Seven Nights Page 18

  People hurried past him, hardly seeing him and certainly not trying to stop him as he made his way toward Leah’s office. His breath came shorter with each step and his heartbeat got so loud he almost couldn’t hear the din of talk in the cubes or the whiz of printers in the background.

  The only thing that filled his mind and his senses was Leah. Would she be happy to see him or angry? Would she call security like the secretary downstairs had wanted to do? Or worse yet, her Dad?

  No, he didn’t think she’d do that. When she’d boarded her plane the day before, she’d told him he knew where to find her if he ever pulled his head out of his ass. She might not be expecting him, but he was sure she’d at least hear him out.

  There was no telling how she’d react after that.

  Sean turned right at the end of the hall and found himself staring at a door marked 350. It was cracked open, inviting him to peek in before he went inside to face his destiny. He crept forward and leaned into the opening. He found Leah sitting at her desk facing the door with her head leaned against her computer screen.

  Sean smiled. If she was that upset, he had a chance. One he had to take.

  He pushed the door open quietly and leaned against the doorjamb. “I love you.”

  ***

  Leah’s eyes flashed open at the sound of Sean’s voice, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to lift her head. He couldn’t really be there. Hearing him had to be a terrible joke her sleep-deprived mind was playing on her. If she dared to look at her door, he wouldn’t be there. It would be Danny or the copy clerk, or… she shivered… her father.

  “Leah?”

  There was Sean’s imaginary voice again. She slowly titled her head and let her gaze move over to the door. When she saw him actually standing there, she gasped. It was really him. Not some dream, not a fantasy. Him.

  She lifted her head with as much dignity as she could muster and smiled weakly. “Hello.”

  That was it? She’d spent a night alternately crying her eyes out and dreaming of Sean’s body moving inside of hers and when she saw him all she could manage to say was hello?

  He produced a bouquet of flowers from behind his back. Stepping forward, he set his peace offering on the edge of her desk, then retreated back to give her space.

  “These are from your island,” she whispered as she gathered the bouquet to her chest and took in a deep breath of their heady fragrance. It put her to mind of the first night she’d spent on Sean’s island, when he’d seduced her senses of smell and taste. When he’d begun the process of winning her heart again.

  “Yes.” His hand trailed up to his collar and he adjusted his tie uncomfortably. She smiled. He looked like a page out of GQ Magazine, but she knew deep down he was wishing he was wearing a pair of swim trunks, no shirt and walking on the beach.

  The question was, did he want her there beside him? Her heart thudded as she looked into his eyes. There was only one way to find out.

  “Sean,” she said past parched lips. “Why are you here? I’m sure it isn’t just to bring me flowers.”

  “Leah.” He sighed. “You-you were right about me shutting you out all those years ago. I was so focused on making it on my own that I lost sight of the promise I’d made to you when I asked you to be my wife.”

  “The promise?” she said softly as her heart rate increased to what she knew had to be a dangerous level. She only hoped she wouldn’t pass out from emotional overload before Sean said his piece.

  “Marriage is an agreement to be partners in pain as well as pleasure. In hardship as well as success.” He stepped closer to her desk and for the first time she saw the lines of worry around his eyes. The slight glint of fear inside the gray. He was vulnerable to her. Only her. “Until you reminded me yesterday morning, I’d forgotten that. I let it color our relationship, both in the distant past and this past week. I came here to tell you that I’m sorry.”

  Leah felt herself rise from the desk even though she didn’t remember making an order to her legs to move. “But what can we do about that, Sean?” she whispered as she took a few tentative steps toward him. “I need a partner, a man who wants me to support and be involved in his life.”

  “Do you want that man to be me?” He seemed to hold his breath as he waited for her answer.

  Leah’s face softened. Sean didn’t know how many times she’d tried to forget him over the years. No amount of spying and information gathering could tell him that she’d compared each and every man she’d dated to him, that they’d all come up short by far.

  “I told you before I left the island that I love you,” she said as she finally reached his side. With trembling fingers she touched his arm, felt his heat beneath the suit, felt his muscles contract. His eyes held hers, waiting for her to finish with intense anticipation. “And I meant it. I do love you and I want you to be the man I love for the rest of my life. But only if we can be on some kind of even ground.”

  Sean let out his breath in one burst, then dug into his pocket. He produced her list of backers, the one she’d given him before she left the island. With trembling hands, he held it out.

  She stared at it in confusion. Was he trying to tell her he couldn’t accept her help? With a frown, she slid her gaze to his.

  “Open it,” he said softly.

