Chapter 9
chapter nine
Alek eyed the two security guards that stood on either side of Jules’ door and fought the need to roll his eyes. Seriously, he knew Jules’ family had a lot of money, but this level of security was just a little off to him.
“Gentleman,” he said nodding to both of them. They both tipped their heads in his direction but said nothing. He knocked on the door and waited. His senses were so in tune with Jules, he was convinced he could hear her feet against the thick carpet.
The door opened and one of the guards tsked.
“What?” she asked him without acknowledging Alek.
“You should ask who it is,” the one on the right said.
“That seems like a waste of time with you two standing out here, right? I mean, if you aren’t here to stop the threats, what good are you?”
Oh, the man didn’t like that, and Alek had to hide his smile.
“Why don’t you two take off? I’m not going out tonight.”
They both looked at Alek. “I would do whatever the lady wants.”
“He was an Army…what was it?” she asked, her gaze connecting with his. For a second, he couldn’t think straight. She did this to him, and it should scare him, but for some reason, it didn’t. The slightly heady feeling left him off balance and he kind of liked it.
Then he remembered she asked a question.
“Ranger.”
“See. He could probably kill both of you only using two fingers.”
“I would need at least three,” Alek said, smiling at her. He hadn’t taken his gaze off her. He couldn’t. She was still wearing the dress she had on earlier, but her hair was…well curlier. The humidity had really done a number on it and he liked it. A riot of curls dripped over her shoulders. Her feet were bare.
“See. I’m safe.”
They didn’t want to go, but Alek figured they’d been standing there for most of the day.
“How about you punch your number into my phone? I’ll text you if we leave the room.”
He took Alek’s phone after a silent communication with the other guard. Her reaction to the guides told him that the security had not been Jules’ idea. Soon, they were on their way and he was setting out dinners on the little table on the balcony.
She may not have one of the suites, but his grandfather made sure she had one of the ocean-facing rooms. It was that time during the day when the Hawaiian air was the sweetest and the setting sun left a golden glow to everything you could see. He’d been gone for most of the last decade and a half, only dropping by for a visit every now and then. He missed this, the look of Hawaii, the scents that you couldn’t experience anywhere else in the world.
He pulled out the food containers, happy that he picked the right thing for dinner. Most women of her financial stature would have probably turned up a nose at this dinner. But from the delighted look on her face, he had definitely gotten it right.
Once the food was set out and they had some water to drink, he waited for her to sit down before joining her.
“This smells glorious,” she said with a smile. She looked up from her food. His breath tangled in his throat. She was gorgeous, yes, but when she smiled, she literally stole his breath. It was insane to be this wrapped up in a woman he’d just met. From the moment they were brought back together, the need to be near her had been a test of his control.
“This is what all the locals call Shrimp Truck Shrimp.”
She dug into her food, moaning over the taste. The woman really had no idea what she was doing to him. His cock twitched every time she moaned over the food.
“That’s wonderful. I know that Nic loves this. Jensen is always taking her to a truck on Oahu.”
“Probably Giovanni’s.”
Her eyes widened. “Yes, that’s it. I know that Jensen makes sure she has at least one trip a week when they are on the island. Even before they were a thing.”
“So, they knew each other before?”
She nodded, taking a healthy sip of her water. “Yeah, she was his PA. Well, actually still is his PA.”
He settled back, enjoying this, this point of getting to know her. He knew so little outside of what she had told him. He tried his best to avoid any kind of information online. Her family made her a quasi-celebrity, but he wanted to know the real Jules, not the one she presented to the world. “That must be interesting. Is there any conflict of interest? I mean, for the people who work for your family?”
“Oh, you mean are they afraid of Jensen’s retaliation?” He nodded and she laughed. “I guess if you had met my sister-in-law, you wouldn’t ask that question. She’s the whole reason the Wulf family stays in line. She handles almost everything. I hope things don’t get out of whack when she has to take maternity leave.”
“What’s it like growing up famous?”
She made a face as she took another sip of water. “They ignored me for the most part. The press that is. My mother was very good at making sure the reporters left us alone at least until we were teens. Then it was hard to control us. And Jensen was his own worst enemy there.”
“And for you?”
She sighed and sat back in her chair. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you just how awful the press is to women, especially teenagers who aren’t particularly the petite English rose they like in the paps. It wasn’t fun at all.”
“I can imagine.”
“I guess it might have been close to the same thing for you.”
His eyebrows shot up. “How so?”
“Nic always says that each island is like one little big town. Like everyone seems to know everyone else. With your family being a major employer, you would have been in the spotlight, I imagine.”
He nodded. She was smart, another plus in her column. “In a way, but I was lucky. I was the chosen one, at least in their eyes. Until I left.”
She cocked her head, studying him. “Why did you leave?”
Fuck, how did he explain his need to run away from it all? The pressure, the desire to be his own man.
“Never mind. I’m sorry to pry.”
