The Long Hot Summer (Billionaire Season Book 1) (5 page)

“The old girl treats me like a baby, it’s kinda nice. I want that angel, William, did you see her? She looked right at me, it was like looking into the face of love. I could
be too much like father if I fell in love, I’d go insane like he has, thanks to his beloved Liza. Don’t let her get away, I swear to you, she’s meant for me. But love is the worst thing that can happen to a man…” he mumbled the last words as he drifted off to sleep and William stood in the open French doors and ran his fingers over his mouth and his chin wondering
what to do, what to do
about Allie Darling.

*

“I’m sorry to hear that your brother isn’t feeling well, I noticed the two of you on the upstairs porch, you look a lot alike,” Allie said and then she went on talking when William remained silent. “You’re sure you don’t mind if I come back to the city with you? Your dad says you have the most remarkable hotel, a vintage ocean liner docked right downtown on the shore of the Mississippi River. I can’t wait to see it and he was so sweet to call and make a reservation for me. He thought they were booked up but I guess there was a cancellation. Pretty lucky, huh? Now you won’t have to deal with having me underfoot all the time.”

The air had cooled by the time they left Greenlea and a thick mist rose from the bayou so William put the top up on the Maserati and they raced along as if cradled in a cozy cocoon under the full rising moon. Allie peeked at him from beneath the cover of thickly fringed lashes and wondered if he ever let anyone inside the carefully crafted façade he presented to the world. She had seen a softer side of William Warfield once or twice over the last day and a half and it was brilliant and breathtaking to behold. They were still strangers really, and yet she was inexplicably drawn to him. She felt as if she would give anything to break through the rusted iron shell he had built around his heart just to feel it racing to a thundering beat just for her.

“Here we are,” William said, breaking her reverie. He had parked the car and held her door open offering
his hand to help her step out. She stood next to him inhaling his spicy sexy scent and absorbing the heat that radiated from his body. He reached down and grasped her hand firmly as she stared incredulously at the huge navy-blue ship with its trio of towering red smoke stacks.

“My office
s are here as well, perhaps you’d like to have a tour one day soon,” he said, as he let go of her hand and they walked side by side toward the ship.

“Yes, absolutely! I’d love
to see your office now… or anytime. I know you’re probably anxious to be done with me William. You’re a busy man and you’ve been so nice to put up with me, your father said you did it as a favor to him. Oh, I left my things at your house, I sort of need my nightie and toothbrush.” She said and her face blazed when she caught the flicker of his smile at the term “nightie.”

The
y strolled up the teakwood gangplank that glowed with tiny hidden lights and Allie was so entranced by the ship looming ever closer that she slipped her arm through William’s and stared up at its hulking height. He clasped his hand over hers drawing her closer when they reached the grand wide entrance into the lobby and just as William greeted the smiling hotel host who waited for them all the ship’s lights blinked into darkness.

“Careful Mr. Warfield sir,
you don’t want to lose your way in the dark,” the host’s voice sounded from somewhere inside the vast lobby of the pitch-black ship.

William suddenly didn’t think being careful was called for, Allie had pressed her body into his as darkness surrounded them. He pulled her against him and
when he bent his lips to hers they found their match in a searing and ferocious need. A solid wall was at his back and leaned against it never loosening his grip on this exquisite girl. She tasted of innocence and peaches and all things sweet and tantalizing. Her lips parted readily and his tongue met hers, twining and exploring in a dance that set them both on fire.
Too late
, he mused hearing the host’s warning in his head, he was already lost.

Allie
moaned and moved her hands beneath his ‘oh so presentable’ suit jacket and felt a surge of purely animalistic lust shoot straight to her sex. The impeccable suit he wore covered a body that made her weak with longing as she ran her hands from his sculpted chest up to his unbelievably wide muscled shoulders. God, he felt good,
hot and hard and huge
. He was not only the sexiest man she’d ever known, his kiss was the definition of what a kiss should be. It went on and on, his lips soft and full, his tongue expertly probing, it was a long soft deep wet kiss that sent sparks of anticipation careening through her body. William Warfield was one hundred and eighty degrees away from the awkward college boys who had no idea how to kiss a woman. Oh how she wanted to strip off his bothersome jacket, tie and shirt right then and there and feel the solid wall of his muscled chest under her hands and then let the straps of her dress fall away and lean into him, skin to skin and heart to heart. Instead she frantically clutched at his broad shoulders and then let her arms snake around his neck drawing his body to hers, holding on to William for dear life.

“Allie Darling,” he murmured against her parted lips and as she moaned his name the ship
’s lights flickered on.

“William… maybe we should go to my room…” Allie’s voice was soft and breathy and her pupils were dilated as her hands refused to release their hold on William.
She felt not only the heat radiating from his glorious muscles but also from the thick pulsing heat of his erection as it lengthened and pressed insistently against her thigh. Oh to let her greedy hands unbuckle his fine leather belt and tug at the zipper….

“Let’s g
o have a drink, Alaina, actually you should have water to clear your head,” he said, releasing her abruptly, leading her to the lobby bar in the ship’s glass domed rotunda.

“Drink this,
all of it,” he said, taking a glass of water from a server’s tray before they even had time to sit down. He held it to her lips and his eyes warned her not to question him, ‘
just drink the damn water’
, was his unspoken command.

“William,” she whispered when
she’d emptied the glass. He seemed satisfied and they settled into vintage velvet armchairs with only a small bistro table separating them.

