Deeper (The Real Fling) (13 page)

The second they got to the bar, Val was encircled by his friends. His fingers entwined in hers were the reel keeping her from floating away. The music was so loud she couldn’t hear his conversation. Not that it mattered. She was lost in the tranquility of being with him.

“Hey.” Jackie floated over. Her eyes darted across the crowd, as if she were watching but trying not to be seen. “I’m sorry about leaving you. I thought you chose not to come with us.”

Adriana sipped her drink.

Jackie yelled into Adriana’s ear. “You fell? You all right?”

“Yup.”

“Where the hell’d you find him?” Her blue-gray eyes glanced at Val’s hand in Adriana’s.

“He found me.” Adriana sipped her drink. “Where’s Joe?”

Unshed tears lit up Jackie’s eyes, but she shrugged. “I fucked him and that’s that.”

“Oh.” Adriana gulped.

“We both got what we wanted.”

Adriana bobbed her head, left then right.

“All part of the game. Hunt and be hunted. Once you’re caught, or you catch what you want…game over. What do you think this is for him?” She jerked her chin at Val who had drifted to the other side of the bar. “Love?”

Adriana stiffened, afraid that if she didn’t freeze she’d wring Jackie’s neck.

“Aw, come on.” She cackled, then stopped abruptly.

Adriana scowled.

“Oh no. You can’t be that stupid. I bet you don’t even know who he is. He’s Valentin Barinov.”

“I know better than you who he is,” Adriana spat out.

Jackie was laughing so hard she looked like she was going to pee in her pants, or worse yet, vomit. “You don’t have a clue. He’s a behemoth. He created the game. The king of them all,
the Annihilator.
” She waved her hand over the crowd of guys. “On the slopes and off. One of the biggest playboys on the ski circuit. Don’t believe me? Pick up any tabloid or ski magazine and you’ll see. He’s all over them with the hottest model or starlet and he likes them tall,
blonde,
and gorgeous.”

“Fuck you, Jackie.”

“I’m sorry but someone had to tell you.” Jackie put her hand on Adriana’s shoulder. “If you wanna play, you’ve gotta know the rules. Oh, and by the way, I heard you emailed everyone. Stupid move. I told you I would help you.” Jackie gave her a sickening sweet, sympathetic look.

“But you didn’t.” Adriana tried to remain calm. “And I know you didn’t speak to them about me in the first place.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“No it’s not. Susan told me.”

Jackie blanched. “Did you tell her I told you?”

“No, but she’s not a moron. She’ll figure it out.”

Jackie laughed sickly. “You really fucked things up. You aren’t going to get good letters of recommendation. I’ll see if my recruiter can help but…” Jackie shook her head.

“I don’t want your help. I don’t want anything from you.” Adriana held her drink tightly, desperately trying to resist the urge to fling the contents in Jackie’s face.

“Whoo-ee, there’s a hottie. Listen, we’ll regroup on the plane. I’m gonna want deets. Gotta jet.” Jackie left, acting like she hadn’t even heard Adriana.

Blonde models? Maybe that’s why all Val’s friends were staring at her. With her mahogany hair, dark eyes, and way-less-than-skinny body, she wasn’t even close to being his type. What was she doing? Adriana downed her drink and put the empty on the bar. Her agitated stomach convulsed. Thank goodness she hadn’t had dinner or she would’ve tossed it all over the club.

From the other side of the bar, Val jerked his chin up at her.

She folded her arms around her waist.

He came to her. “Hey.” He lifted her chin. “What happened?”

“Nothing.” She tucked her head down.

“Come. Let’s go home.” He took her hand.

‡

“Let’s go into the hot
tub.” Val nuzzled her neck as they entered his home.

She broke free of him and climbed the stairs. Two more nights and one full day, she couldn’t do it.
Jackie’s right.
Look at him.
He definitely wasn’t lacking for female attention, none of his squad were.

