“It is?”
“Of course it is. Your only other choice is to hide from it and fade into nothingness. I know what that feels like and so do you.”
I’m beginning to see that it’s true. When I started saying yes instead of no to life, it bloomed from a closed-up bud into a huge hothouse flower. “I think I was hiding myself away in my hotel to shield myself from feeling too much. It hurt too much to feel. Or to live much at all.”
He blinks dark lashes at me. “It also feels better than anything ever could, once you let yourself do it. You taught me that, little love of my life.”
I ease him onto his back and climb onto him, kissing his mouth, letting my drying tears wet his face. “It feels like we’re jumping off a cliff,” I gasp, as I slide down onto his rock-hard length, taking all of him.
“Then hold on tight, baby girl,” he growls, gripping me, thrusting into me, so he’s deep, deep inside me. “We’ll jump together.”
37
We’rein Dallas’s kitchen. I’m sitting on a roomy, cushiony window seat in the sun, taking in the expansive views of Central Park, wearing nothing but a duvet wrapped around me. I’m still flushed from the lingering endorphin rushes of the morning’s series of out-of-this-world orgasms. One thing about me and Dallas Wilder, we know how toget each other off, and with so much hunger and fire it seems like it might be one of those wild, rare things most people never find.
After, when my stomach growled, Dallas wrapped me up and carried me out here.
I check my phone and there are at least a dozen messages from Sadie. I read the newest one.I’m shopping this afternoon then I’m going out with Saskia and her friends. We’re hitting a couple of clubs tonight in the East Village. There’s one with a Caribbean vibe she keeps raving about. Please come??? Miss you love you xx
Dallas is heating up a frying pan. He told me at one pointthat he gave all his staff some time off so we could be alone and uninterrupted. “I makethemeanest grilled cheese in the world, hands down. No one can argue with that once they try one.”
I put my phone down. This is entertaining to watch. I laugh because he looks so out of place—although with only a pair of gray sweatpants low on his hips (who knew the man even owned such an item, but I’m not complaining), and with his thick hair a gorgeous mess, he almost looks like a normal human being instead of an untouchable investment billionaire. At least hewouldlook like a normal human being if it weren’t for the outrageously perfect, sculpted muscles, the tribal-inspired ink that’s so beautifully done, covering most of his chest and arms, the tall, lean impressiveness of his body, the to-die-for face. Don’t even get me started on the gigantic swell inside those sweatpants that I can never seem to get enough of.
There’s a bang as Dallas starts pulling more stuff from the massive double-doored fridge. “Shit.”
“Do you need help?” I giggle, and the sound of it is new to my own ears. I don’t ever remembergigglingin my life. He just looks so …cuteandhotin the kitchen. “Not that I’d be that much help, but I could try.”
“You don’t cook?”
I shake my head. “I grew up in a restaurant. I’ve never cooked. And no one, ever, has cooked a meal just for me.”
“Well, that’s a crying shame. And today’s your lucky day. Because your life is about to change.”
“I can hardly wait.”
“Ow.” He shakes out his hand and sucks on a finger.
“Are you okay?”
“It’s just part of my process.”
“Burning yourself is part of your process?”
“Icancook, I told you that. Just because I hardly ever do it doesn’t mean I don’t know how.”
“If you say so, Wilder. Wow,andmulti-tasking. I’m impressed.”
He’s checking the phone he just plugged in since both our phones were dead and we both owe at least one person a reply text. In his case, the number is probably well into the double digits. Maybe even triple. The little apple glows, and as soon as the phone comes back to life it starts ringing.
Dallas answers it. “Hey, Todd. You’re on speaker.”
“I’m also on FaceTime, Einstein,” comes the reply. “An order from your brothers to make sure there’s proof of life.”
“Still alive, thank you for asking, and also in the prime of my goddamn life, just saying. My brothers know I’m not dead. I’ve texted them multiple times.”
“Last week,” Todd points out. “Two of them are going to be in town this weekend, by the way.”
“Yeah? Good. Todd, meet Amelie Thibodeaux. Todd’s my executive assistant.” Dallas hands me the phone. “Talk to him, please. I’m going to burn something important if I’m distracted.”
