Scattered Thoughts (Betrayed by Love Book 1) (11 page)

Alec tilted his head to one side. “Well, I can’t take it back. It was an apology.”

I moved the box closer to him. “What? No cruise line?”

He pushed the box back toward me, his mouth pressed in a thin, hard line. “If you’re going to intentionally push my buttons, Isabella, you’re going to need your strength.” Shit. My plans to lighten the mood fell flat. Alec tossed the pasta and vegetables together then mixed in the white wine sauce he’d made.

Carrying the two plates to the table, he pointed to the dining table. “Sit,” he commanded.

“Control Freak,” I whispered but sat down anyway.

The vegetable capellini he made was delicious, but I wasn’t in the mood to eat. Half an hour ago I was ready to rip Alec’s clothes off and devour every inch of his body, but talking about my dreams had reminded me just how messed up my life had become since that package arrived.

“Don’t you like it,” Alec asked as I moved the pasta around the plate with my fork.

“Actually, it’s delicious. I’m just too distracted to eat.”

His wicked grin returned. “Distracted by what?”

“By you, by this, by what happens next.”

Alec stood up and pulled me into his chest. “What happens next is entirely up to you. But you should know it’s all or nothing with me. I don’t do half way.”

Alec kissed me, softly at first, then deep and hard, dissolving all my doubts. My heart beat so hard I could feel it in my toes. “Can you handle that, Isabella? Can you handle all of me?”

I wondered what he meant but right then I didn’t care. “Yes,” I said breathlessly. Yes, I wanted all of him, inside me, here, now. I greedily ran my hands over his chest, his back, around his waist. I ran my thumb along the waistband of his pants.

He grabbed my wrists and pulled my hands to his mouth, kissing each one gently before wrapping my arms around his neck. “Hold on,” he commanded. I immediately did as he asked. “Good girl,” he whispered after he scooped me into his arms. “I’m taking you to bed now, baby.”

Alec carried me out of the kitchen then up the stairs, not stopping until he was standing outside his bedroom door. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. You can still say no.”

Oh no, he was not backing out this time. I kissed him, hard. “I’ve wanted this since the first time you kissed me.”

Without another word he carried me inside his room and set my feet down on the ground. His eyes were fixed on mine as he slowly lifted the hem of my dress over my head. I squirmed with anticipation.
This is really happening
. Alec dropped my dress to the floor then held me at arm’s length, staring, soaking me in. “You are so beautiful, Isabella.” His words made me blush and I looked away, suddenly feeling naked and exposed. Spencer was the only man who’d ever seen me naked and I felt self-conscious with Alec’s eyes on my bare flesh.

Sensing my discomfort, Alec lifted my chin until my eyes found his. “Beautiful,” he whispered.

With a trail of warm kisses Alec slowly moved from my lips, to my chin, and down my neck while his hands roamed my body. He reached behind me and unfastened my bra, sliding the straps over my shoulders, letting it fall to the ground. Alec ran a finger along my side from my waist all the way to my breasts then wrapped a hand around each one, gently caressing. I squirmed again. “Patience, Isabella,” he warned.

Alec unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his tan, chiseled muscles. I reached up and touched his chest, his hard body only making me want him more. I pushed his shirt over his shoulders letting it fall to the floor then reached for the buckle on his belt, but in one swift move Alec scooped me up and deposited me on the bed.

Crawling on top of the bed, he kneeled between my legs then leaned down and kissed the top of my panties. Trailing a line of kisses up my body, to my breasts, my neck, my mouth, then back again, Alec devoured my naked form. I squirmed beneath him, my body begging him to take me, each kiss bringing me that much closer to the edge of ecstasy.

“Patience, Isabella. I want to savor you. Lifting my foot he added, “Every inch of you.” Not waiting for me to respond, he began his barrage of kisses once more, my toe, my instep, my ankle, slowly moving up my leg until he reached my sex. I bucked my hips, wanting, needing, ready to burst. “Be still, Isabella,” he warned before starting the process over with my other leg.

I tried not to move but my body was on fire, all sensation and carnal desire. Before I knew it I was squirming beneath him. “You’re so impatient, Isabella.” His wicked grin returned. “I’m going to enjoy fixing that.” Alec climbed on top of me, pinning me under his weight, his erection pressing into me. He kissed me again.

“Alec, please,” I begged when he finally broke the kiss.

Tantalizingly slow he slid my panties over my hips. I lifted off the bed to aid the process but he wasn’t in any hurry as his hands explored my body. My breath hitched as he skimmed the edge of my folds. He alternated kisses and nips on my inner thigh until I thought I’d explode.

