STEP BY STEP

by Black, Clarissa

  He paused. “I was upset about that for about a day. And then I realized you’re a good person, and you really did do it because you loved him. And you were right – it’s not fair for me to compare you to my mother.”

  I smiled sweetly.

  “I’m sorry I doubted you,” he said, kissing my hand.

  “You gonna tell me where to go or what?” the cabbie asked, interrupting us. “Meter’s been running since you two popped in here.”

  Preston directed him to his apartment.

  “So we’re not going to the office?” I asked, surprised.

  Preston stayed quiet the rest of the car drive and then led me up to his apartment as soon as we arrived.

  He slammed me up against the wall in a fit of passion the moment we stepped inside.

  “I love you, Mirabelle,” he said. “I’d do anything for you.”

  I kissed him back. “Where’s this coming from? Did you take me back here just to tell me that?”

  “Please work for me?” he begged as his fingers unbuttoned my shirt, working down one button at a time. He was begging me to work for him, but he was taking my body. He knew damn well he didn’t have to beg for that.

  His hands unzipped the back of my pencil skirt and tugged it down over my curvaceous hips and thighs until I was standing before him in my bra and panties.

  His mouth pressed into the flesh of my neck as his fingers drew a line down the front of my chest and stopping just outside my panties. I didn’t want him to stop and the anticipation was killing me.

  I reached down and unbuckled his pants, tugging them down.

  “Work for me, Mirabelle,” he whispered. “I’ll protect your career. I’ll protect your heart.”

  I knew he meant what he said. I knew he’d do anything for me, and he’d do anything to have me working for him, with him, day in and day out.

  “I want to see you everyday,” he said between soft kisses that peppered my skin. “I want to take you to the top with me.”

  “I want full autonomy,” I panted. “I get to call my own shots. My opinions have weight too.”

  “You want to be my partner,” he said. “Okay, fine.”

  His hands slipped my panties down, and he hoisted me over to the nearby marble counter of his kitchen, spreading my legs apart. The hot wetness of his tongue began swirling circles around my feminine folds, hungrily, needy, wanting more.

  I released a breathy sigh as I laid back on the cool marble and relaxed while Preston pleasured me.

  “Make me partner, baby,” I sighed as he went to town. “Make me partner and I’m all yours.”

  “Maybe someday when we’re married,” he said between licks and swirls. “When we’re married you’ll definitely be my partner.”

  My heart skipped a beat at the mention of the m-word. We’d only been together a short while, but I knew he was falling for me fast and hard. And I him. I was blown away by the fact that he was even thinking that far ahead.

  My body started to convulse and shiver under the pressure of his wet tongue and I leaned down to grip a handful of his soft brown hair as I orgasmed into oblivion.

  Preston stood up, his hips level with mine, and pulled a condom from a drawer in the kitchen, slipping it over his throbbing member. He pressed himself into me, filling all my spaces and tingling each and every little nerve, and began thrusting himself in and out of me while he gripped the sides of the counter.

  “Oh, god,” I yelled out as he filled me. “Don’t stop, don’t stop!”

  It felt so good to be connected with him physically and mentally. We were finally on the same page, seeing eye to eye. He wanted to protect me and provide for me, and no man had ever loved me like he did before. Certainly not Andrew or the various losers I’d briefly dated in college. Preston was a man. A real man. With real, genuine intentions. He was no longer that jerk older brother figure I’d once lusted after, scribbling our names together in my notebooks.

  As Preston came to the brink, his hands slipped around my hips, bracing my body as he filled the condom with his explosion inside of me. He fell over in a heap on top of me, our bodies sticky and melded to one another.

  “Yes,” I said, heaving. “Yes, I’ll work for you.”

  Preston smiled, spent, and helped me down from the counter.

  “You want to be partners?” he asked.

  “Are you asking me to marry you?” I replied, my head cocked.

  “Maybe.”

  “Hm,” I said, studying his face.

  “I’m ready, Mirabelle,” he said. “I’m ready to take our relationship to the next level. I’m ready to relinquish some of my control to you, both in and out of the boardroom. I trust you. I don’t want my past to tarnish our future.”

  “I thought you were an ad man,” I said. “For an ad man, that was a pretty basic proposal.”

  “What?” Preston laughed. “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah,” I replied. “I kind of am.”

  I leaned over and kissed him. “I should get going. I’ll see you in the office on Monday, okay?”

  I slipped my clothes back as he watched me, completely dumbfounded. Everything had happened so fast, and there was no need. I had no problem waiting and taking things slow. I’d always dreamed of a perfect proposal and that was far from it. Being whisked from my evil day job, being fucked on a counter, and then having him randomly ask me without a ring was not my idea of romance and certainly not the way I wanted to tell my grandchildren someday.

