Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
dom
“What are you doing out here by yourself?” I’m leaning against the concrete pillar, brown liquor swirling in a cut crystal glass, when I hear Cory’s voice from behind me.
The Seattle skyline is glittering gold and deep violet.
From my view from above, the city looks small, manageable, and entirely under my control.
“Waiting for you.” I turn around, taking in Cory’s sheer beauty.
We’ve spent the last couple of weeks executing our plans flawlessly.
Everyone who matters has seen Cory and me around town, hand-in-hand, out to dinner, at charity galas, and whatever else needed my attention.
The board has been pacified, the public is captivated that one of Seattle’s most eligible bachelors is off the market, and I’ve accomplished exactly what I set out to do.
The next phase should be the engagement, but tonight, looking out over the water and the city meant absolutely nothing to me. The only thing I care about is the woman standing in the doorway, her soft gaze fixed on the horizon as the cool evening breeze dances through her hair.
I adjust the collar of my shirt. My dick throbs while I watch as she makes her way toward me.
I’m not usually a man who hesitates, yet as I look at her, I notice a subtle familiar tension in the line of her shoulders.
Over the past few days, a quiet shadow has settled beneath her eyes.
Cory’s fighting a battle, and I know exactly what it is.
The crushing guilt over taking my money.
When she signed the contract, things were different, we were different.
The structure surrounding the arrangement changed.
But the cold reality of the ink on the paper dissolved weeks ago when she let me into her body in front of the master closet mirror.
The contract didn’t exist to me anymore.
This is real. We’re real. Every touch, every late-night confession, and the fierce protectiveness that comes out of me whenever she enters the room have fuck all to do with business.
“I can hear your thoughts, sweetheart.” I pull her into my arms once she’s in reaching distant before turning us around to stare at the view, her back to my chest, and settle my chin on her shoulder.
“Dom.” She tilts her head over her shoulder. “I feel like a fraud, taking your money.
“Why?” I ask softly.
“I can’t keep taking your money, Dom. Not anymore. The way I feel about you, because of us, because of this,” she whispers, gesturing between the two of us. “The way you look at me, the way you make me feel. It’s not a transaction for me, and I hope it’s not for you.”
“Then let’s change the rules.” My voice is steady.
She turns around, and I take her hands, lifting them up between us.
“If the contract is making you feel this way, Cory, I’ll rip it to shreds.
Tonight. I’ve told you that before, sweetheart.
And whatever the board members want, they can have.
It’s only fucking money. I should have given it to them anyway since they thought I was such a waste of time in investing in what I know is a shoo-in deal.
“Dom, you can’t,” she utters.
“Watch me.” I lean down so there isn’t space left between us, ensuring she hears every single word I’m about to say.
“The arrangement was for them. This, this is for us. I want you, Cory. At the end of the day, every day, for the rest of my days. Everything I have, everything I am, it’s yours.
” Before she can process the weight of my words, I reach into the breast pocket of my button-down shirt, my fingers closing around the ring.
I pull it out. The massive pink diamond is flanked by a delicate band of platinum that glitters a lot like the Seattle skyline behind us.
It’s striking, unique, and breathtaking—just like Cory
“Dom, oh my god,” she gasps, hand flying to her mouth as her eyes water.
Without waiting for her permission, I take her left hand in mine and slide the ring onto her finger, the diamond settling against her skin like it’s always belonged there.
She looks down. Her lower lip trembles as she shakes her head in beautiful defiance.
“It’s too much. Dom, I can’t accept this.
It’s too beautiful and far too expensive. ”
“Yes, you will.” My tone doesn’t leave any room for negation.
I cup her face in my large hands, forcing her to look up and meet my eyes.
“You’ll take every single gift I give you, Cory.
This ring, the financial security, and you’ll take the brand-new car sitting in your parking spot in the garage right now. ”
“A car?” she echoes. A stunned laugh breaks through her tears. “Dom, please. I don’t need all of this.”
“This isn’t up for discussion,” I cut off her protest. “Listen to me. I love you, Cory. I care about you more than I care about anything else in this world. I want you safe, I want you taken care of, and you deserve everything this world has to offer you and so much more. You don’t have to earn it from me or anyone else.
It’s yours because you hold my heart in your hands.
” Christ, the confession feels like a physical weight is being lifted off my shoulders.
A declaration I’ve been burying for far too long, for weeks in fact.
Cory stares at me, the tears spilling over her lashes, gliding down her flushed cheeks.
They aren’t tears of sadness, though. They’re pure, overwhelming relief.
The doubt that clouded her gaze for days slowly dissipates, replaced by a fierce, burning intensity.
“I love you, too. God, Dom, I love you so much,” she whispers, her voice trembling with happiness.
That’s all I needed to hear. I lean down, catching her lips with mine, destroying the last semblance of distance between us. I deepen the kiss, entirely consuming her. It doesn’t matter that we’re in a semi-public place. What I want is her. What I need is her, right here, right now.
“Taking you, sweetheart. Out here in the open,” I mumble against her lips.
A soft sigh escapes her mouth, and my tongue slips in.
My hands grasp the back of her thighs, lifting her with ease.
She arches into me, hand tangling in the hair at the nape of my neck, pulling me into her as if she can’t get close enough.
I move us to the outdoor couch, hands slipping beneath the skirt of her dress and finding soft, smooth skin.
“Dom.” Her head tips once her back meets the cushions, and I push the fabric up.
“Want you in nothing but my ring, sweetheart.” She lifts her hips, helping me pull the dress up and over her head. She’s left in a pair of lace panties and a sheer bra.
“You too, well, not the ring, but soon enough.” I work her panties off her body, throwing them to the ground, and once she’s naked, she attacks my clothes.
I do my best to help her out, but when she gets like this, so worked up, it’s best if I let her take over.
By the time she’s discarded my shirt, my pants, and my boxers, she’s straddling my lap, her hand with my ring on her finger is above my heart, and her soaking wet cunt is gliding along the underside of my cock.
“Take me, Cory. Fuck my cock with that hot little pussy.” She lifts up, hovering above my dick for the barest second before she slams down, all the way down on my length.
I let her play for a while, and when she gets close, I take over, fucking her until we both come apart without anything between us or holding us back.