Betrayal (12 page)

The guilt rushed over me. I lowered my arms and chin, no longer feeling as defiant as I had. My dishonesty about who I was had already broken his
hard limit
—his rule.

He reached for my chin and pulled my eyes back to his. “I mean it. Some of my tastes are
unique—
they aren’t for everyone. I understand that.” His thumb caressed my cheek. “And I’m willing to adapt if…” He paused. “…I like someone.” He leaned down and brushed his lips over mine. “Charli Moore, I like you. I have since the first time I saw you.” He shifted. “When Max was trying…”

I smiled at the change in his tone as he recalled this morning’s escapades.
Jealous much?
When he finished his account, I said, “I think I should go find Max.”

“Why?”

“Because I owe him a thank-you.” Fingering the small buttons of Nox’s shirt I added, “Because he brought you to my chaise.”

“I believe I mentioned that I would’ve gotten there one way or the other.”

“Well, I should thank Max anyway, because he provided you a way. And…” I leaned closer. “…I’m glad you got there.”

He held my hand, the one on his shirt. “If I only get one week with you…” His voice came breathier than before. “…I want it to count. Charli Moore, I want you to remember your stay at Del Mar.”

The guilt I’d felt earlier came rushing back, compressing my chest, and making breathing increasingly difficult. I hated cheaters and liars and wasn’t willing to be one of them. If this week was going to work, it was now or never. “Before that…” I lowered my chin and looked up at him through my lashes. “…I think I should confess.”

“Confess?”

“Though I only
thought
you broke my limit, I’ve broken
yours,
your
hard limit
—not intentionally,” I added. “More by omission.”

He stood taller, the ridges of his torso more defined under my touch. “How? What have you done?”

I exhaled. “I let you assume that Chelsea and I share a last name. We don’t. We have different fathers.” That wasn’t being dishonest. We also had different mothers, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to go that far.

“Is your name Charli?”

“It’s a nickname,” I answered honestly. Meeting his stare I asked, “Is your name Nox?”

The corner of his mouth twitched toward a grin. “It’s a nickname, too. So if Moore isn’t your last name, what is it?”

I tilted my head to the side. “Let’s spend the next week as Charli and Nox—no last names, no commitments. Can we do that?”

“You didn’t research who was staying in the presidential suite? You really don’t know my last name?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t. Not because I wasn’t curious—I am. But, I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t think of it until you mentioned it.”

His large hands traveled to my waist as his side grin turned into a full-blown sexy smile. As he tugged at the sash of my robe, his tone found the timbre that resurrected the butterflies deep inside of me. “Just know, Miss Charli no-last-name, the next time you break one of my rules, I won’t respond as lightly.”

“You won’t?” I asked, more aroused than curious. “What exactly does that mean?”

He moved closer, seductively teasing my breasts with the presence of his wide chest. “I guess we’ll need to find that out together.”

I had to lift my chin to see his eyes. The light blue sparkled with suggestions. The longer I stared, the more a part of me wanted to find out exactly what he had in mind. There was also a part of me that knew that wasn’t a good idea. I shrugged nonchalantly. “Then I guess I better not break any of your rules.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” he asked.

“Oh, I believe I can be all kinds of fun.” I gasped as he pulled me nearer. My nipples—the ones that had softened during our conversation—were now hard nubs burning with desire as they were pressed against his broad chest. That wasn’t our only connection that made my insides tighten. Lower, his hardening erection pushed against my stomach.

“Perhaps we could begin that
fun
tonight?” Nox asked.

No doubt he could feel the rapid beat of my heart reverberating from my chest to his. I wanted everything about this man, and if I let my body have its way, we’d be horizontal in fifty-one seconds flat. But I couldn’t. If we were to explore my limits, I needed to know that they would be honored. Gathering my strength, I stepped back. The bit of space gave me purpose. “Nox, I’d rather spend the
entire
week getting to know you.” My lashes fluttered. “You, me, and all the fun that may entail. Let’s not do it all in one night.”

Straightening his back and nodding, Nox reached for the bottle of cabernet. “Let me open this and we’ll toast to Charli and Nox and…” He cocked his head. “…to
fun
and
getting to know one another
.”

The pop of the cork echoed through the suite, momentarily overriding the rushing sound of blood coursing through my veins, as Nox poured two glasses. Musk and desire filled the room as we both worked to ignore the peaked points of my nipples through my satin robe and the obvious tenting of his gray slacks. With a knowing glint in his light blue eyes, he handed me my glass. “Charli, another thing I rarely do is suffer from sexual frustration. The only reason that I’m able to tolerate it tonight…” His gaze pointedly went to my chest. “…is that I know you’re suffering the same.”

Before I could cover my chest, he lifted his glass and went on. “Let’s toast to us—to a week of discovering not only one another but the people we can be when we’re together. Because in the last two hours, the most beautiful and intriguing redhead that I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, has had me saying and doing things that I, L
…
Nox, don’t, as a rule, do.” He lifted his glass. “To an unforgettable week.”

Our glasses met with a clink
and we took a sip. The rich, thick liquid warmed my tongue and throat. The aroma reminded me that we weren’t drinking the house red.

“This is very good.”

Nox shrugged. “For a California wine. I told you: I have very particular tastes.”

The way he looked at me, the way his pale stare zeroed in and took my breath, told me that Nox wasn’t talking about wine, not anymore. My insides twisted, and I knew that I wanted to learn more about Nox: his tastes, both for wine and for everything else.

