Indecent Encounter: The Silverhaus Affair (13 page)

I held her there against the wall and breathed into the leaves at her neck. “I can’t go yet. Just stay for a minute more.”

Chelsea shifted and felt my now fully hard cock pressed between her legs. She half-moaned and half giggled, “You better step back or we’ll need more than a minute.”

The thought of tugging that short skirt up to her hips, those legs opening for me, the sweet honey feel of her, made my knees wobble. It was more than tempting.

I let her down and leaned heavily against the ivy, my palms to the wall, pinning her in front of me. My pulse was racing, and the now-roaring fire in my veins demanded a release. I grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her to my lips and held her there just a breath short of kissing her again.

I closed my eyes and whispered against her skin, “I want to fuck you right now.” I exhaled long and hard. Oh, god, that sounded so raw. She probably thinks I’m just a horny beast. “I mean, I want you Chelsea, I want to hold you and kiss you and make love to you right now, right here. With goddamn April and everyone in the back yard. I don’t give a shit about what they think. I just want you…you…just you.”

But I couldn't have her right now. Not the way I wanted to.

I crushed her lips with one last kiss to savor and let her go. She pushed her hair back behind her ears, straightening her skirt, cheeks wonderfully flushed. Then she looked at me and smiled, wiping the back of her hand across her lips like she’d just finished a satisfying dessert.

I leaned against the ivy next to her, both of us staring out straight in front of us for a moment, waiting for our bodies to calm. Well, mostly mine.

She cleared her throat and said, “Is Henry pulling the funding from your movie?”

I laughed. “Good question. Better than a cold shower.”

Chelsea ducked her chin to her chest with a light laugh, and brushed the wrinkles out of her white shirt. “Is that what this meeting is about?”

“Yes…” I ran a hand through my hair and rubbed the back of my neck. “Henry’s here to convince me to keep April.”

She looked at me, eyes sharp and bright. “And are you?”

I turned and met her gaze, those eyes pulling me ever deeper, and realized there was another reason I needed Chelsea. I needed her advice. When she asked me questions about the movie, it felt like I could finally see the project in focus. This was the first movie that really meant something to me. I wanted to pour my heart and soul into it, and it seemed like the only time I felt I still had a hold on the real vision of the movie was when I talked to Chelsea about it.

“I can’t,” I said, my eyes drifting to the sky. “She’ll ruin it.” I sighed. “But it’s either her or the funding.”

“What if you rewrote her part?” Chelsea asked. “I remember April had suggestions for a few scenes.”

I snorted, “Yeah, she wants to make sure any real meaning is taken out so it doesn’t distract from her close-ups.”

“No, seriously. You should keep your funding and rewrite April’s scenes.”

I shot her a quizzical look, not understanding.

There was a sly smile on her face when she continued, “I get the feeling she’s more of an actress that yells ‘line’ than one that studies the script.”

I straightened and stepped away from the wall, Chelsea's words pulling my focus away from what my body wanted. “What sort of changes would you suggest?”

“There’s no reason why April’s character can’t still be the main love interest in the beginning of the movie. Subtle things can point out that the relationship’s been over for a long time and she’s just in denial,” Chelsea suggested. “Then you can shoot completely separate scenes with a new love interest. The new character can seem insignificant, a co-worker or something, and the love story kind of sneaks up on everyone. Including people who are too full of themselves to read anything but the pages they're on.”

Well, shit. Chelsea was brilliant. “Hell, yeah. This could work.”

She continued, “If you rearrange some of the scenes you’ve already got, then the love story can be unexpected. Audiences love that. They’ll see it coming before the characters do.”

“Unexpected,” I repeated. There was no better word for it. “Sweetheart, you’re a genius…oh sorry, I mean…” I realized I was referring to my maid with a term of endearment. This was way too confusing, but this wasn't the time to figure it out. “Chelsea, you always surprise me.”

Before I could continue, Jamison appeared on the front step and from the look on his face, it was obvious he knew exactly where to look for me. Chelsea smiled at me and stepped out from the shadows to head inside, arcing a wide circle around Jamison as she trotted off.

