Page 94 of Arrogant Bastard

He tilts my head up, staring deeper into my eyes. His nostrils pinch on his next breath. “God, Faith. I should be used to the world shifting beneath my feet when I’m with you, but every time I think I’m adjusting, you make me lose my mind even more.” He lowers his head until his mouth is a whisper from mine. “Promise me you’ll never stop.”

It’s an easy promise to make. “I’ll never stop.”

He seals our lips with a deep, fervent kiss that goes on until we’re both breathless. When we part, he rests his forehead against mine. “I wish I could take you out tonight. I want dinner by candlelight somewhere special, followed by dancing. Followed by all-night fucking somewhere equally special.”

I want to tell him that being with him is special enough, but I feel a little like a fraud, only baring parts of myself to him when he deserves the whole. So I keep my mouth shut and let him kiss me again.

When we part, he drifts one finger over my mouth. “Can I make a date with you, exactly the way I want, for after this shit is over?” he asks.

Tears prickle my eyes, and my smile is hopelessly shaky as I nod. “I’d love to. But in the meantime…” An idea slowly blooms, and my heart races for a completely different reason.

Killian’s gaze narrows. “Hmm?”

“We can have a version of that, here at home, if you want?”

“If I want? Of course, I want.”

I let loose a sultry smile. “I’ll need a couple of hours.”

He nods after a moment. “I’ll get Debbie to delay dinner.”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll take care of it. You go play with your computers.”

“I’d rather play with you, but…okay.” He links our hands and walks me to the kitchen. Then he leaves me to talk to Debbie.

Once the housekeeper establishes that I’m not there to invade her territory yet again, she gets on board with my request. The Thai-food dinner she had planned is scrapped in place of Killian’s favorite.

“He prefers the Sauvignon Blanc with the lobster. Shall I chill a bottle to go with it?” Debbie asks with a smile.

“That’ll be perfect.”

Her smile widens. “Leave it to me. I’ll dig out the nice tableware. Where would you like me to set up? The north terrace or the south?”

I mull the request over for a few seconds. “The south terrace, please.”

“Good choice. There’s a perfectly balanced view of sea and stars from there at that time of night.”

I raise my eyebrows, and she shrugs. “What? So I’m a hopeless romantic.”

My laugh is a little more carefree, the belief that Killian and I may just get through this after all settling a little deeper. “Thanks, Debbie. I appreciate it.”

Debbie bustles around the kitchen, a new excitement quickening her movements. “You’re welcome. I’ll have to step out to the store to get some fresh candles. The ones we have are a few years old…” She pauses for a second, and her smile dims as she glances at me. My smile slips a little too as the subject of my absence threatens to spoil the mood. It couldn’t have been easy living with Killian while I was in hiding. A second later, she walks over to the peg by the wall and grabs her purse. When she turns around, her smile is back in place. “I won’t be long. If you need anything else, just leave me a note.”

With a smile of gratitude, I leave the kitchen. My heart skips a few beats at the thought of my plans. Two hours isn’t a lot of time. I hurry toward the suite of guest rooms, where the contents of my apartment were relocated when we got here. The bigger items were left behind at my request, but if I know how Killian’s mind works, the stripper pole will be with my belongings.

It’s the first thing I see when I enter the room. I grin and then bypass it to rummage through storage boxes until I find the other items I need.

I pick the guest bedroom closest to the south terrace, which also happens to contain a spectacular bed, an awesome view, and very little else. The wide bed frame is made of a single, sleek piece of oak that curves into a headboard that extends halfway to the ceiling. The design draws the eye to the ceiling itself, where a large, rectangular mirror reflects my image back to me.

I catch the banked excitement and nervousness in my eyes. I’ve dealt with countless clients with weird requests over the years. And yet I’m more nervous about this than I ever was about anything I did at the Punishment Club. I lay the outfit on the bed and set up the pole in front of the bed. I take a couple of swings to test out its sturdiness before I leave the room to return to the master suite.

A leisurely bath and the process of readying myself for Killian relaxes me a little. But my nerves kick up again when, an hour later, I throw on a robe and return to the guest bedroom. The intercom that connects every room in the house is located next to the bed. I walk over and press the button for the study.

“Killian?”

“It’s about time. I’m going out of my mind,” he growls. “What are you doing in the south terrace bedroom?”

Despite my nerves, I grin. “It’s a surprise.”

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