by J. S. Scott
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into his body, creating a ripple in the tub that had water lapping against their skin in a gentle caress. Eyes heated and intense, he speared her with a look that spoke of possession, desire that ran much deeper than lust. "Do you want to know what I understand?"
She shivered as his arms slid tightly around her body, anchoring her against him. Unable to speak, she nodded.
His voice low and raspy, he answered, "I understand that I have to be luckiest bastard on the planet because you love me, you accept me. Hell, I think you almost understand me--which is a fucking miracle because sometimes I don't even understand myself. I don't really know how to romance you like I should, but it isn't because I don't want to. I just don't know how. I understand that before I met you I was living in a very small world, and somehow you dragged me into the light, made me look around and actually see things that I never saw before. I understand that you make me a better man." He snaked a hand around her neck and planted a fierce, possessive kiss on her lips. Pulling away abruptly, he cupped her chin, his eyes molten and fierce. "Is that enough understanding for you?"
Breathless, she peered at him with her heart in her eyes. Maybe he hadn't repeated exactly what she had been trying to convey, but it was a start. He was learning to be loved. Burying her face against his shoulder, she murmured against his skin, "It's enough. For now."
"I need you, Kara. Don't leave me again." His voice hoarse, he rubbed his face against her hair.
He hadn't told her that he loved her, but he had bared his soul, shared his secrets, made incredible leaps in sharing his emotions. And he had done it for her. So yeah, for now, it was more than enough. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Damn right you're not!" he growled.
She smiled, because even as he spoke the demanding words, he was rocking her in his arms, holding her like a tender lover. He was wrong about not knowing how to romance her. He showed her how much he cared in so many little ways that were mind-boggling, seductive, and addictive. It was like a missing piece of her soul had finally found her and clicked into place, making her feel complete.
"Did you love her?" She knew she should drop the subject, but she wanted to know.
"Who?"
"Rose? Did you love her?"
"No." His low voice answered quickly and without hesitation. "I cared about her as a friend and I had a gigantic crush on her. But I didn't love her. I didn't want her to die. The sad part of the whole thing is that she died for nothing. A few days after she killed herself the whole organization was brought down by the authorities. The boss and everyone associated with the cartel are going to rot in jail."
She could hear the sincerity, the acceptance of the whole situation in his voice. He wasn't angry, wasn't bitter. "Good therapist?"
"Yeah. Dr. Evans was the best. We still have dinner occasionally. I think he's still trying to figure me out." He laughed with genuine humor.
She smirked against his shoulder. "You're a fascinating subject."
"Are you saying that I'm odd?" he growled against her neck.
"Hmmm...I'm not sure." She slid away from him and stood, hating to leave the circle of his arms, but dying for something to drink. She'd been in the steamy room for quite some time and she was parched. Unable to resist looking back at him as she climbed the steps, her hungry eyes roamed his muscular body and handsome face. "I think I need to study you a bit more before I come to any conclusions."
He came to his feet in one graceful motion, muscles flexing, a wicked grin on his face. "Sweetheart, if you keep flashing that sexy body at me, I'm going to be doing my own studying." His grin widened and his eyes grew dark as he prowled after her, his big body cutting through the water easily. "And I examine and test my data very thoroughly."
She scooped up a towel from a pile next to the tub and scrambled out the bathroom door, Simon hot on her trail. Laughing as he caught her around the waist before she could make it out the bedroom door, she squealed, "No. I'm thirsty."
As he pulled her back against his wet, solid chest, she wondered if she really needed water all that badly. God, he felt good. Melting back against him, she could feel his hard, insistent arousal against her ass.
"Are you thirsty?" His voice changed, instantly concerned. "Did you eat?" He took the towel from her hands and started to wipe her body gently, drying her back and turning her around to wipe the moisture from her breasts and belly.
She bit her lip as she peeked up at his face, his expression anxious and slightly agitated. "I'm not that hungry." Her appetite was increasing for something other than food.
