31. Brooke
brOOKE
I’ll admit to being relieved that Stuart offered to accompany me to meet the managing partner to turn in my resignation.
Fortunately, it goes smoothly. Then I pack up the handful of personal items from my office and arrange for them to be delivered to my apartment.
It’s sad to have spent several years in this office, and yet everything that belongs to me fits in a single box.
Once I leave, it will be just a sterile attorney’s office that could belong to anyone.
Tears roll down my cheeks at the thought that three years of my life are being erased in an instant. At least, the firm didn’t actually take my life. I shiver at the thought of how close Mr. Barclay and Mr. Broadmoor came to doing just that.
Sensing my sadness and grief, Stuart guides me to the elevator. A pained look settles on his face as he whispers, “It’s going to be okay. I promise. We just need to get you out of here.”
I’m relieved when the elevator that arrives is empty. We step inside, and Stuart cradles my head against his chest as he pushes a button. I don’t pay attention. The tears blur my vision too much to see which floor he selected.
At this point, it doesn’t really matter. My life is effectively destroyed. I don’t have a job. Stuart is leaving for London. I’ll be alone with no plan.
Suddenly, the elevator jerks to a halt. He hugs me tightly, pushing my back against the side wall for support.
“Nooo. Not again. My life is falling apart. You’re leaving. Someone tried to kill me. I don’t have a job. Now, I’m trapped again.”
My sobs grow louder, and my tears wet his shirt. He holds my head against his chest. “I’ve got you. I’m not letting go. I need to share something with you. It may make you feel a little better. Can you take a deep breath and let me say a few things?”
“What . . . is . . . it?” I ask between heavy breaths.
“First, I have something to give you. Close your eyes.”
“What is it?”
“Close your eyes and you’ll find out.”
I do. Then I feel something slip around my neck. I reach to touch it. My eyes pop open. It’s my aunt’s black pearl necklace. More tears flow down my cheeks. This time they’re happy ones.
“How?” I manage to ask.
“The security guard had it. It turns out he posed as the awkward server at the fundraising lunch. When he bumped into you, he stole your necklace. I convinced the police to return it to you since they have more than enough other evidence against everyone involved to lock them up for decades, if not for life.”
“Thank you so much. You don’t know how much this means to me. I felt lost without it.”
“I feel that way about something—actually, someone. It seems that you have become extremely special to me. In fact, I feel lost when we’re not together. I don’t want to imagine life without you in it.”
I swallow hard, processing the words that are like a dream come true.
“Oh, Stuart. I’ve been thinking the same thing but didn’t dare say anything.
We’re from different worlds—literally different continents.
And your Aunt Jen said your family has someone else picked out for you.
I didn’t think it could possibly work for us. ”
“We can make it work. Who I spend my life with is my choice, not my parents’.
I’m hoping you’ll travel with me back to London to meet my family.
I know they’ll love you as much as I do.
And if you haven’t figured it out yet, I love you with all my heart.
When I thought I’d lost you . . . well .
. . I couldn’t bear it. Then, when I realized you were still alive, I vowed to myself that if you’d give me a chance, I’d prove to you that we belong together. Will you give me that opportunity?”
“Did you say you love me?”
“I did.”
“I love you too,” I say, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him with abandon.
He murmurs, “Should I restart the elevator or show you just what you mean to me here?”
I laugh, “You mean you’re responsible for us being stuck again?”
“I didn’t want to scare you, but I wanted alone time with you. This is how we met. It seemed appropriate,” he says sheepishly.
“Fortunately, elevators seem okay now as long as you’re here. Who knew you were such a romantic? I suspect there are cameras watching us, so let’s go back to your suite.”
“Like I said before, your wish is my command.”
When the elevator doors open, Stuart picks me up and briskly carries me to his suite. Clearly, his enthusiasm matches mine.
Inside, he gently places me on the side of his bed. As I start to remove my shirt, he stops me. “We need to slow things down. I don’t plan for this time to be as quick as before.” He winks.
“I shouldn’t complain, but slow isn’t what I had in mind,” I pout, teasingly.
“Trust me, you won’t regret my plan.”
Something in his face tells me he’s right, so I lean back on my elbows, my eyes focused on him.
I anxiously watch him remove his jacket, meticulously fold it, and gently lay it over a nearby chair. My already pounding desire is growing by the second.
His belt is next. In an achingly slow motion, he pulls it through the loopholes of his trousers with a mischievous smirk on his face. He knows exactly what he’s doing to me.
