"Am I crushing you?" Monica chortled, sticking an elbow into my gut as she tried getting up. She pushed on the right spot, making my breath leave me in a whoosh.
"Yes," I gasped.
Greg reached down, helping Monica steady herself on her feet. Tina stepped in to grab her elbow so Greg could help me up. I was surprised at how easily he hauled me up from the floor. Evidently beneath his ill-fitted suit was a resourceful amount of muscle. I couldn't help wondering why I hadn't noticed it before.
He stood next to me, holding my arm longer than I would have expected. Feeling slightly uncomfortable over my wayward thoughts, I extracted my arm from his grip and thanked him. A picture of Alec flashed in my mind. I missed him so acutely at that moment. I'd been away less than two weeks, but the difference in our schedules was making me feel like our relationship had been set adrift. The fact that I still hadn't heard back from him wasn't helping. I hated not hearing his voice.
Monica removed her shoes, still trying to get control of her giggle box. "That's better. See, we're the same height now," she said, making everyone laugh again. I had to force a smile on my face to keep everyone from noticing my sudden melancholy.
Greg plucked Monica's shoes from her hand and offered his arm to guide her out of the restaurant and through the lobby. Remi and Jillian left us at the elevators since Jillian was staying at a different hotel and Remi needed to head home. Olivia also remained in the lobby, claiming she needed to make a call.
Tina and I got off the elevator on the same floor and I stifled a yawn as we walked down the hall. Pulling my cell phone from my purse, I wanted to throw it against the wall after seeing Alec still hadn't returned my call. Not even a text. I thought about trying him again, but it was so late. He'd definitely be sleeping. I was more than worried at this point. We had never gone more than a day without talking to each other since we'd been together.
Tina called out a good night as I left her at her door. I returned it, but was still distracted looking at my phone. Three doors down, I pulled my room key from my pocket feeling like the entire night was a waste. I should have been flying high from all the amazing things happening in my life, but instead I was throwing myself a pity party. Thousands of writers would happily switch places with me, and here I was acting like a whiny baby. I deserved a smack in the face.
Sliding my key into the slot, I pushed the door open lethargically and paused mid-step. The lights were on. I distinctly remembered turning them off. Actually, the light was flickering like a candle, making shadows dance on the far wall. I backed away slowly, remembering my nightmare experience at the hotel in Tennessee.
"Hello, beautiful," Alec called out, stepping into the light.
My breath was taken away and I couldn't speak. Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring him for a moment, but I knew it wasn't a dream. I hurled myself into his arms, not wanting to let go. "How? When did you get here?" I spit out as he lifted me off the ground and swung me in circles. I buried my face in his neck, inhaling deeply. If he didn't smell so damn good, I would have thought I was drunk and imagining the whole thing. My lips found the pulse on his neck. "I've missed you so much," I whispered in his ear.
He pulled slightly, looking into my eyes. "I've missed you too, gorgeous." His lips trailed across my cheek and down to the corner of my mouth.
"Why did you come?" I asked, worried that my selfishness had pulled him away from where he really needed to be.
His lips stopped moving over my mouth as he pulled back to look at me. "You don't want me to be here?"
My hands tugged his hair at absurdity of his words. "Don't be dense. I'm practically having kittens that you're here. I'm just worried about your classes and work."
He chuckled lightly. "It's all good, beautiful. I traded shifts with Bailey and Christina. I'll have to work back-to-back weekends, but it's totally worth it. As for school, I worked ahead in the lab. I wanted to make it here last night for your signing, but I couldn't get off until this afternoon. I caught the first available flight out. Olivia helped too. She told me she'd keep you busy while I set this up," he said, pointing at the candles."She's in another room I booked in my name."
"I can't believe you did all this," I said, running my fingers through his hair. I felt an almost euphoric surge of desire flowing through my body. Alec was here—standing in my room—in my arms. Not even five minutes ago I'd been so down I was considering cancelling the tour. "I'm so glad you're here," I said, crushing my mouth to his.
