"Before you say anything, I think that every woman should own at least one set of matching lace underwear. A woman's body is a work of art and lingerie frames it beautifully. So please accept my gift."
I take a huge gulp of liquid courage and then respond.
"I totally get that you have a deep appreciation for the woman's body, and thank you for the gesture, but you're doing a really bad job of sticking to our no date agreement. No guy gives his friend lingerie. No man buys his cousin lingerie."
"This is not a date. I promise you. I simply remembered our conversation about how you didn't own any matching underwear and thought you might like them. End of story."
"So it's a mercy gift for the poor girl with mismatched underwear?"
"No, Elizabeth." He sighs. "It's just a gift."
He sounds like he means it, like it's the truth, yet there's something about hearing the words just a gift that seems unsettling. Maybe I wish he didn't mean it ... so much?
"Okay."
"Open the next one." He orders eagerly.
I open the next box and take a soft gasp. Inside is a brand new Macbook Pro. The same laptop I'm pretty sure Roman just bought for Joseph when we were at the store earlier.
"How many laptops did you buy today, Daddy Warbucks?"
"Just one."
"One? What about Joseph's?"
"Joseph would never use a new laptop unless he's absolutely forced to. I bought it for you. You were caressing it like you wanted to make love to it in the store." He chuckles. "So I thought it made sense for you to have your own, since you'll be setting up all the other computers to talk to each other. You should be able to talk to them with your own computer too right? No big deal."
No big deal?
"Well you're right about one thing. This will definitely help with the speed of the project, and I'm sure you can write it off as a business expense right?"
It makes me feel better knowing that Roman can at least write this expensive gift off. An employee expense. So it's not really a gift, because this is not really a date.
"Exactly."
"How did you get it wrapped so fast? I was with you the whole time?"
"Captain Dex wrapped it while we were on deck."
"How much did you have to pay him to do that menial task?"
He ignores that question.
"Keep unwrapping."
The third box is the smallest. It's the shape of a thin, rectangle. Like a box you would use to gift women's gloves. I can't believe my watering eyes at what's inside.
Money ... Seventeen thousand frackin' dollars!
The exact amount stolen from me.
"Roman!"
"Listen first," he orders. "If you were a client of mine, Elizabeth, I would have tracked down all three of those douchebags, squeezed their throats for that seventeen thousand plus fucking interest, and then I would have put them in the ground, or make them at least wish they were dead. You say you really don't know what I do for a living. Well that's basically what I do.
"But since you aren't my client, and since I know that isn't your style, I'm doing the next best thing to rectify the situation. If Joseph knew about the money, he would have made you take it from him. So I'm just doing what families do. Take care of their own."
I try to speak, but he puts a finger up to silence me and continues talking.
"Now you can go do whatever the fuck it was you were going to do with the money. You're not beholden to Joseph or Juliette, your parents, or even waiting on the angel investor. You can move out of the house if you want. Or if you stay, then at least it will be on your terms. Not because you feel like you have no other options."
I am utterly speechless.
I don't know who this is sitting in front of me right now. I feel like I'm seeing a different Roman. Another layer. And it's not because of the gifts, but it's because of the thought that went behind them. The effort to make me happy. It's making me seriously consider breaking my own no date rule.
That's when I climb on top of Roman straddling his lap.
He's already hard, and it takes everything in me to not start riding his bulge right away. His hands instinctively hold me around my waist so I won't fall; and his breaths seem just as ragged as mine are shallow.
"I thought we were going to keep this Rated-G tonight, Duchess?"
"What about PG-13, Masterson?"
Roman grins.
"I should buy you shit more often if this is how you're going to react."
Our bodies start to rock in tandem with the movement of the boat. Together we feel like a lone buoy in the middle of the water.
Alone.
Erotic.
Peaceful.
Roman motions silently for me to raise my arms and then he lifts my shirt above and over my head and tosses it across the room. He slides the cups of my bra down so that my breasts are on display and my nipples pop free. As soon as the air hits them they become hard as diamonds.
Roman leans me back a bit, but makes sure to hold me so that I'm stable on his lap; he licks his lips, then clamps his mouth down on my right breast. Using just the right amount of suction, he elicits a groan from me that pleases him. I can feel him smiling with my nipple still in his mouth.
"Tell me what you want Duchess." He says with his mouth full of boob.
He knows I'm not a talker. It's like I have marbles in my mouth when it comes to dirty talk. I'm too nervous to say what I really want. I'm not sure if it's a confidence issue or just a I haven't done this before issue, but I just feel like everything I say is going to be stupid. So I don't say anything.
Roman pulls his mouth off of my breast, pops his head up, and stares me straight on with a serious look across his face.
"Tell me what you want. Do you want me?"
Do I?
"I ... think so."
"Do you think so or do you know so?"
"I know it."
"You know what I'm asking you right?"
I stay silent while Roman kneads my thighs with his strong hands and continues to speak.
"I know you want this dick right now, and I'm ready to give it to you long and deep, and for as long as you ask nicely; but I'm talking about after tonight, Duchess. Do. You. Fucking. Want. Me?"
