Blueprint for Love (10 page)

Vic laughed. “So, I see.”

“
But I wouldn’t have it
any other way,” Gabe admitted.

Vic watched as Gabe grabbed Candace around
the waist and planted a brief but loving kiss on her lips. Anyone
witnessing them couldn’t help but see the love flowing between
them. The two made a good-looking couple. It was obvious Gabe had
fallen hard for Candace.

Vic liked Gabe. He was obviously wealthy,
but he didn’t flaunt it. Plus, Ronnie held him in high esteem. She
had a lot of nice things to say about him, so the guy couldn’t be
half bad.

And Ronnie’s family was nice too. Her
sisters treated him with respect. They took time out from mingling
with the other guests to chat with him. Within a few minutes, he
had their personalities figured out. Marlowe was the baby of the
family. The way she talked non-stop about clothes and the finer
things in life let him know her big sisters had spoiled her rotten.
Candace was the middle sibling, and the ringleader of the group.
Her sisters were in the construction business because of her. With
her sassy blonde bob and no-nonsense attitude, it was easy to see
how she’d become a business-owner. Ronnie was the oldest and most
levelheaded. And in his opinion, the sexiest. The more time he
spent with her, the more he liked being around her.

Dangerous feelings for a guy who didn’t know
where he stood in life. He had to remind himself to take it one day
at a time.

He was just beginning to relax when a
familiar face approached. Vic didn’t recall his name, but he
remembered the guy from the night he dropped Ronnie at the Eden
Roc.

“
Ronnie, would you care to
dance?” the man asked.

“
Vic, you remember Allen,”
Ronnie prompted.

Yeah, he remembered him all right. He didn’t
care for the guy. Didn’t like the possessive look in his eye. Vic
grunted. Well, he was possessive too. Ronnie had invited him to
this party, not Allen. If she’d wanted to dance with the man, she
would have invited him instead.

“
Sorry, dude.” Vic stepped
between them. “She’s with me tonight.”

He ignored the fake ass smile on Allen’s
face as he steered Ronnie away with his hand on the small of her
back.

“
I didn’t know you could
dance,” Ronnie whispered in awe.

“
I can’t,” he admitted. “I
just never learned to share.”

“
So, you have two flaws.
You’re too blunt and you don’t share well.”

“
That guy, Allen is an
amateur stalker.”

“
I thought I was the only
one who noticed.”

“
I think he’s so blinded
by your beauty he can’t think logically.”

“
And you’re not blinded by
my beauty?”

He chuckled. “Not blinded. Just slightly
sight impaired.”

She shook her head and laughed.

They wandered to an empty corner on the
boat’s upper deck where they shared a plate of ribs and two glasses
of iced tea. A brilliant red sunset reflected off the ocean’s
shimmering surface. The boat remained docked, but the backdrop was
still spectacular. Vic enjoyed the way the sun highlighted Ronnie’s
reddish-brown hair.

The woman was gorgeous. No wonder Allen was
sniffing at her skirts like a rabid dog.

The two of them sat on one of the boat’s
built-in benches and talked business for a while. After Vic updated
her on the progress at the site, they watched the sun dip low on
the horizon and finally transform into the dark purples of
dusk.

Ronnie drained her glass of iced tea. “I
need something stronger than this,” she announced.

Vic wasn’t much of a drinker. Living with an
alcoholic mother who’d wrecked her marriage was a strong deterrent
against liquor. But he would get Ronnie whatever she wanted from
the open bar downstairs. “What did you have in mind?” he asked.

Her pretty brown eyes lit up.
“Chocolate.”

His deep chuckle mingled with her
light-hearted giggle. He stood and grabbed her hand. “That’s one
request I believe I can fulfill.”

Ronnie wasn’t sure what it was about Vic
that pulled her like a moth to a flame. Maybe it was the unspoken
edge he had to his personality. The fact that he had the chiseled
body of a Greek god didn’t hurt either. They slipped, unnoticed,
off Gabe’s boat and walked along the pier where vendors sold
everything from tourist souvenirs to food.

They held hands. His palm felt good against
hers.

