Chapter Twenty-Six
I swing my legs from the bar, watching the seconds tick by on the clock. The large hand approaches the twelve, crawling at a snail’s pace, and I sigh when it finally reaches it.
It’s ten in the morning and Aaron still isn’t up.
That alone tells me how much yesterday tired him. He’s incapable of sleeping past six. Crazy man.
I rock my head from side to side. If I had any idea exactly what he was doing last night, I’d go into his office and finish it. As it is, I have no idea, so all I can is sit here like a freaking orange waiting to be juiced.
I can’t read because my concentration won’t last beyond a page. I’ve done my Candy Crush and Coin Dozer thing, and if I see one more whining status post on Facebook, I’ll do one of my own.
The sound of a phone ringing in his office cuts through the silence, and I pause. Oh hell.
I jump down and run into the room, barely blinking at the name on screen before answering. “Hello?”
“Hello? Dayton? Is that you?” Dottie’s voice is a welcome sound down the receiver.
“Yep, it’s me.”
“Great. Is Aaron available to talk?”
“Sorry, Dottie. He’s not. Is there anything I can help with?”
“Actually, I just have some good news. Miguel managed to get Naomi’s website down before too many people caught wind of the post, and the ones who did get the details have all been caught up with. Between you and me, he called in his intern, who has a knack for hacking.”
I blow out a long, relieved breath and drop into Aaron’s chair. “That’s amazing, Dottie. Did you have to send any more lawsuits?”
“None. They were threatened with it last night if they ran with the information, by Aaron, and I woke to an email instructing me to call every one and explain that the story was a lie fabricated by his ex-wife. The lawsuits were apparently for defamation of character.”
“So when this gets around, the real story will be how Naomi was so jealous of Aaron finding love with me again that she tried to sabotage our relationship?”
I can’t help it. I smile. Of course she wouldn’t get away with it that easily.
“The idea is that the story doesn’t get around at all, but hey, if it does…”
I can picture it clearly, the twinkle in her eye. The amused one that says she’s as happy about this as I am. Well, that’s impossible, but I know she’ll be grinning.
“If it does, it does. After all, you can’t tell the media what to post, can you?”
Dottie laughs. “Absolutely not. I’m going to get back to work. Can you pass a message on to the boss for me?”
“Of course.”
“Tell him I’ve rescheduled his appointments for this afternoon and cleared next week, as he requested in his email. And that everything else he asked for will be delivered by courier at noon.”
Everything else?
“Uh, sure thing. And, Dottie? Thanks. I mean it.”
“Just doing my job, Dayton, but it certainly helps when the person you’re helping isn’t a bitch.” She laughs again. “I’ll speak to you soon. Bye.”
“Bye,” I echo, setting the phone back in the holder.
Done.
It’s done.
I’m safe. Aaron’s safe. The business is safe.
And I didn’t do a thing to protect any of us. And boy, is that a hard pill to swallow. Handing all that control over to someone else is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
I press the heels of my hands into my eyes and make my way back to the kitchen.
“F*cking hell, you scared the life out of me!”
Aaron turns slowly, a grin across his face, and holds out a mug. “Coffee?”
I shoot him my best not-impressed look and take it from him. “I thought you were sleeping.”
“I was. Then I did this thing people call waking up.” He raises his eyebrows, sipping from a second mug, then screws his face up. “This is yours. Not that one.”
A giggle escapes me as he swaps our mugs. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No, Bambi, you didn’t wake me. Although…were you just on the phone in my office?”
I nod, smiling sheepishly. “It rang, so I thought I’d answer it. It was Dottie.”
“Anything good?”
I relay to him the conversation we just had. The tension visibly leaves him as I speak, each point relaxing him a little more. The frown lines in his forehead smooth out and the purse in his lips becomes a gentle smile. The frustration in his eyes becomes an easy happiness that glimmers brightly.
“Yes, it would be a shame if Naomi was branded as a liar, wouldn’t it?”
“How do you expect to get around that, Aaron?”
“It’s that or she’s labeled as a blackmailer. And if that were to be public, the police would eventually pick up on it and she’d have much bigger problems than her reputation.”
I scratch my cheek, watching him talk so casually. Like he really doesn’t care.
And it’s plain to see in his eyes. He really doesn’t. As long as I’m okay and he’s okay and we’re okay together, he couldn’t give a flying monkey about her.
