Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
J ames
My bed smells like her. Her woodsy floral scent surrounds me and reminds me that I am quite possibly the luckiest guy on earth.
Cecilia is spread out across me, her hair fanning over me, and her leg wrapped around mine like a snake, unyielding. I brushed her hair, moving it out of her face so that I could see more of her. She looked ethereal, and I couldn’t resist staring at her and admiring her in my bed, praying she’d always be in it.
I lean over to the nightstand, grab the vase of roses we brought from the garden, pluck each rose off its stem, and delicately arrange them throughout her hair, enjoying how they look floating over her tendrils.
She groans, her leg stretching down mine and curling around me tighter. “Good morning,” I murmur.
She smiles softly. “Very good morning.” Her eyes shift around her as one of the roses rolls down the bed, pulling a giggle from her. “Are you putting roses on me?”
“I like the way it looks,” I admit.
She smiles. “Okay then.”
“How’re you feeling?” I ask as she yawns and stretches again, more roses rolling around the bed with her movements.
“I think you know I’m more than good.”
I chuckle. “I take it you’re sated?”
She rolls onto her stomach and faces me directly. “How could I not be? Three times in one night. I haven’t done that since…”
I pop my head up to look at her better. “Since when?”
She laughs, patting my chest. “I’m just kidding. Since never.”
I shoot her a playful grin just before I grab under her arms and yank her up my body before quickly rolling her onto her back. I kiss her before she can catch her breath, trailing down her neck. “I have ways of making you not speak, you know,” I murmur, licking a circle around her bare breast.
She gasps at the contact. “Impossible,” she breathes out. “I always have something to say.”
“Oh yeah?” My fingers slide between her legs, finding her already wet there. “Looks like I have more work to do then.”
She bends her neck to look down at me, her eyes wide. “You couldn’t possibly…We’ve already done it three times last night.”
“It’s a new day, babe, and your pussy is begging for it,” I remind her, slipping one of my fingers inside her. She lets out a wavering moan, making me chuckle. “What’s that? That sounded a little inaudible to me.”
“James,” she tries to warn, but then I slip two fingers inside her, carefully working her up. I wasn’t going to take her again this morning. She was probably already sore enough from yesterday, but I couldn’t help reminding her that I was the one in charge here since she was a mouthy little thing.
We hear the doorbell ring downstairs, and she freezes beneath me as I continue to stroke her. I wasn’t sure who the hell was here so early in the morning, but they had pretty shit timing.
“James, someone’s here,” she gasps.
“I heard.” I drop my mouth to her breast, sucking her nipple into it as I pump my fingers deeper inside her. She moans deeply, lifting her body to mine like an offering, making me chuckle.
I hear the door close, and Tobias yells throughout the house. “James! Cecilia!”
Cecilia tries to scurry out from underneath me, but I clamp an arm over her chest, holding her in place. “We’re not finished.”
“My brother is here. We’re so finished.”
“We’re not finished until you’re soaking and riding your orgasm out on my hand. Okay? Your brother can wait.”
“You’re delusional. What if he hears us?”
I slowly urge her back onto the bed and cover her mouth with my hand as I slip my fingers back inside her. Her eyes nearly roll back into her head as I do. “You’ll just have to be quiet for once, won’t you?”
My mouth tastes her anywhere I can reach as my fingers bring her closer and closer to the edge. She writhes beneath me, her warm body bucking into mine and making me want to claim her again so badly, but I don’t. I simply gave her this because I couldn’t deny myself the pleasure of it.
Her breaths come quicker, and I feel her squeeze my fingers tighter. Her noises are muffled beneath my hand, and the next thing I know, she’s lifting her chin, biting my fingers hard as she comes, nearly drawing blood as she fights to keep quiet. I watch, enraptured at the sight of her, trying to keep as much control as she slowly loses all of it.
So. Fucking. Beautiful.
I move my hand from her mouth as she calms down, her head dropping onto the pillow in exhaustion. Her body is covered in a light dew of sweat, and I would lick her up right now if it weren’t for her brother, whom I can still hear downstairs yelling about.
“Holy shit,” she breathes out as she fights to catch her breath.
“Are we satiated now?”
She scowls at me. “You…are so wrong…but yes.”
I chuckled and slowly pulled her from the bed. I led her to the bathroom and began running the water in the tub. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the claw-foot tub in front of the giant half-round window overlooking the garden maze.
