“Start talking.”
He says it as if he knows I’m keeping a dark secret, and I swallow nervously, wringing my fingers into knots as he crosses his arms and leans back against the door, blocking the exit.
“Vincent—”
“No. I did what you asked and gave you time. I cooled it with the phone calls and the texts, and I even managed to stop myself from fucking bringing you back home where you belong. I’ve been patient, dove,” he growls.
That harsh expression sends butterflies to the pit of my stomach, and I tremble, feeling a slow slide of unstoppable desire pool in my sex. I should have known I’d want this—
“Dove,” he barks, cutting off the image of our entwined bodies straining against each other.
Fine. If he wants the truth I’ll give it to him, but first I want some answers of my own.
“Before I say another word I want to know what happened that week you went away. Why you froze me out, and what exactly happened with that model.”
I’ve vacillated between being certain that Parker is right and that Vincent hadn’t tapped that stick insect and worrying myself to death with the notion that no hot blooded male would have turned that hottie down. Now I’m just going a little crazy wondering what the hell is going on.
He makes a gurgling sound in the ensuing silence, and I narrow my eyes, struggling to see him through the low light from the one lamp sitting beside the bed.
“I never slept with her. She was useful at the time and accomplished what I wanted, but I never touched her, dove, not like you think,” he confesses, watching me closely. “As for why… I went the tiniest bit bonkers when I saw you with Preston Blake, and…”
I keep my mouth shut against the instant need to comfort him as he peters off, struggling with words. It’s sadistic, the amount of genuine pleasure I’m deriving from seeing Vincent Blake speechless and at a loss for words.
Call me nasty, but I’m very pleased to be the first person to rattle his cage this way. It’s only fair, since I can hardly find my footing since I met the man.
“They’re not good people, and I don’t want you around any of them. Especially that little prick.”
Oh, so he’s recovered, and now he thinks he can throw his weight around.
“Vincent—”
“Enough.”
He’s on me then, and I moan into his mouth as he pulls me close and ravishes me, thrusting his tongue so deep I have no choice but to parry back, needing his taste as much as I need my next breath.
“You’re mine, dove,” he snarls against my lips, one hand thrusting cruelly into my hair to angle me for another brutal, soul shattering kiss.
When he pulls away, our breaths sawing, I notice the soft caress of air on my skin and look down to see my dress pooled at my feet. I’m left in nothing but a pair of tiny panties.
“Fuck. I’m sorry.”
I don’t understand the apology until he wraps his large hands around my waist, lifts me, and tosses me back forcefully. I gasp, getting the breath knocked out of me when I land on the bed with a thump.
Vincent growls and dives at me, his hands and mouth a force of nature as he rips my panties away and buries his head between my legs.
“God, dove, I’ve missed you,” he mumbles, eating at me with a desperation I’ve never seen from him.
Vincent is usually all suave and slow, using his immense willpower against me in a show of fatal seduction and torturously slow pleasure. Now, though, I can’t even catch my breath as he uses his tongue and teeth to eat me to an orgasm that knocks me breathless.
“Oh, oh, God,” I wail, thrusting a hand into his hair to keep him centered right where I need him.
The orgasm sends small aftershocks of bliss straight through my core, and I moan, loudly, when the sensation of his flicking tongue becomes too much.
I attempt to push him away, needing time to let the oversensitive flutters calm, but he growls and pushes closer, burying his face in my crotch.
“Don’t. Not yet,” he begs. “I need you so badly.”
Everything that’s been wallowing in an invisible well of grief and fury snaps loose inside me, and I feel the last vestiges of my resentment flutter away to be replaced by the scarily intense emotions of love and need.
I’ve been fueling my bitterness relentlessly lately, anything to fool myself into thinking that I can move on and live my life without him. Not because I don’t know that I can’t, but because I’d needed the chance to believe that if we don’t get back together, at least I won’t turn into some sort of hopeless wreck.
Now, as I pull his head away, I know that I’ve been lying to him, and more importantly to myself. I want him, no matter what. I just need to find a way to have him without losing myself in the process.
“Dove.”
“Oh, shut up and fuck me, Vincent,” I mutter, smiling when he surges up and thrusts home in one move, his entire muscled frame shuddering with relief.
“Oh, dove.”
I shudder and writhe under his possession, my body gearing up for another, stronger climax as he levers himself up on his arms and pulls back slowly, only to shuttle back in with a power that wrings the air from my lungs.
“Say it, dove. Please.”
I shake my head, denying him that one last stamp of possession, and rear up instead, sealing my mouth to his. I kiss him with every scrap of denied and pent up desire that’s been torturing me for over a month, and enjoy his shock when I nip at his lip.
The movement startles him for a second before he smiles darkly and grabs my ass, pulling me closer and pushing in, going as deep as he can.
The deeper he goes, the harder it is for me to maintain the slight emotional distance, and I scrape my fingernails down his back, needing to mark him for myself if he’s intent on pushing me so hard and so fast.
My nails meet fabric instead, and I rear up, squinting. The bastard is still fully clothed!
“That’s it, dove, take me,” he groans, burying his face in my neck with a groan of sheer joy.