“Please, Alec,” I begged again. “I want you. I need to feel you inside me.”

He ran his tongue over my folds. “Every inch of you,” he said again. I bucked my hips, looking for friction, anything to help me find the release I so desperately craved, but he pulled back. A moment later all I could feel was the wet heat of his tongue circling my clitoris.

My body began to unravel. “Oh, God, Alec,” I panted. I fisted my fingers through his hair as I climbed closer and closer to the edge, the sensation almost too much for me to handle. When he slid a finger inside me, expertly moving it around, all my built up tension had me ready to explode. “Alec,” I cried out, unable to contain the pleasure any longer.

“That’s it, baby. Come for me.” His words were my undoing. My body stiffened, my muscles contracting as I fell over the edge of my release. Alec kissed me on the mouth, my salty pleasure still on his lips, leaving me with an overwhelming urge to taste him too.

I pushed him off me until he was flat on his back, then straddled him as I ran my hands over his chest, teasing him as he’d done to me. I kissed my way down his chest as my hands busily worked to undo his jeans. His erection strained the bounds of the fabric of his boxer briefs as I rubbed him through the thin fabric. I pulled the waist band down freeing his hardened length, the sight of which beckoned an involuntary gasp.

A moan escaped me as my tongue circled the head of his penis, the musky scent of his arousal sending waves of pleasure through my body again. I brought him all the way into my mouth, sucking and circling as my hands greedily roamed his torso.

His cock twitched on my tongue and he quickly sat up, pulling me into his arms. “If you keep doing that I’m going to come before I even get inside you,” he said, grasping at the edges of restraint.

Without another word he flipped me onto my back and was once again between my legs, kneeling as he rolled a condom over his erection. Ever so slowly he pushed past my opening until his erection was deep inside me, filling me completely. I wiggled beneath him as I adjusted to the exquisite sensation. When I finally stilled he slowly began to move.

“Jesus, Isabella, you’re so tight,” he moaned as he thrust deeper inside me. I raised my hips to meet his; in, out, in a tantalizing rhythm. It had been so long since I’d had a man inside me that the feeling was almost too much to take.

My insides began to quicken as another orgasm started to build. I dug my nails into the flesh of his toned back. “Oh…Alec…feels...so good...”

He tilted my hips and pushed himself deeper inside me. “I’m close, Isabella. Come for me again,” he whispered breathlessly in my ear. His words were my undoing and I exploded around him. My insides continued to spasm as my orgasm ripped through me for a second time.  That’s when he  really  started  to  move,  not  stopping  until  he  found  his own release. Once his body relaxed, he kissed me softly on the lips then collapsed on top of me, both of us spent.

Sun flooded the room through the floor-to-ceiling glass wall. I sat up and looked around the room. “Alec’s room,” I said out loud, regaining my bearings. Only Alec wasn’t anywhere to be found so I climbed out of bed to find him.

My suitcase was as the foot of the bed. I fished around the bag until I found my toothbrush and a hair tie then went into the bathroom to clean up. I slipped on the shirt Alec was wearing last night, his scent still covering the fabric. Burying my face in the collar, I breathed him in. The events from last night replayed in my mind and I wrapped myself in a hug, but it was his arms I wanted around me. I hurried downstairs to find him.

Alec was pacing back and forth in front of the glass wall in the great room when I found him. “How’d they get in? Damn it, Marcus. Figure it out,” he shouted into the Bluetooth earpiece he wore before ripping it out of his ear and throwing it against the wall.

Startled by his angry outburst, I gasped involuntarily. Alec looked up when he heard. Pulling his hands through his hair, he paced toward me. “Isabella,” he said, quickly closing the gap between us. His brows were furrowed and there was no sign of humor on his face now. He reached up and touched my cheek softly. “Get dressed, baby. We need to go.”

Just like that, he pulled his hand away and disappeared into the kitchen. Not exactly the good morning I was hoping for.

I headed up the stairs, wasting no time getting ready. I wasn’t sure what was bothering Alec but I definitely wasn’t a fan of his mood.

Alec was waiting by the front door when I made my way back down, my bags in tow.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked. I nodded but didn’t say a word, letting him take my bags as he led me to the elevator.

We rode in silence all the way to the airport. Alec hadn’t offered any clues to what was bothering him, and I hadn’t pushed for answers. His earlier outburst and subsequent cold reception still had me a little shaken. Alec may have been used to one-night stands, but I sure wasn’t, and I refused to let him see how much his silence was bothering me.

“What’s wrong, Isabella?” Alec asked when we were safely in the air.

I whipped my head around, a stunned look on my face. “Me? I could ask you the same thing.”

