Her hair was pulled to one side and wrapped in a bun thing, exposing the length of her elegant neck. She wore a pale-pink sweater that did everything for her generous breasts and a swishy black skirt that showed far too much of her creamy thighs when she backed up to let me in. Her knee-high, black, high-heeled boots begged to be the sole piece of clothing on her luscious body when I fucked her.
Her blue eyes sparkled with delight and plump, glossy lips lifted in a welcoming smile. Even with her womanly, practically sinful curves, there was an innocence about her that kept me from losing all control.
Instead of following her inside, I retreated a few feet. Not going into the house alone with her was a miracle. Two more and I’d be eligible for sainthood, I scoffed to myself silently. I didn’t see that happening in this lifetime because this was the moment when I knew the struggle was pointless. I was going to do whatever it took to make Lilah mine.
She looked confused and I stepped forward again, reaching out to run a finger down the soft skin of her cheek. “Grab your coat, baby girl,” I told h
er with a smile. “I’m starving.”
Her grin lit up her whole face, and I nearly groaned in pain as my gut twisted and my balls tightened from the sight. She disappeared for a moment before returning with a light coat and joining me outside, then locking her door. I snatched the coat from her hands and held it open for her to slip her arms inside. My head drifted down and I inhaled the scent permeating from her bared skin. The spicy aroma was intoxicating.
A growl of protest slipped from my chest involuntarily when she moved away. Lilah flipped around to face me and once again, I was bowled over by her enchanting innocence. If only she knew the thoughts that were flooding my mind.
“Ready?” she asked sweetly. I nodded and took her hand, lacing our fingers together. The blush that stole over her cheeks was going to be the death of me. I’d taken a cab and instructed him to wait, so I led Lilah over and helped her in before sliding onto the cracked, leather bench seat beside her.
The cabbie dropped us at a quaint little Italian place a few blocks from her apartment on the Upper East Side. She laughed as we climbed out of the vehicle.
“We could have walked, you know.”
I frowned as I opened the restaurant door for her, glancing down at her sexy, impractical footwear. She giggled again and something warm exploded in my chest.
“I’m a New Yorker and a woman. My feet have long since stopped trying to convince me to wear comfortable shoes.” She winked, then sashayed past me. My hand itched to smack her sweet little ass, but I stifled the urge and followed her to the hostess podium.
Once we were seated and had ordered, I went back to her previous comment. It was the perfect opening. “You grew up in New York?” I asked, knowing full well that she hadn’t. Once I knew her name, I learned everything there was to know about my girl.
“No, we moved here from a small town in Florida when I was fourteen.” The twinkle in her eyes dulled slightly. “My mom had been fighting cancer for a couple of years and they started an experimental drug treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, so we moved here.”
“I’m sorry,” I murmured, covering one of her hands with my own. “It must have been hard to move away from your home and then lose your mother so quickly after.”
Lilah nodded and took a sip of her water with her free hand. “Yes, but nothing that is worth anything is easy. I’ve kept in touch with my best friend, Maggie, and I’m thinking about moving back there to be near her.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her that would be happening over my dead body, but I didn’t want to scare her. She was so young and naïve that I knew I needed to tread carefully.
Our food arrived and as we ate, she told me more about her friend and childhood. Genuinely interested in anything my girl had to say, I sat back and simply enjoyed listening. However, near the end of our meal, there was a lull and I took the opportunity to steer the conversation. “And”—I hesitated, trying to find the right words—“what about your father?”
Her expression had begun to lighten again as she talked, but at the mention of her father, I was shocked to see anger rush over her face.
“I don’t want to talk about my father,” she uttered darkly. “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have one.”
I was taken aback by her fierce declaration. Clearly, Bonnie had been bitter about Samuel and apparently, passed it along to her daughter. It wasn’t the time to get into it all, though, so I changed the subject.
“What about college?”
Lilah sighed. “I’ve been accepted to Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, and Yale.”
Again, this wasn’t news to me, however, her complete lack of emotional response to her answer was. “You don’t sound particularly pleased over that impressive list,” I teased.
She giggled. “It’s not that. It’s just...” she trailed off, looking uncertain.
“You can be honest with me, baby girl,” I urged, taking her hand once again and giving it a gentle squeeze.
“My mom was so proud. It was everything she wanted for me. She even had an inheritance that she set aside specifically for my college, never once touching it.” Her eyes misted, and I wanted to pull her into my lap and cuddle her close to make her distress go away. “I feel so guilty.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. “Why?”
She leaned forward, almost conspiratorially, and whispered, “I don’t want to go to college.” She said it like she’d just confessed to murder, and I had to compress my lips to keep from chuckling. She was fucking adorable. Every minute, I was more and more convinced I needed to keep her.
Lifting her hand, I brushed my lips across the back and smiled at her pleased blush. “I’m confident your mother wanted what was best for you, Lilah. I didn’t know her, but I can’t imagine the woman you’ve described wanting you to be anything less than completely happy.”
