Page 38 of In the Heir (Westerly Billionaire 1)
They laughed in unison, then quieted. Some women might have robbed the peace from the setting, but Alisha added to it. She seemed to crave the calm as much as he did. Was this what she found at her lake house retreat? Why she went there when she was upset?
He wanted to be her sanctuary.
But how realistic is that?
“Do you enjoy your job?” he asked. He wasn’t sure why the answer to that question felt so important to him now. He knew which parts of her life were in disarray. He wanted to know about the parts that weren’t.
“I do. Don’t get me wrong: there are good days and bad days. I age a little every time a parent picks up a child from school and doesn’t tell anyone. There is nothing worse than realizing a child is gone and not knowing where they went.”
“Does that happen? Aren’t there safeguards against that?” With how often schools were in the news, he wouldn’t have thought something like that could happen.
She didn’t seem offended by his question. “Oh, there are rules. Schools are all about rules and procedures now, but the human element always finds a way around those. It could be a parent who sees their child in line and calls to them. Or a parent who volunteers for a field trip and leaves with their child without telling anyone. It doesn’t happen often, but enough that it’s my favorite before-school-starts nightmare.”
He ran a hand through her hair. “Would you still want to work if you didn’t have to?”
She tensed. “You mean if I won the lottery?”
“Or married someone who made it unnecessary for you to work.” He could have kicked himself for that comment. He wasn’t ready to promise her anything, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to hear the answer, not that he completely understood the reason why.
She was quiet long enough that he wasn’t sure if she was going to answer, then she said, “Those are two totally different scenarios. If I won the lottery, I don’t know what I would do. I’d like to think I’d donate a good portion of it. I wouldn’t leave teaching, though, unless another job came along that I enjoyed as much. What I do gives me a good deal of satisfaction. I know I make a difference.” She wagged a finger in the air. “I definitely wouldn’t leave teaching for a man, not even one I married. I would never want to be on an allowance or give anyone that amount of control over my life.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off.
“I’m not judging women who choose that life. There are plenty of people who do it and are happy, but it requires more trust than I’ve ever had in anyone.”
He understood her thinking, but it made him sad. Alisha needed to be in control because she knew what it was like to suffer at the hands of someone else. Her childhood had made her strong, but it had also left her wary. He hated that someone so protective of those around her had trouble believing anyone would stand with her just as steadfastly.
It would be so easy to say I’ll be there for her.
Why can’t I?
Because I don’t want to be the next person to disappoint her.
“I was planning to fly back when we reach port,” he said.
“And now?”
“I want to stay, but we need to be clear about what we’re doing.”
She sat up and turned so she could face him. “Clear. Okay. What are we doing?”
She didn’t look angry or upset. It might have been easier if she had been. At least then he would have known what to say. “Enjoying a vacation together.”
She cocked her head to one side. “Are you saying you want this to end when we get home?”
Although part of him thought that’s what he wanted, he didn’t answer immediately because that definitely wasn’t what he was saying. His thoughts became scrambled each time she looked at him.
A sad smile lifted one side of her mouth, and she spoke before he had a chance to. “That’s probably for the best. I haven’t even told people at work that I’m no longer engaged to Spencer. I don’t really want to go back and explain how I ended up with his brother.”
The ease with which she accepted a time limit he hadn’t even verbalized, grated. He wasn’t okay with things ending as soon as they returned home.
She patted his thigh. “It doesn’t have to be awkward between us when we go back. I tend to stay friends with men I’ve slept with.”
What the hell? I’m not okay with that, either.
Friends?
To look but never be able to touch? Hell no.
And who are these ex-lovers she’s friends with? No man sticks around a woman he’s had sex with unless he thinks there is a possibility of another chance.
She gave him a funny look. “Are you seasick again? You don’t look so good all of a sudden.”
He stood up and growled, “I don’t get seasick.”
She put her hands up in mock surrender as she followed suit. “Whatever you say.”
He was done talking. The more he tried to verbalize how he was feeling, the worse he was making things. He decided to return to when things were going well. “I’ll take you up on that.” He advanced on her.
She laughed. “Oh, will you?”
“I will, and you’ll like it.” He ran his hands up the back of her legs and forcibly grasped her bare ass, pulling her roughly against his instantly hard cock. “I’ll make sure you do.”
Her eyes half closed, and she purred, “Is that a promise?”
“It is.”
He might still be untangling his feelings for her, but he wasn’t at all confused about this. He wanted to fuck her until she was calling out his name as she came, until she couldn’t remember anyone before him. He picked her up, slung her over his shoulder, and carried her through the suite and up the stairs. He tossed her onto the bed and stood over her. He’d never seen anything more beautiful than her on his bed, smiling in his shirt, with her wet pussy naked and ready for him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The next morning, after eating breakfast in their suite and sharing a leisurely shower together, Alisha and Brett chose a morning walk instead of a run. Even if the ship hadn’t been moving back and forth more than it had the day before, Alisha wasn’t in the mood for a workout. She was thoroughly, happily relaxed.
Every once in while a question born from old insecurities would pop into her head, but she was far too de-stressed to worry about much of anything. The sky was dark gray, but on the inside she was all sunshine and daisies. She knew she was sporting a perma-smile, but it was Brett’s fault. A night of orgasms had left her in a sexually sated daze.
They walked hand in hand, talking about nothing in particular. The topic didn’t matter. His deep voice was a caress of its own. She asked him questions about his life simply to hear him speak.
During the walk, they passed a woman alone, leaning over the railing, with tears running down her cheeks. It took a moment for Alisha to downshift into reality. “I know her,” she whispered to Brett. “I met her my first day on board. She’s here with her husband and family for a vow renewal. They do it every year.”
Brett pressed his lips in a flat line before answering. “Do you want to see how she is?”
Alisha bit her lip. “She looks pretty upset.” She and Brett came to a stop a few feet away. They had a choice of walking by and stopping to ask her how she was, or turning around and going the other way. “I should at least see if she’s okay.”
Brett kissed her briefly. “I agree. If she needs to talk, I’ll grab a coffee and meet you at a table over there.”
Raising a hand to his cheek, Alisha said, “You’re a good man.”
He smiled, then walked toward the coffee bar.
As she approached, Alisha asked, “Nadine?”
Nadine straightened and quickly brushed away her tears before turning to face her. “Oh, hi.”
When she didn’t say her name, Alisha provided it. “Alisha. We met at the buffet on the first day. I gave Ethan a ride to your table.”
A smile spread across Nadine’s face, and
she sniffed. “I remember. Sorry I didn’t recognize you at first. I have a lot on my mind right now.”
Alisha joined her by the railing. “Are you okay?”
Tears filled Nadine’s eyes again. “I will be. I just didn’t want to lay this on anyone I’m traveling with. Everyone is having a great vacation.”
“Except you.”
“I was, then—” She sniffed. “You don’t want to hear this.”
“I wouldn’t be standing here if I didn’t care.”
Nadine nodded and wiped the corner of her eye. “I received some news today that I just need to process. I was hoping to cry it out before anyone woke up.”
Moved by the woman’s pain, Alisha laid a hand on her arm. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Are you a psychologist?” the woman asked with a sad laugh.
“Kindergarten teacher, remember?” Alisha joked gently. “Practically the same thing. If you need an ear, I’m here.”
“I just have to get out of the funk I’m in and pull myself together before I talk to my family.”
Alisha nodded in quiet encouragement.