He opened his mouth then closed it again. I continued to stare, waiting him out. “It’s nothing,” he finally said.

“Yeah, what was that you were saying about half-truths?”

Pulling his hand through his hair, he exhaled. “There was an emergency at my office, but it’s nothing for you to worry about.” He leaned over to my seat and kissed me on the mouth. “Plus, I’m not looking forward to being away from you.”

A smile crossed my face for only the second time that day. “Really? Because I was starting to wonder.”

“Wonder what?”

Shit.
Why had I opened my mouth? The last thing I wanted was to sound needy.

“Wonder what, Isabella?”

“You were so cold this morning,” I blurted out. “I thought maybe you’d gotten what you wanted and were done with me now.”

Alec squeezed my hand. “All or nothing, remember?” His words from last night rolled around in my mind now, and I couldn’t help but wonder what I’d gotten myself into.

• • • • •

Alec excused himself to the rear of the plane to take a phone call some time ago and had yet to return. I stared out the window, wondering who he was talking to and what the emergency at his office was all about.

“Are you going to the office today?”

Surprised by Alec’s voice I jerked my head toward him. “And risk an interrogation from Tim? Not a chance.” The mere thought of having to explain to Tim why I hadn’t flown back yesterday gave me chills. “Actually, I think I’ll skip the office altogether this week.”

He tilted his head to one side. “Is that something you do often, Ms. James?”

“Maybe I do. Is that a problem for you,
Mr. Payne?
”

Rubbing his chin between his thumb and forefinger as if seriously considering my question, Alec said, “It sounds more like an advantage than a problem to me.” I bit the nail on my index finger as I considered a few advantages of my own. “Come with me to New York. You can skip work there.”

“I’m skipping the office, Alec, not work.”

He leaned over and bit my lip. “You can skip the office in New York then.”

I wanted to go with him, to spend another night wrapped in his arms, but no matter how much I wanted to I knew I couldn’t. Not when Drew and Anna were at home, probably still mad at me over that picture. “I can’t. I have to go home.”

He pulled his hands through his hair, something I noticed he did a lot when things weren’t going the way he wanted them to. “Will Spencer be there?”

Pausing to search my memory for the answer, I came up empty. “I don’t know.”

“How can you not know, Isabella?”

I laughed nervously, his reaction from earlier this morning still fresh in my mind. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I haven’t exactly been thinking about Spencer these last few days.”

“I’m not thinking about Spencer either,” he snapped. “I’m thinking about you.”

Shit. My distraction failed and now he was mad again.
Seriously?
my inner voice snapped, and I couldn’t help the eye roll that followed.

Reaching over me, Alec unbuckled my seatbelt and pulled me into his lap surprising me once more. “If you have something to say, Isabella, then say it, but stop rolling your eyes at me.”

My heart beat faster, adrenalin coursing through my veins. “Control freak!” I teased, not sure what to make of this sudden attitude he’d developed.

Alec leaned forward until his mouth was next to my ear. “All of me,” he whispered. I laid my head on his chest, half excited the other half afraid of what I’d started with this man.

• • • • •

“Thank you for everything, Alec. I had a great time.”

“Anything for you, Isabella.” He kissed me on the lips. “Don’t forget to call me when you get home so I’m not worried.”

I waved goodbye. “I won’t forget, but don’t worry anyway.” He closed the car door and walked back to the plane. Watching his retreating form, I leaned back against the seat and while the car service Alec hired to drive me home pulled away from the jet.

Traffic out of the airport was heavy so I took the time to get caught up on emails. The tiny envelope on the home screen of my Windows phone indicated several new messages, the majority of which were from Jonathan. I read through them all, mostly updates on what I’d missed while I was gone and the reports I’d asked for before I left.

One message grabbed my attention though. Jonathan scheduled a new client meeting in New York on Friday but hadn’t said who the client was. Payne Enterprises is in New York, but surely that couldn’t be it. I’d just spent the last four days with Alec and he didn’t mention anything about giving Dimarco that contract. I made a mental note to ask Jonathan about it later then opened the last message, the only one from Tim.

After Tim missed the cruise he’d been so excited to take I hadn’t expected good news, but I hadn’t expected this either. He was demanding we revisit my working arrangement, again. And just like that I was back to the real world, thoughts of the weekend slipping away, only to be replaced by the stresses in my life.

The house was quiet when I walked through the door. I did a quick check of the garage, looking for Spencer’s car, and was relieved to find it wasn’t there. I carried my suitcase upstairs to unpack before starting my work day. The Oscar da la Renta gown Alec bought me had already been cleaned, courtesy of Preston sometime last night or early this morning. I tucked it in the back of my closet, knowing the kids would never believe nothing was going on between me and Alec if they saw that dress.

