Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Belle followed Victor into his bedroom, resisting the urge to pinch herself. After too many years of dreaming of this moment, it was hard to believe it was truly real.
Her date tonight with Sean had been okay.
He was a nice man, but there hadn’t been any sparks, no fireworks.
He’d offered her a kiss as they stood by her car in the parking lot, and that was when she realized things between them were going nowhere.
Because she wasn’t even sure she could call Sean’s buss a kiss after the three whoppers Victor had laid on her.
It was like drawing a comparison between a butterfly and a box of tissues.
They didn’t exist on the same plane. At. All.
When Sean suggested another date, she’d come clean rather than allowing things to continue when there was no chance of their relationship evolving.
She was in love with a man she couldn’t have, and while she’d thought dating other men would help, it had only served to show just how hopeless her situation was.
Sean had taken her rejection with good grace, wishing her well, and that had been that.
She’d driven home, prepared to treat herself to another Victor-fantasy-fueled orgasm, not even concerned if he heard her this time. She was in desperate straits, so she’d cover her face with a pillow if necessary to mute the sounds.
What she hadn’t anticipated was Victor waiting for her. After the way things ended in the kitchen, she figured he would make sure to be out of sight before her return.
She wasn’t sure what had changed in his mind, what had convinced him to take things to the next level with her, and honestly, she probably should have asked.
But then, he’d dropped another one of those mind-blowing kisses on her, and she’d decided she didn’t give a shit. He wanted her, she wanted him, and talking was overrated.
She understood his concerns about the two of them hooking up. She got it, she truly did. Part of what she adored most about the man was how much he loved his niece and sister, how he put their needs and happiness above his own. It was selfless and wonderful and just…so Victor.
Obviously, they’d taken a big risk tonight by sleeping together, and they were compounding that by her climbing into his bed now.
However, caution had flown out the window, along with his reasons for holding back, and Belle didn’t want to invite either back in.
For the first time in years…
No.
For the first time ever, she felt like she was right where she was supposed to be. So she wasn’t going to question this thing or talk it to death. They’d taken the next step, and all Belle wanted to do was keep walking the path with him, desperate to see where it led.
Despite living here for seven weeks, she’d never seen the inside of Victor’s bedroom.
It was a huge space, neat, clean, everything in its place.
One of the first things she’d learned about Victor after moving in was that he was a bit of a clean freak.
Not in an annoying way but in a “there’s a place for everything and everything in its place” kind of way.
She liked that because she was the same.
After so many years of living in an apartment approximately the size of a postage stamp, she’d learned that organization and well-labeled storage tubs were her friends.
Her eyes widened as she took in the neutral colors and elegant furnishings—the navy-blue duvet on the large king-size bed, the frame made of dark wood that matched the dresser and armoire.
The nightstands were uncluttered, with only an ornate lamp on each, along with a book and phone charger resting on the surface of one.
The bed was made and there were no random piles of clothing on the floor or draped over the large, overstuffed reading chair that sat next to a window.
The lighting was soft, provided by the bedside lamps, creating a calm glow rather than a harsh brightness from an overhead light.
The door to his walk-in closet hung open, allowing her to see that his tidiness carried over to that space as well, his clothes all hung up or neatly folded into cubbies, with like items stacked together.
At a glance, she could see which shelves held the sweatshirts and T-shirts, and she was impressed by just how many suits he had, all of them hanging and organized by color.
“Victor. Your room is beautiful.”
He smirked, probably because she’d spoken with a smidge of surprise.
Part of her had wondered since moving in if he was taking special pains to keep the parts of the house she and Pip occupied tidy just for their stay, if he was really a closet-slob, and that was why the door to his bedroom was always closed.
“I’d like to pretend this was all me, but the truth is, Viv decorated my room right after I moved in. She was home for the summer, missing Mom and Dad, and I thought it would offer her a distraction from the grief. So I gave her a budget and told her to go wild. She did an amazing job.”
Belle nodded. “She certainly has an eye for design. Her own house could be in magazines.”
