Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
NETFLIX AND CHILL
Friday is finally here. I’ve kept myself busy planning the security detail for my singing diva and I’ve prepared and sent out quotes on two other large jobs, but my mind has been on MacKenzie and our upcoming date.
My plan is simple: to have no plan. I’ll pick her up and take her back to my place. I’ll cook dinner for us, we can relax and maybe watch a movie. I want to get to know her better, and maybe the low-key evening will help her get more comfortable with me.
Precisely at five o’clock, I walk into One of a Kind. MacKenzie is talking to a tiny woman near the back of the store. I walk toward them, and both women turn to look at me. My girl, MacKenzie, smiles at me, with that sexy smile and those gorgeous eyes. The other woman watches me in surprise.
“Hey, Sam,” says MacKenzie. “This is Theresa. She owns the store.”
I raise my hand to shake hers. “Nice to meet you, Theresa. I’m Sam Stone.”
“Oh my,” she says, smiling.
“I’ll grab my coat, and we can leave,” MacKenzie says excitedly.
“I’ll wait right here.”
When she steps out from the back room, I notice her dress and panic a bit. It’s black and wraps around her curvy body like a glove. I see a little tie on the left side of her hip and groan inwardly. My imagination flies right to thoughts of pulling that little tie and unwrapping that body.
“So, where are we going tonight?”
As I guide her out of the store with my hand on her back, I smile down at her. I sure as shit hope she wasn’t expecting dinner and dancing. I want her all to myself tonight. “We’re going to my place.”
She stops moving. “Y-your place?” She looks as nervous as a newborn colt.
“I’m cooking dinner for you. After dinner, we’ll watch a movie. That’s all we’re going to do, sweetheart. There’s no need to be nervous. I figured you’d be tired after the work week, so we’re going to relax and spend time together. And get to know each other a little better.” I hope a lot better.
She peeks up at me and nods. “So, you’re cooking? You can actually cook?” she says teasingly. She’s showing some of that personality I’ve come to enjoy.
“I can cook,” I reply defensively. “I’m a damn good cook. You’d better watch it, MacKenzie. Naughty girls get spanked,” I whisper in her ear. I tap her bottom with my palm gently, and she squeaks. I wonder if she’s ever been spanked.
“I’ll be good,” she replies breathlessly. “Um, so what’s for dinner?”
“You have a choice, but we’ll talk about it when we get to my place.
” I wait as she slides that old coat over each arm and secures the tattered belt around her waist. What is the deal with that trench coat?
It’s worn on the elbows, and the collar is starting to fray.
It’s missing a couple of buttons, and it’s at least three sizes too big for her.
I think about it for a few more seconds.
Maybe she wears the coat because it’s comfortable.
Maybe she doesn’t have the money to invest in a decent coat.
I want to ask her about it again, because I’m truly curious about why she’d continue to wear it.
Instead, I put it out of my mind and focus on tonight.
I guide her out of the mall toward the parking garage.
I hit the locks and open her door for her.
As she slides in, I notice her legs. They aren’t long, but they’re shapely.
I want to run my hand straight up from the ankle, stopping only when I get to her center.
Shit, I can’t start that line of thinking.
I jog around the car to the driver seat, willing my dick to calm down.
It occurs to me at that moment that this woman just might be the death of me.
I pull up to my underground garage and enter the code.
We glide into one of my four parking spots, and I have her door open for her before she’s even finished removing her seat belt.
I give her my hand to help her out of the car and smile down at her.
“After you, beautiful,” I say as I follow her to the elevator twenty feet away.
Once inside, I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her to me.
I press the P button and look down at her.
“The penthouse?” Her surprise shows on her face, her mouth hanging open just a little bit. I’d better take advantage of that. I turn to face her, bending just enough to capture her lips in mine. I swipe my tongue against that lovely rosebud mouth, and she opens it immediately.
She brings her arms up to wrap around my neck, which forces her tits to press against me.
Damn it, dick. Stay down. Ah, what the hell.
I slide my palms down until I’ve got them covering her luscious ass.
I pull her into me. I want her to feel how much she turns me on.
A little moan escapes her, and I’m just about to take her right here and right now…
when the elevator stops, chiming as the door slides open on seven.
An elderly couple teeters on. “Oh, is this going down?”
