Burned Hearts (12 page)

My stomach clenched, my heart constricted. I couldn't betray Dane by sharing with Kyle his insecurity that he wasn't giving me what he thought
I
deserved. A perfect life.

So I shook my head and just said, “He should get something in return for all of his suffering.”

“I'm not discounting his efforts,” Kyle said. “I'm just commenting on the obvious. You're talking about a multi-
billion
-dollar project. And, again, what the hell do you know about building a portion of a hotel, let alone bringing it back on-line?”

“Not much,” I conceded. “But don't forget a key resource. Amano has worked side by side with Dane on
three
hotels.” I smiled triumphantly.

Kyle snickered. “I'm with you, chief, but here's the thing. Asking for Amano's help leads to what?”

My smile instantly vanished. “He'd tell Dane what I was up to.”

“In a heartbeat.”

“Urg!” I paced the hardwood floor. How could I convince Amano to let me do this for Dane and keep it on the QT?

I'd be working with the people who constructed the Lux initially. Not exactly the blind leading the blind, right? And if the main building was structurally sound and just the lobby and its close quarters had to be restored it wasn't as though we'd be working from the ground up on an entire megaresort. Just this one area of it. Everything else was intact, with the exception of the courtyards, gardens, and fountains. Sure, they'd all have to be tended to, because they'd incurred the brunt of the debris, but that wasn't the end of the world.

The outbuildings were all in excellent condition. The conference center and ballrooms, the aquatic center with its indoor and outdoor pools and restaurants, the spa and bistros, the casitas along the five top-pro-designed golf courses—all in phenomenal shape. Never-used amenities, because the Lux had never even opened.

Hell, even the stunning perimeter fencing and columns were all standing, not the tiniest bit damaged. Of most significance, it was the once breath-stealing lobby that had suffered.

Honestly, it'd been so beautiful that I could cry over the devastation. To ruin something so soul stirring, so stunning. It was inhumane. Sacrilege.

But to resurrect it …

I turned to Kyle, now more determined than ever. “I remember the first time I walked through the doors of the Lux and thought nothing could be more extravagant, more glamorous, more amazing, than that lobby—and the chandeliers. Especially that ginormous one in the center, which you could see all the way out to the stone drive because it literally filled those tall asymmetrical windows.” Emotion welled within me. “I have to get it all back. For Dane. For us. For Kid. Christ, throw out some names already, will you?”

“Dawson, Pacey, Joey, Mitch, Andie—”

“All from
Dawson's Creek
. You ass!” I lifted a foam stress ball from my desk and tossed it at him.

Kyle laughed. “What the hell do I know about naming a kid?”

“Clearly as much as the rest of us, so suggestions are welcomed.”

“Maybe ask Amano. I bet he's got a family full of mysterious people with mysterious names.”

“Oh, my God. You are
so
right. I don't even know his last name.”

“Do you think he has one?” Kyle teased.

“Chances are good he doesn't. He just showed up on a riverbank somewhere as a baby, GLOCK in hand.”

“Robin Hood reincarnated.”

“Totally.”

“Or maybe—”

“Ah-hem.” I cleared my throat as the dark-haired, six-foot-six-inch bodyguard filled the doorway behind Kyle.

“He was raised by a pack of coyotes in the Sandia Mountains of Albuquerque, where he hunted wild boar with his bare hands and—”

“Ah-
hem,
” I added with emphasis.

Kyle's eyes narrowed. “He's standing right behind me, isn't he?”

“Yep.”

Kyle glanced over his shoulder.

Amano, not looking the least bit amused—though that was nothing new, since he rarely let an expression cross his face—said, “There are no wild boar in the Sandia Mountains.”

“Right.” Kyle slowly nodded his head. “Mule deer, then?”

I bit back a laugh. I swear, it was like poking a hibernating bear—that wasn't actually hibernating.

Amano tolerated Kyle, though. A hint of amusement actually flashed in Amano's eyes. So very briefly, but still. A good sign.

