Wordless

by Sabrina Stark

  She was wearing white cropped pants and a little yellow t-shirt. The shirt wasn't obscene, but it clung to her curves and revealed just enough down the front to make me want to see more.

  Still, I kept my gaze where it belonged as I waited for Becka's reply.

  Abruptly, she shut her book and stood to face me. "What about you?"

  "What about me?" I asked.

  "Don't you think you'd be better off up there, too?" As the words left her mouth, she gave a little wince. "I mean your room, of course. Not mine."

  And now she was blushing.

  It annoyed the piss out of me, because she looked so beautiful doing it. Her cheeks were flushed, and her lips were full and pink.

  The thought of joining her in the hotel room might've made me groan out loud if I were a different kind of guy – meaning the type who hadn't made self-control a top priority.

  I told her, "Don't worry. I know what you meant."

  "Good," she said. "So you get the point."

  "Which is…?"

  "I'm just saying that I was right here reading in the lobby, while you were out of the building entirely. So it just seems to me that you're in no position to judge – or to lecture me, for that matter."

  "Except I'm your boss, remember?"

  "Not now, you're not." Her chin lifted. "You said I was done for the night." She gave me a tight smile. "Remember?"

  I remembered, all right. That conversation had occurred nearly eight hours ago, and it had taken all of my willpower to say goodbye after dinner.

  Lately, we'd been doing that far too often – having dinner, meeting up for breakfast, or talking for hours during those long car rides and private flights.

  The truth was, I couldn’t get enough of her. And I wasn't blind. The feeling was obviously mutual – which made it harder than hell to keep things casual while we both pretended there was nothing there.

  But there was.

  I could see it in her eyes and feel it in my own. She wanted me. I wanted her. And neither one of us was thrilled to pretend otherwise.

  But when I gave my word, I didn't look for loopholes. No. I kept that word and stuck to it – even if it was killing me.

  And seeing her like this, alone in the middle of the night, let's just say it wasn't helping. She shouldn't be out here.

  I said, "If you want, I'll get you a suite."

  "Why?"

  "So you can read up there."

  With a perplexed look, she asked, "Do you have a suite?"

  "No." It was true. For reasons of my own, I was staying on the fourth floor. No suites there. As for Becka, she was staying on the eighth. I knew exactly where her room was, even if she couldn’t say the same in return.

  Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked me up and down, taking in my black pants and dark jacket. From the look on her face, she wasn't liking what she saw.

  Good.

  Temptation aside, the less interested she was, the better. And more to the point, I was dressed this way for a reason, and it wasn't to draw attention – not from her or anyone else.

  When she finished with her impromptu inspection, she said, "Just so you know, you're not fooling anyone."

  I didn't know what she meant. But it didn't matter. I was fooling plenty of people, including her.

  I replied, "Is that so?"

  "Sure." She lowered her voice to just a whisper. "So tell me. Who were you sleeping with tonight?"

  Chapter 48

  Becka

  I shouldn't have said it.

  I knew this just as surely as I knew that Jack wasn't pleased. I could see it in the set of his shoulders and the look in his eyes – cold and wary, as if sizing me up.

  In a tight voice, he replied, "What?"

  On instinct, I took a step backward and nearly tumbled ass-first onto the same sofa that I'd been occupying for the last three hours.

  It wasn't even my own balance that saved me. It was Jack's hand, reaching out to steady me just in time.

  Without releasing my arm, he said, "You remember the deal, right?"

  I swallowed. "What deal?"

  "No questions."

  A low scoff escaped my lips. He had an awful lot of nerve, reminding me of that stupid agreement when that whole conversation had become null and void.

  I told him, "That doesn't count." And with that, I yanked my arm out of his grip.

  He gave me a good, long look. "Yeah? Why not?"

  "Because we agreed to forget that day entirely, remember?"

  "Your idea," he said. "Not mine."

  "Well, it's not like you argued about it." I mean, seriously, wasn't there a middle ground in there somewhere?

