Recipe for Satisfacton (13 page)

She gasped. He didn’t blame her for being scared.

“I won’t let that happen, Sterling. I stay far away from those vultures whenever possible.”

She placed her hand on his chest in comfort and gave him a half smile.

“You know that saying, ‘no such thing as bad press’?”

She nodded.

“That’s a crock of shit.” His jaw clenched as he looked over his shoulder to the scene. “Let’s go lose ourselves on the beach. I don’t want to go to bed yet.”

He hugged her into his body as they walked over the boardwalk. Jack took a look behind him to make sure they weren’t spotted before they stepped down onto the sand.

“Hmm…” She hummed lightly and snaked her arm through his. The sound reached right down to his balls and hugged them tightly. “That’s exactly what I feel like doing.”

She stared up at him with a devilish grin.

“Tired?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No.”

Flames of desire danced in her eyes.

“Let’s take a walk.” They didn’t necessarily need a hotel room to do the wicked things he had on his mind.

They walked toward the shoreline and removed their shoes. The moonlight glistened across the water and reflected in her eyes.

Her hand found his chest again as she leaned into him and caught his gaze.

He sighed. “I hate them.” He pulled her tighter to his body, his hand grabbing at her hip for strength. “The night my mother died, they manipulated an innocent meeting into a sex scandal. They made me look like an insensitive asshole who didn’t give a shit.”

“Anyone who knows you would know that’s not the truth.” She nestled her head on his arm.

“Most people don’t know me.” There were very few people in this world who knew the truth about that night. And for some reason Jack trusted Sterling with the truth.

She pulled them to a stop and leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He knew he didn’t have to say anything else. She understood this whole deal to spend time together was all about her becoming someone else. She knew all about being slapped with the wrong label.

“Thank you, Jack.”

If anyone was giving thanks, it should be him. “You don’t have to thank me. I wanted to do this.”

“I don’t mean about tonight.” She stopped. The cool waves lapped at their feet. “Well, yes, thank you for tonight. I’ve never been to Florida. What I meant was thank you for all of it. For trusting me. For cajoling me to live.”

He had lived. That was the one thing money did buy. A life.

“I’ve never had so much fun in my entire life than I have the last two weeks with you.”

He wondered why a woman as beautiful and successful as Sterling held back. “Why is that?”

She scrunched up her face and bit her bottom lip. For a minute he didn’t think she was going to reveal anything about her life. She had no obligation to do such a thing. But then she straightened and said, “My parents moved us around a lot. I have two siblings who are much younger. I always had to work to contribute to the household. I never had the opportunity to make lasting friendships. After a while, I just gave up.”

They continued to amble hand in hand, their arms swinging between their bodies.

“One day my parents said they were moving. I was eighteen and I decided I’d had enough. I moved out on my own. Went to college. That’s where I met Penn.”

So she was a responsible teenager. “What about Adult Sterling?”

“Things just kept cropping up that prevented me from being able to let loose and enjoy life. Then I met Tom.” She looked up at him. She didn’t need to explain Tom or who he was. He was obviously the one she was running away from. “He seemed to like boring, old Sterling.”

“And where is this Tom now?” Far, far away? He could only hope.

“My
ex
-fiancé is long gone and I guess I never bothered to try anything or anyone new. I haven’t dated since.”

“Until you met me and I made you unleash Exciting Sterling.”

She laughed. “I’m going to say it was the dress that started it all. You were just a nice addition.”

He sighed. “My thunder stolen by a dress.”

If he were honest, it was her sexy clothes that caught his attention at first. What man wouldn’t take a second, third—okay, fourth—look at a woman with legs that went on for miles and breasts that peeked ever-so-lusciously out of a bodice

“Speaking of dresses.” He slid his hand up her thigh and under her dress, cupping her perfect, round bare bottom. “I’ve been trying to picture what you’ve got underneath this dress you’re wearing. Every time you’d twirl I’d get a glimpse of something lacy.”

