We finished our business meeting and lunch and Simon had to leave to get back to the office.

  “I’ll make the amendments in the proposal and we’ll get together tomorrow to look over it one last time before you head back home. I’ll be in touch, man. It was good seeing you.”

  “Thanks, Simon. It was good seeing you too. Thanks for listening.”

  “No problem. That’s what friends are for.” As he began to walk away, he pointed at me. “Remember, if you want something bad enough, you have to fight for it.”

  Upon entering my suite, I sat down and opened up my laptop to check my emails and do some work. I would normally meet up with other friends, hit a bar, drink, and maybe pick up a girl for sex. But today, I wasn’t interested in any of that. The only girl I couldn’t stop thinking about was Emerson. She was in my head all the time and I found myself missing her already. I missed that damn sassy mouth of hers. As I was on my laptop, I pulled up the definition of love again. Everything about that definition held true for me where Emerson was concerned. I would do anything for her and everything to make her happy. Maybe Simon was right and I needed to make her see that staying in California with me was what was best for her. I wasn’t ready to let her go in a month’s time. Fuck, I didn’t want to ever let her go.

  I forgot to take my blood pressure medication this morning so I got up off the couch and went into my bag. They weren’t there. It suddenly hit me that I forgot to grab them off my nightstand. Shit. I was so focused on not wanting to leave Emerson that I forgot them. I had an idea.

  Chapter 24

  Emerson

  I was in the kitchen preparing dinner for myself so that I would have time to do some laps in the pool before I ate. Alex had been gone for hours and I couldn’t quite get a grip on myself. I felt off. It wasn’t any different than him being at the office, but knowing that he wasn’t going to be coming home for a couple of nights bothered me. I was already missing him and his uptight attitude. I never missed anyone except Emily, Adam, and my parents. I was getting too close to Alex and letting him into the deepest part of my soul. As I was preparing the chicken, Phillip walked into the kitchen.

  “Hey, Phillip. What are you doing here?”

  “Excuse me, Emerson, but I need you to go pack a bag and come with me.”

  I laughed. “Where are we going?” I asked as I continued prepping the chicken.

  “To the airport. It seems that Mr. Parker forgot his blood pressure medication and he needs you to bring it to him.”

  I looked up at him in disbelief. “He’s in Seattle. He wants me to fly all the way to Seattle to bring him his medication?”

  “Yes. The private jet is fueled and waiting for you. When you arrive in Seattle, there will be someone waiting for you with a car to take you to the hotel.”

  “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. I am.” He smiled.

  At that moment, Jenna walked into the kitchen.

  “Jenna, could you please put the chicken in refrigerator. I’m being summoned by His Majesty.”

  “Huh?” She gave me a strange look. “He’s in Seattle. Isn’t he?”

  “Yes, and he forgot his medication, so he needs me to bring it to him.”

  She laughed and shook her head. “Have fun in Seattle.”

  I sighed as I went to my bedroom. The good thing was that I was already semi-packed from Napa. I took out my old clothes, packed some new ones, and headed to the airport with Phillip. Arriving to the hotel, I took the elevator up to the top floor to the Presidential Suite. As I knocked on the door, I said, “Room service,” and held up Alex’s bottle of pills. The door opened and he stood there with a smile on his face.

  “Your pills all the way from California, Your Majesty.” I took a bow.

  He stood there with his hands on his hips and his head tilted. “Really, Emerson?”

  I laughed as I stepped inside. “How could you forget your pills, Parker?”

  “I just did. Thank you for bringing them to me.”

  “Like I had a choice?” I smiled as I walked around, checking out how amazing his suite was.

  “Not really. But aren’t you happy to be here in Seattle? It was raining earlier and it’s supposed to rain again tomorrow.” He smirked.

  “Oh, well, in that case, I’m extremely happy to be here. Thank you. But I will have you know that I was in the middle of making a spectacular meal for myself when Phillip dropped by.”

