BOUGHT: A Standalone Romance (14 page)

“Not yet,” he says firmly.

A shiver ripples up my spine. No matter how much I hate giving up control in the outside world, I never seem to get enough from him. I nod my head in silent agreement, and he goes back to worshipping every inch of my skin with his mouth until I’m beginning to think I’ll crawl up the walls if he doesn’t give me a firmer touch.

A shocked gasp falls from my lips as he captures one of my nipples and gives it a firm bite. My fingers run through his hair, holding his mouth to my breasts as he sucks, licks, and bites me into a frenzy. Even being surrounded by water, I can feel myself wet beyond belief. I want nothing more than to dip my hand beneath the waves, to stroke my clit slowly.

Connor seems to read my mind as his fingers slide beneath the water. He caresses and strokes the soft flesh of my inner thighs, making me shudder with anticipation. Then his fingers are inside of me, twisting, turning, sliding against my narrow walls until I cry out and cum on those glorious digits. As I’m panting, weak, with my stomach muscles twitching from the force of my orgasm, he flips me over.

My hands grip the side of the tub as I feel him rub his cock over my wet slit. He takes his time, teasing me with the head before he’s sliding into my folds. One hand reaches around, and he strokes my already sensitive clit as he starts to push inside of me, nice and easy.

“Promise me something,” he practically growls into my ear.

“What?” I barely manage to choke out.

“If I never put my hands on you, you’ll never leave me like that again.”

I don’t have to think about that one. “I promise,” I say quickly.

“Good girl.”

I squirm to my very core hearing those words. He pushes me over the edge again and again, until it’s all I can do to simply hold on to the side of the tub with my arms and not slide limply into the water like a rag doll. Just as I’m pretty sure that I’m near the end of my rope, he grips my hips with both hands and slams into me. Every wet smack of our bodies coming together drives me over the edge. He’s filling me up now, using every inch of me to bring him pleasure. And I love it.

Connor grips my shoulders to go in deeper. I moan, crying out as my fingers dig into the tub and his fingertips dig into me. With a deep, primal groan, he fills me up. I can feel his muscles twitching and flexing against my body as he empties his cock inside of me.

We stay like that for a while, panting and trying to collect ourselves. He slides out of me slowly, and I can feel his warm cum sliding down my thighs. Stepping out of the tub, he pulls the plug and walks over to the glass-encased shower. When the water is right, he comes back over, picks me up in his arms, and carries me inside of the steam and hot water paradise.

Connor pulls my hair out of the ponytail and grabs the shampoo before he starts to work it into my hair. He takes his time, massaging my scalp until I feel even more like a puddle of water. I didn’t think that was possible. He rinses the shampoo out carefully, not getting even a single drop in my eyes. After he does the same to his hair, we take turns soaping each other up and letting the water rinse us clean.

By the time we’re both feeling clean again, Connor’s rock hard. He takes me again in the shower, then again on his bed, and again on the floor when we just can’t restrain ourselves. We lose ourselves in each other until we’re both raw, sated, and starving.

“I’m hungry,” I pant as Connor cleans me up with a towel.

“I thought I had taken care of that plenty of times by now,” he said with a grin.

I slap at him and miss. “Shut up! I mean food, you bastard.”

Connor kisses my hand. “Your wish is my command.” He runs a hand through his beard. “I should probably take care of this first, though.”

“Please,” I beg.

He feigns being hurt. “You’re not a fan of my amazing, manly beard?”

“No I am not.”

“Cruel,” he says with a sad shake of the head.

I laugh and push him up. As he disappears into the bathroom, I drag myself out of the bed and down the hall to the room that had briefly been mine. Rummaging through the closet, I find a dark blue dress and slip on a pair of black leggings underneath it. Reaching underneath the bed, I pull out a pair of black flats to complete the ensemble before I try to tame my now wild and crazy hair.

A knock on my door is followed by Connor’s words. “May I come in?”

“Enter,” I call in my best regal voice.

When he steps inside of the room, he whistles. “How do I keep forgetting how beautiful you are?”

I can feel myself blushing. My hair falls in soft, dark ringlets over my shoulders. I even had time to apply a little light makeup. I’m feeling wonderful, reborn.

Looking over Connor, I have to say I’m impressed too. He’s ditched the sweats in favor of a pair of dark slacks and a blue shirt that’s rolled up at the sleeves. The beard is gone, and I run my fingers over his smooth face with a moan.

