I let out a squeak of surprise that has him grinning. “What’s it going to take, Layla?”
“What do you mean?”
“To trust that this is real? What’s it going to take for you to feel comfortable in our home?”
“I do.” I say the words, but we both know that my insecurities are rearing their ugly head.
“Baby, it’s me you’re talking to. Tell me what’s going on?”
“Why won’t you have sex with me?” I blurt out. Now that the words are out there, I can’t take them back, and to be honest, I don’t want to. It’s something that’s been bothering me. He lets me touch him, and he will kiss me until we’re both breathless. He’s touched me over my clothes, but he never takes it any further. “Is there something wrong with me? How am I supposed to relax and accept us if you haven’t?”
I watch as his face goes white, and his eyes turn an even darker shade of blue. “Is that what you think? Layla, no,” he’s quick to add, not letting me answer his question. He grabs his hand and places it over his hard cock. “This, baby, this is what you do to me. It’s taken every ounce of willpower I can muster to take things slow with you. I know you’ve never….” His voice trails off.
“You let me touch you.”
He hangs his head, almost as if he’s ashamed. “I know.”
“Owen, look at me. Please.” He lifts his head, and I place my hands on either side of his face. “I want you, Owen Riggins. You are the only man to ever make me feel desired. You are the only man who I’ve ever trusted enough to have access to me… like that.”
“Like what?”
“Sex, Riggins. I want it to be you. Only you. How can I trust that we’re both in this when you’re holding back? I’ve given you all of me. At least I want to. I moved away from the life I built to be with you. The family that I chose, I left to be with you. I took a chance on the feeling I get here.” I remove a hand from his face and place it over his heart. “Anytime I think of you, I have to catch my breath. My heart gallops in my chest, and my body… my body tingles at the thought of being with you. I want there to be an us, Owen, but I need to know that you’re in this too. You say all the right things, and you treat me like I’m made of glass, but I’m not. I’ve lived through so much, fought to be where I am, and I’m not going to shatter now. Especially not with you by my side.”
“There is nothing I want more in this life than to be with you. In every way,” he adds. “I didn’t want to rush you. I’m here for the marathon, baby, not the sprint. We have time. I want you to feel comfortable and safe.”
“I sleep in your arms every night, Owen. It doesn’t get much safer than that.”
His forehead rests against mine, and I can see the rapid rise and fall of his chest. “Fuck it,” he murmurs. He stands to his full height, and with his hands on my hips, he lifts me from his desk, setting me back on my feet. “We’re leaving.”
“What? We can’t leave. It’s not even lunchtime yet.”
“Layla,” he warns. “We’re leaving, baby.” With one hand holding tight to mine, he doesn’t touch anything in his office, except for opening his desk drawer and grabbing his keys. He guides me out in the hall and reaches around to lock his office door before closing it. When we reach the reception desk, which is my desk, Sawyer is still there filling in for me. “We’re leaving,” Owen tells her. His voice is commanding, and if I didn’t already know better, I’d think he was pissed.
“Everything okay?” Sawyer’s eyes flash to me, and I nod. Reaching into the bottom drawer of my desk, I grab my purse and phone, all while Owen’s hand is tightly clasped around mine.
“Fine. Layla will be expecting you and Sam at six. Not a minute sooner.” He looks down at me, and the heat in his gaze sets my body on fire.
“Oh, oh.” Sawyer grins. “Got it. Not a minute sooner. Layla, I’ve got you covered today.”
“Owen, you have a meeting this afternoon,” I remind him.
“Cancel it,” he says, not looking at Sawyer, but she replies anyway.
“Got it, O.” Sawyer sounds thrilled to be canceling his meeting.
“Thanks, sis,” he says, finally tearing his eyes from mine. He drops my hand only to throw his arm over my shoulder. “No calls, not until six,” he says, guiding us to the door.
“Where are they going?” I hear Royce ask from behind us.
“They’re making it an early day. Oh, and it’s girls’ night tonight.” The elevator doors slide closed before I can hear his reaction.
Owen doesn’t stop moving until we reach his car. Silently, he opens the door for me and waits until I’m buckled in to close it. My eyes trail him as he walks around and slides behind the wheel. Leaning over the console, he slides his hand behind my neck and presses his lips to mine. All too quickly, the windows are fogging up, and we’re both gasping for breath.
“I’ll show you, baby. I just need to get you home first.” With that, he buckles his seat belt and pulls out of the parking garage. His hand finds mine, our fingers tangled, and resting between us for the entire drive.
When he pulls into the garage, the silence continues as he climbs out of the car. I don’t wait for him to open my door, opting to meet him at the front door. With his hand on the small of my back, he guides me into the house.
We don’t stop until we reach his bedroom, our bedroom. The sound of the door closing behind us is loud. Then again, my nerves are on edge. I want this. I want him, but I still have those insecurities that I don’t know what I’m doing, that I won’t be good enough, and everything we have will end. Poof. Just like that.
“Stop thinking, baby,” his husky voice greets me. He steps up behind me, aligning his front to my back. “It’s just me, just us. You tell me if I make you uncomfortable, and I’ll stop. It’s as simple as that.”
“I won’t want you to stop. I want you,” I tell him, my voice breathy and filled with need. I turn in his arms so that we’re face-to-face.
“I’ll go slow. You tell me if it’s too much. There is nothing you could ask of me that would make me not want to be with you. Tell me you understand that, Layla.”
I nod, unable to speak from the lump of emotions forming in my throat.
This. Is. Happening.
Finally.
“I need your words, Layla.”
“I understand.”
“You’re my heart, Layla Massey. I’m so in love with you. I can’t see past how you make my heart race.”
“D-Did you say you love me?”
“Caught that, did ya?” He gives me a boyish grin. He slides a hand behind my neck and bends his knees so that we’re eye to eye. “I love you. Piece by piece, you’ve stolen my heart, and I gotta tell ya, baby. I don’t want it back. It’s yours. I’m yours. Forever.” Then he kisses me. Not just any kiss. No, this kiss is slow and deep as if he needs to prove to me with his lips molded to mine that the words he speaks are true.
My body trembles as I let this all sink in.
Owen Riggins loves me.