41
E rin looked between the different knife sets, no closer to choosing one than half an hour ago when she stepped into the high-end kitchen wares store. She was looking for a nice set to get Paetyn for his birthday and wasn’t having any luck. She was sure he had the best of everything as a professional chef, but she was determined to get him a new set of knives. It might have been a little indulgent on her part since she discovered she enjoyed watching him chop things. It turned her on for some reason, and Erin had no shame in getting him a gift they both could appreciate.
She would almost be irritated with the situation and close to giving up if she hadn’t had the same issue when shopping for Cruz’s gift. While she’d taken the classes to be able to perform her dance for him, she also wanted to get him something. In her opinion, men often were overlooked when getting them gifts. She’d gotten Cruz a nice briefcase for work. It was high-quality leather, and she’d had his name embossed on the handles.
She’d conducted much research before buying Cruz’s gift because she wanted something of good quality. She’d done the same regarding different knife sets, but now that she was looking at the four she’d narrowed it down to, Erin was at a loss. She could have gone with the most expensive set, but she knew expensive did not always equal good quality, and honestly, it wasn’t appealing to the eyes. She supposed that didn’t matter as long as they worked as intended.
She pulled her phone out, looked at the number of reviews on each one, and allowed that to be her guide. After a few minutes of review skimming, she decided on the second set. With her purchase in hand, she left the store five minutes later. Now that she had secured his present for his birthday next week, she needed to finish her Christmas shopping. It was two weeks away, and she still had a few gifts to buy.
Erin had been able to shop for her dad and grandmother and get Alijah and Lawrence something when they’d gone Black Friday shopping, but Cruz and Paetyn had been with her during their outing, and she hadn’t been able to get either of them what she wanted. She’d ordered them later and needed to pick them up since they were ready. Unlike with their birthday presents, she knew what she wanted to get them for Christmas. Her next destination was the strip mall.
When she pulled up twenty-five minutes later, she made a beeline for a fragrance store. She wanted to get the other men something for Christmas and figured it was safe to go with cologne. It wasn’t a personal gift, and she didn’t think she’d be overstepping boundaries. She smelled several, choosing the ones she thought fit each man before selecting a perfume for Alijah and Chayse.
The next stop on her shopping trip was a small candle stand on the first floor. She got Alijah, Chayse, and Lawrence candles she thought they’d like.
Her stop after that was a specialty soap stand. She got a few bars and bath bombs, deciding she had everything she needed aside from the wine to make the baskets she wanted to give her friends, Dahlia and Torei.
She then went to the jewelry store on the second floor to pick up the order she’d placed a week ago. When she inspected them to ensure they were correct, Erin thanked the associate before moving on. She’d chosen her men’s gifts as an expression of her love. The inscription would relay exactly how much. Something they could take with them everywhere and know that she loved them.
Erin made a few more stops in stores, grabbing more gifts for her men to give them at the exchange they would have with their friends. Her last stop was at the photography supply shop to pick up a backdrop for Chayse. She carefully placed everything in her trunk after letting the backseats down. She still needed to pick up the baskets and wine, but she would do that another day.
She was heading back to her apartment to start wrapping everything when she drove by Aefinity and saw Paetyn’s car. The restaurant wasn’t open on Mondays, and she figured he was likely doing inventory or placing orders. His managers could do it, but she knew Paetyn liked to take care of it occasionally. She decided to stop in for a second and pulled into the parking lot.
Erin tested the door, her phone in hand, to call him because she thought it would be locked. When she found it wasn’t, she entered the restaurant, pausing when her eyes landed on Paetyn and a woman standing too close for Erin’s liking. The woman laughed as if her boyfriend had just told the funniest joke in the world, her hand going to rest on his chest before he removed it.
“Looks like I’m interrupting,” Erin stated, announcing her presence.
His green eyes landed on her with a smile. “Hey, Angel. And no, you could never interrupt,” he stated, approaching her. “Connie, this is my girlfriend, Erin. Baby, this is Connie, one of my suppliers.”
Connie smiled at her, and Erin gave her a small wave before her attention returned to Paetyn.
“This is a surprise. I didn’t expect you to stop by.”
“I’m sure it is,” Erin responded, and she couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her tone. “I was doing some shopping, saw your car, and thought I’d stop in for a few minutes, but you’re clearly busy.”
Paetyn raised a brow, and Erin was sure he wasn’t blind to her mood. He never was, and while that meant he could always discern what she needed, she couldn’t just be petty or mad about things.
“Come talk to me for a second.”
Erin shook her head. “I don’t want to keep you from business with your supplier.”
