Page 75 of One Hotlanta Night
“Just wait til I get you back home with me, and I’ll show you just how forceful I can be,” he growls again andno, nope, I won’t be sidetracked again. No matter how much I want to hear his sexy promises, I need to get him to agree to this.
“So how about you babysit with me that night so Derrick can take her out and have a chance to shoot his shot?”
“When is it?”
“Next Wednesday at eight,” I say, biting my lip. One thing I’ve learned in the short time I’ve known Michael is that he’s an early to bed, early to rise kind of guy. A nice perk when he makes breakfast for me before I’ve even woken up. Frankly, I think it’s amazing that we even met that night because it was clearly past his bedtime. I stifle a laugh. That hasn’t stopped him from taking me out at night however, as clearly proven when I finally got thecourage to tell him I loved him the other day. Memories of that impromptu “proposal”—if you can call it that—sends warmth all through my body; remembering how he “informed” me he was going to marry me.
And how I didn’t mind one single bit.
There is something so incredibly sexy about a man who knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to take it.
“Yeah, let’s do it,” he says, and I swear I can hear him running his hand through his hair. Those gorgeous locks are probably tousled and curly after his street hockey practice.
No, Viv, don’t start thinking of him sweaty in shorts. He probably has his shirt off too.
“I do, and you’re about two seconds away from me jumping in the car and coming for you,” he says, deadly serious.
Shit!I did it again. Tiredness is getting the better of me.
But the rasp in Michael’s voice is making me feel anything but tired.
“Can you hear me, mi amor? Do you know what you do to me?” He draws the words out like a caress, and I can imagine him running his tongue over his lips. Lips I desperately want on mine.
I can’t even speak, barely breathing into the phone as he continues, “Do you know what I’m going to do to you the next time I get you alone? Just for torturing me like this? Damn, woman, I’m going to take my sweet time with you until you’re begging for mercy.”
I slide down against the wall until my butt hits the floor, my legs unable to support my weight at his words.
“I’m going to lay you out onourbed, and I’m going to kiss every single inch of you. Touch you everywhere with my fingers, with my tongue… tease you exactly the way the thought of you is teasing me right now… and just when you can’t take it anymore…” His voice drops even lower. I’m about to combust.“I’m going to take you, drive into you, claim you so fucking hard you’ll never want to leave our bed again. Your beautiful body is going to submit to me, and I’m gonna mark every bit of you so the wordhookupnever passes your gorgeous lips again. Do you hear me, woman?”
“Yes, sir,” is all I can breathe out. Holy shit I’m drenched.
“Good,” he murmurs, voice gravelly with promise. “Now go to bed, mi amor. Dream of me.Te amo con todo mi corazón.”
And I crawl into bed and do exactly that.
Interlude-Derrick
early september
“This is the last of them,” I say as I hand off the rest of the boxes from The Pork Belly to Michael. “Damn, man, that’s a pretty sweet ride you’ve got there,” I tell him, admiring the dark green finish of his Mustang.
“It’s a far cry from when I had to scrape up change from the couch, that’s for sure.” He laughs and I grin along with him. Growing up being chauffeured everywhere in town cars, I can’t relate. But I had plenty of friends in school who lived the broke-and-fabulous life, and they were creative when it came to scoring gas money. The knowledge makes me respect the guy even more.
“Yeah, it has been my pride and joy,” he continues, and then turns his gaze to Vivian, clearly the new object of his obsession. I’d probably make fun of how whipped he is if I didn’t feel the same way about Claire.
Fuck, I hope this night goes well. I feel like a kid about to ask his high school crush to go to prom. Correction, she’s already agreed to go with me. I felt certain that these concert ticketswould do the trick. My darling girl has been working herself to the bone since the day I met her.
One foot through the door of The Pork Belly, one look at Claire, and my heart was hooked. My eyes fell on her, and I forgot how to breathe. I knew in an instant that this was the woman for me. Now I just have to prove I’m the man for her.
I’ve been trying. Trying so fucking hard, doing everything I can to help her out and becoming the indispensable go-to around the restaurant. It’s her second baby, and damn, if I don’t know what that family pressure feels like. I’m glad she finally decided to trust me a bit. Her place brings in money, sure, but after the mess I saw of that inventory, it’s clear she needs more help than just updating the place. And I’m just the one to help her. But that conversation can wait for another night.
Tonight is for her to relax, take it easy, and have some fun for once. We can talk logistics later. I know that was Viv’s intention, but tonight is my chance to show Claire how well I can treat her. The way she deserves to be treated. Her sweet little girl may always hold the princess title I’ve bestowed upon her. But Claire is a queen. My queen. And I’m going to give her the royal treatment.
“Claire? You ready?” I call through the front door. Not going to just walk in, not until she invites me. My mom did raise at least one gentleman out of the five of us. Too bad I’m the only one who learned manners.
“Coming in just a second, Derrick,” she calls down from the stairs, and I have to surreptitiously adjust my dick. How he ever manages to stay down when we’re working together I don’t know. Probably from all the times I have to distract him, running through the list of liquors in my head and how many we have on hand. I’ve got that inventory memorized down to the last bottle of Jim Beam at this point, willing my dick to stay down whenever Claire’s near. It’s nearly impossible though.
I sound like a complete horndog, and fuck, do I ever want her gorgeous body. But the truth is I’ve fallen in love with her. Completely and hopelessly. She has stolen my heart, and I don’t ever want it back. She’s the only forever I want.
