Three Dates (Paths To Love Book 2)

by Grahame Claire

  Daniel smiled. “You think I don’t know that? That’s exactly why I’m giving you this gift. It’s not totally unselfish on our part. We want to keep you close. This is a way to accomplish that.”

  I let out a long breath. “I’m already uncomfortable living in a place I didn’t provide, but I can’t take Muriella away from there because of my pride. At least let me pay you for the apartments. That would make me feel better.”

  “I can’t do that. Would it make you feel better if I told you we don’t even notice the money is missing? It’s not my intent to make light of the gift, but financially speaking, it’s nothing. Vivian and I wanted to do something for the two of you. We’re negotiating to purchase the entire building. Then our family can have all the privacy we need and plenty of room to grow. If you want to partner on some of that, I’m open to it. When we do acquire the remaining apartments, half of them will belong to you and Muriella.”

  I started to speak, but Muriella put her hand on my chest to silence me. “Daniel. Thank you. As usual, it is too much, but you’ve provided a wonderful solution to a situation that was bound to be difficult someday. I want to be in New York. Stone wants to be here. We both want to be with each other more than anything. Knowing everyone will have a place to come…we can’t thank you enough.”

  “Just give me and my pride some time to get used to it.” I grinned at him. “We bought y’all an apartment in Paris.” His brow creased, and I slapped his shoulder. “That’s right. You’re a property owner along with all the rest of these fine folks.”

  Daniel glanced around. “Then they won’t mind allowing Vivian and me to have a cottage here too.”

  “Got a good spot I’ll show you some other time.”

  “Appreciate that.”

  I squeezed Muriella and kissed her temple. “As much fun as we’re having with everybody, I’m ready to have my wife all to myself.”

  “You made me sit through breakfast with the two of you, which nearly did me in. You aren’t getting out of here without at least suffering through a piece of cake,” Daniel said.

  “I forgot about the damn cake,” I muttered. “We can’t skip that part.”

  As the night wound down, everyone happy with drink and love, Mulaney caught us when we took our empty glasses to the kitchen, and she dove right in.

  “Muriella, you’ve used your free pass with me. You hurt my brother again and—”

  Muriella held up her hand to stop my sister before I could. “We’re going to upset each other sometimes; that’s just a natural part of being a couple. But I will never hurt Stone again. I won’t try to justify my actions to you. I admire your fierce protectiveness of him, but know I love your brother. Time will prove that. I hope you and I can be sisters too.”

  “Fair enough. I just want my baby brother to be happy.” Mulaney folded her arms, still putting a wall up.

  “Then we already share common ground.” The smile Muriella gave her was friendly, welcoming, which is more than I would have been under the circumstances.

  “You done?” I asked my sister.

  “Just making sure your wife and I have an understanding,” she said, keeping her guard up.

  “You do. You’re going to be nice and respect the woman I love, or we’re going to have a problem.”

  Mulaney lifted both hands in surrender. “All right. Don’t be pissed at me because I’m looking out for you.”

  “Come here.” I pulled her close when she came to me. Once in my arms, she clung to me like she was afraid she might lose me. She was more fragile than she wanted anyone to believe. “Hey, what’s really going on?”

  “Mr. Carter is dead set on merging with another energy company. Feels it’s necessary to keep Carter Energy in business.”

  “Where does that leave you?” I honed right in on the heart of the issue. She’d worked for the Carters forever; that company was like her own.

  “I don’t know, but I highly doubt they’ll need two of every executive,” she returned bitterly.

  “You’re worth more than all of them combined.”

  “I know.” But I heard in her voice she wasn’t sure.

  “What does Easton think?”

  She looked up at the ceiling. “Seems as in the dark as I am even though it’s his family’s company.”

  “What can I do?” I wanted to fix her problems, but she could handle anything.

  “Nothing. Just enjoy being married.” Mulaney tried to push me away, but I held her in a hug until she yielded.

  “Love you, Mulaney. We’re here for you. Don’t forget that.”

