Fall Into Me (Heart of Stone #2)

"Silent partner."

"Okay. Why did you agree to be his silent partner?"

"Because I know a good investment when I see one. When he came to me with his idea, I knew it would make money. So I agreed to go in on the club with him as long as he agreed that I'd have nothing to do with the day-to-day operations."

"So you just sit back and collect the money?" she asked with a sly grin on her face.

"Exactly. I prefer to stay in the hotel business and keep my involvement with Top silent."

"Why stay silent about it?"

"I don't care what people like, but there are certain segments of society that wouldn't approve of the owner of the Richmont Hotel chain as co-owner of that kind of place, even if he's a silent partner."

"Doesn't the board of your company have a problem with it?"

Shaking my head, I explained, "They don't know. I financed Top with my own money, not Stone Worldwide's money or credit."

Her eyes grew wide as saucers. "Holy shit! You are loaded!" Instantly, she covered her mouth with her hand and mumbled from behind it, "I'm sorry. That's not the way the girlfriend of someone like you should act."

I pulled her hand away from her face. "It's not a problem. I am. I always have been. Money is something I've been blessed with. I'm not one of those people who thinks it isn't important. It is. But it's not the most important thing in life."

"I always hate when you see wealthy people or movie stars talking about their success in interviews and saying things like the money isn't something they think about or it doesn't mean anything to them. That kind of thing just bugs me. For those of us without money, it's a big thing and we always think about it."

Her honesty washed over me like a refreshing summer rain. This was Nina, and I loved her. "And then you find out they give little to nothing to charity and you wonder what they do with that money they say they care nothing about."

"Exactly!" she said as she sat up. "I hate that kind of hypocrisy."

I suspected she hadn't checked her bank account since she'd gotten home from the hospital and didn't know how much money she really had now. Not that it would matter. I had the feeling that she could have millions and still be the same down-to-earth soul she'd always been.

Running my fingertips over the soft skin of her arm, I continued, "By the way, you act perfectly to be my girlfriend. Don't ever think you aren't exactly what my girlfriend should be."

"Yeah. I'm sure the board of directors of Stone Worldwide would be thrilled to find out you are hanging out with some middle class girl instead of those supermodels they like to see on your arm."

Her comment brought the ugly reality of Karl and the other members of the Stone board to the front of my mind. No matter how happy I was with Nina, I had to figure out a way to convince them that she was no threat to them or whatever my father had done.

"I can see by the look on your face that I'm right, aren't I?" she said sadly. "It's okay. I understand if you have to take one of those women to your events instead of me."

Pulling her down to lay on top of me, I kissed her full on the lips. "Not anymore. If you want to go with me, then I go. If not, then those functions can do without me and my silent as a statue act."

She traced the outline of my lips with her forefinger. "How's the Board going to feel about that?"

"I don't care. You're the woman I'm in love with, so if I'm going, so are you. If they don't like it, too bad."

"You'd do that for me?"

I caressed her cheek and spoke the absolute truth. "I'd do anything for you, Nina. Anything."

Chapter Seven

Nina

Tristan and I fell asleep right there on the floor of the penthouse's living room with the floor to ceiling windows showing the entire world our lovemaking. Naked and in each other's arms, we held each other close as the nightlife of Manhattan slipped away to allow the business of day to take over, but as I stirred awake, I didn't feel his arms around me. Instead, a blanket kept me warm. Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I looked around and saw no Tristan but an envelope near my head.

Smiling to myself, I opened it and slipped the note from inside. As always, his words charmed me.

Good morning, Nina. I hope you slept well. I realized when I woke up that I did quite a number on your dress last night. You can find clothes to wear in the closet in the bedroom at the far end of the penthouse. When you're ready, simply take the elevator to the garage and my driver will be waiting to bring you to me.

I hope you're in the mood for shopping. It's the least I can do to replace the dress I ruined.

Thank you for giving me another wonderful memory.

