Roni, I’ve grown a patience I’ve never known I was capable of. She’s my peace, so I’m willing to do anything to keep that.
“Will you let me give you the tour tonight?”
“No.”
I chuckle. “Why not? What’s that about?”
I pour the last of the wine into her glass, happy to have her in my space anyway I can get her, for now. However, I’m not giving up just yet. She lifts the glass and swirls it before taking a sip.
Interesting.
I’ve noticed a few of Roni’s natural habits. There’s something refined about them. Second nature gestures and actions that speak of charm schooling, maybe. I don’t think she notices when she does them.
This rough-edged Roni is a contradiction at times. Her tastes and knowledge of clothes, watches, cars, and even fine china have caused me to have Felix narrow the search for missing women that disappeared about the time Roni thinks she was taken.
I’m still looking for her friend, but I also want to find out who this woman once was. It’s a gift I desire to give her. A freedom I think she needs.
“If I allow you to show me your home, you will try to draw me in deeper. I’ve told you, I’m not living with you,” she says.
“You can have your own room.”
She takes another sip of wine. “I already have my own room.”
“In a hotel?”
She shrugs. “I’m looking for a place.”
“Why? I have more than enough space here.”
Placing her glass down, she stares at me. I wait for her reply as she folds her arms over her chest defensively. That fire is rising within her, but I’m ready.
“We can’t always have what we want, you know that?”
“That depends.”
“What?” She scoffs.
“If one is determined enough, they get what they want more often than not.”
“And you’re one determined motherfucker,” she mutters. “John, I’m not moving in with you.”
“You’d rather waste money on renting a place than live here rent free?”
“Bingo,” she exclaims. “You do enough for me. Besides, I’m not your girlfriend. We need to keep that straight. Me living here will only confuse things.”
“That bullshit right there shows you’re already confused. We’re not fucking, but we’re together.”
She smiles over the top of the glass she just lifted to her lips. “Yeah, whatever you say, Boss.”
I bite my lip and groan. With a heated look, I nod. “You might finally be getting the point.”
Her eyes widen. “You are a big ass freak. Seriously? Calling you that turns you on?”
We’ve talked about pet names and titles used in the life. We’ve also talked a bit about the Dom and Submissive roles. She knows exactly what she’s doing when she calls me that.
“More than you know, gorgeous.”
She looks at me pensively. Sucking her lip into her mouth. The wheels are spinning, I can tell.
“I’m not moving in and I’m not committing to being in a relationship with you. I work for you.”
“But?” I lift a questioning brow, hearing the word coming.
She fidgets a little picking up a cookie to nibble at. “But that place you took me to in New York… I want to go to another place like that. Do they have them here?”
I knot my brows, and in the next breath shoot them into my hairline. “Club Desire. You want to go back there?”
“Yeah, I mean, if that type of thing is here. I want to… I don’t know. I’m curious.”
“You mean, you like to watch.” I grin.
She tears off a piece of the cookie and throws it at me. I laugh at her and round the island. I can’t stay away any longer.
Wrapping my arms around her waist, I tug her into my body. She melts right into me. Not mine, my ass.
“If you want to go, I’ll take you. There is a Club Desire L.A.” I nip her bottom lip, not able to resist. “I like to watch you watching.”
She places her hands on my chest and takes a deep breath before releasing it. “Come on, show me your home.”
I smile and peck her lips. Patience, that’s all it takes. She’ll be in my arms every night if it’s the last thing I ever make happen.
Roni
This house is amazing. Breathtaking and so inviting. Comfort. That’s what I feel when I’m around John. That’s exactly why I won’t be moving in with him.
I don’t deserve to be here in the lap of luxury when Natasha is out there. Or, worse, she could be gone. No, there will be no comfort for me.
“You’re lost again,” John says as he reaches