Writing A Wrong (Write Stuff 2)

He puffed out his chest and sat up straight in his seat as Chelsea went over the itinerary. Olivia opened her mouth to tease him, but I shot her a look of warning.

Each author was handed a packet that contained the same itinerary Chelsea was going over. Once she finished, Jillian moved the conversation to my signing from the previous night.

"I heard you were a rock star last night. And congrats on Good Morning America, by the way. You were so cute," she said.

Suddenly all the attention at the table was on me. Something I had never been comfortable with. I preferred sitting o

n the outside, listening and observing. "It was amazing. You guys must have done a great job of promoting it," I said, trying to turn the attention to Remi and Chelsea.

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Don't mind her. Nicole is humble to a fault. Never in a million years would she allow herself to believe she has a rapidly growing fan base."

"Nicole, that was all you last night. I know the shop owner did a little advertising, but those people were there for you. The presales for Wicked Lonely look great. We are more than confident that the book will perform very well," Remi said, looking to Chelsea for confirmation.

Chelsea agreed, rattling off numbers that went mostly over my head, but as long as they were happy, I was happy. The contract they offered was good for both sides. From the publisher's perspective, the quicker I paid out on my advance, the better I looked. From my side, I was debt free for the time being. Anytime anyone asked why I signed with a major publisher, my standard answer was—they made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Now I just needed to make sure I delivered. So far, so good.

Eventually we had to call it a night when the restaurant began closing around us. I stood from the table, watching a tipsy Monica in amusement as she teetered on her high heels. She could barely walk in them when she was sober. Instinctively, I offered a hand to steady her. She took my gesture as a free pass to throw her arms around my neck. Unfortunately for the both of us, the table we'd been sitting at was a step above the actual main floor. I happened to be standing on the edge when Monica decided to use my neck as a life preserver. My ankle, which wasn't fully recovered from my last fall, buckled almost immediately. The result was me falling backward, leaving us in an unceremonious heap at Remi's and Jillian's feet.

"Oh my god. Are you okay?" Jillian asked, kneeling at my side. My ass took the brunt of the fall, along with my ego. Pain radiated up my backside. Monica, who was cushioned by my body, tried apologizing, but found it hard to talk from the giggles bubbling through her. Her laughter was contagious, and I couldn't help joining her, despite my aching backside.

"Am I crushing you?" Monica chortled, sticking an elbow into my gut as she tried getting up. She pushed on the right spot, making my breath leave me in a whoosh.

"Yes," I gasped.

Greg reached down, helping Monica steady herself on her feet. Tina stepped in to grab her elbow so Greg could help me up. I was surprised at how easily he hauled me up from the floor. Evidently beneath his ill-fitted suit was a resourceful amount of muscle. I couldn't help wondering why I hadn't noticed it before.

He stood next to me, holding my arm longer than I would have expected. Feeling slightly uncomfortable over my wayward thoughts, I extracted my arm from his grip and thanked him. A picture of Alec flashed in my mind. I missed him so acutely at that moment. I'd been away less than two weeks, but the difference in our schedules was making me feel like our relationship had been set adrift. The fact that I still hadn't heard back from him wasn't helping. I hated not hearing his voice.

Monica removed her shoes, still trying to get control of her giggle box. "That's better. See, we're the same height now," she said, making everyone laugh again. I had to force a smile on my face to keep everyone from noticing my sudden melancholy.

Greg plucked Monica's shoes from her hand and offered his arm to guide her out of the restaurant and through the lobby. Remi and Jillian left us at the elevators since Jillian was staying at a different hotel and Remi needed to head home. Olivia also remained in the lobby, claiming she needed to make a call.

Tina and I got off the elevator on the same floor and I stifled a yawn as we walked down the hall. Pulling my cell phone from my purse, I wanted to throw it against the wall after seeing Alec still hadn't returned my call. Not even a text. I thought about trying him again, but it was so late. He'd definitely be sleeping. I was more than worried at this point. We had never gone more than a day without talking to each other since we'd been together.

