Chapter 20
“Thank you,” Dede said, sinking onto the sofa in the carriage house with a soft exhale. She worked at the straps of her heels with obvious relief, then flexed her toes against the hardwood floor. “For keeping your cool back there.”
I couldn’t stop thinking about what Bronson had pulled back there. The bastard had known what he was doing by dragging my name and position into it when nobody had asked.
Until that moment, I’d just been Dede’s husband who worked in the automobile industry to these people. Now they knew who I was.
One sentence, and suddenly every person in that room was looking at me differently, wondering why my wife wasn’t good enough for my business. The prick had turned my identity into a weapon against her.
What made it worse was that the question itself was meaningless.
Olympus Motors has had its own marketing department for decades.
We didn’t outsource advertising because we didn’t need to.
But explaining that would have made Dede’s moment about me, about defending why I hadn’t handed her a contract.
Loosening my tie, I moved to where she sat, then dropped to one knee before her. “May I?” I gestured toward her feet.
She raised an eyebrow, but lifted her leg to rest her heel on my knee. “I can’t believe I won.” Her voice was soft. “The biggest contract TMW has ever landed, and I thought I was gonna get crushed.”
“But you did not.” My thumbs worked along her arches. “You reminded them heart and authenticity beat flashy technology every time.”
Dede laughed, the sound breathless and giddy. “This changes everything, Aris. For my business, for my future. I can compete with the big agencies.”
Her skin was warm beneath my palms, and I felt some of my own tension ease. She melted back against the cushions with a soft moan that sent blood straight to my cock, and I fought the urge to abandon her feet entirely and cover her body with mine.
“It is better, yes?” My hands moved up to massage her calves.
“Much.” Her eyes closed. “When Bronson connected you to Olympus Motors, I thought it was over.”
“I should have seen this coming, yes. I should have prepared for possibility that he would figure out who I am when he mentioned my cousin.”
“Well, it backfired on his ass.” A satisfied smile curved her lips. “Douglas and Maxwell got all excited talking cars with you afterward.”
I brushed my lips against the inside of her knee, then let my fingers work higher, mapping every soft place that made her breath catch. “You were brilliant today, agápi mou. Absolutely brilliant.”
Dede threaded her fingers through my hair. “I’m a woman of my word, Aris.”
“Are you?” I asked, moving my lips higher along her thigh, tasting the shea butter on her skin.
“You helped me get this contract, so I’ll consider marrying you.”
My hands stilled. “What else is there to consider?” I looked up at her. “This weekend, it proved we make great team.”
“After my divorce, I promised myself I’d never marry again.
” Her voice grew serious. “I only married Kevin because Mama Nettie pressured him when I got pregnant with Tia. It looked bad for her foster daughter to be pregnant by her son.” She drew a breath.
“If I do this again, it needs to be my choice. It needs to be done right.”
Of course, she had a choice. The choice was obvious: marry me. The fact that she couldn’t see the logic was... frustrating.
“How do you suppose I convince you?”
Her hands went to the waistband of her slacks, and she lifted her hips to pull them down. The movement was intoxicating, revealing inch after inch of smooth skin.
“By reminding me last summer wasn’t a dream.”
My breath held as more of her was revealed to me. I could see the curve of her belly where our children grew, the way her skin glowed in the soft lamplight. I wanted to strip her bare and taste every inch of her, but I forced myself to wait.
“Are you sure? Because when we cross this line, agápi mou, there will be no one else. No going back.”
“I know.” She whispered. “Help me.”
I took over, sliding her slacks the rest of the way down her legs, then her underwear, baring her completely to me.
Théa mou.
Gripping her ass, I pulled her to the very edge of the sofa and draped her thighs over my shoulders. The position put her glistening heat on full display as I settled between her legs.
“Look at you.” My thumbs spread her lips wider, my mouth watering. “You are masterpiece, Dede.”
I pressed a kiss to the inside of her thigh, then higher. She whimpered when my tongue dragged through her folds in one long, slow stroke. I groaned against her.
