by Brynn Paulin
I tried not to focus on his words, the promises. That was pillow talk, right? Someday, he’d probably have some glam debutante. I’d be leaving for college in a couple months. But we could have this moment, this here and now. For however long it lasted.
I realized Brix was carrying me.
“I can walk,” I whispered.
“I like you here,” he replied. Without another word, he settled onto the couch, lying back and draping me over his chest. Our legs entwined while we kissed. His thigh nudged my over sensitive folds while our chests pressed together. Our hands explored without getting too intimate. It was as if we’d gotten the heat out of our systems—momentarily anyway, because I still felt it simmering away and waiting to reignite. He skated his fingers leisurely along my back and arms while I did the same, until he cupped the back of my neck and started kissing me deeply again. Our tongues slid together, and I groaned. My legs squeezed his as my excitement rebuilt and I felt my pussy getting wetter.
With long, drugging kisses, he erased everything but the sensation of him. His hard, warm body against mine. His muscles shifting under my palms as he cuddled me closer. His clean taste mixed with a lingering flavor of an alcohol I didn’t recognize. The dark, woodsy scent of his cologne that reminded me of forest and bonfires when I’d camped as a Girl Scout.
All thought departed, and I just savored, forgetting everything else. My life, my worries and insecurities… It was just him. Only him.
I just closed my eyes, giving back everything he gave me. It seemed so natural, so easy. I melted into him. His cock pressed into my lower belly while we sank into each other. Somehow, I was straddling him, Brix on his back and my pussy pressed to the ridge in his pants. I gasped, my head dropping back. He pressed his mouth to my throat, sucked at my pulse, then brought my mouth back to his. His other hand guided me as I rocked on him, crying out at the tendrils of pleasure threading through me.
I whined as he kept the motion slow and easy when I wanted to speed up.
“Just feel, Princess,” he said against my lips.
“But…I…”
“We have forever. I promise. I don’t want to rush you.”
I wanted to rush. I wanted more. I wanted to know what the girls in school had whispered and giggled about. I wanted to feel more of what Brix did to me. I wanted everything.
“You’re not rushing me,” I tried.
“Uh-huh,” he chuckled. “Just kiss me. I promise you’ll come again. You’ll probably make me come in my pants again.”
“Again?”
“You didn’t know.”
Heat filled my cheeks. Should I have? Embarrassed, I pressed my face into his chest.
“Hey,” he said, lifting my chin. “Don’t. You’re perfect. Fuck, your innocence turns me on. You have no idea how glad I am that I’m your first in all this, that you don’t know all about intimacy and that you’ll learn with me. That it will only ever be me. I’ve never felt this way. I never thought this would be me.”
His hips jerked up into me, showing how aroused he was, and I moaned, right back where I’d been moments ago. I rocked against him, figuring out a rhythm that had us both moaning. He cupped my breast though my dress, and I squeaked in surprise then groaned as my body reacted. I’d hadn’t known there was a connection between there and my core. And it felt good. His thumb stroked back and forth over my nipple, and that connection tightened. I felt myself getting even wetter, my thin panties soaked against him. He had to feel it.
He gently squeezed my breast. “I knew. I knew you’d be a perfect fit for my hands. Look at this, Cricket.”
I did. The sight of his large, masculine hand cupping me was mesmerizing. I arched, pushing into it, wanting more. His thumb swept over my rigid peak again, and I cried out. The world closed in on me once more, and I rocketed into another orgasm.
“Fuck,” he murmured, sounding completely sated as I fell into him, boneless.
“Mmm.”
“You okay?”
“Mmm-hmm.” I nodded against him. Who’d have thought? We didn’t even take off our clothes.
Chapter Six
~ Cricket ~
My eyes flew open, and immediate panic hit me. I wasn’t confused. I knew exactly where I was. With Brix. In his penthouse. And apparently in his bed. With his solid, warm body wrapped around me.
Last I remembered, I was on the couch with him, drugged out from an orgasm. Crap, I must have fallen asleep.
