by Jane Fox
That made it sound like I’d be spending more time with his family, and I felt my eyes widen just a bit.
“Like she’ll last that long,” Celeste said, not bothering to address herself to me at all.
“Mind your manners, Celeste,” Dominic admonished.
“Yes, you must excuse my sister-in-law,” Colton said. “Sometimes she doesn’t realize that she says things out loud.”
Celeste just glared and Dominic put a hand on her elbow to pull her away. “We should be going. It was lovely to meet you, Emma. Anyone who can make my brother smile like that is someone I’m glad to make the acquaintance of.”
“It was nice meeting you as well,” I said, and watched as he guided Celeste away. “He seems very sweet,” I said to Colton.
“Dom’s a great guy,” Colton said. “I’m sorry about Celeste. We all thought Dom had lost his mind when he married her.”
“She certainly doesn’t seem too pleasant,” I said.
He chuckled. “That’s one way of putting it.”
We were silent for a moment, but it felt totally comfortable. Colton reached for my hand, sitting on the table, and threaded his fingers through mine, and once again, it felt like all the oxygen was sucked from the room.
“Do you trust me?” he asked.
“Yes,” I breathed. I didn’t even need to clarify what he was asking about. I did.
“Shellfish allergies?”
“What?” I said, startled out of my reverie.
Colton grinned. “Are you allergic to shellfish?”
“No,” I answered, confused.
“Good,” he said. “We’re both getting the cioppino.”
I was afraid to admit that I had no idea what it was; the Cobb salad he’d gotten for me the day before was delicious, so I decided just to trust him. When the waitress came over, Colton ordered the cioppino and a bottle of wine that I didn’t have a chance of pronouncing.
“I’m not sure I should have wine,” I said.
He looked startled. “You’re not under 21, are you?”
“No, I’m 22,” I said. “But I do have to go back to work, and I’m a bit of a lightweight.”
“Good to know,” he said, teasingly. “Better have some of this bread to sop it up. Besides, if your boss says so much as a cross word to you, I’ll terminate my business with him immediately.”
“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that!” I said. “I don’t want to get Mr. LaPointe in trouble.”
“The only thing that will get him in trouble is himself,” he said darkly. “I’ll play nice for now, but I want you to promise me that you’ll tell me if he talks to you disrespectfully again.”
I nodded my promise. I knew I wouldn’t get Mr. LaPointe in trouble, but, at the same time, I wanted to make Colton happy.
“There’s my girl,” he said, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear.
Lunch was delicious, but not nearly as good as the feeling of sitting next to Colton Richmond.
6
Colton
I resisted the urge to whistle as I rode the elevator to my meeting with George LaPointe. He was an unpleasant, squirrelly little man, but if it hadn’t been for him, I never would have met Emma.
I’d wanted badly to kiss her when I returned her to work after lunch the previous day. And I think she was expecting it too, considering that she began shaking a little as we neared the door of her office. But she was such a sweet thing, and I didn’t want to rush her, so I settled for kissing her hand. She’d blushed prettily and thanked me for lunch, and I’d be damned if I couldn’t wait to see her again.
I was a bit early for my meeting, but who could blame me for wanting to spend a bit of time in the reception area?
Emma wasn’t at her desk when I entered the office. Suddenly, I heard a scream from LaPointe’s office.
“Sir, please, no!”
It was Emma.
I dropped my briefcase and rushed to the door, only to find it locked. The lock didn’t stand a chance against my fury, though, and I backed up and gave the door a solid kick. It flew open, and I took in a scene that made my blood boil with rage.
George LaPointe had Emma backed up against the wall, his body pressed hard against her, his hand on her breast. Mascara streaked down her face where she’d been crying. She looked terrified.
I grabbed LaPointe by his collar and whipped him around.
“Don’t you ever so much as look at her,” I growled, and punched him square in the face.
LaPointe fell to the ground, holding his cheek and looking murderous. “Why do you care so much about a piece of ass? You can have her when I’m done,” he spat.
I lost it.
I would have done a lot more damage if Emma hadn’t hauled me off him. And the asshole would have deserved it, too. The broken nose I gave him would have felt like a massage compared to the depth of my anger.
But that gentle hand pulled me back.
“Colton, I’m ok. Please, stop.”
And I did, but only because she asked me to.
“Are you all right?” I asked, pulling her into my arms, looking her all over for visible signs that she was hurt.
“I’m ok,” she repeated, but she trembled uncontrollably in my arms.
LaPointe sat on the floor, holding his nose, and screamed, “You assaulted me! I’ll press charges!”
“Try it,” I growled. “I don’t think the court will look too kindly on the fact that I walked in on you attacking your secretary.”
“She’s mine,” he said petulantly, “and I’ll do what I want with her.”
Even Emma couldn’t hold me back from one more punch, and that one kept him quiet until the police arrived.
7
Emma
I don’t know how long I cried in Colton’s arms—from fear, from relief, and from the realization that my entire life was about to change. I’d need to find a new job immediately, and how was I going to explain this on my resume?
