Chapter 8 #2
I still. I don’t know what to do. Part of me wants to bolt from the rejection. Another part of me wants to crawl into a ball and sink into the floor. A third part of me feels like crying, and stupidly wants him to comfort me.
“I meant, I won’t withhold your orgasm and insist we have sex. If it’s not what you want, then I won’t suggest it.”
“Is it what you want?”
“It’s just about all I’ve wanted since I walked into your father’s house, and you warned me not to mention the weather.
But if we have sex, everything changes. I know that’s obvious.
But I mean it. You need to think about this, and maybe tonight is too soon to decide.
Once I’m inside you, there’s no undoing that.
You will be mine. I won’t share you with any man.
You won’t marry my uncle. You won’t go to his bed. He will never fuck you.”
I rear back, barely missing my head slamming into his chin. This is my out! I could avoid marrying that psychopath my father traded me to.
But as I watch Tommy, I know I can’t use him for that.
If we do this, it has to be because I genuinely want him.
It has to be more than just lust. I need to be certain he sees his entire future—not just the immediate—with me.
Ending the contract is a bomb waiting to explode.
There won’t be any undoing that kind of announcement.
I don’t want to be Tommy’s mistress. I don’t want to go from Mano’s bed to Tommy’s and back again.
I won’t. I can’t shirk my duty for a fling.
“This is a monumental decision for both of us to make. Uncle Mano’s already made me responsible for you.
That’s no secret. No one will think twice when I assign myself as your bodyguard.
For appearance’s sake, I will follow you around wherever you decide to go.
But between us, they’re dates. We use the time to get to know each other.
If there’s more than lust—which I believe to my core there is—then it’ll give us a chance to see.
Any night you want to come back here and scene, then I’ll get you in unnoticed.
If you want me to go to your hotel room, I’ll be gone before dawn. ”
“What if I want to stay in my future home?”
His brow furrows for a moment, then his expression darkens.
“Tommy, I mean the house you have now. What if I want to go to our place?”
“You’re awfully positive this will work out.”
“I wouldn’t ask if I thought it would fail.”
“Just like I can slip you out of the hotel to come here, I can take you to our place.”
He waggles his eyebrows, and I swoop in for a kiss. I can’t help myself. When we’re breathless, I sit back.
“If this doesn’t work between us, it’s already going to be strained to be around you, knowing what we’ve shared.
I know having sex—even once—then not being together would affect me for the rest of time, Tommy.
But I want to. I don’t want to live the rest of my life, not knowing what it’s like to be with you.
At the same time, I can’t punish myself by carrying that sin around until I die if we don’t work out. ”
“I feel the same. If you wind up marrying my uncle, it’s going to take me a long time to accept that.
To forget the way you feel in my hands and against my body.
The way you taste. I ache to be inside you.
To just glimpse the promised land, but it would be unbearable keeping that secret and never touching you again. ”
My shoulders round, and my body deflates. Exhaustion hits me since I haven’t caught up on the sleep I need to recover from the past few nights. He’s so gentle as he urges me to lean against him. His hand strokes my back while his other cups my ass. It tempts me to close my eyes and nod off.
“Rest, bambi. I’ll make sure you get back in time.”
“Don’t you have a club to manage?”
“No. I come here for payroll and for some staff meetings. Generally, if I’m here, it’s as a member. Until we know what we are, I’ll only come as a member if you’re with me. I won’t be with anyone else.”
“My pass is only temporary, and I won’t extend it here or look for somewhere else. I can’t stomach the idea of another man touching me, Tommy. I’m glad you don’t share.”
“And I will never ask you to share.”
“Don’t you like threesomes?”
“I’ve enjoyed them in the past. But I don’t need two women when I have you.”
“Are your hands full with me?”
I giggle when he playfully smacks my ass. Then he grabs it with both hands and squeezes.
“Oh, to have my hands full with you all day, every day.”
“That would get inconvenient.”
“I’d need to get creative, but it wouldn’t be inconvenient. I’d enjoy every moment.”
The man can say such sweet things when he wants.
It reminds me, though, that he’s not always nice to me.
That he can be a straight up dick. That memory threatens to sour everything.
It gives me pause and reconfirms why slowing down is a good idea.
I might not like him when I’m fully dressed.
That dampens my mood completely. My arousal fizzles, even if my body’s still unsatisfied.
“Do you want me to take you back to the hotel, little one?”
“Yeah. I think that would be a good idea.”
I slip off his lap and look at his pants. Sure enough. I’ve left evidence that a woman was rubbing his dick.
“Get your clothes and meet me outside the locker room. My suit coat will cover it.”
I get dressed and meet him just outside the changing area.
He leads me to the backdoor, and there’s a Mercedes G-Wagon parked outside.
He opens the door for me, and I get in. We’re subdued on the way to the hotel, but we chat about what I’d like to do tomorrow.
We make plans by the time we reach the door to my suite.
He goes in ahead of me and sweeps the rooms, coming back into the living room once he’s convinced no one’s going to jump out of the shadows.
“I’ll be here at nine. If you meet your family for breakfast, I assume at least your mother and sisters will join us.
Do your best to avoid them, little one. Otherwise, I won’t be able to whisper naughty secrets to you while we peruse Renaissance art.
Did you know I believe Reuben was a genius? I like my woman the way he liked his.”
Woman? Singular?
He cups my ass and draws me close, kissing me. Devouring me.
“You are my woman, and I love your body. I’ve fantasized about it since I met you. I marveled at it tonight. But that view is now mine and mine alone. Wear shorts like you did the other day at your place, and I will find the nearest restroom or broom closet and spank you.”
“Are you tempting me, Sir?”
“Maybe I am. Or maybe I’m just that possessive.”
His kiss is swift, then he’s turning away. Just like last night, he barely spares me a glance when he gets to the door.
“Goodnight, bambi. Sweet dreams.”
Who the hell will I get tomorrow? Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde?