Chapter 8
chapter eight
Once Jules finished up with Sammie Roberts, she sighed.
“That went well,” David said rising from his chair.
“You think?” Jules asked, her mind still trying to deal with the ramifications of who Alek actually was.
“Yes. From what I understood from Nic, they weren’t exactly open to us when she and Jensen first proposed the business deal.”
She knew that the family had misgivings at first, but Jensen had worked it all out. She understood. Wulf Industries was a huge company with holdings all over the world. To a small operation like the Johnson’s resort, they had probably looked like a massive shark coming to gobble them up. But her mother had a thing for family businesses, as had her father. They didn’t always do this kind of project, maybe one every year or two.
“How about that Aleka. He’s…dreamy.” David sighed.
“Yeah.”
“It was odd the way he kept looking at you…and touching you.”
God, when he pressed his knee against hers, Jules had almost lost it right there. There wasn’t anything overtly sexual about the gesture, but it had sent her hormones into overdrive. She still wasn’t sure how she made it through the meeting without climbing on top of him. Her panties were so wet just from that little contact.
“Jules?”
She glanced at her best friend. She knew without looking in a mirror that her cheeks were red.
“Yes?”
He studied her for a long moment then he said, “Oh. My. God!”
There was no one else in the room with them but still she shushed him.
“What are you getting so loud about?”
“He’s him, right? You said Alek and I was thinking with a ‘c’ but it’s not, right?”
Her face flushed, her body heating up in embarrassment. “I thought it was a ‘c’ too.”
David let loose a squeal so loud she had to cover her ears.
“Bloody hell, that’s louder than when you saw Billy Porter’s gown on the red carpet the first time.”
He calmed himself down, barely. “God, no wonder you jumped on him. All those muscles…unless he doesn’t look as good naked.”
“Better,” she muttered under her breath and David didn’t miss it.
“What was that?”
She sighed. “Better. Ten times better.”
He wiggled his bum. “This is just too delicious. Wait until Nic finds out.”
“You will not tell Nic. Do you understand me?”
He pouted even as he nodded. “Fine. Since you are being a joy killer today, I’m going to return a few calls.”
She blinked. “For what?” They didn’t have anything on their schedule.
“Just some…cleaning up.”
That was David’s term for when he kicked the ass of any rag that tried to attack her. She should ask about what, she should care, but at the moment, she couldn’t. Right now, all she could think about was the sexy mountain of a man who had just left.
After parting ways in the lobby, Julienne headed back to the administration area of the hotel. Robert had insisted on giving her a small office, even though she had said that she didn’t want it. She was walking along when someone slipped his hand around her wrist and yanked her into a darkened room. She knew before her back was crowded up against the door who it was.
“So, I guess our farewell wasn’t really a farewell,” Alek said, his voice filled with dark humor.
She drew in a breath, causing her breasts to brush against his massive chest. Her nipples were already hard, and she knew that he felt them. He groaned.
“So not Jules, exactly?”
There was a thread of accusation in his voice and she didn’t like it.
“My family calls me Jules, Aleka .”
He grimaced. “I haven’t gone by that name since I went into the military.”
She wanted to reach up and spear her fingers through his silky hair. “Can you step back?”
His gaze searched hers. That clean, salty scent still clung to him and now she was convinced it was just him. Her fingers itched to touch, caress. Truth was, Jules was worried she was only seconds away from begging him to shag her up against the door.
In the next instant, he stepped away. Immediately, she felt relieved and bereft. She was definitely going mental. The twin emotions leaving her irritated.
“I assume that we want to just pretend that it never happened and proceed to work together?” she asked.
She waited, wondering what his answer would be. He shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. He was dressed down today, but in Hawaii, it was the regular business attire. His Hawaiian shirt was white with blue flowers and looked like it had been made for him, mainly because he was so huge, she didn’t think he could buy off the rack and have it fit as well. It was left out, not tucked into the khaki pants. In any other setting, he would look sloppy. Here, he stood out, but that’s probably because she had seen him naked.
Her face heated. Seriously, she hated being a true blond. She could never hide her blush.
His lips curved, her nipples tightened, and she had to fight the urge to climb him like a tree. Again.
He opened his mouth to say something, but there was a knock on his door.
“Just a sec,” he said, before leaning down to whisper in her ear. “I so badly want to fuck you against this door.”
His breath whispered over her ear. Was he reading her mind?
“That’s not possible.”
“Indeed,” he said, pulling back with a smile. “What room are you in?”
“Why do you need that?”
He cocked his head. “Because we need to discuss this and maybe not with other people around.”
Of course. He didn’t truly want to shag her. Or, well, he had said it but…God, she was a mess. “Oh, okay. Yes, that is a brilliant idea. Two-thirty-five.”
He frowned. “That’s out of the way.”
“The way I like it.”
The knocking started again. “Ms. Wulf?”
She rolled her eyes. Her brother was being a little insane with her security when she wasn’t on one of their properties. Since he almost lost Nic to a stalker, Jensen had stepped up all their security.
“I have to go. Security.”
