Risky Business: (Taboo Romance Series) (Forbidden Fruit Book 3) (11 page)

Chapter 20

Caden

"Hey, I was just teasing you about the panties." I couldn't help but stand back and let my eyes move across her. She looked like every wet dream I'd had in the last ten years. The navy dress she wore flared at the bottom, giving it a southern belle look and yet she was all business. "Wow. Damn."

"You like it?" She turned around slowly, giving me the time to move closer, but not too close.

"I love it." I forced my eyes back up as she finished her parading around in front of me. I was working to catch my breath as I studied her closely. A million promises flooded my mouth, but stayed trapped behind my teeth. I couldn't offer her the world yet, but I wanted to. I wanted to offer anything that would bring her back to me, back to where she belonged.

"Good. I wasn't too sure about this bottom part." She bent over and ran her hands over it. She was starting to soften ever so slowly. I could see parts of the girl I knew springing up around the ice-cold woman who'd walked back into my life a few weeks back.

"It's perfect. I think you'll woo the Parkmounts with not only your brilliance, but your beauty too." I turned and picked up my wallet and the room key. "I rented a car and had it delivered. Hope you like it."

"Like the car?" She gave me a quirky smile and walked to the door.

"Yeah. You'll see." I chuckled under my breath, unable to help myself. I wanted to remind her of everything I could over the next few days without drowning her too badly. She needed to know that I wasn't at all the stiff prick I had to play in the office. I was still me, and I had a strong feeling that she was still very much her.

"I'm a little worried about this." She ran her hand down her hair and turned as I walked to catch up to her.

I offered her my arm and lifted my eyebrow. "Your hair? It looks good."

"No, about this car you rented us. It's not a convertible is it?"

"What? No." I held the elevator door open and smiled as she walked back. "And if it is?"

"Then you ride in it, and I'll call a cab. You know how bad my hair looks when the wind catches ahold of it." She pressed her hands behind her back, which only seemed to accentuate the fullness of her breasts. My body reacted quickly to the thought of stripping her from her pretty dress and hitting the emergency button on the elevator panel.

"I like it when you look like a cave woman." I shrugged and laughed as she yelped and popped me. Melting. She was melting.

"A cave woman? No you didn't." She moved to the front of the elevator and stood by the door.

I reached out and grabbed her wrist, turning her and forcing her flush against me.

"Why are you with Luke, Olivia? Tell me one good reason why you belong to him and I'll stop." I brushed my nose by hers and breathed in deeply as she stiffened in my arms.

"He makes sense in my life, and he won't ever hurt me." She locked gazes with me. "I won't let him."

"Because you'll never love him?" I reached up and brushed my fingers down her hair before leaning in for a kiss.

She pushed at my chest and denied me, which only made me want it all the more.

"Right. Sadly enough, I think he prefers it that way." She shrugged and gave me a noncommittal look before turning and walking out of the elevator.

I watched her go as I moved in behind her and took a slow breath. I needed to be careful and not force her into anything. I wanted to, but I needed her to come to me in the same demanding need that I planned to come to her.

No. She belongs to Luke. But does she? Or does she still belong to me?

"There." I pointed to the snakeskin-green viper in the corner. "Look familiar?"

"Holy shit." She glanced over at me before walking quickly to the car and running her fingers along the hood. "I love this thing. I've always wanted one of these."

"Well, tonight we get to pretend like it's ours." I laughed and held up the key. "You wanna drive?"

"No. You drive. I just want to sit in it."

I shook my head and walked to the driver's side. "Why don't you just buy yourself one? I know your salary would more than cover it."

"I can't." She glanced at me over the hood of the car. "It's too extravagant, and how ridiculous would I look driving around in a snakeskin-green viper?"

"You'd look fucking hot. Like you do now." I opened the car and got in before buckling up and looking over at her as she got in beside me. "Let's go have dinner with these rich old people and then take this thing out on the back roads and see what it can do."

"Really?" She buckled up and brushed her hands over the plush leather seats.

"Absolutely." I gripped the wheel tightly to keep from taking her hand. My heart was racing in my chest having her excited about something as silly as a car. I prayed she wouldn’t pay me too much attention as my cock was raging hard and more than obvious in my slacks. I couldn't help it. She woke me up, brought me back to life.

"Fuck yes," she whispered and breathed in deeply. "I want it. I want one so bad."

"Then we're getting you one when we get back home."

"This is home." She brushed her hair off her shoulder and smiled. "Right? It always will be for me."

"Me too." I nodded and pulled out of the hotel driveway. "Me too."

*

"That was fantastic." I held her door open after the dinner was over, and the Parkmounts had picked up another million dollars in foreign investments from us. "You were brilliant."

"That was fun." She extended her hand. "Give me the keys. I wanna drive this thing."

"Yeah you do." I pulled them from my pocket and handed them to her.

