His to Keep: A Billionaire Romance (His to Have Book 3) (2 page)

“I want you to hold onto it. It’s yours now,” he says. “You wanted me to give up my past, and that involves giving up that evidence. You have it if you need it, but I won’t leave myself the option. I trust you more than I trust myself, Cat.”
 

“So what happened after I left?” I ask.

Blake walks around the couch and places his hands on my shoulders. He starts rubbing. “Ben grilled me for hours. I told him everything about my past. Every little detail. I gave him all of it. He’s running through it now. For a while, I started to doubt myself. I started to wonder if I had made a mistake by coming clean, but then I remembered that only one thing matters: how much I’m in love with you. I love you. I waited so long to say it, and now I want to say it again and again. I can deal with everything else as long as I have you.” He leans in and kisses my temple. His lips are soft and warm against my skin, but I can feel the rasp of the stubble on his chin too. That combination, soft, sweet and a little rough is exactly what I like about him.

“What’s that?” he asks.

“It’s an apology from my father,” I tell him. I don’t know why I don’t tell him the whole truth, but Blake’s already dealt with enough for today. I don’t want to worry him with any of this before I think it through. I place the contract down and turn to meet his kiss. He slides one hand to my cheek and slips his tongue across my lips. I melt from the warmth of it. He deepens the kiss and runs his hands over my arms.

Desire takes root inside me. I’m almost embarrassed at how much I want Blake right now. I can feel my heart pounding as I get more and more excited. There’s nothing like a good kiss, the way it deepens and builds its own rhythm, the way breaths overlap, the way you pull each other deeper into desire. By the time Blake pulls his lips back, I’m breathless.

“It’s been a long day,” he says. “I was going to take a shower, would you care to join me? I was hoping we could blow off a little steam.”

I see the wild look in his eye, and I know there’s no way I’m saying no. I tuck the contract back in the envelope. “I’ll meet you inside in a minute,” I tell him.
 

Steam. Luxurious steam rises around us as Blake kisses my neck. The shower glass is already fogged up, and warm water runs over my shoulders. Blake’s been kissing me and letting his hands range up and down my body. It feels great to be so wanted. He kisses my chest and kneels before me, pressing his lips against my stomach, “What do you think you’re doing?” I ask as he slides his hands between my thighs and kisses my hipbone. He starts to rub between my legs, teasing me with his fingers as he moves his lips closer and closer to my core. I think about protesting that he doesn’t need to do that, but then he kisses my sex, and my mind goes blank.

Warmth rushes through my body, and I ache for more as he slides his fingers inside me. My body tenses from the pleasure. I close my eyes and lean back against the wall of the shower. It’s still nice and cool. My knees feel weak, and my heart is racing. Blake spreads my legs apart, and I tilt my hips. His tongue feels incredible.

I run my fingers through his hair and rock my hips slightly against him as my excitement grows stronger. I can feel the pleasure pulsing through my veins, throbbing in my breaths. I can’t help but cry out as it crests inside me in a dizzying wave. Blake gives a little moan of approval, but he keeps going, making me want him more and more.

I reach down and pull his chin up. I open my eyes and meet his gaze. “I want you,” I tell him. “Stand up.”

He grins as he stands before me. He leans in and kisses my neck again. I can feel his cock hard against me, and I reach down to rub his length. Blake keeps a hand between my thighs, teasing my sex by slowly rubbing his fingers against my entrance. He takes a step back and looks up and down my body. He runs his free hand between my breasts and over my stomach. He leans in again, close enough that I can feel his skin against my nipples. It sends a new thrill through my body. I want him to cup my breasts in his hands, but he slides his hand onto my hip. “Turn around,” he whispers.

“Not until you tell me exactly what you want,” I say.
 
I don’t just want to feel it. I want to hear him say it. There’s something about his voice that makes me even more turned on.

“I want to be inside you.”
 

“You already were inside me,” I tease.
 

“I want my cock inside you, and I want to make you come all over again,” he says.

“That sounds like a good start,” I tell him. I rub up and down his shaft. I can tell it’s driving him wild that he has to wait, and I love it. “Now tell me what you’ll do once you get what you want.”
 

