Sinfully Summer (17 page)

He picked up pace, thrust in and out with quick, short movements. Her channel tightened and her thighs shook as he slid deeper, her cries morphed into groans and he watched her firm breasts bob and quiver, driving him crazy. Her eyes never opened and he had the idea that if he couldn’t see her, he could make this last long enough to feel her release.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he shifted the angle of his thrusts, grabbed onto her hips and held her in place. Her body shuddered, her muscles tightened and then convulsed around him. Alexa’s cry of pleasure was the last thing he registered before the heat, the pressure, drained from his stomach and shot out of him and into her.

Ric collapsed on top of her, still lodged deep inside. Alexa wrapped her legs around him, holding him in place and her fingers trailed soothing circles on his heaving back. The afterglow felt different somehow, safe, and he dimly registered that the pull inside him had only intensified, but the fog of sleep crept into his brain before it could register the emotion.

Alexa knew she was in trouble. Ric had rolled away from her hold at some point, but now his body was plastered to every inch of her back and his half-mast erection prodded her bottom. But the trouble didn’t come from the sex, nope, that had been the most mind-blowing experience of her life—just like he’d promised. The trouble came from her daft heart ripping itself open when he was lodged inside her.

She hadn’t hid the emotions in time, had seen the panic on his face, then his withdrawal with the shift of positions. She’d let him pull away; let him take control because she’d been terrified of falling harder than she already had. His soothing breaths in her ear made her shiver and feel comforted at the same time. If she could get out of his hold without waking him, she’d be in her own bed by now.

Ric’s body tensed, the arms around her grew rigid and she thought he’d woken, thought he’d chuck her out. She held her breath and waited. A slew of Spanish came from his mouth and the tone was panicked, scared even. Turning in his arms, she watched his face and saw his frown, his rigid jaw, his fear. Was he having a nightmare? Her heart cracked open again.

Alexa held his face. ‘Ric, you’re dreaming. It’s okay.’ She stroked his jaw, massaged away the frown line creasing his brow.

His body relaxed and his grip loosened around her. Exhaling, she squirmed free and slipped out of the bed. Another glance at his still frame and she turned to leave. God her heart hurt way more than it should. As she made her way through to her own room, she made a promise to herself to get over this silly infatuation, the sooner the better, because it had just been about sex, nothing more.

The smell of coffee woke her from a restless sleep. Alexa rubbed her eyes, then rolled over. It still felt way too early and her legs, everything south of her navel, hurt. Something grabbed her hip and pulled her onto her back. Her eyes flew open in shock.

Ric sat on the edge of her bed, his jaw tight and his expression—as bloody usual—shuttered. She eyed the cup in his hand longingly, but the naked chest behind it distracted her.

‘What are you doing?’ she asked. Having sex with him didn’t give him the right to wake her before the sun was up.

‘It’s five o’clock. Time to get up.’

Her eyes widened as she stared at him, uncomprehending.
Five? No wonder her brain was mush.

‘We have work to do.’

Alexa groaned and rolled over, squeezing her eyes shut. ‘Go away.’

The bed shook with his laugh. ‘I bet I could find a way to wake you up.’

His hands slid up her bared leg, all the way to the hem of the silky nightgown she wore. Her hormones zinged to life, like he’d left her body programmed to respond to his touch. But her heart throbbed out a painful beat in her chest and she rolled away from him.

‘I’m up,’ she said and slid off the opposite side of the bed. ‘Scoot. I need to shower.’

He hadn’t moved, just sat there and stared at her with disbelief.

‘Shoo.’ She waved her hands, but his intent gaze told her he wasn’t going anywhere until he said what he wanted to. Alexa rubbed her eyes again. Sighing, she sat back down on the bed, her thigh muscles stiff. ‘Spit it out, Castillo.’

‘Why did you sneak back to your own room?’

She watched his face, but couldn’t see any emotion, any deeper meaning to his question. Fine, if he wanted to be blasé about their night together, she could do that.

Alexa shrugged. ‘You talk in your sleep.’

Panic flickered across his face before he composed himself. ‘Oh? What did I say?’

If his voice hadn’t been wary she’d have admitted he sounded scared, terrified even and asked him what the nightmare was about. ‘I don’t know, you were muttering in Spanish.’