By the time he was satisfied that she was completely dry, she was certain she was going to die of lust. The man was definitely thorough.
"You need hydration and food." He grunted as he tossed her his black silk robe and quickly dried his own body, going to his closet to rummage for clothing. He pulled on a similar garment in navy blue, putting it on in quickly, barely taking the time to yank the tie closed.
She nearly whimpered as he covered that glorious, masculine body. She slipped on the black robe reluctantly, her thirst being overridden by the heat between her thighs. All she wanted at the moment was to get horizontal with Simon. "Seriously, I'm not that hungry."
He grasped her hand and tugged, pulling her along behind him. "You'll eat." He stopped, piercing her with a dark, warning stare. "I plan on fucking you until you beg for mercy later."
Her nipples hardened to pebbles and the smoldering heat between her thighs went up in flames. His heated expression made her shiver with longing, every inch of her skin tingling.
I'll be begging. But not for mercy.
With a frustrated sigh, she let him pull her toward the kitchen. She knew that stubborn, determined look of his. He was determined to satisfy her needs, give her whatever she needed. One casual mention of being thirsty and Simon was a man on a mission, pushing his own needs and wants aside, taking care of her first.
And he wondered why she loved him?
Her heart turned over as he squeezed her hand, leading her with focused determination toward food and water. The man was a tantalizing mixture of sizzling male hormones, intensity, tenderness, vulnerability and compassion. The perfect male wrapped up in a bossy, handsome, irresistible package.
Why did she love him? Shouldn’t the question be...how could she not love him?
She smiled as she admitted to herself that she had never stood a chance against falling madly, completely and totally in love with this man. Something had drawn her to him from the moment they met, something elemental and primal. Maybe she had been afraid to recognize it for what it was, but it had always been there. Simon was like a force of nature—dangerous, yet compelling because of its fierce, wild and raw power.
She remembered her mom once saying that true love was not for the faint of heart, but the rewards were worth the risk. Kara had been young, not even a teenager, and she hadn't understood the meaning of her mom's statement.
Now, with Simon, the meaning of those words was crystal-clear and she understood exactly what her mom had meant. And she had finally found the man who was well worth the risk.
Sending a silent thank you to her mother for the words that it had taken her many years to understand, she allowed Simon to guide her out of the hallway and into the kitchen, a silly grin on her face.
Chapter 6
Simon popped open the door of the refrigerator with a flick of his wrist. "Diet Coke or water?" He reached for the Diet Coke, already knowing how she would answer.
"Diet Coke," she affirmed, her attention distracted.
He flipped the top on the can and handed it to her. Opening a regular Coke for himself, he chugged half of the container down in seconds. Christ, no wonder Kara had been thirsty. He hadn't been in the steamy room as long as her, but he was parched.
Lifting the can to her lips, she drank, but her gaze was fixed on the archway that led to the dining room.
Shit, he had completely forgotten
his earlier errands. "Happy Valentine's Day." He gulped the rest of the can of soda and tossed the empty container in the trash.
Following her into the dining room, he scowled. She hadn't said one word. Maybe Nina and Marcie had steered him in the wrong direction. Would she like any of it?
He'd tried to be organized about delivering stuff to the dining room: Flowers on the table, candies on the chairs, jewelry and perfume gifts on the floor. Yeah, there were teddy bears and other miscellaneous stuff scattered around the room, but he had thought he had arranged things fairly well. "You don't like any of it?" Damn it, he was firing his assistant and secretary in the morning. They had specifically told him that these were the things that made women feel good, special.
"Oh Simon, what did you do?" She ran a fingertip along the velvety surface of a red rose and gently tapped one of the heart-shaped balloons, watching it sway back and forth through the air.
"Okay. Those two are definitely fired in the morning!" Fuck! He wanted to please her. Instead, she looked like she was traumatized. He knew he should have gotten other things, but the Veyron and the Mercedes had been full.
