Her demeanor around me had completely changed and I hated it. She always called me ‘sir’ and kept our conversations as short as possible. Without ever saying a word, she made it clear to me that she wanted nothing to do with me and I hated it. I wanted a reaction out of her and I wanted her back. Every other woman in my life had come back, why was she the one who was different?
I’d been racking my brain for ways to get her back, but I came up empty every time. Just when I thought I’d found the way back to her heart, I realized it wouldn’t work on her. She wasn’t wooed by fancy gifts and expensive jewelry.
I was at a loss and finally decided to give it one shot. I would do the most basic thing I could think of…I would just talk to her. It was the only thing I could come up with. Everything else seemed useless.
Still, I didn’t think flowers would hurt.
I was waiting in the restaurant, surrounded by hundreds of yellow roses. Even though we’d both been more than a little drunk I’d remembered the way her face lit up when she told me her favorite flower. I’d committed it to memory and in this moment, I was glad for that.
Lena walked through the door and flipped the lights on, jumping when our eyes met. The restaurant wouldn’t be open for another three hours, but I knew she’d want to come in early to get her kitchen prepped. Lena was one of the most dedicated people I’d ever met especially when it came to her job.
“W-What?” Her eyes were wide as she looked around and took in the room full of flowers. I could see that she was trying to understand what was going on. Finally, her eyes landed on mine and she held my gaze for a moment before looking away. “We can’t open the restaurant if it’s full of flowers,” she whispered.
“I know. I’m not opening the restaurant today.”
She frowned deeply and looked at me like I had two heads. “We have to open the restaurant. It’s Friday. It’s the busiest day of the week.”
She was always so damn practical. “I have something more important to take care of,” I admitted, nodding towards one of the booths. “Sit?”
She hesitated, but finally move to sit in the empty booth, her arms crossed over her chest. “What?”
I sat across from her and folded my hands on the table, my gaze fixed on her. “I’m not here to beg you or convince you to do something you don’t want to do, alright? I just want you to hear me out and whatever you decided after that…I’ll accept it and we can both move on. Is that fair?”
She cocked a brow and sighed. “Fine. Go ahead. Talk.”
“I know it got to you when you saw me and Marie. I don’t even blame you. It gets pretty nasty when it comes to me and her. If you’ve never seen her before, I can see why you might be suspicious, but…You can ask anyone. Marie has no interest in me. She’s real interested in my money, though. She thinks she can convince me she loves me if she keeps playing this game, but it isn’t going to work. I’m not going to fall into that trap again.”
“Trap? What do you mean?”
He closed his eyes and sighed. “I just…I want you to know what happened and why I’m the way I am. You asked me on our date and I never really answered.”
Her shoulders relaxed and I could tell she was actually listening now. Her face had softened and her eyes were fixed on my features. I could feel my chest tightening and the fear creeping in through every inch of my body. I hadn’t talk with anyone like this in a long time.
“Years ago, when I first moved to New York and established my business, I didn’t know how to handle the money or the fame,” I started. “I didn’t know how cruel people could be or how cunning. I fell in love with a woman named Gemma and I thought it was the real deal. We were perfect for each other. She made me laugh and she made me feel like I was the only man in the world. She treated me like a king, so I asked her to marry me.” I frowned and my shoulders slumped forward just a little. “It was all a game. We got married, then she divorced me and ran off when a musician she met around the same time we started dating. Now she gets alimony and I pay for her house in Belize.”
“Oh, God…That’s awful…”
I nodded slowly and reached out to touch her hand. “And it’s not about the money.” Her fingers curled around mine. “I have plenty of money. I really do. I have so much of it, I don’t even really know what to do with it, but she broke my heart. I loved her. I loved her with every piece of me, and after all that, I knew I didn’t want to find myself in that situation again. I never wanted to give someone that kind of power over me ever again, so I just started sleeping around. I toyed with woman, thinking it would make me feel better, but it never did.”
She was silent for a long moment, her brows furrowed. “So…What about me? What does all of this have to do with me?”
“I trust you.”
“We haven’t known—“
“I know, but I can smell a gold digger a mile away and you aren’t one of them. That’s why I wanted to get to know you. You’re the first woman who’s actually made me work for her attention, you know that?” he said with a soft laugh. “You’re the first woman I couldn’t win over with money or gifts. That made me want you even more. At first, I was even convinced it was a game, but now I know it’s not. I’m not ready to tell you I love you, but I hope that one day I can get there…If you’ll give me the chance.”
She looked around, her eyes darting between my face and the flowers. Finally, she sighed and turned to face me. “I don’t like letting people in either.”
I sat up straighter, wanting her to know that I was paying attention to every word she was saying. She smiled as I straightened and pulled her hands away, standing to move to sit beside me in the booth. “I’ve been let down by people I loved too…People who were supposed to love me unconditionally. So…It’s not going to be easy, but I think I want to give this a shot.”
