by Stella Rhys
His lips curved against my skin when I slowed down to listen, giving a little gasp at the sound of my pussy sliding over his dick. It was obscene. Like wet lips smacking. The sexiest laugh rumbled deep from his chest as I moved back and forth on his shaft slowly, the sounds of our sex getting me wetter, him harder, like a vicious cycle that ended in him growling as he slammed my hips down on his cock.
“Lukas!”
The pain and pleasure tore so hard through my body that it took a second for me to realize he’d moved us. He had me on his lap now as he leaned back in a chair, breathing hard between clenched teeth while watching me ride him. I could see his heavy-lidded stare on my ass as I watched us in the mirror. I wet my swollen lips as I watched myself.
“That’s right, baby. Look at you,” Lukas murmured. “Look at how fucking sexy you are. Look how you fucking spoil me with those beautiful tits.” He groaned. “This fucking ass. This tight pussy… Christ, you’re going to make me come so fucking hard, Lia.”
As if trying to beat him to the punch, my core convulsed.
As I came, the gravelly filth he murmured launched me even further off the edge. There were stars in my eyes as I felt him pull me back against his chest, his body stiffening under me, and his hands kneading my breasts hard as his orgasm hit. Sitting on top of him, I rode his powerful climax like a roller coaster, relishing in every lurch and spasm of his muscles.
I was amazed that I could do that to him. He was well over six feet of pure muscle but it was my body that brought him damned near to his knees. I loved the feeling. I already wanted more of it.
“Just… wow.” The words seeped from my lips as I rolled my head back on his shoulder, shaking my head for the fantasies I had even after climaxing.
“What?” Lukas smirked as he eased me onto my feet. I bit down on the tip of my finger. “I’ve never seen someone physically embody a dirty thought as hard as you are right now,” he laughed. “Tell me what you’re thinking about.”
“Nothing. Just wondering what it feels like without… a condom.”
His eyebrow shot up but he took several seconds to speak. “Are you trying to kill me right now? Jesus. I can only get so hard.”
I giggled. “I’m sorry, I just… never have. And you’ve been a lot of my firsts thus far so naturally, I had that thought. But let’s go ahead and move past it,” I said with a hint of sass that had him stalking me across the room.
“Seriously though, do you ever take a break from turning me on?” he grumbled, pushing me onto the bed and kissing me for a couple minutes. I let myself melt into the foamy mattress, enjoying the comfort of his weight on top of me and his smooth lips crushed over mine. I reveled in all of it. The hotel, the sheets – just being with a man as gorgeous as him. Whatever I was feeling in that moment, it was addicting and dangerous, and I recognized that thoroughly. I forced myself to feel guilty as I kissed him. And still, I couldn’t stop myself.
“What’s that face?” I asked when he finally pulled away to look me in the eye.
“Nothing. Just if you mean what you just said, there are things we can do to make it happen. But it’s your decision. I’m happy to have you however you’ll let me, so it’s your decision. In the meantime – ” He paused for effect. “We should probably get some breakfast.”
“Yes. I’m a hundred percent with you on that.”
While I washed my face in the bathroom, Lukas ordered off the room service menu. And while we waited for it to come, he presented the amazing surprise of what he had in his black gym bag – fresh T-shirts from his apartment as well as my phone, which Sara had apparently texted him to retrieve early this morning. After getting over the adorable fact that Lukas had gone to fetch my phone for me while I slept, I climbed back into bed, snuggled in his softest V-neck as I shot Sara a quick hello.
Unsurprisingly, she texted back within seconds.
SARA: So he’s a keeper.
ME: Good morning to you too. Also, what??
SARA: I texted him from your phone at like 7AM. He came right here, introduced himself proper, asked me why I was working on a Saturday, asked a couple questions about you…
ME: What’d he ask?
SARA: How long you and I have been friends. What you like to eat for breakfast. What you and I are usually up to on the weekends.
