Chapter Thirteen
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The next few weeks were some of the best weeks of my entire life. My routine was mostly the same: breakfast with Robert, going to work, and dinner together in the evening, laughing as we told each other about our day. We went grocery shopping together and swam in the pool on the weekends.
But now, each morning, I woke up with Robert, his warm arms around me. I kissed him before we left for work. We held hands in the supermarket, and in the swimming pool, we still splashed each other like little kids. But then he’d pull me close, and I’d hook my legs around his waist, feeling his firm body beneath me as he kissed me.
Life was exciting and domestic at the same time. I looked forward to the little things: unloading the dishwasher together, ordering takeout, and watching movies on the couch.
If I thought Robert smiled a lot before, it was nothing compared to now. It was like sunshine radiated off him. His face lit up when we saw each other after a long day at work. Sometimes, when I was working on my laptop in the evenings, he’d come around behind me and kiss the back of my neck. I’d try to protest, say I had a lot of work to do…but I wouldn’t be able to deny the arousal building up in me, every time he touched my body.
Five seconds later, we’d be in my bedroom, our clothes on the floor. The sex was still incredible.
Everything was going so well that not even my family could dampen my mood. I’d been emailed an invoice from them for the five-star hotel, and my eyes had almost popped out of my head when I saw the price. They’d booked two suites and ordered an unholy amount of room service.
A few days later, I got the bill for the plumbing repairs, which was even more expensive.
I paid both bills without complaining, though. Sure, I could call up my family and ask them what the hell they’d been thinking, spending so much, but… I couldn’t be bothered. The money didn’t really matter, and I had more important things to spend my energy on. Namely, spending time with Robert.
In fact, I hadn’t actually spoken to my family since the day I kicked them out, and the radio silence was bliss.
“Brooke, package at the door!” Robert called from the foyer as I lounged on the couch with a comedy movie playing on the flatscreen. It was a Saturday, and after a gruelling week at work, I was enjoying relaxing and lazing about at home.
I threw off the fuzzy blanket covering my legs and hopped off the couch. “It must be my new art piece,” I said.
When I reached the foyer, Robert had already brought the large cardboard box inside. He raised a brow at me. “For the dining room?”
I nodded eagerly and ripped open the box. “For a while, I’ve thought the wall was missing something, but recently, I found the perfect piece to hang there.”
He helped me pull out a landscape painting. It looked a bit abstract — from up close, it was random streaks of light green, blue and pink, but when you took a step back, it looked like the sun setting over a lush green pasture.
“You know what it reminds me of?” Robert said. “One of those estates in the books you love so much.”
“That’s what I thought too!” I said. Recently, we’d been watching a lot of period movies that featured grand manors and lush rolling hills in the English countryside. I was pleased he saw the same thing I did.
As soon as I saw the painting online, I fell in love with it. It conveyed a serene, peaceful sort of beauty. The exact thing I wanted for my home, where I could feel totally at ease.
“It’s great,” Robert said. “I can help you hang it up,” he offered, picking up the painting and carrying it over to the living room. He approached the back wall and carefully rested the painting on the floor against it.
“I’ll grab my hammer.” He disappeared into his bedroom. While he slept in my bed these days, a lot of his possessions still remained in the second bedroom.
“The package came with wall hooks,” I said when he returned, handing him one.
He took it. “Just let me know where.”
I waited for him to position the hook so the painting would be hanging in the right spot. “Right there. That’s perfect.”
He hammered the hook into the wall. Since I was standing behind him, I had a front-row view of his muscles moving underneath his cotton t-shirt. Every time we got in bed, I got to see those perfect arms and broad shoulders on top of me, and they’d quickly become my favorite part of his body.
He hung the painting on the wall, angling it until it was level. He took a few steps back, one hand resting on his waist. “What do you think?” He glanced at me over his shoulder.
I quickly jerked my eyes from his body to meet his eyes. “It’s perfect,” I said, my voice a little breathy.
The corners of his lips quirked upwards. “Were you just me out?” he asked.
My cheeks heated in spite of myself. “Maybe I should visit your work one day.”
He set the hammer down and approached me. “So you can ogle my coworkers? No thanks.”
“I won’t. My eyes will be glued on you.”
He chuckled, his hands coming down to rest on my hips. In one smooth motion, he picked me up and placed me on the edge of the dining table, moving forward so he was standing between my legs.