His shoulders sagged a notch, then he looked at her with a serious expression. ‘Are you really on the pill?’

‘You’re kidding me.’ She shook her head. How dare he ask her that after she’d already told him she was. ‘Isn’t that something you should have checked before you went ahead and came inside me?’

Ric stood, anger hardening his jaw. ‘So you lied to me?’

She stomped over to a bag on the floor, pulled out a foil packet and threw it at him. He picked up the strip and studied it. She hadn’t missed a bloody day, the arrogant, assuming git. ‘I wouldn’t lie about that.’

She turned, headed for the en suite then paused. What was she doing? Turning back to him, she glared. ‘Get out.’

He placed the strip on the bedside table. ‘I had to make sure.’

His words cut her deeper than the realisation that she was falling for a man like him had. Fighting the stinging in her eyes, she forced herself to keep her expression blank. ‘I said get out. It’s Sunday and I’ve got my own work to do.’

‘Alexa—’

‘Don’t
Alexa
me.’ Anger was good. Anger kept her from the pain of his distrust. ‘When I agreed to work with you, I didn’t agree to weekends. I have my own company, my own work. You agreed to let me, now out.’

Fury shone from his eyes, but he turned and left. She exhaled, her anger leaving her body with the breath and pain sneaked in, catching her right in the throat. With blurry vision, she turned and headed for the shower. How she was going to manage two weeks with him when it felt like her heart would break was a mystery, but she’d come too far with the event to back out now.

And now, more than ever, Alexa wanted to change the world’s opinion of her. To make her father, Ric and everyone else see that she’d changed, that she was an adult who cared about things other than herself. That would have to get her through the next fortnight. Only problem was, she wasn’t sure that it would be enough.

Chapter Eleven

Ric had made a mess of things with Alexa.

He’d pushed her into admitting their attraction, been so lost in lust he hadn’t stopped to make sure she was on the pill and had accused her of lying, even though deep down he knew she’d been telling the truth. Alexa said herself she didn’t want marriage or kids and she wouldn’t trick him like most of the women he’d been with. If Alexa wanted something, she’d tell him.

He tried to concentrate on what felt like the millionth version of the revised contract on his desk, but his mind kept flicking back to her. The pain in her eyes lodged behind her anger was harsher than a kick to the gut and he couldn’t hide from his guilt.

This morning, when he’d woken alone and reached for her, felt the cold sheets on the other side of his bed, he panicked. Usually, he didn’t allow women to spend the night; he hadn’t ever slept next to anyone. The fact that she’d been the one to leave stung. Then to find out he had another nightmare and she witnessed it, made the last of his rational thinking take a hike. He lashed out, tried to distract them both with the accusation about the pill. It was a stupid thing to do.

He ran a hand through his hair and checked the clock. Late afternoon sun shone through the window but he still felt cold. He had to make it up to her somehow.

The penthouse was quiet except for the rhythmic tapping of keys on a laptop. He made his way to her room, paused in the doorway at the sight of her cross-legged on the middle of the bed, a Mac on her lap. He’d never seen her so focused, so serious before. The pull inside urged him forward.

She looked up, her expression blank. ‘Two tics.’ Her forefingers hammered the keys faster and he wondered again what her business was. ‘Ok.’ This time when she turned to him, she closed her laptop lid. ‘What do you want?’

Ric knew he deserved that. ‘Actually, I was going to ask you the same thing. I want to take you out for dinner. Your choice.’

Her brows furrowed with suspicion and again, he couldn’t blame her. He’d been the one to insist they keep things discreet but having dinner with his event organiser wouldn’t rock the boat. Keeping his hands to himself shouldn’t be a problem because after this morning he wasn’t sure that she would want him to touch her anyway.

‘Anywhere I want?’ she asked.

Ric nodded.

‘No arguments?’

‘No arguments,’ he agreed, regretting it immediately. But if she wanted to drag him to a fast food place to punish him, he’d man up and eat it.

‘Ok.’ She slid from the bed and walked over to the suitcases by the wardrobes.

He frowned. ‘Haven’t you unpacked yet?’

With her back to him, she shook her head. ‘What’s the point when a room could become free? I don’t want to have to unpack to have to pack again. I hate packing.’

‘You don’t have to move.’

