“Had I known that opening a new location for The Billionaires Club was going to be this stressful, I never would have volunteered to do it,” Croix confesses once Bruno and Raj have left the office
“It's only this stressful because the outside world has made it that way,” I remind him.
He's standing in the doorway leaning against the doorframe as if waiting for Bruno and Raj to return. He turns and drops himself heavily into the chair across from me, propping his elbow on the armrest and resting his chin on top of his fist.
He blows out a long sigh, looking genuinely remorseful. “I'm sorry I've kind of been pushing you away lately. I haven't been coping with my stress very well.”
“You know, I probably wouldn't have been interested in still trying to open The Billionaires Club if it weren't for you. The thought of not getting to be around you anymore...” Croix shakes his head.
“You don't need The Billionaires Club to be around me.”
“I feel like I do.” His eyes shoot up to meet mine. “Especially after what I said at the California location.”
It's the first time he's brought up what happened in California since we got back. I'm a bit surprised that he's digging up the past, but it's nice to know it's been weighing on him.
“I know I apologized back in California.” He nods toward where I can only assume he thinks California is. “It was a weak apology, and I'm sorry for that. My head wasn't in the right place. Being there...it made me think of so many things.”
“Like what?” This subject is quickly making me uncomfortable, but I want to hear him out.
“I remembered that you used to have a life back there with Derrick. I know it was a while ago, but the fact that he's still in your life bothers me.”
“He's not in my life anymore,” I clarify.
“Let me finish.” He holds out his palm to silence me. “I used to have a life there too. I'm not going to say that I regret anything I've done, but being there reminded me of how many people have cycled through my life. It made me think of how many people could have cycled through your life there.
“I know you aren't me. I know that real life isn't The Billionaires Club. But it made me think about how many men you could have been with. The fact that it was before me was irrelevant. I got jealous. I don't like thinking about you with other men. I don't like thinking about you being around Derrick. And when you said that you didn't want to go to The Silver Spoon, I thought that we might run into someone you'd slept with before, and I wasn't sure I could handle it.
“I'm sorry that I lashed out at you. Truly, I am. I know I was just projecting my past onto you. I was being immature and possessive and...spiteful...and nothing you deserved.”
“You were being an asshole,” I chime in.
“I was being an asshole,” he agrees. “But the moral of the story is that I was being that way because I was so scared of losing you to someone else. You're the most amazing woman I've ever met. You're strong and smart and sexy. And there are times I feel like I don't deserve you.” He drops his head, his expression full of shame.
“The way I acted in California was an affirmation of that. I should have apologized to you right away. Really apologized to you.
“I was mad at you for something that you didn't even do. When I left, I felt like I had taken things too far. And when things didn't return to normal after I apologized to you the next day, I felt like it was better for you if I just walked away. So I kind of gave up on us and turned my attention towards getting this place back in order. I let stress and stubbornness get the better of me.
“These past days, though, I've realized that the only reason I'm still here is because of you. When I've passed you in the hall, I've wanted to touch you. When I see your face in the mornings, it brightens my day, even if you can't tell. Everything I've done since we got back from California has been more for you than for me or Bruno or the sake of this place.” He looks around the room.
I want to ask him if not responding to my texts was for me. That wouldn't be fair, though. He just poured out his heart, gave me a beautiful confession of his feelings, and I'm not about to throw them back in his face.
“I thought we were done,” I say honestly, my voice cold.
“I don't want us to be.” He looks up at me.
I wrap my arms around myself protectively. “You hurt me, Croix. You did a lot of things that hurt a lot.”
“I know.” He turns away as if I just slapped him. “And I regret every one. I've handled things poorly, and I could understand if you can't find it in your heart to forgive me.”
If I can't find it in my heart to forgive him, does that mean The Billionaires Club folds? I don't even want to factor that into the equation. I'm done worrying about my job and how it relates to him. The stress of lumping them together is too much. I need to handle this one issue at a time, even if they feel like a package deal.
“If we're going to do this, you can't push me away again,” I tell him. “I went through that shit with Derrick, and it about killed me.”
“I'm sorry. It won't happen again.” His gaze is earnest.
“And I want a title.” I nod to myself.
“A title?” He raises an eyebrow in confusion.
“Yes, a title. We are boyfriend and girlfriend. I'm not just someone you fuck that you happen to care about.” I gesture to no one in particular.
This conversation mirrors one that I had with Derrick long ago. He didn't accept the title, saying that he just wasn't there yet. I was dumb enough to stick around anyway. He never got there. If you asked him today, he'd probably still say that we dated but were never a couple. I'm not going through that again. If Croix gives me a similar answer, I will walk out of this building and never come back. I'm done with being stepped on by men who only care about their own selfish desires.
Croix chuckles, and anger instantly flares up inside of me.
“What?” I snap at him.
“I've considered you my girlfriend for a while now.”
His answer takes me aback. “You have?”
“Yeah. I was even telling Bruno about trouble in paradise when he first arrived.” He smirks.
“Bruno knows we're a couple?” My head jolts back in shock.
