by Jillian Neal
Truthfully, with all of the other guests now occupying the Inn, they were both looking forward to heading to the quiet of John’s condo; well, as quiet as a condo in the middle of Buckhead could ever really be.
Ten
The blissfully warm shower water flowed over Arley’s fingertips as they gently prodded the light purple marking John had left between her breasts. She grinned. She’d never been given a hickey before, and she was rather enjoying the few she was now sporting. He never left them anywhere that anyone else would ever see them, a love note written in her skin shared only between the two of them. Reaching behind her, she brushed her hand over another one he’d left when he’d sank his teeth into her right ass cheek. She giggled out loud, though she was entirely alone in the shower.
As she began to run the lathered washcloth over her curves, the worry returned. What were they? A couple? He certainly hadn’t said anything to that effect. Was she his girlfriend? He hadn’t said that either. She drew a deep breath of the hot, humid shower air and tried to remember to enjoy the present. The past was a bleak disaster that had little to nothing to offer her. And the future? She couldn’t live in the future. The future was going to hurt, but the present was pure perfection, a welcomed reprieve from the hell she’d been living as of late. John was like some kind of wonderful drug that made the pain of her past feel as if it had never even existed. She just had to exist in the now, and try to delay the future without him as long as possible.
In the past three days, she’d managed over 10,000 words in her manuscript. That was in between the mind-blowing conversations they’d shared about everything from literature to law and every subject in between. They’d shared political opinions, hopes, dreams, and their most embarrassing childhood memories. She’d told him about her mother’s manipulative behavior, and about how Charlotte always swore to Arley that she loved her books but then told everyone else that she was ashamed of her sin-filled work. She really thought that Arley didn’t know she was lying to her face.
John had talked a little bit about his father and how much he hated him. She wondered if his father really knew what he’d done to John when he’d left him, a little boy that would never understand what had warranted being abandoned.
Between all of that, they’d made love multiple times each day and somehow each time seemed to become more impassioned and intoxicating. Each day she was falling more and more in love with him. With a sigh, she shut down the shower water and told herself yet again that the pain when it was over would somehow be worth it.
Her mind tried yet again to revert her back to the version of herself that she’d been in her younger years. When the desperation to please everyone other than herself had drained her of every ounce of her true self. She shook her head. She refused to ever do that again. Besides, John never seemed to want her to do or be anything but who she really was. There was nothing he wanted her to change to make him happy. He was the first person in her entire life that was perfectly accepting of all of her quirks and flaws.
Her occasionally spite-fueled temper always made him grin and made his navy blue eyes ignite with heat as he stared at her. In the last two days, occasionally they would be talking and she would trail off as she used to do so often before the stories in her head seemed to have dried up like the aftermath of a flood in the desert. Her characters would take over her thoughts, and he never seemed to mind.
John stared hungrily at the bathroom door. He’d already taken a shower earlier, but damn if he shouldn’t have taken another so he could see and feel her beautiful body as he washed her thoroughly.
His cell phone blared annoyingly from his bag, shaking him from his abstraction. An automatic eye roll accompanied his huffed answer. “I’m on vacation.”
“Yes, Mr. Rowan, I’m aware, but Mr. Larriett needs you to come back into the office. You failed to file the documentation on Monica Wilton’s case. He’s rather irritated about it.”
“Tell Larriett I’ll be back when I get back. If he wants the damn papers filed I feel certain someone else can take care of that. I’ve been working eight-hour weeks for the last six months. He’ll be fine.” He ended the call before he received a rebuttal, and lamented ever taking the job at Hatcher, Larriett, and Welch.
Running the soft towel over her face and then down her breasts she stood and stared at herself in the mirror. Whatever was meant to happen would happen, and somehow it seemed like it might be better to live with pain than to continue to exist while feeling nothing at all.
