"I do, but I try not to use it if I can help it. I'd rather be out in nature."
The wicked spark came back into his eyes. "Speaking of nature, I can't get this crazy picture out of my head of you gardening au naturel."
She laughed. "Actually, once when a yellow jacket was after me in the shower, I ran outside to get away from him, and somehow the front door slammed shut and locked behind me."
He let go of one of her hands so that he could run his from breast to hip. "Did anyone see you?"
"God, no! I grabbed a tarp and wrapped myself in it before climbing in through a window."
"You can get into your cottage through the windows?" He looked around her room in dismay.
Using all her hard-won gardening strength, she flipped them over before he could jump out of bed to start installing deadbolts on every possible point of entry to her cottage. And, oh, it felt good to straddle him like this.
But it would feel so much better once he didn't have any clothes on.
She scooted down so that she could work on the zipper of his jeans, then tug them off along with his boxers. Once she did, she had to stop to gaze in awe at him. "Do you know what I thought the first time I saw you?" She didn't wait for him to reply. "Even in the midst of the craziness, all I could think was that it should be illegal for anyone to look as good as you."
She bent down to press a kiss to his chest, but couldn't bear to stop there. She wanted to run her mouth, her hands, over every incredible inch of him. There were no words to describe the sight of Alec Sullivan in her bed, lying beneath her, his big hands inciting sensual explosions everywhere they roamed.
"I wanted you too, Cordelia. Wanted you like this, straddling me, with your breasts in my hands and your taste on my tongue." Arousal flooded her at his deliciously dirty words. "Wanted to feel your heat sliding over me." She rocked her hips against his, moaning at how good it felt to finally be skin to skin, in all the most wonderful places. "Wanted to kiss your sweet mouth...kiss every sweet inch of you."
"Look at us," she said with a smile, "both getting exactly what we want."
"Almost." He moved his hips against hers again, causing fireworks to shoot off throughout her body. "I promised myself I wouldn't take advantage of you--"
"You're not taking advantage of me!" She was so frustrated at how he kept bringing this up that she nearly yelled, "When will you finally get that through your thick head? I want to have sex with you, and I'm going to be okay when we're done!"
"I was just explaining why I don't have any condoms on me."
"Oh." She felt a little embarrassed by her outburst. "I keep a box in my bedside table."
She leaned over him to reach for the drawer, but when she felt his tongue slick over the tip of one breast, she completely lost the thread of what she'd been doing. Simply couldn't do anything when such intense waves of pleasure were rolling through her.
She'd never wanted anything as badly as she wanted to make love to him with no barriers between them. But for all that she trusted Alec, she wasn't stupid. And nothing would make simple pleasure between friends into a forced permanent "relationship" faster than an unplanned pregnancy.
With that thought in the forefront, she finally managed to move far enough away that she could grab the box of condoms from the drawer of her bedside table.
"Thank God," Alec said when she ripped open the brand-new box. "I wanted to kill any guy who'd gotten to use those other condoms. But I'm the only one." He looked extremely pleased with himself.
"Possessive much?"
"Yes." He pulled her down for a kiss. "You're mine, Cordelia. All mine."
Satisfaction shouldn't have shot through her at his words. Not only because she was a liberated, modern woman who could have as many lovers as she wanted--but also because they were just friends. And yet, she couldn't deny that a part of her liked knowing he wanted her to be his, and his alone. For as long as this worked for both of them, anyway.
The truth was, he wasn't the only one feeling possessive right now. Giving silent thanks that he'd broken their kiss for long enough to roll on protection, she put her hands into his, lifted her hips, and said, "And you're mine." Then took him deep in one long, sweet slide.
So.
Much.
Pleasure.
Too much was all she could think as she closed her eyes so that she could focus every ounce of her concentration on how good he was making her feel as he thrust up into her.
Earlier, she'd thought he'd taken her to her highest peak of pleasure. She simply hadn't been able to imagine that there could be more. But over and over again, Alec surprised her. Never more than this moment, when she opened her eyes to find the most gorgeous man in the world staring up at her as though he was thinking the exact same thing--that she'd surprised him too.
Needing to be even closer, she leaned forward to kiss him. But he captured her lips with his before she could get to him. And the way he devoured her told her more than any words could have.
This. Tonight. Being together. She would never forget feeling so close to Alec. Would never regret knowing just how sweet, how good, how powerful lovemaking could be when it was with the right person. Someone who liked her just the way she was. Someone who made her laugh, but also pushed her outside of her comfort zone when she needed that push the most.
The next thing she knew, her back was against the mattress and he was levered over her, her hands in his on either side of her head.
"Come for me, Cordelia. I need to see it. I need to feel it."
And then he thrust so high, so deep, so perfectly inside of her that she couldn't do anything but obey. Every part of her shattered, his name falling from her lips as she fell apart in his arms.
She'd never felt so wild, never been so free as she was with her legs wrapped around him and her mouth on his. "Alec." She said his name between kisses, over and over. "Alec. Please." She was as desperate for his release as she'd been for hers, for the moment when he would give her all of himself. "I need you." Because it still wasn't enough. Not yet. "Please."
