Heart's a Mess (4 page)

The bottle was tipped back, sending a rush
of reddish-amber liquid down his throat. Her eyes watered in empathy.

Alex closed his lips and righted the
bottle. “Wow. Damson gin, my grandmother’s recipe. Your turn.”

“What?” She inched back in her seat.

“You’re drinking with me this time, Vi.”

“Don’t you want to save them to drink with
your brothers?”

“There’s plenty more. This one’s for us.”
He leaned one knee on the couch and loomed over her. Like a sex God. No, shit
no. Like her boss. How did her thoughts derail so fast around him?

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she
said, inching away in the opposite direction.

“I know.”

“But thank you anyway.”

He leaned closer. “Indulge me, Vi.”

“Alex—”

“Please.” Damn it, the look in his eyes
undid her. She knew better but his beautiful eyes scattered her wits to the
four winds. She couldn’t think of a good enough reason to fight this insane
attraction when he looked at her that way. As if being locked with her in a
storage room made his day. Her backbone was jelly. Her resolutions were flimsy,
feeble things.

“Open,” he ordered.

The glass touched her lips and the gin
burned a fiery sweet trail down her throat. Holy shit, it was heart-starting
stuff. Her eyes watered for real this time.

Alex smiled and took another gulp of the
brew. “Man, that’s nice. Now, Jane, my ex-wife, said I had communication
issues. That I wouldn’t talk to her. So, I’ve decided honesty is the best
policy. And since we’re stuck here for the foreseeable future or until my idiot
brother lets us out. Why don’t we talk?”

“You want to talk again? Crap. I’m going to
need more of that.” Vi held her hand out for the bottle and he gave it up, resuming
his seat beside her on the lounge once more. Her eyes didn’t water so much this
time. The fire in her throat didn’t scorch so much, possibly since the
sensitive top layer had been stripped clear off.

“Yes, we should talk,” he said. “I mean…I
can’t stay away from you, because we work together.”

She nodded and passed back the bottle.
“Sure. That and your brother locked us in a storage room.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll get him back for that.”
He took a giant swig from the gin, the motion of his Adam’s apple bobbing in
his throat far more interesting than it should have been. She couldn’t look
away.

Thick necks had never done it for her
before so this infatuation made no sense. She had control of herself and her
life. But the need to sink her teeth into him filled her head. His skin tasted
of salt and something special. She remembered it perfectly, something unique
and delicious and male. Her mouth watered. His cock would taste every bit as
good sliding against her tongue. They hadn’t gotten around to that. It had been
fast and furious, rough and hard. It had been the most exciting sex of her
life.

And he didn’t even remember.

“You’re staring,” he said and passed back
the bottle.

“Sorry.” She gulped the liqueur down,
trying to pull her mind out of his pants. That’s what his grandmother’s damson
gin tasted of, sweet ruination. Been there, done that, learned from it and
moved on. Or she thought she had.

“Don’t be,” he said, staring straight back
at her with lust blazing in his eyes. It might have been a trick of the light,
but damned if she’d check out his crotch for reassurance. “I like you watching
me. Probably too much. Like I said, it’s been a long time since anyone got to
me like you do.”

“Alex.” Man, did they really have to talk
about it? She shoved the bottle at him. “Your turn.”

“I’m serious. You’re the first woman I’ve
had sex with in over a year.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean a thing. We
all go through dry patches.”

He scoffed. “It means something, Vi. It
means there’s something between us that was missing with all the other women I
tried dating.”

“Oh please.”

He just looked at her. Fuck he was
gorgeous. Alex Stuart made every other male she’d slept with fade to
insignificance. She could barely remember names, let alone faces.

“It’s the truth. My libido had been on a
hell of a long vacation until you came along. Now, God, just the thought of you
gets me hard. Just you.”

“I don’t have a magic pussy, Alex.”

“I disagree.”

She huffed out a laugh. “You’re crazy.”

The side of his mouth curled up and whoa.
Her stomach dropped and her sex throbbed. She was doomed. She needed to get a
handle on this situation before it took complete control of her. God, this
couldn’t happen again. Time to remember her job, her life, her something or
other of utmost importance preventing her from jumping him. But it seemed
impossible to remember it all exactly when he looked at her like that. The good
girl needed to prevail. This had to happen.

