I procrastinated for several days, much to Ariel’s displeasure. Every time I thought I could do it, I chickened out. I kept wanting to soak in every second that I had left with him. Our relationship had returned to the way it used to be—full of trust and affection. I would miss that when I slept alone.
By the third day, I still hadn’t done it. I slept well with his muscular arms wrapped around me. I melted every morning when he kissed me goodbye. When we made love during his lunch hour, I was a woman in love. There were so many reasons to stay that sometimes I forgot why I was leaving in the first place.
When Ariel had enough, she confronted me while Crewe was in his office. “London.” That’s all she said to me when she walked into my bedroom. In black heels and a black dress, she looked stuffy and sophisticated. Her appearance almost never changed.
“I know.” I didn’t need to hear her pressure me again.
“You obviously don’t know because you’re still sharing this bedroom with him.” She wasn’t nearly as calm as she was before. Now her attitude had fired up like a revved engine. “You’re playing a dangerous game with time right now.”
Subconsciously, I hoped I could wait long enough to see him get down on one knee. I wanted to experience that moment even if it ended badly, as selfish as that was. “Get off my case, alright? You’re asking me to do the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
“And if you can’t do it, I’m leaving now.”
“Seriously, how does Cassandra put up with you?”
Her eyes narrowed the second her girlfriend was mentioned. “That’s a road you definitely don’t want to take.”
“How would you feel if you couldn’t marry the one person you loved?” I asked incredulously. “If Crewe didn’t accept your sexuality and made you choose? I distinctly remember him wanting you to be yourself. I distinctly remember him not giving a damn what anyone thought of you and supporting you. This is how you repay him?”
She placed both hands on her hips. “Cassandra didn’t shoot me—”
“I didn’t shoot Crewe.”
“But you pretty much pulled the trigger. You lied and deceived him. Just because the two of you worked things out doesn’t erase the past.”
“Maybe you should get over the past. Seems like everyone else has.”
“The men haven’t killed you because Crewe ordered them not. Only reason why you’re safe. But they’ll hate you for as long as they live.”
“You all sound pretty petty to me. I’m a good person with good intentions. You need to forgive me and let it go.”
“Forgive you?” she asked. “I don’t forgive anyone who fucks with Crewe like that.”
We’d already had this argument before, and I didn’t want to have it again. She was too cold even to understand what forgiveness was. I would always be condemned here. Even if I became his wife, I would never be welcome here. I couldn’t allow my children to witness them disrespect me. Maybe Crewe and I wouldn’t have worked out anyway. “I’ll leave, alright?”
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Actually tomorrow?” she asked. “Or are you just saying that?”
“Tomorrow. I’ll call my brother and arrange for him to pick me up. Is that better?”
She dropped her arms to her sides. “It’ll never be better until you’re truly gone. When he gets off work tomorrow, I want you to say your goodbyes and leave. Alright?”
She punched me in the face when I tried to get Crewe to the hospital. I would love to return the favor, but I couldn’t sink to her level. She may look elegant in her clothes and glasses, but I was still the better woman—if you asked me. “Alright.”
I wasn’t sure if I could make it through the night.
It was my last evening with Crewe in the beautiful castle. We’d made so many memories here, infecting the halls with our laughter and kisses. I was the only woman who had slept on these sheets, and I wondered how long it would be before he replaced me with someone else, probably Anna.
Crewe got undressed before he came to bed. In the nude, he slid under the sheets until we were close together. Immediately, his heat filled the sheets like a personalized heater. He kissed my shoulder and my hairline before he rested against me, his powerful body rising with every breath he took.
As much as I loved to lie with him, I wanted more. We usually made love before we went to sleep, but we’d been having a lot of sex so he was more tired than usual. Based on the way he lay beside me, he didn’t have any intention of making a move.
That wasn’t how I would spend my last night with him.
I rolled him onto his back and straddled his hips, feeling his soft cock underneath me. I ran my hands up his chest, feeling the powerful slabs of muscle on either side of his spine. With no fat and smooth skin, he was beautiful. Even the scar over his left nipple was beautiful.
Crewe’s cock hardened in response. “Figured you were tired.”
I wouldn’t get any sleep tonight. “I’m never too tired for you.”
His hands moved to my hips, and he rocked his cock through my folds. “You always know what to say, Lovely.”
I groped my own tits as I stared into his eyes, my thumbs causing my nipples to pebble in response. I trailed one hand down my stomach and between my legs, rubbing my clit as my other hand remained on my chest. I never did these scandalous actions with other men because I was far too self-conscious. But the arousal in his eyes gave me the courage to do anything.
His hands moved to my waist, and he gripped my sides aggressively, his eyes exploring my body even though he’d seen me a hundred times. His cock thickened as the seconds passed, reaching a combustive level. “Lovely.” His thumbs swiped across my nipples, and then he gripped my tits in his strong hands.
I rubbed my clit harder, feeling his hard cock underneath me.
He moved to my shoulders and pulled me down, forcing my lips to lock with his. He pulled my hand away from my clit and rubbed his cock right against my nub, giving me the perfect friction to make my body shake.
He sucked my bottom lip into my mouth as he ground against me harder, trying to make me come without even being inside me.
I always wanted an orgasm, but I wanted one with him buried inside me. I pulled away before my senses could be overly stimulated, and I slipped him inside my slit. The second I felt his massive length, I rolled my head back and moaned.
His hands returned to my waist, and he guided me up and down, wanting me to bounce on his cock just the way he liked. He loved to see my tits shake and my eyes roll to the back of my head. “Fuck…”
My hands returned to my tits, and I touched myself for his benefit, doing all the things I knew he loved. I wasn’t a sexy person, but being sexy with him was easy. He was the kind of guy who made it easy.
I reached behind me and cupped his balls with my hand, my fingers massaging his sac as I continued to rock him.
His fingers dug into me harder, and he closed his eyes as he fought the urge to explode.