I swallow nervously and thickly as a thin trickle of sweat rolls down my back. I feel as if my back is against the wall by the question. I guess that's why it seems as if the temperature has risen a hundred degrees in this damn boat. If I tell him yes then I'm afraid what that means moving forward. What will I tell my friends and my family? That I'm dating my cousin?
And If I tell him no? Well ... that I'm more afraid of. What if he never wants anything to do with me again? Just the thought of no Roman in my life is making me nauseous. Can I take that risk?
"I need a little more time."
"How much more?" He growls in that irresistible gravelly voice I've grown to crave like my next breath.
Before I can answer, his mouth is back on my breast. This time the left one. The sensitive one that when pleasured makes me say yes, please, and thank you to almost any frackin' thing.
"Not a lot." I say breathlessly.
Roman slides his hands inside the back of my jeans and inside my panties where he begins to massage my ass.
"I love this ass."
"I know you do." I squirm.
I can feel his thick middle finger start to travel downward and slide along the crack of my ass. My rocking starts to pick up pace as I grind against the enormous bulge in his pants. He continues to apply slight pressure to my opening with his finger as I ride him harder and harder.
This is a new sensation for me; and it's a combination of utter bliss and embarrassment. If he keeps this up much longer I'm going to come right inside my cotton panties. I never even considered that I might like someone touching me in such a private place. I pray that he doesn't want to talk about it afterwards. Roman likes that. To talk afterwards about what I liked and what I didn't like whenever
we've been intimate.
"You want to come, Duchess?" He says in a way that's dripping in the promise of a long night of orgasms.
"Not yet."
"Not yet what."
"Not yet, Masterson."
"Whose ass does this belong to?" He rumbles.
I don't respond.
I just moan in frustration. I want him to stop frackin' talking. I don't want to come yet. I want to ride it out until the last possible–
Too late.
He takes his hand out of my pants and gives my ass a loud whack, and I literally start sobbing as I come. That's how spectacular that orgasm just felt.
"Masterson." I whisper reverently as I wrap my arms around his neck and lay my head on his chest.
"Yes baby?"
"I'm afraid."
"I know, but I've got you. I will never let anything bad happen to you or to us. I just want to make you happy or at least die trying."
What does one say to that? Women wait a lifetime to hear a man say those words.
"Can you give me a little more time?"
"And then will you come to me?"
"Yes."
"Then get up and strip. Let's seal this new deal between us the right fucking way. With you riding my cock until we get back to shore."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
ELIZABETH
It's been a little over three weeks and I haven't heard one peep from Mr. Lambert or the investment group. No one in the house has asked me about it either. Not my aunt, my uncle, or least of all Roman. They all seem to be quite content with the fact that I'm busy networking computers everyday for the betterment of the family business.
My mother hasn't asked me much either. All she's been doing lately is texting me with random tidbits about what's been going in Penn Washington. My seventh grade life science teacher Mr. Basil is dating someone that my mother knows from church, and she can't stop going on about it. My neighbor's daughter Cecilia has moved back home from college and is some sort of tax specialist with the township. Great for her Mom. Also my father recently received a pay increase from the township. The first one he's received in two years. My parents celebrated with dinner out at The Cheesecake Factory.
It's funny how she thinks sending me all these bits of trivia are going to encourage me to move back home when they are having the complete opposite effect. I want to stay as far away from all of that as I can possibly can. Which is why I'm a little anxious that I haven't heard anything from Mr. Lambert.
I've put my quest to move out of my aunt's house on hold for now. Not until I'm sure of what my plan is. Roman giving me seventeen thousand dollars has kind of put a whole new spin on things. I could technically go back to the original plan I had in place.
Hire a full time coder and live off of that money while I put my everything into School Bucks. Of course I know that money will go fast. No one can live off of seventeen thousand dollars for very long. I'd still need to find a job. Find an affordable place to live. Hire a coder from out of the country, because American freelancers cost way too much money.
Hmmm ... now that I take a longer look at things, I'm not so sure that was ever really a solid plan. That's why I'm still hoping to hear good news from Mr. Lambert. More money can't hurt. It can only help my situation.
Sloan: Whatcha doing?
Me: Contemplating my life.
Sloan: No, really.
Me: About to go to work.
Sloan: Where to today?
Me: Your favorite place.
Sloan: Lotus!
Me: Yep.
Sloan: I heard it's a lot better in there now. We should party there again.
Me: Uh, really?
Sloan: Why not? We've got the family hook up to get in and you need to have some fun.
Me: Why do you always insinuate that my life is sad and boring.
Sloan: Umm well...
Me: Ha ha. Very funny. I'll let u know about Lotus later jerk.
Sloan: LOL. Later:)
I don't want to go to the club with Sloan tonight because I know for a fact that Roman will be there. There's some big event going on there tonight, which is why he wants me to double check the computers there today.