  He walked over to me and placed his hand on my cheek, sending my panties into a soaking wet frenzy. “You can make it when we get home.”

  I froze for a moment, my heart suddenly racing. The way he said “when we get home” sparked a feeling inside me that freaked me out. I hadn’t had a “home” since my parents and Emily died. Even when Adam sold the house and I moved in with him, it wasn’t home.

  “What’s wrong?” Alex asked.

  I gave him a small smile. “Nothing. It’s just the way you said that.”

  “Said what?”

  “‘When we get home.’ That’s your home, Alex. Not mine.”

  “It’s yours too as long as you’re staying there,” he spoke softly.

  I placed my hand on his chest. “Thank you, Alex. That’s very sweet of you, but a home isn’t somewhere temporary.”

  He took hold of my hand. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s go do something.”

  “What do you want to do?” I asked.

  “You pick. I’ll do whatever you want to.” He softly smiled.

  “I picked just about everything we did in Napa, so it’s your turn.”

  “Fine. Give me a second. I’ll be right back. Did you pack a dress?”

  “No. I didn’t think I’d be needing one.”

  “Okay. After I make this call, we’ll go buy you one.”

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “You’ll see. I’ll be right back.”

  My stomach was a-flutter at the thought of what he had planned. A few moments later, he walked back into the room with a smile on his face.

  “Are you ready to go shopping?”

  “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

  “I am taking you on a moonlight dinner cruise.”

  “Fancy, Parker.” My lips gave way to a big smile.

  ****

  As I was in the dressing room at Saks, Alex waited outside in an oversized chair. When I walked out in a short, red, sleeveless dress, he looked at me.

  “What do you think?”

  “It’s alright, but I think you can do better.”

  “Perfect.” I grinned. “This is the one I’ll take,” I spoke to the saleswoman as I looked at myself in the mirror. “I’m just going to wear it out, so could you please remove the price tag?”

  “Certainly, miss,” she replied.

  “Are you wearing those shoes with that dress?” Alex asked.

  I looked down at my flip-flops and sighed.

  “No worries. I have the perfect shoes to go with the dress. What size are you?”

  “Size 7,” I replied.

  Alex sat there with a grin on his face.

  “What?”

  He got up from the chair and walked over to me. Leaning close to my ear, he whispered, “I knew you’d pick that dress if I said I didn’t like it. But guess what?” He grinned.

  “What?”

  “I really do like it and I think it looks beautiful on you.”

  “Jerk!” I lightly smacked his chest.

  He laughed and the saleswoman brought me a nice pair of red heels that matched the dress perfectly.

  Stepping onto the boat, I noticed Alex and I were the only ones on it.

  “Is it just us?”

  “Yep.”

  “How did you do this on such short notice?” I asked as he grabbed my hand and led me up to the upper deck where a table for two covered in white linens sat.

  “I arranged it earlier. When I made the call, it was to let the captain know
what time we’d be arriving.”

  “Hmm.” I smiled. “And what if I wanted to do something else?”

  “We still would have ended up here.” He winked.

  After an amazing dinner under the moonlight, a bottle of champagne, and a lot of talk, we headed back to the hotel. The minute we stepped into the room, Alex came up from behind, lightly grasped my shoulders, and began softly kissing my neck. When I let out a light moan, his fingers began to unzip my dress. This man always unraveled me to the point where I couldn’t breathe. The way his hands manipulated my body and the way his mouth devoured me always left me inebriated. Letting my dress fall to the ground, his hands caressed my breasts.

  “I want you so bad,” he whispered.

  I turned around and our mouths met. Our tongues tangled in passion and my skin was set on fire. His fingers slowly traveled down my torso until they reached the fabric of my panties. In one swoop, they were down and his fingers explored me.

  “You love this. Don’t you?”

  “Yes,” I breathed out.

  “You’re always so wet and delicious. I can’t stop myself when you’re around.”

