The Bold and the Bullheaded by Willow Aster

Chapter Nineteen

Spence

We have just had the most mind-blowing sex and are staring at the ceiling catching our breath. If she’s like me, she’s thinking, what the hell just happened? What was that? It’s been amazing every time, but I swear, we just reached heaven.

“Do you think we’re moving too fast?” she whispers.

AndI guess she wasn’t thinking what I was thinking … or maybe that’s exactly why she’s asking this now.

I think I’m learning Emma. Finally.

I turn to face her and trace my fingers across her neck and chest.

“I have something to tell you.”

She glances at me, alarm all over her face. I lean over and kiss that away. When I pull back, she has that blissed-out look on her face again. Soft Emma takes my breath away.

“You know after we kissed in the elevator almost a year ago?” I move back to my pillow but turn to look at her.

She smirks. “And you got on your knees,” she says. She loves to bring up that part.

“And made you see stars,” I add.

“To-may-to, to-mah-to.”

“Mm-hmm. Well ... I haven’t been with anyone since.”

She leans up on her elbow, hovering over me. “What does that mean?”

“You turned me all inside out. I couldn’t get you out of my head. You bewitched me.”

She presses her lips together, trying not to smile, but her bright eyes give her away. Finally, she says, “But you hated me.”

“I never hated you.”

“Why didn’t you make a move sooner?”

“Would it have worked?” I put my hands on her waist and place her on top of me. I can’t get enough of her. “I was in deep denial and also scared shitless of you.”

She giggles and then her eyes widen because it’s obvious she fully woke up the beast with that.

“Hey, what about Tabitha? You never even kissed her?”

“We decided after the first date that we would only be friends.”

She bends down and kisses me. “So you really were just torturing me with her.”

“Did it work?”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” Her hands brush back my hair and she looks shy all of a sudden. “I haven’t been with anyone either, and I did hate you for that. You ruined me for anyone else with your mad tongue skills.”

“Yeah? How do you feel about me now?” I squeeze her perfect ass and her breath quickens.

“Well, I can’t even call you Grumpy Smurf most of the time because you’re always so happy. I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

I laugh, proving her point. “Come around me with the brothers and I’m sure you’ll get your grump fix.”

She puts her hand between us and slides me right inside of her heat. I groan. She sits up and I take in how painfully beautiful she is.

I want to tell her I love her and that I think I have all along, but I decide to show her instead.

One step at a time, one day at a time. One sweet kiss at a time.

Some things might have moved quickly with us once we admitted how we felt, but this has been a long, slow dance since the day we met. She’s like a bird, perched to take flight anytime she’s startled. So I will woo her carefully and hope that eventually she free falls into me.

And sex, lots of sex. Not just because I’m a man who has been missing it for so long—and fuck almighty, have I ever missed it—but because the more we explore each other’s bodies, the more her walls crumble.

* * *

I’ve been putting in long hours on the building. We want to dive into the hotel project in three months, so we are under pressure to complete the current project quicker than we planned.

Emma had her first day in court today as the lead attorney and I want to do something special for her. I grab a bottle of her favorite Chardonnay and takeout from the sushi place up the street that I know she loves. I light a few candles and drop the massive bouquet of flowers I bought in a vase.

I’ve never been a romantic before, but this woman brings something out in me. I want to do everything for her. She knocks on the door and I open to find her looking like some sort of fantasy in her black fitted dress, fuck-me heels and her hair tied back in some sort of twist at the nape of her neck. Professional Emma is sexy as fuck and I am here for it. I tug her against my body and kiss her hard.

How can I possibly miss someone that I woke up beside this morning? I don’t know—but I do.

“How did it go?” I ask, when I pull away and take her hand to lead her inside.

“It was a strong start. I was nervous, but Jack and Mya insisted it wasn’t obvious.”

“You’re a rock star.” I hand her a glass of chilled Chardonnay.

“What’s all this?” She glances at the table, taking it all in.

“It’s a celebration. Today was a big day.”

Her eyes are wet with emotion, and she puts her hand over her mouth. Did I fuck up already?

“You okay?” I ask, setting down my glass and moving toward her.

“Yeah. Of course. I’m just … I’m not used to celebrating like this. Don’t get me wrong, my dad has been proud of me my entire life. But we didn’t do special dinners like this … with flowers and candles.” She bites down on her bottom lip and looks up at me.

