Chapter 6 Catarina
CATARINA
My pulse raced furiously as I wondered why he’d done this on the down low.
Did he not want Chip to know he was with me?
Did he think I would be ashamed of going up to his room?
I excused myself and left Chip and Phoebe to their own devices, wondering what would happen with them.
On the elevator up to floor eighty-two, my heart fluttered and I made a mental note not to chug down the rest of my drink when I was on the way to a rendezvous with the sexiest man I’d ever met.
I took a deep breath, clutching the napkin in my hand, and reminded myself of my weekend’s you only live once motto. If that meant going to the private floor of a professional hockey player with bad handwriting and amazing forearms, so be it.
The doors to the elevator opened and a hallway assistant bowed to me.
“Miss Vidal, right this way, please. Mr. LeBlanc is expecting you.”
Well now, I wasn’t used to this type of VIP treatment. But I was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
The hallway assistant knocked on the door three times, then pulled away. “Enjoy,” he said like he had just dropped off a fine dinner plate.
When I opened the door, I let out a small gasp. Dustin was shirtless, shoeless, and sockless, though he still had on his khaki shorts from our golf outing.
He seemed surprised to see me, which was precious.
“Hey,” I managed to squeak out, though I was sure my voice sounded gargled.
“You made it,” he pitched back to me.
He was holding a carton of chocolate ice cream in one hand, and a spoon in the other. With his eyes locked on me, he spooned a big bite into his mouth and pulled it out slowly, leaving a little bit of chocolate on the spoon.
It was the silliest thing I could ever picture him doing.
It was also the hottest.
“I guess I missed dessert,” I breathed.
He furrowed his brow and waved me inside. The penthouse was massive. It was like something out of a movie.
The door shut behind us, and Dustin led me down a spiral staircase to what I guessed was the main floor.
“Why would you say that?” he asked.
“Uh, because you’re already eating ice cream, obviously.”
He let out one soft chuckle. “Oh. You were thinking ice cream for dessert?”
I set my purse on the kitchen island countertop and turned around, my ass pressed into the marble. “Well, it seems like the obvious choice.”
Without saying a word, he took a big scoop of chocolate ice cream from the carton. “Open up,” he said.
I opened my mouth and he spoonfed it to me.
“Damn, that is good!” I exclaimed. “What flavor is that?”
“Chocolate Mousse. It’s the best.”
I cleared my throat. “So . . . I’m confused. Why don’t you have a shirt on?”
He smirked. “Because I didn’t want to get dessert on my shirt. I’m a messy eater.”
“Oh. Well, I think you did get a little dribble of chocolate right there.” I pointed at his chest and fingered a tiny drop of melting chocolate, then licked my finger.
He watched me as I did.
“There,” I said. “I’ll clean up your dessert for you.”
He took a step toward me and palmed my cheek. I put my hand on his side and felt his hot skin. “I think you’re confused, Kit Cat. I didn’t take off my shirt because I was afraid of the ice cream I’d get on it. I was afraid of something else.”
“Oh? What’s for dessert then? Do you have a cheesecake hidden away in that refrigerator, too?”
“I was talking,” he said, and slowly ran his hand down my side. “About you. You’re my dessert.”
He set the ice cream and spoon down, and my heart began to race so fast, I worried it might explode.
“Oh,” I swallowed. His lips and eyes were hypnotic, and I felt heat building between my legs. “I see.”
My insides flipped as his hand wrapped around my outer thigh. He pulled me up by my hips and sat me on the kitchen counter. My legs hung off the counter, and the marble felt cold on the underside of my legs, but Dustin’s hands were hot in contrast.
We kissed and he tasted like chocolate mousse. Or I tasted like chocolate mousse, or we both did.
It didn’t matter who tasted like what any more as he pressed his hardened jaw against me and I wrapped a hand around his bare back.
I wanted to ask him questions about why now and why not last night but my thoughts melted away into the ether. I didn’t care. Need flared inside me as he stripped off my clothes.
I found myself completely nude with my legs spread on the counter. He drew kisses slowly down my abdomen to my belly button, then lightly ran his tongue over my clit. I forced deep breaths in and out as the edges blurred and my fingers tingled.
His fingers were inside me, he was pressing them just right and I was clenching around them, gripping his hair.
My mind tumbled with thoughts like oh god he’s good and he was more gentle than I thought he would be.
My body shuddered with the pleasure of impending release, and he pulled back, a soft grin on his face.
“Stand up,” he said.
“On the counter?!” I exclaimed.