"Who are you firing?" She turned and looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Nina and Marcie. They told me that these types of gifts make a woman happy."
Oh hell, he couldn't fire either one of them. They did their jobs too well.
Honestly, it was his fault that he didn't know a damn thing about how to romance his woman. But he was willing to try until he got it right. "We could go shopping. Pick something else." he suggested, hoping she'd let him take her, see what she thought was romantic.
"You asked Nina and Marcie for advice?"
"Yeah."
"Simon, this is incredible. I don't know what to say." Her voice was tremulous as she bent down and picked up a fluffy brown teddy bear and held it against her chest in a death grip. "I think Marcie and Nina were giving you suggestions. They didn't mean for you to buy everything."
Damn it. She sounded like she was going to cry. He fucking hoped she didn't. "I don't know your favorite flower. Or what kind of candy you like. I don't really know your favorite color. Shouldn't a guy know those things? Shouldn't I know how to please you?" he answered, his voice disgruntled.
Dropping the stuffed bear gently to the floor, she turned to him. "You didn't need to do all this. I've never even gotten flowers before."
What did he do? He went shopping. Big fucking deal! Sure, he'd usually rather have a root canal than go shopping, but for the first time, he'd enjoyed it. "I went shopping. It wasn't exactly a big effort." At the last minute, because he had only just realized that it was Valentine’s Day. How pathetic was that? Thank God for Nina’s thoughtful husband!
"You did all of this for me." Her arm stretched out, motioning toward the full dining room. "The flowers are beautiful. I love them all. I want a piece of that candy so badly that I can taste it already, and everything else is so overwhelming that I'm speechless. I would have been over the moon with a few flowers or a card. You didn't need to do this. It's more gifts than a woman gets in a lifetime. But it isn't the things that amaze me. It's you. Your desire to make me happy. You're the most incredible man on the planet. That's why I love you." She took a long sip from her can of soda and set it on a small, available area of the table.
He caught her body as it rocketed into his arms, savoring her softness as it pressed against him. Warm lips nuzzled his cheek and the side of his neck. As he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, her body gliding slowly along his until her feet touched the floor, he decided that maybe he would give Marcie and Nina a raise instead of a lecture in the morning.
"You're insane. You know that, don't you?" Pulling back, she planted a loud, smacking kiss on his lips. "But I love that about you."
Okay. He was willing to be bat-shit crazy if it made her love him more.
Giving him an adoring look, she added, "But one gift next time, okay? Or a card."
Oh, hell no. He wasn't getting roped into that promise. "We'll see." His answer was noncommittal.
"Wait. I have something for you." She pulled away from him and scampered to her room.
She returned with a small gift bag, decorated with hearts and little devils. "The bag was definitely screaming your name." Shooting him a mischievous smile, she handed him the bag. "I don't really have my own money to spend, so I had to improvise."
"You need more money? Why didn't you tell me?" He glowered at her, pissed that she hadn't told him that she needed cash.
"I don't need you to give me anything more. I want you to take some of it back. I have almost a hundred grand in my bank account. I don't need it, Simon." She met his eyes with a stubborn tilt of her chin.
"You haven't spent hardly any of it. How in the hell are you living, taking care of your needs?"
She snorted. "You take care of my needs. What in the hell do I need money for? I don't have one single need or want. I'm living like a spoiled brat right now. All I have to do is mention something and it magically appears. I don't need to buy one single thing."
"Women love to shop. Buy things. Even when they don't need them." Hell, he knew that much from his mom. Her favorite activity was shopping.
"Not me. I'd rather be reading. Or playing Myth World II if I have time. I have every comfort, every need met." She reached a hand to his face, tracing his lips lightly, running the back of her hand softly over his five o'clock shadow. "The only recurring need I have is you."