  His gaze darkened. "I told you I'd give you any favor you wanted. And I did. So if you're unhappy, look in the mirror."

  I felt my brow wrinkle in sudden confusion. From the look on his face, I wasn't the only one who'd been frustrated with that hopeless bargain.

  Oh sure, it had been the smart thing to do, and I shouldn’t be regretting it, especially now, when he'd been out doing who-knows-what.

  Still, the last few weeks hadn't been easy.

  After that mind-blowing kiss, not to mention all of the things he'd said in the car, it had been nearly impossible for me to act like nothing had happened. In fact, I was pretty sure that I'd been doing a sorry job of it.

  But Jack? Until now, I'd seen no sign whatsoever that he recalled that day at all, even if we had been spending far too much time together.

  But didn't he get it? That was part of the problem. The more time I spent with him, the less I liked how this was going.

  Stupid or not, I wanted more.

  In reply to his statement, I said, "Maybe you should look in the mirror. You ever think of that?"

  "No."

  "Why not?"

  Something in his gaze softened. "Because it's not me I want to look at."

  I blinked. "What do you mean?"

  His gaze dipped to my lips. "I think you know."

  Under any other circumstance, I might've gone all weak-kneed and silly. And maybe I had, just a little. But there was no way on Earth that I was ever going to show it.

  I looked away. "Even if I do know, so what?"

  His voice, softer now, reclaimed my attention. "Becka."

  "What?"

  "I wasn't doing what you think."

  It shouldn’t have mattered. Still, relief coursed through me, and I tried for a joke. "Don't you mean who I think?"

  "And who's that?"

  "Actually, I don’t know," I admitted. "I'm just really confused, that's all."

  "Don't be. Like I said, I was alone."

  He hadn't put it quite that way the first time. But I knew what he was getting at. And now, I hardly knew what to say. As I stared up at him, I finally managed to ask, "So, what were you doing?"

  "Nothing like that." The corners of his mouth lifted. "Even if you are cute when you're jealous."

  My jaw dropped. Talk about cocky. "I wasn't jealous."

  He smiled. "Yeah you were."

  I refused to smile back, even if I was seriously tempted. "Well, you're awful sure of yourself."

  "Yeah. And you wanna know why?"

  Wordlessly, I nodded.

  "Because if it were me, I'd wanna kill him."

  My heart skipped a beat. Was he implying what I thought he was implying? After a long, awkward moment, I asked, "Who?"

  "Whoever you were with." He gave a slow shake of his head. "Even if I have no right."

  That last part made me pause. I knew exactly what he was getting at. I had no right to be jealous either. We weren't even a thing.

  So, what was this? Some sort of trick? With renewed suspicion, I felt my gaze narrow. "Are you trying to distract me? Like, from asking questions, I mean?"

  His gaze locked on mine. "If I wanted to distract you, I could think of better ways than this."

  Woah.

  Me, too.

  In fact, I'd been thinking of potential distraction
s all day. And now, I just had to ask, "How?"

  "I think you know."

  Did I ever. In fact, I was feeling a little distracted already. I glanced toward the elevators and felt myself swallow.

  I'd only come down to the lobby because I couldn’t sleep. By now, I should've been used to it. Sleep had proven nearly impossible for weeks now. Oh sure, I tried to sleep. But I almost always ended up tossing and turning – or worse, fantasizing about my enigmatic boss.

  He was a mystery that I wanted to solve, a puzzle that I wanted to piece together, and a fantasy that I was having a hard time resisting.

  Perversely, the last few weeks had only fueled my interest – knowing that my fantasy could've been a reality, if only I hadn't played it so annoyingly safe.

  As these thoughts swirled in my head, I stared up into his amazing eyes. They were so vividly blue and filled with obvious interest that I couldn’t help but wonder if this was all part of a dream.

  Maybe I was sleeping.

  But if so, I didn't want to wake up.

  As I tried to catch my breath, I said, "Just tell me something, all right?"

  "What?"

