Bachelor Unclaimed

Now it was back to reality. As she turned into the entry gates to the resort, she decided that she would shower and go to bed and get the sleep she’d been deprived of last night.

Leaving the bathroom after his shower, Winston didn’t have to look at the empty bed to know Red was gone. She had agreed to stay for another day and night and he had been looking forward to it. He figured he should be grateful she had left, but couldn’t help feeling disappointed that she had left without first telling him …

What? Her name? How to contact her again?

He rubbed his hand down his face in frustration. He didn’t handle one-nighters that way. Usually he would have a name, a first one at least, although most of the time he wasn’t certain it was genuine. And he’d never felt the need to keep one woman around. So why had he tried making Red different?

Because she was.

The moment he had eased between her legs and thrust hard inside of her, he’d known it. Never had he engaged in such mindless, erotic pleasure. Her inner muscles had clenched him, nearly made him beg for mercy, and driven him to make his strokes harder. Pound into her deeper. She would scream and he would growl.

And then her going down on him was no joke, either. What she’d done with her mouth had shudders running up his spine even now. He had known when he’d seen her at the club that her mouth could deliver and it had. She’d given him mindless pleasure and had ignited something wild and untamed inside him, making him want to go another round, then another, and another.

Hell, it had definitely been one incredible night.

Now she was gone and chances were he would never see her again.

He moved toward the bed and glanced around. There wasn’t a trace of her anywhere. But all he had to do was sniff the air to inhale her lingering scent. It was an aroma that hadn’t just entrenched in the air but was embedded in his skin even after his shower. The woman had worked her way into his mind.

A fierce frown settled on his face and he drew in a deep breath while giving his mind a mental dressing-down. Then you need to get her out of your mind. She was a one-nighter, so why are you getting so worked up about it? You don’t do relationships, don’t have time and wouldn’t do one if you did. Do you need to be reminded of Caroline Darling and all the pain she caused you?

Yes, at that moment he needed to be reminded of Caroline, and the memory was like a douse of ice water to his body. It didn’t matter that his night with Red had been off the charts. Great sex was great sex but that was all it was. No woman would get under his skin again no matter how great the sex was.

A short while later Winston was glad he’d managed to get his mind back in check. He had dressed to go down for breakfast and play a game of golf when his cell phone went off. He could tell by the ring it was Uriel. Each of his godbrothers had their own ring tone. Uriel happened to be the oldest of the six, besting Winston’s thirty-four by eighteen months.

Most people knew the story as to how six guys had become best friends while attending Morehouse and had on graduation day made a pact to stay in touch by becoming godfathers to each other’s children, and that the first-born sons’ names would carry the letters of the alphabet from U to Z. And that was how Uriel Lassiter, Virgil Bougard, Winston Coltrane, Xavier Kane, York Ellis and Zion Blackstone had come into existence.

Winston was close to his godparents and godbrothers and couldn’t imagine them not being a part of his life … although at the moment he was somewhat annoyed with three of them: Uriel, Xavier and York.

A few years ago when he and all five of his godbrothers were going through some sort of issues with women, they had come up with the idea of the Bachelors in Demand Club. They were supposed to be die-hard players—all six of them—who would enjoy life without any serious entanglements. But now the club of six was down to three after Uriel, Xavier and York had fallen in love and married. As far as he was concerned they were all whipped men.

It didn’t matter one iota that he happened to like the women his three godbrothers had married. That was beside the point. The fact remained that they had defected.

“What’s up, U?” Over the years they had shortened their names for each other to just the first letter.

“I haven’t heard from you since the New Year’s Eve party. Just checking on you, W.”

He wasn’t surprised since he and his godbrothers stayed in contact pretty regularly. “I’m fine. How’s Ellie doing?” Uriel’s wife was expecting their first child in May. Xavier’s wife, Farrah, was expecting that month, as well. Winston had to get used to the idea of U and X as fathers, just like he’d gotten used to them as married men.

“Ellie’s fine. She’s working on another novel and believes this one will be a bestseller.”

“They always are.” Ellie was a romance author who wrote under the pseudonym of Flame Elbam. Uriel and Ellie hosted a New Year’s Eve party every year at their home in Cavanaugh Lake in North Carolina. It had been at that party a couple of weeks ago that Ellie had announced her last novel had been on The New Yorks Times Bestseller List for six weeks straight.

