Chapter Six
The door slams behind me but I don’t care because the only thing that matters is getting my hands on this man. “Are you going to kiss me?”
His lips kick up as he pulls his bowtie off. “I’m going to do more than kiss you, baby. Do you have any idea how much I’ve thought about this? Since the moment I saw you and made a complete idiot of myself.”
He frowns suddenly. “How much did you drink?”
I set my tiny purse on the foyer table. It’s a whole big, gorgeous suite. It looks a lot like the one I’m sharing with Ivy and Heath, so I would bet there are two bedrooms in this sucker. I don’t see Jeremiah, so I have to think he’s either getting lucky himself or still enjoying the party. “Two glasses of champagne and that whiskey you brought me. I also ate way too much, and that’s a much better reason to not do this.”
There are so many reasons to not do this. So many.
I can’t think of any of them right now. If I’m drunk off anything, it’s lust. And maybe longing.
The last two hours have been a whirlwind of dancing and toasting my friends and sitting with Reid and talking about pretty much everything. We had a spirited debate about restoration methods that made all my friends leave the table. Jeremiah sat there watching us argue with wide eyes, as though it was the best tennis match ever.
It was fun to argue with Reid. Fun to dance with him. Fun to try Ralavian pastries with him. Especially since he apparently can’t stand lingonberries, and it is the national fruit. I had to eat his because Luca was walking up and he didn’t want to admit he hated it.
It was adorable.
I don’t think I’ve had a boyfriend before who I felt was a teammate. Like we’re truly in it together. Not that Reid is my boyfriend. He’s not, and I need to remember that.
“What are we doing?”
He seems to slow down.
I don’t want to. “Having a brief fling at the most elegant and romantic event either of us will ever attend.”
Now I do kind of wish I had some more of that whiskey he’d given me. It might give me some more courage. I’m wondering if he’s come to his senses. I can probably handle it if it’s about work. “But if you’ve changed your mind…”
He reaches for my hand and then drags me close. “No. I’m a careful man. I make very few mistakes, and I’ve started to wonder if that isn’t the problem.”
I raise a brow. “I’m a mistake?”
“Probably, since we’re about to work together and I think we’re going to butt heads a lot. This is your dream project, but I’m the designer. I’m in charge, and you’re going to hate me at times. Yes, this is a mistake, but I want to make it. One selfish decision. Something only for me.”
His hands find my waist and pull me close, our bodies nestling together like puzzle pieces. “Harper, have I told you how fucking gorgeous you are?”
A couple of times. When we danced, he made me feel like I was the princess and he the handsome prince. He was so attentive, making sure I had anything I wanted.
I know it won’t last, but for a couple of hours I want to pretend I have the kind of life my friends have.
He even fit in with them. He and his brother had laughed and joked around with Heath and Luca and tried to hide when CeCe came around.
It felt like I fit in that moment. Like I fit in the new paradigm I find myself in.
I know it’s not real, but for one night it can be. “You look good, too. That tux suits you. We both know this is a one-night thing.”
He’s looking into my eyes like he can find something important there. “Why? Why do we have to put a time limit on it? What if it turns out we can handle butting heads at work and still feel comfortable outside of it? Are you a delicate flower who can’t handle a little conflict?”
Oh, he’s throwing down a challenge that I can’t help but pick up. “I’ve worked with construction crews my whole life. I eat conflict for breakfast.”
I had to develop a thick skin to survive. Even as a kid, my dad didn’t hold back on the criticism, and I get a ton of it now. Honestly, the idea of working with this man, of sparring with him, kind of excites me. I’ve been the boss for a long time, and that means pushing back when the men around me think they know better. This will be something different.
“Then why does this have to be a one-night thing?”
He strokes a hand over my hair, looking into my eyes like I’m something precious. “Stop thinking, Harper. We both think too much. Let’s go with it for once in our lives.”
It’s the exact right thing to say because he’s correct. My life feels like it was planned from the beginning. Like I was set on a path and I never thought to wander off it. I followed my father, listened to my mother. I love the work I do, but what would I do if I didn’t have the responsibility the company gave me? What would I have done in college if I wasn’t expected to get a business degree?
If my father lived, would he have introduced me to some nice guy he picked out and I would be home having his babies while he ran the company that was supposed to be mine?
Do I even want it?
I toss all the questions aside as Reid’s head lowers and his lips brush over mine for the first time.
I definitely wouldn’t be here, and here suddenly seems like a brilliant place to be.
He kisses me, his lips exploring while his big, strong hands move over my hips and one trails upward, tracing the line of my spine until he cups the nape of my neck. His fingers sink into my hair, pulling it from the carefully constructed bun I wore all day. I feel it spill out, brushing the tops of my shoulders.
“So soft,”
he murmurs before lowering his mouth to mine again. This time his kiss moves from gentle into dominating. He holds me still while he explores my mouth, our tongues sliding against one another in a silky dance. He seems…hungry, and having all that sexy energy pointed my direction does something for me.
I tug at the buttons of his shirt. He took the jacket off in the elevator. Yep, my bestie has an elevator, though Luca calls it the lift. So that shirt is the only thing standing between me and warm skin.
My toes threaten to curl as he pulls me against his body and I feel the evidence of his desire for the first time. I press against that hard part of him, warmth flaring through every inch of my body.
It’s been so long. My last boyfriend and I broke up over two years ago, and I haven’t dated since. Work got busy, and it was easier to simply go home and stare at a TV rather than take care of yet another person. I have to make every decision at work, have to fight over all of them, and then Lewis wanted me to make all the decisions in our relationship. He wanted a mom, not a girlfriend.
Which is likely why this feels so damn different.
Reid takes charge, holding me in place while he devours my mouth. It makes me wonder where else he might want to put it to good use.