My eyes followed her as she left and I was sure I had a stupid grin on my face. “Just like her,” I said to myself more than Jamison, “to leave me wanting more.”

He huffed and said, “Just get inside. Someone has to handle April. She’s been asking for you nonstop. That horrendous woman is getting on my last nerve.”

“
I
asked for extra ice
,” April said, holding her drink over her head as she lounged in the lawn chair in the backyard of the guest cottage.

I plucked the glass from her hand and headed inside to add more ice. Alex was upstairs in the guest bathroom showering, and April was taking advantage of his absence to make sure I knew my place.

“Honestly, Henry, don’t you think Alex is too soft-hearted?” April asked. “I mean, the ancient butler is one thing, but that half-witted girl is another. How many charity cases does he need around his home?”

Her words floated in through the open kitchen window as I worked. I knew she knew I could hear, and that she was talking loud enough for her caustic remarks to reach me. I lingered near the kitchen door, peeking out just long enough to see how Henry would react.

Henry shrugged. “Alex always had a soft heart.” I could see Henry peering into his drink glass, quiet for a moment before he said, “You should have seen how many times he tried to help his brother. It was a lost cause, but Alex just didn’t have the heart to turn his back on him.”

“Tragic,” April said without any real emotion in her voice.

I walked back out to the patio area with April’s ice-laden drink and wondered at their heartlessness. The same words in other people’s mouths would have been complimentary, respectful, but in their tones it made Alex sound pitiful.

Then an idea for Alex’s screenplay popped into my head. He could get back at April with the way he wrote her lines. I could come up with a few suggestions. A play on words could be wickedly funny coming out of April’s mouth, especially since she’d misunderstand them and deliver the speech in the completely wrong tone. Still thinking about the clever scene, I smiled as I went back out to the patio and handed the drink to April. She narrowed her eyes and all but hissed at me. Apparently, I wasn't allowed to smile.

“Why don’t you find something useful to do?” April snapped. “Change the linens on the bed…and the bathroom is completely out of towels.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her again as I said, “I’ll head up there right away.”

April sat bolt upright as soon as she realized her mistake. Alex was still in the bathroom showering. Unable to stop myself, I winked at her and turned to go. April was flustered into speechlessness, and I made it inside before she could call after me to come back.

As I entered the guest cottage, I was met by Jamison’s scowl. “What does she have you doing now?”

“April said the upstairs bathroom is out of towels. I told her I’d take some up there right away,” I said with an innocent smile.

“Quite a miscalculation on her part.” Jamison's eyes twinkled. “There are fresh towels in the closet under the stairs.”

We could both hear April complaining about her drink, and we looked out the kitchen window in time to see her get up from her lawn chair and fling the ice onto the lawn before she marched toward the house.

“You better get those towels upstairs.” Jamison winked at me. He picked up a wide tray to run interference and met April in the doorway. “Ms. Temple, here are the refreshments you requested. Let me bring them out and make a plate for you.”

I quickly found the closet under the stairs and pulled out a stack of fluffy white towels. I trotted up the stairs and made it past the landing before I realized what I was walking into.

Alex, naked in the shower.

The thought of it washed over me and I had to stop to lean against the wall for a moment. My blood sizzled with the possibilities.

Just minutes ago, I'd had my legs wrapped around his waist, pinned up against the ivy. I thought I’d convinced myself to just do my job and stop chasing after Alex, stop hoping for something that was a fantasy. Alex had given me an ultimatum and I made my choice. I thought I had it all figured out, and yet nothing felt decided, because the minute he got near me I fell to pieces.

This wasn't the time for some internal debate or time for me to make life-changing decisions. I had towels to deliver.

I slipped into the guest bedroom, and saw that the bathroom door was wide open. As I moved forward, I could see clouds of steam billowing up, partially obscuring my view of his magnificent body. His skin was slick and glistening. I could see the muscles of his wide shoulders ripple as he reached up and rinsed the shampoo out of his hair. My eyes followed the suds washing down his back and over the curve of his ass. I’d seen him naked before, but the sight of him still made me catch my breath. This time, when I licked my lips, it was for real.