She walked around to the other side of the car and got in as I dropped down into my seat and buckled up.

"How fast does it go?" She buckled up and gripped the steering wheel before adjusting the seat and her mirrors. The movement caused her dress to ride up on her thighs, and I couldn't seem to take my eyes off of her.

"Really fast. Just play it safe until we get out of the city." I turned on the air conditioner as it suddenly felt so damn hot. "I gotta get this jacket off."

"Let me help you. Turn toward the window." She reached over and helped me pull my suit jacket off, gripping it tightly and tugging hard. I stifled a groan and took the jacket from her.

"Thanks. I'll hold it." I dropped it across my lap, happy to have something cover up my latest erection.

"Just throw it in the back." She grabbed it and tossed it in the back. "See? Much-"

"Yeah. I needed the jacket." I shook my head and rested my hands over my lap.

"Oh shit. I'm sorry." She turned and started to fumble with trying to get the jacket.

"Olivia. It's good." I pulled at her and leaned in as she moved back a little, but stayed close to the center console. "I'm turned on. It's fine. It's not the first time, and it won't be the last."

"Because of the deal?" I loved how airy her words were. She liked the idea of me being turned on.

"No." I touched the side of her face and licked my lips. "Because of you."

"Behave." She moved back and gripped the steering wheel. "You ready for this?"

"Wait until we're... fuck." I gripped the side of the seat as she hit the gas and jerked the car out of the parking lot and onto a side street. My concern was coming in my pants, not dying. She was so blistering hot as she sat beside me, determination on her pretty face. The dainty dress she wore opened at the top just enough to show me the tops of her breasts, and fuck if I didn't want to crawl over into her seat and press my lips to them. To her. All of her.

"I love it." She glanced over at me with elation on her face.

"It loves you from what I can tell." I chuckled. "So are you going to go with me to see Jake while we're here?"

"When are we going?" She turned down a long dark road and pointed to the front of the car. "We just go down here a mile and turn left, right?"

"Yeah, exactly." I turned on the radio and reached across her to roll down the windows.

"Caden. I can't see." She swatted at me as I moved back.

"We're going to see Jake tomorrow most likely." I sat back in my seat and pulled out my phone. I needed to know Annie's answer. If Luke was cheating on my girl, she had to know. I knew it would break up their relationship, and I was a dick for doing it for personal gain, but I had to know.

I texted her quickly just asking her to answer the question I asked in my office the other day. Had she slept with Luke?

She texted right back that she had. I couldn't help but ask when the last time was.

Her answer sent a shock wave through me. Not only did Luke have Olivia, but I knew without a doubt that Annie had a boyfriend.

Tonight. Don't judge.

"Did you hear me?" Olivia glanced over at me and smiled. "I'll go to see Jake, but no blonde jokes. Tell him."

I forced a smile. "Right. No blonde jokes."

She pressed the gas and the car shot off down the road. "Hold on, baby. It's about to get bumpy."

"Yeah... maybe it is." I leaned back in my chair and worked through how to tell her without ruining the evening. We both needed it too much and yet without telling her about Luke, the night would end with an awkward parting instead of me making love to her until she begged me to stop.

Who was the bigger bastard? My brother? Or me?

Chapter 21

Olivia

"I love this lookout." I parked the car and looked over at him, trying hard not to let him know how close I was to breaking all the rules. "You wanna go lay on the hood?"

He laughed and opened his door. "It's going to be a tight squeeze, but we can do it."

I got out of the car and walked to the front before leaning against the car and working on my shoes. The straps were tight, and I almost lost my balance.

Caden reached out and grabbed me before kneeling in front of me and working the shoes off my feet.

"Thanks." I moved up on the car and laid back. "Are we really in our mid-twenties? This scene feels like it belongs to us from years back."

He smiled and got up on the car beside me, but didn't lay back. He turned on his side and propped himself up on his elbow, leaving him to almost hover above me.

His dark hair and tanned skin were a deadly combination to any woman he turned his sights on.

"Why aren't you dating someone?" I moved close to him as the wind blew. It had little to do with the temperature and much more to do with wanting to be close to him.

"I haven't found the right girl yet."

"No?" I wagged my eyebrows. "Tell me what you're looking for. I have some single friends."

"Yeah, all right." He reached over and brushed a random strand of hair from my face. "She has to have sandy blonde hair and big blue eyes."

"All right. I know a few of those kinda girls." I clasped my hands below my breasts and tried to breathe through my mouth so the tantalizing scent of his cologne would stop drowning me in lust.

"Alabaster skin and a great smile. She has to play piano, and sing in the church choir." He ran the back of his fingers over my cheek. "And she needs to want kids, and love sex. I know that last one is going to be hard to find, but I want to have loads of practice in
making
babies, you know, so we get it right."

