She opened her mouth but then promptly closed it. “I’m… I mean, I don’t know.” I want you to stay. I want you to kiss me. I want to be able to enjoy your body and not lose myself in the process. Her emotions were all over the place and she felt completely out of control. “What I want and what I know should happen aren’t the same thing.” The fine cotton of his expensive T-shirt teased her sensitive fingertips as she explored the muscles of his stomach.
“Do you want me to walk out of here and not look back?” he asked softly, his lips brushing her temple.
Her eyes closed, knowing what she should say. “Yes.”
“You’re such a little liar,” he said with gentle firmness. “I won’t let you cheat us out of this, Angel.”
“What is this?” Her head tilted back and her hair fell over the hand that moved up her back to close around the back of her neck and head.
“This is amazing. Just let it happen. We’ll go slow. I won’t touch you until you ask me to.”
“I’m asking now!” she protested, and he shook his head. “Why are you doing this, Alex? You told me this isn’t how you play, so what do you hope to gain?”
“You. Time.” He was seducing her with his velvet voice and the lips that felt like languid butterflies on her eyelids, cheek, and then her open mouth, his hands holding her head and kneading her back gently.
“Sex?”
“If it’s meant to happen, yes. I have to go to Madrid tomorrow, and I’ll be back on Friday. Can I see you?”
“Yes. But I have the show.” To deny him seemed unthinkable. Her logic protested but she couldn’t give it a voice.
He pulled her close and his mouth staked its ownership of hers again, and her arms lifted of their own accord to wrap around his neck, her hands threading into his hair. The kisses were sublime and they feasted on each other until she felt his hardness press into her and her body answered with moist heat of its own. “Ughhhh,” she moaned softly, disappointed when he finally pulled away after placing one last kiss on her neck. “Don’t go.”
“Baby, I gotta go or I’ll never leave. So, I’ll see you in five days. Keep the phone handy.”
He opened the door and her hands fell from his body.
Angel found herself feeling stunned and bereft when the door closed, and she leaned back against the wood, the cold wood a stark contrast to his warm flesh. “Five days…”
She moved into the kitchen and began to clean up the remnants of the meal, forgotten for the past three and a half hours, thoughts of Alex rampant in her mind. She smiled in spite of herself. Her mind knew he was dangerous. More than dangerous, but damn it, he was funny and sexy and brilliant. Lethal. Surely, she’d suffer in the end but it felt so good, it was hard to deny.
The buzzer to her apartment sounded, startling Angel out of her contemplation, and she hurried to the door, anticipating Alex.
“Hey, you. Back already?” she asked with a smile. “I knew you couldn’t stay away.”
“Dr. Hemming?” a deep voice rasped. It wasn’t Alex and Angel was startled, jumping slightly in her skin.
“Yes?” she spoke into the speaker and then released the button for the response.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll be wise about your comments on Tuesday. Mr. Swanson can be a reasonable man, with reasonable people. We know where you live. And now, your boyfriend, too.”
Angel’s heart fell to her stomach, thudding heavily, and heat flooding her skin at a record pace.
9
Secrets
Alex thrummed his hand on the top of his knee, waiting impatiently for Cole outside his apartment. The neighborhood was nice, but not used to limousines, and certainly not the caliber that Alex or his parents lived in. Neither Alex, nor his father, was inclined to provide more to Cole without the benefit of some sort of contribution to the business.
He glanced at his watch impatiently and finally pulled out his phone.
“Yeah?” Cole’s groggy voice pissed Alex off. His mouth settled into a thin line.
“Cole, for Christ’s sake! I’m waiting. Get your ass out here. Now! I’m late for my flight.”
There was rustling and the clank of a belt on the other end of the line as Cole crawled out of bed and threw on some clothes. “Where you going, again? What time is it?”
“Just get the hell out here. We’ll talk on the way to O’Hare.” Alex shut off his phone and shoved it in the breast pocket of his suit. The sun had been up for three hours, bright in the sky, but the limo’s dark windows made his expensive sunglasses unnecessary. He pulled them off and flung them on the leather seat beside him.
After another ten minutes, Cole’s unkempt form slid into the seat directly across from Alex as the driver closed the door behind him. Shaking his head in dismay, Alex watched his brother shove a Cubs baseball cap onto his uncombed head.
“Who dresses you, Cole? Have some respect for yourself and for the family. Jesus. Think about what you represent!”
Cole scowled at his younger brother. “Get off your high horse, Alex. Who the fuck do you think you are, getting me out of bed at the crack of dawn?”
“Apparently, I’m your fucking boss. And my high horse, as you put it, needs a good polishing. Dad asked me to straighten your ass out, but this is it. After this, I’m done.”
“Fuck you, Alex. Daddy’s little favorite. It makes me want to puke.”
“You think you can go through life banging bimbos and relying on others to pay for everything you do? Get your head out of your ass. Life isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. At some point, you have to grow some balls and take some responsibility.”
Cole had the grace to flush and look out the window as the limo pulled out of his complex. “I’m not a suit. I have no desire to be Dad’s clone. Besides… he’s got one already.”
“If you don’t want to be a part of Avery, then tell Dad, so he’ll get off my ass. But get a goddamn job.”
Cole sighed and twisted his ball cap around. “What does Dad want me to do?”
Alex leaned back in the seat and watched Cole fidget. “It’s my call. He suggested mergers and acquisitions, but I have something else in mind. Since it’s not in the office, maybe you can stomach it.”
Cole’s brows lifted slightly. “What does it involve?” His tone was bored and uninterested.
“Supposedly, a local businessman is neck-deep in a rape case. It’s all hush-hush. I want to know who it is.”
“I don’t get it. Why do you give a fuck?”
Alex’s jaw shot forward and he stiffened slightly. He couldn’t admit the truth to his brother because he hadn’t fully accepted it himself. “Just find out. Get Bancroft to help you, if needed, but do it before I get back from Spain.”
The limo pulled up to the terminal, and the driver proceeded to unload Alex’s bag to the curb as the two men slid out. Passengers and airport workers glanced at them, taking in the stark contrast between Alex’s polished black suit and vibrant silk tie to Cole’s wrinkled khaki shorts and rumpled white T-shirt.
Alex replaced the sunglasses in one smooth motion and straightened the cuffs of his shirt under his jacket. As always, his dress and demeanor was impeccable and polished.
Cole studied his brother carefully; certain that the hard tone in his voice went deeper than he was letting on. “What’s the real reason, dude?”
Alex picked up his briefcase as the larger bag was checked at the curb.
“If this asshole is as shady as I believe him to be, there are holes in his business dealings, too. Find out everything. Who he is, what he owns, his relationships, who he employs, who his lawyers are… I want his weaknesses. Get it all. If you need money, Mrs. Dane is instructed to provide whatever is necessary, but not for bullshit, Cole, just this assignment.”