Chapter Thirteen—Sonny
We spent the days leading up to the big tasting together, and it was the best damn time of my life.
Del only went home to shower sometimes, or get more clothes, especially panties, since I kept stealing all of hers.
What could I say? The woman made me crazy.
Far as I was concerned, she didn’t need underwear when she was here. Or ever.
The pair she wore this morning had tiny little cupids all over them and a big red heart right over her sweet little ass.
Letting her leave had taken all of my strength. But I did it, knowing tonight those panties would be mine to rip off.
Silly woman had asked me if I wanted her in silk and lace, but I shook my head. Those things were fine and good, and she could wear whatever the fuck she wanted.
But I would always remember my first time with my sweet, sexy Del and her cute cotton panties.
Fuck.
The image of her bent over my bathroom sink after we’d showered together filtered through my brain, and I groaned aloud, making Buck look at me like I lost my mind.
I so did not need a hard on while I approved the finishing touches on the décor for the tasting.
Valentine’s Day was always hit or miss for the bar scene, but we’d already seen a steady influx of customers and curiosity about the goings ons in the party rooms was booming.
This was going to be fucking great for business, and for my label. I just needed Blair Group on board.
Now, while those were all super fucking important to me, the thing that really had my pulse racing and palms sweating was a certain box burning a hole in my pocket. I looked at the clock.
It was almost time for me to leave and get ready. Buck had the final setup instructions as per Delanie, and her friend Jan was coming by to help.
I wished I could go pick her up, but she insisted on meeting me at the bar. I had to take ten deep breaths to calm myself or else I risked crashing my truck. I was that fucking nervous.
As it was, I drove home in half the time it normally took. Showered, shaved, with a splash of cologne on my face, I headed back to The Whiskey Bar, bouquet of brightly colored Gerbera daisies in hand.
Delani had told me once that she loved them, and I remembered. I just hoped she didn’t mind they weren’t roses.
Fuck. Maybe I should have gotten both?
Oh well. Too late.
I shifted into park, exited my vehicle, and headed into the bar. Flurries had already started to fall, but I didn’t feel the cold.
Why should I? I was so fucking hot to see my sweet Delani, I could have been at the North fucking Pole, and I wouldn’t have felt it.
I should have been excited about the tasting, but all I could think about was her. Picturing her laying across my bed last night, I groaned out loud.
She was so beautiful and perfect. Like a bolt of ivory silk spread cutting across the dark sheets, spread out for my pleasure—and hers, too.
Definitely hers.
I made fucking sure of it.
Was it normal for a man to be so hell bent on pleasing a woman? I had no idea, but if not, it fucking should be.
Christ, when she came, it was like a choir of angels ringing in my ears. She made the sexiest damn noises I ever heard.
“Sonny Delgado?” a woman purred in my ear.
I turned with a blank expression on my face that twisted into a frown. The woman placed two hands on my arm and my skin positively burned with the need to push her off.
I was a business owner, though, and I shouldn’t be rude. Still, I needed her to stop fucking touching me.
The stranger was slightly younger than me, with thin, long, straight hair. She wore a lot of heavy makeup and an expensive black dress.
I didn’t recognize her. She was nice looking if you liked that sort of thing. Which I didn’t. I removed her hands from my arm and turned on a polite, business smile.
“Yeah, I’m Sonny Delgado. What can I do for you, miss?”
“Cynthia Blair of Blair Investment Group,” she replied. “And you look every bit as good in person as you do on your website, Sonny.”
The woman raised her eyebrows and stepped back, looking me over from head to toe like I was a piece of meat before offering her hand.
I wasn’t a fan of the possessive glint in her eye. The kind that said I looked like a challenge she’d enjoy.
No fucking thanks.
I was not interested in her or anyone other than Delani. And I sincerely doubted I would be ever again.
Oddly enough, that didn’t scare me.
In fact, I couldn”t fucking wait to tell the woman who’d been haunting my dreams and taking up just about all of my headspace for the last few months that I was fucking crazy about her.
“Cynthia?” an older man appeared next to Miss Blair, followed by a few other people. “Is this the young man you spoke about?”
