Chapter 34
Bright midday light streams through the bedroom windows. Thin, gossamer curtains are drawn to obscure the prying eyes, but they don’t keep out the sunshine.
It bounces off the white of my comforter. Makes her blonde curls look lighter, like pure honey in the sunshine.
“Hey,” she whispers.
I’m propped up on an elbow beside her. The giant duvet is half wrapped around us, only covering me from the waist down. It blankets Harper almost entirely, apart from a single leg she stuck out, the pale skin left bare from hip to toe.
I feel drunk on the sight of her.
“Hi,” I say. “Did I miss something, or haven’t we been hanging out for… the last… twelve hours?”
“Yes. But you can’t be too polite, you know.”
“Ah. Right. I appreciate that.” I let my gaze wander along her makeup-free, freckled, beautiful face. Down her neck and the collarbone and softly rounded shoulder. Her bare arm is resting on top of the comforter. “You cold?”
“Mm-hmm. No.”
“Right.” I smile and reach out to trace up her exposed limb. “Because you’ve been clutching that cover since we finished.”
She digs her teeth into her bottom lip. The curls are a riot around her face, mussed and tangled from the early morning sex.
It’s a beautiful Sunday in London, and we’re checking off another thing from her list. In addition to stay out all night, there was also a spend an entire day in bed.
Not very hard to do, I’m finding.
“It’s very bright in here,” she says.
I raise an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you’re suddenly feeling self-conscious.”
“Suddenly? We aren’t usually naked in this kind of intense brightness.”
I laugh. “You’ve got amnesia. The bathroom?”
“Okay, yes, but I used the dimmer on your spotlights.”
“Harper,” I say. “You look amazing in the brightest of lights.”
She shakes her head a little, but she’s smiling, and I know she’s not taking this too seriously. It’s a slight concern, but not a serious one. “You say that because you’re biased.”
“Of course I’m biased,” I say. “But who else is in this room? Who else are you parading around naked in front of?”
She rolls her eyes. “Okay, okay, Mr. Possessive.”
I shift closer and run my hand over her thigh. Down the back of her knee, and grab her calf. Pull her leg closer. “Look at this perfection. Creamy skin. Round shapes. I love the length of your legs. They’re perfectly wrapped around me, and in a mini skirt when you taunt me, or stretched out in a rowboat before we tip over.”
Harper laughs. It cuts off when I drag my hand higher, over the round curve of her ass. “And this… God, I love your ass. Your curves. Not one inch of you is anything but hot.”
She rolls onto her stomach on the cover, her fully nude body on display.
If I felt drunk before, I’m high now. Sunlight dapples the skin of her bare back, over the curves of her butt, the length of her legs. Her curls dance across her shoulder blades.
“Feel free to continue,” she says.
I laugh and run my hand up her spine. Brush her hair away, and trace her neck and shoulders. “Your skin is so soft. Ridiculously soft, really. I love your freckles here… and on your arms. Love them.” My fingers brush down the side of her chest, on the lightly curved breasts, flattening against the comforter. “I love your tits. You know that already. They drive me fucking nuts. When you flashed me on the stairs, I nearly lost it.”
“Flashed you? That was an accident!”
“Yeah,” I say, but I’m grinning. “Sure.”
She shoves my shoulder. “It was. Very ungentlemanlike of you to look!”
“I’m not a gentleman.”
“Clearly not,” she says. She shifts to her back but snatches up the duvet. It conceals her in a crooked triangle, just barely covering her tits and across her abdomen, hiding the delta between her legs from my view. She puts an arm under her head and looks at me with eyes that make me feel ten feet tall.
“You know what I just realized?” she asks.
“That you’re hungry, and we should order takeout and eat in bed.”
“No,” she says, “but we should do that, too.” Her gaze leaves me, wandering to the walls of my bedroom. From one painting to another.
A month ago, I would have avoided showing her this—the full extent of the art collection I built entirely on her recommendations.
The art I bought because she said these works were her favorites.
“You really listened,” she says.
“Mm-hmm. You’re easy to listen to.”
Her smile softens, and she looks intently at the large Ricky Vega on the wall by the couch. “That is one of her largest pieces. It’s extraordinary.”
“It is. It’s grown on me since I bought it.”
“I remember when that went up for auction. I followed it from my phone at work. The purchaser was anonymous.”
I clear my throat. “Yeah. I like keeping some things private.”
“You paid an enormous amount of money for it.”
“Worth it,” I murmur.
Her eyes land on mine again. “I hope you have everything insured.”
“Of course I do.”