Between one heartbeat and the next, he was on his knees and lifting her hips up off the bed with his big hands to bring her closer. And as he slammed into her again and again and again, every last vestige of his restraint fell away.
She felt possessed.
She felt conquered.
She felt amazing.
Especially when, at the exact moment he called out her name, another climax hit her. As if they'd been practicing this dance for years, they moved in perfect rhythm together until they were both finally too spent to do anything but hold on to each other and try to catch their breath.
A while later, she lifted her face from where she'd buried it in the crook of his neck. "Sex with a friend is awesome."
For a moment, he simply stared at her as if he didn't know where he was. As though he couldn't believe what they'd just done. Her breath held, caught, stuttered inside her chest. Until--thank God--his eyes cleared and his laughter came, rolling through from his chest to hers.
"What do you say we find out if sex with a friend is just as good in the shower?"
She was laughing too as he picked her up and carried her into the bathroom. Laughing and heating up all over, head to toe. Already desperate for more.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The next morning, during Cordelia's press conference in the S&W Aviation building's conference room, Alec sat on her left side, her parents on her right. Flanked by the people who only wanted her happiness, she almost felt ready. Almost felt able to get through it in one solid piece.
Her mother gripped her right hand beneath the table, but Alec made sure the whole world saw her left hand in his on top of the table. He'd kissed her, too, before the press conference officially began, but while there were plenty of journalists and photographers there to take note of their intimacy.
His kiss had been both sweet and hungry...and it had instantly taken her back to the previous night they'd shared in her
bed, loving each other between her floral sheets. And then in her shower. And then again in the kitchen when he'd finally started to make dinner.
Still, even after all they'd shared, Cordelia knew the kiss was simply part of their plan to make everyone believe they were a couple to keep the fortune hunters at bay. The way her face flushed at his touch, his kiss, his nearness--all of that was real, however.
They hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep, but she wasn't tired. Cordelia couldn't have cared less about rest when the alternative had been so incredible. She wasn't naive enough to think things couldn't have gone weird this morning when they'd woken up tangled in each other. But it hadn't.
Hot? Yes.
Strange? Thankfully, not in the least.
Especially when Alec had clearly been determined to keep her laughing all morning with one story after another about his and Gordon's customers and the crazy things they'd done over the years. She'd known what he was doing--that he hadn't wanted her stewing about the upcoming press conference. And her heart had grown yet another size bigger at how sweet he was. At how many times he'd gone out of his way to help her through a difficult spot.
A glamorous woman from The Westchester Times stood to ask a question, and Cordelia forced her brain back on task. For forty-five minutes she'd answered a rapid string of probing questions about whether she really had been clueless about Gordon all these years, how she was planning to deal with the huge inheritance, if she was going to continue working in her garden store, if she was tempted to buy a chateau in France and cover herself in diamonds and rubies.
Just as she'd planned, she told the truth. But those were the easy questions--about her birth father and her inheritance. Questions about Alec would be much harder to answer, and she couldn't imagine she'd get away today without addressing their relationship. Especially when the two of them had gone out of their way to act like a couple during the press conference.
"Cordelia," the journalist said, taking off her glasses as she spoke, "you've told us you had no knowledge of Gordon until last week and that you're planning on giving the bulk of the money to charity. And yet, you're already in a relationship with Alec Sullivan, Gordon's business partner. I'm sure you can appreciate how that might not add up."
Cordelia's heart was racing as she turned to Alec. "She's right. We don't add up, do we?" She knew she had a role to play, one that made sense on paper. But she needed him to know something too. "And yet, you've already become one of my best friends."
He grinned at her. That beautiful smile he gave only to the people he truly cared about--his sister, his brothers, his cousins. And now, her. Then he turned to the journalists and photographers, who were snapping pictures rapid-fire. He was all handsome confidence and barely leashed power as he told them, "I first saw Cordelia standing outside this building a week ago, and even from a distance she made me pause. There was something about her. Something that made me want to look a little closer." He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it. "Losing Gordon was a blow. One I'll be recovering from for a long time. But I can't regret that he brought Cordelia into my life."
There were more than a few aah's and ooh's from the members of the press. And they weren't the only ones.
Cordelia would never let her feelings for Alec trap him, and she really did mean everything she'd said to him about not letting sex mess up their friendship. But that didn't mean she would deny the truth inside her heart either.
She'd barely known him a week. But she already loved him. With everything she was, for everything he was.
Not just because of the beautiful things he'd said.
Not just because of the breathtakingly wonderful way he'd made love to her.
Not just because he'd been there for her again and again.
Cordelia loved him because no one had ever been so careful with her heart, so adamant about treating her right, so dedicated to bringing her blue skies and sunshine even on days when that seemed impossible.
"Do you think Gordon would be surprised by how things turned out?" the reporter asked them both.
