Page 101 of Lawton


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She wore a yellow bikini that hid next to nothing. Her face was flushed, and her eyes were warm. The wet tendrils of her hair fell over her shoulders and spilled down her glistening back. She was sin and sweetness wrapped into one.

"Because," I said, "I've been keeping you all to myself."

Her smile faltered. After a long moment, she said, "What do you mean?"

I studied her face, wondering if I should be amused or pissed off. "Well, obviously, not what you think," I said.

She said nothing, and that's when I knew. She still didn't get it. She wasn't a fling or some party girl to be passed around. She was my one and only, and I wanted to keep her that way.

Yeah, I knew my reputation. And yeah, I'd done a lot to earn it. So I couldn’t exactly be pissed off. But Icouldmake her see things differently.

"You were thinking," I said, shifting my body closer to hers, "that I'd ever consider sharing you." I ran a hand over her thigh and leaned close to whisper in her ear. "Let's get one thing straight. I'm never, ever sharing you."

The corners of her mouth lifted. "Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah." I ran a hand along her thigh, inching upward with every stroke. "You're all mine, and I intend to keep it that way."

Her breath caught, and her lips parted. Her gaze met mine, and I couldn’t look away. I didn'twantto look away, not now, not ever.

I wanted to hold her every night and wake up with her every morning. I wanted to open my closets and see her stuff next to mine. Crazy or not, I wanted that little terrier to bemydog, too. I wanted to share a life, a house, and everything in-between.

I was still stroking her thigh. "So what do you think?"

"Hmmmm?"

She looked so warm and blissful that I had to laugh. "Am I wrong to keep you all to myself?"

"Hey," she teased, "I thought you didn't want to share."

"No sharing," I told her. "But you know what I just realized?"

"What?"

"I've never even taken you out, like on a real date. Aren't you pissed? You should be."

Funny, she didn't look pissed.

Looking at her, something else occurred to me. For a rich girl, she seemed to get a kick out of the simplest things, things I'd almost begun to take for granted. I guess it surprised me.

Growing up, I hadn't known many rich girls, if any. But the ones I knew now – like Amber for instance – took life's luxuries completely for granted. For some reason, Chloe wasn't like that. Was that why she hadn't complained about me not taking her out?

Finally, she shook her head. "That other stuff isn't really important to me."

I cared too much to let it go. "But what about dinner, clubbing, all that? Don't you want it?"

"Truthfully?" she said. "I've kind of liked things the way they are."

From the look in her eyes, she meant it. Still, it didn't seem right. I'd taken countless girls out on the town – to the best clubs, to nicest restaurants, to parties with people more famous than me.

"Yeah," I said. "I've liked it this way too. But I don't feel like I'm being fair to you."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because you deserve all that. To go places, to be seen, all that stuff. I've carted around other girls –" Damn it. That's not what I meant to say. Trying again, I shrugged it off. "It's just that you deserve all that and more."

"Are you kidding?" She lifted a hand to encompass the back patio, which come to think of it, was pretty nice. "This is like a permanent vacation."

Permanent. I liked the sounds of that.