Lizzie opens her door and stands in the doorway. “Thank you both for helping to salvage some good out of today.”
Amelia puts her hands on Lizzie’s cheeks. “Anything for you, Bean. Seriously, call or just come get us if you need us. The same goes for Haven, Grant, my mom, your grandma,Gloria, Rachel, Katie, and pretty much anyone. Hell, wake the three musketeers up for a four AM movie if that’s what you’re feeling.”
Lizzie chuckles, tears falling from her eyes.
“I wouldn’t recommend waking Raerae, though,” Amelia adds.
“I’d rather feed a gremlin after midnight,” Lizzie claims
Amelia nods solemnly. “It would be safer.”
“Whatever you need, just ask, kiddo,” I tell Lizzie.
“Right now, I want a little time to myself. But I promise I’ll seek someone out if that changes.” She gives us each a hug and sends us on our way.
Up in our suite, there’s a bottle of champagne waiting for us. I immediately pop the cork and then turn on the faucet for the bathtub, putting the bottle and two champagne glasses on a small table near the tub.
“It’s two in the morning, Alex. What are you doing?” Amelia watches me from the bathroom doorway, a soft smile on her face.
“I’m running a bath so we can soak your leg and just relax together for a few minutes before whatever outrageous thing comes our way tomorrow.”
I check the temperature to make sure it’s not too hot, then let it fill while I move toward Amelia and lean down to kiss her. She opens her mouth with a moan, and my tongue meets hers. “Turn around,” I tell her huskily.
She does so, and I unzip her dress. She lets it fall and pool at her feet, revealing that icy blue lingerie I saw earlier. A shiver runs up her spine and I drop a kiss on the back of her neck before unhooking her strapless bra and peeling her thong down her legs. I resist the urge to bite the perfect curve of her ass.
Stifling a yawn, she turns to face me, her blue eyes sleepy. My jacket is long gone and still down in the ballroomsomewhere. Her deft fingers make quick work of my tie and the buttons on my shirt. She pushes it off my shoulders and leans in to kiss my tattoo. Soon, my pants and my boxers join the rest of our clothes on the floor. I take her hand and lead her to the tub, helping her in and then getting in behind her.
She leans against my chest and sighs. “I like this.”
“Me, too.”
Amelia reaches for her glass of Champagne and takes a sip. “Jesus, this is the good stuff. I’m glad Bean’s not stuck with that dickhole, but you sure spent a fuck ton of money on a wedding that didn’t happen.”
“It was worth it since it brought me to you, sunshine.”
She looks back over her shoulder and smiles at me, love shining in her eyes.
“Yeah, that is pretty amazing. I still can’t believe we never met in all the years that Bean and I have been friends and didn’t realize we know so many of the same people. Thank god you showed up, though. I don’t know if I would have ever let myself go back to New York, Alex.”
“I was going to hire the best fucking private investigator I could find to track your ass down and I wasn’t going to give up until I found you. I needed to at least tell you how I feel about you, even if you just told me to go fuck myself.”
She snorts. “I mean, there’s a very real possibility that would have been my response. But even with as mad and hurt as I was, I loved you more. I probably would have smacked you and then climbed you like a tree.”
I laugh and press a kiss to her shoulder. “That’s a visual I can get behind.”
About twenty minutes into our soak, Amelia dozes off. I haul us both out of the tub, dry us off, and carry her to bed, where we instantly fall asleep wrapped up in each other.
Chapter 42
Fires are cleansing, right?
Amelia
I’m not totally surprised when Alex gently wakes me up a couple of hours after we fall asleep.
“Amelia, baby, Lizzie needs you.”
He nuzzles my neck, and I’ve instantly found my new favorite way to wake up as his spicy scent surrounds me. I smile with my eyes closed, but then my brain makes sense of his words, and I blink a few times to see him hovering over me, his jade eyes bright.
