Nine
nine
Rhone
T egan sleeps in my arms for about an hour. My body is relaxed, for the most part. My thoughts ride a wild surge of possibilities, both personal and professional. And every single one of them center around Tegan. When she moves restlessly, I tuck her closer to my body and stroke her side until she calms.
She gave me the most precious gift and I’m damn sure I gave her what she wanted. I hope to god this wasn’t just a one off good time. That now that she’s no longer technically a virgin, she won’t be done with me. That I won’t have outlived my usefulness. Because I will never be done with this woman. She’s mine. Now and forever.
I love her.
Three simple words hold a lifetime of possibilities. Or of pain should she not want me.
The mental whine makes me roll my eyes at myself. Tegan is honest and open. I know she cares for me, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. I’m where I want to be. Where she wants me to be.
She mumbles and shifts. Her muscles tighten. She shakes her head and reaches out her free arm. Lifting my head I watch the rapid movement behind her closed eyelids. She’s dreaming. “No,” she cries out and her eyes pop open.
“It’s okay, Tegan. You’re safe, honey,” I whisper and stroke a strand of hair back from her face.
For a moment she’s confused, then her eyes clear and she eases to her back and, biting her lower lip, stares at me. “I… I dreamed you were gone. I looked everywhere for you. You were gone. Rhone… it frightened me.”
“I’m right here, sweetness. No plans on going anywhere. I’m here.” The fear remains in her eyes. “Tegan, I’m going to kiss you. This kiss is my promise. I’m not going anywhere you can’t find me.”
“Okay?”
First I tease her lips with barely there kisses, slowly easing to more pressure, more contact. Her arms wrap around my shoulders, her hands smooth over my skin, exploring my back and sides. This isn’t going to end with just kisses.
Leaving the heat of her mouth, I plump one of her breasts and feast on her nipple. Then move to the other while tracing patterns on her soft belly with my fingers. She stops my hand. “Rhone, can we fu… fu… have sex again?”
I drag my tongue up her neck then look into her desire dark eyes. “Have trouble saying the word fuck?”
“I… uh… yeah. I do. Is that okay?”
“Sweetness, you can use whatever terminology you want for what we’re about to do. For me, this time isn’t about fucking. It’s mak…” I pause to kiss her. Is it too early even to make love? Will that cause her to pull away? I can’t take that chance. “It’s about making sure we both find pleasure.”
Relief hovers in her sweet smile. “Pleasure, yes.”
With my fingers I take her to the edge of pleasure then allow her body to calm the barest bit before doing it again. The third time, I’m sheathed and as her orgasm washes over her, she welcomes me into her heat, clutching and vibrating around my cock. It’s glorious and nearly impossible to remain still to delay my own release. Then with long, slow thrusts, we climb together until I can’t hold back and groaning her name, come first. Her panting breaths match the spasms of my cock as she follows me into glory.
Her stomach rumbles while we’re showering together so at one in the morning, we reheat our food and sit at the island, shoulders and thighs touching as we eat.
She sets down her chopsticks and stares at her plate. “Rhone, about tonight.”
My heart twists in pain. No, I can’t jump to conclusions. Tegan isn’t like she-who-I-won’t-name. Teagan wouldn’t use me then toss me aside. I angle my chair to face her. “Tell me.”
She still doesn’t look at me. “Thank you. You’ve made my first time more than wonderful. With my obvious lack of experience, I hope it was okay for you, too.”
“Honey, words aren’t adequate for how I feel. The gift you offered me… I hope I didn’t disappoint you.”
Her head jerks and finally she looks at me. “God no, Rhone. Tonight has far exceeded my fantasies and expectations. I just… I really don’t want this—us—to end when the morning comes. I want more of this. More of you.”
For fear of blurting out how much I love her, I press my lips together. Unfortunately she takes my expression the wrong way.
“But, of course, if you feel you’ve done your duty…”
“Duty? Tegan, honey, making love with you will never be a duty.”
The worry in her eyes fades and I wonder if she heard the tremor in my voice on the word ‘love’. Her cheeky grin returns. “So can we do more than just the sex stuff?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean, can we do relationship stuff. Like dates? Spending time together?”
“We already spend time together. You want it official?” Time to make a decision. A commitment to the future. “Okay, then. Tegan, I’d like you to be my official, exclusive girlfriend.”
