Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
DEAN
I’ve delivered keynote speeches to thousands of people without so much as a tremor in my voice.
Nothing compares to waiting for Aubrey to walk out of her bedroom. I adjust the cuffs of my tuxedo for what has to be the tenth time, glancing toward the hallway again.
Liana squirms happily in my father’s arms.
“I think you’re more nervous than you were before your first board meeting,” Dad says with a grin.
I avoid his gaze. “I’m not nervous.”
“Mmm,” he hums softly.
“I’m not,” I argue.
“You’ve checked your watch six times.”
I finally meet his eyes. “I was making sure we’re on schedule.”
“You’ve also straightened your tie three times.”
“I like my tie straight.”
Dad chuckles under his breath. “I remember another young man who kept pretending he wasn’t nervous before taking a girl to her senior prom.”
I roll my eyes. “I was seventeen, Dad.”
His forehead creases. “And?”
“I’m thirty-four.”
“Apparently, not emotionally,” he says under his breath.
Before I can answer, Aubrey’s bedroom door opens, and every coherent thought leaves my brain.
She steps into the hallway slowly, smoothing one hand down the side of a deep burgundy gown that fits her like it was designed exclusively for her.
The dress skims every curve without trying too hard.
Her hair falls over one shoulder in loose waves, exposing the graceful line of her neck.
The diamond earrings I insisted on that afternoon catch the light with every step she takes.
She stops a few feet away, suddenly looking far less confident than she did when she disappeared into her room.
“So”—she smiles nervously— “what do you think?”
What do I think? I think I forgot how to breathe. I think every man at this charity is about to become a problem. I think asking her to come might have been the best and worst decision I’ve made all year.
“Aren’t you going to say something?” she asks.
I finally remember how words work.
“I …” I shake my head slowly.
“You are”—beautiful doesn’t even begin to cover it— “absolutely breathtaking.”
Pink blooms across her cheeks. “Really?”
I laugh quietly.
“Sweetheart”—I close the distance between us— “if you weren’t already my girlfriend”—I lean down, brushing my lips against her forehead— “I’d spend this entire evening trying to convince you to become mine.”
She laughs softly. “I was worried the dress might be too much.”
I look her up and down one more time. “It’s exactly enough.”
The ballroom glows beneath towering crystal chandeliers.
Round tables dressed in ivory linen stretch across the room while the band plays onstage, where tonight’s speakers will eventually address the crowd.
Servers weave effortlessly through clusters of guests, carrying champagne and delicate hors d’oeuvres.
The room is filled with investors, CEOs, and professional athletes. People accustomed to being photographed.
Sawyer spots us first.
“There he is!” He grins before his eyes land on Aubrey. “Well,”—he nudges Kayla— “I suddenly understand why Dean spent forty-five minutes picking out a tie.”
Kayla laughs. “I told you she’d look gorgeous.”
Aubrey hugs Kayla. “You look amazing.”
“So do you,” Kayla says with a warm tug of her hand.
Roman and Eva join us a few moments later, followed by Walker and Jessie. Colton and Melissa arrive just behind them.
Within minutes, we’re surrounded by my closest friends.
The conversation is easy and comfortable, and then I notice it. One of the junior executives from our finance division walks past.
His eyes land on Aubrey and wander up and down her body, and then he continues walking.
I tell myself to ignore it.
Five minutes later, another guest smiles at her while we’re talking to Walker.
Perfectly harmless, until his eyes drift down her body. He has no idea that I notice.
Apparently, that’s all I do tonight—notice. I notice the way heads turn when she laughs and the second glance from a man across the room.
My jealousy is irrational. I know that.
She’s with me.
She’s holding my hand.
She chose me.
Yet some primitive part of my brain seems determined to catalog every man who realizes exactly how beautiful my girlfriend is.
“So,” Sawyer says, pulling me back into the conversation, “we’re thinking of expanding the foundation next year—”
I nod automatically. “What?”
He laughs. “You have absolutely no idea what I just said.”
“I do,” I lie.
His chin falls as he chuckles. “You don’t.”
“I heard … foundation.”
Walker snorts into his drink. “He’s distracted.”
I straighten my back. “I’m listening.”
“No,” Sawyer says with a grin. “You’re monitoring traffic.”
