Promises After Dark (After Dark #3) (14 page)

“Fuck,” he muttered.

“Okay,” Angel answered, a smile curving her luscious mouth. “If you insist.” Her hand went for the sizable bulge in the front of his boxers. His slacks were undone and hanging open from their play in the hallway, so she had easy access.

Alex’s head fell forward as pleasure rippled through him. Instinct told him to lift her, rip away her panties, and give them both what they needed, but it might be a week before he saw her again, and he didn’t want to rush. Reluctantly, his hands closed around her wrists, halting their movement as he kissed her mouth with unabashed hunger.

“Babe.” Alex drew in a calming breath and put space between their bodies. Angel’s head fell back, and she looked up into his face. He could see the love and the longing in her eyes. The candlelight cast a golden glow across her skin and turned the lace to a soft peach. “I’ll be back. I promise. This will be the fastest packing job in the history of time.”

Angel sighed when Alex disappeared through the door of the bathroom and removed her bra and thong. She stood, totally nude and grabbed some bobby pins to put her hair in a massive mess of rumpled curls atop her head, her full breasts lifting. She was disappointed he was able to leave her when she wanted him so much, but he had business to attend to, and if anything, Angel would be the last one to interfere with his work.

The mirror gave Alex a good view from the front, and he could clearly appreciate the womanly curves of her hips and ass, the gentle lines of her waist and back. She was like a porcelain statue but alive, and the candle cast a golden glow to her smooth skin.

“You’re so beautiful.”

Angel’s eyes widened as they met Alex’s burning gaze in the mirror. He was peaking around the doorframe, watching her, his look like a physical caress that burned her skin.

“No fair. Go.”

His eyes wandered slowly over her breasts in the mirror taking in their firm, round shape, the nipples—erect and telling, then over the fine curve of her back and gentle slope of her butt and supple thighs. “I can’t help it. I could look at you forever.”

Angel’s eyes softened, and she wanted to go to him. “If you want to pack, you need to do it, Alex.” Her voice was soft, not trying to be seductive, but it was, nevertheless. “I want those hands on me.”

His lips lifted in a soft smile, but he left without another word.

*****

While Angel was in the bath, Alex meticulously packed five of his designer suits, five crisp dress shirts, matching ties, pocket squares, along with two pair of Italian leather dress shoes, his leather dopp kit, socks, boxers, Nikes, shorts, and T-shirts in two pieces of the Louis Vuitton luggage set Allison had given him after graduation from graduate school. He wished he didn’t need to use it quite so much.

There were two messages on his cell phone: one from Mrs. Dane, and one from Sid Walters. Alex sat down on the edge of his bed and listened to both of them.

Hello, Mr. Avery. I have looked into flights. Most of them don’t leave until Monday evening and, due to time change and date lines, won’t get you to Sydney until Wednesday morning. It’s quite cost-prohibitive, as well. I almost fell over at the price. It’s almost $13,000 for round trip, business class. I was positive that wouldn’t be acceptable to you, so I’ve taken the liberty to arrange the company jet. It will cost less overall, and you’ll have it at your disposal. The pilots will be ready to leave at 7 AM and I will have a car pick you up at six. Have a good trip, sir.

Leave it to Mrs. Dane. Alex could always count on her efficiency and sharp decision-making ability. The money was relative when working on a deal this size, however, he felt easier having the plane on call. The next message was from Sid, another of the men hired to protect Angel, and who helped intercede the night of Angel’s flat tire. His voice was devoid of emotion, and his message was long.

No news, Mr. Avery. We haven’t found anything, and the car holds little clues, but has been impounded by Chicago PD, and their forensics team is working on it. Other than residue from the gasoline used to torch it, the chemists haven’t found anything. Most likely, that will be a dead end, too. Wayne and I believe they’ve killed Mr. Bancroft, despite no blood evidence at the scene. We’ve been partners for 30 years, and we’ve worked on similar cases. If we don’t find a missing person in forty-eight hours, it’s probably a homicide. It doesn’t bode well that neither his family or Avery Enterprises has been contacted for a ransom, which means it’s probably not a kidnapping. I don’t hold out much hope we’ll find him alive. Cole will be on duty with one of the others to watch Dr. Hemming, and we, as well as the police, have been in touch with Jason’s wife. Cole advised us you are going out of town. Rest assured, at least two of us will be with Dr. Hemming around the clock.

