by Jaci Burton
She had no chance to probe further because Mitch walked in.
"Good morning, Mitch," she said, turning her gaze to the reason for their being in Hawaii. Focus. She had to remember that, though her heart was pounding and it had nothing to do with finalizing the deal on the table.
"Ready to get this one in the bag, Amy?"
She gave Mitch her brightest smile. "You know it. This shouldn't take long. We had almost finished up yesterday."
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Mitch pulled up a chair and opened the portfolio. "Right. Yesterday. Before playtime. Always have to find time to play, Amy." He leaned across the table and captured the tendril of hair she'd left loose today, dragging it through his fingers. "You have a gorgeous mouth."
The air was sucked out of the room as Mitch reminded her what had happened between the two of them yesterday. Or the three of them. In the ocean. The kisses.
"Mitch. Business."
"You can have both, Amy. Quit worrying. The merger isn't in any jeopardy."
Her breath caught, held, until he let loose of the curl he'd held in his hand, then resumed studying the paperwork in front of him. Amy's gaze shot to Justin. She expected to see anger. All she saw was...interest. And then he, too, dropped his gaze to the acquisition papers, leaving her alone with her confused thoughts, none of which had anything to do with business, and everything to do with the two men occupying the room with her.
"As usual, you two have done a fine job. You negotiated all the changes I requested, and the financial aspect looks fine." Mitch signed the last page of the paperwork and handed the three copies over to Amy. "We're done."
"Congratulations, Mitch," Justin said. "Amacor Sports is a fine company and they'll do right by yours and your people."
"I know they will. You did a good job brokering the deal. And now that's one less worry for me. And a lot more capital to invest in other fun projects." Mitch leaned back in the chair while Amy and Justin filed the paperwork away in their briefcases.
Amy blew out a breath, thankful that was over with. It had taken a little longer than expected, mainly because Mitch had to break a couple times for telephone calls. But it was finally done. She glanced at her watch. "Mitch, can I get your secretary to check flights for me?"
Mitch frowned. "Flights? Why?"
"I thought I'd catch an early one out."
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"You have plans with your family for Christmas?"
"Oh. No. They're all in Vail. I don't ski."
"Boyfriend?"
She laughed. "No. Just me and some classic television and a bit of work to catch up on."
"Amy, it's Christmas Eve. You're not spending it alone." Mitch turned to Justin.
"Were you flying back today?"
Justin shook his head. "Hell no. Christmas in Hawaii? I wouldn't miss it."
"Good. Then it's settled. We just secured this deal and I'm in the mood to celebrate.
Amy, go change. We're going out on the boat. Meet me downstairs in a half hour."
Oh, no. "Mitch, really."
"Do you want me to call David and tell him that one of his junior partners wasn't placating his biggest client?"
Shit. "But that's blackmail, Mitch."
Mitch grinned. "So it is. Half hour?"
She shook her head. "Half hour."
Boat? The one hundred and twenty foot beast was no boat. Yacht, definitely. And a true beauty. Sleek as one of the most beautiful dolphins she'd ever seen. Blue and white and it cut through the water like it was sailing on glass.
Amy stood at the bow and let the wind whip through her hair, the salt of the ocean stinging her face and the fresh breeze cool her sun warmed skin.
Truthfully, she was glad she came. Mitch's yacht had every amenity, from food to drinks to music and servants catering to her every whim. There was even a spa room and she was told she'd be having a massage later so she could unwind. Mitch's orders.
Yeah, she needed to unwind all right. But right now she was simply enjoying being out on the water.
"Miss?"
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She whipped around at the strange voice. A smiling crew member held a tray of drinks in his hands. She gave him a suspicious glare.
"Is there alcohol in this?"
"No, ma'am. This is tea. Raspberry on your left, and regular on your right."
She giggled. "Sorry. I had a bad run in with a Mai Tai the other evening."
The man laughed. "My wife can't handle those either. They pack a hard punch."
"You're telling me." She selected a raspberry tea, thanked the servant and leaned against the railing, enjoying the way the yacht effortlessly skated through the water.
Justin and Mitch were at one of the tables, having cocktails and smoking cigars. And laughing. Amy couldn't bring herself to join them. She felt guilty.
No, that wasn't quite right. She felt like a wretched, awful bitch and she'd treated Justin like shit. And he hadn't deserved it. Just because she had no intentions of starting up a relationship with him didn't mean she should discard him like yesterday's newspaper. She owed him an apology. And apologizing to Justin was something Amy hadn't done before.
She took a long swallow of tea and maneuvered her way toward their table, stopping between them. Justin gazed at her, his eyes hidden behind smoky dark sunglasses.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey yourself."
"Enjoying the water, Amy?" Mitch asked.
"It's heaven on earth, Mitch. Thank you for making me stay." She turned again toward Justin, swallowed hard and said, "I'm sorry."
Justin smiled and reached an arm up to slide around her waist.
And just like that, she was forgiven.
