by Kendall Ryan
He rolls his eyes. "Fuck, dude. You’re worse than a woman. First you curse me out for trying to get with Sophie’s sister Becca, and now you’re whining about me noticing Marta’s pert little ass."
"I’m not whining. I’m pointing out that surely your pickup skills extend beyond the couple of women in my inner circle that I’d prefer not get fucked over by you and then come crying to me. I know your history with women, asshole."
Collins chimes in, coming to my defense. "He’s right, dipshit, your track record is zero and what a hundred?"
"What the hell does that mean?" Pace momentarily stops chewing.
"You’ve had zero successful monogamous relationships and over a hundred sexual partners," Collins says.
Pace shrugs. "I stopped keeping track once I reached the triple digits."
"Listen, asshole. I told you. Marta works for me, so don’t fuck her. And in regards to Becca, she has cancer. She doesn’t need any additional stress in her life from someone who will hit it once and walk away. Not to mention she’s my girl’s sister. If you deflower her and then pull a disappearing act, I’d have to deal with the fallout."
He sulks, sinking deeper into his chair, but doesn’t retort.
Collins and I share a quick look of triumph.
I have no idea if Becca’s a virgin, like Sophie is, and it doesn’t matter. I don’t want Pace anywhere near her. His history with women is deplorable.
"Is Sophie still a virgin?" Pace asks.
"Not for long," I confirm.
Chapter Eight
Sophie
When Colton and Marta arrive home, I’m showered, dressed and waiting in the kitchen, just opening a bottle of white wine and setting out long-stemmed glasses. I frown looking down at the third glass on the island. Three’s a crowd.
When they enter the kitchen, Marta excuses herself, immediately going upstairs to change, leaving Colton and I all alone. Bliss. I’ve been waiting for this moment all damn day, and I don’t feel like I can wait a minute longer.
He stalks over to me, looking delectable in his suit. I might have exercised restraint this morning when I barely avoided tearing it off of him, but I will show no such patience tonight.
Without saying a single word, his hands cup my cheeks and he pulls my face to his, pressing his lips to mine and giving me a long kiss. When he pulls away, I’m dizzy and filled with longing.
"How was your day?" I ask.
"Way too fucking long. I missed you," he says.
I feel the exact same way. "Would it be rude if we skipped dinner and went straight to bed?" I think about the plates in the warming tray that Beth has left for all three of us. Apparently the household staff knew Marta was staying here. Of course, as his personal assistant, Marta probably told them.
Colton runs his hands down my body, stopping at my hips and securing my body to his. "Dinner is the last thing on my mind." He’s looking at me like he’s already picturing me naked.
A warm shiver runs through me. I'd wondered if it was going to bother me that Marta was here in the house for our first time, but now, I don’t care if she hears me screaming down the house. She can stuff it.
"I’ve been hard all fucking day," Colton groans, bringing my hand down below his belt and pressing it into the gigantic bulge there. I close my hand around him and hear him grunt.
It takes every ounce of willpower I have not to drop to my knees and take him into my mouth. Even if I don’t care about Marta hearing our sounds of pleasure behind closed doors, I don’t want her to see my man’s package. That is not something I plan on sharing. Now or ever.
His hips rock forward as my palm moves up and down over him. "I can’t wait to be inside you," he whispers low near my ear.
My panties flood with moisture.
"Let’s go upstairs. I’ll help you change out of your suit." I give him a playful look.
Footsteps round the corner and I know we’re no longer alone. I turn to face Marta, making sure I remain in front of Colton to block the view of his raging erection. Apparently we’re on the same page, because his hands circle my waist, silently communicating that I need to stay put.
My eyes wander behind her to the suitcases stacked together on the floor.
"My landlord says the mouse infestation is all cleared up, so I’m going back home," she says.
"I thought it was rats?" I ask.
"Oh, right. Mice, rats. Same thing." She smiles, but her cheeks flush slightly, knowing she’s been caught in a lie.
