Since I actually liked Scarlet, sex took on a different meaning. If I didn’t care about her, sex wouldn’t mean anything so I wouldn’t put much thought into it. My hand would move into her hair, I’d kiss her, and then the clothes would come off.
But it was more complicated than that.
She watched me with her pretty green eyes, studying the stubble on my jaw as she continued to down her drink. “How about we make ourselves comfortable on the couch and watch the game? You recorded it?”
“Yeah…” She must have seen the red light on the DVR.
She took my hand and pulled me toward the couch. “I don’t watch religiously, but I’m a fan.” She sat down and crossed her legs with her drink still held in her hand.
I sat beside her, feeling the stress suddenly disappear from my shoulders.
She smiled at me then moved her hand to my thigh. Her hand was closer to my knee than my crotch, and I wondered if she did that on purpose because she noticed the bulge in my slacks.
I knew she took me into the living room on purpose. I knew she sensed my hesitation and understood I wasn’t ready to move into the bedroom. Instead of pressuring me, she picked up on my emotions and made it easy on me. It was thoughtful. My hand moved to hers, nearly swallowing it up because my palm was so much bigger than hers. “It’s not that I don’t want you.”
“I know, Vincent.” She squeezed my hand then glanced at my crotch.
She definitely noticed it.
“There’s no rush. It’ll happen when it’s meant to happen. I’m more than happy just to be with you, to enjoy this fine scotch in your beautiful home. I want a lasting relationship based on more than sex. I know I want you in a way I’ve never wanted another man, but I’ve waited this long for you…and I can wait a little longer.”
My image was based on cold silence. I was known as a ruthless dictator of hundreds of corporations. I didn’t show weakness, and I didn’t express my feelings to anyone. To the world, I looked like a living slab of stone. Indifferent, cruel, and unforgiving, I brought a new definition to the word man.
It was nice to shed that skin. It was nice to show someone more. It was nice not to care about being strong all the time—because I certainly wasn’t. “Thank you.” My face was pressed closer to hers, and I could see the light from the TV reflect in her eyes. I loved the thickness of her eyelashes, the way her eyeliner made her eyes stand out more. I loved the way freckles sprinkled across her cheeks like small crystals of snow.
I leaned my face into hers automatically, and I found her lips. The second I felt her warmth, I sucked in a deep breath, making my lungs ache because they reached full capacity instantly. My lips felt hers, memorizing the way they felt against my mouth. My yacht excursions with Alessia were forgotten. Dinner in my chalet in Switzerland with Meredith faded away. Now I pictured the things I would do to this woman, the things I could give her. I wanted to take care of her, to deserve this kiss every single day.
It started off slow, just the way our last kiss did. But now there were no interruptions, and feelings were spilled onto the table. I wanted to kiss her just like this forever, to get to know her physically at a slow pace. The connection and excitement were there, so chemistry wasn’t an issue.
Her hand moved to my shoulders, and her fingers dug into me. She sucked my upper lip before her kiss moved to the corner of my mouth. She had a sensual touch, full of confidence and longing. She breathed into me and kneaded me with her fingers. Sometimes a quiet moan would escape her lips, so quiet I wasn’t sure if I heard it. She pulled on my jacket, getting me closer to her.
My hand moved to her knee and slowly slid up her thigh, feeling the soft skin along with the toned muscles underneath. My hand stopped before I ventured too far underneath her dress, but my fingers ached to reach a little farther. I wanted to touch her panties with my fingertips, to flick her nipples as they pebbled.
Our tongues came next, and then I was so hard it actually hurt.
I wanted to lay her on the couch and bury myself between her legs. It’d been months since Alessia. I used to get laid on a daily basis, wake up to a beautiful model riding me in the morning. Now I’d been in a drought because I was tired of the hollow sex.
I got more satisfaction out of a single kiss with Scarlet than I ever did with Alessia or the others.
It felt right.
And it didn’t scare me as much as it used to.
Chapter Ten
Diesel
Mrs. Diesel Hunt.
I liked it.
I liked it a lot.
In fact, I didn’t want to wait to call her that. I wanted that privilege right here, right now. I didn’t want to wait until our wedding in Thailand. I wanted to own this woman completely and irrevocably.
When I first started seeing Titan, it was a battle for dominance. She wanted to control me, and I wanted to control her. She was a fierce opponent, and I feared I would never win, I would only share power with her.
But now