“And I hope…” a faint blush creeps up on her cheeks, “I hope you might allow me to take a few pictures of them? I can’t believe that I’m lying here, amid my favorite art. The sheer monetary value I’m surrounded by right now… is insane.”
“And you’re naked in front of them all,” I say with a tsk sound. “Where’s the honor? The respect?”
She giggles. “What they saw earlier today is so much worse.”
“Scandalizing the art.”
Harper shifts and runs a hand through my hair. My eyes drift close at the feeling. She scrapes her nails gently against my scalp, and I could have her do this forever.
“Tell me,” she says softly, “what you’d?—”
My phone rings.
It disrupts everything. Blares through the soft intimacy that had settled over my bedroom, the sound of birdsong in the garden, and the tranquility of the cool linen sheets.
“You should have it on silent,” Harper tells me.
I roll over to grab the phone from where it’s resting on my nightstand. “Trust me, I will.”
But the name on the screen stops me. It’s Dad. And I know exactly why he’s calling. The same reason Alec and I spoke for almost an hour yesterday.
Knudsen.
The phone keeps ringing in my hand. Decisions, decisions.
I hit accept. “Hey.”
Harper fluffs up a pillow and slides both arms under it. Settles in and looks at me.
“Nate,” my father says. His voice is curt. “One of the reasons why we sent you to London was to build relationships with European suppliers.”
My eyes are on Harper. “That wasn’t the reason I moved to London.”
A brief pause. “What? Of course it was.”
“I suggested the move.”
“Yes, well, it was for the explicit purpose of you handling European deals. I don’t need to remind you how important Knudsen’s network would be for our?—”
“No. You don’t need to remind me. I’m aware.”
“I tried to speak to Alec about this, but he wasn’t having it,” Dad says. There’s angry frustration in his voice. It’s been there for the past six months, ever since Alec had blown up at Dad at Thanksgiving. Almost half a year of the two of them having a strained businesslike relationship.
Although was it ever not strained? Not businesslike?
“I’ve already discussed this with Alec. There’s no need for you and me to go through it, too.”
He snorts on the other line. “Yes, there is. I want the reason, and I want to hear it from you.”
“Knudsen’s nephew is likely a scam artist and a fraud. I wouldn’t endorse him as a legitimate art dealer by purchasing from him, and Knudsen didn’t handle the news well.”
“Okay. But what was the real reason?”
“I just gave it to you.”
Dad barks out my name like it’s a curse. “Why the fuck would we care? Throw the nephew some money, pat his head, and then shake Knudsen’s hand!”
I can’t look away from Harper. She’s staring at me through long lashes and digging her teeth into her lower lip.
Listening to this entire conversation.
“It wasn’t right. And wouldn’t look good in the long run.”
“That’s the attitude of a pussy,” Dad says. His voice is heavy with scorn. “You know Contron needed that contract. Alec needed it.”
“He doesn’t need it. He wanted it. There’s a difference,” I say sharply. “Alec and I have already discussed other potential leads to fulfill what Knudsen offered. None of this will be a problem. And no offense, Dad, but I don’t report to you. I report to Alec.”
Dad makes a sound most similar to bah. He starts speaking again, but this time I cut him off.
“I have to go. It’s midday here, and I have things to do.”
“Right. Well, I hope one of them is repairing this damage.”
“Goodbye, Dad.”
I put my phone on silent and toss it across the room, onto the couch in the corner. It hits the soft cushions with a dull thud.
Harper makes a sympathetic sound. “He’s angry?”
“Yeah.”
“Your brother?” she asks carefully. “What about him?”
I sigh. “He wasn’t happy, either. But so what? He understood, and I told him I’d find us another connection. A better one.”
“Oh. That’s good, right?”
“It is.” I raise an eyebrow at her. “Just a year ago, Alec would have reacted differently. But he’s gone and fallen head over heels in love, and takes his job slightly less seriously now.”
She smiles. “He has? That’s great. Sounds unlike him, from what you’ve told me.”
“It is. He even asks me more personal questions now on our phone calls. Sometimes, at least. It’s not all about business,” I say. I still chat with Connie most weeks—checking in, hearing about her life. We’ve always had an easy relationship, a good one, but Alec was never one for unnecessary chitchat.
“Have you met her?” Harper asks. “His girlfriend?”
I kiss Harper’s shoulder. Her skin is soft beneath my lips, and fragrant. “Mm-hmm. She’s Connie’s best friend, so they’ve known each other for years.”
“Wait. Your sister?”
“Yes.”
