CHAPTER NINE— CHLOE
“Champagne, Chloe?” Timmy’s voice broke through my reverie. I was so sick and tired of my stubborn mind always returning to Conner and his inexplicable dismissal of me whenever it was idle that I almost thanked the waiter for the interruption. While drinking wasn’t permitted at work, I was good and ready to break that rule today.
It had been ten days of me pouring myself into work just so I wouldn’t think about him and ten nights of me obsessing over the subject when I got home from work, but I was still as confused and angry about the whole thing as I had been on the day it happened.
The fact that from the corner of my eye, I could see an unbelievably sexy Conner in a pair of dark jeans, gray shirt, and a suit jacket staring intently at me from across the tent, made those feelings even more prominent in my heart.
Since he was still my boss I couldn’t just walk up to him and call him an asshole. So, I did the next best thing. I allowed my anger to turn into defiance and smiled at the boy as I reached for a glass, clearly breaking Conner’s ‘no drinking in the job’ rule. “Thanks, Timmy. You’re a life saver.”
The boy chuckled and winked as he walked away. I took a deep breath and a sip of the sweet liquid as I bluntly ignored Conner’s stare and looked around at the culmination of my hard work. The rose garden where the wedding was finally taking place looked like a magical wonderland filled with twinkle lights, stark white llinens, and glimmering crystals. Although the concept hadn’t been mine, the execution and how smooth things were going was, and that was still a lot to be proud of.
“My sister tells me you’re the Wonder Woman who pulled this off in two weeks,” a deep voice sounded beside me.
Peeling my gaze from the beautiful setting, I turned to look at the source of the voice, and my lips instantly curled up into a smile. The man standing beside me was gorgeous in a way that was completely different from Conner.
Where Conner was all scruff, muscles, and rugged good looks, this guy was lean, clean-shaven, and handsome in a refined way. Although I had never been attracted to men like him, I had to admit that the flirty way he looked at me made me feel a little giddy this evening.
“Wonder Woman might a bit extreme, but since this was a lot of work, I’ll take it,” I said and smiled widely at the man.
“As you should,” he said with a laugh as he extended his hand in my direction, “I’m Phil, by the way.”
I smiled at him and placed my palm against his. The softness of his hand was surprising and another stark contrast to Conner’s callused ones. “Chloe, nice to meet you.”
“The pleasure is all mine.” The honesty in Phil’s voice made me blush a little and pull my hand away. My reaction didn’t go unnoticed by him, and though he stuffed his hands into his pockets, a soft smile formed on his mouth. “So tell me, how did you pull it off?”
My brows pulled together. “What do you mean?”
“How did you get all of this—the band, the flowers, the freaking butterflies—to work on the new schedule?”
I tilted my head and raised a brow at him. “I asked for favors and begged a little. When that didn’t work, I offered them money—a whole lot of it.”
Phil laughed. “That never fails, right?”
“No, it doesn’t,” I replied playfully. “So, why did you want to know? Are you planning a party with a ridiculously small timeframe?”
He shook his head and shrugged. “Not really, just trying to talk to you. Well… trying to flirt is more like it. I guess after seven years dating the same girl, I’m not very good at it.”
My heart raced with amazement at his sweet bluntness. “Honestly, I’m not great at flirting either, but I think you’re doing alright.”
“Just alright?” he asked in a teasing tone that made me giggle.
Uninvited, Conner’s voice repeated the last words he said to me, “Go find a nice boy your own age.”
Spurred on by those words, I asked. “How old are you, Phil?”
He raised a brow before replying. “Twenty-seven. You?”
“Twenty-two,” I replied with real excitement in my voice for the first time in ten days. My enthusiasm at finding a nice boy my own age while Conner was right there watching made me feel bold.
“Well Phil, I’m afraid to say that yes, so far, you’re doing just alright,” I teased.
“And how can I do more than just alright?” There was a hefty dose of amusement in his voice.
With a deep breath and a gulp of my champagne, I moved my eyes from Phil’s handsome face to the dance floor where the wedding guests were flocked. He followed my gaze, and once his eyes returned to me, they were sparkling.
“Chloe, would you do me the honor?”
The question made me grin from ear to ear. “Oh, I thought you’d never ask.”
He laughed and raised a hand for me to take. I finished my drink and placed the empty glass on the table next to me. Just as I was about to put my hand over Phil’s, someone else grabbed it.
Both, Phil and I turned our faces to look at the intruder, and I was a little surprised to see it was Conner. My brows pulled together as I looked from my hand to his face. “Is everything okay?”
Conner shook his head. Then, with a strained voice, he replied, “No, there’s a crisis in the kitchen, and they need you.”
I sighed and closed my eyes for a disappointed moment. When I reopened them to look at Phil, his good guy smile was still in place. “Just go, I’ll take a rain check. Seriously, if something goes wrong because I was dancing with the woman in charge, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Okay. I’ll see you soon.” The words were barely out of my mouth, and Conner was pulling me away.
With him still holding my hand, we walked down the cobblestone path leading toward the main building where the kitchen was. However, instead of walking inside, Conner continued past it.
“Where are we going?” I asked, but he didn’t reply.
I didn’t get an answer until we entered the meadow by the lake and he finally released me. My eyes were fixed on Conner’s wide back as he paced and took deep breaths for a couple of seconds. Then, he turned to look at me. His face was twisted into an angry mask, and for the first time, his intensity actually alarmed me.