  “Love you too,” she mumbled into my chest. Once she released me, Mulaney turned to Muriella. “I mean well. I don’t want it to be awkward between us.”

  “More common ground,” Muriella replied, crossing the space between them and wrapping her in a hug. Reluctantly, Mulaney returned it.

  “Well, I’ll be damned. That’s about the closest thing to an apology I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth,” I said to Mulaney. With that, the heaviness in the air lifted.

  “Savor the moment.” The unease in her eyes dissipated. “Why are you two still hanging around? Don’t you have a wedding night to get to?”

  “As a matter of fact, we do.”

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Muriella

  “When I woke up this morning, I never in my wildest dreams imagined I’d be your wife by the time the sun set,” I said the second we were on the porch of Stone’s Acadian-style house. The gas lamps burning on either side of the front door were welcoming, as was the house itself. Ferns hung on the porch, swaying in the December wind, along with a couple of rocking chairs I suspected Stone’s grandfather had made. It was easy to picture lazy evenings here, holding hands and rocking, winding down after supper, enjoying each other. I looked forward to spending more time here, but we’d definitely need more chairs. Maybe even a swing.

  Stone swept me off my feet. I squeaked, and he threw open the door, carrying me across the threshold. “I’ll show you around later,” he growled, making me giggle, a girlish noise only he could elicit from me.

  “I love it so far.”

  He paused mid-stride, his eyes searching mine. “You do?” I nodded. “Me too. I filmed a movie in Louisiana and loved this style of house. It’s different from the architecture of the others on the property. Kind of peaceful.”

  That’s exactly what I’d thought when it came into view. It was so much like the man who lived here, easygoing, comfortable, with a beauty that demanded attention. “It’s very you.”

  “I hope it’s very us.”

  We entered the master suite, a spacious room with a sleigh bed in the center. A fire blazing in the hearth was the only light. There was an oversized leather chair with a matching ottoman, similar to my favorite one at the apartment beside the fireplace.

  I looked up. “Stars?”

  “My girl likes to sleep under them,” he said easily, glancing up at the glow-in-the-dark stickers on the ceiling.

  He set me on my feet but kept me in the strong circle of his arms. His eyes glowed with unadulterated love as I looked up at him, and I felt it in his touch. His breath quickened as I wound my fingers into his hair, stroking the soft strands.

  “I wish you knew how it makes me feel when you touch me,” he said.

  “I know exactly how it is, because when you touch me, I feel the same thing.”

  His hold tightened on me. “It’s taken all the strength I have to stay away from you for all these years. I can’t do it anymore. A few minutes apart seems like too long.”

  “Lucky for you, you don’t have to. But you’ll get used to me. That’s what happens with old, married couples—they get annoyed with each other.”

  “Not this one,” he said firmly, and I grinned at how serious he had become. “Aw, hell. You’re teasing me.” His lopsided smile made my insides turn to mush.

  “You like it.”

  “I do,” he admitted, kissing my forehead. �
��I’d very much like to help you out of that wedding gown, but if I’m asking too much…”

  “I’d like you to do more than that,” I said. It pained me to see his wariness. There was no mistaking the desire, but he would not push me and was determined to set me at ease.

  “We don’t have to. I want you to be sure.” Open honesty and love stared back at me, strengthening my desire.

  “I trust you. I want to try. I need to. I’m not afraid. How can I be, when you’ve let me take the lead? You trust me to know what’s right too.” I pressed my hand against his cheek, and he leaned into it.

  “I just don’t want there to be any fuzzy area. Make no mistake, I want you, but not at the expense of your well-being. When you say stop, I stop. And don’t be afraid to say it, because you think I need to be physical. It would kill me if you didn’t. Do you understand?” His expression became even more serious.

  “I do want to make love for you, but I want it as much for me. If I can’t handle it, I’ll tell you. But you have to promise not to give up on me. If you tiptoe around me, that will make it worse.”

  “I can’t keep my hands off you. I won’t.”