“God, a lot to keep track of.” Harper slides her hand into my hair, fingers twisting gently. “And you have a niece, too? And a nephew?”
“Yes to both. And I don’t think it’ll be long before Connie and Gabriel start up their own baby factory.”
Harper chuckles. “You make it sound so romantic.”
“I’m a titan of industry, what can I say? Manufacturing is sexy as hell.”
I fold the cover back, inch by inch, until her tits are fully uncovered. Push up onto my elbow to get a better look, and she smiles at me, tiny dimples appearing in her cheeks.
“Admiring the view?” she murmurs.
“Always.” I tweak one of her nipples, lightly, and feel it harden. Fuck, she’s so beautiful. My chest hurts just looking at her. The words want to slip out. All of them. How much I’ve wanted her for years. Not that I simply found her attractive… but that I saw her first.
That I’ve loved her ever since.
Not yet, I think. Still too soon. Paris and Dean were just last weekend. We’re not in a rush. If I could freeze time, here—in this bed, during a summer day with a smiling Harper… I just might.
I bend down and kiss her left breast. Suck her nipple into my mouth and worry it between my teeth.
She sighs softly and threads her fingers through my hair. “Do you want kids? Like the manufacturer you are?”
The question, while I’m touching her like this, while her naked body is resting right under mine, sends a shot of liquid heat down my spine. My cock hardens in an instant against the linen sheet.
Imagining Harper pregnant with my child. Imagining trying to get her pregnant…
Having unprotected sex with her this week has been the best carnal experience of my life. I didn’t know that was a kink I had, something I craved, until her. Until this.
I groan with her nipple still in my mouth.
Harper chuckles, stroking down my neck and over my shoulders. “I can’t hear you, Connovan.”
I lift my head. “Yes. I do.”
Her eyes are soft. “You’d be a good dad.”
“Yeah?”
“Mm-hmm.”
It’s not something I’ve thought about much. Being thirty-eight and single, I’ve put that thought at the back of my mind. There hasn’t been anyone else since I walked into that bar and saw her. In my despair, by moving to London, in trying to distract myself from her, I did consider the possibility of maybe,one day, being able to move on. Hoped for it, even. Freeing myself from the unrequited yearning.
But it never happened.
“And you’ve got time,” she says as if she read my mind. “You’re ten years older than me, but you’re a man. Nature is unfair like that.”
My right hand glides down her body. Pushes the remnant of the comforter away, until she’s fully exposed to me. “Yes, it is.”
I switch nipples and find the soft skin between her legs with my fingers. She sighs softly and runs her nails along my back.
“I love it when you do that,” she murmurs.
I don’t stop running my fingertips along the length of her pussy. Teasing, playing. Won’t ever tire of that, either. How soft and warm she is, against my fingers, my tongue, my cock.
“Do you want kids?” I ask. Draw her closer and bite her right nipple.
Her breath catches, and she spreads her thighs. “Oh. Um. Yes, I do. I’ve always wanted them.”
“You sure have,” I murmur.
“What?”
“You’re meant to be a mom.”
She moans softly when I press my thumb to her clit. “Mm-hmm. Well, I used to want that, soon. Originally… the plan—after the wedding. Like, next year. But now, I don’t know anymore. I might want kids in five years. I want to be… free first.”
“Of course,” I say, and kiss down to her stomach. “You want to complete your list.”
“Yes. Exactly… oh.” Her words are cut off when I settle between her thighs. She tastes good, and she’s warm, and gets wet easily under my tongue. This has been my favorite activity over the past week.
Hearing her moan while her thighs are around my head.
I don’t get far before she pulls me. Tells me, with a heated look in her eyes and a blush on her cheeks, that she wants to try something else, something different.
It’s a position we haven’t attempted yet. I want her to ride me later, in this glorious sunshine… but we’ll do this first.
When Harper stretches out flat on her stomach on top of the bedsheets, I reach into the drawer and find the vibrator she bought all those weeks ago. I asked her to bring it up last night, but we haven’t used it so far. Hadn’t gotten the chance.
Harper’s mouth makes an O when I hold it up. But then, she nods.
I grin. Slide it under her body, wedging it in place between her clit and the bed. The vibrations make a soft thudding sound on the mattress.
She looks over her shoulder at me, her eyes smoldering.
Fuck, I need to be inside her.
With my thighs on either side of hers, I position myself. Push in slowly. We’re both breathing hard at the tightness of the squeeze. With her legs straight and held together, it’s like sliding into a vise.
Harper moans when I’m finally, deliciously, fully seated. She’s so tight, it almost hurts, and I can’t move a molecule or I’ll come.
