CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
KYLE
The Long-Term Plan
†
STAYING AWAY FROM ERIS was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, as I’m not a patient man when it comes to taking what I want. Nevertheless, if something was worth having I never rush. I wait. I don’t care how long it took. Eventually, it would be mine.
I knew she’d come to me when she was ready, and when she did, she would never walk out of my life again the way she did a couple of days ago.
Sitting in the auditorium listening to her present on Hampton Publishing and how I’ve grown the company wasn’t easy, and I knew it was even harder for her. My integrity was in question and she was under a false impression of my intentions. Having to talk about a man that she thought to be some sort of cad… well, that couldn’t have been easy for her. Even so, I was so damn proud of her for still getting up there and delivering her presentation with such confidence and poise, knowing what she had to deal with.
I needed to relax. It was a long day at the office. Walking past the front door, I heard something. I was not expecting any company so I walked over and peeked through the peephole.
Fuck, she was so beautiful. I felt my groin stiffen at the very sight of her standing in front of me, not even knowing that I was looking right at her. She lifted her hand as if to knock, but let it fall to her side, turning towards the hallway to leave. I had to stop her and opened the door.
She was uneasy from the start and I knew that she had reservations at being here, but all that mattered was that the wait was over. She was nervous; I could see that clearly when she jumped up, rambling off an excuse before making her way to the bathroom.
I followed her.
“Who were you talking to?” I smiled, amused at the little pep talk I heard through the closed bathroom door.
“No-one. I was just thinking aloud,” she stammered, a soft blush stole over her cheeks. I had to restrain myself to not reach out, pull her against me and kiss her until her whole body quivered.
Fuck. She was enough to make a grown man cry.
I could see how uncomfortable she was and not wanting to prolong her clear embarrassment any further, I left it at that.
“Come, we need to talk.”
I waited for her to walk past me and turned to follow her into the kitchen. She picked up the wine glass, bringing it to her lips to take a large sip of the red liquid. Damn, I wished she would just relax. I picked up the other glass, standing at the opposite side of the granite counter. I stayed silent, giving her some time to gather her thoughts, sipping my drink.
She exhaled before looking up at me.
“Alex and I spoke yesterday, as you know. He told me you were there… at the auditorium.”
She looked at me as if she wanted me to respond, but I didn’t. I remained silent, letting her lead.
She took another sip of the wine, swallowing slowly this time before continuing. “He told me you talked and sorted out your… differences. Said that he made unfound assumptions about everything and that I am doing the same.”
She pressed her lips together and lifted her gaze. “He didn’t want to explain to me what that meant and only said that we should talk.” She waited.
“So you came here because Alex told you to come?” I asked.
“I thought so yes, but you know, thinking about it now… No. I came here because of me.”
That’s my girl!
I stifled a smile as I knew her confidence had returned.
“You know, hearing what you said the other day… that all this was to you was a short-term thing… I admit it really hurt me.”
I wanted to say something; dispel the lie, but she stopped me.
“No. Let me finish!”
I backed off, stepping back to place my palms on the counter at the back of me, leaning against it and crossing my legs in front of me.
“I don’t care about that anymore. Whether it’s true or not, I couldn’t care either way. All I know is that I was true to myself and I was truthful to you all along. The fact that you weren’t, well… if that’s the way you want to live your life, that’s on you.”
She set her glass down and moved around to stand in front of me. As she did, I straightened up facing her.
She was just amazing. Her eyes shot up to look at me and I had to swallow a groan. Her green gaze flashed with determination as she raised her eyebrows, glaring at me.
“What I do want to know is why you had the courtesy to make your intentions clear before every other relationship you had with… oh, God knows how many women before me, but that you never had the civility to inform me? At least you could’ve given me the luxury of a choice.”
A smile played at the corners of my mouth as I lifted my hand to move my finger under her chin to tilt it up, forcing her not to look away.
“You know me, Eris. Do you really believe that I’m a man without integrity? That I’m some fucking cad that plays women… that played you? Truthfully?” I asked.
She turned her chin to the side, pushing my hand away.
