I get her surprise. Houses don’t come for less than five million dollars in that stretch of beachfront properties. “The property belonged to my father,” I explain, lowering the emergency brake. “We’ve owned the house for as long as I can remember. When my father passed away, he gifted the property to me in his estate.” My mother never cared; the property always meant more to my father than her. “But I’ve renovated the house over the years. It’s where I go on the weekends.”
“Lucky you,” she says with a sweet smile.
“Incredibly lucky,” I tell her sincerely. My need to be near water as often as possible is a personal thing not very many people know about me. Sure, I love the hustle and bustle of the city, but I need the clear open water and fresh air just as much. “All right, so do you need to make any stops before leaving?” I ask, doing up my seatbelt.
She shakes her head. “I’m good to go. You?”
“I went up last night to get us settled in.”
“Did you?” she asks, fastening her own seatbelt.
“I like to be prepared.”
She gives a sensual laugh. “I have no doubt that is very much true.” When she settles back into the seat and crosses her smooth tanned legs, drawing all my attention there, she adds, “So what have you planned for us this weekend?”
“I have a few ideas.”
“Which are?”
I laugh. “Darlin’, secrets are a good thing. And it just so happens I don’t want you to know all that I have planned for you this weekend.”
She draws in a deep breath and gives me a heated grin. “Ah, is that the way we’re going to play this? You want all the control this weekend?”
Something sparks in me then, tightening my muscles. I lean toward her, staring deeply into her eyes. “Of course, I will have all the control this weekend.”
“And why is that?”
“Because that is precisely what you want,” I murmur, stating a truth we both know. “You want me to command you. To take charge. To own you.”
She swallows deep; her mouth parts. I see it in her eyes then, how excited she is. That sends adrenaline pumping through my veins. I almost regret taking her to the beach because of the drive to get there. I want to touch her, taste her, fuck her until we’re both exhausted. But there’s a good reason I want her to experience Santa Monica with me. She knows the business side of Liam Maxwell. Now I want her to know the personal side.
While I take her silence to be slight shock at my boldness, I ask her, “Are you ready for this adventure of ours?”
Her eyes heat, voice grows raspy. “You know that I am.”
I smile back and drive forward, the engine giving off a sexy roar. “You’re right, love, I certainly do.”
Aria
There are houses. And then there are oh, my God houses.
Liam’s beach house is most definitely the latter.
Gorgeous, simple, masculine…kinda like the man himself, I decide, stepping into the living room, which consists only of a white leather couch, a couple contour lounge chairs, and a glass coffee table. I quickly understand the reason the designer kept to a white palette since the glass window from ceiling to floor draws the eye immediately. I now realize why this coast costs a pretty penny to live on. Even my breath catches at the dark sand leading to blue water.
“Aria.”
The low rumble of Liam’s voice vibrates again
st my skin, raising goosebumps. I know what’s going to happen. I want this to happen. Even so, I’m on edge, excited and nervous of what’s to come. We’ve waited three years to cross this line. I draw in a deep breath and face all the energy pulsating in the room. The beautiful view is nothing compared to what’s before me.
Liam has been holding himself back, I can tell that now. The flare of his nostrils drawing in my scent, the intensity burning in his eyes. It’s no way that he’s watched me before. I’m drenching my panties and my nipples pucker, ready for play, just that easily.
The silence between us is powerful. So many unsaid things holding in the quiet space. So many desires unfulfilled. I’m standing there bared for him, stripped of all the reasons I’ve been shutting him out.
“Show me what I paid for,” he says, voice rich with lust.
Maybe I should be offended.