Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
H is decision was made. He wasn’t losing Lucy. Whatever it took, whatever it cost, he wasn’t letting her slip through his fingers again. Having her fall apart so violently and beautifully in his arms had sealed the deal.
When this started thirteen days ago, she’d wanted her father’s company and he’d wanted to atone for failing her four years ago. Those things were still true, but now his mindset had shifted and locked in. He wanted to make up for what he’d done, and he wanted to keep her. Forever.
Nothing could have prepared him for the detonation that occurred when Lucy gave in to her pleasure. How had he lived so long without this? Having her lax and limp against him as if she was content to fall asleep right there in his arms. If it weren’t for his raging hard on, he might have let her, but he needed to move, relieve some of the tension, or this evening would end on a very messy, low note. Gently, he lifted her from him, and she moaned in protest.
“Come on gorgeous, time to tuck you in.” He set her on her feet, intent on getting her to bed without looking below her eyes .
Her dress was a mangled mess around her waist, her panties twisted at her hips and thighs, so her unbelievably stunning breasts had to be on full display.
So…it was eye contact only, as he ushered her to her bed and sat her on the edge. Only when her eyes zeroed in on his crotch did he realize her face was now perfectly level with the part of him that was threatening to explode if he didn’t leave her room soon.
“You need help getting into your pajamas or are you good?” he croaked.
Without taking her eyes off the bulge in his jeans, Lucy slowly shook her head, then lifted her fingers to the button above his zipper.
Oh no. His hand shot out and wrapped around her wrist before she could flick the button. “You don’t want to do that,” he warned.
Lucy’s wide eyes looked up at him. Clarity had returned, and her red lips curled into a wicked smile—the kind that was designed to cut a man off at the knees. “Oh yes I do.” Her fingers ran the length of him, and his cock twitched behind the constricting fabric. “I want you in my mouth. Watching you while I swallowed you down my throat is one of my go-to memories.”
Jesus. He’d never had a lover talk dirty the way Lucy did. And as she intended, it was turning him on to no fucking end. If he didn’t move away soon, he’d let her do exactly what she promised and likely a lot more. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to pluck her delectable fingers away from his pants, then he turned to the drawers.
“I think you’ve had more than your fill tonight,” he said, managing to sound surprisingly normal considering he was now so hard it hurt. Pulling a comfortable looking t-shirt out of the drawer, he walked back to her. She hadn’t moved, still sitting bare chested on the edge of her bed, her gaze unashamedly following his cock around the room.
Unfolding the t-shirt, Joel held it above her head. “Arms up, wife.”
A small smile played across her lips as she obeyed without a word, and her trust in his command tugged something inside him that was deeper than the tug in his dick.
He dropped the shirt over her head, relaxing a little when her gorgeous breasts were finally out of view. “Stand up for me,” he urged, holding up his hand.
Again she came to him, rising on her feet, but this time she pressed herself against his chest, and set her mouth to his ear. “Let me touch you…husband.”
Husband. His jaw immediately clenched. There was no room for his dick to even twitch in his pants. She’d made sure of that with one word alone.
Did she mean it? Or was she fucking with him? Playing a game. He honestly didn’t know, but he was desperate for relief. Gripping her face between his palms, he crashed his mouth down on hers and kissed her desperately.
And she met him there, her passion as unchecked as his, her hunger matching every stroke, every dive of his tongue. His hands tangled in her hair as he angled her head the way he needed. Her fingers clawed at his back, hauling him closer. They devoured. And it went on like that until Lucy moaned into his mouth and Joel had to call upon every last drop of his evaporating control to drag himself away.
When they pulled apart, they were both breathless. With unsteady fingers, he stroked her hair out of her face and swiped his thumb along her swollen bottom lip. God, he wanted her so badly. It did not help matters that he knew she’d let him have her anyway he wanted, all night long .
“We’re doing this differently this time, Lucy,” he whispered.
There was a line of confusion that creased between her eyes, so he pressed a kiss into the spot on her forehead. He eased her down onto the bed before she could say anything. Pulling the covers up her body, he tucked the material in on her sides.
