by Shayla Black
But I can’t let her undo me yet. So I grab her hands, lace our fingers together, and hold them against the mattress before I take her lips in a blistering kiss. I feel my ring on her finger. Even if it’s fake, knowing it’s there does something really real to me.
Slowly, she gives way under me. I focus on sinking into her mouth, on melding our skin. Beneath me, she syncs up to the rhythm I set with the stroke of my tongue, the purse of my lips, the sound of my rough inhalation before we do it all again.
I’m completely lost in Skye when I fit my throbbing cock against her opening again. This time, I slide slow and deep with almost no resistance, not stopping until I reach the hilt.
She gasps into our kiss. I fucking moan. She’s perfect. Hot, smooth, tight…all of that—but more. And I’m taking her bareback. It’s stupid. It’s dangerous. I’ve managed to make it to the ripe age of thirty-two without ever going in gloveless. But Skye isn’t the kind of woman who would get pregnant intentionally for access to my fortune. I’ve never simply trusted any other woman I’ve shared sheets with. Or maybe my desire is talking and I’m letting the wrong head make my decisions.
But I don’t think so.
“Oh, fuck,” I growl in her ear, rooting as deep as I can because I never want to leave this snug heaven. “Honey…”
“This is…”—she breathes with what sounds like sublime pleasure—“nothing like I remember. This is everything.”
If she was sixteen, he was probably the same age. High school sex is pretty much the blind leading the blind. If I can’t surpass that benchmark as a grown-ass man, I don’t have any business touching her.
“Absolutely everything,” I second as I cradle her face in my hands, fuse our lips together again, and unleash all the pent-up need I’ve held in for days.
I fuck her slow and strong, letting every bit of her feel every inch of me as I settle into an unhurried rhythm, every thrust punctuated with a groan from me and a gasp from her. We’re so in tune, I can feel her desire climbing. I know the moment her body overtakes her mind and instinct pushes her beyond all thought except the coming pleasure.
“Stephen…” Her nails dig into me more.
Hunger claws me deeper, becoming a craving I’m not sure I’ll ever shake.
“You going to come with me inside you?”
“I-I think so. I’ve never…”
Of course she hasn’t, and the idea that I’ll be the one to show her so many delicious firsts juices up the passion in my bloodstream even more. The stirrings of climax tickle my spine, tingle in my balls. Oh, yeah. This is going to be mammoth.
But I need to immerse Skye in undeniable, inescapable pleasure first. I need to deliver some shock and awe. I need to addict her so that when she wakes up tomorrow she can’t imagine walking away from me.
Digging my knees into the mattress, I curl my fingers deeper into her hips and lift her a fraction. I use my whole body to thrust in. The bed shakes. I slide deeper. She lets loose a high-pitched wail that only gets louder each time I work my way into her.
Her clutching fingers bend until I feel her nails curl desperately into my shoulders. I welcome the sting of pain. It boils my blood. It spurs me to ride her harder and faster.
I surge into her with all my might, drag my crest against her sensitive spots, and revel in her tensing beneath me. “Come. I feel you. I need it.”
“Stephen…” she shrieks.
“Yes.” I bare my teeth in a growl. “Give in. Give it to me.”
Beneath me, she’s restless and writhing, heels buried in the mattress as she lifts to meet my every shove through the clamp of her cunt. My labored breath seesaws as I see the pink flush of her cheeks turn red. Her eyes slam shut. Her body freezes.
“Yes!” I thrust in. “That’s it…”
Skye comes apart for me, shattering and shuddering in a throaty scream that vibrates down my spine, cuts the lifeline on my remaining restraint, and sends me plowing into her mercilessly.
I should pull out, but the ecstasy barrages me before I can do anything more than press into her as far as I can and let go with a shout of shocked pleasure.
The heart-roaring, tingling squall of climax is endless and perfect. Stupefying. Life-altering.
I belong here. I’m determined to do whatever I have to in order to stay here, make her mine every day, every night, every time I’m hungry. Any time she needs me.
I’m her man.
Despite the fact it’s a really lousy time, I think I might just have fallen in love.
CHAPTER THREE
When the orgasm—and my realization—release their hold on me, I drag in a gasping breath and grapple with a whole bunch of oh-holy-shit-what-just-happened?
Skye falls back to the bed panting and limp and wearing an adorable Mona-Lisa smile of satisfaction. “Wow.”
“Uh-huh.” It’s all I can manage now.
“Things have changed since I was sixteen.”
Things have changed for me since my last hookup—and that was only three days before I flew out here. But what’s really different? My circumstance? Not relevant. My attitude? Not really. My lover? Absolutely.
Skye makes all the difference.
“If you want to test that again—you know, to be really sure—give me a few minutes.” I reluctantly withdraw from her and grab tissues from the nearby nightstand, giving us both a quick clean up. But there’s something so satisfyingly primal about smelling my semen on her. “I promise I’ll be ready.”
“Are you kidding? I’m still catching my breath.” She presses a hand to her chest. “Clearly, you’ve had a lot more practice at this than I have.”
