Cuffing Her

by Emily Bishop

  And man, did I do it.

  The ride back to my place was a frenzy of lips and hands and pure, unadulterated desire. I’d never been more grateful that Norris was ever the professional. All he’d said when he dropped us at the house were low words of encouragement. “Never let her go again, boss.”

  “Never,” I promised him. I had zero intentions of doing that.

  In the mad dash to my bedroom, our clothes went flying, and our mouths hardy separated. It was as if we were addicted to each other and desperate to get our hands on our next fix.

  Once we were up the stairs, I scooped her up into my arms and carried her to my bed, kicking the bedroom shut behind us. Carefully, I laid her down and took a moment to immortalize the image of Demi half naked on my bed, her lips slightly swollen and a flush on her chest. She was stripped down to her underwear, white lacy things that I couldn’t wait to get her out of. I crawled onto the bed, hovering over her.

  “You are exquisite, Demi,” I said against her ear, relishing the little gasp that escaped. “Absolutely fucking exquisite. Inside and out, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”

  Kissing a path down her neck, I kept telling her all the things that had been rattling around in my head since I admitted to myself that I loved her. Her hand rested on my chest, and I put mine over it, guiding it to my pounding heart.

  “You feel that? My heart beats only for you. You have captivated me. You own me, beautiful. Heart, body, and soul.”

  If Adam heard me now, he’d take back every man card I’d ever been given and probably start a state-wide search for my balls but I didn’t give a fuck. It was the truth. She needed to know it, and I needed to wipe every seed of doubt about how I felt about her from her mind.

  Demi writhed underneath me. My hands went to cup her face, and I brought my lips down onto hers. The kiss started out slow and deep but quickly turned hard and passionate. I was harder than I’d ever been, and I needed to be inside her. Badly. Now.

  But it wasn’t about me. Dragging my fingers up and down her sides, I swallowed her soft little moans and pressed my chest harder against hers when she arched against me. Her legs wrapped around my hips as she started rocking against me. I let her take what she needed, loving the feel of her hot core against my rigid cock until I was ready to explode if she kept it up. We couldn’t have that.

  Demi moaned in protest when I pulled away. “No, come back.”

  “I’m right here, baby. I’m not going anywhere.” My hands went to her luscious breasts, those perfect creamy globes that taunted me every damn day. I traced the line of her bra, making her squirm and whimper. I pressed kisses to shoulders, letting the straps of her bra fall from them. Reaching around her, I deftly unhooked the piece of lace that was getting between me and what I wanted, letting it fall to the floor.

  God, she had the most perfect tits. My mouth closed over one hardened nipple, while my fingers teased the other. I rolled them between my fingers and teeth, nipping and pinching until her fingers dug into the sheets and she cried out.

  “That’s it Demi, let me hear you.” In that moment, there was nothing in the world I wanted more than to hear her screaming my name as she came, while I watched her fall over that edge. And that was exactly what I intended to do.

  I propped myself up on one elbow, watching her watch my fingers drawing patterns down the soft skin of her chest, then her stomach. Heat radiated off of her as I played with the elastic waistband of her panties, tracing the outline of the skimpy things until her hips bucked up.

  “Barrett, please.”

  “We’ll get there, beautiful. Let me savor this.”

  “Savor it later,” she groaned.

  I couldn’t stop the grin spreading on my face. I fucking loved this woman. “I can’t. I’m in the moment.”

  Her hips rolled again as her half-lidded eyes found mine. “Are you ever going to touch me in this moment?”

  “Yes,” I said, pressing my thumb down on her clit and wishing that I could have recorded her answering moan.

  I pushed her panties aside and ran my fingers over the seam of her wet pussy, up and down her slit but avoiding any more contact with her clit.

  “You feel so good, Demi. I love how you greedy your pussy is for me.”

