Sultry in Stilettos (22 page)

Braedon nodded. “Yeah. I also tried to
talk to Dad. He’s not willing to budge. Keeps insisting you’ll come
to heel.”

Beckett let out a long breath. It
wasn’t like he expected his father to actually cave, but there’d
been some hope. “There go our plans. Without him officially turning
over my half of the building and the money Mom left, we’re not
going to be open in time for her birthday. Unless I get a
miracle.”

“He’s just being spiteful. This has
more to do with her than with you, Beckett. He still hasn’t
forgiven her for leaving him.”

“My problem or his, it
still ends up being
our
problem. I wanted kids to be able to train here
for the World Championships next year, but it’s not going to
happen. He won’t listen, and I’m not giving up what I want to toe
the line.”

Braedon sighed and stepped through the
door. “Sometimes I wish I had your fuck it all attitude.” He
grabbed one of the drills. “Maybe I’d be happier.”

“Who says I’m happy? I’m sleeping with
my best friend, who I know I’m no good for. I’m pouring every cent
I have into a ramshackle building for the memory of a dead woman.
And my brother hates me.”

“Well, cheer up, little brother. Your
brother doesn’t hate you. You were right. About Ricca. I like the
idea of her, but I have a slight commitment problem.”

Beckett laughed ruefully. “I think
that’s an inherited trait.”

They worked silently for another
thirty minutes before Braedon spoke. “Seriously though, what are
you going to do about Ricca?”

“The only thing I can do, if I don’t
want to damage our friendship for good—stop sleeping with
her.”

****

Ricca watched the first of three
engagement parties from Jaya's balcony. Ever since Jaya had gotten
engaged to billionaire Alec Westhorpe, their wedding had become the
social event of the year. Alec’s mother Adele Westhorpe wanted to
throw the happy couple a big splashy engagement party. Jaya’s
father, not to be outdone, wanted his event planning company to
throw a party as well. But Jaya and Alec had wanted something that
was for their close friends and family.

Jaya’s place wasn't that big, so this
was the more intimate of the engagement parties. And here Ricca
was, hiding out on the balcony. She’d had a rough January so far
and was in no mood to mingle.

But there was no way in hell she was
skipping Jaya’s party.

The twenty-five or so guests milled
around and laughed and talked. Micha was getting the party started
with some dancing. Ricca had already provided the dancing music
with some dancehall and calypso.

No matter how hard she tired, she
couldn't peel her eyes away from the door. Beckett wasn’t here yet.
She hadn’t seen him since the last fantasy, a couple days ago. He’d
been slammed with his portion of the next fantasy and had been
working on the building rehab single-handedly. She knew she had it
bad because she felt itchy and tight from not seeing him. Her body
was coiled like a snake’s. He was quickly becoming a habit she
couldn’t break. And sneaking around with him was going to cost her
dearly. Jaya and Micha were already doing the eggshell dance around
her. Though that was likely because they thought she was nursing a
break up.

She hated lying to them. She was a
shit-poor liar too. More than once she’d caught Micha giving her
the stink eye as if she was trying to decipher what was going on.
But Ricca wasn't ready to tell anyone yet. For now, Beckett was
hers, a secret she needed to keep. She didn’t need to share him.
Micha and Jaya would worry about her getting hurt. But he was her
drug of choice.

"If you keep standing here looking so
beautiful, I'm going to have to beat off some other guys with a
stick."

Ricca jumped at the deep voice from
the shadows in the left. "Jesus Christ, Beckett. You scared the
shit out of me. When did you get here? I didn’t see you come
in."

"I snuck in a little bit ago, when
that waiter was trying to get you to try one of the strawberry
shortcake things."

She raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, I've
had enough strawberries, thanks. He kept trying to convince me they
were an aphrodisiac." She rolled her eyes.

"Can't blame a guy for
trying."

“Whatever." Why are you in the
shadows? I can’t see you at all."

"That's the point." He came out of the
shadows and joined her at the railing. "You really are beautiful
tonight."

Beckett reached for her hand, simply
inching his toward hers. Her whole body was already throbbing,
desperate to go somewhere private so she could be alone with him.
But she couldn’t very well leave Jaya's engagement
party.

"Beckett, what are you doing? Someone
will see us."

She couldn’t see his face for the
shadows, but she heard his smile when he said, "Is that so bad?
What if someone did see us, and what if we were doing a lot more
than touching fingertips? I can just picture Pierre Trudeaux 's
face now. Or even better Madame Westhorpe’s."

Ricca smirked. "Something tells me
that old lady has seen her fair share of sex on
balconies."

Beckett's chuckle was low, and it made
her insides melt. "All I want to do is touch you. Just a little. No
one will see us."

"Beckett, we have a rule against this.
We’re hardly keeping this secret if someone catches us out
here."

"I know. But I want you. And I know
you want me too. I can feel it. The tension in your body. Just let
me make you feel good. That’s all I want.”

Ricca shook with anticipation. His
pinky inched closer to her hand and lightly traced a pattern in her
palm. "Just a taste."

"Everyone will see us."

"They don't have to. It's dark out
here. Everyone is busy. They won't miss us. Besides…" He shrugged.
"They'll assume we're arguing sports stats. And I'm more than happy
to oblige their delusions. I think I have a way to convince you
that in his lifetime LeBron will outshine Jordan.”

The timber of his voice had her body
softening, ripening for his touch. He was right. She did want him.
But like hell she was going to concede this point. "You’re welcome
to try, but I'm not budging. You’re just plain wrong."

He held out his hand. "If you’re so
sure of your stance, then follow me into the dark. I promise you no
one will see."