“Sleep tight, Luciana,” he murmured, and because he simply needed one last taste of her, he brushed another kiss across her temple.
Flicking off the light and leaving her alone in her room twisted his gut into knots, even though he knew it was the right thing to do. One way or another their time would come, but it wasn’t now.
Good thing he was a patient man. That virtue had served him well in life. The one time he’d rushed into something had been with Lucy, and although those had been some of the best days of his life, they’d been followed by some of his darkest. If that experience had taught him anything, it was that the rush was never worth the pain of the fall. So he attacked life with patience and control, and that cocktail did not often let him down.
Though it did leave him with one pent-up emotion he currently had no viable outlet for. Lust. For Lucy.
Closing himself into his room at the opposite end of the hallway, he considered using his own hand to slake the need, but after what happened in Lucy’s room, it seemed empty somehow. What he needed was a hard run, a cold shower and a few hours of decent sleep.
After changing into athletic pants and a shirt, he tugged on his trainers and tiptoed out of the apartment. Fifty minutes later, he returned from his run and took a shower on the coldest setting. He stood under the spray, letting the water beat down the back of his neck until he couldn’t take anymore. Finally, after toweling off, he laid down in bed.
But sleep, the bastard, antagonized him. When he was under, he only saw Lucy, naked and needy, panting his name like he was the new Messiah. His dreams tortured him, leaving him hot and breathless. A beautiful kind of nightmare. But when he was awake, he longed for the unconscious, so he could feel the blissful torture again. And so it went—restless, fitful, lustful spurts of sleep until he eventually gave up and staggered out of bed at five-thirty in the morning.
As always, work was his most reliable companion, and he lost himself in the rhythm of the process for a couple of hours. Two offers on new plots of industrial land on the east coast, one meeting with the contractor of his current Portland build, and a lot of tedious paperwork—and his personal problems or distractions, melted away. Without Morgan Construction, he wasn’t sure how he’d have survived the last four years.
He loved his work. There was something hugely satisfying about buying land and building something on it that made it more valuable, not only financially, but for people. There was something hugely satisfying about creating homes with designs that made sense for the practical lives people led, and not simply trying to fit as many humans as possible into tiny boxes for the sake of profit.
Two years ago, he’d partnered with the city of San Francisco and a local non-profit to build a housing complex to support those without homes. As his home city exploded in population and poverty rates, affordable housing had become his passion project. And while Morgan Construction was known for their elite high rises—featuring luxury penthouses that Barone & Sons finished with exquisite interior—he enjoyed building safe and affordable housing for those who needed it most.
There wasn’t much return on mixed income housing, but he’d never stop being involved in them.
By 9 a.m., he heard the bedroom door down the hall open and close, followed a minute later by the sound of the shower running. A smile curved his lips as he pictured a groggy Lucy getting under the steaming water. Or would she need a cold one, like he had?
He got up from the table that served as his desk and poured water into his espresso maker. By the time the bathroom door squeaked open, the smell of rich Italian espresso filled the kitchen.
Lucy emerged in the dining room wearing leggings, a loose t-shirt, and her damp hair tied up in a messy bun. Fucking irresistible.
“Coffee?” he asked, pouring some into a cup, because he knew the answer was yes.
Sure enough, she nodded, her gaze dipping before popping up again. Her tell that she had something uncomfortable to say. He took a fortifying inhale.
“About last night…” She slid onto a chair by the table and downed half the espresso in one gulp. “You should know I remember everything.”
“Alright.” He took a sip of his own coffee as he assessed her. He wouldn’t have touched her if he had a single doubt about her memory.
“I wanted you to know, so you didn’t, you know, feel like you’d taken advantage of me or anything. I remember it all, and I enjoyed it so—” She shrugged like none of it mattered, her eyes flitting to the side. “Thank you.”
Joel studied her while trying to contain the annoyance that shot through him. The eye contact was gone, her cheeks were several shades brighter, and she continued to sip espresso even though he was pretty sure the cup was empty.