Go figure. After all my assertions that I wouldn’t sleep with him, I had indeed slept with him.
I mean we hadn’t had sex—not really. But here I was in his bed, in his arms, in love—and that was not good. There was no way I should be feeling this way. Insta-lust, sure. Insta-love, no.
God forbid he realized how I felt. If he laughed, if he didn’t feel that way…
It would be humiliation worse than anything I’d experienced in school or at the hands of Ella and her friends.
I had to get out of here. Carefully, I eased from beneath Brix’s arm, hating the chill that immediately wafted over me. I barely dared a glance at him before dashing from the master suite. In itself, it was a maze of rooms and I got myself turned around before finding the great room. God, I had to pee, but I didn’t have time. I had to get out of here.
In a mad dash, I grabbed my clutch and ran down the stairs then down the corridor to the foyer outside the elevator. It wasn’t until I pushed the button that I realized I’d forgotten my shoes. Great. Here I was, doing the walk of shame, in my rumpled dress. I was shoeless, and my hair was probably a disaster and a half. And we didn’t even have sex.
Well, I wasn’t going back for them. I was probably locked out, anyway.
In the elevator, I vainly tried to right my hair. Thankfully, the long strands were one of my better features. The sleek, dark mass tended to stay fairly unmussed while I slept, and despite Brix having his hands knotted in it last night, it was easily tamed from being obvious bedhead.
Downstairs, the doorman was discreet enough not to give me side-eye as I passed, and I easily caught a cab outside. Before I knew it, I was a few miles away, entering the building that housed my family’s condo.
Of course, they were all awake.
Both my parents stared at me, wide-eyed, over their coffees when I entered, and I got the feeling they hadn’t known I wasn’t home.
And I rest my case about them being oblivious.
Ella crossed her arms where she stood a few feet away. She smirked at me.
You wouldn’t be smirking if you knew where I was and who I was with.
She could never find out.
“And where were you, Trampolina?” she snarked.
“At a friend’s, not that it’s your business.”
“You don’t have any friends.”
“Whatever, Bitchella.”
“Cricket! Apologize to your sister,” my father admonished.
“Oh sure. She can call me a tramp, and you say nothing. But I say something back, and I’m the bad one?”
“She’s not the one coming in all rumpled at six in the morning.”
I huffed, annoyed by them and by myself for getting caught in this situation. I shouldn’t have fallen asleep at Brix’s place, no matter how good it felt. “I need to go change. I have that interview this morning.”
“It’ll be good for you to have something to do. Maybe, it’ll keep you out of trouble.”
I stared at him. “Are you really that oblivious?”
Before he could answer—i.e. yell—I took off for my room, knowing he’d blame my uncharacteristic outburst on teenage angst, rebellion and hormones. I locked my door and went directly to my bathroom and turned on my shower. Even if they came pounding, I wouldn’t hear it.
I dropped my clutch on the counter while I stripped out of the dress. Almost immediately, it buzzed. My brow furrowed, and I pulled out my phone.
Your Man: Hey, Cinderella, you forgot your shoes. I don’t like you sneaking out of her
e. You should know it pisses me off.
Cricket: I thought I should leave. I don’t know morning-after etiquette. How did you get your number in my phone?
Your Man: Proper etiquette is not to sneak out on me. Ever. Don’t do that again, Princess. I added myself to your contacts last night. You’re in mine, too. Obviously.
Cricket: But how?
Your Man: You sleep soundly…and you have your phone set up to use your thumb to access it. Also, I deleted all those pictures of that Aquaman guy.
Cricket: What?!
Your Man: Princess, you’re mine. No other man gets to be all over your phone.
I clicked out of the text conversation to see flowers as my screen wallpaper. I scowled.
Cricket: Mr. Brixton, that’s not cool at all. I can have whoever I want on my phone.
The little dots danced on my screen, disappeared then reappeared.
Your Man: No.
That was all he had to say? No? No what?
