No Fooling Around: Lennox Brothers Romantic Comedy Page 23

  After all the planning I’d done and all the work I’d put into it, I couldn’t stay and buy the house. Which meant I wouldn’t be able to pay Tank.

  I didn’t care anymore about the twenty-five-million-dollar profit I would have made, the huge loan I’d secured against my company, or the satisfaction I once thought I’d get from razing Santino’s house. I only cared about two things: paying Tank, and making things right with Iola. Somehow I’d be able to find another way to pay Tank, but if I let Iola go now, I may never get her back.

  My mind was clear, all uncertainty gone. There was only one thing I couldn’t afford to lose, and she’d just walked out the door.

  Mason grabbed my shoulder, but I slipped from his grasp, dropping my paddle next to Iola’s. I strode from the auction room without a backward glance.

  Iola was already on the other side of the lobby, disappearing into the elevator.

  “Iola!” I yelled.

  She looked around at me and her eyes widened. The elevator doors started to close, and she shot out a hand to stop them.

  “Did you buy it already?” she asked as I reached her.

  “Don’t worry about the house.”

  Her eyes were big and wild, and she stepped out of the elevator. “But, Asher, you need to get back in that room and buy—”

  “We need to talk.”

  “I’ll wait. Do the deal, Asher.”

  I glanced back at the auction room, and heard the hard thwack of the auctioneer’s gavel coming down. “Sold!” A round of muffled applause followed the announcement.

  Iola’s face paled. “You didn’t get the house.” Her voice was a shocked whisper.

  “The house doesn’t matter. You’re more important.”

  “I’m the woman who just cost you twenty-five million dollars.”

  It hurt my heart to see her so upset, so I made myself smile. “Worth every penny.”

  Her eyes searched mine as though she were looking for traces of regret or anger or resentment. I held her gaze, diving into the clear green of her eyes, feeling nothing but relief that she hadn’t disappeared and I had a chance to make things up to her.

  There were so many things I hadn’t told her or shown her. Like how much she’d come to mean to me. Putting it in a letter had been a bad idea, and I couldn’t blame her for not replying. I had to convince her. I had to tell her how much I loved her, and keep telling her until she believed me and forgave me for my mistakes.

  “I’m sorry you didn’t get to buy the house either,” I said.

  “No, that’s okay. I loved living there, but my brother did some awful things in that house. Since finding out, I don’t feel the same attachment toward it.” She frowned. “You said not buying the house would hurt you financially. Will you be okay?”

  I slid my grip down her arms and took hold of both her hands. I needed to touch her, to reassure myself she was really there. And even though I didn’t like the answer to her question, I’d never lie to her again. So I looked her in the eye and told her the whole truth.

  “The main reason I need money is to pay someone who helped me get my brother out of danger, but I can sell my house and business to scrape enough together.”

  Her eyes creased with worry. “You’ll have to sell everything you own? That sounds really bad.”

  “I’m not going to lie, it’ll be difficult. I’ll be homeless for a while, until I get back on my feet. But the only thing that really bothers me is having to ask my brothers to pay Dad’s hospital bill, because I won’t be able to do it.” And because I’d resolved to tell her the entire unvarnished truth, I added, “I’m also afraid you’ll think less of me now I’ve lost everything.”

  “I don’t care whether you have money or not. Besides, with a devious brain like yours, I don’t think you’ll be poor for long.”

  My lips tugged up. For a man who’d just lost everything, I felt surprisingly happy. “I love that you think my brain is devious.”

  She squeezed my hands. “Are you really okay?”

  I found myself smiling even wider. “As long as I have you, apparently nothing can bother me.”

  She bit her lip, and the movement drew my eyes. I’d spent the last three weeks missing her lips. My need to kiss them was a force impossible to resist.

  “I have to tell you something,” she said.

  “Yes?” I knew I should look back into her eyes, but I couldn’t drag my gaze from her mouth.

  “I love you.”

