“It’s a lot,” Harry said quietly. “When I really think about it, I don’t know how the years have passed by so quickly.”
He was carrying on the conversation as if he hadn’t felt it too.
I swiped the cufflinks from his hand, trying not to glare at him. These fucked up feelings were all mine, and it wasn't his fault he was whipping up a storm inside me with that trick.
“Yeah, but you’re still managing. You’re so close, and you know I'm going to be with you every step of the way,” I said as I circled his wrist, lifting it to eye level so I could fix the cufflinks in place.
It was part of our routine for these events, one I’d kind of forced on him years ago and he just accepted.
I flipped his wrist, exposing the soft skin so I could run my thumb over the stream of veins before covering them up with the cuff.
“You’re blushing again, handsome,” I murmured. “Are you getting it out of your system before you go to brunch? Or am I really just that pretty?”
Thankfully, he snorted in reply. “I think you’re getting a big head again. But that’s nothing new, is it?”
“Especially not with my cock,” I grinned at him, and another chuckle followed.
The room was quiet around us. Only the gentle rocking of the yacht disturbed the precise method I used to fit his cufflinks, one that took three times as long as his stylist’s.
“I think that’s you ready,” I said as the second one clicked into place.
I straightened, unable to hold back my sigh of satisfaction. Because I loved the little stretch of his neck every time he looked up at me. I was so close to swooping down and tasting the moans in his throat.
Instead, I took revenge, leaning forwards just enough that my chest swept his shoulder. I savoured his sharp intake of breath as he tried to step away from me, bumping back into the closet door. I loved how alarmed he looked.
I plucked our ties from the coat hanger, casually throwing mine over my shoulder as I pulled back and prepared his.
That’s what he got for his cufflinks fake-out.
“Look, we’ll get through this, okay?” I said, looping the tie over his neck. “I’m going to be right here with you.”
“Like always?” Harry asked with a wry grin, his shoulders relaxing as he let me tie the knot around his throat. He’d lost his wariness, which was definitely a bad choice, but it made it easier to do up his tie when he wasn’t giving me short breaths and gasps.
“Like always,” I replied as I adjusted it around his neck, running my finger over his birthmark that was like an affirmation of our connection. “I’ll sit there watching you beat those fuckers back. You know how much I love watching you play.”
He stilled for a second before quickly catching himself. Most of me wanted to know what had just run through his mind, but I dropped it.
“Okay,” I said, straightening his jacket as if a whirlwind of desire hadn’t just torn through me. “Let's go out there and show them what you’re worth.”
Harry
“Ready for your big moment?” Dom asked, grinning down at me. It was suddenly painful to look at him. The intensity that had conjured up in my bedroom when we were getting dressed dampened out on the deck of the yacht, but it hadn’t disappeared.
It had been four hours since we were down in my bedroom, but my body was still wired from his touch.
“No,” I said, “but I’m looking forward to it.” I stopped myself from frowning, but mainly because there were too many people watching. The Board hadn’t told me which way they were voting. I couldn’t tell which set me more on edge: the announcement of my position in The Foundation, or the hungry onlookers, their gazes darting between Mum and I, ready to take the side of the winner.
Dom and I stood near a bucket of chilled champagne. I’d hoped the position would block me off from some of the more hungry socialites, but there were too many sharks circling around, waiting to strike.
“You know it’ll be fine.” Dom nudged my shoulder with his own, his voice dangerously close to my ear. I wanted to stop thefierce wave of heat that bloomed as he stayed pressed against me. It was so hard not to simply fall into him. He would have let me get away with it too, which made it even harder to resist temptation.
“You’re basically a natural at this. Just do what you always do,” he said.
I looked up at him. “What’s that?”
“Smile.” He winked, and I twisted my lips. I prayed the fire rising in my body wasn’t making its way to my cheeks. It was bad enough that he’d caught me once already. Plus, I didn’t want him to move.
I thought I had been exhausted before with my late night sessions with Molly, but a new desire had risen to the surface ever since I'd imagined Dom in my office bathroom, and it wouldn't leave, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it.
