by Claire Adams
But, he collapsed onto me before I could look him in his eyes and tell him.
I felt our fluids slowly flowing from between my legs, but his cock stayed sheathed in my body. My legs lazily wrapped around him while his body rested on top of mine, his breath panting in the crook of my neck. Never in my life had I felt so wanted, and beautiful, and protected.
And that’s when I finally found the strength to tell him what I felt.
What I could feel every single time his skin connected with mine.
“I love you, Christian,” I said, whispering.
He lifted his head, his eyes filled with pleasure, and searched mine frantically. I brought my braced hand up to his cheek as I smoothed my fingers along his skin. I wanted to feel his smile when I repeated it, no matter what it took.
“I love you,” I said aloud. “I love you so much.”
The smile that crossed his cheeks elated my soul and set my heart thumping. He leaned his forehead against mine while we nuzzled our noses together, and nothing else mattered. Not the business, not the world, not anyone’s opinion of our relationship.
The only thing that mattered was the fact that I was tangled up in him, and that’s where I wanted to stay for as long as I could.
But, the growling of my stomach pulled both of us back to reality before we began to giggle against one another.
“I think I ruined dinner,” I said.
“Nah. That’s what microwaves are for,” he said. “Plus, that red wine needed to air out anyway.”
“Mmm, wine. I could get behind some wine,” I said.
He raised his eyes to mine before he slowly slid out from between my legs. My body twitched at the sensation, pulling a grin from his lips before he helped me sit up. I grimaced at the wet spot I was sitting in before Christian helped me to my feet, then I felt his arms wrap around my body as he held me close to him.
“Let’s warm you up some dinner then get you some wine in your system. I think it’ll help you to feel better,” he said.
“You make me feel better.”
I wrapped my arms around his naked body and held him close. I pressed kisses into his chest, memorizing the way he felt underneath the pucker of my lips. I wasn’t done with him yet. I wanted to fall back into bed and hold him close. I wanted to roll him over and sink myself down onto him before riding him off into the nighttime sky.
But he captured my lips in a soft, sensual kiss before my eyes fluttered open to meet his.
“Later,” he said, grinning. “Right now, you need to be taken care of. Now, let’s get you some food.”
“As long as it’s with you,” I said, whispering.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Christian
(Two months later)
I woke up to the sun streaming through the open window, and I saw how it sparkled in Stella’s hair. She’d let it grow a bit, allowing it to come down past her shoulders. I smirked at the streaks I’d left on her back, marking her as mine while she curled up close to my body. My leg was slinked in between hers while I reveled in the feeling of her thick thighs squeezing down onto mine.
These were the times I enjoyed with her. The moments where her life was completely vulnerable. Sleeping was one of the most intimate and selfless things you could do with another person. Someone is at their weakest while they are sleeping, and every time Stella fell asleep next to me it was reaffirming her trust in me somehow.
At least, that’s how I saw it.
I felt her stir, and I dipped my lips in to kiss her neck. She smiled, sucking in a deep breath through her nose before she turned over. The Saturday class she had been teaching at the community college had just ended, so I had my entire Saturday to enjoy with her. I imagined talking with her over breakfast while we were both naked in bed. I wanted to take her out, maybe to the park or to see a movie. Later, I had in mind to sit on the porch with her and watch the sunset tonight while we enjoyed a glass of wine together.
I wanted to make the day devoted to her so she could relax.
“Hello there, Professor,” I said, smiling.
“Hello there.” The sleep was heavy in her voice. I bent down to capture her lips in a kiss. The warmth of her skin penetrated me in ways that made me shiver, and I thought about taking her this morning. I thought about how beautiful her morning pussy would feel wrapped around my cock. I thought about how she would be too tired to move. How I would have full control over her body and her pleasure.
But, I heard her stomach growl, and the sound pushed me in another direction.
“Why don’t you lay here and be lazy? I’m going to make us some breakfast,” I said.
I hopped out of bed and went downstairs to whip us up something quick. I came back upstairs with a pot of coffee for us to share along with two plates of eggs, toast, and fruit. By the time I got back up to the room, she was upright and stretching, and I couldn’t help but take in the luxurious slope of her breasts. They hung heavy and thick upon her chest and beckoned to my lips, but I shook the thought out of my mind as she reached for the plate and began to grab at the air.
“Oh, bless you,” she said, sighing.
I poured us each a cup of coffee while Stella dug into her food. Every once in a while, breakfast in bed was warranted. I hunkered down next to her before I turned on the television, and a show droned on in the background.
It sort of reminded me of our trip to New York City.
“So, how’s the business going?” she finally asked.
“It’s going really well. Our stocks are up, that new doctor we took on in the beginning is officially reordering stuff, and our e-commerce website for ordering directly from our warehouses launched a week ago. In the first week, we’ve doubled our monthly revenue.”
“Wait, what?” she asked.
