“I…” I opened my mouth and closed it, suddenly afraid. What had I gotten myself into? By accepting, what was I promising him?
“You have only agreed to a day,” he said softly. “I intend to show you why it should be much more than that.”
I bit my lip. My head was spinning. “Do you mean in real life or sex?”
“Everything is about sex, Amy. The engagement ring symbolizes commitment, and back in the day it was the promise of a woman to give herself to her husband.” He shrugged. “I want you to give yourself to me and only me.”
“But I have. I mean, since I met you, there hasn’t been anyone else.”
There will never be anyone else, I thought, and the realization of how deeply I felt about Dallon hit me hard. It was frightening how much I wanted to be with him.
“What I’m trying to say is that while this may seem possessive—as a sign of ownership—it is so much more than that to me.”
“I know,” I said softly, reaching up to finger the silver lock. “I love it.”
“Right now I wish it were the only thing you were wearing.” His voice was a low growl as he looked at my robe pointedly.
I sucked in my breath. I was still getting used to being naked around Dallon. Still, I watched myself shrug out of the top half of my robe, as if someone else, a braver Amy, were responding to his wishes. I sat across from him exposed to the waist, the heart lock resting just above my breasts.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said, gazing at me appreciatively. “I wish I had this view every morning.”
The heat in his eyes made me both aroused and embarrassed. I broke eye contact and looked back down at my food. This wasn’t lost on him.
“One of my goals today is to make you more comfortable with your body. I want you to feel comfortable bearing everything to me. I want you to want to bear all to me.”
“I’ll try.”
His answering grin gave me hope. Dallon could be the worst thing for me, but he could also be the best.
I picked up our plates and carried them to the kitchen to put them in the dishwasher. When I straightened, Dallon was behind me, his hands grasping the counter and caging me in.
“I want you to wear the dress on your bed today,” he said, his breath tickling the back of my neck. “And to put your hair up. I like seeing your beautiful face.”
I turned to face him, but he kept his hands on the counter. “You’re dressing me now?”
“We’re going out of town.”
Excitement and nervousness raced through me. “Where?”
He raised a brow. “That’s not for you to know. Can you handle the uncertainty?”
“I just thought…”
He tilted his head to the side, a trace of a smile on his lips. “You thought that our arrangement meant we’d fuck all day.”
I heated at the vulgarity of his statement. And that he was right.
“Believe it or not, I want more from you than just sex. Besides, I think the bedroom is the only place you have it mastered.”
“Have what mastered?”
He just winked at me in response, a gleam in his eye.
I glared at him and went to my room, where I found a blue sundress lying on the bed. How had Dallon known my size? Had he purchased it for me or had someone else do it? I held it up. The straps were white and lined the bodice, which was V-shaped and came together in a white stringed bow, revealing more cleavage than I was used to. It was also quite short.
“Do you like it?”
I turned and saw Dallon leaning against the doorjamb, half his mouth turned up in that sexy, smug way.
“You know I have trouble accepting gifts from you.”
He straightened and sauntered into the room. “Maybe I just think color will bring out the blue in your eyes.”
“You picked this out?”
He sprawled across my bed, put his hands under his head. “I had my shopper pick out a few things for you. This was one of my picks.” With a slight jerk of his head, he motioned to my closet.
Oh no.
I opened it to find hangars full of clothes, from long, formal dresses, to pant suits.
“This was the most casual choice, but it was still from Saks,” he winked.
“You’re crazy.”
“I thought you needed some new clothes for your new position.”
I closed my eyes, biting back the desire to tell him that I would now have my own salary.
Dallon chuckled. “I can tell this is killing you. Hurry up and get into that dress—our flight leaves in an hour.” He didn’t move, making it clear that he expected me to dress in front of him.
The dress fit like a glove, and like I’d expected, showcased my breasts in a way that made me more than a little uncomfortable. Not only that, but it could barely be considered a dress and more like a shirt with a bit of fabric attached to it. I put a blazer on over it and immediately felt better. Dallon frowned but didn’t argue when I said I didn’t want to be cold. Then I tied my hair up in a ponytail.