Chelsea said to stay uncommitted and to learn very little. Nevertheless, as I watched him swallow and his Adam’s apple bob, I wanted more. Unfortunately, anything more than a vacation hookup wouldn’t work with Alex’s future.

I sighed.

I had a week as Charli, and I planned to take it.

Nox reached for my hand. The warmth of his touch was a contrast to the cool air conditioning of the suite. When I looked up, he said, “Just because I’ve made exceptions to my usual behavior doesn’t mean I’m willing to give up on my quest.”

“Your quest?”

“At the end of the week, I may not know your last name, but trust me, Charli: I will know every inch of that beautiful body and we will both know your limits.”

He’d asked me earlier if I believed him. I’d wanted to then. Now I had no doubt. Nox would take me to those limits, but the fact that he wasn’t pushing now made me comfortable enough to simply say, “I believe you.” I tugged his hand. “Let’s go out to my balcony. It’s not as grand as yours and there’s no private pool, but we can hear the ocean.”

He picked up the bottle and followed me outside.

“YOU DRANK WINE
? That’s it?” Chelsea asked for the fifteenth time.

“It doesn’t matter how many times you ask, the answer is still the same.”

Chelsea eyed me over the rim of her orange juice glass as we ate breakfast.

“Besides,” I said with an air of superiority. “Where were you until, like, three this morning?”

She reached for her temples and pushed from both sides. “Do you have to accuse so loudly?”

I leaned forward. “Babe, I’m whispering.”

Her head moved from side to side. “No way. You’re yelling. You’re going to get us kicked out of here.”

I laughed a full-belly laugh. “I hardly think that will be me.”

“Well,” she said, her hazel eyes darting from side to side. “I may have ordered a few drinks and charged them to our room.”

“I’m shocked!” I said mockingly.

“Well, after Mr. Fancy Pants tracked me down, I knew I couldn’t come back to our room.”

“Nothing happened in our room! And you didn’t tell me that Nox found you.”

“Found is such an odd word. I was talking to a few new friends and Mr.” She paused. “Nox—is that what you called him?”

I’d said the name ten times. Obviously, she was still inebriated from the night before. “Yes, it’s a nickname.”

Her bloodshot eyes widened for a second. “Like Charli? That’s a nickname.”

“Yes,” I confirmed. “Now tell me more.”

“Well, it’s kind of fuzzy, but I was in the bar. He came up and asked me a question about my sister. I kind of stuttered.” She leaned forward. “Well, because my sister is still in California.” Her giggle disappeared as she took another drink of orange juice. “This is the worse mimosa I’ve ever had.”

“It’s because I told them, no champagne.”

“What the hell? That means it’s just orange juice.”

I nodded. “Yes. Now, Nox asked you about your sister?”

“I remember. I told him my last name and our room number.”

“Why? What if he were some ax murderer?”

Chelsea pursed her lips. “Apparently, I made the right choice.”

“Yes,” I whispered. “Thank you.”

“So will you see him again?”

“I want to,” I confessed. “I’m more attracted to him than I’ve been to anyone…” I hesitated. “…ever.”

“Haven’t you noticed that this place is crawling with good-looking, rich men? I met this guy last night. Dan. Don. Ron.” She closed her eyes. Just before I thought she’d fallen asleep, her eyes popped open. “Jon. That was his name. Don’t worry about me. I think we’ll both be fine.”

“Jon? Jon who?” I asked, concerned.

“Nox who?” she replied.

“Touché.”

Yes. Who the hell was I to judge her and Jon, Ron, or Don? I wasn’t any better.

THE SUN CONTINUED
to rise in the east and set each night beautifully in the west. With each passing day, Alex’s career goals and Alexandria’s ghosts slipped further and further away, evaporating into Charli. Between days with Chelsea and days and nights with Nox, there was nothing I’d ever enjoyed more.

While Chelsea and I spent time together at the pool or in our suite, I admitted my growing feelings for Nox, the ones I didn’t want to face. I didn’t want to admit the way my heart beat faster when I was around him or the way things that he did or said made me feel special, because with each tick of the clock, our time together waned. If our vacation were an hourglass, the bottom had more sand than the top, and I knew I couldn’t turn it over.

“Girl,” Chelsea said one morning as we were putting on our normal breakfast-by-the-pool attire—bathing suits, cover-ups, and flip-flops. “Don’t overthink it. That’s the beauty of it. No commitment. Besides…” She wiggled her eyebrows. “…don’t you think the non-committed sex is steamier?”

I shrugged as I threw the sunscreen in my beach bag and looked for my Kindle.

She reached for my shoulder and spun me toward her. “What?! You haven’t done the dirty deed with Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome?”

“It’s only been three days.”

“Which means there are only two more nights left. Jeez, I’ve seen the way he looks at you. That poor man must be suffering a serious case of blue balls.” Her voice lowered. “Are they blue?”

I hadn’t seen them, so I couldn’t answer indisputably, but I’d been close to them and their impressive third wheel, with only the material of his slacks, jeans, or bathing trunks in between. I’d even rubbed my hand over him and felt his size and power trapped behind the clothes. I’d also had that same restrained power against my body, pushing against the small of my back, my tummy, and thigh. I’d been with him in the private pool on the balcony of the presidential suite with warm, glowing water surrounding us as my legs wrapped around his torso and arms around his neck. It wasn’t that I was being a tease. We’d been
almost
there.