Chapter Five
“You didn’t sleep with him?” Jenny blinked at her from over her drawing board. “Like not even a little action?”
Danielle stared at her, “You’re making it sound like I committed a crime. And besides, you started calling me the minute the clock struck twelve. Like, forget Cinderella, you’re enough to destroy the mood.”
Jenny waggled her eyebrows, “So, there was a mood?”
Danielle threw a pencil at her, “Shut up and get to work. These designs are due tomorrow.”
Groaning, Jenny complained, “I want to hear your sex stories, seeing as I’m not getting any.”
“That’s because you’re super picky about men.”
“I am not.” Jenny laughed. “I just want someone who’s weird.”
“Like kinky weird?” Danielle signed two forms and set them aside, moving on to the remaining paperwork.
“I don’t know.” Jenny sighed. “But weird, you know. Like what-the-fuck-is-wrong-with-him weird.”
When Danielle ignored her in favour of paperwork, she asked, “Do you think Sean has some hot brother in Ireland?”
“I doubt it,” her busy friend muttered, “He’s an only child from what I know.”
“What about some hot cousins? Or hot friends?”
“I’m afraid not,” came an amused masculine voice from the doorway and both woman jerked up to see Sean standing there.
“Am I interrupting something?”
Jenny blinked at him, and Danielle studied him, curiously, “Why are you here?”
“I thought to drop by. Just to see where you work, what you do.”
When Jenny kept staring at him Danielle sighed, “Sean, this is Jenny. Jenny, Sean.”
“Hi,” Jenny smiled. “I’m the best friend.”
“Hi, Jenny. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise, I assure you.”
They stared at each other for a few seconds, before Jenny asked, “So, like no hot cousins then?”
“I’m sorry.” Sean grinned unrepentantly, making her sigh.
“I blame you.” She told Danielle, who spluttered, “What?”
“This is your fault. It just is. Come on, cutie. I’ll show you around. Are those roses?”
She laughed, “That’s so sweet! You shouldn’t have!”
Her laughter was big and filled the room, making Sean smile and Danielle realized that he too had been caught in the abundant charm her friend exuded.
“These were for Danielle, but here,” he took out one and handed the long stemmed rose to Jenny, “This one is for you.”
Danielle felt her heart melting at the gesture.
Jenny laughed, “You sweet, sweet man.” Her laughter morphed into a grim look as she met Danielle’s eyes, “Marry him. Now.”
Danielle scoffed, “Go show him around. Stay out of trouble.”
The door closed to Jenny’s comment, “I love your accent. It’s so hot.”
Danielle touched the roses that she held and she wondered why Sean was pursuing her. It made no sense to her.
She knew she was attractive, but after last night, any man would have found the fact that she did not lean on his shoulder to cry, a little off putting. Strong women weren’t exactly a man’s choice.
So, why her?
She buried her face in the roses and sighed happily.
She had never even admitted this to Julian in the three years they had been together, but she loved it when men gave women roses. She knew it was clichéd, but the very idea of it was so romantic that her heart would just melt at that.
Julian had never once gotten her flowers.
Diamonds, yes.
Ruby necklaces, sure.
But never, flowers.
She got up and put the flowers in an empty vase and put them right next to her, on the desk. She wanted them in her line of vision.
So, maybe Sean wasn’t entirely the git she had thought he was.
When the door opened a while later, she looked up to see him.
“You liked the roses?”
She opened her mouth to say something, but found herself unable to say anything at the intense look in his eye. Her mind went back to what he whispered to her on the dimly lit terrace.
What had his words meant?
When she realized he was waiting for a reply, she smiled, “I like roses.”
He blinked, staring at her, making her a little self conscious, “What?”
“Nothing. It’s just you’ve never smiled at me when you’re actually happy about something. It’s always a sarcastic smile or a smirk, but never a genuine smile.”
He walked over to her and leaning against her side of the desk, he grasped her chin with his thumb and forefinger, telling her, “You look gorgeous when you smile.”
“You came here for something?” She reminded him.
His thumb was stroking her lower lip again and he murmured, “I was going to invite you over for dinner. I’m cooking.”
“Dinner sounds nice.” Her breath was uneven now, as he wouldn’t stop touching her lips.
His thumb pressed against her lips and when her lips remained closed, he raised a brow and she found herself opening her mouth for him.
