Revelation Read online

  My answer took me back for a moment. It had been years since I could honestly say I was great.

  “So would you like some fruit?” Melissa asked.

  I took some of the red ripe strawberries from the container. “Yes, let me help you,” I said. I placed the tempting fruit under the stream of cold water before finding a knife. “Melissa, I like that perfume you are wearing. What is it?”

  Melissa smiled. “Juicy Couture,” she said. “I like what you’re wearing, too. What is it?”

  “It’s called Beautiful.”

  We talked about some of our favorite fragrances while I cut up some melons, added some strawberries, sliced some peach halves, and found some red seedless grapes to put on the plate. I arranged them by color, darkest to lightest, before standing back to admire my artwork.

  “Very nice,” Melissa complimented. “I am unsure I have ever seen anyone take such time in arranging a fruit plate they were only going to eat themselves.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, I am a bit odd,” I confessed.

  “Well, I better go,” Melissa said rather abruptly.

  I looked at her confused. “Why?”

  She moved her head indicating someone was behind me. I turned to look. My heart pattered. Cayden was walking in through the archway, and he looked like a tribute to yummy. He smiled at me and yes, this thirty-eight year old woman’s breath hitched as if this were the first time I had seen him. All right, yes I will admit it, I also stopped blinking.

  “You do not need to leave,” I said, tearing my gaze from Cayden and turning back hesitantly toward Melissa.

  “I figured you would want some time with him alone,” she suggested. “I know he wants to be alone with you.”

  When she put it that way, I would not object to her leaving. I had to rein my thoughts in.

  “Please do not feel like you need to go.”

  “Hey, beautiful,” Cayden’s voice was at my ear. “I was beginning to wonder if you had left me. You never came back, which is a very bad thing because I missed you.”

  Melissa gathered her plate. She walked past and gave me a sweet smile. “You guys have a good night,” she offered in farewell.

  “We intend to,” Cayden replied. He winked at me.

  I felt the heat of my blush move over my cheeks before I focused in on the masterpiece of fruit I‘d created, twisting the plate on the countertop and admiring it from different angles.

  “Would you like some fruit?” I asked Cayden.

  Dawn broke over his face. He smiled his most breathtaking smile. “Sure.” He untied my robe, held it open for his view.

  “What?”

  I was interrupted by his low grunt. “Damn baby,” he crooned. “You are sexy beyond belief.” Before I could even blink he picked me up and sat me down on the cold marble countertop. My legs and feet dangled freely over the side of the counter. “But first….” He pressed his lips to mine.

  Strong hands skimmed down the length of my back. He pushed himself into my body. Slid me forward. My chest plastered into his chest. At this level, sitting here on the counter, I did not need to do my usual stretching to reach his face. It was perfect. He was perfect.

  Cayden wrapped his strong arms around me, secured them tightly to my waist while his lips moved with mine in perfect rhythm. His hands skated over my hips before he grabbed them. In a quick movement he shifted me even farther into his hard tight waist. I wrapped my legs around him, and secured my arms around his neck. His perfect body melted into me. I wondered if I were jelly yet. I had to tighten my grip because he was making me shake. He kissed down my throat, my neck, and nuzzled his mouth and nose into the hollow just below my ear. Goose bumps danced across my skin. In fact, they might have been doing the cha-cha. He already knew all of my hot spots, and he wasn’t afraid to use them.

  “The fruit?” he asked.

  “Um…,” I mumbled. I’d actually forgotten all about the fruit.

  I heard a low laugh in my ear. “You did offer. You aren’t reneging, are you? I was really hoping for some strawberries,” he teased.

  “Wow, you really don’t play fair.” I breathed.

  “Nope,” he said, his low laugh still ringing against the soft flesh of my neck. “Besides, those little hot pink pants you have on are rockin’ my world, Winter.” He paused. Kissed my neck. Slid the palms of his hands over my breasts. He was definitely copping a quite extensive feel of my rock hard nipples. “Not to mention these.” He continued tweaking my nipples through the material of my top. “Do you know how fucking hot this tank top is?”

