Blind Attraction (14 page)

It wasn’t normal.

Or natural.

“Why are you so happy?” he asked over his shoulder.

Blake shrugged. “I’ve been feeling spiritual today. Was hoping to listen in on another prayer session later.”

“You’re a dick.” Mitch shook his head and took the first step forward to claim his girl. He ate up the distance, his pace quickening until finally he reached the door, yanked it open, and stood a yard before her. “Alana.”

Her head turned in his direction, her focus aimed at his face, but not directly on his eyes. A smile tilted her lips. “Mitchell.” Her voice was breathy, exactly the way he felt. She took a step away from the man at her arm and paused. “Mitchell?”

He went to her, grasped her in his arms, and held her to his chest. “Where the hell have you been?” he whispered into her hair.

She hugged his waist and squeezed tight. “There was a bit of...drama.”

“It was entirely my fault,” an aged voice informed him.

Mitch raised his gaze to the man standing directly behind her. After hearing about the issue in the coffee shop, he wanted to castrate the seemingly harmless stranger, no matter how much regret the man held in his eyes.

“No, it’s not.” Alana shook her head and pivoted away from Mitch’s chest. “I was just...stunned.”

The old man’s eyes glistened with unshed tears when he looked at Mitch.

“What’s going on?” He rubbed his forehead, trying to hide his face and brush away some of his anxiety. He couldn’t wait around in the wide open for hours. They needed to leave.

“I don’t want to discuss it now. I’ll tell you about it later. I just want to get out of here.”

The man bowed his head in defeat.

“Mitchell, can you please get Mr. Bowen’s phone number for me.”

Mitch glanced at Mr. Bowen, who now had a hopeful smile on his face, his hands shaking as he rifled through his wallet. “Sure, sweetheart.”

“Here are my personal contact details.” Mr. Bowen shuffled forward and handed the card to him, before turning to Alana. “Rose and I would love to hear from you. Please, don’t hesitate to call at any time.”

Alana inclined her head. “I’d like that. Hopefully we can meet up again before I leave Richmond.”

Mr. Bowen reached for her hand and encased it in both of his. “We would love to, Alana. It would make us extremely happy.”

Mitch stood back and watched, entirely confused as to why an elderly man would be eager to meet up with Alana again. How did they know each other when she’d never been in Richmond before? The whole situation was doing his head in.

“It would make me happy, too.”

Her gaze lowered when the old man’s shaking hand cupped her cheek. “I’m glad to have met you.” And with that, he began to walk away, past Tony who stood a few paces behind on alert, toward the coffee shop door which Blake held open.

Mitch stepped into her, this time raising her chin with a delicate finger so he could gaze into her eyes. “You scared me.” He placed a fleeting kiss on her lips, denying his body the full devouring it craved. “Are you all right?”

She nodded and he kissed her again. This time when he went to pull back, she snaked her hand around his neck and held him close, deepening the kiss. Her tongue sought his, her lips moving in a heated rhythm that would soon leave him unable to walk away without readjusting his cock.

“Oh, come on!” Blake shouted. “Enough, already. This shit’s going to be all over Facebook.”

Mitch wanted to growl. Unfortunately, Blake was right. There were too many eyes on them. “We better go.”

“OK.”

Something wasn’t right in Alana’s world. Her smiles weren’t as bright, her expression less cheerful. He grabbed her arm and placed it at the crook of his elbow. “Tell me what’s wrong, and I’ll fix it.”

She let out a breath of soft laughter, but her happiness quickly faded. “Just take me back to the hotel. I’m tired.”

He supposed she would be tired. Her body wouldn’t be used to the late nights like his. “No problem.” Once they were back in the suite he would give her time to rest. She would need it because he had no plans to let her go home with Kate tonight.

Alana stretched her arms above her head and snuggled into her pillow. Noise registered on the far edges of her brain and took a few moments to sink in. When the sound of boisterous male voices became clear, she sat up straight and opened her eyes to darkness.

She blinked, blinked again, then woke up enough to remember where she was and why her eyes felt like gravel. Letting the confusion subside, she began to listen to the chatter, and a smile tilted her lips. She heard Mitchell’s laughter, followed by muffled words from Blake, and who she guessed was Mason.

This scenario was in complete contrast to what her mother had described to her throughout her life. Men were supposed to be deceitful, sleazy, hurtful, degrading—the list continued.

Mitchell was none of those. Yes, he was sexual and sensual, but she liked those parts of him. He’d shown her that intimacy could be fulfilling for a woman. He’d also taken the time to give her pleasure when he wasn’t receiving any in return. And although she would never know for certain, she didn’t think he had a dishonest bone in his body. The care he’d shown melted her heart. He went above and beyond to ensure her comfort.

Shifting her legs to the side of the bed, she stood on the soft carpet. Light no longer seeped around the edges of the curtains. Night had fallen. She must have slept longer than the solitary hour she had planned on. Mitchell had convinced her to rest, had even lain down beside her. But now he was gone.

She hadn’t wanted to waste the last hours they had together. Yet once her head hit the pillow with his warm arm rested on her waist, her back snuggled into his chest, she felt herself drift into sleep.

Alana worked her way to the bathroom, shuffling her feet in case her shins came in contact with something hard. After using the facilities, she took cautious steps to the bedroom door, led by the soft glow of light seeping under the frame.

The rambunctious conversation died when she stepped into the dining room, and a chair scraped against the tile. She smiled at the familiar shadowed figure striding toward her.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Mitchell’s arm ran around her waist, and he placed a kiss in her hair. “Sleep well?”

“Mmm.” She nodded and snuggled into the warmth of his neck. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“You needed the rest.”

“Yeah, but I wanted to spend more time with you before Kate came to pick me up.”

