Page 35 of His to Cherish
She nods, tears spilling over to slide down her cheeks. “I saw that article. It said your new girlfriend. And we just…the timing is…” she shakes her head, crying harder. “But I swear, Ollie, I didn’t. I couldn’t.”
“Of course you couldn’t,” I bark, anger rising. “You actually think I would believe that?”
She shrugs, not meeting my eyes, as tears continue to run down her face. I want to wipe those tears away, the desire to soothe and take care of her an integral part of my soul at this point. But I’m too pissed off to even try. I might enjoy spanking this girl’s ass, but I would never, ever touch her when I’m truly angry.
“Listen to me, Lilly Henson,” I growl, my fists clenching uselessly at my side. “I know you. Better than anyone else in this world knows you.” I lean in close, needing her to understand this. “You’remine. I know every fucking thought in your head, babygirl. I know your fucking soul. You think I would ever believe you capable of betraying me?”
Her mouth drops open. “I…I just…”
I can’t stand another second without my hands on her so I reach forward and cup her cheeks. “Lilly. Don’t you understand,sweetheart?” I look deep into those beautiful blue eyes. “I love you. I have for a long, long time.”
More tears spill down her cheeks and I use my thumbs to wipe them away. “You do?”
“Of course I do.”
She stares at me for a long time, studying my face. “But you seemed so angry to see me here,” she finally whispers.
I shake my head. “I was angry. But only because I don’t want you caught up in this shit.” I close my eyes. “God, Lilly. When I saw that fucking article today, the first thing I thought was that I was going to lose you.”
She gasps. “Why would you think that?”
“Because I’m fucked up, sweetheart,” I grit out, my stomach clenching as the truth spills out. “Everything that article says is true. Most people in this world would see the things I do as beyond fucked up. Perverted.” I shake my head. “The last thing I want is for you to be caught up in all that.”
“Hey,” she says, her voice suddenly much firmer. She places her hands on my forearms, squeezing gently. “You’re not fucked up. Don’t say that.”
“Baby—”
“No,” she says fiercely, her eyes flashing. “You’re not. Because if you’re fucked up, that means I am, too.”
I shake my head. “You only did any of this shit because I corrupted you?—”
She bursts out into a giggle. “Oh my God, Ollie. Listen to yourself.” She arches an eyebrow. “I know you’re into age play, but I’m not actually a child, you know. I’m perfectly capable of owning my sexuality.”
I bark out a laugh. “I know you are.”
She shakes her head. “I’m not sure you do. Honestly, I wasn’t sure myself until today.” She takes in a shuddering breath. “Ispent the morning wondering if I might have just gone along with all of that stuff because it was you.”
My stomach drops at the very thought. It’s the thing I’ve been afraid of all along, the thing that kept me from ever taking a chance with her before. The idea that I might have somehow pressured Lilly into something she didn’t really want. “Baby?—”
“I didn’t really understand it until the drive over here,” she continues. “That’s when I started to get pissed.” Her gaze is filled with fire as she looks up at me. “Fuck anyone who says what we do together is wrong. It’snotwrong. It’s us. You and me. I wouldn’t want us to be any other way.”
I have to kiss her. It’s a physical need at this point, like breathing. When I press my lips against hers, she immediately opens her mouth for me, and I groan, completely overcome with the rightness of this moment. I love this woman. More than anything else in the world. Let some bitter assholes who don’t want to be bought out spread whatever shit they want in the press. How the hell could any of that matter when I have her?
“I need you, Lilly,” I murmur against her lips, sliding my hands down from her face, over her elegant neck, down her sides. I grip her hips, pulling her into me, letting her feel how she affects my body. All she has to do is be in the same room as me and I get hard. But her standing here, so fierce and insistent, pledging herself to me, to our life? It fucking kills me.
“I need you, too.”
I pull back, even though it hurts to stop kissing her, because I need her to understand. “I want you in all the ways I had you this weekend,” I tell her. “I want all the naughty, dirty pieces of you.”
She moans against my mouth and I want nothing more than to hike her up onto my desk and have my wicked way with her. But I force myself to continue.
“But if you decided it wasn’t what you wanted, if you feel like it’s too much for you?—”
“It’s not,” she starts but I silence her with a soft kiss.
“Just listen, baby. This is important.” I wait until she nods before I go on. “I don’t need all that shit. I really don’t. What I can’t live without is you.”
“Oliver,” she breathes.
