Chapter 26 #2
Although Sapphire has always been patient with me, even when I tested her or said no to almost everything. I know how open-minded she is and I’m sure she wouldn’t run a mile in the other direction, but that’s a risk I’m not willing to take.
I can’t share that right now. I’m worried about what she might think of me. Will she see me as less than this confident attorney I’ve been portraying for the last few years? I don’t know but I’m afraid to find out. I’m not ready for that. Maybe I never will be ready.
“Kiss me, Eli.”
“I haven’t brushed my teeth.” And I must smell like a champagne cellar master.
“And I didn’t remove my makeup last night,” she counters, smiling, her hands still cupped around my face. “Perfectly imperfect, remember?” She blinks slowly.
With each word, she tests my boundaries, making me do things I once did effortlessly, but now I hesitate, even overthinking my breathing, testing my sanity.
I move in and, to tease and draw out the tension, I don’t kiss her right away. Instead, I run my nose down the length of hers, then kiss the side of her mouth. Once, twice. Barely touching.
“That tickles.” She sighs, the roughness of my stubble makes her shudder, the warmth of her breath dusting the skin of my cheek doing the same to me.
Running my fingertips up the length of the soft skin of her thigh, she inhales and holds it as I reach her ass, which I’ve longed to touch and squeeze, pulling her closer to me.
I groan as she exhales a breath, moaning my name in a sensual whisper; it’s the word I’ve longed to hear. She tilts her hips back and forth with the need to chase her pleasure, her panties wet through with her excitement, soaking my boxers.
“I’m so hard for you, Sapphire.” The head of my cock pulses with need and desperation for her.
With her eyes half-closed, her chest rises and falls in anticipation, as I move to the shell of her ear and nip at her earlobe.
Stretching her neck to the side, she invites me to move my lips to the delicate spot on her neck, just behind her ear, and she shivers again when I kiss, lick, and bite.
All the while, she rocks against me, my fingertips now exploring the bare skin of her back under my shirt.
We moan out loud together, then she follows it up with a small whimper, leaving her lungs.
I make my way back to her lips, delicately ravishing her neck, peppering feather-like kisses across her jaw, moving closer to where she wants me to be, to give her what she wants: to be kissed.
With my hand still inside her shirt, I cup the back of her neck, gently tilting her head so our lips align.
She must sense my vulnerability, second-guessing my next move, and her face relaxes into a reassuring smile as I lick my lips in anticipation, her fingertips dancing over the bare skin of my back, luring me in like honey to a bee.
Her small nod is all it takes for me to cover my mouth over hers, gripping the back of her head tightly because she’s not close enough. I want to consume her, want her to consume me.
Together, we breathe heavily against each other, our lips pressed together in what, I hope, is the first of many kisses.
Threading my fingers into her hair, I use my other hand to pull her hips into mine, rubbing her against me, encouraging her to get herself off.
Her mouth drops open as a gasp leaves her mouth, and I take this as permission to slide my tongue into her mouth, her tongue colliding with mine.
More grinding, more panting, desperation rises as I moan into her delectable mouth which feels like heaven, our tongues twisting together in perfect harmony.
I thrust my hips upward, feeling the need to fuck, and if I’m not careful, I might come in my boxers from just a kiss because a kiss has never felt this good. So right.
We’re sealed together, our hearts pounding like sparks starting a fire.
She breathes my name between kisses, and I swallow a deep growl as she scratches her nails down my back, my muscles contracting from her touch.
Her tongue licks mine with scorching heat before she bites my lower lip and sucks it into her mouth.
I slide my hand from the back of her head, down her spine, to her side, and brush my thumb over the curve of her side boob.
Her nipples pebble with desire through the thin cotton separating us, her warmth pressed into me.
I kiss her possessively, showing her what I struggle to explain with words.
My cock strains against my boxers, precum soaking the fabric even more. This woman is undoing me, wrecking me for anyone else.
The whooshing sound of a door opening is what I hear next, then my brother’s voice, “Morning, loser, I thought you were going home last night?”
Cole.
Sapphire and I stop kissing immediately, and she tucks herself into my neck, sounding out of breath, allowing me to eyeball my brother over her shoulder with a look that tells him to get out.
Startled by Sapphire’s presence, as if in slow motion, Cole then says, “Mom’s… asking… what… you… want… for… breakfast… Shit,” he adds. “Sorry.” He sounds mildly apologetic.
“Will you, please, in the nicest possible way, kindly fuck off, Cole? I’m busy.” My chest rises and falls as Sapphire snorts into my shoulder.
“I can see that,” he replies with a wicked grin, unfazed.
“And yet, you’re still standing there,” I point out.
He waves me off. “You kids have fun.” He goes to close the door. “At least someone is getting some. God, that’s so fucking depressing,” he mutters on a sigh, sounding melancholy. “Mom wants you down for breakfast in thirty minutes.”
“How did she know I was here?” I shout out.
“She knows everything,” he calls back.
She’s like a three-eyed raven.
I feel a little embarrassed. I’ve never had a girl stay overnight at my parents’ house because we weren’t allowed to.
That was one of Mom’s rules that we always followed.
Even at thirty-seven, I worry I might get in trouble.
She might punish me by making me try eggplant again.
I hated it when I was ten, and I hate it even more now.
Just thinking of the texture makes bile rise at the back of my throat.
“Sapphire is a vegetarian,” I call after him, letting him know to tell Mom.
