Her Superhero Lover: A BWWM BBW Billionaire Superhero Romance (7 page)

Grady laughed softly, sending a light thrill through her body. It
reminded her of the sound he made when they were engaging in foreplay
the night before. "Well then, I shall have to remember that and
keep a very good supply of interesting books on hand. So does this
mean you'll join me for dinner again tonight?"

"Actually, I had an idea," Renee said. "I'm not
working tonight, and I was wondering.... would you let me make you
dinner at my apartment?" She was nervous. While Grady had seemed
relaxed enough picking her up the night before, she knew there was a
big difference between going to an apartment building in City Heights
and actually staying there for a while. A lot of people, not just
ones who were as rich as Grady, didn't like the neighborhood. Not
that she could blame them, it was that sort of neighborhood.
"Unless...."

"No, I love the idea," Grady said. "I was just
thinking about how much that means to me. I mean, invited into your
home so quickly, and for a home cooked meal? That's really nice."

Renee felt her throat tighten, and she blinked, feeling her eyes
itch and start to water. Damn dusty patios. "Well, you haven't
had my cooking yet," she joked, deflecting her emotions. "If
you knew how bad I am, you'd go running the other way. Maybe all the
way to Tijuana."

Grady's voice dropped, and his baritone words sent fresh waves of
desire through her. "I doubt there is anything you'd make that
could be that bad, Renee. And if I want to go to TJ, I'll bring you
along with me some time. So, how do you want to go about it? Should I
meet you at your apartment?"

Renee shook her head, even though he was on the phone. "No way.
That Lotus wouldn't last a half hour at my place. Come back here,
I'll go shopping while you're at work, and have it all ready when you
get home. We can drive over to my place together, if you don't mind.
Or would you like to just have dinner here instead?"

"No, I want to see more of your place than just the front door.
Besides, I bet you can show me more of your music at your place
anyway. I'd love to see how you make magic that way."

"It's a deal then. When can I expect you?"

Grady hummed in her ear, thinking. Renee could feel a warm dampness
between her legs, and knew she wanted more than just dinner with him
again. "How about I get back to my place around five thirty? I
can duck out of the office early this afternoon, the big stuff is
taken care of. Will that give you enough time?"

"Sure will. But, I don't know where I can go shopping around
here."

"There's a decent market about a mile away. If you want, I have
a home laptop next to the TV in the living room. It's password
protected, but you can get on with a guest account and have full
Internet no problem. I know there's more around, but I'm blanking out
as to what."

"Okay. Well, I'll let you get back to work. I need to change
out of your old PE uniform anyway and go shopping."

Grady chuckled again, his voice dropping to a desirous whisper.
"Really? Well, I bet you make that old shirt look a lot better
than I ever did. You going to keep it?"

Renee bit her lip and smiled, letting a bit of her own latent need
into her speech. "For the most part. I do need to take it off
for a while. You see.... I'm not wearing any underwear under it right
now."

The sharp intake and held breath on the other end of the line
thrilled her, and the fact she could arouse a man like Grady made her
feel beautiful and wanted. Finally, he growled lightly and spoke
again. "Five thirty. And you're wearing the shirt for dinner, or
else."

"Or else? Is that a threat or a promise?"

"Perhaps both," Grady teased, and it was Renee's turn to
hold her breath and get herself under control. Both of them chuckled,
and she took a deep breath. "All right, I'll talk to you later.
Bye."

"Bye." Renee hung up the phone, then thought to herself.
She could cook, she knew that. After all, as a single woman who
wasn't making huge money, she saved every dime she could by cooking
for herself (and occasionally cadging off of the clubs she DJ'd at.
Most of the managers were cool with it). But she hadn't cooked for
another person in at least two years. What did Grady like? More
importantly, what did he like that she could cook?