“This is amazing,” she coos as I take her hand and gently help her into the tub. She sits in the bubble-filled water, sighing as she gets comfortable. I kneel on the floor outside the tub, watching her, loving how she looks in my home—the way she fits here like the final missing puzzle piece.
“I’ve always wanted to sit in a bathtub like this,” she says, smiling so femininely.
I smile back at her. “You can sit in my bathtub as much as you want to.” She grins and sinks her smile under the water, her glittering eyes peering up at me and making me laugh. “I’m going to go downstairs and meet your brother. You stay up here and relax until you’re ready.”
She nods, making the water ripple around her. I laugh again and lean in, kissing her forehead before standing and heading downstairs to Tobias. I was still only in my sweatpants, but I didn’t care. It was his fault for showing up at the crack ass of dawn.
I walk down the stairs, seeing him stand from the couch and turn to face me. “What the hell were you doing? I’ve been down here waiting forever.”
“Well, I?—”
“Actually, no. Don’t answer that. I don’t want to know what you were doing, especially if it’s regarding my sister.”
I move around the staircase, walking into the living room toward him as I fight to keep the smirk off my face. “Oh, it was very much regarding your sister.”
He chuckles lowly, looking down at the floor as he clears his throat. Then his hand shoots out, punching me straight in my injured shoulder.
“Son of a bitch,” I breathe out, falling to my knees as pain wracks through my shoulder and down my arm.
“You deserved that, you fucking tool.”
“I suppose I did,” I groan. He helps lift me from the floor as I chuckle breathlessly. I stand straight now, dusting myself off. “Is there a reason you’re here this early?”
“Are you saying I can’t check in on my baby sister? Because you have another thing coming if you think you’re going to just shut me out and control h?—”
“Relax, will you?” I cut him off as I walk past him and head into my kitchen. He scoffs, following behind me. “You can check on her anytime, preferably at a more reasonable hour.” I pull a bottle of water out of my fridge and open it, chugging nearly the entire thing. I felt a little dehydrated after last night's activities.
“What is she doing anyway? Sleeping?”
I smirk from behind my bottle. “She’s uh… cleaning up.”
I feel another swift blow to my other shoulder, and I shut my eyes, blowing out a sharp breath as more pain radiates down my arm. If he were anyone else, he’d be lifeless on the floor right now. He’s lucky I enjoy his existence and, quite frankly, enjoy fucking with him even if I got sucker punched for it.
“Are either of you going to tell me how the fuck this happened? I mean… what is it going on between you guys?”
I set my bottle on the counter and lean my hands onto it, leveling him with my gaze. “I’m not exactly sure what I’d call it.”
The vein in his forehead seems to grow by the second. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? You better not just be fucking around with her because if you’re just using her for?—”
“I am not using her,” I raise my voice, interrupting him. “I love her…Deeply. This is not a game to me.”
He stares back at me, dumbfounded. “You love her?”
“I love her.”
“Does she know?”
I can’t help but smile now. “Even better. She loves me too.”
“Fuck me,” he groans, swiping a hand over his mouth. “I don’t understand how this happened.”
“Trust me,” I stare behind him, wracking my brain. “I don’t know how it happened either. She just showed up one day, and it did.”
“Well damn. So, this thing is for real?”
“Yes, Tobias. It’s for real.”
“Well… for being her older brother and all, I feel I need to say this.” He squares his shoulder back and thins his eyes at me in what I assume is supposed to be threatening. “If you ever hurt her or mistreat her?—”
“Stop talking before I fire you.”
He quickly shuts up and nods. “Right. Cool. I’m sure you get it.” I shake my head, down the rest of my water, and toss it in the recycling. When I turn around, he’s smirking at me.
“What is it?”
“Well, I mean… this would kind of make us brothers now.”
I walk over to him, stopping just an inch in front of him, grabbing hold of his tie and straightening it. “I suppose it would,” I agree. He chuckles happily before barreling over, gasping for air as my fist lands in his gut.
I bend down to whisper in his ear. “That was for hitting my bad shoulder earlier.”
“You damn bastard,” he groans, holding his stomach.
“Uhm…what is going on here?” We both immediately straighten at the sound of Cecilia’s voice.
“Your boyfriend is a bastard,” Tobias groans.
“Boyfriend?” Cecilia gleams, walking over to me and wrapping her arms around my shoulders. “I like the sound of that.”
“Boy? Hardly not. I think I’ve proven enough that I am all man,” I respond, pulling her to me. I see one of the roses from the bed pinned to her hair bun. “I like this,” I murmur, tugging at it.