Paetyn lowered his voice. “That wasn’t a question.” He turned to Connie. “Give me a few minutes,” he stated, grabbing Erin’s hand and pulling her away from the dining area to the pass way the servers used to put in and pick up their orders. Invisible to the dining area. “I don’t want that woman,” he said.
“I didn’t say you did.”
“Your attitude did. So, lose it.”
Erin refrained from rolling her eyes. “I find it funny that you can be upset with a make-believe notion that I was flirting with some man at a store, but if I’m upset, I need to lose my attitude.”
“I wasn’t flirting with her, Angel.”
“Like I wasn’t flirting with him.” She shook her head. “Whatever, she was flirting with you.”
“So, I get the attitude because of her actions?”
“Would you rather I punch that bitch in the face?”
“She has to be that because you’re mad?” Paetyn asked.
“You want to sit here and defend her and piss me off more?” Erin shot back.
“Okay,” Paetyn responded with a nod before taking her phone and putting it in his pocket, crowding her in the corner. He slipped his hand under the faux leather skirt she wore, middle finger immediately finding her clit over her panties.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Helping you lose your attitude and reminding you that I don’t care about any other woman.”
Erin didn’t get a chance to respond as he kissed her.
P aetyn reviewed the new minimums Connie’s company required due to the recent issues they’d been having with other clients. Because of that, they were enforcing new rules, and she went over them with him after he’d signed for the order she’d dropped off. It wouldn’t be a problem for him. Her company supplied all three of his restaurants in the city and The Pits . He already ordered more than the new minimum.
Paetyn re-signed the contract with the new information, and she emailed him a copy before placing the tablet back on the table.
“I was at The Pits recently with some friends. I didn’t realize you’d changed the menu,” Connie stated.
“I did. I always change them around the holidays to add a few festive dishes. Everything will return to normal after the new year. Until then, offering limited-time items is a great way to get people to spend more money. People eat that up, no pun intended.”
Connie laughed harder than warranted for a joke he hadn’t told. Her hand found his chest, and Paetyn took her wrist, removing it. He’d already told her a couple of times that he wasn’t interested, and the last time she’d asked him out for a drink, he’d informed her he was in a relationship. She’d dropped it after that. So, he couldn’t be sure if this was her flirting or if she found the comment that funny.
“Looks like I’m interrupting.”
Paetyn turned his attention to find Erin standing at the door. He’d left it unlocked because he hadn’t planned on being there long. He had a few people he paid to unload deliveries and replenish the stock for all of his restaurants when it was delivered on Mondays, so he didn’t have to worry about doing it, and his regular employees could enjoy the day off.
“Hey, Angel,” he greeted with a smile as he took her in. Her white sweater stood out against the burnt orange skirt that hugged her curves, a sliver of her midriff visible. “And no, you could never interrupt,” he added, going to her. “Connie, this is my girlfriend, Erin. Baby, this is Connie, one of my suppliers.”
A silent greeting passed between the two before Erin turned her attention back to him, those eyes gazing into his.
“This is a surprise. I didn’t expect you to stop by.”
“I’m sure it is. I was doing some shopping, saw your car, and thought I’d stop in for a few minutes, but you’re clearly busy.”
Paetyn lifted a brow at her. The sarcasm in her words was all too clear. He was sure he knew what it was from, and if he was correct, it was the most ridiculous reason.
“Come talk to me for a second.”
She shook her head, and he was sure she was about to say something passive-aggressive. “I don’t want to keep you from business with your supplier.”
He wasn’t sure what made her think he would let her leave upset, especially since it was aimed at him, but she should have known better. That wasn’t what he did, what they did; they didn’t leave things unresolved when they could be fixed then.
He spoke where only she could hear him. “That wasn’t a question.” He didn’t give her time to respond before addressing the other woman. “Give me a few minutes, Connie.”
He took Erin’s hand and pulled her away from the dining area. He hadn’t brought his office key with him, so instead, he led her into the passageway that held the pickup window for orders, hidden from the rest of the room to give them some privacy.
“I don’t want that woman,” he told her because he was sure she’d caught the tail end of their conversation. Or at least Connie’s inability to keep her hand to herself.
“I didn’t say you did,” Erin countered.
Not with words, no, but Paetyn could read her. “Your attitude did. So, lose it.” He didn’t need her having one with him for something he didn’t do.
“I find it funny that you can be upset with a make-believe notion that I was flirting with some man at a store, but if I’m upset, I need to lose my attitude.”
It was a fair point. But, “I wasn’t flirting with her, Angel.”