A quick twist of his wrist, and the water stopped. The shower dripped for a moment before he reached for the door. I froze, waiting for the moment he’d open the shower door so I could see…all of him. Then it swung wide and Alex stepped out. I was so easy. Here he was trying to clean up for the meeting and I was sneaking around, gawking at his…oh, it hung so thick and heavily against his thigh. Suddenly, his head shot up, and I was busted.

“Um…there weren’t any towels,” I said when he caught sight of me.

“You seem to be holding four,” he grinned and stepped forward, reaching for one.

I held one out and he took it, not bothering to cover himself as he dried his hair with the towel. His eyes never left me, even as I ogled him. His broad chest narrowed to a tight stomach, and I couldn’t help but follow the tawny trail of hair down from his belly button. He’d barely made two passes with the towel when he stopped and tossed it aside.

“Chelsea…” He stepped closer and lifted my chin with his fingers as I felt a blush heat my face. Damp locks of hair fell into his face and he said, “Just the feel of your eyes on me is enough.”

His voice was rough and filled with desire and it made my pulse rush. I closed my eyes and gave in to the delicious taste of his kiss, the feel of his lips moving against mine. When he broke the kiss he pulled back slightly and I could feel the warmth of his breath when he spoke.

“No, not enough.”

I’d completely forgotten about the meeting ,or that the others were waiting for us downstairs. I’d even forgotten about the towels, which were smashed to my chest with my arm still around them. I was so mesmerized, so engulfed in the whirl of heat building in my veins that I’d forgotten about...everything.

Alex scooped me up in his powerful arms and the extra towels dropped to the floor. He carried me into the next room and over to the bed. He smelled of fresh soap, and tasted of cool water. I welcomed the weight of him on top of me as he stretched out on me. Our lips found each other and the kiss continued from what we started outside as if there’d been no interruption at all. The heat was just as intense, the fire inside roaring to a flame in a heartbeat.

Being in his strong arms and feeling the passion in his kisses, I no longer worried about April. all my worries about the other women in Alex’s life dissolved with each searing kiss. I highly doubted Alex had ever slept with April or anything like that, despite all her attempts and insinuations. Maybe I’d been wrong about him after all.

I thought of Carrie, and her lovely daughter. I still didn’t understand who they were to Alex, but I knew the embraces he gave her were nothing like this. This was the pull of something stronger, something undeniable, a force that didn’t acknowledge ultimatums or obstacles of any sort. I'd have to know at some point, but for now, I was okay with letting it go.

Alex tore his lips from mine and said, “I’m sorry, this isn’t what you wanted. You wanted to keep it professional but…” He shook his head and his eyes searched mine as he stumbled over his words. “I can’t stay away from you. It’s torture for me to know you’re right here and I can’t touch you.” He stroked a finger down my cheek, then across my bottom lip. “You’re so beautiful. Simply delicious. I want you all the time. You don’t know how many times I thought about sneaking up the stairs to your room…”

My hands locked on his back, keeping him pressed to me as I looked up into his eyes. I needed to explain my choice, clear the way for more of this, but with his arousal pressing into me, and thinking of what he just said about wanting to sneak up to my room at night, I couldn’t think straight. Despite my hands holding him in a vice grip, he must've seen hesitation in my eyes because he pulled back. I sat up just as there was a polite throat clearing from the doorway.

“Ms. Temple would like an apple instead of grapefruit,” Jamison said. I stood up and smoothed down my damp shirt as Alex headed back into the bathroom. “She claims you never delivered the ones she ordered yesterday.”

“Of course, I’ll come right down,” I said a little flustered that Jamison had walked in on...well what he'd walked in on.

“I bet they’re in the trash,” Alex said, coming back out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist.

“More likely some hiding spot in a cabinet we won’t find until the smell helps us,” Jamison said darkly as he left the doorway.

I brushed my hair out of my face and blew out a breath. “Oh god. That was embarrassing.”

Alex smiled and said, “Don’t worry about Jamison.”

I turned to head for the stairs. “Still…I’d better run down to the main house and get some apples before…”

Alex grabbed my arm, his eyes piercing me with sincerity. “Please, tell me you know I’ve never been with April.”

I nodded, unable to tell him how glad I was to hear him say it so plainly.

