Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 138(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 138(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
"You're so beautiful," he whispers, and I can feel his lips on the crown of my head. "I want to stay like this forever. Right here."
Emotion wells up in me. Derrick is so intense, but this sliver of softness he's showing me right now breaks down the last of my barriers. "Me too."
"Stay the night." He's not asking.
I raise myself to look at him. "You're still holding so much back. How…?"
"No more blindfold," he promises and then grins wickedly. "Unless it's here in the bedroom. How's that?"
Swallowing, I chew at my bottom lip. It's something, but I want more. His last name, his connection to the cafe, who he really is. But it's a concession, and not exactly a small one for a man as private as Derrick.
And the truth is, I want to stay. Terribly.
I pretend to consider for a few more seconds before giving a solemn nod. Derrick wraps his strong arms around me and rolls me underneath him again. I laugh, but the laughter quickly turns into sighs of pleasure as he rewards me once again for being such a good girl.
6
DERRICK
Two Weeks Later
"Alina, it's a waste of your talent."
Alina is beautiful in her anger, hands on her shapely hips and chin tilted up. "I need a job, Derrick! If you don't want to drive me, I'll get an Uber, but I'm going to this job fair!"
"Dammit, woman," I growl and cross the room, closing the distance between us and hauling her up onto her tiptoes, hands landing on my chest.
"Derrick!" she protests, but when I pull her in tight, she doesn’t fight me. Her lips part, the pulse in her neck jumping. Fuck, she's gorgeous.
"Do you want me to take you, or not?"
"Yes!" she snaps.
I laugh. "All right, angel. I'll give you this victory, but don't you dare forget who's in charge."
Alina Brant has undeniably changed me. The night I claimed her as my own, taking her virginity, she stayed the night. And then the next night too. And the next. Soon enough, it became clear to both of us that she had no intention of leaving.
It was a whiplash change of pace, going from watching her through her window to having her in my bed every night, but every second I'm with her, I want her more. I know I'm going to have to come clean about my identity sooner rather than later because she's going to need to know all of me when she ultimately becomes my wife.
Because she will be my wife.
We've spent the last two weeks here and at Sage and Salt, which I finally admitted that I owned. It worked in my favor because giving her that little tidbit of information sated her curiosity—for now at least. I let her believe I’m the strangely well-off owner of the local coffee house and nothing more. Definitely not a former tech giant who made millions on a single sale before disappearing off the face of the earth.
Now, though, I can tell that she's itching to return to her normal life, at least in some part. While she's been here with me, I've watched Alina sketch, paint, and transform her ideas into digital masterpieces. She's beyond talented, and the thought of her shackled to some desk job creating only the art that she's commanded to pisses me off. But if I haven't even revealed my full identity to her yet, it's not like I can convince her that I'll take care of her for the rest of her life.
"You're in charge," she assures me with a sigh and a sweet smile. "But you can't be bossy all day, Derrick."
"Of course, I can."
"Ugh, you're the worst!"
I chuckle and lower my head, brushing my lips over hers. "Come on, angel. We'll be late."
She pouts but follows me to the car. It's a crisp day, the sun shining and a cool breeze blowing, but as we drive downtown, the buildings start to cast shadows, and the temperature dips. Alina looks out the window, her fingers twitching as she watches the town pass by.
"Thank you for taking me," she says softly. “I know you didn’t want to. Not really.”
"You're welcome. Are you sure you need to do this?"
"Yes," she laughs. "Unless you want to fess up right now. Who are you, Derrick No Name?"
I grunt but keep my mouth shut. I could easily tell her not to worry, that it's all taken care of, but I can't do that. Still, I'm going to have to tell her the truth eventually.
The parking garage is packed, and I have to circle it several times before we find a spot. Alina is antsy, and as soon as I park, she's out of the car and heading towards the elevator.
"Hold on," I call and grab her arm. "Don't you dare go in there without me."