My hands moved to her thighs, my eyes focused on her green ones.
Her eyes were narrowed, and her shoulders were stiff like she had something to say to me. This wasn’t just a visit about pleasure, even though she sat right on my hard-on. Her arms circled my neck, and she stared at me head on. “I don’t want to share you with anyone.”
I raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure what she meant.
“I want you to fuck me and only me.” She spoke with a stern voice that matched her features, but it was adorable that this small woman was making demands. “I want it to be just the two of us. You give me what I need. I can give you whatever you need. No more late nights when you’re out and about. I want you in that bed with me every night. End of story.”
She didn’t leave any room for negotiation, not that I had different terms in mind. She obviously thought I’d been fooling around with other women this entire time, when in reality, she was the only woman I’d even looked at. If this had been a few weeks ago, I would have pushed her off me and said her demands were ridiculous, that I would fuck whoever I wanted whenever I wanted.
But I didn’t do that now.
I didn’t hate the idea of monogamy. I didn’t despise making any promise of fidelity to her. The fact that she wanted me all to herself caused a stirring in my pants. She made me feel needed, feel manly. She was my prisoner, but now we felt like partners, like she wanted to be there with me.
That was the sexiest thing of all.
This woman wanted me—badly.
I undid my belt and the top of my slacks as I kept my eyes on her. My hands reached for her dress next, and I yanked it up and pulled her panties to the side.
She reached behind her and grabbed the base of my cock and directed my length inside her. She slid all the way down to my balls, releasing a quiet moan as she moved.
I gripped her thighs and pressed my forehead against hers. “Just you and me.”
“I made all the arrangements for the opening.” Ariel sat in the armchair with her legs crossed, wearing a tight pencil skirt and a white blouse. She had a petite frame because she worked all day long and never ate anything. Sometimes, she drank scotch with me, but she usually preferred wine. “Caterers have been taken care of, everyone you invited RSVP’d, and we have the special wine you requested.”
Did that mean Bones was coming? I’d have to give him a call to verify. “Josephine responded?”
“Yeah.” She looked up from her folder with her black frames sitting on the bridge of her nose. She examined my expression, trying to read me. “Will that be a problem?”
I hadn’t mentioned my current drama with my ex. “Yeah, it’ll be fine. She stopped by last week, but I refused to see her. Then she called and told me her father had a heart attack.” I told Ariel everything, so the words flowed. “She asked me to come over, but I told her not to call me again and hung up.”
Ariel nodded with approval. “She can’t have it both ways. She can’t leave you and expect you to be there for her.”
“I know.” Ariel was just as cold as I was. That was probably why we got along so well.
“She has a lot of nerve, honestly.”
“I agree.”
When Ariel took a deep breath, I knew whatever she was going to say was tense. “So, are you bringing London, or did you have someone else in mind?” She made her feelings about my bedmate perfectly clear, so I knew what answer she was hoping for.
“London.”
Ariel hardly hid her annoyance and scribbled in her notebook. “I’ll arrange for her hair and makeup to be complete. I strongly encourage a short etiquette course. Her shoulders slouch, and she doesn’t understand how to carry on a conversation with her superiors.”
I smiled when I pictured how that conversation would go. That fire would leap in her eyes and burn indefinitely. “I’ll run it by her.”
“Good.” She closed the folder. “That’s all I have for now. If you need anything else, you know where to find me.”
“I know. You never sleep.” I gave her a smile and watched her rise out of the chair.
She still wore that stern expression, but she was fighting the smile that wanted to spread across her face. “Work comes first.”
“Are you bringing someone to the opening?”
“Crewe, you know I never mix business with pleasure.”
She didn’t seem like someone who had a lot of pleasure in her life. “Well, you’re always welcome to. You’ve met my women. I’d like to meet your men sometime—make sure they’re good enough for you.”
She finally smiled. “There’s no man good enough for me.” She walked out and left me alone in the office.
As usual, my thoughts returned to London. Whenever I was alone, she came into my thoughts. If Ariel knew I decided to share my bed with London exclusively, she wouldn’t be too happy about it. Her fire would burn the entire castle.
I rubbed the scruff along my jaw and felt the urge to throw back a glass of scotch. I missed the burn all the way down my throat and into my stomach. But I was trying to cut back the way London asked me to, going from nine glasses a day to four. I’d already had one, so I needed to take a break before I moved on to the second glass. It was only noon.
I picked up the phone and called Bones, knowing that psychopath would stop me from thinking about the two drugs in my life.
“Crewe, how’s the scotch business going?” He spoke with a deep voice that was just as rough as sandpaper. His tone made it sound like he was up to no good, a naturally sinister voice that was heavy with evil. I wondered if I sounded that way to other people.
“No complaints. How’s the weapon business?”
“No complaints,” he said with a chuckle. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
I only bought weapons from Bones once before, and that was because the Barsetti brothers were unavailable. The craftsmanship was good and the quality was passable, but it was nothing compared to the product Crow and Cane offered. “I’m opening a second distillery in Edinburgh on Saturday night. Wanted to know if you’re coming.”
“I got your invitation. I might stop by. I’ll be in the area anyway.”
I chewed on the inside of my lip as I contemplated what to say next. Every move I made was just as strategic as a general moving warships out in the Atlantic Ocean. I wanted to know if he was bringing Vanessa, but I couldn’t come out and ask. I shouldn’t even know about Vanessa. “Hope to see you there.”
“Will your pet be on your arm for the evening?”
All the muscles in my shoulders immediately tensed at the question. I didn’t appreciate his tone, the way his breathing changed the second London was mentioned. Anger that I couldn’t explain hovered at the surface under my skin, about to explode in a fiery combustion. “Yes. She’s always on my arm.”
He chuckled into the phone. “Looks like I missed out on an incredible woman. At least I found someone else to take her place.”