Chapter Nine
Two Weeks Later
They hadn’t returned to his country house, and for the past two weeks, George had been going through the files that Anna-Beth considered worthy of investment. It had taken them one week to finish the “maybes,” and he began to understand why she needed to see more. The solid “yes” category was a lot easier to deal with.
George couldn’t believe that with Anna-Beth’s help, his vision of helping other individuals realize their dreams and bring them to fruition was happening. He also had a call that very afternoon from Malcolm. Her brother wanted to talk to him about her future.
He’d been able to avoid a meeting, and now, as he sat naked in his sitting room, in his penthouse apartment, he looked down at a naked Anna-Beth. They had already made love. He’d not been able to keep his hands off her at the office, and the moment they were in the privacy of his penthouse, it was impossible.
“You’re quiet,” he said.
“It’s nothing, just … these past two weeks have been kind of surreal to me.” She turned to look at him and then sat up. “I guess, I just know that … everything at some point is going to go back to normal, and then, I don’t know, what do I tell my parents?”
George reached out and twirled her hair around his finger. He knew he should tell her what they had planned for her, but he didn’t want to upset her. He saw the tension on her brow.
“Stop worrying about it,” he said.
“Yeah, kind of hard not to.”
Sliding his fingers to the back of her head, he then sunk them into her hair and pulled her close. She didn’t put up a fight and collapsed against him. He took possession of her lips.
Keep her.
George didn’t know why he shouldn’t keep her. They were amazing together, and as he took possession of her mouth, all he wanted to do was kiss her, to keep her, to do everything with her. They could do it. The past two weeks had been proof of that.
Anna-Beth put a hand to his chest and broke the kiss. She had moved to straddle his waist, and as he stared into her eyes, he saw the wicked smile on her lips.
“What?” he asked.
“There is something I want to try.”
“Okay, do you want to tell me what it is?”
She shook her head but there was a blush to her cheeks, which meant she wanted to do something naughty to him.
He leaned against the front of his sofa, and he reached out, spreading his arms out, going either side of him. “I’m at your mercy,” he said. “Do what you want.”
“You’re not going to stop me?”
“Is it going to hurt?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Then I won’t stop you. I trust you.”
Anna-Beth had already averted her gaze, so she didn’t see the shock he was currently feeling. He’d never trusted anyone in his life, certainly not a woman.
She leaned in close and kissed his neck. He closed his eyes, so he wouldn’t ruin the moment, and it also gave him a few moments to compose himself.
Anna-Beth.
She was getting beneath his skin, and rather than his attraction going dull, it only seemed to be getting stronger.
Pushing all thoughts to the back of his mind, he instead focused on her lips. How perfect they felt on his skin as she kissed his neck. Her tongue danced across the pulse, and then she began to kiss down his chest.
She moved toward his nipples, and she playfully nipped at them, and then slid her tongue back and forth across each mounded peak before moving to the next. She didn’t linger, and George already had an idea of what she intended to do, and he had no problem with it.
Staring at the length of her back, he only wished he had a mirror so he could see her cunt and ass.
“Don’t use your teeth,” he said, as the only warning he intended to give her when it came to her sucking his cock.
She didn’t even hesitate as she wrapped her fingers around his length and then took the tip of him into her mouth, circling the mushroomed head, and then sliding the tip of her tongue down that vein at the side.
“Oh, fuck,” he said.
George didn’t know how he was going to last as she finally put her whole mouth over his dick, and then began to sink low on his length, taking more of him, going deep into her throat. The moment he hit the back of her throat, she pulled back before she could gag.
At first, he didn’t even look at her, because he knew how sexy she would look. Those lips had been designed to wrap around his cock, and now that she finally had his dick in her mouth, he struggled to control himself. Anna-Beth made him feel like a horny teenage boy, not used to the pleasure of a woman’s mouth.
So perfect.
He couldn’t resist looking.
Her hair was in the way, and he broke his promise by reaching out and pulling her hair out of the way, and then he saw her working his length, and fuck, he gritted his teeth. He tried to think of something that would stop him from releasing his cum into her throat. Nothing would help, and as he warned her, he felt his orgasm wash over him, startling him in the ferocity of his release.
Anna-Beth didn’t stop as she swallowed his cum—wave upon wave—until he had nothing left to give, and he was so sensitive.
Finally, he gripped the back of her neck, pulling her off his cock, and then he looked into her eyes and kissed her. He didn’t even care that he tasted himself on her tongue. All he knew was that he had to have this woman. She was driving him crazy and he couldn’t let her go, nor did he want to.
She was everything.
Then, he knew why.
He had fallen in love with Anna-Beth Knight. He didn’t know when it had happened, or even how. She was the complete opposite of him. Staring into her blue eyes, he remembered the moments over the past couple of months. The first time he saw her doing yoga on his back lawn, then the dance-offs … the laughter. Nothing seemed to phase her.