She was trying to distract him, and damn him, it was working. "The money was a gift. You're keeping it." he snarled, determined that she wouldn't get her way by getting his cock hard...which it was. Extremely hard. Totally ready.
"I'm not keeping it." She placed a soft kiss at the side of mouth his mouth. "Open the bag."
He had all he could do not to strip that fuck-me robe from her body and devour her whole. His whole body was tense as he opened the gift bag, trying not to think about his pulsating cock and his nearly impossible-to-ignore compulsion to be driving into her body right at the moment.
His head jerked up before he could finish the task, suddenly remembering that he needed to tell Kara that the other asshole that had tried to abduct her was in jail. "They caught the other guy today. He's in jail. You probably have a message from Harris."
"Oh, thank God. You can call off the security. I think they intimidate some of my fellow students. They don't exactly keep a low profile anymore." Her voice was light, but her body visibly relaxed.
He saw the relief on her face. No matter how much she denied that the man had been a threat, he knew it bothered her, knew that she was still frightened. She'd have to be a fool not to be. She had come too damn close to losing her life on the day they had injured her. "Not happening. The security stays."
"I don't need them anymore--"
"No! I can't take the risk of something happening to you. There are too many crazy people out there and I've made enemies over the years." Granted, he hadn't pissed as many people off as his brother Sam had, but you couldn't become a billionaire without having a few people out there who hated your guts. "The security stays."
He pulled on the red tissue paper in the bag, sending pieces of heart-shaped paper fluttering to the carpet. He caught one in his hand, clutching it tightly, before it hit the floor. She dipped a hand into the bag and pulled out the material that lay at the bottom.
She held up the black silk boxer shorts by the elastic. Generally a boxer-briefs type of guy, he stared for a moment before his lips curved upward. The black silk was dotted with little devils and hearts.
"They're so...you, Simon." She wiggled her eyebrows and the underwear at the same time. "You'll look hot. Not that you don't already, but all I could think about was how sexy they'd look on you." She pulled the material to her face, nuzzling the soft silk.
He stared at her with horny fascination, imagining his cock inside those boxer shorts, her lips on the material. Holy fuck! Those underwear had jus
t become his very favorite. He didn't give a shit if he didn't usually wear traditional boxers.
"I already took the tags off. Try them on so I can take them off later." She held them out to him with a seductive smile.
He had his robe open in seconds and the shorts over his hips a moment later. He shuddered as he felt the soft brush of her delicate hands on his shoulders as she slipped his robe completely off, leaving him standing before her in his new pair of favorite underwear.
"Hot. Definitely very hot," she whispered.
The needy, breathy sound of her voice nearly made him come undone. Actually, he liked the feel of silk next to his skin, caressing his engorged member. And he positively loved the look of hunger in his woman's eyes as they roamed over his body, narrowing on the bulge at his crotch.
She didn't bother to hide her desire for him and it made him insane. "What's this?" He opened his fist, exposing the tiny cardboard heart. Flipping it over, he saw the handwritten words.
Good For One Wish!
He looked up at her, perplexed. She was worrying her bottom lip, looking anxious.
"It's a heart-wish. I didn't really have my own money--" She held her hand up as he drew in an audible breath to argue. "Don't start that again. Anyway, I made these up. You can cash them in any time. They're good for one wish or favor that you want from me. Anything that you can think of that's in my power to grant you."
"Anything?" His heart pounded as his mind filled with images.
She raised a brow. "Anything I'm capable of doing."
"I wish you would keep the money I put in your bank account and not argue about the security." Feeling a little guilty that he was using his gift against her, he frowned.
She gave him a look that his mother used to give him as a child. It was the dreaded “I'm-so-disappointed-in-you” look. Fuck! That hurt.
She folded her arms in front of her. "That wish interferes with my morals and values. Plus, that's two wishes. Not fair."
"Compromise?" he breathed softly, not liking the disgruntled look on her face.
Her face softened. "I'm open."
