SWNOVELS Cherish Me Forever: Chapter 29
Subject: Order Ready
Dear Ms. Maxwell,
We’re pleased to inform you that your custom-ordered dress is ready for pickup. We strongly suggest you come after 9:00 p.m., as the store is very busy before.
I reread the email again as I got out of the Uber in front of the store. I didn’t remember ordering anything from Waldorf Fashion recently. I’d browsed their website often, including the section where you could customize dresses, but did I actually go through with it?
Wouldn’t be the first time I went overboard once I started a shopping spree.
The store looked empty when I arrived. I glanced at the business hours written on the door. Maybe the sales assistant had made a mistake, and I was supposed to come one hour earlier, because according to the schedule, they’d closed twenty minutes ago. But since I was here anyway, I tried the door, and to my surprise, it was open.
Right, maybe she’s waiting for me.
‘Hello?’ I said, stepping inside. ‘Are you still open? This is Reese Maxwell. I have an appointment to pick something up.’
No one answered. I was about to turn around and leave when I heard footsteps coming from the back.
I went to the counter, already taking out my wallet and putting it on the cash register. ‘I thought you were closed.’
‘We are,’ Dom’s booming voice replied.
I expelled a breath, turning around. ‘Dom, I wasn’t expecting you.’
He smiled. ‘Really? You didn’t see through my paper-thin email?’
I swallowed hard. ‘Wait a second. You made this all up, so I’d come here, right?’
‘Guilty.’
‘Why?’
‘I figured it was high time we turned the story about our meeting into the actual truth.’
‘Oh!’ I looked around, smiling. “That’s right.”
‘You walked in here after hours, requiring a specific dress. But instead of getting anyone to help you, you got me. I love you, Reese. So much that I would do anything to make you happy, absolutely anything. I won’t let anyone come between us.’
I felt my legs move of their own accord until we were right in front of each other. ‘I love you too. I can’t believe you remembered the story so vividly.”
“Every detail. I have to say, I like our actual story so much more.’
I looked down at my toes. “My mental breakdown in the coatroom?”
‘You were just being yourself, completely open and unrestrained, and you charmed me.’
As I looked up, my heart was starting to beat faster. The lights went off, and I glanced around. ‘What’s happening?’
‘It’s nine o’clock. The lights automatically go off.’ The only slivers of light were the Christmas decorations in the window display.
I glanced back at Dom. He looked even sexier than before, more sensual.
“I don’t care how the story started. All I know is I want it to continue.” He took my hands in his. He was very close to me now. “You saw Malcolm this morning.”
I gasped. “How do you know that?”
“Because I went to see him, too, and he told me.”
“Oh my God.”
“Listen to me, Reese. I meant when I said we’re in this together. I know you’re strong and you can do everything on your own. But I’m yours. And I want you to be certain of that.”
“I am.”
“Promise me you won’t fake sleep again.”
I gasped again. “I promise.”
“Good, because I want to make you as happy as you make me.”
‘You mean that?’
‘Yes. God yes. I haven’t meant anything more in my life. You showed me what happiness feels like, Reese. Utter and complete happiness. I didn’t think it was possible, or that it existed at all. But you didn’t leave me a choice.’
‘Huh. I coerced you into loving me?” I smirked.
“Something like that. You’re so damn lovable, I never stood a chance.’ He tilted his head forward until our foreheads brushed. I felt warm and so alive.
“I resisted at first. I was a fool,” he whispered. ‘From now on, I will love you my whole life.’
He kissed my cheek, moving his lips exquisitely slowly. I loved his smell. I loved him.
He had a five-o’clock shadow, and it lightly scratched me. I shuddered at the sensation. I loved everything this man did to me.
When his mouth was at the corner of my lips, he stilled completely. I turned my head slowly. He kissed me then, and I opened up without restraint. This kiss reminded me so much of our first one.
