Betrayal (22 page)

My head continued to move back and forth though I now had to look up. The result was my hair swaying over the satin on my back. “That’s not necessary. I have plenty of—”

His finger touched my lips. “Size…” He eyed me up and down. “…4?”

“Yes, well before all the meals we’ve been eating. I’d go with a 6 now or maybe an 8.”

Nox smiled. “We had a good amount of exercise last night, but
…
if the 4 doesn’t fit, we’ll need to add more cardio to our schedule.”

I didn’t know if I could take more cardio. “Fine,” I said as I pulled away, but before I turned to leave, I asked, “Where’s my phone?”

“In the bedroom. It’s plugged in. I turned off the sound.”

Nodding, I went in search of my phone and a shower while Nox went back to his email.

“WHERE ARE YOU?”

“ARE YOU SPENDING THE NIGHT WITH MR. HANDSOME?”

“OMG YOU AREN’T ANSWERING. YOU ALWAYS ANSWER.”

“ARE YOU DEAD? TELL ME YOU’RE NOT DEAD.”

“IT’S AFTER TWO. YOU ARE SPENDING THE NIGHT!!!!”

“YOU DID IT! GO GIRL! OMG, ARE HIS BALLS BLUE?”

“HIS EQUIPMENT????”

“HE’S A LOOKER NOT A PRODUCER
…
AM I RIGHT?”

“IT’S OK IF IT WASN’T GOOD.”

“OR WAS IT SO GOOD YOU CAN’T RESPOND?”

“SEX COMA???”

“NO MATTER WHAT, I WANT DETAILS.”

“OK, NOW I’M WORRIED. IT’S MORNING.”

“SHOULD I CALL HOTEL SECURITY?”

“CALL ME! SEND A TEXT. YOU GET MAD WHEN I DON’T KEEP IN TOUCH.”

“I’M GIVING YOU ONE MORE HOUR
…
THAT’S IT.”

Tears blurred her texts as I scrolled down them and laughed at my best friend.

Well, that was until I got to the last message. I didn’t think Nox would appreciate hotel security busting into his suite. I was beginning to think that maybe he didn’t work for anyone, but no matter what, I didn’t want anyone thinking he’d done something wrong.

He’s done nothing wrong.

Even the thought of things he’d done right twisted my insides.

I checked the time Chelsea sent her last text message against the clock.
Shit!
I only had ten minutes to spare.

I touched the
CALL
icon.

She answered on the first ring. “Where the hell are you? Are you still with Mr. Handsome? I was just about to—”

“Stop. I’m fine, well…” Blood filled my cheeks. “…better than fine, really.”

“Better than fine,” Chelsea repeated. “I’m listening.”

I turned away from the bedroom door and covered my phone with my hand. “Chels, I’m standing in his bedroom wearing a robe. I’m not giving you any details—yet.”

“Just one, I need to know…”

“I thought you’d be…” Nox said, as he entered the room.

I spun toward him and pointed at the phone.

“So?” Chelsea asked.

“Not blue,” I answered with a grin.

“Oh girl. I need more.”

“Chels, I need to go. I’ll be by our room…” Nox shook his head
no
as the menacing gleam I adored grew. “…or not. I’m spending most of the day with Nox.”

Though I was talking to Chelsea, Nox had my full attention. He twisted the button inside the doorknob and stalked toward me. When he was mere inches away, he mouthed
locked
. Shook his head and quietly whispered, “No Mrs. Witt.”

“Chelsea, I need to…”

Nox’s gaze held me captive as he removed the phone from my hand and hit the red disconnect button. When he placed it back on the bedside stand, I considered protesting, but didn’t. Movement and speech were beyond my ability. Simple life processes were now my concern. Filling my lungs with shallow breaths was difficult. My heart had a new rhythm. Rushing blood filled my ears and prickled my skin. My body was hypersensitive to everything—the satin of the robe and the scent of desire.

Nox’s movements were deliberate and predatory as he tugged the sash of my robe. I arched my back and gasped for air as his lips seized one of my nipples and he pulled with his teeth. Musk and need filled the room as he lifted me to the bed and slowly removed the robe from my shoulders.

He led me back to the bed. The searing stare he’d given me at the pool the day we’d met was but a tepid glance compared to the way he looked at me now. In this moment, our roles were clear. I was his for the taking, vulnerable to his whims and malleable to his touch. He had complete control.

I’d never been as exposed or felt as worshipped.

That was what Nox did: he worshipped, adoring my body—every inch. Beginning at my ankles, he kissed the insides of my legs. Slowly, his attentions moved upward until I nearly pierced the soft sheets with my fingernails as his tongue and lips devoured my tender core. With my essence on his lips, his assault continued until our tongues danced. By the time we made it to the shower, my body ached from satiation as well as wanton need. Though he’d brought me to soaring heights, he’d yet to fill me.

Chelsea was wrong—Nox had the equipment. Running my grasp up and down his stretched skin, I wordlessly told him what I’d screamed in the gas station. I wanted him. I needed him inside of me.

I couldn’t contain my smile as he produced the small silver packet from the shower shelf. Using my teeth to open the condom, I wantonly sheathed his rock-solid erection.

