by E. L. Todd
I needed to pull away. I needed to stop this before it started. All I would do is hurt her. That’s all I was capable of doing.
Her lips reached mine but they hardly touched. I could feel their softness even though it was just a miniscule amount. Now that I was so close I didn’t want to stop it. I wanted all of her. I’d wanted her for so long and now I couldn’t deny it.
Slowly, she pressed her lips to mine.
We collided.
Her lips softly brushed mine, gliding past them like they were made just to kiss me. She moved her mouth methodically, giving me purposeful teases. Sometimes she would kiss me, and sometimes she would brush by in a tantalizing dance.
Fuck, she was a good kisser.
Then she kissed me again and sucked my bottom lip. For someone so shy and withdrawn, she really knew how to ignite me in a fiery blaze. Then she parted my mouth with her tongue. When it reached mine, they danced together.
Oh my fucking god.
My entire body was on fire. It burned everywhere, making me so hot I was cold. My breathing hitched once we connected. Now I’d fallen in deep, seduced by this beautiful girl who inadvertently stole my heart. My hand gripped the back of her neck then moved into her hair. I fisted it aggressively and tilted her head back further.
I didn’t know what I wanted exactly, but I knew I wanted more of this. I wanted her mouth to be mine forever. I wanted his every day and every night. All I wanted was her, the girl who’d made me come alive again.
Then I remembered how stupid this was.
I remembered that I was a monster.
I remembered what I’d done to Lexie.
Beatrice would be next.
I couldn’t do this to her. How could I hurt such a beautiful person? How could I destroy her purity? She only deserved the best. And I definitely wasn’t the best. Even though it broke my heart and shattered every feeling in my body, I found the strength to pull away.
The second our lips were separated, I felt like I severed my heart from my chest. My body was trying to continue on without the most important organ in the body.
The look on her face broke my heart.
Embarrassment and pain marked her face. She wanted to hide but she had nowhere to run. I just rejected her, coldly. It would wound anyone. The reason I pulled away was because I didn’t want to hurt her. But I somehow did it anyway.
“I…I’ll talk to you later.” I stepped around her and didn’t look back. I walked down the hallway and did my best not to turn around and run back to her. My body wanted to pin hers against the door and continue that scorching kiss. But I found the heart to keep going.
Because I loved her.
Chapter Seven
Conrad
Lexie seemed to be back to normal. After I told her I wouldn’t fuck her like an animal anymore, she understood she couldn’t just push the pain away and act like it didn’t exist. We made love instead, which is what we should be doing anyway.
I was the best boyfriend the world had ever seen.
Lexie was treated like a queen before any of this happened, but now I really went out of my way to make sure our love was untainted by the terrible things that happened around us. Watching her father walk away from her mother must have been earth shattering. If my dad did that to my mom…I would never be able to look at him the same.
But she and I weren’t like that. What we had was special and true. I wasn’t sure how I knew, but we would last forever. She completed me in a particular way. I kept imagining her as my wife, coming home to her and the mansion I bought her. She had dinner on the table when I came home from work, and our kids were running around the house.
Now I wanted that dream more than anything in the world.
She was barren and unable to have kids, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t figure out a way around it. Medicine offered a lot of options to make it possible. If we had to resort to that, we would. And even if that wasn’t an option, we could adopt. In either case, it wouldn’t stop me from making her my wife.
I just had to wait for the right time.
Was she ready for that? How long should I wait until it was appropriate? Maybe I should wait until her mom started seeing someone new. What was the answer?
I definitely didn’t want to rush into something she wasn’t ready for. That would be insensitive, and frankly, rude. What did it matter if we got married now or a year from now?
I could wait.
I was sitting at home when I got a phone call from a number I didn’t recognize. Just in case it was work related, I took it. “Conrad Preston.”
“Hello, this is Melissa from Tiffany’s.”
Why was she calling me?
“You came into the store about a month ago and had your eyes on one of our fine pieces of jewelry. I’ve placed it on hold for you but I can no longer do that. I was wondering if you were interested in purchasing the ring?”
It sipped my mind. I’d been so busy with other things, like Cayson coming home that I hadn’t given it much thought. I wasn’t even sure what drove me to walk into that jewelry store in the first place.
But when I saw that ring, I immediately thought of Lexie.
“Sir? Are you there?”
I rubbed my temple as I considered her words. The ring was expensive, more expensive than Lexie’s usual taste, but I knew she would love it. It suited her so well. It had a large diamond in the center and it sparkled even in the absence of light. I wanted her to wear it everywhere she went. Every guy would know she was untouchable.
I didn’t know when I was going to get down on one knee, but I knew beyond a doubt that I wanted to. I loved Lexie with everything I had. Even on her worst days, she made me happy. She made me laugh and fell warm inside. With her, it was like being with a best friend.
“Conrad? Is this a bad time?”
I cleared my throat. “I’ll take it.”