“Yeah. From the revenue the site is driving, I’ll easily double the income of the entire company. And because the traffic is so high, I’ve thought about advertising donation options. You know, rotating those charities your stepfather was using those stocks for,” I said.
“Christian, that’s incredible,” she said. “And a wonderful idea! When do you think you’ll make a decision on that?”
“I’m bringing it up to the stockholders of the company in a meeting this coming week. Wednesday, I think it is. I’ll have to check my calendar just to be sure, but they honestly shouldn’t have a problem with it.”
“You’re meeting regularly with the stockholders?” she asked.
“Not regularly. But, that was another thing Charles never did. We’ve got some big players hanging onto the stock in our company, and I want them to have input. I’m also putting out a poll to the employees to see what they think of the idea as well. Charles was really hell-bent on making this a family operation, and they are all family when it comes to this company.”
I looked over and saw how broadly Stella was smiling. I loved it when I could make her smile like this, but I especially loved it when I could bring it out in her because of things I was doing with the company. It’d been two months since the entire court debacle, and Stella felt it was best if she didn’t return. I’d tried to fight her on it and even tried begging her to come back. But, she felt that I was capable of doing this on my own. She told me she’d always feel the need to preserve her father’s legacy, and she felt that would eventually hold the company back. She wanted to do right by him and keep the company moving forward, just like her father wanted.
So, Stella took on an adjunct professorship in town at one of the community colleges. She took over the classes for a teacher who had to leave in the middle of the term, and she was waiting to see if the college would hire her on for more classes.
“Excited about summer break?” I asked.
“Definitely. I get that the Saturday classes give me some fun little extra pay, but I’m exhausted,” she said.
“How did the students fare gradewise coming out of your classes?” I asked.
“Two of my classes had the highest
marks in the program,” she said, smiling. “I’m trying to get the departments to understand that it’s less about what you teach and more about how you present the information. Making the classroom more interactive and technologically friendly will help you in the long run. Keeping things so archaic is what’s destroying the education system.”
“Going to completely reform the entire thing, huh?” I asked, smirking.
“Not the entire thing. I’ll start with the the classes I’m given first. You have to take it class by class. I had one class that benefitted from the desks sitting in columns because there were many videos and projections to show them, which was fine. But, I had another class where they benefitted more from sitting in a circle and seeing everyone because the class was based a bit more on personal experience and stories that were shared. It’s not revolutionary, but figuring out how your students learn to the best of their abilities is key to reforming the classroom.”
“Sounds like you’re getting this thing all figured out. That’s impressive to do in only a couple months,” I said.
“Honestly? I’ve thought about it ever since I went through school. I knew there were classes I would’ve done better in had the classroom setup been different or had different implementations of tools been used.”
“I thought you got straight A’s?” I asked.
“Well, I would’ve gotten higher A’s,” she said, grinning. “Anything else fun happening with the company?”
“Not really. I mean, I’ve got some ideas of things, but I haven’t really sat down to plan them out or anything. I’ve got three new client meetings coming up as well as many doctors we already service wanting a sit-down with your father’s latest patent product. I swung it so we hold the patent and the license, so they can only get it from us.”
“Wonder where you got that idea from,” she said, winking.
“You’ve got a good idea every now and then.”
She giggled before she took a sip of her coffee. I could feel her eyes on me, and it caused me to become very self-aware of what was happening around me. I ate with precision and kept my breathing steady. Every time Stella looked at me the way she was right now, it made me nervous. Not because I thought something bad was about to happen, but because it always brought a question to the forefront of my mind I’d wanted to ask her for a couple of weeks.
“Your mother would be proud of you, you know,” she said.
The statement caught me off guard, and I dropped my fork. I looked over at her before I swallowed the last of my eggs, and all she did was tilt her head and offer me a smile.
“Your mother didn’t die thinking she hadn’t done enough, Christian. She thought she hadn’t been alive long enough to see you come into your own. She was never disappointed in you, but if she was, she sure as hell has no right to be now. You’re a businessman, and a successful one at that. You’re not only emotionally grounded, but you’re fiscally responsible. You’re supporting yourself as well as an entire company of employees who look up to you. You’re supporting me and all the things I’m now trying to reach for. You’ve become more than your biological father could’ve ever become, and that she would be incredibly proud of. The company is thriving because of you. It would make them both proud.”
Tears rushed my eyes, and I had to take a moment to gather my thoughts. It was now or never, asking her what I wanted to. I’d been batting the idea around for a little while, but I kept postponing asking her because I wasn’t sure how she would react. What she would say.
But now more than ever, I knew exactly the answer she would give me.
“Move in with me, Stella,” I said.
This time, it was her turn to drop her fork.
“You’re here all the time anyway. You’ve moved in most of your clothes for work, you cook your meals here. You help me grocery shop and pay the bills. You practically live here anyway. Why don’t you move the rest of your things in and make it official?”
“You want me to move in with you?” she asked.
