One Wild Wedding Night_ Runaway Part 3

Slone threw his head back and laughed, so d.a.m.ned charmed by her. She made him feel...young. Carefree.

In years, he was, indeed, pretty young. But carefree? Well, that he was not. Not nearly as much as some of his detractors might think.

Some would suspect that since he'd taken over a successful real-estate empire from his late father at the young age of twenty-two, he could be lazy and carefree, living off someone else's money. But Slone had been fighting for five years to keep that empire solvent. And to keep the world-and his own mother and sisters-from finding out just how far his father had let that business go in his final years.

It had taken Slone every ounce of energy and determination he had to get the Kincaid fortune back to where it had once been. There had been no time to be young and carefree. Or even to be involved in any kind of serious relationship with a woman.

Frankly, that had always seemed okay to Slone-especially given the determination of his mother and sisters to see him settled. He didn't mind dating many women and getting close to absolutely none, didn't mind bedding a woman, then going home alone. That was what he preferred.

Until tonight. He couldn't even be sure what had prompted him to demand a full night from Leah, nor what had caused him to suggest that they retreat to his place. He never brought a woman there if he could avoid it. But with Leah, he'd actually sought out that invasion of his personal life.

Bad move, Kincaid. Perhaps. But at this moment, watching her, feeling smile after smile break out on his normally stern face, he couldn't bring himself to regret it.

One thing was sure, now that he'd met Leah he knew he'd been missing out on one thing: absolutely the best s.e.x of his life. He'd had his fair share of women...but he'd never been as out of his mind insane with desire as he'd been with this stranger an hour ago.

"This is so much better than the L," Leah said, interrupting his musings.

She wiggled around in the seat, as if testing the cushiness against her bottom. Opening the minifridge, she helped herself to a bottle of spring water. Not content to sit still long enough to drink it, she got on her knees and turned around to peer out the window as they pa.s.sed through the city.

Lord have mercy, he thought as he stared at her, kneeling, her curvy, gorgeous a.s.s tilted right at him.

Slone reached for his nearly forgotten drink and took a deep sip from it, determined to remain strong and in control for at least the brief length of time it took them to get home.

She hardly seemed to notice. She kept fidgeting, pushing b.u.t.tons-though, thankfully, not the one that operated the privacy screen. She flicked her nail against a crystal wine-gla.s.s to listen to the ping and turned the radio on so loud his eardrums yelped.

She was, in every respect, delightful. And she most definitely delighted him. So much so that he wondered whether one night with her could possibly be enough.

Chapter 4.

Slone Kincaid had predicted she'd like his place, but it wasn't until they reached his building, a gla.s.s-and-steel high-rise overlooking Lake Michigan , that she fully appreciated his prediction. She was awed when she walked-openmouthed-into the penthouse apartment. Not only because it was loaded with artwork that looked like it should be in a museum and furniture so warm and rich that she was afraid to sit on it, but also because the place was about as big as a football field.

But that wasn't all. He'd predicted she'd like his bed. When she saw the enormous plush monstrosity dominating the master bedroom and realized the man slept on something that could double as an aircraft carrier, she announced, "Like it? I freakin' love it!"

"I thought you might."

"And you own it?"

He nodded, crossing to the other side of the room to close the drapes overlooking the sparkling lake-christened with dollops of white ice-in the distance. "Yes."

Suddenly struck by something, Leah threw her arms akimbo and said, "This is so Pretty Woman."

"But she was a prost.i.tute."

"Yeah, yeah. Come on, did you ever really buy her as a working girl?"

"Let's not use me as the gauge, considering how our evening started."

Laughing, Leah spun around, kicking off her shoes so her feet could sink into the plush carpeting. She'd seen places like this in movies, but couldn't believe people actually lived in them. "You live here all by yourself?"

"Some of the help comes by, but for the most part, yes."

"Then why on earth were you in that crummy bar? If I lived in a place like this, I'd never leave."

"That might get lonely," he murmured.

She snapped her fingers. "I'd just summon people here if I needed them."

Beginning to unb.u.t.ton the dress shirt he'd just put back on in the car, he chuckled. "Summon? That sounds a little...arrogant." Leah offered him a wry stare. He immediately got the point and tilted his chin up, in mock offense. "What makes you think I'm arrogant?"