“I thought I knew you, Kyle, and before the other day, I’d never have believed that. But do you forget that I heard you admit it to Alex. What was I supposed to think?”
“You love, only heard half a story. If you’d let me finish that day, you would know that you were never part of any short-term plan, Eris.”
I lowered my head until my lips were almost touching hers. The electricity between us was palpable.
“You, love… are my long-term plan.”
She drew in a sharp breath as her eyes flared.
“Kyle?” Surprise and desire filled that one word.
I closed the tiny gap between us and fused my lips with hers, flicking my tongue out to persuade her to open her mouth beneath mine. She reached up, throwing her arms around my neck and pulled me in, giving my tongue full entrance. I swept it across her teeth.
The taste of her had my head spinning. A possessiveness I’ve never known before took hold of me. I needed more.
I pushed my hands up to get rid of her top. Her passion matched mine as she lifted her arms to assist. I spun her around, grabbing her waist with my one hand to push her butt back against my already hard cock. With the other, I pushed her body forward; her hands came to rest on the granite top in front of her. I made quick work of getting rid of her bra, tossing the lacy constraint aside.
I drew her back against my chest and brought both my hands up to feel the full weight of her breasts in my hands, my thumbs flicking across her already hardened nipples. A groan escaped my lips as I lowered my head, biting her on her shoulder.
She cried out in delight.
“Fuck, Eris. You’ll be the end of me,” I breathed.
I spun her around, pulling her against me, taking her mouth and swallowing her moan. She pushed me away grabbing at my shirt.
“Please… I need to feel you against me,” she breathed.
With feverish urgency, we got rid of the rest of our clothes. My need to be inside her was overwhelming. I picked her up against me, cupping her tight little ass in my hands. As I did, she swung her naked legs around my waist. Feeling her wet heat against me nearly drove me insane.
Fuck the bedroom.
I pushed her against the wall and sank into her. She cried out at the thrust, grabbing hold of my shoulders. We moved together, racing towards the delightful finish with heated urgency.
Her breath raced and sweet little moans escaped her lips. “Deeper… deeper!” she cried. Seconds later we found our sweet release together, collapsing on the floor.
We were both panting, our bodies wet with perspiration. I pulled her into me as her delight lingered, shivers still running through her body as she laid next to me. Her eyes shut.
Holy hell. What a sight she was.
I kissed her softly on her quivering lips, before lowering my head, my mouth resting next to her ear.
“I love you, Eris Johnson,” I whispered.
Her eyes flew open and widened in surprise as she pulled her head back to look at me.
“What did you just say?” she asked in disbelief.
“You heard me, woman. I’m in love with you. Have been for some time now,” I smiled.
She paused for a second as if to process what she had just heard. Her mouth started to pull into a rosy pout and a smile played at the corners of her mouth, her eyes glistening.
“Well it’s about goddamn time, Hampton,” she said, pushing me over and settling on top of me, the wooden floor cold beneath my back.
She grabbed me by my chin and kissed me slowly, parting my lips with her tongue. She pulled away just enough to catch my bottom lip between her teeth, pulling at the soft skin before she lifted her head slightly, holding my gaze.
“I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you.”
The sound of Eris’ voice saying those words was the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. But I was surprised at her confession.
“The first time, hey? That’s a long time baby and you’ve never even said anything,” I teased.
She giggled. ‘Well, you had your hands full with all those other hussies. But if you play nice, I’ll forgive you,” she chuckled.
“Oh, really!” I played along.
“Yes, really. So now… you have some serious catching up to do for making me wait all these years!”
I laughed. “Don’t worry love. I’ll be sure to make up in ways that haven’t even crossed your mind yet.”
“Promise?” she flirted, her mouth pulling into a full pout.
“Oh, yes sweetheart. You can bet your naked little ass on that!”
I grabbed her head, pulling her into a sweet, slow kiss that left us both breathless. I lifted my head, looking at the beautiful woman laying naked next to me. I knew that I’d never let her go. She was mine. Now and always.
“Are you ready, my love?” I smiled.
“Ready for what,” she giggled.
“Ready to hear my long-term plan.”
~ Fine ~