January has some bubbles on the tip of her nose, and it’s killing me.
I reach out of the water—we’re in the hot tub in my bathroom, relaxing after our victory today—and wipe them off. She giggles, the sound bright with the champagne we’ve been drinking.
Cold champagne, hot suds, and the woman I love—I can’t imagine needing anything else in my life.
Scratch that. What I need is this woman in my life forever.
I pull her closer, our legs tangling. But I need to see her eyes for this.
“What do you want to do with Ultra now?” I hold up a hand when she starts to answer. “What you really want to do, not what you think your investors want.”
Her expression goes still. She’s beautiful like this, deep in thought. Her hair is clinging to her neck and breasts, her skin is damp and glowing, and her eyes… I’m always struck by the blue of her eyes.
I’ll have to find her some sapphires that exact color. It will take some time, but she’d love them.
“I want to keep Ultra as its own company,” she says finally. “Not sell it to any one bigger but keep it for myself. I know it will be difficult, but that’s what I want.”
“Then that’s what you’ll have.”
Fear flits through her eyes. “And Fuchs? He has promised to destroy me.”
“I don’t want you to ever worry about him again. You concentrate on Ultra, and we’ll take care of him.” I squeeze her hand, which is slippery with the rose-scented suds enveloping us. “You’re not alone now. You’ll never be alone again.”
All of her relaxes, and my ego roars. That’s right, honey. Leave everything to me. I’m strong enough to handle it, to fight your battles for you.
Her foot slips up my thigh. “And what do you want?” she asks. It’s clear what she has in mind.
But even though my cock responds, that’s not what I quite have in mind.
Here it is. I’d told her once in college, but those were superficial requests: a date, a movie. The faint start of a romance.
We’ve come so much further now. And I want so much more.
I lean forward and kiss her, keeping it shallow when she demands more. I’ve already given her three orgasms tonight, and as much as I love her greedy desire, I need to finish this.
“I want you,” I say against her lips. “I want you for always. I want you to move in with me. I want you to marry me. I want you by my side, in my heart, every second of every day.”
I’m greedy too. Her eyes widen, and the tips of her breasts brush my chest as she pulls in a hard breath.
“Oh, Mark.” Never has my name sounded sweeter on her lips. “I want you too. Exactly like that.”
“Good. Because I’m going to take you. You’re mine now.”
Her smile is both knowing and accepting. Well, I always warned her I was a greedy bastard. But now I’m her bastard, completely and totally.
Which means I’ll have to get Anjie on a moving company ASAP. All of January’s things need to be in my house by the end of tomorrow. And then she never needs to leave again.
I spin her around and pull her back against my chest, ready to move on to the orgasm portion of this. I nip at the place where her neck meets her shoulder.
“First you’re going to take tomorrow off,” I say.
“What?” Indignation has to fight past the pleasure in her voice to get out. “I can’t, not with—”
I bite a little harder this time. “You can. Just one day, the two of us going wherever we want. We’ll wake up tomorrow and just go.”
Her head falls back as she surrenders. “Where will we go?”
“Anywhere the car can take us. Or anywhere the jet can take us.”
“You have a private jet.” It’s not a question.
“What kind of master of the universe would I be without a jet?”
“Hmm. Well, I don’t care what kind you are, as long as you’re mine.”
“Done,” I promise, sealing the best deal I’ve ever made.