Chapter Twenty-Three
Paul walked over the grounds, forced morning hellos to staff and guests, and longed for the solitude of their room. He had to step back and get a better perspective on the situation. He needed to figure out how to deal with the undertow of emotions Justin was caught in, and he needed to find a way to appease the yearning he had to see Bethany.
He ached to hold her and make sure she was okay. Ached to see her bright smile.
Actually, Paul ached to be held by her.
He unlocked the door, tossed the key on the table, and released a breath at the scene before him.
Bethany was in bed. Still sleeping.
Well she’d been sleeping before he’d woken her by loudly cursing when he stepped into the room.
“What’s wrong?” She sat up and pulled the sheet up her chest. “What happened?”
He swiped his palm over his face and looked away from her full pink lips, which spoke of all they’d shared in the night. She should look wonderfully fucked, not worried. He couldn’t stand the angst in her eyes.
“Sorry I woke you. It’s nothing. Work stuff.” He repeated Justin’s excuse, feeling like a total fool for doing so.
She deserved better than that lame explanation.
But hell if the woman didn’t strip him of all his defenses.
He turned his back to her and opened the refrigerator door, searching for anything so he wouldn’t have to meet her gaze and let her read his own concerns.
Warm, comforting arms snaked around him, and her head lowered on to his shoulder. Fuck. He needed her. Wanted her to make him good. He wanted her comfort.
“Whatever it is, you’ll make it okay. Don’t let it ruin our day.”
Our day…he had to admit he liked that. He returned the bottle of juice to the shelf and turned to wrap her in his embrace. He cupped the back of her head, held her against his chest, and rested his cheek against her hair.
“You’re right, baby. Nothing is worth wasting our day together.” With his finger beneath her chin, he tilted her face up to his, calm washing over him as she looked up. “And you’re the one making it okay. Thanks.”
She flashed him a brilliant smile, and he wanted to come clean. He wanted to just be with her.
“Here’s a quick summary so we can move on. Justin is pissed with me. You’re going to be pissed with me soon. And I can’t blame either one of you.”
“It’s okay. We’ll make it okay.” Caressing his back, she placed a series of soft kisses on his chest. “What is going to make me pissed?”
“The resort sale. We’re on different ends.”
“I already know that. It’s not news,” she said, kissing up his neck. “So, next.” She flicked her hand. “Justin? Why is he pissed?”
“I’m not sure. Pissed is the wrong word. He’s upset,” Paul admitted, realizing she could probably figure out Justin just as well as he could. He lifted her and positioned her so she stood on his feet, close, real close, as he wanted her. He slid his hands to the small of her back and steadied her, feeling her warmth pressed against him. “He claims it has to do with City Wings being on its own, but I don’t think so. When he’s anxious, he throws himself into work and doesn’t come up for air.”
Holding her against him, he walked them to the window seat. She sat, curled up between his legs, making the view so much better because she was sharing it with him. They listened to the wind, which had picked up significantly since the morning, and looked out at the whitecaps on the blue waves.
“He always did,” she said, after a few minutes, smoothing a finger over his forearm and soothing away the agitation he’d felt when he’d entered the room. “It comes from his dad being so complacent and leaving his mom in such a bad state when he died.”
“He told me it had been real rough for them.”
“More than rough,” Bethany said. “We were only in tenth grade, but J had to grow up real fast. At first, it wasn’t obvious, but once their measly savings were gone, they worked so hard just to stay in their apartment. Both Justin and Leslie.”
While they’d discussed what had happened, Justin never harped on his father’s shortcomings as a provider for his family. Paul knew his mother had worked two jobs until Justin had bought her a townhome and insisted on paying the mortgage and maintenance.
“His mom finally cut back to just one job three years ago,” Paul said. “She gave up waiting tables and is now working as a receptionist for one of the legal firms whose offices she used to clean.”
“It’s about time. Leslie was great at anything she did, but Joe was so laid back, so she did everything. She deserves a normal workday. Deserves some Leslie time.”
“How Joe was with his family wasn’t right. She shouldn’t have had to toe the line on her own,” Paul said.
“Joe wasn’t a bad man. He loved his family. But he didn’t think anything past the rent and supermarket money was necessary. That’s why he let his life insurance lapse without even telling her. They used the money Justin was saving for a car to pay for his funeral.”
“That, I didn’t know.” Paul suddenly felt guilty for all the driving jokes. “I wouldn’t have bugged him about being such a bad driver if I had.”
“I’m sure that’s why he never mentioned it,” she said. Bringing her knees to her chest, she turned on the seat, snug between his legs, with her back to the window, and looked at him. “He’s not one for pity.”
“I know.” As the wind tousled her hair and they eased into casual conversation, he opened up about what had happened in the office. “I lost my temper, but I shouldn’t have. Something other than work and the resort is bothering him. I didn’t know what to do.”
“That’s why you’re upset?”
“Yes. He won’t let me help.”