Before she could debate the merit of her last thought being masochistic, John was behind her. His hands moved over her damp skin and the bristle of his slight beard pricked her right shoulder as he trailed kisses upwards towards her ear. “I swear I just can’t get enough of this with you. I missed you.”
He cupped her breasts, keeping a scant corner of the terrycloth caught in his hands. The juxtaposition of his gentle touch and the abrasion of the fabric made her moan. Her back arched, and her body rolled instinctively against him. “There’s my sweet, greedy girl.” His murmur of adamant approval shot liquid heat straight to her pussy. “So fucking sexy when you’re hungry for me.”
His left hand kept working over her breasts while his right slipped down her abdomen and taunted her mound. “Spread those legs like my good girl.”
A breathy moan of relent echoed from her as she opened herself all for him. The heady sensation of requisition and compliance made him throb against her back. He’d just dipped his fingers deep inside of her when someone knocked on the door.
A long string of expletives spewed from John’s mouth. Arley giggled in spite of her disappointment that he gently eased his fingers from her body. “Don’t move, honey.” He patted her backside and closed the door behind him as he left the bathroom.
“This came Fedex. I figured it was important, unless you and Arley are planning on moving in here and have gone ahead and forwarded your mail. Evie would be thrilled.” Ryan smirked as he handed John the summons and calendar for Arley’s will hearing.
“Sorry, I meant to tell you they were sending that here. It’s a court summons for next week for Arley’s inheritance hearing.”
“Well, you’ve been a little distracted lately.” Ryan’s smirk turned into a chuckle readily.
“Fuck off, man. You’re just jealous. You know I love you, just not like that.”
Arley covered her mouth to hide her giggle as she leaned her head against the bathroom door to hear Ryan and John’s banter.
“Yeah, I don’t think you’ve ever loved anyone like this, John.”
Arley’s heart lurched. She gripped the doorknob and leaned closer. She didn’t want to miss a single word.
John’s huff was audible. “She’s fantastic. She’s beautiful, and brilliant, and I’m crazy about her, but we’re not all as naïve as you are. I’m happier than I’ve ever been, but love comes and then it goes. It sure as hell doesn’t last for a fucking lifetime, Ry. Nothing lasts that long. Don’t kid yourself.”
Her entire body jerked as if he’d backhanded her. She closed her eyes to dam back the tears. She wasn’t supposed to have heard any of that. If she hadn’t been pressing her ear to the door, she wouldn’t have. With a deep breath of what felt like barb-laced air, she moved away from the door. Unable to order herself not to, she returned her head to its guard post. Ryan was talking again.
“You’re an idiot, and when you figure that out, you’re gonna be a whole helluava lot happier.”
She heard the door close softly. Her mind raced. She’d known all along that John didn’t believe in a lifetime love. How could he after what had happened to his mother? She’d just allowed herself to stupidly hope that somehow she could show him that he was wrong. Lust came and lust went, but love, real, true, lifetime love, remained forever.
An idea that had been playing in the fringes of her mind took over in that moment. She had to try, didn’t she? If there was even a small chance, she had to give it her all.
&nbs
p; John was in love with her. She’d known all along. She could feel it every time he held her in his arms. She’d forgotten how to trust her gut, but he’d shown her how to do that again. He’d believed in her so thoroughly that he’d located her soul under all of the prickly thorns the world had tried to bury her in. He’d navigated her world for her and had somehow become her true center. You just don’t give up on a love like that, so maybe it was time to show John Rowan that love wasn’t a terrifying trap people needed lawyers to get them out of. If there was some kind of something that could help her do that, she was going to try.
Pulling on her robe, she drew a deep breath and slipped out of the bathroom. John greeted her with one of his devastatingly sexy grins. The air she’d just drawn seemed to evaporate from her lungs. “I was coming right back, baby girl. Did you get impatient?” He winked at her.
Determination set firmly in her gut. She smiled. “I’m always impatient for you, Mr. Rowan, but I forgot I promised to help Sienna with something this afternoon. Since you kept me in bed most of the morning, I should probably go find her.”
