Before You: Standalone Contemporary Romance (8 page)

“Did she seriously just give you her number?”

The expression on his face answered for him, and I began to laugh. “Wow. How audacious. Are you going to keep it?”

He shrugged and shook his head. “There would be no point. We’re leaving tomorrow.”

“But if you weren’t, would you call?”

He lifted his coffee to his mouth and took a sip. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Maybe...” I repeated, eyeing him carefully and noting the way his cheeks had brightened slightly. I found it incredibly amusing that he could even be slightly embarrassed over the attention he received from women. Surely he was used to it, and it didn’t seem to bother him the night before. “Does this happen to you a lot?”

He tilted his head as he placed his cup back on the saucer and the way his lips curved, I knew it did, and I laughed openly. “What? It doesn’t happen to you?” he said flippantly, his lips continuing their upward curve until he was chuckling along with me.

“It’s absurd,” I said, spooning a mouthful of pie into my mouth and trying to chew around my mirth.

“Want to do something fun?” he suggested, his eyes twinkling a little as he smiled across the table at me.

“I’m not finished my pie.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

I put down my fork. “Yes. I would.”

His grin broadened, and he held his hand out to me. For a moment, I hesitated. Then, with my heart beating firmly in my chest, I slid my hand into the warmth of his.

“Ready?” he asked.

I wasn’t. But I nodded anyway.

––––––––

“T
he Skydeck?” I asked as we entered Willis Tower. I didn’t know much about Chicago, but I assumed we were about to travel up very high.

“I’ve lived here for a long time. I’d like to see the sun set over the city one last time. I thought you’d like to see it too.”

He’d let my hand go not long after we left the diner, and I’d kind of wished he’d take hold of it again ever since then, but when he placed his hand on the small of my back and led me to the elevators, I was kind of glad he hadn’t been holding my hand. This felt so much nicer. So much more intimate. I don’t know what it was I was looking for with André. He was so up and down with his personality, and the way that he treated me that my own feelings toward him were up and down too. I was seriously running the risk of becoming a doormat – one of those girls that allowed a guy to come and go as he pleased and treat her however he chose. But, I really liked it when André was nice to me, and if I was aware of what was going on, did that really make me a doormat?

“How high are we going?” I asked as we waited with a few other people for an elevator to arrive.

It took seconds and as he guided me inside, he answered, “One hundred and three stories.”

My eyes widened and as the doors closed, a monitor above us began to play an information video about how the building was the tallest in the western hemisphere. The elevator trip was so fast that I had to pop my ears several times. We were rocketed a thousand feet into the air in less than a minute, and it seemed strange that we were really as high as we were.

“Wow,” I said as we walked toward the floor to ceiling viewing windows to look out over the city.

“Nice, huh?” he said from beside me, looking content as he took in the expanse of the city he’d spent the better part of a decade in.

“I never realized Lake Michigan was quite so huge. It almost looks like the ocean from here.”

He pressed his finger against the window. “That’s the Planetarium, right there. And over here is Millennium Park where they have that big silver bean...” I listened as he led me around and pointed out various things, sharing his knowledge of the city without adding any personal details. Not that I expected any, he was a perfect tour guide and all, but it would have been nice to hear a story or two about a night out with friends – something more than geographical facts. He’d told me so much about his work and his travels during our meal conversations, and it would have been nice to hear something personal that connected him to this place as his home.

“And which building or landmark is your favorite?” I asked as we stood amongst a group of others, looking out as far as we could see.

He twisted his lips in thought as his eyes scanned the many buildings below. “Right there,” he said, pressing his finger to the glass again.

I leaned toward him to try and get the right angle folk so I could see what he was pointing out. “What’s right there?” I asked, not sure what I was seeing.

“It’s where I met you.”

Surprised by his answer, I looked at him for a moment, my heart thumping solidly against my chest. I didn’t know what to say in return. I was truly speechless.

He took my hand and smiled. “Come over here, you should see this.”

