“I googled you and your website came up. I love your stuff, Kelly.”
She blinks and then a tear slides down her cheek.
I reach over and brush it away with my thumb. “What’s wrong?”
“I just can’t believe Kaleb freaking Keller is saying he likes my art. Are you serious?”
I take her hands in mine, squeezing them softly. It feels like we’re the only people in existence sitting in the privacy of the garage, just us and the overhead lights and the heat blazing between us with each steamy touch.
“Of course I’m serious. I’ll never lie to you. I’ll never trick you. I’m not much of a judge, but my first thought was, Damn, this is a professional at work. Your illustrations hold so much character if that makes sense? I feel like you can tell a whole story in a few brushstrokes.”
She giggles through a sob. “I thought you said you weren’t much of a judge? God, Kaleb, that’s the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me.”
I smirk. “Don’t get used to it, Sassy. I’ll go back to being the beast I am soon enough.”
“Maybe we should go up there then, Animal, so you can’t let him out of the cage.”
I smirk, opening my car door. “Maybe you’re right.”
I walk around the car and pull hers open, offering her a short bow as I aim a wry smirk at her.
“Oh, you’re so polite,” she says.
She turns to the elevator, pausing.
I place my hand on her shoulder, sensing some of the anxiety coursing through her. “Are you sure it’s private up there?”
“I’m almost certain there’s no way Natalie will see us,” I say, feeling wrong, as though I’m scheming against my daughter. “I have a private entrance to my office. I can go through and arrange a table for the upper balcony, an enclosed booth. We’ll be alone.”
She glances at me, biting her lip in that tantalizing way she has. “I’m sorry. I know it’s horrible to have to speak about stuff like this. But the thought of Natalie seeing us out in public before we get a chance to tell her… it makes me crazy.”
“I know.” I reach down and take her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. “I feel the same. Which is why we’re here, remember?”
“Oh yeah.” She giggles, doing that amazing thing of making me forget about my stress and my anxiety and focus on the moment instead. “We’re going to see how quickly I can make you bored of my sassiness, I forgot.”
“Nope.” I laugh. “We’re going to see how quickly I can make you tire of my animal nature.”
I lead her over to the elevator and press the button.
The doors open and I wave her inside the lighted room, with the gold padding on the walls and a mirror showing us what sort of couple we make.
I wrap my arms around her as we face the mirror, the elevator moving up.
“Look how damn beautiful you are.” I hug her close and meet her gaze in the mirror. Her eyes are wide and beautiful and mine. “Everything about you is perfect, Kelly. I can’t believe nobody ever told you that before. You’re an angel, but my angel, only mine. I’ll send any bastard straight to hell if he tries to take you from me.”
“I only want you,” she whispers, squeezing my forearm which is laid protectively across her chest.
It’s difficult to act civilized when my woman is sitting across from me. She grips the edge of the table, leaning forward so she can gaze around at the majesty of our private dining hall. It’s the Medieval room, my personal pet project, with a tall roof and the walls ornate and covered in paintings and tapestries.
“This is amazing,” she murmurs.
“Hmm,” I growl. The way she’s leaning forward is giving me a sweet look down at her chest through the light fabric of her dress, her round breasts pressed together. I imagine her on her knees, tits gripped in her hands as she begs me to cover them in my come.
I let out a shivering breath, turning my gaze away.
She truly does bring the beast out of me. I feel like I could leap on her.
“This is honestly like being in a fairytale castle or something. It’s nothing like the rest of the restaurant. At least, the parts I saw.”
I grin at her, or at least I hope I do. The tension she’s causing to move through me could easily make it a grimace.
“I’ve always been fascinated by this stuff.”
“Why?” she murmurs, sitting forward and reaching across the table.
She hesitates for a moment, as though she thinks I’m going to snatch my hand away, so I dart my hand forward and grip onto her. She looks at me thankfully, with the knowledge that I’ll always support the most anxious parts of her.