His Absolute Proposal: An Illicit Billionaire Love Story (Elise, #3) (20 page)

"Can you make an exception, oh lovely genie of mine?" he asked.

I shook my head, no.  "Nope!"

"I'll just have to make you fall in love with me the old-fashioned way, then," he said.

"Can I tell you a secret?" I whispered.

I didn't know why I whispered, because we were alone in a bedroom in the basement of his parent's lakehouse, but it just seemed appropriate.

"Yes, anything," he said, whispering to my whisper.

"I'm already in love with you," I said.  "So that means you still have another wish."

"You are?" he asked, acting unconvinced though his grin said otherwise.  "I do?"

I nodded.  "Mhm."

"Perhaps just a small addition to a previous wish," Lucent said, thoughtful.  "Perhaps, as my whim dictates, I'd like nothing more than to tie you up and spank you and..."

Lucent trailed off, leaving his thoughts unrefined.  I could certainly finish them for him, and I thought maybe we should do that.  I kissed him softly, and he kissed me back a little less so.  Soft became hard, a little harder.  Not just kisses anymore.  I felt him against my thigh.  Oh, yes.  This was good.  Definitely good.  Very...

"Lucent?" someone called out; a woman.  "Are you down here?"

"And that," Lucent said, removing himself from atop me, "is my mother."

"Oh!  Do I get to meet her?" I asked.  This was difficult, which did I want more: did I want to meet Lucent's mother, or would I rather practice with Lucent in regards to giving his mother grandbabies?  Questions... difficult difficult questions.

"Yes," Lucent said.  "Mostly yes, and mostly right now, because my mother is a strong proponent against privacy."

I wrinkled my nose and laughed at him.  "You have such a way with words."

"She's kind, though.  I'm sure you'll like her.  You two will likely get along.  If you've seemingly tamed and subdued my father, all the better."

"I'm good at that," I said, sitting up and then jumping off the bed while Lucent went in search of his pants.  I puffed up my chest, filling it with self-importance and pride.  "You may call me Elise Tanner, the Storme-tamer."

Lucent did his best not to laugh; and also, I thought, he did his best not to rush to lock the door, toss me atop the bed, and show me exactly who was taming who.  He slipped on his pants, zipped and buttoned them, and opened his bedroom door just as his mother called out again.

"Lucent?" she said, tentative, standing just outside the door.  When he opened it, she peeked inside, curious, concerned, and with a half smile.  "Oh, you're here.  Your father said—"

I smiled and waved, feeling somewhat shy all of a sudden.  I had a bad habit of that, really, because, um... well, this was Lucent's mother!  I shouldn't be shy.  I should be happy.  I should go out and say hello and thank her for...

"Oh!" she said with a gasp of delight.  "It's true!  I thought he was telling me a fib."

"A fib, mother?" Lucent asked.  "Really?"

"Shush, dear.  Move out of the way.  Let me meet her.  What were you two doing hidden away down here in one of the guest bedrooms?"

Lucent's mother ignored him, pushing her way past him and into the room.  She came up in front of me, smiling, eyes roaming up and down, assessing me as the partner to her son.

"Last I knew, this was my bedroom for when I visit," he said.

"Yes, but you don't visit often now so I didn't know if we should save it for you."

"I see how it is," Lucent said, shaking his head.  "Removed from the house, as it were."

"Lucent, I'll talk with you later.  I'm going to talk with her now," she said.  Waving him away with a small hand gesture, she turned her full attention to me.  "Oh, hello dear.  What's your name?"

"Elise—" I said.  I thought I should introduce myself fully, but apparently not.

"Oh!  Elise!  What a pretty name.  You're quite fetching, too.  Does Lucent tell you that?"  She turned to look to her son for a brief second.  "You do tell her she's fetching, don't you?"

"I'm entirely uncertain if I have ever referred to Miss Tanner as 'fetching,' mother," Lucent said.

She gave him a concerned, worried look.  "Who's Miss Tanner?"

"Me," I said with a squeak.  I wanted to sound confident, but this wasn't exactly going as I'd planned.  Granted, I hadn't planned anything, so...  "I'm Elise Tanner.  Um..."

"I don't get it," she said.

"It's fine, mother," Lucent said.  "Please, allow me to reassure you that, yes, I find Elise fetching.  She is perfect, beautiful, wondrous, attractive, sensual, captivating, enchanting..."