I slid my hands up and down his arms, then moved my hands to his abdomen. I could feel the ridges of his muscles through his t-shirt. My fingers drifted down, teasing him, and he groaned as I grazed his growing erection.
“Brooke,” he said.
“Yes?” I replied innocently.
He lowered his head, his lips colliding with mine in a heated kiss. Our hands roamed over each other’s bodies and he caressed my breasts while I played with his dick.
“Brooke?” he said, voice heavy. “Should we move this to the bedroom? I don’t want to break your furniture.”
I laughed softly. “It’s okay. The table can handle it.”
“Are you sure —”
“Robert,” I interrupted, curling my hands tightly around his dick in such a way, a low gasp escaped him. “I can’t wait. I need it now.”
His eyes flashed dark, and all his reservations melted away. He reached a hand between my legs, and pulled off my leggings and panties in one motion. The air was cool against my hot core.
“You’re already wet,” he murmured, sinking a finger inside of me, which made me twitch. “What turned you on so much, angel?”
“Watching you,” I said, parting my thighs more, welcoming the way he thrusted his finger inside of me. “Just looking at you turns me on.”
“Yeah?” he pulled his finger out and played with my clit.
“Yeah.” My voice was high and whiny. “I’m a whore for you.”
His mouth parted, and a question replaced the lust in his eyes. He must’ve seen the answer in my expression, because a second later, his mouth curled into a smile. “My pretty angelic whore,” he said. “I can’t wait to sink my cock inside of you.”
“Do it already,” I said.
“Fuck,” he hissed. “I don’t have a condom on me.”
“Same place in my nightstand,” I said.
He kissed me on the forehead. “I don’t want to leave you, baby.”
“Be quick,” I said.
I watched him go, then slumped against the dining table, so my back was flat against it, my legs hanging off the edge.
Was this real life?
In the future, Robert and I would need to hide condoms all over the house, so we could have sex wherever we wanted. On the couch. On the floor. In the shower…
Soon he was back, and I pushed myself up on my elbows, so I could reach over and shove his pants and boxers down. His cock sprung out, thick and hard, and already gleaming at the tip with precum.
He rolled the condom on, and I couldn’t ignore the way my pussy pulsed with anticipation.
“Fuck me,” I begged.
Without hesitation, he pushed his cock inside of me, my thighs hugging his hips as he bottomed out. He grabbed the underside of my knees and pulled me closer to the edge of the dining table, readjusting his angle so that he could thrust into me deeper. He held my legs open, rocking into me over and over, and soon the air was filled with the sound of skin on skin and my high moans.
How many times had I worked and eaten meals at this table? I never expected to have sex on top of it.
I’d never be able to look at it the same way.
“Yes … fuck, that feels so good,” I moaned as he drove into me harder and faster, hitting the right angle, making my thighs start to shake.
Robert looked down as his cock plunged inside of me. “God, I love watching myself disappear inside of you,” he said, his thrusts growing erratic. “This is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Don’t stop,” I said, voice breathy. “You’re so…so fucking big.”
“You squeeze me so good and tight,” he replied, voice low, almost a growl.
The coil within me pulled tighter, on the verge of snapping. Did he know how much his dirty words affected me? Could he feel me throbbing around him?
I didn’t have him or any sheets to grab onto, and I was so close to orgasm. In the end, I grabbed my nipples, pinching them as he pounded into me.
“Fuck,” Robert said, watching me touch myself. He started pounding even harder, and the table shook underneath me.
I rolled my nipples between my fingertips, and the extra spark of pleasure pushed me over the edge as he slammed into me. I cried out in bliss, the sound echoing throughout my whole apartment.
His cock pulsed inside of me before spilling hard and deep. He exhaled shakily and planted his hands on the table on both sides of my hips, holding himself up over me.
I couldn’t even sit up just yet. Pleasure ebbed through me and faded into a tingling, warm sensation like I was soaking up the sun in a tropical paradise. We were both a sweaty mess.
“Maybe I need to order more artwork,” I said.
Robert chuckled and leaned down to kiss my sternum, slipping his hands under my back to hold me.
I carded my fingers through his hair, enjoying his embrace and how close we were. It felt right.
Maybe even meant to be.
“To you and all the amazing things you achieve. There’s no one like you.”
I blushed as I clinked my glass of wine against Robert’s. We sat at a small table in one of the city’s nicest steakhouses, the smell of freshly cooked meat and expensive wine filling the restaurant. It was busy on a Friday night, but Robert insisted we celebrate, because I’d just finished up a big case at work.
