I laid with my eyes closed in the darkness, sleep threatening to overcome me. I didn’t want to sleep, though. I wanted to remember this moment. Where would I be a month from now? I never wanted to forget the feel of him beside me, his huge, hulking frame as gentle as a tamed lion, holding me against his chest as I faced him, snuggled up next to him, skin-to-skin. The prickles of his chest hair tickled my cheek. I clenched my thighs together, already the slight pain of him claiming me fading, as I reveled in the quiet stillness of my first-ever time making love.
How could I ever have imagined what it would have been like, being taken by him, his firm but gentle touch, his bridled strength making me wet for him before he even touched me? He was a full-grown man, bearer of terrible secrets, so filthy rich he wanted for nothing. Larger than life. He was arrogant and angry and had a temper that scared me, sometimes. But he could be sweet, and kind, and gentle. My big, beastly, gentle giant of a man.
“Are you tired?” he asked, before he reached for my hand and brought my fingers to his lips. His warm mouth made me draw even closer to him.
“Very.” My voice seemed as if it were a good distance away. I was so tired I could sleep for hours and hours.
“Then sleep, sweetheart. We arrive in Paris in four more hours. Rest while you can. Rest here with me, and I’ll hold you.”
My cheek against his big, broad chest, one knee hitched up on his, warm in the soft bed, lulled by the gentle hum of the engines, I fell asleep.
I woke with a start.
“It’s alright, Annabelle,” Sawyer’s voice assured me. I blinked in the darkness of the dimly-lit cabin, trying to locate him. He sat in the armchair adjacent to the bed. He was bent over, tying his shoelaces. “We hit a bit of turbulence, but we’ll be landing in about ten minutes. My pilot knows what he’s doing, and we will be fine.”
I sat up and pulled the sheets up to my shoulders. My head hurt a little, and it felt like it was stuffed with cotton. I closed my eyes and put a hand to my temple, massaging.
“Too much wine?” he asked. “You’ll drink water and I’ll get some food.”
My stomach rolled with nausea, and I shook my head.
“No food?” he asked. I shook my head again.
His voice dropped, sterner now. “I knew that was too much wine for you. You’re too young to drink that much.”
I heard him get to his feet though my eyes were still shut tight, then the rustle of clothing moving approached me as he came to where I sat. I started at the feel of his hand on my neck, and his mouth came to my ear to whisper, “You’ve seen that I can be gentle, but I still expect you to do what I say. And that, young lady, is non-negotiable. You had too much to drink, but I’ll take care of you.”
My fucking body would tense and heat at those words. I was thankful the sheet covered my nipples, which no doubt stood erect.
“Yes, Daddy.”
God, I wanted him to take me again. My pussy pulsed, a responding clench low in my belly.
“Let’s get you up and dressed,” he said, releasing my neck and sadly, moving away from me. He reached for a bag in an overhead bin, and tossed it on the bed. I unzipped it, and pulled out a pair of jeans and a top, some panties, and a lace-edged bra, simple but clearly very well made. From another bag he handed me a pair of black ballet flats that looked both sturdy and adorable. Simple but nice.
“Dress,” he said, snapping a tie in his hand and threading it across his neck. I blinked and looked up at him. He wore a white shirt, and a charcoal-gray suit that fit him to perfection. He looked freshly showered and ready to go. I fairly drooled.
“How did you do that?” I asked. He reached down to the bedside table and removed a bottle of water, twisted it open, and handed it to me.
“Drink,” he ordered. “Do what?”
“Look like you’re ready to hit Wall Street with the best of them. You look phenomenal.”
He grinned, showing the whites of his teeth, before shrugging. “I slept like a baby, got cleaned up, and got dressed. Nothing to it, really.”
“I probably look as if I slept in your back pocket.”
His eyes twinkled at me. “I wish you slept in my back pocket.”
I giggled, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and tossing the sheets aside. I stepped over to the bathroom and flicked the light switch outside the door. I shut the door, and heard him answer his phone, speaking in his typically clipped, business-as-usual tone of voice. I shivered.
I found a soft peach wash cloth, lathered it up, and quickly cleaned myself, brushed my teeth, and fixed my hair, dabbing on a bit of make-up just before I heard Sawyer calling my name from the other side of the door.
“Be right out,” I said.
“You’d better,” he told me. “We’re pulling in for a landing now, and I want you out here, seated, and buckled.”
So damned bossy and overprotective.
I rolled my eyes at my reflection in the mirror.
“Are you rolling your eyes at me?”
No fair! I scowled instead. “No.”
“No frowning at me either, little girl. Now get your ass out here.”
