The Billionaire's Second Chance (17 page)

Beyond panicked she tried again, “Nick, really!” she implored in what she hoped was a no-nonsense, authoritative voice. 

Something of her alarm had come through and though still moving forward Nick found himself slowing considerably as he searched for whatever was causing her noticeable distress. 

Sensing nothing obvious he looked down at Shannon in the exact moment they stepped through to the enormous room and told her since this bathroom was closer wasn’t it better to take care of her needs where she usually did?  Her still silence struck him then as did her ashen face and trembling lips.
What the
…?

He looked up, expecting he didn’t know what, and found a scene unfolding before him; exploding in his brain like it was shot from a missile held deep in his memory. He gulped in a huge breath and felt his grip on her body tightening
while
she continued to be so still and silent in his hold.

It was her worst nightmare. What would he think when he realized for himself the sacred space she had created here in her home
?
She
knew he had indeed made the connection when she
he took a sharp
intake of breath; felt his chest expand and his fingers dig into her pliant flesh.  Shannon didn’t know what to do.  She knew what he was seeing but she didn’t know what to say. She had to remind herself to keep breathing
as
her panic
went off the chart
.

Nick couldn’t believe what was before his eyes. The large open room was beautifully constructed to match the style of the rest of the house with no expense being spared as far as he could tell for all the fixtures were elegantly modern and of noticeable quality.  It was the design, layout and the distinctive tile accents which brought him up short for here before him
,
in her home in southern California, Shannon had re-created the distinctive Moroccan inspired tile wet room from the house where they’d stayed the first time they’d made love.

Every detail was there, even the beautiful French doors which opened to a private terrace outside. An elaborate small chandelier,
looking
like it had been rescued from the Kasbah itself, hung above a wide bathing platform littered with a mélange of carefully placed candle holders which would emit a sensual ambiance when lit.  He recalled another room just like this one when flickering shadows against the vivid reds, blues and greens of the magnificent tiled bath had lit up a night of a thousand delights and tried not to groan.

On the far side of the room from this enormous step-up tub platform was an antique-style fainting couch and two small, ornately carved wooden tables nestled in the corner beneath a series of wide windows which met the French doors.  Several large plants completed the corner which led to the far wall and a beautiful built-in vanity over which hung an elaborate gilded oval mirror.

Further along the side wall near the front corner of the room was a large and elaborate looking digital shower which was open except for the waist high walls on two sides of the space with a bench running along the shower side of one wall. The sight of that shower bench ignited a tableau of wicked memories from their shared past that made him clench his jaw and grit his teeth in frustration.

Having done almost a complete circle of the room Nick noticed behind him, to the side of the doors, was another space tucked away for the toilet and sink area.

She’d reconstructed in near precise detail down to the tiniest minutiae the original layout of a room he would have known without hesitation; right down to the small fireplace next to the tub platform. The truth was there for all to see.

She wasn’t over him. The way she all but melted each time he touched her told him plenty but the sight of this room told a story which went straight to his heart. The way he’d cruelly forced her from his life and slammed a door on their future hadn’t been enough to send her seeking a happy life once he’d gone from her.  Oh dear god. What had he done? How bigger of a fool could he have been? He just had to set this right.

CHAPTER
ELEVEN

The pounding of his heart and the quaking female form clutched in his arms added to the humbling emotions quickly gathering in Nick’s consciousness. He couldn’t seem to speak and truth be told, he didn’t know what he’d say if he did.  He felt a sobering sense of awareness at what his presence in this most private sanctuary must be costing her.  He highly doubted judging by the way she tried to dissuade him from accessing this room that she’d meant for him to see
it
.  Knowing what she’d created only heaped more shame on his past behavior. Fighting for control he softened his hold on her and walked calmly to the enclosed toilet area where he matter of factly lowered her gently down before quickly excusing himself so she could have some privacy.

After placing her carefully on the floor where she could balance next to the toilet, Nick shielded his face from her while quietly backing away leaving Shannon to tremble and shake away from his prying eyes. Her carefully controlled world was breaking into pieces
,
bit by bit
,
and maybe for the first time she was allowing some small but insistent part of herself to admit that imagining the past would stay in the past was a false pretense in light of the story this room told.

Shannon forced her mind’s eye to see the thousand tiny strands she had woven int
o her life throughout the years that
when threaded together creat
ed
a colorful tapestry which bespoke of love, love lost and a woman’s most secret hidden desires. She shook her head in dismay at the foolishness of thinking all this time that she was somehow over him, in control of her own destiny and immune to the longings of her heart.

This room was only the start for when he went into her office he would find a large antique apothecary jar perched on her desk filled with black licorice, associated wholly with him. There was more, a lot more but right at this moment
she forced
the requirements of her body
to
overt
ake
the reflections of her mind and set about dealing with her immediate needs.

In the end balancing on one foot while being ever-mindful to put no pressure on her injured ankle was easier than expected due in no short measure to years of
yoga training.
She had to call out again for Nick’s assistance getting from the toilet room to the tub where she planned to soak in a warm bath long enough to get her jumbled emotions under control. Or so she hoped.

