“A while? We haven’t known each other very long.”
“I had the room. All I had to do was have it decorated. If you don’t like what I’ve done, redo it. It’s yours.”
“You told me to be ready for anything tonight.”
“I did.”
“What about—” My stomach finishes the sentence by letting out a growl.
He chuckles. “You’re hungry.”
“Aren’t you?”
“Yes. But not for food.”
I bite my lower lip. “Where are the dogs?”
“Upstairs.”
“We are upstairs.” I look up. “There’s a skylight.”
“I have a third floor that takes up only part of the space of my first and second floors. That explains the skylight. My employees live up there. Christopher and Annika and a few others. They each have their own bedroom and bath.”
“Marilyn?” I have to ask. Braden’s personal chef is a blond knockout.
He shakes his head. “Marilyn prefers to commute.”
I let out a sigh of relief without meaning to. It isn’t lost on Braden. The left side of his lips quirks up.
“I suppose I should feed you,” he says. “I have a lot planned for tonight, and you need your strength. I’ve already ordered takeout. It should be here in a few minutes.”
Of course. Takeout. I should’ve thought of that, but I was too busy freaking out about what Braden had planned.
“Who’s going to answer the door? Christopher just disappeared.”
“My employees know when to make themselves scarce. I pay them very well to disappear when I want them to.”
I shudder. “You said be ready for anything.”
“So I did.”
“I thought you meant…”
He lowers his eyelids slightly. “Oh, I did.”
“But the bedroom… The thing above your bed…”
“I already told you about that. I’ve been meaning to get rid of it for a while, so I did.”
I nod.
Braden’s phone buzzes, and he takes a quick look at it. “Our meal is here and set up in the kitchen. Let’s get you fed.”
I nod.
“Take off your jacket,” he says. “You can hang it in your closet.”
My jacket. I smile slyly. I’d nearly forgotten about the bustier I’m wearing underneath. I unzip slowly, bringing the black leather into view. I shrug out of the suede and let it slip to the floor.
Braden’s eyes go wild, and a groan vibrates from his chest.
I widen my grin.
He says nothing. Just grabs me and slams his mouth onto mine. He’s gripping my shoulders, kissing me hard. My legs turn to jelly, but he steadies me and deepens the kiss. My nipples are so hard, and my pussy… God, my pussy… I’m wet and ready and—
He breaks the kiss and pushes me away slightly. “You look so sexy, Skye,” he rasps.
“Do you like it?”
He doesn’t answer in words, only in his gaze. Those fiery blue eyes devour me. If possible, my nipples get even harder.
He clears his throat as I drop my gaze to the bulge in his crotch.
And I hope we can eat quickly.
Chapter Six
We don’t talk much during our meal of sashimi and tempura. Despite my hunger, I don’t overindulge. I’m too excited for whatever Braden has planned. So excited, I drop my chopsticks not once but twice.
When we finally leave the kitchen, he leads me not to his bedroom but to his office.
“Take a seat.” He motions to one of the leather chairs sitting across from his desk.
“Okay…” I sit down.
“I wasn’t planning to have this talk tonight,” he says, taking a seat behind his desk, “but your escapade earlier today seems to necessitate it.”
“Okay…” I say again, not sure what to expect.
“I want you. I’m hard as a fucking rock right now, looking at you in that leather top. I could fuck you three different ways in the next three minutes. That’s how much I want you.”
I can’t help a smile. The leather is abrading my nipples again, and I squirm against the wetness between my legs.
“Before we go any further, though, there’s something you should know about me.”
“What’s that?”
He lowers his eyelids slightly, searing my gaze with his. “I’ve never said ‘I love you’ to any woman before you.”
Though I try to hold back my surprise, my eyes inadvertently widen.
“You find that surprising?”
“Of course I do. Look at you. You’re Braden Black. Women have been falling all over you for ten years. Aretha Doyle and all the others.”
He gives me a slight smile. “That doesn’t mean I fell in love with any of them.”
I warm all over, my skin tingling. From his smile or his words, I’m not sure. The words give me joy, but that smile… The smile I see so seldom…
Still, the words ignite me.
Braden loves me. Braden has never said “I love you” to another woman, but he said it to me.
This is big. This is huge.
I return the smile. “I don’t know what to say. Except that I’m flattered.” And really, really happy.
“I’m not asking you to say anything. Just listen, Skye.”
I nod. “All right.”