“Shouldn't you be monitoring the south side of the property?” he asked.

Kyle raised his iPad. “On it.” To me, he said, “Back to the daily grind.” He left the office.

Amano turned his steely gaze on me. “What's with the photos?”

“Just needed something on the walls,” I lied. Unsuccessfully. He harrumphed, then sauntered off. I wondered if he'd tell Dane but then considered that there wasn't really anything to tell at this point.

So I went back to my plotting.

 

chapter 6

A month passed, and I couldn't have been antsier.

Or more paranoid.

Not just over the trials that had begun and the fact that Dane hadn't been back to visit us since he'd left, but because I didn't want Amano catching me during my secret discussions with the people who were going to help me reconstruct the lobby of 10,000 Lux.

With my new accomplice, hotel security guard John—who'd been instrumental in my rescue from Vale's kidnapping ploy—and several destroyed cell phones later, I had a plan in place.

The good news was, it sounded as though the entire structure would not have to be demoed and rebuilt.

The bad news was, we really couldn't “break ground” so to speak without Amano finding out.

I had proof I was the beneficiary of the Lux, and had the capital to do with it what I pleased, so we pretty much had the green light. I just needed to be strategic in how it all unfolded.

In the midst of sneaking around behind Amano's back so he didn't report my resurrection plans to Dane, I'd picked out the vast majority of furniture for the nursery and had it shipped to Jackson's house for Kyle to retrieve, given that Amano wouldn't allow deliveries within our gates. I also had a color scheme going on that I currently liked. I couldn't commit to it, though, because it was the fourth theme I'd fallen in love with in as many weeks. No need to get excited.

Names were grabbing me just as fast and leaving me just as furiously.

Who on earth would have thought this would be such a difficult part of having a baby? For God's sake, it was only a name.

Then again, I was a firm believer in the fact that a name helped to shape the person. Case in point, were I having a girl, I'd likely stick to the
J
s. There seemed to be a lot of strength associated around
J
names. Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Jackie Joyner-Kersee. J. Lo. JHud. J. Law. Jennifer Aniston.

I winced.

Scratch that one. She made me think of glamorous Mikaela.

Still, I felt I was on to something with the
J
s. For girls.

For boys, however, I was at a complete loss. And all over the board.

Dane called randomly—against Agents Daugherty and Strauss's advisement, but he refused to lose all connection with me—and one evening I asked, “How do you feel about ‘Kennedy'?” Since the Jackie KO thing was in my head.

“As a president?”

I laughed. “As Kid's name.”

“Hmm.” He fell silent a moment, then said, “Gotta tell you, I'm not a fan. Everyone would call him Ken.”

“Good point. Too preppy. Not at all the mysterious, edgy sound we're going for.”

“That's what we're going for?”

“Sure. You really think he's going to be a normal child?”

“Well, I'd sort of hoped.”

With a smile he couldn't see, I said, “I don't mean he's going to be weird, or anything. But he is
your
son. So you have to consider—”

“Baby, I have a better idea for this phone conversation.”

My grin widened. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” I heard the rustling of crisp sheets on his end.

“How's your shoulder?”

“Just fine.” He paused a moment. When he spoke again, wickedness dripped from his sensual tone. “Where are you?”

“In bed.”

“Me, too.”

“Sucks that they're two different beds.”

“I agree.”

“And I don't even know where your bed is located,” I said.

“That's why they call it witness protection.”

“I wish you were here.”

He was quiet again.

I sighed. “Dane.”

“I've told you before. You have no idea how much I miss you.”

“Tell me again. Better yet…” I stretched out, under the covers. “Tell me what you'd do to me if you were here right now.”

“One thing I've missed doing. Not that I'm complaining. I can curb my tendencies. I definitely love you pregnant.”

“Sure, what's not to love with this belly?”

He chuckled. “You're damn sexy. What Dr. Preston advised against for precautionary reasons is right at the top of my list of things I want to do to you.”

“Ah, that. I adore that.” I felt the wetness pool.

