Page 69 of Dare to Need

“Are you ready for your surprise?” His voice was husky, laced with longing that had my mouth watering to taste every inch of him.

“Mmhmm,” I replied.

Trailing his hand up my spine, a swarm of butterflies assaulted my stomach when he gripped the back of my neck with just enough pressure my sex immediately grew hot against my silk thong.

With expert deft, he maneuvered his fingers to tilt my head to the side, giving him full access to my neck.

His head tilted down and I shivered as he nipped at my exposed skin before saying, “If you promise to be a good girl and let me spoil you, I’ll give you what we both know you want on the plane ride home.”

A whimper escaped me as my mind ran wild. “I promise.”

“You promise what?”

“I promise to be a good girl.”

The wicked smile that played at his lips had my knees quivering.

“Good. Now get your cute little ass in the car.”

As he let me go and I moved around him to get into the car he smacked my ass, giving me a preview of what I was so hungry for and he promised to provide. I wasn’t sure if Garth knew what I’d been thinking about before he arrived to meet me, or if he could tell from the look on my face, but I was thankful he was willing to please that part of me that wanted to explore every facet of my sexuality. In the safety of his arms, I knew I could try anything my heart desired and he’d be right there to catch me if I crashed and burned.

It didn’t take long for us to get to our destination. Partway through the ride, Garth tied a silk wrap around my head so I couldn’t see the rest of the way. When the car rolled to a stop, he slowly guided me out of the car until we were standing on a quiet street somewhere in the city.

He moved to stand behind me, his hands floating down to grasp my hips as he leaned down to my ear and whispered, “Ready?”

“Mmhmm.”

His right hand moved to the back of my head where he loosened the knot and let the silk wrap fall from my face. When my eyes adjusted to the light, my heart picked up its pace when I noticed a bright red ribbon on a white door the led into a beautiful brownstone.

Whirling around to face Garth, he had the brightest smile I’d ever seen on his face.

“What is this?” I gasped.

“Welcome home, doll face.” He dangled a silver key in front of me before placing it in the palm of my hand.

“Are you serious?!”

His smile grew wider revealing his pearly white teeth that glimmered in the sunlight.

“I know we talked about finding a place together, but I didn’t want to take any more time away from your family once we get back to Florida. So I spoke with my parents’ real estate agent and had her send me a few places. This one seemed to be the perfect combination of our styles and since it’s in Manhattan, it should be pretty close to most of the wedding destinations you’ll be sent to and—“

I jumped into his arms, sealing his mouth with mine before he could say another word. His strong arms enveloped me as he deepened the kiss, taking his time as his soft tongue explored every inch of my mouth.

When we finally broke apart, I felt light-headed, not just from his kiss, but from the excitement of what he’d done for us.

“Can we go inside?”

“Of course we can.” He kissed the tip of my nose and led me up the steps where I placed the key in the lock with shaky hands and opened the door to our brand new home—the first we would share together as a couple.

“Holy fuck,” I mouthed as I took the first step in, my strappy heels clicking on the marble floor.

The ceiling of the first floor had to have risen at least twenty feet and to the left, there was a staircase that wove forward and backward up the wall to what looked like three more stories.

I was utterly speechless as we moved further into the home. A woodburning fireplace was centered in the family room encased by a large slab of black marble rising straight up to the ceiling. The open floor plan led into the most incredible kitchen I’d ever seen in my life. Deep navy cabinets with gold hardware lined the back wall and a matching island that spanned the length of the wall held the same black marble as the fireplace on top of it.

It was modern, yet warm and inviting in a funky way that truly did depict the merging of Garth and I’s styles.

“What do you think?” he asked sheepishly, as though he was worried about my answer.

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