SARA: And then he saw one of your truffle boxes on my desk and asked to look at it so I let him. He asked if I’ve ever eaten your truffles and when I said yes and they’re the shit, he said, “She’s impressive.”
ME: Oh no
ME: That’s so cute
Screw cute – it was adorable. Apparently, Lukas Hendricks had the capacity to be adorable. Either that or I was just really into him. Crap, I thought, chewing my grin as I watched him across the room from the bed. He was unpacking the folded clothes from his bag, as if getting ready to settle in for another night. My toes curled against the plush mattress as he leaned over the duffel, giving me a wonderful view of the rippling muscles on his perfectly tapered back.
I groaned inwardly.
Double crap.
ME: Help me I think I like him
SARA: Girl help ME! You’re at a fancy hotel with an absurdly gorgeous man who ran all over the city for you this morning. And I’m at the office on a Saturday.
ME: He has cute friends if you’re interested but I know you’re not.
SARA: I know. I’m not. I have no time for it.
ME: Well I thought I didn’t either.
SARA: You THOUGHT you didn’t?
SARA: Wait a minute. Does that mean you’re changing your mind about letting yourself like him now?
SARA: Neighbors with benefits??? Yes???
SARA: Please. Let me live vicariously through you.
SARA: Come on. Just say it. You’re falling for this guyyyyyy oooooh yeahhhhh
ME: I can’t be because things don’t happen this fast
SARA: When it rains it pours, baby girl. It’s not a saying for no reason
I scrunched my nose, unable to argue Sara’s claims. When it rains, it pours rang bitterly true to me. In my head, it had a negative connotation but now, it was positive. At least I hoped it was.
Typing some half-assed response to Sara, I hit send and tossed my phone across the bed, giving up on trying to make sense of anything. Of course the second the thing landed, it rang loudly. Lukas laughed as he watched me ignore the call.
“You’re not going to pick up?”
“No. It’s just Sara giving me a hard time.”
Coming over, Lukas picked up my phone. “The name says Elaine Gardner.”
My eyes shot wide open. “Are you joking?”
“No. Who is that?”
“Omigod – the investor!” I hissed, heart pounding as I threw the sheets off my body and scrambled to Lukas at the edge of the bed. He laughed as I grabbed the phone from his hand, watching me curiously as I frantically answered the call on my knees. “Hello?”
“Lia? It’s Elaine Gardner.”
“Yes, of course! How are you?” I asked breathily, despite my best efforts to speak with some shred of professionalism.
“I’m well. I hope this isn’t a bad time… I just want to call regarding yesterday’s meeting.”
My stomach twisted. For some reason, her tone gave me a bad feeling. I wasn’t sure what it was but it must’ve been obvious because I felt Lukas give me a little squeeze. Blinking, I looked down, oblivious to the fact that I’d grabbed his hand out of pure nerves and anxiety.
“It’s not a bad time,” I said, preparing a smile, forcing myself to try and be graceful no matter what she decided.
“Right, well, I want to let you know that I really appreciated your presentation yesterday. I really did enjoy your product and even more than that, I enjoyed your vision for the brand. You’ve clearly thought about this for a very long time,” she said, breathing in audibly as she took a long pause. “At this time, I have a very similar company I’ve been looking to do business with…�
�
Fuck.
My shoulders fell. I heard Lukas murmur my name but I ignored him, hiding my wet eyes from him as I half-listened to Elaine talk about some other chocolatier with a similar product as mine. The second I heard “conflict of interest,” I pretty much tuned out.
“It’s okay,” Lukas whispered as I nodded along to both him and Elaine, trying my hardest to be an adult about all this. But the wave of disappointment was strong and despite surviving that first big hit, I was still reeling. As the rush of adrenaline finally subsided, I heard Elaine’s warm laugh on the other end of the phone.
My ears perked up.
