“I can’t offer wine or alcohol but what I can offer you is ice-cream. Lots and lots of ice-cream,” Bella said, kissing her friend’s cheek.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.” She left her to grab two cartons of ice-cream.
Bella handed Maya her tub and a spoon and took her seat, listening to her friend. “Do you love him?”
“I thought I did. How can I love a man who is so bad for me?”
“I love Jake and we’ve not had sex.” The words blurted out of her mouth before she could stop them. Slapping a hand over her lips, she stared at her friend.
“You’re in love with him?”
“Yes, from the first moment he won our bet.”
“Bet?”
With her cheeks probably looking like giant strawberries with how hot they actually felt, she told Maya about the orgasm and the bet.
“I even tried to throw him at my sister. I’m so pleased I didn’t. I love him, Maya, and now I’m afraid of losing him.” Her lip wobbled and she bit it to try to contain the fear coursing through her body. “Shit, I’m sorry. We were talking about you and Chris.”
“No, I don’t care about him. This is important. You’re in love and you want to spend the rest of your life with Jake?”
“Yes.” She scooped up some more ice-cream. “I’m completely insane.”
“No, you’re not. There was a time you were convinced you didn’t need a man to keep you happy.”
She swiped the tears off her cheeks before they got chance to fall. “Crap, I’m getting all emotional.”
“You need to tell Jake how you feel,” Maya said, sitting beside her.
“What if he doesn’t feel the same way?”
“Then it’s his loss, not yours,” Maya consoled her.
Eating the ice-cream, they cuddled on the sofa and watched a movie. Bella thought about Jake. Should she tell him? Should she leave it?
When the movie was over, she made up the spare bedroom for Maya to stay in.
“I won’t disturb you if you and Jake want to do the hanky panky.”
Shaking her head, laughing, Bella walked downstairs to tidy away the mess they’d created.
Sitting back on the sofa, she flicked through the television waiting for him to arrive home. Most of the time he woke her up when he got home from work. She needed to tell him how she felt and going to sleep would give her an excuse to chicken out.
The sound of the key turning in the lock filled her senses. She stood in the entryway as he entered.
“Hey,” he said, closing the door. “I thought you’d be in bed when I got in. Did you enjoy girls’ night?”
Say it. Just say it and be done with it.
“I love you.”
“What?” he asked.
She’d all but whispered the words.
“I love you, Jake. I’m in love with you.” There, they were out there for him to hear. “I don’t expect for you to feel the same or to say something similar. I needed you to know how I feel. I love you.”
Shut up, Bella, he knows.
“You love me?”
“Yes. I don’t want to push you onto any other woman’s arms. The thought of someone else touching you makes me feel sick. I hate the fact when you’re offered to be a full working Dom, you’ll be touching other women.”
“I was offered my job back tonight.”
Her gut dropped. “Oh.”
“Yeah, and I’m so in love with you, which is why I turned it down.”
Gasping, she looked at him. “What?”
“I saw Ryan tonight. He offered me my old job back and I turned it down. I’m not touching any other woman but you. The only way I’ll be helping future Doms is if I can have you as my submissive.” He took a step closer into the room. “Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to demand you start right away.”
He took hold of her hands and pulled her in close. “You’re in love with me?”
“Yes, I’m in love with you. I don’t want this to end. I want you to be mine.”
Jake tucked some hair behind her ear. “Baby, I’m already yours. I’ve been yours from the moment I saw you at Mixer’s. What about the sex?”
“I’d really like to give that a try. You’re driving me crazy and there’s only so much your fingers and tongue can do.”
“Eww, you were both being romantic until that bit,” Maya said from the top of the stairs. “I’m going back to bed.”
“You shouldn’t be listening into other people’s conversations,” Bella shouted, looking over her shoulder.
“Good night you two. Keep the noise down.”
“I forgot to mention, Maya is staying. She’s in a bad place right now. Chris is still seeing other women, and he’s broken her heart,” she said.
“Then it’s his loss. We’re friends, but I have no control over what he does with his dick.”
She winced.
“Did you stay up to tell me that?” he asked. “To tell me how much you love me?”
“Yes. I didn’t want to go to bed and chicken out.”
He stroked her cheek. “Go on up. I’m going to fix myself a sandwich.”
Nodding, she went to her bedroom. Pulling back the covers, she settled into bed.
Minutes later, he entered the room. She heard him go to the bathroom then the other side of the bed dipped as he climbed inside.
“I missed you tonight. I miss you all the time.”
“I missed you too.”
“Guess who was at the club tonight,” he said, drawing her against him.
“I don’t know.”
“Daisy. She stopped by to say hi and to see how we were getting on.”
Bella chuckled. Her sister always tried to check on her. “What did she say?”
“Not a lot to me. I introduced her to a friend and they spoke all night. I was forgotten. I do know she got into her car and was safely taken home by a driver.”
“Good. I’m pleased you took care of her.”
He kissed her neck and she melted against him.
“When it comes to you and your family, I’ll always take care of you.”
Snuggling up against him, Bella was content with his arms wrapped around her.
* * * *
“Maya’s busting my balls for taking that woman’s number. It’s not like I had much of a choice,” Chris said, drinking a beer.
Jake glanced down at his watch to see he still had two hours left of his shift and it was Friday night. His time was going slower than ever with no hope of it improving. He spotted Daisy in the corner with Nick. The couple looked to be in a deep conversation, which was strange considering the pair barely knew each other.
This afternoon Jake picked Bella up from work. They’d gone to get her a change of clothes for the weekend along with grocery shopping as they were staying home rather than going out. Neither of them had any plans to visit parents or friends. He was excited to have her all to himself, even though he was working Saturday and Sunday.
“Are you even listening to me?” Chris asked.
“You’re being miserable about your pathetic excuse for a life. If you didn’t want the other woman then you shouldn’t have taken the number.” He tapped his hand, signaling for the bartender. “This is his last drink.”
His friend didn’t argue with him.
“I fucked up. I’m used to having what I want.”
“I know. Stop stringing Maya along. Either stop with the other women or stop things with Maya completely.”
“How do you do it?” Chris asked, staring into his glass.
“Do what?” Jake checked on the dance floor to make sure the action was above board. He hated it when men took advantage of women or scared them to do what they wanted.
“Be with one woman without looking at others? I mean, there are so many women out there. Why spoil all the fun with only being with one of them?”
Jake chuckled. “You can have any woman you wanted and some of them come back for more, right
?”
Chris nodded his head.
“Out of all of the women you’ve been with who has stuck around?”
“Maya.”
“None of the women I’ve been with have come back for seconds or thirds. Bella is with me for more. We talk, we have fun. Everything we do is not always about sex. In fact, I’ve not had sex with Bella.”
“Seriously?” Chris asked, looking mortified.
“She’s special and when you find that one woman who means more to you than getting a fuck, you’ll stop with all your crazy-assed shit.”
Ten minutes later, he helped his friend into a cab and turned back toward the club.
“You’re a good man,” Daisy said, standing outside with her arms folded.
“Thank you.”
“Do you love my sister?”
“Yes, I love her. I’ll do anything for her.”
“You barely know her.”