Effortless

“What the— Jesus, Holden. Stalk much?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “I’m just waiting for my fiancée. Have you seen her? Pretty girl. American. Brown hair, amber eyes. Usually nice. Definitely cheeky.”

“You’re supposed to be in London. How did you get in here?”

“Sorry to disappoint you with my return.” He grinned. “The lovely young lady at reception let me in. I made her promise not to tell anyone I was waiting for you. Judging by the look of terror of your face, I’d say she kept her end of the bargain.”

My smile was artful as I placed my belongings on a small table next to the door. “I’m not terrified, smart ass. You surprised me.”

“Good.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“And miss this priceless reaction?” He unbuttoned his suit jacket. “I wanted to come here as fast as I could. The plane landed and I could only think of two things.”

Little shivers nipped at my skin as I watched him remove the jacket with calculated ease and drape it over the chair. “What were they?”

“You,” he said, pushing himself away from the desk.

“That’s only one thing.”

He positioned his well-dressed, great smelling body in front of me and played with a loose tendril of my hair. I steadied myself against the door. Being seduced in my office wasn’t quite what I’d expected to happen today. The crazy-sexy smile curling his sculpted mouth sent tremors down my spine. When he wanted something, he went after it with full force.

“Use your imagination for the second thing.”

“You are unreal with this charm and seduction combo thing you’ve got going for you.”

“I try.”

“So,” I said, looking up at him, “how long have you been snooping around my office?”

“Snooping? I’ve been waiting patiently for the last fifteen minutes. I even got to enjoy your show.”

Oh no. That meant he saw the…

“Garrison handled himself rather well when Archer tossed those questions at him,” he said, pausing to kiss the tip of my nose. “It’s a good thing nothing surprises me that much anymore.” He cocked his head to the side. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing.” I sighed.

“You’re a bad liar,” he whispered, brushing his lips to mine. I shoved my hands through his hair and kissed him with reckless abandon. I’d missed the warmth and softness of his mouth on mine. I deepened the kiss, tasting and savoring him. He groaned, placing his hand on my hip and pulling me closer. Heat radiated off his taut body. I loved the way he felt against me. He broke our mouths apart, sliding a hand along my jaw.

“Lia.” The animalistic way he said my name made my knees buckle. So did the way he looked at me with eyes as dark as night. “I want you.”

Not much separated us from the rest of the newsroom, just a door and some glass windows covered with blinds. The thought of having sex with him so close to the people who would give anything for a juicy exclusive turned me on in a way I didn’t expect.

“What are you waiting for?”

A low growl vibrated in the back of his throat as he flexed his hips into mine, the friction from his erection teasing me with the promise of what I knew was to come. “I can’t be quiet when I’m with you. They’ll all hear me shout your name. Do you want that?”

“I’ll be quiet if you will.”

Fisting his hand in my hair, he ran his tongue along the edge of my bottom lip. I let out a long, breathy moan.

“See? You can’t do it either.”

“Take me home. Now.”

The left corner of his mouth quirked up. “I will, as soon as you tell me what’s bothering you.”

“Alastair,” I exclaimed. “Don’t do that. Don’t rile me up with your irresistible kisses and touches and say those things to me and not follow through. You’re a fucking tease and I’ve had a long day. I’m not in the mood for your games.”

“You’re hot when you’re angry.”

“Ugh, you’re impossible,” I grumbled, pushing him away and stalking toward my desk. I didn’t make it far. He caught me by the waist and spun me around.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I don’t like seeing you stressed and knowing something’s bothering you. Is it Archer?” His eyes flashed. “Is he still hounding you for an exclusive on me?”

I exhaled, leaning my head back. “Yeah but now he wants the story to focus on me. Apparently I’m the public’s window into your life.”

The muscles in his jaw twitched as the rest of his body tensed. “Dammit. I knew this would happen. Th—”

I pressed a finger to his lips to halt whatever it was he wanted to say. “Drop it for now. It’s Friday night. I haven’t seen you in days. Let’s go home.”

Staring intently at me he remained quiet. I could almost see the cogs turning in his head.

“Have the paparazzi been on your tail? Paxton said there’s been more than usual this week.”

“Half a dozen photographers leapt out at me this morning when Stephanie and I were getting coffee down the street. The pictures ended up online with headlines about our engagement.”

“Then we should probably beat them at their own game. I’ll have Simone draft a release with an official announcement.”