I have a sudden vision of Reid between my legs, his mouth hovering over my core before he makes a meal out of me.
He starts to move us toward the back of the suite.
Behind us there’s the sound of a door opening, and Reid quickly steps back. Before I can say anything, he’s buttoning his shirt and turning to the front of the suite. “Jeremiah? Is everything okay?”
“Well, hello, tiny bag,”
I hear Jeremiah say from the living area. “I wasn’t expecting you here. Hey, brother, you might stash Harper for a minute. We have a problem.”
Reid stares at his brother for a moment like they’re having an intense silent conversation.
I get the feeling our evening is over, but I’m not sure why. Jeremiah pointedly glances at his watch.
Reid turns my way, and I don’t have to have feelings. I know he’s about to ask me to leave. I take a long breath before he can talk. “I’ll get back to my room.”
Reid’s expression falls. “I just need to handle one thing.”
I was starting to worry about what thing needs handling. Do they have designer emergencies? Does he need to pick up his book of swatches and fly across the country like a superhero because some rich chick needs a bathroom redo at one in the morning? “It’s okay. I’ll see you when we get back to the States.”
“Harper,”
he begins.
I’m not sure what to say to him. Without his hands on me, all of my doubts start to creep back in. We do have to work together. We spark off each other, and that’s not always a good thing. This is Ani’s big project, and I don’t want my libido to screw it up. I straighten my dress and wish he hadn’t taken my hair down. I probably look like we got much further than we did. “It’s only a week or so and we’ll start filming.”
“Or I could come to your room when I’m done,”
he offers.
But there’s something about Jeremiah’s expression. He won’t quite look me in the eyes. “I’m so tired. I swear I’ll be asleep in no time. Also, I’m sharing with Ivy and Heath, and they would never let me hear the end of it.”
He sighs. “Okay, but I’ll call you. And we have an initial design meeting in a week. I’d like to see you before then.”
I give him my brightest smile. If he does call, maybe we can try it again. Maybe this is some weird family thing. Maybe he’ll tell me what happened and I’ll laugh and we can move on. “Call me. I had a good time.”
“I did, too.”
There’s a wistful expression on his face.
And a somewhat sympathetic look on Jeremiah’s as he waves my way.
I’m halfway out the door when I hear them talking.
“What do you mean she’s…”
The door closes, and I’m alone in the hallway.
So it is a she. Well, everyone told me he was something of a playboy. My heart hurts a little. Maybe I don’t understand the situation. I walk down the hall. The party is still going on below us. I could go down and talk to Ivy, but the last thing I want is to be the girl crying in the bathroom at the homecoming dance. That had actually been Anika, but I’m not looking to pay her back or anything. It wasn’t like I’d had anything better to do junior year.
“Either he was faster than all reports would have him be or his brother cockblocked you,”
a feminine voice says. I turn and Sonja, the sexually aggressive royal, is standing at the top of the staircase, a glass of champagne in her hands. Her brow cocks as she looks me over. “Which one?”
“Lady, it’s none of your business.”
Sonja sighs. “It’s everyone’s business if you get involved with that one. Haven’t you figured it out? He’s American royalty. You people don’t value history, but you do love money. It’s the only real god in American society. His family is old-school money, and that means everyone wants something from him.”
I should walk on. “You sure did.”
She shrugs. “I’m bored and my husband is fucking some twenty-year-old. He looked like a good distraction, but then she showed up and I remembered why I stay away from that train wreck.”
“She?”
Sonja frowns. “Are you really so out of the loop?”
“Yes.”
A huff comes from the woman’s mouth. “Her name is Britta Olensoff. She’s a model. I think the term is supermodel.”
Nothing rings a bell, and I’m suddenly grateful I don’t follow celebrity news. “I’m not big into fashion.”
She looks me up and down. “Yes, I can see that.”
I’m about to walk off and hide in my room when a gloriously tall woman begins her ascent up the stairs. She’s stunning. A Nordic goddess of a woman, and she does not have my problems with fashion. She’s in a sheath dress that shows off her slender figure, and her icy blond hair is swept back in a perfect ponytail that sways as she walks in impossibly high heels. She’s followed by two men in suits. Bodyguards.
“Britta,”
Sonja says with obvious disdain. “I suppose I know where you’re going. He kicked this one out when he found out you were here.”
Shit. I feel my whole body flush as I realize what happened. Well, it wasn’t like I asked if he had a girlfriend. I would think he might mention it, but I also hadn’t questioned him and neither had he.
The supermodel stares down at me as though contemplating a bug she’s thinking about squishing. “Well, I shouldn’t be so surprised. We fought when I couldn’t come with him. This is how he gets his petty revenge. I’m sorry, miss. He likely didn’t mention he has a fiancée.”
I feel my jaw threaten to drop. And my heart clench. It isn’t like I thought we had a future or anything, but he…he isn’t who I thought he was. His brother isn’t either since he’s covering for Reid. I’m not going to cry. At least not until I make it to my room. “We work together. That’s all. I’m managing the crew on his latest renovation project.”
Britta’s head tilts like she’s considering something. And then she smiles. “Oh, you’re one of the construction people. Well, I was about to tell you to stay away from my fiancé, but I guess he’s not your type.”
Ah, yeah. Like I haven’t gotten that before. The tomboy probably doesn’t like men. Well, I don’t right now, and it’s a low-key heartache that my sexuality is so hardwired. Reid wants to play games? Well, I can win by refusing to take the bait. I gesture down the hallway I came from. “He’s the third door on the left. You kids have a great time.”
I hurry down the stairs before Sonja can make another nasty remark.
When I get to my room, I close the door. And do what I promised not to do.
I cry and vow it’s the last time I give that man an inch.