The Romance Challenge, Complete Series Box Set: BBW Hot Alpha Billionaire Romance (7 page)

"The light should come on over the
door at night. I'll have maintenance look at that." He pulled out his
wallet and swiped a card. "I have a master."

I gave the door a little push. A trickle
of sadness wound through my heart. I didn't want the evening to end.
"Thank you. This was great. I'm sorry I got kind of loopy on you. I'm not
an alkie, I promise."

"Stop apologizing for
everything."

He stood close, so close I felt the heat
coming off him, smelled more of that musk I'd noticed. I looked into his eyes,
gazing at me intently. That odd expression was back, like he wanted something
from me. What? Heart pounding, I couldn't look away. Could he possibly be
attracted to me? Why was he staring? I rested against the doorframe, crossing
my hands behind my back. Hardly aware of what I was doing, I tilted my face up
to him and parted my lips.

That was all it took. His mouth was on
mine, his lips hard and searching. I stood there, in a state of shock for a few
seconds, then I kissed him back. He leaned into me, pushing his hard body
against mine, and I pulled my arms from behind my back to wrap around his neck.
It flowed so smooth, so perfectly, like we'd done this a hundred times already.

He thrust his tongue into my mouth and I
met it with my own, delighting in the taste of beer and the smell of his skin.
He moaned, and his arms went around me, his hands grabbing my ass, pulling me
closer to him. Close enough I felt his erection, hard against my stomach. The
low-burning desire that teased at me earlier turned into full, hot arousal,
like he lit a fire in my core. I rubbed against him, needing to touch more of
his body.

One hand moved from my ass, up my ribcage,
to slide around my breast, cupping it slightly. His thumb brushed along the
edge, sending a trail of heat and longing. I wanted more, wanted him to touch
me all over, to run his fingers along my naked skin, everywhere.

We stayed like this for who knows how
long. It could have been seconds, it could have been five minutes. I totally lost
track of time. All I was aware of was the scent and feel of Nathan, and the
moisture that had formed between my thighs. When he pulled away suddenly, I let
go of his neck and about fell over. Not from the alcohol, but from the hot
blood rushing through my body like a race car.

He stepped back, looked at me, his brows
drawn together, and that delicious mouth now set in a hard line. I reached up a
hand to touch his face, then let it drop. Damn it. I'd made him mad. I'd thrown
myself at him, acted like a fool.

"Good night, Amber." He turned
and disappeared into the shadows.

CHAPTER SIX

Shit, shit, shit. Of all the dumbass moves
to make. Kissing Amber had to be right up there at the top of the
things-to-fuck-up-my-life list. I wanted to kiss her earlier, when we stood out
there in the water. She looked so tempting, with that sweet face turned up to
the sky, and the wind plastering her shirt to her body. Her nipples stood straight
up, and I'd barely resisted running my hands over them. But I did resist. Up
until we got to her door. I don't know what the hell came over me then. The way
she opened her mouth, that look in her eyes… I lost control.

Something about Amber called to a part of
me I'd turned off. The part that wanted affection and love, not just sex. Yeah,
I wanted to fuck her, bad, but I also wanted to kiss her, to make her laugh, to
have her sweetness rub off on me. I shut down those desires after Tanya. I wouldn't
corrupt an innocent ever again.

But holy shit. I rubbed my cock as I
undressed. Still stiff. I'd be taking care of myself in the shower tonight. Just
that kiss with her had me harder than I'd been since I was a teenager. She
responded to me so perfectly, like she could read my mind and knew exactly what
I wanted. What the hell was that all about?

It was all about over. I'd apologize for
my behavior tomorrow and hope she wasn't too pissed. Blame it on the booze.
Except I didn't have that much to drink. I was just a sleaze, taking advantage
of a woman who did.

But she kissed me back. Hard, like she
wanted to. Her little body was right up against mine, those pointy nipples
rubbing me. She was into the kiss, clearly. We both wanted it, both enjoyed it.
And after, damn, that look in her eyes, the way her mouth stayed open, ready
for more.