He sighed in approval against my lips, pulling me flush against his body. I could feel the extent of his desire pressed against me. My hands found their way under the hem of his shirt so I could run my fingers over the deep ridges of his sculpted abdomen that had captured my attention from the very beginning. I broke my mouth away from his, kissing my way across his pecs and stopping briefly to tease his nipple with my tongue. He growled deeply, almost pushing me over the edge before things could really get started. I smiled with satisfaction, knowing what he liked. My mouth continued down his abdomen where my tongue circled his belly button. His fingers slithered into my hair, pulling my mouth closer as I deftly unsnapped his jeans and tugged them down.
I wasn't surprised to find that he had gone commando. It turned me on even more when he did that. I slowly lowered his jeans past his hips, where they pooled at his feet. Capturing him with my hand, I teased him by squeezing slightly, just enough to make him groan and strain against my hand. We both knew what he wanted. Hell, I wanted it, but I resisted the urge until I finished igniting his fire even more. I continued grasping him while dropping light kisses on his inner thigh. He jerked against my hand as my mouth hovered over him on my way to his other leg.
"Enough, you temptress," he growled, lifting me up to the table. He practically tore the clothes from my body before spreading my legs apart to enter me. I was so ready he slid in without any resistance. As my hands moved over the hard curves of his pecs, I glanced over his shoulder at the mirror hanging on the far wall behind him. The sight of Alec moving rhythmically against me was enough to send my body convulsing into orgasm. I moaned loudly, practically screaming, but I didn't care who heard us. My fingers dug into his back, and Alec respond by moving harder and faster until climaxing himself.
Hours later we were still awake, completely spent from our lovemaking marathon that made up for nearly two weeks spent apart. "This is nice," I said, snuggling under his arm. I pressed my backside against his body, trying to seep in as much of his touch as I could.
Alec's arm tightened around my midriff. "I missed this. I wish I could go with you for the whole tour, like I did during the summer."
I traced the back of his hand lightly. "Me too. I can't tell you how many times I've turned to tell you something only to remember you're not there. I hate the conflict in our schedules."
"I do too, babe," he yawned against my shoulder.
I felt slightly guilty for not letting him sleep. Between his job, the extra lab time he put in at school, and his early flight to get here, he'd been up for almost thirty-six hours. Clearly he was running on fumes. I knew that once we closed our eyes, we'd lose some of the precious hours we had left together. I'd yet to ask him how long he was staying, but it couldn't be more than two days since the Love Bus would be leaving then. I thought about asking him before he went to sleep, but I was afraid of his answer and didn't want to ruin the rest of our time together.
I continued stroking the back of his hand as his breathing evened out and I knew he had fallen asleep. My eyes burned from fatigue, but I refused to close them for the longest time. I would have plenty of time to sleep once we were apart again.
Eventually my heavy eyelids won and I fell asleep in his arms, wishing I could fast-forward time to the end of the tour so I could go home with him.
Chapter 10
The good news was Alec planned on staying for two days, but as luck would have it, the following day was complete chaos. The official release of Wicked Lonely was met with a
n unexpected amount of fanfare from the moment I woke up. My room seemed to be a revolving door of people and activity. I spent the better part of the morning juggling social media sites as I tried to keep up with all the release day hoopla. Olivia was equally busy, finalizing remaining details for the tour and making sure my agenda was up to date.
The fact that Alec had come to New York was a pleasant surprise for not only me, but for Chelsea as well. She seemed immediately taken by him, which wasn't surprising. Alec had a way of attracting attention from both men and women alike. Even Greg made a point of introducing himself to Alec and talking his ear off for nearly an hour. As my publisher's PR representative, Chelsea was especially pleased to know that Alec would be attending the Wicked Lonely release party with me later that evening. "Photo ops all around. What a fantastic opportunity," she said before calling my editor, Remi, to give her the good news.