Wow. She didn't deserve for it to be that easy. She so didn't understand men. And Justin rubbed her lower back while seemingly ignoring her, which made her chew her bottom lip.
Did she want his attention? Hadn't she spent the past twenty-four hours trying to figure out a way not to get his attention?
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"I think I'll go get that massage now," she said, backing up a step. "Enjoy your drinks."
"Enjoy your massage," Mitch said with a grin.
"I intend to." She needed it. She was wound up tighter than a violin string.
The spa was part of the gym, which was quite expansive, with state of the art equipment, including a sauna and whirlpool and separate showers for Mitch's guests.
Amy was greeted by a smiling woman who directed her where to change into one of the fluffy bathrobes, then escorted her into the room where a petite young woman named Collette was waiting to give her a massage.
Collette was mercifully quiet and concentrated on massaging the kinks out of Amy's tight muscles. Thank God she wasn't one of those masseuses who talked your ear off.
That would have only made Amy more tense.
She started with Amy on her back, working her fingers into Amy's scalp, then temples and down into her neck before moving onto her arms and fingers. It was heaven and Amy felt the tension drain from her body. By the time Collette moved down to her legs, Amy was half asleep.
"You must turn over now, miss," Collette whispered near her ear.
Amy stretched and Collette held up the towel while she flipped over onto her stomach, her face down in the little hole in the massage table. She closed her eyes and shut out the world along with it.
Oh, yeah. This was heaven. Collette's strong fingers started working on the backs of her arms, then up to her neck.
"Excuse me, miss. I'll be right back."
"Mmmm, hmmmm." Amy didn't care if it took her a half hour. Just lying here with the soft music playing in the cool, candlelit private room was absolutely perfect.
Collette returned quietly. Amy hadn't even heard the door cl
osed. She might have even dozed off. She heard Collette rub her hands together, no doubt having poured more of that delicious scented oil on her hands, and then started working on her shoulders.
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Oh, that was so good. Her touch was firmer now, rougher, digging deeper into her muscles. But slower. It was almost a sensual massage, the kind of caress a lover would--
Amy lifted her head, turned it over her shoulder.
Justin was in the room, not Collette. Smiling down at her as he moved his hands over her back. Her sex clenched, her clit trembling with the force of her attraction to him.
"Justin, what are you--"
"Lay back down and let me massage you."
His cock was hard, outlined against his shorts. She wanted to reach out and massage him, too, but she did as he asked and resumed her position face down on the table, anticipation making her tremble.
So much for her resolve. Did she have any willpower around him?
He worked that tight spot between her neck and shoulder blades where her tension always seemed to settle. His hands were strong, his fingers firm and he had no reluctance about digging deep into her muscles, melting away each knot until she groaned with utter pleasure.
He had great hands.
"It makes my dick hard when you moan like that," he said, continuing to minister to her back.
"Does it now?" Her sex tingled.
"Yeah." He moved to her lower back, using his thumbs now and swirling in a circular motion. When he poured more oil on his hands and let them slide over her rear, she arched her hips up, wanting more. He squeezed her flesh and she whimpered, wanting his fingers elsewhere.
"Justin."
"Yeah, babe."
"Please." Her body was so sensitized to his touch, so needy for him that she wasn't above begging.
"Shh. I know what you need. Just relax." He poured oil right onto her skin. It trickled down the crack of her ass, onto her pussy, and she quivered at the sensual contact. When 58
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he followed it with his fingers, she shuddered, spreading her legs wide to give him access.
"Yes. That's it," she whispered, lifting against his hand. When she started to turn, he pressed his palm flat against her lower back.
"Stay there."
She raised her head and looked at him. "I can't touch you this way."
"This isn't about me. Now lay your head down and concentrate on what I'm doing."
She did, and he rewarded her by cupping her pussy, sliding his oil-slickened hand over her throbbing sex. Rubbing her like this, forcing her to focus only on the movements of his hand around her clit and pussy lips soon had her writhing against his hand. She felt engorged, and utterly desperate to release the physical and emotional anxiety that had wrapped around her for so long.
But he teased her--he was so good at it--seeming to know when she hung right on the top of the wave, and refusing to let her crash. And each time he brought her closer and closer, only to move his fingers away from the sweet spot.
By now she was panting, gripping the edge of the table in desperate attempt to drive her clit against his hand and make herself come. But he knew it and he was in charge here, not her. She wanted to say she enjoyed the ride, but she clung to the edge of sanity, frantic for the searing wet heat that awaited her, that only this man could give her.
"Goddamnit, Justin." She'd had enough. She lifted, but he used his hand to hold her down again, and this time he cupped her pussy, dragged his thumb over her clit in very deliberate motions, and didn't stop.
She climaxed in great, heaping waves, crying out and not caring who heard it. She'd been denied too long and she deserved this release. She intended to take every loud second of it and then some. When the ripples had died down to trickles, she breathed a satisfied sigh and relaxed, completely spent.
Justin pressed a kiss to her shoulder. "When you come...you really come."
She turned her head to the side and smiled. "You made me work for it."