I get the sense that she’d only been staying here in my absence to make a move on Colton, and now that I’m back, she knows she’s missed her chance.
She tows her suitcases behind her, stopping to stretch up on her tiptoes and to give Colton a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks for your hospitality. And I’m totally on board with what we talked about in the car."
He nods silently, his mouth drawn into a firm line.
A few minutes later the door closes behind her and we hear her little red sports car drive away, the noise fading into the distance until the only sounds are our heartbeats and ragged breathing.
I spin to face Colton again. He’s watching me with an intense expression. "That was rude of me not to help her take her suitcases out, but I couldn’t very well do that with my cock hard. What are you doing to me, baby?" he groans in frustration.
I giggle and lift up on my toes to kiss him. "I’m sure it’s okay. She looked like she had them handled."
He shrugs. "I suppose she did."
"What did you guys talk about in the car?" I ask, remembering what Marta said just before she left.
"Huh?" he asks.
"She said she was totally on board with it…" I try to jog his memory.
He runs a hand through his hair. "Come on, we need to talk."
He leads me to the den and motions for me to sit on the sofa next to him.
My belly churns with nerves. Colton’s entire mood has changed. I think whatever he’s going to tell me has something to do with him and Marta. I take a deep breath and prepare myself for the worst. I might have told him just yesterday that I was his and that no matter what I trusted him. Now I want to swallow all those words and curl up in a ball with the hurt that is already threatening to overtake me.
"Take a deep breath, Sophie," Colton murmurs. I’m sure he can see the hurt and worry written all over my face. "After Stella left, I had a short rebound fling with Marta," he says.
My stomach drops to my toes as my worst suspicions are confirmed. I pull another deep breath into my lungs at Colton’s urging and fight to remain in control by reminding myself that it was in the past.
"I was destroyed after my divorce," he explains. "She was there and available and I regret it now, but we messed around a couple of times."
"Oh." I’m speechless and gutted and feel like crying. I've been jealous of Marta and her good looks and close relationship with Colton from day one. And now all my hunches are confirmed.
"We never had sex," he adds.
This news makes me feel marginally better. "What did she mean earlier? What did you guys talk about in the car that she was on board with?"
"I told her that I’m fucking crazy about you. And while she’s known for a long time that I’m not interested in her, I let her know that I wouldn’t tolerate anything getting in the way of you and I. Good employees are hard to find, but if she tried to interfere in any way…"
He leaves the rest unspoken. Geez, he’d threatened to fire her if she made things difficult for me and him?
Her cryptic message and then hightailing it out of here today must mean that she accepts Colton’s relationship with me and has no intention of interfering.
"I wanted to be honest with you about my past. I want a real future with you, Soph. Tell me how you’re feeling," he says.
"I'm glad you opened up and told me about Marta." But deep down I know the issue with Marta is the least of my worries. I can accept his need for a rebound fling. Growing bold, I straig
hten my spine. "But if you wanted a real relationship with me, you wouldn’t be holding up your own divorce. And don’t give me this guilty crap about money for the Africa project – if your finances were in that precarious a state, would you have really spent a million on a sex slave, oh excuse me, I mean mistress? By the sounds of it, Marta is not someone you had true feelings for, and I can get over it, but if you want this with me, you’re going to have to show me that I’m worth the risk. I can’t share you with Stella."
"You’ll never share me." His dark eyes implore mine, possessive and filled with longing.
"I am sharing you – the memory of her scowling at me in the pool and telling me to get off her property is firmly branded into my mind. Did you notice that I can’t even go near the pool?"
"Sophie, I signed the papers. Last night in my office, when you interrupted me," he says.
"WHAT?"
"Yes. It’s done. I emailed them to my attorney this morning."
"Why didn’t you tell me?" This is earth-shattering news and he's mentioning it in casual conversation like's no big deal.