“I hear you’re off Barrett Shores for a few days,” Uriel said.

Winston didn’t have to guess where U had gotten that information. More than likely it had come from York since he had been the last one Winston had spoken with. York had called this morning when Winston was throwing items into an overnight bag.

It hadn’t been loneliness that had driven Winston across the Sound to Hilton Head. The need to get laid had been the driving factor. And the trip hadn’t been disappointing.

“Yes, I needed to come into town,” he heard himself saying.

“How are things going with the project?”

Up until a month ago, very few people had known that his research as a marine biologist had reached a major breakthrough in the medical arena. Since word had somehow gotten leaked to the press, he’d been inundated with emails and letters wanting interviews.

“Pain in the ass right now. I prefer keeping my hands in the research side of things versus the business side, you know that.”

“Yes, and you should have taken my advice and hired a public relations expert. It’s only a matter of time before your true identity gets out and Barrett Shores won’t be your private island anymore.”

Winston frowned at the thought. When he had left his six-figure job with Destin Pharmaceuticals a few years back, he had decided to further his research under a pseudonym to keep his private life private. And following Ellie’s advice, he’d even gone so far as to set up a Facebook page with a picture of his grandfather for publicity purposes to appease the serious diggers determined to uncover his true identity. However, Uriel was right. Pretty soon some determined reporter would dig deep enough and find out Winston Coltrane and the renowned Dr. R. J. Chambers were one and the same.

He and Uriel talked for a few minutes more, ending with their plan for all the godbrothers to join York and his wife Darcy in New York next month over Valentine’s Day weekend when the couple would celebrate their first wedding anniversary.

As he walked down the corridor to the elevator, he could still smell Red’s scent and knew it would remain with him for a long time whether he wanted it to or not.

Chapter 5

“So, how are things going?”

Ainsley smiled upon hearing Tessa’s voice. “Fine. I’m stretched out on the beach watching the waves come in. It’s so relaxing. I wish you could have come with me,” she said, pulling up in a sitting position.

“I wish I could have come, too, but some of us have to work for a living.”

Ainsley groaned, thinking of her own employment situation. “And some of us are unemployed.”

“Have you called The New York Times to see if you can get your old job back?” Tessa asked her.

“I put in a call to Bobby a few days ago and he hasn’t returned it. The last time we talked, I was lectured on how the company was reducing their staff so he couldn’t make me any promises. I knew when I resigned that the downsizing was due to the economy. However, at the time, I was so sure I was going to win the election and wouldn’t need that job.”

“And you would have, if Luis Higgins hadn’t lied about you being a stripper instead of a dancer at that New York club during your college days.”

“Doesn’t matter.” She wouldn’t admit it to Tessa but it had mattered. The good people of Claxton, many of whom she’d known all her life, had let her down by believing such nonsense. They had been quick to believe the worst and decided a mayor with a history of pole dancing just wouldn’t cut it, regardless of the fact it was one of her ancestors, the first Ainsley St. James, who had founded the town and had been the town’s first mayor.

“I’m hoping Bobby calls me back before I leave. I want to have some definite plans in place before returning to Claxton. With Luis Higgins as mayor, I won’t stay in town any longer than I have to. Dad is doing better so he doesn’t need me any more. I’ll return just long enough to pack my bags. Mom and Dad understand.”

Ainsley was glad she had sub-leased her New York condo in Harlem. The couple had only wanted a six-month lease, which meant she had a place to stay when she returned. However, with this trip and the personal money she’d thrown into the campaign, she needed an income to pay her bills.

“So, have you run into Mr. Hot-Throb any more?”

She’d told Tessa about meeting Winston at the nightclub a week ago, but she hadn’t told her anything about spending the night with him. That was too much to share with anyone, even a best friend. “No, I haven’t run into him. He’s probably left the island already.”

She couldn’t help wondering if he had. She hadn’t gone back to the Sparrow, but she had gone to a couple restaurants on that side of town. And she’d always felt the need to look over her shoulder, nervous about running into him again.