We’d settled out of court, but that was a good thing. Going to court was a lengthy and expensive process.
Robert had looked so proud when I told him about the case and insisted he take me out to dinner, which had surprised me. My friends and I had celebrated when we graduated college, or when Alison won a huge client or Emilia got a promotion. But apart from my friends, most people didn’t really care about my career achievements. My family certainly didn’t, and past boyfriends acted like me being good at my job emasculated them somehow.
I took a sip of my wine, enjoying its sweet, bold flavor. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do all of this, Robert.”
“Of course I did,” Robert said. He’d dressed up tonight, wearing a button-down shirt that hugged his chest and shoulders. “You’ve been working nonstop on it for the past few weeks.”
I smiled, shyly brushing my hair away from my face. That’s when I caught an older couple eyeing us, frowning.
I knew what they were thinking. Robert was the sexiest man I knew, but it was obvious he was almost two decades older than me. People saw the age gap between us and probably thought I was some sort of gold digger. They weren’t exactly subtle about their disapproval.
I focused on Robert. I couldn’t let strangers bring down my mood. “You’ve been working hard too,” I said.
He shrugged. “It’s just another job for me. I’m not climbing a ladder like you.”
I tilted my head. “You’re not aiming for a promotion?”
He swirled the wine around in his glass, thinking. “When I started my company, I was already on top. I was the boss—well, along with Noel, the friend I founded the company with.”
“You made the company with a friend?”
He nodded. “Yeah. We went way back. Grew up together, worked for other construction companies, then decided we could do it ourselves. As I was saying… being a boss was great, but it’s a lot of work. After I left the company, I realized I’d rather just clock in and out rather than stress out about a business every waking hour.” He let out a self-deprecating chuckle. “I know this makes me sound unambitious.”
I shook my head. “No, I understand where you’re coming from. My friend Alison runs her own business, and for so many years, she’s been working herself into the ground. She’s better about work-life balance now, though.”
“Yeah? What changed?”
I smiled. “She fell in love with her personal assistant.”
Robert’s eyes widened. “Really?”
I nodded. “Yeah. They’re still together. I’ll introduce you to them sometime.” I returned to the topic at hand. “So are you and Noel still friends?”
His gaze skittered away. “No. Not exactly.” His gaze caught on something over my shoulder. “Looks like our food’s arriving.”
Part of me wanted to keep talking. There was so much about Robert I still didn’t know, and I wanted to learn more. He’d seen so many ugly sides of me—my crazy family, me breaking down in tears. Now that I thought about it, I didn’t know much about him beyond his job and some vague details about his divorce and family.
But as soon as the food appeared on the table—perfectly seared ribeyes with sautéed shrimp on the side—I let the topic go. The smell of the food alone made my stomach ache with hunger.
As soon as I cut into my medium-rare steak and took a bite, I had to suppress a moan. “Wow. It’s like it melts in my mouth.”
“Oh, yeah. Now, that’s a steak,” Robert agreed, lifting his eyebrows, as impressed by the taste as I was.
We didn’t speak for a few minutes, too wrapped up in our meals and how good everything tasted. The steak was the best I’d ever had, and the shrimp were buttery and garlicky too.
“We should go out to dinner more often,” Robert told me as he took a break from his steak to drink his wine.
“Tired of cooking?” I teased him.
“I like cooking for you, but I want to wine and dine you too.” His smile faded, replaced with a serious, almost nervous look. “I’ve been meaning to ask… I think we should define what this is.” He gestured between us.
My breath hitched. We hadn’t put a label on what we were doing yet.
That was part of the reason I hadn’t told my friends about the latest development between Robert and I. Usually, I told Alison and Emilia everything, but I was waiting until I could give them solid news. It’d be easier to say “I have a boyfriend” rather than “so remember that hot older guy I’m living with? We’re sleeping together and kissing and going out together, but we haven’t put a label on it yet.”
I wanted to define us. What were we? Roommates with benefits? Friends who had sex?
No. It was more than that. Sure, the sex was incredible, but I felt more for Robert than base lust. I could trust him. I felt safe around him. I had real feelings for him, deep feelings.
He cleared his throat. “I love spending time with you, Brooke. I love holding your hand in public.” He reached for my hand on the table. “I want—”
“Dad?” A voice interrupted us.
We both jolted and looked up to see the man standing next to the table, staring at our joined hands with horror.
My jaw dropped. It was Mike.