Cordelia tried not to let the tears that suddenly welled up fall as she replied, "I wish he was still here so that I could ask him." But if Gordon had suddenly appeared, she wouldn't have jumped immediately into asking him questions about his past and why he'd given her up. First and foremost, she would have wanted to thank her birth father for taking such good care of Alec for so long. And for being the father Alec had needed when his own had been too filled with grief to support his son.
It was in that moment that Cordelia suddenly realized that she forgave Gordon for never letting her know who he was. Because Alec had needed Gordon in a way that, honestly, she hadn't. And he'd helped make Alec the incredible man that he was.
More questions were called out from the crowd, but when Alec stood and helped her to her feet, it was clear that everyone else should do the same. "Thank you for coming," Alec said, then deliberately drew Cordelia away from the reporters and photographers, blocking her from them not only with his broad shoulders, but also with the sheer power that radiated from him.
"You did great, honey." Cordelia's mother pulled her into her arms. "You were so strong. So confident. I couldn't be prouder of you."
Her father hugged her too. "Do you want to come and have a cup of tea with us?"
She always loved spending time with her parents, especially when she was feeling a little off kilter. But their lives had already been turned upside down enough by all of this. "I know you're both missing an important district meeting." It would do them good to go back to their normal lives. Plus, she knew they'd worry far less about her if she didn't make a big deal about how drained the press conference had left her. "Thank you for being here for me--" She looked at Alec and amended that. "--for us today. I love you."
The group hug between the three of them should have felt as good as all the other group hugs they'd shared over the years. Only, this time, it didn't seem quite right. Because something was missing.
Someone was missing.
She reached out and grabbed Alec's hand. "Get in here." A surprised laugh rumbled up from his chest as he was all but tackled by a Langley family hug.
*
"Thank God that's over." Now that everyone but Alec was gone, Cordelia let herself collapse into her chair. "If I never answer another question about anything again, it will be too soon. I should have planned on having somewhere to hide for the rest of the day."
"I thought you might feel that way." He had a glint in his eyes that made her blood heat, even when she felt more wrung out than she could remember ever feeling before. "Do you trust me?"
"Of course I do." She didn't even need to think about it.
He took her hand, led her first to his office, where he grabbed a black leather bag, then outside to the hangars. They walked past one jet after another, finally turning into the last hangar, where there was only one plane.
"This is mine. It's a 1930 Fleet, a two-seat biplane that was used in the military until the end of World War II."
"Alec, it's incredible. Like something straight out of a black-and-white movie." She'd been impressed with the luxurious jets he'd shown her before, but she wanted to run her hands over the biplane's yellow and blue paint.
She wasn't surprised that it was a war plane. Of course that would be the aircraft Alec would love best--strong, handsome, and built to keep flying, to keep moving forward, even through a war. Just like he had.
"Thirty seconds in the air," he said, "and I guarantee you'll forget all about the press conference."
Her heart jumped into her throat so fast she nearly choked on her words. "I told you, I get sick in planes. I'd never forgive myself if I barfed in yours."
He looked utterly unconcerned. "You won't. Remember what I said about Gordon? He never got motion sick when we were flying my plane. It's not like being inside a narrow little tube. Flying in a biplane is what flying was meant to be, Cordelia." He drew her closer and brushed
back the hair from her face. "You said you trusted me."
"I didn't think you meant about this." But he was right--she did trust him. And if she could find the nerve, it might actually be a brilliant way to reset her memories of today. Flying in Alec's biplane would definitely help her to forget all about the press conference. She took a deep breath. "I might need a kiss for courage."
He didn't need to be asked twice as he gave her a kiss that left her breathless--and made her need more. She put her hands on either side of his jaw and kissed him back as though they were in her bed again, rather than standing in a hangar about to take flight.
No doubt about it, his mouth on hers was better for quelling her nerves than a shot of tequila. Better for filling her senses than a hundred blooming rose bushes. Better for heating her up than a roaring fire.
"Remember this feeling," he told her when they finally drew back. "And tell me if you feel the same when you're up in the air."
"I won't." She already knew that nothing could make her feel this way. This good. This alive.
When he kissed her again, she knew he liked her answer.
*
The first time Alec had taken the controls of a plane when he was eighteen had been even better than sex. He'd finally felt free.
He had a healthy respect for the elements--rain and wind, thunder and lightning. And every time he lifted off, every time he soared, he felt a deep appreciation for the wonder of the clouds, the endless sky. Hundreds of flights later, he was still awestruck.
Until last night, he'd never felt awe like that outside of a plane. But from the first moment he'd held Cordelia in his arms, from their very first kiss, she'd sent him flying. Higher than he'd known a woman could ever take him. He hadn't realized how jaded all the women he'd been with were until her amazing exclamation. And that had been scratching only the surface of her sensuality, from the bed to the shower, and then even the kitchen table.
His entire adult life, he'd held fast to one core rule: Keep everyone at a distance. Gordon had succeeded in getting Alec to trust him after years of constantly proving himself worthy, steady, and sane in every situation.
But for Cordelia? Within minutes of meeting her, he had decided to help her. Within days they were friends. Within a week, lovers.