For the last three weeks, I've been able to dodge any personal scrutiny in regards to the two of us, because I've either been having my brains banged out by him in his penthouse, or we've gone out on more non-dates where no one knows us.
We've been out for some scrumptious dinners across town several times, we caught a show at Silk City last week, and we've been touring the city at random times via the double decker tour buses. You can hop on and hop off of them at any given time. So together we've visited the Liberty Bell for my first time, Betsy Ross's house, and Love Park.
While technically Roman is giving me some space to accept that we should be together, to go public, people that we know would know immediately that something was up if they saw us together. That's why I make myself scarce when he comes to the house to meet with Joseph, and that's why I haven't brought him around Sloan again. She thinks my "fling" with Roman is over.
Clearly I'm not ready to go public yet.
Explaining to Sloan about my feelings for Roman would probably involve a long night of drinking, screaming and insults. She would not be supportive. She would have lots of things to say about it and not good things. I'm just not in the mood for a fight tonight.
Translation ... I'm a big ass chicken.
***
The Lotus has transformed even more since I was last here. Since I have access to the club's computer database, I see that there are some very high profile new members of the club. Celebrities who are always in the tabloids or the gossip blogs. Many of them are athletes, and a few of them are well known entertainers.
Roman asked me the other night while I was on all fours and he was ramming into me slow, deep, and hard from behind, if I'd be his date to the club tonight. It took every ounce of will power I had to say no.
"Are you sure, Duchess?"
"Yes."
"Head down and ass up." His voice echoed in the room.
Whack!
"That's good baby. Now stay just like that while I work you just the way you like."
I whimpered a few words of gibberish, because it felt so good.
"So tell me, Duchess, are you absolutely sure you're aren't going to come with me? You want me to take someone else?"
"No." I cried.
"No what?"
"No I don't want you to take anyone else."
"So then maybe you should make sure I don't take anyone else and be my date. You can come on my dick right now like a good girl, and then you can come to the club with me tomorrow." He chuckled.
Whack!
"No." I howled.
"No? That answer doesn't make me happy, Duchess."
He stopped his deep strokes.
He stopped everything ... the bastard.
"I know." I whispered regretfully.
He pulled out and told me, "Let's go watch Frasier in the den."
"NOW?" I asked pitifully.
"Yep."
The orgasm bully strikes again.
That Neanderthal wouldn't let me come no matter what I tried. I tried rubbing up on him on the couch. He didn't flinch. I tried giving him a blowjob, but he just pushed me off of him and told me to "just watch the show." I even stooped to the level of saying I had to use the bathroom, so that I could take a minute and rub myself off. That's how frackin' wired he had me. But the orgasm bully was too smart for his own good, and ordered me to "go ahead and pee" after he barged inside the bathroom and bandaged some imaginary cut on his finger.
"Can't that wait until I'm finished in here?" I asked clearly frustrated that he wouldn't leave.
"I'm bleeding and you have to pee. What's more important?"
"Gah!"
So now I have the two most important people in my life wanting me to go to The Lotus with them tonight and neither one is happy with me. There's no pleasing Roman
at this point. All he wants is a yes. All he ever wants is a yes from me.
But maybe I can at least salvage things with Sloan.
***
Me: Instead of The Lotus why don't we go somewhere a little more edgy.
Sloan: You? Edgy?
Me: Yeah I mean The Lotus is real slick and over the top now. Those aren't my type of people.
Sloan: Neither is edgy but fuck it. I'm down for whatever.
Me: Ok so you have any suggestions?
Sloan: Just wear black and I'll pick you up at nine. I'll have it all worked out by then.
Me: Thx Sloan:)
Going out with Sloan tonight is going to be pretty easy, because Roman doesn't seem to be speaking to me. I didn't hear from him at all after I left his apartment and nothing yet this morning. I almost broke down and texted him, but I refuse to give him the upper hand. That is until I stare at the laptop sitting on my dresser. My beautiful, shiny, new laptop that moves lightening fast. A gift that will always remind me of the giver, because he gave it to me to make me happy.
Me: Where are you?
Crickets.
Me: You better be in intensive care or something because, otherwise I don't know why you aren't responding.
Still nothing.
One lone tear rolls down my face.
I hate this.
I hate him being mad at me.
It's not like I don't want to be with him. I do, but not at the risk of alienating every other single person in my life or his. I'm not strong like him. I mean I'm tough, but not in the same way that he is. My family can be annoying and smothering, but I love them. I don't want to lose them.
Roman seems to be able to push people away so easily. I don't know how he can sleep not knowing or caring where his mother is. As far as I know, he has zero contact with her, although I haven't once been able to convince him to talk about her for more than sixty seconds.
Baby steps I guess.
I decide to take the long way to The Lotus for no real reason except that the more Roman avoids me, the angrier I'm growing with him; so now I don't really feel much like helping him with his stupid computers. I've got my own work to do.
Since there's a very real chance that I'm not going to get the money from Mr. Lambert, I need to figure out some alternative ways to get the money. I need to fund my business. Not take care of his.
The Cousins Series Boxed Set Page 28