"You did accuse me of being a hooker who was trying to trap you by stowing away in your car."

He shrugged...a mere trifle, obviously. "Other than that."

"You take whatever you want." Including her.

"And?"

"You certainly aren't used to being told no."

"Funny, I don't recall that word coming out of your mouth tonight," he said with a tiny, wicked smile. He stepped closer, shirtless, his lean, muscled body absolutely amazing in the full light of the room.

The man obviously didn't sit behind a desk all day.

Unable to contain a shaky sigh, she murmured, "Wow, you have got it going on."

He quirked a brow. "Is that a good thing or a bad one?"

"Good. Definitely good."

"Then thank you. Now, are you going to take that dress off or are we going to try it...through the fabric?"

Leah gasped, remembering the way she'd taunted him earlier. It was very wicked. And very tempting. But also very out of the question. "Uh-uh. This dress cost me a whole week's pay."

He reached for her sleeve, trailing his fingers along it. "I'll buy you another one."

The playful, teasing tone said she should take no offense, but Leah stiffened, anyway. "Do we need to go back over that whole 'I'm not a prost.i.tute' thing?"

His hand fell away and he stared at her in shock. "What?"

She may have overreacted. Guys like Kincaid were probably used to buying stuff for their spoiled girlfriends. But she wasn't one of them-she was a one-night diversion. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so touchy. Just want to make sure we're clear: I'm here because I want to be here." She stepped closer, lifting a hand to his bare chest, stroking her fingertips across one flat nipple, then lightly raking her nails down his side. "Because I want you. For the rest of the night."

"And in the morning?"

"We say goodbye."

He frowned, as if not liking that, but didn't argue. Even as wildly attracted to one another as they were, he had to realize-as Leah did-that they were, in every other way, completely incompatible.

Wrapped in the naked embrace of the lush-bodied woman with whom he'd spent so many incredible hours during the night, Slone slowly awoke the next morning to the sound of voices. Women's voices. Women's voices inside his apartment.

Glancing at the clock, he realized it was nearly noon . They had stayed up until late in the night, making love, raiding the kitchen, making love, taking a bath in his two-person tub. It was no wonder they'd slept so late. Late enough that it was almost time for the arrival of his mother and two sisters, doing their monthly let's-remind-Slone-he-is-a-member-of-a-family thing.

G.o.d how he hoped his housekeeper had forgotten something and come back in. But since it was Sunday morning and she was about as Catholic as one could be without actually being called Father, he doubted it.

"h.e.l.l-ooo?"

s.h.i.t. He recognized that laughing, lilting tone. His little sister, Jess, had tormented him with it throughout their childhood. And because the woman had absolutely no respect for anybody else's privacy, he felt sure she was the one who'd used an emergencies-only key to let the gaggle in when he hadn't answered the door.

"Where are you?"

He had time to do one thing-yank a sheet across his lap and Leah's naked body-before the door flew open.

"Don't tell me you're still in..." Jess's jaw dropped and her eyes widened as she saw the bright blond hair strewn across Slone's pillow. "Whoops!"

"Would you shut the d.a.m.n door," he bit out from between clenched teeth.

Leah shifted and sighed heavily in her sleep. Putting a possessive hand on her shoulder, he glared at his sister. "I'll be out in a minute. Keep the others from coming-"

"Morning sleepyhead!" said another woman's voice.

Oh, brilliant. His other sister. Fortunately, Jess reacted in a cooperative way for once-rather than a mischievous one. She kept their older sister Katherine from coming in, saying, "He's not quite decent."

"I'll be out in five minutes. Shut the door before Mother walks in, would you please?"

Jess did, without another word, though her shoulders shook with laughter.

Running a frustrated hand through his hair, he gently shook Leah's shoulder. The woman was a sound sleeper-she didn't even budge. He couldn't resist bending down to nibble on her earlobe and her throat, whispering, "We've got company."

"Delivery man from Dunkin' Donuts?" she mumbled.

"Not quite. It's my family."

She remained still for a second, then, going from zonked-out sleep to wakefulness, she shot up in the bed. The covers fell off her, puddling in her lap, revealing those beautiful b.r.e.a.s.t.s, still slightly reddened from his kisses and the brush of his grizzled jaw against them. "Your family? Now?" As he nodded, she leapt out of the bed, grabbing her dress and underclothes and raced into the bathroom. "Oh, my G.o.d, do you have a back door? A fire escape?"

