Stephanie Julian - By Private Invitation

“Is something wrong?” Annabelle asked, immediately worried.

Kate’s lips curled ruefully. “No. It’s just that it’s late and I’m tired.”

Excusing herself, Annabelle pulled her friend away from the men to talk quietly.

“Is everything okay?” Annabelle asked. “It’s not even midnight.”

Kate shook her head. “There’s nothing wrong and this is just another night of the year for me. I’m not really into all this New Year’s stuff. I did have a good time, though.” Kate leaned forward for a hug and Annabelle obliged, but they ended up giggling like schoolgirls when they entangled their hands in their wings. Funny, Jared had managed to avoid them all night.

Annabelle gave her friend a rueful smile. “I’m sorry I was such awful company—”

“Actually, I enjoyed talking to Tyler.” Kate sliced a quick glance at the other man. “It was…enlightening.”

Annabelle took a close look at her friend, only now noticing the flush on her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes. She raised her eyebrows in question.

“Oh, don’t get the wrong idea,” Kate rushed on. “I’m an engaged woman. I just think it’s time for me to head up. Annabelle…have fun.”

Annabelle’s smile was slow to form but it was there. “I plan to. I’m so glad you came with me. Tomorrow we’ll hit the King of Prussia mall and do a little damage to our credit cards.”

Kate nodded then turned and said good night to the men. Tyler walked her to the door but stopped there. Annabelle watched Kate shake hands with Tyler then disappear down the hall as he stared after her.

Annabelle raised her gaze to Jared’s. Holding his hand out to her, he waited until she reached for him, her warm hand clasping his.

“Would you like to see the garden, Belle?”

“It’s like a little piece of England transplanted here.”

Belle stood in the center of the hotel’s deserted courtyard, looking around. Jared lingered near the edge of the lawn.

She looked perfect in the formal garden.

Surrounded on three sides by the hotel, the courtyard retained a touch of summer in the winter. With its huge glass-dome ceiling and paneled wall of glass at the rear, the enclosed garden was Tyler’s pride and joy. With the temperature hovering around seventy degrees, flowers bloomed and shrubs and trees thrived, even in winter.

Jared called it the petri dish just to needle Tyler, but he had to admit, the damn thing was amazing.

A boxwood hedge surrounded the garden and divided it into four distinct areas with a circular area in the center where a marble fountain bubbled.

Belle stood there now, staring at the fountain’s intricate carving in the dim glow of the gas lanterns high overhead.

She trailed her fingers along the lip of the pool at the bottom of the fountain, then wandered down the brick path, toward the herb garden. She bent to rub mint leaves between her fingertips, drawing Jared’s gaze to the length of her legs.

He wanted to wrap those legs around his waist as he lifted her up against a wall and found out what exactly she was wearing under that little skirt.

Still moving, she entered what was the rose garden in the summer, now filled with potted poinsettias of every color. From there, she wandered through the perennial garden, until she came to Jared’s favorite section, the topiary garden. Tyler took care of the topiaries himself. He hated when the gardeners messed with his trees.

Belle leaned in to sniff a fragrant rosemary bush forced into the shape of a heart, and he wanted to bend her over the nearest bench and sink his aching cock into her.

“Did you have anything to do with the garden?” she asked, not looking at him.

He chuckled at the thought. “No. My…ah…One of the owners designed it, actually.”

“It’s gorgeous. You should be very proud of your brother’s work.”

Well, shit. Someone had ratted him out. Probably one of the other men she’d danced with tonight. Too bad. He’d enjoyed having someone treat him like a normal person for a change. He wondered if she was going to go bubbleheaded on him now.

“I take it someone gave you an earful.” He moved closer to see her expression.

“Oh, yes.” She faced him, nodding solemnly. “Several of the men I danced with were quick to point out why I didn’t want to get involved with someone like you.” She smiled and something uncoiled in his chest. She wasn’t going to take their advice. “I understand why you did it. It’s nice to be someone else for the night, isn’t it?”

He nodded, wondering who she wanted to be. He couldn’t think of anyone he’d rather spend time with at this moment. “Yeah, it is.”

“It’s a new year.” She winked at him. “You can be anyone you want tonight.”

Breaking out in laughter, Belle released the velvet shawl she’d wrapped around her shoulders, which caught on her wings before slithering to the ground. “It’s not even cold out here. That glass ceiling is magnificent. Was the courtyard enclosed when the hotel was built?”

Forcing himself to go slow, he walked to the wrought-iron bench nearest Belle and sank onto the plush cushions. The bench sat in a shadowed corner behind one of the larger topiaries. Anyone passing through the garden would never see him.

“No, we installed that in the renovation.” Then, because he couldn’t stand to have her so far away, he asked, “Are you sure you’re not cold? It can get chilly out here in the winter.”

She wiggled a finger at him. “I have to be careful around you. You’re a charmer. And no, I’m not cold. I want to look around a little more.”

She turned her back on him and wandered down the path, stopping to admire a statue of two lovers entwined in a kiss.

“Mmm.” Belle’s voice sounded even more seductive in the near-dark. “I could stay out here all night, but then I wouldn’t get to sleep in that decadently huge bed in my room.” She flashed him a look that burned, then sent her gaze over the garden again. “You look comfortable.”

He quirked a brow at her. “Why don’t you come over here and I’ll show you just how comfortable I am.”

Her lovely face tilted to the side as if she were contemplating his request. Then she smiled and walked back to him. Easing onto the cushion beside him, she tried to recline, but her wings got in the way.

Presenting him with her back, she asked, “Would you mind?”

“Not at all.”

After a quick assessment of how they were attached, Jared freed her from the wings, dropping them to the ground at his side.

“You’re entirely too good at that.” She tried to turn, but he placed his hands on her shoulders, mesmerized by that expanse of creamy white skin.

“And your skin is so soft,” he whispered against her neck.

A chime sounded from inside the building and the faint roar of a crowd reached them.

He leaned closer, let his lips caress her ear as he said, “Happy New Year, Belle.”

She shivered against him, though he was pretty sure she wasn’t cold. Her skin felt warm beneath his hands and he leaned in until his nose almost touched the curve of her neck. Her hair fell away as she tilted her head to give him access.

Drawing in a deep breath, her fragrance made his heart pound. He loved the way women smelled. Some spicy and heady, others light and delicate. Each one different. Yet underneath it, similarities.

Belle sighed and that tiny sound broke the control he’d been exerting since he’d asked her out here.

Lowering his mouth to the tender spot where her shoulders and neck joined, he surprised her by nipping the skin there. She gasped, the sound stroking along his libido.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her against him. The next kiss he placed on her neck wasn’t as soft as the first, and he wasn’t surprised when she pulled away.