“She got that from my mom. Mom had subscriptions to God only knows how many home décor magazines. Our mailbox was always filled with the latest editions of Better Homes and Gardens, Southern Living, and Real Simple. Vivian liked looking at the magazines as much as Mom, and they were forever dog-earing pages with ideas of things they wanted to do in our family home. Dad and I were always handed one of those damn magazines with a page marked to use as our “guide,” whenever they roped us into repainting or moving furniture or shit like that, to make it look like the pictures.”
“I understand why one of your Christmas gifts to Viv is always a subscription to Real Simple.”
Victor shrugged. “I know she doesn’t look at them like she used to. She even admitted to me once she hated that I kept spending money on it, since she never has time to read it, but…”
“It’s a way to honor your mother’s memory.”
He blinked a couple times before nodding. “Exactly. She didn’t want me wasting money, but she also didn’t want me to stop. I could tell.”
Belle’s chest squeezed at that—at the quiet love woven into something as simple as a magazine subscription. It was such a Victor thing to do. Thoughtful. Steady. Loyal in big ways and small.
She loved that about him.
God…she loved him.
That thought slipped in, but instead of panicking or overanalyzing, like she might have once upon a time…she just let it be.
Because right now, at this moment, everything felt right.
“If it makes you feel better, I read it every month. It feeds my list-loving soul,” she joked.
“Damn,” Victor grumbled. “I didn’t realize I’d been feeding the beast all this time.”
Belle laughed. “Guess it takes one to know one, Beast.” It was the first time she’d said her secret nickname for him aloud.
“You and Pip are both Disney mad. Between her saving to go there and you putting us in the middle of one of those fairy tales…” Victor grimaced, but the mirth in his eyes said he didn’t mind being cast in that story one bit. “Maybe I should change your nickname from Sunshine to Beauty.”
She shook her head. “I love it when you call me Sunshine.”
Victor wrapped his arms around her, giving her a warm hug. “I don’t mind being your beast,” he confessed.
Her gaze lifted to his, and just like that, the air shifted. She ran one of her hands through his hair. God, she was a sucker for his long, thick hair.
Belle tipped her head back, just enough for him to take her mouth. The kiss was deep and slow at first, as if he was savoring it.
Then…it wasn’t slow.
Heat flared in her body as she pressed closer, her hands slipping down to his chest, stroking the muscles and bare skin.
She’d never been with a man so physically fit.
Victor’s diet and workout regimen were driven by his career.
Hockey players needed to be in peak condition, but she suspected he’d be just as dedicated to remaining healthy if he was a businessman.
“Victor,” she whispered against his lips.
“I’ve got you,” he replied, his arms holding her tight against him, his large hands stroking up and down her back.
He did have her. In every possible way that mattered.
Victor drew her sundress over her head again; one tug and she was naked. She wasn’t sure why she felt so comfortable like this with him. With past lovers, there’d been a shyness and even some insecurity. Perhaps that didn’t exist with Victor because there was no need.
One look at his face and she’d never felt so beautiful. He looked at her like…well…like she was perfect. Not like she was too thin, or her breasts were too small, or her ass was too flat.
Victor broke the kiss briefly, reaching down to shrug off his boxers, kicking them away before his hands reappeared. He touched her with an urgency that seemed to say he couldn’t get enough of her.
Belle felt the same way as she caressed his chest, her hands drifting around his waist to stroke his tight, firm ass. His erection brushed against her stomach, and she shivered in desire and a little bit of amazement at the fact that “beast” had fit inside her.
Belle had never felt so full—or fulfilled—as she had when he took her on the couch.
Every touch between them felt like a discovery. Every kiss a confirmation.
Because this wasn’t just an attraction. It was years of wanting, of denying.
Victor pulled away, grasping her hand.
“Take a bath with me.”
His words weren’t a question; they were a command, and not the first one he’d issued tonight.
Belle let him lead her across the bedroom to another room. She’d been impressed by his bedroom, but this room…
It blew her away.
“Oh my God!”
Victor chuckled.
Belle was usually delighted to get one smile or laugh out of him in an evening, but tonight, none of those ever-present scowls had made an appearance, replaced with a lighter, more carefree expression.
While grumpy Victor was hot, happy Victor was sin incarnate.