“No, but I’m going to keep this and frame it.” After she tucks the note in her pocket, I hold out my hand to help her off the floor.
“Come on, you can sleep in my room since there’s not a bed in the other ones. I’ll take the couch. Clearly you need more sleep than me because you’re delirious with exhaustion.”
“You have to admit that was pretty great.” She nudges her shoulder against me, and I love the playful touch. We walk out of the office and toward the bedrooms.
“I’ve never been burned by a fortune cookie before, but that was pretty severe.” I shake my head, and she laughs again. Will I ever get used to how that sound makes me feel?
“Yeah, I should probably rub some aloe on you.” She looks surprised when she says the words, like she didn’t mean to say them out loud.
“You promise?” We’re outside my bedroom, and when I turn to face her, we’re closer than I anticipated. I’m looking down on her as she leans against the door frame, and I brace my hand over her head. “Don’t tease me, shorty. I’m all too eager to change your mind about me.”
“What makes you think you can?” The way she lifts her chin is challenging, but her eyes are saying something else. She’s looking at me like she’s daring me to kiss her, and every part of me is screaming to do it.
Bending down, I get close enough that I can feel her breath on my lips, but I don’t touch her. When I kiss her for the first time, I want it to be because she asked me to. I won’t give her a reason to pretend it’s not real or dismiss it as something she didn’t want. When I finally claim Sadie, it’s for keeps.
“Tonight while you’re in my bed, I want you to think about me.” Her eyes close and her lips part, but still I don’t touch her. “Because I’ll be right out here thinking about you.”
I memorize every inch of her face before I push away from the door and take a step back. The spell is broken, and she blinks a few times, like she’s not sure what just happened. I don’t either, but I do know that she’s not ready to be kissed yet.
“Good night, Sadie,” I say, and she nods before backing into my bedroom and closing the door between us.
She doesn’t say a word, but somehow, I can hear all of her thoughts as if she said them out loud. She’s scared of what she feels and thinks maybe she made a mistake, but below that, there’s a bigger part of her that wants to know… what if?
“Me too, shorty. Me too.”
After I turn off all the lights and make sure the alarm is set, I stretch out on the couch and close my eyes. The image of Sadie stripping down to nothing and climbing into my cool, clean sheets makes my aching cock throb. I’ve been like this for so long now the pain is dull, and I’ve got to take the edge off. Reaching into my pants, I wrap my hand around my dick and tug on it while I imagine what she’s doing.
Maybe her own hand is between her legs, and she’s wet and needy. I’d love to suck her pussy and then lick it until I tasted her soul. After that, I’d bend her in half and fuck her until she couldn’t run away from me.
My cock has been filled to the brim all day, so it only takes me a few pumps to cum. I have to quickly pull off my shirt so I can use it to catch the thick ropes as they pour from me. Once I start, it feels like it goes on forever, and all I can think about is sinking deep into Sadie.
By the time I’m finished, my shirt is a mess, and I drop it to the floor before I pass out. The last thing on my mind is how I wish I could hold her against me while we both drift off to sleep.
Chapter Nine
SADIE
I was sure it would take me forever to fall asleep, but after I once again inspected Ari’s bedroom, master bath, and closets, I finally climbed into bed exhausted.
Yesterday, no matter how hard I tried to poke him, he never wavered from the small teasing smirks that somehow I knew weren’t something he easily handed out. That was until I told him I wasn’t interested in him, and then I saw that dark glint in his eyes.
When looking through his house, I was surprised that I didn’t find anything feminine or that looked like it was left behind by another woman. It wasn’t until I was halfway through my second snooping before bed that I realized the home is built for a married couple.
There’s was second sink on another side of the bathroom with a whole vanity area that was completely untouched. All the drawers were empty with no marks of anyone ever using them. The entire space in the bathroom was set up for a woman that doesn’t exist.
It was the same with the closet but not because I walked into his and saw it was half empty. Nope, his was filled with suits, and everything was meticulously in its place. I might have spent a good ten minutes moving things around so now it’s not organized by color.
I guess I enjoy poking at him for some reason because it made me giggle the whole time I was doing it. I don’t really understand most of the things I do when it comes to Ari. Everything about him is different to me, and I’m not sure why. Or maybe I’m not ready to face that. Relationships are scary, and if I learned anything from my parents, it’s that they can be a nightmare too.
The second closet shouldn't even be called the second closet because it was bigger than the first but totally empty. There was an oversized island in the center with different drawers lined in soft fabric. It’s the kind of closet my mother would die for.
I’ve never dreamed about a closet before since my style is pretty simple, but who says you can’t line a fancy shoe rack with some sneakers? Heck, some sneaks cost more than the red bottoms my mother wears.
Ari’s entire home is interesting to me because it’s built for a family. Nothing about this place screams bachelor pad, and somehow I keep getting everything I assume about him wrong. I was so sure he was taking me to some penthouse condo and that I would find condoms in his nightstand, but there were only books. I couldn’t help but think my nightstand was more interesting, and I’m a virgin.
Instead, he brought me to his home, fed me the best Chinese food I’ve ever had, gave me his bed to sleep in, and made me laugh. I worry my bottom lip between my teeth because last night was one of the funnest I’ve had in a long time. A weight lifted off me for a moment, and I forgot about the very reason I’m here.
The sun barely peeks in from under the curtains covering the windows. I’ve always been an early riser. It was a habit I picked up as a kid because there were times my dad would have to work late, and I wanted to get as much time with him as I could before he had to leave again. When I was younger, he was still building his company and making a name for himself. Breakfast was the one thing we always had together. He was a terrible cook except when it came to breakfast food, and I think he only taught himself how to cook it because it was our time together. He could have hired a chef or had something brought in. Hell, we both love cereal, but Dad always got up and cooked up a hot breakfast just for the two of us. It was our thing before I went off to college, but the habit of getting up with the sun is still there.