Didn't matter. More was out of the
question. Something happened here in Key Largo, to everyone. We came down,
forgot about our real lives, let the magic, or voodoo, or whatever ran wild in
this place, make us crazy. I'd seen it happen with other people, but it would
not happen to me. Especially not with a valued employee. One kiss, one mistake.
Over.

I was almost in the shower when my phone
chimed. Paul, my brother-in-law. Did not want to talk to him just now but if I
didn't answer, he'd leave a long, rambling message and call back until I
responded. Better to get it over with.

"Paul, how are you doing?"

"Good, pretty good. Yourself?"

"Fine. Listen, I'm in the middle of
something. What can I do for you?"

Blunt, but I had an idea what he wanted.

"Thanks for that last check you sent.
We really needed the money. Say, I wonder if you could spare another hundred or
two? We got a few unexpected bills come up, and with the holidays right around
the corner and all…"

 Paul didn't ask too often. I think he knew
better, knew not to push me. No one, not even my sister, knew how much money I actually
had, and I intended to keep it that way. They might have suspected, and if they
looked up public records they could see a portion of my assets, but I owned a
lot of properties and had other investments that couldn't be traced back to me.

I helped them out a lot, but Karen and
Paul both had good jobs and earned decent money. I put the down payment on
their house and bought them each new cars every few years, despite Karen's
protests. A college fund was well under way for both of their kids. If anything
serious happened, I'd be right there to take care of it, but I needed to stay
out of their lives when it came to finances.

Paul liked to play cards. Sometimes he
won, sometimes not. Knowing he had to provide for his wife and kids kept him in
check, but if he found out what I was worth, and that I could bail him out any
time he got on a losing streak… not good. I had a feeling, his gambling would
escalate to a huge problem. The few hundred he asked for now and then, I
figured that's when he lost and needed to make up his paycheck.

Karen knew about his vice, but she loved
the idiot and other than his gambling, he treated her and the kids well. He could
be into a lot worse, so except for suggesting now and then that he go to
counseling, I left the situation alone and gave him the money when asked.

In the background, I heard a child's voice
calling.

"Hold on a second sweetie, daddy's on
the phone. Wait." That last part muffled, like he held a hand over the
phone.

"So, you think you can help out? I'd really
be grateful. We want to make sure the kids get a few nice presents under the
tree… hey, now stop it. I told you, I'm on the phone."

 A shriek and helpless giggles.
"That's what happens to little girls who don't listen. They get hung
upside down by their feet."

More giggles, then another child's voice
joining in with the laughter.

"I got to go. These monsters need to
get to bed."

A surprising twist of pain squeezed my
heart. Children laughing. The noise often irritated me but tonight, sounded like
fun and home. Like a place I could easily be happy.

"I'll see what I can do about getting
a check to you. Take care."

"You too."

Kids. The only time I paid much attention
to them was with Karen and Paul's crew at the holidays. Now that they were
older, they'd got to be fun. They knew me, ran up to greet me when I arrived,
and would even bring me books to read them at bedtime. Last year, I remember
falling asleep on the couch with his youngest curled up next to me, a blanket
thrown over both of us and a dog on my feet. A nice way to spend Christmas Eve.

But I wasn't a family kind of guy. I'd be
a lousy father. My business came first, always. I wouldn't be home with the
kids in the evening, like Paul. Wouldn't be there to share dinners and go to
plays at their school. Even with his gambling habit, he always did right by his
family, I knew. My people kept an eye on him.

I shook off thoughts of kids and holidays.
I needed to concentrate on this project. Had to finish up my visit here with no
more stupid moves on my employee.

Hoping to hell I hadn't screwed up big
time with Amber, I took my shower, relieved my aching balls, then fell into a
restless sleep.

Tuesday

Wiping the mascara from my fingers, I
tried applying it again. I never got into cosmetics that much. Maybe if I
practiced, I'd get more on my face and less on my hands. Jen always said I
should wear more eye makeup and play up my pretty peepers. She said the eyes
were the windows to the soul, and I kept mine shuttered. Could be. Most of the
time, I didn't want attention drawn to my face.

