The Billionaire's Second Chance (20 page)

Their sweet after play in that glorious tub had been another memory she’d kept hidden in the dark shadows of her mind for many, many years.

There had been plenty of other times over the next days when they had made love in the wet room.  Under the shower for instance when he’d bent her over, hands resting on the shower bench and taken her from behind in a raucous coupling which gave
hot
and
steamy
in the shower an entirely new and deliciously naughty meaning. Or half in and half out of the enormous tile bath when she’d been so over the edge of sanity that she hadn’t been able to wait until they made it to the bedroom before she climbed him like a trellis, impaling her shaking body on his, taking him on the ride of a lifetime.

They’d made love in every room of that delightful mountain side bungalow including the kitchen when he’d undressed her bit by bit one evening as she made them a sumptuous lover’s feast; until all she’d been wearing was a very prim white apron and nothing else but an amused and very turned on smile. He’d replaced that smile with cries of pleasure after he’d lifted her up onto the rustic wooden table and placed her long, supple legs up over his shoulders giving way to a loving which left her dazed and exhausted. But they’d really made the enormous bathing room with the soothing fireplace, open shower and a tub designed for play, their own.

Those five days had changed them both forever. From that time onward they had been
inseparable
. Being discreet and private so as not to rock the boat in any way, Shannon had spent every second that she could with Nick
.

She’d been in love. Thought he had been too. Imagined a future back in the real world where they would be together. Loving each other. Maybe even making a family together. She’d been so pathetically
naïve
was her last thought before coming back to the present and climbing from the tub.

It didn’t take long for her to towel off and wrap up in the soft, fluffy robe Nick had thoughtfully laid out. She didn’t want to think about what was going on in his mind but was pretty sure after the wake-up call provided by her detailed re-creation of a place dripping with sensual memories, he was most likely remembering the same things she was.

Was he on the other side of the closed door watching the same rerun in his mind that she had been?

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

Memories of the past; a
bright
,
vivid flashback
of their firs
t time together was playing out in
Nick’s mind.
The years melted away as his memory dropped him in the middle of their unexpected love nest.

He remembered her shy
,
hesitant innocence and
how she’d trembled at his touch.
There wasn’t a corner of his memory where he could go and not find the vision etched in his brain of how she looked t
hat first time; w
ith unbound hair
cascading over her shoulders
she
was his
very own Botticelli Venus.

Wearing naught but a pair of sheer pink panties, her eyes
had been huge as saucers;
those vivid turquoise orbs
shadowed with
desire and curiosity
had all but melted his brain.
He remembered
her scent; the one sensory impression he could never erase no matter how many years had flown by. The tangy evidence of her excitement mingled with a concoction of crushed almonds and honey that she covered herself with after a long day in the African sun. She smelled delicious and he was damn sure going to taste every inch and hidden place on her body.

Nick was the type of man who could be deeply sensual and moved by carnal experiences. From out of nowhere came the thought of his high school girlfriend who always smelled of a sickening blend of flowers and something else he just couldn’t describe. He’d hated her perfume. Hated the way it clung to everything; her hair, the leather of his car seat, his clothes.  The choking, cloying scent followed her everywhere and stayed around after she left.

He remembered back then
how
his BFF
Ned had once remarked
,
“Dude, she smells like a French bordello!” bringing a huge laugh from both of them because really, what did they know about how a
French bordello smelled? I
t was a great description and a good reminder of the past.

Shannon was another thing. What he’d experienced with her formed a lifelong imprint.  He hadn’t let anyone get close enough to him to even attempt to wipe the recollections that he was so vividly lost
in
from his life.

Shannon at her most divine, trembling all over in a mixture
of
shyness and pure, unadulterated lust. Looking at him with those big, hungry, trusting eyes, ready and willing for whatever came next.

He could never forget that first time any more than he would ever be able to erase the onslaught of emotions which had just kicked him in the gut when he saw that bathing room for himself. He’d never have thought that eight years and a continent later he would find himself staring down a reminder of their intimate past in such an
in-your-face
way.

Nick knew now that there might be a chance for them. The statement Shannon was making
,
every single detail of that special time on display
,
had a sobering effect on his emotions.

Sometime later after having carefully dressed
,
she allowed
her on-duty nursemaid to carefully re-wrap the bruised
ankle
and attend the scrapes and gashes on her hands, leg and shoulder
.
Shannon tried
calming
her see-sawing emotions as best she could. His touch wasn’t making that exactly easy.

She’d decided against taking more of the prescription pain meds and opted i
nstead for some run-of-the-mill
over the counter tablets mostly because she didn’t care for the fuzzy headed way the narcotics made her feel. Now that her migraine had subsided and her injuries evaluated in the light of a new day, Shannon needed to focus on what the doctor had said so she could get back control of her life.

After the awkward reveal when he’d stepped into her private bathing sanctuary and the way they’d been carefully avoiding each other’s eyes since then, she didn’t trust her normally observant senses to provide any guidance. It was best, she concluded, to say and do nothing while her emotions were off the chart.