Electricity crackled over my skin via the connection of our palms as he led me across the room to where the crowd was the thickest. Finding space, he stepped onto a glass viewing platform that allowed you to see all the way down to the street.

I stopped short, pulling my hand backward as I planted my feet and shook my head. “I don’t think so,” I said as his grip tightened and that sparkle returned to his eyes.

“You’ll regret it if you don’t. It’s like standing in heaven and looking down at everyone else.”

My face fell, and I gave my hand a hard tug, freeing it successfully. “I don’t want to.”

“Are you afraid of heights?” he asked with a raised brow.

“No. I’m afraid of glass floors that are a thousand feet above the ground.”

“Trust the glass, Willa.” He held out his hand, beckoning me.

I shook my head.

“Then trust me.” His eyes looked so sincere as his hand remained stretched out toward me. I wanted to take it, I did. But, I felt that taking it in that moment would mean so much more than simply stepping onto a platform. If I gave him my trust, I was possibly also giving him the power to break that trust and hurt me. I didn’t know if I wanted to do that. Trust meant something, and I didn’t know if I was ready to have anything mean something between André and me.

“I don’t know if I can,” I whispered, my heart beating in my ears, cutting out the sound of the room around me. All I could hear was my own breathing and the sound of André’s voice.

“I wasn’t with Amanda,” he said suddenly, surprising me with that admission. It jolted my heart nonetheless.

“Where were you then?”

“The police station.”

“What?”

He lowered his eyes for a moment before lifting them again to meet mine, bright, green and shining with honesty. “When I saw you leaving with Abbot, I kind of went to stop you. But a couple of guys got in my way, and when I saw you drive away with Abbot, I kind of got into a fight.”

“So you
kind of
got thrown in jail because of it?”

He chewed the inside of his lip and nodded. “I’m not facing charges though. Dozer got them to let me off with a warning after I’d spent twenty-four in the holding cell. After that, I went for a walk, trying to clear my head. But, all I could think about was you and...” I saw a hint of sadness in his eyes

Letting out a sigh, I took a hold of his hand and stepped onto the platform as he pulled me toward it. But I kept my eyes on his.

“Why did you want me to think you’d slept with Amanda?”

He had the decency to look sheepish.

I answered for him. “Because you thought I’d spent the night with Abbot? You were jealous?”

He gave me a single nod. “Yes. I was.”

He reached up and brushed his fingers along the side of my face, and I closed my eyes to his touch.

“I don’t know how to have a relationship, André,” I admitted, registering the slight furrow in the center of his brow in response. “That’s the kind of girl I am. I’m the kind of girl who screws everything up and chases people away. I should probably get therapy for it, but, I don’t know, I’ve never really...wanted anything from anyone before. And I’m not trying to scare you and say that I want something from you, but I kind of...I don’t know what this is.” I looked up at him, my eyes pleading for him to understand what I was trying to say. I was trying to tell him that I felt something incredible with him. I was trying to tell him that I didn’t know what to do with what I was feeling. I was trying to tell him that I was more likely to fuck it up than he was. I was trying to tell him that Dave probably warned him away because I’m the one who’s fucked up. Once I get someone out of my system, I’m the one who...

“Stop talking,” André whispered, silencing me as his mouth met mine, and his hands went around my waist. He kissed me properly this time, long and slow, just the way it should be.

My thoughts slipped from my mind, and all I could think about was how wonderful his body felt as it pressed against mine, and how amazing it was to have his hands on my body.

When the kiss came to a natural end, I had my arms around his neck, and I was breathing heavy. He pressed his lips to my forehead and said, “Now, look down.”

I did, and beneath my feet the city had turned its lights on and was a twinkling sea of flowing color.

“We missed the sunset,” I said as I looked back up to him.

“That was better,” he smiled, taking me by the hand again and leading me off the glass ledge.

“It was,” I agreed. “But, what about giving your word to Dave?”

He gave a slight shrug. “I’ve never been good at keeping my word.”

I let out a short laugh. “And what about promises – can you keep those?”

“No. I’m terrible at those too.”

I held his gaze with mine for a moment. “Secrets?”

