SWNOVELS Before the Storm: Chapter 28
She watches me with apprehension in her chocolate brown gaze. It’s not new to me that no one has ever taken care of her before. In fact, that was abundantly clear the first night I met her, but the way she’s staring at me like I’ve lost my mind, that’s all the proof I need.
Ayvah doesn’t see it yet, but from the moment I met her, my whole purpose became looking after her. Making sure she’s safe and fed and loved. That’s all that matters, and while I will always carry out the duties of my position within the family, there’s now something, or someone rather, that sits above the business in my life. I always thought Elijah was nuts for putting Snow above the enterprise his family built, but I get it now.
None of it matters if I don’t have Ayvah. I could be the richest, most powerful man in the world, and it wouldn’t mean a damn if she wasn’t standing by my side, and it’s that thought that drives me forward.
Before she can argue the point, I tug the camisole from her body and suck in a breath at the perfection that lays beneath. Jesus Christ she’s stunning. She’s sitting in front of me with uncertainty in her gaze, her eyes darting around anywhere but at me. A deep blush covers her cheeks and stretches down her neck to her creamy chest. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life.
Her arms move to cover her heavy bare breasts, the rosy peaks hard from the cool air, but I reach for her, stopping the movement before she can cover what belongs to me. “Never hide from me, Ayvah,” I murmur. I promised I wouldn’t touch her until she asked me, but how can I possibly stop myself when she was made for me. When every inch of her was made just for me to devour?
“Why me?” She whispers the question she keeps asking, and I keep answering.
Perhaps I should be frustrated at how many times I’ve had to repeat myself, or how many times I’ve had to stop myself from saying the words she’s not ready to hear. It’s bad enough I’ve told her she belongs to me, to tell her I intend to marry her by the end of the year and fill her with so many babies there will be kids running riot around this estate, just the same way my siblings and I did when we moved in here all those years ago might be pushing it. The vision is so clear I could swear it’s happening before my eyes, but we’re not there yet.
Before I can answer, she continues, looking down at where I’m holding her arms away from her body, baring her to my hungry eyes. “I mean, I’ve seen you in the gossip columns dating literal supermodels. What on earth could you want with a chubby eighteen-year-old?” The deflation in her tone snaps something inside of me, something deep down that I didn’t realize existed, and before I realize I’m doing it, I’m pushing her arms above her head and pressing them against the mirror. I wedge myself between her thighs and press my aching cock against her core. It’s been constantly hard since the day we met, but no matter how many times I jerk off to thoughts of Ayvah, the relief only lasts a few moments. I’m like a horny fucking teenager.
She lets out a startled noise as I grind my length against her thin cotton panties. I shouldn’t be doing this. I really fucking shouldn’t be doing this. And yet I don’t stop.
I press into her until our breaths are mingled and her pupils are blown with a mixture of fear and lust. Being this close to her makes it hard to think past my primal need for her. She’s so fucking beautiful right now, but she has to understand she can’t be talking about herself like this. I won’t tolerate it, and she won’t like the consequences.
“Ayvah, I want you to listen to me, because I don’t like repeating myself, and the next time we have to have this conversation, you will not like the position you find yourself in. You are beautiful, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, and will ever see. I acknowledge that you have been beaten down and trodden on your whole life, and that the way you see yourself is likely engrained in that narrative, however I need you to know that there is not one part of you that I would change. You’re perfect. Those women I was photographed with were just dates I never saw again. I’ve never cared for the idea of a relationship until you came along, never even considered it if I’m really honest with you, but that’s where I am with you, and the sooner you get on the same page as I’m on, the better it will be for both of us.”
She stares at me for long moments as if I’ve lost my mind, and hey, I’ve considered the very real possibility several times over the last couple of weeks, but I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. Ayvah is it for me, and there’s nothing on this earth that can drag me away from her.
I press my lips to hers gently, almost sighing in relief at the feeling of the soft pillows. I’ve been dreaming of kissing her, touching her, ravishing her since the first time our lips locked, and I can’t help but take a little more than I intended, brushing my tongue along the seam, demanding entry. Her taste drives me wild and I swear I could lose myself in her, something incredibly dangerous for a man like me.
I drag myself away from her all too soon. This isn’t about me, not tonight. She needs me. She needs care and softness, and I’m intent on giving her that, even if it goes against my very nature to do so. “Do we understand each other, Ayvah?” I murmur, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek, her throat, the sensitive spot where her neck and shoulder meet. Fuck, I can’t wait to learn her body. I can’t wait to know every little thing that can set her off, to know how to make her scream my name until her voice grows hoarse.
Her eyes widen as my hard cock presses against her thin panties. It’s going to be a true test of my resolve having her naked in front of me, to help her bathe, to touch her body with no intention of taking her.
But that doesn’t mean I won’t be giving her exactly what she needs tonight, and I’m quickly learning that her pleasure is more addictive than my own.