“Yes, Uncle Albert. This is Sonny Delgado.”
“Mr. Blair, it is nice to meet you.”
“Come on, Sonny. Let me make some introductions.”
“Sounds good, sir. Have you been waiting long?” I asked, curious since they were a full hour early.
“No, no. We just arrived. I wanted to check to see if you were prepared, now don’t worry, we like what we see. The board and I have been looking around the place, Sonny, and I have to say, you’ve done well. This is a fine establishment,” Albert Blair said, looking around at the bar.
I should have been pleased, but really, I was annoyed. Though not as petulant and arrogant as his niece, Albert Blair had the same holier than thou look many people born into wealth seemed to have.
To my disappointment, the rest of the Blair Group seemed much the same.
While they went on about the history of whiskey, and the merit of a good label. I put forth my two cents and plainly as I could.
“Whiskey Neat is not seeking to compete with the older, staid brands that have cemented their positions in the market. It is something for the newer generation of men and women,” I explained.
“Sophisticated, light, with a pleasantly balanced nuance of flavors guaranteed to please everyone from the newest whiskey drinkers to those with the most refined palates. I started my distillery as an experiment fifteen years ago, and the oldest bottles are on reserve to be released next year as a special label.”
“That sounds wonderful, Sonny. But will anyone buy it?” Albert Blair smirked.
“Yes, Albert, I believe they will. They already are buying the five-year blend, and the future of my label looks promising. I think, after tonight, you’ll think so too,” I told him.
“Well, shall we then?” he asked.
For the next fifteen minutes, I kept the Blair Group entertained outside of the party room reserved for the tasting while covertly looking for Delani.
I needed her there, with me, by my side, dammit. I knew I was acting like a lovesick puppy, but what could I say?
The front bar was packed, and I looked around in semi surprise, figuring tonight was reserved for people on dates.
Looked like many people didn’t have romantic plans this Valentine’s Day, but for once, I did. With a very special woman.
A woman I was crazy about.
Fuck. Where was she?
Finally, Buck signaled, and I led them into the party room, which was officially set up for the tasting.
“Before we step inside, allow me a moment to thank you for taking time from your schedules to join me tonight. I hope you will enjoy the food and drink pairings here for you tonight. Everything is from local vendors and customized to go with my specialty cocktails. There are also straight shots for those of you who prefer your Whiskey Neat,” I said with a wink, enjoying the pun before I opened the doors. “After you.”
I backed up, opening the door to the party room without turning my head. Judging from the looks on the faces of each member of the Blair Investment Group, we’d hit the nail right on the head.
Elation and pride filled me, but my need to have Delani there, at my side, surpassed even that.
I turned around to follow my guests and froze in my tracks.
Holy. Fuck.
My mouth went dry as I finally figured out where my sexy neighbor had been hiding.
She did this for me?
My brain was about to explode, and my heart just about fucking stopped inside my chest.
This woman. She was everything.
Not to worry. Brain and heart both started working again.
My mind was buzzing and that organ inside my chest was thudding away in hard, slow, heavy thumps until it pounded so damn loudly, I was sure everyone could hear it. Like a roar in my veins.
“Hello,” Delani said, smiling brightly and greeting everyone.
Just the sound of her voice was enough to soothe the anxious beast that had risen inside of me.
She was there. Safe and sound, and so fucking precious to me.
I watched Delani laughing at something someone said and the sound of it was enough to make me dizzy with emotion.
Her gaze found mine, and she bit her lip, waiting for my acknowledgement. But the feelings roiling through me were too profound for words.
I stalked her across the room, taking her wrist and pulling her gently to the back where we could slip outside to the alley—our alley, as I always thought of it.
My head was still spinning at the stunning display Delani had created for this tasting.
For me.
She’d made a magnum sized bottle of Whiskey Neat, an exact replica, only it was all done in chocolate.
The heavy dark chocolate statue was positioned on a stand, like it was being poured.
Somehow, this wonder of a woman had made an entirely edible, working whiskey and butterscotch fountain.
It was incredible.
A huge arrangement of offerings to dip into the sweet alcohol infused confection surrounded the monument, sitting center stage, while the other savory offerings from local restaurants bracketed the fountain on either side.
