In the condo lobby, he and Mason had picked up several wrapped packages. They were varying sizes, all wrapped in Tiffany blue with white ribbons. Cody, Mason and Hugh climbed the stairs with more packages in hand and carried them into a side room she hadn’t noticed before.
“Are we taking gifts to someone?”
“Those are yours.”
She frowned. “I told you I didn’t need gifts. I’m not one of those Barbies you normally date. And—”
A smile crept across his face. “No, you’re much more beautiful than the Barbies. I explained earlier that buying things for you gives me great pleasure. I’ll make a deal with you. Anything you don’t like, we’ll take back. But if you like it, you have to keep it no matter what happens.”
No matter what happens. That sounded ominous. “I’m not going to win this one, am I?”
He smirked.
“Fine. But I want it duly noted that you don’t have to buy me things.”
“Noted.” He gave her one of his devastating smiles.
“I’m serious,” she swatted at his hands on the table.
“Casey, I want to give you the world. These are only a few gifts. I’ve been waiting a while to do things like this for you. Let me have my fun.”
“You’re a little too good at this guilt thing.”
“I’ve had years and years of practice,” he said.
“Sir, we’re about to take off,” a male flight attendant said. “Please buckle up.”
“Thanks, Henry.”
He then went into the safety instructions, and took a seat near the galley kitchen.
Once they were in the air and the okay was given to walk about the cabin, Nick stood. “Come, I want to show you something.”
Mason sat on one of the couches with his laptop. Hugh and Cody played cards at a table near the galley kitchen. There was a small bathroom to their right. Then down a short hallway, through another door, was a bedroom. The king size bed was piled with the blue and white packages. She’d noticed the door when they’d gone to Cali, but she thought it was storage or a conference room.
Her smile widened. She didn’t care about the packages. No, her excitement was directed at joining the mile-high club.
He watched her carefully. “Is that all you think about?” he smirked.
“What?” She batted her eyelashes at him and pretended she had no idea what he meant. “How do you know that’s what I’m thinking?”
“That isn’t why we’re here. Sit down.” He motioned to the right side of the bed. He sat down on the left. He pushed a button on a remote and Joss Stone’s voice flooded the cabin.
“Present number one.” He handed her a square box that was about six inches tall and twelve inches wide. Why was he doing this? It was crazy, but there was a small part of her that couldn’t wait to tear into the packages to see what this was all about.
Carefully, she opened the first one. When she lifted the lid, she had to hide her disappointment.
“A bikini,” he said proudly.
“Um, it’s cute,” she said carefully, not sure exactly what to say. She wouldn’t be caught dead in something like this. Her hips were too full and her belly too round.
“That gift is for me,” he said. “I want you to wear it where we are going. You may not like your body, but I love it. And we’ll have privacy. It will only be you and me.”
She scrunched her face. “I don’t know about that. We’ll see.” She leaned across the pillows and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He handed her the next package.
In it she found a crocheted cover-up to go over the suit. Much better. The next five packages held a black cocktail dress with a belt made from crystals, a pair of white walking shorts and lacy top that matched, silvery thong sandals with rhinestones on the t-strap, and five sets of the most delicate bras and panties she’d ever seen. The silk brushed against her skin, and she couldn’t wait to try them on. She could drive him mad with these. Another box held a silk robe in a cornflower blue. A larger box had expensive makeup and toiletries. There were more tops and shorts, two sundresses. Wherever they were going, it was warm.
“This is too much,” she said as she stared at the gifts he’d given her.
“No, it isn’t. You’ve given me so much, Casey. This is nothing.” He picked up one of the final three packages. One was smaller than the others.
Inside was a beautiful pair of platinum hoop earrings with a diamond solitaire hanging off of each one. Her eyes widened as she realized the diamonds were at least a carat each.
“Um, you have to stop. This is—you spent too much.”
Shoving her loot to the edge of the bed, he pulled her into his lap. “Do you know that every time you give me that shy smile of yours, it makes me painfully hard?”
She squirmed on his lap. He sucked in a breath. “You aren’t helping,” he said huskily.
“Oh, but I could—help that is.” She reached for his belt. He sat her back on the bed.
“You’re trying to distract me. Open your other gifts.”
Lord, were they ever going to have sex? She stuck out her tongue.
“So mature, I think I might have to teach you a lesson about the proper use of a tongue,” he warned playfully.
“Mmmmmm. I can’t wait.”
He handed her another box. This one was small and slim. Inside was an American Express card with her name on it. A black one.
“It’s tied to an account I opened for you,” he said cheerfully. “So you don’t have to worry about money ever again.”
Holy hell.
She had to draw the line at the card, but he sounded so happy she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. It made her feel like a mistress more than a girlfriend. “Um. Wow,” she said hesitantly.
“You’re upset.” He tilted her chin up so he could see her face.
“No, that’s not it.” Well, it was. “It’s just that this is a lot. You’ve been so generous, and I can’t possibly reciprocate in the same way. It makes everything feel a bit uneven.”
