know her. But last night hadn’t felt like the right time to make my move. It seemed rushed, and since she had a daughter, I knew she needed to plan ahead if she was going to be occupied overnight. And I really didn’t want to have her then watch her leave right afterward. That would feel cheap.
The waitress brought the food. “Anything else I can—”
“Actually, can we have this to-go? And the check too?”
My eyes widened at Emerson’s request.
“Yeah, sure.” The waitress didn’t have a chance to put the food down before she walked away again.
“Do you have cash?” Emerson asked.
Now, my body was fully alive, even more eager than before, because her overwhelming enthusiasm was so sexy. “Yeah.” I pulled out my wallet and put a few bills on the table.
When the waitress came back with the food, Emerson got to her feet and snatched that bag so fast. “Sorry, something came up.”
Fifteen
Emerson
I didn’t know what came over me.
But I’d waited months for this man, and I wasn’t going to wait a moment longer. I didn’t give a damn about the food because I wasn’t even hungry, and the date in general felt pointless because I knew him better than anyone—and he knew me too.
The food was left on the dining table, and I walked to his bedroom because I wanted to feel his sheets against my bare skin, wanted to take my time, wanted to slow everything down and enjoy him fully.
My heart was beating so hard.
But this felt right.
When I turned around, I saw him walking toward me, most of the lights off so we were in darkness, the Manhattan lights bright through the windows. I stared at his face and immediately had a flashback to the moment I first saw him down in the lobby. I’d thought he was the sexiest man I’d ever seen, but now that opinion was stronger than before…because I knew his heart matched.
He came up to me, his mouth close to mine, but he didn’t kiss me. He looked into my eyes as his hands rested on my hips, gripping my slender stomach. He squeezed me so the air was compressed from my lungs. He stared at my lips, watched me breathe, and then his fingers unbuckled the belt around my waist, making the fabric fall loose around me.
I was anxious for his kiss, but the eye contact was sexier, the way he stared at me like he wanted to enjoy every single second of undressing me, like he wanted to go slow as if there was no tomorrow, even though there would be a next day…and then the next. He was such a hard man with limited emotions, but he could be romantic when he touched me like this, when he bunched up the fabric of my dress in his fingers and slowly pulled it up my body, revealing my black thong, my bare skin, my black, lacy bra. His eyes were on me the entire way, as if my reaction to his touch was addictive. The dress crept higher and higher until I moved my arms above my head and he pulled it free. When the dress was gone, my hair dropped down again, messy from the friction of the thick fabric, but I somehow felt more beautiful.
He let the dress fall to the floor as his eyes lowered to look at me, his hand pressing against my flat stomach to feel my skin. He looked me over, drinking in my appearance without a hint of disappointment. There were faded stretch marks at the bottom of my stomach from Lizzie, but they were so small they were difficult to see, especially in the dark. His fingers moved across them like he noticed them, like he wanted to touch them, to know my body fully, the beautiful parts as well as the ugly ones. I wasn’t as tight and fit as the girls who usually occupied his bed, but that didn’t seem to be a problem for him. His eyes darkened as he stared at me, his breaths increasing, his skin flushing with desire. When he came closer, his hand moved up my back until his fingers tightened around the band of my bra so the hooks would come free. When the straps loosened on my shoulders, he stared at his fingers as he pulled them free, watching more of my skin emerge.
Then it fell, landing on top of my dress.
His eyes moved to my tits, and he tightened his