  "Wherever you were tonight…" I bit my lip. "You're sure it didn't involve anyone else? I mean romantically?"

  "I'm sure. And you wanna know why?"

  "Why?"

  "Because there's only one girl I want, and she asks far too many questions."

  My mouth opened, but the only sound that came out was a half sigh, half whimper. Beyond embarrassed, I clamped my lips shut and looked away.

  And of course, my gaze landed directly on those elevators.

  I studied them long and hard. A short walk, followed by a simple press of a button, and we could be on our way upward to a nice hotel room with a massive bed, perfect for getting tangled in the sheets.

  Naked.

  Together.

  It was so very tempting – and so very wrong.

  I still knew so little about him.

  But holy hell, did I want to learn more.

  Chapter 49

  Jack

  As I studied her profile, I could practically hear the wheels turning. She was thinking again.

  She was dangerous. Not like me. But that didn't make her presence on the tour any less of a problem.

  In the beginning, I'd had her pegged for something else – someone who'd support the tour with blinders on, seeing only what I wanted her to see – the cold-hearted writer with a nice, cushy life.

  But I wasn't that guy. Not anymore.

  And she wasn't that girl.

  Together, we were something else.

  And I didn't want her thinking at all. Not now.

  As she studied the bank of elevators, she chewed on her bottom lip. Her eyes were bright, and her cheeks were pink with the remnants of her blush.

  If I wanted, I could deepen that blush – not with words, but with actions. Once upstairs, I could make her forget her questions, forget her curiosity, or hell, even forget her own name.

  For now.

  But when morning came, I knew precisely what would happen. The questions would return, along with my need for privacy – for her sake and mine.

  If I were smart, I'd keep my distance. If I were even smarter, I'd send her packing, maybe find something else for her to do – something nice, safe, and far away.

  I had some research that needed doing – some castle thing in Romania for an upcoming book. I could send her there within hours, and we'd both sleep easier from now on.

  The thought was like a dagger to my heart.

  Fuck that.

  I wanted her. She wanted me. And I wanted to pull her close, not push her away. I moved toward her. "Becka."

  She turned to look. "What?"

  "That deal we made?"

  "Yeah?"

  "If you want to rip it up, say the word."

  Her breath caught. "Actually, I didn't write it down. Did you?"

  "No."

  "But wait…" She hesitated. "Do you mean the deal where we agreed to forget that day? Or the first deal, where I was supposed to stay on as your guest and not ask any questions?"

  "You pick," I said. "Name the deal, and it's yours."

  "But why do I have to choose?"

  "Because I gave you my word."

  "So?"

  "So if the choice were mine, you wouldn't be going upstairs alone."

  Her lips parted. "Oh." Again, she looked toward the elevators. And then she looked to me. When our gazed locked, a soft sound escaped her lips. The sound went straight to my groin.

  I lowered my head and whispered in her ear. "Your choice."

  When she replied, it was more like a breath than a statement. "I choose you."

  With a smile, I pulled back to look at her face. "Yeah?"

  She nodded. "That deal we made? I've been hating it for weeks."

  I wasn't gonna lie. "Me, too." And with this, I reached for her hand. I turned it upward and lowered my head to kiss her palm. Her skin was smooth and warm and smelled like honey.

  If we weren't in a public place, I would've left a trail of kisses from her palm to her shoulder – and then, to her lips.

  But that wasn't me. When it came to something I wanted, really wanted, I didn't share – visually or otherwise. And there was no way on Earth that I'd be sharing her blushes or sounds with anyone else, not even the cameras that monitored the lobby.

  So instead, I pulled back and said, "Wait here."

  "For what?" she asked.

  "I'm gonna get a room."

  "But we already have a room." She gave a trembling laugh. "We have two, actually."

  "Not good enough."

  She frowned in confusion. "For what?"

  I smiled. "You."

  Chapter 50

  Becka

  In the doorway to the suite, I stopped and caught my breath. The room I'd been staying in on the lower floor was perfectly lovely. But this? It couldn’t compare.

