Beyond Bliss (12 page)

Despite what he’d said to her the afternoon he left her disheveled on his desk and post-orgasm, she knew he wanted her.

Just as much as she wanted him.

This
thing
between them was palpable, living. They could ignore each other as much as they liked, but it was getting harder and harder to resist every day.

And moments like they’d had just now, where they’d both let down their guards…

It was dangerous territory, and she couldn’t afford to ignore the important lessons Zach had taught her.

The day of their wedding played on a continuous loop in her mind. She’d been so stupidly happy. Stupidly happy and impatient to start a life with the man she thought she loved. A man who took care of her every need, left nothing for want. He’d paid off the mortgage on her mom’s house, and the last of her law school loans, despite her protests. He’d been generous and showered her and everyone she loved with anything money could buy. When they’d first started dating, she’d put up a fight every time he bought her a gift or surprised her with something outlandish. It was important to her that they were equal partners, but he’d just kiss her into stupidity until she stopped protesting, telling her that it was his way of making himself feel better because he had to be away so often for work. So in fact, the present was really for him. She’d laugh and shake her head at him, but she’d left it alone.

And she’d ignored the spark of intuition that told her something wasn’t right.

She’d shoved her head in the sand, and lived life to the fullest in the pretty reality he’d constructed for her until she could do it no more.

It was moments before she was to leave the hotel suite and enter the grand ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria. To her mother’s delight, no expense was spared. Everyone who was anyone was invited to the wedding. After a grand reception, they would be swept away to honeymoon in the French Riviera for two weeks, followed by another two weeks touring the Italian countryside. She’d tried to brush away the nerves as wedding jitters, but she’d had a feeling that everything that had been about to happen was too good to be true. That it would all come crashing down.

And when the soft knock on the door sounded, and she opened the door, it had.

Her unexpected guest looked slightly familiar, but Sophie had struggled to place her. The girl who’d stood before her was young, maybe nineteen or twenty. Her features were perfect, and Sophie knew that ordinarily she would be stunning, but deep purple circles under red-rimmed eyes made her appear worn out and fatigued. Her pregnant belly distended from her otherwise gaunt frame awkwardly, and Sophie had felt a twinge of sympathy for the young woman who was so obviously in distress.

“Sophie Harlow?” she’d asked in a trembling voice.

Sophie had nodded mutely.

“My name is Carmen Rios. Can I come in? I have something I need to tell you.”

And she’d sat in stunned shock as the words tumbled out of Carmen’s mouth.

She was the daughter of a housekeeper, specifically, the housekeeper for Zach’s family home in the Hamptons. She’d been in love with him ever since she was a little girl, but he never noticed her. A year ago, he’d finally noticed her while she was serving at one of his parents’ parties. He’d courted her over time, in secret, telling her that they needed to take their time so that he could get his parents to come around before they went public. The day she’d learned he’d gotten engaged to someone else was the same day she found out she was pregnant. Convinced there was a misunderstanding, she tried to get ahold of him for weeks. When she’d finally seen him, he told her to get rid of it. He’d written her a check for ten thousand dollars and told her she could keep the change in return for her silence.

“Miss Harlow, I never knew he was with someone else, I would have never done something like this …” Carmen’s voice broke, but she pulled up a crumpled piece of paper out of her handbag. “I know that you have no reason to believe me, so I brought this.”

Sophie had taken the piece of paper from Carmen’s extended hand. Not only was it crumpled, but pieces had been taped back together after they’d been ripped apart. It was a check made out to Carmen for ten thousand dollars, signed by Zach. It was dated for a few weeks after they’d gotten engaged.

“If I were in your situation, I would want to know. I’m so sorry to tell you this today. I tried to get ahold of you before now, but the Riszeks fired my mother, and every time I tried to talk to someone on the staff so that I could track you down, they hung up. I saw the announcement in the paper, so I finally had a way to get to you.” Tears streamed freely down Carmen’s beautiful face. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “But I had to tell you...”

Chapter Eleven

He looked at his watch again. She’d been gone for exactly ten minutes.

What the hell was taking her so long?

Not that he needed to be privy to her bathroom habits, but what if something was wrong?

The smooth glide of the plane turned rocky once more, and he rolled his eyes when the fasten seatbelt indicator flashed on. 
Shit.
 
              She would freak out and probably end up stuck in the bathroom until the flight was over. 
              He unbuckled his seatbelt and made his way over to the lavatory he'd seen her walk into. He passed the flight attendant who opened her mouth, probably to admonish him. He gave her a quelling look, one that worked well in business negotiations, and she
hmphed
but shut her mouth. 

He tapped on the door. “Sophie?”

No answer.

He rapped on it once more, this time a little harder.

No answer.

Frustrated, he leaned his head against the door. It probably wasn’t the most sanitary surface, but in that same moment, his eyes landed on the little indicator next to the door latch.

Vacant.

He pushed the little button to the side, and the door slid open. When his eyes landed on her, he quickly moved in and shut the door behind him, making sure to lock it in place. 

She sat on the lid of the toilet seat with her knees pulled up to her chest. Her arms were wrapped around them and her head was bent. Her shoulders shuddered as she struggled to breathe deeply.

“Sophie?” he asked once more.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, but she kept her head down. Grimacing, he crouched down, bending his knees just so he was right below her eye level. 