“You mother—” Tobias charges me, but Cecilia turns in my arms, flicking him straight in the forehead.
“Can you exude your testosterone somewhere else, please? I’d like to have breakfast in peace,” she snaps.
“Damn it, that hurt,” Tobias growls, rubbing his forehead.
I laughed, my chest filling with something bittersweet I’d never felt before. It was a reminder of what it should have been like to have a family—being surrounded by people you loved who loved and respected you back. It felt as mournful as it did right, and I never wanted to let this feeling go.
But for now, Tobias had to go. Today, I had plans for only his sister and me, and as much as I enjoyed him, I liked my time with his sister, all to myself.
“Hurry and eat. We have plans in an hour,” I tell Cecilia.
“Where are you guys going?” Tobias asks over a mouthful of muffins.
“Yeah, where are we going?” she asks more delicately. She picks a small piece of her muffin off with her fingers and drops it into her mouth. I watch them both. So different yet completely the same.
“I have a date planned for us today.”
“Aww, look at you boss. Going all soft.”
Cecilia giggles, and my attention snaps solely to her. “What’s funny?”
She clears her throat and focuses on her muffin. “Nothing. That just made me think of how you’re never…” She glances at her brother before finishing her thought. “Never mind.”
I smirk, and Tobias fakes a gagging noise as he sets his unfinished muffin down on the counter. “You guys make me sick,” he mutters. “I’m out of here.” Cecilia twiddles her fingers at him, waving him goodbye as I chuckle and walk toward her. I stand at her back and wrap my arms around her as she stretches over the kitchen counter.
“You have a dirty mind, babe.”
“I think it’s because you dirtied it. I can’t even think straight now.”
“Well, I’ll let you recover for the day and regather your wits. We have a busy day ahead of us.”
“Like what?”
“You’ll see.”
She turns around in my arms. “Are you saying you planned a surprise for me?”
“I suppose I have.”
“You’re not at all what I expected you to be.”
“So, you say. Now, eat more breakfast before we go. I don’t want you to be hungry.”
“I’m so full. You’re going to have to roll me back to the car,” Cecilia groans as we walk out of the restaurant where I had taken her to dinner.
I laugh, taking her hand in mine. “You ate a piece of tiramisu and a chocolate mousse after dinner. Of course, you’re full.”
She glares at me. “Are you saying this is my fault?”
I flatten my lips, stifling my grin. “No, it’s wholly mine for wanting to spoil you.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking, too,” she agrees. “Plus, I couldn’t decide which I wanted, so I had to get both.”
“The tiramisu was better.”
“I’d have to agree.
“Now you’ll know what to get for next time.”
“I think next time I want to try the raspberry cheesecake, but we should still get the tiramisu just to be safe.”
I laugh now. “You have a bit of a sweet tooth, don’t you?”
She grins. “A little bit, yes, but I was also starving today after all the shopping you made us do.”
“It wasn’t a lot.”
“It was way a lot,” she retorts. “Why do you even need a new bookshelf? You have a huge one in your living room with plenty of space.”
We stop in front of my car as I unlock the doors and open hers for her. “Get inside, it’s getting chilly out.”
She thins her eyes at me without moving. “I have a jacket this time.”
I lean in, kissing her once, softly as I whisper to her. “Get in the car and let me take you home, Cecilia.”
She smiles against my mouth. “See, if you’d just ask like that in the first place, then you have a better chance of me listening.”
I kiss her once more. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She drops into the seat, and I shut the door, round the car, and get in. I took my time driving us home, wanting to ensure that everything was ready for her when we arrived. She was going home to a bit of a life-changing surprise…hopefully a good one.
Forty-five minutes later, after two fake wrong turns, we finally pulled up to the house after I got the okay from my security, who helped with my plan today. Cecilia passed out in the passenger seat after we made our way back onto the highway after I pretended to have gotten lost on the way home.
I watch her momentarily, taking in her peace and pure beauty, wondering how she’d look next and react once I took her inside. She was beautiful here, and I wanted to keep seeing her like this. Sleeping in my car on our way back to our home together, where she can relax and find peace. I didn’t care how fast it was because this thing I’d been feeling for her was fast. It was like a disease that you think is just a cold you need to get rid of, but the next thing you know, it’s filling your organs and seeping into your bones until it’s become your whole existence, the very thing you breathe.
“Babe,” I whisper, softly nudging her awake.