"I didn’t want to interrupt our fun last night." He smirks.
I remembered in vivid detail our steamy encounter in his office last night where I'd pledged to give myself to him. Everything comes rushing back at once, and my belly tightens into a knot.
"Besides, everything you said, the way you laid yourself bare, your complete faith and trust in me – that was exactly what I needed. And if you’d known I'd signed the papers before you told me all that, it wouldn’t have had the same impact," Colton continues.
I see what he means. I’d basically agreed to have blind faith in him to do the right thing, and it turns out, he already had. My heart swells with happiness.
"Colton…"
His eyes swing over to mine and he gives me a small smile.
When I ask about the terms of the divorce, he doesn’t hold anything back. He tells me that his net worth of three hundred and sixty five million dollars was divided exactly in half. And as happy as I am about his divorce being finalized, I hate the idea that his now ex-wife is receiving even a dime from him. She'd already stripped him of his trust in women and soured his home with her memories.
Colton had pledged to spend five hundred million dollars in Africa over the next ten years, but I see now that can’t happen. My heart is heavy for him, and I work to convince him that his time and donations are still more than generous. He nods and pats my knee, but I can tell his thoughts are faraway.
A few somber seconds pass, and I can tell he's realizing there's new direction to his life. Turning over a new leaf, and all that. He's been through so much, and despite his strength and demeanor, I know it's been tough for him. I want to comfort him, to hold him. The urge to crawl into his lap is too strong to ignore and so I do.
"Sophie?" he asks.
"Just hold me," I say.
He does. Colton wraps me in his arms and holds me tight, his masculine scent enveloping me in warmth. I can tell that whatever comes next for us is going to be big. We may have started this journey together, thinking it'd be something fleeting and sexual, but the intensity of our relationship and depth of feelings are way too strong to ignore.
"What did you do today?" He brushes my hair back from my face and peers down at me where I'm still curled on his lap.
"Besides wait for my man to get home?"
"Your man?"
"My man." My voice is sure and steady. He is mine, and I won't be scared off by his admissions about Marta or his rocky past. "I went for a jog, showered, and then spent the afternoon moving my things from the guest room back into the master suite."
"Good." He continues stroking my hair and it feels lovely.
"It got me thinking though."
"About?" He nuzzles into my neck, inhaling my scent and treating me to a tender kiss on that sensitive spot just behind my ear. He's trying to distract me, and it almost works, but I know I need to have this conversation with him before things go any farther.
"You shared that room with her," I say.
Sensing the direction I'm going, Colton takes my hand in his. "I had the entire room redone when she left. The furniture, the mattress, the linens are all new."
"Did Marta pick them?" I wonder out loud, remembering her comment about redecorating the pool house.
"No. She showed me a design website and I picked everything I wanted, and then had her order it on my credit card."
"Oh."
"Does that help?"
"Yes, it does. I think I would have felt strange being intimate in the same bed you shared with your wife," I admit.
"Ex-wife," he corrects me. "And I promise you that Stella will be the furthest thing from my mind when I finally take you."
A warm ripple of heat passes between us at the mention of sex. "Did I ruin the night by asking all these questions?" I ask, meeting his blue stare.
"No. I want to be upfront with you about everything from now on."
"I think I can handle that."
He cups my face with his warm palms, and traces his thumb along my lower lip. "Thank fucking God you're still here with me. Most women would have run away screaming obscenities at me, you know?"
I nod. "Yes, it's a good thing you're cute."
"You think I'm cute?" He lifts one eyebrow, watching me with scrutiny.
"Adorable," I confirm.
He shakes his head at me, his expression turning serious.
"What's wrong with that?" I ask.
"Men don't want to be called adorable Sophie."
"No?"
"No."
"What would you like to be called, Colton?"
His tongue traces his lower lip as he thinks it over. "Tough, badass, a sex god." He gives me a playful smile and settles his hands on my waist.
