Things were going pretty fucking good with Sarah , Drake thought as he gazed at her from across the dinner table. She was animated as she told him another tale about the dress fitting he arranged for her with Stephanie and how she’d gotten her dress and it was almost half a foot too long till she got a perfect wedding guest dress. Sarah ’s expression was a mixture of amusement and sympathy for the stressed Stephanie , but he had to admit that he wasn’t listening to the story half as much as he was watching her movements. The way that she brushed her hair off her shoulders when she got animated. The way her eyes lit up when she talked about her friends. The graceful curve of her neck. Hell, he was even fascinated with the way her throat moved when she swallowed her drink.He’d never been this bad over a woman before. Never.What was fucking ironic was that he was okay with her being his ex. He knew it going in, and he’d figured that he’d wine and dine her, seduce her into giving up h
Drake walked Sarah back to her room that night, and they kissed at her doorstep for what felt like forever. He wished—rather fervently—that she would invite him in, but she only gave him a shy smile and that was it. That was fine, really. He wanted her to be comfortable, and maybe he’d pushed his Sarah a little too far with their play in the waves. Maybe she’d realized he’d jerked off while he sucked on her breasts, and that had alarmed her. He didn’t know what her boundaries were yet—mostly because she didn’t, either.Vaguely unsatisfied but still pleased, Drake headed back to his room and undressed, showered, jerked off, and went to bed instead of turning to his computer for late-night work.He’d just drifted off when a noise woke him from his sleep.Drake peered blearily at his dark hotel room. It was almost midnight—one hour after he’d left Sarah. He knew his assistants will never wake him unless it was very important.He hadn’t been asleep for long. What had awoken him?A soft
Sarah woke up out of a delicious sleep to the feel of something hard prodding against her buttock. She blinked at her surroundings. Big hotel room. Strange art on the walls.Warm body against her. One hand squeezing her bare breast. Erection pushing against her backside. Her pajama pants still on her legs, but no top.Oh.Flashes of last night flooded through her mind and she bit back her gasp. Arousal snaked through her veins, and she recalled vividly what she’d done to him . . . and what he’d done to her. And oh, it was fun. More than fun—amazing. She wanted more.But she peered at the alarm clock on the bedside table and sighed. Eight in the morning. She had to be at breakfast with Brown has she promised him the day before, and then she still needed to go with Stephanie for one last fitting and a makeup trial run to go through. There was no more time to lie back in bed and cuddle, as tempting as the thought was. So she peeled back the covers and started to edge out of bed.“No
When midnight passed and Sarah didn’t call him,Drake started to get concerned. Surely they weren’t out to dinner this late, were they?When one A.M. slid into two in the morning, Drake decided to go to Sarah’s room and talk to her. If she was hurting, he wanted to try to fix it. He knocked on her door, but there was no answer. He texted her. Still no answer. He waited outside of her room for ten minutes, impatient, and then when no one came by, he slipped a credit card into the lock and jimmied it. If she was in her room and ignoring him, the latch would be flipped and he wouldn’t be able to get in.But a moment later, he was able to get in, and the door swung open. The room was empty. Sarah wasn’t in.Where the hell was she?A twinge of worry cut through him, and he shut the door quickly again, then headed to the elevator.She wasn’t in the lobby. He searched the gardens, and she wasn’t there, either. The restaurant was closed due to the late hour, and the bar was empty of all
He didn’t carry her all the way back to his room. As much as he’d wanted to, Sarah had blushed and insisted otherwise. They’d walked back, hand in hand, instead. They were quiet, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable quiet. Rather, it was an anticipatory one.When they got into the hotel, Drake looked over at Sarah. “Did you want to go back to your room to get anything?”She shook her head, eyes shining. She looked so goddamn thrilled. Why couldn’t he shake the feeling that he was doing something incredibly dickish? He was cornered either way. He was going to either lose Sarah tonight, or lose her tomorrow. This way he at least made her happy, right?He’d just have to deal with the fallout.They went up to his suite and Drake locked the door and set the latch.He turned around. “Sarah, if you’re sure—”“Quit asking me if I’m sure. I’m absolutely sure,” she told him, and tore at the front of his shirt, ripping the buttons open.All right, then. He grabbed her and began to kiss her, hi
Her body jolted and then she squirmed. Her hands went above her head and wrapped in the blankets. “Oooh.”“Feel good?”“Feels like too much,” she moaned.“No such thing.” He leaned in and tongued it again. Her sweet taste filled his mouth, the scent of her enveloping him. There was a hint of musk to Sarah’s delicate flavor, and he couldn’t get enough of her. He began to lick her in earnest, dragging his tongue over her labia and collecting all the moisture he could find. His tongue glided up and down, and he nibbled on the lips of her sex when she got too silent. He liked her making those little noises of surprise and pleasure as she experienced oral sex for the first time. He wanted to blow her mind with it, so he did his best to keep her on edge. He licked his way up again, and then began to swirl his tongue around her clit.She moaned and began to rock her hips against his face, grinding against his mouth.And fuck, that was hot.“I goddamn love third base,” he whispered into
