London Calling: BWWM New Adult Romance (Chase Brothers Book 2) Page 9

Charlotte LeClerc scoffed. "Sometimes young love has to win out," she said.

  Her husband nodded. "The two of you are clearly in love. And if I’m honest with you, Charlotte and I eloped when we were young. We didn’t wait."

  Imani slid a glance at Xander, begging for help. How was she supposed to wiggle out of this one? There was no script. Say something, dumbass. Anything.

  His gaze flickered to hers and she watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. His attention went back to the LeClercs and back again. "Wow, put on the spot, actually. But I've been carrying this thing about with me for ages and I was hoping to do this in Paris this week, but you're right. When it's right, why wait?"

  Letting go of her hand, he reached up to his neck and took off the chain and ring he wore around his neck. In the light, the rose gold shone and the stones around it gleamed. He slipped the ring off the chain and dropped to one knee.

  Oh God. Oh shit. No. No! This was not part of the deal.

  "Imani Brooks. My life changed when I first saw you. I'd never met any woman who makes me feel the way that you do. You astonish me with your wit and your smile and I cannot get you out of my head." He licked his lips and his voice trembled when he spoke again. "I love you. Will you marry me?"

  No, hell no. But with all those eyes on her and Xander holding her hand tight, his gaze imploring her to trust him, the word that tumbled out of her mouth was, "Yes."

  She. Could. Not. Breathe. It was like an out-of-body experience watching Xander slide the ring made of rose gold and emeralds onto her finger. The lighting in the ballroom hit them just so, making them shimmer.

  This was supposed to be a simple one-time thing. Go to this weekend away. Pose as Xander's girlfriend. Get paid five thousand pounds. This was not supposed to happen. But no matter how she steeled herself, she was completely unprepared for what he did next.

  Rising to his feet, Xander pulled her close. When he slid his hand into her hair and cupped her face, she fought the urge to flee. What are you doing? she mouthed.

  Kissing my fiancée, he mouthed back.

  Imani froze in an attempt to brace herself. After the other night, she’d told herself she wasn’t going to go back to that feeling. While the free-fall was awesome, the landing was too hard to survive. But still, here she was, about to walk off a cliff. With him…again.

  He angled his head and halted just before his lips touched hers. Pressed so close against him, she could feel his heart. Hammering, matching the thundering beat of hers. Their kiss in his flat had been a shocking frenzy of need. He had caught her off guard, but even more so by the raw emotion that coursed through her the moment his lips touched hers. This time was different.

  Xander’s lips melted over hers slowly, as if he had all the time in the world. As if they were the only two people in the room and no one was watching. His tongue took command of hers in a sensual dance, choreographed to tease. Every slow stroke of his tongue over hers was followed by a teasing retreat. She didn't know much about this man, but she was certain of one thing. He was an expert at this. Kissing could well be a full-time job for him. It didn't matter how much she steeled herself for this. There was no preparing for Xander Chase.

  When he pulled back, her body swayed toward him. Desperate for more of the bliss he promised her. Slowly the sound blocked out by his kiss began to filter in again. There was applause. Lots of applause. And when she looked around, several women were fanning themselves.

  He released her and the room spun. The chiffon and satin of dresses swirled together. She needed air. Space. Distance from Xander. “If you'll excuse me for just a minute. I'm just going to get some fresh air..." On unsteady feet, she wove her way through the throngs of guests at the party. The vibrant colors of their dresses and their ties clashing together making her head throb. The crowd finally thinned and she stumbled onto the balcony, greedily gulping in deep breaths of fresh air. The temperature was in the mid-sixties, so not exactly warm but the bite of the chill helped the panic recede.

  The shadow of fear evaporated in the night air and she could breathe easier again. There was no way she could let that happen again. She wasn’t afraid of him. He might be a total stranger, but he’d had prime opportunity to hurt her and he hadn’t. What she was afraid of was her response to him and what she felt after he touched her. Out of control of her body. Needy, and desperate for something she couldn’t quite name.