I’d been so surprised, but all I wanted to do was let him kiss me. The same was true right now. I wanted nothing more than his mouth on mine, his hands all over my body.
He slipped his hands under my coat, undoing a few buttons to gain more space. I felt his fingers dig into my waist. As he moved back, I leaned into him hungrily. As if through a haze, I realized we were moving.
‘Where are we going?’ I asked when we paused to breathe.
“Out of sight.”
‘Oh yeah, that’s probably a good idea.’ I trusted him implicitly.
Then I heard the sound of a curtain moving, and I opened my eyes, glancing around. He’d brought us into the changing room. Two neon lights lit up sideways, activated by our movement. He looked so sexy.
‘In this light,’ I murmured, ‘all I want to do is take off your clothes.’
His eyes glinted in the dark, and my entire body tightened, especially the peaks of my breasts. ‘I was thinking the same.’
‘I see. So you lured me here with a purpose.’
‘Yes. This wasn’t actually the purpose, but now that you’re here, it’s all that I can think about. Take off all your clothes,’ he said in that low baritone voice. He sat on the chair, tilting forward and resting his elbows on his knees, eyes intent on me.
‘Where do you want me to start?’ I asked.
‘You can decide on that.’
Well, well, isn’t he generous today?
I unbuttoned my blouse slowly, starting from the top and going down to my skirt before pulling it out of the waistband and undoing the rest of them. Then I proceeded to open the buttons of my sleeves and took the blouse off very slowly before moving on to my skirt. I didn’t make eye contact, certain I was going to completely forget myself if I looked straight into his eyes. I was hyperaware of him; I could hear his breath, even from a few feet away. I was even more aware of my body as I leisurely lowered the zipper at the back of my skirt.
I smiled to myself as I pushed my skirt, tights, and panties all the way down, stepping out of them and leaving a pile of clothes on the floor. When I straightened up, I heard an audible gasp. I glanced at him again. He’d shifted forward on the seat.
‘Come to me.’
‘Right now?’
‘Yes, right fucking now.’
I reached between my breasts, undoing my bra and letting it drop behind me. I’d never felt as sexy as now.
He straightened in the seat, looking up at me, and drew three fingers up my right thigh. I gasped as an unexpected shock of pleasure rippled through me. He moved those fingers around to my buttock. The touch went from light to featherlight, yet it still reached deep inside my body. He started caressing my other side, too, moving upward even slower than before. Then his mouth was on the underside of my breasts. I dropped my head back, relishing the feeling.
He touched between my thighs, making me moan in delight. Then he pressed two fingers along the length of my opening. Out of instinct, I rubbed against him. He yanked me down onto his lap, and I clutched his shoulders as he kissed me voraciously. I responded with all the passion I had, all my love, and all my heart. I loved this man so much. Feeling his hands on me was absolutely exquisite. Every time I thought he couldn’t surprise me anymore, he proved differently.
‘I’m ready as fuck, babe. I need you so damn bad.’ He spoke against my mouth while I tugged at his shirt, taking it out of his pants. I moved farther back on his thighs, opening his belt and freeing his erection as quickly as possible. I couldn’t believe he was already so hard for me.
He shifted my ass back on his lap, and I realized what he was about to do seconds before he did it. He ran his erection along the length of my opening, and I was drenched within seconds. I squeezed my eyes shut, shaking when the first spasm rocked my body. I wasn’t ashamed anymore of how fast he turned me on. I was basking in it. My body trusted him, utterly and completely, and it was delicious.
His hand slid from the back of my neck up to my scalp, and I opened my eyes just as he pulled me in for a kiss. I leaned against his mouth, loving the feeling of his tongue exploring mine and his cock rubbing at my clit.
He grabbed my ass, rocking my body against him. He didn’t show me any mercy, didn’t leave me any reprieve. I exploded fast and hard, and I couldn’t contain it. I groaned hard, clinging to him for dear life, pressing myself against him. I ground my hips back and forth until I was utterly and completely satisfied.