“Listen to me, Alaina, I’ve let this get out of hand. I’m not one to swoon over a woman and you’re barely more than a girl. Let me tell you somethi
ng about myself, I’m twenty-eight and by my own calculated choice I don’t have a social life and I don’t want a love affair. I run one of the largest shipping lines in the world among other subsidiary enterprises and that’s just the tip of the iceberg, which isn’t meant to be a pun considering ships and icebergs and disasters.” He smiled for a moment and reached for her hands which were trembling, but he thought better of it. A cocktail server set two champagne flutes on the marble topped table and William finished both drinks in an instant. “I am bad fucking news for a girl like you, Allie Darling. Believe me when I say that. Find yourself a nice ordinary man, a wholesome boyfriend who will love and cherish you. I hope you’ll forgive me for getting slightly lost in your eyes and your beauty and your seductive goodness.” 

“I want you to get
lost in me,” she said with so much sincerity that William knew he would never forget her words. This girl had awakened something that was buried deep inside him, something he was sure had died long ago. He knew his brother’s words were true, looking at Allie was like seeing the true face of love.

“
Please be careful what you say to me, Alaina, words have power. You study the words of great authors, so you should be aware that they can change everything—lives, fate, destiny. Your words, your every movement affects me, I can’t explain it. Don’t tempt me, I won’t fall in love, I won’t allow myself that false happiness because it can break a man’s soul. I control my world and as enticing as you are, I will not concede to let you to become part of it.”

Allie stared down at the
white linen napkin she was twisting in her hands and William thought it would kill him when her tears spilled in huge drops and left their dark stain. He wanted to stop those sorrowful tears and he wanted more than that… much more. He wanted to reach beneath the table and move his hand up the whisper soft skin of her thighs, then let his fingers invade the sanctity of her pussy. He wanted that most intimate part of her for his own, he longed to feel the velvety folds and tight hot depths and taste the salty sweet goodness. But she would want more, she wasn’t a ‘one night stand’ kind of girl, he knew that without a doubt. She might not admit or even realize how easily they could get tangled up in one another and one summer would not be long enough. Better to never go there, better to turn her away and never let her test his resolve.

“Speak of the devil and here he is in the flesh,” Marisa stood over them, her face was tight with envy and her voice was cloyingly sweet. “Mind if we join you, Mr. Warfield? Look who I ran into,” she said, pulling a chair to the table and pointing
over her shoulder at Tanya.

“Yes, aren’t I the lucky one?” Tanya said and she rolled her eyes and mouthed an apology to William. “I left the… I left Abigail to hold down the fort and escorted Marisa here to her room. She’s had a bit too much fun for one night and it seems your father has
arranged for her to stay here on the
Countess Warfield
for as long as she likes.”

“You’
ve had enough of me William but unlike you, your father is an extremely kind man,” she hissed, leaning forward to rake her fingernails over the slight shadow of stubble on his jaw. He calmly removed her hand from his face and then she turned her attention to Allie. “He already has you in tears, sweetie? Big surprise, don’t waste your time on William, he’s a fucking disaster when it comes to love and romance. If you let yourself love him it won’t be long before you fully understand the meaning of crimes of the heart.”

“Don’t speak to her. Do you hear what I’m saying, Marisa?
Allie does not need to be exposed to your disgusting negativity.” William sprang to his feet and stood next to Allie staring down at Marisa with barely contained fury. “Tanya, I want this venomous woman out of the city and state within the hour, can you manage that please? I own this hotel Marisa, my father has nothing to do with it and you are no longer welcome here. I’ll make sure that you’re comfortable elsewhere, somewhere closer to your own family. I thought I’d made myself abundantly clear before, New Orleans isn’t the place for you.”

“Fine, I’ll go
, William, and it will cost you dearly if you expect me to keep quiet about your brother’s kinky club.” Marisa jerked her arm away when Tanya tried to lead her out of the bar. She tossed her flaming red hair over her shoulder and held her head high as she peered more closely at Allie. “As for you, let me assure you of this, he will never make love to a mousy little prom queen like you. He
will
fuck you, however, in more ways than one. Oh yes, he’ll fuck you until he’s sure that he can send you on your way as damaged as he is. Don’t expect love songs and valentines from William Warfield, romance is a complete sacrilege as far as he’s concerned. He’s capable of many things but tenderness is not one of them. By the way, he always drinks that same wicked drink, supposedly it was Hemingway’s favorite,” she laughed and picked up the empty champagne flute and thrust it in Allie’s face. “
Death in the Afternoon
that’s what his drink of choice is called and I believe he’s overly fond of it because it makes him think of what the French refer to as ‘la petite mort’—the little death. If you’re too naive to understand the meaning let me explain it to you…”

“I understand the French term for orgasm and thank you for taking the time to explain so man
y details about William. He’s been a most considerate host and a perfect gentleman since the moment we met. Maybe he treats you like a common whore because you go out of your way to behave like one,” Allie said, and she nearly fainted at the look on Marisa’s face and especially that she’d had the courage to say the words to such a hateful woman.

“Touché,” William told the gapin
g speechless Marisa and his smile was so bright and genuine that Allie straightened her shoulders, held her head high and basked in its radiant glow.

*

“There are a dozen fine shops here on the ship where we can get you the required “nightie” and some clothes for tomorrow,” William said, his hand rested lightly on Allie’s elbow as he steered her across the spectacular round lobby. “I’ll send your duffel bag over first thing in the morning unless you can’t live without it tonight. If that’s the case then I’m sure Miss Hawkins will be happy to leave her cats and her books and her comfortable bed and bring it to you right now.”

“Don’t be rude,” Allie said, smirking as she glanced up at him, her heart tripping over itself at the mere touch of his warm hand on her arm. “I wouldn’t want to take Miss Hawkins away from her
cats and her romance novels. Oh hell no! These shops are filled with designer brands, my budget is geared more toward Old Navy and Target. I don’t need a… nightgown and who’s gonna see me in it anyway? I’ll just wear this dress again tomorrow, if I hang it in the bathroom while I shower the steam will make the wrinkles disappear like magic.”