Time for action.
He might crash and burn but he had to try.
Grabbing his phone he called the first florist he searched.
“I want the biggest, the best, the most expensive arrangement you have and I want it delivered within the hour.”
Bookmark: 18
-18-
Elizabeth stared at the flowers, dumbfounded. There was no card but she knew they were from Sutton.
The flowers dwarfed what Reece had brought her.
Confused, she simply stared at the beautiful blooms, unable to allow herself to hope that Sutton meant the flowers as an apology.
But an apology for what, exactly? Was he remorseful for his behavior or his actions? Maybe both?
Or was she naive to think that Sutton was doing anything more than just trying to win her over with expensive gifts so she’d stop giving him grief and return to being his willing sex pigeon, content to just be whatever he wanted her to be.
If she took the flowers at face value, she was naive.
If she eyed the flowers with suspicion, she was a cynic.
Neither were a great option.
Her gaze lingered on the vibrant bouquet. They were quite beautiful, that much was true.
Her cell phone dinged with a text message.
It was Sutton.
A car will come for you at 6 p.m. Dress comfortably.
A dismal frown found her as sharp disappointment threatened to skewer her.
He wanted her to pretend all was well. As breathtaking as the flowers were, they meant nothing.
Did she refuse? Tell him to kiss off? To shove his flowers up his butt?
No, that wasn’t fair to the flowers.
She would go. What else could she do? For all of her brave words, Gretchen needed her. Was it Sutton’s fault that she’d somehow let him into her heart? Maybe that was what hurt the most — she’d let herself down by allowing him to hurt her.
This was, and still remained, a business arrangement.
A painful reminder, but a reminder, nonetheless.
Showering and dressing, she climbed into the car and wondered where it was taking her.
When it pulled up to the airport, veering off to a private strip where a small, elegant plane awaited, she nearly swallowed her tongue.
The chauffeur opened her door and she stepped out in shock as Sutton descended the short stairs to help her.
“What is this?”
“This is a plane,” he answered with a small grin.
“I know it’s a plane…I mean…what’s happening?”
He graced her with another smile and she had to admit, his smile did terrible things to her resolve to remain aloof. Sutton, when he tried, was very charming.
They settled into the luxurious leather seats of the private plane and she couldn’t help the wide-eyed wonder of everything around her. The truth was, she’d never flown economy-style, much less ultra-first-class.
And she was a little nervous.
Champagne appeared courtesy of a sharply dressed male steward, which she eagerly sucked down.
“First time flying?” Sutton surmised and she jerked a short nod. He chuckled. “Seems I’m many of your firsts.”
She shot him a look. Not funny.
“Too soon?”
“Much.”
Sutton appeared appropriately chastised, which she took as a promising sign and returned to her window, amazed by how quickly they were taking to the air. “Where are we going?” she asked, once they were in flight.
“Spain.”
“S-spain?” the word escaped in a puff of shock. “I…what?”
Sutton, his mouth warming with another smile. “Surprised?”
“Uh, yeah. That’s an understatement. I didn’t bring any clothes!”
“I shall buy you a new wardrobe if you like. We’re going somewhere specific. Someplace I think you’ll enjoy.”
An intrigued smile found her lips. “And where is that?”
“I’m sure you’ve heard of The Prado in Madrid.”
One of the ten most amazing museums in the world? “You mean, the museum that houses the Spanish royal family’s commissioned art throughout the centuries? Ahh, yes, I’ve heard of it! Dreamed of it!” Elizabeth forgot everything else and just tried to catch her breath as her heart sped up with wonder and amazement. He had to be pulling her leg. People just didn’t hop in a plane for Europe! “Are you serious? We are going to The Prado?”
He laughed, pleased. “Yes. Every artist should visit where fine art resides. If you like, we shall visit them all.”
Oh, Lord. He was serious. Deliriously happy tears flooded her eyes. This was better than flowers. Better than chocolate. She jerked a nod, as she tried to hold back the flood. “Yes!” Her mind was babbling and her mouth hadn’t quite caught up. All she could manage were single syllable sounds that didn’t sound coherent at all but Sutton didn’t seem to mind. If anything he seemed to swell with pride that he’d rendered her mostly speechless.
“Good.” He motioned to the steward, saying, “I hope you don’t mind dinner on the plane. It’s a long flight. We shall arrive sometime in the morning.”
Dinner? Oh, right. Who cared about food? But her stomach grumbled and she realized she hadn’t eaten lunch after all the turmoil had gone down. “I’d be fine with a sandwich of some sort.”
“Well, the chef might take exception to that request seeing as he’s prepared a five-star meal for us tonight,” Sutton said.
Her cheeks flamed. “Oh! I’m so sorry…I’m fine with whatever…I’m sure it’s going to be delicious,” she assured the steward apologetically. She shot a look at Sutton with embarrassment. “I’m not accustomed to this kind of thing. I thought all you get on a plane was peanuts and water with all the budget cuts out there.”
“Not on this plane.”
She giggled, unable to help herself. “Membership has its privileges,” she murmured.
“Indeed.”