“Stella, every morning when I wake up with you in my arms, it’s like a fire has reignited within my body. You are my morning caffeine. My daily dose of vitamin C. You make my life wonderful, and if there’s more of you to be had, then I want it all to myself. I want you here in my bed every night and every morning for as long as you’ll stay. Move in with me, Stella.”
I saw a smile cross her face before she threw her arms around me in happiness. I felt her smile grace the crook of my neck while her breakfast plate teetered on her lap, but the moment she started placing kisses upon my skin I knew I’d gotten my answer.
“I guess we could go pick up a few things today since I don’t have classes.” My skin tingled at her touch as the two of us sank down into the sheets.
“Whenever you’d like,” I said.
“Maybe we could move a bit tomorrow, too,” she said before she wrapped her hand around my cock. “Maybe put some of my furniture in storage.”
“Or the basement,” I breathed. She slowly began to pump my cock as my eyes fluttered shut.
“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? I figured you’d be happy with my answer.”
My head flew up and captured her lips in a kiss before I pulled her down to my body. Our breakfast tumbled to the floor, making a catastrophic mess while her legs straddled my pelvis.
The love of my life was moving in with me, and I would take her body while it warmed in the morning rays just so she knew how happy she made me.
Epilogue
Stella
(2 Years Later)
Today had been insane. It was the last day of the semester, and I was ready for summer break. I had just finished grading final exams, and no matter how many times teachers grumbled about grading tests, I absolutely loved it. I always gave tests the old-fashioned way: on paper so I could give them back. I always stuck them in students’ boxes or mailed them out. I’d make notes on what they got wrong and why, and I loved leaving them little anecdotal pieces of information they could take with them throughout their studies. I’d like to think they appreciated it, but really it was me who appreciated all of their hard work.
I gathered all my things and shoved the tests into my briefcase. I’d worry about getting them to the students later. Right now, it was time for me to go home and enjoy the first day of summer break. I knew Christian wouldn’t be off work until later, so it gave me some time to organize everything before he got home. I wanted us to go do something tonight, maybe have a nice dinner or take in a nighttime stroll in the park. But, I wanted to put something sexy on under my clothes.
It wasn’t that we didn’t have sex, it was just that he’d been a bit distant lately. I knew things were picking up with the business, especially since the website was such a success. He was busy creating and hiring a small customer service area of the company that dealt specifically with issues regarding the website and shipping from the warehouses, so I knew he was stressed. That stress mounted into late nights like it did with my father when he was still alive, and that meant he didn’t have the time or energy to be as intimate as we were used to.
So, I wanted to take the reins on it. If he wasn’t walking through those doors at 6 tonight, I was marching into his office and demanding his time. I’d bought a new lingerie set I wanted to try out on him, and I wasn’t taking no for an answer.
But, when I came out of the building and started walking down the steps, I saw Christian standing there with flowers.
I scurried to him and threw my arms around him before I plucked the flowers from his hands. I buried my face into them, sniffing deeply while his eyes were on me. I hadn’t expected him to be here, much less have the time to be here in the early afternoon. This was usually the busiest time for the company, and I wondered what had happened.
“Is everything alright?” I asked.
“Everything’s perfect,” he said, smiling. “Happy first day of summer break.”
“I was thinking we could go on a nighttime walk t
hrough the park or something if you’re feeling up for it,” I said.
“I think that sounds incredible. But, I have something I want to show you first,” he said.
The smile on his face was one I hadn’t seen in weeks. It made his eyes sparkle and crinkled his cheeks. His neck was flushed with anticipation at whatever it was he had to show me, and it made my heart soar. For today, the Christian I knew and fell in love with was back, and I was going to drink in every single part of him while I could. I knew he had a stressful job, especially with the transitions and rebranding he was doing with the company, but I did miss him.
I was so glad he was here.
He took my hand, and we walked across campus. We headed over toward the auditorium, no doubt probably trying to get back to his car. The only guest parking on campus was behind the auditorium unless you wanted to pay for a parking pass, but the moment we rounded the corner I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“Christian?” I asked.
The entire area behind the auditorium was decorated. Flowers that matched the bouquet in my hands were everywhere. Rose petals led to a gazebo that I remembered as being rundown, only now, it wasn’t. It was painted a vibrant green and had been sanded down and smoothed. People were gathered around, everyone from my colleagues to the president of the university. Christian led me into the middle of the refurbished gazebo before he turned around, but all I could do was take in the flowers and sights around me.
“What in the world is all this?” I asked.
He sat us down on the bench that lined the gazebo before I finally looked over at him. His smile was broad, but his eyes were nervous, and for a split second, I thought he was about to tell me something had happened with the company.
But, the moment he started in on his speech, I knew exactly what was happening.
“Stella Harte, you light up my life in ways I can’t explain. Every morning I make sure I’m up before you just so I can see how peaceful you are in my arms. The fact that you feel so trusting of me to sleep next to me every single night is something I’ll never understand.”
