“Would you care for a glass?”
Wine’s not my thing normally, but for her, I’d probably drink bleach if she asked.
“I’d love one. Would you like some help with your coat?”
It’s the one I purchased for her and I must admit it fits her well. She’s ridiculously beautiful tonight, clad in such a striking gown. It’s elegant and classy with its length and solid color, but her curves turn it into a thing that fantasies are made of.
“Oh, yes, please.” She turns, giving me her back.
I can’t refrain from running my hands up her biceps until they’re resting on her shoulders. Her muscles stiffen slightly with the contact and I take it as a sign to concentrate on the coat and not on touching her. If I don’t move my hands, I’ll be trying to peel more than just that one item off.
She’s so feminine compared to my build. She’s all woman and I’m all man and fuck if it doesn’t do things to me. I’m beginning to wonder if I’ll always have a chub when I’m near her. I’m in a constant state of arousal when I’m around her and I need to figure out some way to stop being so affected by my cock when it comes to Grace.
“Where do I hang it?”
“Behind the entry door, please.”
Doing as I’m told, I hang up the coat. I breeze over the few photos on her small sofa table she has up against the wall as an entry table where her coat now hangs. There’s a photo of an older woman who resembles Grace, definitely her mother. Two other frames with her and a few women her age, most likely friends of hers. My guy did a background check and said she’s an only child with a close relationship to her mom and only has a few friends.
Her apartment’s tiny, probably the size of my sitting room and bar at my own home. It’s cozy though and girlie—a lot like her.
“Wine?” Grace holds a glass out and I join her back in the miniscule kitchen. She peers up at me, waiting for me to grab it from her. Her face is tilted in just the right position, her lips nearly begging for me to take a sample. I could do so many things to her in this kitchen that’d make her never look at it the same way again.
One hand resting lightly on her hip, the other cupping her jaw, I chastely press my lips to hers, unable to hold myself back. If I go any deeper into the kiss, I’ll end up fucking her right here on the kitchen floor and while that sounds rather enticing, she deserves someplace softer the first time I take her.
Pulling back, her eyes are closed tightly with her chest pushed out just a touch, and so help me, I want to brush against her breasts. I don’t do it, but it takes hellacious self-restraint to refrain. Brushing my mouth against hers once more, the kiss is tender and needy, but once I feel her frame lean into me a bit more, I pull away. I must practice some self-control with her.
“Shall we sit?” she asks, and I feel like a putz, standing around while she waits on me.
“Yes, in here or?” I gesture toward the living room.
“The couch.”
“Okay.” Following her, she sits first and in doing so, I make sure to sit close enough that her thigh brushes my own when I turn a little so I can lean back and face her.
“So, my phone...” she trails off.
“Did you need to make a call?”
“Oh no, I was referring to the sixth day.”
“Shit, right. The cell phone I sent; it was so you’d always be able to reach me if you ever need to.”
She nods, pushing her shiny golden locks over her shoulder. I love her hair.
“The seventh day—the coat was to keep you warm when I’m not around.”
Her cheeks tint, knowing I mean it literally and sexually.
“It’s like silk inside and is definitely warm. I love it.”
“Good.” Two fingers on my left hand gently stroke the top of her shoulder. Her neck is so damn sexy and with her hair pushed to the side, it’s on full display. “It’s getting late, should I go?”
“No!” Grace practically shouts, making my mouth tilt up slightly. She wants me here. “Tell me why you sent a car on the eighth day … please.”
“It was a chilly morning and I wanted to take care of you.”
“That was so thoughtful, thank you.”
I nod. She has no idea just how much I want to take care of her though. Not only by giving her a ride to work each day, but in every other way as well.
“Not just then, I’ll always take care of you. For as long as you’re with me.”
“Why?”
“Because, you mean something to me and I want to.”
“But how, Thaddaeus? We don’t really know each other. How can I mean anything to you, besides just being a woman who wasn’t frightened when you came into the restaurant that day?”