Tina called out a good night as I left her at her door. I returned it, but was still distracted looking at my phone. Three doors down, I pulled my room key from my pocket feeling like the entire night was a waste. I should have been flying high from all the amazing things happening in my life, but instead I was throwing myself a pity party. Thousands of writers would happily switch places with me, and here I was acting like a whiny baby. I deserved a smack in the face.

Sliding my key into the slot, I pushed the door open lethargically and paused mid-step. The lights were on. I distinctly remembered turning them off. Actually, the light was flickering like a candle, making shadows dance on the far wall. I backed away slowly, remembering my nightmare experience at the hotel in Tennessee.

"Hello, beautiful," Alec called out, stepping into the light.

My breath was taken away and I couldn't speak. Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring him for a moment, but I knew it wasn't a dream. I hurled myself into his arms, not wanting to let go. "How? When did you get here?" I spit out as he lifted me off the ground and swung me in circles. I buried my face in his neck, inhaling deeply. If he didn't smell so damn good, I would have thought I was drunk and imagining the whole thing. My lips found the pulse on his neck. "I've missed you so much," I whispered in his ear.

He pulled slightly, looking into my eyes. "I've missed you too, gorgeous." His lips trailed across my cheek and down to the corner of my mouth.

"Why did you come?" I asked, worried that my selfishness had pulled him away from where he really needed to be.

His lips stopped moving over my mouth as he pulled back to look at me. "You don't want me to be here?"

My hands tugged his hair at absurdity of his words. "Don't be dense. I'm practically having kittens that you're here. I'm just worried about your classes and work."

He chuckled lightly. "It's all good, beautiful. I traded shifts with Bailey and Christina. I'll have to work back-to-back weekends, but it's totally worth it. As for school, I worked ahead in the lab. I wanted to make it here last night for your signing, but I couldn't get off until this afternoon. I caught the first available flight out. Olivia helped too. She told me she'd keep you busy while I set this up," he said, pointing at the candles."She's in another room I booked in my name."

"I can't believe you did all this," I said, running my fingers through his hair. I felt an almost euphoric surge of desire flowing through my body. Alec was here—standing in my room—in my arms. Not even five minutes ago I'd been so down I was considering cancelling the tour. "I'm so glad you're here," I said, crushing my mouth to his.

He sighed in approval against my lips, pulling me flush against his body. I could feel the extent of his desire pressed against me. My hands found their way under the hem of his shirt so I could run my fingers over the deep ridges of his sculpted abdomen that had captured my attention from the very beginning. I broke my mouth away from his, kissing my way across his pecs and stopping briefly to tease his nipple with my tongue. He growled deeply, almost pushing me over the edge before things could really get started. I smiled with satisfaction, knowing what he liked. My mouth continued down his abdomen where my tongue circled his belly button. His fingers slithered into my hair, pulling my mouth closer as I deftly unsnapped his jeans and tugged them down.

I wasn't surprised to find that he had gone commando. It turned me on even more when he did that. I slowly lowered his jeans past his hips, where they pooled at his feet. Capturing him with my hand, I teased him by squeezing slightly, just enough to make him groan and strain against my hand. We both knew what he wanted. Hell, I wanted it, but I resisted the urge until I finished igniting his fire even more. I continued grasping him while dropping light kisses on his inner thigh. He jerked against my hand as my mouth hovered over him on my way to his other leg.

"Enough, you temptress," he growled, lifting me up to the table. He practically tore the clothes from my body before spreading my legs apart to enter me. I was so ready he slid in without any resistance. As my hands moved over the hard curves of his pecs, I glanced over his shoulder at the mirror hanging on the far wall behind him. The sight of Alec moving rhythmically against me was enough to send my body convulsing into orgasm. I moaned loudly, practically screaming, but I didn't care who heard us. My fingers dug into his back, and Alec respond by moving harder and faster until climaxing himself.