His Absolute Proposal: An Illicit Billionaire Love Story (Elise, #3) (12 page)

The man shook his head.  "No, no, don't worry about it.  It's my pleasure."

I smiled.  "Well, thank you very much.  We both appreciate it."

"Can I get the door for you?" he asked.

"Oh, right.  The surprise.  Yes, of course, if you'd like."

We didn't have to go far.  I hadn't strayed too far away from the door to begin with, so it was just a step or two.  The small shop owner opened the door for me and I stepped outside into the bright late morning sun.  A part of me wanted to just turn around and peer into the shop to see what Lucent's surprise was, but that didn't exactly work.  The glare of the sun shining on darkened, protective glass made it almost impossible to view much of anything in the shop.  I spotted vague outlines of racks of clothes, but nothing else.

Well, I didn't have to be that curious, now did I?  Except, no, I kind of was.  I didn't always mean to be.  Perhaps it was a bad habit?  No time like the present to break it, then, right?  Um... yes.  Sort of.

I stepped a few feet away from the shop to try and give myself distance, to convince myself away from peeking, but it barely helped.  My thoughts battled against each other.  This was really just a silly internal conversation to have, but I briefly considered stepping back inside and saying I needed to use the bathroom.  Just because, you know?  Just to see Lucent half a second earlier?

I was very bad at this patience thing.

Being bad ended up being a good thing, though.  Distracted with myself, I didn't even realize it when Lucent stepped up beside me.  He cleared his throat to catch my attention.  How long had he been standing there?

I glanced at him.  Or, no, I stared.  Perhaps I ogled him?  Honestly, I suddenly just wanted to have a lot of sex with him, and there wasn't much more to it.

It wasn't anything special, I supposed, except it sort of was because of who he was.  Lucent wore a tight, white undershirt, or more like a fitted t-shirt.  It looked similar to something he might wear while exercising, except far more crisp and fashionable.  It clung to his upper body, outlining the muscles that his dress shirts and suits usually hid.  Every time he took a breath—nothing drastic, just regular breathing—it seemed like the muscles in his chest rippled slightly.  I'd seen this more than a few times when he was naked, but never once had I seen him like this out in the open.  His shoulders stood strong and steady, adding depth and appeal to his upper body, and the cuffs of the short-sleeved shirt strained around his biceps.  If I looked closely—which I did, of course—I could almost make out the beautiful lines of his abs.  Just a little, just barely, but...

His pants were jeans, hanging loosely from his hips.  I knew this because I pulled at the bottom of his shirt to take a peek for myself.  The waistband of a pair of fancy underwear met my gaze while I pulled at his shirt, his pants clinging to his hips just beneath that.  Oh God.  I kind of wanted to pull them.  They just seemed very pullable, you know?  Like a tempting present, wrapped with a bow.  If you see a bow, you want to pull it undone, don't you?  Well, I always did, at least.  There was no bow, just Lucent's loose blue jeans, and I definitely wanted to pull them and see what he had underneath.

He'd replaced his shoes with white sneakers, and in one hand he held a small luggage case.  In the other, was a tiny four-pack of exotic chocolates.

"Lucent," I said, all words except his name evading me for the time being.

"Yes, Miss Tanner?" he asked with a casual smirk.

"I don't know what it is, but I just really want to have sex with you right now."

He maintained his composure for a second, but then he burst into laughter.  "You're quite forward, aren't you?  Shouldn't we go on a date first?"

"We've been on plenty of dates," I said.  "More than enough.  I think I know how it feels to be you now."

"Oh?" he asked.

"Yes.  Or, maybe.  I don't know.  When you say things, like... like you want to tie me up and spank me.  Um... well right now, I think I feel the same.  I don't exactly want to spank you, but I wouldn't be opposed to some nibbling or grabbing."

"Go ahead," he said.

Something switched on in my mind.  That was the only way to explain it.  Lucent's words turned me rabid.  I maintained some slight composure, and I didn't just strip him of his clothes and jump on top of him right then and there in the middle of the sidewalk in front of a small men's clothing store, but I supposed from an outside point of view I might as well have.