  I giggled at his crudity because it too was sexy. He kissed me, and his kiss stopped my giggle. Cayden pulled back, picked up some of the red fleshly fruit from the plate and placed it to my lips. He outlined my lips as though he were painting them red with the juice of the strawberries. I took a bite. The sweetness exploded in my mouth, sent the sticky red hue of the juice down my lips, chin…. Cayden smiled his guilty crooked smile and quickly licked the juice from my lips, my chin, and continued to follow the stream of juice which wound its way down my neck.

  “I really like strawberries,” he said seductively, his tongue at the crown of my breasts.

  “I can tell,” I replied softly, feeling his mouth inch lower.

  “You know what else I want to do?” He growled against my flesh.

  “No, what?”

  I could not wait to hear what else he wanted to do. I was sure it was naughty.

  “I want to….”

  “Give it a rest already!” I heard Chandler’s husky voice. He put a screeching halt to my dinner plans which was going to include a little heaving petting with my food. I decided I wanted to throw the plate at him for the interruption. After all, a plate won’t kill him. “Some of us really do want to eat. If I have to stand in here, forced to watch this display, I might lose my appetite.” Chandler chuckled wickedly after his little spill.

  Cayden moved his face and his mouth from me but held his arms securely around my waist. I let loose of him with a sigh of defeat. I allowed my legs and feet to dangle over the side of the counter again. Cayden released me briefly to close my robe before he placed his arms back around my waist.

  “No one said you had to stand in here, Chandler. You can leave!” Cayden snapped.

  “Now, little brother, you know how I get when I am hungry. Besides, I may have saved your life.” He let out a booming laugh.

  Anger quite glorious, not to mention fierce, flickered across Cayden’s face.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  I knew my gorgeous man was actually pissed off.

  “Do you see the pan on the stove? It’s almost on fire,” Chandler commented as he walked past his brother.

  We watched Chandler grab a potholder from a drawer then he proceeded to remove the scorching pan from the burner of the stove. The pan sizzled when he placed in into the sink and turned the water on. He glanced over his shoulder at us. “Didn’t you guys smell this?”

  I have to admit I do tend to get a little lost, perhaps even preoccupied when I am in Cayden’s arms, but I did not know I was that unobservant.

  “Um….” I mumbled, biting at my bottom lip. “I guess we didn’t notice.”

  “I guess not,” Chandler returned.

  Zander’s thunderous voice broke in. “I just got off the phone. We will start filming on Friday, pull a weekender.”

  Cayden and I turned to see Zander walking toward us.

  “Can everyone be ready by Friday?” Cayden asked.

  “Yes, it has been arranged.” Zander shifted his gaze to me; I was still sitting on the marble countertop. “The script is really great. I cannot tell you how pleased I am.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “So than it was good enough to start filming on Friday?”

  I repeated Zander’s words in order to allow them to sink in. A tinge of sadness rang out. I had to gain control. I knew Cayden would leave during the day to film and as silly as I knew I was being, I would miss
him.

  Cayden glanced at me. By his look, I knew he was studying my face. He placed his palm securely to my right cheek.

  “What you have done with the script is very impressive. It is really great. You are a wonderful writer, Winter.” Cayden paused. “Please tell me, why you are sad?”

  “I’m not sad.” I lied.

  “Tell me,” he pressed.

  “Nothing’s wrong, Cayden.”

  Cayden lifted one perfect dark brow in disbelief but let the subject drop. “So we will be reading tomorrow if we are shooting on Friday?” he asked.

  “Yes. We need to get everyone together in the morning. We will start around nine,” Zander replied.

  Cayden looked over at his brother. “You need to bring Winter into the city.”

  “Why?” I asked before Chandler could answer.

  Cayden returned his attention back to my face. “There is no way I am leaving you here. You go where I go,” he said quite serious.

  “I don’t know if that will be a good idea,” Chandler interjected.