John’s scowl secretly delighted Arley. He set to argue with her. He did love to argue, but if the truth was told, so did she. Before he could begin his rebuttals, her cell phone rang. Arley’s determination ebbed away and allowed her nerves to take over once again.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you, your phone rang several times while you were in the shower.” John handed her the cell from the bedside table.
Her face fell. “It’s Savannah.” She forced herself to answer. John’s brow furrowed in concern. All thoughts of arguing with her made-up afternoon plans disappeared from his features. He seated himself on the bed and guided her into his lap, listening to the murmur of her sister’s obvious disdain.
“Savannah! You’re being completely ridiculous! You know as well as Mother knows that Daddy wanted me to have my inheritance, too. He helped me write my first book!” Arley’s temper flared immediately, but John kept his right hand moving up and down her back in a soothing rhythmic glide. He brushed a kiss along her temple.
“Yes, of course she has.” She rolled her eyes. “She’s always magically sick whenever someone does something she doesn’t like. Go look up the definition of passive-aggressive, Savannah. Mom’s picture is probably there. The sooner you stop catering to her every whim, the sooner she’ll magically recover.”
“Arley, we would have given you the money whenever you stopped this little writing kick you got on. You’re doing this just to be spiteful. No one actually writes that kind of thing for a living and is proud of it. Now you’re taking Mama to court over this. Are you really just going to continue to hurt our family with this filthy hobby of yours?”
John’s eyes flashed in fury. He’d heard Savannah’s outcry of slanderous accusations.
“Hobby?” Arley’s entire body vibrated with gall.
Shaking his head, John took the cell phone from her. If he was willing to go to battle with her, she certainly wasn’t going to stop him. She’d been fighting alone for so long the feeling of having an ally transcended any blow her sister could levy.
“Savannah, this is John Rowan, Arley’s legal representation. Unless you’d like me to take out another lawsuit against you for defamation of character, I’ll just ask you to keep your opinions on your sister’s work to yourself. By the way, Savannah,” the way he regurgitated her sister’s name spoke volumes as to exactly what he thought of Savannah. “Have you ever read any of Arley’s books?”
“Uh, well, Mr. Rowan, I’m not certain it’s any of your business. I’ll have to talk to Billy about this, but I did try to read her first novel. I do not read such things, nor do I believe anyone else should. I’ve never even heard of some of the things in her books, and she shouldn’t know about them either. Arley is ruining our father’s name and his work.”
“Careful. I’m recording this conversation, Savannah. The defamation lawsuit is still on the table. And do offer Billy my condolences on the fact that he married a complete prude that’s puckered at both sets of lips. When your husband and your mother tell you what you’re supposed to think next, let me know, but leave Arley the hell alone or it won’t end well for you.”
Arley’s mouth hung open in shock. John ended the call before Savannah could. He grimaced. “Sorry, probably shouldn’t have said that at the end there, but it pissed me the hell off.”
“Wow!” She tried to locate some form of tension over what he’d just informed her sister of, but she’d wanted to say those very same things to Savannah so many times in the last few years all she could access was a sense of delirious relief. Laughter overtook her as she tried to envision Savannah’s face and her recounting the story to Billy and Mrs. Copeland. Since she certainly wouldn’t repeat the words John had spoken, it was bound to be hysterical. She laughed until tears poured from her eyes.
This seemed to delight John. He laughed with her and shook his head. “I’d say that I highly suspect that you aren’t your mother’s kid, but it’s a lot harder for a mother to deny parentage.”
“Oh my gosh! I cannot believe you said that to her! Can you really sue her for defamation?”
He laughed harder. “No, baby doll, but she doesn’t need to know that.”
“Thank you!” She threw her arms around him. “Thank you for this week and for helping me and for everything.” She settled back in his lap. “I really don’t know what I’d do without you.” It was a test she knew she shouldn’t have given him, but found herself unable to keep the words captured in her mouth.