I grabbed a fistful of his tight shirt in my hand, raking the nails of my fingers across his taut abs with my other.  Lucent dropped the luggage bag and the box of chocolates on the sidewalk, then pressed his hands to my waist, pulling me tight against him.  I jumped into his arms.  Because.  I didn't know why.  He moved with me, his hands sliding to my butt, holding me up while I clung to him with my legs and my hands moved to grab at his neck and his face and his shoulders.

We kissed.  A lot.  I grabbed.  I nibbled and bit and teased his neck and perhaps we put on quite a show, but only for a moment.  I wanted more, I really did, but I contained myself and only gave in to my passions for a little while.  Ten seconds?  Maybe five?  It wasn't nearly enough, but it was enough for now.

Lucent chuckled when we slowed our pace.  Giving me one soft kiss on the lips before letting me back down to the ground, we emerged from our momentary lapse in judgment mostly unscathed.  His new shirt rode partway up his torso on one side, and my light scratches still marked his skin, but I pulled his shirt down for him and hid all evidence of our sudden tryst.

"Better?" he asked.

"For now," I said.  "Just a little bit."

Lucent bent to pick up his luggage bag and grabbed the chocolate box at the same time.

"I've been told these are for you," he said.  "As an early congratulations present.  Is there something you'd like to tell me?"  He lifted one brow, curious.

"Yes," I said.  "We're going to have a baby some day."

"Are we?" he asked, amused.  "Are you certain?"

"I mean, not now, of course.  I don't know when.  But I would like to some day with you, if that's alright?"

"We haven't really talked about this, have we, Miss Tanner?"  He didn't sound upset so much as... curious?  Interested?

I didn't know why, but his words made me feel guilty all of a sudden.  I didn't want to pressure him into it.  Truth be told, we hadn't even talked about marriage, either.  Was I ruining things?  Was it too soon?  We hadn't dated for that long.  It seemed longer than it was.  Six months or so?  I never intended to rush things, but I felt like I was falling—madly and deeply—so very very fast, and...

"Perhaps we should," Lucent said.  "We may have a lot to discuss, now that I think about it.  We promised to be completely open and honest with one another, did we not?"

I nodded a little, unsure.

"How about in Aruba?" he asked.

"What are you asking me, Lucent?"

"I'm not asking you anything yet," he said, letting his words linger for a moment.  "I do admit to being curious when your next appointment for your birth control shot is, though."

"I have an appointment in a couple of weeks," I said.

"I'm unsure where we'll be at that time," Lucent said.  "Perhaps you should consider canceling it?"

If we were hiding in Aruba, it made sense, but... and I wasn't sure if I was being hopefully naive or not, so I just decided to say it.  "I'm sure we can get condoms in Aruba, can't we?"

Lucent grinned and bent down to kiss my nose.  "Yes, I suppose we could, but I'd rather not, Miss Tanner."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" I asked.

"I'm saying that we should consider discussing our future together once we arrive in Aruba," Lucent said.

"I understand that, but I would just like you to tell me if you would like to have a baby with me."

"No," he said.

"Why not?"

"Because I've secretly spoken with your roommate before, and she's assured me you'd much rather have two babies, if possible."

"So you don't want to have one baby with me, you want to have two?"

"Is that agreeable?"

"Um..."  I skipped away from him, hiding my silly smile.  "I'll have to think about it!"

"We went through all of this and you have to think about it?" he asked loudly, laughing at me.

"I'll have to think about it!" I repeated.  "I need to think about thinking about it."

Not fast, not far, but I ran.  Lucent chased me.  I laughed, giddy when he caught up to me.  He smiled and handed me my congratulations gift.  I peered at the box, then shook it.

"You nearly forgot this, too," Lucent said.

My purse.  Whoops.  Yes, that was important, wasn't it?  It was, but I was a little distracted at the moment, too.

"I've thought about it," I said.  "I did already."

"Did you?  And your answer?"

"I'm not going to tell you yet.  It's a surprise."

"I can't wait," Lucent said.  "I shall await your answer with bated breath."

"Good," I said.  "Where are we going now, though?"

"Come," he said.

I put the box of chocolates in my purse, then took Lucent's hand.  The city seemed so open and wide and new now; unexpected yet exciting.  Yes, some secrets were bad, but many were good, too.  We had dealt with the bad ones, hadn't we?  I thought we had a lot of good ones to look forward to now.