  The words were simple, but the reaction they caused were anything but. My heart instantly tried to escape from my chest, which squeezed tight around it to keep it from getting free. My head swam. I simultaneously wanted to let out an exclamation of relief, a demand for her to repeat the sentiment, and a declaration of my own feelings. Fortunately a jumbled, Frankenstein version of all the things I wanted to say didn’t emerge at once. I was too busy bending my head to claim her perfect lips.

  She softened against me, and I put my arms around her, drawing her close, needing to fill my senses with her.

  After three weeks of not seeing her, talking to her, or touching her, finally having her in my arms filled me with a joy so intense it was overwhelming. It was quickly becoming clear just how essential to me she was.

  Though we were in a public building, with casual bystanders likely to go past, I couldn’t hold back my hunger for her. And though my kiss was almost savage in its intensity, she kissed me back the same way, pressing herself so hard against me, I couldn’t control my body’s reaction.

  I needed to feel her skin against mine. To kiss her everywhere, and make her moan with pleasure.

  I needed all of her.

  And if the elevator hadn’t dinged as it arrived on our floor, who knows what might have happened?

  I pulled back a little, reluctantly loosening my arms to create a little space between us. Some people got out of the elevator, their shoes clacking on the floor as they went past, but I was ensnared by the green of Iola’s eyes and couldn’t spare them a glance.

  “I love you,” I whispered.

  Her smile was the most stunning thing I’d ever seen in my life.

  “But you didn’t want to fall in love,” she whispered back.

  “There’s no taking it back now.” I lifted my hand to the side of her face, caressing her cheek. “You want to get out of here? My car’s in the basement.” Then I remembered my brother. “Actually, let’s take your car and Mason can take mine. Then he can pay for the parking.” Not even the realization I probably couldn’t afford to pay for it myself anymore could dim the warmth in my chest.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Iola

  I figured we might be at Asher’s place for a while, so I asked him to stop at Gloria’s place on the way so I could pick up Ruff. While I was there, I grabbed his dog bed and toys, and packed an overnight bag. You know, just in case.

  When we got to Asher’s beachfront house, I saw the For Sale sign was still in front of the house next door. The Sold sticker hadn’t been added yet, but it wouldn’t be long. It was a sad thought. In spite of the terrible crimes Santino had committed, living there had made me happier than I could have dreamed.

  “You okay, beautiful?” asked Asher gently, as perceptive as always.

  “Definitely.” I gave him a smile as we got out of his car. “It’s been great staying at Gloria’s but I don’t want to wear out my welcome. Maybe I’ll buy myself an apartment. I could look for a place with a view of the water and some outdoor space for Ruff.”

  Asher was carrying my bag, and he caught my hand with his free one as we went inside, Ruff lumbering ahead of us. His skin on mine felt so good, I couldn’t keep from smiling at him.

  “I hope you’re not planning on going anywhere anytime soon.” He had a sexy growl in his voice. “After not seeing you for three weeks, I don’t plan to let you out of my sight for some time.”

  “Fine by me. But are you sure it’s okay for Ruff to stay here too? Nemesis won’t be p
ut out?”

  “You tell me,” he said as we went into the living room.

  I stopped, staring at Ruff. He’d dropped onto the floor, and was rolling on his back with his legs in the air. His giant jowls flopped to one side as he gazed beseechingly at Nemesis with his head upside down.

  The black cat was standing next to his head, giving him a haughty stare. She flicked her tail before extending one paw for him to lick.

  “For heaven’s sake, Ruff, have a little self respect.”

  My dog ignored me, his rapt attention fixed on the small black cat.

  Asher put down my bag and stepped close, bringing one hand to my face to brush some stray hair back into place.

  “I missed you,” he murmured.

  “I missed you, too.”

  Lifting my hands to his chest, I rested them against his pecs, loving their hardness. I could imagine him working out at precise intervals. He probably knew exactly how many bicep curls and pushups would keep him at peak fitness. And if that meant I got to run my hands over his gorgeous muscles, I was all for it. I’d even be willing to hold his dumbbells.

