Page 56 of Conflict
My mind wanders back to the night, God, nearly ten months ago when we first met. I took one look at him, enjoyed a flirty hot tub exchange, and, before I knew what I was doing, handed him my virginity on a silver platter. Or, well, in the form of a keycard.
It was the most intense, magical night of my life.
Until two days later when I discovered he wasn’t quite who he said he was, he was working on the same account that could be career-changing for me, and I panicked. So I ran, never expecting to see him again. I sure as hell wasn’t betting on his cousin marrying my sister.
In hindsight, running was stupid. We were strangers anyway, so who cared if he’d left out a few details? It’s just that, after two incredible days together, I’d felt vulnerable. I’d felt half in love. I’d felt all too much, so I took the first out I could find. It wasn’t until later that I realized I was using work as an excuse instead of examining my true feelings.
A bad habit of mine. And I’ve regretted it ever since.
Flash forward to now? Well, hell. After months of thinking fantasizing about the man, trying like hell not to enjoy his flowers, his wine, or the memory of that night, it seems like those feelings have only intensified now that he’s here. But the truth is I’m shocked to see him. Delighted. And worst of all? Embarrassed. So, drawing up my best defense mechanism, I decide to close my heart and go into direct bitch mode, hoping he can’t see just how much he still affects me.
By the smirk on his face? I’m failing miserably.
The moment Branson and Ariana step out of view, she pounces.
“You!” hisses the pretty brunette, her stunning, whiskey-colored eyes narrowed in my direction.
Typically, I’d back away from a woman with such scorn in her gaze, especially when it’s aimed sorely in my direction. But this girl? She’s been playing hard to get for far too long, and fuck me, she just fell right into my lap thanks my cousin and his fiancée. The fates are definitely smiling on me tonight.
I resist the urge to grin. The last time I was in such close proximity with Alyssa, she ran from me. Now? She’s trapped and wholly caught off guard. I knew we’d see each other again tonight. I planned to play it cool, but being here with her now, when she had no idea what was coming, throws my plan off a bit.
“Me,” I affirm, tossing her a smile, my heart swelling at the sight of her and some strange, foreign twisting sensation settling in my gut. “And this time, sunshine, you can’t run out the back door. This time, you’re mine.”
I don’t think she has any idea how much I mean those two words.
Those narrow eyes suddenly widen, and she shakes her head, pointing a finger at me. “Oh, no. Don’t you think you can go throwing off that sexy smile and I’ll swoon all over again just at the sight of you. I learned my lesson.”
She called me sexy. I suppress a grin and take her hand, bringing it to my lips for a brief kiss against her delicate skin before she yanks it away. No problem. I knew this was going to be a challenge. She’s obviously going to take some convincing to remember how freaking good we were, how freaking good we could be, but I’ll do anything in my power to have this woman in my bed.Backin my bed.
“Isn’t this where you say thank you for the tulips?” I ask, wagging my eyebrows up at her. “Or perhaps the wine? Maybe your preference also lays with moaning.”
Alyssa rolls her eyes. “For your information, I love wine way much more than moans.” She places a hand on her hip and looks at me in challenge.
I lean in close. “Then you haven’t been doing it right. Because I very vividly remember you appreciating a good moan. Especially your own.”
A sweet pink tint heats her cheeks. Just as I’m about to continue my innuendo, we’re interrupted.
Ariana and Branson walk up at this precise second, effectively ending our little showdown. Ariana’s eyes dart back and forth between her seething sister and me, a puzzled expression on her pretty face. Branson, however, is watching us with abject amusement. My cousin. He knows me all too well.
I told him about the one—and not nearly enough—incredible night Alyssa and I spent together over last winter. He’s been ragging on me ever since she ran away from me at the winery. At the time, I didn’t know that her sister was the woman from the hotel. Hell, neither had he, and I make a note to ask him if he even remembers seeing her at the wine bar. No, it wasn’t until Knox’s wedding that the revelation occurred. I don’t think Branson had any idea it was Alyssa. I think he’s clued in now, however.
For whatever reason, Branson makes a show of introductions, and when his fiancée introduces me to her sister, Alyssa plays it off as if I’m of no consequence.
I chuckle and lean down for her only to hear. “Should I tell her I already know you? Intimately?”
She gasps, turning to glare at me. “Be quiet,” she hisses. “It doesn’t matter. She already knows we’ve met before.”
Huh. Though I’m extremely curious about what she may have told her sister—especially because Ariana didn’t let on that she knows anything—I decide to let Alyssa have her way. For now. I won’t push. Not yet. Not now that she’s finally, thank fucking God, back in my life. Whether she likes it or not.
I want to put on my mask of indifference… But first things first.
“Shall we?” I ask, offering my curved arm, my slacks already tightening at the thought of her skin once again on mine.
Instead, she elbows me, leans in, and whispers, “I may have fallen for your charms once before, ShaneWellington,and it burned me. It will never happen again. What you and I had? It was practically over before it began. Oh!”
That last little syllable from the spunky beauty is muffled as I pull her close to me, our chests touching, and lower my lips to taste her once again. Fuck me. She’s everything I remember: sweet, passionate. And from the way her lips part to allow my tongue entrance, I know she’s still mine, no matter how much she may want to deny it.
When I pull back, I don’t miss the desire in her hooded eyes. Trailing my fingertips along the curve of her neck, I don’t stop until my lips are hovering over her ear. “Oh, no, sunshine. What we had, what wehave, is far from over. That day we spent together was just the tip.”
Her lips part with surprise, and when her little pink tongue darts out to wet them, I nearly lose all my reserve. Before I can retake her mouth, her hands are on my chest, pushing me away. Her heated expression only makes me want her more, and while sitting next to her throughout dinner, not touching her, will be torture, I follow her, ready to get this show on the road.
If Alyssa wants to act indifferent, I can give her a taste of her own medicine.
Something tells me she won’t find it quite as enjoyable as I do.