My entire body was shaking as I rested my head in the crook of his neck, which was when I realized he was still completely clothed while I was buck naked.
‘You’re so fucking sexy. You’re everything I could dream of,’ he said into my ear.
‘I was going to say that you just rocked my world.’
‘Happy to do it anytime.’
‘I want you so damn much,’ he said.
I swallowed hard. I’d managed to completely block out the fact that we were in his store. Sure, it was closed, the changing room was way in the back, and we’d closed the curtain, but still, this felt decadent.
Standing up, he moved the chair in front of the mirror.
Taking my hand, he led me in front of the chair. As he stared at my nakedness, he took his clothes off, which was a whole new level of erotic. He first removed his shirt and then pushed his jeans down. He didn’t bother with his boxers; I simply freed his erection, pumping once.
He sat down and pointed at his lap. ‘Sit here, beautiful. I want to watch you, watch us.’
Sitting with my back to him, I grabbed his cock at the base, but instead of sliding it inside me, I rubbed myself against the tip just the way he’d teased me before.
‘Reese, fuck.’ His mouth was on my shoulder, so his voice was muffled. ‘Babe.’
I swallowed hard, unable to reply.
Watching us in the mirror was insanely sexy. He cupped my breasts, touching them hungrily, before lowering one hand to my clit. My eyes lost focus for a few seconds, and I blinked rapidly to steady myself. I needed him inside me more than anything else, so I shifted my hips, taking him all in, grinding my back against his chest.
I stilled, unable to move. How could this feel so damn good? Had it always felt like this, or was today even better because we’d embraced all our fears and confessed our feelings? I didn’t know, but I felt him so deep inside me that I could barely breathe. Then I started rolling my hips back and forth.
He didn’t stop touching my clit, not even for a second. I was about to lose my mind. I wasn’t in charge of my body anymore—Dom was.
He alternated between simply rubbing my center and slapping it lightly. Watching him do it was all I could take.
‘You’re beautiful when you surrender to me, Reese,’ he growled.
‘Yes, God, yes,’ I exclaimed.
He shut his eyes, and I felt his mouth on my back in the shape of an O. He came a moment later, and then I completely lost sense of myself and gave in to him. The wave crashed over me without warning. There was no crescendo about it, just relentless pleasure from the way his fingers moved over my clit. I wasn’t sure how I was still sitting on him when all my muscles seemed nonexistent.
My body felt incredibly relaxed, and I leaned back against him for support. I had no idea how long we stayed like that.
‘Are you cold?’ he whispered in my ear after a while.
‘No, I’m only feeling an intense happiness. Is that normal?’
‘It’s the same for me, so I’m going with yes.’
‘So we went from defiling furniture to defiling your store.’
He laughed, and I straightened on his lap before rising from it.
‘Anytime, Reese. Just call me and I’ll make it happen.’
I blushed furiously, looking at myself in the mirror. ‘I should cover up.’
‘You’re beautiful, babe.’
I stopped in the act of reaching for my blouse because he cupped my face and kissed me slowly, tenderly. I sighed against his mouth, caressing his wrist with my fingertips. I loved feeling his pulse. It was racing—because of me.
Then I started to shiver. He must have felt it, because he stopped the kiss, looking down at me. ‘Now you’re cold, right? I knew it. Let’s get you dressed. We don’t want you to get sick or something.’
I immediately put on my clothes, as did he.
‘Do you have a bathroom around here?’ I asked.
‘Yep, come on. I’ll take you to it,’ he said.
I looked around the changing room. ‘I feel like people will know what happened in here.’
‘No, they won’t.’
He came with me all the way to the back. ‘Go in there.’ It was an employee bathroom. I handed him my trusty hand wipes, and we cleaned up.
‘Okay, mission accomplished. Sexy crime successfully covered up.’
Dom started laughing. ‘Sexy crime? That’s what you call it?’ he said as we returned to the front of the store.