“Very nice,” I say, slapping his ass.

Connor growls. “Do that again and you’ll find yourself bent over my knee.”

“If I wasn’t so hungry, I’d gladly take you up on that challenge,” I purr back. “Let’s go.”

“Wait.”

I turn back around. “What’s wrong?”

Connor chuckles. “Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to ask you something.”

“Ask,” I say simply with a shrug of my shoulders.

He narrows his eyes, and I know he’s being serious. “Did you mean what you promised?”

A lump seems to have formed in my throat out of nowhere. “Of course. I mean it.”

A smile slowly comes back on Connor’s face. “Good. And one more thing.”

“Shoot.”

“Will you go out with me? On a real date?”

I blink at him. “Connor—”

“I want to do more than just fuck you,” he says quickly. “I can’t just have you casually. I want to be with you, if that’s what you want too.”

What am I getting myself into? Getting involved with the rich, spoiled, possessive man is terrifying, but why does it feel so right? I stumble over my words, feeling like a teenager back in high school talking to my crush. Finally, I nod quickly.

“I want to be with you too.”

Connor’s grin deepens. His hands brush against my face before he leans down. His lips move against mine as I fall into him, sink into him. I’ve never wanted someone as much as I want Connor. The fear is pushed aside. No matter what happens, at least we both took a chance.

“Okay,” he says as he pulls back with a sigh. “Let’s go get food. That cherry lipstick is starting to make me want to eat you.”

“Who’s stopping you?” I tease.

“Trust me,” he says as he runs his fingers between my legs, making me shudder. “You can’t handle that right now.”

Damn. I hate it when he’s right.

“Were are we going?” I ask for the hundredth time.

The world is black around me as we bump along the roads. Connor thought it would be a splendid idea to blindfold me for our date. The me that was in a state of post-coital bliss had gone along with it. Now, I’m getting irritated.

“Connor!”

He chuckles beside me. He’s getting a kick out of this. I blindly reach for his leg and try to pinch him, but he’s quicker than me and eludes my grasp.

“Don’t make me tie your arms up too,” he chides.

I sigh. “Where are we going?”

“Don’t whine,” is his simple, smug answer.

The only instruction I’ve had since getting into the car was to call Mary and Kyle and let them know that I’d be gone for the night and part of tomorrow. I’d told them, but when Mary asked where I was going the only thing I could say was I had no idea. She’d simply giggled into the phone like a schoolgirl, to which I’d blushed a shade of red so deep I could have been mistaken for a lobster. Connor got a kick out of that.

Now we’re speeding along in one of his cars that I didn’t know he owned. A big, green jeep that I had difficulty climbing into. He’d helped me in, blindfolded me, and then disappeared for a good ten minutes. When he returned, I heard the trunk open, and then we were off.

“I feel like you’re going to murder me and dump my body in the woods.”

“Why would I do that? I like your body,” he says before he runs a hand up my inner thigh.

I sigh. “How much longer?”

“Not long.”

“How long is not long?”

“Longer if you keep asking.”

I scoff. “How can you make a car ride to a fixed destination longer?”

“I could always drive around in circles.”

“Bastard.”

He laughs as he pulls the car to a stop. I hear his car door open before he hops out. Something is crunching beneath his feet as he circles the car to open my door for me. I take his hands, and he helps me down before moving behind me.

“Are you ready?” he whispers in my ear.

“I still kind of feel like you might be trying to kill me. So if you’re asking if I’m ready for death, the answer is definitely no.”

Connor swats my ass. “Smart ass,” he says, but I can hear the laugh on the tip of his tongue.

Gently, he presses a kiss to my ear. It sends a shiver through me, and a warming that starts at the tips of my breasts and spreads down. His hands run up my arms before he softly pulls the blindfold from my face.

I blink against the harsh afternoon sun before my eyes adjust. We’re standing in a clearing, surrounded by large trees. In front of me, there’s a large cabin, and sparkling behind it is a large lake. A single boat sits tied up to the dock, a tiny thing with barely an engine.

“Where are we?” I ask in awe as I begin to move forward.

“My cabin. I brought it a couple of years ago, but I never had any time to use it, really. Whenever I did, I stayed here by myself. I’ve never let anyone else see this place.”

I turn to him, surprised. “You mean, I’m the first one you’ve had here?”

“The first and only one.”

