Immortal Dreams (63 page)

"Then stay with me until you have to go, and I'll just come with you to the dinner and the wedding.  Then I'll sign."

Why is he so sexy right now?

"No.  I can't do that.  Clara already has the guest list planned out.  Not to mention, I feel like a total slut negotiating this way."

He laughs a little while hopping up and running out of the room.  He returns with a grin and the contract in hand.  The ink scribbles across the marked lines, and then he places it on the table beside the bed.

"It's signed, now please prove you're not a slut and stay with me," he mocks, his smile growing by the second.

I sigh loudly and stare the sexy contours of his body that wouldn't let me go if I wanted to right now.  I'm pathetic.

"Fine.  I'll stay for as long as I can, but I'm returning to Connecticut... alone."

He holds his hands up playfully as his eyes grow alight with success.

"I'll take what I can get.  We'll discuss details later.  Right this moment, I'd like to take you out."

I almost laugh as I look in the mirror at my thoroughly ravaged appearance.

"Take me out?  Now?" I ask with a slight chuckle.

"Yes.  I'd like to take you to a restaurant and pay for your meal or something."

I laugh a little at his out of character uncertainty.

"Or something?" I repeat quizzically.

"Yeah.  I really don't know too much about dating."

Dating?  I thought this was a one-night stand.  Can you have two one-night stands with the same person?

Oh good grief.  I need a manual.

"I'd prefer to stay in.  I'm kind of a mess now, and I don't have any supplies here to regroup."

"I think you look perfect the way you are," he says so genuinely.

Oh he's got to be too good to be true.  He's so hot right now, and the sex we just had was thunderous enough to rattle the ground. 
Run
.

"I'm wearing a sheet," I snicker out.

"I know.  My sheet looks damn good on you," he declares while stifling his laugh.

I blush a little and he comes back to join me in the bed.  His arm wraps around me as he makes a call.

"I need to place an order... delivery... Cole... yes..."

He stands up and walks out of the room to finish the order.  I quickly run my fingers through my hair, and remove some of the smeared remnants of my makeup.

Crap
.  I look a hot mess.

I pinch my cheeks to add a little color, and then he walks back into the room wearing a smile.  He can't seem to sit still for five minutes.

"Chinese will be delivered shortly, and I have some wine we never started if you'd like to join me."

I just nod as my girly grin emerges, and I clutch the sheet under my arms to secure it into place as I follow him into the living area.

He sits down on the couch, and I follow his lead.  The soft fabric beneath me offers warmth as I sink in and relax.  He pours the wine into the glasses and hands me one.

"So, Aphrodisia, why did you give me a fake name?"

I squirm a little.  I had hoped we'd completely drop this conversation.

"I actually prefer Adisia, and I gave you a false name because Adisia wasn't brave enough to behave the way Alexius did."

He smirks menacingly.  "Adisia behaved almost exactly as Alexius did."

I blush fiercely.  "Well, the ice had already been broken.  I never thought I'd see you again, and I didn't see any harm in escaping from myself for one night."

"Well, now you know you're going to see me again.  Can we try to treat this as more than a two night-slash-day stand?  I'd really like to get to know you."

I smile against all my attempts to restrain it.

"I don't know.  This is incredible when we... you know, but I'm not in the market for heartbreak."

"Neither am I," he says softly.

"If I dated you, I might as well go ahead and buy the biggest tub of ice cream there is.  There's no way I'll make it out unscathed."

He tilts my chin up to meet his face.

"I promise you won't get hurt."

"You're too rich, sexy, and way too charismatic to not be a playboy despite your protests."

He smirks smugly and sits back.

"I've just lived a long time.  You learn things at a gradual pace."

His answer is odd to say the least, but then again he's not too normal.  It's sort of a turn on though.  Then again, my sanity is in question.

"How old are you?"

"I'm twenty-seven for all intents and purposes.  How old are you?"

Again, his answer confuses me.

"I'm twenty-five.  Um... All intents and purposes?"