  I kept stroking, dipping my fingers into her, then withdrawing. Again and again and again. The flush on Demi’s chest deepened, and her lips parted, the sexiest little moans and gasps falling from them as she rode my fingers. Her eyes fluttered closed, her forehead marred in concentration as she sought out her release.

  “Barrett, I need more,” she pleaded, her walls clenching at my fingers.

  “I know, baby.” I kissed her deeply as I slid two fingers into her and pressed my thumb to her clit. Bringing my head to her chest, I drew a nipple into my mouth and bit down with just the right amount of pressure. A couple of strokes later, she was writhing and moaning under me, her hips bucking as her cleft clamped onto my hand.

  “Look at me, Demi. Let me see you come.”

  She did, finally screaming my name as she contracted around me. I stroked her through it, dangerously close to the edge myself, just from watching what had to be the most fucking erotic sight I’d ever seen.

  When her eyes finally opened, it was like she could see all the way to my soul. And that was it for my self-control.

  She must have sensed it, because she tucked her thumbs into her panties and rolled them off. I was still wearing my boxers, but I lifted my ass and kicked them off when she reached for them.

  “I need to make love to you, Demi.”

  “Yes,” she breathed. “Yes, you do.”

  I positioned my cock at her entrance, and my head nudged into her wetness. Slowly, I sank into her heat, my eyes glued to hers, until I was buried to the hilt. She fit me so perfectly. Demi moaned when I drew out and gasped as I slid back in, never once breaking eye contact with her. Again and again.

  “Fuck, you feel too good,” I groaned. “So tight. I want to live here, Demi. I want to set up camp and never leave again.”

  “Please do,” she breathed as she clung to my shoulders, moving in perfect rhythm with me. The bottom of my spine started tingling way too soon, but the way her muscles were sucking at my cock was too much.

  “Barrett,” she groaned.

  “Right there with you, baby.” My breathing was ragged, and my voice strained. My thighs started to shake, and my balls drew up just as she came. I couldn’t hold back anymore. I came with a loud groan, my cock twitching as I filled her.

  I collapsed, still inside of her. Careful to keep my weight from crushing her, I nuzzled my face into her neck and placed a soft kiss on her shoulder. I couldn’t stand not having my hands on her, so when I finally rolled off of her, I brought her with me. Her head rested on my chest, right above my heart.

  “There is something that I should tell you,” she mumbled, pressing light kisses on my skin before she propped herself up on her elbows and looked me right in the eye. “I love you, too.”

  A feeling of elation, unlike I’d ever felt before, swept over me as my lips curled into an uncontrollable smile. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  With that one word, well, following the four others, Demi Fowler made all of my dreams come true. I brought my lips to hers and kissed her with everything that I was. Heart. Body. Soul. It all belonged to her, and I made sure that she knew it from that kiss, as sure as she did from the words I’d said earlier.

  When we finally broke apart, Demi sighed happily and crawled closer to my side as I stroked her silky hair.

  “I can’t believe I was so wrong about you,” she said.

  “What do you mean?” I asked sleepily. As much as I would’ve loved to go another round, the day, and the sleepless nights that had come before it, were catching up with me. Also, if Demi wanted to talk, I would listen. Always. I wasn’t making that mistake ever again.

  “My parents were so callous and cold when I was growing up.
Money was all that mattered. I thought that you were just like them, that you sat around in this ivory castle of yours, counting your treasures all night long.”

  It hurt to hear her say it, but whatever hurt I felt was completely overshadowed by joy that she was back in my bed and the knowledge that she loved me. The cherry on the cake was the classic solitaire ring that sat in my safe, soon to take up residence on her finger forever.

  “You’re my greatest treasure, baby, and you will be forever,” I promised her, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head.

  Epilogue

  Prom Night

  Demi

  “I can’t believe it’s finally here,” Nancie squealed. “All these months of planning and being excited, and it’s here! Are you sure I look okay?”

  She nervously smoothed the front of her dress, looking at me hopefully. “You look gorgeous. For the hundredth time, Nance. You’re beautiful. You look perfect, and Scott is going to come in his pants when he sees you.”