A grin tugged at my lips and I couldn’t stop myself from wrapping my arms around her. “Really?”
She nodded and draped her arms around my neck, her thumb running along the fine hairs at the back of my neck. “Yeah. I’ve missed you, Jami. I missed talking to you like this. I don’t really know what to do with that feeling, but I think if you give me enough time I’ll figure it out.”
“Seems like we’re both a little emotionally stunted.”
She chuckled and nodded. “Just a little…But that makes it fun.”
I pressed my forehead to hers and closed my eyes, enjoying the way her breath tickled my lips. “So, are we okay?”
“If you keep your word.”
“I’m never going to mess with you. I told you the morning after our date, and I’ll say it again. I mean it, Lena.”
She smiled and cupped my cheek, nodding. “I know you do.”
Finally, Lena closed the space between us, our lips crashing together so hard I was sure my own lips would be bruised in the morning, but I don’t care. The desperation in that kiss showed just how hard we’d both been trying to ignore our feelings.
I’d be damned if I ignored them anymore.
Chapter Ten: Lena
I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t missed him. There was some part of him that had managed to get under my skin and I hated to admit it, but I wanted him. I wanted him pressed against me at night while I slept and I wanted him to hold me close on that beautiful veranda again. I just wanted him.
When our lips met, he wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off the seat of the booth and placed me on the edge of the sturdy oak table. He stood up, leaving me panting for air as he moved to stand at the edge of the table, spinning me around and pushing me onto my back. I gasped, staring up at the industrial styled lights, spreading my legs without thinking.
He leaned over me, tall enough to press a long, needy kiss to my lips as he pushed my dress up over my hips, making my cheeks flush. He pulled away, his lips still barely tickling mine as he ran a finger down the dip of my dress.
“I was so scared when you left. I didn’t think
you were going to come back. This isn’t just sex anymore. This isn’t about the damn hunt. This is about you and me and that’s exactly how I want it.”
I nodded and pressed my palm to his cheek, taking a deep breath. “I know. Me too…Now shut up and show me how you feel about me.”
His hands roamed along the tender flesh of my inner thighs and I wasn’t sure if it was my mind playing tricks on me or not, but my body somehow felt even more amazing than it had that first night. Each touch was like a flame kissing my skin and leaving a trail of desire. Maybe it was strange to be having sex right now. Maybe it wasn’t appropriate, but I didn’t care. I just needed to feel him against him. I needed to be the one woman he came back to.
Jami pulled down the jersey neck line of my dress, exposing my bare breasts. I rarely wore a bra and I was sure he’d caught onto it by now. He teased my breasts with tender kisses before nipping at the sensitive underside of each one, leaving behind a stinging sensation that made a fire burn between my legs. I could feel the heat of his cock pressed between my legs and each time he moved it elicited a low moan from his lips.
I was wriggling desperately underneath him, my cheeks red and the rest of my body just as flushed. I heard the tell-tale sound of his belt buckle coming undone and I cried out when he hooked his fingers in the waist band of my panties, pulling them down in one swift motion. They dangled off my foot and he moaned softly, looking down at my disheveled body.
“Look at you. Fuck you’re gorgeous.”
The praise pulled a moan from me and I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him down and whispering against his lips. “Take me. God, take me.”
He was just eager to give me just what I wanted. He grabbed my hips and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he pressed his length into me deeper than he had the first time we’d made love. It felt amazing and I arched my back in a desperate attempt to take even more. I would have taken anything he was willing to give.
Given what had happened just a week before, I hadn’t expected to want him this bad. I hadn’t expected to forgive him so quickly and invite him back into my life. Jami was a dangerous man when it came to romance. I knew that he could pull my heart right from my chest and rip it up into tiny little pieces. Even with that knowledge, I trusted him even though I didn’t really have a reason to. When it came to Jami, all I could do was listen to my heart.
I pushed those thoughts away, closing my eyes and allowing myself to enjoy whatever it was he was willing to offer me. When his hips snapped against mine the sound echoed through the empty restaurant, making me want even more.
The familiar warmth of fiery pleasure was filling me up and I knew that soon I’d be lost in his arms, moaning and pleading for him to keep going. Those perfect waves of pleasure were just on the horizon.
“God, you feel good, Lena,” he moaned in my ear.
My fingers were in his hair as his hips continued to rock against mine, the rough fabric of his flannel shirt rubbing against my nipples. “Please don’t stop!”
He was more than happy to oblige to my pleads and continued to thrust into me. He stood up and grabbed my hips, tilting his head back and letting out, low, animal-like noises as his thrusts became quicker and more forceful.
His finger dug into my hips and it that subtle pain drove me over the edge. My orgasm crashed over me dragging me into a sea of pleasure. Stars exploded behind my eyes and I cried out his name, pleading him to keep going.
Jami’s hips slowed to a stop and he put his hands flat on the table, leaning over me, panting softly as he buried his face in my neck, laughing softly.
“Shit…That was...Incredible.”