“Everything I can think of,” he says.
 

That’s a good enough answer for me. I turn around, and Blake wraps an arm around my stomach as he presses himself against me. He positions himself, and with one smooth thrust, he pushes deep inside. I gasp in delight and lean all my weight against the wall. Blake moans as he thrusts again, and I feel a wave of pleasure surge through my body.

“Your turn,” he says between thrusts.

I bite my lip. I have him inside me, thrusting, and for some reason I feel self-conscious telling him what I want. “Play with my breasts,” I tell him. He slides his hand over my chest and pinches my nipple between his fingers tugging hard as he pushes himself deeper inside me. I cry out. The thrill is wonderful. I tense as a rolling moan passes my lips. I close my eyes again as I try to hold back my climax for a while longer.

I love the way my body responds to Blake, the way he can drive me wild to the point where I’ll do and say things I never thought I would. I feel dangerous with him. I feel sexy. But there’s more to it than that. As he pushes himself into me faster and faster, I rock my body back against him. There’s something so simple and pure about the way we need each other. So much less complex than everything else in our lives.
 
Unlike everything else, our need is completely honest.

Blake pulls himself out of me, plants his hands on my hips and spins me around. “Why?” I ask as he plants a kiss on my lips and pins me against the wall.

“I wanted to be closer,” he says between kisses.
 

Another good answer.
I seal my lips against his and slide my tongue back and forth against his. I love this man. I love the way he holds me, and the way he looks at me, and I love the way he knows exactly how to drive me wild. My thighs start to burn as I rock along with his thrusts. He settles into a rhythm and finds a spot deep inside me that feels good in ways I can’t even explain.

I dig my fingernails into his back as the pleasure starts to peak again. This only makes him push harder against me, intensifying the pleasure until I can’t hold off for even another second. He kisses my neck, and I can hear his heavy breaths in my ear as he drives toward orgasm, but I’m already there. I bite my lip and focus on the pleasure. It’s incredible. It’s like the entire world has fallen away, and then I feel his thrusts slow as he climaxes too.
 

I gasp for breath. Even though we’re in the shower, I can tell that sweat has broken out across my body. I feel like I would collapse if I weren’t in his arms. It’s incredible. Blake kisses my cheek and nuzzles me. “At some point I have to let you down,” he says.
 

“I don’t think you’ll ever let me down,” I tell him. Then I realize he means physically. “Maybe we should actually shower,” I tell him. “And then we should take a long nap.”
 

He laughs as I get back on my feet. Then he kisses me again. “I think we should figure out dinner,” he says. He runs his hands up my sides in a way that sends shivers of excitement up my spine. “I’m starving. Are you hungry?” I’m completely spent. I could be hungry, but I have no idea. I just feel a wonderful, dazed contentment. Blake kisses me, and I lose myself in the warmth of his embrace. The shower is full of steam. I wonder how much of it’s from the hot water and how much is from us. We rinse off, and Blake kisses me again.
 

“If we keep this up, we’re going to get waterlogged,” I tell him.

Blake turns the water off and smiles at me before wrapping his arms around my waist. I can feel every inch of his body against me, and I want him all over again.
 

Steam. Lots of steam.
 

CHAPTER 4

CATHERINE

Even standing in his kitchen wearing nothing but a towel, Blake looks nothing short of dashing. Ok, so he looks incredibly attractive. He walks over to the fridge and starts looking through it. I head back to the bedroom and grab clothes. I pull on a T-shirt and grab one for Blake. When I get back, he’s still staring at the fridge. I toss him the shirt. “Gelato,” he says.

“Come again?”

“I could totally go for gelato,” he says. He closes the fridge and goes to a cabinet.

“I don’t think you’ll find any in there,” I tell him.
 

He laughs and asks, “Have you ever had real Italian gelato?”
 

I nod. “In Rome, on a family vacation.”
 
I think about that trip, how it was one of the last times my family was all together. I think about how hot the sun was and how loud the streets were. I remember stopping at a little place near the Colosseum. I can’t remember for sure what flavor my gelato was, but I remember how deep red it was. It must have been raspberry. I remember how little I appreciated any of what I had.

