Alluring (29 page)

She'd cried the first time she read it.  Happily, she was alone in the bathroom at the time.  She didn't want Jack seeing what a romantic fool she was.  Sure, he had given her many things since she'd known him, but the inscription had come from his heart.  She now knew that night when they had danced their first dance that he had picked that song just for her.

She hadn't been given a lot growing up, and while the things Jack had given her, she would never take for granted, this ring was special.  It was more than just a ring.  It was a promise.  A bond.

She slipped the ring back on her finger.  She made her hand into a fist and brought it to rest against her heart, then took a deep breath.  The thought of living without Jack scared her deeply.  The thought of him having to live without her scared her more.

She felt her life was too insecure at the moment, with that crazy person out there somewhere, trying to kill her.  She knew her days were numbered as long as her stalker roamed free.  She tried to keep her fear hidden when she was with Jack.  She knew he didn't want her to worry and for the most part, she thought she did a pretty good job.  But she was scared.  Scared of what this stranger would do to her.

She hated that this person had taken away her freedom, her job, and her safety.  She hated the stress Jack was under trying to protect her, the pain he endured at her injury, and the heartache he might suffer from her loss.

She sat up straighter on the couch.  Letting this stalker have so much control was unacceptable.  She couldn't live her life this way anymore.  She would have to draw this person out.  She was done hiding, spending her days trapped in a hotel.  But she needed a plan.  She couldn't just go off half-cocked.  This wasn't an action movie where shit blows up, but the good guys never die.  No, this was real life.  Good people died every day in real life. 
             

She stood from the couch and paced the living room.  The more she thought about getting her life back, the better she felt.  Working on a plan to catch this person made her feel energized.  She was ready to take charge of her life again and nobody, not even Jack, could stop her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Alexis was quiet as they sat at the dining room table eating dinner.  Well, Jack ate.  Alexis picked at her food.

Jack put his fork down.  "Tell me what's wrong."             

His words pulled her from her musings.  She gave him a weak smile.  The last thing she wanted was for him to become suspicions.  He'd keep a sharper eye on her, and then all her planning would be for naught.  "Sorry.  Guess, I'm missing Emily."

Jack took her hand from across the table.  "Well, this should cheer you up.  I told mom and dad about our engagement.  They flew in from Rome today and want to throw us an engagement party on Saturday."

Alexis sucked in a silent breath.  A party would be perfect.  All day she'd wracked her brain, trying to think of a way to leak their engagement to the press.  She wanted her stalker to know that Jack was fully committed to her, that he wanted to marry her.  She figured that would drive her stalker over the edge, draw her out, make her take action.  Throwing an elaborate party was a sure-fire way of getting their engagement in the paper.

She gave Jack a brilliant smile.   "That's wonderful news.  I can't wait to see your parents again."

Jack eyed her quizzically.  "While I thought you might be mildly excited, if not a bit apprehensive, at the thought of attending a party in our honor, with a bunch of people you don't know, I definitely didn't think you would be this enthusiastic.  It's out of character for you."  He pondered her a few moments longer.  "Tell me what's going on Alexis, because I now know, it's not you missing your sister."

Alexis picked up her glass and took a sip of her water.  She had to play this just right.  "Nothing's going on.  If I seemed overly excited, it's because I
am
excited to see your parents.  I wasn't really thinking about the party and what that all entailed.  But, now that you mention it, that doesn't sound fun at all, maybe the four of us can just go out to dinner instead?"  She gave him what she hoped was a coy smile.

He still looked at her funny.  She willed herself not to fidget.

"You're hiding something from me.  I realize it's something you don't want to share, but let me tell you this, if this is something you should tell me about
now,
and I find out about it later, and make no mistake I will find out, there will be severe consequences for you."  He picked up his water glass, took a sip then carefully set it back down on the table.  All the while, keeping his eyes trained on hers.  "Now, would you like to change your mind and tell me what's going on?"

Alexis swallowed the lump that formed in her throat.  She shook her head.  "There's nothing to tell."

He gave a curt nod.  "Alright.  Just so we're clear.  You have been warned."

Alexis gave him a slight nod back.  She understood, but there was no way he would find out.  She was the only one who knew, and
she
wasn't going to tell him. 

He abruptly stood from the table.  "It's time for bed."

Alexis looked up startled.  "It's still early.  I'm not tired yet."

"We won't be sleeping." 

She could tell he was angry.  His words were clipped and his jaw was tense.  She looked at the mess on the table.  "I need to do the dishes."

He looked down at the table as if calculating.  "You have ten minutes.  If I have to come looking for you, I won't be happy."  He walked away from the table and out of sight.

"You're not happy now," she mumbled to herself.  She stacked the dishes and carried them into the kitchen.  She didn't understand why he was so angry.  Just because he
thought
she was hiding something from him.  Never mind the fact that she was, he didn't
know
that.

Alexis slowly made her way up the stairs.  She wasn't scared, per se, just a bit apprehensive.  Jack could be a bit intimidating and while he rarely showed her that side of him, she knew what he was capable of, especially if he didn't get his way.  Jack liked to get his way, usually demanded it.  He liked to be in control of all things. 

But he had to understand, some things were
out
of his control.  This stalker was out of his control.  This stalker was
in
control unless she could somehow turn the tables on her stalker.  And that's what she hoped to achieve with The Plan.  Jack didn't fit into the plan.  Jack was a shoot first ask questions later type of guy.  The plan needed finesse.  The plan needed to be subtle, or else the stalker would see it coming from a mile away.

