Center Stage
Page 19

She was still laughing. “Very aggressive of you.”
“I’m a man with a need. And that need is for a shower.”
He carried her through the bedroom and to the bathroom where he dropped her on her butt on the vanity.
She sat there while he turned on the shower. When he turned back to her, his eyes were dark. There was, indeed, a fury burning behind them.
Arianna stopped laughing and met his eyes with her own. He turned and reached for her. His hands were tangled in her hair, pulling the band which held her ponytail.
Her hair fell in curls around her shoulders as his mouth took possession of hers.
There was nothing like the fire of a kiss when a man was worked up, but knowing she loved this man, the heat was much greater.
John pressed up against her, and she wrapped her legs around him. His hands were making quick work of her clothes, and she fought with the buttons on his shirt.
Steam from the shower mixed with the pants of hot breath shared between them.
John pulled her from the vanity and shimmied her pants off of her and then quickly undressed himself.
The water was hot, but not as hot as the man who stood before her. He might be sensitive about his age in years, but she’d never seen a man more fit and more sexy than John Forrester.
He pulled her to him and centered them both under the stream of hot water.
His hands slid over her skin, and she held tight to him as her knees grew weak from his touches—his kisses—his passion.
Their love-making in the shower was fast and furious. Soap slicked skin only enhanced each touch—each movement.
John took down the shower head and rinsed them off, his mouth still working against hers.
She had to admit there was stamina with him. There were no robes or towels. There was no time. He helped her from the shower and straight to the bed where he laid her down and quickly moved atop of her—inside her.
Arianna wrapped her arms around him tightly, pulling him closer. Needing him nearer to her than any other person had ever been before.
And when the motions stopped and contentment had been had, she kept him close, his rapid breath strong in her ear.
“I love you, Arianna Keller. I always will.”
She fought back the tears which came with his sentiment. There may never be a marriage license or a child bearing their resemblances, but there was the promise of forever. And that was all she’d ever need.
Arianna heard the alarm go off on John’s phone the next morning, and it was the first time he’d rolled away from her all night.
He silenced it and wrapped himself around her again.
“Wouldn’t your boss be okay with you taking a day off?” she asked with her voice raspy with sleep.
“I don’t know. I’ve never taken a day off.”
She grunted. “Never?”
“Never.”
She believed that—mostly. If there was a more loyal man than John Forrester, she’d be surprised. And the best part was, if he was that loyal to Zach, she couldn’t imagine how loyal he’d be to her.
An hour later he was showered, shaved, dressed, and gone. The house was instantly lonely.
Arianna had her cup of coffee at the kitchen table and looked over her notebook of ideas for the theater. Soon she wouldn’t have time to feel alone in her own home—their home.
She put down the notebook. His stuff needed to come upstairs. She wasn’t going to marry the man, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to let him sleep away from her ever again, even just a few feet away.
Arianna stood up, rinsed out her cup, and got dressed. She wasn’t going to move him. That would be the dumbest thing she could ever do. They could leave it as a man cave, but she sure was going to head down to the site with lunch and make him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
On her way to the build site, her phone rang. She was seriously going to have to give everyone a special ring tone because just hearing the ring made her antsy.
She looked down in the cup holder where her phone sat. It was Regan.
“Hey, Sis. Did you call to apologize for telling everyone I was sleeping with John?”
Regan laughed on the other end. “Did you think anyone thought you weren’t?”
“Pretty transparent, huh?”
“We were at the weddings, too. It was just a matter of time before the two of you ran into each other instead of away from each other.”
The comment was true enough. They probably had given everyone some reason to think they’d catch each other in the end. And probably only the two of them didn’t know it.
“Are you out and about?” Regan asked.
“Yes, I was headed to the build site to take John some lunch.”
“Well, we are all in Zach’s office. John is on his way here. Swing by.”
“Impromptu meeting?”
“You could say that.”
Arianna changed lanes, turned down the nearest street, and headed the opposite direction. “I’m on my way.”
She’d only been in Zach’s office a few times. She’d thought that if she had to work in an office, his was the one she’d want. It was spacious, well decorated, and the view was spectacular.
Zach’s assistant escorted her into the office. Zach sat behind his desk with Tyler on his lap, and Regan nursed Spencer on the couch. Just through the other door was Zach’s conference room, and she could see John standing over the table with blue prints rolled out and Eduardo stood next to him.
She went directly into the conference room. “Why are you not in school?”
“Apprenticeship. I get school credit for the last two hours of my day if I’m here,” Eduardo explained.
“Really? How cool is that?”
John looked up at her. “He’s quite an asset, too. He’s been working with me for a few months.”
There was heaviness in her chest. She didn’t even know John spent time with her nephew. Was it that she hadn’t heard of the arrangement that bothered her, or that John had never mentioned it?
She tried to push it from her mind. It was petty. She’d been the one that was gone. Why would they ever have called her with news like that?
“So, what are you two studying?” She walked next to John.
It surprised her when he pulled her in next to him and wrapped his arm around her waist. He didn’t come across as the kind of man who would show affection in public.
“These are the theater prints.”