“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
He refused to look up, fiddling with the burger toppings.
“Summer?” A thin thread of mania riddled her labored breath.
“It means…” Pushing a plate in front of her, he closed the gap between them. Summer’s grin was now abandoned. His gaze nailed to the rise and fall of her chest, indulging in a slow methodical assessment of her every movement. “You managed just fine all by yourself last night.”
She didn’t think things could get any worse, but they did. Anxiety worked its way into a full blown panic attack, breaking over her flesh in a thousand pricks of heat. Heart palpitations spurred wildly in her chest.
“I…I really don’t remember anything. I don’t even know where I am.” Words slipped from her mouth in an ache of whisper. Rationalization impeded apprehension. “So if you could please enlighten me a little, I would appreciate it.”
“Do you really want to know?”
His face remained over hers. A hint of pleasure clouded his whiskey eyes, chipping away at the years that had passed. Being near him still brought an internal comfort, she’d only been able to find in his presence. However, time still held the scars of the broken trust and painful heartache.
“I’m not sure.”
Keeping his easy gaze locked on her eyes, Summer clasped his hand around her wrist, lifting her fingers to his lush full lips. Her breath caught in a soft shaky gasp. A wave of unspeakable pleasure moved through her, rapt in the stunning vision of his mouth slowly taking her two fingers into his mouth. His searing hot tongue slipped between her fingers, sensually sucking and twisting.
Heat spread across her chest. The tender place between her thighs began to ache and tighten making her wet. Her lips parted, leaning closer as if being drawn by a magnet. He stood so close the heat of their breaths mingled. Summer’s eyes, heavily lidded and filled with lust, never faltered from hers. He released her fingers, touching them to his lips with a kiss.
“That was the extent of my participation last night. You insisted upon feeding me your sweet pussy during the flight here. In between begging, begging me, Red, to pull over so I could fuck you.”
She tried to swallow but had no saliva, her throat dry from panting. Carrie Ann collected her trembling fingers. Her hands wrung together into a ball. “I did not,” she whispered feebly.
Summer hooked an index finger beneath her chin, forcing her to face him. He let loose a small rogue smile. She could feel the lines of apprehension etching deep into her forehead, shaking her head in dismay. His left eyebrow twitching upward giving absolute confirmation.
“Oh, my God.”
“You said that too. Several times. Each time you crested your peak.” he added. “And when did you become such a dirty little talker? The Carrie Ann I remember never talked like that.”
“I’m not. I mean…I don’t.” Carrie Ann really didn’t want to know what she’d said, but before she could stop herself she questioned warily, “What did I say?”
Burying a brazen grin behind his burger, he said, “You should eat.”
A cold numbness rushed through her veins. Pinching a spear of asparagus between her fingers, she asked, “I’m so confused. Does anybody know where I am?”
“We spoke with your assistant before leaving the auction. You’re on vacation…or at least that’s what you told me a dozen times. I’m assuming that’s true because Sara rattled off a check list of her responsibilities for the next few days. I texted Shayla a few times to let her know we were together and going on a million dollar vacation.”
Mouth full of burger, her eyes broadened in a questioning manner.
“Hey, don’t even look at me like that. You were totally into me, Carrie Ann. You were like, ‘Oh, my God. We need to call Shayla. She’s gonna freak out.’” He shrugged innocently. “I figured you had a buzz from the champagne, but I didn’t realize you’d been drugged till after we got in the air.”
“Drugged?” she choked.
“Definitely. That guy, Jason, must’ve roofied your drink. I should’ve kicked his ass.”
“There’s no way. Jason wouldn’t do that. He’s friends with my father. Why would he risk doing that?”
“To get in your fucking pants, that’s why!” Dense muscles corded down his forearm, balling his hand into a fist. “By the way I guess now’s as good as time as any to tell you…you phoned your father from the airport to tell him you were going on vacation with me for a week.”
It took every muscle in her esophagus, and three tries, to swallow back the acid burning in her throat. “Shit. As if things couldn’t get any worse.”
“Yeah, that’s about how it went down. I guess you could say he wasn’t very happy.”
Summer’s face was hard and shadowed. She knew he was furious, but hid it. The magnitude of the last twenty hours weighed on her shoulders like a wet blanket. She felt drained and exhausted. They sat in silence, each taking a few bites.
“What did he say?”
He slid her a slow, very telling, sideways glance of repugnance. After a few moments of quiet, he snickered triumphantly, “You told him you felt like a million bucks.”
She couldn’t hold back a smile. When Summer’s football career fell apart, people on the outside only saw the final collapse. Her father stood at the front of the ‘I told you so’ line, joyfully watching him implode. A drunken photo, a fight outside a sports bar, the angry ESPN interview. No one saw the slow private decay of the man. No one except Carrie Ann. She felt helpless, left to watch as the man she loved and so badly tried to help, suffer through an excruciating inner turmoil that nearly ruined him.
The only future Summer had ever dreamed of was ripped from his grasp in one devastating moment on the twenty-five yard line. His entire career gone in the matter of seconds. Fame and fortune paled in comparison to the despondency he endured losing the one thing in his life that mattered most. Football. He loved the game. Growing up in rural Illinois, he excelled under the Friday night lights. Summer exceeded everyone’s expectations, receiving a full-ride scholarship to USC. It wasn’t merely his family cheering him on, it was an entire community. Losing the most prominent thing in Ryan Summer’s life, eroded away at his soul. It dug deep, erasing the man he thought he was destined to be.
An underlying energy hung between them. She remained quiet watching him clean up the kitchen, following him into the living room when he finished.
“Thank you for dinner.” She tucked a foot beneath her bum, snuggling into the rich leather sofa.
“Stomach feeling any better?” he asked, stacking three logs with precision and striking the lighter to what looked like a cupcake made from wood chips and sawdust. Summer raised to his full height, stretching an arm out, pressing his palm against the mantel. Colored shadows of the rising flame, danced against his masculine frame.
“Yeah. My throat’s still a little sore.” She scowled. “How did you know I had a sore throat?”
“You threw up.” He said matter-of-factly. “In my plane. On the runway. In the bathroom. I just assumed you’d be feeling pretty awful today.”
“Oh, man.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I keep thinking this can’t get any worse, but…I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. That was the easiest part of the whole flight. Telling you no repeatedly was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”
Examining her stunned expression, he mercifully remained quiet, lowering himself to the other end of the sofa. She wasn’t ready to even ask or know or absorb what occurred during the flight.
“Do you really think I was roofied?” Even as the question left her lips, Carrie Ann knew the answer was yes. She found it difficult to imagine Jason would drug her. It just didn’t add up. “It could’ve been anyone.”