I’m staying in a hotel until I find a permanent home, and Sylvie has been staying with me. We’ve spent every possible second together, and it’s been nothing short of magical.
I’m also in the process of meeting with every employee individually to make sure they understand my expectations with this shift in leadership. It’s a way to get to know each worker personally, and it also gives them a place to ask the questions I know they have. My father taught me above all else to value employees, and I never forget that advice.
“I go by William,” he says quietly, plopping into one of the chairs facing my desk. He’s slouched over, and I can’t help but stare at him and try to figure out what the hell Sylvie saw in him. He seems…I don’t know, too meek for her, not as strong as she implied.
“I’m aware of that. I’m also aware that you betrayed Mr. Baker in order to make sure this acquisition went through.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Did you think my legal team would keep that from me? The head of King’s legal department is my cousin and a good friend.”
He rolls his eyes. “Of course he is.”
“Way to sell out the man you thought would be your future father-in-law.”
“I didn’t sell him out. I just…encouraged the transfer of power.”
“I’m guessing you kind of regret that decision at this point.”
He nods slowly.
“You know I wouldn’t have met Sylvie if I never took this place over, right?”
“You would’ve taken this place regardless.”
“Probably,” I concede. “But you made it a lot easier.”
He blinks but doesn’t otherwise respond.
“Bill—can I call you Bill?” I don’t wait for his response. “Bill, with this transition taking place, I’m sorry to tell you that our legal team is all set. We don’t have room on our team here for traitors or assholes.”
“Excuse me?” he says, looking supremely offended by my insinuation.
“You can decide which of those categories you fit into, but consider this your notification of dismissal, effective immediately.”
“So you get the company, you get the girl, and I get nothing.”
“You made a bundle of money on the deal, and with that offer that came in on the house, you’ll make a bundle there, too. You’ll land on your feet. Pussies always do, after all.”
He looks disgusted as he stands to leave.
“What? I mean cats. Cats always end up on their feet. Isn’t that a saying?”
He doesn’t say a word as he walks toward the door.
“Bill, I don’t mean to sound rude, but you have an hour to get your shit and get out.”
He turns back to me and looks like he wants to say something, but he doesn’t. He leaves, and I realize that might’ve been the first confrontation in my life where I didn’t get sick to my stomach.
I stuck up for Rob and Sylvie. I did what was right by them after doing so many things wrong by them—especially Rob. I stuck up for my future father-in-law and my future wife—that is, if she accepts when I ask later tonight. She’ll accept. I have no doubts.
I guess if someone gets what’s coming to them, the victory is sweet instead of sour.
Sylvie walks into my office between meetings and sits in the chair William just vacated. Her legs have fallen open and she’s wearing a tight black skirt. If I bent down, I’d be able to see that she’s not wearing panties.
“You know how naughty it is to sit like that, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do know that. You have information I want, though, so I’m using whatever tactics necessary to get it.”
“Oh? And what information is that?”
“Stop playing games.” She huffs out an annoyed breath. “I told you ten times, Carson.”
“The Bitterman file? You can have it.” I start thumbing through some file folders on my desk.
“No! I don’t care about Bitterman!”
“I thought you wanted it, cupcake.”
She draws in a big breath and closes her eyes. “I swear, you’re a child sometimes. How I even put up with you is something I’ll never understand.”
“It’s the sex.”
She nods, conceding. “Yeah, it is.” She gets a dreamy, faraway look in her eyes. “Remember when you first moved out here and we did it on the beach?”
I do remember. It wasn’t all that long ago, and it was quite possibly the hottest sex of my life…and that’s saying something.
I chuckle. “Wow, you really are stopping at nothing to get what you want.”
“Tell me.”
“I’m not telling you.” I met with her father last night and asked for his blessing to marry his daughter, and she wants to know where I went and why she couldn’t come. I refuse to tell her for obvious reasons, but she hates secrets, and I hate keeping them from her, which is why I’m proposing tonight.
It took several hours of convincing (badgering) Rob (who, by the way, made me call him Mr. Baker the entire time despite the fact that we work together on a daily basis and he’s my employee), but eventually he gave in—only because Sylvie’s mom happened to walk in on our conversation and practically screamed with glee. I always knew I liked Dolores for a reason.
“If you tell me right now, I’ll get under your desk and…well, you know…and I’ll stay under there for the rest of the afternoon.”
“While that’s definitely a fantasy of mine, you have work to do.”
She rolls her eyes. “Yes sir.”
“Ooh, keep talking like that. You know I like it.”
“I hate you.” She shoots a glare in my direction.
“I know you do, cupcake, but you love me, too.”
“Yeah, I do, and you love me.”
