17
Vivian
Rowan’s Place
Vivian blinked and tried to figure out what was wrong with her curtains.
Probably nothing. She wouldn’t know because she wasn’t actually looking at her window.
Because she was in Rowan’s bedroom. For the sixth morning in a row.
His window curtains were a gorgeous green velvet.
Everything that wasn’t under construction was lusciously textured and vibrant.
She was used to the rich people she’d met living in beige boxes, but Rowan said he’d lived too long in desert camo to have a beige house.
She’d tried going home at some point over the weekend, and then he’d asked why, and she hadn’t been able to come up with a reason other than feeling like it was polite. Then he’d said late-night driving was unsafe, and that was a reasonable point, so, obviously, she’d had to stay over again.
She rolled over and snuggled into his chest. He made the rumbly happy noise that made her smile and then wrapped his arms around her.
If they stayed here long enough, she would start to sweat.
The man put out more heat than a small volcano, but she didn’t have to worry about that because what she was going to do was nibble on his chest a little, and then he would sex her up until she got all sweaty for different reasons.
She didn’t understand how, for years now, she’d been totally fine not starting and ending her day with an orgasm. Orgasms were clearly the better way to bookend a day. What had she even been doing with her time before now?
Stealthily, Vivian kissed his collarbone, then followed along the ridge to the hard muscle of his shoulder, where she opened her mouth, preparing to give it a little bite.
“Do you think I can’t see what you’re doing?” he murmured quietly.
“Who, me?”
“You are such a naughty girl,” he growled, and under the covers, he gave her a little spank. She’d initially been joking about needing to be spanked, but damn it, now she craved it.
“Nope, I’m a good girl.” She kissed his shoulder to prove her point. There was scar there and a matching one in his side, not that he talked about how he got them. He called them Recon Souvenirs. She gave the scar a little kiss and then worked her way down a few inches.
Then she nibbled.
“Bad girl,” he reiterated with another smack.
“I could be good,” she offered, looping her leg over his hip and kissing down onto his chest, but she ended with a long caress of her tongue. “If you make me.”
With a sharp twist, Rowan rolled her onto her back and pinned her arms above her head on the mattress. She looked up into his tawny hazel eyes, so full of all the colors, and smiled.
“Good morning, Mr. Valkyrie.”
“Good morning, Ms. Kaye,” he said, smiling back at her.
He kissed her gently at first, soft and tender, while his hands held her tight and his hips ground against hers.
She groaned as she felt the length of him press into her.
They moved together, and soon she was gasping between his kisses.
His hands moved over her body, making every thrust twice as intense.
He changed his rhythm, and Vivian felt her toes start to curl and her body clench.
“Rowan,” she gasped, digging her fingers into his sides.
His only response was a non-verbal growl that made her arch and shiver.
“Oh, God, Rowan!”
He finished right after she did, and they lay tangled together. Vivian smooshed herself against him, wishing they could spend the day that way. Finally, he pushed away from her and got out of bed with a groan. She pouted and watched his ass. She loved looking at him.
“I think I like the weekend schedule better,” he said, looking over his shoulder at her.
“In bed until brunch is better,” agreed Vivian. “I guess Mondays are always going to suck.”
“Baby, if that sucked, I will get back in that bed and do the damn job right.”
Vivian laughed and pulled the sheet up to her nose.
“Poor choice of words,” she said. “Mondays are not as much fun as the weekend, and we do not have time for you to get back in bed!”
He shook his head and laughed as he headed for the bathroom.
Eventually, when Rowan was already dressed, Vivian got up and headed for the shower.
The rest of the building might be a construction zone, but the bathroom, kitchen, and den were gorgeous.
She also had to admit that having someone make breakfast for her was another perk she did not know she’d been missing.
Rowan had been embarrassed to admit that he subscribed to a local caterer who did custom meal prep, which amused Vivian since most of the people she knew in his tax bracket didn’t bother to cook, period.
