Love Will (34 page)

“Tell me about tonight,” I urge her once the waiter pours her a glass.

“It was… fun,” she says, a little reluctant. “All my friends were there, and that meant the world to me. Sarah called me, even though it was the middle of the night in Jahun. That made me cry.” She wipes her eyes with a cloth napkin. I put my arm around her and kiss the top of her head. “She told me it wasn’t my fault I lost the place… that she knew Momma was proud.”

She starts to cry against my shoulder. “Shea… I’m sure both of your parents would be very proud of what you’ve done. To see a woman so young running that restaurant? It’s not your fault it’s closing. And you didn’t
lose
it. Someone is essentially
stealing
it from you. You get that, right?”

“I guess,” she says. “I worked so hard.”

“It showed. The articles on your wall? The recognition the place received? You fucking rock, Shea. Don’t let a fucking landowner make you question your talent or self-worth. He’s a businessman. He’s in it to make money, that’s it. He doesn’t see your heart and soul. He sees green, and the bottom line, and that’s it.”

She nods in acknowledgement.

“Look at me.” I wipe the remaining tears from her cheeks and kiss her softly. “You’re gonna come out of this stronger… better. I promise you that. Tell me what else happened.”

“The auction was a little insane. I didn’t get as much as I wanted on the appliances, but the furniture in the dining area… the bids just kept going up and up… I made four times what I estimated. I don’t even know the person who bought it all. Some investor from Chicago.”

“That’s great!”

“Yeah. And I ended up selling most of the merchandise, too. Damon was a Godsend. We had a line of people to get in to see him from open to close. It probably messed with attendance at the food fair,” she says with a little chuckle. “But they stayed and looked around and bought stuff. He was just what I needed. Thank you.”

“I can’t take credit for that. It honestly wasn’t my idea. I don’t know what Damon told you–”

“He told me the truth. He told me that you just wanted him to call the Maubry or something, and that when you found out he was coming alone, that you were worried.”

I tap a cardboard coaster that was sitting on the table rhythmically to the music that’s playing and look straight ahead at the wall across from us. “A little.”

I feel her hand on the middle of my thigh. It gets my attention. “Who didn’t you trust?”

Bending over slightly with my elbow on the table, I start to tug at my hair. After a few seconds, I shift my attention to her. “I’m still getting to know you, Shea.” I may as well be honest.

Her smile is small as she nods her head.

“You said he was
attractive
,” I whisper in what comes out as something of a plea of understanding.

She laughs at me and pulls my hand away from my hair, taking it into hers. “I know, but I’m not that kind of girl, Will.”

“Okay.” I sigh. “Good to know.”

“He’s physically attractive, but you’re… the entirety of the man I never really knew I could have. I’ve never had the privilege of knowing anyone like you. Someone who’s not only handsome, but incredibly smart and creative and funny and desirable and sensitive, too.”

I have a physical reaction to her use of the word sensitive. I’m not sure anyone’s ever called me that before, which means one of two things: either she’s lying, or I’ve changed.

And she’s assured me she doesn’t lie.

“Hardly anyone gets to be with someone who’s all of those things.”

“Well,
I
do,” I tell her. “Except substitute handsome for fucking tantalizing as sin, though.” Shielding her from any onlookers in the restaurant, I move in to kiss her the way she’s taught me. I run the pad of my thumb up and down the shell of her ear as my lips move against hers, neither of us daring to break away first. Under the table, she drags her left leg over my right one. I’m happy her dress is long and flowing, or else I’m not sure someone from across the restaurant couldn’t see whether or not she’s wearing sexy underwear, and I sure as hell want to be the first one to figure that out tonight. When my oxygen-deprived mind begins to think it’s a good idea to drop my hand from her ear directly into her lap, I decide we need to go upstairs. I break the kiss, gasping for air as she smiles, claiming her own silent victory. “We have to get out of here.”

“Like you need to tell me that,” she says.

I signal for the waiter to bring me the check, my legs shaking impatiently under the table. While we wait, I move hers back where it belongs, the lure of it too much for me to handle at the moment.

Happy that I have enough cash to cover the tab, I throw the bills in the folder quickly and grab the nearly-full bottle of wine. Shea brings her glass and grabs my free hand as we make our way to the elevator. I pour her a refill once we’re inside.

“Have you scouted out where, we, uh…” I ask her.

“The bed looks seriously nice.”

“Bed it is.”

“You can look around, too–”

“There’s no time for that, Shea,” I tell her when the doors open on our floor, walking with purpose to our room. “The card’s in my front pocket,” I direct her as I respond to Damon’s text that asks me how my meetings went. I thank him for the surprise and let him know I’ll fill him in on everything tomorrow.

“Convenient,” she says, digging around for far longer than she needs to before pulling out our key to open the door.

“Inappropriate,” I chide her lightheartedly, following her into the suite. “I love it. Need any more wine at the moment?”

“I’m good.” I make a quick stop at the refrigerator before joining her in the bedroom.

“My God, would you look at us?” I say, staring at the huge mirror right next to the bed.

“There we are. Are you a little voyeuristic in nature, Will? Something I need to know about?”

“I would love to watch you and me… a tantalizing-as-sin woman and a handsome guy… reunite after weeks of abstinence and yearning and fantasizing. How do you feel about leaving the lights on?”

“I’m confident with myself.”

“I know you are,” I tell her, pulling back the sheets.

“Yearning?” she asks.

“I can’t think of any other word for it,” I admit, letting her take off my tie as I undo my pants and slide them off my legs. “I’ve wanted you from the moment I left you–no, from the moment I arrived in your restaurant.”

“I see you’re in full-on musician mode tonight.”

