on the familiar. Pleasure should do the trick.
Pleasure’s been my MO for the last fifteen years. I’ve been seeking bliss. Endless bliss. Mountains of it to blot out the pain from the past, to numb all that was lost.
That drive has dissipated. It’s been replaced with something else entirely.
A desire to be real.
Genuine.
Honest.
I long to tell her how different she is. I do my best, pulling back to meet her green-eyed gaze. “I want to make you feel good. Because of what you do to me. Because of who you are,” I say, trying that on for size, feeling like I’m starting all over again, stumbling and falling.
She runs her thumb along my jaw. “You do, Daniel. You make me feel so good.” She slides her hands up the back of my neck, threading her fingers through my hair, drawing me close as she presses her soft, lush lips to mine. “I want you to make love to me now. That’s what I want it to be.”
Those words.
My head spins from them. My skin, my God, it tingles. I barely know what to do with the way my heart slams in my chest, beating for her.
But I don’t have to say “I’m falling in love with you” for either one of us to know what this is.
We both know. We know without words.
I take her to bed, undress her, and put a condom on. When I slide inside her, her knees rise up, and she ropes her hands around my neck.
When I look into her eyes, more truths fall free. “I’m going to make love to you, because that’s exactly what this is.”
There.
That’s as close as I can get right now to saying how I feel.
I move in her, slow and luxurious, passionate and deep. She cries out, murmuring and moaning, arching and writhing as I bury my face in her neck, my cock in her body. Giving her my heart as I make love to her and hoping she won’t smash it to pieces.
We spend the next day together in Lyon, exploring the city, savoring each other, then tangling up together once more.
For the first time in years, love starts to feel possible, especially when she murmurs my name in the happiest sigh before she falls asleep curled up in my arms.
The next morning, I wake to find her on the phone.
In and of itself, that’s not odd. I’ve heard her on the phone plenty of times. She’s chatting with Cole, by the sound of it, as I swing my legs over the side of the bed then pull on boxer briefs.
“This place is fabulous. They all are,” she says, her voice drifting in from the living room of the suite. I peer through the open doorway, watching her for a moment, savoring the scene in front of me. With her back to me, she’s perched on a chair, already dressed, wearing a cranberry blouse, a black skirt, and her silver flats.
She’s Scarlett, through and through.
Scarlett Slade. The businesswoman. The financier.
The woman I’ve fallen for.
I sigh contentedly.
Perhaps we could make a go of this. Last beyond this week. Carry on in Paris, enjoying nights in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, visits to the Musée d’Orsay, strolls through the Tuileries. I could take her to Le Marais, wander through Montmartre on weekends, dance with her at clubs in Oberkampf, and fuck her and make love to her all night long.
We could have that life. Work together all day, play together all night. Like we’ve done for the last several nights.
“This is what I’ve been longing for. A deal like this. A chance like this,” she says into the phone. “And I would love to take the lead on it. It could be my first big acquisition for our company since I’ve been with you and Daniel.”
She pauses, and I listen more.
“I’ll have to ask him. I doubt he’ll mind.”
I step into the living room. “Ask me what?”
She beams at me, tossing a smile in my direction. “Cole wants to know if you’re okay with me taking the lead on the acquisition of these properties. It’s only been my greatest dream.”
I smile. “Of course. You should.”
She squeals, a victory sound. It’s a delightful noise. She punctuates it with more words to Cole. “I’m so happy. This is everything I wanted to see come to fruition when I partnered with the two of you.”
She takes a beat as Cole speaks, then she laughs, meeting my gaze. “Well, you know I need business to go swimmingly. It’s