Authors: J.S. Scott
Kara flew apart, her body trembling and her channel contracting, nails biting into the skin of Simon’s back. She cried out his name rocking her fiery body into his, milking his cock as her orgasm crested and then let her come back to earth slowly.
“Fuck. Kara. Kara.” Simon came, his explosive orgasm flooding her womb.
He rolled off her immediately, clutching her against him, pulling her into the protective shelter of his arms.
His chest still heaving, he choked out, “Did I hurt you?”
She shook her head, her body still quivering. “No,” she whispered, still short of breath. “You gave me exactly what I needed.”
Her need satiated, Kara kissed his forehead before burying her face in his neck, still trying to recover.
Somehow, Simon always seemed to know what she needed. Tonight, on their second Valentine’s Day together, he had given her his unbridled passion and his deep unconditional love. Certainly, he hadn’t needed to put himself in restraints to prove anything to her. But just the fact that he had been willing, had put himself completely at her mercy, humbled her beyond belief.
Kara sighed, wondering how she had ever been so lucky, how she had ever stumbled across a man like Simon, a man
to whom she could surrender everything , a man who would always hold her love, her trust and her soul safely in his care.
“I love you. Happy Valentine’s Day,” she breathed softly against his neck.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, sweetheart. I’ll love you forever,” Simon murmured against her shoulder, his arms tightening protectively, possessively around her.
Whatever challenges she and Simon might face, they would deal with them together.
“You’ll always have me,” she told him softly, sleepily.
“I know, baby. I’m the luckiest bastard in the world,” he rumbled.
Kara fell asleep with a smile on her lips, and the contentment of knowing that she had found a love that would last forever. For a woman who had once been so alone in the world, it was the best Valentine’s gift she could ever receive.
Maddie turned the page of the book on her lap, wondering why she just didn’t give up and go to bed. It wasn’t like she was really absorbing any of the written words.
“Damn it,” she whispered, slamming the book closed and dropping it on the table beside the sofa. Honestly, she didn’t want to go to bed. If she did, she would just keep remembering her encounter with Sam, torturing herself with memories of that scorching hot kiss earlier in the evening.
Swiping the remote control from the table, she pushed the button to activate the television, hoping she could drown out her thoughts with the ten o’clock news.
Her doorbell rang just as the news anchor starting recounting the top stories of the day.
Who the hell could it be? She had no real family to speak of and none of her friends would come to her door at this time of night unless it was an emergency. She sprang to her feet and sprinted to the door, her heart racing. Looking through the peephole, she saw a man in uniform, a Hudson security uniform.
“Who is it and what do you want?” she called loudly through the door.
“Special Valentine’s Day delivery for Dr. Reynolds.” The man called back.
“Leave it and go.” There was no way she
was opening her door, even if the guy was apparently from Hudson.
“I understand, ma’am. I’ll just le
ave it here on the doorstep.” The uniformed man bent over briefly, then straightened again and left.
Maddie opened the door a crack, leaving the security chain in place. She watched the man get into his truck and drive away. Closing the door, she lifted the chain and opened the door, her eyes widening.
On her doorstep was the most incredible bouquet of red roses she had ever seen. There were several dozen, too many for her to count in her stunned condition. Lifting the heavy, sturdy vase that appeared to be crystal, Maddie lugged the roses to her dining room table. Placing them in the middle of the circular oak surface, she plucked the card from the middle of the arrangement.
She sat, her shaky knees barely able to support her legs. The card was small, the outside of the tiny envelope decorated
with hearts and a cute little Cupid in the corner. The only thing on the front was her name. She opened it with trembling fingers, yanking the cardboard notecard from its surrounding paper. There, in handwriting she still recognized, were only two words.
I’m Sorry.
There was no signature, no other identifying markings.
Dropping both the envelope and card on the table, Maddie buried her face in her hands and wept.
Simon Hudson stood silently in the shadows of the opulent lobby, his hands in the pockets of his jeans and one shoulder propped against the frame of a large window that faced the street. His whole body was tense, his dark brown eyes scanning the sidewalk with the intense and total focus of a mad man.
Where in the hell is she? It’s ten forty-five.
He knew Kara was working tonight. She had called in sick for the last two evenings, but was back to work at
Helen’s Place
, waiting tables on the swing shift. He had checked. His mother owned the bistro where Kara worked and was generally pretty forthcoming with information when Simon wanted it, but he was careful. If he wasn’t, his only parent would be hounding him to find out why he wanted information on Kara. His wonderful but inquisitive mom would be like a bloodhound after a scent if she thought that Simon’s interest was anything but casual. He would be nagged to death, his mother wanting to know exactly what his intentions were with Kara.
Simon frowned. Like he had any intentions? He had fantasies and all of them involved Kara spread out on his bed, screaming his name as he made her come, over and over.
Simon took a deep breath and slowly blew it back out, trying to get his body to relax and telling himself that he must be insane to take exactly the same position, night after night, for some woman that he had never officially met. But here he was… again, his back to the curious doorman, leering out the window like an unbalanced stalker, waiting to get glimpse of Kara Foster. Something about the woman brought out strange, territorial and protective instincts that kept him here, keeping watch, waiting for her to walk by his condo building on her way home from work.