  “I love you,” he whispered. His eyes were soft and deep, the color of the smoke from a warm fire on a rainy day.

  And the word ‘kiss’ didn’t begin to describe what he did to me next. No mere kiss had ever been that hot. His mouth demanded everything I had to give, and his hands moved down my body, igniting me everywhere they touched. I slid my hands around his waist, pressing harder against him. Lifting onto my toes, I tried to position his hardness lower.

  He obliged by sliding his hands to my butt and pulling me up, so I was lifted off my feet and could wrap my legs around his waist.

  Or at least, that would have happened, if I hadn’t jerked with surprise as I felt the floor disappear, causing me to slide clumsily back down his body.

  A picture of a stripper falling off a pole flashed through my mind, and as I landed back on the floor, I started to giggle.

  Asher raised an eyebrow. “What’s so funny?”

  “Working in a strip club may never be a career option for me.” I struggled to regain a straight face. “Do you have a bedroom, by any chance? One with a big, safe bed I can’t accidentally fall out of?”

  “This way.”

  Taking my hand, he led me to a bedroom at the back of the house, with windows facing the sea. Asher’s room was so spotlessly clean it would almost have been too tidy, except for the pile of books on the nightstand. The room’s high ceilings made it feel airy, and it smelled faintly of Asher’s cologne, a scent I couldn’t get enough of. His furniture was dark, with sharp, clean lines. Modern and slightly masculine. It was the perfect room for him. I instantly wanted to live in it forever. Especially because there was a large monochromatic painting of the sea on the wall above his bed, and the painting was so beautiful, I was torn between admiring it and being insanely jealous of the artist’s talent.

  “Who painted that?” I asked.

  “I did.”

  I swung to face him, open-mouthed. “You did?”

  Asher took my upper arms and gazed into my eyes, his expression serious. “Iola, tell me the truth. Are you worried you won’t make enough money to get by?”

  I blinked in surprise. “Excuse me?”

  “Because you need to know I’ll always look after you.” He stroked his hands down my arms. “I don’t want you to worry about anything. I may have just lost everything, but I have a plan to get back on my feet. And no matter what happens, I’ve got your back. Always.”

  It should have been funny, him worrying I might seriously be considering working in a strip club to make ends meet. But my throat felt suddenly thick with emotion. Not at his words, but the way he was looking at me. His face was open, his expression raw. He wasn’t hiding from me, or putting up any shields. I could see his resolve to take care of me. His unshakeable commitment.

  Looking into his eyes, something inside me clicked into place.

  Home wasn’t the house next door, and it wasn’t an apartment with yard space for Ruff. Asher was my family, and my home was in his arms. When he said, ‘Always’, I could trust he’d always be there for me, ready to catch me from whichever platform I wanted to leap from.

  And if I told him I wanted to fly, he’d probably come up with an intricate scheme to break into heaven and steal me a pair of wings.

  I blinked, fighting sudden tears, and his frown deepened, his levels of worry rising.

  “Asher, there’s something I need to tell you,” I whispered around the lump in my throat. “I need us to be totally honest with each other, and there’s something big you don’t know.”

  He ran his hands up and down my arms. “You can tell me anything. I don’t care what it is, nothing could ever change the way I feel about you.”

  “You don’t have to worry about me needing to take my clothes off for money.”

  His frown turned puzzled. “Okay.”

  “My divorce settlement from Benedict was a little over four million dollars.”

  His jaw dropped.

  Asher Lennox, the man previously renowned for being an emotionless humanoid android, actually gaped at me.

  And the pure, beautiful satisfaction of that moment made all my throat lumps and eye prickles magically disappear.

  I leaned into him, bumping my body against his as I slipped my arms back around his waist. “Now, where were we?” I pretended to ponder the question. “Oh yes. I think you were about to strip for me. I have some dollar bills in my bag.”