“I’d like that, too.” She shakes her head. “You know, now that I brought it up this way, I realize how much I sound like a teenage girl hoping to be noticed by her first crush. How sad is that?”
“So I’m your crush now?”
Her hands fly up to cover the pink filling her cheeks. I’ve never seen her blush before. At this moment I challenge myself to make her blush whenever possible.
I move her hands and replace them with mine. “I think I know the answer to that. How about a kiss to seal the deal?”
One kiss leads to many and by morning, our deal has been well sealed.
After the sun comes up we decide to go out for breakfast. We both need recovery time and if we stay in her apartment, there’s a good chance that won’t happen. It appears I’ve opened sexual doors for Tegan and she’s more than ready and willing to step through. Convincing her we don’t have to try everything right away is a challenge. One I don’t mind accepting.
While we wait for our orders I shove the sex haze from my brain. “I had news to share last night at the meeting.”
She groans. “I can’t believe I didn’t think to check the sports schedule. What news?”
“I contacted the owner of the rental next door to your place.”
She leans forward. “And?”
“He’s an out of state owner and told me he’s had trouble keeping renters in that location.”
She nods. “I heard there was a lot of turnover before we opened. Shame. It’s a great building. If it would have been for sale, the space would have been on our short list.”
“Mr. Omota is considering selling now. I sense he’s older, doesn’t trust property management companies, and tired of the hassle of maintaining an out of state property.”
“Can you afford to buy the building?”
“That’s the problem. I’ve gone over the numbers until my brain is screwed. With minimal sales and renting out the extra space, I could easily make the monthly payments. The initial downpayment is another story. While Steve and I share ownership of the dairy, he’s purchased new stock, made improvements. There’s no extra there. I don’t want to take out a second mortgage on my house either.”
“There must be some way.”
“Mr. Omota had a suggestion. I’m not sure how I feel about the prospect although right now it feels like the only option if I want to own that property. I know I don’t have to own to have an established business except it feels like a measurement of success. One that appeals to me.”
“What is his suggestion? Let’s talk this through. Maybe together we’ll think of something you’ve missed. Discover something new.”
I take her hand. “We already have.” At her confusion I continue, “Discovered something new.”
“That’s personal. Now we need to talk business.” She softens her rebuke by kissing my palm. “The suggestion?”
“He’s willing to forego the downpayment and treat it as a short term investment. No longer than a year.”
She thinks silently until our meals are delivered. She breaks the yolk on one half of her eggs benedict then gestures with the gooey fork. “That might not be bad as long as we go over all the documents carefully. All that legal and business bullshit is difficult to understand sometimes. What is he expecting for his investment?”
This is the part I’m not sure about. His request seems too simple and much too cheap for the size and condition of the building. “The equivalent of the current monthly rent each month for one year. Once the twelve months is paid, the building would be mine. Well, mine and the bank’s.”
“Interesting. I’d like to meet this Mr. Omata. Talk with him and gauge his business acumen.” She sets down her fork. “Shit, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to take over. I did a lot of this kind of leg work for Choco-Love because this financial stuff certainly isn’t in Noah’s wheelhouse. He can do anything with chocolate but put a legal document in front of him and he’s totally lost.”
“I’ve got a good working knowledge. Expanded with your help, sweetness. Still I’ve never heard of this type of arrangement.”
She shrugs and the wide neckline of her dress slips a bit to expose the love bite I left on her shoulder. My mark. I can’t keep from grinning.
“What?” she says and looks around. When I remain silent she rolls her gaze to the ceiling. “The offer is interesting. And any kind of business arrangements can be made… as long as it’s legal. Don’t get involved with the underground.”
“Not happening. There’s always rumors going around town about some mafia activities, especially with the gambling ships off shore. When we inherited from our folks, there were a couple of shady characters who tried to purchase the land with low ball offers. Organized crime or not, there are those who are always on the lookout for easy money. I’m cautious. That’s part of why I haven’t gotten Landon Dairy Cheeses off the ground yet.”
“You’ve decided on your name? That’s fabulous. A huge step.”
We finish breakfast with little conversation and once we’re on the way back to her place, she asks, “Do you think Mr. Omata would be willing to come here?”
“Why? What are you thinking about?”
“Throwing a party.”