Page 40 of Richard

Shifting his head, he stared down at her, moving several tangled strands of hairs from her forehead so that he could gaze at her face. She had long lashes, he realized with a start. He already knew the texture of her skin, that it was soft and felt like satin. Her lips were slightly parted, and she was snoring.

A smile touched his lips as his eyes roved over her features. Who would have ever dreamed that, at his age, he would fall in love? From the first time he saw her in that restaurant—he was going to have to ask if she had been there before.

And if so, why on earth hadn’t he noticed her? He had been annoyed that his mother was running late as usual, but during that time, he had noticed her.

What was it about her that had caught his attention? Was it her complexion? Her agitation? Or her shape? Shaking his head, he combed his fingers through her hair gently so as not to wake her.

He had planned on going to his club in the morning, but that was going to have to wait. He was going to be spending every single hour with her and try to convince her that this was a relationship.

*****

It was the scent of coffee that did it. Or perhaps it was the soreness between her thighs and the tingling feeling of her nipples that did it. It could also be the strange bed and the quality sheets. Or the sun streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows. It could be any of those things.

Her eyes flickered open to see him sitting on the edge of the bed with a tray in his hand and a smile on his lips. Those lips that had wreaked so much havoc on her entire body. He was wearing a robe, and she was dragging the sheets over her, she wrapped it around her naked form and scooted upward on the pillows.

There was an amused look on his face at her show of modesty, but he did not comment on it. “You slept the entire morning away. I think I wore you out last night and this morning.” His green eyes were laughing at her. “I don’t know how you take your coffee.”

“With a spoonful of cream.”

He handed her the cup, and a bottle of creamer, and a spoon.

“I have sent out for breakfast. My housekeeper has the weekend off; she usually does because I am rarely at home.” He took the spoon and bottle of creamer and put it away.

“Richard–”

“You look well loved.” His voice was husky with emotions, one hand lifting to tuck her hair behind her ear.

“I have to go.”

“Where?”

“Home.”

“To change?”

“To stay. I have things to do.”

“If you leave, I will follow you," he warned. “I would like us to spend the day together. If you are worried about clothing, I can call someone up and have them bring something for you to wear. In fact, why don’t I do that now.”

Before she could respond, he was on his phone calling Romano’s.

“Richard–”

She stopped when he held up a hand and started speaking. “Helen, hi. I need a favor.” He listened for a moment and then laughed. “I will keep that in mind.” His eyes wandered over Collette’s body as he tried to guess her size.

“A two?” he quirked a brow at her and she nodded numbly. “Jeans and tops. She has this beautiful caramel complexion and dark brown hair, and she is petite, I would say around 5’1”.” He listened again and then chuckled. “Shoes.”

He leaned down and picked up one of her boots. “Size six. Throw in some lingerie and accessories, as well as perfume. Something light and sexy. How long? Half an hour sounds wonderful. Thanks.”

“What are you doing?”

“Making sure you have something to wear. I would have preferred to keep you naked and in bed, but I would like to take you somewhere.”

“I don’t think–”

“That’s our breakfast.” He touched the face of his watch and brought up the image. “I’ll be right back.”

Collette watched him leave and felt as if she had been on a roller coaster ride. Richard McBride was so accustomed to getting his own way that he had not listened to a word she said.

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