“Now those, I can keep.”

For a moment, I bit my lip and pulled it between my teeth as I looked up at him, thinking.

“What is it?” he asked, his eyes curious.

I took a deep breath before I spoke. “I want to be the girl you spend time with when you’re home.”

He frowned. “What?”

“I don’t expect anything from you. And I don’t want anyone to know. I just...I think we need to get each other out of our systems and when this...feeling, attraction...whatever you want to label what’s between us, goes away, then we walk and no one gets hurt because no one made a promise and no one gave their word.”

His eyes narrowed, and he stared at me for a long time before he responded with a single nod and a single word. “OK.”

Then he kissed me again, with more passion this time. He stole my breath then he took me by the hand and kept a hold of it until we got down to the ground floor and hailed a taxi, eager to get back to the apartment and make a start on getting each other out of our system...

––––––––

W
e landed against the wall just inside the door.

“Maybe we should set down some ground rules,” I gasped between kisses as I pushed his shirt up over his head and threw it on the ground. I ran my hands down the hard muscles of his chest, between his abs then stopped at the button of his jeans.

Bowing his head, he kissed and gently bit my neck. For a moment, my mind was empty as his tongue moved along my jaw.

“What kind of rules?” he whispered, sliding his hands underneath my shirt and running his warm palms over the flesh at my waist.

“Um...” His hands moved over my breasts, practically ghosting them. I wanted him to grab them, knead them. My nipples went hard at the thought.

“Rules?” he prompted, removing his hands then lifting my shirt over my head. Immediately, he grabbed my breasts and squeezed like he knew exactly what I wanted. Then he pressed a kiss to my cleavage, and my fingers slid into his hair.

“Don’t tell me I’m beautiful. I hate it when guys do that when they get you naked.”

“But you are beautiful.”

“Just don’t. Please.”

“Fine.”

“And we only do this when we’re alone. Nothing public.”

“What else?” he asked, slipping his fingers beneath my bra strap, kissing my shoulder as he slid it off then unclasped my bra.

“No sleeping.”

“Morning sex is amazing. I don’t agree to that.”

“Sleeping is too intimate. We can...oh”

His mouth closed over my nipple as his arm wrapped around my waist and he pulled me against him possessively.

“No,” he said firmly when he stopped and stood upright, his fingers gently tweaking my nipple as he looked into my eyes. “Anything else?”

There was no way I could form a coherent thought at that point. So I just shook my head.

He grinned then reached down and gripped me around my thighs, lifting me so my legs were wrapped around his waist. Then he kissed me before carrying me into his room and lowering me onto his bed as he climbed over the top of me.

“I thought you didn’t want anyone in your room,” I whispered, noting the bare walls and wishing the pictures were still there.

“It’s packed away, and besides, you’ve already been in here.” He sat back on the bed and began to undo my jeans. “Since we’re making rules, is there anything you do or don’t want to do?”

“Are we having the anal chat already?” I joked, reaching out and running my hands down his muscular arms, appreciating his toned body in the dim light.

Sliding my jeans down my legs, he dropped them on the floor and gave me a sly smile. “Yes. And the pulling your hair chat. And the tying you to the bedpost chat – the taking you from behind chat, the oral chat, the hard or soft chat, the toy chat, the eat off your body chat, the how many fingers can I put inside you chat. The list is quite long.”

My insides clenched as I thought about him doing each and every single one of those things with me. “All of the above,” I whispered, sitting up and kissing him as I undid his jeans and slid my hand inside, wrapping it around his shaft. It was exactly like him, big, long and hard. He moaned into my mouth, both in response to what I said and to my hand curling around his cock as I placed my free hand on his chest, and gently pushed him until he stepped off the bed and was leaning against the bare wall. He lifted his brow and smiled as I slid down to my knees, taking his jeans and Calvin Kleins with me.

As I took him into my mouth, I let out a moan of my own, tasting his arousal on my tongue as my hand again wrapped around his shaft, and I worked my magic, back and forth, moaning with him, taking pleasure from each sound he made.