It was hard to believe it had been a week already. She hated admitting there hadn’t been one single day that she hadn’t thought about Winston—remembering something he had said or recalling how he would look at her with those dark penetrating eyes of his.

Some days a part of her wished she hadn’t sneaked out of his hotel room like a thief in the night. It would have been nice to have spent the morning after with him, possibly even sharing breakfast if nothing more. Then on other days she was convinced she had done the right thing. One-night stands didn’t need to extend into the next day and night. It was best to make a clean break and move on.

She had ended her phone call with Tessa, gone back to her room to shower and change for dinner at one of the resort’s restaurants when her cell phone rang again. Her heart kicked up a beat when she saw it was her old boss, Bobby Ryerson. “Bobby, I was wondering if you were going to call me back.”

“Hey, kid, I didn’t want to interrupt your vacation until I could deliver good news.”

“And you can?” she asked, crossing her fingers. She needed her old job back. The sooner she could return to New York and the life she’d had there the better.

“Sort of. Like I told you, with the economy the way it is the paper isn’t hiring or doing rehires … except for special projects. I think I’ve come up with a freelance piece I can bring you back to write if you’re interested.”

“What’s it about?”

“Not what but who. Ever heard of Dr. R. J. Chambers?”

A frown burrowed her brow. “No.”

“But you have heard of the prescription drug Norjamin.”

“Yes, although it’s still pending approval by the FDA, it’s the drug that’s supposed to run rings around Viagra. I’ve heard it’s better all the way around with minimum side effects.”

“That’s good news all the way around, and Chambers is the marine biologist who was the mastermind behind that pill. His identity is a heavily guarded secret. The only thing anyone knows about him is from what’s going through social media. But I have a lead that Chambers is working on this remote island off Hilton Head. I want to put you on it right away. The paper will cover everything.”

“Okay.” Additional time on Hilton Head wouldn’t be so bad, especially when the last weather report indicated it was snowing in New York. “For how long?”

“At least three weeks. We want you to get inside his head. Get the scoop on his next project. Find out why he prefers living the life of a recluse. And it’d be ideal if we could put something in print around Valentine’s Day weekend, when sex is on a lot of people’s minds.”

Ainsley rolled her eyes. “I believe it’s romance that’s on everyone’s mind on that day.”

“Same thing.”

Deciding not to give her opinion on that, especially after her recent one-night stand, she said. “I need an address.”

“Does that mean you’re going to do it?” Bobby asked and she could hear the smile in his voice.

“Like you didn’t think I would. But I have a few stipulations,” she said, pulling the hotel notepad out of the drawer.

“You know I can’t promise you anything, St. James.”

She didn’t believe that for one minute. “I want my old job back, Bobby—including my office and weekly column.”

“You resigned, so sure that you were going to win that election, and we hired someone else.”

He was right. She had thought she would win. Deciding to use another approach, she said. “My replacement is doing a piss-poor job with that column and you and I both know it. I read the reviews.”

Bobby let out a deep sigh. “Giving you your old job back won’t be that easy. She’s the niece of someone at the top.”

Ainsley nervously gnawed on her bottom lip. In that case, it wouldn’t be easy but not impossible. “I’ll give you what you want from Chambers and you work on getting me what I want.”

Bobby didn’t say anything for a minute and then, “You deliver the goods on Chambers and I’ll see what I can do. And I need a newsbreaker, St. James. Chambers has been a recluse on that island. So far we’re the only ones who’ve gotten a lead as to where he lives so we need to move fast. It’s going to be up to you to convince the old man to do the interview.”

“Wait! Hold up! Are you saying Chambers hasn’t agreed to talk to me?”

“Not just you, he hasn’t agreed to talk to anyone. I understand he prefers the solitude with all those sea creatures. He doesn’t have a life. In fact, he doesn’t even know anyone has discovered his whereabouts. Chances are he won’t be too happy when you show up, but hopefully you can soften up the old man.”

She frowned. “I appreciate the vote of confidence.”

“No problem and if you get discouraged, just remember that this story makes you one step closer to reclaiming your old job, including your office and your column.” He quickly added, “But I can’t make promises.”

Ainsley smiled. “Too late, Bobby. You just did. Get the presses ready. I plan on giving you one hell of a scoop.”

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