4. Bastien
4
BASTIEN
She didn’t have to submit a two-week notice or formally quit, not when I was her boss, so she was just done. We didn’t talk about it again, and I was glad it was over. It was one of the worst fights we’d had, but it couldn’t have ended better.
I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face for days.
I worked mostly nights, leaving after she went to bed. When I came home, it was usually late morning, and she was dressed and ready to go even though she had nowhere to be. I kissed her and grabbed her ass like I always did, happy that she was the face I saw after a long night on the streets.
“How was work?”
“Fine.” I pulled the envelope out of my back pocket and opened the flap to reveal the debit and credit cards that were all in her name. I placed it on the table. “These are yours. Buy whatever you want. I have space in the parking garage under the building if you want a car.”
Her eyebrows flicked up at the offer, but she didn’t say anything.
I waited for resistance or argument, but it never came.
Finally, she said, “Thank you.”
I moved into her again, my hand squeezing both of her ass cheeks as I kissed her hard on the mouth. “Attagirl.” I gave her ass a hard spank before I walked away.
“Bastien?”
I turned back to her, dead tired and ready for bed, but she was always my priority.
“Could you do me a favor?”
My eyebrows furrowed before I walked back to her. “Anything.”
She hesitated before she made her request. “I still have a lot of stuff at Adrien’s. Stuff that I couldn’t bring to the apartment because I was in such a rush to get the hell out of there. I don’t think I can look at his face again and not punch him, so…could you get it for me?”
“Of course.”
“There’s the rest of my clothes?—”
“You have more clothes?” She already took up eighty percent of the closet.
Her trepidation vanished as a sly smile moved over her lips. “And shoes…lots of shoes.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“You might want to rethink giving me your credit card.” The smile was still there, and it was nice to watch her tease me again.
I didn’t need to rethink it, not when that was the exact reason I gave it to her. “Good thing we have extra closets in this house.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“Or I’ll have to remodel one of the rooms into a closet.”
“Ooh, I like that idea.”
I smirked then reached for my phone to text Adrien. I’m coming by tonight to get the rest of Fleur’s stuff . I didn’t wait for his response, too tired to care about whatever nonsense he might say. “I’m going to shower and head to bed.”
“Alright. But how tired are you…?” Her hand absent-mindedly went to my arm, and she lightly grazed the skin, her fingers finding a tendon and following it down to the inside of my elbow.
There was nothing sexier than a sexy woman wanting you. Compliments and advances from girls all over this city were nothing compared to hers. “Never too tired for that.”
I’d worked a lot that week because of the time I’d taken off, and even though she wasn’t working anymore and had a lot of free time, she didn’t seem to mind that I had other obligations besides her.
She’d started working out in my gym, using the treadmill and some of the free weights. She bought books at the bookstore down the street and read them in cafés, and Gerard told me she used the kitchen to bake cookies from scratch. So, she filled her day with activities that were a lot more interesting than work. And I knew she felt better because she wouldn’t have gone anywhere by herself just a week ago.
I’d never pictured myself as a one-woman kind of man, let alone asking someone to live with me, but once I had her, my life felt perfect. Complete, even.
I stopped by one of our warehouses before I headed to Adrien’s because that was the most convenient route for the night. When I walked in, the music blared and the bass thumped. The guards were relaxed like they weren’t on duty.
There were girls everywhere, so Luca had probably paid for a private show with the burlesque girls from Moulin Rouge or Crazy Horse. Luca was a hard-ass like I was, but he loved the drink and women just a bit more. He had a girl on his lap when I walked inside, the girl wearing nothing but sparkly panties. The top hat that was supposed to be on her head had somehow ended up on his instead.
I made myself a drink, the guys oblivious because they were too busy having fun. I knew if I shut it down, everyone would be resentful, and I’d learned that being a leader was about give-and-take. There were times to be strict, and there were times to let loose. We’d just finished our product shipment, and the tariffs had been paid for the month, so there was nothing pressing at the moment.
“Look who it is.” One of the girls spotted me and walked over. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you around.” She was in a sparkly silver bodysuit and a top hat, bringing the wardrobe from the show straight to the warehouse.
