Chapter Seventeen
Blake
Alyson had a way of making me forget I had other priorities. I had a multi-million dollar business to run. Saturdays weren’t days off. They were days other people took off. Me? I worked seven days a week.
I watched her lying in the sun next to me. The sun glistening off her wet skin. The straps of her bikini tossed on either side of neck. I thought she might have fallen asleep.
But here I was. Skipping work. Playing on the beach. Acting like my time was free.
I pulled my chair toward the shade under the umbrella. It had moved since we set up camp this morning. I tossed a chip at the same seagull who had been stalking us all day.
“Get out of here!”
He gobbled the chip and flapped his wings until he was only a dot in the sky. He flew behind us over the Escape.
I had expected Alyson to grill me about the lawsuit and about Dad, but she had only listened. Maybe it was because she had her own share of family pain.
There were things I still hadn’t told her. But I didn’t want to rush it. It felt like there was time. We would talk more. I’d ask about Kendal. And she’d ask about my parents. I dug my heels deep in the sand.
I closed my eyes, ignoring the urge to check my phone. Emails could wait. Davenport Corporation could make it a day if I took a nap on the beach with a pretty girl.
***
The next day we sat on the balcony.
“When was the last time you took an entire weekend off?” Alyson asked.
There was an open bottle of wine between us. I looked over at her on the chaise. The colors of the Sunday sunset reflected shades of pink off the glass door behind us.
I pretended to search my memory bank. “Uhh. Does my Italy trip count?”
“No, since you told me you went there to scout an olive farm.”
“Did I say that?”
She nodded. “You did. I think you were trying to convince me you traveled for fun.”
I laughed. “Now why would I try to do that?”
She reached to refill her glass. “You weren’t very forthcoming for the feature I wrote.”
“Maybe I should let you interview me again.”
“I can’t do that.” Her head moved back and forth.
“Why not? I’ll widen the circle of questions.”
She crossed one foot over the other. “I think we have officially crossed into unethical territory. If I write a feature about you I wouldn’t be able to be very objective.”
“It’s business. You don’t think you could separate the two?”
“If people know we are—” she paused. “Whatever we are. If they knew, then it would look bad for my journalistic integrity.”
“And your integrity is important to you?”
“Of course.” Her lips pinched together.
“Even if I could give you a story that would impress your boss, you wouldn’t take it because of your ethics?” I pitched the question to her.
Her eyes darted to me. “Why? Do you know something?”
I laughed. “See? Curious aren’t you?”
“Of course I’m curious. Doesn’t mean I was going to use the information.” She took a sip of wine. “But what is it?”
“I just wondered what you would say.”
She exhaled loudly. “I’m going to have to talk to Christine tomorrow about this.”
“Why?”
“You proved the point I was trying to make. I can’t separate us from work. I can’t cover stories about the resort, or about you. It’s not right.”
“Wait a minute. Didn’t you tell me she was willing to move you up if you could give her more exclusives?”
“Yes, but I’ll have to do it another way.”
The sky was getting darker. The pink hues had turned amber. I could feel the weekend sinking behind the clouds with the sun. I hadn’t felt the Sunday blues since I was in high school.
I turned so my feet were on the deck. “Tell me what you’re going to say to her.”
“I haven’t figured it out yet.”
“You are being way too calm about this. If you’re going to have a meeting with your boss, you need a plan. You need to be able to go in there and negotiate with her.”
“Negotiate? I have nothing to offer. I have to tell her our personal relationship compromises my ability to report unbiased information. There’s nothing else I can say.”
I took the wine glass from her hand and placed it next to her. “This is serious. You have to have a strategy.”
“All right.” Her painted toes landed on the floor facing mine. “What do you advise?”
“You can’t ever go into a meeting without something to offer, but most importantly you need to know what you want to get out of it. Stand firm. Stay strong.”
“I want to keep my job.”
I shook my head. “Think bigger than that. You’re taking information to her. You’re giving her something. What can you get?”
Her face twisted in a frown. “I don’t have any information. What are you talking about?”
I had debated how to let this play out, but this would be win-win for both of us.
“I have a story for the News & Report. That’s going to be the card you play.”
“You do? What is it?” She was on the edge of the seat. I could see the fire in her eyes.
“We’ll get to that.”
“Blake, if you have a story for me, I need it.”
“I thought you said you couldn’t separate me from work. This story is very specific to one of my latest acquisitions.”
The darker it got, the more I realized the weekend was almost over. Tomorrow was already a beast of a day. I would be on conference calls from seven until seven.
“You didn’t mention you had acquired anything new.” Her eyes narrowed. “What is it?”
“I buy and sell every day. You know that. But you could tell your editor you have a scoop on a South Padre land deal that has a direct impact on the resort. Trade her the story for a chance to focus on the features you really want to write.”
“A trade? But you aren’t going to tell me what it is?”
My hand squeezed her knee. “Remember the mother and daughter from the Cove?”
“Bridget and Jennilee? Of course.” She lowered her eyes. “They remind me of—”
“Your sister. I know. I thought the same thing when I met her.”
“You met Bridget? When?”
“I didn’t have much choice after that article you wrote. You basically crucified me in that story.”
“They are going to be homeless, Blake. It wasn’t as if I could put a happy spin on it.”
I took a second to pour another glass of wine for myself. Alyson was still working on hers. The bottle was almost empty.