My mood was swaying back and forth like a swing. At times I was ecstatic that everyone seemed to be taking to Wicked Lonely, but then my eyes would move to Alec, who was never far from my side. I would feel sudden surges of panic, thinking about the hours that were whittling away.
For his part, Alec never showed the least amount of disappointment over sharing our time together with the rest of my world. He remained busy on his phone for most of the day. I couldn't help wondering if he was texting someone or perhaps mindlessly playing a game and regretting his decision to come. I couldn't blame him. He'd sacrificed a lot to be here.
As we sat together on the loveseat while I continued reading through more Facebook notifications, Greg walked over and placed his hand on my shoulder. "You look tense. Can I get you something? Starbucks or maybe a fresh Diet Coke? I'll even hit the deli around the corner to get you one from the fountain. I know you prefer that over cans or bottles."
My first instinct was to look at Alec, who barely seemed to notice as he continued with whatever had him occupied on his phone. "Uh, no, thanks. I'm actually okay right now." I shrugged my shoulder, hoping he would take the hint to move his hand.
"You sure? Whatever you need. I'm here to please you."
"Really, no. Thank you though," I said, focusing again on my phone. Thankfully he dropped the subject and walked back over to Chelsea and Olivia, who were busy reading reviews for the book.
By early afternoon my inner introvert began to rear its head. I'd had enough of the people in my room and needed a moment to catch my breath without worrying about carrying on a conversation or watching everyone continuously updating their phones to check the ranking of Wicked Lonely.
Olivia knew me well enough to see that I needed some time to clear my head, so she talked Greg and Chelsea into going with her to Starbucks to grab a latte. Once the coast was clear, the smile I'd been wearing dropped and I sagged back against the sofa cushions.
Alec stood up and walked behind the loveseat, placing his hands on my shoulders. "You okay, babe?" His fingers provided much-needed relief to my screaming neck muscles.
I nodded, letting my head fall forward. "I'm just not used to all this craziness. Usually the only two people worried during release day are Olivia and me. It feels weird to have so many other people involved with a vested interest. I can't shake the feeling that I'm going to disappoint them all," I admitted, letting my shoulders sag. "I wish we were home watching movies and eating comfort food. That's the typical release day I'm used to."
Alec continued kneading through my shoulders, taking away the tension that had me at my wit's end. "You're not going to disappoint anyone, babe. The book must be doing well because from what I've seen, everyone is more than pleased. You've got this."
"I hope so. I really want to be excited and enjoy this moment. I just have to get past all the stress first."
"That guy Greg seems pretty eager to help. I get the feeling he wouldn't mind being the one standing here rubbing your shoulders."
So he had been paying attention after all. I sat motionless, pondering the right response that wouldn't make the rest of the evening completely awkward. I'd never seen Alec jealous. Lord knows I'd had my share of opportunities to show jealousy—like everywhere we went. At least I knew he cared, which made me happy. "Well, I wouldn't agree with the rubbing the shoulders part, but the publisher did tell him to make sure I had everything I wanted. He's just doing his job."
Alec removed his hands from my shoulders and walked around the loveseat and sat down next to me. "Regardless, you really should relax and enjoy all this. It wouldn't be happening if people didn't love your writing." I melted against his body, wondering how I'd lucked out to have him in my life.
"It sucks that it's eating into our day together. I can tell you're totally bored," I said, nodding toward his phone.
"I've been studying," he said, flashing me his phone. "Online textbook."
A startled laugh bubbled out of me. "You came all the way to New York to still have to study. I thought maybe you were texting someone."
"The only person I want to text is you. I figured I'd stay out of your hair by getting an edge up on the test that could crush me."
"Are you're kidding? You'll make that test your bitch."
"Well, if I fail, I can go on all your trips with you and be your bitch."