“He’s so freaking determined to give more of himself than he receives,” she said. “He’s definitely working himself up over something. And it could be the resort or your company. But he won’t ask for help. He’s stubborn like that.”
“Maybe he’ll ask you.” Sliding his fingers through her long hair, he looked into her eyes. “He’s confided in you in the past. Maybe he’ll talk with you.”
“Ha!” Bethany huffed. “Wishful thinking. And if you’re referring to the time after his dad’s heart attack, it was more like he just let me be there. He didn’t ask.”
“I’m sure he wanted and needed you.”
“Perhaps, but his verbal communication was minimal. The only reason I know about him paying for the funeral is because I went with him to the bank and was there when he closed out the savings account. He never said why, but he withdrew all forty-one hundred dollars, and never spoke about buying a car again. It was a simple service.”
It must have been. Paul knew his own grandfather’s casket had cost way more than double that. And his Justin had to go through it as a kid. “It’s a good thing you were with him.”
“We were best friends by then. I couldn’t let him go through it alone.” She shook her head and gave a little chuckle. “Even Leslie let me in. She actually let me make finger sandwiches for people who came to pay their respects. Never before or after did she allow anyone in her kitchen.”
“Typical Leslie,” Paul said, feeling his connection with Bethany solidify over their love for Justin. “And you were still a baby, but you were there for them.”
“That’s what you do for people you love.”
So true. While they’d never faced the same difficulties, he’d do anything for his family. Anything.
“Trust him,” she said in a low voice. “He’ll either figure it out or come to you. He trusts you.”
Paul shook his head and rested his cheek against her hair. He inhaled the sweet scent of Bethany mixed with the fresh sea air, and restless optimism moved through him.
“Did you and Justin meet in school?”
“Nooooo,” she said, enunciating the “o” for a good five seconds. She chuckled again and her body shook with amusement. “He was in public school. I went to a stuffy, all-girl private school. I bumped into him one time when he was helping Leslie clean my dad’s office. And teenage girls can be rather crafty. From that day on, I tried my hardest to be the last one out of the pool at swim practice so it would be real late and one of the moms would drop me off at my dad’s office instead of at home. It was easier for her when it was late.”
“So, prepubescent Bethany had her eyes set on little Justin early.”
“Sure did,” she admitted with a big smile. “But there was nothing little about Justin. He was the biggest part of my life. Everything about him made my day.” She held her hands out and formed a heart with her fingers. “I was so head over heels for him. But it took J a few years to notice me as anything more than a buddy…except maybe a cleaning assistant. And he was hard to work for.”
“I could see that,” he said, snuggling her close and kissing her shoulder. “What a stupid, ignorant guy he was for taking so long.”
“He’s still a cleaning tyrant?”
“Totally,” he replied, laughing. The day before the cleaning lady came each week, Justin made him pick up all his clothes and put the bathroom toiletries in order, while he tidied the kitchen.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said, repeating it in his mind, because damn, he was so happy she was still there and he’d look like a fool to keep telling her. He gazed into her big, bright eyes and shook his head. “I’m not crazy about the circumstances that brought us together, and I’m worried you’ll hate me for it, but I’m so happy you’re in my life now.”
She feathered her thumb over his brow, gave him a genuine smile, and brushed her mouth over his. “Paul, that’s how things work sometimes. It’s not always moonlight and roses.”
He kept his mouth to hers, slipping past her lips, and tasting her sweet breath. “Can I have another kiss before you change your mind about how things work sometimes?”
“As many as you want,” she said, parting her lips and spreading her fingers over his back. “And when you do piss me off, do it with kindness.”
He chuckled, wondering how with a simple request, she touched deep inside him. He leaned in and claimed a kiss before raising his head and looking into the warm, melted, milk chocolate-colored eyes that he couldn’t get enough of.
The physical connection was undeniable. What baffled him most was how he felt he knew her…really knew her…and adored everything that was his Bethany.
Fuck. His Bethany? Where did that come from?
“Whoa. What’s up?” She’d clearly felt his body tense at the thought, because she moved left to right, peering into his eyes. “What are you thinking?”
“You may not like what I’m thinking,” he teased, tracing the swell of her breast through the sheet.
“Try me,” she whispered.
“I’m thinking I want to carry you to bed, taste every inch of this sweet body, and then lose myself inside your warmth until you cry out my name,” he said, lifting her into his arms. His lips grazed along her jaw, her throat, and over her collarbone.
Running his palms over her thighs, he wrapped her legs around his waist and cupped her bottom. He wanted more of her, so much more.
“That sounds like a good plan,” she breathed, sweeping her tongue over his neck and blowing on the wet trail.
His pulse raced and his breath quickened.
“Baby, at some point, you and I need to really discuss what is happening between Vaso’s Dream and Luxury Homes. Knowing you won’t appreciate what I have to say, I admit to feeling guilt, so I leave the timing of that discussion up to you.”
Passion glazed, but aware, her eyes looked into his. “About me or about my dad?”
“Your father,” he replied, honestly.
“He and business have no place here, in this room, or between us,” she said, settling her warmth against his erection. “We’ll talk later. Not here.”