***
Lexie pulled her clothes on then fixed her hair in the mirror. It was obvious she’d just been rolling around on my bed. Her lips were red because I’d been kissing them so hard, and her hair was messy like I’d been pulling on it the entire time.
It made me hard all over again.
“Where are you running off to?”
She ran her fingers through her hair and smoothed it out. “My mom’s.”
“Yeah? And what will you two be doing?”
“We’re going to make some pies.”
“For…?”
“Just because,” she said with a shrug. “I try to find reasons to spend time with her so she isn’t alone.”
“That’s probably a good idea.”
“I’ll just have to control myself and not eat too much.” She patted her stomach.
“More cushion for the pushin’ right?” I winked at her.
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, Con.”
“Can I come along?”
She turned my way and gave me an incredulous look. “You want to bake pies with my mom?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” I asked seriously. “You just said there would be pie. You know how much I love those.”
“You don’t have to come along, Con. It’s fine.”
“I want to.” I sat up in bed and leaned against the headboard. “I wouldn’t have offered unless I wanted to.”
“Really?” She put one hand on my hip while she watched me.
“Really.” I grabbed her arm and pulled her toward me. When she was close enough I wrapped my arm around her waist. “As long as you spend the entire week with me.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I should have known there was a catch…”
“Come on, baby.” I kissed the corner of her mouth. “Bring your stuff over here and spend the whole week with me.”
“You won’t get annoyed with me?”
“Annoyed?” I asked incredulously. “Absolutely not.”
“I’ll get hair in your drain…”
“So?”
“And my make up and girly produ
cts will be everywhere.”
“I can handle it.”
She pressed her lips together as she considered it.
“Come on. I know you love sleeping with me.”
“It is nice…it’s like having my own grizzly bear.”
I pulled her close to me then growled into her neck. “And you know how grizzly bears get when it comes to their food.”
“And I know I taste like honey…”
I kissed her neck seductively. “You do.”
She moved out of my hold. “Okay. You have a deal.”
“Should we shake on it?”
“How about we kiss on it?” She moved into me and gave me a long kiss.
Instead of letting it end there, I grabbed her and threw her on the bed. I immediately moved between her legs in preparation for another round.
“Con, I just did my hair…”
I positioned her underneath me. “Looks like you’ll have to do it again.”
***
“Have you ever made a pie, dear?” Her mother asked me from across the table. She had a bowl filled with dough and a foil tint in front of her.
“Nope.” I rolled up my sleeves. “But I’ve eaten plenty of them.” I nudged Lexie in the side playfully.
Lexie kept looking down at her work but she smiled. “You’ll eat anything, Con. That’s not a compliment to my abilities.”
“I disagree.” I eyed the different bowls of fruit. “Now what?”
“You need to decide what you’re going to make,” her mother said. “Then you shovel the dough into the tin before you fill it.”
“Doesn’t sound too hard,” I said.
“You would think.” Macy rolled her eyes before she grabbed a handful of dough and plopped it into the tin.
Lexie nodded to the bowl. “Go for it.”
I stuck my hand inside and got the entire thing.
Lexie laughed then grabbed my arm. “Not that much. You want the pie to be thin.”
“Oh.” I returned over half of it back to the bowl. “Is this better?”
“Much.”
I dropped it into my tin. It remained stuck in a tight ball. “Can I eat this?”
“No,” her mother said immediately. “Don’t eat raw dough.”
Lexie snatched a piece and ate it. “Taste good to me.”
Macy did the same thing. “Me too.”
Her mother released a deep sigh. “Don’t come crying to me when you get sick.”
Lexie had a bit of dough on her bottom lip but she didn’t notice.
I stared at it and tried not to smile. She was so cute without even trying, and when she flipped her hair over her shoulder she did it in a sexy way. Sometimes I wondered if she understood just how perfect she was. “Baby, you got a little something on your lip.” If we were alone I would kiss it away. But I wanted to keep this PG around her family.
“Oh.” Lexie concentrated her face then reached her tongue out to wipe it away. She kept missing over and over.
I tried not to laugh. “Let me help you.” My thumb rubbed it away then I sucked the dough off. “Pretty good.”
“Told you.” Lexie gave me a triumphant look before she reached into her tin and start pressing the dough flat with her hands.
I turned to do the same to mine but caught her mom staring at me.
A whisper of a smile was on her lips.
What did I do?
Still smiling, she moved her eyes back to her pie.
“Con, like this.” She grabbed my hands and pressed them into the tin. “Push everything out.”
“Isn’t this unhygienic?”
“You tell me. How dirty are your hands?” She gave me a look that only I would understand. It was a dirty innuendo.
I tried not to smile. “I washed them before.”
“Then it should be fine.” She turned back to her own tin and continued to push the dough around. When she got to the edge, she wrapped the dough along the sides. “It keeps the dough in place.”
When I tried to do the same thing, I ripped a hole in the dough. “Whoops.”