Alex sighed heavily as he set the alarm on his phone and laid it on the dark mahogany nightstand next to his bed. He shook his head and ran his hand wearily through his dark hair. Dread and acceptance slowly crept over him, making the hair on his arms, legs, and the back of his neck stand up eerily. His mind went to work devising a way to get Angel to lay low. She wouldn’t go with him, but maybe there was another way.

Angel padded out of the bathroom wrapped in an oversized white towel. It was plush and soft and a contrast against her skin, now flushed pink by the hot bath. Her hair was still up, but wet tendrils clung to the sides of her face and back of her neck.

The room was cast in low light, lit only by the lamp sitting next to the bed and another by the chaise in the corner where his two suitcases sat, but Alex could see it reflecting off water droplets still clinging to her bare arms and shoulders. His heart was gripped with fear after Sid’s call, but he quickly masked his trepidation so as not to upset Angel and ruin this night with her. She came to stand in front of him, and his hands reached out, running down both of her arms.

“I was waiting in there, but I had to get out. I’m all prune-y.” One of her hands rose, and she pushed her fingers into Alex’s hair, sending shivers through him. He closed his eyes.

“Mmmm. I’m sorry. I had some work. That feels great.”

“I figured,” she answered softly, still threading her fingers through his short, but thick, hair over and over again. “It’s okay. I know you’re tired. How early is your plane?”

“Mrs. Dane arranged for me to me leave at 7 AM, but I have something to do at the office first. I’ll call the pilot in the morning and back him up a few hours.”

Alex’s hands wrapped around both of Angel’s hips, he pulled her closer—in between his knees, and the scent of the perfume that laced the bath water assaulted his senses. He longed to touch her bare skin, though his fingers massaged her lower back through the damp towel.

“Private plane, hmm?”

“Apparently, Mrs. Dane didn’t like the rates of commercial flights. It was really nuts.”

“More than the company jet?”

“Maybe not, but close. This way is better anyway. I can get back much more quickly if I have to.”

“I’m not sure how.” Angel leaned down and kissed the side of his mouth. Alex’s hands slid up her back, bringing her breasts closer as his hands pulled the towel free and let it drop. She gasped softly when he bent to take a nipple into his mouth. “It’s a fifteen hour flight.”

“Mmmm,” he answered, but his tongue and lips played with her nipple with a series of flicks, sucking, and soft nips with his teeth. Angel moaned, and it only excited him more. His cock swelled and thickened, the head now visible above the low waistline of his boxer briefs; his slacks still open from their play in the hallway, and had removed his shoes and socks. He dragged his mouth up her chest to kiss and suckle at the base of her neck. “Counting the hours already? I know you’ve never been to Australia, so…” Alex teased, his voice filled with sex.

Angel’s arms tightened around Alex’s shoulders, and she kissed wherever she could reach: his shoulder, the side of his face, and finally, his mouth. Alex sat up straighter, sucking in his breath at the same time his hands come up to hold both sides of Angel’s head so his mouth could latch on to hers.

The kiss became wild and intense as Alex angled her mouth so his tongue could plunder deep inside the recesses of hers. She tasted amazing, and he was hungry. Desire pounded between them like a pulse; his actions commanded the same intense response from Angel. Her body quickened and opened, heat pooling, in anticipation of the delicious pleasure to come. It was like liquid fire between them, as if they were connected by it, flowing and ardent.

Angel climbed onto Alex’s lap, her knees finding purchase on the bed’s edge on either side of his legs. She pushed him back to fall upon the bed and followed him down, never breaking the kiss. His hands roamed her naked body, and she ground her hips into his, moaning as his full erection rubbed against her sensitive and fevered flesh.

Alex took control, rolling over, and soon, Angel was the one on her back with Alex between her thighs. It was more than clear they were feeling carnal, but Alex had a point to prove. He rose up on his knees and caged Angel in with his arms, pulling his mouth from hers. Her breath was coming in shallow pants, and it pained him what he was about to do. He looked down at her while her hips rose toward his, now obviously distanced, and her fingers pulled at his back and shoulders until finally, sensing his resistance, Angel opened her eyes.

Alex stared into her eyes. “Today at the gym, you were good. Strong.”