I wrinkled my nose as his suggestion. “No. That sounds too impersonal and stuffy. Besides, don’t you think we should tell our families first before they read about it on the society pages?”

“My family already knows.” He paused. “And so does yours.”

My mouth dropped open. “What?”

His throaty laugh filled my office. “I called your parents last weekend and told them my intentions. I also made them promise not to say anything to you. Your mum is quite excitable.”

“Alastair Reid Holden.” I shoved him playfully. “You are sneaky.”

A glowing smile brightened his entire face, melting my heart. “You know you love me anyway.”

“I do.” I kissed him hard, hooking my arms around his waist.

“Now that we have this settled, there’s one more bit I have to tell you.”

“Oh?”

Dread consumed his expression so subtly I almost missed it. “My aunt wants us to go to the house on Sunday for brunch with her, Jason and my grandfather.” He scowled. “They’re not taking ‘no’ for an answer.”

His body stiffened in my arms until he became almost statuesque. Never in my life had I seen someone grow so agitated over the thought of spending time with their family. After all, these people did take him in when his parents and sister died and provided for him. His cold reaction to their generosity didn’t sit well with me.

“Brunch with your family sounds like a good idea to me. I didn’t get to spend much time with them at the garden party and—”

“We won’t stay long. We’ll eat and then leave.”

“Stop with the interrupting. I’m not saying we have to move in with them but it would be nice if I had the chance to spend more than two minutes with your aunt and uncle. I’d really like to get to know them.”

Alastair backed away and ran both hands through his hair. I knew that meant he was over this conversation. “You’ve made a fair point, Amelia.” His frigid stare chilled my blood. “But I’m only doing this because of how I feel about you. It’s not for them.”

Thoughts swirled through my brain, trying to figure out a way to make this visit at least tolerable for him. “Just think how happy your aunt will be to spend time with you.”

Narrowing his brows so the little patch of skin between them wrinkled, he sighed. “You’re right again. How do you do that?”

“You forget that I know the truth about you, chief. You’re nothing but a big ‘ol softie underneath all those scowls and icy stares.”

“I see.” He ran a finger along his lips. What that little movement did to me. My. God. “About that second thing on my mind.” In an instant he had me caged against the door. I gasped, not from his searing kiss but from the blind sticking in my ass.

“Alastair, stop. There’s a piece of plastic in my butt.”

Amused, he let me go, craning his head to see the offending material. “Not a fan of that then?”

“Not particularly,” I deadpanned. Grabbing my belongings I led him through the now quiet newsroom towards the elevator bank. Out in the hallway, he walked in front of me. I got a nice eyeful of the way he moved with such fluid control. I caught his eye when I hit the call button. A second later he was on me, his hands holding my face as he kissed me unapologetically. My mind scrambled and drifted to that amazing place it went when we were lost in each other. Not seeing him for a few days enhanced the steady ache that grew at my core. My skin reveled in his firm grasps, warming quickly the more he touched me. We stumbled closer to the wall.

“What if someone walks by?” I asked between kisses.

A loud tone sounded signaling the elevator’s arrival. We barely pulled away from one another in time to walk in. Thank goodness nobody else was in there because as soon as the doors closed Alastair had me pinned in the corner and curled my right leg around his hip.

“I hated being away from you,” he said, cupping my backside. The way his lips glided over mine with such love and passion made me lose all sense of time and space. “My Lia,” he whispered, pushing my skirt up. “What you do to me.”

Our interlude was rudely interrupted by the elevator’s annoying tone yet again, signaling we’d arrived at the lobby. Alastair grinned and ran a hand through his disheveled hair, looking pristine and perfect and not like he’d just been making out in an elevator. I must have looked a mess but really didn’t care.

The doors swished open and in walked none other than Brent Garrison. Embarrassed, I glanced at the digital display and saw we weren’t at the lobby but on the fifth floor. I smoothed my skirt down to make sure I was covered.

Brent looked at me, then Alastair and smiled. “This is unexpected.”

“Garrison,” Alastair muttered.

“I was just talking to your lovely girlfriend earlier,” he said, ignoring Alastair’s tone. “I’m having a few friends over tonight. I’ve already extended the invitation to Lia. Has she told you?”

I noticed Brent kept the ‘doors open’ button pressed as he spoke. Alastair aimed a suspicious gaze in his direction.

“Thanks for holding the—” Stephanie trotted in breathless and stopped short. She looked from Brent to Alastair to me and remained silent.

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