“What if you hadn’t been here?” I sobbed into Colton’s strong chest.
“But I was,” he said gently. “I’ll protect you, Emma. Always.”
That caused a fresh wave of tears, which he held me through.
“I’m sorry,” I sniffled.
He tipped my chin up. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
As I stared into his eyes, everything else suddenly fell away. Nothing mattered but him, and me, and that moment in time.
“Emma, I have to kiss you. May I?”
I nodded. I was a mess, but I couldn’t tell him no.
His lips met mine, gently, lovingly. He kissed me like I was valuable—important. Something to treasure. I let him take the lead and parted my lips when he did. There was just a whisper of his tongue against mine and he broke the kiss.
“I don’t want to stop,” he said, “but we need to deal with this issue. Will you let me do that again afterwards?”
I’d let him do anything he wanted.
The police were there sooner than I expected. I’m not even sure when Colton called them.
“Hey, Jerry,” I heard Colton say over my head as he continued to hold me tight.
“Colton,” the officer said. “What the hell happened?”
“This waste of space here—” he gestured at Mr. LaPointe—”decided it was his right to assault his secretary.”
I turned towards the police officer, knowing that I’d have to make a statement.
“Are you all right, miss?” he asked, concern in his voice.
“Yes,” I said, my voice cracking a bit. “Thank goodness Colton was here.”
“He’s a hero,” the cop said with a grin. “But I suspect you already knew that.”
I nodded.
Colton did most of the talking after that, and soon he was ushering me out of the office.
“They need us off the scene, sweetheart,” he said.
“Ok,” I replied. But where was I going to go? I wasn’t ready to be alone.
As if he
read my mind, Colton said, “Come to my place. Will you?”
“Yes,” I breathed, glancing up into those blue eyes. Yes, a thousand times.
We didn’t talk much on the way to Colton’s apartment. He kept a hand on my knee, steadying me, and I was grateful for the support. I began crying again as we were driving, and he pulled out a pristine white handkerchief and handed it to me. Which made me cry even harder. I mean, who actually carries a handkerchief in case they’re in an emergency situation with a sobbing mess of a girl?
Colton Richmond, that’s who.
I couldn’t quite believe it when he pulled up in front of a huge building, a mixture of classic architecture and modern touches.
“You live here?” I asked, craning my neck.
“I do,” he said with a smile. Then he was out of the car and opening my door. I took his extended hand and let him lead me into the building. The security guard wished us a good afternoon, and Colton led me towards the elevators. However, instead of pressing the button, he produced a key which he inserted next to a smaller set of elevator doors.
I realized I was gawking and forced my mouth shut. He just smiled at me.
We entered the elevator, and he entered a pin code.
“You probably don’t have much trouble with uninvited guests, do you?” I asked.
Colton chuckled. “Now that you mention it, I don’t.”
The elevator clicked off floors until we’d reached the penthouse. He keyed in a code once again and the doors slid open onto a huge open-floor-plan room with a wall made up entirely of windows.
“Whoa,” I said, at a loss for words as we stepped out of the elevator.
“Does it meet with your approval?” he asked.
I laughed. “Do you really think I’d say no? It’s beautiful.”
He took my face in his hands and looked into my eyes. “You’re beautiful,” he said. “Are you certain you’re not hurt?”
Not unless it was possible to burn yourself blushing. I couldn’t believe he called me beautiful. “I’m ok,” I said, glancing down.
“You don’t believe it, do you?” he asked.
“I have eyes,” I mumbled.
“Then you’re not seeing what I see,” Colton said. “From the first moment I saw you, I’ve been entranced. No one has ever made me feel like this before.”
I looked into his eyes and I saw no dishonesty there. “Do you mean it?”
“I’ve never meant anything more,” he said, and bent to kiss me.
Where our earlier kiss had been sweet, this one was almost frantic. I parted my lips for his tongue and he explored my mouth, crushing me against him. One hand was on the back of my head and the other strayed down to my ass, pulling me towards him. I could feel his arousal and I moaned into his mouth.
He surprised me by scooping me up, an arm under my knees and around my back. Grinning at my squeak of surprise, he kissed me once again and started down a nearby hallway into a spacious bedroom decorated in tasteful neutral colors. Sunlight spilled in from the attached balcony. But as much as I wanted to look around, I couldn’t tear my eyes from the man who held me in his arms.
He lowered me onto the bed and then stood up, his eyes raking over me.
“God, you’re perfect,” he said.
And, in that moment, I could almost believe him.
Before my self-doubt could come rushing back in, Colton laid down next to me, pulling me close and kissing me once again. I felt the heat begin to pool in my stomach as he kissed me deeply, his hands on my ass, my back, my hips.
I felt him tugging at the zipper of my dress and I snuggled closer, pressing myself against him, to give him better access. He slid the zipper down smoothly and broke the kiss to pull the dress off my shoulders. I wiggled a bit to allow him to pull it down over my hips, and, the next thing I knew, I was laying there in nothing but my bra and panties. Without thinking, I moved my arms to cover my stomach. Colton gently uncrossed them and pressed my wrists into the bed on either side of my head.