She tasted exactly as I remembered. Like last summer in Athens when I’d worshipped her body on white sheets under moonlight. Like mine.
Five months without her had been too long. I would never let her go again.
Her clit was swollen, begging for attention, and I wrapped my lips around it, sucking gently before flicking my tongue over the sensitive bundle.
Dede’s fingers clenched in my hair. “Oh, Aris—”
Her hips rolled up to meet my mouth, and I flattened my tongue, lapping at her. I savored every sound she made, the way her body tensed beneath me. When she was close, I redoubled my efforts, sucking her clit between my lips and swirling my tongue in circles.
“Aris, I’m—fuck—” Her voice broke as her body bowed off the sofa, orgasm crashing over her.
I didn’t let up, drinking down every shuddering pulse, every desperate moan tearing from her throat. Only when her legs went limp, her chest heaving, did I pull back enough to press a kiss to her inner thigh.
Dede looked down at me. “You’re trying to kill me.”
“No, agápi mou. I’m trying to marry you.” I crawled up her body, bracing my hands on either side of her head. “And if this is what takes to convince you, then I will spend rest of my life on my knees.”
I crushed my mouth to hers, swallowing her gasp as I ground my hips against her. Her legs wrapped around my waist, heels digging into my ass, pulling me closer.
My hands slid up her body, pushing her blazer off her shoulders and letting it fall to the floor without breaking the kiss. Her fingers worked at the buttons of her blouse until the lacy black bra beneath was revealed.
I skimmed over her fuller breasts, her rounded belly. I unclasped her bra, letting it join the blazer on the floor, then cupped those perfect, swollen mounds in my hands.
Théa mou, I loved how pregnancy had made her even more irresistible. I leaned down, taking one nipple into my mouth, sucking greedily while my fingers pinched and rolled the other, drawing out those breathy moans I craved.
She arched into me, her hands fisting in my hair, and I lavished attention on her, alternating between licks, gentle bites, and deep pulls that had her writhing beneath me.
“Dede,” I growled against her skin, my cock straining painfully against my pants.
I couldn’t wait any longer. Still kneeling between her legs, I reached down with one hand, undid my belt, and unzipped my trousers. I shoved my boxers down halfway, freeing my throbbing length.
I positioned myself at her slick core and thrust forward, seating myself fully inside her in one smooth, deep stroke.
A low, broken sound caught in her throat, and her walls clenched around me like a vice. “Aris... yes,” she whispered.
I pumped into her while my hands worshipped her breasts, kneading them as I moved, pinching her nipples in rhythm with my hips.
But I needed more, needed her closer. I pulled out long enough to shift our position.
I sat on the sofa, guiding her to straddle me. She lowered herself into a squat over my lap, her pregnant belly brushing against my abdomen. I slid back inside her with a groan, slipping my hands under her thighs to support her weight.
Théo mou, the angle was deep, intimate, and her breasts were right at eye level. I fucked her with everything in me, my mouth latching onto a nipple, sucking and licking as if it were my lifeline.
She rode me in that squat, her hands on my shoulders for leverage, moaning my name. The position let me control the pace, lifting her, before slamming her down onto me, over and over.
“Aris... don’t stop,” she panted.
I felt her inner muscles fluttering around my cock, and I redoubled my efforts—thrusting deeper, sucking harder on her nipple.
Dede came first, crying out as her orgasm hit, her pussy pulsing around me in waves that nearly sent me over the edge. I held on, pumping through her release, my hands gripping her thighs tighter, until finally, I spilled deep inside her as I buried my face against her breasts, breathing her in.
“You are convinced, yes?” I murmured against her skin.
She cupped my face in her hands. “Not yet.”
Two simple, devastating words that meant I’d just delivered what I’d conservatively estimated was exceptional sexual performance and still hadn’t closed the deal.
Perhaps I needed to work on my negotiation tactics.
I pulled her closer, already planning my next move. If logic wouldn’t convince her, I’d find another way.