I’d read the small labels on each platter and was surprised by the way she’d infused either whiskey or chocolate into every dish.
There was charcuterie with whiskey soaked olives, chicken empanadas with a special mole sauce using ethically sourced cocoa powder, pizettes from the local pizza joint, and many, many more delicious items.
But it was her statue that did it for me. And I just knew I needed this woman to be mine.
Forever mine.
It was the best fucking thing anyone had ever done for me. Words couldn’t express my feelings. So, I decided I had to show her.
It was all I could do not to beg her to stay with me forever, starting right that fucking second.
I didn’t want to scare her, obviously. But what could I do besides use words? I had an idea.
A good idea.
I could show her how I felt with my body.
Fuucckk. Yessss.
“Sonny? Sonny? Are you alright? Do you not like it?—”
Delanie stopped speaking rather suddenly.
My fault.
She had no choice really, because I had already backed her up against the brick wall, one hand on her neck, the other hitching her thigh up so I could grind my hard as fuck cock against her sweet, hot core.
This woman. This fabulous, gorgeous, sexy, generous, perfect woman had changed my whole fucking world, and she didn’t even know it.
She’d gone and done so much for me after all the hell I gave her and I was so fucking unworthy, but I swore to myself I would make up for it.
If it took the rest of my whole damn life, I would.
“Mmmm, Sonny,” she moaned, taking everything I gave her so fucking good.
I should’ve done better by her. Should have been able to control myself.
But I was like an animal and the only thing that could tame me was her.
My Delani.
I needed her.
“Yes, Sonny, I need you, too,” she whispered, and I knew I’d spoken aloud.
I broke our kiss for a minute, just to slip the condom on. Then I was back between her legs, lifting her against the wall and using gravity to our benefit.
Fucking the love of my life in the alley between our shops in the dark, cold of February in New Jersey might not sound romantic, but it was the hottest fucking thing I’d ever done.
Her pussy was primed. So wet and hot.
She felt amazing gripping me tightly as I pumped into her, my mouth claiming hers as ardently as my body. It was like some primal instinct had taken over and I needed her to feel, to see, to experience everything she made me feel.
It was too much. Too big. But I couldn’t stop it any more than I could change the tide.
“Sonny. Sonny. SONNY!” she moaned, and her walls tightened around me, milking me as I joined her climax with one of my own.
“Fuck, Baby. S’perfect. Taking my cock so good. You’re so fucking perfect, my sweet Delani. You alright?” I asked when I noticed her eyes were closed tight and she was still not speaking.
“Oh yeah, I’m fine,” she murmured, finally looking at me with her sparkly sapphire beauties.
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” she said, her beautiful, flushed face lifting to mine.
“Mmm. Happy Valentine’s Day, Baby. Sorry, I was too rough,” I said, but she just shook her head.
Delani pressed her lips to mine, softly, gently, and I knew she was okay with it. But just in case I didn’t know, what she said next cleared it all up for me.
“I like you rough, Sonny. I like you any way at all.”
And fuck if I didn’t fall for her a little more.
We stole glances at each other as we righted our clothes and fixed our hair before heading back inside.
She looked so good. Her hair, her dress, that well fucked look in her eyes.
She looked like mine, and I was crazy about her.
I took her hand and opened the door, but Delani was still as a statue behind me.
“What is it, Baby?” I asked, turning to look at her.
Then I saw it. She was holding the box I’d been hiding in my pocket all day and my pulse went into hyper drive.
“Sonny, this fell out of your pocket. What is it?” she asked.
Her breath came out in little clouds, and I knew the temperature was already dropping as evening fell. It wasn’t how I wanted to tell her, but it was now or never.
“I was gonna wait, Del. But I guess now is as good a time as any,” I said, getting her inside the hall where it was warm, but still secluded. “I know it’s too soon, but open it, and I’ll explain.”
Delani’s big beautiful blue eyes met mine, and she opened the box. She wiped tears, looking up at me as she took out the shiny key on a silver keyring from Tiffany’s.
Her hand covered her mouth.