  My hands reached for his pants. Feeling the big bulge in front, I stroked him through the fabric. He hissed. My hands reached up and began unbuttoning his shirt. Sliding it off his shoulders, I gripped his muscular arms. Arms that made me feel safe. Arms that held me at night after sex. Pulling his fingers out, his tongue slid down the front of me, stopping at each breast first, sucking my hardened nipples before making his way down the fiery aching spot that desperately needed him. Getting down on his knees, he started with my inner thigh, making tiny circles around it until he reached my slick opening. A low moan escaped his chest as he tasted the pleasure that was made because of him.

  “I can’t wait anymore, baby.” He stood, picked me up and carried me to the table that sat twelve. Facing the table, and with him standing behind me, he took down his pants and threw them to the side. He leaned into me, resting his hard cock on the small of my back. Lightly grabbing my hair, he pulled my head back.

  “Are you ready?” he whispered.

  “I’m always ready.”

  “Jesus, Emerson,” he spoke, winded as he thrust inside me, burying himself deep inside my soul.

  I moaned loudly, which caused his thrusting to increase in speed. He was pounding into me like he never had before. Suddenly, he pulled out and turned me around, lifting me up so I was sitting on the edge of the table. Wrapping my legs around his waist, he thrust into me a few times and then laid me on my back so I was stretched out on the table. He climbed on top and hovered over me while he brushed the strands of hair from my face, his eyes staring into mine. Once again, he thrust into me, slow and smooth before bringing his lips to mine. It wasn’t long before his rhythmic movement brought me to an amazing orgasm, panting out his name as he pushed one last time inside and held himself there, filling me with his come.

  “Are you okay?” He smiled.

  I lay there, underneath him, panting and trying to catch my breath.

  “Yep. I’m good. I mean, great. I mean, fuck, Alex, what was that?”

  He chuckled as he kissed my lips.

  “I’m going to assume you thoroughly enjoyed it?”

  “Enjoyed it is way too mild of a statement. That was mind-blowing. The type of mind-blowing sex that leaves your body craving for more every second of every day. The kind that stays with you and on your mind 24/7. The kind that one doesn’t forget so easily.”

  The grin on his face grew wide as he placed his hand on my cheek.

  “Good. I’ll make you a deal. Any time your body is craving that mind-blowing sex, I’m more than willing and happy to fulfill your body’s needs.”

  I placed my hand on his chest. “You are way too kind, Parker. My body thanks you.”

  Laughing, he kissed me one more time before climbing off of me and helping me up.

  Chapter 25

  Emerson

  I awoke wrapped in Alex’s arms. The sheets tangled around us from the second round of mind-blowing sex we had. I lay there and listened to the drops of rain softly hit the railing of the balcony. I quietly climbed out of bed, slipped on my robe, and went out onto the balcony, staring at the city of Seattle. Being here with Alex was something I hadn’t planned on. Things were intense between us. Feelings and emotions I never experienced before crept in and left me dazed and confused. My stomach started to flutter every time he was around. What the fuck was that about? I mentioned on more than one occasion how his scent drove me wild. But it was getting extreme. The moment I would catch a whiff of him, my pheromones took over and the ache below became more unbearable than the previous time.

  “Can’t sleep?” I heard Alex say as he stepped out onto the balcony and wrapped his arms around my waist while laying his chin on my shoulder.

  “I can sleep. I just woke up and heard the rain, so I thought I’d come out here for a while. I didn’t mean to wake you.” I placed my hands on his arms.

  He felt good. Too good. Dangerously good. No one had ever made me feel this good before.

  “You didn’t wake me.” His lips pressed into the side of my head.

  “If I didn’t wake you, then why are you up?”

  “Because I rolled over and I didn’t feel you next to me.”

  “So I did wake you up?”

  He laughed. “Fine. You woke me up.”

  “Sorry,” I whispered.

  “Don’t be. You can wake me up anytime you want.”