‘What would you call it?’
‘Let’s see… amazing sex?’
I chuckled. ‘We can go with that. I love you so damn much, Dom.’
“I love you too. Now, there is one more thing we need to do before the story is complete.’
‘Hmm, and what’s that?’ I asked.
‘You need a dress.’
I frowned. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘Remember our cover story? You came in to buy a dress.’
‘Oh, that’s right. Duh, why else would I come here? But we never said that I actually ended up buying one.’ I smiled in the dark.
‘The thing is, I have one you’d look amazing in.’
I swallowed hard. ‘Really?’ I was thrilled he’d chosen something for me.
‘Yes. I’d like for you to try it on.”
‘Right now?’
‘Yes.’ His voice sounded dangerous and oh so sexy. My lady parts were already paying attention. But honestly, was there anything this man could do that wouldn’t turn me on?
He started to walk away. ‘I’m going to get it. Go back to the changing room. I’ll bring it for you.’
After going back in there, I glanced around with a smile. I could see us going down that rabbit hole again.
The store was silent for about three minutes, and then I heard his footsteps. When he came into view, my breath caught. He was carrying the dress in front of him. It was dark red with a small bow around the waist. The corsage was velvet, and the sleeves were organza. There were several layers in the skirt, of course, but only one in the sleeves, and I knew they would be see-through.
‘This is beautiful,’ I said.
‘Put it on.’
‘Okay, but you’re not allowed to come in and watch.’
“And why not?”
‘Because I know you. You’ll end up talking me into another sexy crime.’
He grinned. ‘All right. Put it on and show it to me afterward.’
‘That’s the plan,’ I said, taking the dress from him.
I changed in record time, and then I couldn’t stop staring at myself in the mirror. The dress was absolute perfection. I’d never felt so beautiful.
‘You can look now,’ I said to him through the curtain.
He pulled back the curtain in a fraction of a second.
He just looked at me for several moments, then murmured. ‘Reese, babe… you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.’
‘Thank you.’
He walked right up behind me again and moved the chair back into its original place. Then he put a hand on my belly. ‘It looks amazing on you.’
‘It’s as if it was made for me.’
He darted his eyes away.
‘Dom, what did you do?’
He flashed me his most charming smile. ‘I had it commissioned for you.’
My eyes widened. ‘Wow! Why?’
‘Because you described the dress in the car, and it stuck in my mind. I relayed it to one of our designers, and he came up with this. I instantly approved it. I knew it was you. Just you. It came back a while ago. I intended to give it to you as a Christmas gift, but this works too.’ He grinned from ear to ear.
‘Yes, it does. Thank you.’ I turned back, glancing in the mirror. ‘God, I’m so happy. This is stunning.’ Dom was also looking at my reflection. ‘Dom…’
‘What?’ he asked in an innocent tone.
“I know that voice, that look. You’re thinking about taking it off me, aren’t you?’
‘You’re gorgeous in it. But my absolute favorite outfit on you is your bare skin.’
My center started pulsing like mad at his words. I laughed, turning around so I could kiss him properly. I pressed myself against him, first kissing his Adam’s apple and then his skin.
‘You went through all this trouble to create my imaginary dress.’ I kissed his neck again, then pulled back. ‘But wait a second—how come it fits me perfectly? You don’t know my measurements.’
‘No, but I took a page out of your own book and spoke to Kimberly about it.’
I was giddy with excitement now.
I kissed the corner of his mouth and moved over to his lips, teasing him with a chaste peck, simply feathering my lips against his before giving him the dirtiest kiss ever. He deepened it even more, walking me backward until my back pressed against the mirror.
‘Reese, I need you.’
‘I need you too,’ I murmured. I would need him every day for the rest of my life. I loved him so much that I wanted to live inside him. ‘We’re not going to leave the store anytime soon, are we?’ I asked playfully.
He smiled against my skin. ‘No, we’re not. I’ll make sure of that.’