Billionaire Erotic Romance Boxed Set: 7 Steamy Full-Length Novels (107 page)

I tried to focus on what I was going to say to him about visiting my old house, about my relationship with Charles, but the thought of his bare chest still lingered in my mind. The way he turned his body, the sun catching his golden skin as he took in the view of the pasture, only amplified the desire that stirred in me.

“Maybe we can leave our own mark,” I said coyly as he sat down against a tree next to the tablecloth. I hadn’t wanted the picnic to go this way; I wanted to talk about everything that had happened in the past few days, but the scent of his cologne mixed with the fresh, raw smell of the earth around us made me hungry for him. Although we were surrounded by so much open space, I felt entrapped by his presence. I turned to him and reached out my hand to loosen his tie, abandoning all thoughts of the picnic.

“What are you doing?” He leaned away from my touch.

“I’m undressing you.” I got on my knees in front of him and began unbuttoning his shirt. I fumbled a bit; normally I was the one being undressed.

Victor turned from me in exasperation. “I’m not doing this,” he said, but the slow throbbing that had started between my legs overwhelmed my hesitation and I kept going. Pulling open his shirt, I took in the sculpted torso I’d been fantasizing about earlier and leaned in to kiss his chest. He squirmed under me as I slid my tongue slowly down the groove of his abdomen toward the thin line of hair that trailed down to his cock. The bulge at his crotch was warm and responded to my touch, but after a moment Victor pulled away from me.

“This is a mistake,” he said, buttoning up his shirt again at the collar. He moved as if to stand up, but I knew from the flush in his cheeks that he was aroused.

I straddled him quickly and positioned myself over his growing erection, desperate to keep him with me.

“Is it?” I pushed my pelvis against the swell in his pants and began grinding my hips slowly, pressing into him so that I could feel the friction of our bodies on my clit. My hands gripped the bark of the tree behind him as a low, gravelly moan escaped his mouth, betraying his earlier reluctance.

“Dove, stop—”

I pressed my lips against his ear. “I’m so wet for you.”

He gripped the curve of my hips forcefully. “Fuck,” he whispered to himself as I wrapped my legs around his waist. Without warning he stood up with me in his arms and carried me to the middle of the tablecloth before laying me down.

“Why can’t I resist you?” he said, his face inches from mine. He got up to his knees and unbuckled his belt, pushing down his pants so that the sunlight shone down on his cock and illuminated its smooth head. I pressed my fingers to the crotch of my jeans, trying to calm the aching need in my pussy.

“Take your clothes off,” he commanded.

I sat up and unhooked my bra, throwing it off to the side. I pulled off my jeans and panties just as quickly, the air cooling off the hot space between my legs and perking up my soft nipples. I knew Victor was trying to remain expressionless, but I could tell by the way his eyes settled on my full breasts and hard nipples that he wanted me.

Maybe he could never stop wanting me, just as I could never stop wanting him.

He lowered himself to me and spread my legs open before pressing his palm onto my clit. My body tensed with anticipation, and I grabbed the tablecloth in my clenched fists as he began working his hand in slow, circular movements. I pushed myself against him, burning for the contact.

“Is this what you wanted?” he asked.

“I want you inside of me,” I breathed as he slid his fingers along the tender lips of my pussy before sliding one into me. He pulled it out slowly, circling my clit with his slick fingertip, and I squirmed, desperate for him to touch it directly. Instead, he shoved two fingers back into me and I thrust my hips back and forth against him, moaning in a kind of aching delight.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the tip of his hard cock and reached up to stroke the thick length of it. Eager to make him feel as hot and needy as I did, I pulled away from his wet fingers and got to my knees. “Lie down,” I said.

I leaned forward over his reclining body and with my breasts hanging down I rubbed both of my nipples over the tip of his cock. Victor groaned softly and shifted in the grass as I took him between both of my breasts, squeezing them together and rubbing them up and down the length of him.