"Cute?" his mother asked.  "Do you think she's cute?"

"Yes, of course she's cute," Lucent said.

"And what about you, dear?" she asked me.

"I think I'm cute, too?" I said, not entirely sure where this was going.

"No!  Oh, gosh, no.  You are, of course.  I meant Lucent.  Is this a good relationship?  I don't mean to pry, but I'm hoping that maybe some day my Lucent will find a fetching woman to have children with, so I'll have some grandbabies running around the house.  Not that fetching is a requirement.  It's not what
I
think, anyways.  It's Lucent's decision as to who he finds fetching, and he finds you fetching, so...?"

"Mother," Lucent said, groaning.  "Please."

"Well," I said.  "Yes, I find Lucent handsome, cute, attractive, charming.  He's quite pleasing, enticing, alluring, and sweet.  He's um... he's altogether very nice and neat and I like him a lot.  Also, we were just talking and Lucent said he wouldn't be opposed to having babies with me."

"Did he really say that?"  She glanced from me to him.  "Lucent, that's rude.  You wouldn't be opposed?  You need to be more of a sweet-talker than that, dear."  And back to me.  "Elise, I'm sorry that my son is a little strange."

"Mother, if you believe I'm strange, you really have no idea who you're talking to."

I shrugged, looking side to side, guilty as charged.  "Um... well, Lucent didn't actually say that, but it sounded like something he would say.  I don't really mind.  I think it's fun.  Actually, what he said was that he wanted to rub me like a genie in a bottle and—"  I belatedly realized what I'd just said, and to Lucent's mother no less.  "Er... and one of his wishes would be for grandbabies."

"Lucent!" his mother shouted, stomping and turning around, hands on her hips, glaring at him.  "Did you really tell this fetching young woman you'd like to rub her the right way and have children with her?"

"I most certainly did not say I would rub her the right way, mother."

"Well, I hope you're not planning on rubbing her the wrong way."

"Mother, we're not having this conversation," Lucent said.

"Fine, but what about the grandbabies?  Are we having those?"

"No," Lucent said, putting his foot down.  "We're not.  You, mother, are having grandbabies.  Elise and I will simply have children, at least to start."

His mother glared at him, fierce and determined.  "When?" she asked.

"What do you mean when?" Lucent countered.  "It takes at least nine months to have children, mother.  As well, Elise is currently on birth control, so that needs to be taken into consideration.  Perhaps a wedding and a marriage would be in order beforehand, also?  We should take these matters into consideration."

"Excuse me," I said, not sure how to say this.  "I'm a little hungry."

"Oh God.  Lucent, she's hungry.  This won't do.  Oh, oh.  Also."  Lucent's mother turned around and held her hand out as if to offer it to me to shake, but then she changed her mind completely.  Moving forward fast, wrapping her arms around me, she hugged me tight.  "Elise, it's so wonderful to meet you.  I'm Angela, Lucent's mother, but I'm sure you know that already.  I'm so glad Lucent met you.  He's trouble, I know.  I'm sorry.  He's a good boy, too, though.  Please treat him well.  Make sure he treats you well, too.  Don't let him put you through any shenanigans."

I didn't know what to do at first, but then my arms went around Lucent's mother as easily as that, instinctive and right.  She hugged me and I hugged her back.  It was—if I was being honest—somewhat peculiar at first, but I liked it.  She was good at hugging, and I liked her no-nonsense attitude.  It was certainly different from Lucent and his father, but similar in its own way, too.  I loved Lucent, even through our rough spots, and while my first introduction to his family was... not regular, I thought I was starting to like them, too.

I wanted to.  I wanted everything to work out.

"Let's just bring you two upstairs," Angela said with a smile, stepping back and out of our impromptu embrace.  "I'll make you a snack before dinner.  You'll both be staying for dinner, won't you?"

"Yes, that would be wonderful, if you don't mind, mother," Lucent said.

"I've heard some bad things about you recently, Lucent.  You're going to have to explain all of this.  Not now; let's wait until we're sitting down for dinner.  You aren't in trouble, are you?" Angela asked.

Lucent cleared his throat.  "Yes, about that..."