“On top of me,” she murmurs, and right. Right. I stretch on top of her so my body covers hers entirely. Use my elbows to brace myself and keep from crushing her. The fit is snug, and complete, and she’s mewling beneath me. Her face is turned to the side, and I brush my lips over her cheek.
“Like this?” I ask and start moving my hips. Use my knees against the bed for leverage.
Her eyelids flutter closed. “Yes. Just like that.”
I rest my forearms next to hers. Thrust again, slow and deep. Find her hands butted against the mattress and lock my fingers together with hers.
It doesn’t take long to understand why she likes this position. Our bodies are touching from head to foot, and I can easily rest my forehead against her neck. Reach her cheek. Kiss the soft skin of her shoulder.
“You feel so fucking good,” I mutter into the shell of her ear. “You always do. Like you were made for me.”
She moans softly, and beneath our combined weight, the vibrator is a constant low rumble. “I do?”
I close my eyes. Thrusting so slowly is an agonizing pleasure, with her this hot and tight around my cock. The faint throbbing from her clit reverberates through her, and I feel the pulses when I bottom out.
“Fuck yes. This is my favorite… place to be. Inside you.”
Her fingers flex around mine. “And to come inside of.”
Heat flares at the base of my spine at her words. This previously unknown kink of mine has turned into an obsession over the past week. A compulsion to fill her as much as I can. To see my come dripping out of her.
I dig my teeth lightly into her shoulder, and she chuckles. “Yes,” I mutter. “You’ll drive me insane, you know. Drain me dry.”
“Poor little billionaire,” she whispers.
I nip her neck again. Ram my hips sharply against her round ass, pushing her more firmly on top of the vibrator, and her breaths stutter. Mine, I think. Another thrust. All mine.
Harper’s mouth opens on a moan, and she screws her eyes tighter. “God, that got me so close. Nate…”
“Say my name again.”
“Nate,” she whispers. “Nate, I need you to never stop, never stop, I’m… oh my God!”
She comes beneath me. Against the vibrator and around my cock. Her pussy is already painfully snug because of the position we’re in, but when her walls quiver rhythmically as she orgasms, I can’t hold back anymore.
I erupt, pleasure dancing up my spine like flames, and my hips pistoning on pure instinct. Harper is moaning softly under me, and I can’t focus on anything—not on holding up my weight, not on breathing, not on thinking.
My forehead drops to her cheek. Our bodies feel fused together, skin bonded with every cell.
I never want to move.
Harper giggles softly. It’s a tiny sound, and I feel her breath fanning my skin. “What?” I mutter.
“I think your soul may have just left your body,” she says.
“It did. I gave all of it to you.” My voice sounds as tired as the feeling in each of my muscles. My heart is pounding, and she must sense that, pressed as I am to her back.
Her back. I’m lying on top of her.
I push up to my elbow. “Shit. You’re not hurt?”
Harper smiles and looks at me with her left eye. “I’m the furthest from hurt anyone can be. Come lie on me again.”
“I’ll crush you.”
“No you won’t,” she says. “And I like it.”
I settle back on top of her, still inside her, and chuckle hoarsely. “Another one of your quirks. Duly noted.”
“Considering one of yours is making me orgasm in a room full of people, mine are pretty mild.” She smiles happily and closes her eyes.
I kiss across her cheek. Up to her eyebrow. Her skin is damp with exertion, the same as mine. Maybe we can leave the bed to have a shower before returning to its comforts once more. Order in some food.
And then do this again.
“Nate,” she whispers. “I think I’m falling in love with you. And I don’t know what to do about it.”
Everything narrows down to this moment. Those words. I press my lips to her cheekbone and try to handle the rush of emotions her confession had sparked.
Her voice was a bit shaky, and hesitant, and I wonder if she’s ready to talk about it fully.
“Oh?” I ask. It feels like a beautiful but skittish animal approaching. I don’t want to scare it off. “Is that something we should talk about… or keep it in the box for now?”
She smiles against my skin. “I like that box metaphor.”
“It’s been very useful for us.”
“I think it can be in the box for now. For a little while longer,” she says, her voice soft. “As long as you know that it’s there.”
I rest my forehead against her wild curls and swallow hard. “I know it’s there, baby. Thank you.”
“Mm-hmm. Just a head’s up. And how would you… how would you feel about that? Theoretically?”
“Harp,” I say. My throat feels tight, and I can’t say it to her back, or she’ll hear the whole truth in the words. The years of longing and the recent happiness. So I settle on something else. “You own me completely… and that’s got a box all of its own.”