  She’d gotten herself into this mess. Trying to do everything for everyone. What she should have done was taken Fe up on his offer. Instead, her stupid pride got her in trouble. Even as the thought filtered in, she frowned. No. She couldn’t have done that, knowing the pain that money caused him. She was a big girl; she could get out of her own mess. All she had to do was tell Xander she was leaving. Leaning against the thick stone armament, she tried to quell her queasy stomach. She'd never backed down from a challenge before, but maybe there was a first time for everything.

  "Imani?"

  Xander's voice brought her upright and she met his steel-gray gaze. "I can’t do this." She half expected him to try to convince her otherwise or talk her into it, but he just took her hand and nodded.

  His voice was soft. "I’m sorry. This is my fault; I didn’t see it coming. I anticipated a dozen other outcomes. Just nothing like this, so I improvised.”

  Bleary-eyed, she studied her ring. “Where did you get this?”

  “It belonged to someone I knew.”

  Great, recycled love. “We can’t get married. You have to un-improvise. Something. I can’t marry you."

  He slid his glance around before lowering his voice. "Of course we’re not getting married. I was just following Charlotte’s lead. Besides, fiancée looks better than girlfriend."

  She touched her still tingling lips. "Xander—"

  "You know, neither one of you looks like a happy married-couple-to-be. Matter of fact, Xan, your new bride looks a little green around the gills." Alistair’s smile was sly, looking more like a smug smirk. "Now is that because you suddenly realized that you're about to tie yourself to a paranoid, lying reprobate or because this isn’t what you bargained for? What did he promise you a fun weekend away?"

  "Leave her be, Alistair." Xander stepped in front of her, shielding her from Alistair and giving her a clear view of his back. Somewhere along the night, he'd shed his jacket and she could see his muscles bunch under his dress shirt. He was lean but wiry, and she knew from experience how hard every single one of his muscles were. Not to mention there was an edge to him. If it came to a fight, Alistair would lose. Which didn’t bother her. What did bother her was that Xander might actually kill the smug asshole.

  "Take your little girlfriend and go home, Xander. That kiss might have everyone else fooled, but I know you. You’re not stable enough to maintain a girlfriend. Sooner or later LeClerc is going to see through your lie. You don’t belong at the adults’ table. Why don’t you crawl back under whatever dingy rock he found you under? You don’t belong here."

  "Shut it, Alistair. Or you will be eating your teeth and the only thing you'll be able to swallow this weekend is the fois gras."

  The tension swirled around them thick and opaque and Imani could almost taste it. Something else was going on here. Something she didn't understand. But one thing she did know was that Alistair was an asshole. She'd come to do a job, and she wasn’t leaving until she did. And if this douche waffle got an ass-handing in the process, well, she was totally down for that.

  She squared her shoulder. "Actually Alistair, Xander and I were just talking about when we could have Charlotte and Jean to our place for dinner. I love to cook and it’s finally our chance to entertain given our schedules. Besides, I’d like to say thank you for them inviting me along this weekend.”

  Alistair scowled. “Your place? You expect me to believe you two live together?”

  Xander pulled her close to his side and his spicy aftershave made her want to nuzzle into him. “We’ve been living together for months. Given
what happened with my last fiancée, I’ve kept this relationship under wraps.”

  What the hell did he mean by that? She’d ask him about it later. Standing on tiptoe, she kissed his jaw. “I’m afraid Xander has been trying to keep me all to himself. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I need to call home and squeal over the news.” Without giving him another glance, she slipped her hand into Xander's and tugged him toward the main entrance and the stairs leading to their suite, not letting go until they were safe from prying eyes.

  Xander shut the door behind them quietly. "What did you just agree to?"

  Oh boy. Wrapping her arms around her belly, she paced. "Apparently we're living together."

  "Yeah, love, I gathered that much. But you don’t know Alistair. He’ll check. I can have the staff say you live there, but that will only last for so long. He’ll use that as an opportunity to show LeClerc that I’m bullshitting him. It will actually have to be real. At least until I get myself on that board."