The calloused thumb slipped inside and he watched her, his order soft, but firm, “Suck.”
Helpless, unable to stop herself, Danielle found herself obeying. Her tongue wrapped itself around his thumb and she sucked it.
The small, satisfied smile on his face made her feel like she was falling, her womb tightening.
However, hearing footsteps outside, he positioned himself in a way that nobody could see her. His thumb slipped out, and he leaned down to kiss her softly on the mouth, “I’ll text you the address.”
Nodding, Danielle watched him leave, and when Jenny walked in, her friend gazed at her and then closed the door, behind her, “What’s going on that you’re not telling me?”
Danielle tried to gather her thoughts, “What? Nothing. Sean – He just invited me to dinner tonight.”
Jenny studied her, and then tilted her head, “What was going on before I walked in?”
Danielle shrugged, “Nothing. I told you he just invited me to dinner.”
“So, nothing aside from that?” Her friend narrowed her eyes, “No hanky panky?”
“Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous.”
Jenny made a disbelieving sound but left her alone.
Danielle felt a little guilty at hiding something from her. But she didn’t even understand what she was attempting to hide.
This thing with Sean, whatever it was, it was spiralling out of control. One touch from him, one word, and she stopped thinking.
She was always supposed to be in control of herself. She had to be. If she started slipping, all those barbs, laced with venom would crawl their way into her heart. Would slice at her till there was nothing left.
She remembered the way Sean had clasped his hands over her ears to prevent her from hearing what the women had been saying. That gesture had brought tears to her eyes. No one had ever tried to protect her that way.
Her mother had told her to strike back where it hurt. But then, her mother had been groomed to fit into this world, whereas she had never been able to fit seamlessly into her place. Sure, she could play the part when needed, but she hated it. The pressure that she carried on her shoulders, always having to watch her back.
She sighed.
What Sean had whispered in her ear made her wish for that.
It had made her wish for someone to just take her burdens
away.
Julian had been the single, most colossal mistake she had ever made.
Everyone had known, even her own mother that he had been sleeping around. Her mother had dismissed the fact, stating that she had thought it best not to interfere in her grown daughter’s relationship.
But Danielle had known the truth.
The business deal that her father and Julian had in the works would have been affected had she broken the engagement. Her parents had casually mentioned this after she had found Julian in her bed with an actress from one of his projects. Now, of course, her ex-fiance and her father were business partners, but it had taken months for her relationship with her parents to get back on track.
It hadn’t stopped Julian from spreading harsh rumors about why the engagement had been broken.
Her eyes closed and she rested her head on the table.
Staring at the laptop open in front of her, her mind wandered back to Sean. All her defences were weak against him. That had never been the way with Julian. Despite three years together, her response to his touch had never been so blatant.
If, yesterday, Sean had decided to stick his hand in her panties, they would have been embarrassingly wet.
Remembering Jenny’s advice to go live a little, she wondered. She was already the talk of the town as it was. Why not go indulge herself?
She deserved a little stress relief like every other person.
Sean could be hers.
***
Her car was a sleek model, one that she couldn’t name to save her life, but it was practical and sexy. And she liked it.
Parking it at the entrance of Sean’s mansion, she looked a little taken aback at the sheer size of the thing.
She knew of this place.
This mansion held history in its every brick. It had belonged to the Winchester family in the early 1800s. When their youngest daughter had married a farmer, the family had been outraged and had disowned her. However, a scant few years later, the farmer inherited wealth of his own and he bought the house for his wife.
The place was too big and just a statement of wealth, in her opinion.
Nobody had bought it for years. It had floated on the market.
There had been rumours last year of an individual purchasing the house but she had not pursued it.
Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined Sean to be the new owner.
He waited for her at the front door, wearing a checkered button up shirt which was rolled up at the sleeves, exposing his very nicely toned forearms, and faded blue jeans.
His feet were bare and he grinned at her, “You’re right on time. I just marinated the steaks.”
“Steaks?” Danielle asked. “Are we barbecuing?”
He accepted the wine she had brought along with her and set it to chill on the side, “I just got this beauty. Have been waiting to try it out. You’re my first victim.”
The cheer in his voice relaxed her and she was glad, she had opted to go for more informal wear: a pair of jeans and a pale blue blouse. A white pullover protected her from the November chill.
“Your house is beautiful,” she commented, looking around.
And it was.
“Thank you. I decorated it myself.”
