No, we can't. That leaves the door open for any other man to come strolling into her life and that's a complication I don't want. "I have no interest in dating other women right now. I'd like to date only you with the understanding that you're not seeing other men."
There's a long pause. A fucking long pause as she stares right at me, into me. "I'll agree to date only you, Nolan if you agree to date only me. I can't promise how long I can do that for, but for now, I'd like to try."
Great. Good. Ellie Madden is dating me. She's only fucking me.
She stands and I follow. I reach for her, wanting a kiss, a touch, anything before I open my mouth again to tell her the one thing about me that defines who I am.
I cup her delicate face in my hands. I lean down and kiss her. It's soft at first and then urgency rushes over the connection and before I realize what I'm doing, my hand is on the back of her neck, insistent, coaxing, pushing her lips into mine. My body wants to seal the deal and cement her to me before she learns the truth. I want this and I want what I have at home. I want it all. I need it all.
She circles my waist with her hands, her fingers crawling under my suit jacket to clench the fabric of my shirt. I'm erect, hard and wanting. I want too much. I need to stop. I have to fucking stop.
"Ellie." I pull back from the kiss, but only enough that my lips skim over her lips when I say her name. "You have to know. I need to tell you."
"Tell me what?" She pops up to her tiptoes to claim my mouth again.
I give in because the need to taste her lips is stronger than my resistance. I run my hands down her back to cup her firm ass. I squeeze it, pulling her against me so she can feel what she's doing to me.
"You're hard." She smiles against my mouth. "You're right. The sex was stellar. Your cock is too. I admit it."
"Wait until you taste it." I tug her even closer, the hard ridge of my erection pressing against her. "I want to see these lips around it."
My pulse races when her hand drifts lower and then lower still. She grazes her fingers over the front of my pants, the touch electric. My dick throbs from the promise of her touch. "Now, Nolan?"
Yes, now. Get on your knees and take it down your throat. All of it, until your eyes water and your pussy is on fire from sheer need.
I want to say it, but I stop. I fucking stop and step back, my hands firmly rooted to her shoulders.
"We can't," I breathe. "Ellie, we can't."
"Why not?" she whines. She whines like she wants it as much as her next breath.
"I need to tell you something." I cover my mouth with my hand. These words aren't easy. I don't say them often. Only a few scant people in my life know what I'm about to tell her.
My phone rings again. The sound is a lure to bide me more time. If I answer, I can think. I can fucking think without a raging hard-on about what I want to say to Ellie.
"What do you need to tell me?" She holds my gaze for a moment before her eyes drift to my office door. "Did you hear that? Was that a knock? Is someone at the door?"
I heard it. Eda knows better than to disturb me when I've asked her not to. There's only one situation that would warrant the incessant phone calls and the interruption by my assistant.
"Eda," I call out, hoping she can hear me. "What is it? Is it her?"
The double glass doors of my office open in one fell swoop. Crew stands directly behind Eda, his phone in his hand. He ends the call and my phone stops ringing, just as he brushes past Eda to stalk toward me. "Mayday. Now, pal. Let's go."
Ellie holds Crew's glance for a moment before she turns back to me. "What's going on? What is it, Nolan?"
As my eyes find hers, I say the words I've never said to a woman before. "It's my daughter. My daughter needs me, Ellie. I'm sorry. I have to go."
She lowers herself back into the chair in front of my desk as I follow Crew out of my office and sprint to the open doors of the elevator. I didn't want her to find out like this, but now it's out there. She knows. Ellie knows that I'm a father and the most important thing in the world to me is my five-year-old little girl and her broken heart.
Chapter 28
Ellie
A daughter. He has a daughter.
I didn't bother to ask his assistant any questions after Nolan left his office with Crew. I doubt she would have told me anything. Eda doesn't strike me as the type to gossip about her boss behind his back. Besides, this is something that I need to discuss with Nolan. It's a child. He's a father to a little girl.
I got up from the chair in Nolan's office after what felt like four hours. It was only a few minutes. I went down to the store and finished my shift. I spent the entire afternoon glancing at my phone, hoping to hear anything from Nolan. Nothing came. Not a text or a call.
I took a detour on my way home, walking past the building that his driver dropped him off at last night. It's a luxury high-rise that caters to some of Manhattan's elite. You don't secure an address there without a trust fund or a successful business in your portfolio.