Say Yes (Hush, Hush 2)

I close my eyes and wait. The urge to peek is strong, but I don't. Whatever James has planned means a lot to him and I don't want to ruin it. He returns a few seconds later and steps behind me, placing a satin ribbon over my eyes.

I'm giddy as hell now. Tingles work down my arms in anticipation. The last time we were here he’d used one of his work ties to pin my wrists together and played my body like a violin.

"Is it too tight?"

"No."

I feel James step in front of me and take both of my hands into his. Lifting them to his mouth, he presses a kiss to the top of both of them.

"Now, I didn't plan this part ahead, so I'm going to improvise and carry you. I don't want you to trip up the stairs since you can't see."

"Good idea."

James scoops me up as if I'm light as a feather and holds me to his chest. If he were my height, I'd worry he couldn't carry me. Luckily, he's got a good eight inches on me and years' worth of natural muscle to pick up my lengthy body and carry me up a flight of stairs.

We make it up five steps when he says, "Did you gain weight?"

My lips purse together. I know he's playing around, James has been trying to thicken me up more. With my weight gain over the years, he's turned into such an ass man and can't get enough. My ass is a magnet for his hand now the way his tongue is a magnet to my pussy. It's been a struggle to keep the pounds off more than anything and that bothers me. He knows that, but James insists I'm just as gorgeous as I was when we first met. He says he gets th

e best of both worlds. It definitely doesn't seem like it bothers him the way it does me. He fucking cherishes me. I sigh inwardly. I'm working on accepting my changing body, I guess.

Placing my hand to his chest, I notice he must have removed his tie and unbuttoned his shirt halfway before blindfolding me. I skim my hand over his bare chest until I feel his nipple under my fingers. My thumb circles around it before I pull it between two fingers and pause. I fight a giggle.

James stops walking. I think we're midway up the stairs. "Aubrey," he warns. "You know what that does to me."

"It goes straight to your dick?"

This time I can't help but laugh. Sometimes I revert to a seventeen-year-old. I start twisting slowly and feel his fingers press into my body a little deeper. I can't fuck up his balls and hit them like I would in middle school when a boy annoyed me. I need those stones to slap my clit when he fucks me like an animal from behind.

I continue, and since I can't see him, all I feel is a cool breeze skate across my neck before his teeth latch onto the top of my supple breast just above my dress.

"I can play dirty too, sweetheart," he says with my skin between his teeth.

I give him one good crank and let go, but he's just as quick and sinks his teeth deeper. I flinch then gasp before letting out a laugh. We're like kids half the time.

James pulls back. "That's going to leave a mark." He's so proud and I shake my head in amusement.

We finish making our way upstairs. I remember this place well and know he's taking us into the master bedroom. The door creaks as he opens it and the scent of burning wood blankets me. The warmth against my cool skin feels sublime. I sigh dreamily at the sound of the crackling fire behind us.

James let's go of my legs and helps me stand.

"Don’t move," he warns.

"What do you have up your sleeve?"

James reaches around me to untie the sash. Low lighting sets the mood in his eyes when I finally look into them. He drops his gaze to the floor, and I catch the colorful ink on his chest. My eyes roam down his body, and as I reach his shoes, I realize I’m standing near a thick pile of blood red and hunter green blankets on the floor. I blink. My brows draw together as familiarity paints me. I spin around and a small breath hitches in the back of my throat.

"James," I whisper. My gaze bounces around the space, taking it all in at once. "What did you do?"

Twenty-Three

From the blankets to the fire to the bottle of cognac, James has recreated one of the evenings we spent with our naked bodies flushed together in ecstasy. The weather had been brutal that night, dropping to a mere three degrees, but that didn't faze us as our passion built toward the most glorious heated climax. I consider it a favorite and one of our most romantic nights.

James steps closer to me. There’s something in his hand I briefly take note of before he places one hand on my hip and looks into my eyes. I’m all he sees and that makes me hotter than the fire behind me.

"No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to let this go. There's no questioning how I feel for you. I think you already know, Aubrey, and have known for a very long time I love the fuck out of you. I'm going to love you more than anyone else and will prove that to you until you see I'm not playing around." James runs his tongue over his bottom lip, and my heart drops like it knows something I don’t. "I'll make it my mission if I have to, to show you how much I cherish you. You're it for me. I may have met Valentina first, but I fell in love with Aubrey, and that's never going to change. My love for you grows every day into something that's new to me. I never knew I could love someone the way I do you."

My eyes are round and huge, and my lips are slightly parted. James places one foot behind him and steps back. My pulse skyrockets, my breathing becomes denser. Chills pepper my arms.