For some reason,Drake was sweating, even though the temperature on the thermostat read a balmy 74 degrees. Sarah adjusted his tie for him and then smoothed a hand down the shoulders of his black formal jacket. “You okay?”He gave her a distracted smile. “Great. Peachy.”Sarah nodded, but didn’t bring it up again. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Drakewas distracted and so unhappy at having to attend the publicity dinner with her, but she didn’t want to back down. This meant something to her. This meant he’d come out in front of all of his friends ,especially Lilian and would show them just how much being with her meant to him.And she needed that. She needed that badly. So she put aside any twinges of misgiving at Drake ’s stiff attitude. Last night had more than made up for any hint of distraction today. Dreamily, she put on the last touches of her makeup in his mirror and tried not to think about how incredibly intimate—and mind-blowing—last night had been. She’d expected it t
Sarah felt Drake stiffen against her for a split second, and the next thing she knew, she had her back pressed to the wall of her suite room and Drake was kissing her, his mouth hungry and passionate on her own.And maybe they should have been more worried about the fact that they still had the door of the suite open from when they rushed in, in an overeager bubble of lust, but Sarah couldn’t bring herself to care. And oh, sweet Mary, she’d missed him. She’d missed him so much. Hot tears began to trail down her cheeks even as she continued to kiss him, giving him every bit of pent-up passion she’d stored up in the last miserable hours of staying away from him. His mouth licked at her own, his hands cupping her face even as his knee worked between hers. And it was frantic, and glorious and—And her back was wet and sticky and when she turned her head, it made a squelching sound against the wall.“Wet paint,” she murmured against his hot, insistent mouth, and then dove her tongue
EPILOGUE About three months later, the wedding was a small affair held in the crystal blue surf on Drake ’s private paradise.Brown served as best man while Sarah was the best lady .Sarah’s father attended as well, even refusing to give her away saying only that the family was growing, no one was going anywhere. He had perked up considerably since his new medical treatment.Lovingly, Drake looked to his beautiful bride whose stomach began to slightly show as her belly barely grew. The secret was theirs to know for now , they didn’t want the public interference aside their family . Soon enough her belly would be impossible to hide.He imagined the day, in the not too distant future, when he would hold his own baby. He had missed too much of his parents absence during his young life and looked forward to cradling the new addition in his arms.And if having a son was beyond compare, he couldn’t imagine what it would be like when he held his daughter. Sarah was smiling all about as she s
A half hour later, they emerged from Drake ’s sedan in front of an unfamiliar building. Sarah gave a nervous smile to the doorman who held the way open for them, but she couldn’t avoid the sick feeling in her stomach. This was like high school all over again. No, worse. It was like those nightmares she had where she was pushed out onto stage and didn’t know her lines. A thousand worries flew through her mind. What if someone asked what she did for a living? Should she lie? Act coy? Would the truth embarrass Drake ? What if they had to eat something and she had no idea which fork to use? A small giggle escaped her at the thought of their horrified faces if she used a salad fork on her dessert. “Are you all right?” Drake asked as they entered the elevator and waited for their floor. He was dressed in a gorgeous suit with nearly invisible pinstripes that had been tailored to fit his handsome form. He wore an equally dark gray shirt underneath it, with the collar slightly open and no tie
The next morning, she woke up to see Drake off for the day. He kissed her at the door for several minutes, then sighed. “I have meetings all day, but I’ll be back in time to pick you up tonight.” “Gotcha. Is there a bookstore nearby I can hit up once I find some pants?” Drake chuckled. “You have all of New York at your disposal, and you want a bookstore?” “Pretty much.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “But it comes second to pants.” He leaned in and kissed her again. “Tell you what. I’ll send my assistant over in about an hour with some clothes for you. She can escort you around town.” She wasn’t sure that she needed a chaperone, but it might be wise until she got her feet under her. “All right.” She wrapped her leg around his and clung to him in a way that left nothing to the imagination. “You’re going to think about me today, right?” Drake groaned, his hands moving to cup her naked ass under his shirt. “I couldn’t stop if I tried.” “A wise man once said, ‘We strive afte