She wanted to. God, how she wanted to.
She wanted nothing more than to abandon good sense and take him up
on his offer. She needed him.

She stared at his hand, then ran
through the myriad of reasons she wasn’t going to do this. Then she
looked up at his partially hidden face. His deep blue eyes were
dark with arousal.

Ricca licked her lips as she took his
hand. In an instant, his fingers wrapped around hers and tugged her
into the darkness to the far corner of the balcony. Lifting her, he
placed her on the corner of the railing and stepped between her
legs. "God, you are so unbelievably sexy tonight. From the moment I
walked in, I practically followed your perfume out here. The hair,
the dress…I've been dying standing here, watching you.”

His kiss was hard and a little rough.
With his big hands, he scooped her up by her ass and tucked her
right up against his erection. "See how much I’ve missed you,” he
mumbled against her lips.

She gasped as his thumbs traced
circles over her nipples. "God, Beckett."

"Mm, baby?" He traced a pattern of
kisses from her ear to her clavicle. "I like it when you say my
name. Can you do it again?" He rolled her nipple with his thumb and
forefinger through the thin fabric of her dress.

"Jesus.” Ricca let her head fall
back.

“I’m not quite the second coming, but
I can do my best."

"Beckett, I—"

With one hand, he held her ass in
place as he rocked against her. "I know what you want. It's what I
want too. I've been thinking about you since you left me with that
erection the other morning."

Ricca shook her head in an effort to
think. "You’re the one who left to go to the pool at the crack of
dawn. I could have helped you with your little problem."

"Are you up to helping me
now?"

She swiveled her hips in response.
"Beckett, we’re in the middle of a party."

Through gritted teeth, he touched his
forehead to hers. "Ricca. I need you so bad."

Her skin was hot, and the light breeze
from the ocean did nothing to help cool her off. Her breasts
swelled as she drew in a shuddering breath. Her whole body coiled
tight in anticipation of Beckett’s large hands touching her all
over. But they couldn’t do this here—in public. This wasn’t her.
But God, she wanted him. Just feeling the heat of his body so close
to hers had her body humming with anticipation.

Her inner diva
shouted.
Yes, Girl! Get your man.
And make it good
. But
her rational brain shouted all the reasons she couldn’t. Yet when
Beckett circled her nipple once more with the pad of his thumb, she
forgot all about her rational mind. Either that or her inner diva
beat it into submission. She slid her arms over his broad shoulders
and dug her fingers into the muscled flesh.

He bunched up the fabric of her dress
so it was just above her knees. He met her gaze. "If I give you
want you want, you have to promise to be quiet. I can’t have you
alarming the neighbors, like you probably did the other
night."

Ricca trembled as she thought of the
last time they’d been together. “I seem to recall you were the one
screaming."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'll concede
that there were a lot of raised voices on both sides." His hands
snuck up her thighs several inches. He kissed her again, this time
taking his time and pulling a response from her. His hands
continued on their path until he reached what should have been her
panty line. “Sweet fuck, you're not wearing any
underwear."

“I know. I was hoping to surprise you
when we got back to my place. I guess I was making the assumption
that you were coming over."

Both thumbs slid over her slick outer
folds, and he closed his eyes and breathed her name. "Ricca. So
soft. And already wet."

"I've been waiting for you." She
canted her hips again, and he growled deep in his
throat.

"Ricca. I—"

"What’s the matter,
Beckett?"

"What am I supposed to do with
you?"

"I think you know the answer to that
question."

He slid a finger inside her center,
and they both moaned. “Beckett, please. Someone's going to see
us."

He nipped her neck, then soothed the
spot with a light flick of his tongue. "Right now, I don't really
care."

He slid another finger inside her, and
she let her head hang back as she moaned. He knew exactly how to
touch her to get her to melt. And she was addicted to him. His
smell, the way he moved. What he could do to her body.

As his fingers retreated, she gasped.
"Wait, more." She could almost hear the smug, satisfied, smile in
his voice.

But he complied. “Okay, baby. A little
more. But I have other plans for you. So don’t you dare distract
me.” His thumb circled her clit, and her breath hitched.

"Jesus."

He brought her to the brink with his
deft fingers. Sliding into her, stimulating her just so, then
pulling back as she teetered on the edge. Beckett dragged down one
shoulder of her dress, and both of them hissed when her breast was
exposed to the cool air. "Ricca, you’re not wearing a bra
either."

"I know that." She grinned. "I already
told you I had plans for you after this party. You’re jumping the
gun a little. You always were a bit impatient. "

He used his thumb to circle her right
nipple, forming it into a tight little bud. Ricca felt every
movement and every caress in her core, and she wanted to scream
with frustration when he wouldn’t pick up the pace.
"Beckett."

Removing his expert thumb, he braced
her upper body with his hands and tipped her back, replacing his
thumb with his mouth. He suckled and tugged and nipped once, which
was enough to send her so close to the edge that he stopped teasing
her. "Shh. It's okay. I know you’re frustrated. But I don’t want
you to come yet. Wait for me, sweetheart."

"Beckett, I don’t want to
wait."

"Now look who's impatient."

He held her still as he removed his
fingers. Briefly kissing a path down her sternum, he lifted the
fabric of her dress out of the way.

Oh, no, he wasn't. Not
here, not…
Oh, God.

The moment his lips touched her sex,
Ricca trembled and knew he wasn’t going to stop until he got what
he wanted from her. Beckett licked at her folds, tracing a path of
delight that drove her mad.

He paid very little attention to her
clit, only pausing long enough to trace a circle around her most
sensitive spot, then move back to his slow licking. Ricca had no
other choice but to hold on for the rise.