Chapter Thirteen

 

 

 

Alex plundered her mouth her with a desperation that made her heart ache. She hated that he took all the responsibility on himself. Even if she did the same at one time, knowing what she did now, what he had been through, she could never blame him for any of it.

Maia tangled her fingers in his hair, sliding over the ridge of the scar. She traced the raised length of it, the horror of what he had been through bringing tears to her eyes. She met his biting kisses fiercely, glad that they had this moment together. As unlikely as it was, they’d managed to find each other again. Perhaps it was time she started believing in fate once more.

She pulled away from him and smirked at the questioning glance he gave her. She had no plans on stopping him. His expression turned to dawning appreciation when she slipped the straps off her shoulders and let the dress glide down her body to pool at her feet. Seeing as she hadn’t been able to find any underwear that suited the occasion, she was bare beneath.

Biting back a moan, he returned his hands to her skin, caressing everything within reach as he made his way down her body. His head dipped as he took the aching tip of one breast between his lips, flicking at the hardened bud with his tongue on his way down.

He slid his hands down her sides and hooked around her hips. Alex used his knees to slide her feet apart so he could settle his mouth between her thighs.

Maia’s head fell back as he opened his mouth against her. She wavered under his erotic onslaught. Her hands returned to his hair out of passion as much as to keep upright.

Alex skillfully used a combination of his mouth, tongue and fingers to bring her to a shattering climax that left her reeling and breathless.

When she finally came back to herself, she found herself sprawled across his lap on the floor. The storm still raged outside the building, but she felt calm. Languid. And it was no wonder. The man under her had completely shattered her senses. And from the insistent movement of his hands and hips, he wasn’t about to let up.

With a quick shift, she straddled his hips as he quickly shucked his jeans and donned a condom. Then he was arching into her in one long thrust. He gripped her hips and started rocking a pace that had her working to keep up and beating him to a spectacular orgasm just moments before he joined her.

She fell against him, replete and exhilarated at the same time. Alex smiled up at her, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. It came across as resigned. Tired.

Maia wasn’t going to let him slip back into a funk. “Come on. The floor’s cold.” But instead of leading him down to the bedroom, she pulled him over to the couch. “We can watch the storm.”

 

* * * *

 

And that was what they did for the next two days. They talked and watched the storm ebb and rage, as they indulged in each other as often as they could. With everything out in the open, Maia felt as if they were starting with a clean slate. But she couldn’t figure out what was going through Alex’s head.

When they were intimate, it was as if she was the only thing in the world to him. But afterward she would catch him in moments with a lost, almost haunted look on his face. When she asked what was bothering him, he would simply snap out of it and kiss her until she couldn’t think straight. She would let him get away with it for now, but she would hash it out with him before they returned to the real world.

A look out of the window now reminded her that they didn’t have much time left in seclusion. Soon they would be back in their lives and who knew how that would change things.

She watched morosely as the slowing rain dripped off the edge of the roof. The wind was calming. The ocean was returning to its former crystalline blue and the sky was no longer an ominous gray. Everything was going back to the way it should be.

Why was that such an unsettling idea?

“Maia?”

She turned to find Alex holding the satellite phone. “Hey.”

He noticed her mood. She could see it in his eyes. There was a pause as he studied her. Alex held up the phone. “I just got word that the weather has cleared enough for us to leave.”

It seemed that he wasn’t as reluctant to return to their lives as she was. Her heart felt as though it was filling with lead as she nodded. “I’ll get packed.”

“Maia?”

“I’m fine. I’ll just get my things.”

“Hey, now.” He deftly stepped into her path and swept her into his arms. “Nothing needs to change when we get back.”

She had to smile a little at his optimism. “Of course it does. We both have to return to our lives once we leave this place. I’ve already done my articles for your hotels. Once I’ve sent them off, I have to get to the next destination.”

Alex’s eyebrows dropped thoughtfully as he ignored her attempt at changing the subject. “We will make things work. I can visit you and vice versa.”

“Yeah.” It came out even less enthusiastically than she felt and Alex picked up on it if his frown was anything to go by. Thankfully, he let it drop. At least for the moment.

 

* * * *

 

The flight back was quiet. Maia took the easy way out and pretended to edit and write on her laptop while Alex seemed quite happy to let her bury her head in the sand as he made a series of calls ranging from arrangements for a ride from the airport to various calls that she wasn’t proficient enough in French to translate.

She chalked them up to business. To ask would prove that she wasn’t as intent on her work as she made out to be. She did hear the name Angelique mentioned a few times, though, as well as her own. And not knowing why their names were being uttered made her stomach clench.

By the time they made it through the airport and were being loaded into a limo, Maia’s stomach was in knots and her mood had soured considerably.

“You’ve been quiet,” said Alex as he settled into the plush interior next to her. “Everything okay?”

She’d sent off her articles to her editor and already got a gushing reception for them. Her next assignment had been arranged and all she had to do now was gather her things from the hotel and she’d be ready to take off again. Everything was exactly as it should be. Everything was in order, but she felt as if her life was inside out. “I got everything sent off and I got my next assignment.”

He frowned. “Already? Where are you headed next?”

“Mexico. There’s a new resort opening up on the Riviera Maya. I leave pretty much as soon as I can get packed and back to the airport.”

Alex kept his eyes on her as he pressed a button and said two sharp words to the driver. The car almost immediately swerved to the curb and stopped.

“Alex? What are you doing?”

His presence filled the small space. “You can’t go yet. We need to figure this out.”

She pressed her fingers to her temples. “We’ve been over this. We can figure out whatever this is as we go.”