  There was something I didn’t tell him. Something that happened earlier. I got a call from Adam and his work was almost finished in Tennessee. He’d be home next week, we’d have our talk, and then I’d leave; move on to the next adventure.

  “Adam called me this morning.”

  “How is he?” Alex asked.

  “He’ll be home next week.”

  “Really? I thought he had three more weeks there.”

  “He wrapped up early.”

  “I see.” He let go of me and went back inside the room. I followed.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. It’s three in the morning. We really should get some sleep.”

  I climbed in on my side and Alex climbed in on his. He turned on his side, his eyes staring into mine. His lips softly brushed against mine.

  “Get some sleep, Emerson.”

  “You too, Parker.” I smiled as I ran my finger over his lips.

  He turned on his back and I snuggled tightly against him.

  ****

  Alex

  I lay there, holding Emerson as tight as I could. Her leg was wrapped around me and her head lay on my chest. Adam would be home next week, and then, before I knew it, Emerson would leave. The thought of her leaving bothered me more than it should have. We’d grown so close and I had shared parts of my life with her. I didn’t want her to leave California. It had only been two months since I’d first met her, but in some unexplainable way, she had become a huge part of my life in such a short period of time, and I wasn’t ready to let her go. Fuck. I was going to do everything I could to make her stay.

  ****

  I had room service delivered for us since we had barely slept. Emerson had just gotten out of the shower when our breakfast arrived.

  “Thank God. I’m starving.” She smiled as she walked past me and smacked my ass.

  “Really?”

  “Really what?” she asked as she picked up a piece of toast and bit into it.

  “You had to smack my ass when you walked by?”

  She giggled. “Mhmm, and what a fine ass it is.”

  I sighed as I sat down at the table.

  “Did you wipe down the table?” she asked.

  “Umm. No. Why would I?”

  “Have you forgotten that we had sex on this table?”

  “Trust me. I haven’t forgotten.” I got up, took my plate, and walked down to the other end of the table. Are you coming?” I raised a brow at he
r.

  She picked up her plate and sat down across from me.

  “Your hot ass didn’t touch this area down here, so we’re good.” I smiled.

  “Gotcha.” She winked.

  “Start thinking about what you want to do after my meeting.”

  “I would love to go to the zoo. There’s one only a few miles from here.”

  “The zoo? Really?”

  “Yes, the zoo. Do you have a problem with the zoo, Parker?”

  “No. I haven’t been to the zoo since I was a small child and my nanny took me.”

  “Your nanny? Why am I not surprised?” She laughed.

  “I’ll have you know that my nanny was one of the best.”

  “I’m sure she was. Can I tell you how honored I am, Your Majesty, to be the second person ever to explore the zoo with you.” She took a bow.

  I sighed. “Why do you do that?”

  The grin on her face widened. “Because I know it pisses you off.”

  “Are you trying to raise my blood pressure, Emerson?”

  “No,” she spoke with a twisted face. “Don’t forget to take your pill.” She smacked my hand as I reached for the salt shaker.

  “A little bit of salt won’t kill me, but a little bit of Emerson just might.” I winked.

  “Haha. Very funny, Parker.”

  I got up from the table, grabbed my suit coat, and kissed Emerson on the top of her head. “I have to get to my meeting. When I return, we will go to the zoo.”

  Chapter 26

  Emerson

  I finished getting ready, and while I was waiting for Alex to return from his meeting, I poured myself a glass of wine and sat out on the balcony. Leaving Alex was probably going to be the hardest thing I’d ever done, but he’d be okay and so would I. Never stay in one place too long.

  I had just stepped inside the room when the door opened and Alex walked in.

  “How did your meeting go?”

  “It went great. Are you ready?” He asked as he kissed my lips.

  “Yes.”

  “Great. Just give me a second to go change,” he spoke as he walked into the bedroom.

  As we walked through the zoo, Alex had a smile on his face. He was enjoying seeing the animals and I found it to be quite a turn-on.