~ Rhett

 

“What?”

I did my best not to stare. Even clad casually in jeans and a loose blouse, Cece was quite the distraction. When Mona, my housekeeper, mentioned that she’d emerged from the guesthouse after sequestering herself there for almost two days, I jumped on the opportunity. That said, it wasn’t my aim to scare her off. I’d planned to drop in on my way to the office in Savannah and mention something she might be interested - and now I found myself doing my utmost not to stare at her gorgeous, full mouth and the rose-colored lipstick she wore.

“I mean,” I cleared my throat, remembering what we’d been discussing, “I have to stay in Atlanta for the next week or so for business, and I thought you might like to come to the penthouse there so we can continue your interviews.” And so I can keep you close.

I wasn’t idiotic enough to try to jump Cece’s bones again so soon after the liberties she’d allowed me a few days ago, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to press my luck - carefully, of course. As I had suspected, one time with Cecily could never be enough. I’d spent the last two nights tossing and turning, wishing she were beside me - where she belonged.

Not that I’d let her know that.

“Well, I... I could just wait for you here until you come back.” She suggested, color rising to her cheeks. Her face had been flushed just like that when I came up from my feast between her legs. God, I could still taste her on my tongue.

“Aren’t you supposed to be documenting my daily life? How are you supposed to do that when we’re apart for weeks on end? This project does have a deadline, doesn’t it?” It was a dirty trick, playing into her sense of duty where work was concerned, but I wasn’t above tricks if it got me what I wanted.

And dear God, I wanted Cecily. Even more than I had before I knew what it was like to have her in my arms. It was uncanny, really. Every time I had ever craved a woman, tumbling into bed with her almost immediately slaked that hunger and I could move on. At the very most, I’d linger for a few weeks, knowing I’d grow bored but doing my best to at least play the gentleman...but being with Cece was entirely different. The moment we left the cabin, I wanted to return. Her hold on me was alarming...or, at least, it might have been, if a part of me hadn’t already admitted that she’d never lost her hold on me.

“I... guess you’re right.” Her lips curved upward in a forced smile. “Can’t get the goods if my subject is half a state away.”

“Don’t worry, I promise I’ll show you a good time.” I rounded the counter that separated us reflexively, needing the barrier gone. “We can’t be all work now, can we?”

For every step I took forward, she took one back. I should have quit while I was ahead, but I’d be damned if I could control my impulses when she was around. Eventually, however, there was nowhere for her to go. I hemmed her into the kitchen corner, my body scant inches from hers, and reached down to lift her chin with two fingers. It was time to address the elephant in the room. If she wasn’t going to do it then I sure as hell would. “Cece, about the other day-”

“Rhett, please.” She cut me off lowly, refusing to look me in the eye. “We don’t need to go there.”

As far as I was concerned, this wasn’t about needing. I wanted to go there with Cece - wanted to force her to confront what happened in the cabin and how effortlessly mind-blowing it had been for the both of us.  “Don’t we?” I murmured, causing her gaze to finally shift to mine. “Nothing about what we did was wrong, Cece. In fact, I’d like-”

She refused to let me finish - though I supposed I couldn’t protest the way she went about achieving her goals. Rather than listening to my speech, she merely rose onto her toes to press her mouth to mine.

I was stunned for perhaps half a second. After all, considering the way she backpedaled, the last thing I expected was for Cece to suddenly give into me. After the initial shock faded though, I jerked her to me, deepening the kiss to taste her properly.

The afternoon in the mountains came rushing back and I was instantly, embarrassingly hard. If I had the wherewithal, I might have wondered just what it was about Cece that had me so entranced when no other woman seemed to have the same effect. I already knew her - at least, I had known her, so, shouldn’t that somehow shield me from the myriad of emotions that she triggered in me?

I supposed I merely had to accept that, with Cece, nothing really made any sense. I couldn’t quantify her, like I did factors in the business that I dealt with day to day - and in that particular moment, I didn’t really care to. I was more preoccupied with the soft press of her breasts against me and the breathy little sigh she emitted against my lips. Within an instant, I took hold of her hips to lift her onto the kitchen counter.

