“What if I have to get up to go to the bathroom?” she blurted.
He smiled.
“Then you wake me so I can free you. But under no circumstances, unless it involves your safety, are you to touch the restraints I put in place.”
Knowing this was the first true test of her submission, she nodded silently.
His eyes flared with approval and he leaned in to kiss her again.
“Get some sleep, honey. I’ll make us breakfast in the morning when you wake.”
She settled against his chest, the way their wrists were tied forcing her to face him.
Unsure of what she was supposed to do with her hand or even if she could move it, she let him take her hand with his and he laid them both between them.
He’d told her to sleep, but even as sated and content as she was, sleep eluded her.
She had a sleepy, lethargic heaviness to her limbs, the kind that she hadn’t felt since her husband made love to her.
She’d sworn not to bring Clement into her relationship with Derrick.
It wasn’t fair and it certainly wasn’t fair to compare the two men.
Not fair to Derrick or Clement.
Besides, one wasn’t better than the other.
They were just .
.
.
different.
She found the differences fascinating.
Derrick was only the second man she’d ever made love with, and yet she’d gotten lucky with both experiences.
Two virile, heart-stoppingly gorgeous men.
She’d been loved by one, and the other?
She wasn’t sure if Derrick was in love with her.
He was certainly infatuated.
And he wanted her.
He’d been very blunt about that.
Did she want him to love her?
That was the million-dollar question.
Her knee-jerk response was no.
She didn’t want him to love her because she didn’t want to love him.
It sounded awful, but all she wanted was relief from the overwhelming loneliness she’d endured ever since Clement’s death. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
And who was to say that she wasn’t simply a conquest for Derrick?
Forbidden fruit?
It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that he’d seen her as a challenge.
No, he hadn’t acted on his attraction.
He’d been honorable.
He hadn’t even pressed her right after Clement’s death.
He’d waited.
But in that time, his fixation could have grown into something that was nothing more than a need to win.
Derrick wasn’t someone used to not getting his way.
He was ruthless in business.
Clement had remarked on it many times.
He’d admitted that if it weren’t for Derrick, their business wouldn’t be what it was now.
Clement fully recognized that he didn’t have the heart to be cutthroat.
But Derrick?
She shivered, realizing that it had been there all along.
His dominance.
His personality.
She just hadn’t seen it until now.
She’d never really studied him.
She’d first seen him as someone who didn’t approve of her and later as a friend.
But never a dominant, to-die-for alpha male.
And never would she have dreamed that she’d be lying in his arms, tied to him after making love.
His free arm was crooked above his head and he lazily ran his fingers through the strands of her hair as he stared down into her eyes.
He hadn’t turned off the lamp and she could see every part of his expression.
She licked her lips, her thoughts wandering to their earlier conversation about James Brown.
She knew she didn’t have the right to ask for what she wanted.
Derrick owed her nothing when it came to the business he’d owned with Clement.
She was given a portion of the profits, but it had been clear that she was to have no authority.
Some women may have been insulted by that dictate, but she had no desire—or the knowledge necessary—to assist in the running of her husband’s business.
It was in good hands.
Derrick was the best.
She had absolute confidence in his ability to keep them all solvent.
“Can I ask you for something?” she asked quietly.
His brows drew together as if he picked up on her uncertainty.
“You can ask me anything, honey.”
“I’d like to meet James. I’m not saying I’m objecting to him taking Clement’s place or becoming your new partner. But I’d like to meet him. I’ll understand if you say no. I don’t even have a solid reason for wanting to meet him before he takes over.”
“Of course you can meet him,” Derrick said gently.
“And you don’t have to justify your reasons to me. I’ll invite him over for drinks, or if you prefer a more public place, we can arrange to have drinks out.”
“Whatever you prefer is fine.” And then the realization struck that he was giving her the option of not making it public by offering her the chance to meet James outside of Derrick’s home.
Because if they met here, it would be obvious that she and Derrick were involved.
Did she care?
She didn’t even know James.
But apparently she would come to know him and see him on a semi-regular basis now that he was partnering with Derrick.
It would become public knowledge soon enough.
No reason to hide her relationship with Derrick.
She had nothing to be ashamed of and she’d die before ever making Derrick feel as though she were ashamed of him.
“We can invite him here,” she said, thinking he’d be pleased with the use of “we” instead of saying he could invite James.
And in fact, he did looked pleased with her insinuation, that she’d called his home her own.
“Then I’ll call him in the morning and ask him over for drinks tomorrow evening. Will it bother you, Sandra? Because I can’t pretend that I’m just setting up a tête-à-tête between two acquaintances. I can’t pretend that you aren’t mine and that you mean nothing more to me than being my best friend’s widow. If that bothers you, I need to know now because I have no intention of hiding you—us—from anyone.”
“I’m okay with it,” she said quietly.
“The important people already know. I don’t care about anyone else. I won’t live my life according to what others think and say.”
He kissed her.
“That means a lot to me, honey. Though, I’d understand if you needed time to adjust. I know we agreed to jump into things. It’s what you wanted and hell, it’s certainly what I want. I don’t want to wait any longer. But I’d absolutely understand if you want to keep our relationship quiet for a time. At least until you’re more settled and sure of yourself.”
She sucked in her breath.
Did he think she wasn’t sure?
Had she given him reason to doubt her sincerity?
Or was he simply afraid that it was too good to be true?