Sometimes, my father is clueless. He’s forgetting that Carter sells real estate. My nonna? She hasn’t forgotten at all. And does she really think I’m going to marry him?
Well. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
And that thought just sent me into straight panic mode.
When I still haven’t said anything, my father asks, “Are you okay with this, Stella? Do you want her house?”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation. “I want it.” My mind starts going in a million different directions. “Are you still planning on renovating it?”
“Your grandmother is,” he says. “As soon as we have the final bids from the contractors, we’re going to discuss who we’ll chose and start from there.” He levels me with a look. “You should consider yourself very lucky, my child. That your grandmother is so willing to not only give you a house that is beloved by the family and worth over a million dollars, but that she’s also willing to renovate it and cover the costs.”
I want to leap out of my chair and do a happy dance, but I keep myself under control. “I know. I’m very grateful that she’s being so generous. I don’t deserve this.”
“No, you do not. At least, not in my eyes.” Ouch. Thanks, Dad. “But your grandmother has always had a soft spot for you.”
Yes, she certainly has.
“And she said you will understand why she wants you to have the house so badly, then launched into that whole story about you marrying an agent and having lots of babies. Quite frankly, I think this is her way of telling you to get on with it and do as she asks before she dies and doesn’t get to meet the great-grandchildren you’ll give her, but perhaps I’m wrong.” My father shakes his head as he rises to his feet. This is his way of telling me the conversation is over.
I get up from my chair and move around the desk so I can wrap my arms around my father. “Thank you, Daddy,” I murmur against his chest.
“Don’t thank me. Thank your nonna,” he says gruffly, giving me an extra tight squeeze. “You should go talk to her.”
“I will.” Tomorrow.
Right now, the only person I want to tell my good news to is…
Carter.
I should’ve known the one day I wait anxiously for Carter to return home after work, he doesn’t show up ’til after seven.
“Honey, I’m home,” he calls as he enters the apartment. I hear him shut the door. Imagine him glancing around and wondering where I’m at. Usually I’m in the living room, scrolling on my phone or watching something on my streaming channel of choice, anticipating his return.
I like it when he comes home and we talk about our respective workdays. We order food. We laugh. We might start watching something, but it always ends with us getting carried away. Someone might end up naked. Or getting their dick sucked.
Ha! That’s usually Carter.
“Stel? Where you at?” he asks, and I can hear him drawing closer as he walks down the hall.
“In my room,” I tell him, quickly sitting up and running my hands through my hair before I settle once more against the pillows.
He appears in the doorway, the epitome of the businessman returning home after a hard day’s work. He’s already shed his jacket and is loosening his tie, his white button-down shirt wrinkled. When he spots me on the bed, his eyes widen and a wicked smile curves his perfect lips. “What do you we have here?”
Bored from waiting for him, I ended up digging through my drawer full of good lingerie from Bliss. I found a nude lace bodysuit—really it just looks like a one-piece swimsuit, only with thin lacy straps and the fabric is completely see-through—that still had the price tag on it. Two hundred and fifty dollars, though I got Sarah’s twenty-five percent off discount that she gives to friends, so you do the math. So expensive, I can’t believe I bought it. Weirder still, I can’t believe I’ve never worn it.
Until now.
For Carter.
“You like it?” I send him a serene smile, thrusting my chest out as best I can. I’m lying on my side, draped across the bed, my legs crossed at the ankles.
“I fucking love it.” He’s still standing in the doorway, his gaze sweeping over me, and my skin warms. “What did I do to deserve this?”
“You worked late on a Saturday. Plus, I got bored. And I found this.” I wave my hand at the skimpy lingerie I’m wearing. He can see everything. And I mean everything. My nipples. Pubic hair. If I rolled over on my back and spread my legs, he’d see it all.
But I have to keep an air of mystery, don’t I?
“It’s see-through,” he says.
I widen my eyes and part my lips, glancing down at my chest before I return my gaze to his. “No. Really?”
Chuckling, he braces his hands on either side of the doorway, leaning into the room but not quite stepping inside. “I wasn’t expecting this.”
“Of course not. I planned it that way.” I smile at him. “Surprise.”
He lets go of the doorframe and enters the room, stopping at the foot of the bed as he strips himself of his tie. He tosses it on the floor, and then starts working on his shirt buttons. “I’m starving.”
“Maybe you could snack on me first.” Oh my God, who am I right now? I almost want to say, just kidding! But I press my lips together when I see the heat flare in his blue eyes.
Heat flares within me too, settling between my legs.
Without a word I roll over onto my back, my shoulders and head propped on the pillows, my gaze locked on his as I slowly part my legs, giving him a private glimpse.
His gaze darkens, his fingers flying over the buttons on his shirt, and he tears it off, flinging it onto the floor. Next he works his belt, the buckle clanking as it lands, his pants gone in seconds, his shoes flying across the room. He even bends over and quickly yanks off his socks, and when he stands up straight, his erection is making a major tent in the front of his black boxer briefs.
Everything inside of me turns to liquid. Every time we’re together like this, it gets better. Better and better and better.
I didn’t think it was possible, that it could be so good with someone. That it could continue to be so good.
Carter presses his knee into the mattress, halting his progress as he contemplates me. I was kind of hoping he’d shed the boxer briefs, but this will work. “I’d come home early every night if I knew you were waiting for me like this.”
I laugh. “Next time I’ll send you a photo.”
See how easily I say next time? It’s a little scary.
He raises a brow. “Promise?”
My laughter dies, arousal rising within me. His voice just got deeper, and he has that almost…feral look on his face. The one that appears right before he pounces on me. “If that’s what you want, sure.”
“That’s what I want.” He crawls onto the bed, heading straight for me. “You’re what I want.” He wraps his fingers around my ankle, bringing my foot to his mouth so he can drop a soft kiss to my ankle. “You are a sight to see, Stel.”
His gaze is zeroed in on the spot between my legs that’s exposed, thin, nude-colored lace covering me, though it’s not much of a barrier. The longer he stares, the wetter I feel myself getting, and I spread my legs wider, dying for him to touch me.