  THIRTY-TWO

  Walking into my office Monday morning was like a breath of fresh air. For the first time in weeks, I didn’t dread waking up in the morning. I looked forward to going to work, to seeing Preston, to seeing the familiar faces of Ruthie and Monica and the others. I was ready for a clean slate and a fresh start, and I missed my big, beautiful city-view office.

  I slipped my key into the lock and pressed the door open, swinging it widely. The floor to ceiling windows were just as sparkling and breathtaking as they were the first time I’d seen them.

  I glanced over at Preston’s door, which was shut, and headed that way. As soon as I went to open it, I realized the door was locked. I knocked. Nothing. I knocked again. “Preston?”

  Nothing.

  I walked back to my office where a note was sitting on the seat of my leather chair.

  DEAR MIRI,

  HAPPY FIRST DAY BACK AT WHAT WILL SOMEDAY BE WOODFIELD AND BAKER. PLEASE MEET ME AT RANALLO’S ON 5TH AT 11 O’CLOCK SHARP.

  LOVE,

  PRESTON

  Ranallo’s had recently become our new restaurant and a frequent date night favorite.

  I wonder why he wants me to meet him there at eleven? I wondered as I pressed the smooth stationery against my cheek.

  I settled into my desk and watched the clock all morning. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t concentrate. And without Preston there tasking me with a new account, I didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing.

  As soon as the clock neared 11, I left the building and hailed a cab to fifth avenue, where I approached a darkened, locked up Ranallo’s.

  I lightly rapped on the door, hoping someone was inside and would hear me. I peeked into the glass of the front door and saw a bit of movement in the distance, and soon a woman dressed in black and white opened the door.

  “Are you Mirabelle?” she asked.

  “Yes,” I replied.

  “Come inside,” she said, widening the door and then relocking it behind me.

  “What’s going on?” I asked her. Preston was definitely up to something.

  “Follow me,” she said, leading me to a private dining area that had been basically converted to a wide open space. Tables and chairs had been cleared and pushed against the walls and candles were lit on every table. The only thing I could see was the outline of Preston standing in the middle of the room on bended knee with a Tiffany ring box propped open.

  “Mirabelle,” he said as I walked towards him. “You’re a sweet, tra
ditional girl. You’re my world. You’ve changed my world. You’ve made me a better man. I can’t go through the rest of this life without you. I’ve lost you before. I don’t want to ever lose you again.”

  I smiled as I walked over to him, tears rushing down my cheeks.

  “Will you please become my wife?” he asked. “Marry me, Mirabelle.”

  “Yes!” I said, nodding my head over and over.

  He stood up and slipped the enormous, sparkling rock onto my left ring finger and then leaned in to plant a sweet kiss on my lips. “I love you, Mirabelle.”

  “I love you too.”

  As the silent room nearly swallowed us, the sound of cheering and clapping began to reverberate around us. I pulled away from him, expecting to see the restaurant employees cheering us on, only I was surrounded by the people I loved most.

  “Mom! Dad!” I said. “Oh, my gosh! Madison! Kaia!”

  I ran over to them, hugging them all.

  “Congratulations!” my sister said as she hugged me.

  “Kaia, do you want to be my flower girl?” I asked.

  She nodded and smiled as she clapped her hands.

  “We’re so happy for you,” my mom said as she squeezed me tight. My dad patted my shoulder as he shook Preston’s hand.

  “You’ve got a good man here, Mirabelle,” my father said. “He put all this together. Even asked us for permission.”

  “Did he now?” I replied, winking at Preston.

  Preston whisked me away and pulled me back towards him, kissing me again. “Did you get your perfect proposal?”

  “Mm, hm,” I said with a grin. “Good job, ad man. Sweet. Simple. Not too over the top. Nice pitch. Loved the subtle details…”

  “Okay, you can stop now,” he laughed.

  “Now we just have to pick the perfect date,” I said, our eyes twinkling with hope and excitement.

  “How about tomorrow?” he teased.

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I replied. “I want to take our time and savor every second of this.”

  “Fair enough,” he replied. “And I guess now that you’re calling the shots, whatever Mirabelle wants, Mirabelle gets.”

  “Sounds like a great slogan for our future marriage,” I teased, kissing him. “Genius. I love it.”

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Clarissa Black is a married mother of four living deep amongst the rolling green hills of Tennesee. When she’s not chasing after her kids, she’s helping her husband out on the horse farm or baking up a storm in the kitchen. This is her first novel.

  If you loved her first story, she’d be tickled pink if you’d take the time to leave a review on Amazon!

  THANK YOU!

  Thank you so much, dear reader, for picking up this sweet little love story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I’ve always been quite fond of mysterious alpha males who just need to meet the right woman in order to open up a bit. And I’m in no way speaking from experience here (wink, wink)!

  I plan on releasing romance novellas on a regular basis, so if you enjoyed this story, it would be awesome if you took the time to right a review. I read each and every review I receive, and they help teach me what I’m doing right and what I could be doing better.

  Love and light,

  Clarissa Black