“I love dragging your panties down your legs, spreading your thighs, nipping at those spots on the inside that make you squirm and let out little gasps.”

One escaped my lips now. “When you're between my legs—”

“When my
head
is between your legs,” he corrected.

“Yeah.” I sighed. “
Unbelievably
amazing.”

“You have the most enticing little pink parts,” he mused in his intimate bedroom voice. “I like to glide my fingertips over your soft, slick lips. Back and forth, lightly. Then sweep my tongue over the tight, moist folds. Tug gently with my mouth.”

My little gasp turned into a throaty moan.

“You like it when I do that to you, don't you, baby?”

“Yes,” I murmured as excitement rippled through me. “You are so good. At
everything
.”

“I get turned on just thinking about you. Whether you're naked or not.” His voice lowered. It made my nipples tingle. “But when my tongue is sliding along your pussy lips and then the tip is flicking slowly over your clit—”

“Lightly,” I whispered. “Like butterfly wings.”

“You enjoy the soft flutters at first. Then the firmer licks, the deeper suckling.”

The knot of nerves between my legs throbbed.

My eyelids drifted closed. “I can practically feel you. Warm breath, soft lips, talented tongue.” I writhed under the bedcovers as a thrill ribboned through me.

“I'd lift one leg over my shoulder, spreading you wide. While I continued to suck your clit, I'd slip two fingers into your pussy, pumping slowly. So slowly.”

I sighed.

“Tell me you're touching yourself,” Dane urged. “I can visualize it. I need to know. I need to hear.”

I slid my fingertips along the folds he'd spoken of, the part of my body I knew he currently envisioned.

“It's not the same,” I told him. “Nothing compares to you touching me.” I wanted it, craved it.

“Imagine it's me.”

“I am.” I slid two fingers into my tight canal, stroking long and leisurely, matching the tone of his voice.

“I love how you taste,” he told me. “And you get so wet for me.”

“You're not even here and I'm wet for you.”

“I want you to come, Ari. Think of me licking your pussy, my fingers plunging inside, pushing deep.”

I called on erotic memories and felt the orgasm build.

“Dane.” I put him on speakerphone and picked up the pace with my hand between my legs while the other one slipped beyond to the veed neck of the bodice of my nightgown. I squeezed my breast, pinched my nipple.

“You taste so damn good,” he murmured. “I miss that. And the way you smell, especially when you're wearing the frankincense I gave you.”

“Which you like to lick off every inch of me.”

“I would if I were there.”

I pictured his mouth on my body, his lips and tongue gliding over my flushed skin.

“God, I want you,” I told him.

“Just think of me there, baby, sinking into you, thrusting deep.”

Nothing felt as incredible as having Dane buried inside me, setting a quick, forceful rhythm that had my hips lifting and rolling to meet his exciting moves. I imagined him kissing me passionately, then staring into my eyes as he pushed us both to that ultimate pinnacle.

“Come for me, baby,” he said.

I could from his voice and words alone, had certainly done so in the past. But with my fingers pumping steadily, I was instantly there for him.

“Dane.” Exhilaration laced my tone. My breath hitched.

“You make the sexiest sounds when you're losing it for me.”

“I want you to come, too.”

“I'm thinking about those luscious lips of yours wrapped around my cock, teasing me at first with your tongue, then taking me deep, sucking me hard.”

“I like making you come that way.”

“You're so good at it. I love fucking your mouth.”

“Oh, God.” I squirmed on the bed as adrenaline rushed through me while I rubbed my clit, then plunged two fingers into my pussy again. All of the sensations converged. “Dane!” The climax took hold of me.

“That's it, sweetheart,” he said in a tight voice. “I'm thinking about you taking me deeper, sucking harder.” A few moments later, he let out a carnal growl. “Oh, goddamn, Ari.” His breathing was jagged, matching mine.

We both panted harshly for a while, lost in our release, even if we weren't in the same bed. While I longed for his heat and powerful body, just listening to his labored breaths made me smile.