And then, when he spotted her, he’d do the same thing he always did. He’d follow her at a distance, trying not to alarm her, and wait until she had let herself into her apartment safely before he turned around and walked back home.
He wouldn’t talk to her, or even get close to her. He never did. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but Kara was going to nursing school and working full-time at his mother’s restaurant. According to his mom, Kara adamantly refused to date because she didn’t have the time or energy to put into a relationship. She was probably right about that. The insane woman didn’t sleep enough, eat enough. She had no one who even worried about her except for his mother…and Simon. Hell…in the last year, Simon had probably cared more about Kara’s well-being than a dozen family members would have, and he couldn’t even call her a friend. Problem was…he wasn’t a family member, and his feelings were far from brotherly.
God, she was sweet!
Simon had to bite back a groan of frustration as he thought about the first time he had seen Kara, her blue eyes flashing with humor, black tendrils of silky hair escaping from her ever-present ponytail and her lithe body moving gracefully from table to table at his mom’s restaurant. At the age of twenty-eight, she still retained a look of innocence and vulnerability that had Simon caught in her unintentional web. He’d been a prisoner there ever since.
His mother spoke about Kara as if she were her daughter, and Simon knew that Kara and his mother had a special bond; one not formed by blood, but by a special friendship. Shit…if Kara were younger…Simon was pretty sure his mother would adopt her. Lips twitching slightly, Simon hoped his mother never expected him to be like a brother to Kara. It wasn’t happening. His cock stood at attention, rock-hard and ready, every time he saw her. What in the hell was it about this particular woman that made him so edgy and restless?
Simon had fucked women who were more attractive, more sophisticated, and not a single one of them had ever touched any of his emotions. He was a loner, preferring to spend his time with his computer rather than attending social functions, but there were times when he needed a woman’s company for physical relief. Occasionally taking himself in hand just wasn’t getting it done. Simon had certain female acquaintances for those occasions, women who gave him the control he needed and had to have in the bedroom, without a lot of demands or questions. Damn it! That had been enough for him…until he had seen Kara.
Grimacing, his eyes never leaving the street, Simon shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and adjusted his position, giving his shoulder a break by resting his hip against the wall. God, he was getting pathetic. How long would he moon over a woman who had never even acknowledged him? Until she finished nursing school and moved away? Until she got married?
He nearly growled at the thought of another man putting his hands on Kara’s delectable body. Simon fought a purely feral instinct that rose up at the thought of another man touching his woman.
She’s not your woman, asshole. Get a grip.
For once in his life, Simon wished he were more like his older brother Sam, the other half of the Hudson Corporation. Sam would have no problem putting the moves on Kara.
Charm, conquer and discard
had always been his brother’s style and Sam wouldn’t have given a thought to the possibility of rejection. Probably because Sam never failed! His only sibling went through the female population like a person with a nasty cold went through tissues. Sam would have broken down Kara’s defenses, charmed her out of her panties and then discarded her for his next conquest.
Oh, hell no
. Simon loved his brother, but he’d be damned if he’d ever let Sam seduce Kara. He didn’t even want the two of them in the same room together.
Because she’s mine.
Simon shook his head, surprised at his own behavior. Yeah…he liked control, actually needed control, but he had never wanted one woman in particular. Now, he could think of little else but the pretty waitress who had snagged his attention a year ago.
You’re afraid of her.
Simon scowled at the thought. Like hell he was! He wasn’t afraid of anything, and he definitely didn’t fear Kara Foster. She just…was not a likely lover. Why bother?
He fucked.
He didn’t date.
And he liked it that way.
His brother Sam was the face of the company, the marketer. Simon was a computer geek, happy to stay in the background. What did he know about seducing a woman? He’d never needed to coerce a woman to his bed. The females he fucked were only with him for personal gain. He was known for being a generous lover. He wasn’t fool enough to believe they had any personal feelings for him. That, he understood. That, he could handle.
Maybe I need to find a way to fuck her and get over this crazy obsession
.
Would it be enough? Could he actually get free from his fixation with this woman if he could find a way to have her?
Christ! He had to do something. His irrational preoccupation with Kara had grown worse and worse over the last year, causing him to want no other woman except her. He hadn’t gotten off with anyone except himself in well over a year, and he really needed to scratch that itch. Yet…he couldn’t. If he tried to take action, to make a move to call another woman, he would see Kara’s pretty girl-next-door face and hang up the phone.
I’m just that fucking obsessed with her.
Simon glanced at an approaching figure, his mind almost immediately starting to dismiss the dark-haired woman who was dressed in a short, black, leather mini-skirt and a bright red sweater. He’d never seen Kara dressed in anything other than jeans and a t-shirt that sported the restaurant’s logo; standard casual dress for employees of his mom’s restaurant.
He did a surprised double-take as the woman got closer, gaping when her face came into view. Holy Christ! It was Kara. She was close enough that he could see her features, the same face that haunted his wet dreams every damn night, but the outfit….
What in hell is she wearing?
Simon could see almost every inch of her long, slender, shapely legs in the ultra-short mini and the whole outfit molded over her breasts, torso, and ass like a glove. His cock was instantly standing at full attention and he pulled his hands out of his pockets. They curled into tight fists as a bead of sweat rolled down his face. Followed by another. And another.