The blare of a car horn from the busy street interrupted their moment, reminding him that they were still a little too public for what he wanted to do. Groups of people congregated on the beach even though the sun was scheduled to rise in a few short hours.

Jack tightened his grip on her hand and they continued along the shore.

“So tell me, what are your plans after you finish with organizing my mother’s things?” He was going to miss her—he liked having the company.

“Well, I have work lined up for a few months, which is great. The word-of-mouth referrals I’m getting are really boosting my business.”

She had her shit together. He used to have his shit together, but he’d been hiding from his life for the last two months. The more time he spent with Sterling, the more he wanted to be that man again. But the thought of being that man lacked its usual appeal without Sterling by his side.

“I admire you, Sterling.”

“
You
admire
me
?” She said the words in a laughing tone. As if they were funny.

“You know exactly who you are, where you’re going. You’re even comfortable enough with yourself to break out of your shell and try new things. I admire that.”

He caught her shaking her head out of the corner of his eye.

“You’re the one to be admired, Jack. You have the entire world at your fingertips. No responsibilities, nothing tying you down. You can do anything you want. And you did. You went against what your family expected of you and carved your own path. You have the one luxury in the entire world that I don’t…possibility.”

“Don’t you see you’re just as admirable?” How could she not? “Success isn’t only measured by how much money you make or how many homes you own.” This woman had so much to offer. Why didn’t she understand she could do anything she set her mind to? What was holding her back?

“Can I ask you something at the risk of overstepping my bounds and completely alienating you?”

Her nervousness showed in the way she nibbled on her bottom lip.

“Ask away.” He’d never had another person to talk to, not like this.

“Have you ever thought of having a charity auction? Something to auction off your mother’s clothes and accessories? Considering her prominence in Toronto, people would go nuts.”

“Really? What do people want with old clothes?”

“Vintage. Not old.” She smiled. “All of the profits could be donated to the Cooking for the Future program.”

That was an interesting idea. Maybe there was a way to tie in his undeveloped idea to expand the program with a charity auction. The bigger, the better.

“Actually, that’s not a bad idea. I had this plan…a long time ago. A way to expand the Cooking for the Future program. And a charity auction might be a great way to raise funds.”

He had connections in the city to help host the auction. And Penn was a master marketer and event planner. He had no doubt he could pull it off. “Initially I wanted to use funds from my restaurants, but this could be better, maybe, a way to create a foundation of sorts.”

His brain spun with the possibility. Maybe Sterling was right—he did have possibilities right at his fingertips. And this might be just the thing he needed to assuage his guilt. He wasn’t there for his mother at the time of her death, but he could be here for her now.

“Has anyone ever told you you’re pretty hot when you’re plotting to take over the world?”

“Not today.” He swooped down and kissed her. As usual, she went pliant in his arms.

When he pulled away, she whispered, “the Vivian Madewood Foundation.”

“Hmm?”

“You can call it the Vivian Madewood Foundation.”

He liked the sound of that. It was the perfect way to honor the woman who had given him so much. The woman who deserved so much more than what he’d given back. Even more, he liked the sound of his potential charity rolling off Sterling’s tongue. He liked everything about the fact that Sterling was here for this moment. He wanted her involved. He wanted her to help him put his plan into action. Plus this was an excellent excuse to spend more time with her before he left.

“Will you help me?”

She looked to the wet sand under their feet. “Oh, I…I’m really busy.”

“Right. Sorry. You’re already doing so much to help us.”
That’s right, jackass.

Essentially he was paying her to spend time with him…and spend his money. On her end, it was a win-win deal. He scolded himself. He hated that he thought those things about her, but if history had taught him anything, he’d give her the world, and when she finally got what she wanted she’d take off, leaving him in the dust. The fact that he knew this beforehand should be a benefit, but it would still hurt.

“Well…” She hesitated. “I guess I could help you get organized.”

He caught her stare, her eyes twinkling. “You would do that?” His chest ached. She believed in him. And here he was practically calling her a gold digger. He couldn’t control the future but he could control the time they spent together, and he wouldn’t waste it sulking.