“Perfect,” he said, even more emphatically.
Then his lips were on my throat and he was kissing and nipping, working his way lower and lower. When he got to my breast, he gently bit the nipple through the cup of my bra. The sensation was so overwhelming that I gasped and arched against him.
He did the same thing on the other side, then his hands let go of my wrists and reached back to unhook my bra.
“Will you leave your hands there if I tell you to?” he said with a smile.
“I’ll do anything you tell me to,” I responded honestly.
He groaned. “Goddamn, that’s hot,” he said as he pulled my bra off.
All of his attention switched to my breasts, and my rock-hard nipples pleaded for his touch. He took one in his mouth and sucked and nibbled. It felt like a bolt of electricity ran through my body, and I couldn’t help but whimper.
Colton pinched one nipple while he laved the other with his tongue and I almost came on the spot. I wrapped my legs around him, chasing the delicious friction that I needed.
“Hungry, are we?” he chuckled, and then sat up to remove his shirt. As he was working the buttons, I was unzipping his pants, not able to wait anymore to see all of him.
He shucked his shirt and his pants and I couldn’t help but look down to try to get a look at him. What I saw made me a little nervous—I wasn’t expecting him to be quite so large.
“I’m not very experienced,” I whispered, suddenly feeling shy all over again.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he said, leaning down to kiss me again. “We can go slow.”
And then his tongue was in my mouth and all I could think about was how much I wanted him inside me.
He began kissing his way down my body, between my breasts, and heading south. He sucked a hickey on my hip, which tickled. My giggles stopped, however, when I realized where he was ultimately going.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” I said.
“I want to taste you, Emma.”
“But isn’t that gross?”
He shifted up on his elbows so he could look me in the eyes. “Who ever gave you the idea it was gross?”
I shrugged, not knowing how to answer the question.
“Has anyone ever gone down on you?”
I shook my head.
Colton got a devilish gleam in his eyes. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”
He pushed my knees apart, telling me to relax. Like that was possible.
“Just try, Emma.”
So I did, no matter how much I just wanted to slam my legs closed. I felt his breath against my clit as he exhaled, and then the feather-light touch of his tongue. The sensations that flooded my body were like nothing I’d ever felt before.
“Good, baby?” he said, glancing up at me.
“Uh huh,” I sighed.
“Then your only job is to stay relaxed.”
And he went to work. Gentle licks alternated with long strokes of his tongue, taking me higher and higher each time. And when he sucked my clit, it felt like a dam had exploded as my orgasm hit.
“Good girl,” he said, grinning up at me. “Do you think you’re ready for me?”
“Please give me more, Colton.”
With that devilish grin still on his face, he retrieved a condom from the bedside table and smoothed it over his cock. I was still a bit nervous about whether he’d fit inside me, but I just felt so blissful that I was willing to try it.
He locked eyes with me and said, “Ready?”
“Yes,” I breathed.
Colton stroked into me excruciatingly slowly. I felt full, but it felt amazing. There were nerves I didn’t even know I had triggered by every little movement. When I was sure I was ok, I lifted my hips to meet his and took him the rest of the way in.
“Fuck,” he muttered, and closed his eyes. “Give me a minute. I don’t want this over too soon.”
His hips started to move before he opened his eyes, still moving slowly.
“More, Colton, please,” I said, writhing under him.
He growled and buried his face in my neck as he sped up, giving me every inch over and over again until I was so close.
“I’m going to come again,” I gasped.
He kissed me then, long and deep, his tongue thrusting in time with his cock, until I felt so filled, so overwhelmed, that I tumbled over the edge once more. My pussy pulsed around him.
Apparently he could feel it too, because he came right after me, his eyes on mine the entire time.
“Are you all right, sweetheart?” he asked, after we’d both had a moment to recover.
“I’m perfect. It was perfect,” I said.
And it really was.
8
Colton
Three Years Later
There are a few days that really define a person’s life. And Emma has been there for most of those days. When Emma agreed to marry me, I thought my heart would burst with happiness. That I couldn’t possibly be any happier.
Until our wedding day. Seeing her walk down the aisle, radiant with flowers in her hair and that gorgeous smile on her face, I knew it was the best moment of my life.
I get to wake up and fall asleep with the amazing woman whom I love more than anything. And what can be better than that?
I thought nothing could until the night that she put my palm on her stomach and whispered that we’d be meeting our child in nine months. And my happiness was greater still when they handed me my beautiful, perfect daughter. She looks like her mother, but she’s got my eyes.
And now there’s nothing left to do except enjoy every second I have with this family that Emma and I have made. I don’t know what I did to deserve her in my life, but whatever it was, I’m eternally grateful. Until I met Emma, I didn’t believe in happy endings. Now, I don’t know how I lived without her.
Also by Jane Fox
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