I feel my heart melt a little more. He’s making such an effort to change, to be better, and for once he’s letting someone in. Me. I take his hand, my fingers sliding perfectly inside of his. Giving his hand a squeeze, I smile up at him.

I walk into the cabin as Connor goes back to the car. It’s big, but cozy. There’s a fireplace just begging to be started, big, comfortable-looking furniture, and wood everywhere. I run my hand along the wall.

“I remembered what you said about not having been camping since you were young,” Connor says as I glance up at him. “I hate camping, but I thought this would be a nice compromise,” he says with a grin.

“Please, stop,” I tell him as he sets down a couple of bags.

“Why?” he asks, concern on his face as he takes a step towards me and stops. “Did I do something wrong?”

I shake my head quickly. “I just don’t want to cry,” I say, trying to shove the rising lump in my throat back down where it belongs.

“Oh, Angela,” he says with a sigh, grabbing me up into his arms. He hugs me until I’ve collected myself. Glancing around, my eyes land on a pink duffle bag that I know is mine.

“How’d that get here?”

“I had it packed for you for a while.”

“How long?”

Connor shrugs. “Weeks. It was my plan that once we left my parents’ place, we’d come here for a relaxing vacation. Once we…” He trails off, looking for the right word. “Once we fought, I just couldn’t bring myself to unpack it.”

He walks away quickly, and I know he’s trying to hide that side of him again. I can’t blame him though. The last time he’d been in a relationship, married no less, his wife had been a manipulative, demanding control freak. Being vulnerable had done nothing but let her control him more.

Instead of pushing him, I pick up a bag of groceries that are in the kitchen and begin to sort through them. There are all kinds of food, and each one makes my stomach twist in anticipation just a little more than the last one did. My stomach feels as though it’s trying to eat itself.

“When did you stop for groceries?” I ask as I slip things into the refrigerator and cabinets.

“When you fell asleep. You were out for a minute.”

I laugh. “Next time, just tell me where we’re going.”

“And ruin the surprise?” he says with round eyes. “Never!”

Connor helps me put up the rest of the groceries before he starts working on something for us to eat. We haven’t had it in so long, so we decide to barbecue and snack in the meantime. Connor opens a bottle of wine, and I raise an eyebrow at him.

“It’s non-alcoholic,” he says quickly. “I just wanted the taste.”

A sigh of relief leaves my lips. “Good.”

He pours each of us a glass. Clinking them together, we smile over the rims of the wine glasses at each other while we take a sip. I’m surprised by how good it tastes.

Spending the afternoon with Connor is more than I could have dreamed it would be. We take turns on the grill, flipping the meat and preparing the sides. By the time everything is done, the sun has dipped below the horizon and is fading quickly. Connor starts a fire in front of us, grabs two blankets, and drags two chairs to face the lake.

We eat, talking gently, as if our voices will disturb the picture of serenity around us. The waves shift gently in the lake, making me feel sleepy as I wash down my meal with another glass of wine. I watch the stars infiltrate the sky, until I’m lost in the twinkling.

“It’s beautiful out here,” I sigh. “Thank you for bringing me.”

When he doesn’t say anything, I glance over at Connor. He’s fallen asleep quickly, his head resting on the back of the chair as he gently snores. Stifling a laugh, I collect our plates and glasses before heading back into the kitchen and depositing them into the sink.

“Hey, wake up,” I say gently as I shake Connor’s shoulder.

His eyes flutter open, and he stares at me for a moment before he seems to remember where he is. Then, he’s smiling as I help him out of the chair, and he gets rid of the fire. Leading him back inside, I help him lock up before we go into his bedroom.

Both of us shed our clothes, but we’re too tired to have sex. Instead, he holds me. He pulls me close to his body, his fingers lazily stroking my arm as I sigh in contentment. His breath whispers against my ear, and I’ve never heard such a satisfying sound, the sound of the man I love falling asleep against me.

That realization almost rocks me awake. It’s true, though. I can feel it in every part of me. I don’t even know when I fell in love with him, but there it is, blossoming just beneath the surface.

“Thank you,” Connor whispers, dragging me out of my thoughts.

After a pause, I whisper back, “For what?”

“For dragging me from the edge,” he says as he pulls me closer, holding me tightly. “For saving me.”