He saw the retreat. It was there in her eyes, and she physically sat back away from him. That was unacceptable, and for some reason he trusted her. “I was trying to come up with a way to explain it. I guess I wanted to test myself. I wanted to be on my own.”
“Oh, I get that. It’s hard when you work for your family’s business. You always doubt your ability.”
Understanding hit him. She completely understood his situation. Not a lot of people did and even his best friends from his unit didn’t comprehend why he left to join the Army. They got the idea that he wanted to serve his country, but when he would talk about his family business and his reasons for leaving, they were confused. Why leave something that seemed so easy?
“Yes. You can’t think that though, right? From what Sammie said, you’re considered one of the top interior designers for hotels.”
She sighed. The sound was so lonely…so sad…that he felt it brush against his heart. “True, but do people think that because of my abilities or because of my family?”
He didn’t know what to say to that, and she apparently picked up on it. “Let’s talk about something else. This is kind of morbid.”
Part of him was relieved, but there was a part of him that wanted to demand that she acknowledge her brilliance. According to his cousin Sammie, Jules was nothing short of an artist. It took him a full five minutes to get away from his cousin after asking her about Jules’ reputation. She’d gone on and on about how she was the best in the world.
“What do you want to talk about?” he asked.
“Maybe what we said we were going to talk about?”
He didn’t really want to discuss that because hearing her say that they couldn’t sleep together again irritated him. His dick was already mad at him.
“How are we supposed to pretend we don’t know each other?”
“We really don’t.”
“Other than how you sound when you come. I know what that sounds like.”
Her face flushed. “Alek.”
“Nope, that’s not it,” he said, his pants drawing tight over his cock. That greedy bastard was going to be really pissed at him when he realized that this was just a tease. “Your voice is an octave lower when you moan.”
She covered her face with her hands, but not before he saw the smile. And that’s what he wanted. He couldn’t handle her looking sad.
“Sorry,” he murmured.
She dropped her hands, but she was still smiling. “You are not. You’re beyond cheeky.”
“I like that. Cheeky.”
She shook her head. “We need to make sure that no one knows about that night.”
The idea that she might be embarrassed about their night spent together left his gut churning. “Embarrassed?”
“Absolutely not. I’m trying to protect you.”
He blinked. “What?”
“I have a reputation and the paps follow me relentlessly when I’m in London.”
There is no way she had a bad reputation. She wasn’t a virgin their first night together, but she was damned tight. “A reputation?”
“I’m as close as a commoner can get to being considered royalty. I mean, we have some blue in our blood, but it’s more from the fact of what my father did for the country than by relation. Jensen is in line for the throne if like fifty some people die suddenly. Or something like that. So, there’s that. Having a recovering drug addict who was the bad boy of the paps for years and who is now deliriously in love with Nic, puts me out there too. And then, my last breakup went public in a very bad way. It…well it wasn’t pretty.”
“Is that the reason for the security?” And was he going to have to find the bastard and teach him a lesson?
“Oh, no. Jensen just went a little barmy after Nic was stalked last year. Now he’s all over the top about security and, yes, I guess I would be a target if I was out and about, but I just think it’s insane to have them standing outside my door.”
He filed that away and moved on to her other comments…tonight and the night they met. “What are these stories?”
She sighed. “I really would rather not say.”
“I can look them up.”
She didn’t respond right away, so he pulled out his phone and acted like he was going to skim through articles.
“Fine,” she groaned. “My ex fiancé said that I was sex crazed and now, apparently, he’s leaking stories that I run a sex dungeon.”
He knew all of that was bullshit, but there was one aspect of the story that caught his attention. “Fiancé?”
“Ex-fiancé. And out of all of that, you picked up on that part? And I told you about him in San Francisco.”
“The rest of it is garbage. How ex is this ex-fiancé?” And did he need to find him and make him disappear?
The possessive thought left him a little dizzy. He hadn’t been this possessive since Shelley. Then he had been a young idiot who thought the world revolved around love. Actually, he had never felt this level of blood lust before to protect a particular woman. Jules was just so…sweet. He got the idea that she never really said anything horrible about anyone. Not without apologizing later for it.
He pushed those thoughts aside and concentrated on the present.
“Very. I called it off about a year ago.”
He blinked. “He’s still going on after a year?”
“Yeah. And truth is, I don’t understand why he’s doing this. He wants a career in politics and called me crazy, but would being dumped by a supposed Dominatrix make you seem like a good bet?”
He chuckled.
There was a beat of silence before her smile faded. “You don’t believe the other rubbish then?”
He shook his head and she seemed to relax.
“That’s something at least. I lost most of my friends over it. They sided with him.”
“Then they weren’t your friends.”
“True. Doesn’t make me feel any better. It means I had shit instincts when it came to picking friends.” Again, she cocked her head. She’d left her hair down and it seemed to be getting wavier by the minute, but that happened in Hawaii. The humidity wasn’t as oppressive as some places like South Florida, but it was ever present. “Why didn’t you believe it?”
“Other than the fact that I had you beneath me and know you liked to be ordered around and it makes you come?”