  Cayden shot his brother an impressive dark glare. “Chandler, Winter needs to be there.”

  “I can just stay here, see you at night,” I said.

  Cayden’s face was beyond serious when he looked back at me. “No baby, if we start filming I will stay in the city, not here.”

  I felt my face frown. “Oh,” I said, quietly.

  He ran his fingers over my pouting lips. “We will make this work. Anyway, you are not done with the script so it only makes sense you would be around.”

  Zander cleared his throat, “Ahem…I already made all of our arrangements. I thought it might be best if Winter did come, but maybe on temporary trips. She can split her time between the city and here at the estate. It will look more believable than to have her on set constantly.”

  Chandler said, “I agree with Zander.”

  “Maybe I should wait to go,” I replied.

  Cayden’s face looked worried. He took in a deep breath. He combed his fingers through his hair. I knew he was anxious.

  “Friday we will be filming on a closed set, right?” Cayden asked.

  Zander looked at Cayden than at me. “Yes.”

  Cayden smiled at me and glanced back at Zander. “You know closed sets are much easier to secure rather than on location. Filming should go rather smoothly with little in the way of interruptions so I will have time to spend with Winter after the shoot.” Cayden shifted his gaze to Chandler. “Chandler, you bring Winter up on Friday.”

  “Sure,” Chandler conceded, but he did not look happy with his answer.

  “Remember a closed set does not mean closed eyes. If we are really going to protect Winter than you both need to be careful,” Zander said. “I would suggest Chandler stick close to Winter while in the city.”

  “We can do that,” Cayden said. His tone more upbeat when he glanced over toward Chandler.

  Chandler nodded his head in agreement. He placed something into the microwave. Zander said his good-nights before leaving the kitchen, and I heard Jayden, one of Cayden’s bodyguards, greet Zander from somewhere in the foyer. Cayden brushed his hands through my hair. He looked at me with those expressive eyes and leaned in toward me.

  “Now,” he whispered. “Let’s eat so we can get on with where we left off. I wasn’t done with my education. I still need to understand exactly what makes you shiver.” He nuzzled his nose into my hair. “And I want to take this robe off so I can see your sweet ass shake in those hot pink pants before I strip them off and….”

  Chapter Three

  Devotion

  The balcony doors were open. This allowed a slight breeze to blow into the bedroom. The air was crisp and clean with details of winter infusing a hint of spring to come, giving the warm room a punch of coolness. The lace table runner fluttered like butterfly wings in the breeze before wafting up then floated to the ground between the two high back chairs. A large beam of early morning sun slanted across the foot of the bed, highlighting the sheets in disarray from the night before. A splash of my hot pink panties dangled off the end of the bed.

  Cayden was sitting at the desk, phone in hand, speaking to someone about his upcoming film shoot. It would seem when his current film was done, he would be headed to Vancouver. I watched him, how his body moved, the line of his neck, the muscles that flexed with the movement of his arm when he picked up a script from the desk. I decided he was quietly confident, his movements deliberate but fluid. He was something to watch even in such mundane things. So very much like Austin. I could watch him forever.

  I moved quietly from the door of the bathroom, toward him, not wishing to disturb him but so wanting to touch him. He still seemed unreal to me, as if he were an optical phenomenon and would liquefy into hazy lines of heat like a mirage, disappear. Cayden turned, looked at me, allowing his sapphire gaze to roam the entirety of my body before he smiled bright white. My heart sank to my feet. I was on the rollercoaster of love, out of control, feeling my stomach flip.

  “I love you.” I mouthed.

  His eyes flashed, glittered clear blue, blinding me. He reached out to pull me onto his lap. Cayden picked up a pen from beside my laptop. He crooked his head to his neck, held the handset in place against his shoulder to free his other hand. He took a hold of my hand and flipped it over, palm side up. Cayden brushed his fingers softly over the palm of my hand then wrote boldly across it….

