He wiped his lips with his napkin and dropped it on his knee. “We were assigned to the same unit. Between your brother, Colt Collins, Conner Udine, and Harrison Hughes, I thought I was stuck babysitting the children of billionaires at first. It made me bitter and angry and I wasn’t that nice to your brother.”
The image of someone not just blindly agreeing with the brilliant Gabe made her giggle, though she knew if she shared the memory she was thinking of, she’d sound ten years younger than she was. “Gabe deserved a little wrath for years of torturing me.”
He leaned closer and the reaction in his eyes made her heart beat faster. “What did he do to you?”
She mimicked his actions and drew closer. “As a boy, he cut the hair off all my dolls just to watch me cry.”
A smile broke out on his face. He winked at her and adjusted his chair to sit closer. “And what did you do in response?”
The nearness of him made her body feel ready for his every touch. “I broke my own things and then let my parents think he did it.”
He laughed. “So that’s why he called you princess.”
“Guilty.” The heat in her cheeks grew as she shared stories of exactly who she no longer wanted to be, but regressed into when near her family. “What about you? Tell me a story from your childhood.”
He reached out and took her hand. “Scarlett, I don’t have sibling stories that show I’m close to anyone. I’ve been alone for years now.”
The notes of a slow song she loved wafted up from below. Not wanting the mood to sour, she stood up and held her hand out. “Dance with me.”
“Why not?”
He stood up too, taking her hand and pulling her close. The moment he wrapped his arms around her for a waltz, she smelled the pine scent of home. She relaxed and followed his lead. “James, you’re not what I expected. I feel whole here, in your arms.”
“Scarlett, you’re softer and sweeter than I was led to believe.”
“You heard that from my brother.” Anyone would be softer and sweeter than expected if the description came from Gabe, she thought. James spun her on her heels, and as her hand met his once more in the dance, she spoke again. “He still thinks I’m fourteen and the brat I was.”
James shrugged as he showed off his waltzing skills. “Is that a sibling thing? I wouldn’t know. I grew up feeling like my military unit was my family, before Maddox reminded me that was an illusion.”
Maddox went after Gabe’s family because he had wanted to steal computer files and was jealous that Gabe was smart enough to figure out how to stop his own computer virus that Maddox had stolen in the desert years ago.
“Where did you learn to dance then?” His hand trailed lower, onto the small of her back, and fireworks exploded inside her. If only this was happening inside their room and on the bed, though she wouldn’t say that out loud.
“In the Miami clubs, before I was rich. Girls like men who can dance.”
“Got it. So you were a relentless one-night stand.”
“All that from dancing?”
“Isn’t that what happens in the club?”
James could have anyone he wanted, and must have on more than one occasion, but he held her close now. For tonight, they were all that mattered. She pressed her nose into his shoulder, letting the feeling of home wash through her for a second. “What happened with Maddox and my brother and you?”
He stopped swaying and let her go. He ran his hand through his hair, like he wanted to forget the memory. “Someone didn’t put a few assault weapons and a grenade launcher back, then they were found in my possession. Your brother went to the MPs when they were arresting me and stood up for me. Then, just like that, the MPs dropped the charges.”
MP meant military police, from what she overheard from her brother. She held her wrist and swallowed at the loss of his touch, goose bumps growing on her arms. For tonight, with no buildings around them, they were safe and she could relax. She leaned against the wall and stared at the night sky. “What did my brother say?”
“That he saw me put the weapons in the right place and someone was framing me. They took his word.” James stood next to her and also leaned on the wall, staring at the stars and the moon that seemed to beam brighter than usual tonight.
She turned and realized the blue of the faded sky now almost matched his eyes. She licked her lips and wished he’d kiss her. “But not yours?”
“I never said anything.” He lifted his chin.
“Everyone always believes Gabe. He’s the perfect one.”
“He’s also a stand-up guy who I trust and respect.”
“So I’m off limits forever then, because Gabe is my brother?”
“Yeah.”
“Even if I decide to divorce him?”
“You can’t divorce siblings. It’s not a marriage.”
“Well you should. How else will you kiss me again?”
“The last time…”
“Don’t deny this.” She pushed her hair behind her ears and whispered exactly how she felt. “James, do you feel anything between us?”
“Scarlett, I shouldn’t,” he said as he left the wall and leaned over her.
Her eyes closed and her lips parted. “I shouldn’t either. I don’t want to ever bring home someone my parents might like.”
“Why?” He stopped.
The reason made her sound like the child she was, and she shouldn’t think like that. She lowered her head.
“Guess I’m not as mature as I pretend.” She looked up again. “I just want to keep them at arm’s length until I prove that I can be successful without them, like Gabe.”
“Your brother is a computer genius.”
This wasn’t going to get her that kiss. She sighed. “No one would put genius and my name together, but I’m tenacious.”
He stroked her chin, leaning in closer. “And beautiful.”
“I am?” She closed her eyes.
“And tempting, and delicious, and my wife.”