She was going to brush it off as nothing. He considered challenging her, then opted against it. He wouldn’t play it safe forever, but this morning wasn’t the time to dive into the deep end.
“You’re welcome,” he settled with as he brought the coffee pot to where she was now sitting cross-legged on a dining chair. “Would you like more?”
“Coffee, or…?” She let the innuendo hang there.
He cast her a warning look. She’d already pushed the limits of his restraint last night. If she chose to play with fire, he could make it burn.
“You’re too easy.” She giggled then nodded in the direction of the coffee, and he poured.
When he was done, he shoved a plate of fresh croissants he’d picked up earlier in front of her. “Breakfast of champions.”
She immediately grabbed one and bit into it.
Damn, she was cute. Fresh faced and relaxed. The opposite of the stunning showstopper she’d been last night. He loved both versions. All versions. There wasn’t a single version of Luciana Barone that he wouldn’t marry over and over again.
The ring on her finger sparkled as she lifted her cup up to her lips. When she caught him staring, she quickly put her cup down and sat on her hand. “Now that I’m wearing it, it does feel a bit ostentatious. Vanessa said I needed a bodyguard for it. I can return it for a different one if you want.”
“Do you like the ring, Lucy?” he asked as he strolled over to her .
She nodded slowly. “Of course I do. I mean, who wouldn’t?”
He gently tugged her hand out from under her butt. “Then we’re not returning it. And I expect you to wear it everywhere you go.”
“Right, so the whole world knows I’m yours.” Then she had the gall to roll her eyes when there was a fifty-thousand-dollar ring sitting on her finger.
He had to wander back into the kitchen to hide his smile. “Yes. That’s right.” He opened the fridge and pulled out the tomato juice he’d bought. “Want some of this?”
When he set the glass of thick red juice in front of her, she blinked at it, then back at him. “Tomato juice.”
He nodded as he sat down beside her. “Yes, the best hangover cure, right?”
“You remembered.”
The morning after they’d woken in Vegas, they’d shared the mother of all hangovers. Probably a thousand times worse than what she was feeling right now. Neither of them had many memories of exactly what happened the night before. Only a highlight reel of an Elvis impersonator, a Chippendale witness, and a trip to a souvenir shop for a cheap silver ring. The sex that had followed, yeah, not even being dead could have killed that memory. But save those snippets, most of it had been hazy.
Lucy had Googled how to cure a hangover in less than a day. The search had brought up a tomato juice hack that promised to instantly relieve even the worst hangovers. So Joel had dragged his half-deceased body out of the hotel room and found the nearest kiosk that sold it. They’d spent the morning chugging bottles, showering together, and making love again .
“I told you. I remember everything.” The entire four months of bliss with her were a core memory.
Her eyes narrowed, but never left his as she took the glass. “I wouldn’t really call this a hangover, but thanks.” She swallowed some of the juice and winced. “Ugh. I forgot how bad that tastes. Promise me that no matter how bad our engagement party on Saturday gets, you will not let me get drunk.”
“Of course,” he said smoothly. “I’ll have your back.”
Lucy choked on the croissant she’d been chewing, making Joel wonder if she’d been remembering how well he’d had her back last night. Literally holding her as they sunk to their knees, her back pressed against his chest, his fingers buried inside her, finishing her off.
He cleared his throat. “I thought I would take you to the construction site this morning.” Strangely, he was nervous about inviting her to see his Portland project. He’d taken her to worksites before because he’d always valued her opinion about business.
Lucy had fantastic ideas, a keen eye for detail, and was far better at seeing outside the box than he was. Which was why he was apprehensive about bringing her today. He was trying something far outside the Morgan Construction box and what she thought about it mattered to him. Unless, of course, she didn’t want to go…and judging by the blank look on her face, he couldn’t exactly tell.
“Look, you?—”
“I’d love to,” she interrupted, and his heart started a happy dance. “Let me put something on other than pajamas, and I’ll be ready to go.”
Before he could say another word, she stood and walked back to her bedroom, leaving him sitting at the table with only his sheer relief and a tomato juice as company.