“You’ve been on the other side of it, so you should know,” he replied.
Mia gave it one final examination before saddling onto his lap and weaving an arm around his neck. She kissed him with an aggressive appetite as if her sole desire was to melt him down one kiss at a time, leaving a puddle of molten metal on the floor.
With both of them sharing one seat, their physical situation was risky, but Ross no longer cared. He had his own hunger to satisfy. His hands followed their own travel itinerary unimpeded as he sought a deeper connection with Mia, slipping a hand under her sweater and palming a breast. Touching her, hearing her breath hitch, became all consuming.
Mia had her own agenda as the hand on his chest made its way to the top of his pants, undoing the button. He didn’t mind fooling around, but this wasn’t the best place for anything more, especially for someone like Mia. She deserved something better than an old, grungy workshop.
“Mia,” he said while breaking away, “I don’t think—”
“Ross, when I think of you during the day, I think of you here, making your pretty jewelry, and I like it.”
He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and imparted a gentle kiss on her lips. “When I think of you during the day, I imagine you with a soft, daydream look on your face because your brain is busy thinking up beautiful thoughts. The sparking between neurons must make the inside of your head look like it’s filled with glitter.”
Mia’s full lips parted before providing a smile so sweet he couldn’t help kissing her again. That’s twice in one night he’d won their verbal sparring and it provided a wonderful boost to his ego. But it was his turn to be speechless when she removed herself from his embrace and stood. With a confident look, she undid her pants, the clothes on the lower half of her body slid to the ground in a graceful striptease. Ross’s mouth must have jarred open at the sight.
He hated himself for putting an end to anything so beautiful. “I don’t have a condom.”
“I told you, I’m on birth control. No STDs. Are you good?”
He nodded.
She returned to straddling him on the stool, and he swallowed hard as she finished undoing his pants, pulling out the full length of him and stroking it.
“I want you.” Her words were needy and breathless.
“You can have whatever you want.”
“Good.” She captured his lips before lifting her hips and taking him inside her.
God.She reduced him to a quivering pile of groans. He clung to her as a firestorm blazed through his veins. A dewy sheen developed across her neck, and Ross couldn’t resist placing his lips there, wishing to lick the sweet drops from her skin. Possessive fingers gripped her thighs tighter as he made her work him over harder, faster. What would she ask from him? Jewels? Hers. His business? Hers. Hell, he might even give her Hermes if she asked him at this moment. Would she ask for his heart? The others were less risky to give in comparison. But when he came into her with an uncontrolled shudder and moan, he knew his heart was already on a platter, befitting an offering. How could it be anything different? His DNA had been completely dismantled and rewritten with her name grafted onto every sequence.
“I think you made a tactical error,” he said, panting hard. “You went straight to torture and never asked for anything.”
She pressed a kiss to him. “I think I got exactly what I wanted.”
To be fair, he didn’t ask for anything either, and he wouldn’t.
Chapter Thirty
“Lanza Jewelry?” Ross’scousin tested the phrase on the other end of the phone. “First photography on the walls and now this. Although, it all makes sense to me. Grandpa would have liked it. Maybe we can do some special relaunch for the shop’s thirty-fifth anniversary next year or something.”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Ross agreed.
“I’m really proud of you.”
He stared at the scenery outside his kitchen window as he drank a beer, not allowing Luna’s words to penetrate too deep. “What? Why? I didn’t come up with the idea.”
“Because,” Luna replied, “instead of being the bitter, old-at-heart guy hiding in the back of the shop all the time, you’re opening yourself up to new ideas and considering them. That’s a big deal.”
“I’m notthatstubborn,” Ross protested.
“I tell you all the time. You’re a smart guy. You just have to trust yourself more.”
It didn’t matter how many times someone told him this. The compliment made him uncomfortable. “Yeah, well, I’m just doing the best I can in trying to manage this without you.”
“You’re doing fine. Besides, it doesn’t sound like you’re completely alone.”
“Aanya does well. I think she charms more sales than you ever did.”