Alexis huffed out one last sigh as she topped the stairs.  She inched her way to the bedroom.  Jack was in bed, the sheet pulled to his waist.  His chest was bare.  His arms stacked behind his head, resting against his pillow.  His muscles were at attention, in this position.  His biceps bulged.  His pecks strained.  His abs rippled.  God, he was a beautiful sight.  A sight she would never grow tired of. 

Her eyes devoured him, as if he were a feast, and she hadn't eaten in days.  Her eyes roamed his length, and as she watched, the sheet slowly tented.  Her eyes flew to his face.

"That's what your stare does to me.  I see the longing in your eyes, and knowing that look is all for me, makes me want to do all kinds of filthy things to you."  He kicked the sheet down, exposing himself.  "Do you want that, sweetheart?  Me, doing indecent things to your body."

God that mouth of his.  Was that going to be her punishment?  His dirty mouth, doing dirty things to her body?  She could live with that.

* * * * *

He sat up in the bed, leaning back against the headboard, ankles crossed, arms crossed over his chest.  "Stay by the door.  Take your clothes off.  Slowly.  I'm in the mood to fulfill one of my fantasies."

"Just one?"  she purred, slowly pulling her tank top up and over her head.  She held her arm out to her side and let the garment fall to the floor.

"Sweetheart, I have so many fantasies about you, it would take til we're a hundred to reenact them all."

She shimmied out of her shorts, kicking them over by her top.  "Then I guess we'd better get started."  She reached behind to unfasten her bra.

He gave her a wicked chuckle.  "Leave the bra and panties.  Get on your hands and knees and crawl to the bed."  He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up.  He watched her bite her lip, indecision written on her face.  He wouldn't force her to do something she didn't want to do, but the thought of her down on her knees, crawling across the floor to him, had his cock growing painfully hard.

She stood for a minute deciding, then gracefully got down on all fours and slowly made her way to the bed.  Jack's eyes devoured the sexy line of her back, her hips and ass swaying as she crawled.  "Head up.  Look at me."  Her lips were slightly parted and her little pink tongue peeked out to wet them.  If she only knew, what she did to him.  He feared the day she figured out how much power she had over him.

"Stop.  Sit up on your knees.  Reach up and let down your hair."  Ringlets and curls fell over her chest, shoulders and down her back as she pulled the elastic from her hair.  "Stand up.  Take two steps forward.  Then turn so your back faces me."

Fuck, her following his directions was such a turn on.  He just wished she'd been as compliant at dinner.  The little minx was hiding something and it pissed him off.  How was he supposed to adequately protect her if she did crazy and foolish things? 

He pushed her hair over her shoulders and unhooked her bra.  He wanted nothing to mar his view of her back.  He traced his finger down her spine, starting between her shoulder blades and ending at the dip at the top of her ass.  He brought his hand around to her stomach and pulled her back so his tongue could trace the same line. 

He hooked his thumbs in the elastic of her panties at her hips and pulled them down over her ass cheeks.  "I'm looking at perfection, right now, Alexis.  Bend over and touch your toes."

She hesitated for just a second before complying.  He wondered what she was thinking.  Was she as turned on as he was?  Only one was to find out.  He slipped his fingers through her folds.  Soaked.  Thank Christ.  He didn't want to stop.

Her ass was in his face.  He could literally stay like this the rest of his life and die a happy man.  He licked through her folds and the rounded globes of her cheeks.  She squirmed a little, but he had a hold of her hips.  She wasn't going anywhere.

He didn't want all the blood rushing to her head.  "Stand up.  Turn and face me."  He whisked the bra from her arms and slid her panties to her ankles.  "Step out."  He hooked an arm around her waist and captured a nipple between his teeth, biting down softly, before sucking it into his mouth.

She moaned, tipping her head back, exposing the line of her throat.  Fuck, she was sexy.  And she was all his.  He growled low in his throat, something primeval overtaking him.  He picked her up and tossed her onto the center of the bed.  He quickly covered her with his body, wanting to surround her with
him
.  He buried his face in her throat, drawing in the scent that was solely Alexis.   "You're mine, Alexis.  Say you understand."

* * * * *

She was panting now.  "I understand."

"I'm gonna bury myself, so deep inside you, that you're gonna scream your release and when you do, I want you screaming my name.  Say you understand."

Oh God, she was going to come just from his words, and his hot breath floating across the skin of her neck.  "I understand."

"Open your legs."  He sat up between them.  "Wider."

She spread her legs, wide.  She lifted her head and looked down the length of her body.  He just stared at her.  Then slowly, as she watched, he touched her with a single finger.  He gently stroked through her folds, up then down, over and over, driving her mad with a single digit.

He leaned forward, his face so close, but not touching.  Teasing her with his hot breath.  She tried arching her hips, but her legs were spread too far for her to reach high enough.  She looked down her body again, just a little closer and he would be right
there.
 

She must have made a noise of frustration because he chuckled.  Tiny bursts of air drifted across her sensitive flesh, causing her to groan louder, her hands fisted in the sheets, her hips bucking, begging for relief.

"Easy."  The word came to her through a fog of want and need.  He still used only that one, maddening finger, stroking her almost lazily, taking her to the edge of her sanity.

And then he plunged into her.  And she did scream.  She screamed his name as shock wave after shock wave consumed her body. 

She laid limply in his arms, draped across his body.  The steady beat of his heart pounded out a rhythm in her ear.  The gentle rise and fall of his chest lulled her to that state between wakefulness and sleep. 

"You asleep, sweetheart?"

"Hmm ...," Alexis replied, letting him know she was listening.