Cherished

by Lauren Dane

  “The importance is in the lesson?”

  He nodded and she wondered what it was he meant. What had happened to him that made him mark himself as a reminder.

  “I think,” he said, placing his glass on a nearby table, “you should ride my cock.”

  She grinned. “I think that’s a really good idea.”

  He pulled a condom from his pocket. Thank goodness he had one nearby. She had them in her bag of course, but now she wouldn’t have to move to get it.

  “Why don’t you stand so I can get those off?” She slid her hands up his denim-covered legs.

  “Out here?” He looked around.

  “Unless you have other ideas.”

  He looked to the bank of windows.

  “Are you worried people will see? Or do you hope they will?”

  His pupils swallowed the color in his eyes again as he visibly got himself in check. She couldn’t deny loving how it felt to affect him that way.

  He stood and she unbuttoned his jeans, pulling them down so he could step from them. But he didn’t sit right away. He moved to the fireplace and hit two switches. One turned the overhead lights off and the other turned the fireplace on, sending warm, golden light through the room. He did that for her.

  “Your body is amazing.” She twisted her nipple bar, noting the way his gaze went to her fingers, noting the way he straightened and headed to her, his face very intent.

  “Thank you. Coming from you that’s quite a compliment. Does that feel good?” He sat in a different chair, this one a chaise of sorts.

  “Yes.”

  “Is your pussy wet?”

  She nodded.

  “Good. Come over here.”

  She smiled and did it, grabbing the condom and ripping it open. Kneeling between his legs, she rolled it over his fully revived cock. He had awesome recovery time, she’d give him that.

  Straddling him, she reached back and angled his cock, slowly sinking down.

  She had to go slow because he was so fucking thick. He filled her fully as she circled her hips to take him. Bit by bit until he was in all the way and she had to pause to catch her breath.

  “This is very, very good.” His slow smile made her nipples harden to nearly aching.

  It was.

  He might have been a very experienced, very skilled man, but she had a few tricks up her sleeve too. Being a dancer meant she was pretty damned flexible and in shape. So she’d show him.

  Her hands braced on his upper arms, she began to ride, sliding her pussy down and then back and forth as she undulated, moving her hips rhythmically.

  “Christ!” he hissed, watching the way she moved on him.

  His cock was deep inside her supertight cunt as she moved. Her head tipped back, her fingers digging into his biceps. Whatever the hell she was doing on him was a miracle. Her inner muscles hugged him, caressing the length of his cock as she surrounded him with all that hot, wet, undulating flesh.

  “I took belly dancing for three years. I might be young, but I know a few things.”

  He laughed. “Thank God for it. Now when you kill me it’ll be me going out happy.”

  She angled her head to look at him, a smile on her lips. “Death by fucking? Whatever would the papers say? I think I’ll keep you around. For next time.”

  Again. Yes, it had to happen again. No doubt about that.

  He pulled and tugged her nipples, unable not to look at those piercings. Sexy. He’d seen women with pierced nipples in porn, but not up close. Not while the owner of said tits was riding his cock.

  And then he was collaring her. Her throat under his palm, her pulse beating strong.

  She gasped, her pussy fluttering around him and he knew she loved it as much as he did. Which allowed him to relax a little and enjoy it, enjoy this moment, with this woman.

  “I want your gaze.” He said it without having planned to say it. He panicked a moment when she opened her eyes and obeyed. So much intimacy in that, in watching as you fucked someone, seeing every one of their emotions flit over their features.

  It meant he gave that to her as well.

  Meant he let her see right into his head where she had lodged herself from the first moment he’d seen her.

  Her nails dug in to his flesh, reminding him she was there, demanding, pleasing, yes, but needing to be pleased in turn.

  He brought his fingers to her mouth and she sucked them in, licking them, getting them wet. He was so damned close. But when he brought those slick fingers to her clit she whimpered and then groaned, her clit hardening under his touch, cunt clutching him nearly to the point of pain. But the best kind of pain.

