go slow. I tried to yank my wrists out of his grasp, but he just smiled down at me. And then, his grip as firm as ever, he leaned down just enough to tease the tips of my nipples with his tongue.
It was the most torturous, amazing thing I’d ever felt. At least until I felt the tip of his cock nudging at my entrance. I tried to angle my hips toward him, nudge closer, but he pulled back every time I did, denying my desires, my way. Without a word, he was silently reminding me he was in control when we were together, whether that was in front of a gallery of onlookers or it was just us.
The realization calmed me down. I trusted Montgomery during the most difficult and trying challenges and now he was silently asking if I could trust him here—in the intimacy of just the two of us.
For a second, I couldn’t meet his eyes. Why was this so hard? But he let go of one of my wrists and gently grasped my jaw, tilting my head back so that I met his eyes.
“Where’d you go?” he asked. I left my wrist just where he’d placed it, above my head. Still buzzing with my next orgasm, but on edge because he held me there, a tear slipped down my cheek.
Montgomery looked alarmed and started to pull off me, but I grabbed him, just briefly to let him know I didn’t want him to go, then I put my wrists back obediently above my head.
“I want you so badly,” I whispered, looking him deep in his blue-flecked gray eyes. Could he hear what I wasn’t saying? That I wanted him for longer than just a morning romp. Longer than the next few weeks we had together. That I wanted him more than I’d wanted anything in my life, and it scared the shit out of me. “You’re so much more than I— More than I could have ever—”
His eyes softened in the way I adored. “Grace, you’re the most precious thing I’ve ever held in my hands. I’ll keep you safe. I swear.”
Was I reading into things? Was that the Montgomery version of a declaration of feelings? Oh God, please, I wanted him to feel even half of what I was feeling. Even an inkling of what I was feeling would be enough.
But I was too scared to ask for clarification or press for more.
Instead I gave myself over to him, and for the first time, we didn’t just fuck, we made love.
That was two days ago. This morning when I woke, though, Montgomery was nowhere to be seen.
I yawned and stretched, squinting my eyes against the bright light of… I squinted harder, then searched for a clock. What time was it? It looked too bright out to still be morning.
Just then the door opened, and Montgomery came in with a tray of food. He smiled when he saw me awake. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. Or should I say, good afternoon.”
He came over and set the tray at the foot of the bed.
I sat up eagerly, my stomach growling. “Ooo, breakfast in bed. So, this is how the other half lives.”
Montgomery rolled his eyes. “Not exactly. I usually eat instant oatmeal for breakfast that I heat up in the microwave on my way out the door. Bachelor, remember?”
I mocked outrage and leaned over to cover his mouth with my hand. “Don’t let Mrs. Hawthorne hear that heresy or she’ll move in with you so she can cook you three square meals a day.”
But Montgomery just tugged me forward by my arm until I landed in his lap. “What about you? Would you do something to fix my bachelor ways if you could?”
It felt like his bright, intense eyes were asking about more than just my opinions on his eating habits. Could he be— But I mean, nothing could ever work out between us because he’s— and I’m—
I averted my eyes to the tray and frowned when I saw a small white bag stuffed with silver tissue paper beside the food, like it was a present.
“What’s that? Is it for me?” I reached for the bag and Montgomery’s eyes widened.
“That’s for after breakfast,” he said, but I was too quick. I snatched the bag and danced away to the other side of the bed.
“Are you trying to keep my present from me?” I giggled, reaching in. My hands closed around an object hidden in the tissue paper