Even when he was moody, she met his grumpiness with laughter and smiles. He loved that she cooked for him, and that even though her parents held so much doubt within her, it hadn’t stopped her from being who she wanted to be.
Anna-Beth was a strong woman, and he loved her.
****
It was on the tip of Anna-Beth’s tongue to tell George exactly how she felt. She suddenly didn’t know what harm it could do. They’d never promised each other forever, but she also didn’t want to allow a moment to pass. At least not for herself, and she’d be lying to him if she didn’t admit the truth.
The past few weeks, working closely with him, had been so much better than the past couple of months taking care of his home, even though she loved both. He trusted her in ways no one else ever had.
She opened her mouth about to take that leap of faith, when all too soon there was a sudden banging on the door.
“George, man, I need to talk to you.”
Anna-Beth knew what her brother’s voice sounded like, and she couldn’t help but feel a quick sense of panic at the sound.
“Shit!”
George looked at her.
“I’ll hide in the bedroom,” she said, quickly getting to her feet, and rushing into the bedroom. None of their clothes were on the floor, as they’d already taken a quick shower. Seconds passed, and then she heard the door open and she cringed, because she’d left her wineglass. Hopefully, Malcolm wouldn’t notice it and ask about his company.
“It’s not like you to show up like this,” George said.
“Yeah, man, I’m sorry, it’s just … there is a lot going on right now, and I kind of need your advice,” Malcolm said.
She’d never heard her brother sound so lost before in her life, and she couldn’t help but wonder what had him so concerned.
All she wanted to do was peek through the door, but she stayed behind it. There was no way she was going to close it now, as that would bring too much attention to George.
“Can’t it wait?” George asked.
“No. It’s about Anna-Beth.”
“Anna-Beth.”
She tensed up at her name.
“Yeah, my sister. How is she doing?”
“She’s, uh, she’s great,” George said. “Actually, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“She’s doing great?” Malcolm asked.
Anna-Beth had no idea why they would even be talking about her. Why did Malcolm have doubts about her abilities?
“Dude, what the fuck?” George asked. “You do know your sister is a hard worker, right?”
She heard Malcolm start to laugh.
“I’m serious.”
The laughter stopped and it felt like a deathly silence fell over them. Anna-Beth wanted to be out there so badly, to see what was going on. Instead, she stayed put in the bedroom as she didn’t want to put George on the spot like that.
Her nerves had started to grow.
Was he regretting being with her?
She could understand why. Her brother had clearly dumped her on him in the hope of her becoming someone else’s problem.
“You don’t have a single clue what Anna-Beth is capable of, do you?” George asked.
“Clearly, you’re talking about someone else. My sister does nothing but cause issues. She nearly fucked over the company.”
“No, she didn’t,” George said. “What she doesn’t do is break the law or treat people like they’re complete and total shit.”
“Whoa, George, dude, what’s going on?”
“Simple, I know what you and your family are capable of, and yet, because Anna-Beth won’t do any of that shit, you ship her off to me, or worse, you’re going to find someone to marry her off to.”
This was news to her. Well, she knew George had hinted at it, but she hadn’t wanted to believe it.
Anna-Beth pressed a hand against her mouth. Her family were going to marry her off? Why? To silence her? Was she that much of an embarrassment?
This was … painful.
She knew she should stay behind that wall, and not make a sound, not even breathe, but she couldn’t. Her brother had come here to talk to George about her, and now, learning that he was in on the plan to marry her off, she couldn’t just stay quiet. She wore a robe and was more modest than some of his girlfriends were. She stepped out from behind the bedroom door, took the several steps to find them still in the hallway talking.
“Is this true?” she asked, drawing their attention.
“Anna-Beth,” Malcolm said.
She didn’t allow herself to look toward George. She had to stay focused on her brother and the pain he’d caused by laughing.
“Why are you—”
“No, you don’t get to ask questions, or imply anything.” She folded her arms beneath her breasts and glared at her brother. “You think I’m not capable of hard work. You truly believe I was messing up the company by helping those people?”
“Damn it, Anna-Beth, I don’t think we should be talking about this here,” he said.
“Why not? You didn’t seem to mind a couple of minutes ago, when you didn’t think I was here. I’d love to hear about how you, Mom, and Dad have found a suitable husband. Let me guess, you want me to be someone else’s problem?” she asked. “Am I close?”
“That’s not what this is about, I swear,” Malcolm said.
“But, you’ve still found me a husband?”
He didn’t deny it.
She pressed the tips of her fingers to her pursed lips. “Let me think. You, Mom, and Dad have gathered your impressive brains together and thought of a way to keep me in line.” She clicked her tongue. “O’Ryan, either his son, or him, right?”
The O’Ryans were personal friends of the family. His son was the same age as her brother and George. Both men were playboys. The father had already had five wives, and the son had never married.
They were known for being cruel and manipulative, but those rumors had been buried under many different lawsuits and other problems. No one knew what was true.
Her family would rather see her married off to someone who would make her miserable than deal with her.