Chapter 47
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Gaines
I drop one of my business cards on Eloise’s lap.
She drops her gaze to it, scooping it into her palm. “What’s this for?”
“Turn it over.”
She does just that and reads what’s written on the other side. “Nine, twelve, seventeen, and five.”
I nod.
She chuckles nervously. “I’m lost. What are these numbers for?”
“It’s a key code.”
“A key code,” she repeats, her gaze searching my face. “A key to what?”
My heart.
I want to say that, but truth be told, she stole that key the first time I saw her at the club. I’m not a romantic. I don’t claim to know how to sweep a woman off her feet, but this woman sitting on my bed has perfected the art of sweeping a man off his feet.
I’m that man, and as much as I want to deny it, I’m falling in love with her.
Hell, I’m beginning to think I did that more than two years ago when I first looked into her eyes.
I take a seat next to her.
She’s got my shirt back on and is bundled under one of the blankets on my bed. I’m back in jeans, but there’s nothing under them. I don’t know if she’ll be up for another round before we fall asleep, but I could fuck this woman six times a day and still want more.
I close her fist around the card because I want her to hold onto it forever. “It’s the key code to my apartment. Use that code on the panel outside my door.”
Her eyelids flutter as her gaze reaches mine. “What?”
I want to tell her I need her here when I get home from work. I want her here to take bubble baths whenever she wants. I want her to fill this cocoon with life, with her, with us.
I’m a coward, though, so I opt for another approach. “I want you to have a place to go where Norvin won’t be breaking down your door in the middle of the night.”
A bubble of laughter bursts out from between her perfect lips. “Norvin is my super.”
“You’re super what?” I question with a perked brow. “Don’t say lover, lamb, because no man has ever fucked you as good as I do.”
It’s an arrogant statement, but I felt how she reacts to my cock. I know how wet my tongue makes her.
She leans forward to press her lips to mine for a decadent kiss. “No one fucks like you. I’m addicted to you.”
“The feeling is mutual,” I whisper against her mouth.
She grins. “Norvin is the building superintendent.”
I figured as much, but clarification is never a bad thing.
“Come here when you want a change of scenery.” I drop my gaze to my chest and abs. “The view here is a good one.”
Her eyes flash with need. “I’ll say.”
I laugh.
“Thank you for this.” She presses her closed fist to the center of her chest. “This means a lot to me, Gaines.”
I nod in silence, grateful that she’s accepted it with grace.
It’s the first time I’ve given anyone access to my apartment but it feels right, and necessary. I want her to know this is a safe space for her.
I reach up to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You passed out for a bit after the fuck.”
She laughs. “Does that surprise you? Who needs a personal trainer when Dr. Morgan is around to work a woman’s body like that? I think my heart rate topped the one twenty-five it did earlier.”
I smile. “By the time I took it on our way here, it was under one hundred.”
“Oh my God.” She hits my bicep. “You took it without me knowing? You’re just as bad as Irene’s husband.”
“I consider that a compliment,” I tell her. “I took it when you showed me your bracelet in the cab.”
Her gaze drops to the thin silver bracelet circling her wrist. “Doctors are like magicians.”
I chuckle. “We do what we need to do.”
“You do all of that very well,” she says. “What do you want to do now?”
I eye her up. I could go for another fuck, but I want to know what she needs from me. “It’s up to you.”
“My best friend and I used to play this game.” She tilts her chin down. “We’d each ask a question, and the other person had to tell the truth. It’s kind of like truth and dare, but no dares, just the truth.”
I’d rather have a tooth pulled, but I’ve avoided her questions long enough, so I take her hand in mine and nod. “You go first. Ask away.”