“I don’t have to know you for years on end. I gazed down at you, and I knew you needed to be mine.”
“Yours?” she asks, taking a hefty gulp of her wine, and I nod, running my eyes over every curve of hers and they’re plentiful. She’s enticing with her thick thighs and plump lips.
She sets the goblet on the glass top of the coffee table and I follow suit. Once Grace sits back, I yank her to me, tired of holding off. She needs to be kissed something fierce. Maybe then she’ll understand the strength of the chemistry I feel whenever I think of her or look at her.
With a gasp, she falls into me, exactly where she belongs and my mouth lands on hers, not giving her a second to think twice about it. One hand holds her wrist tightly while the other tangles into her gorgeous, sunshine-colored hair. It’s so damn soft that I grip it firmly, holding her in place as my tongue curls around hers. Back and forth, my lips perform their own silent confession of sorts. Her mouth is hot and wet and so, so giving.
After thoroughly kissing her to the point I know she’s going to be feeling tender from my scruffy face, I pull back. My motions are slow, not wanting to completely redden the delicate skin around her lips, just enough to leave a memory. Each time her lips or fingers feather over that spot, I want her to think of me, and remember who was kissing her tonight.
A soft moan escapes as I gently suck and nip at her bottom lip, wanting to be easy with her, but at the same time feeling the urge to ravage her entirely. She’s exquisite, her tongue cool with just a touch of tartness from the wine.
“You keep making sweet sounds like that and I’ll have your panties off in no time.” It’s whispered gruffly against her lips, her eyes flashing open in surprise.
“Tell me about you, about your life,” she requests out of the blue, pushing back a bit, attempting for some distance.
“No. Not yet. We’ll work our way to it.” I’m enjoying the feeling of her in my arms entirely too much to want to dampen it by divulging in my daunting secrets about myself.
“You can’t be that evil; I don’t believe it.”
She has no fucking clue just how immoral I am or can be. Her precious naïveté makes me want her more as her view of me isn’t yet skewed. It’s unfair how much I’ll taint her eventually. She’ll learn in the end; I just don’t want it to be right this very minute.
“If you were smart, you would heed the warnings you hear. Those rumors you’ve heard are very true, cara.”
She shakes her head, not wanting to listen to what I’m saying. I don’t know if it’s the time together or if it’s the wine making her so honest and open with me right now.
“Fine. Tell me what that means then.”
“Cara?”
“Yes, please.”
There’s a few words associated with the Italian meaning, so I give her the one off the top of my head, “In English it means ‘dear.’” I leave out that it can also mean beloved.
Too soon.
“Your language is so beautiful. Especially when you say words like that.” She peers down at her lap and then moves on. “Let’s discuss day number nine.”
I nod, letting her pull away a bit so we can talk, and I won’t keep kissing her instead.
“Why did you do it? It’s the best gift anyone could’v
e ever given me. How did you know?”
Benny thoroughly checked her out. He discovered a lot. I saw her bank account, her bills, and learned about her relationship with her mother. I knew she’d wish she could visit her; it’s been years from what we discovered. I’m not going to let her know that tidbit, though. It may spook her to find out that we dug up whatever we could on her.
“I did it for happiness, Bella. I wanted you to be happy and to show you that I’ll do my best to make you happy in a life with me. It won’t always be that way, but I’ll do everything in my power to make it so.” And also, to help make up for freaking her out in the alley. I didn’t frighten her to be malicious but I still felt a bit of guilt for doing it. Imagine that, me feeling guilty over someone. That’s a first.
At my answer, she bends forward, placing a few sweet kisses along my jaw line eliciting a rumble from my chest at her touch.
“People have no idea the type of man you really are inside, do they?”
“Don’t be fooled by my gestures, Grace.” It’s a low grumble, my warning sincere. I have motives. Yes, I’m spoiling her, but I’m also not planning on letting her go either. I doubt she’d be so easy about this if she knew that much.