He nodded. “About five?”
She nodded, biting on her bottom lip.
“I told myself I wouldn’t, but…”
Before she could figure out what he was talking about, he swooped in, pressing his mouth against hers. His tongue slipped between her lips, invading her mouth, before she could even respond. The knocking turned into banging, so she pulled back.
“There will be no more of that.”
He said nothing, but the look he gave her told her one thing: it wasn’t up for negotiation. He stepped away and smiled at her, letting her open the door. She slipped through and immediately ran into David.
“What are you doing here?”
He gave her a look. “Nicola is trying to get hold of you. Your security had no idea where you were.”
The admonishing tone he threw at her ticked her off. First, she was his boss. Secondly, the idea that everyone knew what she had been doing was embarrassing.
As if on cue, her phone buzzed in her purse. She retrieved it and noticed all the missed calls from her sister-in-law.
“Hey, Nic.”
“Bloody hell, Jules, I’ve been trying to get hold of you forever.”
“Really,” she said walking away from Alek’s door with quick steps. She saw the turning of heads and knew it had to do with her entourage. God, she hated this. The threat to Nicola was dealt with. It had nothing to do with Julienne. “I noticed three calls in the last thirty minutes. I was in a meeting.”
“David said it broke up a while ago.”
She tossed a look over her shoulder that told David he was in trouble. But then faced forward and headed to the bank of elevators that would take her to her room. She didn’t have a suite, but she had one of the larger rooms the hotel offered. It was on their concierge floor, so the security was better. After getting into the lift, she swiped her card, then hit the button for her floor.
“I’m in the lift, so I might lose you.”
“No problem. I take it there is something you need to talk to me about?”
“No. Why?”
“David alluded to it.”
She glanced around and realized that only her security had gotten on the car with her. David and Julienne were going to have a come to Jesus talk. That wanker had been getting into her business too much and letting Nicola know things he shouldn’t.
“Jules? Did I lose you?”
She knew she could pretend that the call dropped, but she probably should talk to her sister-in-law about this. She was the only woman Jules could go to about something like coming face-to-face with her one-night stand.
“Hold on.”
“Oh, goodie.”
“That bored at work?”
She sighed. “No. I’ve been ordered on quarters today. My blood pressure is a little high.”
Worry set in her gut. “Are you okay? Do I need to come home?”
“No. It’s your brother being a pain in my ass. Truth is, part of the reason for my high blood pressure is him.”
Once she stepped off on her floor, she walked down the corridor, handing her key card to Brent. She knew the drill. He opened the door and went about checking out her room.
“Do you want me to have a chat with him? I might be able to get him to let you go to work.”
“I’ll let you know. As of right now, I’m sitting in the home office with my feet up, and if someone brings me another cup of tea, I might shoot them.”
“Wow, how very American of you.”
She laughed and something loosened in Julienne’s chest. She knew that the doctor had told Nicola she was fine but being so far away from her had Julienne’s nerves on edge.
Brent nodded as he came out.
“Why don’t you guys take a break?”
They looked at each other, then at her. Good god, they were annoying.
“Sure, fine.” Jules stepped into her room. “I want you to know that I’ll help you raise my niece.”
“Niece?”
“God wouldn’t saddle me with another annoying man in my life.”
“What’s going on?”
“The security. Seriously, I understand if I was doing public appearances, but I really don’t need them.”
Nicola sighed. “I’m sorry. I will do my best to talk to Jensen about it.”
“Thanks. I mean, again, if I am out and about, I know I need them. Especially if the paps catch up with me.”
“They’ve noticed you aren’t around.”
Of course they had. The vultures. They hadn’t picked enough meat off her bones. “Let them try and guess. I plan on keeping a low profile, which is kind of hard to do with a security detail. I won’t be able to go out at all.”
“I thought you were going to keep a low profile.”
“I am but like, just having a bite to eat or something. Most people in the States don’t recognize me. All my bad press has been in England.”
She was sure there were a few Anglophiles who knew who she was, but she didn’t have a reputation like Pippa Middleton.
“So, what was David yammering on about?”
Oh, bugger . She definitely wasn’t sure if she should tell Nicola. If Julienne asked her not to tell her brother, she wouldn’t, but…well, at least in the past she was sure of that. Now that they were married, she wasn’t so sure of it.
“What did he say?’
She chuckled. “Something about running into Aleka again? Did you know him before this?”
She heard the disbelief in Nicola’s voice and knew that there would be no way around it. From what she had gathered, Alek had spent a huge part of his adult life in the military. There was no other way they could have met up.
“I met him in San Francisco.”
There is a beat of silence. “And?”
She could lie, but Nicola would pick up on it and then Julienne would feel guilty for lying to her. She was a shit liar.
“Fine. I had what should have been a one-night stand with him in San Francisco, and then my nightmare arrived at the meeting today looking just as delicious.”
“How delicious?”
She blinked. “That’s all you want to ask me?”
“Well, yeah, because I’m looking at pictures of him now, and I have to say, mama mia.”
“How do you have pictures of him?”
