“Diesel, I’m fine right now. Go back.”
He stared at me with the same reluctance in his eyes. The longer he stayed with me, the more work piled up. But his devotion to me outweighed all the stress waiting for him at the office.
“Why don’t you go to work in the morning and come back every day for a long lunch?” I asked. “That way, you can check on me. After that, you can go back to work until the end of the day, then come home. Honestly, I just sit around all day and do nothing. If I’m going crazy, then you must be losing your mind too.”
“I’m happy to be with you, baby.” He stared into my eyes with overwhelming sincerity. He never lied to me, so everything he said meant so much. There was always a layer of affection on the surface of his eyes, a look reserved only for me. He may have bedded hundreds of women before, some two at a time, but it felt like there’d never been anyone before me. I was the only thing that actually mattered to him. “The only reason I want to go back is because my father’s right. My presence is important. It keeps people in line.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
“Thorn is doing you a huge favor, but I don’t have anyone who can do that for me.”
“He would do it for you too, if you asked.”
He shook his head slightly. “No offense to him, but I wouldn’t want him to. The only person I would trust is my father…but he’s busier than I am.”
I couldn’t stop the smile from stretching across my face. Their relationship took a while to rebuild, but with every passing day, it became stronger. I saw their connection deepen once tragedy struck. Vincent was there for me because he cared about me, but he was also there for his son.
Diesel smiled before he released a sigh. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“What? I like to smile.”
“But I know why you’re smiling.”
“You do?” I moved into his chest and rose on my tiptoes. My hands pressed against his strong frame for balance, and I leaned in and kissed him.
He kissed me back, his strong arms wrapping tightly around my waist. His embrace was sensual and slow, but it held all of his longing and passion for me. His fingers gripped my body, but his pressure was full of restraint. He didn’t handle me as aggressively as he used to, purposely being gentle with me even when he didn’t want to. He used to grab the back of my hair and jerk my head into position so he could kiss me. Sometimes he would take me by the back of the neck and bend me over the bed when I least expected it. Then he would fuck me as hard as he wanted without warning.
But now, only a gentle giant remained.
When he pulled away, he looked me in the eye, his love obvious. “I’ll think it over for a while.”
My fingers slipped underneath his t-shirt and up his muscular stomach. I felt the hard abs and the rivers in between as I moved to his chest. When I touched the flat slab of defined flesh, my fingers pressed into him even harder. He was warm, hard, and bursting with constant testosterone. “While you’re thinking about that, you want to please your woman?”
The corner of his lips rose in a smile. “My woman doesn’t have to ask to be pleased.”
9
Thorn
My dream jolted me awake.
It was white-hot, sweaty, and sexy as hell. I didn’t want the vision to leave my gaze, but the jolt of pleasure sparked my body into consciousness. I sat up in bed and looked into the darkness of my bedroom. Light was shining through my blackout shutters, which told me morning had arrived.
My chest was covered in sweat, and my dick was harder than a solid slab of stone.
The vision of Ms. Alexander slowly faded away. She was on her knees in front of me, trying to suck my enormous dick with that big mouth of hers. Spit drooled from the corners of her lips, and tears fell from the corners of her eyes. She wanted to suck more of my dick, but her slender throat was simply too small.
But that didn’t stop her from trying.
I ran my fingers through my hair then rubbed the sleep from the inside edge of my eye. My clock showed the time, and I only had two minutes before my alarm went off. It’d been a long while since my last fling. The drama with Titan had put my personal life on hold, and after she was shot, I hadn’t been interested in sex.
But Ms. Alexander awakened me again.
I spat on my palm then wrapped my fingers around my cock. I closed my eyes and recreated the dream in my head.
Then I jerked off, pretending my hand was Ms. Alexander’s tight lips.
I had a suit made by Connor Suede, jet black with a matching tie. It fit me to a T, with crisp fabric and a cut that molded to my musculature perfectly. Fashion wasn’t important to me, but suits were a different story.
I cared about my suits.
They projected my power and wealth. They projected my darkness, my constant hostility. For a man of my stature, I had to convey my confidence. I was in a sea of suits everywhere I went. I had to stand out.
My driver took me to the Founder’s Charity event at the Plaza. I was dateless because I was always dateless—with the exception of Titan. I’d be ignorant to think people forgot about my relationship with her in light of the shooting. She may have spun the tale to make it sound like a beautiful love story, but I still got the short straw.
I was still the one who got dumped.
The women who’d actually fucked me knew I was a catch. More