She shrugged, but I saw a spark of hope light her crystal blue eyes.
“What do you want to do, Lilah?” I queried.
Her cheeks tinged pink and she glanced down shyly. “I’ve always loved to draw, and I think it would be amazing to be an illustrator for children’s books.” She became animated as she continued. “Not only would it be fun, but I could do it from home and be with my kids—” she broke off abruptly and red engulfed her face. “Um, not that I have kids, or am planning them anytime soon. I mean, it’s not like I want to get married and have babies right now”—she blushed even harder as she prattled on—“I shouldn’t have mentioned marriage. It’s too soon to be talking about—not that you would want to marry me—oh, sweet heaven, please let a hole in the earth open up and swallow me now.”
I lost it. Threw my head back and belly laughed so hard that my stomach hurt and my face ached. Lilah sat silently, looking completely miserable, and it was only her sadness that curtailed my amusement so I could stop laughing. I stood abruptly and picked up her hands, lifting her to her feet as well. “C’mon, baby girl. We need to go.” I tossed some money on the table and led her from the restaurant, ignoring her crestfallen expression.
Outside, I stepped off of the curb and raised a hand, hailing a cab. It zoomed up next to us and screeched to a halt. “Midtown Hilton,” I barked after we were both securely inside.
Twisting my upper body, I grabbed her around the waist and dragged her over until she was straddling me. She gasped as she settled on my lap, clearly feeling my physical reaction to her as it pressed against the heat of her pussy. There was nothing left for me to hold onto, I’d thrown caution and logic out the window. I was going to get inside her that night or I was pretty sure I would fucking die.
Palming her cheeks, I looked straight into her blue pools. “You are too young, too beautiful, and I’m nowhere near good enough for you. But fuck, Lilah, I can’t resist you.” Then I slammed my mouth down over hers.
Chapter 4
Delilah
Holy moly! One moment, I was mortified about embarrassing myself because I’d spewed word vomit about babies and marriage to Ethan. And the next, I was on his lap in the back of a cab, his tongue in my mouth, while we were on our way to his hotel. My lips had parted in surprise, and he’d taken full advantage, his tongue tangling with mine and taking my breath away.
He didn’t lift his head until we pulled up in front of his hotel. “Come upstairs with me.”
It wasn’t really worded as a question, more of a demand. What I should have done was tell him to take me home, but I couldn’t make myself do it. Not when I wanted more kisses and to keep him looking at me like he wanted to take me right where we sat.
“Yes,” I whispered, and he dragged me from the cab after swiping his credit card to pay for our ride.
His dark, penetrating gaze didn’t leave mine, except to sweep over my body and linger at my chest, the entire ride up in the elevator. His stare had my nipples hardening under the scrutiny. The tension between us was palpable, the air around us practically crackling as Ethan led me into his hotel room and the door closed behind us
.
Then he was behind me, and I felt the whisper-soft touch of his lips against the back of my neck. His fingers sifted through my hair, loosening it from the low side-bun I’d pulled it into earlier. “I told myself I wasn’t going to do this. That I should stay away from you for your own good. But I can’t do it. You’re just so fucking perfect.”
“Perfect?” I repeated, stunned. I really had thought I’d managed to ruin everything at the end of dinner. “I’m a mess. I was literally talking about babies and marriage on our first date. You shouldn’t think I’m perfect, you should be running in the opposite direction from the crazy woman you took to dinner.”
He spun me around in his arms, staring down at me with a blaze of fire in his eyes. “If you think I haven’t imagined what it would feel like to fill you up with so much of my come that it would be impossible for you not to be pregnant, then you really are crazy.”
“But you laughed at me,” I breathed out.
“I wasn’t laughing at you, baby girl. I’d never do that,” he swore. “I was laughing because you’re so fucking adorable. Because your openness is a breath of fresh air when I’m used to dealing with liars and cheats. And because it was just more proof that my decision to make you mine was the right one. It made me so damn happy.”
“Holy crap.” Any thoughts of walking out the door with my virginity intact flew right out the window. I wanted him too much, and as impossible as it was to believe, he wanted me right back. I’d never experienced anything like it, and I wasn’t willing to let go of how he made me feel.
“Tell me I can have you, baby girl. That you want to be mine. I swear, I’ll make you feel so fucking good.” His fingers drifted up my side to cup my breast through my sweater, making my breath catch in my throat. Then his thumb rubbed over my pebbled nipple, and my head fell back, my eyes drifting shut.
“Yes,” I gasped.
“Thank fuck,” he groaned. “I’m not sure what I would have done if you’d said no. I want you too fucking much.” He pulled me against his hard body and rocked into me, his hard-on pressing against my stomach and showing me exactly how much he wanted me. If we were judging the depth of his desire by the size of his dick, it definitely was too much because he felt huge.