I listened to my voice messages as I unpacked. Spencer’s voicemail from last Thursday played first. “Great picture, Bella. Couldn’t even wait until the ink was dry?” he’d said. I hit delete without listening to the rest of the message. He had no room to talk. After all
he
was the reason we’d gotten divorced in the first place.

Tim’s message played next. “Call me,” he said simply. No welcome back, no how was your trip, no thanks for giving up your entire weekend, just “call me.” Exhaling loudly, I deleted his message too.

I walked downstairs to my office, unpacked my laptop, and decided to call Tim back while I waited for it to boot. I said a silent prayer he’d forgotten about his email from Friday, and his list of demands.

“Mr. Howard’s office. Haley speaking.”

“Hi, Haley, it’s Izzy. Is Tim available?”

“Yes, he’s waiting for your call, Mrs. James.” The hold music began to play.

The hold music ended abruptly and Tim’s voice filled the air. “Izzy, great job, I’ve been trying to close that account for months.”

“Um, thanks,” I said, clueless to what he was talking about.

“Of course, you’ll be running point.”

I may not have known what account he was talking about but I did know my schedule wouldn’t allow me to run point on any more projects, especially for a new client. “I was thinking we’d let Steve handle this one.”

“Very funny, considering how well that suggestion went last time. Plus, Mr. Payne insisted.”

Annoyed by this new development, I exhaled loudly. “I’m already spread pretty thin. Payne Enterprises will need a full time IR Manager and I just don’t have that kind of time right now.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, Izzy. I know how devoted you are to your clients, but the Payne Enterprises contract is contingent on you running point. We’ll need to divide your current projects among your team to clear your schedule.”

“But—”

“No buts Izzy. This contract will bring in more revenue than all our other contracts combined. We need you on this.” Tim’s tone said it all. There was no getting out of this.

“When do we start?” I asked finally.

“You have a meeting Friday at Payne Enterprises. I’ll leave it up to you to work out the details from there.”

My head started to spin. Jonathan emailed my itinerary for Friday before I made it home from the airport. When did Alec send over the contract? And more importantly, why hadn’t he told me about it?

“I better get busy then,” I said, doing my best to hide my mounting frustration. Ending the call, I tossed my phone on the desk. I couldn’t believe this was happening. It was bad enough that I had to give up the clients I’d worked so hard to win over, but knowing Alec did this without so much as even a hint had me ready to scream.

I went upstairs and changed into my running clothes. I was too mad now to even think about work. I’d call Alec to yell at him for screwing with my job, but it wouldn’t do any good. Plus, I’d had just about all of Mr. Control Freak I could handle for one day. I laced up my shoes, grabbed my iPod off the dresser, and set off for a run.

“All  or  nothing,”  Alec  had  said  last  night  before  taking me upstairs. If I’d known that meant he’d be interfering with my job I might have made a different choice. Although it was hard to imagine turning him down after the unbelievable sex we had. I was still sore from having him inside me, his large cock stretching me farther than I’d ever been stretched. When I closed my eyes I could still feel him, even smell him. But none of that was helping with the frustration I felt over him messing with the job I loved.

An hour later I walked through the back door, sweat dripping down my face, a sure sign of a good workout. I could hear my phone ringing but I decided to ignore it until after I cleaned up.

Considering I was in no hurry to start the process of transitioning my clients, I took my time in the shower. They’d be in good hands with my team, but that was hardly the point. They were
my
clients. Contracts
I’d
closed. Relationships
I’d
fostered. Plus, the mere thought of working for Alec full time had me beyond worried. Would I be able to handle dealing with him day in and day out?

By the time I made it back to my office I had four missed calls: one from Steve, one from Kari, and two from Alec. Surprisingly, there was only one voicemail. “I thought you were going to call me when you got home,” Alec’s message said. Still irritated about being pulled from my other projects thanks to him, I deleted it without listening to the rest.

“Oh, you’re lucky I haven’t called you,” I said out loud, certain he wouldn’t like anything I had to say to him at the moment.

I printed the summary report Jonathan created and ran through each client, one by one, trying to figure out just who to hand each one over to. It was a long, tedious process as I considered personalities, client issues, and their past histories, all while weighing in the current stage of each project and the timelines too. By six o’clock I was satisfied with the choices I’d made, or was forced to make anyway.

Anna’s laugh echoed past my office door. I pushed my notes aside and followed the laughter into the kitchen just in time to hear Sara telling Anna about a mishap at the grocery store that sent a display of cereal boxes crashing down on top of her. Anna was laughing so hard she was struggling to catch her breath. Until she saw me, that is.