I wake up with Brandon's arms around my waist, his leg between mine and our bodies pressed against each other. My muscles scream in protest when I try to push him off in an attempt to get out of the bed and a new wave of annoyance hits me when his arms tighten around my waist. He stirs, runs his fingers across my naked stomach before trailing a line down my hips. I freeze, waiting for his breathing to return to normal so I can try again.
"El," he murmurs when I finally pry his arms off me, his voice unusually low and his hand blindly searching for me. "Don't leave me."
My body goes rigid, the butterflies in my belly flutter as my feet connect with the floor and I cast a tentative look at him. His closed eyelids, the wrinkles that appear on his forehead and the rising and falling of his chest call attention to me. I sigh, my decision to sneak out of the room crumbling like my resolve
"I don't like it when you disobey me or you are being disrespectful," he murmurs against my ear with a squeeze of my butt. I lift my head from the crook of his neck to stare at him. "It drives me crazy with the need to punish you and I can't help it sometimes.""We won't always agree on everything," I say while caressing the scar at the nape of his neck and he goes rigid for a second. I litter kisses all over his jaw until he relaxes, then reciprocate the smile on his face. He urges me to continue, I nod and pucker my lips.I have a strong suspicion his statement has something to do with my reaction to our last argument in France, I am not the best version of myself when I'm upset. He slides his index finger down my lower lip, I smile and give him a peck which earns me a chuckle."We might not always agree on everything but I will try to control
The impact of his words has me opening and closing my mouth, he chuckles and I squeeze my lips. I don't find it funny and he shouldn't either. "How?""How they are trying to sabotage me?" he murmurs with lines marring his forehead and I nod. My lips trail a line from his forehead to his nose, I encourage him to continue talking. "I've been trying to expand, go into other businesses to create my legacy."The silence of the room is broken by my question, "Isn't your company and hotel your legacy?" I shift, trying to adjust on his laps, he must have mistaken it for me leaving him because his arms circle my waist and I chuckle. "Your legs must be numb by now.""I don't mind," as he says this, he lifts me to flip us over. My back meets the bed, my leg
He puts his hand up in the air and bends his thumb, my eyes round to saucers, that's a number I might never achieve.All I need are additional business courses, not degrees."Four. One Bachelor, two Masters and a PhD. School--learning is kind of fun."I giggle when he sticks his tongue out at me, I am impressed. "You are bragging.""No. You asked," he fires back and laughs. "Do you want to get another degree?"It takes a few minutes for me to give him an answer, "I don't know yet." My heart swells with pride when he promises to support whatever decision I make and the butterflies in my stomach scatter in excitement. I love this man, he is everything I have ever wanted and more.Throwing my
Brandon's hand travels up my thighs, I stifle a moan and place my palm over his to stop him from going further. He snakes an arm around my waist, pulls me to himself and I let out a small yelp at how easy it is for him to carry me. I pout as my butt connects with his laps and he steals a kiss from me."Did you like it?" His eyes dart to the empty but stained plates on the dining table and I nod. My husband is the best chef in town. "Do you want to show your appreciation?"He tugs on the hem of my blue T-shirt, my arm goes around his neck and we stare into each other's eyes until his hands find their way inside my shirt. His cold palms against my belly as they begin a slow climb up to the perky mounds protected by my bra has shivers trickling down my spine.
Our tour starts in the kitchen, I let out a low laugh as Brandon points out the utensils to me, going on about their functions like I have no idea what they are. We spend little time in some of the rooms downstairs with me being carried around like a princess. Well, I am his princess or baby or whatever pet name he refuses to call me and I deserve to be treated like one.None of the rooms holds my interest for long, except for the huge library which I promise to come explore later on my own. If his arms are numb from carrying me, he doesn't say or act like it. I stifle a yawn, he chuckles and I direct him to the door of the ballroom I came upon the last time Sophia was here. I need answers to the questions bugging my mind and he's the only one who can offer me that.Embarrassment crawls up my spine when I reca
I shriek and jump as an animated player in Chelsea jersey kicks the ball into my goalpost for the third time since we started playing. My gamepad clatters to the rugged floor, Brandon bursts out laughing and I growl. I let out a silent scream, this is not funny.The last-minute decision to challenge him to a game now seems like a terrible idea, I suck my lip and refuse to collect the pad he hands to me. Most of the wall in front of us are covered in screens to allow him to switch to a different game without missing any moment. He claims he hasn't visited his game room in weeks, work has kept him busy and I suggested we took advantage of his free day. I frown, I don’t want to do his bidding for the whole day, I want him to do mine, I have lots of questions that need answers.Letting out a l
Brandon hooks a finger under my jaw, I sigh and look away to avoid him cajoling me into repeating what I said. I know he will never confess his feelings for me even though his actions say otherwise and I am determined to hear those three words from him but not today. On the day he professes his love for me, he has to do it willingly.His finger trails the curve of my lips, my heart pounds behind my ribcage at the contact. My lips part open, waiting, we agreed there will be no sex until my body heals, I don't know how long that will take but I am curious to see where this evening will take us.A ping pulls me from my reverie, the screen of Brandon's phone which is on the stool between our seats lights up
"What is it?" I ask Brandon who is on the seat across me, watching me as if his life depends on my next movements. My eyes don't leave the screen of my laptop resting atop the desk, I scowl without looking in his direction. "Brandon?"The email with the invitation for my zoom meeting with other student body leaders stares back at me, the time on the lower part of my screen shows I have a few minutes until ten when we will commence but I don't want to spend another second talking to him. I am not the one who broke a promise to their spouse. He did this to himself.Sunlight seeps in through the long, sliding windows, casting a shadow on the table. I take a bite from the leftover slices of pizza on the table, pizza he brought home last night but I couldn't eat because I was fast asleep. Asleep and hungry because