Suited (St. Martin Family Saga) (3 page)

He walked to his truck and phoned his brother. Of course the call went straight to voicemail. Hell, Camp probably saw his name on the display and clicked the ringer off.

“Hi, you’ve reached Camp; leave a message.”

Cash had a message for him all right.

“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me Isa was on this project? At least I could have prepared myself. Instead I was blindsided. You better hope I don’t see you until I cool off because I’ll beat the shit out of you. Uncool, Camp.”

Cash sat in his truck, his thoughts consumed with Isa. He was such a prick he hadn’t even considered all she’d been through. He’d just needed to get out of Dodge and quick. They’d been together for three years. She’d fallen in love with his large family because she had none. Her dad had come to America on a work visa. After he’d purchased a home, he sent for Isa and her mother. Then her parents had gone missing. It was all very mysterious. Their bodies had turned up in a canal. She was seven. He remembered her explaining to him how frightened she’d been since she didn’t speak English. She didn’t know what was going on or what had happened to her parents. She’d been put into foster care and was moved from home to home. They’d considered her a difficult child. “God, I’m sorry, baby.” He slammed his palm into his steering wheel. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

4

A
s of three
thirty the next afternoon, Cash still hadn’t heard from Camp. As he sat at his desk waiting for Isa, he thought how he couldn’t wait to lay into Camp something fierce. Secretly, though, he imagined he could hug and kiss Camp if it meant a reunion with Isa. Cash palmed the ten-thousand-dollar casino chip in his pocket. He kept it on him wherever he went. He’d sworn it brought him luck, or at least easy times. He needed its power desperately now.

When Isa walked in, Cash was in the office making last minute calls to organize an equipment delivery. They would need the site leveled. His eyes followed her in from the door. Not again, he thought, groaning to himself. She was wearing a silky metallic-gray pencil skirt that hugged every curve. And those stilettos, those fucking stilettos. He hardened instantly at the sight. He shifted in his chair to make room for his growing erection. When he got off the phone, Isa started talking about the advantages and disadvantages of column versus sheet piling in consideration of the soil properties. She’d asked him a question and waited for an answer. He’d missed the question completely as he was fixated on the buttons of the Oxford shirt that hugged her breasts. She looked all woman in the shirt that was originally designed for men.

“Uh, what was that?”

She exhaled in exasperation, one hand going to her hip. “Are you even listening to me?”

Cash shifted again in his chair. “I’m all ears.”
Liar
.

“I asked if cost was a factor or if the developer wanted to make the structure sound enough to withstand hurricane-force winds and driving rain.”

“Yeah, the wind and rain thing.”

She started talking again about the available options. God, he wished their relationship had gone differently. Maybe if he’d only just met her now, when he finally had his shit together, they’d have stood a chance at happiness.

He would give everything, all his fame and fortune, to go back and do it over, do right by her. She’d worked so hard during college, and he’d not taken his classes seriously even once. What had she even seen in him? She attended college on full academic scholarship—for fucking engineering, of all things. She’d had to keep her academics up all the while waiting tables at that seafood place. She hadn’t even owned a car during that time. Her circumstances had gotten easier when she met him. She didn’t have to work so many hours, especially when he moved her into his apartment. One of their first arguments had been about money. She’d been proud and wanted to pay her half of the rent, not knowing his father paid the exorbitant price for the prime location. She’d worked herself up from nothing, his Isa. She was a fighter.

“Isa, I’m sorry I hurt you. Do you hate me? Truly?”

Isa sat in the chair across from his desk and cocked her head as she studied him.

“I could never hate you. When you left it was like I woke up without my right leg or arm and I had to learn how to exist without those parts. I am upset, mad even, that you left without a word, but that doesn’t change the love I have for you, that I’ll always have for you.”

To hear her say those words melted his insides. “Can we be friends then?”

She smiled. “I’d like that.”

Cash leaned forward, pleased to be making headway with her. “Friends share meals together, you know. Have dinner with me tonight.”

She seemed to be thinking hard about something. Maybe an excuse, so he was surprised when she simply said, “Okay.”

His smile slowly grew, until his cheeks and jaw felt the stretch. “Really?”