L
ucent's mother apparently had a horde of caterers hidden away, on beck and call, in her kitchen.  Or, likely not, but it seemed it.  As soon as we all went upstairs, she asked us to wait in the living room while she went to fetch a light snack for us before dinner.  When she returned, she had a platter filled with deviled eggs, pita crisps, a bowl of fresh hummus, and cubed Italian meats and cheeses.

She smiled and told us to help ourselves while she went to put the finishing touches on dinner.

"Finishing touches?" I asked Lucent as soon as she left for the kitchen.  "Um... didn't she just get back?"

"My mother," Lucent said, speaking with an odd sort of pride, "is what you might refer to as a foodie.  My father spends his retired days crafting snowglobes for many local business, with a special online division I helped him set up, and my mother cooks.  I assure you, Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year."

"Yes," I said, "except you don't come visit them, Lucent."

He frowned before reaching out to snatch a deviled egg from the platter of food.  Popping it into his mouth, he chewed, then let out a sigh that could only really be described as sensually sinful.

"I really should visit more often," he said.  "The food is wonderful."

I glared at him and slapped at his arm.  "I was being serious!"

"I was being serious, as well," he countered.  "Don't believe me?  Try this, Miss Tanner."

He took another egg half, then brought it to my lips.  I kept them shut tight at first, but then gave in to his constant prodding.  Opening my mouth, I let him slip the egg between my teeth, onto my tongue, chewing...

"Oh my God," I said, suddenly feeling as if I'd discovered food for the very first time.  "I don't know what I've just eaten, but I want more."

Lucent gladly obliged me, taking another egg and offering to feed me.  I liked that, liked when Lucent fed me.  I didn't really know why, because I couldn't exactly say it was anything I'd ever considered before, but it was nice.  I felt safe and protected in a different sort of way.  We cuddled close, and Lucent took turns feeding himself, then me.  I fed him a few morsels here and there, as well; pieces of cubed meat and bites of hummus-smothered pita crisps.

I hadn't exactly realized it before, but we hadn't eaten much of anything since this morning, and I was absolutely famished.

"We need to stop," I said.  "I don't want to stop.  I want to eat all of it.  But we need to stop, Lucent."

"For dinner," he said.  "Yes, of course."

"Is there dessert?" I asked.

Lucent's father chuckled.  My ears perked up and I glanced fast towards him.  John stood in the doorway off to the side and behind us, watching us with marked interest.

"Cute," he said.  "You two are real cute."

"Father," Lucent said, guarded.  "Hello."

"Don't mind me," John said.  "Just checking in."  With that, he turned to leave, but not before adding, "It's carrot cake.  That's what's for dessert.  With freshmade cream cheese icing.  It's delicious.  You'll love it, Elise."

Lucent stared at me after his father left, curious and intrigued.  I shrugged, nonchalant, nothing doing.

"Your father likes me," I said.  "I think it's because I'm amazing."

Lucent laughed, then snuck close to give me a kiss.  "If that's the reason, I certainly agree with him.  You are, as you say, amazing.  I'm impressed."

"I think you're amazing, too, Lucent," I said.  "It's nice here.  We should—"

I paused, because I hadn't thought about it for awhile, had kind of forgotten it was even an issue.  We should come here again, we should come here more often.  That's what I wanted to say, but was it really that easy?  Regularly, it would be, yes, except, um... we were sort of in hiding at the moment.  On the run, as it were.  John had even mentioned the police calling to speak with him, so this was becoming more widespread with each passing day, involving more and more people.

Why, though?  There was something about it that struck me as incredibly off.  I mean, I knew that from the start, what with the description of the situation that the police officer told us this morning, but...

"Once this all calms down," I said.  "After everything is settled and we can return to our normal lives, I'd really like it if we visited your parents more often.  And they can come visit us if they want?  Your apartment is big enough.  It could be really nice.  I don't want to, um... well, I'm not trying to pressure you or them or anyone into anything, but they could meet my parents, too?  I think that would be really nice, Lucent."

Lucent smiled, considering all of this.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lucent's mother hovering in the doorway, waiting and watching us.  I had an inkling of a feeling she wanted to hear what Lucent would say before making her presence known.  She held up one finger to her lips, as if begging me to keep quiet for a moment, too.

"That would be nice," Lucent said.  "I admit that perhaps I've been somewhat lax in moving forward with some things, and that is one of them.  Occasionally I become focused on one thing, to the detriment of others, and—"