When he stepped back to her side and gently picked her up as though she were a delicate piece of fragile glass
,
she noticed immediately that he was avoiding her eyes.  Just as well she winced inwardly. With her own emotions careening all over the place she knew she wasn’t ready to deal with his rejection again so certain was she that he was probably embarrassed all of this.

What man wouldn’t be turned off by so blatant an indulgence in what ended up being nothing more than a
fantasy?
  Her fantasy.  Not his.  He’d made that clear in his “Dear Shannon” letter although she had to admit he’d made a pretty compelling case last evening when trying to explain why he’d acted the way he had eight years past.

Maybe avoiding her gaze wasn’t due to embarrassment.  In his embrace she felt care and tenderness along with concern. Perhaps he was remembering what had taken place in the mirror image of this room all those years ago; making desire gather in the soles of her feet and spread along her limbs before shooting up her spine and exploding along her neck and face.

Nick didn’t miss the blush which moved across her body in a rush of heat he felt suffuse everywhere that their bodies touched.  He knew what she was thinking, knew what she was remembering and tried like the devil to stay focused on the present. He was humbled by what her response was telling him on a deeply primal level. Now was not the time he kept chanting in his screaming brain as he locked his jaw even harder with iron willed determination and moved quickly to place her half-undressed form on the raised bathing platform.

If anyone
ever
insinuated that he had anything less than iron clad control over himself he would probably murder them. Where he found the presence of mind to not embarrass himself every ten seconds he did not know. What he did know however was that he had a formidable erection which seemed to be ever-present and
was steadily
robbing him of his composure.

Acting quickly he grabbed the robe draped across the fainting couch before picking up a stack of soft towels and placing these things within her reach as he turned to start the water rushing in to the tub.

He began to say something while Shannon watched in helpless
wonder
as his voice clearly failed
,
making him clear his throat and swallow deeply a few times.

Why, he looked
shaken
she realized; relieved to know she wasn’t the only one in the midst of a great struggle. Once more, as though she had been doing it every day of the last eight years, Shannon cautiously reached out and grabbed his large hand in her much, much smaller one. It was a reflex motion meant to comfort and one she couldn’t have stopped if she tried to for to care deeply about this giant of a man was something her nature could not deny.

“Thank you again.” she
said in a
whisper just barely audible over the sound of water rushing from the rubbed bronze faucet which more than slightly resembled the shape of a genie’s lamp. She was enchanting in her discomfiture
,
sitting there surrounded by the vividly colored tiles, biting her lip again, squeezing his hand.

What could he say? She didn’t need to thank him but now was not the time for specifics. “Call when you’re ready to move again
.
” he said in a rusty sounding choked voice
while he
hesitated
,
causing her eyes to remain riveted to his.

He looked, well… he looked different. Nothing could alter his elemental life force, he still dominated whatever space he was in, but the face looking back at her was not
one
of someone who was king of all he surveyed. All his money and power didn’t matter in this room, in this moment, as they fell cautiously into each other’s gaze. What she had created here had somehow leveled the playing field until all that mattered was that they remembered how it was before life and responsibilities had gotten in the way.

Without warning he bent forward and placed a sweet kiss on her forehead and then swiftly turned to leave; forcing her to finally release the hand she had grabbed and then held on to for long moments.

With the tub filled and topped with mounds of glorious foamy bubbles, Shannon tried to enjoy the familiar scent of her all-time favorite bath indulgence, a line of organic almond honey products she had stumbled upon at an outdoor community art festival right after her arrival in southern California. The handmade products were a luxurious indulgence that she avidly stocked up on over the years having become a steady, repeat customer of the family run business.

This was yet another thread, this visceral connection to something meant to stir the senses for she’d discovered the benefits of milk, honey and almond products during
from the tribal women during
her time on the other side of the world. The tub that they’d shared
the
first night
they took
bath together had also been overflowing with mountains of scented foam that wrapped them both in a seductive cloud.

Her attempted enjoyment in the moment stalled in the wake of the rushing memories which were coming at her now fast and furious. The floodgates had been opened and she didn’t know how to stop what was happening
between them
.  The traitorous desire she felt for him was making it impossible to know whether she really wanted to stop what was happening. Somehow she suspected that she would gladly throw herself into the on-coming path of heartache once again.  The moments of joy and happiness she knew, however brief, with him were worth a lifetime of loneliness if that was the price to be paid for knowing what perfection could be like.

Scooting her naked butt across the lightly heated tiles, Shannon lowered herself into the warmth and comfort of her cloud filled tub and willed herself to relax while laying her head back against the sloped side of the bath and staring with unseeing eyes at the crystal covered chandelier hanging overhead. She saw nothing because the moment the water enveloped her body she was swept back in time, across the years, to five special days and erotic nights, which had changed everything.

Their relationship had started off as a mutual flirtation which blossomed rather quickly into something much, much deeper.  Working closely together as they
did
,
each had seen the good, the bad and the sometimes ugly in each other’s character
.
The nature of the work they did
g
ave
them the need and the opportunity to communicate openly and without evasiveness from the start.  They’d earned a measure of the other’s respect from the outset and had simply fallen into line when their deepening friendship became an affair of the heart with a heavy dose of twenty-something hormones thrown in.