I chuckled, trying to catch my breath as I held him close. “I do my best.”
He turned his head and kissed my cheek. “I missed you so bad. I missed that wit.”
“Well, you won’t have to miss it anymore.”
A long moment of silence passed between us and he wrapped his arms around me, leaning heavily against me. “You’re not going to leave, right?”
“I’m not going to leave.”
“Promise?” He asked, a nervous tension in his voice.
I leaned up just enough to press small kisses to the top of his head. “I promise.”
I’d never promised to stay anywhere for anyone, but I was willing to do it for Jami.
Chapter Eleven: Jami
After that Everything was fine again. Lena forgave me and we hardly talked about what had happened. It’s wasn’t that we were ignoring it, but rather we didn’t need to talk about it anymore because it had been settled. Neither of us were worried about it anymore. We both knew where the other stood and slowly but surely we were coming to understand one another.
We’d been together officially for the last two months and I absolutely adored having her around. Lena was a free spirit and much more independent than the girls I was used to dealing with and I loved it. I wouldn’t have it any other way, if we’re being honest. She was so different and that’s what I adored about her. There had been so many other women before her, but none could hold a candle to her strength.
We were on the balcony of my penthouse (one of her favorite spots) and the New York skyline was stretched out before us, glittering with promise. She sipped at a glass of home brewed sweet tea and sighed as the warm, spring breeze rustled the trees below.
“This is perfect. Like…Am I dead? Is this heaven?”
I chuckled and glanced over at her, finishing my glass and setting it aside. “Last I checked, we were on the upper east side, but I think that’s about as close to heaven as most people get.”
“You can say that again.”
Lena put her head on my shoulder and glanced up at me. “I’m glad I met you, you know. You were a pain in my ass at first, but I’m glad I met you.”
I put my hand on the back of her head and leaned down to kiss her hair, taking in the subtle scent of cherry blossoms. She always smelled like cherry blossoms. “Me too, Lena. Me too.” Hell, I was pretty sure I loved her, but I could tell her that, not yet. It was still too soon.
She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted when her cell phone when off. She groaned and rolled her eyes a little, picking up and turning it over to read whatever was on the screen. She became flustered and turned it back over, setting it face down on the table.
“Who was that?”
“No one.”
“You can’t tell me that,” I grunted. “Your phone goes off like once a day, you get made and then you tell me it’s no one. I’m not trying to be an asshole, but I just don’t accept that it’s ‘no one’. You wouldn’t get so upset.”
Her lips pressed into a tight line. “Why are you pushing this?”
“Because I’m worried about you.”
“Well, there’s no reason to worry. It’s just some shit that I have to deal with.”
“But why deal with it alone if you don’t have to?”
“I just…This is my business alright?” She was getting flustered but I didn’t feel like it was the right choice to stop.
“I know it’s your business, but…I want to help.”
“There’s nothing to help.”
“Stop pushing me away.” I sat up and looked at her seriously, frowning deeply. “You made me come clean about my shit. I think it’s only fair that you do the same.”
She seemed annoyed that I’d called her out, but I wasn’t really worried about that. There was clearly something going on and I was going to get to the bottom of it. I wasn’t about to start my first real relationship in almost a decade with secrets.
“It’s my dad,” she murmured.
The answer surprised me. I had half been expecting an ex-lover. “Your dad?”
“Yeah. He wants me to come home. Mom is sick,” she muttered, clearly trying to tell me as little as possible.
Up until this point she had always been very open with me. She didn’t really seem to have any secret
s, but now I could tell that there was something just under the surface that she’d been hiding. “You don’t want to go back home?”
Her eyes narrowed as she stared out into the blackness of the night sky and sighed softly, dropping her head and shaking it back and forth. “No. Not for anything.”
“Bad relationship with your parents?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.”
I sighed and leaned back a little, sipping on my tea. “You should go home.”
“What?”
“Even if you have a bad relationship with your parents, you should still go home. If something happens to your mom and you aren’t there…You’re going to regret it.”
“Don’t act like you know about my family life.” She was getting defensive now.
“I don’t know about your family life, but I know what it’s like to lose a parent and never patch things up. It fucking sucks.”
She relaxed a little and glanced over at me. “What do you mean?”
“I lost my dad when I was in my early 20’s. Me and him never got along. He wanted me to take over the family business back home in Georgia and I didn’t want any of it. We had this big falling out and that’s why I came to New York.” I finished off my tea and set it aside. “I didn’t talk to him for years. It wasn’t even that long, actually, but five years was enough. He got cancer and told mom not to tell me because I was making my way in New York. Even after all that shit, he wanted me to be successful and didn’t want to be a burden on me.” I shook my head slowly. “There’s nothing in this world I regret more than not patching things up with him, but if you would have asked me back then, I wouldn’t have ever gone back. It took him dying to make me realize all those fights were just…blips in our relationship. At the end of the day, he was still my dad and I still loved him.”
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