So she opened her mouth and said the worst
first thing to come to mind. “So what’s your ex-wife like? Let me guess, like
the cute little thing who tried to deck you the other day?”

His gaze narrowed on her. The fire appeared
to subside some, but not entirely. “Vi, I’m sorry about calling you Jane. I
really am. But let’s not lie to each other. She has nothing to do with what’s
between us here and now.”

“There’s nothing between us, Alex. I work
under you.”

Suddenly, the light in his eyes roared anew
and she realized just how her words could be taken by a dirty mind.

She backpedaled fast. “Not, well, not under
you, exactly—”

“Because you were on top, right?”

The bottle of gin trembled in her hand. “I
didn’t mean—”

“To bring sex back into it?”

“Yes. No. I…”

The bastard grinned at her.

“Stop it.”

“You started it.”

“Fine. Well, I’m stopping it.”

Alex licked his lips. “You started it by
bringing up my ex-wife to take a dig at me. As I said, I’m sorry I said her
name when we were in bed together. And I’ll apologize to you as often as you
like because I feel like a complete asshole about it. But if I’m making you
feel cornered, Vi, then keep the hits above the belt. Don’t throw my ex in my
face. I’m not perfect. I never claimed to be. That was a shitty situation but
it’s over. It has no impact on now or on whatever is going on between us.”

Her mind reeled. As if she could believe
him. The anger in his voice at the mention of what’s-her-face was clear. The
far wall held her enthralled for the longest time. She couldn’t face him. The
nastiest feeling crept through her. Shame, perhaps. Or worse, fear.

“Look at me,” he said.

Not a chance. She stared at her hands,
clasped in her lap. “If what you say is true then I’m the first person you’ve
slept with since your wife. I’m the rebound girl. The fling. It’s probably
quite normal to get a bit overexcited. Doesn’t mean you’re ready to move on
necessarily.”

“You’re a therapist now?”

“No,” she said. “But maybe you should see
one. I’m sure they’d tell you the same thing. You probably have lots of issues
to work through before you should go trying to be in a relationship again. And
I can’t afford to just be a passing phase for you, Alex. I know I can’t. Not
job wise and not heart wise. So please, let this go.”

Above their heads the music thudded on, the
bass line booming through the floor and walls.

“Look at me,” he said again. “Vi.”

“Let it go.”

“Please.”

She was shit at refusing him. Absolutely
hopeless.

His beautiful face was sombre, lips edging
down. He reached out and trailed a path across her jawline, caressing her. The
touch light, tempting. “I can’t let it go.”

“Alex.”

His fingertips continued down her neck, the
pace slow and sensual. His touch lit a fire inside her. Took every worry and
turned it to ash. Her skin felt damp, feverish. Her nipples were so hard they
hurt. He traced the neckline of her dress, moving closer all the while. She was
pretty sure she was breathing but there didn’t seem to be any oxygen getting
in. Her lungs felt on the verge of collapse. If he didn’t do something soon,
she’d hyperventilate or maybe even die.

Then he cocked his head and pressed his
lips against hers, breathing life back into her. Kissing her as sweetly as she
could wish for.

If she’d been wishing for sweet.

She hadn’t.

The feel of Violet’s tongue in his mouth
had Alex moaning. Fuck she was hot. Fiery hot, with her hands fisting his
shirt, dragging him closer, pulling him in for the kill. He’d meant to take it
slow. He’d meant to take her to dinner, to talk her around gradually. Then get
her back into bed, of course. Ignoring her sure as hell hadn’t worked for
either of them.

Kissing her blew his mind. She’d been
right. They were a bit of a mess together. Hot, wet and unending. Coming up for
air never crossed his mind.

The stroke of her tongue was perfection. He
filled one hand with her hip, fingers rubbing at the fabric of her silky dress
and the soft flesh beneath. Thank fuck she’d worn this dress and not one of
those tight skirts. It meant getting closer wasn’t so hard. Vi pulled him down
on top of her and he kind of maneuvered her to get her underneath him. Together
they made a wonderful team. Their mouths remained sealed all the while. His
shirt would never be the same, the way she tugged on it. Her knee bumped his
belly in passing, but never mind, all good. He’d gotten between her thighs
where he belonged.

