Feel the Heat: A Contemporary Romance Anthology (82 page)

* * *

A
fter nearly a full
day of taking down the genius that came out of Brad’s mouth, going on swim breaks where we had to wade in up to our necks because his hands kept finding unseemly areas, and sipping on cocktails, I’d had enough. Sand was everywhere it shouldn’t be, and for a woman, that could lead to medical issues. We made our way up to his room, deciding to have dinner in while looking out at the ocean. Only he would think that was quaint.

“C’mere,” he said softly as we entered the elevator. He pulled my body toward him and positioned me so my back was leaning against his front.

I breathed out a sigh as my sex tingled. The doors closed, locking us in. “This morning was another fantasy fulfilled, by the way,” he said as he untied my wrap from around my chest and retied it around my waist.

“Which part?” I asked in a sultry voice while I reached behind me and felt along his upper thighs. I ran my touch over his hard cock and then started to stroke.

“Coming on your face.” His voice dripped with raw desire. “I’ve always wanted to do that, but never had the balls to ask.”

“That would be a hard conversation to start, surely,” I said breathily as I dipped my hand into his waistband and captured his velvety-smooth shaft. “Excuse me, darling, but can you get on your knees? I have a new facial exfoliation method I think you’ll love.”

He chuckled as his hands roamed up my bare stomach and then settled on my breasts. “I should’ve tried that method.”

“Should’ve,” I murmured before pulling down the waistline of his swimsuit. “Care to start this fantasy conversation?”

“I was hoping you would.”

“Fuck me, Bradley.”

Without wasting any time, he reached under the backside of my wrap, moved aside the fabric covering my sex, and then prodded my opening with his tip. I moaned as he thrust forward, filling me.

“Hmmm.” I bent and held on to the metal railing while he rammed into me. Pleasure coursed through my body, compounded by the risqué location and the fact that any minute—

Bing.

“Shit,” he said, gripping low on my hips.

“Don’t stop,” I begged as the doors shimmied.

He pulled me back against him and adjusted my wrap, but he didn’t take himself out. Given our height differences, I was sure he looked more than a little awkward.

A man walked in, looking at the ground. He faced the buttons and clicked the “L.”

“This is going up,” Brad said in a hoarse voice.

“Oh.” The man glanced up at the arrow indicator as the doors started to close. “Oh.” He jabbed the open button. Before he exited, he glanced back in what looked like thankful embarrassment. That was when he must’ve realized something was amiss. He staggered as a flash of something I didn’t want to think about lit up his eyes.

Real live porn was definitely something. He had that right. A little awkward, yes.

But super hot.

“Hurry!” I said as the doors closed.

Brad shoved me, face-first, toward the wall and thrust harder, crashing into me. I braced before pushing back into him with each thrust, taking him to the hilt and moaning each time. He reached around me and flicked my clit as he worked.

A blast of pleasure stole my breath. I hung my head, my movements turning jerky, my body tensing.

Ding.

“
Don’t you dare stop!” I said through gritted teeth.

The slapping of our bodies became frantic. His finger worked faster. His cock felt so damn good.

“Oh!” I shouted, an explosion of magic rocking me. I shuddered and jerked as wave after explosive wave zipped through my body. He shook against me.

His body thunked as he fell back against the wall, pulling me with him. His cock was still inside me, softening now and still gloriously imposing despite it. I let my head fall back against him and turned my face to rest against his neck.

The doors to his floor shimmied closed and neither of us moved to stop them.

“Two down,” he said in a thick voice. “That should not have been better than when we’ve had a bed, but it was.”

“Yeah. Definitely hotter.”

“I’m clean, by the way. Since, you know…”

I did know. We hadn’t used protection. Which was a single girl’s no-no.

I seemed to be racking up a bunch of “oops” with this guy, and that last one could’ve been a real bad situation. “I’m not sexually active at present—you excluded, obviously—so if you’re lying… Well, I know where you work, and I know how to blog. Kind of. I’d figure it out to ruin you, at any rate.”

He chuckled. “Pregnancy?”

“Covered. I don’t leave that up to condoms.”

“You use birth control even though you’re not sexually active?”

“The birth control I use isn’t like condoms. You don’t just go on and off of it. It’s a decision to stop using it…”

“So green light for later? Because condoms suck, and I haven’t been without one since…” He thought about it for a moment as the elevator dinged. “Since I started making big money, I guess.”