“It’s what I do best.” Sterling brushed his hair away from his forehead. She caressed his temple, letting her fingers glide over his cheek to his lips. She outlined his lips with the tip of her finger. With her free hand, she touched her own mouth. Her eyes sparkled from the reflection of the moon on the water. She was more beautiful than the setting sun.

“Jack?” She leaned forward, and raised up on her toes to touch her lips to his. It was the perfect distraction from what her hands were doing. Namely rubbing him through his pants.

A low growl sounded in his throat. He wanted to be the one to see the look on her face when she found something she loved. That’s what the salsa dancing had been about, the nude beach, the different foods. And now…

“Have you ever made love under the light of the moon, Sterling?” He brushed his lips along her neck. She smelled of coconut and female, a light, musky scent he had come to adore.

Instead of responding, she whimpered.

“Fuck me, Sterling. Out here. Under the stars. I need you.”

“Yes.” She gripped his shoulders, mumbling against his neck. “I want that, too.”

Satisfaction rumbled inside him. “Hold these.” He held out his sandals, which she took with her free hand, then picked her up and carried her to the boardwalk.

Setting her down, he took off his shirt and spread it on the sand, laying her on top of it, careful to hide their bodies from view. Although Sterling had agreed to sex on a public beach, he would be damned if anyone were to stumble upon their intimate encounter and tarnish their connection. He threw their shoes aside and covered her body with his.

Capturing her lips, he kissed her deeply, sensually. A kiss that touched the very depths of his soul. He opened his eyes and studied her. Every time they were together, her expression became lighter yet more intense at the same time.

She tugged him closer, grinding her pelvis into his stomach where he had nestled in between her legs. He lifted one leg, holding her thigh tight, now bare from her dress riding up her body. His lips explored the depths of her luscious mouth.

She moaned.

“Do you like my lips on you, Sterling?”

She became more animated with every encounter. More confident. More in tune with her wants and needs. And for someone who used to pride himself on the number of women he could have fall at his feet at any given moment, giving in to the desires of another person was a revelation.

“Where do you want my mouth, Sterling?” He would push her tonight, and every other time they were together he would push her even further. He knew what she craved, but he wouldn’t give it to her so easily.

He rubbed his lips across her neck and met her gaze. She moaned, a sensuous rumble from her throat.

“How about you tell me when I’m getting warm?”

She smiled. “Your lips are cold. Very, very cold.”

He moved down, kissing the hollow of her throat, then across her collarbone.

“Warmer.”

He moved farther down, biting at her nipples through the fabric of her dress. If they had more room, if they weren’t so exposed, she’d already be naked and begging.

“A little warmer.”

He rose up on his knees and planted his hands on either side of her body. The sand was cool under his hands. He prowled down, kissing her ribs and abdomen, finding her hip bones. She lifted her pelvis in invitation but she wouldn’t win so quickly.

“You’re very warm.”

He kissed the inside of her right thigh, inching up the hem of her dress to expose the undergarments he’d longed to see since she twisted on that dance floor. He could see her creamy skin through the lace of her black thong, but he held off. He kissed farther down her leg to her knee.

“Cold,” she whined, and lifted her head off the sand to watch his movements.

“I’m sorry. I got distracted by that sexy thong you’re wearing.” He kissed his way toward her sex.

“Mmm…” She laid back and reached her arms above her head. He loved the way she luxuriated at his touch. Although she had been very attentive to his needs, she didn’t shy away from accepting pleasure, either. When it was her turn, she lapped up every minute of his attention.

He brushed the back of his finger along the fabric of her thong and pushed one leg, opening her up to his mercy. Pulling away the lace, he exposed her luscious pink sex and blew across her folds. She bucked, her pelvis jerking up, hitting his chin.

“You’re burning hot.” She moaned. “Actually, you’re scorching.”

He licked a line up her sex and she shivered, her body tensing and shuddering.