"Well I wouldn’t know about that last one, now would I?" I tease. His eyes latch onto mine and he gives me the most dark, hungry, aching look that I can feel deep inside my body. "Colt…"
A sound of need rumbles in his chest and his mouth comes crashing down on mine. All of the weeks of letting the sexual tension build to exquisite proportions come barreling down on us in an instant. I'm filled with lust and desire so strong that it demands immediate attention.
I'm still planted on his lap and I grind against him, writhing, fighting to get closer as he kisses me deeply. His tongue strokes mine in the most hypnotic rhythm, reminding me of the wicked way he licked my core last night until I came so hard I almost blacked out.
Feeling the hard ridge of his erection, I push my hips closer, angling my body so that I can feel him right between my thighs. I rub myself against him wantonly.
"Colt…" I groan again, my voice a hoarse plea in the otherwise silent room.
He strips my shirt off over my head, and his hands are suddenly everywhere at once, unsnapping my bra and flinging it across the room, caressing my breasts, gently pinching my nipples. He kisses a wet path down my throat and takes one breast into his hot mouth. I cry out in a mix of pleasure and frustration. As nice as his attention on my breasts is, it's not where I need him.
"I can't fucking wait any longer, Sophie," he moans.
"Don't wait," I pant.
I reach between us and undo his belt, pushing my hands inside his pants until I find what I'm looking for. His cock is warm and weighty in my hands. God, I've missed this thing. Last night feels like so long ago, or maybe it's just that twenty-four hours without touching him is hell.
Colton shoves his pants and boxers down his hips, letting me massage his length up and down and growling out expletives.
He lifts me suddenly, setting me on my feet and making quick work of stripping me out of my pants. My panties are torn from my body next and I am almost shaking with need. Colton tugs his shirt off and kicks the pants and boxers off that are tangled around his ankles. When we're both free of our clothes, I drop to my knees, unable to resist the urge to take him into my mouth.
I swirl my ton
gue around his tip before planting my hands firmly around his base and sucking him deep into my mouth.
"Fuck, Sophie…" he moans, pushing his hands into my hair and rocking forward to thrust deeper.
After he admitted that it was something she never did for him, it's only made me want to do it even more. It's our thing, and I love that.
I pump my hands up and down, licking and sucking with an increasing tempo. I've never wanted anything in my life as badly as I want his cock right now. I feel crazed with desire.
Colton cups one hand around my jaw, and moves my mouth off of him. I look up, wondering what I've done wrong.
"I need to be inside you," he growls, his voice rough with need.
He offers me his hand and I rise to my feet. I practically crawl up his body as Colton lifts me from the floor. I wrap my legs around his waist and he carries me from the room, and at first I think he's heading for the stairs, but then he stops and anchors us with my back pressed up against the wall. He rocks his thick erection against my center, teasing me and making me ache for him.
He kisses my neck, my lips, the tops of my breasts all while rocking his hips against me and nudging his wide tip against me.
"Can't wait…" he says. "I've been dreaming of this moment since I first saw you on that stage. Your beauty, your courage…you are so damn sexy, baby."
"Fuck me, Colton," I groan in frustration.
He reaches between us and grips his cock, sliding it through my wetness and positioning himself right at my opening. Knowing we're not going to make it to the bedroom is a huge turn-on.
"This might hurt a little at first."
"It's okay." I'm ready. I've wanted this for far too long. I'm not going to let a little discomfort ruin the experience. I can't wait to be filled with him, to see what kind of lover he is. I've imagined it for so long, I'm dying to see how he fucks. Hard and fast or long, slow strokes.
"Shit," he curses.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't have a condom."
His house is too damn big and there's no way I'm waiting while we traipse through his mansion in search of protection. Plus I realize with absolute certainty that I don't want anything between us for my first time. I want to feel him. Just me and him, without any barrier between us. "No, no condom. I want to feel you. Please, Colton."