“No, we’re going up.” Please get off now.
“Well, we’ll just ride up with you, and then we’ll ride it all the way down. Might as well, right, Harold?”
“Right, dear.”
Damn it. I look at MacKenzie, and she’s smiling wickedly at me. I pinch her ass and whisper, “Naughty girl.” Her face turns three shades of pink. I hope she imagines her spanking. I think she needs one.
MacKenzie is chatting with the older couple, asking them questions.
She’s making small talk with them, being polite.
All I want is for this elevator to move faster.
When we finally reach the top floor, the doors open, and we step out.
The penthouse level of the building has two suites.
I point to my door. Well, actually, both apartments on this level are mine.
I live in one, and the other one is an investment.
I sometimes use it for clients, but that’s rare.
In any case, I can write it off as a business expense. Clever, huh?
I swipe my card, and the door unlocks. I open it but let her go in first. I hear her gasp before I see her expression. “Sam. This place… it’s amazing.” She walks over to the huge windows that overlook Navy Pier and Lake Michigan. “It’s spectacular.”
She moves about the room looking at the stuff, knickknacks the designer chose for the place.
I think they’re dust collectors; the designer called them tchotchkes.
Whatever that means. There are two photos on display.
One is my family—Mom, Dad, Perri, and me.
The other is a photo of the guys from my old unit: Adam, Payton, and me.
MacKenzie looks closer at the photo of my friends.
She looks up at me, surprised. “You were in the Marines?” she asks.
“I was.” I don’t feel like elaborating.
“These guys?” She points to the picture. “Are they your best friends?”
“They were.” I feel my expression harden. I don’t want to talk about the guys tonight.
“They were? Are they…?”
“Killed in action,” I say quickly. Briskly, I change the subject. “Okay, let’s talk dinner. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
She gets the hint that I don’t want to talk about the guys and turns to follow me toward my kitchen. She’s still looking around. “It’s so perfect in here. It’s completely opposite of my place.”
The place is cold and museum-like, so yeah, it’s opposite of her little place. “It is pretty formal. None of that shit means anything to me.” Except for the two photos.
“Wow, almost everything in my place means something to me.”
“I assumed that.”
“Why? Why did you assume that?”
“Because your place has personality. I could see you everywhere in that space. I’m nowhere in this one.” And I used to like it that way.
“Hmm, maybe all you need are just some colorful pillows or something. Don’t you have things from your bedroom when you were a kid that you could put here and there?”
I laugh at that. “Unless you’re referring to my Farrah Fawcett poster, no.”
“Oh, I know that one. I think every boy in America had that one in their bedroom.”
I turn and lean on the counter and smirk. “And what would you know about things boys had in their rooms? Huh?”
MacKenzie turns a new shade of pink that makes her look even more adorable. I walk to her and slide my palm against her cheek. “Did you spend a lot of time in your boyfriend’s room in high school?”
Defensive, she snaps, “No, I didn’t have a boyfriend in high school. Or college. Or….”
“I find that hard to believe. You’re stunning, MacKenzie.” Now my hands are in her hair. I pull her face up so I can look into her eyes. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” I start to lean down for a kiss, but she pulls away.
“Yeah, right,” she mutters. Changing the subject, she adds, “I wish I’d known we were just going to chill. I would have worn something more comfortable.”
I grab her wrist and pull her toward the bedrooms. “Follow me.” I lead her into one of my two guest bedrooms to the large dresser along the wall.
I open the second drawer and grab a pair of those legging things ladies wear and a pink T-shirt.
“These are my sister’s. She left them here a couple of years ago.
Put them on so you’re comfortable.” I should just give her one of my T-shirts, but I’m looking forward to seeing her ass in those tight pants. Yeah. I’m kind of perverted. Sue me.
“Are you sure she won’t mind?”
“I’m positive. She forgot about them. She’s got plenty more where those came from, believe me.” I want to stay and watch her change, to pull that tie until the dress falls open, but I know it’s not time for that. “I’ll be out there.” I point to the living room.
“Okay. Thank you, Sam.”
I wait impatiently with my ass on the arm of a chair. I want to watch her walk out. When she finally appears, clutching her folded dress close to her chest, she looks nervous. “Your sister must be tiny,” she mutters.