“No. You’re right. There’s no way to make people losing their homes a happy ending, but I have good news.”
She stared at me, the expectation circling her eyes. “What is it?”
“I am the proud owner of a new campground on the sound side of the island. Bridget and Jennilee will be moving in two weeks.” I grinned.
“Are you serious?”
I nodded. The wine was dry and crisp. “It was a good business move. I can relocate ten residents. The mother doesn’t get kicked out on the street. I built in a cushion for the demolition budget, so I’ll use that to make the abandoned lot livable. In a few years when all of this blows over I’ll sell it.”
“But then what will Bridget do?”
“Hopefully by then she’s not still living in a camping trailer.”
“So you did this for the press? To kill the story I wrote?” Her brow was starting to furrow and the lips I loved to kiss so much weren’t smiling.
“Darlin’, I’m building that resort. Things are going to come up along the way. This was one of those things, and I took care of it. I’m happy the mom and little girl have a place to go. But I didn’t promise her anything other than I would get her moved. I don’t owe her a damn thing.”
“How can you say that? She grew up on this beach. She used to vacation here with her family. Jennilee’s father has never paid her a cent. That trailer park is all they have. Don’t you get that?”
“What I get is that you made the right decision.”
“What are you talking about?” Her eyes glared.
“There’s no way we can do this.” I grabbed her around the waist, despite the way she struggled in my arms. “And you not cause problems for me. You’d write another story just as damaging if you got the chance.”
“Me cause problems for you?” Her tone was irritated.
“You disagree?” I studied her eyes. She was breathing heavy and her skin was still warm from the sun. I couldn’t believe I had spent two days on the beach. We had significantly increased my total number of lazy minutes.
“Ugh. I hate it when you’re right.” She threw her arms next to her side. “If I wrote the story now you’d probably have to buy the rest of South Padre to recover from it.”
“I know I would.” I chuckled. “Now that we have that settled, do you know what you’re going to say to your editor tomorrow?”
She considered my question. It took her awhile to answer. “You want me to trade story choice for this planted piece of public relations?”
“If you don’t report it, someone else will. I’m giving you something to wield before you head into that meeting.” I leaned back on my elbows. The wind fluttered through her hair.
“True. It’s bound to be picked up tomorrow.” She chewed on the side of her lip. “And you think my boss will go for it?”
“It’s worth a try.”
Her face softened. I smiled as she lowered herself on my chest, resting her head over my heart. I tangled my fingers through her hair.
“I’ll try it. But I can’t promise anyone will paint you in as positive light as I will,” she teased.
“I’m hoping one that’s much better.”
“Hey!” She assaulted my sides with her fingers.
I looked at my watch over her head. “It looks like we only have three hours of this weekend left. What do you say we take this party inside?”
“What’s in there?” she teased.
“Your toys.” I waggled my eyebrows.
“Oh,” she said with new understanding.
I led her inside and to the bedroom. I unzipped the bag next to the bed. I held the pink vibrator in the air and smiled wickedly.
“Have you ever tried this with someone?” I asked.
She shook her head slowly, as she threw her clothes on the floor. Fuck. This girl was a sex panther.
“Never?” I tested her again.
“No,” she whispered as her breasts bobbed free from her bra.
I turned the vibrator on, watching her eyes light up with the sound. My cock twitched. This was going to be fun.
She crawled toward the edge of the bed, her hands landing on my belt. She licked her lips.
“You want me to fuck your mouth?” I asked.
She nodded. “Please.”
“I think I can do more than that.”
She shoved my pants to the floor as I joined her on the bed. I pushed her to her back as I straddled her facing her sweet pussy. My cock met her lips. Her tongue licked the tip, drawing the dew between her teeth. I heard her hiss as I pushed the vibrator to her pussy.
She bucked wildly as I simultaneously sank my cock in her mouth and the pink toy between her lips, burying it inside her. Fuck. I was hard as steel watching her writhe under me. Feeling her suck and take my dick deep in her throat.
I pressed the vibrator in and pulled it out, stretching her entrance. She had the most beautiful pussy I’d ever seen. I stopped to get a taste and she moaned with me in her mouth.
“Feels fucking incredible, doesn’t it?”
But my cock was buried deep in her mouth and she could only answer with the bob of her head. I didn’t know if I had been this turned on before. Fucking her like this. Watching her body come to life. I pumped against her, going deeper with my dick as I turned the vibrator up another notch.
Her body opened to me in a new way. She trusted me. I pumped in and out of her, both ends, giving her endless pleasure. Satisfying her. Fucking her until I heard the sweetest sound muffled in her throat. I ran a finger over her clit as she convulsed and shook.
And that’s when I lost it. Watching her come like this was incredible.
I buried myself deep as my orgasm hit and my come slid down her throat in one gushing pulse after another.
“Fuck, baby,” I moaned as she sucked me to the depths of her throat.
Once my pulse started to slow I pulled out from between her lips and rested the vibrator next to us on the bed. I rolled onto my back.
She crawled forward, nuzzling on my chest.
“That was amazing,” she whispered.
“Fuck, yeah.”
I was worried I might get used to this, but the instant I heard her moan my name, I knew this was a weekend I wouldn’t forget. I’d rather crack open another bottle of wine and spend the night loving Alyson into oblivion if it would make time stand still.