Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
own it
MARK
We spend hours grazing on Emine’s mezze platter. Talking. Laughing. Cuddling. Her fingers are constantly seeking out a part of me to touch, and I love it. I want her to. I want to ask her to stay all weekend, because I can’t imagine spending a minute without her.
After dinner, and another round of sex (with her on the kitchen island) that takes my breath away, it’s close to midnight. I lead her to the bedroom, where she opens her bag and laughs—that glorious sound I want to hear more of.
“I was a bit nervous earlier, and it seems I didn’t pack properly.”
She holds up a towel, a pair of underwear, and a toothbrush.
“You didn’t think I had towels?” I tease.
“I wasn’t thinking at all!”
She throws the towel towards me, laughing.
I chuckle, and picture her running around, not knowing what to pack. She’s so fucking adorable. The image of her packing flustered makes me laugh even harder. It’s not that funny, really, but there’s so much going on in my body right now, it has to come out somehow.
“Hey, don’t laugh, I don’t have anything else to wear,” she says, but there’s a smile in her voice.
I rub the laughter tears out of my eyes before I step forward and grab her small waist with both my hands and pull her close.
“You don’t need clothes here.”
“Well, I don’t want your cleaner or chef or whatever to see me in just my knickers.”
“I’ll get you a t-shirt,” I say and reluctantly let go of her to fetch one.
A few minutes later, she comes out of the bathroom wearing my navy Cambridge Uni t-shirt with her hair up in a loose knot and I know for sure.
I want her to be mine.
I’m selective about who I spend my time with.
Time is money, and you don’t stay a billionaire by wasting it.
When I choose someone, I’m typically right.
The initial decision to be with her on Wednesday was poor.
It was impulsive, and not how I’d typically go about it.
But now, when I look at her like this in my home—my sanctuary—nothing has felt more like the right thing to do.
The best decision I’ve ever made.
“Stay all weekend,” I say.
“Okay?” she says, smiling. “Do I have to get up at five like you do?”
“No,” I say, pulling her close again and sitting down on the bedside. “You sleep in, and I’ll exercise. I’ll let you know when breakfast is ready.”
“Perfect,” she whispers, and kisses me, pushing me back on the bed, and I let her. I like that she knows what she wants. “May I?” She doesn’t hesitate after I nod and shift position so she can pull my joggers down, letting my cock salute her as it should.
The look on her face as she caresses my length makes me throb with need.
She bites her lip and kneels, sending me a sultry stare.
I must look absolutely feral, because this is one of my fantasies about her.
Seeing her put my hard dick in her mouth, watching her loving to take me in, it makes the heat rush through me.
When she finally does, when her warm, supple lips wrap around me, it’s better than any fantasy. She moans against my cock, her voice vibrating through me. Her hands work the base, while she goes as far as she can. I hit the back of her throat, and she hums.
“Mmm.”
“Fuck, Rey, so good.” There is no way I’ll be able to string a coherent sentence together while watching this stunning woman with her mouth full of me.
She licks up the length, twirling her tongue around the tip, and I lean my head back, groaning.
It won’t take long the way she’s going. She finds her rhythm again, and I fist my hand in her hair, guiding her speed, but letting her decide how far she wants to go.
One of her hands cups my balls while she increases her pace, and it crashes over me faster than I anticipated.
I thrust into her mouth. Every touch of her tongue and lips on my sensitive cock makes me shudder and come harder, losing control, until I’ve emptied myself in her mouth, and I collapse back on the bed.
“Fucking hell, that was amazing,” I breathe and reach out for her. She stands up with a grin, her hair a complete mess after I gripped it, her cheeks flushed, and I’m about to get turned on yet again.
She crawls on top of me and plants her hands on either side of my head, looking down at me.
“I can get used to that. I love the sounds you make,” she says, and I can’t stop smiling.
She has no idea, all the things she does that I’m getting used to. But as much as I love a great blowjob, it’s this—her in my shirt, her messy bun, her flushed face, her wide, dimpled smile, her slight frame on top of me… It’s her I’m getting used to, so much faster than I thought I could.
“Hey, are you hungry?” I ask the sleeping beauty in my bed.
“For you, yes,” she whispers with a smile and reaches out to me. I take her hand and kiss her wrist. It takes all my willpower not to ravage her right away.
“Rey, I forgot to cancel on Aiden, and he’s in the kitchen with my chef. It’s okay if you want to sleep in, but I promised to feed you.”