“Are you sure, Bethany?”
“Take me to bed, Paul.”
He didn’t need to hear it again. He just needed her.
Bethany warmed his heart and soothed his spirit. Her essence filled him and made him believe anything was doable. With Bethany at their side, they were whole. It was impossible to understand how it was possible to need someone in only a few days. He didn’t bother to figure it out. Paul let go and lost himself in his Bethany.
For as long as she’d have it, she was his, and he had it all. Everything.
Bethany and Justin were everything.
He sealed his lips to hers and carried her to bed, following her down to the mattress, putting only enough distance between them to pull the sheet away. He kissed her long and hard, reveling in the feel of her fingers in his hair as he opened his heart and soul to the woman with a magical touch.
Determined to make her want him as much as he wanted her, he made good on his word.
* * *
Bethany trembled with need as he looked into her eyes and silently asked for more than a physical connection. They already had more, and the simple fact that he asked touched her. As Paul took her mouth, she surrendered to what she had in her heart for the man. Love. Without any hesitation, she accepted her total and complete love for two men, two men who also loved each other.
Her skin tingled beneath Paul’s touch as he slowly traced every inch of her body, and made slow tender love to her with his mouth. His tongue followed hands, down her neck, over her breasts, and to the straining peak of her left breast. His thumb feathered over her right nipple, as she arched her back and offered him all of herself.
“This isn’t what I expected,” he rasped.
“What did you expect?”
“Not you, koukla mou. Certainly not you.” He closed his mouth on her other breast and spoke as he suckled achingly on her and trailed his hand over her belly. “Nothing could have prepared me for you. I never thought I could feel for two people the way I feel for you and Justin.”
“Me, too,” she admitted, closing her eyes as his touch validated her feelings.
“It’s real,” he breathed, bracing his weight on his elbows and meeting her gaze. “What we have is very real, Bethy. I want you every bit as much as I want him. And I’d want you regardless of your connection to Justin. It’s difficult to wrap my mind around the intensity of these emotions.”
“I feel the same. I even feel guilty.”
“Why, baby? Why guilty?”
She took a deep breath and tried to organize her thoughts, finding the task more difficult as he slid his fingers through her heat and circled his thumb around the sensitive bundle of nerves at the top.
Moaning, she lifted to him. “Some women never experience what we have…never…and I have it, twice over, with both of you. It doesn’t seem fair.”
“Fairness has nothing to do with it.” A slow grin spread over his handsome face and his amber-colored eyes twinkled. “We’re blessed.”
Paul’s hair brushed over her skin as he lowered his head and his mouth joined his fingers. All thoughts of guilt fled her mind.
Drowning in a sea of sensations, he was her life vest and anchor. With each passionate stroke of his tongue over her core, the pressure built deep inside her and had her floating just a little more.
Patient and tender, Paul coaxed tremors from her body, and when he slid a finger inside her and swept over her sweet spot, her breath shuddered and she bucked against him.
“Give me everything, Bethy.” He cupped her ass and lifted her to him, fitting his mouth on her warmth and sucking her between his lips. With a soft nip of his teeth, he groaned in appreciation. “Come for me. Come now.”
Her orgasm splintered from her body and a bright, blissful energy wrapped around her as she shouted his name in release.
“That’s what I needed to hear.” He rose above her, claimed her mouth, and buried himself inside her pulsing heat with a growl. His movements sure and strong, no longer tender and gently, drove her higher, kept her hovering in sensual overload. He stole her breath and filled her soul with each thrust. And he didn’t let her come down from the ecstasy, but built on the simmering effects of her first orgasm.
“It’s too much,” she cried, wrapping her legs around his waist and rising to meet his every thrust. She inhaled deep, moaned loud, and closed her mouth on his shoulder to keep from floating away.
“Again,” he commanded, closing his arms around her. “Take me with you, love.”
He sank deeper inside, ground against her, and claimed her mouth as a second climax exploded and colored her world. Paul called her name as he came, pushing deeper than she thought was possible and emptied himself while crushing her against his pounding chest.
Time stopped in his arms. He held her until their breathing evened and her strength returned. She caressed his back and kissed up his neck.
Resurfacing, he shifted down her body and laid his head on her belly, drawing tiny circles with his fingers on her chest.
“For a man who doesn’t need, I need you, Bethany. You soothe my heart.” He touched his mouth to the underside of her breast, breathed in. “You smell so good. I can stay here forever.”
“Stay,” she said.
“I want to take you on a proper date. I want to share the island with you. Show you the sights.”
“It’d make me happy,” she said, picturing the date in her mind. “It’d make me real happy.”
“And maybe…just maybe, you’ll understand,” he said, looking up at her and smoothing his thumb along her jaw. “Don’t hate me, Bethany—”
She placed a finger across his lips. “I don’t want to hear it. Not now.”
“Okay,” he said.
She tangled her fingers in his hair and held him against her chest. She closed her eyes and carried the beauty of their joining into her dreams.