“I don’t understand.” His sincerity was her undoing.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “You’re so sweet.”
“But…”
“I’m a girlfriend, not a mistress, right?”
“Why would you say something like that? If you don’t want the gifts, you don’t have to take them. I don’t know how many times I have to say this, but I want to give you everything. I’m not paying you to be with me. I’d never cheapen what we have that way,” he said angrily.
Jumping off the bed, he scooped up the last gift. “If the others disturb you so much, you’ll hate this one.” His voice rough and harsh.
“Stop it,” she said, angry with herself for upsetting him. “I think it’s sweet that you want to do this. It’s just weird, okay? You have to give me a little time to get used to your lifestyle. I mean, Aunt Teddie’s rich, but I’m not. Before I moved in with her, I was living in a dumpy little apartment in a not-so-great part of Boston. There were months when I had to choose between eating decent food and paying my rent. To this day I can’t eat ramen.”
His expression didn’t change.
She slid off the bed to stand in front of him. “My parents were college professors and they made a decent living. But when I went off to college I insisted on paying my own way. You, better than anyone, understand how independent I am. I moved to Texas and in with Aunt Teddie because she was driving me crazy with all her worrying. Turns out it was the best thing I ever did, because I met you. But it’s weird for someone to shower me gifts. You know my dating history.”
“I try really hard not to think about those assholes,” he said gruffly.
She bit down on her lip to keep from smiling. The man was adorable. His jealousy over her former lovers was charming. His possessive nature normally would have scared her off. She would have been worried about him being some kind of psycho stalker. But she knew him. They’d
been friends. Caring and respect were at the core of that possessiveness, and that made all the difference.
“We came from a place of friendship and understanding, and I’m grateful for the gifts. I understand now that this is one of the ways you show you care. I just want to make sure you understand that I don’t need all of this. I only want you.” She waved a hand over the bed. “Do you do this for all the women you date?”
He rolled his eyes. “What we have goes far beyond dating, and you know it. For the record, I have given gifts before, but not for the same reasons I’m giving them to you.”
She tried very hard not to think about those other reasons.
He sighed. “Do you want me to take the gifts back?”
“No,” she said as she kissed his cheek. “I’ll keep this.” She waved the American Express card. “But I won’t use it. Unless there’s some kind of crisis and I have to save a third world country, or if I have to bail you and your army out of jail. I was really worried about that the other night. And if you’re going to run around fighting people, which we really need to discuss, you should probably tell me the name of your lawyer.”
“You thought you might have to bail us out of jail?” His chest lifted with repressed laughter.
“Yes. And don’t look at me like I’m an idiot. I had no idea what was happening. I still don’t. But I would do anything to help you.”
“I believe you would.” That panty-melting grin set her on fire.
Grabbing his hand, she tried to pull him to the bed.
“Miss Meyers, I recognize that gleam in your eyes. And the answer is, no.”
She pouted. No? Really?
He kissed her lightly on the lips. “I don’t want our first time to be on a plane with other people just outside the door. I want it to be special.”
“I’m not a member of the mile-high club, so that would definitely be special,” she said coyly.
His eyes traveled to the ceiling of the jet as if he were begging for strength. “Rest up, Casey. Trust me. That body of yours is about to be worshiped in every way you can imagine, and some you can’t. And you’ll join the mile-high club soon. Just not right now.”
“Promises, promises,” she whispered before kissing him.
He slapped her bottom. “Enough of that, let’s go eat lunch.”
But she’d seen the look of hunger in his eyes. Her game wasn’t over yet.
Chapter Sixteen
“Wake up, beautiful girl. We’re about to land.” Nick’s sexy voice penetrated the haze in her brain. Trying to force her eyes open, she blinked several times. He was in a loose, white, button down shirt, and blue and white plaid shorts. He looked like an ad for Ralph Lauren.
“How long have I been asleep?” She sat up and stretched her arms over her head.
“Doesn’t matter, we’re here. Come on, get dressed.” He pointed to the new shorts and white top he’d given her that had been laid neatly on the chair by the door. The last thing she remembered, they had been eating lunch in the main cabin.
“How did I get in here?” She pulled the covers back to find she was in her bra and panties.
“You fell asleep right after lunch and I carried you to the bed. Come on. We land in fifteen minutes.”
Rubbing her face, she tried to rid her brain of the cobwebs there. In a zombie-like trance, she dressed. Curious where the rest of her things had gone, she entered the main cabin. The security team was at the same table going over some files.
Nick smiled as she sat down across from him.
Glancing out the window she gasped.
Turquoise seas and tiny islands filled with white stone houses. “Where are we?”
“Greece.” He smiled.
“Oh, my, Gawd. I can’t believe you did this! Look at that water, it’s so blue. I’ve never seen anything like it. What part of Greece?”
“It’s where I grew up,” he said carefully. “My family’s home.”
Sifting through their many chats about their past, her eyes opened wide when she realized where they were going.