“Implying that I’m lying, I guess,” I say. “I was incredibly undersexed that first night I met you. I’ll put it that way. So I’m not lying. I did want you, and I had to calm myself down a few times. I admittedly want you to fulfill more needs for me now than I did then. And
no
, not just sexual. I know how you think,
Miss Livingston
.”

She grins at me, unbuttoning my shirt and pushing it off my shoulders. I take my tee off and jump at the feel of her cold hands on my bare skin.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” I say, holding her hands to my chest and leaning in to kiss her. She steps aside and pushes me lightly until I understand that she wants me on the bed.
Fine by me
.

After I lie down on my back, she pries off her shoes and hitches up her lacy red dress, straddling me delicately. I help to settle her, feeling that she’s still wearing her panties under the dress. She looks to her right, admiring the view in the mirror, tracing her fingers down my abdominal muscles. I watch her right in front of me, eventually taking one of her hands in mine and kissing it before tugging until her torso is against mine. Once we’re kissing, I reach beneath her skirt and start working to remove her underwear, only getting them a little way down her thighs before I need her assistance. I peek in the mirror out of the corner of my eye, and realize I can finish the job with my foot, and do just that.

“Congratulations, Will,” she says. “You are far more talented than I even thought.”

“I like a challenge… that was an easy one.”

“What about yours?”

“A little more difficult with you sitting on me.” She props herself up on her hands and knees, allowing me room to finish undressing myself. When I’m done, she’s got supplies set out beside us in bed, although I don’t think we’re quite ready for them yet.

She cautiously sinks back against me, her skin against mine, and looks me deeply in the eyes. I sit up, engulfing her in a tight embrace and kissing her again, very mindful of any movements down below.

“You, uh,” I start, “you gonna keep that thing on all night, or…”

“I figure I’m safe while I have it on,” she says.

“Oh, you do?” I ask with a hearty laugh. “That dress is not stopping me from doing anything, Shea. I could do everything I really, really, really want to do to you while you’re wearing it. You just may have to pay more at the dry cleaner tomorrow, that’s all.”

“Gross, Will,” she says.

“I’m just trying to warn you.” We both look in the mirror together as we hold one another tightly, my face next to hers. “We look pretty good together.”

“Spectacular, actually,” she says. “Do we have the same nose?”

“It’s similar,” I say, looking at them both, back and forth. Hers is just a tad wider, but they both come up slightly at the tip. “It’s a good nose, right?”

“I like my nose.”

“I like your nose, too.” I feel her giggle against me. The movement turns me on even more than I already was. After all, I’m having flashbacks of the night she showed me how her body was calling out to mine. I can tell it’s happening again. The only reason I’m stalling is because I don’t want to put the latex in between us right this second. I like how this feels.

She looks back at me and touches her lips to my nose. I do the same to her before our mouths meet in a deep kiss. I place my hands on her ass to position her better, and finally admit that it’s time to put on the condom. Releasing her with one hand, I reach for the package, trying to be somewhat subtle about it.

“Shea?” I whisper. “Let’s get the business out of the way here.”

“Right,” she says, sounding just as disappointed as I feel. She kneels up, allowing me to cover up. It was warm and comfortable without it, but in a few minutes, we’ll both feel twenty times better.
Common sense to the rescue.

She feels her way into position, the red dress still pooled up around her in every direction. I lie back again, guiding her motions as she presses her hands against my chest. Her reflection is beautiful, and I lift the dress up to caress her leg that’s bent against my body. I ache for her, getting more excited as I watch us move together. When I look up at her face in the mirror, she meets my eyes.

“That’s hot,” I say, running my hand over her behind. Her response is just an impish grin as she pushes harder against me, pulling me deeper into her. “Ohhh…” She does it again with the next thrust, only this time it’s her that lets me know aloud that she likes how it feels. I turn my head to watch her in front of me. The third time, she digs her nails into my skin, bringing a flash of pain that causes the radiating heat I’m feeling to spread out over a wider surface area of my body.

Shea leans forward, in search of a better angle. I decide to help her by sitting up, crossing my legs, and holding her in my lap. It also allows me to unzip her dress and pull the shoulder sleeves down so I can kiss her collarbone and breasts. Her hips sway as she finds her rhythm. She keeps one arm around my neck and leans back on the bed with the other one. My lips now have no place to find purchase but hers, so we kiss: hard, deep, and breathless.

I’m definitely turned on and enjoying sex with her, but I don’t think I can get off compl–
Fuck!
She tightens around me and slows gradually, lifting and falling against me as she whimpers through the kiss. With one hand firmly grasping her shoulder, I guide her body, feeling the way it quivers as her orgasm continues to build. Her palm against my scalp, she kneads it with the tempo of the waves that overcome her.

I break away from her, unable to hold it in. “Oh, fuck. Oh… fuck!” It’s coming.
I’m
coming.

“Will,” she says quietly, pushing against the bed and putting her other arm around me. Suddenly she’s crying in my ear.

“Oh, shit.” I grab on to her waist and push her back to see her face, forcing myself to stop. “Shea? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I pull out of her, cringing at the contradictory action of what my body expected to continue doing. With my heavy breathing, I doubt she noticed the pained sigh that accompanied it.

“I’m sorry,” she says meekly. “I’m so sorry, Will.”

“Wha… for what?” I ask, worried.

“For this,” she says, breaking down. “I’m sorry. I’m overwhelmed… and… I’m sorry I’m crying.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No, no, no,” she says, caressing my face with both of her hands and kissing the corner of my mouth. “No, Will. This was just a really long day,” she says with the saddest, most adorable eyes I’ve ever seen.