“But you already have the lawsuit ready.”
His eyes twinkle. “From me. You’re not mentioned anywhere. If the situation arose, you would naturally work with the police and aid them in their case.”
I look at him for a long moment before sitting back. “You really have thought of everything, haven’t you, Mr. Stone?”
“I warned you, Miss Black. I’m a ruthless man to deal with, especially when people f*ck with me. More so when they f*ck with you. Naomi did both, and now if she has any sense, she’ll leave us alone for good.”
“You’re a wonder. Also, remind me never to f*ck with you. Not that it matters because I’m not allowed to pay for anything, so your lawsuit would be a waste of time. You’d be paying for it yourself.”
He smirks, leaning forward infinitesimally. “Don’t f*ck with me, Dayton. Just f*ck me normally and I promise not to get my lawyer involved.”
“Oh, so generous of you.”
“Isn’t it?” He stands and glances at my mug. “Have you finished with your coffee?”
“No. I still have half left.”
“That’s a shame. I hate to waste it.” He pulls it away from me and empties it down the sink. “Oh well.”
“What the hell was that for? I was drinking that!”
“Correct. You were.” He rounds the bar and tugs me from the stool, his eyes darkening. “Now we’re going to make good on that f*cking part I just mentioned.”
“We are?”
“Yes. You’re wearing my shirt again, and I believe it was some six hours ago I was promising to f*ck you on my desk, so I suggest you get your ass into my office and hop up onto that desk pronto.”
“You’re getting more demanding by the day, Mr. Stone.” I add some extra wiggle to my hips as I walk, and I’m rewarded by a low growl of pleasure behind me. And punished with a sharp smack on my ass.
“I never said anything about a demand. I’m requiring you get on my damn desk. Now move.”
***
“Thank you.” Aaron takes a large envelope from someone and closes the door behind him.
I watch from my slouched position on the sofa as he pulls a letter opener from the kitchen drawer and slices the letter open.
Because who doesn’t keep one of those in their kitchen?
I resist the urge to roll my eyes as he pulls out a large piece of paper and…
“What the hell is that?”
“This?” He holds up the piece of paper. “Oh, it’s the final lease for a house I just bought.”
“You bought a house?” I sit up straight. “What? Where? Why?”
He laughs throatily and hands me the paper. He leans on the back of the sofa, and I catch his eyes for a second before I look at it.
My mouth goes dry. Am I reading this right?
“You bought a house in Paris?”
His grin widens. “Correct.”
“Why would you do that? I mean. What? I’m so confused.”
Another laugh. “It’s not that confusing, sweetheart. I found a house I liked, I bought it, end of discussion.”
“But everything always goes wrong in Paris.”
“Perhaps before, yes. But not this time. When we leave Paris next weekend, we’ll be very much together.”
“Next weekend? Oh!” I slap the paper against the cushion in front of me. “That’s why Dottie cleared your schedule for next week!”
He leans in, sweeping his lips over mine. “I told you that when all that shit was done with I was stealing you away for a little while. The only person aside from us who is aware of the Paris house is Alexander, and that’s the way it’s going to stay. Everyone else will assume we’re heading to the Bahamas for a week at an exclusive resort.”
“You picked Paris over the Bahamas? Are you crazy?”
“Perhaps, but after everything, I think we need to remember where it all began. Don’t you agree?”
I sigh, unable to argue that point. He’s right. We need to go back to the place it started, this time with no secrets, no skeletons, no force. We need to go because we want to, because it’s part of who we are. That’s all there really is to it.
“I can’t believe you bought a house.”
“We can stay in a hotel if you prefer.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Not that I don’t like Parisian hotels, but if there’s a house, I’ll take the house. Besides, isn’t the first rule of buying a house with your significant other that you have to make love on every surface in every room?”
His eyes darken. “Is it?”
“I believe so.” I get up and spin around him, my hands clasped behind my back as I walk backward. “It’s practically a requirement.”
“Far be it from me to deny you a requirement, Dayton. I suggest you go and pack a suitcase while I call and get the plane ready. It looks like we’re flying out early.”
“How early?”
“Tonight early. I want to make sure I leave myself enough time to enjoy you everywhere possible, per house-purchasing requirements.”
The depth in his voice, the husky undertone, leaves me no doubt that he intends to do just that.
I open the closet door, my eyes skimming over my half.
