“You’re right.I’ll behave.”I drew an X over my bare chest with one finger.
“Right.I’ll believe that one.”She rolled her eyes but didn’t seem upset.“I was just thinking, I bet most people would think it’s crazy that we ended up married, but it makes sense on paper.We’re both driven, know exactly what we want, and don’t think of working late as an inconvenience.”
“It can be, but that’s why you surround yourself with good people.I, for one, don’t take meetings with assholes.I just don’t,” I said with a shrug when she lifted her brows.“Life is too short.There are plenty of people out there who aren’t assholes whose money is just as green and whose ideas are just as good.”
“Exactly.Papa raised me not to suffer fools.”The giggle that burst out of her surprised both of us from the looks of it.She covered her mouth with her hand, laughing.“Oh my God.I totally forgot.”
The sound of her laughter was enchanting.I hadn’t heard her laugh since our fight in the pool.It had been nearly a week since then.“What did you forget?”
She wiped tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes.“One time, I was doing homework in his office.I was probably seven or eight, old enough to understand I couldn’t interrupt.Anyway, I’m sitting there working on a handwriting exercise, and I hear Papa say to this man who literally just sat down, ‘You’re boring me.Either come up with something interesting to say or leave.’And the guy walked out!”Her laughter rang out again, making me laugh with her.
“Who was it?”I asked.
“I have no idea!And Papa just burst out laughing once the guy was gone as if he couldn’t believe it.I hadn’t thought about that in twenty years.”The memory added color to her cheeks and light to her eyes.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
Once she calmed down, I mused, “It’s no wonder this business is in your blood.”
She turned to me, and her eyes were brighter than I’d seen them in days.“It’s not in yours, though.What brought you to it?”
“Honestly?“ I asked, and she nodded, watching me closely.Genuinely interested.She looked so beautiful with her hair in a bun on top of her head and tendrils teased out, framing her face.The sight of her almost made me tongue-tied until I reminded myself who I was.I didn’t get tongue-tied like some kid with a crush.“It was obvious I was finished playing ball, so I sat down one day and wrote down everything I wanted out of a career.”
“At such a young age?”
I shrugged.“What choice was there?I needed a new plan.The kind of career where I could travel.Where I could meet people and learn from them.Executives, celebrities.I wanted to live in a different world than the one I grew up in.”
“What kind of world was that, if you don’t mind my asking?You told me a little before when we talked about it, but not many specifics.”
How many times had I shut down this line of questioning in the past?Countless women had tried to crack me open and dig around inside my head like they were looking for a way to get closer.My gut reaction usually involved imagining a brick wall between us.
Not now.Now, I explained without hesitation.“Life with a single mom, never having enough of anything, always feeling like one false step could land us in trouble.Like the kind of shit some kids wouldn’t think twice about—a broken faucet or a flat tire on the car.Something that insignificant was life-or-death level for us.I wanted to work in a world that existed above all of that, you know?”
She nodded slowly.“I see.”
Her calm, thoughtful reaction made it easier to keep going.“Then, the strangest thing happened.I realized I liked it.That look somebody gets in their eye, you know?When you’ve perfectly anticipated their needs before they ever had the chance to think them, much less tell you about them.”Her head bobbed, a smile beginning to form.“Learning about the guests and their habits, providing for them the next time they come around.It sort of becomes a game, especially when you have the people who visit multiple times a year.The ones you have a relationship with.I challenge myself to always find a new way to wow them.”
“Every week, I get a rundown of the frequent guests at each of our properties,” she confessed with a grin.“So we can prepare something for them.Like an excursion or a gift.Sometimes, when I’m out shopping, and I see something I know one of our longtime guests would appreciate, I’ll pick it up.”
I loved the idea.“Now, there’s a step I never thought to take,” I admitted.“I hope you don’t mind if I steal it.”
“It’s not stealing if I share.”
Her wicked grin paired well with the light dancing in her eyes.I couldn’t get enough of it.It was hypnotic, entrancing.“Since you’re in a sharing mood…” I ran a finger up her spine, making her shiver.There was no helping it.Something about her reached something in me and wouldn’t let up.
“You could find a way to turn a graduate-level lecture into something sexual,” she informed me with a sigh.
“I sure could if you’re the professor.”I couldn’t be bothered to defend myself since she was probably right.Whenever she was involved, my thoughts tended to go in one direction only.The way she giggled when I wrapped my arms around her and lowered her onto her back didn’t help matters, nor did her wriggling body.
God, she was beautiful.Perfect.Lush and sensuous, meeting my desire and upping the ante by rolling us over until she straddled me.I was more than satisfied to lie back with my arms folded behind my head, admiring the sight of a goddess looming over me.“What do you plan on doing now?”I asked, devouring her with my gaze.
“I was thinking I could take this…” She lifted herself on her knees, taking hold of my throbbing cock.“...and putting it in here.”I couldn’t hold back the deep groan once the head of my cock began to slide through her slickness.
“Good decision,” I panted out, transfixed, heart pounding as she took me closer to eruption.The woman was determined to drive me out of my mind.“Sink yourself on me.I want to feel that tight pussy clenching around my length as you ride me.”
Her soft sigh turned to a sharper sound once she took me inside her and lowered herself to my base.There was nowhere else I wanted to be—gripped tight, the sensation mixing with the sight of her body moving on top of mine.
I couldn’t help but touch her, running my hands over her smooth, soft skin.Fondling her tits and running my hands up over her chest, cupping her face.She took one of my thumbs in her mouth and scraped her teeth over it, eyes closing as she moaned.“Suck it,” I whispered, moving it in time with the movement of her hips.