  She sped her movements, clearly getting close as well. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth but when he squeezed her clit gently between his slippery fingers she sucked in air on a cry and began to come. So hard her pussy rippled around him, pushing him right over with her. The both of them coming at once, gazes locked until he let go of her throat and she fell forward, panting for air.

  Chapter 8

  She walked up toward the house from the yard, having just spent the last nearly twelve hours doing two different jobs. Her muscles ached, but it was a good ache. She had enough for rent and supplies and some left over to add to her savings after that afternoon.

  She loved her savings account. Every time she looked at the numbers she was assured that she could continue to do her art, even in a lean time. It was her freedom.

  She actually didn’t need all the extra jobs by this point. The time was coming, she knew, to consider giving up several jobs. But it was hard to say no when her friends needed her.

  That’s when she noticed the note on her door and headed up to the big house to see her parents.

  “Hey there, cutie pie.” Her father gave her a big hug. “These came for you today.” He indicated a large box and two dozen red roses. She had a guess as to who they were from.

  “Who’s sending you flowers? What’s in the box?” Her grandmother wandered in and took a sniff of the roses.

  Daisy kissed her cheek and handed her a rose. “I just walked in. Let me see.” She opened the tiny envelope. Just an L. Enough to know her suspicion was right.

  “They’re from Levi.”

  “Ah, him. I should have figured. He’s a little old for you isn’t he?” Her grandmother didn’t say it in a judgmental fashion.

  “How old is he? Is it serious?” Her father wasn’t as enlightened as his mother on such issues, Daisy knew.

  “Not serious. We’ve only been on two dates and had some phone calls. He’s a nice man.” She evaded the age question, but her father wasn’t having it and he repeated his question.

  “He’s forty.” She didn’t want to open the box in front of them, but there was no way around it. Both her father and her grandmother stood, waiting.

  She peeked and couldn’t help a gasp as she pulled the lid off entirely to reveal the contents. A bright red cashmere wrap. Cripes. She picked it up, bringing it to her face. So soft. When she did, she pocketed the card that had been nestled in the wrap, wanting to read it in private. Hoping it said more than L.

  “Well, he’s got good taste.” Her grandmother winked at her.

  “Hello. Of course he does. He’s dating me, isn’t he?”

  Her father wasn’t going to let himself be amused just yet though. “What does this Levi do that he’s forty and dating girls?”

  “I’m not a girl. He’s an attorney.” She slid the wrap around her shoulders and sighed. So warm.

  “Candace is coming over for dinner. You’ll stay?” Her father gave up on nagging, she could tell. But he’d be watching. And that was okay too. He was her dad after all.

  Candace was her big sister. She was married and lived a few miles away so they saw her often. But it would be nice to have dinner with her family, even if she was dog tired and only wanted to sleep.

  “Definitely. Let me take these back to my place. I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

  In
the privacy of her little house, she opened the card.

  Next time you won’t have to be cold when you’re naked. L.

  She sighed, she knew totally like a smitten girl, but hell, she was a smitten girl. He’d driven her home Monday night and had insisted on walking her not only to the door, but on going inside to be sure no one had broken in. He’d called on Wednesday and texted her the day before. She’d been hoping he’d ask her out again though, and he hadn’t. Though the roses and the wrap were certainly evidence he was interested on some level.

  But she had no time to get all tied up in knots over him or any man. Or so she told herself as she headed back to the house to have a lovely family dinner.

  Levi had tried to ignore it, that growing need he felt every time he thought of her. She’d texted her thanks for the roses and the wrap and he’d nearly called her to ask her to dinner. But he hadn’t and now he sat, all by himself in his office at eight on a Friday night like an idiot.

  “Why are you here?” Jonah came in and sat.

  “Finishing up some stuff. I’m leaving in a few. What’s up with you? Where’s Carrie?”

  “Spending the night at a friend’s house.” Carrie was Jonah’s daughter.

