39. Adrian
Islept.
And I slept well, probably better than I have in years.
My eyes are closed, but I’ve noticed her breathing getting more shallow. I peek through one half-opened eye to find her staring at my lips. Her hand trails a bit lower on my chest, and my already aching cock gives a needy throb in my boxers. I don’t know if this woman likes making me hard when we can’t do anything about it or if she has no fucking clue what she does to me. Either way, I lower my lips a little, my fingers moving to her chin to grasp it between my thumb and index finger.
“Do it,” I say, and she looks up at me, so beautiful even in the morning.
“Do what?” she asks, so I lean down to press my nose against hers. I can almost hear the thumping of her heart, thud, thud, thudding faster and faster with every centimeter I close between us. It matches mine perfectly. I brush my nose from side to side once, then say what I’ve wanted to say since our first kiss.
“Kiss me, mon paradis. Kiss me until you stop regretting it,” I say, but Nevaeh pushes me away a little, bringing distance between us.
“I got a call from Ms. Martin yesterday, telling me that Gillian Fender saw us hugging and assumed we were getting closer. She gave me a warning, and I don’t think I’m going to get another one of those.”
All the color drains from my face. I can’t see it, but I can feel the way my cheeks grow cold and the blood rushes out of them.
The thought of Nevaeh losing her job because of me ties my stomach into knots.
“I’m so sorry,” I blurt out, leaning away from her to give me space to think.
“Don’t be. I’m incapable of not touching you, Adrian, just like you seem to feel about me.”
Nevaeh smiles at me, then sits up in bed and stretches her arms above her head. A yawn slips past her perfect lips before she gets up and walks toward her wardrobe.
“I love your ass,” I say in French without thinking, making her spin around and place her hands on her hips with a cock of her brow.
Uh oh. I’m in trouble.
And I’m smiling like a lottery winner.
“You wanna say that again to my face?” she asks, and I roll over until my face is buried in pillows.
“Your French is better than I thought,” I admit with a laugh, my words muffled because my face is trapped between the pillows. “Your ass is unreal, mon ange,” I say as I lift my head to look at her again.
“It’s real, Adrian. Would you like to touch it and see for yourself?” she asks, closing the distance between us.
“Fuck yeah, I do, baby,” I reply, sitting up in bed and moving toward her, too.
“Maybe if you’re a good boy, I’ll let you one day,” she adds, leaving me where I am without another word.
I roll onto my back and stare at the ceiling for a moment, smiling to myself because, despite not being able to be together right now, I’m happy. Truly happy.
Spending time with Nevaeh is slowly becoming one of my favorite things in the world.
Val and James manage to assemble the bed within half an hour while Nevaeh and I hand them the tools they need. They’re fucking show-offs, if you ask me, but I enjoy watching Nevaeh and James get to know each other.
My best friend talks about his son and how he lives with Gabriel’s aunts since Annabel, the child’s mother, ran away.
I’ve never been able to comprehend how a parent could do such a vile, cruel, and disgusting thing. My mother did it, she left without ever looking back, and my father was never the same. Luckily, James isn’t like that with Damian. He made a hard decision to let Gabriel’s aunts adopt his son so he could be in a loving home with parents who don’t travel the whole year for work.
“So, when is it my turn to be interviewed?” James asks, and Nevaeh pulls out her phone to check.
“Next week will be Nolan Matts from Carousel,” she replies, and I watch my best friend smile at her. Even though I know he means it in a polite way, I kick him.
He’s too single to be smiling at my angel that way.
“Your turn is four races from now,” Nevaeh adds and turns to Val to remind her she’ll come before then.
“Ha,” my sister says to James.
They start pretend-fighting, so I take the instructions Nevaeh was holding and hit James over the head with them. Then, I throw them back in Nevaeh’s lap so that when James turns around again, she looks like the culprit. She bursts into laughter, unable to explain it wasn’t her but me.
“There is an event at the Casino de Monte-Carlo for the Formula One drivers tomorrow. Will you go with me?” I ask after a while of silence, Val and James watching me with surprise as I turn to look at Nevaeh.
“I’d love to, but I’m not sure that would help make us look like friends,” Nevaeh replies, sliding her hand toward mine where it rests on the ground. I stare at her fingers inching closer, trying to figure out a way I can take her without her boss making a big fuss.
“Nevaeh will be my plus one. Since I’m already engaged, it won’t be suspicious,” Val says with a wink, and I watch Nevaeh’s face light up as she looks at my sister. “Although, it does depend on what you wear because if I can’t take my eyes off you, the suspicion will return,” she adds, but I shoot my sister a warning look. Happily engaged or not, Nevaeh is mine, and if my sister turns her charm on, I’m not sure I have a competing chance.
“I appreciate the invitation, Val, but I have nothing to wear. My clothes are only arriving on Saturday,” Nevaeh explains, but my sister is on her feet a moment later. She’s all giddy as she pulls Nevaeh onto her feet too.
“I know just the place to get you a dress or suit, whichever you prefer,” Val says, grabbing Nevaeh’s camera bag because she knows, just like I know, that she never goes anywhere without it. “I’m sorry to do this to you, Nevaeh, but I’ve never had someone to go shopping with, and you’re going to be my victim today,” Val informs my angel with a serious expression, making Nevaeh laugh as my sister pulls her toward the door. “The bed better be put in its proper place with the mattress on it by the time we get back,” she calls out before letting the door slam shut so James and I can’t protest.
“How’s Damian?” I ask when I catch James grinning at me in a way he never has before.
“He’s fine. Sleeps a lot, poops a lot, screams a lot. You know, like a baby does,” he replies, still grinning.
“What’s the fucking face for?” is my next question. James shrugs before picking up the screwdriver and going back to cleaning up.
“The fact you don’t know what the face is for when you look at Nevaeh like she’s the Driver’s Championship title and all of your other dreams combined into one person is baffling,” he says matter-of-factly.
“I do not look at her like that,” I say and scoff, but a smile covers my lips anyway. “Fuck, I do look at her like that, don’t I?” James throws an unopened bag of screws in my direction and lets out an annoyed huff.
“What do you think?” he replies, smiling down at the screwdriver in his hand while I grin at him.