I brush the hair off her forehead, and she blinks her eyes open.
“Do you want me to come out when they’re there?”
“Yes, they’re okay. Come. Emine made shakshuka.” I stand up to head out, leaving her to freshen up. “I left some shorts here for you to wear, if they’re not too big.”
It doesn’t take long before I hear her bare feet pad down the hallway, and soon she comes around the corner. She arrives in my t-shirt and the shorts I found for her, her hair still in a messy bun. Is it strange that she looks sexier than ever?
I introduce them all, and Aiden is his annoyingly charming self. There’s a burning in my gut when I notice Rey’s eyes lingering on Aiden’s face and torso just a fraction longer than I like.
I shake it off.
He’s ridiculously handsome. Even some men we meet can’t take their eyes off of him straight away. I’ve never been a jealous man, but it seems I’ve retreated to some kind of primeval state.
Maybe I’ve just never cared before.
And now I care so much it scares me. The words are prickling on my tongue. The three big words I want to tell her, but for some reason, I’m too afraid.
“Are you coming to the Millefleuré opening next weekend?” Aiden asks. “Mark could use a date so he won’t have to talk to anyone else.”
Rey laughs, but her eyes flit to mine. “Umm, I don’t think I can, you know. It’s a pretty public event.”
Aiden straightens up and sends me a look. “Oh right, of course, sorry I put my foot in it there. You work at Infinio, right?”
Rey nods slowly in response to Aiden, chewing off a piece of the freshly baked Turkish bread she just dipped into the shakshuka.
Emine drops a fork on the floor and disappears behind the counter. What’s up with her?
When she pops back up, she pins me with a glare I’ve never seen on her before, but I can guess what it’s about. There’s that judgement I knew I’d get from people, but seeing it on her face—the woman who’s known me and worked for me for twelve years—it really stings.
“This is divine,” Rey says. “I’ve never tried it before, but now I don’t want to eat anything else.”
Emine gives her a smile, but it falls when she looks back at me. I need to nip that in the bud.
“Emine,” I say, and she startles. “Rey is the girl Aiden and I spoke about a while back, do you remember? I met her at The Orion. She was dressed as Alice,” I look over at Rey, grinning, “and she turned my world upside down.”
A sigh escapes my dear chef, and I find her eyes again.
“Oh, glad to see that’s working out,” she says, and the smile she sends me is the one I know and it floods me with relief.
“I might be overstepping here, Rey,” Aiden starts, and I wonder what the hell he’s about to say. But I know he’s got my best interest at heart, so I let him go on. “You still work for K-Models, don’t you? For Kirsten?”
“Technically I’m a freelancer, but I take the work I want from Kirsten, yes.”
“Do you dance?”
“Not professionally,” Rey answers, smiling, and I can’t help but laugh at the memory of her hilarious twerking and flailing at The Orion.
“The team is organising living art for the Millefleuré opening with K-Models, and there’s some crowd work required. Would you want to be part of that?”
“Absolutely, I’d love to! Or would it be weird?” She looks at me.
I grit my teeth. What is Aiden playing at? I’m going to have to watch her parade around, talking to people, pretending I don’t know her? How is this helpful?
“If it means a lot to you, of course not,” I say out loud instead, flashing her a smile I hope I can live up to later.
An hour later, I leave Rey with a coffee and a book in my library, which she seemed overjoyed with (and it’s about time someone used it). I walk Aiden to the lift.
“What the bloody hell are you playing at, Aiden?” I ask, making sure I don’t speak too loudly. “I don’t want her working there like that.”
“You said she loves dressing up, and she loved The Orion. I thought I was doing her a favour.”
“Her, maybe,” I grumble and rub my neck.
“You don’t want her there?”
“No, not like that.”
Aiden sighs. “Ask what she wants to do. She gets to take part in this huge event, and one day down the line, at least you can share those memories. She doesn’t have to be on the sidelines just because you want to keep her a secret.”
I knit my brow at his words. Down the line.
But how do we get there?
“What am I supposed to do, Aiden?” I whisper. I need the romantic in him to give me some actual advice. Not the rational response I’d get from anyone else.
“Own it, Mark.” He shrugs as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“What?”
“Don’t keep it a secret. Own it. Get ahead of it.”
I nod in response, cogs whirring in my mind. How do I do that? Could we make people understand our story?