“You make me crazy,” he murmured through clenched teeth. I glanced up at him and noticed the primal look in his eye and then scooted back to grab his cock. I ran my tongue from its base to the tip before diving forward and taking all of him in my mouth, the head of his cock hitting up against the back of my throat. The taste of his pre-cum overwhelmed my taste buds almost immediately, and I knew he was already close to coming. I wasn’t sure if I had ever felt him as hard as he was now; my pussy dripped at the thought and I knew I couldn’t deny myself the release any longer.

I lifted my mouth away from his cock and propped myself on my knees with both of my legs on either side of him, the wet slit of my pussy opened slightly. “Do you want me?” I asked him sweetly as I rubbed the folds of my clit with my fingers.

“God, Dove,” he moaned. I leaned forward and ground my pussy against his pelvis, his hairs tickling my clit, before moving back down so that I was hovering just above his cock. I dipped down, brushing myself against his smooth tip, and then lifting myself away again.

“Fuck me,” he muttered.

“What was that?” I purred. After his earlier reluctance, I wanted to hear him tell me that he wanted me.

“Get your pussy down here and fuck me.”

I couldn’t take it anymore either; the fiery heat between my legs demanded attention. I finally dipped back down and let his cock slide deep into me. I gasped as he filled me entirely. Once I caught my breath, I grabbed onto his shoulders and circled my hips around his shaft.

The sun set behind the hills while our bodies became slick with a mixture of sweat and the wetness from between my legs. As the core of my body tensed up, my climax growing closer, Victor pushed me backwards onto the grass with him still inside of me.

“I don’t want you to come yet,” he said breathlessly.

I stared at him wide eyed as he began thrusting his cock over and over inside of me, the pulsing throb between my legs growing stronger. I wrapped my legs around his back and welcomed the motion, rocking my hips forward so that my clit continued to grind against him. My breasts were pressed firmly to his chest, my hard nipples pushed up against his skin, and I could practically feel the rapid beating of his heart.

My stomach grew warm and tight as desire grew inside me until my pussy burst into contractions as I writhed against his cock, my back arching off the ground as the climax I had been putting off for so long finally wracked my body. I felt him come inside me at the same time, and he gripped my hips tight as he delved deeper between my warm folds.

“Dove, Dove…” he murmured into my hair as he finished. I traced my fingers on his back as he collapsed next to me.

He wrapped his fingers around my own as we lay there, our two bodies sticky with sweat and still intertwined.

When I had caught my breath, I leaned over and propped my head on my arm. “And I thought you didn’t want me,” I said, thinking of his initial hesitancy.

He leaned back on the grass and stared up at the sky. It was such a human thing to do that I was a little bit mystified and stared at him openly.

“I know I’ve been distant, but I’ve been doing some thinking,” he said, his voice steady with seriousness.

I didn’t like the way that sounded and I worried that he was going to bring up Charles. I pulled my legs up and wrapped my arms around them as a chilled breeze washed over my naked body. “What kind of thinking?”

Victor continued to stare up at the sky, avoiding my gaze. “About you and me.”

I panicked; for some reason I didn’t want to hear what he was about to say. Was he finally going to tell me he didn’t want to be with me? Now, after what we’d just done together? My strength, my drive to figure out once and for all what our relationship meant, suddenly left me.

He sat up and grabbed his shirt from the grass. “I want to end the contract.”

I took in a deep breath, not sure whether I was supposed to be thrilled or worried. “Why?”

“It just seems like time,” he replied casually.

I watched him in silence for a moment as he pulled on his pants and quickly buttoned up his shirt. I took in a breath. “Because of Charles?”

“I don’t want to hold you back. From your old life or from anything. I want you to figure out what makes you happy.”

My heart felt like it stopped beating for a moment. “What makes you think only one thing will make me happy?”

“I care for you, Dove,” he said, ignoring my question. “I’ve cared for you since the first time I saw your wide, brown eyes staring up at me. I don’t want you to get caught up in my life and have it end up ruining yours.”

“But I’ve been caught up in your life for months,” I protested.

Victor raised his hand to stop me. “No more, my mind is set. Go see your brother. Figure out what it means to you.” With that Victor mounted his horse.