His lips met hers again, and she felt like she was in heaven itself. Yes, they were married. And together.
“Don’t make me wait,” she said.
He picked her up like she weighed nothing and carried her off the balcony, into their hotel room. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
He carried her all the way to their bed. This was it. She kept her arms around him and held him close until she stumbled onto the bed.
Right now she had to have him, and he was hers for the night. She climbed onto the mattress while he stripped off his t-shirt and dropped his sweat pants.
Quickly, she unwrapped her dress and tugged off her bra. He joined her in the bed just as she finished undressing, and her entire body grew warm with desire until he pressed himself on top of her. The weight of him made her feel wanted. He pushed her hair out of her face. “You’re beautiful, Scarlett.”
Another kiss rocked her entire body as she wrapped herself around him. The moment he broke the kiss, she needed him again. She needed far more of him. She wanted it all. She sighed. “You already said that.”
“I should say it every day.”
His lips trailed lower down her body to suck on her nipples. The way he flicked the nipple inside his lips made her ache with wanting as she lost her ability to think and reached out to hold him. She moaned, and he pushed her hands out of his thick coarse hair.
“Put your hands behind your head.”
No one ordered her around. She followed his directions, albeit reluctantly. “Why?”
“Gives me access to your chest,” he said.
At his words, she felt lost in a sea of desire. Every part of her was sensitive, needy, and ready for him. He went to her other breast, leaving the first one aching with need, as his hand checked her apex. She knew he could tell she was ready—not that she could say anything.
“Push your legs apart.”
“Yes, sir.” Somehow the words spilled from her lips. She had no idea how they could be this go
od together, this fast, but she welcomed the weight of him.
Then he pushed inside of her with a moan.
“Ahh, James!” No one had ever made her feel like this. With him she was whole.
“You took all of me,” he said as he set the rhythm.
“Mmmhmm.”
Nothing else could be said. This was perfect. She was owned, and she loved every moment.
“You’re mine,” he said as he quickened their pace, sending her eyes rolling backwards in her head. This must be why the French called an orgasm la petite mort, because every part of her felt present, but unconscious. James Clancy was the best she’d ever had.
CHAPTER 6
J ames woke up slowly and propped his head up and stared at Scarlett, the gorgeous blonde who laid beside him on the pillow next to his. She held his hand under the sheets even as she slept. Her soft skin on his calloused fingers made him feel like a brute. Last night she had taken all of him inside her.
Most women weren’t that capable.
She stirred, and his thoughts quieted. She opened her blue eyes and he felt at peace in a way he never usually did. Withdrawing her hand, she tugged the sheets higher before she stretched. “Good morning.”
“Don’t tell me you’re a morning person.” He narrowed his eyes and glared at her, as she sat up and stretched more.
A moment later she bent down and kissed his nose, and he couldn’t even pretend to be angry anymore. “Guilty as charged.”
“Don’t feel guilty around me, ever,” he said, as his heart sped up. There was a vulnerability in every move she made.
She reached for her bag while still holding the sheet to protect her modesty, which was funny considering he’d seen every inch of her delicious body last night. As she dug through her bag, she said, “Last night I was angry with you for lying to me about who you were.”
He reached out and pressed his hand to her shoulder. “I didn’t lie.”
“You weren’t forthcoming.” She brushed him off, then slipped a nightgown over her head.
“You made assumptions, and you know what they say about people who do that.” He got up, not caring that he was naked, and walked over to his own bag.
“What do they say?”
He looked over his shoulder at her and saw how she stared at his backside. Grabbing his boxer briefs, he put them on as he tried to think of how to word it delicately. “That those who make them are the first three letters of the word.”
Her lips parted. “That’s not nice to say.”
He shrugged, then came back to sit next to her on the bed.. “Either way, I was attracted to you far more than I usually am.” His eyebrows arched, and their shoulders touched. “And it had nothing to do with my money.”
“Impossible. I didn’t know you had money until yesterday.” She tucked her hair behind her ears and came closer.
Since he’d found out he had money, he never once believed the women who would have once turned their noses up at him were suddenly wanting to be in his bed. As a poor teenager, girls had been interested in fun and him. As a billionaire, he hadn’t met a single socialite interested first in fun or him. Everyone had an agenda. He stood. “And before that you were dismissive and bossy.”
She followed him, staying on his heels. “I was fighting my attraction to you.”
Her big blue eyes were a beacon of hope and understanding he’d never fall for, and many women had tried to get his attention. He crossed his arms. “Don’t go falling in love with me, Scarlett.”
“I won’t.” She rolled her eyes and opened her suitcase again. This time, she found a dress and held it up in the morning light. “I’ve been on that train before.”
Train? Love? She hadn’t even blinked at what he said. Perhaps she misunderstood. He lowered his arms. “What do you mean?”
“Wait.” She laid the dress on the bed and dug sandals out from her bag and jewelry from her pocketbook. Finished she ran to the bathroom to clean up.