"Practice in making babies?" I laughed loudly and moved away from him only to turn on my side to mimic him. "You love sex?"

"Only with the right woman."

"Have you had a lot of sex over the years?"

"I've not made love to anyone."

"Bullshit." I sat up and pulled my legs up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them and glancing out at the city lights.

"I've fucked a lot of girls, which I regret tremendously, but being young gives you a green card to being dumb, I guess." He sat up and moved closer, pressing his shoulder against mine.

"Have you ever made love?" I hated to ask, but I needed to know what I was. Somewhere trapped inside of me was the notion that our one night together didn't mean anything to him. The taunting of my peers and people that were supposed to be my friends left me broken. It was stupid to live in the past, and yet I couldn't push beyond it.

"Only once. My heart was ripped from my chest the next day." He shrugged. "And the more I think about it, the more I realize that maybe I got it all wrong."

"Got what all wrong?" I leaned my head over and laid it against his thick shoulder as I closed my eyes. There was no strong emotion pulsing through me to stand up and defend myself against whatever he might throw at me regarding our last night together. I'd done nothing wrong but trust him.

He turned and kissed the top of my head. "Did you tell the cheerleaders that I had a little dick? That I was the worst lay in the world and that I forced myself on top of you?"

"What?" I jerked back like someone had doused me in ice water. "Why in the fuck would you say that?"

"Because." He lifted his hands as I got off the hood and took a few steps back. How dare he turn the tables on me and make it sound like it was my fault our world was destroyed that day.

"Because it's the truth in my mind. That's what I was told. I couldn't even hold my head up on graduation day. I left here and went to New York to recreate myself. To try and forget how bad it hurt to have a knife slid between my ribs on the morning after I gave myself to you. I was saving myself just for you... and then you betrayed me."

"What? No I didn't. I would never do that to you." I wrapped my arms around my chest. "The cheer squad said that you told everyone I was a whore. That you were the one that talked to the counselors about your whoring girlfriend and they fucking called my parents. I had to sit in between my mom and my-" My voice broke as a sob took its place. "You ruined me."

"No way." He slid off the car and moved toward me faster than I could back up. "No fucking way I would do that. I would have sat between your parents myself and taken any beating anyone could give to save you. I'd never hurt you. I would have died for you, Olivia. I still would."

I couldn't figure out how to accept his words as truth. "I remember seeing the disgust on your face that next day at school. I'll never forget the way you looked at me. Like giving myself to you didn't mean anything other than the fact that you thought I was easy."

"Easy? Is that a fucking joke?" He gripped the sides of my face and forced me to look up at him. "I was trying to get into your panties for seven years. You are the worst whore in the world if that's the case."

I laughed, despite the fear that clouded my mind. I had to get away from him. If he didn't hurt me, then why weren't we together? Luke.

"You didn't tell them those things?" I whispered and slid my hands over his sides to pull him closer to me.

"Never. You didn't say that shit about me either?" He leaned down and brushed his nose by mine.

"Fuck no." I leaned in farther as his arms wrapped around the tops of my shoulders.

"I tried to get to you back then, but between your daddy's shotgun and you ignoring me completely…"

"I thought it was you that ruined my life." I pulled back a little.

"Well, I'm telling you that I didn't. I would never hurt you. Not ever." He slid his hands up my back, pressing in softly as he leaned down and brushed his lips by mine. "I love you. I've loved you all my life. You know this."

"I can't do this. Whatever happened, it happened. We can't undo it." I gripped him tighter, letting my body betray my mind. "Your brother doesn't deserve this."

Caden kissed me softly, nothing more than a quick peck and moved back. "Give me the keys and let me get us back to the hotel. We can talk there."

"About what?" I grabbed my shoes and handed him the keys before getting back into the car.

"About Luke." He buckled up and glanced at me. "I'm so glad you're not the heartless bitch I believed you to be. I couldn't imagine how seven years meant nothing to you. My whole childhood, gone and for what?"

"I felt the same." I buckled up and let my shoes drop between my legs. "I'd rather hear whatever you're going to say about Luke now. I'm tired of being played with. If he's playing me."

"He's a bastard." Caden started the car and reached for my hand.

"I am too most days of the week." I closed my eyes and sunk down into my seat as he kissed my fingers.

"He's sleeping with Annie, Olivia." He gripped my hand tighter as I came up from my restful position and exploded.

"What? Are you sure? You're not just-"

"Never." He glanced over at me with a dominant glare. "I wouldn't lie to you. Fuck that. I might still want you like I did six years ago, but I would never fuck up your life to make mine right. I wouldn't do that shit to my brother either."

"How do you know?" I tugged my hand free from his. I wasn't a child. I could handle the truth.

"Here." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to me. "There's no way I could know and not tell you."

I took the phone, but didn't take my eyes off of him. "When did you find out?"

"Tonight."