“It’s your big bear hands.” Lexie worked with the dough until the hole was fixed.
“I definitely shouldn’t quit my day job to become a baker,” I said with a chuckle.
“You’re doing a great job, honey,” her mom said. “Just you being here makes you a professional.” Her fingers threaded the material quickly like she’d done it a hundred times.
“What are you going to put in yours?” Macy asked as she looked at me. She no longer made passes at me. Now when she looked at me there was only friendship in her eyes. I wasn’t sure what happened between her and Lexie, but it looks like they came to a truce. Perhaps watching their father leave put everything in perspective. It was a relief for me because now I could actually have a relationship with her. I wanted to be close to Lexie’s family, not have to keep them at a distance.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “All I’ve had is blueberry.”
“You can do a berry mix,” Macy said. “Blueberries, cherries, and strawberries.”
“That sounds like a good idea.” I gave her a nod of gratitude. Having her speak to me like a normal person and not try to flash me was a nice change. “What are you doing, baby?”
“Blackberries.” Lexie rubbed her palms together greedily before she scooped the the fruit into her bowl.
“All this talk of pie is making me hungry,” I blurted.
“All the work will be worth it when we’re done,” her mother said. “We can eat our pies right out of the tin.”
“I’m down with that,” Macy said.
We fell into conversation about sowing and crocheting, a subject I knew nothing about. I focused on my work and tried to put just the right about of berries inside. None of them would care if I made a terrible pie, but I wanted it to be good so I could eat it.
“How’s work, honey?” her mom asked. She always referred to me by a nickname. I wasn’t sure if that was her way of being affectionate and making me feel welcomed. She referred to her own daughters by their names.
“No complaints,” I said. “It gets busy but that’s always a good thing.”
“What do you do, exactly?” Macy asked.
I shrugged. “In a nutshell, I run it. I take care of the meetings with our investors. I handle all the contracts. I speak directly with our developers. And I take care of all the boring stuff that goes along with it.”
“That’s wonderful,” her mother said. “You sound very important.”
“And loaded,” Macy blurted.
Lexie’s mom shot her a glare. “Don’t talk like that to our guest.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m not offended.”
“When are you going to formally take it over?” Lexie asked.
“Not sure,” I said. “But very soon.”
“Your dad must be anxious to retire,” her mom noted.
“He’s pretty young,” I said. “But I know he wants to play golf all day and hang out with my mom.”
“They’re really cute together,” Lexie noted.
“By cute, do you mean gross?” I asked.
Lexie rolled her eyes. “No, just cute.”
“How long have your parents been married?” her mother asked.
This was a tense subject. My parents’ happy marriage just reminded everyone that hers had fallen apart. “I’m not sure of the number, but at least twenty years. They met at the company. I guess my mom was an accountant or something. My dad sexually harassed her until she agreed to go on a date with him…something like that.”
“That’s sweet,” her mom said. “Do you have any other siblings?”
“An older sister.”
“What does she do?”
“She runs a clothing company.” It was crazy to think about. Her company was nearly as successful as PIXEL, which had been in existence for decades. “She’s really successful. Sometimes it’s hard to believe. I always see her as my bratty sister.”
“That’s wonderful,” her mother said.
“She got married last year,” I said. “Now she and her husband are trying to have a baby. So, I might be an uncle very soon.”
“Congratulations,” her mom said. “You’ll love having a niece or nephew.”
“I’m going to turn them against my sister.” I gave an evil laugh. “She doesn’t even know what’s coming.”
Macy laughed as her hands continued to mold the pie.
After the fruit was placed inside, the dough went on top. That part was the most difficult because if I pushed too hard, the fruit would seep out from the sides and land on the table. Pie making was a science.
After everything was complete, it was time to put them in the oven. There were two ovens in the kitchen, so two pies went into each one. I held the plate containing the two pies and her mother inserted them on the racks. Macy and Lexie remained at the table, talking quietly.
After the pies were inside, Lexie’s mom closed the doors and set the timer. “Now we just have to wait.”
“Easier said than done…”
She turned her gaze on me, and there was a special look in her eyes. It was like she was seeing me for the first time. It was like she was shining a beacon on me, putting me on display so I couldn’t hide. “You’re such an amazing young man. I love the way you look at my daughter.”
My body went rigid and I didn’t know what to say. It was a compliment, but I didn’t know how to react. Did I make it that obvious how obsessed I was? Could I not even hide it around her family?
“I can’t wait to dance at your wedding.”
My body went cold at her words. I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Thank you…”
She gave me a smile then pulled me into her arms for a hug. She squeezed me tightly like she never planned to let go. “I keep telling her that this time it will be different. This time she found the right one.” She finally released me and gave me a final affectionate look before she walked away.
I remained in my spot as I tried to process what just happened. A lot of things were said, and a lot of feelings were felt. But I was pretty sure of one thing; she just gave me her permission to marry Lexie.