His beautiful lips parted over his perfect teeth, and the afternoon sunlight danced in his gorgeous blue eyes. “I wasn’t planning on going anywhere for a while, sweetheart. You never know. I might quit my job and volunteer as your sex slave, let you keep me locked up at your apartment in Birmingham.”
Arley laughed, though her chest felt hollow and raw. “You’d have to be a slave since I currently make no money and have no way to pay you.” She sighed.
“I’ll get you back on your feet, baby doll. I thought you trusted me.”
“I do. Completely.” She stared him down, wondering what he’d make of that.
“Good.” He patted her backside again and helped her stand. “Now, are you still gonna go hang out with Sienna or can I coax you into staying in here with me?”
More determined than ever to get on with her plan, Arley loosed the ties of her robe and watched his left eyebrow arch in intrigue. “Keep going.”
She smirked and shook her head at him. “I’m getting dressed.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it, baby.” He made it to her in two quick steps. His hand caught her right breast and his thumb gently traced the hickey he’d left beside it. “So fucking sexy. Drives me wild to see you wearing my brand, knowing you’re all mine.”
She gasped for breath and tried to remember why she needed desperately to talk to Sienna. Deciding that maybe she could delay that for a few minutes or a few hours, she gave in to his persistent desire.
Much later in the afternoon than she’d originally intended, Arley located Sienna in the kitchen with Evie.
“Hi, Arley! Sienna and I are making cookies for Daddy’s crew. We’re going to have a beach fire tonight and Daddy’s workers are coming, too.” Evie was ecstatic as she methodically packed a selection of cookies into a large Tupperware container.
“That sounds like fun.” Arley joined Sienna and Evie at the table.
“Want some coffee?” Sienna stood and moved towards the large percolator she kept on the stove. That’s why the coffee at the Inn was so good. Arley was pleased to discover how Sienna managed to make such a delicious brew.
“Always!” Arley grinned. “But I’ll get it.”
Sienna waved her off and prepared them both a large mug. She seemed to sense that Arley had something on her mind. Hope that she’d tried to keep at bay mixed readily in with the first sip of coffee as it soothed her stomach.
“Okay, Evie
Grace, Daddy is outside with Mac and Molly. They’re setting up for tonight. Do you think you can take the cookies out?”
“Yes! I’m a big girl!” Evie insisted.
Sienna grinned and guided her towards her father. She watched at the windows to make certain that Evie went directly to Ryan before she turned back. “She’s so excited about tonight. Alexa called yesterday and wants to see her. We haven’t brought it up yet. I mean, I’m okay with it. I’ll just miss her, I guess.”
Arley’s brow furrowed. “Is Alexa …?”
“Ryan’s ex. She’s Evie’s mom.”
Arley nodded and tried to think of a way to reassure Sienna. “Is she coming here or are you taking her to wherever Alexa lives?”
“Alexa lives in Atlanta, close to John’s condo, actually. We haven’t really decided yet. Ryan’s kind of upset about it. He worries about Evie and me all the time. I wish he wouldn’t. He doesn’t want Alexa here, and he doesn’t want me driving her to Atlanta. He’s been so busy lately; he doesn’t want to let down any of his crew by taking time off.” She shrugged.
“He loves you. You’re his whole entire world. I can tell.”
“I know.” Sienna beamed. “As crazy as that is, he really does love me.”
“Why do you think it’s crazy?”
“Oh, well, not crazy, exactly. It’s just the way our lives kind of got off course for so long, and now …” She gazed down at her stomach and instinctively rubbed her hand over it. Arley’s grin spread ear to ear. Sienna’s actions spoke when her words couldn’t. Sensing that she couldn’t quite wrap her head around it yet, Arley held back her congratulations.
“Sienna, could I ask you something kind of personal?”
“Sure.”
“Well, John told me that your grandmother … or your family heritage is … uh …”