  “Want to get dinner?”

  “Yes, I do. I just got back from the mediation.”

  Levi winced. “Long-ass day.”

  “I need a few drinks before I can process it. I’m brain-dead.”

  He and Jonah were close. More like best friends than brothers most days, though they had their moments.

  So it seemed sort of natural to bring Daisy up once their steaks had arrived. The Metropolitan Grill’s large booths relaxed him nearly as much as the scotch in his glass. “So I started seeing someone.”

  Jonah looked up, interested. “Yeah? Who is she?”

  “She’s twenty-four.” He blurted it out like a shameful secret. But Jonah only laughed.

  “Goddamn, Levi. Good for you.”

  “Her name is Daisy. She’s an artist. Mixed-media stuff. Fucking stunning. Smart. Funny.”

  “And twenty-four. Is it as awesome as I seem to recall?”

  He was going to pretend he didn’t know what Jonah meant but he was too tired to. “Her body. God. She’s a dance instructor too so she’s…flexible. And she’s got a lot of energy. All in all, yes, awesome is a word I’d use.”

  He wasn’t talking out of school. He knew Jonah would keep it all to himself and it wasn’t as if he was disrespecting Daisy or anything. But he needed to share or he’d explode.

  “Flexible? Is that a nice way to say she’s bendy during sex?” Jonah raised his glass.

  Levi laughed. “Among other things, yes.”

  “When do we get to meet her?”

  Levi blew out a breath. “Yes, I can just see that family dinner. Hey, Mom and Dad, this is Daisy. She’s twenty-four. She has tattoos and pierced nipples. Oh and she’s an artist. They’ll love it.”

  Jonah laughed. “Yes, I can see that. So is this like a fling? A midlife crisis? Will you be trading in your BMW for a Porsche? And how did you meet this woman?”

  “I don’t know what it is. Other than new. I’ve only known her a few weeks. I went to that damned dance class thing. I ended up in the wrong room but she was one of the instructors and well.” He shrugged. “I didn’t leave right away but I did eventually. And then I bumped into her and learned she was an artist too.” He shook his head. “Anyway, again at the grocery store until I gave in and asked her for dinner. Only we ended up at her place and she made dinner for me. We went out again on Monday.”

  “That’s when you found out how bendy she was? And I do love a woman with tattoos and piercings. Sexy.”

  Levi laughed. “Asshole. She’s a nice girl. Christ. Girl.” He scrubbed his hands over his face.

  Jonah shrugged and took a bite of his steak. “So what? Are you fucking her and making it good for her? Do you respect her?”

  Did collaring a woman’s throat during sex count?

  “I’m not having a midlife crisis. And yes, I respect her. Jonah, you should see her work. She’s incredibly talented.”

  “Has she asked you for help?” Jonah’s gaze narrowed.

  He shook his head. “No. And she doesn’t need it anyway. She donated a piece to me for an auction. She’s selling her work. Her grandmother owns a gallery she helps run. She doesn’t need me. Not for that.”

  “Then who cares if she’s twenty-four? Unless she talks in baby talk or some shit. ’Cause that’s where I have to draw the line.”

  “What sort of women are you getting involved with that these things come to your mind?”

  Jonah’d been married for fifteen years. He had a fifteen-year-old daughter who lived with him. His ex-wife had decided she got married too young, had dumped their kid and their marriage and moved to New York City where she spent Jonah’s money and barely paid attention to her old life.

  Jonah was a good father. Better than their own. Carrie got great grades. She had friends and worked hard, she even managed to handle Liesl. But he rarely brought any of the women he was with around. Levi knew he kept his relationships extremely casual. He told Levi he had no plans to get serious with anyone, especially not until Carrie had finished school.

  “Not the kind who baby talk. Then again, none of them have been twenty-four. I’m totally full of shit to try to lie and say I’d draw the line at baby talk. If I got my hands on some twenty-four-year-old tits, and their owner baby talked, I suspect I’d just pretend not to hear it.”