Elizabeth settled into her chair, sliding her palms down the cream-colored leather with open appreciation and sighed, unable to believe Sutton was taking her to Spain.
Of all the wild, incredibly unexpected things to do…
A smart girl would just accept the kindness and delight in the experience but now that the shock had begun to ebb, she was left with questions.
She couldn’t keep her gaze from drifting to him with a question. “So…why are you doing this?”
Sutton stared — that inexplicably beautiful face of his burning into her memory as the moment stretched between them — finally answered with a shrug, “Because it pleased me.”
And Elizabeth felt the tiniest pinch of disappointment. No declaration of any sort. No apology.
Just…yeah.
It pleased him.
Welcome to the world of the billionaire, right?
Sutton did nothing that didn’t, at its core level, please him.
Had she expected anything else?
Maybe that was the crux of it — she wanted more.
More than he was willing to give.
***
They touched down at the Madrid Barajas Airport after twelve hours and a car shuttled them to the hotel so they could freshen up.
While Elizabeth showered, Sutton had Chantal send over some comparable designer outfits for Elizabeth so they were ready for her when she finished.
Elizabeth, towel wrapped around her body, exclaimed at the beautiful clothes awaiting her, her eyes glowing.
“This is gorgeous,” she said, lifting the gauzy dress that he could only imagine would look clinging to her bountiful curves.
He particularly enjoyed the generously cut neckline, which plunged at her cleavage.
“Chantal was good enough to include accessories and shoes,” he pointed out and Elizabeth made a tiny little sound of excitement as she lifted the strappy sandals. “As always, Chantal has excellent taste.”
“That woman is a freaking genius,” Elizabeth mur
mured. “I never enjoyed clothes shopping until she showed me how much fun it could be to find cuts that flatter instead of embarrass.”
Unable to stop himself, Sutton came forward and nibbled a trail along the damp skin of her neck. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about…ever.”
Elizabeth shivered and sank against him, her soft curves pressing against him in all the right ways. “When you say things like that…I almost believe you mean them,” she murmured.
“I always mean what I say,” he said, removing the towel so he could fill his hands with her tits. “And you have the best breasts of any woman I’ve ever known.”
She moaned as he gently squeezed, pushing his rock-hard erection against the cleft of her behind.
“This is what you do to me,” he said softly against the shell of her ear. “You undo me. Every time.”
Those tiny gasps were like jet fuel to his ever-smoldering need for her.
He wanted to taste her. Wanted to devour every little moan and gasp. He wanted her smiles, her laughter. Her groans and cries.
He wanted it all.
Every damn bit.
His touch became more urgent but he was fighting a war within himself.
He’d brought her to Spain to atone for the shitty things he’d said to her. The awful, terrible way he’d treated her. But he couldn’t get the words past his lips.
All he could do was show her that he wanted her to have the best. He didn’t want to put labels on what he felt.
Didn’t want to break apart and analyze the why of it.
He just wanted.
The yearning in his soul matched the hungry beat of his heart when he looked at Elizabeth.
He wanted to throw her down and plunge deep inside, burying himself until he no longer knew where he stopped and she began.
Somehow by the grace of God, he managed to still his roving hands, pulling away with a barely contained shudder of sharp disappointment.
Now was not the time.
In a way, he felt he hadn’t yet earned the right to touch, which was ridiculous but he couldn’t stop picturing her crestfallen expression from the other night.
He’d been a fucking asshole. If only he could bring himself to actually admit that out loud.
Elizabeth turned, her lovely blue eyes hazed with desire. “Sutton?”
He brushed a soft kiss across her lips, forcing a light smile. “We must be off. The museum director is giving us a personal tour and we shouldn’t be late.”
Immediately her eyes lit up and she smiled. “Oh! Good point. Yes, let’s go. I can’t believe this.” Her little squeal of happiness sent a ricochet of joy through his insides. “I’ve always dreamed of traveling to Europe to see for myself the art masterpieces throughout the ages but I honestly, never, ever expected that I’d be able to do it. This is amazing.”
She shocked him by rising on her tiptoes and pressing a hearty kiss on his mouth, her grin contagious.
In all his life he’d never seen anything more beautiful.
Truthfully…he didn’t think anything would ever compare to Elizabeth’s radiant loveliness.
Not even the world’s most celebrated art collections.
Bookmark: 19
-19-
Elizabeth was lost in the exquisite exhibition of select Picasso’s on display when Sutton came up behind her, sliding his hands along her waist and drawing her close.
She relaxed against him, smiling. “It’s brilliant,” she said with a subtle shake of her head. “It’s not my style but you can’t help but marvel at the artistry.”
“If you say so. I’ve never been much of a fan,” he said with a faint chuckle. “What do you like about it?”
“Art is supposed to evoke an emotion, something powerful welling up inside you…when I look at the art collections of the masters, I feel swamped by the beauty and the perfection of the medium. Sometimes it makes me cry.”
“So you’re saying art should be more than just pretty on the walls?” he teased and she turned to swat at him. He dipped his head down to whisper against her ear. “I rather liked that new piece you were working on. Very sensual.”
Elizabeth smiled with secret happiness but couldn’t help the saucy quip, “So did your brother. He wants to buy it when it goes on display at Covington House.”
