Chapter 13
13
R AIN
He crashes into his seat, rubbing a tense hand over his eyes and hair, disbelief gliding over his face.
“It’s been twenty years, and she talked to me like she just left. I couldn’t detect a shred of emotion in her voice. Nothing.”
A sad chuckle falls from his lips as he grapples with an old pain.
“What does she want?”
“She wants to talk to me. Face to face.”
“Here?”
He clicks his tongue before peering at me with empty eyes.
“No. She’s in Lisbon. She flies to Monaco at the end of the week.”
“What else did she say?”
“Nothing.”
I ponder.
“Should I postpone my trip then?”
“No. No need to,” he says curtly. “She’ll be gone by the time you arrive. Or not. It doesn’t matter either way. You don’t need to change your plans because of her.”
I lean back against the sofa and stay quiet.
It’s strange how, after all these years, a buried memory can revive so much pain with a simple phone call.
“She must need something from me,” he says, his voice lined with disappointment, his eyes trailing down.
“Maybe she wants to see you. People change over time.”
He shifts his gaze to me.
“Do they?” he asks abruptly, his anger speaking.
I nod.
“In time, they find the courage to assume responsibility for what they did and ask for forgiveness.”
He searches my eyes.
“This has nothing to do with me forgiving her. It’s about her staying away from me all these years. She knew where to find me if she wanted my forgiveness. She didn’t even try to talk to me.”
“Perhaps she feels the burden of guilt.”
“Well... In that case, I can’t wait to hear her explanation.”
I observe him for a few seconds before I move closer, my hand trailing his shoulder.
He tips his gaze down as I touch his forearm and grab his phone.
I take it from his hand and set it on the table.
“We only have a few more hours left...” I say, smiling faintly. “I want you to give them to me. Forget about this phone call. At least, for now,” I murmur, stroking his arm gently.
His features relax somewhat, and his lips pull into a soft grin before he tilts his head down and gives me a tender kiss.
“You’re right,” he says, my hand buried in his palm as he rises to his feet. “Come,” he murmurs.
I push off the sofa and follow him.
We walk into the bedroom, our hands linked.
The room is draped in the light of a spellbinding summer dusk, a mix of colors bleeding into the evening shadows.
He pivots in front of me, brings his hand to my neck, unties the straps of my dress, and lets it slide off my shoulders.
The garment hits the floor.
His fingers brush all my hair away from my face before he presses his lips against mine.
His strokes are soft and tender.
“Give me a minute,” he says after a few seconds.
He places another kiss on my lips and walks away.
A moment later, the water runs in the shower.
I enter the second bathroom, slip out of my lingerie and take a quick shower before patting myself dry with a towel, returning to the room, and sliding under the covers, naked.
Minutes later, his footsteps trail the hallway.
He swaggers in, a towel wrapped around his waist, his eyes sparkling like gemstones, his face glowing, freshly shaved.
A scent of aftershave drifts from him.
“When do you have to leave?” I ask.
“At midnight.” A lustful smile creases his lips. “Don’t worry. I’ll sleep on the plane,” he says.
I roll the covers to the side, inviting him in.
He puts some music on before lying next to me, his towel still wrapped around his waist.
His head sinks into the pillow, his gaze going up and lingering on the ceiling.
My gaze hovers over his profile, the strong line of his jaw, his muscular neck, chest, and chiseled arms.
Slowly, I stroke his chest, following the lines of his tattoo, studying every patch of skin.
“One day, things will be different,” I say to him.
And also to myself.
A nostalgic smile lines his lips as he ponders something.
“Can you believe I was jealous of Preston last time I was in Monaco?” he says.
“Why?”
“Because he gets to take a break.”
“I think we were all jealous of him. Except for Eve, maybe. She was jealous of Thea.”
A grin tugs at his lips.
“She still has a crush on him?”
“I don’t know about now––I don’t think so––but she had a crush on him in the past.”
“She likes David too,” he says, observing me through his lashes.
Testing me, I guess.
“How do you know?”
His eyes sparkle with mischief.
“I can tell. Besides, the man is quite a catch. Too bad she is stuck here, and he just moved to Colorado.”
“I don’t think she’s interested,” I say.
He laughs, amused.
“You don’t want her to be with him?”
“It’s not about what I want. I just don’t think she is.”
“Why?”
I prop myself on my elbow.
“First of all, he has to be interested in her too.”
“He’s single, and she’s hot. Why wouldn’t he be interested?”
“How do you know he’s single?”
“I asked.”
“Because?”
He gives me a cheeky smile.
“I wanted to know.”
“Why?”
His chest rocks with laughter.
“I was curious.”
“So what if he’s single?”
“She’s single too. Oh, wait. Did she find someone last night?” he asks.