I laughed until I looked up and saw that he was serious. Surely he didn't think I'd let him fail out of medical school so he could wait in the wings while I followed my dream. There was no way in hell I'd let him give up for me. Not when he worked so hard to get there. "That's a moot point. You're not going to fail. You're going to keep working your ass off and when I get home, I'm going to turn into a drill sergeant. You have one more day of playtime and then it's back to the grind for you." My voice was stern so he'd see I wasn't screwing around. "Today is pretty much shot since we have the release party tonight, but tomorrow we'll make the most of the day before you have to head out. Is there any place in particular you'd like to visit? Statue of Liberty? Empire State Building? Chinatown?"
He shook his head, lacing his fingers through mine. "I'd really like to take you ice skating in Central Park."
My eyes lit up at his words. I'd been so busy during the past two weeks I'd barely seen much of the city except the area around the hotel. Even during my previous trips to New York I had spent most of my time in Times Square and had pretty much forgotten about Central Park. "That sounds amazing. We can get hot chocolate too."
"And hot dogs from a street vendor."
"Absolutely. No trip to New York is complete without a dirty dog."
He leaned in and dropped a kiss on my lips. "That's why I love you. You know what's important."
"I have my priorities," I laughed. "Is there anything else you want? Cheesecake? Pizza?"
His eyes lit up at the last suggestion. "Definitely pizza."
"See, now we have a plan." Olivia returned to the room carrying coffees for Alec and me along with her iPad, which meant it was time to get back to work. Alec gave me another kiss before retreating to the chaise lounge. Our talk had allowed me to relax, knowing he wasn't sitting there bored out of his mind.
Greg showed up a few minutes later with a late lunch for everyone. Olivia continued to rattle off more items for my consideration as we ate. I dipped a mozzarella stick in marinara sauce, chewing around approving teasers for the staggered book tour we had planned for Wicked Lonely. The idea was to keep people talking about the book long after its release. Nothing was more important than word of mouth.
By the time the sun was beginning to set, we felt like everything was caught up to the point where I could take the rest of the evening and the following day off. We still had the release party to go to, but knowing that I was able to chill with Alec was enough to satisfy me.
Olivia was the last person to leave. She waved, heading to the other room that had been her temporary home since Alec arrived. The door had barely closed behind her before Alec was dragging me toward the bedroom. His nimble fingers stripped the clothes from my body before I could blink.
/> "We should be getting ready too," I murmured as his lips kissed down my stomach.
He ignored my statement and continued leaving a fiery trail across my skin.
"Alec," I moaned.
"Yes, love," he said, looking up. His mouth moved lower, making me lose my train of thought.
I shook my head to clear it, but his hands were already parting my thighs. His mouth cast a spell on me, bewitching my body as it moved against me. I wondered for a moment if anyone would notice if I didn't show up for the release party.
***
The Wicked Lonely release party turned out to be a great success, especially when everyone realized that Alec was the model on the book's cover. Luckily he'd already had plenty of experience with people wanting their picture taken with him from attending other events with me, so he took it all in stride.
The following day as we shuffled across the ice together, I found myself wishing for a little of the heat he had filled me with the night before. Neither one of us had any experience ice skating. "Crap, it's cold," I said through chattering teeth as I gripped the wall. The last thing I needed was to break a leg the day before the tour started.
Alec attempted to maneuver himself in front of me so he could rub my arms to warm them. I looked at him apprehensively as he made his move. I didn't know how to break it to him, but he was even more unsteady on skates than I was. I loved him, but I also didn't want him to take me out when he inevitably fell again. His eyes danced with mirth. "You look terrified. Do my skills frighten you?"
"Oh for sure, babe. Any moment now you might actually be able to take a step without falling."
He managed to scoot himself in front of me but had to grip my arms tightly when one of his legs slid forward between mine.
"That's harsh, and here I wanted to be romantic and sweep you off your feet," he said, trying to regain his balance.
"You already did, like seven times if my count is correct. My ass still hasn't recovered from that last fall."