Your Man: See you at 9.
A moment later, he texted me the address and the floor number for his office suite.
It would serve him right if I didn’t show. Then I recalled his kisses—not that I’d forgotten—and I knew I’d be there. Plus, I’d told my father about the appointment, and I desperately wanted out of this house.
I wasn’t too nervous about seeing Elijah Brixton again. Aside from the heat burning between us, I’d felt at ease with him last night. Maybe too at ease. I was afraid of that being a mirage and the two of us being stiff and uncomfortable today.
I snorted at the thought stiff. Okay, Brix, or at least part of him, might be very stiff this morning. That would be okay. For the first time, I felt a feminine power denied me all these years. Was it just Brix who brought it out and saw me as more than a beast? Or had I been misled all these years, blinded by the taunts since I was eight. There had been so many, and they’d been constant. How could I not believe them? No one had told me they were untrue. Not a single person.
But Brix… How did he see me different from that?
A bit of my excitement faded. In the harsh light of day, maybe any of his attraction from last night would disappear.
Tears burned my lids as I stepped beneath the shower stream and closed my eyes, hating the reality of the morning after.
* * * *
Dressed in a white blouse and a slim, maroon-and-black skirt that hit a couple inches about my knees, I entered the tall, glass-and-steel building housing Brix’s offices. Near Wall Street and the shore, I supposed the upper offices had an unobstructed view of the harbor.
My shiny, black heels tapped on the polished tile as I headed for the elevator bank. I didn’t wear them often—that whole giantess thing—but I’d bought them for a dance last year, thinking maybe the Louboutin shoes would make me look more sophisticated. I’d worn them once, Ella and the girls with her had ridiculed me and I’d stashed them in the back of my closet ever since.
And wasn’t that the story of my life? Ella and her posse making me feel bad about myself. Just another reason for leaving this city and building my life elsewhere.
My fingers tapped nervously on my thighs as I waited for the lift. The nervous tension continued as I took it up to the 60th floor. My ears popped as the car flew upward to its destination, and my stomach hollowed—not so much from the trip but from the anticipation that hadn’t abated over the past few hours.
All too soon, I stepped out into an open reception area. Standing still for a moment, I took a deep breath then looked around. It appeared to be a pretty standard office vestibule with a receptionist guarding the inner sanctum that lay beyond the locked doors to either side of her desk. The dark wood paneling, beige leather cushions, quiet piped-in music and soft lights offered a calm atmosphere.
“Can I help you?” the blonde receptionist asked me with a smile.
“I…I have an appointment with Mr. Brixton at nine.”
“Okay.” She turned to her computer screen. Her fingernails clicked on her keyboard as she typed, then her brow furrowed. “I don’t have anyone on his schedule right now. It’s today?”
“Yes. Hang on. He only set up the meeting last night.” I pulled out my phone.
Cricket: I’m not on your schedule.
Your Man: Shit. Hold on a sec.
Okay…
“Cricket Markawicz?” the woman asked, smiling. She looked amused yet completely pleasant.
“Yes.”
“The note here says to buzz you in.” She indicated the double doors to her left. “If you go through there and walk all the way down the corridor, you’ll end up in his office suite. His admin should be at her desk, but if she’s not, just have a seat in the waiting area and I’m sure he’ll be out for you. I’ll send him a message and let him know you’re on the way.”
“Thank you.”
She needn’t have given me that much info. I’d barely made it through the doors when I saw Brix sprinting toward me, grinning. I grinned back, thoroughly relieved by his reaction.
“Thank God, you’re here,” he said, sweeping me into his arms. My relief deepened at the sensation of those arms enveloping me, somehow feeling like safety and what home should feel like—not my current home, but what I remembered of it from childhood.
Then his lips were on mine. Going on my toes, I met his mouth with mine. His tongue pushed for access, and I happily let him in. I couldn’t contain the happy sound that escaped me at his greeting, and he growled in response. My toes curled in my expensive shoes. It was good to be princess—his princess.
