12. Like Fine Wine #3
I had to bite my lip as I watched the expressions change in his face from blank to passionate, painting the fabric until it was coated in white.
Then, he quickly pulled them up, sealing it to my dripping core.
“I want you smelling like me for the rest of the day,” he demanded as he tucked his dick away in his briefs. “Just in case you have any desires to act out on that stupid fucking idea of fucking any man here tonight, I hope they don’t mind you dripping in my kids.”
Back in the real world, we went our separate ways. I felt his warm ejaculation running down my legs and his eyes on me as I walked in front of him, into the golf cart shuttle.
He kept his eyes on me as we drove off and then stalked back into his office in silence.
When I got back to the group with the newly acquired bottle, I was dazed.
It got hard to focus after that.
Every time I blinked, I was in the dark with him pushing into me again. It was torture to be without him in me.
“Hey, is the owner busy?” the woman who asked earlier approached me. Fuck, I forgot to ask. “Yeah, give him a minute to wrap up in the office and he’ll join us soon.”
She nodded and walked away with a grin when I handed her the bottle. Once out of sight, I turned to the driver.
“Do me a huge favor and go get Marlon please? Tell him it’s important?”
“Yes Ms. Rodriguez.”
“Thanks.” I lingered longer before I asked. “Do I smell…funny to you?”
“Funny, how?”
Fuck. I didn’t exactly want to answer that so I just waved him off.
“Nevermind. Just get Marlon.”
With a quick nod, he took off.
I stood there for a second, trying to steady myself before stepping back into the room.
Get it together. This is your event.
I rolled my shoulders back and moved through the crowd again, slipping right back into position like nothing happened.
Everything was still running smoothly.
“Rory.”
I turned at the sound of my name. Wyatt stood off to the side where the crowd thinned out a bit. He lifted his hand slightly, curling his fingers in a quiet come here. I hesitated because I already knew I wasn’t in the right headspace for whatever he was about to say.
Still… I walked over.
“What’s good?” I asked, keeping my voice light.
He didn’t answer me with words.
Instead he stepped in close, one hand coming up to my face and then just kissed me.
No warning.
His mouth was firm, he expected me to meet him there because we’d been building towards this.
And any other time… I would’ve kissed him back.
But now—
He groaned against my lips as he hungrily shoved his tongue into my mouth. His hands moved from my face to my thighs, lifting my dress with urgency.
My body didn’t move.
My hands didn’t lift.
My lips didn’t respond.
I just stood there as his hands dive into my underwear.
“Fuck, you soaked like this for me?”
I should stop it. Because there is no way I should let a man fuck me with Marlon still on my other lips.
But it was like I was disassociating or something as he fingered me. Like I was present, but not with him.
He felt it immediately.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his eyes searching mine, trying to find where I went.
“Nothing,” I shrugged. “I’m just… not feeling it right now.”
It sounded weak even to me.
“I see.”
He stepped back and that’s when I noticed his pants were unbuckled. And somehow that made it worse.
“It’s Marlon, ain’t it,” he said after buckling back up. “You heard what he said earlier?”
“Part of it.”
He sighed. “It ain’t how he makes it sound. I wasn’t tryna overstep or anything like that. You know I only want what’s best for you, right Rory?”
Yeah, is that why you had your fingers in me five seconds ago?
I didn’t say what I thought out loud though.
“Yeah. I know.”
“So you and Marlon. Are you a thing or?”
“No.”
He let out a quiet breath through his nose.
“You two can’t be honest to save your life.” I was over this whole conversation. “You know, I suspected as much when I saw him put funding into this place.”
My ears perked up. “What?”.
Wyatt’s eyes furrowed. “Marlon. He took over as a sole investor. That’s why he turned my offer down. Bastard doubled it.”
My mind went blank. “When you say double…”
“Almost two million backed this project. Out of his pocket.”
I felt like I was gonna faint.
“I didn’t know…”
Wyatt stiffened. “Oh.”
“Did my dad know?”
“From what I heard in the meeting between the three of us,” Wyatt explained. “Marlon agreed to double my investment then exceed it. No interest or return clause. No ownership structure tied to it.”
I blinked. “So what does he get out of it?”
Wyatt let out a short breath. “Nothing.”
I stared at him.
“On paper,” he clarified, “it’s not even an investment. It’s a cash injection. Internal support, they call it . He didn’t attach himself to the project at all.”
That made even less sense.
“So he just… gave money?” I asked.
Wyatt nodded slowly. “That’s what threw your dad off. Threw me off too to be fair. That’s not how Marlon moves.”
I looked down, trying to process that.
“I don’t get it either.”
“Look, since I’ve known him,” Wyatt continued, “he’s been calculated.
Marlon has been the type to only use his money on the company and even though the shed is a part of Sucré, he ain’t the type to put energy into something that isn’t a guaranteed success.
He damn sure ain’t putting his money into something that ain’t been tested and backed by months of records.
So whatever he has in his mind about you, he trusts your vision at least.”
I nodded. “I see.”
“…and you trust him.” Wyatt looked at me. “You care about him too. You care what he thinks…and he wants me gone.”
“I’m sorry, Wy.”
“Shut up,” he said immediately, stepping forward again. “Come here.”
This time, when he pulled me in, I went. My arms wrapped around him, my body settling against his like I needed something solid to hold onto for a second.
And he gave it to me.
No expectations.
Was this what I was craving since leaving Marlon? Connection? Comfort? Marlon never lets me hold him this close. Marlon never holds me.
And being held felt… nice. So nice, my mind doesn’t even process the fact that Marlon basically bought me a business.
Wyatt’s hand moved slowly along my back.
“I just want you to be happy,” he said.
“I know,” I replied. “Thank you.”
And I meant that.
Because whatever this was between me and Marlon—
It didn’t feel simple.
And Wyatt…
Wyatt was simple.
We stayed like that for a moment longer than necessary. Then he pulled back just enough to look at me.
“Aurora.” His expression shifted slightly, nose scrunching just a little. “Why do you smell like sex?”
Oop.
I froze. “…huh?”
After playing dumb with Wyatt, I managed to sneak back into the party when he got called away to handle something. At the same time, Marlon entered.
I could feel his smirk on me as I squirmed with his reminder in my underwear.
The crowd gathered around him and dropped question after question. I took my ass over to the bar. The rest of the night I spent drinking with Patch and swapping stories. By the time the party was over, I was lit yet still professional, thanking everyone for joining us and waving them off.
When the final golf cart left, I took the walk back to the office by myself. I just needed the time to get my head together and the evening air did just that.
But, imagine my surprise when I got to the main office and Marlon was by my door with his phone pressed to his ear.
“Where the hell were you?” he asked, turning the phone away from his mouth.
“The vineyard. I walked.”
He looked at me like I was stupid but brushed it off.
“Grab your stuff,” he commanded, then he walked away. I guess he had to lock the place up and I was the last one here.
And with the way he walked away in a hurry, I also guess we ain’t talking about the cellar.
Just like New York.
Defeated, I pressed my office door open and collected my things. Chewy was asleep in my chair, so I scooped him up carefully.
The party girl in me wanted to hit the clubs and celebrate my win today but I couldn’t wait to get in my room and soak in the bath.
Oh how the mighty has fallen.
Outside the building, Marlon was waiting in front of a black SUV, still on the phone.
When he saw me, he placed a guiding hand on my waist and ushered me into the back seat.
“Marley, what—”
He cut me off by holding a finger to his lips. Then to the driver, he instructed: “Home.”