“Because of the ol’ ‘trap him into loving me’ maneuver, huh? I hope you rely on more than just a condom, because women can be crazy.”

“I haven’t been dating, actually…”

An older woman entered the elevator with a younger one—they looked related. The younger one glanced back, caught sight of Brad, and then did a double take. Her gaze flicked to our hips.

Add another oops to the growing list.

Brad shuffled me around to hide the fact that we were technically still having sex. I bit my lip to hide a smile as best I could, but I still had to look away. The woman’s scoff wasn’t long in coming.

They got out at the lobby, and before more people could enter, Brad pulled himself out of me. He wasn’t the only thing exiting. The aftereffects of sex without protection used my inner thighs as its path toward the floor. He hadn’t gotten the bathing suit bottoms in place in time.

“This might be a bit…messy for you,” he said into my ear as a family entered the elevator.

“Just another gross thing to add to my day,” I said as I adjusted my wrap.

“I’ll make it up to you.”

“I don’t see how.”

“I don’t either, but it sounded better than, ‘Sucks to be a girl in these situations.’”

“It’s the thought that counts.”

“Touché,” he said with a chuckle.

I
came awake slowly
, wrapped in Brad’s strong arms.

Bradley Resslen.

I still couldn’t really believe it. The man was a legend. He was also incredibly sweet and funny, and I loved being with him. I loved being snuggled up to his warmth.

“Good morning,” he murmured as I wiped hair from my face. His lips pressed to my temple. “Did you sleep well?”

“Really well. This bed is comfortable.”

“Lying with you is comfortable. The bed needs a refresh.”

“Okay, Mr. Snooty.”

He laughed softly and kissed my head again. “I don’t want you to go back, Delilah. Stay here with me. I’ll be here another few days.”

“I have to go back to work. I can’t just take off at a moment’s notice. And before you say it, I’m not going to quit. At least not like that. And honestly…I also have to work off a little community service because of…an episode with the ex.”

His arm jerked around me. “Community service?”

“Yeah. He pressed charges. Not that I blame him, but…well, I’m thankful the judge was a woman.”

“What did you do that he pressed charges?” he asked. I couldn’t read his tone. It was a reminder that I didn’t know him all that well.

I shrugged and sat up, pulling out of his arms. “It doesn’t matter. Do you want to shower with me, or…”

“Yes.” Thankfully, he didn’t press.

When he entered the shower, I recognized the look of sadness and disappointment on his face. A weight settled on my chest.

He really did want me to stay. This guy, who could honestly have anyone, didn’t care that I was cracked—that I fell off stools and said crazy things and acted on impulse. He wanted to share paradise with me.

The weight was replaced with a budding softness as his hands moved over my skin, lathering me up with suds.

If someone had asked me on Friday what my chances were of meeting a handsome, intelligent, and awesome guy on my work vacation, I would’ve said negative three percent. Not a chance. Stuff like that didn’t happen to me.

Yet here I was, with Mr. Handsome.

I took a chance. “Is this the end? Is this only a Hawaii fling?”

His fingers slid along my jaw and applied pressure. I angled my face up to meet his sea-foam eyes. “No. This isn’t the end. We can call, text, Skype…”

“So we’re going to keep talking after today?”

“Well, I am,” he said with traces of humor. His eyes didn’t lose the seriousness. “I’ll leave messages all day long. You gave me a green light to be creepy, as I recall.”

I mock-grimaced. “Not
too
creepy, though, right? No skin suits or anything…”

“I haven’t forgotten Frank’s warning.”

I laughed and kissed him, savoring the taste of him. The feel.

We made love softly and slowly, both knowing this was only farewell—not goodbye. Before this weekend, the thought of pursuing something meaningful would’ve terrified me. It would’ve made me wonder if I’d just get dumped and then wig out again. I had left the Bay Area a little off kilter.

Truth be told, I had left a
lot
off kilter. My head had been a mess. Even on Friday, I’d been jaded and burned out.

Just two days later, I suddenly had a new spice for life. I had something to look forward to.

I also had business information to steal, because I would definitely be asking Bradley Resslen questions, that was for sure! He was a genius, and his belief in me had inspired a change. He had been right—I needed to own my ability and sell myself with confidence. The only thing stopping me was me.

I blew out a breath as we got out of the shower and I looked at the time. “I should start packing up. I need to leave the hotel in an hour or so.”

“I’ll take you. It’ll give you a little more time.”

