by Kendall Ryan
Take her to a nice bookstore? She works in a damn library.
Track down her favorite author and arrange a meeting? No, I want this to be about her and me, not some third wheel.
Fly her to the museum of typewriters? Right, because nothing says “let’s fuck” like a bunch of dusty, outdated writing machines.
Jesus, Gavin, use your fucking head.
For a second, I considered calling Emma. I could ask about her wildest dream, then make it come true in a heartbeat. She would love it, would practically turn to putty in my hands.
And she would see it coming from a mile away.
No, this had to be special, completely from me.
In the past, I would have asked Sonja what I should do, but since that option was now gone, I buzzed Alyssa and waited until she opened my office door.
“You rang?” she asked, her eyebrows raised in annoyance.
“I did. Come in.”
She stepped inside and clicked the door shut behind her. Taking a seat opposite me, she crossed her legs and tilted her head to the side. “What is it?”
“I need your help.”
“I gathered as much,” she said, and if I didn’t know her better, I’d think her tone was almost testy.
“I wanted to take Emma on a nice date, but I can’t figure out where.”
“Your name can get you into any restaurant in the city. Are you seriously interrupting my workday for this?”
I gave her a warning glare. “It needs to be more special than that.”
“Why? Going to propose?”
I paused, my heart skipping at the idea. “No. It just needs to be a special night. Something that only Emma would appreciate.”
“So, something that showcases your sense of humor?” Alyssa asked.
“Why do I ask you anything?” I shot back with an eye roll.
“Because without me, your life would fall apart. Look, I don’t know. She’s a bookworm, right? Can’t you take her to see the old Shakespeare manuscripts in the library? Or isn’t there some really pretentious bookstore you could go to?”
I sat up straighter in my chair. “Alyssa, you’re a genius.”
“This is why you pay me a very handsome salary,” she said. “Now, what else do you need?”
“That’s all.”
Rolling her eyes, she got up from the chair and left my office, but I barely paid any attention to her. I had an idea, and that was all I needed.
Grateful for her help, I made a mental note to buy Alyssa a box of excellent chocolates. But before I could dig into some research for tonight, she peeked back inside my office.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I have a Mr. Huntington waiting to speak to you on line two.”
Fuck.
Squeezing my hand into a fist, I took a slow, deep breath before relaxing again. I picked up the phone, wedging it between my ear and shoulder so I could quickly jot down as much as I could remember.
“Fine, put him on,” I growled.
I had little patience for whatever idiotic complaint this client had to offer, but with Cooper gone, I didn’t have much of a choice. He had always been the schmoozer, quick to agree with clients and find an immediate solution. He liked people and understood how important it was to keep them happy.
Me, on the other hand? It took every ounce of my self-control to keep from telling half these whiny morons to shove it and be grateful for the quality of arm candy our company was able to provide.
Yeah, we really needed to find someone else to handle customer relations.
“Gavin, I’m not transferring the call until you promise not to offend him,” Alyssa said, her tone sharp and resolute.
“I will be the epitome of an ass-kisser,” I said in the flattest tone possible.
I could practically hear Alyssa rolling her eyes through the phone. “Gavin.”
“Yes, fine. I’ll play nice.”
Alyssa didn’t respond, just silently transferred the call. I shifted in my seat, leaning back in my chair to get more comfortable.
“This is Gavin Kingsley. How can I help you today, Mr. Huntington?”
“Gavin? I need to speak with your brother. He promised to make special accommodations for me before my next event, and I have yet to receive confirmation that they will indeed be fulfilled.”
I rolled my eyes. “If you need to speak with Quinn, I can have my assistant transfer you momentarily.”
“No, no, your other brother. Cooper. I was promised a platinum blonde in a holographic dress, and I’ll be damned if you send me a brunette.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose with my free hand, I clenched my jaw to keep from sighing loudly. Cooper, what the fuck?
“Absolutely, Mr. Huntington. I’ll be sure all your needs are met.” After a few more moments of playing along, I transferred the call back to Alyssa, explaining what needed to be done.
I slammed down the phone, then leaned back in my chair and ran my hands over my face. Fucking Cooper. Always willing to go the extra mile.
I needed a break. Better yet, I needed to get laid. And since Emma had been practically begging for it when I last saw her, I was willing to bet that she did too.
My cock twitched at the thought, all the more reason to make tonight special.
• • •
When the workday was over, I headed to the library to pick up Emma. When I arrived, she was already trudging from the building, looking tired and weary after her second day back at work.
I crossed the street toward her and swept her into my arms, kissing her neck and making her laugh.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I missed you. Did you have a rough day?”
She sighed. “That would be an understatement. I love Bethany for trying, but the library I came back to wasn’t the same one I left a week ago. Anyway, I’ve sorted out the chaos. What are you doing here? Still trying to make sure nobody hits me with their car?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Well, yes, but that’s not my primary concern. I came to surprise you. Come on.”
I slipped my hand in hers and led her to my car. Today, I’d opted not to have Ben with us. I wanted it to be a private night. Intimate. Just her and me.