I frown. “What traffic?”
Sawyer follows my line of sight toward a group of men across the ballroom who have been eyeing Aubrey before looking back at me. His grin widens.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Riiight.” He takes a sip of bourbon. “Then unclench your fists.”
An hour later, I’m talking to several department managers I haven’t seen in months. Aubrey stands beside me, effortlessly charming everyone she meets.
One of our regional directors shakes my hand, and then he smiles politely at Aubrey.
His eyes travel along Aubrey’s body. But this time, it isn’t quickly or subtly. They go down and then slowly back up.
He catches himself immediately, but I’ve already seen it.
We continue talking.
He’s discussing quarterly projections, but I don’t hear a single word.
His gaze flickers toward Aubrey before snapping back to me.
My jaw tightens. Aubrey lightly rests her hand against my forearm, oblivious to the silent war happening inside my head.
The conversation finally ends, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
The second we’re alone, I lean down toward her. “If one more employee checks you out”—she looks up innocently— “then we’re leaving.”
She blinks. “What?”
“I’m serious,” I nearly growl.
Her lips twitch. “Dean …”
“I’ve counted five.”
“You’ve counted?”
“I have a list.”
She bursts into laughter. “A list?”
“They work for me.”
“Do they now?”
I shake my head. “They should know better.”
She reaches for my hand, lacing our fingers together. “You are ridiculously jealous.”
“I’m appropriately observant.”
She laughs again. “No. You are adorable.”
Before I can argue, she gives my hand a playful tug.
“Come with me.”
“Where?”
“You’ll see.”
She leads me through the ballroom, weaving between guests, until we reach a quiet hallway branching away from the main event.
At the end is a small private sitting room with the door standing slightly ajar. She slips inside, pulling me with her.
The muffled music from the ballroom fades the moment the door closes behind us.
Silence settles around us.
She turns to face me with a smile slowly spreading across her face.
“So”—she reaches up, straightening a lapel that doesn’t need straightening— “let’s talk about your very professional employee surveillance operation.”
I scoff as I lean against the long table behind me. “They’d better watch themselves this week.”
She closes the space between us. With my hands in my pockets, her hand comes up to gently play with one of the buttons on my shirt.
“What would it take to make you understand that I’m yours … and only yours?”
I look down at her finger as it continues to play with the buttons.
Then she falls to her knees in front of me, and I lose all train of thought.
Her blue eyes look up at me through those long lashes. A mischievous smile tells me her intentions are not pure.
When her hand finds my dick through my pants, the muscles in my jaw tense up for a whole other reason besides jealousy—restraint.
I grip the edge of the table so I don’t end up lifting her up and throwing her down right here.
“Would coming down my throat do it?” she says as she massages me.
I groan a deep, guttural one that vibrates my throat. “Fuck, Aubrey.”
She bites her lip with a smile.
Then both of her hands get to work to free my dick. She grabs my hands off of the table and places them in her hair.
“I want you to lead. Fuck my mouth however you want,” she instructs.
I don’t know where she learned to talk like this, but I don’t want to know.
She takes me into her mouth and her tongue glides down my dick, coating it with her saliva.
“Dammit, Aubrey,” I bite out.
Not because I don’t love what she’s doing, but because no one has ever made me feel so crazy before. It’s scary and addictive at the same time.
My hips push forward, forcing her to take another inch or two. Her eyes fly up to mine, and it looks like she’s smiling while her mouth is wrapped around my dick.
That does me in. I fist her hair and pull her toward me to take more until she gags. Instead of pushing away, she only moans, like it turns her on just as much as it does me.
“Aubrey.” I moan her name as I push her back, then bring her forward with another thrust of my hips.
She gags again and tears begin to drop down her cheeks. Her hands find my ass, and she uses it as leverage to take me deeper.
For five minutes, she drives me insane with her mouth until I can’t take it any longer.
“I’m going to come,” I warn.
She places a hand at the base of my dick and pumps my release into her mouth, taking every drop like it’s her lifeline.
When she pops off me and rises to her feet, I’m fighting each breath as my chest rises and falls rapidly.
I look down at her as I fight not to say three words I never thought I’d be uttering to a woman in this lifetime.