The Entitled (The Entitled Duet 1)

Surprisingly she doesn’t fight me. She walks to her room and returns with a bag. Brance is leaning against the wall as we leave.

“Call me, Pretty Girl.”

“Love you.”

I roll my eyes as they do their hug thing.

“Christ, you two, enough. I’m not taking her to China. We’ll be at the Saint Regis,” I say, grabbing her hand and bag.

“Reed,” she says with a hiss, “I swear to God, you can’t boss me around like that. I’m not Lexi!”

“Don’t.” The blood pumps in my head. She needs to let this shit go. So I take it out on the poor elevator button.

She doesn’t speak, but her energy says it all. We glare at each other in the elevator as it glides down to the concrete hole Brance calls his garage. I wait as she slowly sinks into the seat of my Ferrari.

I’m exhausted. The last three years have caught up with me at last.

My fingers grip the steering wheel. “I want to show you the apartment. How hungry are you?”

“I’m fine, but you’re not. We should stop and eat.” She’s right. Food would help immensely.

I reach for her hand, bringing it to my lips. Neither of us speaks and we let the fact that we’re together sink in.

“The apartment has nothing but white walls. I thought maybe you and Brance might enjoy decorating it.”

Her eyes light up and she dazzles me with a smile that almost makes me grab my tattoo it hurts so bad.

“I’d like that.”

“Good. I want our place to be everything you dreamed about for us.”

She swallows and holds my hand as we listen to the Clash.

I park the car in the garage of our new penthouse. Turning off the ignition, I don’t budge. My mind is moving faster than my mouth. I want Tess to love this place. This is our beginning and it’s important she knows it.

She looks at me as she grabs her purse. “You okay?”

Unbuckling my seat belt, I turn. “I bought this apartment for you.”

She blinks at me.

“It’s true. I was going to rent, and the realtor brought me here. As soon as I walked in, I knew.”

She frowns. “But you didn’t know I was back or anything.”

“It didn’t matter. Or maybe it did. All I know is I walked in and I saw you everywhere. I was willing to pay whatever they were asking.”

“You’re getting awfully sentimental in your old age.”

My hand strokes hers. “Only for you. Come on—not only is the apartment fantastic, there’s a coffee house across the street. You’ll love it. Great coffee, omelets, pastries, all your favorites. And the best part about this restaurant is it’s delicious and quick.” I’m mentally calculating the minutes it will take us to order and eat, obsessing on how my body wants to mate with her. I’m like a barbarian. I want sex in every single room, on the counters and the floors.

Holding the door open, I admire her as she walks in. Tess has grown into a woman who turns heads from both genders. She has always been stunning, but now she seems to embrace it.

The coffee house has bright turquoise walls with large chalkboards dangling from chains. Their daily specials and menu are printed in neat handwriting. It’s loud and crowded. The dark wooden tables are almost all taken. Standing behind her as we wait to order, I pull her back, settling her in my arms. She fits like a glove. I rest my chin on the top of her head. As she checks out the menu my nose goes into her neck, breathing in that wonderful Tess smell.

Vanilla. I almost back away. The fierce emotions terrify me for a moment.

“What are you going to have, Kitten?”

“Coffee.”

I move closer, wanting to rub my hard cock on her ass. “Of course. Anything else, skinny?”

Her lips twitch. “Yes, how about a bacon, avocado, cheddar omelet with sourdough toast.”

“Love it. Can I copy?”

Raising a dark brow at me, she says, “Well I hope so. Otherwise, I’m losing my touch.”

“You’re definitely not losing your touch.” Taking her hand, I casually place it on my erection. She stiffens and looks around. Everyone is too preoccupied with each other or on their phones

She goes to pull away, and I tighten my hold on her wrist. “Just rub it, Tess. No one can see you.”

“Reed,” she hisses, but she starts to slowly rub and I nearly moan out loud.

I move back and lace my fingers with hers. “That was a bad idea.”

She laughs. “You’re crazy.”

My heart aches. “I love you happy. We’re going to eat and then your lessons begin.”

Rubbing her shoulders, I smile as she leans into me. “Really? What if I’m a bad student? Are you going to spank me?” she jabs.

I clench my teeth together. “You have got to let this Lexi thing go.”

“Trust me, I’m trying, but when you get all domineering on me it’s hard,” she whispers loudly.