Laughing softly, Slone followed her. "It's fine. I'm a grown man and my mother and sisters know that. I'll introduce you to them, you can stay for lunch." The words had left his mouth without him giving them a thought, but once they were out there, Slone didn't regret them.

He'd asked her for a night. Now he knew he wanted more. How much more he couldn't say. All he knew was that he couldn't-simply could not-give up the feeling of pure delight she'd inspired in him from the moment he'd first seen her.

She stared at him, those wide blue eyes sparkling and sapphirelike in the bright light of morning. "I'm not the type of girl you introduce to the rich mama."

He took her chin in his hand, leaned down and pressed a hard, possessive kiss on her mouth. "Don't sell yourself short. You're a lovely, innocent young woman."

She rolled her eyes and blew out a disbelieving breath. "No, I'm-"

"Leah, I could tell you didn't have a lot of experience before last night...and hadn't had s.e.x in a long time." She nibbled her bottom lip, as if wondering if he were being critical.

He wasn't. Not at all. In fact, he'd found her relative inexperience absolutely heady. Because it had left her very...very curious. And willing to try absolutely anything. "It was still so good I'm not sure how long my legs will hold me up today," he told her, wanting that concern out of her head.

That got a smile out of her. Before she could say anything, he continued. "I'm a very good judge of character. And they're going to love you." Knowing he needed to go deal with his family. "Now, take your time, I'm going to pull on some clothes and go out there to lay the groundwork."

She opened her mouth to protest, but Slone didn't listen. Instead, he went back into the bedroom, pulled on clothes, then went into his living room, where the three women in his life sat whispering. He had absolutely no doubt about what.

Not the least bit embarra.s.sed, since, after all, they hadn't even bothered to knock, he greeted his mother, smiled at his pregnant older sister and glared at his smirking younger one. Since they were all "civilized" no one so much as blinked when he mentioned that a friend would be joining them. But just to ensure n.o.body got the wrong idea, he added, "She's a lovely young woman. A hardworking nursing student." He didn't really have a way to explain the gown, so he left it at that.

"Psst."

Hearing something, he glanced toward the hallway leading to his bedroom, seeing Leah there, twisting her hands. She looked about as ready to walk in and join them as Marie Antoinette must have felt when she'd walked up the steps to the guillotine.

Smiling, he murmured, "Excuse me," and strode to her side. "Come on, they're dying to meet you."

"No."

He took her arm. "It'll be fine. It's just lunch, Leah, not a big deal."

"It is a big deal to me," she snapped, trying to pull her arm away. "I don't belong here."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not a sn.o.b and neither is anyone in my family. There's no shame in being a struggling student."

"No, Slone..."

He slid an arm around her waist, wondering if he was going to have to pick up the amusingly stubborn young woman. Which was when she wriggled out of his embrace. "Will you listen to me?" Her voice grew louder, now she wasn't just embarra.s.sed, she was getting annoyed. At him, for not paying attention.

Slone immediately shut up and didn't try to touch her again. But she was already on a tangent and barely noticed. Her voice continued to rise as she said, "It was one night, okay? That's it. You will not be introducing me to your rich, high-cla.s.s family because I'm just not the girl you bring around the folks. Especially not the Magnificent Mile type folks."

"You're wrong, Leah. You're adorable and honest and-"

"And a stripper!" she snapped.

Slone froze, just watching her. Looking miserably toward the trio in the living room-who had to have heard-then back at him, she added, "I strip at a club called Leather and Lace. So you see, I'm not exactly one of the ladies-who-lunch crowd."

Stepping back, his body rigid, he stared at her, hard. "The nursing school business..."

"That's true. I am going to school. But I pay for it by taking off my clothes in front of strange men."

And on that note, with her words echoing in the penthouse, Leah tugged her ragged coat over her shoulders and hurried to the front door, slamming it as she left.

Leah usually had a smile on her face when she danced. But as she got off the train and walked toward the club on Sunday evening, she was not smiling. In fact, anyone who looked at her closely would see her red-rimmed eyes and realize the truth: she'd been crying much of the day. Crying over a guy she'd known less than twenty-four hours.