Angel sighed, her brow knitting, perplexed that he would stop their lovemaking to discuss the time at the gym. “But you let me win?”

He shrugged a little. “Let’s just say, I wasn’t as strong as I could have been. You did great, though. Swanson is no match for me, so you’d probably be okay, if you were on your feet. But this is the position you need to get out of.” She frowned harder, anger welling inside her chest. “So get out of it, Angel,” he said evenly.

“You’re ruining this to fight with me?”

“I don’t want to fight, and I want to pick up where we left off in a minute. I just have to know you can take care of yourself in the most vulnerable of positions.”

“Way to douse a fire, Alex. You’re such a dick.” She pulled back both arms and shoved him hard in the shoulders. It jolted him, but he was quick to come right back. She hit him again harder, her eyes beginning to burn. She felt the force of her blow ricochet through her wrists and down her arms, and still Alex was unmoved. Why in the fuck was he ruining their night? It started out so spectacular.

“See how vulnerable you are?” His hips settled back into the cradle of her hips. “Now it’s worse.” His hands grabbed her wrists and hoisted them above her head. “Now you are helpless. Remember how that asshole had you face down before? You couldn’t defend yourself like that, but it can happen this way, too.”

Angel turned her face away from him and went limp, tears falling softly from her eyes. He made her painfully aware she couldn’t defend herself like this. She was pissed at him for pointing that out, and for reminding her of Swanson, when all she wanted was to make love to him all night. She wasn’t sobbing, she was too strong to do that, but she felt like her heart was breaking. “You asshole,” she cried harshly.

“Honey,” Alex began, remorse filling him. “I’m leaving and I just have to know you can fight in all positions.”

Angel was still reluctant to turn her face to his.

“Look at me,” he commanded. He rose up on his knees again, releasing her hands. “Now—” he began, but as soon as she had space to move, Angel’s feet took purchase against his hips, and she pushed with all her might, able to straighten her legs and hoist him completely off of her body. Part of her wanted to punch him in his face, but instead, she twisted and pushed again until she was completely free of his body weight as he stumbled away from the bed.

“Satisfied?” she yelled, scrambling naked off the bed and storming into the bathroom, shutting the door with a resounding slam.

Angel had removed him with enough force to almost knock him on his ass. Good thing he recovered or he would have crashed ass first into the big dresser on the opposite wall. Maybe his methods weren’t the best, but the result was what he wanted. Now, they could both be certain Angel had the skills to displace Mark Swanson if he got her on her back. He sighed as relief washed through him. He could go to Sydney with a little less anxiety with that knowledge.

It didn’t solve the immediate problem of her anger, however. As soon as he straightened, he went to the closed door of the en suite bathroom and leaned against the frame. “Angel.”

When she didn’t answer, he continued, “Babe, I’m sorry. I just needed to be sure you could protect yourself. How you fought at the gym was impressive, but I needed to know you could defend yourself if taken by surprise. I only did it because I love you.” She still didn’t answer, and he waited a full thirty seconds before he added, “I love you. I can barely leave as it is.”

The door opened abruptly, and Angel, now wrapped in a new towel, glared up at him with red, swollen eyes. She was scared. More scared than she wanted Alex to know, and she’d just wanted to get lost in Alex’s arms. One more perfect night left together because a week apart would feel like a year.

He reached out and pushed her hair back gently then brushed the knuckles of that same hand against her cheek, not moving out of her way.

Angel’s eyes fell and she nodded. “You should go to sleep. It’s a long day tomorrow.”

His arms slid around her, and he tugged her gently into the room. Angel was forced to put her arms on his to steady her balance. “I wouldn’t be sleeping right now if we hadn’t stopped. We’d be making love all night. That doesn’t have to change.” He bent his head and brushed his mouth against hers. “Kiss me.”

“You’ll be so tired,” she said softly, still a little resistant and hurt, but didn’t pull her mouth away or stop him when he opened her robe.

“I have fifteen hours to sleep on the plane, if I want to. Kiss me,” Alex insisted in a guttural whisper.

He pulled her tight against his body, his mouth returned for another kiss, this time more demanding, and it wasn’t long until they were both breathless. Alex’s warm hands roamed Angel’s curves before turning her and laying her down on the bed.