He had all the rich guy toys but a very budget-conscious attitude about the rest of his life, which strangely put Vivian at ease.
She hadn’t realized she was uncomfortable with partners who didn’t plan things, but dating Rowan was a sharp contrast to her last three boyfriends.
Rowan made it easy to discern all the ways she hadn’t been compatible with them.
Haphazard spending. Lack of goal setting.
And a disinterest in their families. Rowan was the opposite of all of them, and the more time she spent with Rowan, the more she realized what she’d been missing.
He frowned at his phone and reached for the honey jar.
There had been a series of pings, and Vivian couldn’t tell if that meant there was a work emergency or if his brother Forest had sent more cute baby pics.
She had begun to think that Forest was personally trying to talk her ovaries into forgetting their birth control pill by sending pic after pic of what Valkyrie babies looked like.
Rowan dolloped a blob of honey on his oats and looked up. “OK, I know you’re doing the gala thing, so maybe this is too much. Feel free to tell me to take my thoughts someplace else, but you did say to be more community-oriented, and I have an idea.”
“Send it,” said Vivian, and then realized that, for once, she wouldn’t have to explain that little piece of military-speak that was permanently embedded in her vocabulary. What a relief that she didn’t have to translate for Rowan.
“Halloween Fair in the lobby. The businesses can each do a booth. Kids can trick-or-treat. Everyone can invite clients and their kids.”
“Forest doesn’t know where to take Olly for trick-or-treating?”
“Damn it, baby. Stop being psychic.”
Vivian chuckled and tried not to relish his use of the word baby. “It’s still a good idea. I’ll suggest that to Howard.” For all she knew, he used baby on all the women he knew. “I’ll have to outsource most of the work because, yeah, I can’t do two events and a job at once.”
Rowan grimaced. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m not trying to come up with more projects for you to do.”
“I’ll just make it someone else’s project,” said Vivian with a shrug. “What kind of booth are you guys going to do?”
Rowan looked guilty. “Can we do nerf guns?”
Vivian burst out laughing. “It’s literally your idea.
If you want to create a Halloween event so you can have a giant obstacle course to play Nerf guns with your brothers and give your nephew someplace to trick-or-treat, that’s fine with me.
I’ll have to make Howard do a wine garden booth so I can loll about and watch. ”
“Now you’re talking. And we can pitch in on the planning. I’ve got guys who could be enhancing building relations. If they can plan an op, they can plan an event.”
“If you’re serious about it, maybe I’ll text Howard now.” She looked around and realized she’d left her phone in the bedroom. She made the quick dash upstairs and back down, but was still mid-text when she heard a sharp ding that she thought was the toaster oven.
“Is that my bagel?” she called as she entered the kitchen. Then she looked up and realized Rowan was on the phone. He continued talking as he opened the toaster oven, plopped the bagel onto a plate for her, and pushed the avocado spread her direction.
“Yeah, Mark. I’m just finishing breakfast. I’ll be in shortly.”
Vivian froze.
“Yeah, OK,” said Rowan.
He hung up, turned to her, and paused. “You look weird.”
“I’m not telling anyone at work about us,” she blurted out.
“OK,” he said evenly.
“After Belinda’s bratty little HR spiel, I thought it would be better not to.”
“OK,” he said again.
“I am telling, you know, real people.”
“Just not work people?”
“Right. We haven’t talked about… uh… anything. But you were on the phone with Mark. I just thought maybe I should tell you where I was at.”
“Um… Mark is always going to know.”
“Well, he’s your best friend, right? So, of course. I thought maybe we should be discreet at work for a while.” Vivian felt nervous. She didn’t want him to think this was some kind of casual situationship, but she also didn’t want to take everything public yet. That was too much pressure.
“Yeah, that makes total sense,” he said with a sharp nod.
“OK,” she said. He looked fine, but Vivian still felt a nervous churning in the pit of her stomach.