Chapter 38
KENT
Sylvie drove Brom’s truck with the heat cranked to maximum. Christmas music played softly through the speakers, something classical and instrumental that I would normally find irritating, but for the first time in possibly forever, I didn’t mind.
Actually, I more than didn’t mind. I found myself almost enjoying it, which was a sign of just how far gone I was. The woman had turned my world upside down.
And I was going to ruin hers.
My mind spun with possibilities about how I could convince her to come back to Manhattan with me. I could take care of her. She didn’t need the lodge.
But that was the problem. She wanted the lodge. She was not the kind of woman that wanted to be taken care of. It would destroy that bright light I had been drawn to in the very beginning.
I didn’t want to be responsible for taking away her joy. But I knew we were past that.
She parked near the lodge, and as had become our tradition over the past few days, I walked her to her door.
“Do you have a big day tomorrow?” I asked, not wanting the evening to end but running out of reasons to prolong it.
She shook her head. I caught a flash of sadness in her eyes. “We don’t have big days around here anymore unless we’re preparing for a special event. The next one is Christmas Eve.”
The reminder of how much her family was struggling hit me like a punch to the gut. They should be bustling with activity. The lodge should be fully booked with guests, preparing for their busiest season. Instead, they were barely hanging on, and I was about to make everything so much worse.
I felt bad. Why didn’t people know about this place? They should have advertised more. How could people not want to come here? I had never heard of the place. If more people knew, maybe they wouldn’t be going bankrupt.
“Can I come in?” I asked.
It was bold. And I wouldn’t have been surprised if she told me to pound sand.
She didn’t hesitate, just unlocked the door and pulled me inside greedily, like she’d been waiting for me to ask. We barely made it through the door before we were kissing.
The woman was insatiable.
Or maybe I was.
I kicked the door shut behind us without breaking the kiss. Her fingers tangled in my hair, tugging just hard enough to make me groan against her mouth. God, she was perfect. All soft curves and eager hands and that little breathy sound she made when I pressed her against the wall.
“Kent,” she whispered. Hearing my name on her lips like that nearly undid me. Damn, she was too sexy. Too hot. Too everything. It was sensory overload. I couldn’t kiss her fast enough. Touch her enough.
I pulled back to look at her, to make sure this was what she wanted. Her green eyes were dark with desire, her lips swollen from kissing, and when she reached for my shirt and started tugging at it with trembling fingers, I had my answer.
“You’re sure?” I asked anyway, because despite everything—despite the lies and the deception and the fact that I was going to destroy everything she loved—I needed her to want this. To want me.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything,” she said, and pulled me back to her.
I spun her around and pushed my body against hers. Breath whooshed from her lungs.
Her hands came up instinctively, but I caught her wrists and pinned them above her head against the cool wood. She gasped, her back arching slightly. I felt her pulse racing beneath my thumbs.
“Keep them there,” I commanded, my voice rough with need. She nodded, her eyes wide and trusting, and something primal in me roared to life.
I released her wrists but kept my eyes locked on hers, watching to see if she’d obey. She did, keeping her hands pressed flat against the wall above her head even as her chest rose and fell rapidly.
“Good girl,” I murmured, and was rewarded with a soft whimper that went straight through me.
For the second time that night, I stripped her naked. I kissed the back of her neck and over her bare shoulders, savoring every inch of smooth skin I revealed. She was trembling now from anticipation. From want.
“You have no idea what you do to me,” I said against her neck, my teeth grazing her pulse point. She tilted her head back, giving me better access, her breathing becoming more ragged.
“Kent, please.”
“Please what?” I pulled back to look at her, my hands stilling on her waist. “Tell me what you want, Sylvie.”
The way she said my name again, breathless and needy, nearly broke my control. But I held back, waiting. I needed to hear her say it.
“I want you,” she whispered. “All of you.”
I pulled back enough to unbuckle my belt and jeans, freeing my achingly hard cock from my boxers. Thank God I had another condom in my pocket. I jerked it out, ripped it open with my teeth, and quickly rolled it on.
My body craved her. I couldn’t get enough of her.
I lined the head of my dick up with her wet heat and pushed inside her in one smooth thrust. She gasped, a soft moan escaping her lips as she arched into me.
I started moving slowly, feeling every inch of her tight walls clenching around me, milking my cock greedily.
Every thrust sent pleasure-seeking endorphins racing through my system, making focus impossible.
I lost myself in the sensation of being inside her.
“Fuck,” I growled against her neck, mouth catching on the soft skin before trailing kisses down toward her collarbone. She tasted sweet and wild, like the perfect combination of innocence and lust. “You feel so good.”
