Right now, I’m doing what feels good. That’s the only thing I want, the only thing I can picture. I’m doing what feels good and nothing else.
Finally, for the first time in my life, I’m putting myself first.14AriaI wake up in Brady’s bed, the sun streaming in through the window, and I feel like I’m still dreaming.
After leaving my apartment last night, we came straight here. He opened a bottle of wine and we spent the rest of the day laughing, talking, drinking, watching old movies, and eating. He even hired a private chef to come in and make us this incredibly good dinner.
He did everything he could to get me to forget about what happened with Louis. It didn’t work, of course. I can’t forget that look on his face. But it helped, at least, knowing that Brady cares about me enough to try.
I look over at him and he’s still sleeping. He’s so handsome, even in sleep. I want to reach out and stroke his cheek, touch the stubble there, touch his full lips, maybe wake up him by straddling his hips and pushing myself back down along his…
I shake my head and grin up at the ceiling. I feel giddy, like a stupid little girl. For some reason, just being around this man drives me absolutely wild. I can’t help myself with him. I feel so happy and free and light, like I’m finally growing up.
I think that’s a part of it. For so long, I’ve been worried about the happiness of other people. I’ve been talking to my clients about their problems, about how to help them, and I never once stopped to wonder about what I want or need. I’ve been so busy obsessing about how to make them happy that I totally forgot about myself.
And now here’s Brady, totally focused on me. The others, my other clients, they focus on me too, but in a different way. They wonder what they can get out of me.
Brady is different. I thought he wasn’t at first, I thought he just wanted to buy me and use me up and see what he could get out of me. But with every passing day, I keep seeing what he keeps hidden from everyone else.
The caring Brady, the gentle Brady.
And the Brady that can dominate me, make me feel so incredibly good.
That’s the kind of man I want in my bed. Well, that’s the kind of man I want to go home with, at least. My other clients are good people, but they’re not like Brady.
I need to stop comparing them to him. It’s night and day. It’s no comparison.
I look back over and his eyes are open. He smiles a little bit and stretches.
“How long have you been up?” he asks.
“Just a few minutes.”
“What time is it?”
I shrug a little. He grunts and rolls over, looking at the clock.
“Perfect,” he mumbles. “Just a little after nine.”
“I haven’t slept this late in a while.”
“I bet.” He rolls back over to me and kisses me gently. “What do you want to do today, little Aria?”
“I don’t know,” I say.
“We can do anything you want. Dealer’s choice.”
I laugh softly and kiss him. “Aren’t you the one that’s supposed to be in control?”
“Yeah, I am,” he says. “But I also need to take care of you, and I suspect you could use some time to do whatever you want.”
“You’re right,” I say, grinning. “First though, I could use a shower.”
“That’s easy.” He sits up and kicks the covers off. “We’ll need to get you nice and dirty first, though.”
I laugh as he rolls over toward me, grabbing at my hips and kissing my neck.
“Oh, no, get off me!” I say, laughing and trying to push him away.
He grins and grabs at me, pulling me closer. He kisses me as I struggle against him, laughing the whole time. I hit him with a pillow and he grunts, looking offended.
“How dare you,” he says, and jumps on me again, pinning me down.
“You monster,” I say. “You beast.”
“Give me what I want and nobody gets hurt.”
“What do you want?”
“Every inch of you.”
I’m smiling as we kiss, slow and deep and nice.
It doesn’t last long though. Just as his hands start to drift over my skin, I hear my phone vibrating on the floor.
“Hold on, I should get that,” I say, wiggling away from him.
“Damn. Foiled again by the damn phone.”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t be so dramatic.” I grab my phone off the floor and frown. “Hold on. It’s Zoe.”
I answer it and right away, I can tell something’s wrong. Zoe is breathless and sounds almost like she’s panicking.
“Zoe?” I ask. “Are you okay?”
“Someone just tried to break in,” she says, the words coming out in a rush. “Holy crap. I think he’s still here.”
I sit completely still, shock rolling through my body.