“Vi.” The feel of her smooth, bare skin
beneath the palm of his hand had his balls aching. His dick pushed against the
zip of his jeans. Her lips slipped over his chin and sharp little teeth stung
his neck. It felt amazing, having her come at him with such hunger despite all
the declarations. “Fuck.”

“Touch me.” Her hand grabbed his and
pressed it against her panty-covered pussy. The material was gratifyingly damp
and warm. Also, it felt silky, like her dress.

“Wait.” Alex eased back, pushing her dress
up around her waist. His eyes popped out of his head. He felt it. At the very
least, his tongue definitely rolled out like a carpet. “Oh my God, Violet.”

The panties were black like her dress. A
simple black band of lace encircled her hips with a panel of silk between her
legs and garters to hold up her stockings. He didn’t know where to touch first
but his hand remained, cupping her pussy, with hers firmly atop. His heart was
beating so hard, ribs would be broken. His dick was definitely trying to dig
through his pants.

“I think you just blew my mind,” he
muttered.

She said nothing, just lay there looking
stupendous.

Alex leaned back on his knees, tugging at
the tie on the silk dress. He had to know if the bra matched. Nothing else had
ever been quite this integral to his future survival. The belt fell loose and a
button was all that separated him from nirvana. He fumbled it through its hole
and pushed her clothes aside. Soft skin. Black lace. Big breasts. Really big.

“Oh damn.”

Vi shifted nervously beneath him, her teeth
biting at her lush bottom lip. “Alex?”

“Stay still.” He wrapped one hand around a
breast, squeezed just a little.

The lace remained in his way. Pretty as it
was, it had to go. The panties though, they could stay. He slipped his hand
into the cup of her bra and lifted a breast free. A perfect, large pink nipple
was revealed. He bent over her and lapped at the tight peak with his tongue.
Her breath caught, audibly. Excellent. Without delay he took as much into his
mouth as possible and sucked, hard. Vi’s back bowed in response, pushing her
against him. The noise that left her leveled him. A groan crossed with a moan
mixed with heaven ripped wide open. It traveled straight through him, making
his blood surge, what little of it remained outside of his cock.

Why didn’t he have his phone? If he’d had
his phone on him, he could have recorded that noise and listened to it over and
over.

Never mind, next time.

He sucked again, not stopping until she
sobbed out his name. First one breast and then the other, he loved them both
equally. Missed the left bad while he played with the right. Longed for the
right while he tongued the left. Indecision could have torn him in two. He
could happily spend the rest of his life with his face buried in her cleavage.
But her fingernails were digging into the back of his hand, the one still
cupping her mound. The crotch of those perfect panties were wet against the
palm of his hand.

“Easy, Vi.” He tucked his fingers beneath
the damp panel of silk. She felt soft, hot and bare to the touch. And wet.
Very, very wet. Just like he was very, very hard. “Shit. I don’t have a condom
on me.”

“I’m clean. On the Pill.” Her wide, wild
eyes searched his face and her hand dragged at his stretched t-shirt. As if he
could refuse her a damn thing.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

She gave a quick nod.

“I’m clean too,” he said.

Another hasty nod from the girl beneath
him. “You’re sure?”

He pushed his fingers into her, stroked the
hard little pearl of her clit with the pad of his thumb. “Honestly, I can’t
think to save myself. But we’re both clean. You’re on the Pill. And we need to
fuck. Now.”

“Yes,” she seconded without hesitation.

“Right. The panties stay on.” He tugged at
the button on his jeans. Between his one free hand and the two of hers, they
got the zip undone and his jeans and underwear down. His cock sprung loose, the
hard length standing proud, as if it’d been made just for this moment, for this
one woman. If nothing else, that thought alone could prove there was nothing
left functioning in his brain. She owned him.

He slipped his fingers from her pussy and
sucked them clean. Nothing could compare to the salty-sweet taste of a woman.
The musky scent of her. He’d missed a million things about sex during his dry
patch, but Vi lying willing beneath him made up for everything. She wriggled,
spreading her legs wide.