“Hey,” he said softly. Without thinking, he traced his index finger along the exposed skin of her jaw before he hooked his finger underneath her chin, lifting her head so that she faced him. A sheen of moisture covered her huge dark eyes, and her full lower lip found a permanent home between her teeth. Something primitive reared inside his chest. He wanted to scoop her up, carry her away, and do everything in his power to wipe away any trace of sadness from her beautiful face. 

Instead, he asked, “You okay?”

She finally stopped working her lip between her teeth. “Told you I hated to fly. Just my luck that the plane ended up rocking right when I decided to get up.” 

Her tiny smile was both sheepish and a little heartbreaking, but then he noticed a dried trail of moisture streaked down her beautiful face. Unbidden, his index finger rose to her face and traced the path, before it stilled at the corner of her mouth. 

Eyes wide and vulnerable, her lips parted. She stared at him, unmoving.

The callused pad of his thumb pressed against the center of her full bottom lip. Most of the gloss she’d had on earlier was long gone. “Don’t cry, sweetheart,” he whispered. She shook her head, ever so slightly, and his other hand rose to brush against her cheek. He cupped her face so that his hands gently framed it, holding her steady so she was perfectly positioned to receive his mouth as he lightly ghosted his lips against hers.

He teased her, carefully coaxing her lips open so he could enter the soft heat of her mouth. She whimpered when he rubbed his tongue against hers. 

His control dissolved. 

He took her mouth, silently demanding that she give everything to his urgent kiss. He groaned when her hands wound tightly in his hair, and she canted her mouth up to better meet his. He slipped his hands under her jacket and top, stroking the soft skin of her stomach before moving up to cup and knead the pliant mounds of her lace covered breasts. 

“Please … please Lucas.” The words escaped her mouth, and he pulled back to look at her. The ache in her eyes was sharp and piercing as the one that coursed through him. Deftly, he maneuvered them so that he could reverse their positions. He hauled her up so that she straddled him. He rocked hips against hers, showing her just how much he needed her. 

Soft but firm hands slipped under his waistband, and he growled against her mouth. She fumbled with his belt for a few moments before she unzipped his pants and pushed his boxers down to free his cock. His breath sounded harsh in his ears as she stroked his hard flesh. 

His lips traveled from her mouth to the soft curve of her neck. He lightly sucked at the sensitive patch of flesh while his hands dipped behind the stretch of her pants. The firm globes of her ass filled his hands, and his fingers wandered over to the space between until he was near her core. He pulled her lace thong to the slide. Her breath hitched when two of his fingers dove inside her wet heat. 

“So wet, baby.” He pulled back so that his gaze bore into hers. Her eyes were hot, wild, helpless to resist as his fingers stroked her walls. “It’s for me, isn’t it?”

She nodded.

“Say it,” he demanded gutturally. 

“I’m so wet for you,” she whispered. “Dripping,” she added, and color bloomed on her cheeks.

His eyes flared before his mouth dipped to hers once more. “Can’t wait,” he muttered against her lips. He roughly yanked her pants down and lifted her so that she was seated on his lap. She wriggled impatiently when he paused and pulled a condom out of his wallet.

After suiting up, he forced her to look into his eyes. “Put me inside you,”

 She froze.

He wanted to drown in her liquid brown eyes. Her cheeks were still flushed, but he knew it wasn’t all due to exertion. Every time he did or said something that pushed one of her boundaries, he could see the mixture of fear and anticipation written on her face.

To his relief and deep satisfaction, he was beginning to find out that anticipation won out every time.

She bit down on her lip hard before nodding jerkily. Her eyes grew wide and she inhaled sharply as she fit him inside her slowly, inch by inch. Despite her wet readiness, he could feel her snug tissues stretch to accommodate him as she took him deeper.

“That’s it baby, keep going," he encouraged. He molded his mouth to hers, kissed her lazily, his lips seducing her away from discomfort until he was fully inside of her. Instinctively, she clenched around him, unable to help her contractions. He groaned and tore his lips away from hers, raggedly. Grasping her chin firmly, he kept her eyes on him as he rocked his hips upward. A strangled cry left her throat when he gripped her hip with his other hand and pulled her toward him as he pushed into her.

Even though she was on top, he controlled everything about their frenzied mating, holding both her gaze and her body in place as he rocked her body back and forth, maximizing their pleasure.

She was warm, wet, honey, hugging his cock from root to tip as he slid in and out.

"You're perfect," he gasped. "Fucking perfection."

Her eyes glassed over as he spoke to her in a low, deep voice, murmuring words of encouragement and praise as she undulated against him.

His balls tightened, and he knew he wasn't going to last much longer. Releasing her face, he gripped both of her hips and picked up the pace.

She was stunning in her ecstasy. Her head fell back, and he grazed his teeth along the sensitive skin of her throat. Tiny tendrils of dark hair dampened along the skin of her hairline while nonsensical whimpers escaped her swollen lips. Needing to consume her in every way possible, he took her mouth once more as his body took hers with the same furious pace.

She tore away from him, a desperate, wild look in her eyes.

"I need ... I need," she panted breathlessly, trailing off.

"I know baby," he muttered. His thumb slid into the tiny button of nerves nestled between their bodies and he rubbed in a rough, circular motion.

At the same time, he thrust up once more, hard, triggering her orgasm.

Her nails sank into the skin on the back of his neck as the tight pulse of her pussy massaged and rippled around his cock. Unable to hold back any longer, he exploded. He turned his head and bit softly into the smooth skin on her wrist muffling his shout as he emptied himself inside her.

Chapter Twelve

By the time she’d made it to her hotel room, she’d replayed each kiss and every thrust until the entire encounter was indelibly branded in her memory.