"Can I ask you something?" I approach a line of his paintings that are hung on the wall of his home office. "It's personal."
"You can ask me anything you want, Bridget." He moves so he's standing next to me.
"Zoe hasn't said a lot about your past relationships," I begin as I trace my finger over the edge of one of the canvases. "I read about some of them."
"There's a lot of information out there." He stares straight ahead. "Not all of it is accurate."
"Does Zoe know everything about your past?" I turn to look at his profile. "Have you told her all about it?"
I see a vein in his neck twitch. His brilliant blue eyes hone in on my face as he pivots his body to face me. "I've answered every question she's ever had. She knows that my life was empty before I met her. She knows that I love her more than anything."
"My boyfriend," I stop to consider the title. "Dane, the man I've been seeing, has a complicated relationship with his ex-girlfriend. She's close to his mother, and she has a sister that he cares a lot about."
"That bothers you?" He frames it as a question, not a statement which means I need to answer it.
"It worries me," I say honestly as I scratch the back of my neck. "It's like there are all these ties binding him to Maisy. That's her name. His ex is named Maisy. How can we be happy and together if she's still a part of his family and he's still part of her family?"
"Does he love you?" His hand darts to his stubble covered chin. "Has he told you how he feels about you?"
"He loves me." The sound of the words coming from my own lips stops my heart for a brief moment. "He's told me a few times that he loves me."
"Families are complicated," he says hoarsely. "Zoe's parents have never warmed up to me. It's not ideal but I love her and regardless of what anyone else feels, I'll never give that up."
Dane's situation isn't ideal either but he makes me feel things I never knew I could feel, and I'm not about to give that up either.
"Bridget." He taps his hand on my shoulder. "I'm serious about Paris. There's a three month internship program there that you're perfect for. I've already spoken to the director and there's a spot reserved for you. It would allow you to show your work in some of the city's most influential galleries."
"There are galleries here," I offer back. "I can build my career here."
"Promise me you'll give it some thought."
"I promise," I reply, even though the thought of moving that far away from Dane rips me to shreds inside.
Chapter 16
"I thought you came over to talk," I finally manage to say.
"I have been talking," he growls as he weaves his fingers into my hair. "I told you how good it feels when you suck me off."
He did say that. He probably said it more than once but I was too busy sliding my tongue over the length of the thick root to hear anything but the moans coming from deep within me. I'd brought him to the edge and just when I felt his body tighten, I'd pulled back hoping to be rewarded with a hot burst of his release on my lips. He'd managed to level his breathing enough that he held off.
His cock is still rock hard and as I graze my lips over the lush head, I hear a low groan seep from his mouth. "I want it to last, Bridget."
I do too. I actually want him to fuck me. My body is aching for it. I've wanted him to take me this way for days and when he texted me an hour ago to say he was coming over, I'd dropped my sketchpad on the bed in the other room and I'd taken a quick shower to freshen up.
I kissed him the minute he walked over the threshold into my apartment and he was quick to yank my clothes off before sliding out of the jeans and sweater he was wearing. Now, as he leans his back against the wall of my bedroom, I rest my cheek against his firm thigh.
"Lick it again." He pulls gently on my hair. "Let me see your tongue on it."
I shift back enough that I know that when he looks down he can see my mouth touching him. I slide my tongue over the head, stopping to circle it again and again. I wrap both my hands around the thickness, sliding them slowly up and down.
"Bridget." My name gets lost in a moan. "I need to fuck you now."
I have little time to react before his hands slide from my hair to my shoulders. He jerks me up, and in one quick movement, I'm on my back on the bed. He leans forward, his moist lips meeting mine in a sensual, deep and core touching kiss.
I reach up to grab his face but his hands are quicker than mine. He pushes them down, so they're resting on the sheets. "I have to put on a condom. Don't move. Don't move an inch."
I nod without a word. I pull in a deep breath as I watch him reach towards the nightstand to pull out a condom package. He rips it open without breaking our gaze. My eyes drop as I watch him sheath his erection quickly and deftly. His hand circles his cock, pulling the condom into place.
His eyes rake over my nude body. "You're so beautiful."
I blush at the compliment. I don't feel exposed when he looks at me. I always feel cherished and admired. My body may not be perfect in the eyes of many men, but I know when Dane looks at it, that he's seeing something he desires at the deepest level possible.
I cry out when he rams himself into me balls deep in one movement. I arch my back trying to adjust to the full length and girth of him.
"Take it," he whispers the words against my lips. "Feel it all."
I reach up to cup his cheeks in my hands. "I feel it. Please."
He starts moving. His hips pounding out a steady rhythm as his hands rest on the bed above me. With each pulsing thrust of his body against mine, a small growl flows from his lips. It's masculine. It's intoxicating and the sheer depth of him inside of me pulls my desire to the surface.
I clench myself around him, which only spurs him on more.
"Fuck," he says into the still air as he throws his head back. "Ah, fuck."
He pumps his hips into mine, each movement deeper than the last. I cling to his face, wanting to find my release so he can chase his own. I know he won't come until I do.
"Dane," I call out his name as I feel the rush approaching.
He adjusts his leg on the bed to gain leverage with his knee, curves his hand under my ass and drills his cock into me with a fierce tenderness I've never felt before.
I pull him closer as I feel the edge approaching and as I climax, I call out his name in a heated rush. He pumps one last time and through clenched teeth he lets out a low moan as he finds his own release.
Chapter 17
"Did you see Brighton Beck about your drawings?" He pushes my hair from my forehead.
We'd collapsed into a mess of arms and legs after we both came. He held me for a few minutes before he pulled himself up, rid himself of the condom and went to get us a glass of water.
Now, he's sitting on the edge of the bed, completely nude. I stare at his back and the definition in the muscles. "I saw him. He thinks I should move to Paris."
His shoulders stiffen almost instantaneously. I watch as his hands leap to his face. "Paris?"