When her arms slid around my neck, I bit back a curse, nudging my way between her thighs. This woman was clearly going to be the death of me.

I’d only intended to stop in for a minute - to make sure that she came to Atlanta with me. Truth be told, if I lingered for very long in the kitchen I was going to be very late for a video conference I was supposed to be joining in the next ten minutes. But all of that ceased to matter when Cece’s tongue was sliding against mine. I might have very happily shucked her clothing from her and had my way with her on the counter - regardless of the fact that Mona was still on duty. I might have carried her to the living room and made such a mess of the couch that I had to buy a new one.

Unfortunately, before I could get to either of those options, the intercom buzzed, jogging both of us back to reality.

“Fuck.” This time, I didn’t mind letting the epithet slip. I met Cece’s gaze briefly and forced myself to swallow my questions. We still needed to talk - desperately, in fact; but, for now, it would have to wait. “That will be Tony. He’s here to go over some paperwork before the video conference.”

“Of course.” Despite the bold ardor of a few moments ago, Cece was suddenly shy, tucking her hair behind her ears as she slid demurely from the counter. “Whatever you need to take care of.”

If she had any idea how much I wanted to take care of her, she might have run for the hills - and I would have chased her all the way. “So, Atlanta, tomorrow?” I raked a hand through my hair, hoping my erection wasn’t as obvious as it felt. I was going to have a shit time explaining this to Tony.

“Yeah.” Her affirmative reply was accompanied by the slightest hint of a genuine smile, and the sight was enough to make my heart stutter in my chest. It seemed I wasn’t nearly so badly off as I might have imagined.

There was still time.

 

Unfortunately, there was less time than I might have liked in the days that followed. After the video conference went off without a hitch, I had to lead the company in a push to produce the materials needed for an immense series of orders overseas - and that meant leaving Cece to her own devices for a few days when we reached Atlanta.

Of course, I made sure to give her the grand tour of the penthouse - nothing so indulgent as her first trip to the manor (I’d learned my lesson where that was concerned), but I made sure she was comfortable in one of the spare bedrooms down the hall from mine. Somehow, I resisted the urge to spirit her away into the master suite and forget my business dealings, promising to return in a few days once things had gotten off the ground with production of materials.

Considering that I’d once crossed the country and left Cecily, you’d think that leaving her to get to the office across town would be nothing at all. The fact of the matter was that I couldn’t remember anything harder than leaving her in the foyer of the penthouse.

I adored how Cecily refused to doll up for anyone when she travelled. She didn’t really need to. Even without layers of makeup and a perfectly chosen dress she was one of the most gorgeous woman I’d ever had the privilege of laying eyes on, and I told her so before I slipped out the door. Cecily, being Cecily, merely blushed and spluttered and ushered me out of the house, citing that I was going to be late, but I had done my duty.

I made sure she was thinking about me all day - and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

After I left the penthouse, however, things were all business. Tony had come up from Savannah with me, and he was waiting for me at the office. When one was shipping tens of millions of dollars’ worth of equipment halfway across the world, there were certain legalities that had to be observed. Tony was there to make sure things went off without a hitch.

“I’d ask you if you’re ready to tackle this, but I already know the answer.”

I let him into the elevator first, rolling my eyes as I thumbed the button for the fortieth floor. “I’ve been working harder than you my whole life. This will be a walk in the park.”

“Ah, but you’ve never had the lovely Cecily Warner waiting for you back at home.”

I glared at him, jamming the elevator close button. I should have guessed he might mention Cece. He’d been giving me shit ever since I’d answered the door the previous day with a massive erection. “Cece’s not going anywhere. She hasn’t finished the interviews.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s why she’s sticking around.”

I scowled. Usually, I wouldn’t mind playing along with Tony’s sardonic sense of humor, but now wasn’t exactly the best time for me to have Cecily on the brain. It had been hard enough to leave her that morning. “Work first. If you want to rag me about my love life later, feel free.”