James was reading the newspaper in bed, still half naked when she returned in her towel. She put diamond studs in her earlobes as she looked at him again. “When a guy says ‘don’t go falling in love with me,’ it’s usually because he’s half in love with me already.”
“Haughty doesn’t even begin to describe you.” He rubbed his chin and considered her while she fastened a necklace around her neck. A high opinion of herself made sense. She was beautiful, though her delicate movements made him see her as vulnerable too.
She looked away from him for a moment. Again he saw a flash of something more underneath, and not for the first time thought that she hid who she really was.
“We both know what I said is the truth and, for the record, I don’t need your money,” she said. “We’re here to help my career.”
Something was bothering her. Her slight trembles made her seem almost stricken. Was it what had happened between them? He opened his bag and grabbed a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt to wear. “True, but we shouldn’t have slept together. That was my mistake.”
“The marks you left tell me you enjoyed yourself.”
For a woman who often seemed bashful, her words were the opposite. He tugged the shirt over his shoulders. “Scarlett, it’s been a while for me, but I should have controlled myself.”
“I won’t tell anyone.” She lowered her head but he saw her face became red.
If she wasn’t upset about last night, then he had no clue what could be bothering her. He took his turn in the bathroom and cleaned himself up because honestly he was unsure of what to say. The moment he tugged his pants on, his phone rang, the sound echoing through the silence of their hotel room. He returned to his bag, found his phone, and checked the caller ID. “Your brother is calling.”
She waved her hand in the air. “Tell him I’m safe.”
His gaze stayed on her as she wiggled into her dress. It would seem she’d not only taken all of him inside her, but had suffered no ill effect.
“Hey,” Gabe said, calling James’ attention away from the sight in front of him. “We arrested Maddox Murdock last night. Until we confirm he was working alone, please watch my sister.”
Not watching Scarlett might be a bigger issue. But he thought about what had happened in the desert. Images of how he had fought for his life while an unknown man kicked him in the face practically blasted into the present moment, like a ghost. He blinked and they were gone. “Years ago, he had partners.”
“Did we ever find out who they were?”
“No.” The unknown assailant hadn’t been in the military that he and Harrison both fought and lost against, and had never been discovered. His own commander thought he’d made up the ninja fighting story.
“Then keep Scarlett safe until we know more.”
No harm would come to his wife under his watch, though he couldn’t quite say that to Gabe. “Not a problem.”
“Thanks.”
Gabe hung up. For a moment James kept the phone to his ear, then said to dead air, “Bye.”
He looked over at Scarlett, who had walked over to him at some point during the conversation with Gabe. She lightly bit her lower lip then let it go. “What did he say?”
The air smelled like roses near her, just like her pillow. No one was going to get to her. He’d made that promise, and meant it still. “That Maddox Murdock was arrested.”
A smile grew on her face. “So you’re free of your bodyguard duties.”
“No.” His gut churned as he imagined that anything might harm her. Another flash of the desert—how an assassin had knocked him down when he tried to reach for Gabe. Maddox had help then and he might have help now. A coldness enveloped him. He wouldn’t let someone attack from behind again. “He might have had partners.”
“But he might be working alone, so your job could be done.”
She had no memories of what had happened to him or her brother in the desert. “We don’t know that yet.”
She pointed to his pants, still lying on the bed
where he’d left them. “Guess you have to get dressed then.”
“Why?”
He tugged the pants on as she adjusted her dress hem so it was straight. “I need to go mingle at this conference, and it sounds like you’re coming with me.”
“Scarlett, I haven’t been myself with you.” He slipped on his sneakers, wondering for a moment if he should just take her back to bed and keep her there, as a way to keep her safe.
She walked toward the door, and he came to his senses.
“Don’t pop my bubble, James. I’m feeling good, but I want to know why you married me. Don’t say it was to ‘protect me,’ because clearly it was more.”
With her hand on the door’s handle, he could see she wanted to leave. It was probably best to give her an answer she’d accept right now. “I won’t get married to anyone out of love, but if I get divorced, then people might leave me alone and stop trying to pimp their daughters out to me just because I have money.”
“Welcome to our world.” She swung open the door, but he stopped her from walking out. Stepping in front of her, he surveyed the surroundings. “That plan might work for a year or two, but then you’ll be seen as a possibility by all those searching for a billionaire.”
She might be right, but he didn’t say anything and walked outside to scope the area as the hall had an open area that gave them a clear view of the ceiling and the lobby. No one was above them. He looked down. Nobody there either. Satisfied, he motioned for her to walk next to him, near the wall. She closed the door behind her and they walked toward the elevator as light samba music played on the speakers. Once they made it to the elevator, she pressed the down button. James stood beside her to ensure no one joined them while he made small talk. “So, do you really want to go to work?”
“What are you suggesting?”
The elevator arrived with a ding, and the second the doors opened, his heart sped up. It would be better if they never left the honeymoon suite. Quickly, he put his hands on Scarlett’s sides, stopping her from getting inside. Then he leaned forward. “You. Me. The patio. I’ll let you look over the resort while I take you again.”
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