Alex gritted his teeth. “And cram in a relationship where and when it fits? What you’re doing is running.”

She straightened her spine and stared right back at him. “I’m trying to be an adult. We’re not kids anymore and we can’t just expect things to fall together just because we want them to.”

“And nothing happens for people who just wait for it to fall into place.” He ran his fingers over her cheek.

She sighed. “You said yourself that we can visit each other. Why don’t you come with me? You could call it a research trip.”

Alex frowned, shaking his head. “You know I can’t right now. I have to oversee the development of another property.”

Maia crossed her arms and sat back to stare at him. “But it’s okay to ask me to hit pause on my life so that it’ll fit in with yours?”

He scowled at her, but it softened as he pulled her close. “Of course not. I just thought we would have more time together before you flitted off again.”

Maia wound her arms around his neck. “I guess I don’t have to rush off right away. I’m sure I could spare a few hours if there was something worth my time.”

“Only a few hours?” Alex punched the ceiling a couple of times and the car started moving again.

She shrugged. “I guess I could adjust my schedule accordingly. Depending on what comes up.”

Smirking, he twisted her under him, making very sure he proved that there was something definitely up. “We have at least thirty minutes before we get to the hotel.”

“Oh?” Maia wriggled under him. “I guess we’d better make the most of it.”

He didn’t need any more encouragement. Impatient, Alex pushed her top up so he could caress her breasts through the thin silk barrier of her bra. He nipped the delicate skin under her ear. “I can’t get enough of you, Maia.”

She knew the feeling. Being with Alex was like a wonderful addiction. The more she had of him, the more she wanted. And right now, Maia needed him. Needed to know she wasn’t the only one who felt this way.

After undoing his belt and the button of his trousers, she edged the zipper down so she could slip her hand under his clothes. He thrust into her hand when she closed it around as much as she could of his erection, bringing a smile to her lips. Maia reveled in the power she had over him. That she could have Alex trembling from a touch awed her. It inspired her to see how else he would react if she continued.

Not to be outdone, Alex quickly got past the barrier of her clothing to stroke her clit with delicate brushes of his fingers.

Maia tightened her grip on him and slid her hand up and down his cock, amping up the tension in his body with each stroke. Just like he was doing to her with his clever fingers.

Her breath came in gasps and sighs when he plunged his fingers into her, grazing the little bundle of nerves with his palm as he pumped his hand.

Just as she convulsed and exploded under him, he crushed her mouth under his as he took her cries into himself.

Dazed, Maia stared up at him, fighting to catch her breath.

Alex grinned down at her, kissing her again before slowly slipping his hand out from between them. “We should almost be at the hotel.”

Reluctantly, she released him.

Alex sat back and righted his clothes while Maia did the same. And not a moment too soon. Within seconds of her running her fingers through her hair and tying it in a neat knot at the back of her head, the limo came to a stop.

They all but ran through the lobby and up to Alex’s suite, leaving their luggage downstairs, not really caring what happened to it.

All that mattered was getting upstairs and in his arms again.

He shoved the door open then dragged her inside to push her against the door and attack her clothes with single-minded determination.

Within seconds, he had her hair down and her clothes off and flung aside so he could see, touch and taste her skin. Everywhere.

He pressed her hands over her head with one hand as he explored her with the other in tandem with his lips and tongue.

Alex licked and kissed her on the mouth, her throat, her breasts. He dropped to his knees and hitched one of hers to his shoulder to press a hot, open-mouthed kiss between her thighs.

Maia let her head drop back against the door with a dull thud as the pleasure streaked through her. After only a few days together, Alex learned very quickly what he needed to do to have her quaking under his ministrations.

It took him minutes to bring her to orgasm using his mouth alone.

Trembling from the aftershocks, she could only hang on when he swept her up in his arms and carried her to his bed.

Placed gently among the pillows, Maia watched as he undressed. He was beautiful. Strong and well built—he was perfect. With each bit of clothing he lost, she grew surer of the fact until he stood before her, proudly naked.

Maia couldn’t help but stare at him. He was too handsome not to.

Alex let her look her fill for a moment longer before he slid up her body to settle himself against her.

Arching into him, she sighed at the sensation of the head of his erection sliding over her.

Tension thrummed through Alex. Just as she thought he was going to plunge into her, he stopped and rolled to his back. He smiled wolfishly at her as crooked his finger in a beckoning gesture. Maia didn’t hesitate and slid over him, straddling his hard thighs.

Alex took himself in hand, rubbing the head of his cock over her slit, lubricating himself before pulling her down over him and sinking deep into Maia.

Gripping her ass, he helped her up and down his erection. Slowly dragging her over him, thrusting up when he drew her down.

Maia held on. There was nothing else she could do thanks to the incredible sensations Alex sparked in her. Jaw slack from the pleasure, she cried out his name in time with his thrusts until she convulsed around him again.

He tightened his arms around her, pounding into her, building her up to another even more powerful orgasm as he drove toward his own.

Maia tipped back toward the bed and he followed without missing a thrust. She could feel him getting bigger, harder, with every thrust until he groaned as he pulsed inside her.

They lay entwined as they recovered, staring into each other’s eyes. Alex kissed her as if he needed her more than his next breath. It wasn’t about exciting her, or him. It was gentle, languid. Loving. They were two people connecting. Two compatible souls that had found each other and were entangled, not willing to let the intimacy end.

A long while later, Alex eased out of her and wound himself around her as if he would never let go.

Maia didn’t want him to.

Needless to say, she didn’t make it onto a plane until late afternoon the next day.