together with our fingers interlocked, we stroke his shaft in slow and even steady strokes. My head rests on Eric’s shoulder as he runs his tongue across my neck. It sends a shudder through my body, and I turn my head to face him. I melt into him as he presses his lips to mine; the touch of his kiss makes everything drift away. Everything that surrounds us seems to be a million miles away.
We stay like this for what seems like forever, lost in our embrace.
Eric
I blink my eyes open to find it’s dark. There’s light coming in from the window with the blinds not fully closed. I wonder what time it is, so I reach out a hand to brush her hair out of her face and grab my phone at the side of the bed. I find myself just staring at her. It’s as if I’m taking in her innocence and absorbing everything about her.
She’s not only beautiful, but intelligent, too. That innocence of hers turned downright wild last night and it was incredible. It was more incredible than anything I’ve ever experienced in my life.
I curl a lock of her hair around my fingers and carefully lean closer to pull her into me. Fuck, she’s got me wrapped around her little finger. Or that’s the way it feels right now. I don’t know whether I’m coming or going at the moment.
I know that I should be going to work soon, or at least get ready. I don’t have any early morning patients, but I do have some mid afternoon appointments and I’ll want to show up before then for any walk-ins. Yet, I’m lying down and the only thing on my mind is Elia. I want to take her again, but both of us have to give it a rest for a least a few hours before we overload our nerves with too many orgasms.
But I can’t sleep. I get up and start walking around the penthouse, finally deciding to head to my gym. Whenever I feel this restless, I get on my treadmill and jog. I train like crazy, not because I’m obsessed with being a fully-pumped meathead, but it’s the best way to get rid of the stress. The eight pack abs, bulging biceps, and rippling muscles are more than welcome, however. I know how much Elia loves to touch, to kiss, to lick them. Fuck, I’ll get hard just thinking about this if I don’t calm down.
Luckily with my own indoor gym, I can afford to just pop in further down the penthouse and be in my own world. I don’t have to worry about bumping into other runners when I can do it in the comfort of my own home.
I grab a pair of shorts. I just need my sneakers and I’m good to go. As soon as I walk into the gym, the lights brighten the space and I turn up some high-tempo music. After a short warm-up with the music pumping loud in the soundproof room, I decide to increase the speed.
I can’t get Elia out of my fucking mind. I thought that being away from the bed would help do that. It’s as if I’m a fucking drug addict and all I see is her face. I think back to our date, when she said that she had plans for the store.
She knows that a real presence is missing in the store. It’s not just about the books. There are book conventions, author signings, and the store has none of that. It needs to do more than just sell books; it needs real authors to come in and have signings or team up with wine stores and do other kinds of promotions. So many fucking ideas, and the more she talked the more I loved to watch her enthusiasm.
The type that Ryan has never shown any interest in doing, if he did then maybe the store wouldn’t be in a mess.
That’s fucking it.
It’s not about buying it, it’s about giving her something that she can make real use of. The store. The one that she’s so passionate about. That’s fucking it!
I’ll give her one present that she’ll never forget. She won’t just be working at the bookstore. She’ll be owning it. That’s an investment in my future, her future...
And if I’m honest, it is an investment in my daughter Rose’s future. Because I know I’m getting serious about Elia.
Elia
The best part of this week is that Ryan’s not here. It means that I can get on with my job hunting. The sooner I don’t have to worry about coming to work and bumping into him, the better.
“What do you think happened to Ryan?” Becca asks as soon as we stop and have a quick coffee break. We’re not stopping from helping all the customers. We’re just taking a break from re-arranging the book displays hoping that someone will stop by and shop. Anyone! Just so that we can sell something for a change.
“I don’t know,” I say, shrugging, because I really don’t care. I’m just glad he’s not here. “Maybe he had other things to do and couldn’t make it?”
“Still, he usually tells us something before disappearing like this. He just left a note. Who does that in this day and age?”
I stop for a minute to look at her, wondering why she’s so damn curious. I am starting to feel really paranoid. I’m not sure who to trust right now, and after recent events with Ryan and how clueless I was about his true intentions, I decide I’ll choose not to trust anyone until proven otherwise. At least until I do know what’s going on with Ryan.
“What could he even be doing?” Becca asks. I don’t know why and I just feel uncomfortable with this whole conversation now.
I bite my lip and think about something else to talk about. I need to stop just sipping my coffee and get to work or make some calls. There’s just one problem. I don’t trust Becca right now, so I prefer not to do it in front of her.
“We could just move that display nearer the front? Everyone’s reading all the erotic books these days.”
“Sure, but they prefer to get them on Kindle because they don’t want people knowing what they’re reading.”
I nod my head thinking that I remember seeing a report about it. “Thing is, with Naughty Angel Publishing getting so big, I think people are really crowding stores to get their titles. We need to give them a display upfront. Have you read Cindersmellya?”
Becca looks at me, confused, and I’m about to explain to her how she’s missing out on an awesome book smut revolution as people collect paperbacks of their favorite book boyfriends...but then Eric walks into the store in a dark blue suit and a silver tie.
I’m glad that Rebecca and I are no longer alone in the store. I can have someone else to talk to, and it won’t involve the whereabouts of Ryan.