Her fingers froze on the zip. ‘I’d prefer to have my own space.’

She was still mad at him, why else would she insist on leaving? ‘You have your own space here. I thought we were…’ What could he say? Together? They weren’t, not really.

‘Sleeping together?’ Looking over her shoulder, she pursed her lips. ‘A one night stand doesn’t change anything.’

‘It wasn’t a one night stand.’ Where was this coming from? ‘Alexa, I thought we agreed not to lie to ourselves any more.’

She turned back to the suitcase and unzipped it. ‘That was before I knew you didn’t trust me.’

He crossed the room, picked her up and turned her around to face him. She struggled in his hold, but he didn’t let go. ‘That was a mistake. I shouldn’t have said that.’

She tilted her chin and he let her see his sincerity, but she didn’t look convinced. Sighing, he cupped her cheek and touched his forehead to hers. ‘I’d like you to stay with me.’ Their hearts seemed to beat as one and he held his breath, waiting for her to speak.

‘Ok,’ she said at last.

Ric didn’t realise his body had been tensed as if for an onslaught until his shoulders sagged with relief. He dropped a quick kiss to her nose, threaded his fingers into her hair and looked down at her with a smile. A quick round of make-up sex before dinner sounded like a good idea.

Last night, when he’d thought he saw emotion burning in her eyes, it had terrified him, but the more he’d thought about it, the more he realised that was probably wishful thinking on his part. He didn’t want her to fall for him, but to be cared about would be different.

She wasn’t with him for his money or false pretences; she had been in his bed because she was attracted to him, pure and simple. And he wanted her just as much.

‘I want to go to Maria’s barbeque.’

He released her and stepped back like her words took a swing at him. Alexa’s eyes widened as she studied his reaction. Pulling himself together, he frowned at her. ‘No.’

Steely eyes met his with challenge. ‘You said we could go anywhere I want. I want to go to the barbeque.’

Guilt crept through the shock in his body, but it wasn’t powerful enough to mask the ice in his veins. ‘No. I’ll take you anywhere else. Even that horrid bar on the beach if that’s what you want.’

She eyed him thoughtfully and he could almost see her brain ticking over. ‘Fine, we’ll go somewhere else if you tell me why you won’t go to the Castillos’.’

Ric swallowed but he wasn’t going to back down. This was getting ridiculous. ‘I told you no. I don’t have to explain myself.’

‘Fine.’ Alexa turned back to the case and pulled out a bottle green sundress.

His shoulders slumped with relief. ‘Get dressed and I’ll call Manuel to have the car ready.’

‘Tell him he can drop me at the Castillos’ on the way.’

Fury boiled in his blood. ‘I told you we’re not going.’

She whirled on him, her eyes a stormy grey. ‘You told me you weren’t going and you didn’t explain why. I was invited too, and I’m going. You can either come with me or dine alone. Your choice.’

She stormed into the en suite and slammed the door behind her. The lock clicked and the sound of the shower made him pause. He’d tie her to the bed before he’d join her there. His adopted parents may know him and accept him as he was, but being in their company brought back memories he didn’t want to remember, didn’t want to have to face all over again. And he didn’t want Alexa finding out anything that would make her look at him with disgust.

Alexa wasn’t surprised to see Ric perched on the edge of her bed when she returned to her room. His expression was blank, but his eyes held a calculating gleam that made her stomach jitter. She’d calmed down in the shower, although she still couldn’t regret her outburst. Why everything about his past had to be a secret, she didn’t know, but it boiled her blood that he wouldn’t share any part of it with her. Especially after she’d shared a part of herself, and, now, a part of her heart.

Ignoring him, she made her way over to the dressing table, sunk into the chair and reached for her moisturiser. She methodically applied the tinted cream, followed by a light brushing of mascara. Her hair was a swarm of soaked curls and she didn’t really want to blow-dry and style it with him watching. It felt too intimate somehow, but he didn’t speak or move so she resigned to get on with it.

When her hair was dry, smooth and hanging by her shoulders, he spoke. ‘Why don’t you leave your hair like that sometimes?’

Alexa looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was narrow and flat hair didn’t help any. She liked to have it wild, untamed and textured—she thought it suited her personality. But now the messy bed-head do didn’t appeal to her like it used to.