My smile flattens.
“No. I mean, yes, but he turned out to be a jerk.”
“What did he do?”
“He has a girlfriend.”
“Ohh...”
“Anyway. Things are complicated with Eve.”
“Why?”
“She hasn’t had any luck all these years. And I always thought it had to do with the timing or the circumstances. I even told her it had to do with the guys she met. She kept saying it was more than that, yet I didn’t want to believe her because I never took her seriously. And now, I do. The thing is... She can’t find someone who is good for her.”
I look at him.
“I don’t think David would be good for her either,” I add.
A smile tugs at his lips, his eyes flickering mischievously again.
“I’m serious, James,” I say, softly slapping his chest.
His eyes linger on me.
“Are you interested in my opinion?”
“I sure am. And while you’re at it, why don’t you start by telling me what happened seven years ago. You haven’t told me why you ordered your guys to take her home the night we broke into your house.”
A soft smile glints in his eyes.
“You didn’t forget, did you?”
“No.”
“Did she comment on that?”
“Of course, she did. She had a lot of regrets.”
“Well...” he says, folding his arm beneath his head. “It wasn’t because she wasn’t hot... She was attractive even back then,” he says, fucking with me.
“Stop it, James. Tell me... Seriously, please.”
“All right.”
His smile fades as the memory comes back to him.
“I sent her home because she was young and innocent.”
I give him a pointed look.
He chuckles.
“Okay. All right. You were young and innocent too. And you left my place untouched as well,” he argues. “Eventually, anyway.”
He pauses, and I wait, his smile withering away.
“I don’t know what it is about her,” he says seriously this time, no longer looking at me. “I guess I always felt the need to protect her. Back then, I already had my hands full with you. And Ed and Lex were two crazy motherfuckers I couldn’t trust with innocent women. Had she stayed at the Dark House, she would’ve lost more than her sleep that night. And I didn’t want that to happen to her. Not like that, anyway. I also didn’t want it to happen to you. That’s why I said no to you, but with her...”
He pauses, his eyes gleaming.
“I always felt like she was my little sister. Not because she wasn’t attractive and couldn’t think about her like a woman. But because she hadn’t had the chance to come out of her shell. And that may be the reason she can’t find her man,” he says. “It takes a special kind of man to love a woman like her. He needs to take her on a crazy journey and help her come into her own. In a sense, she hasn’t lost her innocence, yet strangely enough, she’s too complicated for most guys. And most men listen to their gut when they evaluate a woman. She’s not for everybody, and that’s why she doesn’t click with a lot of them. She’s like a pearl in a shell, and one day a real man will be her home.”
He pauses.
“She’ll find him. Or he’ll find her. And trust me. He’ll need everything she has to offer,” he adds, glancing at me.
Propped on my elbow, I look at him.
“I hope so,” I say, smiling. “If not, she might try something different. She’s still talking about the two men in Monaco.”
“You think she’d do it?” he asks.
“She jokes about it, but I think she’d say yes if she had the opportunity.”
“Well...” he smirks.
“Don’t even try it. I don’t want to hear another joke about it.”
Grinning, he slides closer to me and snakes his arm around my body. Smoothly, I slink my hand inside his towel and grab his muscular butt.
He tilts his head and gently bites my lip.
“If she is a pearl in a shell, what was I when you met me for the first time?” I ask.
Running his hand up and down, he strokes the back of my thigh.
“You were like a...”
He smiles, entertained.
“You were like a wild horse that needed a good... rider?”
I breathe a chuckle.
“I could say the same thing about you,” I murmur.
He purses his lips into a mischievous grin.
“Although you’ve thrown me out of the saddle quite a few times,” I comment.
“And you didn’t like it… Not at all,” he jokes.
I run my fingers over his neck before smoothly untucking his towel and pushing it to the side.
“You were the best rider I could’ve had,” I say against his lips, my hand sliding to his groin and softly caressing his hard meat.
His erection twitches against my touch while I move my thigh up and open my legs for him.
“Then make my time worthwhile,” he murmurs, sliding his hand into my hair, propping himself on his elbow, and entering me.
“You no longer need much foreplay, Mrs. Sexton,” he murmurs against my lips, dipping his hard-on into a pool of wetness.
He tenderly bites my lip as he thrusts into me.
“I can say the same thing about you, Mr. Sexton.”
My skin tingles with pleasure, my center clenching around him. He pulls me under him and plunges into me.
My lips tremble with pleasure, my nostrils flaring.
All these years, nothing has changed between us. If anything, it’s only gotten better.
Our lips lock as we travel to a place of pleasure, no longer rushing, chasing, or sailing rough waters.
It’s a calm, familiar place.
It’s irresistible.
And I could live there for the rest of my life.