“Why would I hide it?” Croix replies nonchalantly. “I like you, Raven. I want a relationship with you. It's all I've wanted since I first got to know what a wonderful person you are.”
My heart swells. It's like all of the emotions that were ripped away from me at The Billionaires Club in California—all of the feelings that I thought were dead between us—have been shoved back into place without warning. The fact that he told Bruno we're a couple means more to me than he'll ever know.
“Have I met your demands?” Croix grins, knowing he's won me over.
“Yes.” My voice is soft.
“Does that mean we're okay again?” He stands to walk around the table, stopping in front of me to take both of my hands into his when I swivel around to face him.
“We're more than okay.” I look up at him, beaming. “Does that mean we can fuck now?”
He laughs. “Would this qualify as make-up sex?”
“It can qualify as whatever you want. I've missed having you inside of me.”
He traces the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip. “And I've missed you even more.”
***
It's the most cheesy romantic date I've ever been on, but it's endearing in its own right. Croix and I sit side by side at the dining room table in his beach house sharing a candlelit dinner of spaghetti. And by sharing, I mean we're literally eating off of the same plate. In the background, Bella Notte plays. I'm so busy grinning like an idiot that it's hard for me to open my mouth when he offers to fork feed me a super long noodle. He leaves it hanging from my lips, bending to take the other end and slowly sucking it into his mouth until we're kissing. It's messy and not very sanitary and so adorable that I end up in a chuckling fit afterward.
“You had this all planned, I take it?” I ask once I finish chewing.
Croix takes the napkin from across his lap and wipes the sauce off of my chin before cleaning his own mouth. “I hope you get the references.”
“Lady and the Tramp.” I nod. “It was one of my favorite Disney movies as a child.”
“Mine was The Fox and the Hound, but there's no romance in that one.” He wrinkles his nose.
“No, I don't think this would have gone as well had you offered me a fox fur coat or something like that.”
“Damn, and that was my plan for the next date.” He looks away.
“Croix, you're an idiot.” I playfully sock him in the shoulder.
He rubs where I hit him, looking wounded. “You hit hard for a girl.”
“You'd do well to remember that next time you piss me off.” I point my fork at him.
“I hope I'm done pissing you off.” He scoots his chair closer and wraps his arms around me to pull me onto his lap. The table gives protest as my knees push against it.
“I hope so too,” I reply softly before digging into the pasta again. Sitting on his lap makes it a bit awkward, but I'm not done eating yet.
When I offer him a forkful over my shoulder and a glob of tomato falls onto the front of his shirt, he surrenders me back to my own chair. I feel kind of bad for getting him dirty, but the guilt quickly dissolves the second he removes his shirt and tosses it on the floor in the corner.
“Getting naked already?” I tease.
“You're a filthy girl, Raven. I can't seem to be near you for long without ending up naked.” His grin is wolfish. It makes my appetite shift into a different direction.
There's a soreness between my legs from what we did earlier. It's amazing how quickly your muscles can rebound after not having a dick in you for a while. It seems as if Croix wants to work on overtime to get me acclimated to his girth again. I don't mind that one bit.
“I like you naked.” I eat with haste, hoping that dessert entails me on my back in his bed.
“It's not fair for me to be naked by myself.” He nuzzles his nose against my shoulder, his fingers slipping into the front of my blouse through the spaces between the buttons. Just feeling his warm skin on mine sends a shiver straight down to my core. My hunger for his cock immediately trumps my desire to finish this meal.
“Done.” I push my chair away from the table.
“Someone is a little insatiable.” His hand recoils and he scoots his own chair back to stand.
“That would be you.” I grab the waistband of his trousers and pull him to me. My fingers quickly get to work unbuckling his belt.
“Says the girl who is trying to get me naked the rest of the way,” he muses.
I can see his dick hardening in his pants. Watching it swell makes my mouth water. I can't wait to have it out and at my oral mercy.
“You started it by taking your shirt off.”
“No, you started it by spilling stuff on me,” he corrects me.
“That was your own fault.” My eyes flit up to meet his. “If you would have been able to keep your hands off of me, we could have enjoyed our meal like normal people.”
“I don't know about you, but I quite enjoyed it.” He winks at me.
I roll my eyes before tugging his trousers down over his ass. My hand zeroes in on the front of his boxer briefs, and I rub down the full length of his dick. It pulses against my palm, ready to come out and play.
“I want to make a food pun so badly.” He wrinkles his nose.
“So do it?” I chuckle, knowing he's probably going to say something about a sausage, the most obvious of penis puns.
“Guess what's for dessert?” His eyes widen in amusement.
“An eclair, by the looks of it.” I stare straight at his crotch.
“You want the cream filling?” He nods like an arrogant teenager.
“I want to suck you dry.” I drag my tongue over my top lip, bringing him back to the intimacy of the moment.
He gently rakes his fingers through my hair as I reach into his boxer briefs and feel his velvety skin. By the time I pull him out of his underwear, his breathing has already picked up. And when I take him into my mouth, the sound he makes is more satisfying than any food we could possibly eat.