A week later Warm lips brushed her cheek. “We’re here.”Sarah stirred, embarrassed that she’d fallen asleep in the car, she’s been sleeping too much and Drake have been too attentive too. “We are?”“Yes. We have just enough time to get you situated upstairs, and then I have to head off to my meeting.”Yawning, Sarah blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to wake up as she followed him out of the car. She stood on a wide sidewalk, the street lined with cars up and down both sides. All around her were tall, elegant buildings. Nearby was an awning and a doorman stood below it, waiting.Drake leaned over the car and spoke into the window. “Wait here. I won’t be long.” Turning back to her, Drake took her by the arm and began to guide her toward the building with the doorman. “I’ll show you my place, and you can get comfortable.”“Do you have to go?” She asked, glancing uncomfortably at the doorman as he opened the door for them. Drake ignored the doorman and headed into the lobby, then t
Drake rubbed Sarah’s shoulder as she leaned against him in the car. The drive to Drake’s apartment was fucking endless, and his entire body sang with a need to pull Sarah into his lap, tear down her panties, and drive into her.But he had to be patient. She was calling the shots for now, because she needed to feel comfortable again. That was why they were going all the way across town to his private apartment instead of heading to his place on the Upper East Side. Sarah was in control.At least until he got her naked and squirming under him. Then he was taking control, and he’d make sure she was screaming her pleasure before he even thought about his own.He nearly swore with relief when the apartment building came into sight. He opened the door, got out, and then held the door for Sarah. He gave the driver a nod, signaling that he wouldn’t need his services for the rest of the evening, and then wrapped his arm around Sarah’s waist again.She stared up at him with a soft, passion-
He didn’t look pleased to see her.Sarah had expected that. She’d guessed when Brown had hung up on her that Drake was holding a grudge of some kind against him too clearly stating how Drake had gone physical with him.That was her reason for buying this hole in the wall dinerhe put up for sale .She wanted to find out what the problem was so she could fix it.Not like she did not know but she still wanted them to talk things out.And then she wanted herself back in his arms and in his bed, laughing as he kissed her skin and quoting Plato when he undressed her.But he was seated with the other waitresses, arms crossed over his chest, and he looked furious. Even furious, though, he was lovely.She had to look lovely too her smooth brown hair was twisted into a messy knot at her neck, and she wore a slick of lip gloss that would probably make him wonder what she tasted like with it on. She wore a plain blue T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, but even in the casual clothing, she will appea
A wedding was no place for someone with a freshly broken heart, so Sarah did the best she could to hide her misery. The good thing was that she never had a moment to herself. From the time she woke up the next morning, she was part of the wedding whirlwind. The bridesmaids had breakfast together again, and gifts were exchanged with the teary—but radiant—bride. Then, the women had hair and makeup done, last-minute fittings and stitchings into their gowns, and then they all took a limo to the far side of the island, where a massive white tent had been erected to shelter the wedding party as the others arrived for the outdoor wedding. The wedding itself would take place on a white pier built especially for the ceremony, with tiers of steps for the bridesmaids to stand on. A cobblestone path had been created through the sand and smoothed over for the high heels of the women, and the chairs for the guests were carved wooden benches placed in the sand with white and red umbrellas dotting th
Drake awoke before Sarah did. His body’s internal clock was set to 6 a.m. New York time, no matter where he was. He’d also awoken with a stiff cock and pleasant memories of the previous night’s sex and the morning with Sarah . Tousled, sweet Sarah, who’d been so responsive in his arms, and absolutely startled when he’d found her G-spot. That look of pleased surprise on her face? That had made him feel like a king in bed.She hadn’t been the most skilled of his lovers—he suspected the Ukrainian ballet dancer would forever hold that spot—but she’d been the most open and honest one. Her expression, totally unable to hide anything, had pointed him to exactly where to please her, and her wide-eyed responses and gasping moans had been an incredible turn-on. She’d been enthusiastic and genuine and pleased to be with him.Him. Sarah the “manager.” She didn’t know if he had two nickels to rub together, and hadn’t cared. She’d just wanted to have sex with him. And he couldn’t say that with ce
Morning sunlight struck his eyelids, drawing sleep back to the suppressed piece of his brain and effectively awakening him. Slowly, blue orbs were exposed to the dimly lit hotel room, and as they adjusted to the light pouring into them, as well as to the feeling of being cast from the dark recesses of his once sleep-stricken mind, objects in the room began to show up through the faintly blinding sunlight.A dresser was cast across the room sat beside a door he could only faintly remember belonging to a bathroom used to it's full capacity the night before. Set across from the doorway to the bathroom sat a balcony, again quite used the night before.The curtains connected to the balcony, shielding the sunlight only slightly, blew faintly through the minuscule crack between the glass door and the wall keeping it in place. Like a silk blanket, the warm smell of cinnamon, sex - or rather passion and love mingled together in one wonderful scent - and what almost seemed like...A brief and