He laughs a little more and sips his wine while his enigmatic smirk slides back into place.  I feel the desire to probe him for more information, even though I should really get out of here.

"What do you do?" I ask.

"A number of things really.  I find a business that needs financial backing.  If it looks to be prosperous, I aide them by becoming a silent partner.  I try to stay out of the spotlight, but I'm involved in countless profitable businesses where I can draw a substantial return."

Well that's vague.

I glance around the room which looks to have been drowned in a can of white paint.  There are very few touches of color, and the room would seem sterile if it wasn't for his charm filling it full of character.

"Why did you want to sign with our company?"

"Because I wanted to see you again," he answers honestly, his captivating eyes forcing me to fight gravity's pull.

I'm a little taken aback from his truth, and I squirm slightly when the urge to rip my sheet off and throw myself at him again strikes me almost painfully.  His phone buzzes and he answers.

"Yeah... send him on up... thank you."

He turns to me with a smile.  "The food is here."

He stands up and kisses me on the cheek.  Why does this feel like a relationship?  It's not supposed to feel like a relationship.

"I read Charlene's email at least twenty times, and she never once mentioned your name.  Did you ask her not to?"

He half smiles.  "I did.  I wanted to make sure you came.  I had to see you, and I was worried you regretted the other night.  When you got here, I could feel how much you wanted me.  When you kissed me, I knew I was right for feeling this draw toward you."

Drat.  He's good.

I'm a sucker for smooth talking Romeos.  That's how I got myself into all the messes of my past relationships.  Each guy falls in love, and then each guy falls out just as quickly.  I can't think of a guy I've ever dated who hasn't cheated on me.  How can I put myself through this again?

This guy is hotter, richer, smarter, and so much better at smooth talk than all the men in my past combined.  How can I possibly go into something I know is going to shatter me?

The door dings as it opens, breaking me out of my silent reverie, and Devin walks over to pay the delivery man who is gawking at me in my hand-made toga attire.  Devin clears his throat to bring the man out of his staring fit, and the deliver boy walks away blushing.

I laugh a little when his eyes dart around nervously - looking at anything but me - while he waits for the doors of the elevator to close in front of him.

Devin hands me a set of chopsticks and a box of noodles which smell divine.

"How do you know what I like to eat?"  I ask with a suspicious grin.

"I read up on you.  Your favorite food is on your profile page.  I took the liberty of ordering this since you didn't want to go out, but I would like to take you out on a real date soon."

I play with the noodles for a minute before finally pulling a few into my mouth.  He watches me, and it starts to make me nervous.  I swallow hard while turning red for no reason and shrug.

"Why are you staring at me?"

"I want you to stay.  I know you can't, but I still want you too.  I'm not used to this sort of obsessive behavior.  It can't be healthy, and it's confusing me how you're not the one obsessed."

The way he just said that is so... odd - annoyingly pretentious mostly, but still... odd.  He's a little more arrogant than I gave him credit for.

Apparently most girls become obsessed with him.  I'm already below par, even though the truth is I'm just fighting the obsession because I know he's heartbreak in a sexy body waiting to rip my heart back into shreds.

"How did you find out my name?" I ask.

"A few different ways, but the details are overrated.  I still like Adisia better than Alexius," he says with tone that dares me to drop my sheet.

I blush a little and dig back into the noodles.  So many things he has said should make me want to leave, but instead, I'm hanging out on is sofa, eating noodles with my rich, sexy-as-hell stalker.

He sets his food down and steeples his hands in front of his face while studying me a little differently.  It's as if he's amused by something I've done, or something I haven't done.  I'm not sure which.

"So tell me something
true
about you.  Your family?" he insists.

I smile a little at his new line of questioning.  He's trying to get a little more personal.

"They're pretty great.  My brother, Jake, is a reporter.  My mom is a nurse, and my dad manages the small inn close to their house."

"Is your brother older or younger?"

"He's three months older."

His face shows confusion as he does the pointless math so many others have done.

"Is he adopted?" he muses.