I nod. I blame my mother. The woman celebrated first place and last place just the same. I grew up in a home that celebrated everything. My dad certainly was not the one behind that force, and my chest aches a little at the thought of Emma not having that maternal role in her life. Sure, she had Yaya and that woman loves her fiercely, but she grew up differently than I did, and I need to remember that. I don’t want to scare her off.

I lead her to the table and she drops to sit while I take the chair across from her. “I get that. But you need to know … I plan to celebrate you every day.”

She smiles and I love it. “Tell me about your house growing up. Melanie seems like the kind of mom you see in the movies. She certainly was last Thanksgiving.”

We laugh about how over-the-top my mom was last Thanksgiving.

“She was pretty awesome. I mean, don’t get me wrong, she raised five kids and she took no shit. The woman can still paralyze me with just a look. But she was loving and encouraging in every way.” I choose my words carefully. I don’t want to throw salt in her wounds, and I want her to open up to me.

“I’m sure she was. And you probably got the homemade cupcakes on your birthday?” She laughs, but there’s something there. Sadness maybe? “It’s so funny when you’re young what seems so big to you, you know?”

I hand her the platter of sushi and she drops a few pieces on her plate before handing it back to me.

“Like what?” I ask.

“I had a weird obsession with birthday treats when I was growing up. All these kids would bring these homemade goodies to school. I remember Sophie Vogel brought these cupcakes that her mom made with dog faces.” She shakes her head and chuckles. “Why do I remember that? Anyway, I was in awe that her mother would spend that many hours baking these treats for her. I bet your mom did those kinds of things.”

I nod. “She enjoys baking, yes. What about you? Did your dad bring treats for your birthdays?”

“Of course. But you know Dad. He isn’t much of a baker, and I never told him about the cupcakes the other kids would bring. I just let him surprise me each year, because I knew how hard he tried, you know, to make things normal for me.”

I finish chewing. “What would he bring?”

“Well, one year it was a giant sandwich platter.” Her head falls back in laughter. “And in fifth grade, he brought hot dogs for everyone. That was pretty awesome. He really tried hard to be both parents to me.”

“I really like your dad. He terrifies me, but I like him. I can see how much he loves you.”

Her smile reaches her blue-green eyes. “He’s the best. And he likes you, which is shocking. He hated every guy I went to dances with in high school. He’s always been super protective, which is sweet.”

I laugh. “Yeah, I can relate. We tortured Pen’s dates growing up. They never stood a chance.”

“You guys are really cute with her.”

I nod. “So, court again tomorrow? Do you feel ready?”

“Yep. Jack’s going to be there with me and the senior partner who I truly can’t stand—Arwin. He’s also making sure I don’t miss anything.”

“Who’s Arwin? Why don’t you like him?”

“He’s just … gross. Let’s just say he makes it clear that he isn’t faithful to his wife. He’s a dirty old man.”

My shoulders tense. “Has he said something to you?”

She laughs. “Yes, of course. He creeps me out, but I can handle him.”

“Why don’t you tell Jack? From what you’ve told me about him, he wouldn’t tolerate that behavior.”

She sets her fork down. “I don’t need to tell Jack. I can take care of myself.”

“That’s a stupid fucking approach. If the guy is inappropriate, report his ass. Has he touched you?”

“No. It’s not like that.” Her gaze is hard now. “And don’t tell me my approach is fucking stupid.”

I take a deep breath. “I know you’re not stupid, I’m sorry I said it that way. But you can’t give a guy like that any leeway, Emma. You need to talk to Jack. What does Mya think?”

She shakes her head before reaching for her wine glass. “He doesn’t mess with Mya because he’s seen Jesse in there so much, I think he gave up.”

“Looks like I’ll be making a few office visits,” I say. “But I think you should hang his ass out to dry and report him.”

She moves to her feet and comes to settle on my lap. “I appreciate you wanting to be the big, bad wolf, but I don’t need rescuing.”

I stroke her neck with my thumb. “What if I want to rescue you?”

“I’d knee you in the balls,” she teases me with her lips against mine.

I laugh. “Come home with me for Thanksgiving.”

She pulls back and searches my gaze as if she’s surprised by my words.

Get used to it. I’m done holding back.

“I can’t leave Dad and Yaya.”

I nod. “What if you come for a few days and fly back here for Thanksgiving?”