  His reluctant smile grew as he dropped his head to lean his forehead against mine. “I love you.”

  “You’re just saying that because I’m rich.”

  “Actually, I’m saying it to get you naked. You think it’s going to work?”

  “I will if you will.” I was already tugging at his shirt, struggling to pull it off and toss it aside. His body was so beautiful it should be hanging in an art gallery. I ran my hands over his ridged muscles appreciatively, following the trails where they led.

  He unbuttoned my dress and let it fall. Drawing back, his eyes devoured me for a moment, then with a growl of appreciation, he bent to kiss my neck. At the same time, his hands slid behind me to unhook my bra.

  I went to work on his jeans, fumbling the buttons undone and pushing them and his boxer briefs down together. He kicked the tangle of clothes off impatiently, dragging my panties off with the same rushed urgency. Then he sank onto the bed, pulling me down with him, so I was straddling him.

  The curtains were open, the sun pouring in. And seeing as his bedroom looked out onto the popular white sands of San Dante beach, the fact that I was sitting stark naked on top of an equally naked man should have made me feel exposed. But if any of the sunbathers or swimmers on the beach could see me, I didn’t care. The only thing that mattered were his eyes, lingering over my body with a powerful intensity behind them, as though he were mapping and memorizing me.

  Though he’d already seen me naked, last time we’d done anything like this, he’d kept his clothes on. Now that I could see him, I thought I should start some sort of petition to make that illegal. Asher’s body was so perfect, he should never be allowed to wear clothes again.

  I bent to kiss his chest, to nip at his nipples and then lick my way down his body. I wanted to taste every bit of him.

  But he let out a little groan, and fisted his hands in my hair. “Iola.” His voice was as rough as sandpaper. “I thought I could wait and do this slowly, to make this last. But I can’t.” His hands slid around me and he flipped me onto my back. Holding himself over me, he kissed me softly. “Three weeks,” he murmured, drawing back to look into my eyes. “It felt like three years.”

  “Three decades,” I said. “No, three centuries.”

  “Three millennia.” Easing off me, he reached over to the nightstand, opened a drawer, and fumbled in it for a moment before pulling out a condom.

  I opened my mouth to say, “Three times infinity,”
but when I propped myself up on my elbow, the words died in my throat. He just looked so magnificent rolling on a condom, his muscled back to the window, that my throat went dry. All the love scenes I’d read or watched, all the imaginary heroes I’d sighed over, they were nothing compared to the man in front of me.

  I loved every one of his hard, square lines, I loved his darkness, and the simmering intensity he never let out, the hidden passion most people never saw. He was a secret I wanted to hug close forever. To cherish, and protect, and guard.

  If he was mine, that made me the luckiest woman alive. The thought made sudden unwanted tears prick at my eyes again, because I wanted him to be mine so much that it scared me.

  He moved over me again, his elbows on either side of me. His brow drew down into a worried line and his eyes were the softest shade of graphite.

  “Are you okay?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”

  “Asher, will you paint a picture for me?”

  There was a flicker of surprise in his eyes. “I’m not an artist.”

  “I disagree.”

  His eyes crinkled. “We can paint something together if you like.”

  “Yes, please.”

  He kissed my nose. “You look like you have something else to say.”

  “Just that I love you.” I could feel the words carving themselves deeper into my soul every time I said them. They were a part of me now, the truth of the words a simple fact that was shaping me into someone new.

  “And I love you.” He said it back to me just the same way, and I kissed him with everything I was, pulling him onto me and into me.

  Then we moved together, two becoming one.

  He tangled his hands in my hair and his limbs with mine. His lips found the sensitive place under my ear, and he groaned my name. I arched into him, wrapping myself around him, making noises that weren’t quite words as he lifted me into orbit.

  It was sometime after I’d exploded into a million points of light and drifted slowly back to earth, somehow remaking myself into a panting, dazed, happy person on the way, that I knew it for sure.