Placing the belt on top of his jacket, he sits in the chair, resting his right foot over his left knee and carefully untying the shoelace.
Damn. It’s getting hot in here.
I’ve never had a guy perform a striptease for me. Who knew it would be such a turn on when he hasn’t even revealed any skin yet.
My eyes stay glued to him as he slips off the shoe, setting it on the floor beside the chair. Now for the other shoe. My patience is beyond thin at this point.
Finally, he starts to peel off his sock, inch by inch. When it’s bunched around his ankle, he sticks his thumb into the back edge and nudges it over his heel. It makes me wonder when he’ll use that thumb on me.
When he begins to neatly roll his sock into a ball, I’ve had it. No more.
I’m not waiting any longer.
Taking charge, I stand up, yank my shirt over my head and toss it on the floor. With a flick of my fingers, my bra follows as I swiftly walk toward him. Without a word, I rip his shirt off, sending buttons flying.
He chuckles, but his eyes are burning with fire as he pulls me against him, murmuring, “I guess you like it faster.”
“You’re bad, and I like it. I need you. Now.”
His lips take mine, and he kisses me like he’ll never let go.
I give as good as I receive as our hands roam, caress, and explore each other. It’s as if we can’t get close enough, but we’re determined to try.
Walking me backward, he stops us when the back of my knees rest against the bed.
Without removing his lips from mine, his hands slip between us. He unfastens the button of my trousers and lowers the zipper. Sliding them down, his mouth follows, trailing kisses in a line from my mouth to the top of my blue lace underwear.
In a husky voice, he commands, “Be a good girl, and sit down for me.”
As I do, he quickly discards his trousers and kneels in front of me wearing only his black boxer briefs. In a flash, he tosses my shoes across the room and sends my trousers to join them.
“Now, lean back and spread those gorgeous thighs for me,” he growls.
“Bossy, aren’t we?” I tease but do exactly as he asks, anticipation driving me wild.
“I just can’t wait to have you again.”
Pressing the palms of his hands against the inner part of my knees, he spreads my legs even wider. Nestling his torso between my legs, he leans down and begins kissing my left inner thigh just above my knee. He slowly works his mouth upward as his hands massage the back of my calves.
As his mouth reaches the edge of the blue lace, my core craves his touch. Instead, he moves his mouth to the top of my right thigh. He kisses his way downward toward my knee, and his right hand glides up my other leg, stopping at my vee to cover the thin strip of wet lace.
He raises his head and our eyes lock. Softly at first, he moves his thumb up and down along the center of the lace.
I arch upward, begging for more pressure. He complies. I moan and writhe at his touch but need more. “Please, touch me, Stuart.”
His fingers slip under the edge of the fabric, deftly finding my swollen nub. He tenderly rubs circles around it. Then moves up and down with just the right pressure, causing a wonderful tension to build.
He whispers, “Tell me what you need.”
I gasp, “Just don’t stop.”
He follows directions well, expertly teasing and taunting me until I’m almost there. “Stuart, yes. That’s it. Yes. Harder.” I fall over the edge, gripping his shoulder as I shudder in a way I’ve never felt before.
He slides us farther up onto the bed, holding me against his bare chest until my breathing returns to normal.
Then he says, “It’s time for these to go,” as he reaches down, slipping my lace underwear off my legs.
In an instant, he ditches his boxer briefs. Reaching for a condom from the nightstand, he swiftly rolls it on, asking, “Are you ready for more.”
I nod, at a loss for words.
“You need to tell me you want this.”
I manage to whisper, “I do.”
He doesn’t waste a second before pulling my wrists over my head and sliding into me in a slow, continuous motion.
I wrap my legs around him, pulling him toward me. I want as much of his skin touching me as possible.
We fall into a rhythm that’s exactly what I need. It’s as if we were made for each other. We each anticipate the other’s moves.
As sensation builds toward another orgasm, I sigh. “You feel so good.”
“So do you. You’re amazing,” he growls, desire filling his deep voice.
Releasing my hands, he slips his palms under my ass and thrusts deeper inside me. I gasp at the pressure, digging my fingernails into his back.
“Yes, baby. Let go for me,” he demands, pumping faster as his mouth dips down to suck one of my nipples.
That does it, and I soar over the cliff again.
Seconds later, he takes one final thrust and finds his own release.
Rolling to the side, he snuggles me against him, tucking my head under his neck.
As he strokes my back, he whispers, “You never said whether you’ll come to London with me. Please say you will.”
“I will.”