me and said her demands were ridiculous, that I would fuck whoever I wanted whenever I wanted.
But I didn’t do that now.
I didn’t hate the idea of monogamy. I didn’t despise making any promise of fidelity to her. The fact that she wanted me all to herself caused a stirring in my pants. She made me feel needed, feel manly. She was my prisoner, but now we felt like partners, like she wanted to be there with me.
That was the sexiest thing of all.
This woman wanted me—badly.
I undid my belt and the top of my slacks as I kept my eyes on her. My hands reached for her dress next, and I yanked it up and pulled her panties to the side.
She reached behind her and grabbed the base of my cock and directed my length inside her. She slid all the way down to my balls, releasing a quiet moan as she moved.
I gripped her thighs and pressed my forehead against hers. “Just you and me.”
“I made all the arrangements for the opening.” Ariel sat in the armchair with her legs crossed, wearing a tight pencil skirt and a white blouse. She had a petite frame because she worked all day long and never ate anything. Sometimes, she drank scotch with me, but she usually preferred wine. “Caterers have been taken care of, everyone you invited RSVP’d, and we have the special wine you requested.”
Did that mean Bones was coming? I’d have to give him a call to verify. “Josephine responded?”
“Yeah.” She looked up from her folder with her black frames sitting on the bridge of her nose. She examined my expression, trying to read me. “Will that be a problem?”
I hadn’t mentioned my current drama with my ex. “Yeah, it’ll be fine. She stopped by last week, but I refused to see her. Then she called and told me her father had a heart attack.” I told Ariel everything, so the words flowed. “She asked me to come over, but I told her not to call me again and hung up.”
Ariel nodded with approval. “She can’t have it both ways. She can’t leave you and expect you to be there for her.”
“I know.” Ariel was just as cold as I was. That was probably why we got along so well.
“She has a lot of nerve, honestly.”
“I agree.”
When Ariel took a deep breath, I knew whatever she was going to say was tense. “So, are you bringing London, or did you have someone else in mind?” She made her feelings about my bedmate perfectly clear, so I knew what answer she was hoping for.
“London.”
Ariel hardly hid her annoyance and scribbled in her notebook. “I’ll arrange for her hair and makeup to be complete. I strongly encourage a short etiquette course. Her shoulders slouch, and she doesn’t understand how to carry on a conversation with her superiors.”
I smiled when I pictured how that conversation would go. That fire would leap in her eyes and burn indefinitely. “I’ll run it by her.”
“Good.” She closed the folder. “That’s all I have for now. If you need anything else, you know where to find me.”
“I know. You never sleep.” I gave her a smile and watched her rise out of the chair.
She still wore that stern expression, but she was fighting the smile that wanted to spread across her face. “Work comes first.”
“Are you bringing someone to the opening?”
“Crewe, you know I never mix business with pleasure.”
She didn’t seem like someone who had a lot of pleasure in her life. “Well, you’re always welcome to. You’ve met my women. I’d like to meet your men sometime—make sure they’re good enough for you.”
She finally smiled. “There’s no man good enough for me.” She walked out and left me alone in the office.
As usual, my thoughts returned to London. Whenever I was alone, she came into my thoughts. If Ariel knew I decided to share my bed with London exclusively, she wouldn’t be too happy about it. Her fire would burn the entire castle.
I rubbed the scruff along my jaw and felt the urge to throw back a glass of scotch. I missed the burn all the way down my throat and into my stomach. But I was trying to cut back the way London asked me to, going from nine glasses a day to four. I’d already had one, so I needed to take a break before I moved on to the second glass. It was only noon.
I picked up the phone and called