  Fuck. She paced along the hardwood floor. "Sorry, he was just such a smug fucker I lost my mind. I don’t know what your beef with him is, but what I know is he’s not a nice person so whatever you have planned for him, bring it on."

  “Looks like you’re moving in then.”

  Twelve

  Xander clawed at the darkness, desperate to find the light. He didn't dare look back, because if he did, there would be no coming back. He had to keep moving. Had to keep fighting. Behind him, he could hear Silas’s heavy breathing, panting, thundering footsteps. Icy cold hands clawed at his back as if Silas was trying to reach him beyond the grave. And then there was the empty silence.

  Somewhere ahead, an angel called for him. “Xander?”

  If he could just follow the sound, he’d be safe. Happy. Warm. Slowly the dream lifted even as he tried to make it to the mysterious angel. Slowly he blinked sleep from his eyes, and Imani was standing over him, a hand on his thigh. “Xander. Are you awake?”

  With the adrenaline still coursing through his veins, his heart worked overtime, pumping blood to his body. She was so close. She smelled so good. One taste of heaven and he’d wake up. But for now, he clung to the dream, tugging her closer until she was close enough to taste.

  Her lips were so soft. So sweet. Just having her near was enough to banish the darkness from his mind and he needed that. The problem was eventually the warm glow turned white-hot and his tongue licked at the seam of her lips.

  She parted them on a sigh, granting him access and he took full advantage. With a low groan, he yanked her down to him and rolled their bodies so he lay half on top of her, blanket tangled around their legs.

  Her fingers dug into his biceps as she clung to him and his mind spun. Need coursed through his blood and his erection strained against the cotton of his pajama bottoms. She wore only a thin t-shirt and he was shirtless; he could feel her nipples pebble where his chest met hers.

  But it wasn’t until her tongue slid against his, until she kissed him back that he lost control.

  Roughly, he shifted her until his hips lay between her thighs. And he claimed her mouth, devouring it, wanting to erase any other kiss from her memory.

  Beneath him, her hips rolled into his and his cock throbbed. The edges of his consciousness started to gray and he felt a tingle at the base of his spine. Fuck. He wasn’t coming in his pants again with her.

  But he couldn't bear to stop touching her, not yet. Just a little bit longer. He'd hold on to heaven before he returned to hell where he belonged. With one hand he gripped her hip, stilling her movements. The other fisted in her hair.

  With a whimper in the back of her throat, she arched her back, rubbing her nipples against his chest. Oh fuck yes. His hips gave an involuntary jerk and he knew he was going to come if he didn’t stop.

  Despite the overwhelming desire, guilt started its insidious creep through him. She didn't deserve this. The first woman who could arouse him in years. And he was acting like a strung-out addict.

  With a growl, he pushed away from her onto the far end of the couch. His lungs burned, desperate for oxygen. His skin itched, desperate to touch her again. Everything slowed to a stop and his brain catalogued every single thing about the moment.

  Her legs slightly parted with her shorts riding up, exposing acres of legs. Her shirt had ridden up past her bottom rib and he swallowed hard. Another inch and he'd be able to see the underside of her breast. Three more inches and he'd have nipple.

  His cock twitched. Jesus he wanted to taste her so bad. No. Stop it. You can’t have her. "Fuck. Bollocks. Shit."

  Blinking, she sat up. "I—what was that?"

  He ran his hands through his hair. "I'm a wanker. I had this dream, and you were standing there and…" He let his voice trail. "It won't happen again."

  Who the hell was he kidding? If she was going to move in with him for a couple of weeks it was bound to happen again unless he got his shit together. She swallowed hard and pushed herself to standing. She didn’t say a word as she stalked into the bathroom and closed the door.

  He was never out of control. Why couldn’t he sort himself out with her? The proposal last night had been playing the part. But kissing her, bollocks, that had been the best moment of the night…and the stupidest. She’d tasted so good, so sweet. For days he’d been able to convince himself that he’d imagined how good she tasted that first night. But now he knew he hadn't made it up.

  He stared at the door for several minutes then cursed. He'd almost jeopardized everything all because he couldn't keep his hands off of her. Get it together, Xan. He needed her.