I didn’t argue, nor did I point out that it would only save twenty minutes at the most. Any excuse to be with him was a good one.

We ate breakfast, laughing and chatting, as I’d come to expect with him. Then we took a cab to my resort while he called Clive to get the keys to the car—apparently they were all sharing.

“It better be a Rolls-Royce,” I said with mock severity.

He regarded me solemnly. “It’s a Ford…of some kind.” A smile quirked his lips. “Are you dumping me because of my car?”

A thrill arrested me. I tried to play it cool. “Oh my God, are you saying we’re…like…together a little?”

And totally failed.

He kissed me as the cab pulled up to the resort. “Yes. I like you. I want you to move closer to me. It’s only been a weekend, but it was the best weekend in memorable history. What we have, even after so short a time, is rare. I want to hold on to it.”

“There’s just one thing, though,” I said, letting him direct me toward my building. If it were up to me, I’d end up at the blasted outdoor check-in again.

“What’s that?” he asked, holding the building door open for me.

“You should know that my friends call me…Devastating. As in Devastating Delilah.”

“I can see why,” he said. I frowned as we rode the elevator. Until he followed it with, “You’ve devastated me for other women.”

Totally the right response.

After we made it into the room, I forced him into a quickie, because saying sweet things demanded sex, and then packed everything up. His rental car was just as normal as he’d claimed, and I was thankful for that fact. After all that time in the giant suite, it was nice to get back to my reality. The fact that he didn’t always need a super-exciting and highflying lifestyle made it that much sweeter.

“Delilah…” Brad said as we pulled up to the airport a half-hour later.

“Question—do I call you Brad or Bradley?” I blurted.

Confusion stole his expression for a moment before he shook his head and grinned. “You make my head spin. I love it.”

I wasn’t sure how. It was a pretty logical question…

“People who know me usually call me Bradley. But listen…” He let out a frustrated sigh and glanced beyond me at the airport sidewalk. When his gaze came back to me, it was imploring. “Are you sure you won’t come to Austin? It’d be easy to find you a job. And I have a huge house for you to stay in. You can have a whole wing to yourself. We can be roommates until you want to officially live with me.”

Something in me wanted to say yes.

Damn that community service!

“I can’t,” I said in a dour voice. “I have another fifty hours of litter-removal detail. And possibly weed pulling. The judge must’ve somehow known that I hate pulling weeds, which was why she slapped on the garden detail.”

His gaze rooted to mine. “Do you want me to visit?”

He was trying to get an honest answer. Why this man was insecure about me liking him, I had no idea. It was completely illogical.

“Yes,” I said without a twinge of discomfort. “Soon as you can.”

He kissed me in a rush. I fell into the feeling of being connected to someone in a way I hadn’t ever been. When we separated, we were both breathing heavily and my body was tingling.

“I’ll hold you to that,” he whispered. “Text me when you land. And then call me before you go to bed.”

“Okay. Goodbye—”

“Don’t say that word. I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay. Goodbye—” I winced. “Sorry. It’s a habit. Buu… I almost did it again! See ya, then. Bub.”

He smiled at me, kissed me one last time, and watched me exit the car.

I leaned back in. “Help me get my suitcase?”

“Oh shit. Right. Sorry!”

Finally, after a suitcase removal, a kiss that had my foot popping—on purpose—and a slow roll into the airport, I walked away from Bradley fucking Resslen. Holy crap. It had been some weekend.

I relived the memories in exquisite detail as I got my ticket, as I waited in a horrendous security line, and as I waited for the plane. Normally an annoyed traveler, today I felt serene. And sublime.

I dug into the front pocket of my suitcase before boarding, looking for my e-reader. My hand nudged a little box.

Frowning, I took it out. And then a smile curled my lips.

Shaking slightly, I opened the black velvet box with the insignia of the pearl store and beheld the necklace I had picked out. A note fluttered to the ground. I bent to retrieve it, then read: “Thank you for a truly remarkable time. I look forward to marrying you on the spot where we first met. – Bradley”

My face flamed and my stomach somersaulted. My foot started tapping, and this time I just let it happen. I did a little jig and threw my hand up for a high five. The guy waiting in line behind me was a good sport and slapped my palm.

“He’s the best, seriously,” I told the man. “Delusional, because talking about marriage after two days is a little nuts, but he’s seriously the freaking best.”

“Not delusional,” the man said. “Sometimes you just know.”

I smiled and clutched the little velvet box.

The man was right. Sometimes you did just know.