Touch Book 2

Scotch.

It’s not going to help me dodge the bullet that’s coming in the form of a small engagement dinner. But it’s sure as hell going to cover me like a liquid bulletproof vest.

The plane will be landing in twenty minutes, and if my overprotective mother weren’t sitting next to me, I’d still have time for two more glasses.

“You look tired, honey,” my mother says with scrutinizing eyes. “You’ve been working too hard.”

I let the amber liquid swirl around the ice cube before taking a good swig of it. Working too hard is what’s been keeping my mind off Nicole, but my mother doesn’t need to know that.

He knows something’s up. He always knows. I guess he must’ve acquired psychic powers when he became a parent. All it takes is one look or one word—and he knows what mood I’m in.

Hell, he knew I wasn’t really in love with my ex before I realized it myself.

My mother, on the other hand, has invested her parenting skills in fortune telling.

When I got engaged to Madison, or as Liam and I refer to her, the cheating snake, my mother was as quiet as a mouse, which was her way of saying she didn’t think it was a good idea.

As soon as we get off the plane, my senses take in the clean air, and I immediately regret ever leaving this place seven months ago.

Seven months.

Seven fucking months and a shitload of nights jacking off to the thought of Nicole.

Don’t get me wrong. I did try to fuck someone else, but I notoriously failed. Both times. Couldn’t even get hard enough to put the condom on.

Nicole fucking stole my hard-ons.

And I’ll be damned if I don’t get them back. That hard-on thief doesn’t know what’s coming.

“Good to see you again, sir.” Elliott smiles as we approach the limousine.

Once we start moving, I grab my phone and check my emails and texts.

I’ll have a couple of conference calls next week, and even though I’ve given my PA the afternoons off, I’ve asked her to call me every day with a daily report.

The only big project we have right now is the Fort Hotel on a small island in the northeast Atlantic Ocean, and that’s all pretty much set.

“Would you look at the view, Andrew! Just as beautiful as I remember it thirty years ago.” My mother’s eyes shine, and she holds my father’s hand while looking out the window.

“Very beautiful indeed,” he answers, never taking his eyes off her.

I look out the window and notice we’re getting close to the villa as we start heading uphill.

The leather seat is already starting to bother me. It feels like it’s heating up my back, and I rub my forehead, thinking about the last time I saw her.

The sweat on my back salted the scratches her fingernails had just left. I’d never cum so hard inside her. Hell, I’d never cum that hard with anyone.

She was still spasming around my cock while letting out soft moans that made me want to stay there until I got hard again.

One of the phones on the nightstand started buzzing, and she stretched her arm out to grab it.

“Nuh-uh,” I demanded before swiftly pulling her arm and locking her wrist above her head.

She bit her bottom lip, letting me know she loved it when I took full control of her body in bed. When I tightened the grip on her wrist, she started rocking her hips.

“I’m expecting an important phone call from a client, Ryan,” she said before I crashed my lips against hers, kissing her hard.

My tongue dominated hers, disregarding what she’d just said. She moaned into my mouth when I slid my hand between us, and my fingers caressed her already swollen clit.

My cock started twitching as I felt her walls brushing my length, and the head of my cock was so sensitive, so fucking sensitive. There was no way she was going to answer the phone.

The phone kept buzzing, but all her attention was on me now. I felt like I had all of her as I thrust into her wet pussy.

Fuck, it felt like there was nothing else in the world but the two of us.

“Please…Ry—,” she begged in between breaths. I groaned with the need to thrust faster and deeper into her clenching tightness.

She wrapped her legs around my waist, her grip tightening, and I felt her pussy sucking me dry until we both yelled out.

I swear to God, my fucking soul left my body, and I only breathed again when I heard her voice.

“Oh my…fucking…God, Ryan.” She smiled and pulled me down for another fervent kiss.

This was it for me. I felt like I was dead to any other woman in this world.

I was about to talk to her and tell her I was done calling what we had a hookup. I wanted to fucking close the door for any other man who’d even dare think about touching her.

“Nicole—”

I looked into her eyes, and as soon as I took a deep breath to speak, the phone started buzzing again.

She gave me an apologetic smile and quickly grabbed the phone. As soon as her eyes met the screen, her lips formed a different kind of smile—one that I had never seen before.

When her eyes met mine, I couldn’t read her anymore.

She was as calm as the Dead Sea, and my fucking heart stopped beating when she handed me the phone with the screen showing my ex’s face on the caller ID.

“It’s your phone, actually. Answer it. I’m sure it’s important.”

There was no emotion in her voice. Her face was home to a composed expression, and I couldn’t tell what the hell was going through her mind.

I answered the phone. Yeah, that’s how fucking dumb I am—I answered the phone. The moment I heard my ex’s voice, I regretted ever meeting her.

I just wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible and go back to the conversation I wanted to have with Nicole.

By the time I hung up, Nicole had already put on a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt that looked more like a poncho. How she still looked sexy wearing that, I have no idea.

She’d already placed my clothes on the bed and just handed me my boxer briefs before walking out of the bedroom.

“It’s getting late,” she said as I saw her walk toward the front door.

I followed her, still buttoning up my shirt and totally speechless. Her poker face was flawless, and I had no idea how to react.

“This was fun, Ryan. I’ve really enjoyed spending these last couple of weeks with you.” She smiled and leaned close enough to kiss me lightly.

“What are you trying to say, Nic?” I interjected, but she squinted at me and just opened the front door.

“I’m not trying to say. I am saying. We had fun, and now it’s time for you to leave and maybe go back to your ex or move on to whoever you feel like.”

Her dark-brown eyes wouldn’t even meet mine while spitting those acidic words.

“God knows I’ll do that. Now if you don’t mind, I need to wake up early tomorrow.”

She casually motioned for me to leave and locked the door as soon as I stepped outside.

I should’ve anchored my feet on that marble floor and told her what I thought about that whole we-had-fun-now-go bullshit speech of hers. But I was boiling, and I’m not going to lie, my ego was hurt.

I felt like I’d been played, like I’d just gotten brutally punched in the chest, and I didn’t even know why it felt like that.

So, I left. I got on the plane, thinking that I’d leave that feeling behind, and when that clearly didn’t happen, I had the fucked-up idea to get drunk and stick my tongue down my ex’s throat.

I wanted to show myself that Nicole had been nothing but a fun lay.

“We’re finally here.” My mother’s ecstatic voice yanks my mind out of the past, and as soon as the limousine stops in the driveway of the villa, the reality of seeing Nicole again hits me.

I seriously need another drink.