It took a second for me to remember her name, but it came to me eventually. “How are you, Marie?”
“You know, busy,” she said. “Between Moulin Rouge and university, I don’t have a lot of time for much else.”
“Quit university.”
She rolled her eyes. “I need a job.”
“You’ll never make as much doing anything else as you do doing this.”
“Yes, but I’ll get old someday, and no one is gonna watch a middle-aged woman in a burlesque show.”
“If she’s hot, who cares.”
“You’d fuck a middle-aged woman?” she asked incredulously.
“She’d probably give good head, so I’d be game.”
She laughed at what I said, like I’d made a joke or my honesty was just amusing to her. “I miss you.”
Marie and I had a fling shortly before I’d met Fleur. It’d lasted about a week. I fucked her in the alleyway of the building after one of her shows, and then she came to my house a couple times. But it fizzled out and I lost interest. “I’m seeing someone.”
“For now,” she said. “But when that’s over, maybe we could meet up again.”
Before I’d settled down, my personal life was a mixture of regulars and women I met on the town. And sometimes I would just pay a whore, depending on my mood. But now, that felt so long ago that it didn’t even feel like me. “I’m gonna marry this girl.”
She looked surprised then winced and swallowed, trying to catch herself from showing her disappointment. But the emotions were practically written in permanent marker on her face. “Oh…I did not expect that.”
“I didn’t either. But that’s how it goes.”
“Well…congratulations.”
It was a hollow sentiment, so I didn’t respond to it. Luca’s girl finally left his lap, so I hurried over before he got sidetracked again. “I gotta talk to Luca.” Without looking, I left her side and took the empty seat beside him. “Didn’t realize there was a party tonight.”
He had a shit-eating grin on his face. “Yep.”
“Thanks for the heads-up.”
“I knew you would have just shut it down.”
“And you’d be right.”
“Just because you’re sticking your dick in one woman doesn’t mean the rest of us have to do the same.” He lit up a cigar and took a couple puffs to get it going. “So, how’s she doing?”
“A lot better.” With every passing day, a little more color returned to her face. “I’m going by Adrien’s now to pick up the rest of her stuff.”
“Finally, some fucking closure.”
“She quit the firm.”
“Why?”
“Because I asked her to.”
“She seems like someone who would put up a fight about that.”
“Oh, she did.” I grinned.
“Why do you care if she works or not?”
“Because she’s doing it for a paycheck, not because she’s passionate about it. Why does she need money when I can buy her anything she fucking wants?” I took one of the cigars off the table and lit up. “Now she goes to the bookstore and reads in cafés. She works out, bakes shit.”
“Why does she need to work out?”
“For her health, asshole. People die of heart attacks in their thirties. It’s not that rare.” It wasn’t because I thought she needed to lose weight or have a tighter ass. I was fucking obsessed with her body.
“Is that why you don’t order steak anymore?” he teased.
“As a matter of fact…”
“Turning into an old man.”
“Just trying to live to be an old man someday.”
He smiled before he puffed on the cigar again. “I’m glad she’s out and about instead of hiding behind a locked door.”
“Me too,” I said. “The conversation got a bit heated, but it ended on a high note.”
“If she’s a prideful woman who wants to work, let her. Kinda sexy, if you ask me.”
“She didn’t work with Adrien, so when he fucked around, she felt destitute. Doesn’t want to feel that way again.”
“She could have taken a lot more than half if she wanted to.”
“I told her that.”
“But she’s got too much pride—one of the reasons I like her.”
“I just didn’t appreciate being compared to him.”
His eyes shifted back and forth in confusion. “I don’t think she did. She just wants to be more independent after what happened to her. Pretty reasonable. I think you’re just pissed off because you weren’t getting your way.”
“She doesn’t want to work. And I want to take care of her. I know I made the right decision because she’s been happier than a little bird at the first sight of spring. Doing what she wants when she wants.”
He pulled the smoke into his mouth then released it as a cloud out of his nostrils.
“I will take care of her—and I won’t stick my dick where it doesn’t belong.” That was all women wanted. Didn’t need to be in several relationships to figure that out.