“I have.” I’m not going to lie. “But tonight is special. You’re special.”
“Really?” The way her big, dark eyes take me in I can tell she wants to believe me and she’s not sure she should.
“Really. No joke, just honesty. I’ll always do my best to give that to you.”
Under me, she smiles as if my words have reassured her and cups my cheek. “You’re not at all who I thought you were when I first met you.”
“Oh?” I raise a brow at her.
“You seemed New York slick, and I didn’t see how I could possibly trust you…but you’ve done exactly what you promised. You learned me enough to convince Sherry that we’re a couple. And you dropped everything to do it. Finn and Dana have some breathing room to enjoy married life. You’ve been wonderful. And you’ve made me feel special.”
I stroke the damp tendrils from her face. “I’ll let you in on a secret. I didn’t learn you to fool your ex’s mom. I did it because I wanted to. I meant what I said at the wedding; it wasn’t a line to get you into bed. I’m genuinely interested in you.”
The way her mouth curls up tells me that makes her happy. “I’m really interested in you, too.” Then her smile falters. “But you’re only here temporarily—”
“A month.” I rented Aloha Rainbow house for a long while to make sure I got time and perspective. Since it’s a hugely important decision, I need to be sure.
But after tonight, I’m pretty sure Skye will have some sway on my choice. At the moment, I can’t imagine life without her. I don’t know what being with her more permanently will look like yet, but I know I want her.
“That’s a long time for a vacation, but not enough to know—”
“It’s not just a vacation, honey.”
She nods. “I know you’re deciding your future because you and your dad disagree about your half-sister.”
“Yeah.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“Not really, but the issue isn’t going to go away.” I sigh. “You sure you want to hear all this? It’s a lot.”
“If it affects you, yes. I don’t know that I can help, but I’m willing to listen.”
If I’m going to make Skye a part of my life, she should know what’s happening. It’s only fair to let her decide if my shit is too much for her to handle.
“Thanks.”
I search for my courage. Now it gets difficult. “I knew Dad wasn’t happy with my mother when I was growing up. She suffered from depression and seemed bitter about everything. My dad was ambitious and always hustling to put together deals, so he wasn’t around much. I won’t deny that he was a workaholic, which depressed my mom more. And the more depressed she got, the more bitterly she behaved…so the more he worked. It was a vicious cycle. I found out early that I’d rather be at the office with him than walking on eggshells at home with Mom.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that. My parents were great. My childhood was idyllic. I count myself really lucky.”
That’s probably why Skye has such a big heart; it’s never truly been crushed. I feel compelled to make sure no one ever does.
Another reason I should be as honest as I can.
“Not me.” I had all the money in the world, but I learned early that, while it could buy material possessions, it couldn’t buy love. “I was about seven when I figured out my parents lived together but weren’t really together. I spent the night at a friend’s house and noticed that his mom and dad didn’t have separate bedrooms. Not long after, I saw our maid, Jina, follow my dad into his bedroom. Then he shut the door. Neither came out for hours.”
Her eyes widen. “They were having an affair?”
“Definitely.”
“Did your mom know?”
“At the time?” I shrug. “We never talked about it. But Jina left abruptly one day. I never saw her again. When I was a teenager, my dad got drunk one night and admitted that he and my mom had gotten pregnant with my sister, Amanda, to try to save their marriage. He knew almost right away it wouldn’t work, but he couldn’t afford to divorce her. Shortly after that, he started an affair with our maid…who also got pregnant. Mom found out and threatened to bleed him dry in divorce court, so he fired Jina, gave her a financial settlement for the child, and refused to have anything to do with either of them.”
“Oh, my gosh. That’s horrible.”
I nod. “After dad told me about Nia, I was always curious. All I had was a bit of basic information about her, but out there somewhere was a sister I didn’t know. So imagine my surprise when I dropped in to see a business contact in Seattle and realized his assistant was the very sister I’d never met.”
“Oh, wow. Did she know you were her brother?”
“No clue. I wanted to get to know her. Since my mom had passed away a few years prior, I assumed my dad would, too. He didn’t.”
“And you were shocked.”
“Yeah. Hugely.”
“Do you have any idea why he doesn’t want anything to do with her?”
“None. He’s made a million excuses for Amanda, even though she’s screwed up a hundred times. He even supported her when she got pregnant by his best friend.”
“Your dad’s best friend? How old is this man?”
“Was. Barclay is dead now. But he was my dad’s age. That was surprising enough, but what’s really weird? Nia’s husband, Evan, is Barclay’s illegitimate son.”
“Hang on. Nia’s husband’s father is the same man who...”
“Knocked up my sister, yes. Small world, huh?” I hold Skye close, kiss her because I can’t help myself, then settle in to spill the bitter truth. “The minute we left that office building, I pointed out to my dad that we’d been speaking with our own flesh and blood for the first time ever. He told me it didn’t matter and that I should forget her.”
“That’s horrible. Clearly, you didn’t.”
“No. It took me a while to find the right way to tell Nia that I’m her brother, but I’m glad I did. But my dad refuses to acknowledge her and he won’t say why, just insists that I ‘get over it.’ The only reason I can figure is that he’s either ambivalent—which is unlike him—or embarrassed that he has a biracial daughter.”