She giggled. “Really.”

He liked to hear her giggle—she used to do it a lot more. He’d make it his mission to elicit more of that. “Shall I come for you?”

“No, I’ll come to you. Are you at the estate?”

“I’m staying with Camp.”

“I know where he lives; I’ll see you at eight.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

She still loved him; that was something. That was a lot of something. He planned to build on that to get them back to a place where they could be happy like they once were before he’d fucked things up. He couldn’t do anything about the past, but he intended to be around for her future.

She hadn’t left the country, hadn’t even left town. Didn’t that mean something?

≈

Isa thought about what she’d just committed to as she drove herself to the gym. At least she had a plan. She would drive to his house, they would go eat, and when they returned, she’d get in her car and leave. She wouldn’t even go inside.

She’d been devastated when he’d left. The fool had even missed her graduation. She had no family, but the St. Martins had turned out for her, just as they’d always done since she met them. And damn it all to hell if she hadn’t fallen head over heels with Cash soon after she’d met him. He’d been so kind and solicitous of her needs, and she’d never had anyone treat her like that before. He’d seemed to revel in her intelligence, where most guys were intimidated by it. Conversations with him were always stimulating. They’d talked about everything and had gotten on well together. One project they’d taken on as a couple was a Habitat for Humanity house. Since she was the one with the engineering background, he’d stepped back and let her shine. Told everyone his girl knew all about laying the foundation. Had them all taking orders from her by the end of the day.

Isa thought about Cash all through her workout. Thought about their past, but also imagined their future. And when she got home and showered, she thought of him some more. Yet in the privacy of her bathroom she thought about a lot more than how he’d left her. She thought about his body, about how he could turn her on with just a glance from his sexy eyes. How he so thoroughly and easily satisfied her. How she felt when he touched her.

She let her hands play over her body as the water washed over her, as she thought of Cash touching her. He’d touched her tenderly, roughly, with passion, and with care. She brought herself to orgasm imagining his fingers driving her crazy.

As Isa pulled into the driveway at Camp’s house, she knew she was way too excited about having dinner with him. At first she’d been conflicted, but she’d quickly gotten over it. She wanted to have him again. He’d awakened something inside of her all those years ago and no one else could satisfy her the way he could. His intensity had always made her burn. If it was possible, it was even stronger now. She wondered if maybe they should be friends with benefits. She couldn’t think in terms of forever, but she could think of right now. And right now what she needed was for him to make her body sing the way no other man could.

She rang the bell. When Cash answered the door, Isa’s knees went weak. He was wearing slim-fitted black pants and a black Oxford dress shirt. He greeted her with his perfect white smile, and his eyes were big and luminous. She wanted to curl up in his chest and live there forever.

“Hey, you,” he said.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Yeah, but we’re eating here. I ordered your favorite from Ruth’s Chris; it’s already set up inside.”

Hmm, it seemed Cash had called her hand. She’d do well to remember he was a professional and extremely successful poker player, intuitive to a fault.

She followed him into the dining room. He’d set the table formally. The centerpiece was made of fresh cut calla lilies—her favorite. He’d set out iced water and a French Bordeaux they’d liked to drink all those years ago. She took her seat and he poured the wine. His sleeves were rolled up and when he reached across the table, she saw the bracelet circling his wrist.

His sleeves were rolled up and when he reached across the table, she saw he had many more tattoos than he did when they were in college. When she saw the cloth at his wrist her eyes went wide. “You’re still wearing the bracelet.”

His brow knit together. “What?”

Isa pulled his hand across the table in disbelief. Her head shook as she whispered, “The bracelet I made for you, what was it, ten years ago?”

He twisted his wrist back and forth. “I’ve never taken it off.”

Isa couldn’t believe his admission. “What about for a shower?”

He smiled. “You know I’m a bath man, but no, I don’t take it off, even for a bath. I’ve carried you with me all these years here”—he touched his wrist—“and here”—he placed his hand over his heart.

Isa’s eyes filled with liquid and tears fell onto her cheeks. She sniffled.

Cash tensed and leaned toward her. “Isa?”