“I guess what I’m telling you is that I liked your presentation enough to forego my relationship with the other company. I’ve chosen to work with your brand, Lia. And if it’s alright with you, I’d like to meet on Monday to begin paperwork.”
My mouth fell wide open. “Oh!” I blurted, bursting into laughter as Lukas cocked his perplexed head at me. I did my best to hold it together for the rest of the call but I was mouthing oh my God on repeat to Lukas and quietly freaking out as he did his best to muffle his big laughs.
Oh my God.
Oh my God.
Finally.
I did it. It was happening. Three years ago, I was underemployed, miserable and living with a man who not so secretly wished for me to fail. Now I was living on my own, working on my own and perhaps just months away from opening my own shop in Manhattan.
The second I hung up, I burst into tears.
“Whoa, whoa. Why are we crying?” Lukas murmured, trying to dig my face out from my hands. “You got it, right? Lia. Look at me.”
When I finally looked up at him, laughing and crying at the same time, he broke into an adorably huge grin that made my heart swell even more.
“I knew it. You’re fucking unstoppable,” he said, cupping my cheeks and kissing my lips like he’d been waiting the entire call to. I tossed my phone aside as we fell back onto the bed again and this time, as I basked in the bliss of his lips and his body on me, I didn’t force myself to feel guilt. I let myself squeal when he said that he was going to order champagne and I giggled nonstop as he suggested – jokingly, I think – that we go to Spain tonight to celebrate. All rules and restrictions went out the window as we lay in bed, rolled around and fought about who would open the door for room service.
For once, in that hotel room with Lukas, I just let myself be.
17
LIA
I wore a peach colored sundress on Monday that matched the satin ribbon on my truffle boxes. It was a borderline cheesy thing to do but I was too happy to care.
My weekend had been perfect.
Beyond perfect.
After getting the good news from Elaine, Lukas popped a bottle of Krug and drank his glass while watching me run around the room calling my friends and family to relay the good news. We stayed the night and when I woke up nervous on Sunday, he booked me a massage at the spa on the hotel’s thirtieth floor. After killing a bottle of champagne at dinner, we went back to the room. The bubbles and the excitement had me dozing off fast but in the middle of the night I woke up hot and breathless from a dream.
All it took were my fingertips drifting down the ridges of Lukas’s abs for him to wake up and roll, cup my jaw and roll on top of me. His fingers inside me were enough to make me come. Of course, the actual sex did the trick, too.
Twice.
I was still glowing from it – so much so that Elaine made a comment about my “dewy skin” during our meeting at a beautiful restaurant on 18th and Broadway. She picked the place because of the ornate floral arrangements and slightly retro feeling that matched much of what I wanted for my own shop. Over the course of two-and-a-half hours, we covered everything about the upcoming project, from décor to location – down to the street.
I wanted to open near home, in Gramercy Park. For such a small, aristocratic neighborhood, it was incredibly diverse, full of both old money and young students from the famous art schools in the area. It was my dream spot for opening my first storefront and in order to find the perfect listing, Gail provided me with several business cards from her most trusted realtors.
I was all set and completely reenergized. I was so completely over the moon that my smile barely faltered when my phone buzzed with a text from someone unexpected.
Ritchie.
Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, I stared down at my phone. The edges of my lips finally twitched back down as I swiped my thumb across the screen to read his first words to me in over two years.
RITCHIE: Hey Lia I hope you’re well. Actually I know you are… saw your dad at the store this morning and he was pretty ecstatic for once. Said you got some big investment deal over the weekend? That’s crazy. I’m so fucking happy for you and I mean that. This has been your dream for so long. It kind of pains me that Mom isn’t around to see.
RITCHIE: So… aside from congratulating you I wanted to text you to let you know I’m finally selling the house. Thinking of getting out of town like you did. Maybe starting my own business. Long story short I was cleaning when I found a box at the back of Mom’s closet that she labeled for you. It says FOR LIA in her crazy ass handwriting lol. I lifted it and it sounds delicate so I’m not about to ship it. And since there’s still a bunch of other stuff that was yours here, I figured I’d see if you’re interested in coming up here to get it.