  “Good.” Relief flooded me, and I let out a deep breath. “Thank you for not making me feel like damaged goods.”

  Stone took my hands. “You are the most precious thing in my life. If you ever feel like anything less than that, then I’m doing something wrong.” He lifted my left hand to his lips, kissing the rings that adorned my fingers with reverence. “Today you made me the luckiest man alive.”

  Stone searched my face, silently asking one more time if I was sure. I nodded, and his gaze heated with an intensity I hadn’t seen before. Carefully, he removed the mantilla, laying it and the combs on the chair. His hands trembled as he touched my shoulders, gently turning me away from him. He swept my hair to one shoulder, out of his way.

  He pressed his lips to my neck, and I leaned back against him, a shiver rolling through me.

  “I love you,” I said, inhaling the familiar scent that was uniquely his.

  “And I, you.” His voice dropped an octave. My center throbbed, my skin ached for his touch. He nipped my earlobe, and I moaned, every part of me overly sensitive, the slightest touch making me yearn for more.

  I leaned heavily against him for support. His hands slid around my waist and settled on my stomach, holding me flush against him. I gasped when the hard length of him branded my back. Heat radiated off him even through the layers of our clothing.

  I shivered as his hands made slow circles over my stomach.

  “Are you with me, Muriella?”

  “Yes.” My nervousness was rapidly evaporating. I wanted him more than ever. I needed the connection, wanted to seal us together in the most intimate way possible.

  His hands slid around to my hips, up my sides to my neck. “I can’t believe you’re my wife,” he whispered. His breath hit my skin where he’d unfastened a few of the buttons on my dress.

  He feathered his lips across the back of my neck, and pressed a kiss between my shoulder blades.

  His fingers neared the base of my spine. I was almost free of the gown. “You unfastened all the buttons much faster than Vivian fastened them.”

  He caressed the cool skin of my exposed back. “I’ve got a lot of incentive.” Stone pulled me against him, his mouth at my ear. “Are we still good?”

  “Yes.”

  He took me at my word. His trust was something I valued as much as his love. He pushed the dress off my shoulders, and the long sleeves got hung up on my wrists. He pulled on the lace until my arms were freed before working the dress past my hips. It hit the floor with a soft whisper, and he held my hand, helping me step out of the puddle.

  “Definitely gonna need that chair,” he said as he turned me to face him. His eyes stayed on mine as he dropped down and scooped the dress off the floor, draping it over the back of the chair. He leaned against the furniture, drinking me in with a look that warmed me from across the room. Stone made me feel sexy, desired, loved, as if I was one of a kind. When he couldn’t stand the space between us any longer, he stalked toward me in long strides.

  He brushed my cheek, staring deep into my eyes with wonder and longing. I began to tremble, but it wasn’t fear. I wanted him. He fingered the leather garter, and I shivered.

  “I know you’re supposed to take it off, but can we leave it on?”

  “We can do whatever you want, darlin’.” His Texas drawl deepened, sending goosebumps skittering over my skin.

  I ran my hands up his chest, pausing on his solid pectoral muscles. “Did I tell you how handsome you look today? I meant to if I didn’t.”

  “I don’t believe you did.”

  I pushed the jacket off his shoulders and loosened his tie. “Very sexy. I am a lucky, lucky woman.”

  “Sexy, huh?”

  I tossed his tie and swiftly unbuttoned his shirt. “Mmm. Do I still have to pretend I don’t think you’re attractive? I was pretty good at it, don’t you think?”

  Stone didn’t have on an undershirt, so I was immediately hit with the sight of his bare chest when the shirt gaped open. I sighed at the feel of his skin.

  “Damn good at it. And you better quit that.”

  His shirt was the next casualty as I shoved it off, and it dropped to the floor. I was a woman on a mission, unfastening his belt and pants before lowering the zipper. I brushed against the hard heat under his underwear, and he sucked in a breath. I ran my index finger from the base of the shaft to the head, which was straining to peek out of the top of his boxers. I pushed his pants down, the belt buckle hitting the floor with a thud.