S
he wondered
what was he thinking but didn’t dare broach the subject
. He certainly hadn’t been unaffected, that much had been apparent, but the overly polite manners which had sparked her initial interest in him when she was still a teenager, were frankly, grating on her nerves right now. Polite was easy and uncomplicated but this mannerly disconnect was shredding her composure and making her feel anything but easy and uncomplicated. Damn.

Though she knew she shouldn’t care, she desperately wanted to know how he felt about what he’d seen. Did he remember those days the way she did? Oh god, she thought. Was he embarrassed? The very idea that he would be turned off or find offensive what to her had been something sacred and profound twisted her in knots.

Some welcome ambulatory equipment had arrived mid-morning and Shannon had awkwardly tried out the crutches in the hope that they would help her get around without assistance. She hadn’t counted though on Nick being so insistently domineering with his constant reminders of doctor’s orders to stay off the foot completely for another day at least. Shannon was starting to suspect that he rather liked carrying her around because he was more than eager to scoop her into his capable arms at the drop of a hat.

Hell, if she wanted to move to the other end of the sofa he would pick her up and reposition her; never mind that she was perfectly capable of scooting ac
ross the cushions herself. S
taring blindly out the window wasn’t going to stop the thrill she experienced every time they touched although that’s just what she had been doing for some time… staring ….blindly.

It was now late in the afternoon and they’d had another ghastly row an hour or so ago. Shannon just couldn’t stop hurling eight years of anger and hurt in his face even though she felt dreadful after each confrontation.

She’d listened to a phone message left on her home machine from her mother which Nick had overheard. Mom was telling her in that professorial way she had that she had been excitedly packing up her and dad’s gear for their expedition to the Canadian Rockies when she found the RSVP Shannon had sent weeks back accepting
the
invitation to her
parent’s
50
th
wedding anniversary.

Her mom had been all but gushing about the family reunion which would take place at the anniversary celebration. Shannon’s brother and his wife, dad’s younger brother and his family, all the extended university family they had gathered over the years, the whole “Fam Damily” as she laughingly called it.

It was odd to hear her normally laid back mother burbling on about parties and trips but what really touched Shannon’s heart was the way
she
had expressed her total delight that her only daughter would be coming home for a long overdue visit. She’d ended the call with an admonition to call home so they could talk
about
plans causing Shannon to sigh at the obvious parental command.

She’d all but forgotten the fast approaching event and felt a bit of panic at how close that promised trip back east actually was. 
Less than a week
away and she hadn’t even gotten around to making her travel arrangements
,
so busy had she been with the latest flurry of events she’d pulled off. Her plan had been to cut back and take some time off after Dom’s big party and her parent’s anniversary had been part of the grand scheme of things.

She hadn’t counted on the complications of the last two days. Immediately feeling peevish about the spot she found herself in Shannon was in no way prepared for what came after that missed phone call.

Nick had commented on Shannon’s need to be back east in time for the family get together. As usual he had jumped fifty pages ahead and rather matter-of-factly announced that since he too had to be heading back east soon, he would arrange everything. Simple. Done. Once again, all was right in the world of Barrett.

The thought Shannon seemed to be having regularly now was,
'
Really?
Is he kidding?'
Releasing
a tremendous sigh that was just this side of a snarl she wanted to rail at him yet again about this propensity he had for making decisions for her. What is this? Don’t worry little lady the big capable man has taken care of everything. I don’t think so Shannon thought as her expression tightened and her lips went grim.

“Thank you for your kind offer Nick but as you say …I’ve got this. No need for you to put yourself out any more than you already have on my account.” she spat out.

“Had I realized that you needed to get back to your real life it would have been no problem to hire an aide.” she continued in a rush as she suddenly became intensely interested in the TV channel guide flying by on the screen as she hurriedly punched keys on the remote control she was gripping like her life depended on it. “As it is I’ve taken up enough of your time and amusing though it might be for you to experience a Reynolds Family get together, I don’t think what they have planned is quite your cup of tea.”

Nick looked back at her slightly stunned by how quickly she had shut down and gone all
prissy
on
him. One minute, while quiet, things were in neutral and the next thing he knew the anger was back. Searching his mind for a reason for this quick change Nick
admitted
that
he’d been taking over again and concluded this was more evidence that she didn’t want him to be part of her life in any significant way. He had a lot of ground to make up.

“Being here with you is no hardship at all little one.” Nick fed into the conversation as he moved to s
it on the edge of the sofa
making Shannon shift her legs and butt to make room for him. She looked less than happy that he was purposefully invading her body space and he thought
good, get used to it
because I am not going anywhere and the sooner you accept that
,
the quicker we can move beyond all this crap and  begin building a future together.

“In fact, I don’t have to return on any time schedule.” he added with a casual shrug and a slight twisting of his lips. Leaning full across her now with an elbow resting on the sofa back cushions, he had effectively trapped her where she sat and then lasered in on her eyes with the precision of a guided missile.

How the hell does he do that Shannon wondered? Damnit but
every time
she tried to assert herself all he had to do was get too close and she was folding her cards like a greenhorn in a high stakes poker game. The man invaded her senses in ways she didn’t want to think about.