Was breaking off the contract another way for him to say that he didn’t want me anymore? He cares about me, and he knows I love him, but I couldn’t understand what he was warning me away from. He’d mentioned this before, that his life was somehow dangerous, and I had always brushed off his warnings. But now I wasn’t sure if I was his anymore—was I on my own again?

“Really?” I called after him in disbelief as he began riding back to the stables. He was going to let me go that easily, after all that we’d been through?

I stood there staring after him, unsure of what to think. I had imagined something like this happening, especially after the way he reacted to my news about visiting my old home with Charles, but to have it actually happen was too much to bear.

He hadn’t seen the last of me; I wasn’t going to give up that easily, but I wasn’t going to run after him in tears. If he wanted me to build my own life, than I would. I would go see Charles and figure out what made me happy, just as he told me to do.

I put on my clothes and hopped on Butterscotch, trailing after the path his horse’s hooves had made in the grass.

Chapter Twenty-four

It felt strange not waking up early and going to work after having established that routine over the past few weeks. I felt like I had to do something productive while I waited for Charles to come pick me up. Victor had left for work hours earlier, and Karen and Betty were doing their usual routine of preparing food and tidying.

I paced around the mansion the entire morning; my bags were already packed and sitting by the door. Karen and Betty had adamantly told me that there was no work for me to do and that I should just relax.

There was absolutely no way I could relax. I was so nervous my hands were shaking.

I had been sitting in the parlor staring at the grandfather clock, watching the seconds tick by, when I heard the expected knock at the door and quickly shuffled over, bags in tow.

When I reached the entrance, I saw that Charles looked almost as nervous as I was. He had a baseball cap in his hands that he was kneading absent-mindedly. The worn t-shirt and faded blue jeans he wore made a startling contrast to the formal clothing Victor preferred. It was refreshing, in a way.

“Thanks for picking me up,” I told him. “I can’t quite drive myself around yet.”

Charles smiled. “You used to love driving.”

“Really?”

He nodded. We stood in awkward silence for a few seconds. I didn’t know what else to say and by the look of it, neither did he.

He put his hat back on his head.  “So you told me that you’ve been drawing and painting?”

“Victor gave me an art room. I’ve got a few paintings upstairs if you want to take a look.”

“Yeah, of course.” He paused. “I have to ask though, is Victor here?”

I pressed my lips together. “No, he’s at work.”

“Okay, good. I didn’t want to—” he began, but stopped short when he noticed my glare.

As Charles followed me to my studio, I wondered whether or not Victor would mind that I had brought a guest here without his permission, but I decided it didn’t matter anymore. Our contract was over, so I guessed I could do whatever I wanted. I wasn’t sure if that extended to doing whatever I wanted under his roof, but he wasn’t around to stop me.

On the second floor, I opened the door to the brightly lit room where I spent most of my time when I wasn’t working at the Lotus Gallery. A few of my paintings were hung on the walls and there was one still on the easel, a work in progress.

Charles was silent for several moments after we walked in. He paced around the room, looking closely at the various paintings I had hung up. “Your style is a lot different than before,” he said after he had gotten his fill.

“It is?”

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t know a lot about art, but the work you have now seems more urgent and definitely more abstract. Honestly, I think you grew a lot as an artist, even if you don’t remember the process.”

I stared at my art thoughtfully. “Do you still have any of my old work?” I asked him.

“Mom and Dad’s house is exactly the same as when you left it,” he said. “The only change is the work from your apartment in San Francisco. I put it all in your room.”

My own apartment. It was hard to picture living in a space that wasn’t in the cold, dangerous streets or in Victor’s plush mansion. “Where in the city was my apartment?” I asked curiously.

“The Mission. You loved it.”

The Mission. I wondered how many times I passed by my old apartment while I was homeless and had absolutely no clue. How close were Charles and I before the accident? Was I just across the street when he cleaned out my apartment?

It felt strange to be so close, yet so far from everything I once knew. It seemed like a cruel joke. I had lost everything and spent two years convinced that I never had anything to begin with. Except my art. I had retained my passion for the art world even if it didn’t do me much good while I could barely eat, but I’d been building anew for so long that I worried I might never be able to access my old memories.