35.
DANIEL
I knew I’d promised Elizabeth that I would walk away and give her space, but fuck that. I would not live without this woman in my life, and I wouldn’t let her get away that easily after only just finding her. I didn’t care what she’d claimed to want.
She’d tilted my world on its axis, and I refused to act like that didn’t mean anything. Dealing with Elizabeth meant finding a balance between not scaring her off and also not really giving her a choice. I knew I needed to walk the tightrope between being understanding and being demanding. If she wanted to run, I’d hold on even tighter. This girl would not be pushing me away anytime soon, and I’d help her work through her fears because I had some of my own.
After charming a young girl into letting me inside Elizabeth’s building, I waited outside her front door with a bouquet that was a single rose lighter and an overnight bag. I was optimistically presumptuous. I had no idea how long I’d be waiting for her to get home from work, but it didn’t matter. I’d wait for-fucking-ever. It was cliché and cheesy as shit but so true.
When the elevator doors opened, she stepped out, wearing a tight-fitting dark blue skirt and a light-blue shirt, with her blonde hair falling down to her breasts. I almost fell to my knees at the sight of her. She was so beautiful. The look on her face when she noticed me made my heart leap inside my chest. Elizabeth was surprised but not mad.
I watched as she dropped her purse to the ground and ran straight toward my arms. Allowing the roses to fall to the floor, I reached for her and lifted her off the ground, holding on tight, as I inahled her scent.
“I’m so sorry,” she breathed against my neck before finding my lips with hers.
Her tongue wasted no time in entering my mouth, and I instantly hardened. I cupped her ass with one hand while my other hand pulled her shirt free before stroking the length of her back. I wanted her.
Her head pulled back, and a smile appeared. “I shouldn’t have said what I did last night. I was hurt, upset, and confused.”
“I know,” I said with confidence.
“I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Of course I’m here.” I smirked at her. There was never any other option. There would be no other choices for me again.
“Let me get my stuff, and we’ll go inside.” She turned to pick up the contents of her spilled purse, and I watched her ass sway from side to side.
Once inside her place, I forced myself to have some control. I’d have my way with her after we sorted this out. I placed the roses on her kitchen counter, and she sniffed at them.
“They’re beautiful. Thank you.” She inspected them, finding the one red rose. “One red?” she asked, unsure of the meaning.
“I thought you might be getting tired of all the white roses.”
She stepped toward me with purpose. Grabbing my tie, she pulled my body against hers. “Never. I’ll never get tired of getting white roses from you.”
I waved my hand toward her couch. “I’m having a hard time concentrating on anything but imagining you naked, Elizabeth, but we need to talk.”
“Well, that’s a first—a guy who wants to talk before screwing. Aren’t you full of surprises?” she teased me and I squelched my desire to spank her for it.
“I talked to Kate,” I started off, figuring I might as well lay all my cards on the table right away.
“When?” Her head cocked to the side, exposing her neck, and I shifted my position.
“Last night, I went over to her place. She was a mess, but I honestly think we got it sorted out.”
“How? She sounded pretty torn up on the phone.” Her eyes creased together, almost as if she were channeling Kate’s pain as her own.
“She was at first, but we talked.”
“Just talked?” she asked as disbelief filled her tone.
I scowled with her question. It was completely unjustifiable. Elizabeth just hadn’t realized that yet.
“I’m never fucking anyone else again, Elizabeth. Don’t you get that?”
Her eyes looked away as a slight smile formed.
I continued, “I made her see that I never lied to her or led her on.” I paused before clenching my jaw. “At least not on purpose. I can see now how my actions might have led her to believe that we could have had a future even though my words never said as much.”
“That was big of you,” Elizabeth complimented me, and it filled me with a sense of pride.
“Anyway, I told her what she deserved when it came to a man and how she should never settle for someone like me, and she agreed. She realized that I would never love her because she knew I could never feel about her the way I feel about you.”
Elizabeth gasped softly, and her breasts pressed tighter against her blouse. She slowly moved back. “How do you feel about me?”
I leaned toward her, my hands reaching for hers. “I’m fucking crazy about you. I refuse to live without you, and I’m not letting you push me away. We both have fears, but we’re going to work through them together. I told you before that I wouldn’t let you sacrifice your work for me, and I meant it. I never want to give you a reason to resent me or hate me. But you can’t shut me out. Just because I don’t live here doesn’t mean that you get to run away from me or stop communicating with me. As you can tell, I’ll just come down here and get you.”
She laughed, and her whole face radiated like the sun. “I’m crazy about you, too, and that’s what scares me. I had the most explicit fantasy during a meeting, and I got caught. That’s why I was so pissed off.”
“Wait—you had a fantasy about me?”
She bit her bottom lip. “Oh, yeah.”
“Is that why you said you got in trouble?”
“Uh-huh.” She nodded.
“Keep talking, but in a minute, tell me every single detail, so we can re-create it.” My dick started to harden again, no matter how many times I’d mentally told it to calm down.
“It’s hard for me to admit being scared of things. It makes me feel weak, and I don’t like that. A woman in my position doesn’t get to where she is by being weak. But falling in love with you makes me feel that way. It makes me feel vulnerable.”
“You’re falling in love with me?” My heart sped up as if I were running a marathon, beating in double-time against my chest and pounding so loud in my ears. I suddenly felt as if I were the girl in this relationship.
“I’m falling for you so hard and so fast,” she declared.
“You’re not alone in that. Please don’t think that you’re the only one feeling that way. At least that should give you some comfort, right?” I wanted to calm her fears, hating the fact that anything about me scared her at all.
She agreed with a nod. “It does make me feel better, but I’m still scared, and I hate it.”
“So, we’ll get through it. Be scared. I’ll be here to make sure there’s nothing to be scared of. I’m not going to let you fail. I’m not going to let you fall. You’re going to keep being the incredible business woman that you are, and I’m going to be by your side for it all. I mean, I’ll be by your side from San Francisco, but still.” I laughed as her eyes watered.
“Barbara was right.”
“Oh, yeah?” I scooted my body close to hers. “What about?”
“She said that we were both lucky to have found each other and that some people were worth unpacking baggage for.”
“Babe, I’ll buy you more suitcases and storage units for all your baggage. I don’t even care. I want all of you and everything that comes with it.”