Love,

Tristan

A man who wanted to take me shopping? I thought such men only existed in fantasies, like unicorns and dragons. Stretching my arms above my head, I thought about the other ways Tristan was the stuff of fantasies. Had a man ever made me want him like he did? Those stunning eyes, that beautiful mouth, those chiseled abs and strong arms...

Just thinking about him excited me. If only he was there with me so I could show him how much I wanted him. I could only guess that making love with him first thing in the morning would be another delicious experience.

The man had a way of making love that made other men seem like schoolboys. My hand slid between my legs to stroke through my soft folds as I remembered the exquisite sensations his co**ck had given me just hours before. Kicking the blanket off my body, I spread my legs open wide and let my fingers try to replicate the feeling of Tristan's hands and co**ck on my pussy. A tiny moan escaped my throat as each stroke brought back the wonderful memories of him.

Just then I remembered that I was lying in front of a wall of windows and giving the entire city a show. Opening my eyes, I saw in horror that it was late enough that the office buildings nearby would have people in them!

Quickly, I gathered up the blanket and ran from the living room to the back bedroom where he said I'd be able to find clothes. Embarrassed, I blushed from head to toe at the idea that some poor secretary just sitting down with her morning coffee had nearly seen me masturbate. I rolled my eyes at my stupidity, wondering if Tristan was as modest as I was or if he routinely paraded around nude for nearby office workers to see.

The closet was in the corner of the room, and I opened it up to see an entire wardrobe of women's clothes alongside all of Tristan's suits, shirts, and ties. As I ran my fingers over each outfit, I wondered if I had always kept clothes here or if he'd had them brought there before we arrived the night before.

I'd learned so much about Tristan already, but at every turn he seemed capable of surprising me.

Grabbing a grey jersey mini-dress and a pair of underwear from the dresser that seemed devoted to my clothes, I wrapped the blanket around me and made my way to the bathroom to get ready. I stepped into the room and stopped dead, stunned at how gorgeous it was. The man certainly knew how to live. Marble and granite covered every square inch of the room, except where an enormous soaker tub sat in front of a narrow floor to ceiling window and a large glass shower, which stood nearby the tub.

I draped my clothes over the tub and got into the shower, still uncomfortable about the window but hoping that my paranoia about being seen by the office workers across the street was just that. Of course it was. This was Manhattan. No one saw anything here, even with eight million people around. God, I hoped that was true or I was giving some unsuspecting souls a peep show as I showered.

I'd accepted the fact that I was going au natural, and I hoped that Tristan was into the pale girl look, but after I dressed I took a chance and looked through the vanity in the bathroom, desperate for at least some toothpaste I could rub across my teeth to get rid of my morning breath. I was stunned to find a toothbrush next to duplicates of every stitch of makeup I regularly used right there for me. It was like this was a parallel dimension that contained everything the other one at the house had. My father's joke about loving Spock and his goatee in the old Star Trek episode ran through my head and I smiled.

My father. I had tried so hard not to think about him being gone, but every so often something reminded me of him and forced the sadness I so wanted to forget back into my mind. His quirky humor. His lectures about working hard so I could do better than he had. What would he think of me now as I stood in the gorgeous Manhattan penthouse of Tristan Stone, CEO of Stone Worldwide and madly in love with me?

Of all the things and people I'd forgotten because of my accident, my father's death hurt the most. I couldn't help but feel it was unfair that I had to go through the pain of mourning him a second time. Why was this happening to me? Wasn't it bad enough to lose your father once? Why did I have to lose him again and feel all the pain a second time?

I couldn't keep doing this, so I pushed the thought away until some other time when I was able to deal with it. Looking in the mirror, I fixed the hair around my face and put on my best supermodel face. Well, I wasn't a supermodel, but I could make their face as well as any of them. That would have to do. A change of shoes from the closet in the bedroom since the gold shoes were definitely not a good look with the jersey dress and I was ready for my shopping trip.

Tristan was as good as his word, and when I exited the elevator, his driver stood waiting for me as if he was a permanent fixture right there in the garage. I approached him and saw he wore a serious expression on his fifty-something face, but he smiled like it was part of his job when I stopped in front of him.