Chapter 23
Austin
The pressure of satin-covered hips rolling against mine jostled me awake. Still foggy and half asleep, I didn’t think and
simply threw my arm around her and pulled her close. The sound of her soft moan coupled with another slow hip roll woke me
up completely. That and the blood suddenly rushing to my groin.
Heat ran up my spine and I pulled in closer to her until we were on the same pillow—hers. The silk-covered one she slept on
was just as soft as it looked. And she felt better than I had imagined.
Every memory from last night flashed in my head.
I didn’t want to be the guy who did one-night stands anymore. I was past that stage in my life. But there wasn’t any point
in denying this thing between us. She didn’t want anything serious, and honestly, I wasn’t in any position to ask for that
sort of thing with my most likely impending move. So, what was the harm in enjoying it?
Originally, this had felt a little too complicated with all the ways Isa was wrapped around Blake, but that seemed to loosen over the last week. Maybe this was good for both of us, because I finally had some direction in my life.
I wasn’t going to question any of it right now, not when all of it felt so good.
“Mmmm,” she hummed and rolled her hips again. This time I knew she felt how hard I was.
“Isa . . .” I dropped a kiss on her neck.
My hand slipped under her camisole and spanned across her stomach. Her satin skin pricked with goose bumps. She felt good.
And we had a few days left here; we might as well enjoy them.
My heart’s erratic rhythm got faster.
A little more awake, she moaned softly this time and ran a hand up behind her through my hair.
Fuck.
Suddenly, a loud rumble against the nightstand made her tense.
“Don’t pick it up,” I whispered.
She nodded, her mouth slightly open, and my hand moved up against her chest—running gently over the curve of her ribs before
reaching the tempting swell of her breasts.
Another loud rumble against the nightstand interrupted us.
“It’s a reminder,” she told me. Her voice was low and a little scratchy with a mix of sleepiness and lust.
Blood rushed through my ears, hot and loud. I held her tighter against me.
That sound.
Her voice wasn’t the normal steady and confident one—it was wobbly, almost vulnerable. And, fuck, I wanted to protect it. Keep it. All for myself.
I groaned into her ear. “Ignore it.”
She paused for a second, I closed my eyes and ran my lips along the curve of her neck. And she eased back into me. My hand
spanned over her breast, running a finger slowly over her puckered nipple.
One last rumble against the nightstand convinced her to pull away.
With a disgruntled growl, she went from slowly raking her hands through my hair to reaching across the bed for her phone.
“Oh.” She sat up, her eyes scanning the screen. The room came back into focus. “You have your playdate today.”
The electricity in the room stretched and disappeared altogether.
I was meeting Xander Sutton, the banker, at the Stade today. He was a founder of an enormous capital investment firm and a
guest at the wedding. The meeting was informal since it would be over a friendly game, but he was an important person to talk
to and, if anything, it was a business opportunity. But right now, all I could think about was staying in bed.
“Please stop calling it that.” I was still trying to get my heart rate back down to something normal. Isa pushed the sheets
off her and got out of bed. She stood in front of her nightstand with her eyes on the screen, and my eyes lingered on the
curve of her ass barely peeking out from the bottoms of her shorts. “Can you come along?”
She was great at making small talk since she seemed to know a little bit about everything.
“I figured he might like to play at the Stade,” I added. I’d cleared it with Wes right before I left, riding the high that
I could do what I needed for the foundation. But now I wondered what exactly that was. Set it up and get it in a place where
it could sustain itself or maybe more. “You could see it, too.”
“Look at you,” Isa teased gently. “Who needs a pushy manager now?”
“So . . .” I got out of bed and rounded it till I was right behind her. Putting both arms around her waist, I dropped my head
to the crook of her neck. “Wanna come along?”
“Ummm . . .” Isa looked down at her phone. She refreshed her email, but nothing updated. Her shoulders dropped.
“Why don’t you stay here and work.” I could see that was where her mind was at.
“I believe in you,” she said cheekily, turning in my arms. Just the slightest feel of her breath sweeping against them sent
all that electricity back down my spine. “You’ll do great.”
I knew she was being cute or flirtatious, but the words felt different when they came out of her mouth. “I’m not as quick
a study as you, but I think I can hold my own.”
She smiled but didn’t say anything. She only looked up at me, and her eyes held mine for a moment. “I know I was supposed
to help—”
I pressed a kiss against her lips. She was adorable when she was a little nervous. “Find a way to make it up to me later?”
“I can think of something.”
“And I’ll meet you here before tonight’s thing?” I asked before moving a few steps away to the bathroom. My mind flashed to the memories in the shower last night.
She nodded and walked over to the armoire at the other end of the room where her laptop sat. Just as I stepped into the bathroom,
her voice stopped me.
“What’s this?” Isa picked up a book from where she’d put her laptop last night.
Taking the large book in her hand, she walked back to the bed. She crossed her legs beneath her.
“Oh . . .” I realized it was the blue one with silver lettering I’d bought in London. “Just in case you get bored with plan
A and plan B,” I told her casually, a bizarre sense of dread, or maybe nerves, wrapping around me. Suddenly I was very aware
that I’d done something forward and not in a physical way.
While I was picking out books for Jo, I’d found that book. It was more like an encyclopedia, but it had every question and
answer over the last thirty years of Jeopardy! It seemed too perfect not to buy. And then I got back and I second-guessed why I’d even got it. It seemed dumb to give to
someone like Isa. I didn’t know what I’d been thinking, but I liked having something that was between the two of us.
Isa paged through it. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
She closed it, held it tightly with both arms, and smiled; it brightened the room like all the morning sun shooting through
it at that exact second.
That.
That was why I’d bought it—what I was hoping for.
“But I already know a lot of these answers,” she teased lightly.
My heart dipped and a chuckle rolled through me. I was both expecting and not expecting that answer.
“Of course you do.” I pushed the door to the bathroom open. “Get to work, Doc.”
“Go make a friend,” she called as I stepped into the shower.
I got out of the elevator and made the turn that gave me a direct sight line to the gardens. Among the clusters of white hydrangeas
and magnolias, Malcolm was sitting at the end of a semi-private alcove nestled among the hedges where he was able to both
catch the wedding planners when they were leaving and still have some seclusion—he had picked a pretty good spot.
A part of me really liked the feeling of doing something to make Isa’s life a little easier. Today, maybe that meant I could
distract the reporter a bit. He was a fan. Maybe he’d like a friendly game, too.
I made my way to the small wrought iron table with the circular marble top where Malcolm was enjoying an espresso and scribbling
in his notepad.
He didn’t look up at me, sighing deeply as he continued with his notes. “Where are we going now?”
“I thought you might like to see the field at the Stade.”
“And why is that?”
“Site of the last World Cup and probably more fun than discussing centerpieces, right?”
“My job is to discuss centerpieces,” he grumbled.
“You seem like a creative guy.” I sidestepped the fact that Malcolm clearly understood the bride and groom were as excited
to have him here as he was to be here. “I’m sure going to the event tonight is more than enough.”
He finally stopped his writing.
“You know, most fans would love to play a quick match on the field at the Stade.” I shrugged. If keeping him out of the way
did something to make Isa’s day a little better, I was going to do it. And if not, I’d have time to fill his little notepad
with more information about the foundation. “But do what you want.”
He tucked his notepad into his pocket. There was no way he was going to give something like that up for table decorations.
“Great, it’s settled.” I grinned.