Chapter 61
HARPER
“This is amazing,” I say as we visit yet another exhibit. “Being here at night. You’d think it would be creepy, but the silence. Being able to simply be…”
I stop myself. I’ve never done anything like this. Despite all our wealth, I’ve never had somewhere like this entirely to myself before, it’s an adrenaline rush.
“This way,” Alex says, with a smile.
Butterflies flutter in my chest as he clasps my hand in his, and I love the fact that we can hold hands and kiss with no fear of being exposed.
Yes, there are security cameras, but Alex has promised me that all staff have signed NDAs, offering us a level of privacy only money can buy, and I find myself touched that he has done this for us… for me.
We turn the corner.
“Alessandro,” I cry, moving towards the intimate picnic that someone has laid out on the floor.
“Your dining companions await,” he says with a grin, as I spin on the spot, taking in the dinosaur skeletons surrounding us.
“I can’t believe you’ve done all this,” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck and placing my lips against his.
He pulls me against him, my curves moulding to his hardness, a sensation I’m getting used to. That’s when I realise this is the most relaxed I’ve been since we met, at least outside of my apartment or his.
“Thank you,” I say.
He leads me to one of the closest exhibits.
“And?”
I grin, reeling off facts and figures about the skeleton and its time on Earth.
I glance up at him, heat flooding my cheeks. His eyes sparkle as I talk.
“Sorry. Book nerd. I loved dinosaurs as a kid. Would bore the pants off my brothers and sister,” I admit.
“Don’t apologise, it’s cute,” he says, wrapping an arm around my shoulder before pulling me into his side and whispering in my ear. “And I admit, I was a bit of a dinosaur nerd myself. That and the stars and solar system.”
I rest my head against his shoulder, enjoying the banter and companionship.
Since we started this, life has changed.
I’m no longer the homesick woman I was. Instead, I’m embracing each day, enjoying every moment we’re together and even the time we spend apart, because the distance builds anticipation.
I look up to find Alex staring down at me.
“You amaze me,” he says, dropping a kiss on my nose.
My heart stutters in my chest at the look in his eyes.
He’s not the only one.
“Let’s eat,” he says, breaking the moment and moving us to the picnic blanket and feast. “Champagne?”
* * *
After we’ve finished, I drop back and stare up at the enormous ceiling.
“Magical,” I say, turning towards the wonderful man beside me. “Thank you, Alex. I’ll never forget tonight.”
I know whatever the future holds, this is a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life.
“It’s not over yet. We still have a night sleeping under a blue whale,” he says, jumping up and holding out a hand.
I sit up and grin. “I thought you were kidding?”
He shakes his head, his expression growing serious and his voice solemn, although his eyes are full of mirth.
“Really? We’re doing this?”
I take his outstretched hand, allowing him to pull me up.
“Would I kid about something as important as sleeping under the blue whale?”
* * *
Sleeping on a camp bed in the middle of a draughty old museum is not for the faint of heart. Maybe it would have been fine when I was ten, but at twenty-four…
“Are you asleep?” A whispered voice breaks through my thoughts.
“No,” I whisper back. “Want to snuggle?”
Alex laughs.
“Sorry,” he says. “It’s just the way you said snuggle.”
“Don’t knock it, buster. I like to snuggle, and I didn’t hear you complaining last night.”
“I’ll never complain. I love having you snuggled up against me.”
Something deep in my chest shifts. Alex loves sex, and he’s not the only one. I’m fast becoming addicted… although it’s only with this man. But there’s something more. It’s the connectedness, the closeness when we’re together.
I hear him unzip his sleeping bag and can’t resist. Dragging myself out of my own, I pad over to where he’s lying.
He grins up at me as I slide in next to him, pressing myself against his hard body as he re-zips the bag behind me.
It’s a tight fit, but who am I to complain as his arms wrap around me?
“Is that better?” he whispers against my hair.
“Much,” I say, snuggling against his chest and hooking one leg over his.
He stifles a moan, but I feel it rumble through his chest.
“Sorry,” I say, tipping my head back and glancing up at him, his cock hardening between us.
“Don’t be, just don’t wriggle too much,” he moans. “He’s used to having you whenever he wants outside the office.”
I laugh, but my body sings with awareness and desire.
“I can’t believe you organised all this,” I say, placing my lips against his throat. “This has been…”
“Do you want to stay or go?” he asks suddenly.
“I want to go, but only because I can’t be here with you and not show you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me tonight…”
My voice catches, and he pulls me closer before unzipping the sleeping bag.
We roll ourselves out and gather our things in record time.
When we approach the security station, a guard is playing on his phone.
“Is everything okay, Mr Bianchi?” he asks, his voice full of concern.
“Everything has been perfect,” I say, shooting him my warmest smile.
“Sleeping on camp beds when you’re ten is fine. However…” He leaves the rest of the sentence hanging, but the guard grins and nods.
“Say no more, sir. Can I call you a cab?”
“That would be great, thank you.”
The cab arrives in record time, which is not surprising at three a.m.
We enter the apartment, and within seconds I’m exactly where I want to be, in Alex’s arms. Our lips touch, but it’s different.
This time when he enters me, it’s not fast and furious.
It’s slow and controlled as he takes me to new heights, making every touch feel deeper, more meaningful.
By the time he thrusts into my body, he’s worshipped every inch of me, and I’ve worshipped every inch of him.
The connection between us has changed, and something tells me it will never be quite the same again.