“I do. Now if you want to get under my desk for, say, the next three to five minutes, that should take care of things for a little bit.”
She stands and narrows her eyes at me. “God, you’re the worst.”
I laugh. “Get back to work.”
She lifts her skirt purposefully as she turns, giving me a peek of the goods underneath. Did I mention she’s not wearing panties?
I stare and lick my lips. “You better thank God it isn’t windy today.”
“You better start hoping for a nice gust, because that’s your only chance of seeing any of this again today.”
She opens the door to my office, and just before she steps through it, I say softly, “I promise to tell you later tonight.”
She turns back toward me and her eyes soften. “Deal, but I’m not getting under your desk.”
She leaves, and I mutter to myself, “I bet you will tomorrow.”
* * *
I pace back and forth across the hotel room while she gets ready in the bathroom. She can’t see that I’m as nervous as I am or she’ll know something’s going on, but while she’s not in the room with me, I’ll pace and be as nervous as I want…which is, incidentally, nervous as fuck.
The ring is in my pocket. She thinks we’re just going to dinner. We are, but I have other plans first, big plans that will end with a very important question—the most important question I’ve ever asked in my life.
I should use that line in my speech.
No. I can’t change my speech now.
Fuck it. I can do whatever I want.
I shouldn’t change it this late in the game, but I have a feeling it’ll all fly out of my head when I get down on my knee anyway.
In fact, it all flies out of my head the second she steps out of the bathroom. She’s as stunning as ever, effortless and beautiful and all mine in an amazing red dress.
It’s weird that she was asked the same question I’m about to ask her by a different man not that long ago. It’s really just been a few weeks, but I’ve never been so sure of anything before in my life. When something is as good as we are together, it’s an unstoppable force. I love her, and I want to spend every day of my life making sure she feels that love.
I was willing to outwait William, to wait as long as I needed to for her, because she’s worth it.
She gazes at me for a few beats before stepping across the room. She moves in like she’s going to kiss me, but she stops inches from my lips.
“Are you still mad at me?” I ask as I wrap my arms around her.
“I want to be, but when you look like that and smell like that, I can’t help but feel something aside from anger.”
I lean down to nuzzle her neck, and she lets out a little moan. “Oh?” I whisper. “What are you feeling?”
I pull back to look at her, and her eyes are closed. She opens them slowly, and they’re full of desire.
“Horny. I’m feeling horny.”
I chuckle and glance at the clock on the nightstand. “We’ve got a few minutes if you want to…”
“Oh, I want to, but I don’t want to mess up my dress or my hair.”
“I think I can manage that.”
She raises an eyebrow.
I sit on the bed and unzip my pants. I pull my dick out, and then I sweep her dress upward since I already know she’s not wearing panties. She sits on my lap and links her arms around my neck as she settles her legs around the outside of mine. Her glistening cunt is just inches away.
I’m panting and I’ve barely even touched her yet. “I need to fuck you,” I say. “Now.”
She nods and then I impale her. She starts to move, and I know I’m not going to last long. I thrust up hard into her, and then I grab her and flip her, hair and dress be damned. She moans as I slip back inside her, and then I pull out all the way and stroke myself against her clit. Her eyes are closed and her face is twisted in pleasure as she groans, calling my name and begging me for more.
“Get inside, get inside,” she moans, and I do. I push myself back inside her, and then I buck my hips back and slam them forward. “Oh God,” she grunts. She links her legs around my body as I ram into her again and again, over and over, until my balls tighten and I feel like I’m going to come. I pull out of her and stop everything to regain some semblance of control. This can’t end, not this fast. I never want to stop fucking her. Ever.
“Fuck me, Carson, please,” she says, her voice husky and sexier than I’ve ever heard it before. She nudges me with her feet.
I push my dick against her clit, because if I dip back inside her, I’ll lose it. Her hands move down to my ass and she pulls me forward to get me inside her again. She screams out in pleasure as her entire body tightens beneath me. I was on the verge anyway, and when her pussy clamps tightly around my cock, I burst.
We come together, riding the wave as long as we both can.
We sit in blissful quiet for a few moments, and then we both sit up. She runs a hand along the back of her hair.
“It looks perfect,” I say.
She shrugs. “Worth it if it doesn’t.”
I chuckle, and she stands and heads to the restroom to clean up. She emerges a minute later, looking even more stunning than the last time she walked out that same door just a few minutes ago with her flushed cheeks and swollen pillow lips.
She keeps getting more beautiful, and my feelings keep growing deeper for her. I can’t wait for a lifetime of this.
We walk toward the door to head out for dinner. When we return to this hotel room, we’ll be engaged. We’ll be on our way toward a future together that somehow seemed inevitable from the first time my eyes caught hers.