When I opened the passenger side door, she glanced down and furrowed her brow at the large white dress box in her seat.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“A present. Open it.”
She did as I asked and offered me a weak smile as her fingers trailed the blue chiffon cocktail dress.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“I love it. It’s perfect and beautiful.”
“But?”
She pursed her lips. “It’s nothing. Thank you.”
I fell silent for a moment, wondering if she was thinking about how Cooper used to send her gowns to wear before their dates, like I suddenly was. Even in another state, he cast a shadow over our relationship.
“I’ll go back in and change. I’ll be right back out.”
She took the dress in hand and I trailed her across the street, waiting on the library steps as she went back inside.
When Emma reappeared, every thought of Cooper was swept away. She was too gorgeous to focus on anything other than the way the cocktail dress hugged her perfect curves and brought out the color of her eyes.
“You look stunning,” I said.
“This is a great surprise.” She grinned. “Thank you.”
Together, we made our way back to the car, and I revved the Mercedes’ engine before turning onto the street back into the city.
As I drove, she smiled, studying me. “You know, this whole time I thought you couldn’t drive.”
“What?” I laughed.
“You always have Ben drive us. I thought you didn’t know how.”
I shook my head. “I like to keep Ben on the payroll, that’s all. I’m in a position to put people in jobs, so that’s what I want to do.”
Her smile softened. “That’s
sweet. Now tell me, where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
Emma badgered me with questions about our surprise date the whole ride over, her constant pleading and arm waving making her breasts sway in a way I couldn’t argue with. She looked gorgeous, as always, but something about how the low-cut scoop neck-dress she had on hugged her curves in all the right places had my mind spinning with thoughts of what I would do to her later.
When we arrived at the venue, Emma’s eyes grew large.
“The Italics Lounge,” she murmured, arching one of her eyebrows at me. “Aren’t they hosting an erotic poetry reading tonight?” She blushed at the word erotic, dipping her chin so her long, dark hair fell across half of her face.
I reached out to brush her hair out of her eyes before lifting her chin with two fingers. “I wanted to please you tonight,” I murmured.
She smiled demurely, softly licking her supple lower lip. “You have.”
I ushered Emma out of the car, giving her perfect ass a swift pat as she climbed out. She turned and shot me a look so sexy, I had to pause for a moment to calm down before exiting the vehicle.
We walked into the lounge just minutes before the start of the reading. I grabbed us each a glass of bubbly from the bar before joining Emma at our reserved table near the front.
A tall, redheaded woman with long, skinny arms and an impressive rack sat under a single spotlight in the middle of the stage. Her stool was just high enough for one foot to dangle in the air while the other steadied her on the floor. She wore a tight red dress with a plunging neckline that barely held in her cleavage. She was beautiful, for sure, but even in the spotlight, she paled in comparison to Emma.
“My name is Heather, and I’ll be reading from my new collection,” the redheaded woman purred, her voice breathy and rhythmic. “If you’re interested, I’ll be selling books in the back after my set.”
Emma turned to raise her eyebrows at me, and I slipped my hand onto her knee in response. I rubbed my thumb over the hem of her dress, lightly brushing the skin underneath. She smiled coyly at me before crossing her legs, pulling her knee out of my reach.
“You’ll pay for that later,” I growled, my cock twitching at the thought.
Emma didn’t respond, simply tossed her hair over her shoulder and placed her finger over her mouth to shush me. Heather Ruble was beginning.
“If I could live with you inside me forever,” Heather said, her voice breathy, “we would move through the world in perfect pleasure, swimming in wave after wave of ecstasy . . . ohhh,” she said, punctuating the line with a moan.
The woman continued reciting her poem from memory, moving her hands gracefully through the air. Her voice was enticing, low and velvety smooth. But from the corner of my eye, I could see Emma’s chest heaving with arousal at each line of poetry. Suddenly, all I could think about was how wet she would be by the end of this night.
Heather’s reading ended, and she was followed by two more poets whose work was equally stimulating. One was a woman who included subtle moans and “ohs” in her poetry, mimicking the sound of an orgasm. The other was a man who described the shape of his lover so vividly, it made my own heart pound—and I didn’t think I was into this kind of thing. But there was no denying it was enticing.
By the end of the readings, I wanted nothing more than to find a decent alleyway nearby and ravage Emma then and there. With the erotic poems swimming through my mind, it was nearly impossible to think about anything else.
But there was no way in hell I’d let my hours of planning go to waste.
After leaving the Italics Lounge, I took Emma to a coffee shop similar to the one we used to frequent. Books and tea, two of her favorite things in one night.
The night scene at this place was exactly what I’d hoped for—low lighting, hushed tones, and soft jazz playing in the background. I bought a slice of chocolate cake for us to share. We were silent as we began to eat, the air between us practically crackling with sexual tension. She moaned softly after her first bite, making my cock twitch in response.
“Which was your favorite reading?” I asked, finally breaking the silence.
“Mmm . . . the second one, I think,” Emma replied, her eyes so dark with lust, I could hardly take it any longer.
I nodded, taking another bite of the cake in an effort to calm the pulsing in my pants.
