Page 61 of Caught Up In You (Indigo Royal Resort)
He gripped her tighter as he let out a long groan, his own orgasm taking over. His eyes never left hers, even as the last of his pleasure rippled through him. They stayed just like that for a moment, staring into each other’s eyes, breathing deeply.
Leona felt a single tear escape from her eye before she’d ever felt the tickle of it starting to form. It was an involuntary reaction, but she’d never experienced anything so beautiful and powerful before. As if understanding exactly what the tear meant, Cullen leaned in and kissed it away.
She had thought she wasn’t ready for words, but now, after this, was starting to think she was wrong. Maybe words were exactly what she needed. Or more so, what she wanted. She started to open her mouth to say something but was cut off.
By the sound of Cullen’s phone.
“Shit,” Cullen cursed, recognizing the ringtone. “It’s Oliver.”
Leave it to Oliver to ruin the afterglow of what was, hands down, the best sexual experience of Cullen’s life. Maybe even the best experience period. The look in Leona’s eyes as they were coming together was like nothing he’d ever seen—and was something he could only hope to see many, many more times.
“How do you know?” she asked, arms still wrapped around his neck.
“Ringtone,” he answered. “He and my mother each have their own.”
“Can’t you just let him go to voicemail?”
She was right. He didn’t need to take the call. He was on vacation, and it was who knows what time at night. Oliver would just have to deal with a return call in the morning. At a reasonable hour.
Cullen kissed her again, ignoring the tone. When it finally stopped, the flood of relief that washed over him was more than he’d expected. He hadn’t realized just how much of a comfort the simple sounds of their breathing had been.
“Hi,” he said to her, smiling. The smile she returned was one of pure joy and it made his heart swell.
“Hi,” she whispered back.
His phone erupted once again with Oliver’s ringtone. It must have been something serious for him to call back right away. Or at least it damn well better be.
Giving her an apologetic look, he pulled out of her, grunting at the loss of her. He fished around for his phone in his shorts and when he finally caught it, tried to hide the annoyance in his tone.
“Oliver, it’s the middle of the night.”
“Then why do you sound like you just finished a run?”
“Maybe because I had to run to answer my mobile,” Cullen said sarcastically.
“Keep it closer and this won’t be an issue. Besides, by my maths, it’s just gone ten there.”
“I am sure you did not call me on my holiday to discuss the time difference between the Virgin Islands and London. What’s going on?”
“Atlanta is asking for an answer,” his agent said without beating around the bush. “They want it ASAP. They want to be able to announce it next week at some press conference they are having.”
“I thought I had a couple of weeks to think about it.”
“Well, yes, and it’s been two full weeks. So, what’s your answer? Are we accepting?”
Cullen turned around to face Leona. She’d slid off the table and was shimmying into her skirt. Her back was to him and he was pretty sure it was because she was trying to avoid making eye contact.
“I’m not sure,” he admitted, bending down to step into his shorts. He pulled them up and buttoned them, hoping that Oliver wasn’t able to somehow tell he was getting dressed.
“Not sure? What is there to be not sure about?”
“I’m just not convinced it’s the right career move.”
“Cullen, it’s your only career move. That is unless you want to straight up retire. I have been honest with you since we started working together when you were a teenager and I’m not going to start sugarcoating things now. All the other leagues have no interest. At thirty-eight you’re more of a liability than an asset.”
“Thanks for that confidence booster,” Cullen grumbled, still watching Leona. She was fully dressed now and had put the cold stones back in the cabinet. He tried to get her to look at him as she stripped the now-rumpled sheets off the massage table, but still nothing. His heart sank a little. He should have just ignored the second call. What the fuck had he been thinking?
“We’ve always been straight shooters with each other—it’s what you pay me for. If you would prefer to just flat-out retire and live like a king off the millions you’ve made over the years, then that’s a viable option too. It’s not like you need a salary. Plus, you’ll still have some endorsements and a few odd appearances that’ll bring in money. It’s your call here.”