She seems blinded by a few gifts. Is this why my grandfather practically drilled it in that I had to court the woman first? So she wouldn’t see me for the man that I truly am? Is this what he did to my grandmother that made her so stubborn and determined to stand with him, not behind him? She was as strong as he was, and I never understood how she could love a man like him so devotedly.
Grace shakes off my warning. “And my bracelet?” She holds her up wrist in front of us both, the light glimmering off the near flawless cut of the diamonds.
“Diamonds are for loyalty. They’re supposed to last forever.”
“I thought that was in a ring.”
“Were you ready for a ring yesterday? Or even today?”
“No.” She glances away, confirming my suspicions.
“Then the bracelet is perfect for right now.”
She has no idea that I’d go out and buy her a fucking diamond ring right this minute if she’d agree to spend forever with me or that I have three sitting in my safe at home that’d work perfectly. She has no clue that I’ve been falling for her like some love-sick puppy since the moment I set my eyes on her.
I’ve never wanted to kiss a woman so badly and spank her all at once than in that moment when I set my eyes on her, snorting rudely and laughing when I’d entered that damn restaurant. She didn’t cower when I faced her. She acted like I was nothing and from that moment on, I knew she was mine. That she was meant to stand beside me just as my grandmother had with my grandfather. I’m an idiot. I’m falling so hopelessly for her and yet she barely has an inkling. At this rate, I’ll be the one getting hurt and it won’t be from bullets and bloodshed.
The guys would most likely put a round or two in my head if they knew just how weak I’ve become when it comes to her, or worse, they’d put a few bullets in hers.
“And what about love, Thaddaeus? You didn’t mention anything about ‘love’ at all this evening.”
“I can tell you that I already love that sexy little mouth of yours. That I’d love the chance to take you out of that stunning gown so I can memorize every other body part of yours that I’m sure I’ll love as well.”
Do I come out and say the words directly to her? No. It’s too soon for that, but fuck if I won’t love every inch of that silky skin covering her body or the beautiful mounds on her chest that I so badly want to lick and touch and fuck. She’s not only created like a goddess, but she’s smart, witty, and driven. She’s everything I could ever want in a woman.
Grace stands, facing me as she’s directly in front of me, her knees brushing my own.
“This dress?” She fingers the hem over her breasts, eventually reaching around to the side to unzip the fitted gown. It loosens and pools at her feet making me want to say a prayer to whichever god created her and is allowing us this very moment.
She’s left in a nude strapless bra and matching flesh colored lace panties that are completely see-through. Exquisite comes to mind when I gaze at her ivory skin, my fingers itching to rip them off and have my way with her. A barely-there peach tint covers her, as she obviously hasn’t been outside in a bathing suit in quite some time, with winter in full swing, but I don’t think she could possibly be anymore sexier than in this moment.
“Jesus Christ.” The Louboutin’s are making her calves flex, and showcasing all her best assets. Her thighs are lightly toned, no doubt from walking everywhere. They’re perfect to wrap around my waist and help hold her up when I have her naked and writhing against a wall eventually. “You’re fucking exquisite, Bella.”
“Better than the dress?”
It’s not even a real comparison; she far outshines anything I’ve seen. “Hell yes. Twirl around baby and let me see you.” She obeys, carefully spinning in a three sixty as I run my hands lightly over her pert ass. She must do squats daily for that ass to be so damn impeccable, Christ almighty. She belongs in a magazine being photographed wearing top-of-the-line names, not stuffed up in some bland marketing office with a tart as a Boss.
“You’re absolutely amazing.”
She holds her hand out and when I wrap mine around hers, she lightly pulls me to my feet. I want to yank her down on top of me, force her to ride my cock, but I hold myself back. I’ll save that for another day or maybe for a little later after I’ve worshiped every centimeter of her body.