“Like I wasn’t flirting with him.” She shook her head. “Whatever, she was flirting with you.”
“So, I get the attitude because of her actions.” It wasn’t like he hadn’t moved her hand away.
“Would you rather I punch that bitch in the face?”
“She has to be that because you’re mad?” Paetyn inquired.
“You want to sit here and defend her and piss me off more?” Erin fired back.
No, he didn’t, and he wasn’t defending her when he asked. At least, that hadn’t been his intention. Paetyn quickly replayed their conversation in his head, and he had to keep from cursing because all he needed to do was take a different approach, reassure her that she held his heart in her hands, and he would, but first…
“Okay.” He took her phone, put it in his pocket, crowded her into the corner of the wall, and slipped his hand under her skirt. His middle finger found her clit over her panties quickly. A feat he’d mastered at this point and added pressure.
“What are you doing?” Erin asked.
“Helping you lose your attitude and reminding you that I don’t care about any other woman.”
He took her lips in a slow kiss as he circled her clit through her panties. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to take his time. He’d told Connie to give him a few minutes, and something told him she might come looking for them if he took longer than that.
He undid his pants with his free hand, pulling his dick free from his boxers as he moved her panties to the side. Paetyn ensured she was wet enough before picking her up and sliding in. Erin placed her hand over her mouth as she moaned.
He removed her hand, taking it and her other one into one of his and pinning them above her against the wall. He pulled out and thrust back in, pushing a surprised gasp from her, followed by a moan.
“Paetyn,” she whined.
“You better be quiet, baby. Or she’s going to hear you.” He ran his tongue along her lower lip as he gave her another thrust. “Or maybe she needs to. Maybe she needs to know you’re the only woman I make feel this way. The only one that I want to slide my dick into.”
His statements were punctuated by thrusts, pushing more moans from her. He angled his hips, knowing the exact spot he needed to pay attention to, to have her cumming, and knew the responses he would get from it.
Paetyn moaned against her jaw. “Should I just take you out there so she can watch? Let her see how good I make this wet little pussy feel? How well, you take every fucking inch of me like a good girl? Show her how she’ll never be in the same position?”
“I’m so fucking tempted to tell you yes,” Erin responded, rolling her body to meet his thrusts, supported by his arm around her and the wall behind her.
Paetyn chuckled. “Yeah? You want her to watch?”
“I want her to see that you belong to me. That your dick is mine, that your mine.”
He gave a more arduous thrust at those words. “Every fucking inch of me.”
His hips picked up speed, and it wasn’t long until she was squeezing around him on the verge of cumming.
“That’s it, Angel. Be good for me, and cum all over your dick.”
“Right there, baby. I’m so close.” She leaned in to kiss him before whispering against his lips. “Cum in me.”
Paetyn wondered if her words were linked directly to his dick because his balls began to tighten, and when she clamped around him, “Fuck!” tumbling from her lips louder than he knew she meant for it to, he pushed deep, and emptied every drop of cum he had inside her.
He kissed her slowly as they both came down from their high. He looked into those satisfied, deep brown eyes when they pulled away.
“I love you.” He gave her another peck. “Do we need to talk about this later?”
“I love you, too, and no.”
Paetyn studied her for a second. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
He pulled out, placing her on her feet, and he realized he hadn’t chosen the best place because now they needed to clean up. He tucked himself into his boxers, more worried about her than him. He entered the kitchen, grabbed one of the clean dish towels, and wet it with warm water.
She pulled her panties off, complaining about them being wet and sticking to her, and he knew it was her way of chastising him for not taking them off. Paetyn took them from her and tucked them into his pocket. He took the towel when she finished and threw it in the trash bin in the kitchen.
When they entered the dining area, the blush on Connie’s face was undeniable; even her neck was red.
“Should I wait on you, baby?” Erin asked as he walked her to the door. “Or do you need to take care of some other things?”
“I think Connie and I are wrapping up. I’ll grab some food and be on my way home.”
“I have to make another stop, so I’ll grab it because I’m sure you’ll make it there before me.”
They’d been correct when assuming they wouldn’t want to be apart after those first two weeks. While Erin did go back to her apartment on the week she was supposed to, she still ended up at their house four days out of that week. They spent the other three at hers because there was no way they were leaving her alone after the break-in.
She kissed him before turning her attention to Connie. “It was nice to meet you.”
He refrained from chuckling because she hadn’t thought so seven minutes ago.
Connie cleared her throat. “Yes, you too.”
When Erin was gone, he returned to the table to finish whatever he needed with the supplier so he could go home and take his time with his girlfriend.