I wanted them.  I wanted all of them.

Hand in hand, Lucent and I continued onwards to his secret destination.

L
ucent's secret destination wasn't very secret.  Or, I supposed it was.  I mean, anything can be a secret if you don't tell someone, and he certainly didn't tell me, but...

We walked through the lot of a car rental place, heading to a building in the center.  Lucent held the door open for me without saying a word and I stepped gingerly inside.  When the door closed, a little bell tinkled our arrival.

It wasn't exactly a busy day here; we were the only ones inside at the moment.  A man and a woman sat at computers further back behind the front counter, and another man stood there waiting for us.

"Hello, folks.  What can I help you with today?  Do you have a reservation?" the man asked, smiling.

"No," Lucent said.  "I was hoping you might have something available?  We're taking an unplanned trip."

"Not for any unfortunate reasons, I hope?" the man asked.  He turned to start typing something into a computer sitting just behind the front desk, looking from the computer monitor, to us, and back again every so often.

"Not at all," Lucent said.  "Just a lover's getaway of sorts.  We thought it'd be nice to take some time off, isn't that right, honey?"

I started to giggle because Lucent never called me "honey," but I managed to stop myself before I gave us away.  I doubted it'd be that suspicious, but better safe than sorry.

"Max is somewhat of a romantic dreamer," I said.  "It's nice, though.  I love our random trips."

"This isn't your first time, then?" the man asked.

"Our first time on this precise trip," Lucent said.  "We try to keep our relationship exciting.  I like to surprise her every so often.  Josey's not always a fan of surprises, though."

The man laughed.  "We do have a few options available.  Which of you will be driving today?  Or should I put both names on the rental?"

"Max," I said; Lucent answered at the same time, "Both."

The man laughed again.  "At least one of those answers is right," he said.  "Which is it?"

Lucent reached for my hand, squeezing it.  "I'll drive, but just in case, alright?"

It wasn't that I minded driving, I just... I liked when Lucent drove.  It seemed easier.  To be honest, I was sort of bad with directions, and also I had no idea where we were going.  That made it doubly nerve-wracking?  Sort of, maybe.

"Alright," I said.

"I'll just need your IDs," he said.  "Then we can go from there."

Lucent had mine, which probably would have seemed a little odd.  Fortunately, the man went back to typing something into the computer.  While Lucent pulled out the slim credit card wallet Dean had given him earlier, he slipped my fake ID out, too, and covertly handed it to me.  I pretended to fetch through my purse for something while Lucent offered his ID, then a second later I gave mine, as well.

"Alrighty," the man said.  "Max Hollowell and Josephine Dunst.  Not married?"

"Engaged," Lucent said.

I realized the flaw in this answer immediately, but I didn't say anything.  Maybe it wouldn't matter?  If we were engaged, where were our rings?  If the man noticed, he said nothing.  I was fairly certain that if we had a woman handling our rental, she would have said something about it, though.  Perhaps this was our good luck finally catching up to us?

"Al-right..."  He tapped a few more things into the computer.  "Any specific type of car?  Large, medium, small?"

"The standard size is fine," Lucent said.  "We don't have a lot."

"Great.  And how will you be paying for this today?"

Lucent offered him a credit card.  The man flipped it over, inspecting it.  Did it look fake?  Honestly I didn't know what a fake credit card looked like.  I supposed a good fake one looked the same as a real one.  Was this even a fake one?  I mean, not really.  It worked, and it was a credit card; it was just our identifications that were false.  I briefly wondered how far this "Max Hollowell" and "Josephine Dunst" ruse went.  Did they have social security numbers?  Entire histories?  How did that work?

Whatever the man was looking for with the credit card, he seemed to find it.  After swiping it through a card reader, he typed in the CVC, then handed Lucent a signature pad so he could sign his name.

Oh God.  We had fake identification, but what about our signatures?  I panicked, except it wasn't my signature he needed.  How would I sign something, though?  This was much more confusing and complicated than I first thought.  Why was I worrying about a signature.  I stared at Lucent, fascinated as he signed a perfect impression of what I thought Max Hollowell's signature would look like, complete with a large, stylized M.