He pulled her into a hug, and she heard his deep inhale as he nuzzled into her hair. “I’ve already spoken to Kate. She’s happy to do another sleep over, if you are.”

She pushed back in his arms and squinted to focus on his face. His features were clearer than the fuzz of last night, even sharper than her vision this morning, but his eyes were still a cloudy dark patch amongst his lightly tanned skin. “You’ve spoken to Kate?”

“Yeah, she’s out on the balcony, drinking wine with Leah and Ryan’s wife.”

“I should go see her. I need to talk to her.”

“Later.” He pressed a kiss to her lips, and tightened his grip on her waist. The heat from his crotch sunk through the cotton short’s he’d purchased for her, the sensation igniting a fire in her womb.

She reached on tiptoes, kissed him back with fervor and melted into his arms. Just as her nipples began to burn and her stomach tensed with anticipation, he broke the kiss.

“Can I get you a drink? Something to eat?”

Nourishment of the food and beverage variety had been far from her mind. However, if Mitchell was strong enough to break their connection and move away, she supposed she should be able to do the same.

While she said her greetings to Ryan, Mason, Sean, and Blake seated at the dining table playing cards, Mitchell strode to the kitchen, returning moments later. He led her to the darkened lounge room. The lights were off, making it harder for her to see. It also made their private picnic on the sofa more intimate. They sat side by side; their thighs touching while a plate of unrecognizable food rested on her lap.

He leaned into her and kissed her neck. “There’s cheese, crackers, and some fruit. Just feel around until you find something you like.” He cradled an acoustic guitar, the tan exterior the extent of what she could see. She wished she had the vision to appreciate the instrument he lazily strummed, to memorize the perfection of the moment. Instead, she listened with intent, letting the music seduce her.

In between bites of apple and sips of wine, he played softly. The notes were a beautiful weave of intensity and exquisite passion. The sound tickled her nerves, filled her heart, and made her shiver with sensory overload.

“Do you want a blanket?” The music stopped, and his hand traveled over her wrist and up her arm. “You’ve got goose bumps.”

Her skin tingled at his touch. “Um, yes.” She didn’t want to tell him the sensitivity came from his close proximity. “Please.”

He stood, resting his guitar against the side of the sofa and walked away, returning moments later with a blanket he draped underneath the plate on her lap.

“Better?” He sat back down beside her, resting his arm over the back of the sofa.

She nodded, trying to decipher his expression and failing miserably with all the shadows.

Light fingers trailed through her loose hair, behind her ear, and made her chest constrict. “What are we going to do?” he asked, his voice a soft murmur.

Alana remained quiet for a moment, unsure what he referred to, and not willing to look like a fool. “What do you mean?” She picked up the plate on her lap and lifted it forward until she found the table to rest it on. He continued to play with strands of her hair as she pulled her knees up to rest on the sofa between them.

“I mean about us.”

Her eyebrows rose. On the inside, her blood rushed like lava through her veins. She tried to suppress her hope, not willing to become excited about the prospect of a future between them only to have to hide her profound disappointment later.

“Once I leave tomorrow on this promo tour, are you going to mind me calling you?” His voice held no emotion for her to read. “Will you let me come see you?”

“Yes.” She bit her lip and nodded. “I’d love for you to.”

“Your mom won’t mind? I was thinking I might be able to rent a car and come see you when we’re in the Colorado area. Or if we get a day or two off. I’d need to check the schedule.”

Alana cringed. At her age, she shouldn’t have to worry about her mother. Yet there was no way he could show up at her home. “No, you definitely can’t go to the retreat. My mom doesn’t allow any men on the property unless necessary, but I’m actually thinking of staying in Richmond for a while.”

His fingers stopped caressing her hair so she continued. “I want to see the Bowens again and find out if they’re my grandparents. My mom won’t tell me anything. I know she won’t, so it’s something I need to do for myself. And if what they claim is true, then I don’t have any immediate plans of going back to Colorado at all.”

“You’ll move to Richmond?”

She shrugged, still unsure of her plans, and not wanting to say them aloud until she confirmed things with Kate. “Maybe.”

“Maybe,” he repeated, swiping his fingers through her hair one last time. She jolted a little when both his hands gripped her thighs. He turned her body, pivoting her on the couch so her legs rested over his. The blanket came too. Her skin brushed against the stiff material of his jeans, and the heat of him made her insides burn.

She wanted him. Wanted nothing more than to cuddle into his body and be one with him. No other man had held this appeal. She may not have abundant experience, but she knew that what she felt for him probably bordered on the unhealthy side.

Was it normal to fall for someone this quickly? Maybe the whole fame and fortune thing had affected her.

“Virginia is a hell of a lot closer to New York than Colorado,” he whispered and leaned in to kiss her neck.

“Mmm,” she groaned at the way her nipples tightened at his touch. “My mom never thought I was great at geography, but yes, I’d determined the same thing.”

He chuckled and his tickling breath slid down her back, under another one of Mitchell’s shirts, and shot straight to her pussy.

“I’m going to miss you.”

Take me with you
, was poised on the tip of her tongue, but she bit back the stupidity, concentrating instead on the hand moving under the blanket to her ankle. He teased her flesh, making her want to moan at the exquisite way his fingers trailed over her calf, behind her knee, up to mid thigh.

“Mitchell.” She panted his name, trying to warn him to stop, yet the word came out more like a plea.

“Yeah, sweetheart?” His mouth was still on her neck, his tongue licking, his lips caressing. His hand went higher, the tingling of his fingers passing over the sensitive muscle of her inner thighs.

“Stop,” she whispered and reached up to clench the material of his shirt in her fist. The voices of the other men came from only feet away. They were engrossed in conversation, only she couldn’t see them to tell where their attention lay. What if they were watching?