Page 39 of Charm (Billionaire Buck Boys #7)

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Greer

I fall into him, resting my hands against his chest.

The kiss is everything, and then some.

He cups his hand around the back of my neck, owning the kiss and me. I give in to it all because it feels so good. It’s almost too good.

A phone ringing in the distance makes me pause. He does, too, but quickly dismisses it when he kisses me again.

The incessant ringing quiets as Holden starts to guide me toward the wall. He doesn’t say a word. He doesn’t need to. I know that I’m about to feel things I haven’t felt in weeks. This man takes me to places I’ve never been before.

The phone starts ringing again. Each shrill bite of the sound in the air haunts me.

“I think it’s mine,” I whisper against his lips. “I have to check it.”

He trails kisses over my neck, heading toward one of the shoulder straps of my dress. “Voicemail will pick up or they’ll call Krista.”

I whimper as he slides the strap aside before he kisses the spot under it. “Holden.”

“I need you naked, Greer,” he growls. “Jesus, do I want to fuck you. I’m hard as stone here.”

My hand falls to the front of his jeans.

The man is not lying. I can feel the outline of his rigid cock straining against the denim. With just my right hand, I fumble with the button before I free it. When I move to tug on the zipper, his hand joins mine. Our fingers tangle before we lower the zipper together.

“On your knees,” he orders. “I need your mouth on my dick.”

The plea in his voice is so needy that it catches my breath in my throat. I grab hold of his hands for leverage. I’m partway down to my knees when my phone starts ringing again.

Mild concern is now full-blown panic within me. My heart feels like it’s thundering through my chest wall.

I dart back up to standing. “I have to get it, Holden. Olive. What if it’s about Olive?”

I instantly realize what I’ve done. I’ve revealed a secret that I intended to hold onto tightly for as long as I could.

His gaze searches my face. “I’ll get the phone.”

He darts to where I left it by the front door when we came in. He scoops it up as it rings, but his gaze never leaves me.

Just as he hands it to me, the ringing subsides.

I scan the screen. Three missed calls from Martha.

I don’t care what happens next. All I care about is that my daughter is safe, so I press the button to call Martha back.

She doesn’t answer. My sweet angel does.

“Mommy?” Olive breathes hard into the phone. “Are you okay? I tried calling a thousand times.”

Holden’s gaze catches mine just as he takes a step back to give me more air to breathe and room to think.

“I’m okay, sweetheart,” I whisper into my phone. “Are you?”

“Grandma gave me her phone to call you.” She sniffles loudly. “We went to see a play in the park. There’s a lady with a box of kittens. Grandma said I can’t have one, but she said you had the last word.”

“Grandma’s right,” I say, keeping my eyes on Holden.

A soft smile spreads over his lips as he listens.

“Why can’t the last word be yes?” she whispers.

“We can’t get a kitten right now, Olive,” I tell her.

“Are you sure?” she questions. “I’ll take care of it all by myself.”

For a few days, until the responsibilities of pet ownership would fall mainly on the shoulders of her grandparents, since I work so much.

“I’m sure.” I bow my head because this unexpected collision of my real life and the man I spent the best weekend of my life with is hitting me like a freight train. My emotions are all over the place. “I’ll talk to you more about it when I get home.”

“Will that be soon?”

“Yes,” I say, sealing the fate on what I know would have been an unbelievably fun afternoon in Holden’s bed. “I’ll be home in just a little while.”

“I love you, Mommy!” she screams into the phone.

“I love you, Olive,” I say without any hesitation. “I’ll see you soon.”

I end the call and take a deep breath before I cradle my phone close to my chest and look Holden dead in the eyes.

“You’re a mom,” he says with a grin. “Aren’t you?”

“Olive is my daughter. She’s everything to me.”

“She’s a very lucky girl.” He walks toward me. “I bet you’re a kick ass mom.”

I can’t hold in a laugh. “I have my moments.”

His hand jumps up to cradle my chin. “You need to go to her now. From what I gathered, there’s some sort of kitten emergency.”

“Olive believes there is.” I sigh. “Today it’s a kitten she wants. Last week it was a hamster. Such is life with a seven-year-old.”

“Seven?” Holden tilts my chin up. “That seems like a fun age.”

“Tell that to my heart.” I pat the center of my chest. “She’s growing up too fast for my liking.”

Studying me carefully, he leans forward to kiss my cheek. “You’re even more remarkable than I thought you were, Greer.”

“Because I’m a mom?”

“Because you’re you.”

He kisses me again, but it’s on my lips this time. It’s tender and soft, and if it’s meant to make my toes curl in my shoes, it hit the mark.

“Do you want me to order you a rideshare?” He motions to where his phone is sitting on the same table mine was. “Do you live far from here?”

We’re currently in Tribeca, so I nod. “I live on the Upper East Side, but at this time of day, the subway will get me there easiest and quickly.”

Nodding, he opens his mouth as though he’s about to say something but then slams it shut.

I grin. “What is it, Holden?”

“I may be far off base here, but I can’t help but wonder if your refusal to sell Sweet Indulgence isn’t all about how much you hate me.”

My head falls back in laughter as I playfully punch his bicep. “I don’t hate you.”

“You hate the fact I’m trying to buy you out.” He kisses my cheek again. “You love the sex.”

“I really like the sex.” I make that subtle correction because the actual L word has no business in any discussion involving the two of us.

“In that case, it’s a hard like. “

I drop my gaze to the front of his open jeans. “About that… you should zip up.”

He does, chuckling the entire time. “We’ll pick this up soon?”

“Will we?” I question.

“We will,” he answers. “We both want it.”

I should point out that want and need are two very different things, and although I want desperately to be fucked by him again, I’m not sure I need it because it comes with a host of complications that have far-reaching impacts on my business.

“I need to go,” I say, taking the easy way out.

“I know.” He grips my arms in both hands. “Give me your number, Greer.”

Seconds pass as I contemplate the ramifications of that.

“You’re overthinking it.” He laughs. “I promise I won’t send you a thousand texts a day or call you telling you how much I miss you.”

“In that case, I’ll text you by the end of the day today so you have my number.”

He eyes me skeptically. “You’ll need my number to do that.”

“I have it.” I try to gently pull away from him. “Krista gave it to me a few days ago. She gave me your brother’s number, too.”

His grip on me tightens as a wicked smile settles on his lips. “And you had the willpower to not call or text me?”

“I can resist you,” I whisper, finally tugging free of his grasp.

“Maybe.” His tone deepens. “The question is for how long?”

I want to say forever, but that very well could be a lie. Hell, it would be a lie. He’s completely irresistible and he knows it.

I don’t bother saying a thing. Instead, I scoop up my purse on my way out, and without a glance back, I exit his apartment and head home to the life I’ve worked so hard to build.