“Sonny? What does it mean?” she asked, backing up a step.
That small move hit me like a punch to the gut, but I couldn’t afford to back off. I allowed her space, but I went ahead with my plan to tell her everything I felt.
“It means I love you, Delani Whitman. I have since the moment I saw you moving in next door all those months ago?—”
“But you hated me on sight!”
“No, I really didn’t. If you only knew how I watched you, thought about you. Fuck, Del, you take up all the room in here, and here,” I said, pointing to my head, then my heart. “And I don’t want anyone else in there ever. I know it’s soon and I know you aren’t there yet. But when it comes to you and me, Del, when it comes to us, I am fucking there. I am so there.”
“You are?”
“Hell yes. I am in this, one hundred and ten percent, Baby. I only want to be with you. So, I had that key made special for you. It’s to my place. Only, I don’t want it to be my place anymore.”
“You don’t?”
“No, Baby, I want it to be our place. That key is me asking you to move in. I understand you might have reservations, and no pressure. We can go at your pace. For now, you can use it to come and stay and go whenever you want.”
I took a step closer to her, slowly, looking for any sign she wanted to keep her space. But she didn’t back away again, and I thanked God for that. I kept talking, needing to get it all out in the open.
“This is me making my intentions known. This is me letting you know I have a bigger question to ask you. I’ll try to wait till I think you’re ready. But it’s coming, Del. I promise you,” I growled, my hungry eyes eating her up.
“I see,” she replied and sniffed, wiping her eyes.
“What does that mean?” I asked, needing some kind of reply despite acknowledging she needed time.
I was only human, for fuck’s sake, and I never claimed to be a saint.
Delani closed the distance between us. She slid her small hands up my chest and wrapped them around my neck.
Her sweet cocoa scent filled my nostrils, and my dick immediately hardened.
Did I mention I was a slave to my hunger for her?
Even though I was just inside her moments ago, I wanted her again. Now maybe more than ever.
I was desperate to hear her reply.
“That means I love you too, Sonny. And I’m ready to take a chance with you.”
“You mean it?”
“Yes. Yes, I mean it. Oh, Sonny, I love you, t—” but that was all she got out before I claimed her lips again in a kiss so damn heated I didn’t hear Buck coming up behind us until he dropped a handful of ice cubes down my shirt.
Fucker.
Then again, it was just the thing to do before I stripped my Del down in front of the entire fucking bar and the Blair Group, too.
My girl laughed as I chased my best friend, but I managed to get through the rest of the night, talking business and indulging in the delicious food the local restaurants and vendors had put together for this night.
It was spectacular. A great success. But the best of all was my Delani.
“Well?” she asked as we drove home several hours later. “Do you think they’ll go for it?”
“Albert Blair seemed interested. His niece, not so much.”
“Well, she was interested alright, just not in your whiskey,” Delani replied, cute as fuck lips pursed.
“Saw that, did you?”
“Hell yes, I did. If I wasn’t working on the fountain’s motor, I’d have torn her hair from her head for touching you like that.”
“Fuck, Baby, you make my dick hard when you get all possessive.”
“Yeah, well, get used to it,” she replied with a naughty grin meant just for me. “I never loved a man like you. You’re special to me.”
That time her voice got all soft, and my heart thundered in my chest.
Damn. I loved her. So much, So fucking much.
“You know, I was wrong about them,” I told her honestly. “The Blair Group was something I obsessed about when I thought I couldn’t have my true obsession.”
“What’s that?” she asked, smiling down at the daisies I’d brought her.
Even with the flowers, all I could smell in the large SUV was the delicious chocolate scent my sweet Del brought with her everywhere she went.
So sweet and perfect.
“You, Del. You’re my sweet obsession. You’re my love. It’s always been you.”
“Take me home, Sonny. I want to hear you say that again when you”re inside me,” she whispered, and I stepped on the gas.
Our relationship might have started a little unconventional. I’d always bitched about the smell of her candy shop in my bar. But that was just the frustration talking.
I knew in my heart I was never going to stop loving the scent of cocoa on Delani’s skin, or the taste of it when I kissed her.
She was mine now, and I was never letting go.