  She did so with hands that shook so hard she nearly ripped the pages in half. On her typed list were handwritten notes, mostly in Sean’s scrawling handwriting. Beside some names were checkmarks and dollar amounts. Others were crossed off. But the total he’d written at the bottom of the sheets made her eyes go wide.

  “With some finesse by Will, we’ve gotten backing for even more money than we had with the investors we lost. The press releases go out today,” Sean explained with a grin that was infectious. “And we owe it all to you.”

  Tears pricked Leah’s eyes as she stared from the list to Sean. “You used my tips?”

  “I did.” He nodded. “And while I can’t promise you I’ll always turn to you for business advice, I do promise that I won’t shut you out again. I can tell you making it with your help felt a whole hell of a lot better than making it all alone.”

  Leah couldn’t help the sob that broke from her throat, a sob of utter joy. Smiling through her tears, she reached up and touched Sean’s rough cheek. This was the man she loved. And had loved for as long as she could remember.

  “I have something else for you,” he said as he leaned into her palm.

  “Something better than you?” she asked with a laugh.

  “I hope you’ll like it.” He reached into the same pocket from where he’d produced his list and pulled out a small, velvet box.

  “Sean,” she breathed as he opened it to reveal the simple diamond solitaire he’d given her at their favorite restaurant what seemed like a lifetime ago.

  “This ring is slightly used,” he explained, locking eyes with her. “This fool I know gave it to the woman he loved a long time ago, but unfortunately, he let her slip away. But he kept the ring, with the hope that one day he’d put it back on her finger.”

  She drew in a sharp breath as Sean dropped to one knee right there in her office. “Leah Prescott, will you marry me?”

  Drawing in another sob, Leah nodded, then struggled to find her voice. “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  As he slipped the ring onto her finger, Leah grabbed him by the lapels and pulled him to his feet. She slid her arms up his chest and around his neck to pull him down for a kiss. But unlike the passion they’d shared on the island, his kiss didn’t claim. It challenged her resolve, but it didn’t challenge her better judgment. The kiss pulled her to Sean, promised her that they would work together to achieve their dreams. Forever.

  Sean pulled back with a smile. “You know, your Dad probably wouldn’t go for us consummating this engagement right here in your office.”

  Leah laughed with a lighter heart than she’d felt in years. She pulled away from him reluctantly and clicked her mouse. “Well,
he’ll probably feel even worse since it’s not my desk anymore.”

  “What?”

  She waved her hand at the document she’d retrieved. “Leah,” Sean breathed as he sank into her office chair with a thunk. “This-this is your resignation.”

  “Yes.” She smiled. “Effective immediately.”

  “But-”

  She reached down to cover Sean’s lips with the tips of her fingers. “After what he tried to do to you, there’s no way I could work for him anymore. Besides-” She folded her arms triumphantly. “I already have another gig.”

  “You do?”

  She nodded. “Some guy I trust completely told me I was a good writer. He wondered why I gave up on this crazy dream I had to write a book or two. I think I ought to try that.”

  Sean’s eyes widened and he flew out of the chair to take her in his arms and spin her around her office. “You’re going to write your book?”

  “I am.” She laughed. “As long as you don’t mind me using your resort as my own personal office space, that is.”

  Sean set her down and shook his head, a serious light reappearing in his eyes. “Well, that depends.”

  She frowned. “On what?”

  “Have you changed your mind about the false promise of fantasy resorts?”

  She smiled at the twinkle that had reappeared in Sean’s eyes. Placing her hands on his chest, Leah backed him up to the half-open door and used his body weight to shut it. Pressing him back against the wood, she reached around behind him to lock it. Her heart raced, her blood heated. Her father be damned, she was going to have Sean.

  She slipped her hands into his jacket and shoved it off his broad shoulders. His body heat, now free, surrounded her. Melted her.

  “Oh God, I need you so much,” she admitted on a low whimper.

  Sean’s eyes lit up with unhidden desire and in the blink of an eye, he reversed their positions. Her back was against the door and his hard, strong body leaned into her as he plunged his tongue between her lips.

  Wet heat shot to her pussy as she arched helplessly against his chest. His cock was already hard as he rocked against her. Then he pushed her legs open wide with one of his own. She straddled his steely thigh and groaned when her clit ground against his leg. She pushed down against him again and her body went limp with pleasure.

  One of his big hands wrapped around to cradle the small of her back for support as he used the other to wrap her leg around his muscular backside.

  She didn’t have to ask for what she needed. Without a word, he popped the buttons on her silk blouse and dipped his fingers into the lacy cups of her bra. Her nipples hardened beneath his skillful touch and pleasure shot in a tattoo straight to her swollen clit.

