In Too Deep / Matched. Taryn Belle

      By the time Alex turned into Nicola’s driveway on his golf cart, he was good and ready to leave his day behind. With still no word back from Brissoli, this morning Alex had both left a message at the hotel for him and written him a curt email calling his bluff: leaving tomorrow. get in touch if you’re interested.

      One of the things Alex had learned in business was that matching someone else’s communication style could be an excellent way to get results. He’d spent the rest of the day on the phone putting out fires back home, followed by a brief conversation with his father, who had of course wanted to know only one thing: Had Alex done the deal? Well, that wasn’t entirely true—Devin Sr. had also wanted to hear all about Dev Jr.’s latest successes and achievements. “He just continues to amaze, doesn’t he?” had been his father’s concluding observation before Alex hung up the phone, feeling the old sense of inferiority take hold that he’d left behind years ago—or so he’d told himself. Alex was a grown man, and the fact that he was still seeking his father’s admiration, or at least his approval, made him furious with himself.

      And now, eight hours after Alex had left his message at the hotel and sent his email to Brissoli, the man still hadn’t taken the bait.

      It was enough to make Alex regret, not for the first time, that he’d allowed his desire for his dad’s acknowledgment to sway him into taking over the family business rather than sticking with his import company, which had been really taking off when he’d sold off his half to his partner. But after his mother’s untimely death, his father undeniably needed his help. While Devin Sr. was the more creative partner, his mother had been more business-minded and less emotional—the true head of the company. Alex didn’t think it was any coincidence that his mother had died of a heart attack. She worked harder than anyone he’d ever known, and he knew she’d have expected the same from him if she were still alive. And one thing Alex Stone did not do was underachieve or disappoint. So when his dad asked for his help, he had to give it. If he’d walked away, more than the family business would fall apart—his relationship with his father would. And Alex didn’t have a lot of other family relationships to fall back on.

      Alex parked his golf cart in front of Nicola’s tiny bungalow and walked to the front door, trying to shake off his bad mood. Even if his day had gone to shit, he couldn’t deny the low-grade buzz of excitement that had stuck around in his mind and body as he went about his work. Nicola. He didn’t want to analyze it too much, but she was different from any other woman he’d ever met. Sexier and red-fucking-hot in bed, but it was much more than that. She was also kind and courageous and humble. He knew she wasn’t perfect—no one was—but he trusted her to reveal her flaws to him in her own time. Alex couldn’t imagine her messing with his head, and he had no desire to mess with hers. He just wanted her, straight up, even if it was only for five more days. Right now he couldn’t allow himself to think beyond that, because the reality of their situation left him with an empty feeling in the pit of his gut that he just didn’t want to deal with.

      One look at Nicola was all it took to bring Alex out of his funk. She smiled at him when she opened the door, and it was all he could do not to barge into the room, rip her clothes off and fuck her right there on the floor like a wild animal.

      She was wearing some sort of romper thing with shorts that showed off her tanned legs to perfection. The outfit was black with subtle sparkles in it that caught the light when she turned. It was held on to her body by a single skinny strap that looped behind her neck, allowing the fabric to drape between her breasts in a way that was unbelievably sexy without being the least bit cheap. Her hair was done in loose waves with a single skinny braid running along one side of her face, all the better to showcase her heart-stopping beauty.

      “Even more amazing than the picture I’ve had in my head all day,” Alex breathed, taking her hand and pulling her close to him.

      Nicola reached up to kiss him lightly, but it quickly turned into a long, heated embrace. Pressed up against her, Alex willed his cock to behave itself. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you,” he said when they finally broke apart.

      “Me, neither,” Nicola said, her eyes sparkling. She took both of his hands and gazed at him as if she was about to say something more, but then she broke eye contact to look over his shoulder. “Looks like that storm’s on its way. Shall we go?”

      “If we must,” Alex said with mock sulkiness. He held his elbow out to her and swept his other arm out toward the golf cart. “Your horse and carriage awaits.”

      Nicola giggled and took his arm, and they stepped out into the windy darkness.

      “I hope you don’t mind, but I invited Kiki to come,” Nicola said. “She has to work, but she might drop by later. She’s…a big fan of your brother’s.”

      Alex laughed. “Who isn’t?”

      Nicola shrugged as she took her place in the cart. “Me.”

      Alex turned to face her from the driver’s seat. “Really? Don’t worry, you can tell me. You didn’t dance around your bedroom to ‘All the Girls’? Write ‘Nicola Stone’ all over your three-ring math binder?”

      “Maybe that part,” Nicola said, looking at Alex with over-the-top coyness, and he burst out laughing.

      “Well, I guess I walked right into that one!” he said as he started up the golf cart.