“You’re…ah…still dressed,” I mumble, biting my lips against the urge to let go and come.
I want this time to be a mutually shared moment, not another instance of his mastery over my body.
“Let go,” I gasp, clutching spasmodically at his ass when a series of warning ripples attack my swollen sex. “Together. Please.”
My wailed plea is all it takes for Vincent to let himself off the leash, and I gasp anew at his strength when he pummels into me, his body going tight with the approach of his own climax.
When he stiffens and grits his teeth, his mint green eyes focused on me, I feel the heat of his release and let myself freefall, my body exploding in a blast of the most intense pleasure I’ve ever known.
Our breaths are hard and labored as we lie quietly, just enjoying the afterglow of making love for the first time. I know the difference now, and I know that, no matter how much of an ass he can be, Vincent has just made love to me.
Honestly, desperately, and without the seduction tactics he usually employs.
The moment is golden, and I feel a distinct sense of loss when he pulls out and stands, his eyes focusing on me as he rearranges his clothing and hold out a hand to pull me to my feet and into his embrace.
“Tell me you and Parker aren’t together,” he rasps, his arms going rigid as I cuddle closer with a purr. “My guys told me…you’re living with him?”
I want to giggle and snort at the question because I know that it’s not a question as much as an accusation, but I resist and pull back an inch to look up and into his molten eyes.
“I was too jittery to go to the apartment my father got me,” I say, pushing a lock of his black hair back into place. “Jeffrey Parker and I are friends, Vincent.”
The explanation seems to do the trick, and he relaxes, his eyes heating again as he smiles slowly and pulls me in for another kiss, this one a slow, seductive glide of wet lips and tongue.
“You do
n’t need Parker to look after you, dove. You have me,” he murmurs, licking at me.
My brain scrambles in different directions as he teases my mouth, and I push back reluctantly to shake my head.
“I know what you’re doing, you devil, and it won’t work. Using your kisses against me is forbidden.”
“Ah, but you love my kisses, dove,” he purrs, the intensity of before gone, now that he’s gotten what he wants.
That reminds me of the reason I willingly followed him up here in the first place, and I push away, needing the safety of my clothes and some distance.
When I’m dressed, despite Vincent’s dramatic groan of protest, I stalk over to the wall and hit the lights, turning to face him with no small amount of nerves.
“We need to talk.”
Chapter Twenty Three
I see him tense at my tone before he nods and gestures toward the seating area, his manners kicking in as he waits for me to sit before taking his own seat.
“If you’re going to tell me to get lost again, dove, I’m afraid I—”
“No, Vincent.” I swallow nervously and pick at the chiffon lining of my deep blue dress. “I should have told you when you came over at Thanksgiving, but I-I needed some time to think, and then, I kind of lost my nerve,” I confess, feeling guilt eat at me.
“What is it, dove?” he asks, shuffling a hand through his hair. “Nothing you can tell me will change anything. Don’t be nervous.”
I snort silently, thinking miserably that everything’s going to change.
His quiet strength only serves to wind me tighter, and I shiver, bringing my gaze up to his. It’s now or never, I think, sucking in a deep breath to steady the wild racing of my heart.
I’ve been assuming that he’ll be happy—wishful thinking, I know—but now that I’m about to tell him I wonder if Vincent will be as happy as I want him to be. He’s a tycoon playboy, used to getting his way and doing what he wants.
What if a baby cramps his style?
Well, too damn bad! You didn’t knock yourself up, sugar!
With that conviction spurring me on I bite the bullet and just blurt it out, closing my eyes against his intense stare.
“I’m pregnant.”
The air around me freezes, and I keep my eyes tightly shut like a coward, not wanting to see it if he’s not happy. I know it sounds foolish, but I’d rather not know if this news is not welcome.
I love him too much to hate him, but I’m dreadfully afraid that if he disappoints me in this I just might.
The soft brush of gentle fingers over my heated cheeks startles me, and I open my misty eyes to see Vincent kneeling at my feet, a look of wonder on his handsome face.
“You cannot begin to understand how truly happy you’ve made me, dove,” he whispers brokenly, stroking at the tear tracks making their way down my cheeks.
“Really? You aren’t mad? I didn’t do it on purpose,” I whisper, leaning into his touch, wanting him to believe that I’m not some psycho out to trap him.
He’s shaking his head even before I finish, and I see a small smile curl his austere mouth.
“I doubt you did, unless I was asleep when you got this way. I was there too, and I knew exactly what I was doing. If you want to blame anyone, dove, blame me for losing control and taking you without thought to protection.”
The thought of having my way with a man like him while he’s asleep and defenseless makes me giggle. Vincent would never sleep through sex, ever, and just the idea of something so preposterous makes me laugh, dispelling the nervous tension that grips me.
“That’s better,” he drawls, leaning in for a soft, comforting glance of the lips. “Come on, we need to swing by Parker’s place and grab your things. Thank God I’ve already put in my bid, so that old biddy Mrs Cavanaugh won’t be too put out if we leave early,” he says, pulling me to my feet and into his side.