"If in doubt, check his kitchen," she said to herself,
going back inside. Opening the refrigerator, she felt relief wash
over her in an awesome wave. Instead of being packed with all sorts
of unfamiliar ingredients or labels in foreign languages, she found
normal things she would get for herself. While the quality was higher
than what she got at the Supercenter she used, ground beef was ground
beef, and pasta was pasta. In ten minutes, she had her plan, and
rushed back to the bedroom to change. She needed her underwear, and
while Grady's shorts were comfortable, they weren't appropriate for
going to a supermarket. The t-shirt was staying though.

"I can't believe that summer is almost over," Renee yelled
six weeks later, as she and Grady drove in the desert. They were in
his Jeep, and she was behind the wheel, enjoying the freedom and
speed that came from whizzing over dirt roads and lack of traffic.
The four point harness seat was tight around her body, and she
whooped with joy as they came over a small rise, catching a moment of
air before bouncing off the dirt.

"Me either!" Grady yelled back over the rush of the wind.
For the beautiful day, they'd taken the cover off the Jeep, and were
enjoying the natural sounds of the engine growling and the wind
whooshing past their ears. "But slow down, could you? I may have
racing seats, but the shocks aren't meant to go that fast!"

"Okay," she said, taking her foot off the gas. The Jeep
coasted along, dropping from fifty to thirty before she leveled it
out. The wind also dropped, and she found she didn't have to scream
any longer. "Better?"

"Much," Grady replied with a smile. "It's not that I
can't get Bill to drop some Fox shocks and springs on this thing, but
they aren't on yet. I'm glad you're having fun though."

"I am," she said, making a turn on the road and taking the
Jeep back towards the road they had come in on. "I'll be honest
when you said you wanted to do this I was surprised, and at first
wanted to say no. But thank you. It's nice to get out of the city and
beach rut and enjoy other things too."

"You're welcome. You've taught me a few things too. I never
knew how much work went into a remix and blend like you do. I'm
impressed, I've got people at the office with MBAs and making six
figures who don't work as hard as you do. Hell, most days in the
office, I don't even work that hard."

His compliment touched her, and she deflected it by making a self
deprecating joke, which Grady had come to expect. "Music is one
thing, but I still have a long way to go on pork chops," she
said, referring to their disastrous first dinner at her apartment. It
wasn't all her fault, the power had gone out in the apartment halfway
through, but it still was not very good.

Grady reached over and took her hand, gently squeezing her forearm.
"Hey, stop the truck, would you?"

She coasted to a stop and shifted into park, turning to look at him.
He took her hand in his, and shook his head. "Renee, I know why
you do it, but please, stop putting yourself down. I think you're
smart, talented, and yes, very beautiful. Please, you don't have to
feel insecure around me. I'm having the time of my life with you.
Aren't you enjoying our relationship too?"

"I am," Renee answered. "And I know what you're
saying. You've been very patient with me on it, but it's going to
take some more time. I feel like I'm in some sort of Cinderella story
right now, and part of me is afraid the clock is going to strike
midnight any minute now."

"Not by my watch," Grady said, "but if you like,
there is a royal ball we can go to, kind of. This Friday night,
there's a cocktail party I've been invited to. It's a group I belong
to, mostly young business leaders and political movers and shakers in
Southern California. They're hosting a charity party at the Del Mar
Hilton, and I want you by my side."

Renee felt stunned for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't
know Grady, I mean, a cocktail party at a Hilton? I....."

Grady cut her off, his eyes intense. "Renee, have I ever had
anything bad to say about your background?"

"No," she admitted, a small smile coming to her face.
"It's one of the reasons I like you so much."

"Okay," he said with a short nod. "And have I ever
had any problems going anywhere with you that you wanted to go?"

"No."

"Not even to that vintage record store next to the pot shop
near UCSD?"

Renee laughed. "Not at all."

"And I never will. Renee, you're beautiful, and I want you on
my arm at this party. I promise you that most of the people won't
care a whit about your skin, or where you are from. You're somewhat
famous too, or hadn't you noticed the newspaper?"