“Ooooh, he used the L word.” Tony grinned triumphantly as I swallowed a groan of exasperation. “Someone is in fucking deep.”

If the man wasn’t one of the best lawyers in the southeast, I might have pummeled him into a pulp.

Thankfully, processing the order went off without a hitch. Of course, even a smooth shipping process meant being in contact with clients every step of the way, visiting factories in Vermont and ensuring quality control, and seeing to it that the product had a personal escort to Asia. In three days, I got perhaps seven or eight hours of sleep, and by the time I finally received a call from an elated client, I was all but dead on my feet. When I dragged myself out of my office, Cynthia frowned deeply at my haggard appearance.

“With all due respect, Mr. Warner: Go home.”

I managed an exhausted smile. “I plan to - after I finish this last bit of paperwork.” To my recollection, I never had any problem buckling down to do what needed to be done. But knowing that Cecily was less than ten miles away - wondering what she was doing with herself in my absence - made it hard.

It being figurative and literal.

It was with great reluctance that I ultimately returned to my office, a massive cup of coffee in hand, to finish up the closing paperwork for the deal. Steeling myself for a last push, I sank down into my chair - just as my phone went off.

It was close to eleven at night - I was pretty sure that the only reason Cynthia was still in the office was to make sure I didn’t collapse in exhaustion. Like hell I was answering my phone.

When I paused to take a long swallow of my coffee half an hour later, however, I withdrew the device from my pocket to glance at the notifications.

And immediately stiffened.

Holy hell.

I did, indeed, have one missed call - and that call was from Jebediah Warner.

For almost a full minute, I was too shell-shocked to do anything more than stare down at the screen. I hadn’t heard from Jeb in over a decade. To my knowledge, he didn’t even have my number - not that it was terribly hard to find me if one tried hard enough. Or if Cece had given him my number.

The notion was enough to make me more than a little nervous. It wasn’t as if I was afraid of Jeb on any level. I had the weight of twelve years success behind me, and even as a kid, I’d always been bigger than him. Though Jeb and I had once had a kind of haphazard friendship, in that moment, what I most remembered was how protective he’d been of his little sister all those years ago.

To say that Jebediah hadn’t liked me dating Cece would be an understatement. When I first tried to explain to him that I had a thing for her, he refused to accept it and banned me from their house. Of course, ultimately, he’d forgiven me - on the condition that I dated another girl. When that hadn’t happened, he’d taken to following us around - trying to catch us in something that he deemed inappropriate.

Luckily for us, while Jeb had been getting into all kinds of trouble, Cecily and I had been establishing secret meeting places around the neighborhood - places we could go to avoid her brother.

It was the only way we’d been able to keep our little romance going. If Jeb had his way, his sister would never have dated. In his opinion, no man was good enough for her, let alone someone who’s dark side he already knew.

And now, twelve years later, he was calling me. He’d left a voicemail, and I hesitated for only a moment before putting the phone to my ear.

Hey Rhett! I can only imagine how shocked you are to hear my voice after all these years, but I heard Cece was doing an article with you and got your number! I’ve been down in Macon for a few years, but I’m headed up to Atlanta for a week or so next month. We should get together and catch up! I’ve never had lunch with a billionaire before. Call me and we can plan something. Hope to hear from you.

I listened to the message one more time. In it, Jeb sounded so congenial that I was almost tempted to call him back. Almost. Though I hadn’t seen the man in a long while, I couldn’t assume that very much had changed about him - and that meant that he still wouldn’t approve of my dating his sister, monied or not.

After contemplating for a moment, I deleted the message. It would do me no good to talk to Jeb - and beyond that, it might be detrimental for Cece. From what I understood, her parents left the country to teach abroad shortly after I headed to the west coast, and she’d been under her brother’s thumb for a number of years. As an adult, I wasn’t about to subject her to that again. Much as I respected the relationship between a brother and a sister, Cece was her own woman. The last thing either of us needed was for Jeb to interfere all over again.

I had other plans.