“It was so erotic, I was starting to get a little turned on,” she purred, and I nearly dropped my fork.
“Come with me,” I ordered, grabbing her hand.
I didn’t care anymore about finishing the date, the cake, any of it. It was time to be alone.
Once in the car, I crushed my mouth against hers, running my hands over her thighs. My dick was getting harder by the minute. I swept my fingers over her panties, groaning at how wet I could feel they’d become. I needed to be inside her, needed to feel her warmth pulsing around my cock.
But first I had to drive us home.
I barely kept the car between the lines with the scent of Emma drowning out all my senses. She was so beautiful, so stunning, and I’d waited long enough to have her.
Back at my place, I decided to take things up a notch. Or ten.
The moment we stepped inside the front door, I removed Emma’s dress and swept her legs up and around my waist. She gasped and clung to me tightly, which only made me want her more. Landing a series of hungry kisses all over her neck and chest, I walked us to my bedroom, each step pressing my cock closer to her needy pussy.
After throwing her onto her back on the bed, I began to slowly remove my shirt, reveling in the sight of her slender body moving with desire. Emma propped herself up on her elbows, her supple breasts swaying with the motion. Her eyes locked on the massive bulge in my pants, and she began inching her way to the edge of the bed. Tossing my shirt to the floor, I grabbed her ankles and pulled her toward me, nodding toward my erection.
“Take out my cock,” I growled.
She greedily unbuckled my belt, her swift fingers unfastening and opening my pants. Within moments, she pulled out all nine inches, her eyes still as wide and appreciative as the first time she saw me. Emma leaned forward to take me in her mouth but I stepped back, causing her to look up at me with questioning eyes.
“No. I have something else in mind,” I said, kicking my pants off.
I pushed her onto her back, running my tongue over the length of her abdomen, pausing just short of her rosy nipple. She moaned softly and shifted her hips under me, her pretty pink pussy glistening in the dim light of the moon.
I descended on her breast, taking her nipple in my mouth with a gentle, teasing bite. Emma gasped and wrapped her fingers around the back of my neck, grabbing a fistful of my hair.
As I swirled my tongue around her breast, I reached between her legs and began stroking her wet, swollen lips. Alternating between pumping two fingers and massaging her clit, I watched in wonder as she cried out, her hips rocking with my motions.
She was radiant and wild, and I knew she was ready for what I’d planned for us next.
I flipped her over onto her stomach and continued fingering her from behind, enjoying the view of her perfect ass. I took a handful of one cheek in my hand, massaging it roughly, and let out a growl.
“So fucking sexy.”
She responded by lifting it higher in the air. I reached over to my bedside table, rummaging through the drawer for a bottle of special oil I kept there.
I drew her up on her knees, her face still buried in a pillow. With her round ass lifted high in the air like that, all ready and expectant to take everything I had to give? I couldn’t help it. My palm landed with a thwack right in the center of one of her cheeks, causing Emma to whimper in a way that made my entire body throb.
I lubricated my fingertips with a small amount of the oil. When I closed the lid with a soft click, Emma turned her head onto the other cheek and said, “I’m already so wet,” wiggling her hips in the air.
“Yes, you are,” I murmured, thrusting two fingers inside her.
She moaned and pressed her hips back against my hand, urging me to go deeper. I pumped my fingers in and out, running my thumb over the rosebud between her cheeks.
“But this isn’t for your pussy.”
Emma paused, her hips now motionless as she processed my proposition. I waited for her reply, my needy cock growing more impatient by the second.
She slid her hips forward and flipped herself over, propping up on her elbows as she looked at me with worried eyes. “I . . . I don’t think I’m ready for that,” she said, dropping her gaze and turning her face to the side.
I nodded and lifted her chin, needing to look in her eyes. “Tell me why.”
“I—I’m afraid it will hurt,” she admitted softly.
“Have you done it before?”
She nodded. “Sort of. I mean, I tried to. Nathan made me . . .”
If I thought I hated her ex before, this new level of hatred and disgust was magnified tenfold. I wanted to rip out his throat with my bare hands for making this beautiful girl feel unsure and afraid.
She looked away again, refusing to meet my gaze. I knew that feeling—of not wanting to show any weakness, not wanting to admit your fears but needing desperately to be stronger. It was a push and pull I’d felt often as I worked through my own inner battles over the years.
Leaning down over her, bringing my face close to hers, I whispered, “I would never, ever do anything to hurt you. You know that, right?”
She nodded slowly, her eyes falling closed.
“Only want to bring you pleasure,” I murmured, pressing my lips against her throat, loving the soft, feminine scent of her skin, the way her pulse jumped in response to my touch.
Emma sighed, bringing her arms around me. “I know that. In my head. I do, I swear. But I’m just . . .”
“In time,” I said, encouraging her.
She nodded, smiling softly, her pert breasts nodding with her. “Is it a control thing for you? Wanting to take me there, I mean?”
I weighed her question, letting out a slow exhale. “Partly.” Then I smirked at her, a wicked smile, and her own mouth twitched. “Plus, it’ll feel really fucking good.” My teeth grazed the side of her neck. “For both of us.”