“I’m so sorry she treats you like this,” he said. “She's such a...”

“Bitch?” I offered with a laugh.

“Yeah, she is one alright, and you don’t deserve the crap she dishes out, but she’ll be gone soon. I promise,” he said.

“It’s okay. I understand,” I said, taking his hand. “I don’t want you to lose your funding because of me.” My fingers tightened around his. “I’m trying to be more self-confident, and I’m not going to let her push my buttons anymore. You know, when you meet someone like her, well, you just have to wonder what made them that way.”

He looked at me with admiration on his face. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re the most amazing woman?”

I poked a finger in his solid chest. “Just think about those rewrites I suggested earlier.”

“I
have
.” He grinned and grabbed my jabbing finger. He pulled my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it with a wink. “And I know just the screenwriter to help me.”

I tried to ignore the soaring feeling in my chest, but knowing that Alex had never been with April,
and
that he admired my screenwriting, made me feel so light I almost floated down the stairs.

April was already sneering when she marched inside. “Honestly, how long does it take to get a decent breakfast? We’re trying to have a meeting here.”

Alex followed me down the stairs, and I watched the sour look wipe clean off April’s face. She smiled and sidled over to slip her arm through his despite his attempt to sidestep her. She clung to him so she couldn’t see when he rolled his eyes. But I did.

“You like apples, don’t you, darling?” April asked him. “I seem to remember you like them sliced with a little honey drizzled over the top. I especially remember your ideas about other uses for the honey.”

“I’m sure I can find some honey,” I chirped.

April’s bright pink lips formed a pout when her sexual innuendo failed to get a rise out of me. Knowing that Alex hadn't been able to keep his hands off me gave me the confidence to brush off her catty remarks. I’d already decided I wasn’t going to waste another breath letting her snide remarks and snarky attitude bother me.

I skipped down the front steps of the guest cottage on my way to the main house. April’s behavior was atrocious, but what she didn't realize was that she was just embarrassing herself the way she acted around Alex. It was actually sad to think that she equated self-worth with powerful men desiring her body. I was sure no man had ever turned down the chance to claim her as a lover, so she probably assumed that Alex’s polite reserve was only temporary and he’d give in soon.

April’s motivations were easy enough to figure out; however, what drove Alex was more difficult to discern. Yes, he wanted to get out from under his father’s shadow, and make his own choices, yet he hesitated. I assumed it was because of his older brother David. Jamison had told me about David’s drug problems, but it certainly was low of Henry to hold that over Alex’s head every time he wanted to control him.

What I didn't understand was why had Alex kept me on in the very beginning. I knew getting hired was meant as a joke, or at least as a way to irritate his father, but once that had been accomplished Alex could’ve sent me home. Henry had disapproved of me from the first hint of my arrival, still, Alex had decided, on his own, that I should stay.

I walked into the main house, and before I had time to give it another thought, the phone rang. An office line had been connected to the kitchen so Alex could be available to take business calls no matter where he was.

I answered, “Hello, Alex Silverhaus residence.”

“Well, hello, who is this?” a booming male voice asked.

“Chelsea, er, the maid. Mr. Silverhaus is in a meeting. May I take a message?” I asked.

“Chelsea the maid? I didn’t know Alex had a maid.”

“I’m new. I’m here for the summer.” I winced as soon as I said it. Jamison was always crisp and professional on the phone and he never chatted. “May I take a message?”

“So Alex got himself a little extra help for the summer. Sounds like he finally took our friend’s advice. Makes me think I’m missing out,” the man said. “You do sound delicious. Please tell me you’re wearing one of those French maid uniforms with the white ruffles.”

I scowled at the receiver. “Sorry to disappoint. If there’s no message, I’ll be going now,” I said.

“Oh, I like that. Don’t tell me. Just let me imagine it.”

I swallowed and pursed my lips hard to keep from saying the wrong thing. “Well…have a nice day.”

“Wait…no, sorry. There
is
a message. Just let Alex know I found him a new love interest,” the man said.

“I’m sorry?” I squeaked.

“I'm Thomas Quinn, his casting director. I found him a new love interest for the movie. Tell him she’s exactly how he described her.”