“Elijah,” I breathed, trying out his name.
“Fuck, I like the sound of that on your lips.” He nuzzled my ear. “I like all your sounds,” he growled.
“It’s okay if I call you that?”
“Yes. No one else does but my Grand. I’d like it if you used my first name, too.” His fingers laced with mine. “C’mon. Let’s show you around.”
The corridor led to a bright, airy atrium. It was the opposite of the reception area, with lighter furniture and lots of plants.
“We’re on the top floor, so we have the advantage of lots of sunlight,” he explained. “This is Diana,” he said after leading me toward the desk at the far corner of the space.
The woman looked up, and I found myself staring into the face of the one of Ella’s friends—the older sister of one of my classmates. Diana’s smile was forced, her eyes full of malice as she studied me. A shiver coursed down my back, but I tried to cover the reaction by moving closer to Brix.
“Diana, this is Cricket, my fiancée. She’ll be working here as my personal assistant.”
“Fiancée?” Diana exclaimed. Her mouth dropped open in shock before she schooled her features. Barely.
Welcome to the club, I thought. It’s news to me, too. I stared up at Brix, wide-eyed, and he gave me that adoring, devilish smile again.
I bit my lip to contain my own grin at my first triumph. Diana might be older, but she’d been firmly in the mean girls’ camp. My glee was short-lived, though. Almost as soon as it came, I realized Diana would be on the phone at the first opportunity. And that would mean Ella would know about this before I got home.
“Yes,” Brix said. His arm wrapped around my waist, and he kissed my temple. “We’ve been dating on the sly—you know, trying to keep everything under the radar because we didn’t want it all over the press. I worried about getting my grandfather’s hopes up. And Cricket insisted we know where things were going before we told anyone.”
“I guess it’s going to the altar,” I quipped, still a little shell-shocked that we were engaged. What the hell had happened after I fell asleep last night?
“Damn right, it is.” He kissed me, a quick peck across my lips. Okay, yes. I could definitely be play-engaged to this man.
Diana still grimace-smiled, looking as if she might be sick. She stared at my left hand. My bare left hand.
“Princess,” Brix said, apparently seeing the look, too. H
e clasped my left fingers. “You left your ring at my place this morning. You must have forgotten it after we showered last night.” He pulled a stunning, diamond-encrusted band from his pocket and slipped it onto my finger. “Try not to forget it. I want everyone to know you’re mine.”
Without another glance at Diana, he pulled me into his office and shut the door. He didn’t stop until he’d reached his desk and tugged me onto his lap in his chair.
“What’s up with that bitch?” he asked.
“You mean your assistant?”
“She’s a temp. Charlotte, my regular assistant, is on maternity leave. I don’t think she’s coming back, so I need to replace her—and it won’t be with Diana. Charlotte’s doing my publicist work now. Most of the time, it’s not much, and she can do it from home.”
“That’s nice of you. You know, to transition her that way.”
“She’s the best. So…what’s up with Diana? She looked like she was trying to smile around a lemon.”
“She’s one of Ella’s minions.”
“You want me to replace her?”
I shook my head. “She hasn’t done anything. So…married? That’s the job you had in mind? Or did I agree to something I don’t remember? I recall you mentioned you were looking for a wife last night.”
“And I found her.”
“I… What?”
“My grandfather’s old. He wants me settled. Inheriting the company doesn’t hinge on that or anything. I just want him to be happy. He’s the only one in my family worth spit.”
“Besides you,” I offered.
Brix shrugged. “That aside, I wanted to find my woman. As girly as it might sound, I’ve been looking for the one person intended for me. I wanted to be married, to find my happily ever after. And last night, I found you.”
“I think it’s okay for a guy to want that,” I told him. Actually, I found it sexy that he wasn’t interested in being the proverbial manwhore.
“You might think we’re playacting right now, Cricket, but Princess, you have no idea how much I want this to become real. I saw you, and I just knew. You felt it, too. I know you did.”