Val snatched her hand and stopped her mid-step. “What happened? What did she say to you?”

Adriana shook her head without turning around.
I let my emotions get the better of me. Time to wind this down.

Now she knew why she’d never had a one-night stand before. She wasn’t built for them. She’d fallen for Val and there was nowhere to go with it. “I’ve gotta go. I’m not cut out for this.”

“For what? I don’t understand.” He followed her up the stairs. “What did I do?”

All the highs and lows of the week, the wins and losses, the pain both physical and emotional, seemed to mix together and settle in her throat, choking her with unshed tears.

“Adriana?” His bass voice rolled.

This was just for fun. It had been right from the beginning.
He lives here, does this all the time. It’s a resort for hell’s sake.
She wasn’t a fool, even if she wasn’t terribly experienced. The entire group were players, even the women, and Val was the king of them all.
The Annihilator.

Oh shit.
Her stomach turned as the images flooded back.
He warned me, pushed me away, made no promises. I jumped him, just like I pressured the people at work.
Hanging her head, she closed her eyes tightly, trying to wash it from her memory.

“Please, it’s all too much,” she choked out. Then she cleared her throat. “Don’t stress. You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s been great but I’ve just gotta go.” She tried to sound light but her words came out like a strangled, muffled cry. She packed up her things and zipped her bag.

“Stop. I must talk to you.” His voice was strained.

“About being the Annihilator? I know.” She had to close herself off now.

Val staggered back like he’d been struck. “Adriana, please.”

“It’s okay. This was what it was, a day and a half of decadence. Awesome sex and some laughs. Thanks for helping me and taking me in the way you did. It was a nice escape.” She turned toward him, still not catching his eye. “But we’ve gotta get back to reality.”

His eyes darkened, the pupils eclipsed the irises as he went rigid and stony.

“What’s the difference if I leave now or Sunday? I’m still leaving.” She ran past him and carried her bag downstairs.

He stood in the middle of the stairs. “Where?”

“Hmm?”

“Where are you going to go?” He searched her expression.

“I’ll stay in a hotel and take the shuttle back to Denver in the morning.” She ran halfway back up the stairs, kissed him chastely on the cheek, then returned to tug her boots on and carefully thread her jacket on.

Please don’t cry
, she begged herself.
Please, wait.
She opened the door and walked out into the darkness.

As the cold air hit her face, her tears burned lava-like paths down her cheeks. She did everything in her power to distract her thoughts, putting distance between her and Val. Billions of stars were twinkling on this moonless night. She’d be in town in less than ten minutes.

She should go back to the condo, could catch a cab, and get into bed. It was the easiest solution and the least expensive. The room was free. She and Jackie had left a key hidden by the bench outside in case either one lost theirs. Things would be better in the morning. They always were. But there was no way she could see Jackie.
No.

That awful bottomless feeling pitted her stomach and with it came a renewed wave of nausea and torrent of tears so violent it shook her whole body. She’d never see Val again. Never look into those sapphire blue eyes with the darker rims and those impossible lashes. Never nuzzle her cheek against his, hear his voice and that accent he didn’t acknowledge he had. She ached for his lips and that tongue. Her insides clenched as if on cue.

The things she let him do, would still let him do if he was here. Her nipples hardened as she imagined his mouth and fingers on them. The taste and scent of him. They’d be hard to forget. All of it would be. How could she? She’d never felt this intensity and familiarity with anyone. How was she going to breathe without him?

She zipped her jacket all the way up, retrieved her phone, and listened to her messages. Jackie left a message apologizing, must have been after happy hour. Her mom called wanting to know how she was and offering again to pay for her way home. Time to suck it up, catch a cab to the airport, and call her parents to pay for the ticket.

Her heart shattered more with each step she took away from him. Dropping her bag, she pocketed her phone and fished out a tissue from her jacket to mop her face. “You’ll be fine,” she whispered.

“But I won’t.” His voice was in her left ear. His right hand wrapped around her abdomen, bending her into him.