“Your brother had more extensive dossiers drawn up on all the people you would be dealing with.”
She rolled her eyes. “Really?”
“Really. He still feels guilty.”
She didn’t point out that no dossier in the world would have protected Nicola. The man who did that had been a longtime friend of Jensen’s, but that’s why he felt so guilty. His need for control was driving this, and since Julienne didn’t want him going on a bender again, she let it go.
“Tell me about Aleka.”
“He likes to be called Alek.”
“Ohh, I like it. Did you know that he was one of the Johnson family?”
“No. I would have if my stupid brother had shared the dossiers with me.”
“Agreed. Do you want me to tell him?” Nicola teased.
“Absolutely not. Good God, could you imagine?”
“I don’t know why both of your brothers act like you’re some kind of virgin.”
“Practically.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The only man I had ever slept with was Gregor.”
“And how did Alek fair in comparison to Gregor?”
“Not even in the same league.”
She laughed. “Good. So, what’s your plan.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, Jules, I know that you like to plan, and you’ll have one for this one.”
“Well, I don’t. What do you do with a one-night stand who pops up in your life afterwards? I never planned on seeing him again.”
And she had been sad because of that. Part of it was the sex, but there was something else, something that made her feel happy beyond just the sex.
“He’s coming up here tonight.”
“Up here?”
“To my room.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea? I mean, if you plan on having sex tonight, then yeah, it’s an excellent plan. But otherwise?”
She glanced at the bed. “I understand that, but if we go out, with my security detail and Alek’s looks, we would definitely gain attention. I’m trying to avoid that as much as possible.”
“Is he as big as he looks?”
“God, yes. I felt like a dainty thing next to him.”
“And under him, I presume,” Nicola murmured.
“Nic!”
“Sorry, I can’t help it. So, you’re going to meet up to do what?”
“We need to make sure that we have our stories straight.”
A long silence filtered over the phone. “What?” Jules asked.
“Nothing, it just sounds like an excuse.”
Julienne collapsed on the bed and tossed off her shoes. She often heard Nicola talk about how being in Hawaii changed the way she looked at life, and especially fashion. She claimed to spend most of her days barefoot. Julienne had scoffed at the idea, but she was pretty sure she was starting to understand.
“It might be. I’ll be back on Oahu tomorrow afternoon and I just…he’s so pretty.”
“Yeah, I saw that in the pictures. Listen, you know I don’t judge, and I am not right now. I just want you to be careful.”
“I won’t embarrass the family.”
“Oh, bugger that,” she said, her exasperation easy to hear over the phone. The thoroughly British saying made Julienne smile. “Your brothers have no room to complain about that. What I mean is that I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Thanks, Nic,” Julienne whispered into the phone. She felt silly when tears burned the backs of her eyes.
“Hey, us girls have to stick together. You do what feels good, just be careful with your heart, Jules.”
“I will.”
“Good, now, I want a call as soon as you get up tomorrow to tell me how it goes. I would tell you to call me tonight, but these days I pass out before ten at night.”
“I promise.”
They hung up a few minutes later, and Julienne sat on the bed, trying to decide what to do. Should they go out in public? If they did, they would end up having issues with her security. Even if they stayed at the hotel to eat. Actually, that would be worse than out at a regular restaurant. The hotel was teeming with tourists, albeit at half capacity. There was more of a chance she would run into a Brit here than if they went somewhere else to eat.
Her phone buzzed in her hand and she looked down to see who texted her.
Unknown Number: This is Alek. I got your number from your man.
Her man? Oh, David.
She assigned the number to Alek’s name.
Julienne: Backing out?
Alek: No way. Just wanted to know if you were allergic to shrimp or if you had an issue with spicy food. I know some Brits do.
They did, but not her. She adored hot food.
Julienne: No on both counts. Why?
Alek: I figured I’d grab us something to eat so we didn’t have to traipse around with your security.
Alek: Also thought you might want to eat some local grindz.
She would. Whenever she did get to travel, she liked to eat where the locals eat. Their concierges knew that when she arrived, she wanted a list of places that were where all the locals would eat.
Julienne: Sounds good.
Alek: Means I’ll be there closer to six. I have meetings up until five.
Julienne: No worries.
Alek: What are you wearing?
She would normally get mad at a man who sent that to her, especially one she was working with. Alek was different though. She imagined his voice rolling over the syllables in that teasing tone of his.
Julienne: Wouldn’t you like to know?
Alek: You’re killing me.
Julienne: Go back to work.
Alek: Your wish will always be my command.
It was silly the way her heart did a little jig at that light comment. No one had ever made her feel so unencumbered. It’s insane because they’d spent less than twelve hours together, but she was practically giddy at the thought of seeing him again.
She looked up from her phone and saw her reflection in the mirror. If one of her girlfriends had told her that she’d had a one-night stand and she was obsessed with the bloke, Julienne would question the woman’s sanity and maturity. And she should be doing the same thing for herself.
This wasn’t forever, and they definitely needed to avoid bed again. It would make working together difficult. With that thought, she pushed aside thoughts of Alek and decided to get to work.