Page 115 of Stanton Adore

22

Natasha

I wake to find Josh not in bed. I sit up startled. Is he still here? I hear the toaster pop and I smile. He’s making me toast, not protein. That makes for a nice change. He walks in and smiles at me before pulling me into a gentle embrace as he kisses me.

“Hello, my beautiful. Are you feeling better this morning?” I smile and nod. “I’ve made you breakfast,” he announces. “Come to the table.” He smiles warmly as he pulls me up by the hands. I look down at myself and smile. I notice he hasn’t said anything about my flannel PJs. I must be allowed to wear them when I have my period. I walk out to the table and frown. It looks like the buffet breakfast that hotel had where we stayed the other night. Croissants, bacon and eggs, muffins and toast and three types of juice. OK, he’s lost it. I screw my face up.

“So, yesterday I got tough shit because I wanted an egg and today I get this.” I gesture to the table.

He smiles, a little embarrassed.

“Yesterday I was a prick.”

I smile as I walk over and give him a gentle kiss and I stroke his face. “I happened to like you yesterday.” I smirk. He smiles a proud-of-himself smile. “Sorry about last night.”

He frowns at me. “What for?”

“The whole drama queen thing.”

He puts his toast down. “You are not a drama queen. I was thinking about it while I made you breakfast. If I was you, I think I would have killed me by now.”

“Lucky you’re not me then. What are we doing today?” I smile.

“Whatever you want.”

Five o’clock after a day of kissing and cuddling and sleeping I wake up toasty in our bed. Josh is lying facing me and I smile as we lie and stare into each other’s eyes. The emotion between us is palpable. As if in silence we have both realized how deeply in love we are and how much we need each other. He holds my hand and gently picks it up and kisses the back of it.

“I know you saved your body for me, but you must know I saved my heart for you. I love you more than anything.” He kisses my hand again and I smile a shy smile. We hold hands as we lie facing each other, not speaking—no words are needed. I have never felt so deeply connected to another human being. Nothing has ever felt so right. He leans and tenderly swipes his tongue through my open lips.

“Thank you,” he whispers.

I frown. “For what?”

He smiles. “For waiting for me.”

My heart swells and my eyes tear up. “You’re worth the wait, Josh. I would do it again.” He runs his hands through my hair and kisses my forehead.

“How long do we have to wait? I need to make love to you, desperately,” he whispers as he rests his forehead against mine. How is it a twenty-seven-year-old man does not know about women’s cycles?

“How do you not know this?” I tease.

He frowns. “I’ve never had a girlfriend, Tash. How would I know these things?” He does wide eyes at me. I smile, I know we could but I’m going to make him wait the week out. Let him suffer for a change. And boy is he going to suffer.

It’s Wednesday lunchtime and I am in the lift on my way up to Josh’s office. We have had the most wonderful week together. Josh has been attentive, loving, funny and hot as hell. Ridiculously hard the whole time. It’s a wonder he has any blood left in his body. I have been at a conference this morning and have the afternoon off. I purposely dressed in a tight, black, high-waisted pencil skirt and silk white blouse with the top button undone and high closed-in heels, my hair up and my glasses on. I know Josh loves me in naughty secretary getup. I had a business suit on when he picked me up from work on Monday and he stopped the car twice on the way home to try and molest me. I had to smile when he asked me if I was deliberately prick teasing him. He’s going to kill me when he finds out I have been. It’s just too delicious watching him beg. The lift opens and I am confronted with wall-to-wall marble and amazing views. There is a large reception area on the left with two pretty blondes sitting behind the desk. I tentatively walk to the desk.

“Natasha Marx to see Joshua Stanton.” I smile nervously.

The girls glance at each other and buzz the intercom. “Yes.” Adrian’s bored voice comes through the speaker.

“Natasha Marx is here to see Mr. Stanton.”

“I’ll be right there.” The girls frown at each other. Is that not normal? I stand awkwardly on display as the girls look me up and down. Adrian bursts through the security door.

“Hi, baby,” he gushes and wraps me in an embrace and kisses me on the temple. Way to embarrass me in front of the staff. He smiles and pulls me toward the doors. “Show’s over, ladies. Back to work,” he snaps. The two girls immediately put their heads back down and start to look busy. Shit, Adrian’s a mean boss, who knew. I thought he was a butterball. He pulls me by the hand through a large room that is surprisingly empty with only about fifteen desks with computers and men sitting behind them. They are typing so fast it looks like they are pretending. “What are they doing?”

Adrian shrugs. “Some are designing, and some are hacking.”

I frown. “Hacking? Do you hack? I thought this was a reputable business,” I ask.