“Your island,” she said reverently. “I can’t believe it.” She clapped her hands together. She’d always dreamed about going to Greece, and had told him that several times. Then she stopped. “How long a flight was this?”
He shrugged. “About ten and half hours from Atlanta.” That’s where they’d stopped to re-fuel.
She’d slept ten and a half hours? “You drugged me,” she said angrily. “Why would you do that?”
Nick sighed. “I didn’t drug you, I put the medicine that Doc gave you for shock in your tea. It wasn’t enough to knock you out, but you seem to forget what you went through last night. That’s part of the reason I brought you here. There’s nothing much to do except swim in the ocean, lie around on the beach and eat. For the record, I gave you the same dose you had last night, but it’s obvious you were exhausted.”
She leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. She did feel about a hundred times better than she had when they boarded the plane. “Please don’t do that again,” she said. “I can take a lot Nick, but when it comes to my body, I make the decisions, okay? I don’t want to have to worry that my food or drinks are drugged. Makes me nervous that you would do something like that without my permission.”
His eyes narrowed, but he shrugged. “You’re right. I wasn’t thinking. You seemed so determined to—I just wanted to make sure you rested.”
“So you drugged me so I wouldn’t seduce you?” What the hell?
“Casey, you don’t have to seduce me. I’m perpetually hard for you.”
“Lady and gentlemen, we are making our descent, please buckle your seatbelts,” the flight attendant announced.
“You are in so much trouble,” she growled.
“I very much look forward to my punishment,” he whispered huskily.
Goodness. With a few words he could almost make her orgasm on the spot.
She was the one in trouble.
…
“Holy crap! This place is ginormous,” Casey said as Nick pulled the jeep up the drive in front of his family’s residence. For more than a thousand years this island had been the home of the Christos family. Over the last seven hundred he’d added to the estate using the same building materials so the additions were seamless. It was one of his proudest achievements.
“The architecture. Jeez. Nick, it’s perfect.” Her anger from earlier had dissipated. For that he was grateful. He didn’t want to mar their precious time together here on the island. Once he revealed his true nature, she might never want to see him again. Heart aching, he followed her into the foyer where they were met by the Vardoloses. The husband helped maintain the house and the grounds. His wife was the cook. Together they cleaned the house. During the day, they would be around, but at night he and Casey would have the place to themselves. The security teams were stationed outside, but they stayed at a smaller version of the home down the beach when they were off duty.
After introductions he showed her the master suite, which took up the entire left wing of the house. A library, office, private kitchen, and bedroom, and the numerous baths had become his sanctuary away from his responsibilities in the states. He hadn’t been home much in the last two years, and now he remembered why he should come more often. If all went well, he hoped one day to make this a permanent home with Casey. They were only a short helicopter or boat ride away from the main islands, but they were secluded and safe here. Matthew, the mage, had warded the entire island to protect against Alvinia.
“Breathtaking.” Casey entered the bedroom, with the oversized king bed and marble floors. “It should be cold with all this marble, but it isn’t. Oh, Nick, it’s just the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.”
The reverence in her voice warmed his heart.
“You haven’t seen the best part.” Taking her hand, he led her to the terrace. The turquoise Aegean spread out before them. The private beach sported white sand.
She gas
ped.
“I thought you might like it.”
“Like it? It’s heaven.”
The breeze lifted her curls from her shoulders. The smile on her face was so big there was no way to miss the joy in her heart. She loved this place as much as he did. “Why would you ever leave?” She wrapped one arm around his waist and hugged him, never taking her eyes off the sea.
“I’ve been asking myself the same question for a very long time” He knew the answer, but it wasn’t one he could share with her yet. “Let’s go for a swim,” he offered.
A half hour later they were in the water watching the sun go down. He’d sprayed her porcelain skin with two coats of waterproof sunscreen. Even though it was dusk, the sun was bright enough to burn. He still wore his dark glasses to protect his eyes. While his skin could handle a few hours in the sun before it became painful, his eyes were too sensitive. Casey leaned back against him, his hands splayed across her belly. She’d been shy about the bikini, but she was beautiful in it. Some day he would teach her to appreciate her lovely curves.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.” She placed her hands over his.
“I know I haven’t,” he said honestly.
Twisting in his arms, she wrapped her hands around his neck. “This place is more than anything I could have dreamed. Thank you so much for sharing it with me.”
“You are the only woman I’ve ever brought here,” he said truthfully.
“That’s—I don’t know what that is,” she laughed. “I’m flattered and honored that you brought me.” She pressed herself against his erection. “I think it’s time for your punishment now.” Her voice was so low and sexy, his cock hardened.
Donning a serious face he said, “I’m ready, ma’am. I deserve it. But—”
“No more buts.” She slid her hand into his swim shorts and palmed him, teasing his tip with her thumb. “I don’t care what it is you have to tell me. We are doing this, and we’re doing it now.”
Magic fingers slid up and down his shaft, and he no longer had the strength to say no. To deprive them both, no matter what the consequences later, would be a tragedy. This might be the only chance he would have to love her.
Take It Like A Vamp Page 14