  Nancie’s body shook as she laughed. “You remembered that? I can’t believe it.”

  “Of course, I did. I’ve been saving it as a comeback for months.”

  Nancie was really starting to feel like family to me. Our relationship was stronger than ever, and I thanked my lucky stars for her just about every day.

  “I’ll bet you have. Let’s hope you’re as right as I was.” She giggled.

  “You weren’t,” I told her, knowing Barrett would kill me for it, but sharing the rest with her anyway because she’d started coming to me with all of her questions recently. “Barrett has way too much self-control for that, but he sure as hell made me realize how much he loved that dress later.”

  “I knew that movie was a good idea,” she quipped. Her eyes grew dark and her face somber as she came over to hug me. “Thank you, Demi.”

  “For what?” Despite our closeness, Nancie was still a mystery to me sometimes.

  “For being there for me. Barrett is great, but I’ve really missed having a woman in my life. I can’t imagine talking to Barrett about all this stuff.”

  “His head would likely explode,” I agreed. “It’s my absolute pleasure, Nance. I’m so happy that you’ve taken me into your confidence, and that you talk to me when you have questions instead of just barreling ahead.”

  Barrett and I had managed to find a compromise when it came to the things that Nancie and I talked about. Without betraying her confidence, I kept him abreast of what was going on in her life, and he didn’t pry so long as I promised to tell him if she was in trouble.

  It was a balance that worked well, especially since I’d moved in with them shortly after we’d gotten back together. The very week after that day at Athena’s, he’d convinced me to move some of my things in with him. He’d said it was for his own peace of mind, and since I’d spent every night that week at his place anyway, nothing would really change.

  Initially, I’d agreed only if he promised me my own room. To this day, I still hadn’t slept in the guest bedroom next to his, and all of my things were in Barrett’s bedroom, or as he kept telling me, our bedroom.

  “Now remember,” I told Nancie. “Just because it’s prom night—”

  “Doesn’t mean I have to put out.” She gave me a cheeky little salute. “I know. I heard you the first seven million times. Besides, like I told you—”

  “You and Scott aren’t ready for that?” I finished for her. She nodded and laughed. “That’s my girl.”

  We both froze, glancing at each other over the words I hadn’t meant to say. Then, she slid her arm around my waist and smiled up at me. “You’re going to be the best aunt ever.”

  “We aren’t even engaged yet,” I reminded her, but I’d been wondering about it a lot lately. I didn’t even know if Barrett still had the ring.

  “You will be,” she said.

  But I didn’t read into it. It was something she told me on a regular basis.

  When we descended the stairs, Scott was waiting beside Barrett, wearing a perfectly tailored suit that was courtesy of Barrett’s personal tailor. Except the kids didn’t know. Barrett had invented a fake contest, and Scott had “won” it. I loved Barrett all the more for it.

  A look of intense longing crossed Scott’s features as soon as he laid eyes on Nancie, but he hid it before Barrett could see. Which was probably a good thing, since Barrett was still as overprotective as ever over Nancie, even if he had taken a liking to Scott.

  Nervous energy was flowing from Barrett almost as intensely as from Nancie when I came to stand next to him. I slid my hand into his, and he instantly relaxed. He often joked that my touch was like either valium or Viagra to him, depending on the circumstances.

  “You guys all ready?” I asked, watching them nervously make eyes at each other.

  “All set,” Scott said. “Nicole and the others are in the limo outside.”

  The limo was also courtesy of Barrett, but they knew about that bit of generosity.

  “Have fun,” Barrett told Nancie, drawing her in for a quick hug before fixing a stern gaze on Scott. “But not too much.”

  “Of course,” Scott said.

  I was proud that he was learning to stand his ground with Barrett. And so was the man himself, although he’d only admitted it once, after we’d had too much champagne in the hot tub.

  “Back by midnight, you hear?” Barrett told them.

  Nancie rolled her eyes, but Scott nodded.