“What the fuck were you doing with that boy, Chloe?” His demanding voice was just a notch below yelling.
My brows furrowed not only with confusion but also with budding anger at his Jekyll and Hyde attitude. I crossed my arms and stared defiantly into his intense blue eyes. “I was doing what you told me to do, Conner. I found a nice boy my own age.”
“At my resort? While you knew I was looking?”
I shrugged. “And? You told me you were out. I gave you something I had never given anyone, I promised you even more, and you broke my heart in the worst, coldest way possible and didn’t even give me an explanation why. I’m done trying to figure out what I did wrong, because I didn’t do anything wrong! You were clearly just playing a game and got bored, you never actually gave a shit about me.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it,” he spat back at me as he walked in my direction like a wolf stalking pray.
In a move that was as rough as it was sexy, he grabbed my wrist and brought my hand to his crotch. Through the thick fabric of his pants, I could feel the hard ridge of his cock pulsing and pushing against the denim. He felt huge and thick, and I instantly grew wet.
Holding my gaze, he asked, “Does that feel like someone who doesn’t give a shit?”
I gasped. “No, it doesn’t, which doesn’t make sense. If you care so much and I make you so hard, why did you walk away? Why did you tell me to find someone else?”
With my palm still firmly pressed against his crotch, Conner sighed and brought his other hand up to tuck a stray lock of my hair behind my ear. “Because I care too much, Chloe. I want you too much, and it’s like sticking a knife in my best friend’s back,” he said, in a voice that was almost soft.
The strain in Conner’s words finally put what had happened into perspective for me. It should have been as obvious to me then as it was now, but being pushed aside so suddenly had clouded my ability to think logically. I understood where he was coming from, and I honestly couldn’t blame him. However, he had awakened a part of me that didn’t want to be put back to sleep.
“I understand your loyalty to my Dad,” I started, after a long moment. “But I want you, I’ve always wanted you, and I know you want me too. But if you refuse to let yourself be happy with me, then I need you to let me go for good.”
“So that boy can be your first?” he asked in a disgusted tone. “He could never make you feel the way I can, never.”
I shrugged. “Maybe not, but-”
“No,” Conner interrupted me and pulled me closer. “You’re mine, Chloe. No other man will ever touch you.”
The words were barely out of Conner’s mouth, and his lips were on me. His kiss seared my mouth and ignited an immediate fire in my belly.
As his tongue danced with mine and his teeth nibbled at my lips, Conner’s hands drifted to the zipper of my floral dress. Slowly, he pulled it down until the garment fell off my body. I was acutely aware that, once more, we were standing out in the open, but I didn’t care. All that mattered to me was that Conner was guiding me out of the pool of fabric, which was now at my feet, and helping me down until I was naked and lying on the ground.
Pulling his lips away from mine, he started kissing a line down my neck and chest. His mouth felt warm and wet and perfect, and my body responded instantly. I moaned as he feasted on each of my nipples hungrily.
I closed my eyes as I felt my juices on my thighs and my body hummed for more.
Desperate for some relief to the building pressure between my legs, I took his hand and guided down to my throbbing center. His lips curled into a grin against the soft skin of my breasts.
“You want me to touch you, baby? Want me to make you come?” Conner asked as he pulled his lips from my heated skin. My mouth was dry and the words were stuck in my throat, so I just nodded. A second later, he spoke again. “I want your words, Chloe. I want to hear you say what you want and who you want it from.”
A shiver went down my spine at the directness of his command.
I opened my eyes to look at him and whispered, “I want you, Conner. I want you to make me come. I want you to fuck me.”
Although his lips curled up in one of those glorious grins, Conner clicked his tongue and tilted his head. “Good God you are perfect.” He crushed his mouth to mine once again before trailing kisses over my chin, throat and collar bone. He slowly worked his way lower, feathering his lips over my ribcage and my belly, finally coming to rest above my glistening pussy.
“Fuck, Chloe. You’re dripping.” The amazement in his voice was sexy as hell and made another surge of warm moisture pour out of me.
Groaning, Conner fixed his mouth over me and plunged his tongue into my throbbing slit, gathering my moisture on his tongue and lapping over my clit slowly and firmly. I began to buck under him until he raised his head and fixed me with a look.
“Not yet baby, not yet,” he said in a thick voice that made my nerve endings hum. Slowly, he drew my clit between his teeth and sucked as he slid two thick fingers inside my drenched pussy and began to fuck me with them.
Within a minute, I was over the edge, screaming my pleasure into the breeze as the most intense orgasm I had ever felt washed over me. As the feeling started to return to my limbs, Conner came up over me and kissed me softly, allowing me to taste my pleasure on his tongue. It was sexy as hell.
“Did you like that?” he asked in a low voice.
I nodded and moaned, “Yes.”
He kissed me again, briefly, and then pulled back and got up to his feet. With a hand stretched to help me up, he said, “Good. Now, you have to decide if you still want to go dance with that boy or if you’re gonna tell him to get lost and party like a grown up with your man.”
Without saying another word, Conner turned around and left me alone at the meadow. Bubbling with enthusiasm at the promise in his voice, I quickly put on my clothes and returned to the party. As nice as Phil was, there was no choice to be made; I wanted Conner, and I was finally going to have him.