Renee thought back, recognizing what Grady was talking about. It was
a small story in the local news, on the society page. "Litezout
for Voelker?" the headline had said. The story had covered a bit
about them being seen going out together for the past few months, and
had included a shot of them coming out of a movie theater together.
What had shocked Renee the most was the opening line. "Grady
Voelker, the 25 year old CEO of Voelker Consolidated, and one of
Southern California's most eligible bachelors for the past two years,
has recently been seen with one of the city's up and coming music
stars. Renee Williams, better known in the nightclub scene as the
supremely talented Litezout..."

She had clipped the story out and stuck it on her fridge, half in
shock at the time. Now the image came back to her mind, and she shook
her head. "I don't feel famous. In fact, fame isn't paying the
rent."

"I know, and I don't feel like one of the state's most eligible
bachelors either. What I'm saying Renee, is that I don't care what
others think. I enjoy spending time with you, and would love to have
you with me for this event. While some of the people there are rich
douchebags I will warn you, the cause is good, and I think that is
worth my support."

Renee thought about it for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Okay.
You're staying with me though?"

"Well, we won't be joined at the hip," he said. He leaned
over and whispered in her ear. "That part comes later."

Renee took her hand off the steering wheel of the Jeep and ran it
over Grady's thigh. He was wearing shorts, and she slid it under the
hemline to feel the strong muscles of his thigh. They kissed, their
tongues caressing each other, breaking only when the constricting
harness digging into her collarbone became too painful. "Well, I
guess so," she said. "But you do know I don't have anything
appropriate to wear."

"I'm sure we can get you something," Grady said, leaning
back into his seat as well. "On that note, I saw your latest
Litezout outfit. What's with the new design?"

"The Horseman," Renee said, shifting back into gear and
continuing down the road. "He's become such a local celebrity,
it just felt fitting. You know he took down a meth lab not two blocks
from my apartment two weeks ago? I'll be honest, whoever he is, he's
doing a lot of good. I've even heard some rumors that he's been doing
some stuff down in Tijuana too, cleaning up down there. So I mixed a
little bit of his pale motif into my gear too. You know how hard it
was to get a nonreflective white fabric that doesn't fluoresce under
black lights?"

"Hadn't ever occurred to me,"
Grady said. "So is that why you mixed Disturbed and
Also
Sprach Zarathrustra
? All you're
missing is a big WHOOOOOOO to start the mix."

Renee grinned. "Growing up, those Four Horseman were the ones
my Dad loved the most. So it was kind of an homage to him too. Think
it's too much?"

"Well, I am kind of jealous. I mean, if I didn't know better,
I'd swear you have a bit of a crush on San Diego's costumed
vigilante."

Renee looked over and smiled, shaking her head. "You don't have
to worry about that. I think The Horseman is only the second sexiest
man in San Diego."

*****

The Del Mar Hilton was huge, in a Spanish neo-colonial style that
made Renee feel, for the first time, like she was out of place with
Grady. Smoothing her hands over the rich blue of her cocktail dress,
she felt like fidgeting. "You sure I look okay?"

"You're the most beautiful woman here," Grady said,
tugging at the cuff of his tuxedo. "How's the coat hang?"

"Perfect, as you'd expect," Renee replied. "You know,
you're the first guy I've ever known who has his own custom tailored
tuxedo. I do have to give you credit though, you shine your own shoes
still."

"I love the smell of Kiwi, what can I say? But seriously, you
look amazing in those heels. I'm glad you decided to go with the five
inchers instead of the shorter ones."

"That's just because now we can dance and kiss at the same time
without either of us having a major kink in the neck," Renee
joked, taking his arm and squeezing it. "And by the way, I
appreciate the way you checked out my legs helping me out of the
Lotus."

"They're more than worth checking out. Now shhh, we have to put
on our airs and be on our best behavior," Grady said, escorting
her into the hotel. The grand ballroom had been set aside for the
charity event, which apparently included an auction of donated goods
and even some services from the various parties in attendance. "I
actually donated two things," Grady whispered as they came in.
"Voelker Consolidated is giving away a Ming vase, and I'm also
donating a one hour mix session from San Diego's hottest young DJ to
any local event they want, within scheduling limits of course."