  “I love u”

  He curled my fingers closed and secured the words tight within the palm of my hand before he moved his hand from mine. He took hold of the handset again. My heart, not to mention my body, felt as if it would explode from the joy those three little words inspired. But the fact he wrote them, tattooed them onto my skin, was perhaps the hottest thing he could have done.

  “Go ahead and send the tape. I’ll take a look at it,” he said to the person on the other end of the phone.

  There was a pause. I heard buzzing on the other end of the phone followed by another pause.

  “Sure, not a problem,” Cayden replied.

  Cayden adjusted himself in the hard straight backed desk chair, moved me with him. I straddled him, chest to chest. I placed my arms around his shoulders and played with the edges of his hair on the back of his neck. He gave me his crooked guilty smile. He was definitely allowing me to feel the impressive bulge beneath his sweatpants. My blood raced through my veins with a start.

  “Yes, I am planning on it, but we will need to talk about that later. I’ll watch the tape. We will go from there,” Cayden said.

  There was another pause, more humming sounds then he winked at me. I’m pretty sure I blushed.

  “Okay, thanks,” Cayden said into the phone. “I will, and you enjoy your breakfast.”

  He punched the end button on the phone and placed the handset onto the empty receiver on the desk.

  “I didn’t mean to disturb your call. I know it was business,” I said.

  Cayden’s hand skimmed across my cheek. “You can disturb me anytime, baby.”

  “Well, it sounded important.”

  He shrugged. His index finger wandered the line of my jaw. “One of the studio executives, they want me to take a look at an audition tape of a new actress. The studio believes she has the look and the talent we are looking for, for the Vancouver shoot.”

  “Ah…lucky you, getting to see tapes of beautiful women.”

  Cayden gave a little breathy laugh. “No one is as beautiful as you.”

  “So you get to pick your co-stars?”

  He knew I was digging, as well he was probably pretty sure I was raging with jealously. After all, I did have him explain to me last night just how naked, naked really was for his love scenes. Of course, he soon had my mind preoccupied with our own nude love scene.

  He gave me a slow smile which stretched across the perfect features of his face as he explained, “I’m one of the executive producers on the film….” He shifted underneath me. “And not to change
the subject, but I must say I kind of like you in this position.”

  I felt Cayden’s hand tap my backside with a playful little slap. Oh, he was good at distracting me, but I wanted the distraction. I smiled what had to be impishly, moved my hips, swayed across his lap, rubbed what he so emphatically wanted me to feel. With a hungry flash of his eyes, he secured my hips with his hands.

  “I can tell you like this position,” I offered.

  “You must think me some sort of animal, but I can’t help myself.” He grinned. “I have to admit, it’s not like I can hide it. You have a way with me. Just seeing you….” His mouth found my throat. “I’m one continuous hard-on when it comes to you, Winter.”

  “I don’t think you are some sort of animal. I do think I am very fortunate.” My lips brushed across his softly as I explained, “You must know it is very beneficial for the female ego to have a man stand at attention just by looking at her.”

  He gave a low even laugh in response. “I would be the fortunate one,” he replied in a hungry tone. With a crook of his lips, he moved his hands beneath my shirt. I felt one large hand splay between the span of my shoulder blades. “Because you know I can never stop touching you now that I know what it is like to.” Cayden kissed my lips lightly. “And maybe I should warn you.”

  “Warn me?”

  “Prepare for your ego to be boosted daily,” he said with an evil little grin.

  I giggled. “I’ll prepare myself, but maybe I should warn you.”

  “Warn me?”

  A piece of silky chestnut hair fell across his brow in a seductive twist. I had to touch it. “Yes.” I swiped the hair from his brow. “I don’t want you to ever stop touching me, Mr. Cain,” I said in a low voice before leaning in to kiss his jawline, where I lingered at his ear for a moment.

  “Well…,” he murmured against my neck, sending chills over my skin. “Then we are both in agreement, Ms. Perri.”

  I flicked his earlobe with my tongue. “Yes, I think we are.”

  “Mmm….” He growled, moving his hand down my spine in a slow lingering all too persuasive way.

  “So, Vancouver.” I paused.