  I looked to Jack and said, "You realize, you didn't have to do this, right?"

  "Do what?" he asked, making a move to flick on the lights.

  I spoke up. "Actually, would you mind waiting? I mean, there's lots of light coming in from outside, so maybe we can hold off a minute?" I was feeling just a lit bit shy and mesmerized by the view.

  Without comment, Jack abandoned the light switch and moved closer. "You were saying?"

  Already I was feeling almost too rattled to think. "I was just saying, you didn't have to get a whole new room."

  As I said it, I glanced around. This wasn't a room. It was a suite on the very top floor. And even in the dim light, it was beyond spectacular. The décor was welcoming and plush, the windows were floor-to-ceiling, and off to the side was a room that could only be the bedroom.

  Silently, I moved toward the main window. Through the pristine glass, I swear I could see for miles.

  In front of me, the lights from nearby buildings shone like little squares in the night. But beyond that? I could see countless streetlights and traffic lights, all laid out before me in long, straight rows.

  Given the late hour, the streets were nearly empty. From this far above, the scene looked like something out of a movie – the kind where humanity's gone, but the technology remains.

  I couldn’t help but smile at the wonder of it all. When Jack joined me at the window, I said, "I just realized something."

  "What?"'

  "I've never been up this high." With a nervous laugh, I added, "Not counting when we're flying of course. Then, we're a lot higher." I gave him a sideways glance. "But I guess you knew that already, huh? I mean, you're on the same airplane, right." I hesitated. "Or is it a jet? A jet's still an airplane, isn't it?"

  Damn it. I was rambling again. I hadn't meant to, but my nerves were getting the best of me. I wanted him so badly I could taste it. And yet, I'd be lying if I didn't admit, even to myself, that I wasn't quite sure how to go about this.

  I gave Jack a tentative smile. "I b
et you don't want to talk about airplanes, huh?"

  He smiled back. "I'm game if you are."

  He didn't mean it.

  He couldn’t.

  With an embarrassed laugh, I said, "I should take you up on that, if only to prove a point."

  He asked, "And what point is that?"

  "To always be honest."

  With an easy smile, he replied, "You think I wasn't?"

  "Not really," I said. "But I don't blame you. I mean we didn't come up here for a conversation, right." I blew out a shaky breath. "Especially about planes. And you paid extra for this room, so…"

  "Becka."

  I swallowed. "What?"

  "We have all night."

  "Not really," I said. "I mean, it's almost four in the morning."

  "It doesn't matter," he said. "If you want, we can just talk."

  I studied his face. In the darkened room, I couldn't see his expression as clearly as I might've on a sunlit day. But he did look sincere.

  Still, I wasn't stupid. I knew full well that no guy on Earth would spring for an extra hotel room in the middle of the night, only to be told, "Let's just talk."

  Besides, I was long past the talking phase. I'd been thinking about this – about him – for so very long that if I chickened out now, I'd be kicking myself forever.

  There was just one stupid problem. I wasn't quite sure where to start. I bit my lip. "I don't know if I mentioned this, but I, uh, don't really do this a lot."

  Quickly, I added, "I’m not a virgin or anything, but the whole one-night-stand thing. I guess I sort of skipped that phase in college. Or in high school. Or whenever people do that."

  Oh yeah. I was definitely rambling.

  And probably, he was wondering what the hell he'd been thinking, bringing me up here, only to listen to me babble on and on.

  Enough was enough. Deliberately, I shrugged off my purse and set it carefully on the nearby side table.

  I looked to Jack and said, "Well, I guess we should probably head to the bedroom, huh?"

  Chapter 51

  Jack

  She was so sexy, I could hardly stand it.

  Watching her mind whirl and her body tense, it was all I could do not to toss her over my shoulder and carry her straight to the place she'd just mentioned. The bedroom.

  Once there, I could toss her onto the bed and take her hard and fast. I could make sure that she liked it, too. But this was our very first time. And I knew there was something else she'd like more.