Once I’m standing in front of her, towering over her with my height and gazing down upon her perky tits, transfixed on one of my favorite parts of her, she places her palms against my solid pecs. “You have too many clothes on.” Grace’s hands run up the front of my body to my shoulders, working the material over my biceps. She doesn’t have to tell me twice. I’ll happily walk around naked as much as she wants. I allow her to push my jacket down the remainder of my arms, freeing me from the constricting fabric.
Resting my hands on her hips, she deftly loosens my modern cut, slim, black tie, tossing it to the couch. Her skillful fingers work over my buttons, undoing them as quickly as possible, eager to see my naked torso. She’s stunning and graceful as she frees me from each button.
I lean in, licking and sucking the delicate expansion of skin along her neck. She smells so good, cashmere mixed with something else like flowers and musk. The scent making me ponder if it’s what heaven smells like.
She backs up slowly and I follow along like a love-sick fool, kissing all over her shoulders with each step.
“I should go.” I don’t really want to, but with each stride closer, my stomach churns with a bit of guilt. I haven’t really given her much of a choice, just storming into her life and demanding she give me a chance. Who’s to say I even deserve one? She’s nothing like me, and I think that’s why I’m so drawn to her. I’m going to ruin her life with mine, yet I can’t stop myself from letting the train wreck take place. In many ways, I want to ruin her. I don’t want anyone else to be able to have her—only me.
“I don’t want you to leave. Please stay a while,” she utters, crossing the threshold into her bedroom.
“I’m not going to do this and then have you wake up tomorrow morning regretting us being together. One night with you will never be enough for me and I’m selfish. I’ll keep coming around until you accept the fact that I want you and I always get what I want, Grace. Once this happens, you can’t turn back time.” I’ll tie her up in my house if I have too. There’s no escaping me once I’ve had my taste.
“Then stay tonight and have me again tomorrow.”
Does she hear the words leaving her mouth? It’s the best damn thing she’s said all night. I’m hoping this is her and not the wine doing the talking.
“All night, hm?” Muttering, I kneel before her, kissing across her stomach as her hands find the nape of my neck, playing with the short hairs, tugging and winding
the strands around her slender fingers making me groan.
His lips are everywhere, fluttering over my skin, making me pant faster and faster as my body gets more worked up, my core growing wetter and wetter with each caress.
It’s merely been eleven days and I’m already jumping into bed with a man that I hardly know. Part of me feels like I know him better than any man I’ve dated in the past, while the other part thinks I’m an idiot for giving in to him this quickly. I should be much more stubborn with him, but the truth is, I don’t want to be, and I don’t want to play any games. I want him and I’m not going to hold myself back.
The gifts and their meanings were so thoughtful and heartfelt. I’d believed they were nothing to him, but, apparently, I was completely mistaken. Letting him have my body already should be wrong in a sense, but it feels so right in my heart.
He doesn’t want to hurt me; he wants to possess me. And after our time together tonight, that doesn’t seem like such a bad thing. I can imagine myself happy with him and maybe even in love with him eventually. Thaddaeus speaking of how he won’t be able to get enough of me has my heart thundering, but in a purely positive way.
The dinner was incredible—beyond what I was expecting. Every little detail was planned and taken care of. I’ve never been on a date anywhere near as lovely and the food was unbelievable. Thaddaeus has truly thought of everything and has said some very sweet things; he’s made me feel like a princess.
“Lay back, Bella,” he orders and I comply, resting on my plush, black and white bedspread. The light from the tiny hallway casts just enough of a glow so I can see every gorgeous inch of Thaddaeus. I knew his body had to be magnificent and imposing under those fancy suits of his, and I was completely right. He’s extraordinary.
“I pictured you having tattoos.” I reach behind, freeing my breasts from my favorite strapless bra.
I hope he realizes now that there’s no way I’m only calling him in an emergency. I’ll be dialing him every night to hear his sexy voice whisper sweet promises to me if this is how he’s going to be treating me. I thought I was hooked on him before, thinking about him day in and day out. I had no idea.
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