  Levi laughed, feeling a lot better. He needed to just call her and ask her out again.

  “Thanks, by the way, for getting Cal to write up a new prenuptial agreement. I had lunch with Mal yesterday and handed it over. Thank God I had all the notes you sent along to tell him. I think I got it worded so he didn’t think I was judging Gwen. He took it pretty well.”

  Cal had told Levi the prenup had some things in it that worried him but that it was pretty standard with most of the wording. So they’d had another written up to counter the first.

  “He says Gwen will be giving up her career to be his wife and manage his home so she deserved to be paid for that in some way.”

  Levi blew out a frustrated breath. “We can’t do this for him. He has to learn his own lessons about this. I just hope they can get past this stuff. For all the things I find annoying about Gwen, they do seem to love each other.”

  “She’s a featherheaded twat.” Jonah sliced his steak to underline the point.

  Levi snorted. “Not much different from Kelsey or Joanne.”

  “Let’s hope she is, for Mal’s sake.”

  On his way home, Levi decided to call her. It was eleven, but if she was asleep or god forbid, out on a date, she probably wouldn’t answer.

  “Hello there, Levi Warner.”

  He smiled. “I’m in my car, on my way back home. Do you want to have dinner with me tomorrow?”

  “I have to work until nine. But I’m free after that.”

  “Are you busy Sunday?”

  “I have a standing date with my friends for dinner on Sunday. Would you like to come? I can promise you what will be one of the best meals you’ve ever eaten. Mary’s supper club has an eight-month wait list now.”

  “What are you doing right now?”

  “Why? You want to sneak on over for some late night action?”

  He found himself grinning in the dark.

  “Tell you what. I have a raspberry honey tart. Well, three-quarters of one. I’m only human. Bring some wine. I’m working now, but I can be finished in an hour or so, if you want to come over. Bring your pajamas.”

  “I don’t sleep in pajamas.”

  “Well then. Bring your cock.” She hung up.

  Chapter 9

  She should have told him no. That she was busy and he could see her the next day but really, why? She wanted to see him and they were both too old for games.

  Candles lit, shades drawn, she took one last loo
k in the mirror and approved. She’d chosen her favorite chemise—she did have a lingerie addiction, she’d be the first to admit. But it hugged her curves with its cool, soft embrace, the deep midnight blue flattered her complexion. She added some lipstick because hello, a hot man was coming for a sex and tart visit. Her hair was loose—he seemed to like it that way—and she opted to go barefoot. She had pretty shoes in abundance, but she liked the way she felt next to him in very little clothing, smaller than he was.

  She wasn’t a virgin. She’d been in love before, had been in relationships. It wasn’t like she didn’t know how it worked. This sort of tentative thing slowly smoothing into something else. A relationship. They’d dated and it was moving past just casual dates.

  A short period of time, she knew. But this wasn’t anything like what she’d had before. This was intense. She thought of him and a thrill ripped through her. He touched her and everything inside went still, everything leaning into him, wanting more.

  He was bigger than she was. He made her feel…not small and helpless, but protected and taken care of. One part of her was horrified by how it made her so hot when he took control. But another part of her recognized it, embraced it and enjoyed it. She was raised to own her wants and needs. If it made her ashamed, it wasn’t something she should do. But this thing between her and Levi wasn’t shameful. It was dark and sweet and damn it, it was right and she wanted to see what else lay in store.

  Punctual, a knock sounded on her door and she answered it, happier than she wanted to examine, to see him standing there looking so handsome.

  “I brought my cock.”

  She grinned and stepped aside for him to come inside. “Good to know as I plan to use it.” Without thinking, she took his coat off, shaking it a little and then hung it in the entry. She liked to do things for him. Liked to take care of him.

  “Thank you.” He put down the bags he’d been holding and pulled her into a hug. He was warm and real and he smelled like winter.