Sylvie reached behind her and grabbed the back of my head.
She pushed her ass against me, urging me on.
Our bodies slapped together in rhythm as we moved together.
The smell of our sweat, mixed with the musty scent of sex, created an intoxicating aphrodisiac that had me drunk on desire for this woman.
I buried myself balls deep inside her. She moaned and slapped her other hand against the wall.
I ground my hips against her. She was coming apart in my arms, surrendering completely to the moment.
I had never felt so powerful or needed before this woman.
But I knew it couldn’t last forever. Tomorrow would come all too soon, and I would have to tell her the truth, no matter how difficult it would be.
She was beautiful. More than beautiful. And I was a bastard for what I was about to do to her family.
But right now, in this moment, I let myself forget all about that shit. Right now, there was only Sylvie, reaching for me with trust in her eyes that I absolutely did not deserve.
She gasped, and I felt her tighten around me.
“Let go,” I told her. “I’ve got you.”
She shattered around me. Her whole body tensed as she cried out. Despite the fact I had an orgasm less than an hour ago, my balls were tight, and I was so ready for another. I followed her into oblivion, her name on my lips, and for a few perfect seconds, nothing else existed but the two of us.
I slowly pulled out of her and stepped back. “Are you okay?” I asked.
She turned around and slouched against the wall. There was a satisfied smile on her lips. “Well, that was unexpected.”
I laughed. “You totally started that.”
“I know. So, we’re kind of doing this out of order, but can I get you something to drink?”
I grinned. “I am a little parched. And probably dehydrated.”
I walked into the bathroom to dispose of the condom. When I returned to the kitchen, she had pulled on a T-shirt and had grabbed two beers from the fridge.
I took the bottle gratefully and cracked it open. “Thanks.”
She nodded and sipped her beer. Her cheeks were flushed, and her hair was a hot mess. The woman looked thoroughly ravaged.
I did that. And I had never been prouder.
“I’ll probably have an answer for you about the offer tomorrow,” she said. “Dad’s reviewing all the paperwork tonight.”
The words made me freeze.
Her father was reading the contract right now.
Reading every clause, every term, every condition that spelled out exactly what the Bancroft acquisition would mean for the Northwood family legacy.
By tomorrow morning, Harold Northwood would know the truth that I’d been hiding since the moment I arrived.
I had no idea what his reaction would be. I wanted to believe he would see it as a good thing. He would convince the rest of the family the money made it okay.
But I wondered if everything would change when they found out what the deal actually entailed. I wasn’t their savior. Just the highest bidder.
Will she hate me?
Fuck, I hoped not. But how could she not? I’d lied to her from day one. I’d let her believe I was here to help when I was actually here to destroy everything she loved. I’d slept with her while knowing that I was going to break her heart.
Should I stop right now and tell her the full truth of it?
Yes. Absolutely yes. That was what any decent human being would do.
But I didn’t.
I told myself it didn’t matter. That this was just a brief interlude. A moment out of time that would end as soon as the business was concluded. Sylvie and I were from different worlds.
As soon as this deal was closed, I would be going back to New York. Back to my life of expensive clubs and meaningless hookups and the relentless pursuit of more wealth and power. And Sylvie would stay here, doing whatever it was that people did after their entire world got torn apart.
Well, not here because here would be gone. But she would probably find another small town to settle down in. Or maybe she’d take that trip around the world.
We’d never see each other again. This thing between us had an expiration date that was rapidly approaching.
So why not drink our fill of each other before it was over? Why not take everything she was offering and give her everything I had in return, even if it was all built on lies and false promises?
The rationalization felt hollow even, but I pushed the guilt down. I was going to be a selfish bastard for just a little longer.
Tomorrow, her father would read the contract, and everything would change. Tomorrow, Sylvie would learn the truth about who I really was and what I’d really come here to do.
But tonight? Tonight I could pretend that I was the man she thought I was. The man who would save her family instead of destroying it. The man who deserved the way she was looking at me right now.
Even though I knew I was none of those things.
“Everything okay?” Sylvie asked quietly.
I realized I had been staring at my beer, spaced out. “Yep, but I was thinking I might need some water.”
“Of course.”
I downed the rest of the beer and savored the taste. Sylvie gave me a glass of water.
“Are you sure everything is okay?”
I grinned and took a sip. “Just getting hydrated for the next round.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Oh yeah?”
“What, you don’t think I can?”
“I don’t know if I can.” She giggled. “You’re kind of a machine.”
“Damn straight. I’m just getting warmed up.”