That came as a shock to her. She had thought maybe an interior designer had worked on it.
“Come on. I’ll give you a tour.”
It had three floors and a basement. He didn’t take her to the basement, which was apparently a wine cellar, but there was a ballroom, a dining room, a kitchen, a gym, equipped with a swimming pool, a living area, or ‘den’ as Sean called it, all on the ground floor.
The first floor contained the master bedroom, along with guest bedrooms and a game room. He showed her his room, and she swallowed. The room was dimly lit, dark grey satin sheets on the bed. The furniture was sparse, but the bed dominated the whole room.
It was huge.
She found her eyes fixed on it, and felt Sean’s body heat from behind her.
“If you keep staring at the bed in that way, I might just be tempted to take you on it, right now.”
Breath catching in her throat, she took a step back and there he was, all muscle and heat and strength.
His arm slid around her waist, pinning her to him and she could hear the smile in his voice. “You seem a little jumpy, Danielle.”
She could feel his semi hardened cock brush against her backside and she stiffened.
His arm was hot and possessive in the way it kept her to him and she bit her lower lip, struggling to find the composure within her that was like second nature, but the way his breath touched the nape of her neck, made it harder and harder.
A soft kiss there and she trembled, making him smile.
She was already so responsive to him; he wondered what it would be like when he actually had her on her hands and knees and fucked her from behind.
Biting down his groan, he removed his arm from her waist and grasped her hand. Letting her see the scorching heat in his eyes, he pulled her along, “Let’s continue the tour.”
Relieved that he had changed the subject, Danielle surprised herself when she realized she knew what would happen when she came tonight.
She had known in the back of her mind that she would sleep with him.
And she had wanted to.
The rest of the house was just as beautiful and by the time they got back to the huge kitchen, the steaks seemed to have marinated for long enough.
“Why don’t you start with the salad?” He suggested.
It was nice, Danielle mused as she washed the vegetables. It felt almost homely. They worked in comfortable tandem, till Sean put on some music and his bare feet tapped with the rhythm and she found herself catching on and humming to the love song that was playing.
“I can’t find the salt.” She told him and he gestured towards the cupboard on the side.
She found it, but she couldn’t reach it. So, she stood on her tiptoes and tried to reach it, before Sean’s shadow fell over her as he picked it up for her. One hand was on her waist and the other handed the salt to her.
Releasing his hold on the salt, his hand slipped away, moving over the curve of her waist, making her pulse beat faster.
His smirk was knowing and she tried to work through the reaction.
Even if they were going to sleep together, she could at least not act like a virgin around him. But Sean’s brand of sex didn’t seem like one she might be used to. The dominance in his tone was something she had never heard and it ignited all sorts of fires within her body, leaving her floundering.
Dinner was a loud affair because the grill caught on fire twice and it took quite a while for Sean to understand how to work the thing. The result was two beautiful steaks which were paired off with mashed potatoes and salad.
The wine she had bought went quite nicely with the meal.
She had been surprised when he had served dinner outside.
Even with the cold, the grounds were lit up with multi coloured soft lighting and it looked magical.
“Do you like it?” He asked her, gesturing towards the lights he had set up for her. She watched them shimmer and couldn’t help that soft smile as it overtook her lips, “It’s mesmerizing.”
“Good. I had hoped you would.”
Danielle blinked at him, “You did this for me?”
He studied her, leaning back in his chair and swirling his wine gently in his glass, “You know, with your family background, I would have expected you to be disdainful of such layman decorations.”
When she stiffened at his words, feeling the insult, he continued, “But you keep surprising me. I give you roses, you melt. I do a romantic gesture for you, you look shocked. Has no one ever treated you like you deserve the world?”
Danielle met his strong gaze and heartbeat quickened. Her fingers clenched in her lap, “That’s not true.”
Sean stood up and walked over to her side, leaning against the edge of the table, “You’re one of the strongest women I’ve met. You carry all these burdens on your shoulder and then you wear this cold mask so that nobody knows your secrets and pain.”
His fingers were tracing over her cheek, and she found herself moving into the caress. She opened her mouth to protest his words, but he was now lifting her so that she was now seated on the small table. Her eyes widened with uncertainty, and he just watched her, no smile on his face.
Pushing her knees apart, he stood between her legs, their faces now inches apart, “You came here knowing what would happen, didn’t you, Danielle?”