"You're nothing if not tenacious about something you want bad, Amy."
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He knew her so well. "What am I going to do about you?" she wondered aloud.
"I have a list of about forty-five things."
She snorted and sat up, then swung her legs over the side of the table. "I can think of one thing that's probably number one on your list." She directed her gaze to his cock, now tenting quite prominently against his shorts. She leaned over to reach for him, but he grabbed her hands, pulled her upright and kissed her knuckles.
"I told you, Amy. This wasn't about me. It was about you."
"But Justin, you're--"
"Hard?" He smiled. "Yeah. I'll live."
"I can take care of that."
"Don't I know it. We'll talk about that later. You're relaxed and content. Let's leave it at that."
He leaned into her, pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Not a passionate kiss, but one with feeling, with emotion behind it. It left Amy surprised, and profoundly confused.
When he pulled back, making sure to put distance between them, she slipped an errant hair behind her ear and fumbled for a topic. "I suppose Collette is off gossiping about the hot sex one of Mitch's guests is currently enjoying in the massage room."
Justin leaned against the wall. "Mitch pays his employees extremely well. I doubt they say a word about anything to anyone. No one would want to lose a job working for him. And discretion is mandatory if you're employed in his upper realm."
"Good to know." She shrugged into her robe and stood. "Where is Mitch?"
"He was on the phone when I left him."
"Speaking of someone who needs to take a day off..."
Justin laughed. "Yeah. He takes plenty of time off, but he still always works."
"You know him pretty well."
"Well enough. We spent a lot of off hours together when I interned with him, and I've continued to hang out with him through the years."
"You like him a lot."
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"Yeah. We're good friends. He never treated me like a kid, even when I was one. I respect that about him."
Amy could understand that appeal, especially for someone like Justin. Brilliant, up and coming, years ahead of the curve, but always younger than his peers. It had to irritate.
Amy was probably one of the biggest offenders there. She had judged him on his age instead of his skills.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?" he asked, brows knitted.
"For doing exactly what you hated most. For treating you like you were too young to be as good as you were."
He shrugged and grinned. "It's okay. Everyone has to prove themselves, not just talk about how good they are."
She smiled, remembering what he was like when he first came to the firm. "You did plenty of talking."
"Yeah, I did, didn't I?"
"But you also delivered on every promise. And I was jealous as hell."
"The great Amy Parker, jealous? Please. You had me running in circles just to keep up with you. I've never faced a more formidable opponent."
She blushed under his compliment. "Now you're full of shit."
"I never lie, Amy. I worked twice as hard to be half as good as you."
Was that a line, or was it the truth? She searched his face, but found nothing there that would lead her to believe he was telling her anything but the honest truth.
"Thank you. Coming from you, that's an incredible compliment. You've been breathing down my neck since your first day at the firm. I keep waiting for you to pass me by."
"We're both good at what we do. That's why we're so well matched."
"I guess so." Justin, man of never ending surprises.
"How about we go drag Mitch off the phone and see if he wants to do so
me fishing before we head back to shore?"
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"That sounds great."
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Chapter Seven
After fishing and then eating, they'd spent the better part of the day out on Mitch's yacht lying around in the sun and talking. And Justin could tell Amy had had a wonderful time. She'd forgotten about work, about flying home, about everything except enjoying herself.
Exactly what he'd wanted for her.
And the massage hadn't hurt any, either. Making her come had sure seemed to improve her mood in a major way. She'd been smiling, laughing and much more relaxed since then.
While his balls had stayed in a knot and he'd suffered a perpetual hard-on the entire time.
Erections built character, right? Or something stupidly philosophical like that. All he knew was it hurt like hell and his mind was singly focused on sinking inside Amy's hot pussy and relieving the ache that plagued him all over.
After they disembarked, Amy had excused herself to take a shower, especially after Mitch had insisted they come to his place to spend Christmas Eve with him tonight. Since they had nothing else to do, they had agreed. With Amy gone, it had given Justin time to meet with Mitch and make a suggestion. A really personal, intimate suggestion.
Mitch had raised his brows, asked if Justin was certain that's what he wanted, and more importantly, what Amy wanted. Justin wasn't a hundred percent sure what Amy wanted, but he wanted to offer her a Christmas gift she'd never forget. And if she was game, then it was on.
He and Mitch had shared women before. It was no big deal. Until now. Because Justin was in love with Amy. Even Mitch knew that. But this was a once in a lifetime experience for Amy, something she'd fantasized about. And he wanted her to have it.
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Once. After that, he intended to tell her how he felt, and that he didn't intend to ever share her again. After that, the ball would be in her court and the decision up to her.
He hoped things would go his way. But he wasn't in charge of Amy's heart.
After taking a shower, he put on a pair of black pants and a black and red flowered, Hawaiian shirt to get in the spirit of both the islands and the holiday. He slipped on a pair of shoes and went to knock on Amy's door. She opened it.
"Wow. You're gorgeous."
"Thank you. So are you. Great shirt."