Is it possible that I even have tears left after today? I don’t think so, even as I wipe at my eyes with trembling fingertips. A few months ago, he whispered “you’re mine” into my ear. Now he’s thanking me, and without needing to ask I can hear the love that swells in his chest, that is unspoken between us.

I don’t reply; there’s no need to. The only thing either of us needs in that moment is to hold each other close and just be. When we’re together, there are no expectations, no walls, no masks. The effect is both dizzying and sobering, and I find myself never wanting Connor to let me go.

The next morning, we wake up without words as Connor slips inside of me. There’s nothing that needs to be said as he strokes my cheek, my back, my thighs. It’s slow and powerful and full of unspoken words that seem to punctuate our lovemaking.

I love you.

I need you.

I want you.

Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop.

We lie in the bed for hours, whispering untold secrets as the sun fills the room up with rays of warmth. Sometimes we make love, sometimes we’re silent, but no matter what, we don’t let each other go. Finally, our stomachs growling angrily at us force us out of bed.

“I still owe you a real date,” Connor says as he runs the thick white towel over my body, soaking up the runaway drops of water.

“What was wrong with this date?” I ask with a small grin.

Connor laughs. “Not a damn thing.” He kisses my nose. “Still, I owe you a big night out on the town, and I’m going to do exactly that. I know exactly where I’m taking you.”

I sigh. “Do you know how incredibly sexy it is to have a man say ‘I know exactly where I’m taking you’ instead of the standard ‘I don’t know’?”

“You like a man in control,” he says with a teasing grin on his face.

“I do.”

Connor chuckles as we both slip into jeans and casual t-shirts. We pad barefoot into the kitchen, where he opens the fridge and peers through the surplus of food available. Reaching in, he pulls out eggs, mushrooms, onions, cheese, and milk.

“What are you making?” I ask curiously.

“An omelet. How does that sound to you?”

“Sounds perfect,” I answer, and I mean it.

I watch him as he works on breakfast, laughing as he does a chop or cracks the eggs with a little finesse. Where has this side of him been since we met? He’s playful, laid back, and I can’t get enough of him.

Connor finishes up breakfast, flipping two perfect omelets onto plates before he carries them over to the table. He shakes salsa out of a jar onto both of our plates and goes back for sour cream.

“Oh my god,” I moan around a bite of the food, “this tastes amazing.”

Connor grins. “See? I can be useful.”

We focus on getting to the end of our plates before we talk again. I scoop up the plates, and Connor grabs the cups before I start washing them. He stands beside me, drying the dishes as I hand them over.

“Can I ask you something?” he asks, breaking up the silence.

“No, darling. Those jeans don’t make your ass look big,”

He hits me with the dish towel. “I’m being serious, you brat.”

I laugh. “Of course, you can ask me anything. What is it?”

“What are you going to do now? I mean, are you going back to escorting or…?” He trails off, letting the question hang in the air between us.

I shrug. “I don’t know. I mean, I need a job, but now that my son is here I don’t really want to keep doing that. Besides, with Nathan back in town I don’t want him finding out what I do. It could give him the upper hand if he fights for custody.”

Connor nods, setting a plate in the cabinet. “You could live with me, and I’d take care of you.”

I smile. “As sweet as that offer is, I can’t. I just bought a house, and…I don’t know. I think if I had to sit in the house all day I’d go crazy. Don’t worry,” I say, leaning my head against him briefly as I see the disappointment and worry in his eyes. “I’ll come up with something. Okay?”

Connor nods. We finish dishes before we head out. I have to get back to the house, help with the unpacking.

“Hey,” I say as we slip into the car, “when are we coming back?”

“Whenever you want. I was thinking maybe Mary and your son would like it up here. There are spare rooms that haven’t been used for ages.”

I smile. “I’ll run it by them.”

It takes everything I have to keep a dumb grin off my face. Connor is not only thinking about me: he’s thinking about my family too. He isn’t excluding me from them, not trying to separate us but instead bring us all together. My heart pounds a little faster in my chest.

“Before we head hack,” he says, interrupting my thoughts, “let’s stop for something sweet. Ever since I stopped drinking I have the worst sweet tooth.”

“You had one before you stopped drinking,” I say, lifting an eyebrow.

He grins. “So imagine how bad it is now.”

I roll my eyes as he laughs. We head to the city and are almost instantly swallowed up in a crowd of people. The university isn’t far, and it looks like every student is out, all wrapped up in scarves and sweaters.