Adriana stiffened in his embrace, but made no move to walk away. “Please, Val.”

“Let me talk to you.” He got that stubborn tone in his voice.

She wobbled. “I’m emotional because of the job and Jackie situation. I’m all right, really I am.”

“I know you are. Please, Adriana, hear me out.” His voice was like rough velvet against her ear.

“You don’t owe me an explanation. We’re strangers, for God’s sake.”

He turned her in his arms and wiped her face. “You don’t believe that.” Agony flashed in the dark depths of his eyes.

“Then what?” Gazing into his eyes would be her undoing. They shared such an intense connection, or was it just his magnetism that she’d felt or worse her loneliness projecting? Whatever it was, her body didn’t have a reasonable cell in it to mount a defense against his touch, smell, look and,
oh God
, his taste. Not one soldier ready to go to battle for her salvation.

He inched her chin up and locked eyes with her. “We were never strangers.” He brushed the back of his hand on her cheek.

Adriana’s pulse leapt as she tried to swallow past the lump in her throat.

Val took her bags from her and clasped her hand. “We will just talk. If you want to go after, I’ll drive you anywhere. Back to your condo, a hotel, or into Denver. Please?”

She began walking back to the house, concentrating only on placing one foot in front of the other.

Inside, she slipped out of her coat, kicked off her boots, and flopped on the couch. Val opened a bottle of wine, poured two glasses, and handed her one.

“Are you hungry?” He seemed to be collecting his thoughts, trying to figure out how to begin.

Her stomach was so upset she couldn’t imagine ever eating again. She shook her head.

Pacing back and forth in front of the fire, he kept his head down. She sniffled as quietly as she could. Val put a box of tissues near her. Adriana took one and dabbed her nose and eyes.

“I am sorry,” he began, “I should have told you everything before, I just didn’t know how.”

Concentrating on a string on her leggings, she kept her eyes down.

“We’re not strangers.” He sat down on the ottoman before her and took her hands. “You know more about me than anyone.”

She glared at him.

His eyes widened. “I am serious. I have shared more with you in…”

“In what, a day? What have you shared?”

“Adriana.” His voice was low and gravelly.

“What do I know?” She was fighting her tears. “You can ski? Please. Legally blind people can see that.” She wiped her nose. “Kids want your autograph? Now that is more interesting. Just means I’m not up on my sports trivia.” She sat up in her seat. “And you like chocolate and sex and not in that order. Oh and one more thing…your friends are clueless as to why you’re with me.” She closed her eyes.

“What?” He tilted his head. “What friends?”

“All of them.” Adriana shook her head. “They look at me like I’m some kind of freak. If I wasn’t your type, then why? Why’d you…” Her throat closed as tears streamed down her face. She kept swiping them, but they wouldn’t stop. “It’s because I threw myself at you.” Adriana put the tissue over her mouth. Bile had risen up dangerously close to the back of her throat.
Please don’t throw up.
She downed the glass of water next to her. “You tried to stop me. I wouldn’t let you.”

“No, I didn’t want you to stop. Never want you to.” He sounded beaten. Head down, hands clasped, he leaned in with his elbows on his thighs. His voice softened. “It was more than I could ever imagine the first moment I set eyes on you.” He looked up at her through his lashes. “That instant things changed. Tell me you felt it. I cannot bear to think I am in this alone. It was like you shined a light inside of me.”

Adriana’s breath came in uneven gasps, as her tears fell straight out of her eyes into her lap.

Val folded her into his arms. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I promised.” He skimmed his face against hers. “Please. You don’t understand. My friends weren’t shocked by you because they think you aren’t my type. They saw me happy for the first time, and they were surprised. They wanted to see who did that.” He buried his face in her hair. “I have not been able to move, to breathe, for so long. Until you.”

Adriana rested into him. There was no fighting it. He smelled heavenly, and being in his arms, no matter what, was euphoric.