“Does she have any idea how fucking psycho you are for her?”
I continued to conceal the depths of my emotions from her, to run a marathon instead of a sprint, to play the game by her rules. “I’m sure she does. I think she’s psycho for me too, but she’s doing her damnedest to hide it…unsuccessfully.”
“Unsuccessfully?”
I felt myself smile at the memory. “At the end of our argument, she basically said she was in love with me, without realizing that she’d actually said it. Like it’s been true for so fucking long that it just slipped out. Adrien told me she said the same thing, but he was drunk out of his mind, so I wasn’t completely certain I could believe him. But looks like he was telling the truth.”
“Why won’t she say it to your face?”
“I think she’s scared.”
“Scared? If she still wants to be with you after being buried alive and literally dying, she doesn’t seem like she scares easy.”
“I think she’s afraid to admit to herself that her heart is at risk again. That I have the power to break her worse than Adrien did. Which is ridiculous because I would never hurt her.”
“To be fair, I’m sure Adrien said the same thing.”
“I’m a man and he’s a boy. It’s different, and she knows it’s different.”
He gave a nod in agreement.
“You know how much pussy gets handed to me?” Nearly every night, I ran into a woman who made a pass at me, whether it was at a bar or a meeting spot or someone’s estate. There wasn’t enough time in the day to fuck all those women, even if I wanted to. “And you know how easy it is to turn it down? So fucking easy, man. Because that’s my fucking wife. How Adrien didn’t know that is fucking beyond me.”
“I think he just assumed he wouldn’t get caught.”
“I would never get caught,” I snapped. “She would never know, and you would never rat on me if you knew. It’s about not wanting to do it in the first place. I just wish she understood that.”
“I don’t think she would have moved in with you if she didn’t understand that, Bastien. If she didn’t trust you like she does, she would have left the second you pulled her out of that coffin. She wouldn’t grab her shit and move in with you. She wouldn’t trust you to take care of her. Maybe the road is a little bumpy at times, but she’s never lost her grip on the wheel.”
I was impatient for more, but Luca made me see reason, that just because she wanted to wade into the water instead of jumping in headfirst with me didn’t mean she was any less committed.
“You already know how she feels, and that’s all that matters,” he said. “It doesn’t matter when she’s ready to say it.”
I arrived at Adrien’s house, the rest of the guys waiting by the SUV smoking cigars and waiting for orders.
The butler showed me inside. Adrien was standing in the sitting room like he’d been pacing to pass the time. The second he realized I was there, he gave a sigh. “How’s she doing?”
“She’s fine.”
“Fine? What does that mean?”
“She had a rough couple of days, but she’s been doing well ever since. Goes shopping, runs on the treadmill, bakes cookies. She doesn’t take baths like she used to, but I’m sure warming up to that idea will take more than a couple weeks.”
The relief swept over his gaze. “Good…that’s good. Has she gone back to work?”
“She quit.”
“Why?”
I shouldn’t subjugate myself to this conversation, but I wanted him to understand he’d been replaced, that he’d thrown her away and I’d put her back together. That when he’d tossed out the trash, there had been a diamond in the rubble—and now that diamond was mine. “Because she doesn’t need money when she has me.”
He didn’t appear stung by that response, his only concern for her well-being. “I’ve been worried but knew a call or text wouldn’t be welcome.”
“Bother her, and I’ll kill you.”
His eyes immediately flew back to mine, his stare shifting as if trying to understand if I meant that threat.
Yes, I fucking did. “She made her wishes clear.”
“I just want to know she’s okay?—”
“That’s my job now, asshole. You’ve been fired and replaced.” I snapped my fingers. “ Like that .”
He looked away, like the truth of my words dug under his skin.
“Where’s her stuff?”
“I tried to pack everything, but…it was too hard.” His hands went to his hips, and he looked at the stairs. “I didn’t expect it to end like this.”
“If you didn’t want it to end, all you had to do was not fuck other people.”
He turned to me. “You’re a real prick.”
“You expect me to feel sorry for you? Expect Fleur to feel sorry for you? No one gives a damn, Adrien. Were you thinking about Fleur when you were balls deep inside someone else? Were you thinking about her when you came in a bitch’s mouth and told her to swallow? Were you thinking about her?—”
“ Stop .”
