Page 158 of Titus
She exhaled, and it was truly obvious she was terrified of crossing that final line with me and fully trusting me with her heart.
“You are the only person who’s managed to breathe life back into me. I know we haven’t been together long, but it’s been long enough for me to see how mundane my life has truly been.” I bent to gently kiss her lips. “I plan to enjoy every part of you while pleasuring you and proving to you that you’ve been the missing piece I never knew I needed to complete the man I am.”
Her hand came gently to my face. “Okay,” she finally conceded. “No more talk about how we’re going to break up over something stupid in the next month or two.”
“Jesus,” I said with a laugh. “You were giving us a month’s time as an expiration date?”
“That’s usually when the newness of a relationship wears off.”
I shook my head. “Well then, now you’ve made it my most exciting challenge to ensure that every day we spend together feels like a new experience. I’ll start tonight, after the event ends, when I take you back to my room to show my gratitude and appreciation for what you’ve done this evening.”
“Promise?” she said, arching that damn eyebrow that made me want to tear her clothes off and take her right here and now.
“Oh, that’s a promise.”
“Then kiss me.”
Without hesitation, my lips met hers, my tongue pressing and guiding the kiss, eager to savor more of her delicious lips. It was going to be a challenge to pull away from her and rejoin my guests. We did manage it, though, and for the rest of the night I found myself in conversation with excited investors who were, without a doubt, willing to invest in my dream.
That alone should have made the evening everything to me. Instead, what meant everything was watching the woman who’d stolen my heart in every way move through the crowd and execute every plan she’d made to make this night everything it was.
“You can’t keep your eyes off her,” Wyatt said.
“No,” I answered, sipping my bourbon. “She’s beyond everything a man like me could wish for in my life.”
“Sweet Jesus, has hell frozen over?”
“Very funny,” I answered him.
“I honestly never imagined this day would come for you or for me or Colton. But damn, you’re already gone for her.”
“I am,” I answered, watching her in a lively conversation with one of her crew members. “She makes me so fucking happy in ways I can’t explain.”
“That’s called love, man,” Wyatt clapped me on the back. “You’re completely fucked.”
“That I am,” I grinned at him. “And in the best of ways.”
“Who the hell is that?” Wyatt questioned, noticing an investor getting too loud with one of the guests.
“Mr. Coleman. Coleman Holdings,” I said. “The son of a bitch never knows how to control his liquor consumption at any event he attends.”
Before I could check on his issue, Catalina was already there. I stepped closer, slid my hands into my pockets, and watched the scene play out.
“Catalina Veléz,” he responded after she urged him to step below deck and hydrate. “I’ve heard you’re the one fucking Hawk.”
When Cat’s face fell and embarrassment replaced her once-firm expression, I was already there, interrupting the man.
“Right?” he said. “You and—”
“Not another word,” I said, the man’s face turning beet red as I approached. “Perhaps you should disappear below deck and sober up.”
“Or what? Since when did you lower your standards to fucking party planners?”
“You’ll silence yourself this instant,” I warned, then motioned to security. “Remove this man from my yacht immediately.”
“On what grounds?” he scoffed. “Because I had a few drinks?”
“No.” My voice remained calm. “Because you insulted Ms. Veléz, and I will not allow anyone who disrespects her to remain anywhere near her—or me—as a consequence.” I stepped closer, holding his gaze. “You should consider yourself fortunate I’m exercising restraint tonight instead of throwing your sorry ass overboard and making an example of you.”