They looked like a couple on vacation. She,
in her blue sundress. Him, dressed in khaki cargo shorts and a navy
blue t-shirt. The tan sandals he wore cradled his long toes. He had
great calves.

Just once, Ronnie wanted to let her hair
down and relax. Stop going through analysis paralysis with every
situation. At this moment, there was no work to worry about. No
crises to be averted. No child to take care of—Jovan was with the
babysitter.

It was time for her to indulge in some
much-needed recreation.

“
Look.” Vic pointed to a
brightly painted ice cream truck in the distance. “Seems like your
wish has been granted.”

It looked as though the vendor was closing
up shop, so Vic dashed to the truck. By the time Ronnie got there,
he’d ordered a scoop of chocolate ice cream for her and two scoops
of strawberry for him.

“
Hey, why do you get two
scoops, but I only get one?” she teased.

Vic handed the cone to her. “’Cause I’m a
big guy,” he said. “And I doubt you’re hungrier than me.”

She played along, licking the ice cream
seductively. “I don’t know about that,” she bantered. “I’m pretty
ravenous right now.”

A wicked grin spread across his face. “Well,
I’ll have to make sure to satisfy all your cravings.”

The ice cream was cold, but the warmth in
Vic’s gaze was hot enough to melt her panties.

“
Why do I get the feeling
we’re not talking about ice cream anymore?” she asked.

Vic’s masculine laughter filled the air.

“
Let’s sit over there,”
Ronnie suggested, pointing to a nearby bench.

It was a beautiful night. The dark sky was
peppered with brilliant stars. She rarely got a chance to sit and
look at the stars. She sat in companionable silence with Vic. A
hint of his cologne teased her nostrils. God, he was such an Alpha
male.

Looked virile.

Smelled manly.

Talked with confidence.

The more she hung around Vic, the more
reasons she found to like him.

“
Umm,” Vic practically
groaned. “This is so good.”

“
Oh, yeah,” Ronnie agreed.
“The best things in life are usually sweet and simple.”

“
Can’t argue with
that.”

He took a huge bite of his strawberry cone,
tackling it like a pro ball player. He devoured it in less than two
minutes. Ronnie smiled at the strawberry smear on the corner of his
upper lip.

“
Pink is definitely your
color,” she joked. “You have some on your top lip.”

He flicked his long tongue, caressing the
corner of his lips, but he still missed the blob of pink.

She didn’t have a napkin, so she wiped the
leftover ice cream with her thumb. Her heart kicked as Vic grabbed
her wrist. Goosebumps puckered on her skin. The raw desire in Vic’s
gaze communicated a message for her only.

“
I really am hungry,
Ronnie—for you.”

She heard her sharp intake of breath as Vic
licked the strawberry ice cream from her thumb. The long, languid
strokes of his tongue felt agonizingly good. A trail of liquid fire
shot through her body and pooled like hot lava between her
legs.

Ronnie dropped her cone to the ground as Vic
pulled her toward him. His lips found hers and within seconds, she
was lost in his kiss. Nothing prepared her for the bold onslaught
of his lips. He took total command, sweeping inside and dominating
her mouth. His strawberry-flavored kiss was all-consuming. The
taste of this tongue ignited an inferno inside her belly. She
suckled and pulled in response, letting the feel and texture of his
mouth overwhelm her senses. She pushed her fingers through the
thick strands of hair at the nape of his neck. Since the day he
swaggered into her office, she’d wondered what it would feel like
to run her hand through his thick mane. Now, she knew.

As their tongues battled in an erotic mating
dance, Vic cradled her in his arms. His hands were everywhere. The
rough pads of his thumbs felt like heaven as they stroked her
cheeks, her chin, and the delicate flesh at the hollow of her
throat. His tongue soon followed the path his fingers blazed,
leaving a trail of fire everywhere he kissed her.

She was helpless to stop the onslaught.
Drunk with passion. Her nipples strained against the soft cotton of
her sundress. A spiral of heat slowly uncoiled inside her. Her
coochie throbbed mercilessly. Pulsating. Pounding. Begging for
release.