With the warm water washing over us, Nox lifted me against the tile and granted my desire. Clinging to his shoulders, I buried my face in the crook of his neck. Each thrust moved him deeper, pushing and stretching. My moans echoed within the glass stall as I sucked the saltiness from his skin.

Though my mind questioned my ability to find the high he’d already provided, my body knew better. The more he fanned the flames of my desire, the more my muscles tightened and toes curled. Higher and higher we flew until our blaze of passion exploded, leaving us both victim to the spectacular detonation. With a guttural growl, he collapsed against the wall, pinning me in place. With the water still falling, waves of pleasure washed through me.

When our eyes met, his lips curled into his sexy smile. “I don’t have the words,” he said. “Amazing seems woefully insufficient.”

A GENTLE BREEZE
blew the sheer curtains of our cabana bed. The covering did little to shield us from the sun or from the other patrons as we rested upon the soft mattress.

“I don’t remember the last time I spent an entire day like this.”

I rolled to my side, planted my elbow and popped my head on my hand. Staring into his pale eyes, I asked, “So you work a lot, even when you travel?”

He pulled me closer, flattening my breasts against his bare chest. “I do. I’ve had a few meetings since I arrived. That’s what brought me here this week.”

My cheeks rose. “I’m glad you had those meetings.”

He tucked a rogue strand of hair behind my ear and caressed my cheek. “Me too.” His menacing grin returned. “Have you spoken to your sister?”

My ongoing deception tugged at my conscience. “You mean since you so rudely disconnected my call.”

“Yes, but I didn’t hear you complain. Oh, I heard you,” he smirked. “But it didn’t sound like complaints.”

“Back to your question.” I couldn’t think about what we’d done. If I did, I’d want more. “I did talk to her, why?”

“I hope she doesn’t mind my stealing you for the rest of your vacation.”

I shrugged. “We live together for now. So I think we’ll be fine.”

“I’m glad I heard your answer to her question.”

I leaned back and narrowed my eyes. “What question?”

Nox rolled me over until my head was upon the pillow and he was over my chest. Raising his brows, he said, “I may have seen a few texts when I plugged in your phone.”

“You looked at my texts?”

“No, I plugged in your phone and they were there. And…”

My irritation floated away with the sound of the surf and the kiss of his lips. “And,” I replied, “I told her your balls aren’t blue.”

Nox laughed, his chest vibrating against mine. “Not anymore.”

DREAMS, LIKE FAIRYTALES,
all come to an end. We wake or turn that final page. There’s no escaping it. It may take days, years, or an entire lifetime, but forever doesn’t truly exist. No matter how hard we wish or try, the end always comes.

Nox’s and my final day, the last day of my vacation, arrived. Though we’d both awakened early, we’d been granted a short reprieve when Nox successfully lulled me back to sleep. With the sun barely up, I’d drifted away in a sweet cloud of musk, wrapped in the arms of the man I barely knew.

I didn’t know his last name, where he lived, or what he did, but I knew that in the six days and five nights we’d been together, I’d lost my heart to him. I didn’t know if he’d stolen it or if I’d given it. I even tried to convince myself that it wasn’t the entire thing
…
that it was only a piece of my heart that he now possessed. If that were true, it meant that I would survive. If it were only a piece and even if what I still had within me was broken, I stood a chance of repair. One day I might find the magic we shared. Someday when Alex was ready, when she wasn’t about to concentrate on law school, she could discover what I would soon be leaving.

It was a good tale, a story of fabrication, and one I knew was a lie. The pain within me from the moment we woke was too intense. The evidence pointed to one conclusion: Nox hadn’t taken a
piece
of my heart. He had the entire thing. Repair would never come. It wasn’t possible to repair what no longer existed.

With each breath, the void of my missing heart ached in my chest.

Though I needed to pack my things and Chelsea and I needed to get to the airport, I wasn’t rushing. Instead, I was sitting across the small table on the balcony of the presidential suite, sipping coffee and moving eggs and fruit around my plate. Our time together was ticking away. The figurative clock would soon strike midnight. If this were Cinderella, I’d be running down the steps and leaving my glass slipper.

For the first time since we’d met, our sentences felt forced—polite and proper. There were so many things we hadn’t said, so many things we wanted to say, but now it was too late. When we were showering, Nox joked about my missing my flight, but other than that, we’d avoided the subject.

“Nox,” I said, debating with myself if I could be at least partially honest. “I know our agreement, and I still believe we should honor it. But there’s something I want you to know.”

His pale eyes looked up from his barely-eaten breakfast. Apparently neither of us had an appetite. “What?”

“I guess I want you to know that this week wasn’t me.”

Putting his fork down, he asked, “What do you mean? You’re not Charli?”

I didn’t want to go there. “I mean that I’ve never before done what we’ve done. I want you to know that I don’t go around meeting men and doing what we did.”

His grin quirked. “You want me to know you don’t sleep around.”

I nodded. Why would he believe me? I let him fuck me in a public bathroom. I asked for it—for his cock. That didn’t sound like someone with standards. “It’s just that
…
well, I’m sure you have met
…
other women
…
had more opportunity…”