Her eyes slowly blink open. “Are we back?” she yawns.
“Yes. Let’s get inside.” I get out of the car and open her door, helping her out of the car. She leans into me, still sleepy, as we walk inside the house.
I think the craziness of the last few days was finally catching up to her, and I was becoming increasingly nervous as we headed up the stairs to the bedroom. I hated this feeling. It was foreign to me, yet it has been consistent since having her in my life.
“Wait,” I stop her before she opens the door.
“What is it?” she asks, her voice soft.
“Before you go in there, just remember…I love you, and I think I’ve been in love with you since I first saw you.”
“James,” she smiles, a slight touch of concern in her tone. “What’s wrong?”
I brush her hair over her shoulder. “Nothing is wrong, my Cecilia. I just wanted to tell you that.”
“Okay…well, I love you too.” She turns toward the door again and opens it, walking inside. She stops only a few feet in, as I expected her to. I stop at her side, watching her eyes roam the room as she takes everything in.
I needed new bedding for the bed from the first place we stopped at today. She had picked a dark green satin set I couldn’t wait to see her sprawled out on. Then I claimed I wanted some live plants to liven up my office at work and let her pick out the ones she liked, except here they are, one in the corner of the room and one sitting on my dresser.
There was a new chaise lounge chair that I didn’t claim to need but saw her jump onto at the furniture store, laughing as she said she’d always wanted a chair like it. It was a deep purple velvet, sitting right beside the new plant. She'd mumbled something about a new rug on the floor, wondering if it’d fit in her apartment, and although I knew it wouldn’t fit there, I knew it’d fit in here. So here it is, a large multicolor abstract rug with various deep shades of purples, greens, blues, and touches of yellows running through it. It was vivid and nothing I’d ever pick myself, but she liked it. Everything she’d picked out seemed to be deep jewel tones, which made me feel a little better, and the theme at least stayed mostly in control.
Then there was the bookshelf she picked, filled with all her historical romance books, which I had Tobias drop off while we were out. I then added some of my newly acquired crystal pieces to some of the shelves.
She walks over, picking up one of the many cool blue crystals adorning the shelves. “What…what is all of this?”
“This is our bedroom…if you want it to be.” Her gaze slowly drags up to mine, swimming with shock and uncertainty.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m going to just be blunt with you because I don’t know how not to be,” I admit. “I want you to live with me. I want this to be our room. I want you to come here every night—to me—every night. I’ve never known life like this with you, and now, God help me; I can’t go another night without it. I need you here with me.”
She swallows hard, her eyes becoming glassy. “All of this was for me today?”
I nod. “I wanted it to feel like your place too. We can do more shopping for the rest of the house too. You can get rid of anything you want or bring anything you want over. You can do anything you want, really.”
She looks down at the crystal in her hand, a watery chuckle escaping her. “As long as you have your crystals?”
I look down at it, smirking. “That one is called Celestite. It’s a new personal favorite of mine.”
Her eyes widen as she glances back at the shelf, which holds five other large pieces, all sparkling back at her. “You have so many,” she says.
“Because they remind me of you. Of your eyes, specifically. I saw them and couldn’t not have them. The same way I looked into your eyes and couldn’t not get lost in the damn things.”
A fresh tear falls from her. “You have the most beautiful, unique eyes I’ve ever seen, and here you are going on about mine,” she scoffs, wiping her tears away.
My hand finds her cheek, caressing it softly as she leans into it. “It’s not just the color of your eyes, my Cecilia. It’s how it feels to have both of them looking back at me and knowing you love what you see.”
She sets the crystal back onto the shelf and throws herself into my arms, her soft sobs breaking free. I fall to my knees, holding her to me. “This is crazy,” she laughs through tears, her muffled voice on my shoulder.
“You know, I’ve faintly heard a voice say those words in the back of my mind for many years now,” I joke. “I usually just ignore it.”
Her laugh grows louder, making my heart feel bigger. “Okay,” she murmurs.
“Okay?”
“Okay, I’ll stay.”
I pulled her from my shoulder so I could look directly at her. My hands cup her face. “You’ll stay?”
She nods.
“You know I don’t mean overnight or just for a few weeks, right? I want you to stay for good.”
“You made that clear, yes.”
“So…you’re staying.”
She laughs again. “I think we’ve established that.”
I grin now, pulling her face to mine and kissing her, probably a little too aggressively, but she meets me head-on like always, devouring me all the same.