“Then take me upstairs so I can get her shit and go home.”
Adrien said nothing else before he finally headed upstairs to the primary bedroom he used to share with Fleur. The bed was covered in piles of clothes, and the shoes were placed on top. There were other things, a jewelry box, a box full of pictures and keepsakes, a couple pieces of décor.
I called the guys downstairs. “Bring at least twelve boxes—and all the tape.” I hung up then looked at Adrien across the bed, unable to believe I was standing in the room where Fleur used to sleep every night before she met me. “The only grace I’ll give you is the fact that I think this was all meant to happen. Fleur was meant to be mine—so this was destined to go to shit.”
I had the guys put the boxes in one of the spare bedrooms so she could go through them at her convenience. Adrien let us go without a fight. Didn’t mention the Aristocrats or his plans for the business. He still had a target on his back, but this time, I wouldn’t help him.
It was early morning when I walked in the door. She wasn’t on the couch or in bed, and when I stepped into the bathroom, I found her in the shower, her soiled workout clothes on the floor where she’d left them.
I stared at her through the fogged-up glass, seeing her sexy curves soaking wet. She grabbed my bar of soap and rubbed it over her chest, over her plump tits, and then across her throat, her movements slow like she was in no rush and had nowhere to be.
I dropped my clothes in a pile on the floor and joined her.
When she felt the draft from the cold, she quickly turned toward me with wide eyes, like she assumed the worst instead of the best. But when she realized it was me, that bright affection entered her gaze, sunshine through the clouds in her eyes.
Wordlessly, I greeted her, hooking my arms around her soapy body and bringing her into me for a long kiss. I gripped her tight ass in one hand, while I squeezed her around the torso with the other. The kiss continued, growing from soft and slow to hot and fiery, full of tongue and little moans masked by the sound of the falling water. Shower sex was not my favorite, not when there were so many obstacles and the height difference between most women and me was so great, but I wanted this woman whenever she stepped into the room. Her kiss was scorching, her touch like a spark to a pyre that burned my soul.
I scooped her into my arms and lifted her into position, letting her guide my length to her entrance, and I lowered her down to sheathe it fully.
She moaned as she hooked her arms around my neck, being supported by my hands on her ass and my arms under her thighs.
I lifted her up and down, thrusting my hips on her way down, taking her in the shower like she weighed nothing. Since my arms were the size of her head, she really did weigh nothing.
Her skin was red, flushed by the heat growing inside her. Her eyes had a heavy glaze over them like she was lost in the heat between us, lost in the passion that set our world ablaze. I knew she was impressed by my strength because she was more turned on than usual, watching me lift her over and over without having to slow, my bulging arms the size of tree trunks. I listened to her body and studied her touches and kisses, so I knew her favorite position was missionary. She was always so fucking wet, and she came so damn fast. But it seemed like she enjoyed this even more. “You like this, sweetheart?”
Her answer was immediate. Didn’t have to pull it out of her. “Yes…”
I started to fuck her faster. “You love it when I fuck you like this?”
Her breaths ran rampant, uneven and uneasy. “Yes.”
I kept up the fast pace because of the adrenaline and the throbbing arousal in my dick. I lifted three times her weight in a session in the gym, so my muscles didn’t fatigue as quickly as they would with a higher weight.
She was about to come. Her eyes glazed over like she saw stars, and her lips parted to begin the incoherent stream of sighs and cries and moans. She was so pretty when she came, her eyes growing wet with tears that were desperate to be free. Then there was the crescendo, the moans intermixed with my name, and the sudden tightness of her pussy.
I could tell how wet she was, even in the shower. It was so distinctive around my dick, so slick. I brought her down on my length the exact way I wanted and gave her my final pumps, filling that pussy with another load.
I held her close and felt her ankles lock together at the top of my ass. It took just a few seconds for my breathing to return to normal. I stepped farther under the showerhead so the water could hit us both to wash away the sweat.
Then she kissed me, kissed me hard, like she was far from done with me. “You’re so fucking hot. I can’t believe you’re mine.”