She smiles. “That’s a possibility. You afraid you’re going to miss me, Old Solemn?”

“Fuck, yeah. I missed you today—that’s never happened before.”

“I missed you too.” She runs her fingers through my hair, and if I die right here, I’d die a happy man.

* * *

I drop by Emma’s office because she finished up with court early for the day. I want that motherfucker Ernie, or whatever the pervert’s name is, to see me. To know I’m here. We’re swamped with work today, but this is important. What I’m quickly learning with this girl is that she will never ask for help. She is determined to do everything on her own, so if I want to be there for her, I’m going to have to learn when and where to insert myself. And our conversation about this guy has been gnawing at me. She played it cool, but I picked up on something when she spoke. He makes her nervous, and Emma isn’t a fearful woman, so my gut tells me it’s worse than she’s saying.

I texted Mya earlier to make sure it was cool to drop by, and she meets me at the elevator when I step off.

“This is sweet of you.” She leads me down the long hallway and knocks on the door.

“Special delivery,” Mya says, patting me on the back and leaving the office.

“Hey. This is a nice surprise. What are you doing here?” Emma pushes to her feet and hurries over to me. Our lips are linked before I can answer. That’s how it is whenever we’re together. An unstoppable force.

“I know you’ve been working hard. Just wanted to pop in and say hello.”

She smirks. “Is that so? It has nothing to do with what I told you about Arwin?”

“Who?” I shrug, a weak attempt at acting nonchalant.

“Come on. I want to introduce you to Jack.” She takes my hand and leads me out of the office.

Jack is on the phone but ends his call quickly when we appear in his doorway.

“This must be Spence.” He pushes to his feet and closes the distance between us before extending his hand. “You’ve won over Sam, which is saying a lot. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. I’ve heard a lot about you.” I instantly like him. He looks at Emma the way her father does.

We make small talk and his office phone continues to ring before Emma tugs my hand and we make our way out of there. She stops to introduce me to her assistant and a few other people in the office. I’ve met a few of her friends, Heidi and Paige, when they joined us last Thanksgiving.

As we make our way back to her office, a tall man is sitting in the chair across from her desk. He startles when he sees me and pushes to his feet.

“Who do we have here?” he says, and I want to slap the stupid from his face. He’s a pretentious prick and I know right away this is the dick who’s been giving her a hard time. I can tell by the way he looks at her, and my blood boils.

“This is my boyfriend Spence, who I’ve mentioned many times. This is Arwin,” she says, looking at me with a raised brow. It’s a warning look for me to behave myself. I’ve gotten these from my mother before but never from a woman I’m dating. Everything about Emma is different. She gets me, and I get her. We’ve always been able to communicate without words. I’d much prefer to be communicating by ravishing her sexy fucking body with my mouth, but instead, I’ll deal with this dicktwat.

“Ah, yes. The boyfriend. I was starting to think she was making it up. Arwin Swim. Senior partner.” He extends his hand and I fight the urge to crush it. He’s a few inches shorter than me and his eyes flit back and forth, anything to avoid looking me fully in the eye. I stare down at him, making sure he knows I could squash his shriveled ass.

“I can assure you I’m very much real.” I grip his hand harder than usual before he pulls away.

Yeah, you hear me loud and clear, motherfucker. Don’t even think about messing with her.

Arwin chuckles. “You’ve got a live one.”

“Did you need something?” Emma asks, and I can feel her discomfort in his presence, which pisses me off.

“Yes. Jack wants me to review the questions for tomorrow’s witness with you. I have fifteen minutes right now before I go into a meeting.”

She tenses beside me and nods. “Of course. Yes. Let’s do this. I’ll just walk Spence out.”

“It was nice to meet you … boyfriend,” he says over a chuckle, as if my name is not worth the time.

I don’t respond, and I follow Emma down the hallway.

“He’s a fucking scumbag,” I whisper, as I lean down close to her ear. I love the way she leans into me.

“Agreed. Thank you for behaving. I think he gets the message.” She smiles and pushes up on her toes to kiss me. It’s quick and sweet, and it leaves me wanting more. But we’re in her office and there are people walking by, so I get it.

“You’re mine later,” I say against her ear, as I graze my lips against her.

Her face flushes, but she straightens quickly. “Count on it.”

She winks at me before walking away.

I watch her sweet round ass make its way down the hall.

And I wonder how I got so lucky to call her mine.