She lost herself in wild abandonment. She
hadn’t felt wanted in a long time. She was at Vic’s mercy, dangling
like a puppet at his erotic whims. Through the passion-induced fog
of her brain, she heard footsteps approach. She pulled away in time
to see an old couple stroll by. The white-haired woman clucked her
tongue disapprovingly at Ronnie.

“
Disgraceful,” the old
woman told her companion. “You can’t even take a walk without
seeing people fornicating in the streets.”

“
Indeed!” the old man
answered. But unbeknownst to the woman, he winked at
Ronnie.

Ronnie’s jaw dropped.

Vic must have seen it too because he laughed
softly in Ronnie’s ear.

The streetlights had come on. A nearby lamp
illuminated them in the darkness.

Mortified, Ronnie adjusted her dress.
Somehow, her leg had found its way across Vic’s thigh. This was not
funny. Not funny at all.

“
Oh, my God!” She stood,
nearly slipping on remnants of the cone she’d abandoned earlier.
She was not prone to public displays of affection.

“
Are you okay?” Vic
asked.

She nodded. But she wasn’t fine. She could
barely catch her breath. All the nerve endings in her body tingled.
Vic had turned her into a pile of mush with one kiss.

She turned to him. The raw desire still
glowed in his eyes. Apparently, being chastised by a senior citizen
had no effect on his ardor.

“
Let’s get going,” she
said. “It’s getting late.”

Thank goodness that couple came along when
they did. Otherwise, who knew how far she would have let Vic go? If
he could make her feel this way from one kiss, what would he be
like in bed?

EIGHT

“
Yes, make that one dozen
yellow roses,” Allen told the florist on the other end of his cell
phone.

A yellow rose signified friendship. Maybe he
should have ordered white to signify he was thinking of her. Or red
to let her know how passionate he felt.

He hoped this worked. Maybe now, Ronnie
would finally sit up and take notice of him. So far, she’d been
impervious to his attempts to get to know her better. It hadn’t
been for lack of trying on his part. He’d made it a habit to be
everywhere she was. Endured boring business events. Suffering
through her sister’s speeches. Invited himself to her family
get-togethers. He had to, especially if he planned on being part of
her future. He hadn’t wanted to push too far too fast. Each time he
hinted at a possible relationship, Ronnie insisted she was too busy
with her career and Three Sisters Construction.

Or so she’d said.

And he’d believed her.

Until she showed up tonight with Vic.

Allen grunted to himself. The whole night,
Ronnie had eyes only for Vic. She’d even left the party with the
dude! Mister Tough Guy. All biceps and flashy smiles. What the hell
did she see in that guy anyway? If Vic Romano was supposed to be
some kind of competition, the fool had another thing coming. There
was no contest between the two.

Allen might not be as good looking, but he
considered himself far more superior to Vic in every way.

What Allen lacked in physical ability, he
more than made up for in mental aptitude. He had an IQ of 140. That
made him a genius in most people’s minds. He could figure out a
solution long before others even knew there was a problem. He was a
shrewd businessman too. He was a silent partner, who owned a
handful of subcontractors. He’d sacrificed blood, sweat, and tears
to escape his poverty-ridden beginnings and make a name for
himself. He’d worked his ass off to make his companies
successful—by any means necessary.

His only setback was that he wasn’t a woman.
It was crazy, but in today’s world of Equal Opportunity and
Affirmative Action, white male-owned businesses were losing ground
to women and minorities. He’d lost countless contractor bids,
including some lucrative ones, to Three Sisters. But all that would
change when he married Ronnie. He’d be a part of her world, and
thus, closer than ever to that piece of the construction pie.

“
What do you like about
her?” His brother’s voice cut into his thoughts.

Allen turned to his pathetic kin. He could
smell the whiskey oozing from Kent’s pores. Too bad the genius gene
didn’t extend to other members of the family. Whereas Allen was the
brainiac, his brother, Kent was a freakin’ drunken idiot. In high
school, he was voted most likely to fail miserably and piss
everyone else off in the process.

Allen sat in a leather chair across from his
brother in his condo in an upscale Miami neighborhood. Kent pulled
a flask from his jacket pocket and guzzled liberally. Kent could
drink a fifth of liquor in a couple of hours.