Perplexed, I shrug. “He said he wanted it. I didn’t ask any questions.”
She rolls her eyes. “So what was the meeting about this morning?”
I squeeze her hand and then put my other hand on her thigh. “I didn’t want to cancel lunch with you. Bennett said he had important news and it couldn’t wait.”
She cups my chin, and as soon as her soft hand touches the scruff of my beard, I lean into her. She has a power over me like no other. Softly, she strokes me. “You could have told me that. Instead of ‘Something came up,’ like you didn’t care, you could have explained it to me.”
“I don’t explain to anybody,” I say almost automatically and then quickly follow up with “Sorry. You’re right. If we’re going to make this work, I need to communicate.”
“So what did she say?”
When I hesitate, her hand drops from my neck.
I grab it. “She said the Sterlings are planning something. They’ve been slowly moving into midtown, buying up properties under an LLC, and they’re getting closer and closer to us. They want to take over.”
Eleanor doesn’t even blink. “Well, you won’t let that happen.”
I let out a big sigh. I didn’t realize it before now, but I need Eleanor’s approval. I crave it. She’s my biggest supporter, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that the things I’ve accomplished are because of her. There’s no way the Kingstons would be what we are today without her. Afraid I’m going to push her away, I softly whisper, “I’ve missed you, Ellie.”
She smiles. “I’ve missed you too.”
CHAPTER 5
ELEANOR
And damn, I have missed him.
I take a deep breath, breathing him in. I’ve missed his smell, his touch, I’ve missed everything about him. We’re looking into each other’s eyes, and I see the change in him. His dark brown eyes get even darker. He always looks at me as if he could devour me, but it’s more intense now. I know what he wants, and I want it too.
“I’m sorry for hurting you,” he says, stroking my wrist.
I put a hand on his chest, and he sucks in a breath. I’ve avoided touching him for months now, and I know he’s surprised by my hand on him.
I lean into him, but he stops me. “We are going to be okay, Ellie. I promise you that we’re going to be okay, but I need you to do something for me.”
Surprised, I nod. Robert is not much for talking, and the fact that I was going in for a kiss and he stopped me makes me really tune in to what he’s going to say.
He searches my eyes. “You have to trust me, baby. We’ve been together for thirty-five years. You have to know that I love you and I would never do anything that I know would hurt you.”
I lift my chin. I want to argue with him and tell him all my insecurities, but he stops me. “It’s not possible for me to be attracted to anyone else.”
I burst out a laugh, but he doesn’t join in. He shakes his head. “I’m serious. If I think of you, if I touch you, hell, if I see you, I’m hard. My body doesn’t react to anyone else like it does to you.”
I roll my eyes. “Bobby, that’s ridiculous, you know that, right?”
He grabs both my hands and holds them in his own. “I don’t even look at other women. Why would I when I have you? It’s me and you, baby. Forever. You can move across town, you can do what you need to do to be happy, but I’m going to be right here waiting for you.”
Unable to hold back, I lean toward him. “Show me. Show me that you’re hard for me.”
He doesn’t hesitate. He brings my hand to the V of his legs and presses my palm to his hard manhood.
I squeeze, and he groans.
It’s thrilling to see the power that I have over him. “I need you, Bobby.”
He stands up and pulls me with him. “Not as much as I need you.”
He reaches behind me and lifts me into his arms. I swat him on his chest. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”