“Okay.” Cole ends our conversation, his voice drifting down the stairs, then I hear mumbles of voices below us in the kitchen, Cole laughing with Mom. Idiots.
Sapphire untucks herself from my neck and nervously laughs. “I’ll never be able to look your brother in the eye again. This is very unprofessional of me, and I feel like a teenager getting caught making out with a boy under the bleachers.”
“I wish I’d met you when I was in my teens.” How things could have been so different.
That makes her blush, blotching her cheeks with pink.
“I think our paths have crossed just at the right time, Eli.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. It’s what fate intended.”
I don’t believe in fate, or luck; in my opinion, we make our own luck and fate, but I keep that to myself. The moment is too precious to ruin.
I nod and kiss her briefly before informing her, “My mother is expecting us for breakfast.”
“Is your whole family here?”
“I don’t know.” That’s the truth. Nathan and Arianna spent the night in the honeymoon treehouse, and Cole stayed here, but I’m not sure about Max.
Also, my dad isn’t here, which leaves us feeling incomplete.
I keep that to myself too. I’m still not used to him not being around for Sunday breakfasts.
“Are you nervous?” I ask, pushing thoughts of my father’s absence aside.
Sapphire is usually so confident, and I’ve only seen her doubt herself a couple of times.
“We’re stepping into new territory. From business to a wedding guest to kissing each other.”
“Like an actual couple.” It’s cute how nervous she sounds.
“You hit it off with my family yesterday and they all think you’re lovely.
” That’s exactly what she is: lovely. “And who cares that we are crossing the line between business and pleasure?” We don’t have anything in our contracts that says we can’t date contractors once they’ve won the contract.
Before the deal is signed—yes, so there is no nepotism involved, but not after.
That suits me just fine, because now I’ve had a taste of her, everything that’s been holding me back has vanished.
All I can think about are her little whimpers this morning.
They’re enough to make me want to burn down the world for her.
“Will Cole tell everyone we were kissing? I’m a professional, Eli,” she says before nibbling on her bottom lip.
“A professional kisser,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.
“Look. You came to the wedding as my guest, and I know you said it was to immerse yourself in everything that is us as a family, but I think you secretly wanted to come with me as my plus-one to make sure I wasn’t taking anyone else. ” I give her waist a playful squeeze.
The way my brothers poked fun at me yesterday as we stood in line waiting for Arianna to appear makes me think they had already guessed that something was happening between us. At any other time, if my mind were in a better place, I would have asked her out on a date weeks ago.
“Okay, maybe I was,” she admits. “But I don’t date clients, kiss them, or spend a night in bed with them.
” Her voice comes out rapid as if she’s having a meltdown, but my family won’t care or question us.
“I’ve never slept with a client, I promise,” she vehemently states with a fierce shake of her head.
“I can’t deny that I used the wedding as an opportunity to speak to Adrian Price because I want to build my own conference center and I knew he’d be there yesterday and I haven’t been able to get a meeting with him because he’s so busy.
Plus I sort of used yesterday as a business networking opportunity.
” She looks embarrassed when she shouldn’t be.
She’s driven, and that’s just one of the things I like about her.
Sapphire adds, “But mainly… I wanted to come as your plus-one because I like you, Eli.”
That makes me feel special. “I believe you.” Sapphire has always been honest and professional with me. Well, aside from calling me Sir Grouch-a-lot.
She pauses before speaking again. “You just crossed my boundary from client to lover, Eli Hart.”
I burst out laughing at her use of the word lover, even though we’ve only kissed, then glance at the clock on the side unit on the far side of the room and groan; breakfast. My brain screams at me to focus.
I hate that we need to stop this, but there’s no getting out of it.
At least this way, I can save the getting to know her and the lover part for later.
“I like this boundary we’ve crossed,” I say, smirking. “It… feels good.” Fucking great.
Her lips twitch like she’s fighting a smile, and I know she feels it too.
The pull, the tension we need to work out.
Together. Hell. The thought of her screaming my name as she comes all over my cock is enough to make me want to remove the shirt she’s wearing and fuck her into next week.
But I can’t, not under my mother’s roof.
Not ever. Manners and respect are what are expected of me, from us all.
“We have to go, and I will do my best to focus on anything but touching you.” It’ll be a breakfast from hell when all I want to do is taste more of her and claim her.
“I don’t have anything to wear, Eli.” Her mouth pulls to one side in a grimace.
“Arianna keeps clothes here because she stays over often. I’ll text her, and she can give you something.” It won’t be her style, but from what I know of Sapphire, she’ll figure out how to make it work to her advantage.
“Okay.”
“Are you ready to meet the family again?” That is, after we take a quick shower. Separately, otherwise I might not be able to restrain myself.
“Awkward situations are what I’m built for,” she assures me.
She’s not wrong about that. She’s been managing my awkwardness ever since she first walked into my office all those weeks ago.
A flicker of doubt shifts across her face and I know what she’s going to say next.
“But I think I should go home, Eli. I don’t want to intrude. Breakfast with your family feels a little too intimate.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” She nods. “I can call a cab.”
“If Cole has his SUV and not his Ferrari, then he will take us both back into the city.” I usually hate skipping breakfast but on this occasion I don’t mind, especially if it makes her feel more comfortable.
“Okay.” She agrees without a fight.
Maybe I should have kissed her sooner.
“Kiss me again, Eli.”
How can I argue with that? I can’t. So, I do as she asks and kiss her deeply, savoring her taste and her soft lips. I hope I get to kiss her every day.