just won’t leave my head or my heart.
Thorneless (Rose of Thorne Series) Page 4