He chuckled. “You’ve never stood on a counter before? You really are a play-it-safe kind of girl, aren’t you?”
I swallowed and stood up, my entire body throbbing with the need for release. Then he did something I wasn’t expecting. He jumped up onto the counter and laid down on his back.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Ride my face, Kit Cat.”
Tingling with want, I knelt down and felt his hands grip my hips tightly as I rode him. He growled and moaned into me somehow, and the vibrations of his low growl pushed me over the edge.
I lost myself in him, dazed and confused with pleasure.
He knew I was nearing my release and he gripped me tightly as I pressed my hips into him.
My whole body swirled with pleasure, and I came so hard I temporarily forgot where I was and the number of planets in our solar system, and when I came back to life, I was a convulsing mess of pleasure.
He picked me up and brought me to his bed and laid me down softly. It was the buzz. It was having just eaten. It was the throbbing in my body everywhere.
But we both collapsed on top of the covers, me naked and Dustin in his briefs.
When I woke up, my thoughts raced. Dustin slept with one hand on his chest as it rose and fell to accommodate his big breaths. I sat up, and my eyes widened when I noticed his briefs had also expanded to accommodate something else that was big.
I swallowed hard, and got up, heading into the main room to find my purse and phone and check what time it was.
Damn. We’d been out for four hours and it was already past eleven. I guess that’s what happens when you stay out late, get up early, and party all day.
I shook my head. I wasn’t as young as I used to be. And looking at Dustin—God, he looked sexy even just sleeping—I realized something. I wasn’t about to sleep with this man. Not for lack of attraction. There was plenty of that.
I made my way back over to the bedroom, where Dustin stirred and blinked his eyes open. “Kit Cat,” he said. “Where’d you go?”
I slipped my panties back on.
“Hey,” I said, and he gave me a dirty look. “What’s that look for?”
“Why did you put an item of clothing back on?” he asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Oh, I don’t know. Because it’s what normal people do?”
“I’m not done with you yet, though, Kit Cat. Far from it.”
I felt my insides flip as I recalled how he made my body twist in pleasure hours ago, but I had to tell him what was on my mind.
“Dustin, we’ve gone as far as we’re going to go.”
“I don’t understand. Were you not just writhing and screaming in a pool of orgasm on the kitchen counter before we took a nap?”
Need flared inside me again, but I pushed it down as far as I could. “That’s irrelevant. A one-night stand with you isn’t a good idea. I don’t know who you’ve been with.”
He flipped his body around and planted his feet on the floor. “So you won’t get with me,” he said, “Because you think I get around.”
I cleared my throat. “I have mild OCD, I’m a doctor, and I know the risks. It’s just not a good idea.” I silently regretted the fact that my buzz had worn off enough for me to think a sober thought like this one. But these were the facts.
He nodded slowly, as if accepting this information, got up, and walked over to me.
I was topless, with my arms crossed, and my gaze was level with his chest when he neared me.
“So let me get this straight. You let me go down on you, but that’s where the train stops tonight.”
I nodded. “That’s correct.”
“God you look hot when you’re being stubborn,” he smirked, and I felt my insides flare with anger.
“I’m not being stubborn. I’m being reasonable. And responsible.”
He ran his fingers lightly over my cheek and slid them down to my neck. My spine tingled with excitement when he touched me.
Without saying anything, he pulled up an app on his phone, handed it to me, and winked.
“What’s this?”
“Just read it. You’ll know.”
I rolled my eyes. “An STI checkup?”
“Yep. I just had one done a few weeks ago. And I’ve been holding out since then. I wanted to show you the proof.”
I scoffed and handed it back to him. It was great that he was being safe and all, but this all just seemed like it was happening quite fast. “Look, okay, you’re clean, great. But I think the moment has passed.”
“Moment has passed for what?”
“Us going all the way.”
“Well, maybe that’s not what I want.”
“What else would you want?”
He pulled out a little ring box from a drawer, and popped it open. Locking his eyes on me, got down on one knee.
My heart began to beat furiously.
“Kit Cat, let’s get married. You’re smart, gorgeous, and we have a connection that neither of us can quite explain.”
I let out a small gasp, feeling myself frozen and unable to speak.
“Tell me you haven’t felt it,” he added.
I put my hand over my mouth. “What the hell, Dustin? Is this for real?
He bit his lip. “Just say yes. Come on. I told you I’d never get down on my knees for anyone. Look what I’m doing.”
I clutched my locket. “No, Dustin. Absolutely not.”