Why the heck was I bothering? Last night was
just some kind of weird accident. Nathan didn't mean to kiss me. He probably drank
too much, like I did, and felt a little frisky. I was convenient, on a dark,
star-lit night… how could anyone not get all stirred-up down here? Between the
ocean breeze, the smell of plants and sea, and the general mood of everlasting
vacation, it was way too easy to want to fall in love.

Love. Holy shit. How did that word pop
into my mind? Nathan and I were here for business only. This project was
important to him, so, important to me. That was my only agenda; help him with
work-related activities. Absolutely nothing romantic would happen. Like I told
Jen, guys like Nathan didn't fall for large girls like me.

But jeez, that kiss! I'd never been kissed
that way before. It seemed as though he wanted to devour me, and my body
responded right back. Just remembering the feel of his lips on mine, his hands
roaming along my skin… I let out a deep breath. There had to be something
behind that kiss, besides just lust in the moment.

So I'd take a little extra time with my appearance.
Nathan wasn't really serious about me, I knew that, but maybe we could have…
what did I want from him? Sex? My body sure voted for that. My nipples hardened
and an ache burned low in my belly thinking about those few moments when we
stood locked together.

What was up with this crazy, deep arousal?
I liked sex as much as the next girl, but I'd never been this turned-on simply by
a kiss and a touch. Did I whimper last night, right into his mouth? Pretty sure
I did. OMG, he must think I was some kind of horny, needy chick. He started it
though. He kissed me first, grabbed me like he had to get close, like he needed
to feel our bodies touching.

What in the world would I say to him
today? Should I act as though it never happened? No, that wasn't my style. I
faced situations head-on, no tiptoeing around. I'd see how
he
reacted
first when we met this morning. I'd take my cue from him, and go from there.
Probably, he'd act like it was no big deal. Which would be a relief. Sort of.
I'd do the same. Tell him the drinks made me silly. We'd both laugh, and move
on.

I swiped a stroke of color over my
cheekbones. It wouldn't hurt to dial up the hotness a notch. Just because.

As soon as I saw him in the conference
room, my already-racing pulse sped up. He looked damned fine, wearing a dress
shirt and tie. He sat staring at his laptop and when he glanced up at me,
didn't crack the smallest of smiles.

"Good morning. Close the door and sit
down, please."

A glass of water and a coffee cup had been
placed on the table. On the opposite side of him.

He stood. "Last night I behaved inappropriately.
I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

"But…"

He held up his hand. "It won't happen
again. I emailed you a list of the employees working today. I'd like you to
shadow the housekeepers, talk to as many as you can and watch them work. If
you're able to observe anyone without them seeing you, all the better. I'll be
off the property the rest of day. You have my number if you need me."

He flipped his laptop closed, shoved his
chair into the table, and strode out the door. 

Well, hells bells. I stared after him, my
mouth hanging open. Not like I expected a declaration of love, but certainly a
little more than a total brush-off. If he would have let me say something, anything.
I realized I wanted him to know, I'd enjoyed our kiss. Maybe hear that he liked
it too, or that he had fun being out with me. At least a smile, to acknowledge
that moment of passion we'd shared.

Anything other than… nothing.

I took in a deep breath for five counts,
held it for eight, then let it out nice and slow for five. A technique that Thea,
the Therapist I'd seen, suggested using when I got angry. Supposed to distract
the brain from whatever pissed it off and slow down the heart rate. Deep breath
in, hold, out. Again.

Calm down. Not a big deal.
Nathan didn't want to discuss last night. So what? I opened my laptop to get
his email. I suppose this was for the best. Now I knew exactly where he stood.
Not anywhere near me.

Fine. I'd play by his rules. He was the
boss. I misjudged the situation, clearly. He wanted nothing to do with me. My first
thought was right. That last part of our evening had been the result of too
much alcohol. Stupid of me to think any different. And now I had this
ridiculous make-up on and couldn't let the tears pooling in my eyes escape.

After sending the employee list to the
hotel printer, I answered a few of my emails. I had the silly thought Nathan
and I would have breakfast together, so I hadn't eaten yet. I wasn't terribly
hungry and not sure I could choke food down around the lump in my throat, but I
headed to the Water's Edge Café for breakfast anyway, a little crack ripping my
heart.