"No.  I am.  I was five when Mom and Dad spent their life savings to bring me home," I murmur mildly.

"You seem very at peace with it.  Do you know your birth parents?" he gracefully pries.

"No, and I don't care too either.  They gave me up, and Titan's wanted me.  The only thing my birthmother ever gave me was my name, and I shortened it to Adisia for that reason."

He tightens his lips once he feels a line was crossed.  I always hate that look.  Everyone feels sorry for me, and it just irks me.

"I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have asked that."

"It's not the first time I've been asked.  The truth is, I could care less about where I come from.  I learned a long time ago blood isn't the important piece of a family.  How about you?  Brothers?  Sisters?"

"None that I know of.  It's been a while since I checked in though."  He snickers to himself, but he seemed so serious when he was saying it.

"Your parents are still together I assume."

"For life."

Okay.  He's not really giving me very much.  Am I over-sharing?

"Where do you live?" he asks casually.

"You don't already know?" I question, my eyes playfully narrowing in suspicion.

He smirks and picks his food back up while deliberately leaving my unanswered question suspended in the air between us.

"I'll take that as a yes," I say while rolling my eyes.  "You know that does sound a little stalkerish."

"I haven't been glued to your window or showing up in random places.  All I did was send you some roses and offer your company a big deal.  I don't view it as stalking so much as I view it a kind gesture."

I wonder if he's a lawyer part time.  He's damn good at making a case of reason in the unreasonable.

I sigh a little as the clock draws my attention away, taunting me with reality.  It's already past two, and it'll take at least four or five hours to get home.  Clara's rehearsal starts at eight.

"I really do need to get back.  I have to change and look like a proud maid of honor tonight.  Then I have to do the same thing tomorrow."

He frowns before standing, his unwillingness to let me go radiating through his touch as he helps me up.

He pulls me against his sleek, still exposed upper body.  I feel my hand clinging to the sheet for dear life, for it's the only thing shielding me from making the same mistake a third time... today.

"Can I go back with you?" he asks so sweetly.

Yes
.

"No.  Weddings are a really bad idea.  It's an intimate setting that pushes the endorphins into overdrive.  Falsified closeness emerges, and before you know it... let's just keep this casual.  I like this, but I'm not ready for it to go any further."

"I'm not done trying to change your mind about this," he murmurs in his smoldering tone, and I almost hope he doesn't give up.

I need a date, but I'm not ready to be at a wedding with someone as incredible as him.  I'll fall apart at the seams for this man.  I already have.

I quickly remove myself from his tempting, daring eyes before I melt.  He follows me into the room, and I move to the large bathroom I had avoided the last time I was here.

The white room resembles the rest of the house.  The cold tile is smooth as my bare feet glide against it.

I shut the door, and start trying to make myself more presentable.  The closest thing I can find to a hairbrush is a small comb, but I make it work.

Smart sluts carry makeup bags everywhere.  Now I know why.

I rush through throwing on my clothes, and I finally walk back out to see Devin fully dressed.

Crap
.

I wish he didn't look so sexy.  I swear he pulls off the quick-dressed look better than anyone in history.

"I'm walking you down with my clothes on this time," he says with a smirk.

I smile bashfully and grab my purse.  "I won't fight you on it this time."

"I definitely like Adisia better," he murmurs softly while leaning over to kiss me.

Oh, his lips taste so incredible.  His mouth is the perfect shape adhering to mine.  I can feel his sweet tongue raising hell suddenly as his gentle grip becomes almost painful in the best way.

The moment of retreat turns into a moment of flooding desire.  My shirt hits the ground before I even realize he's unbuttoning it.  He cups my face in his hand as he slides me on top of the bed and falls between my parted legs.

He pushes my skirt up over my hips, and his hand slides down to find my underwear for the second time today.  I shouldn't have bothered putting them back on until I got out of here.

Oh, why am I doing this again?

He kisses me, and I realize it's because I have no frigging choice.  I want him.  Hell, I damn near need him, and my body isn't taking no for an answer.  I feel alive and so different when I'm with him.