Dallon had already packed a bag for us; it was sitting by the door. Just as I was about the climb into the cab, he grasped my hips, pulled me back against him. “You’d better not bend over in front of anyone else but me,” he whispered into my ear.
I clambered into the cab, embarrassed, and he slid in easily after me, a playful grin on his face as he told the driver to take us to the airport.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?” My tone was petulant.
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
When he turned to look at me, his eyes were dark. “Because I don’t have to.”
I glared at him again and moved to cross my arms, but his hand caught mine, giving it a warning squeeze. “Careful or I’ll fuck you in this cab.”
My eyes snapped to the rearview mirror, catching the driver’s eyes before he quickly glanced away. I sunk lower in my seat, mortified.
Dallon chuckled. “That’s better.”
I was still seething when we arrived at the airport, and I couldn’t look at the driver as Dallon handed him a wad of cash and shook his hand. He took my hand and pulled our bag with the other, moving at a determined pace so that I almost had to run to keep up with him. At the United Airlines desk, he led us into the First Class line, skipping ahead of the poor souls that had probably been here for an hour or more.
“We’d like to check in for the flight to Savannah.”
Savannah? I practically jumped on the spot. I’d wanted to go to Savannah my entire life. It was on my list of places to visit.
Dallon’s hands were now on our passports, so I put an arm around his waist instead, nuzzling into his side. Normally I would have been insisting that I pay him back, but not being able to argue today gave me the freedom to just enjoy our trip which, I realized with a surge of happiness, had been Dallon’s plan all along.
As we boarded the plane, he lifted our hands to his lips, kissing my knuckles. “I’ve wanted to go on a trip with you for a while now.”
I couldn’t believe how large the seats were in first class and again I had to stop myself from jumping up and down. The Flight Attendant offered me a blanket, noting that my legs might get cold on the flight, and I accepted it gratefully. Dallon then ordered us Coffee and Baileys.
“How long is the flight?” I asked, the warm liquid coating my belly. We’d put the arm up between the seats and I was curled up against him, both of our drinks resting on the tray in front of him. His fingers played with my hair as he took another sip of his drink.
“About two hours.”
Wonderful. I closed my eyes and sighed happily. Dallon pulled me in closer, his hand moving from my hip to dip between my legs under the blanket.
I stiffened and moved to sit up, but his arm tightened around me. “Shh. Don’t make me angry.”
I bit my lip and settled against him again, closing my eyes and surrendering to the feeling. His fingers were massaging me through the thin layer o
f my panties. I’d been aroused since our interactions this morning so it didn’t take long. His finger moved in circles over me as he read something on his e-reader, and the pleasure built until I was teetering on the edge of a climax.
“Would you like another round?”
I sucked in my breath. The Flight Attendant was smiling down at us.
“I’d love another,” Dallon answered smoothly, his fingers never faltering. I wanted to grab his hand but knew that would only attract her attention.
He turned to me, smiling wickedly. “What about you, Amy?”
For the love of God, is he really going to make me answer?
“Mm hmm,” I said, trying not to pant.
“Another round for both of us, please.”
“I’ll be right back.” She flashed Dallon a winning smile.
The moment she turned away, I came, shaking under the blanket and muffling my cries in Dallon’s side.
“There you go, baby. I said I’d take care of you.”
Chapter Twenty-three
We pulled up at the hotel just after two. Dallon pushed open the door, and my jaw dropped.
“Are you going to go in?” Dallon asked, amused.
Still gaping, I stepped inside. It was a large suite consisting of a bedroom with king-sized bed, a study and a bathroom with a large, Jacuzzi tub. The large window offered a view of the pool and the Savannah River beyond. If I craned my head, I could see the edge of a golf course.
“Do you golf?”
“Sometimes,” he said, placing our bag on the luggage stand. “There’s a spa too if you’d like to go.”
“I’ve never had a manicure,” I confessed.