I swung open the door and stared at him, with a mixture of astonishment, irritation, and awe. “How did you do that? Do you have a camera in here or something?”
He smirked. “You’re just predictable. You roll eyes, then scowl.”
I began to roll my eyes but he held up a warning finger and shook his head.
At that moment, the plane lurched. I tried to grab onto something to steady myself but there was nothing but the smooth surface of the door. I went careening forward, but Sawyer was fast. He caught me, just before I slammed into the little end table in the cabin of the jet. He led me to a seat, leaned over, and buckled the belt for me. “Now sit, and be a good girl.”
I did, feeling both miffed and turned on by his high handedness at the same time, just as a voice came over the speaker.
“We’ve begun our descent. We’ll arrive in Paris momentarily.”
I was thankful Sawyer sat next to me when we landed, because the jolt from the wheels touching down seriously freaked me out. I hadn’t been on a plane before, and this was downright scary. I wondered if we were going to crash, but Sawyer assured me that we wouldn’t. He held my hand, though, squeezing gently. I stared at his hands. His fingers were as large as sausages, his pinky easily the size of my thumb. Fine, dark hair covered the top of his hand, just enough to make him look masculine and a bit scary without being creepy. I could get used to this, this giant beast of a man holding my hand like this.
“You did a good job,” he said, with an edge of pride. “People don’t always like the landing. It doesn’t bother me that much, but I get that it might bother others.”
“It doesn’t scare you? How is that possible?”
He shrugged. “I don’t care what happens to me.” He smiled as if he were joking, but something about his eyes told me he was not.
“Well, maybe I care about what happens to you,” I said with a frown.
He smiled, then, though the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “That would be nice.”
He reached over and hit the button that said “Do not disturb” so the sign went dark, and a moment later, the door to the cockpit swung open and Worthington stepped into the room. I grimaced. If I had any idea it was Worthington in the cockpit with the pilot, I don’t know if I’d have done what I did on that bed. God! I glanced guiltily back at the bed where the telltale tousled sheets told a story, my cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but neither Sawyer nor Worthington appeared to notice.
“Welcome to Paris,” Worthington said with a smile. “It is precisely 4 a.m. here, and the business world is just beginning to wake. Our contacts in Asia are prepared for a 6 a.m. conference call, Mister Gryffin. I’m assuming you’ll be ready?”
“Of course,” Sawyer responded, releasing my hand and rising. “Let’s go, Annabelle.”
I stood, and the little imp in me wanted to call him daddy, right here, where anyone could hear, but I bit my lip. Though a part of me wanted to be entertained by unsettling Worthington, I knew that Sawyer wouldn’t approve. And all I needed was another trip over his knee. Hell, I didn’t really like his disapproval anyway. It appeared he could read the little imp, though, as he leaned in and whispered to my ear, “Watch yourself, sweetheart. I can feel you ready to defy me even now.”
I frowned, my head still hurting, and winced at the bright light when the overhead light came on.
“We’ll get you something for that headache,” he said, taking my bag out of my hand.
“I can take my—”
He silenced me with a look. Alrighty, then. It appeared I would not be carrying any bags.
The door to the jet opened, revealing a smooth, paved walkway.
“Local regulations make us land in the airport,” he said, “though we don’t have to do the same on our return trip.”
Tired, my head still pounding, I allowed myself to be led to a waiting car. A driver opened the door, and I settled into the plush seat where we rode in silence for about ten minutes before we pulled down a narrow street.
“This is…this is amazing.” I could hardly breathe. I forgot about my headache and the last twangs of nausea. This was unlike anything else I could’ve ever imagined. The sun was just rising in the distance, shades of pink and light blue mingling with the light, casting an ethereal glow over the most beautiful garden I’d ever laid eyes on as it passed our window. A brick wall surrounded what could only be described as an estate. The garden teemed with flowers, the trellis peppered with ivy.
“Oh, Daddy,” I said, not even halting as the daddy tumbled out of my lips, “This is breathtaking. Where are we?”
“You like it?” he asked, his handsome face lighting up at my praise.
“Like it? I feel as if I’ve stepped out of reality and right into the pages of a fairy tale.”
He smiled, his eyes twinkling. My tummy dipped. He was hot as hell when he was stern, or serious, but his smile was positively panty-melting.
“This is another one of my homes. I do business here a good portion of the year.” I found myself reaching for him. I needed him to hold me. It was too much for me to take, sitting there beside him, drinking it all in. I needed to feel how real he was. He leaned in, his breath making the hairs on my neck stand on end. “Thank you for joining me, sweetheart.”
I shivered in delight.