  She moaned and arched against his leg as he captured her lips. His mouth was so hot she feared she’d burn, but that was better than the alternative: go back to the deep freeze and let him go.

  Kissing him with all her pent up hunger and frustration, she silently begged him for more. Then forgot everything when he slipped his hand between her legs. His fingers found the lacy edging of her panties. With a few strokes, he pushed the wet crotch of her panties aside and thrust his fingers deep into her weeping slit. She clenched at him wildly, desperate for him to fill her, make her his.

  “Now! Now,” she begged as she yanked his belt open and shoved his slacks down.

  Instead of answering her in words, Sean lifted her up against the door. Before she could say anything, the thick, hard thrust of his cock slipped inside her. She shivered with the sensation. how right it was to have him fill her completely.

  “I’m home,” he murmured and her heart stuttered.

  Then all gentleness was gone and he pounded into her. Her back arched against the slick door and she bit her lip to keep from screaming down the office.

  But when he glided a thumb over her slick clit, she couldn’t hold back anymore. She cried out as a powerful orgasm flashed through her with heat and intensity she’d never experienced. Sean molded his lips to hers and swallowed her cries as he joined her in release.

  Sweating and panting, they sank in a satiated pile on the floor. Sean cupped her neck and kissed her deep and slow.

  “So was that a yes?” he murmured as he flopped his head down on her tightly woven carpet.

  “A yes?” she laughed.

  “Have you changed your opinion about resorts like mine?”

  She didn’t try to suppress her grin as she rolled over to straddle him. “I’m not sure. You see, I still have a lot of fantasies to fulfill, Mr. Dalton.” She leaned down and caught his lips for a kiss. “And all of them have to do with you.”

  Epilogue

  Leah shielded her eyes from the blinding Caribbean sun as she watched Sean. He was crouched down on the deck of the yacht, scrubbing the flooring. His calf muscles worked with every stroke and sweat glistened on his arms. He was absolutely gorgeous.

  “You know, you have people who you pay to do just that, babe.”

  She laughed as he looked up at her with a smile. He looked so cute with a streak of white sunscreen on one cheek and smudge of dirt on the other.

  “Yes, but these are our first guests for the season and we want to impress them, right?” he asked in return as he tossed his brush into the bucket near him and hopped over to the dock.

  She smiled, knowing full well that Sean was desperate to make a good impression. “I can’t believe we’re already into another season.”

  Her first year and a half of marriage had been spent on Sean’s island, writing her book and helping him whenever he needed it. Now they were beginning their third busy season together and anticipating two big events. Her first book release in another two months and their first guests of the year.

  She stood up from her lounge chair in the shade to hug him.

  “I’m all dirty and sweaty,” he protested even as she caught the waistband of his shorts and yanked him closer.

  “Oh, just like I like it,” she teased before she dragged his mouth down for a kiss that took her breath away.

  Sean pulled back with a wicked grin. One that faded when he glanced over his shoulder at the boat.

  “What do you think your Dad will say?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around her bare waist and pulled her up against his hard chest.

  She thought about it for a moment. “Well, considering how hard he’s tried these last few months, and that he and Mother haven’t had a real vacation in over five years, I think he might actually have a good time.”

  She was still stunned that Sean had extended a special offer to her parents to come to the resort before their first reserved guests arrived. Even more shocking was that her parents had actually accepted. It was a big step forward. One she hoped and prayed would lead to some kind of peace between her husband and her father. At present, they had an uneasy truce of sorts.

  “I hope so.” Sean smiled. “Because I want you to be happy.”

  “Even if my Dad hates this place, I will be happy. I’m with you. He can go to hell if he can’t accept that.” She was rewarded by Sean’s arms tightening around her waist and his rough palms slipping under her cover-up to cup her rear end. He pulled her up against him as his mouth came down on hers with firm and promising pressure.

  “You know I love you,” he murmured against her lips.

  “That’s good,” she whispered as his mouth moved to the column of her throat and sent a rain of pleasurable shockwaves through her entire body. “Because tonight you can prove it. It’s my turn for a fantasy.”

  Sean’s eyes lit up and she knew he’d planned something special for her. “I know. And I’m ready with my best work yet.”

  “Really?” She laughed. “What is it?”

  “It’s a surprise.” He looked playfully affronted that she’d dare ask for details. “You know I’ll never tell.”

  With a shrug, she snuggled closer. “I know, but I always ask anyway. It’s the reporter in me.”

  He pulled her b
ack in for another kiss and before she surrendered to the mind numbing effect of the way he was untying her bikini top, Leah smiled. No matter what he did, Sean had already given her the ultimate fantasy.

  A lifetime with him.