“So Jina was…”
“African-American.” I nod. “I’ve known for years that my father is human and has flaws. I can forgive him a lot. But if he’s opting out of Nia’s life because of the color of her skin, I can’t live with that. I’d rather not be professionally connected with someone who feels that way. But I’m torn because I love our business. I know it inside and out. Walking away would devastate me. I don’t know what to do. My head tells me one thing, my heart another.”
“I see it’s weighing on you.” She presses her lips to my forehead. “But can you really make a decision that affects your whole future without knowing why your dad won’t speak to Nia?”
She makes a good point. “I don’t know if my anger has dwindled enough to talk to him.”
“You have to try.”
“I know.” I kiss her head. “How did you get so smart?”
“I’m not. But I suspect I’m a little more used to leading with my heart than you.”
Skye isn’t wrong.
“There’s that.”
“But I look at it this way: if you’re unhappy with your dad for writing off family, I’m not sure you can live with yourself for doing the same without truly knowing his reasons.”
“Yep. See? Smart. I don’t have a good argument against that.”
She smiles. “Maybe you shouldn’t try to come up with one, either.”
I bend to take her mouth again…and my lips start wandering down her neck, then toward the luscious, rosy peaks of her breasts. “I can think of something I’d rather do right now, anyway. Want to see if the sex was really as amazing as we remember?”
“Yes.” She arches toward me with a moan. “I do.”
* * * *
The following afternoon, I’m hanging out on the lanai, more than half hoping Skye will come back soon. Shortly after breakfast, she disappeared to run errands for her bosses, Dean and Erma, who don’t drive much since they’re in their eighties.
With her gone, I’ve been thinking, trying to figure out my life. I venture to peek at the voicemails I’ve been ignoring, including another one from David Chang. There’s also a cheery invitation from Nia, asking me over for dinner tonight to celebrate the birth of Maxon and Keeley Reed’s daughter, Kailani, on New Year’s Day.
The rest of the messages are from business contacts reaching out to me for other potential deals, which tells me that if I branch off on my own I stand a good chance of being self-sustaining.
The remaining three are from my dad, each more insistent than the last. He’s never been good at back-and-forth conversation, just making demands.
In the past, I’ve always put our business first. Right now, I have to think about a future that suits me.
Since it’s Monday morning in Hong Kong, I dial Chang. He answers on the first ring.
“Hi, David.” His given name is a lot more difficult to pronounce, but for simplicity’s sake he’s David to his American and British contacts.
“Do you have information for me about the Maui property?” he asks in a slightly British clip, though I still hear a slight Asian enunciation to his tone.
“I do. I’ve walked the beach, driven the roads, inquired about zoning, building codes, water, sewer…pretty much asked the gamut of questions before one commits to building a hotel.” This isn’t my first rodeo, after all. “Of course, the property in question isn’t actually for sale.”
“It’s not, but you know the unwritten rule.”
“Everything has a price.”
“Exactly.” I hear the smile in Chang’s voice.
“The building codes will present some challenges. Maui has a labyrinth of regulations, most of which aren’t conducive to skyscrapers.”
“I’m aware of that. I’m challenging my architect to sketch his preliminary designs around that, while making it as profitable as possible. Once that’s done, we’ll see if the project is worth the return. Tell me about the sellers.”
“They’re an elderly couple who leave the day-to-day operations of the vacation rental to an employee.” It’s on the tip of my tongue to point out that we’ll displace Skye and eliminate her job if this ho
tel comes to fruition. But I bite the words back. David won’t care. If I didn’t know Skye so personally, I wouldn’t either.
I feel more than a tad guilty that I’m having this conversation without first speaking to her about this. But she doesn’t own the property. Her allegiance is to Dean and Erma, and I can’t risk her tipping them off before David is ready to negotiate. Heck, if he’s ever ready. This whole thing could easily fall apart.
“They have to know they’re sitting on a fortune in land,” David muses.
Totally. And I’m sure people have made them offers in the past. There must be some reason they haven’t sold… Not wanting to lose their home? Or their business? Do they have a sentimental attachment to the place? Something else entirely? Again, none of my business and not my first concern. If David wants to buy the property and he wants help negotiating, I’m there for him.
The conversation today is simply about the feasibility of getting a deal done.
“Probably. We only met for five minutes, so I don’t have a sense of them, unfortunately. We’d just have to find their price and see if it’s something you can live with.”
“But your initial impression is that I should green light this project?”
Completely objectively, without mixing Skye into the equation? “Yes.”
“Excellent. I’ll tell the others here, and we’ll start determining if we want to take the next steps. Will you be calling your father to bring him in?”
I hesitate. “Would it change anything if I didn’t?”
“No. You and I have worked together enough that I’m confident I know the service you’ll provide. Are you thinking of leaving Colossus?”
I don’t dare give David—or anyone—an inch of scoop until I’m ready to make a decision. “No. Just looking to develop some individual elements to my résumé. You never know what the future will bring.”
