“He took me to New York City last night,” I tell her as a secret smile starts at the corners of my mouth and spreads until I’m grinning like a kid in a candy shop.
“What?!” Charli can’t believe it. “You little sneak! You’re holding out. Tell me everything,” she demands.
After my brief recap, she narrows her eyes at me and shakes her head. “Ugh, some people get all the luck. How freaking romantic. Are you sure he doesn’t have a brother?”
Giggling at her antics, I study my manicure until her next observation flies my way.
“But you still haven’t slept with him,” my friend says astutely.
Feigning offense, I clutch at my chest. “How do you know that?”
“Have you forgotten who you’re talking to? I’ve known you too long. You look completely different after a good lay and I can tell it hasn’t happened yet. What’s the hold up?” she pries, squinting her hazel orbs at me.
I want to tell her that her guess is as good as mine but I don’t. Even though I’ve been wondering the same damn thing lately.
Andrew has been nothing but a complete gentleman, which is good on the one hand since I made it clear that there was no sex without love. On the other hand, I’m so anxious to have him inside of me that I’m almost willing to throw caution to the wind and do the damn thing already.
By the time Charli leaves, it’s going on two.
Getting back to work, I see that I only have one email. And it’s from Edward.
He wants me to focus all my energy on getting Andrew to make his first investment. I groan at the prospect of having to talk business with him.
Every time we try to discuss his account, he finds a way to distract me and break my chain of thought. Admittedly, I’m partially at fault. I could totally put my foot down but I like the diversions a little too much.
Of course it doesn’t help that he refuses to meet in the office. So he has the home court advantage wherever we go.
We’ve gotten nowhere with building his portfolio since he signed on with Castle.
Vowing to change that, I pick up the phone and give him a call.
“Hi Cupcake,” he drawls after picking up on the second ring. “What are you up to?”
“Andrew, we need to talk about your account,” I say, cutting right to the chase. If I allow him to derail me early on, I know we’ll never get back on track.
“What about it?” He doesn’t sound concerned.
“You came to me for wealth management services and I haven’t exactly managed anything yet,” I point out.
Andrew only grunts lowly, still seemingly unworried about the situation.
I swear, sometimes this man and his blasé attitude drive me up the wall. Pursing my lips, I focus on the reason for this call.
“We need to talk about investments. When are you free?” I ask, thumbing through the file for Rio Venture Corp. According to Edward, this is the company we should go with.
“Whenever you want me,” he offers generously.
Delicious throbbing starts in my core and threatens to throw me off course. Ignoring it, I stick to the script.
“Great, we’ll meet today,” I decide. My earlier fatigue is forgotten as my nerve endings come alive, overjoyed with the prospect of being in his presence later.
A silent moment passes on the line and I wonder if he’s even listening to me.
“Fine,” he agrees. “But I have a few conditions.”
My sigh of relief is premature.
I should have known.
“What is it?” I ask cautiously. There’s no telling what’s going to fly out of his mouth so I brace myself.
“Tonight, you let me paint you.”
Nineteen
LILAH
“Fuck,” I hiss as Andrew drags his paintbrush down the inside of my thigh. The sensitive skin flames under his touch.
From my position above him, I watch Andrew’s brow lift at my outburst.
“You okay?” he asks, appearing concerned. But I know better. He’s enjoying this. And who can blame him?
I’m stripped down to nothing but my panties and he’s turned me into his canvas for the evening.
“I’m fine,” I bite out, gnawing on the inside of my cheek to stifle any other reactions.
With a steadying breath, I try to focus on anything but how close he is to my throbbing core. To cope, I start cataloguing my furniture.
My leather couch is pushed up against the furthest wall and an old sheet is spread out across the floor to prevent paint from getting everywhere.
It would make a hell of a lot more sense for us to be at his house doing this given how much space he has. But this had been one of my stipulations. If he was going to be in control, I at least wanted it to be on my own turf.
“You’re beautiful, Lilah,” Andrew states, dipping his brush into the paint on his palette.
It isn’t the first time he’s muttered that tonight but it still sets off a violent swarm of butterflies in the pit of my stomach. As if I wasn’t quivering enough, his words are both unnerving and reassuring.
Tonight is the first time in ages that I’ve been bared to anyone. I’ve been so consumed with getting my project off the ground that most of my loving has been solo. Aside from that episode in Andrew’s foyer, that is…
Observant blue eyes land on my contracting abdomen and his paint is all but forgotten.
“Oh, you’re shaking,” he says, his voice raw. His eyes blink slowly, like watching me is torturing him as much as it’s torturing me.
My heavy lids slip down over my eyes.
“This is new for me,” I share before sucking in another calming breath.
Letting his brush fall to the wayside, Andrew remains kneeling before me. His handsome face is clouded by desire and he looks so damn sexy as he stares at me like I’m his next meal.
Andrew’s voice drops a few octaves and he asks, “Is it difficult for you to relinquish