  #

  He may have just pulled this madness off. Xander surveyed the guests as they milled about the balcony for breakfast. The majority of yesterday he’d spent in meetings with various board members. Where they’d asked about why he wanted to be on the board. His commitment. Why the work was so important to him, given his career. He’d been as honest as he could be. Giving just enough of the truth without exposing himself. He could hardly tell them he only wanted to expose Alistair.

  While he’d been busy, Imani had been lumped with the other plus ones. Charlotte had taken a particular liking to her. Which could be bad or good depending on how he looked at it. Truth was, he should have been more worried, but that money was as important to her as getting on the board was to him. So he had to hope she gave a good show. By the time he’d returned to the room last night, she’d been fast asleep.

  It wasn't exactly like he was avoiding her. He was just avoiding being in an enclosed room with her. Which was entirely different. After what had happened when she’d woken him from his dream, he figured it was best to give her a wide berth for a bit.

  They'd do friendly things. He'd show her around Paris. Stay at his flat. It was spacious with two bedrooms. Plenty of room. At the very least he wouldn’t have to hear her soft breathing and wonder about how peaceful she looked in sleep. Or think about how soft her skin was. Or worse. Want to touch it again.

  He hated the way she made him lose control. Every time he was around her he felt like he was spiraling down, about to crash. Then of course he'd kissed her last night and made matters worse. And just like the other night, he'd been ready to have her on the spot. It was as though her lips were his own personal brand of dynamite. He went to sleep still half hard from that kiss. He wasn’t sure what had triggered his nightmare yesterday morning. He was no shrink, but he was pretty sure emotional and physical upheaval didn’t help keep nightmares at bay. He'd need to figure something out very quickly. Otherwise living together was going to be a big fucking problem even in a place as big as his.

  The morning's meeting with LeClerc and the rest of the board couldn’t have gone better. The women on the board had been easier to convince than the men. His work spoke for itself. But the tricky part was using the right combination of charm without overdoing it. If he'd used too much, they'd assume everything Alistair said was truth. If he used too little, they could have assumed he didn't care enough
about the job. If he were going to be the man behind the media brand, he'd need to give a shit. And have his mind focused on the right things.

  Imani glanced up in surprise when she saw him at the bottom of the stairs. “Oh, Xander. I didn't expect to see you.” Her tongue darted out and moistened her lower lip. “I know we leave in the morning, so I’m taking the chance to see the city. I’ll be back tonight.”

  Xander shook his head. “We are headed into the city. We’ll stay at my place tonight.”

  “Uh,” she sputtered. “You don’t have to do that. I know you’re busy.”

  “Free as a bird. I finished up last night. I made you a promise. And I intend to keep it. Unless there’s a reason you don’t want to go to Paris with me?”

  She pressed her lips together firmly. “Nope, nothing at all. Ready when you are.”

  “Great.”

  He’d opted for a car and driver into the city. Driving in Paris required a certain level of insanity and rage and he wasn’t in the mood today. "What would you like to do first?"

  Her eyes darkened and her gaze dipped to his lips. She kept looking at him like that and he was just going to give her what she wanted.

  She shook her head and cleared her throat. "Well, how about the Eiffel Tower?"

  "Do you mind if we do that one tonight when it's all lit up? My flat is right near there. How about Sacre-Coeur? We’ll need to be a little strategic since we only have today."

  "Sure. I’m not fussed. I just want to see it. Lead the way."

  "I figured we could celebrate tonight with dinner?"

  "Celebrate. Right. I take it they gave you the job?"

  "Not yet. They’ll need to take a vote back in London. But thanks to you and whatever you said to Charlotte, it’s looking up. So as soon as we get back, I’ll wire you.”

  “Yeah, just how is that going to work when we get back, exactly? Because Vincent Price back there thinks we live together.”

  The snort of laughter came out of nowhere. Damn, this woman could make him laugh. “You’re right. He does sort of resemble Price. I dunno. You come stay at my place for a couple of weeks. After the next board vote, we’ll have a quiet little breakup. No big deal.”