Perhaps I should pack just underwear instead.
“Here.”
Red floods my vision, and I step back into Aaron’s hard body. When my eyes focus again, I look at the red corset he got me in London.
“Pack this,” he orders. “There’s a bay window seat in the master bedroom that looks onto the Eiffel Tower.”
“What relevance does that have to the red corset?”
He lowers his mouth to my ear, whispering, “It’ll add to the view when I bend you over the seat and f*ck you.”
I clench my thighs together. Jesus, he was only inside me an hour ago and I’m already aching for him. Damn him and his word-f*cking.
“Keep talking like that and you’ll be rearranging the plane again.”
“You’re insatiable, woman.”
“Coming from the man who just informed me he’s going to bend me over a window seat and f*ck me right after doing something very similar.”
“I appreciate the view of your ass while I f*ck you. Are you complaining?”
The ache intensifies a little as I remember my most recent orgasm. “Nope. No complaints.”
“Then be quiet and pack.” He throws a suitcase onto the bed. “Don’t pack too many clothes. You won’t be needing them.”
I smirk, unzipping the top of the suitcase. I drop the corset in, much to his delight, and put my hands on my hips. I watch him maneuver his way around the closet easily, so certain of what he’s taking and what he isn’t.
My eyebrows go up when he drops a pile of clothes on the bed. I count them—six pairs of pants. Oh no. If I’m on clothing rations, then he is too.
I cough, motioning to the pile, and he smirks himself, grabbing two pairs and depositing them back on his shelf in the closet.
No.
I grab another two pairs and skip past him, laughing, shoving them on top of some shorts before he grabs me and spins me round. His fingers dig into my sides, and I laugh louder, squirming and wriggling.
“Two pairs for a week? What do you think I am, woman? A tramp?”
“No,” I breathe, holding my side through the tight pain there. Damn him. “But you said”—I take a deep breath—“not too many clothes. Applies for you, too.”
He laughs, pulling me against him. “You can take as many clothes as you want, but they won’t be worn for long.” He trails his hand down my back and inside the waistband of my shorts to cup my ass.
“Making a point, Mr. Stone?” I gasp when he grazes his teeth down my neck.
Oh crap.
“Point for what?”
“How long my clothes will be worn for?”
He squeezes my behind and brings his wrist up, glancing at his watch. “We have time.”
“Again?”
“Mhmm.”
“Oh no.” I wrestle myself from him. “No, no, no!”
I laugh, running through the apartment. And as I slam the office door shut behind me, I realize my mistake.
You never run from someone willing to stalk you until he can catch you.
“Dayton.” He hums my name through the door. “Do I need to break the door down?”
“That’s a habit for you.”
“Open the f*cking door. The longer you keep me waiting out here, the harder I’ll have to f*ck you.”
Oh, silly, silly man. When will he realize that that’s not a bad thing at all?
I giggle and tap out a random beat on the door. Truth is, I have no intention of letting Aaron Stone f*ck me right now.
I plan to sit him on that fancy-ass leather chair and f*ck him.
Slowly, I turn the lock and grab the handle. The door opens before I can pull it down, and Aaron steps forward, his eyes locking with mine, hunger and lust glaring from them.
The temptation to let him do what he wants with me is so overwhelming that I almost do exactly that.
“Gonna catch me?”
“Do I have to chase you?”
I tilt my head to one side. “Depends if you’re gonna catch me or not.”
He steps forward and tugs me to him before I can think about running. “Looks like I already did.” He trails his nose down my neck, his lips peppering kisses as he goes, and pauses at my collarbone. “And we’re back in the office.”
“So we are.” I fist the front of his shirt and walk backward, pulling him with me.
“What are you playing at, Dayton?” he murmurs.
I grin, spinning us and pushing him back into the chair. “Why, Mr. Stone. If you want a hard and fast f*ck, it’s only fair that I get to do the f*cking. You already had your turn today.”
He pulls me onto his lap and his erection rubs against me. He’s hard and ready, and I could spring him from his pants, tug my shorts and panties down, and lower myself onto him without any foreplay.
“You’re one sexy woman when you start demanding things.” He pushes his hips up into me.
I smile and kiss him hard, running my tongue along the seam of his lips. “Remove your clothes, Mr. Stone.” I slip my hand between us and cup his cock over his pants, teasing the side of his length with my thumb. “We don’t have long.”