She bit her lip and nodded.
“Not in your nature.”
She rolled her eyes. “Thanks, I guess.”
“No, wait, that doesn’t mean you’re a pushover. It means that when it comes to the bedroom, you want someone else to take charge.”
And right there, he saw the way her face flushed, and her tongue slipped out and licked over her bottom lip. She had this amazing fuller lower lip, and he distinctly remembered taking it between his teeth.
“Stop looking at me like that.”
He raised his gaze to hers. There was no doubt she was aroused.
“Like what?”
He knew exactly what she was talking about, but he wanted her to say it out loud.
“Like you would rather have me for dinner.”
“Ah, well, it’s hard to hide that. Because I do. I want to eat your pretty little pussy until you come, then I want to ride you and make you scream my name.”
She swallowed. “I…”
He decided to take matters into his own hands. He rose from his seat and took her by the hand, yanking her up into his arms.
“I’ve barely been able to sleep since you left me in that hotel room.”
She sighed against him, pressing closer, her nipples stabbing him through their clothing. “We really shouldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“We’re working together.”
Well, yeah, but right now, he could just imagine that she was dripping, her cunt ready for him to enter her, make her come all over his tongue, his hands, and finally his dick.
“Alek.” Her voice was barely a whisper and it left him dizzy. What kind of hold did this woman have over him? Whatever it was, Alek didn’t care. He was ready to give in.
“How about,” he said nipping at that fuller bottom lip he was seriously falling in love with, “we have one more night together? Just a little dessert to the feast we had in San Francisco?”
He expected her to say no to his suggestion. He thought he would have to work harder to get her back into bed.
He was wrong.
In one split second, she went from resisting him, to taking his face in her hands and devouring his mouth. As he returned her kiss, he backed her up to her chair again. He pulled back and circled one finger in the air.
“Turn around,” he ordered. She hesitated, but then did as he had told her.
He unzipped her dress, letting it fall to the floor. It was black lace this time, both the panties and the bra. God, this woman was going to kill him with her lingerie choices. He made quick work of her bra, dropping it on the floor with her dress. He turned her around. The sight of her there with no bra, those pretty pink nipples hard and waiting for his hands…for his mouth left him breathless as if he had just sprinted five miles.
“It’s been killing me all day long.” Alek slipped his fingers beneath the waistband of her panties.
“What?”
“I wondered if your panties were wet just seeing me.”
The fine blush that stole over her face told him he was right. He eased them down her legs, loving the feel of her silky flesh against his fingers, and the smell of her cunt. She stepped out of her panties, and as he rose, he licked her pussy once, then continued up.
“Now, sit in your chair, and show me that pretty little pussy of yours.” Again, hesitation. “Jules.”
She shivered, telling him he had been right. She did get off on being ordered around. Once she was seated, he dropped to his knees in front of her. He buried his face between her legs, enjoying the taste of her again. She was his drug and he was starting to realize there might be no way to resist her.
Before long, she was coming against his mouth, screaming his name as she did. He rose to his full height, unzipping his pants and shoving them down just a little so his cock could spring free. With an urgency he didn’t completely understand, he pulled her up out of the chair and lifted her up. In two steps, he had her back against the wall.
“Wrap your legs around me.”
This time, there was no hesitation at all. He entered her in one swift thrust and both of them sighed the moment he was fully seated inside her pussy. All the little muscles contracted over his dick, and he had to grind his teeth to try to keep himself in check. He started to move, thrusting in and out of her, harder and deeper than he thought possible. As he did, she peppered kisses along his jaw, his neck, his mouth. She acted as if she was as addicted as he was.
“Oh, god, Alek,” she said, need vibrating in her voice once more. Those little muscles were grabbing his dick hard again, and he knew she was coming. In the next instant, she took his face in her hands again and she made him look at her.
“Come with me, Alek. Come.”
And he did, his balls drawing up tight, then he let his orgasm take over as he poured himself into her. Fuck.
Moments later, his knees almost gave out, so he stumbled over to the bed. They fell onto the mattress in a tangle of limbs.
His heart beat so loud, he was sure she could hear it. He waited, knowing she was going to get on to him for this latest bout of sex. He felt so fucking good, he didn’t care. Hell, he hadn’t even taken his clothes off yet.
She rose up, then looked down at him. Her brilliant smile made his heartbeat skip…then turn over and fall down at her feet. God, she was so damned beautiful. And right now, he didn’t care. He didn’t care that this was a bad idea or that she would probably regret it. All he cared about was that smile. He had made her that happy that it lit up her face and showed in her eyes. That was all he fucking cared about.
“I guess you got your answer about my panties.”
He chuckled. “Yeah.”
“I’ll tell you a secret,” she said leaning closer so she could whisper in his ear. “I already changed them once today.” He chuckled and she rose again. Her hair slipped over his chest, the silky strands teasing his senses. Her eyes sparkled as she looked down at him. “Okay, one more night. But next time, I get to be on top.”