  His mouth fused against mine, and I met his kiss with equal fervor. All restraint was gone as Stone kissed me like his life depended on it. I’d assumed he was going to be tender, take things slow and easy to make me comfortable.

  I found my way under the waistband of his underwear and shoved them off. His molten hot cock throbbed in my grasp. The skin was soft, yet he was granite beneath. I held him, savoring the feel of my husband, in awe once more at the size of him in my small hand.

  Stone slid his hand under the barely there lace of my bra and cupped my breast. My back arched to meet his touch, my lids closing at the sweet sensation. I realized why I could tolerate his touch, why I craved intimacy with him instead of fearing it.

  Stone’s intentions were pure, completely unselfish. He wanted my pleasure more than his own. He was my safe place, and he loved me more than anything. My fears had been justified. I’d been afraid my father would be here with us, souring something beautiful. But he wasn’t, because Stone kept him away. His love was more powerful than my father. There was no room for him here.

  The revelation was freeing. I surrendered everything to my husband, the last of my apprehension evaporating.

  “You’re with me,” he breathed into my mouth.

  “Completely. Always.”

  His mouth consumed mine like he’d never get enough. His hands grew frantic as they roved my body, finally unclasping my bra. I let him go long enough to shimmy it off my arms, and then I stroked him as if I’d done it a thousand times, memorizing every long inch of him.

  He laid me down on the bed and leaned over me. “I think we’ll keep the stockings and the shoes on. But these…” His finger hooked the string holding together the front and back pieces of my underwear. “They have to go, much as I like them.” And with that, he snapped the fabric and cast it aside, leaving me exposed.

  I felt no urge to cover up, captivated by the look of longing on his face, the undeniable desire, the reverence, as if I were an altar and he had come to worship.

  I gazed at my husband, from his handsome face to his sculpted chest and abdominals, to what had branded my hands only a moment ago. He was thick, lengthening before my eyes, the tip glistening, throbbing in time with the vein running down his shaft.

  “Scoot back against the pillows.”

  I complied, scrambling back
ward until my spine hit the decorative pillows behind me. He knelt between my legs after he spread them wide.

  I lifted my hips. His grin loosened every knot inside me, but when his mouth found my lower lips, I stiffened in surprise.

  Stone licked and kissed and sucked until I melted into the bed. I wound tighter and tighter, his tongue working some kind of magic on me. He slid a finger inside, then another, while that blessed tongue ran circles around my clit.

  “Stop,” I panted, and abruptly his mouth and hands were gone. The fear he’d done something I didn’t like was in his eyes, and I couldn’t stand it. “No.” I shook my head furiously. “I’m getting close, and I want the first time to be with you inside me.”

  His relief couldn’t have been more visible, and he began to tease again. “You’re so tight. I don’t want to hurt you, sweetheart.”

  “Please.”

  He kissed my thighs and belly, pausing on his journey upward to suck both of my nipples to hard nubs. Once he covered me, I arched into him, every inch of me begging for contact with him. My legs went around his back, my ankles locking him in place. He pushed at my entrance, throbbing against me.

  His eyes brightened as he tenderly brushed hair off my forehead. “I love you, Muriella.”

  And then he slowly sank inside me, pushing past the resistance my body put up until finally it greedily sucked him in. “I love you too.”

  He slid in and out of me, allowing me get used to the feel of him. Stone was too big for me, yet he shifted so I could easily take all of him. I met his thrusts as my blood rapidly reached the boiling point.

  Sweat misted his skin as he stared at me in wonder. He kissed me with his eyes open, our connection deepening now that we were truly one. He reached between us, massaging my clit and pumping in and out of me until I climaxed, crying his name. He was right behind me with a shout, the explosion as he spilled his seed prolonging my pleasure. He’d marked me in the most primitive way. I was his. No takebacks. No do-overs.

  “I lasted as long as I could,” he said once his heart rate had calmed. “When you came and gripped me like a vice, I couldn’t stop.”