Page 55 of I Choose You
“I don’t think we’re getting those chandeliers we ordered.”
“But we have to get them. We don’t have the time to find a new supplier and reorder them. They are fully custom-built. That will set us back weeks, if not months.”
“Damn it,” I growled. “I expected setbacks like the floor today. Those are par for the course. But this… I did not see this coming.”
“Okay. This is fine.” She swallowed hard, and I watched as her face transformed from panic to neutral, almost as far as serene. “We’ll have a bit of a timeline delay, but it’ll be fine.We can work around it. Everything will be fine.”
If she said that word one more time, I was going to blow the fuck up.
“I’ll start reaching out to other manufacturers tonight. I’m sure someone will have some availability. It’s totally fine.”
18
Reid
“It’s not fine, Claire,” I yelled. “Everything doesn’t have to be fine all the time.”
“What do you want me to do? I can’t control it, so I accept it.” She did a little breathing technique, releasing a breath like she was expelling all the negativity.
“I want you to stop pretending. It isn’t fine that our timeline has been set back six-plus weeks, and now your job is on the line because of it. It isn’t fine that your mother is an asshole and that your shitty ex cheated on you. It isn’t fine that some drunk fucker pulled a gun out and was waving it around in your face.”
Her eyes snapped to me, a dangerous challenge in her gaze. “You wantmeto stop pretending? Are you going to stop pretending to be over her, whoever she is? The woman you can’t even talk about? The woman whose picture you’re carrying around in your pocket?”
“She’s an ex. I wasn’t about to bring up a past relationship while I was on a date with someone. And I’m certainly not carrying her picture around in my pocket,” I huffed.
“I saw you take it from the mirror and put it right in your back pocket for safekeeping.”
“We broke up. I didn’t want it on display, but I wasn’t going to rip it into tiny pieces and throw it in the air like confetti either. I put the picture in a box with some other shit from my past.” Somehow, we had made our way toward each other, but we were still too far apart. My voice lowered, and I stalked closer to her. “Trust me, she’s not the woman in my head all day, every day. She’s not the woman I see when I close my eyes and wrap my fist around my dick.”
I hooked my fingers through the belt loop on her jeans and pulled her closer to me. She didn’t hesitate or resist, and that alone sent fire through my veins. I pressed her body close to mine. Claire sucked in a breath. I could feel her heart beating, see the way I affected her by the pulse on her neck. I wanted to take a bite of it, trail my tongue up the column of her throat and taste her skin.
“Reid.” She breathed my name, and any restraint I possessed disappeared.
I captured her mouth with mine. She tasted so good I couldn’t get enough. Claire moaned softly, and I tilted my head, deepening the kiss. My tongue slipped past her lips, tangling with hers. Her shirt rose as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I touched her soft, smooth skin, pulling her even closer. My dick was hard as stone, wedged between our bodies. Claire shifted her hips, and I let out a depraved growl. I hadn’t wanted a woman like this in… I didn’t think I had ever wanted anyone as much as I wanted Claire.
I kissed down her throat, sucking on that spot that had been driving me wild, where her pulse was beating in time with mine. Claire tore her sweater over her head, letting it drop tothe floor. She was absolutely beautiful. I kissed and nipped across her chest. Pulling the cup of her bra down, I sucked her pretty pink nipple into my mouth. Claire’s breaths were heavy as she shifted her hips against me again.
Her hands moved up my chest, beneath my shirt, her fingers on my abs leaving a trail of electricity behind.
“Shirt, off.” She tugged my shirt up as far as it would go. I pulled myself away from her tits long enough to pull it the rest of the way off.
Shit. I hadn’t done this in a long time. The sex, sure. It had been a few months there, but I wasn’t concerned about that. But was that where this was heading? Was that what she wanted? Or was this just a hot make-out session? I would be fine either way. I had my hands on her body and the taste of her skin on my tongue. There wasn’t much that was better than that.
I cupped her face in my hands. Her midnight-blue eyes glowed with desire. My lips crashed into hers, kissing her hard. Her responding whimper was going to make me lose my mind. I unclasped her bra, letting it drop to the floor with our shirts. Her tits were perfection. They were full enough to cup, to squeeze, but not exactly large. Her pert nipples poked out, looking for attention that I was more than happy to provide.
Claire’s head tipped back. “Oh, yes,” she sighed. She grabbed my hand and pulled me with her. Down the hallway. Into the bedroom.
I pulled her to me again, kissing her fervently as we tumbled onto the bed. The rest of our clothes came off in a blur. Our arms and legs tangled together, each of us grasping skin, reveling in the touch of each other. I pulled back, my gazeroaming her face. Desire sparkled in her eyes.
I reached for my jeans, pulling a condom out of my wallet. Claire took it from my grasp and opened it.
“Let me.” She bit into her juicy bottom lip and wrapped her hand around my shaft. If that wasn’t a green light, the way she held my cock in her fist and stroked it twice before rolling the condom down my shaft certainly was.
“Fuck, Claire. Are you with me?” Her warm, soft body melted under me, her legs opening wider, making more space for me.
“Yes. Reid, please. I need you.”
I lined us up and paused. I needed her mouth on mine. Like she could read my mind, she cupped my head and brought me to her lips in a searing kiss. I pressed into her slowly, feeling the way she expanded around my cock. She moaned into my mouth, her hips tilting up to take me in further.
