She winced. “Later. At the diner. Ugh, I forgot how good a day off felt. I wish I didn’t have to go back.”
I nodded and pulled her closer. “Well, I’m glad I have you for the morning at least.”
“Don’t you have to run off to work?” she asked with surprise.
“Eventually. But not yet.”
I reached across her and ran my hand along her soft, naked body. She stretched out like a cat against my touch, and I couldn’t resist sneaking my fingers between her legs. She was already wet, warm, and open – too inviting for my morning hard-on to resist. I slid two fingers inside of her as she reached for my erection. We laid there stroking each other until our bodies were filled with the same furious desire we had tried to extinguish the night before.
Before long, I was inside of her again, noticing how the image of her in the daylight only added to how good she felt underneath me. Not long after we finished, we decided to take a shower where somehow my body was brought to life all over again. She bent over in the shower and spread herself open for me to enter her from behind. I slid inside deeper than I had ever been before as she cried out under the falling water. The cycle of cumming, touching, and starting all over again went on, and I knew we could have made love all day if we wanted to.
We were both smiling ear to ear with silly grins as we dried off, but suddenly Lizzy frowned as she wrapped up in the towel.
“I only have that pantsuit from last night,” she realized. “I guess I could put it back on, but…”
“No, you have much more than that. Remember?”
“In the trunk,” she nodded with blushing cheeks.
“Hold on. I’ll call one of my assistants to bring it up.”
“What!? No! Don’t do that. That’s ridiculous. I’ll throw my clothes from last night on and go down to get it. Your car is just outside. I feel silly bothering someone else to do it when I have two perfectly capable legs to walk down there myself.”
I dropped down to my knees in front of her and pulled down the towel, letting it fall around her feet. My lips caressed up and down her thighs as I spoke. “Two legs that work hard running around the diner and Del’s shop day in and day out. You deserve a break. Besides, that’s what I pay my assistants for. One of them lives in this building so they’re nearby whenever I need them.”
I directed my kiss back to the folds between her legs and teased her with a few darts of my tongue. “Besides, I have much better things in mind for you...things my assistants can’t take care of.”
The morning hours quickly drifted by until it was noon and we finally settled into my dining nook for a late breakfast. Lizzy had slipped into some of the clothes I had insisted on buying for her the day before. Some of the waves in her hair lingered loosely, but the makeup on her face was long gone.
“You’re staring,” she smirked, over a cup of coffee.
“It’s hard not to. You’re beautiful.”
I expected her cheeks to turn pink and for her sweet smile to flash across her face. But instead, her features tightened. She seemed suddenly self-conscious as she brushed her hair behind her ear. “I know I’m not all made up like I was yesterday. Too bad I don’t have someone to do my hair and makeup every day.”
“Is that why you were looking like that yesterday? You went and had your hair and makeup done?”
“I don’t usually have time to make myself look like that every day. But yeah. I had a mini-makeover of sorts. I’m sure however I look now is disappointing in comparison.”
I hooked a finger under her chin and drew her eyes to mine. “Hey. Don’t say that. I was staring at you thinking how beautiful you are. You’re a pretty girl no matter what. But when you’re not worrying about how you look… Damn. You are...breathtaking. You still looked like that just now. Before we started talking about it.”
“New clothes and the stylists from yesterday sure do help boost the confidence is all.”
“Why do you think I’m always buying myself stuff all the time?” I laughed. “I used to be really shy. Like you. Then I discovered the power of a new suit and a good haircut...and I was hooked. The thing is...that feeling is inside of you all the time. You just have to figure out what works for you to bring it out.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “I can’t afford all the things that apparently bring it out best in me.”
“But I can,” I reminded her.
Her eyes burned into me, like I was taunting her with a cruel joke. “That’s good for you. But it has nothing to do with me.”
“Why couldn’t it? We had fun yesterday. We could have more days like that,” I suggested, once again surprising myself with my words. But as I said them, I knew more than ever that was what I wanted.
“More days of you blowing all your money on me?” Her face wrinkled up. “Damon, what you did was so nice. It was more than you should have done for me. Really. But I don’t expect that to happen again. I hope you don’t think… That’s not why I-”
“I know that,” I cut her off with a kiss. “I told you. I like to spoil any woman I become involved with. The way I see it...my schedule keeps me busy and away a lot. What I can’t do with my time...I make up for with more material benefits and luxuries. It’s both the blessing and curse of being with me.”
“I don’t understand. We’re not… I’m not with you. We’re not together. Are we?”
I took in a deep breath and tried to gather my words. I didn’t want my hopes to speak louder than the truth. I knew I wanted her, and I wanted to go deeper than just a few nights in bed. I wanted to know her. To be close with her, and have her know me in return. But I knew myself and all the ways that it could go wrong. I couldn’t tell half-truths with Lizzy. Or maybe I could have. I had done it to plenty of women before...years ago before I knew any better. But I needed things with her to be different.
“I can’t lie to you,” I said finally, sitting up straight as I took her hands into mine. “I’ve never been very good at relationships. Like I said, I don’t have a lot of time and I like my independence. But...I think I’m falling for you. I can’t make any promises. But I want to see where things go.”
She breathed in deep, then out again. “Damon. I don’t know what to say.”
“Say whatever you’re feeling.”
“I do… I mean, obviously you know I do have feelings for you. You knew that before any of this even started. I’m not good at hiding my emotions.”
I pulled her hand to my lips and kissed it. “I know. That’s what I like about you. You’re not jaded like most people.”
“And I want to keep it that way,” she said sternly, pulling her hand back. “Modern dating culture is lost on me. I can’t go from guy to guy, pretending like no one can hurt me. I can’t sleep around and not get feelings. I want to find...the one, I guess. If such a thing even exists for me. So, if you don’t think you could ever be open to committing to me in that way...I just don’t think I want to risk even going down that road. I know I said I wasn’t fragile, but that doesn’t mean I don’t look out for myself. I have to protect myself.”