Sutton released her and she turned to face him, not surprised to see the scowl.
Was that jealousy? Was it possible?
She decided to diffuse whatever false idea Sutton had brewing, rising to bravely kiss him of her own accord. “You’re cute when you look like you want to rip someone’s head off.”
“Are you attracted to Reece?”
“That’s a dumb question. Of course not. But he’s very charming — just like you can be when you want to be.”
That seemed to mollify him and she slipped her hand into his. “Come on, I want to see the Bartolomé Bermejo collection. You’ll like it; it’s very dour and there’s even some naked breasts.”
“Sounds like my kind of art,” he said, finally breaking a smile.
As they walked, Elizabeth decided to be honest.
“I really love that you brought me all the way to Spain. No one has ever done anything so extravagantly kind. It’s been my dream to see all the great art of the world and you made that possible.”
He seemed to swell with pride at her admission but he simply squeezed her hand, as if he didn’t trust himself to talk at that moment.
“Careful,” she warned him, causing him to do a double-take. “If you keep acting like a decent human being, I might get the wrong idea about you.”
“Well, we wouldn’t want that, would we?” he replied with a small twist of his lips.
She laughed, enjoying the easy banter between them.
They had a connection, that much was undeniable and it didn’t matter how or why they’d initially come together — the fact was, they meshed together very well and she was beginning to crave his touch like no other.
Elizabeth smothered the chuckle at the irony. Who cared how they’d come together?
She was in Spain with an insanely hot guy who couldn’t keep his hands to himself.
Had she ever in her life felt so cherished, so desired?
Easy answer — no.
Did it matter that he’d bought her for an ungodly sum?
Well…a part of her still cringed. But it was becoming a smaller and infinitely less important detail in her mind.
Especially when he was smiling at her with his mouth and devouring her with his gaze.
Yeah, that was powerful stuff.
By the end of the day, Elizabeth was exhausted and her feet hurt from walking what felt like a million miles but the smile on her face was almost permanent.
They walked into their sumptuous hotel room and she went straight for the bed, flopping onto the bath with a happy groan.
Sutton laughed and detoured for the bathroom. Several moments later, she heard water running in the huge bathtub. She smiled, knowing what was coming.
Soon enough the water was ready and Sutton was there to help her undress.
She shivered, biting her lip with anticipation. If there was one thing Sutton excelled in, it was making her wet with simply one touch.
Standing bare before him, she closed her eyes as he sank to his knees, his face right at the apex of her thighs.
His hands gripped her hips and drew her close. He inhaled the fragrance of her womanhood and his groan of pure desire caused her to tremble.
“My Elizabeth…” he murmured, sinking his tongue between her folds, seeking her pleasure button with unerring accuracy.
Her knees wobbled as he mercilessly drove her to a quick orgasm and when she came, she nearly crumpled to the floor if it weren’t for Sutton quickly being there.
“Whoa there,” he said, grinning. “Now that’s quite a stroke to my ego.”
“As if you need one,” she countered breathlessly through a smile. “God, you’re pretty good with
that tongue.”
“Always nice to hear,” he said, grasping her hand and pulling her to the bathroom where they climbed into the marble tub together.
Elizabeth settled against him, smiling to herself when she felt his erection digging into her back. Was it terrible that she loved teasing him? Loved knowing that she had this power?
Maybe, but she wasn’t going to feel bad.
She’d spent her entire life feeling second best to every girl out there with a perfect figure who seemed to have everything at her fingertips.
There was no way she was going to give up this amazing feeling, even if it were built on a superficial foundation.
Maybe it was stupid but Elizabeth didn’t care. She was drowning in delicious happiness and not going to apologize for enjoying it.
Elizabeth hesitated, deciding to delve into the mystery known as Sutton Buchanan. She knew his body but almost nothing of his mind or past.
“Tell me about your family,” Elizabeth said as Sutton lazily swirled the water around her breasts.
He sighed and said, “Well, you’ve already met Reece. He’s the typical middle child — doesn’t take anything serious, ever — and then there’s my baby sister Whitney.”
Sutton had a sister? “What’s she like?”
He shrugged. “Wild. Unpredictable. A little self-destructive at times.”
“Sounds like a train wreck,” Elizabeth murmured with a frown. “Does she know about me?”
“By now? Probably. Reece couldn’t keep his mouth shut about anything even if his damn life depended on it.”
“And what do you think she’ll have to say about it?”
“What does it matter? I don’t put much value in the opinion’s of others.”
“Not even that of your family?”
“Especially that of my family,” he replied dryly. “My family isn’t like most. We’re not exactly a warm and fuzzy bunch.”
Elizabeth digested that information, then asked, “Why is that?”
“Why is what?”
She turned, careful not to slosh water everywhere. “Why do you think you’re not a warm family? Before my parents died, we were pretty close. I mean, my parents were awesome, great people. It took a long time for me to stop being angry at the world that they’d been taken when there are so many awful people out there in the world that shouldn’t be.”
Coerced (Billionaire romance): Blackmailed by the Billionaire (Buchanan Romance Book 1) Page 13