“Good,” Blake says, “then you’ll know that mine is better.” I can’t help but laugh.
 

“Do you own an ice-cream company you haven’t told me about?” I ask.
 

“I’ve been looking for a reason to use this ice-cream maker,” he says, pulling a large metal machine out of the cabinet. He goes back over to the fridge and looks through it again. He starts pulling out ingredients. “Fruit or mint?” he asks.
 

“Mint,” I say. “We could just buy some down the street, you know.”
 

“Some things you can’t buy,” he says.
 

“I’m pretty sure gelato is one of the things you can,” I reply.

“Come on, it will be fun,” he says. He pulls out a gallon of milk, some eggs, and he goes back to the cabinet, grabbing some sugar. “I need you to go out on the terrace and get some mint. There’s a mint plant right beyond the table. Get a few handfuls. We’ll need all of it.”

It’s cool out on the terrace. The wind is blowing steadily off of the river, and it bends the sounds of the traffic below. I find the plant and start plucking off leaves. I look back over my shoulder to see Blake, measuring out ingredients, adding them to a pot. He’s smiling. I’ve never seen him look this carefree. It makes me think of the kind of life we could have if things were different. A gust of wind sends a chill through my body, and I gather what will have to be enough mint. I don’t mind the cold. I know that as soon as I’m inside with Blake, I’ll be warm.

We wash the leaves together, and Blake has me help him with the rest of the steps, grinding up the leaves, adding them to the mix. He holds the pan, and I spoon the mixture into the ice-cream maker. “How long until it’s ready?” I ask.

“Long enough,” Blake says. He presses a button, and the ice-cream maker starts to whir. He places the pot down and wraps his arms around me. He kisses me. This time his kiss is tender and slow. He leans back against the counter and holds me tight. He holds me in his arms for what feels like forever. At the same time, it feels like barely a heartbeat.

“I think it’s time,” he says. He peers over the top of the machine and nods. “Only one way to tell now. He opens up a drawer and pulls out a spoon. “You first,” he says.

“Aren’t you going to make sure it’s up to your standards first?”

“I trust my abilities,” he says. He dips the spoon into the bowl of the machine and scoops some up. He holds it right in front of my mouth. I can smell the mint and a hint of vanilla.
 

I take the spoon and take a bite. It’s fantastic. It’s dense and creamy and smooth, and the mint is perfect. I can tell Blake is way too happy about my reaction.

“Good, right?” he asks. He looks prouder of this ice-cream than he is of his multi-billion dollar company.

“It’s okay,” I say. I take another bite. “On second thought, it’s terrible. You better leave it all to me.”
 

“I don’t think so,” he says. He steals the spoon out of my hand.

“You know you probably have more than one of those.”
 

“Fine, I guess I can get a second one,” he says.
 

He takes a bite. “Oh come on. That’s fantastic.”

“I think it was my mint that made the difference,” I say with a smile. I take another spoonful of gelato.
 

“I think you’re right,” he says.

“So about that ice-cream company, do you want to start one?” I ask.

“Only if it’s with you,” he says. “We could open up a gelato shop. There’s this town on the Adriatic, barely more than a village, where the ancient roads are so narrow, you can’t fit a car down them, and every building is sun bleached and perfect. We could start looking for a place there.”
 

“That sounds perfect,” I say. “I could see you driving me up and down the coast in a little convertible. We could drink those little cups of espresso they have. No one would know who we were.”
 

“I like the sound of that,” he says. “We could get a little place, nothing fancy. We could live simply.”

“Just you, me, and your thousand dollar gelato machine?”
 

“Now you’re talking,” he says. “I need you to do me a favor tomorrow. Will you check in with Alex? I’m keeping my distance until I have a deal with Ben, but I want to know that she’s okay.”

“Of course,” I tell him. “But then I’m booking our flight to Italy.” It’s a joke, but I mean at least part of it. I wish we could just pack up and leave. I wish we didn’t have to deal with the politics and the power struggles. I wish it were just me and him.