RITCHIE: That’s all. Sorry for the random text. Hope this is still your number. And I hope you do come by because me and everyone else would be happy to see you and hear about your successes. You deserve all of them. Talk soon I hope.
Thanks to the unexpected message, which prompted a twenty-minute call with Sara, I was late to meet Lukas for drinks – or as he called it, a “date.” His need to make that clear on the phone had put a giant smile on my face, as if I needed any more reason.
Of course that smile was finally wavering now, thanks to the shock of Ritchie’s message. We hadn’t spoken in so long. The last words he’d said to me were cruel and bitter. He’d gone as far as to mention that our old friends wished me the worst for what I did to him. He’d said so many terrible things that stuck with me for years and still did.
So why the hell was I considering going back to that house?
“Miss, please follow me.”
The host I’d given my name to grabbed one of the matte white menus and ushered me through the sexy lounge area, to the back and through French doors that led to the garden patio. It was a sprawling area with ivy walls separating each table and the most breathtakingly up-close view of the Empire State Building I’d ever seen.
Damn.
I was going through a distinct I made it moment as I strode across the roof and followed the host up a short flight of steps to what seemed like some VIP area.
“Here you are, miss. Your party’s right here.
“Oh. Thank you.”
I was surprised when he left me standing there in front of a long table of beautiful people, half of them women – most of those women beaming brightly as they talked to Lukas, who smiled politely despite multiple glances at his watch.
When he spotted me, he practically jumped from the table.
“Thank God,” he breathed out when he came to me. “I was getting ready to get out of here and find you.”
“What’s going on?” I asked. But before he could answer the question, I spotted Emmett coming back from presumably the bar because he had a tray of drinks with him. Trailing at ease behind him was Julian.
“Oh! Hey! I thought you stood my boy up so I made it a party,” he said brightly, spilling several shots as he switched his tray to one hand and held out the other. “Heard all about you, Lia. I’m Emmett, by the way. This is my brother, Julian.”
Julian and I laughed upon looking at each other.
“Yes, of course. Nice to meet you, Julian,” I said as Lukas slipped his arm around my waist. “You know, I never got to thank you for that time you
eavesdropped on my very personal conversation and relayed every detail to Lukas. So, thank you.”
Julian smirked. “Hey. It sped up the process of – ” He gestured vaguely at us. “Whatever this is. So you’re certainly welcome.”
I snorted. Whatever this is. It was a vaguely rude but strangely apt description so I took no offense. Lukas, however, was amusingly wary of my feelings as we approached the table.
“For your information, I’m an asshole but Julian puts me to shame on a daily basis,” he said, holding me closer to his side. “Nothing you can’t handle but feel free to ignore anything he ever says.”
“Got it,” I giggled as everyone at the table adjusted themselves to face Emmett, who gestured grandly at us.
“Everyone, most of you know my brother, Julian. I’ve also got here my brother from another mother, Lukas, and his girl, Lia. Everybody say hi.”
I blushed as everyone turned and gave the loudest, cheeriest “hiiii” complete with two-handed waves. But it wasn’t their attention that burned my cheeks – it was the fact that Lukas stiffened when Emmett introduced me as his “girl.”
Damn it, Emmett, I cursed him inwardly while smiling outwardly in thanks for the seat he pulled out for me. I eyed Lukas as he sat down but instead of the awkward expression I expected, he was already grinning and greeting the suited guy sitting across from him. His name was Bryce and judging from the conversation, he worked with Julian for the Empires’ front office and was someone Lukas sold a home to this year.
“Your man’s a horrible person, by the way,” Bryce said to me, grinning at whatever look Lukas flashed him. “He convinced me to buy a place so fucking out of the budget that now, Jess and I have to put off having kids for at least a couple years. And I might have to work part-time as a groundskeeper for the arena.”