She’d never really been much of a crier. Her newfound ability to cry was something that she inherited after what she referred to as
the ordeal
. She’d gone through some rough times just after he left. He should have been by her side through it all, but he hadn’t even bothered to check on her. Thinking back on it all now, she was uneasy, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to dismiss him. She’d loved him, and that’s why his leaving had hurt so much. And she loved him still. Had actually never stopped. She took a deep cleansing breath.

“Cashel Gray, I swear to God if you hurt me again, I’ll come after you and make you suffer in painful ways. Castration with a dull rusty knife will be too good for you.”

≈

“God, Isa.” Cash was on his feet and by her side in an instant. He pulled her into his arms. “I won’t hurt you, I promise. I swear I’ll be the man you need, the man you want, the man you deserve. Please say you’ll give me another chance.”

“I’ll give you another chance because I love you.”

Cash kissed away her tears. “And I love you. Always.”

“Take me to your bed.”

Cash pulled her to his bedroom. He stood her at the foot of the bed and unzipped her skirt, sliding it down her legs. While he unbuttoned her shirt, he kissed her hot mouth. She wore only fancy lingerie now. He turned her in his arms to take in the sight of her. The thong panties she wore were black satin and matched her bra. “I love your new look, love that you’ve updated your underwear drawer.”

She shrugged. “Cotton is cheap, satin’s expensive. Once I graduated and started earning a good living, I went through a period of self-exploration.” She ran a finger across her breasts, drawing his eye. And drawing a gasp from him. “I decided I liked expensive.”

He bent to kiss her stomach and smiled against her skin. “You did a great job with that exploration. Is that how you came to wear the skirts and dresses and stilettos too?”

She sighed. “I’d never had any dresses before. I’d had the leftover clothes from the kids that had come before me. When I got my first month’s pay as an engineer, I went shopping for work clothes. I didn’t return home with anything but skirts, dresses, and heels. Then I discovered satin lingerie. I guess I’m making up for lost time.”

Cash turned her delicately in his arms and pulled her in close to rest under his chin. “God, you deserved so much more than what you got with me. Do you know I thought of you every hour of every day every year we were apart? You consumed me even at that great distance. I was a fool, but you’re here now, and I can’t believe it. I can’t believe you’re real, that you stepped out of my fantasies and back into my life.” He rubbed her upper arms to assure himself she was indeed flesh and blood.

Hauntingly quiet she said, “I could say the same things. Let’s not dwell on the past, not when we’ve got eight years to make up for.”

He laughed. “You were always the smart one and you always were beautiful but now, in these clothes, you leave me aching. I was hard all day just thinking about your tight skirt and imagining what you were wearing underneath it.”

A smile crossed Isa’s face as she turned and unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it from his shoulders. He helped her with his trousers. She reached out and grasped his erection through his shorts.

“You’re bigger than you were before.” She pushed his shorts down his legs and held his flesh in her grip. Pre-ejaculate spurted into her hand as though he were a teen—he should be embarrassed, but he never could be anything but comfortable with her. She gripped his cock at the base and went down to her knees. Licking the tip with her tongue, she fisted the base. Cash palmed her head as she took him to the back of her throat. At his strangled cry, she pumped him harder with the suction of soft, wet heat. She reached her hands underneath his shaft and fondled his heavy sack while she worked him over. He felt her everywhere. When he started to moan and thrust, she doubled her efforts. Cash exploded down her throat on a low raspy growl, chanting her name with every pulse. Isa swallowed him down.

When the last of the waves subsided, Cash pulled her up and stripped the bra and panties from her body. Standing behind her, he guided her to the bed. She went down on her knees, keeping her upper body erect. Cash took up the same position behind her. He pulled her up against his body with one hand on her ribcage just under her breast and one hand snaked around her hips, and he palmed her tender flesh. His fingers slid across her cleft, and he massaged her clit gingerly. It was enlarged and hard. Isa let out a long, low sigh, and her head rolled back to rest on his shoulder. His hand kneaded her breast, and he rolled her hardened nipple between his fingers. He wanted her to come as hard as he had. Wanted her to lose herself in pleasure.