“What? Vincent, we haven’t discussed any of this,” I stutter, feeling my world shrink in on itself.
“What’s to discuss? You’re having my baby. We’ll be married by the end of the week, and, as husband and wife, we’ll live together.”
He’s looking at me as if I’ve lost my mind, and I think I may have when the shock and fear of confinement suddenly hit me. I love him, love the baby with every breath I take, but I can’t stand the idea that once I’m in his clutches I’ll lose every bit of freedom I’ve managed to gain over the last six years.
“But…”
There are a million things I want to say at the moment, so many of them involving this knot eating at my gut when I realize that neither Vincent nor I have said anything about love.
“Dove,” he sighs, pulling me close to rest his mouth on my forehead. “Please don’t pull away, not now, when we’ve shared so much. This is a good thing. I told you, we belong together.”
I can’t remember him ever saying anything so romantic or sweet, and I say so, watching his face color.
“I believe you were only half conscious and still coming at the time,” he drawls, making me blush scarlet.
“Uh—”
His booming laugh and the way he squeezes me tightly to his body makes anger an impossible task, and I let it go, focusing instead on what he wants.
“I’m not sure that rushing into marriage is a good idea. I mean, what if we drift apart and—”
“Sshh, there’ll be no ‘drifting’,” he mutters, tipping my chin up. “You and I are going to be married, and we’ll be parents in a few months. That’s as connected as it’s possible to get. Now come along, dove, we have a lot to get done tonight, and I’m still waiting for an explanation as to why Parker had his bloody paws all over your backside.”
I’m a smart girl and decide to just let him lead the way. I choose my battles carefully, especially with Vincent, and confessing to being part of a game, one that was meant to fire him up, is not something I want ruining the wonderful glow I’m still feeling.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll be calm and logical enough to figure a way out of this mess and convince my guy that getting hitched isn’t in the cards right now.
***
“God, you were an easy target.”
I pull a face and stick out my tongue at the phone as Parker keeps ribbing me, his favorite pastime for the last two days. After pulling me down the stairs, Vincent hadn’t stopped till we were both settled in the backseat of a chauffeur-driven town car and on the way to Parker’s penthouse.
I’d protested and tried to get him to let me go talk to him and explain things, but, as usual, anything I said got overruled, and I’d watched and listened in horror as he called my friend and crowed his victory over the phone, his broad shoulders shrugging nonchalantly beneath my dirty stare.
We’d packed two suitcases of clothes and a few mementos I always take with me and gone to his house, my home now too, and just chilled for the rest of the evening. In front of the television, something he despises doing because he considers it a waste of time.
That had been two days ago. Now, as well as having to dodge Vincent’s probing and nagging about the wedding—which I’m not one hundred percent sure is even going to happen—I have to listen to Parker rib me about my lack of willpower.
“You shut up. You left me alone to fend for myself while you went to play with some business guy’s balls all night,” I volley back, keeping my amusement to myself when I hear him splutter his indignation.
“That is going to be a very lucrative deal, I’ll have you know. I had to speak to him. I tried a few months back, and his company wasn’t interested, so I couldn’t exactly turn him down. I’m still wondering what made Eberson change his mind.”
Oh, I think I have a very good idea what—who—had made the man change his mind, but I keep it to myself and instead pretend to listen when Parker starts going off about profit margins and expanding his portfolio.
As if he even needs more money.
“So how’s the painting coming along? Your first piece of the new se
ries is still mine?”
“Fine. And yes, a promise is a promise, even if you didn’t deliver your end of the deal,” I muse, eyeing the new landscape I’m doing with a critical eye.
It’s one for my soon-to-be—maybe—husband, and I’m not sure if the storm clouds I’ve added are the right shade. Dammit, painting dark shit is harder than I’d thought, but they suit my seesawing moods perfectly.
“What are you talking about? Blake made his move, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, but he still hasn’t said anything about love,” I gripe.
Those fucking clouds are bugging the crap outta me, and if I can’t fix them I’ll have to remove the whole half of this piece and start again.
“Have you?”
“What?”
“Have you told him you love him yet? No, I already know the answer to that. Of course you haven’t,” he sighs, and I can just about see him roll his eyes and shake his head dismally.
“I’m scared.”
“Of what, Sis?” he finally asks, and I hear his tone grow more gentle. “He’ll either reciprocate your feelings, or he won’t, and then you’ll know and you can make your choice accordingly.”
That is the best, most logical advice he’s given me since we became closer friends, and I wholeheartedly agree. Now I just have to find the balls to do it.
Chapter Twenty Four
Telling imaginary Vincent that I love him is a lot easier than telling the real man. I mean, I’ve already said it once, and look where that got me, so I’m a little gun shy about blurting it all out and making myself vulnerable again.
But Parker’s right. I have to be who I’ve always been and lay everything out, honestly and without expectation. I know that sounds impossible because I should have at least some expectation here; Vincent’s on the marriage train, after all, but I have to be as forward about this as I’ve always been, the way I’d been when we met.
If he doesn’t return my love, I have two choices. I can either accept it and go forward, hoping that one day in the future he’ll give me what I need, or I can take my shit and go.
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