  He was standing tall around Barrett, but he was too smart to go poking the bear. We watched them go, laughing as they stumbled into the back of the limo with cheers rising from their friends as they did.

  It was one of the many moments that I marveled at just how easily I’d slipped into Barrett’s life. Having money wasn’t all bad, which brought me to the next thing I wanted to discuss with him.

  “Can we talk?”

  “Uh oh. If it’s a bad talk, then no. I’m busy. If it’s a good talk, then yap away.” Barrett’s eyes shone with humor as he drew me against his chest, dropping a light kiss on the tip of my nose. “Either way, I love you more than words can say.”

  It was a refrain he’d repeated time and time again since that day at Athena’s, though he couldn’t say “in the English language” anymore because we’d taken to learning how to say I love you in every language we could think of. We might not always remember how to say it afterward but we were determined to say it at least once in every language.

  “Eu também te amo.” At least I remembered how to say I love you, too in Portuguese. “But that’s beside the point. I want to set up a charity fund for the families of those affected by cancer. You refuse to let me pay for anything, so I’ve got a load of money saved up, and that’s what I want to use it for.”

  Barrett had announced me as the face of the agency after all, claiming that he couldn’t bear to have me working for the competition and that I’d been perfect since the beginning. Since he could bear to look at me again, he said it was a no brainer.

  I’d agreed, on the condition that if he ever felt like firing me again, he had to sit me down, hear me out, and answer every one of my questions while he listened to every one of my answers. He promised but then surprised me with a contract from his lawyers stipulating that Athena’s was mine, full and clear, if he didn’t stick to the terms.

  When I refused to sign it, he’d threatened to make the entire company shut down until I did. Oh, and to withhold sex. I signed the next day.

  It was a completely unnecessary gesture as far as I was concerned, but he wouldn’t budge, citing that he had promised me that he would do anything to prove to me that he was sorry and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me.

  Before he could answer, my phone buzzed on the table in the entrance hall. It was my mother, and since I’d stopped avoiding my mother’s calls, I shot Barrett an apologetic look. He smiled indulgently as he inclined his head to the phone. I slid my finger along the green line.

  “Honey
, are you two free?” my mother asked. “Your father and I have news. We’re about five minutes away if you have time. I know it’s Nancie’s prom tonight.”

  It was still strange that I spoke to her so often nowadays that she knew exactly what was going on in my life.

  “We’re free,” I said. “The kids just left.”

  Barrett smiled, clearly overhearing the conversation.

  “Is it okay for us to pop in?” she asked.

  I shot him a questioning glance, and he nodded. Barrett and my father had grown seriously close over the course of the last few months. They adored each other and spoke at least as often as my mom and I did.

  “Sure, Mom. See you soon.” I hung up the phone and turned to Barrett. “Do you know what this is all about?”

  “Nope, I would’ve told you, love. All I know is the same as you. They’re expecting the final results any time now.” The anxiety that crept into his voice mirrored the nervous pounding of my heart. “Now, before they get here, I see your idea of starting a fund, and I think it’s great but I also think we can do one better.”

  “Like what?” I arched a brow at him. Whenever his eyes danced like they were right then, he was about to propose something preposterous and expensive, which he also had a way of making happen.

  “Let’s build a whole new cancer wing at the hospital and name it after your dad,” he said, pulling me back to him and nuzzling my neck.

  Sometimes, I couldn’t believe how much I loved this man. “You’re serious?”

  “As a heart attack,” he said into my ear, licking the shell and completely distracting me until the doorbell rang.

  “Darlings,” my mother exclaimed as we opened the door. It was times like this that I was grateful she had too much poise to mention our flushed cheeks or bee stung lips.

  “How are you, Athena?” Barrett asked, pulling her in for a quick hug while squeezing my father’s hand with his free one. “Everything okay?”

  “Everything’s marvelous,” my mother said, hanging onto my father’s arm. He was beaming like the sun itself.