Page 44 of Dr. Stone (Billionaires’ Club #9)

THIRTY-SEVEN

Jace

Our day out on the boat was perfect, even better than I ever expected. I hadn’t gone into this thing looking for something dreamy or romantic. I came in with zero expectations and just let it unfold, and maybe that’s why it ended up feeling so damn rewarding.

Now here I was, holding her hand while carrying her passed-out son in my other arm.

His tiny head rested on my shoulder, his drool beginning to soak through my shirt, and I realized how dangerously beautiful it all was.

It was all very foreign to me, of course, but I think that’s what I enjoyed most about it.

The Jace I knew from a month ago? That guy was gone.

He got forced out of existence when this woman came crashing into my life, never leaving my mind since.

All the things that should’ve scared the hell out of me before were exhilarating instead.

I couldn’t explain how I went from chasing every beautiful woman who’d have me to feeling completely content with this gorgeous one at my side and another man’s child, fast asleep in my arms like I was his dad.

I just had to admit to myself that everything about this was precisely what had been missing from my life, and now that I had it, I wasn’t letting it slip through my fingers.

“Stay with me tonight,” I said, my voice low and earnest. “Both of you.”

Her eyes shifted from the vibrant, shimmering green they’d held all day out at sea, and the golden flecks that usually lit them up melted into a darker, more serious shade of amber.

“I have no clothes here for him,” she said, smiling, but her somber eyes told me she wanted to finish what we started on Jake’s yacht and now my boat.

“Not a problem,” I said. “I’ll just take my bike up to your place after you’re sound asleep, and?—”

“I need to get Duke from the sitter before seven tonight,” she said, her expression crossed between stunned and humored.

“Not a problem,” I smiled as I pulled out my phone. “Hey, Siri, call Jake,” I said as we entered the threshold of my house.

Andie took Brandon from me as the phone rang. I wasn’t going slow anymore. I wanted to push this relationship forward. The days of being intimidated and questioning myself were gone.

“What’s up, buddy?” Jake said as I heard the familiar sounds of him walking out of the office.

“Perfect timing,” I said. “You’re just getting off?”

“Yeah. I’m on my way to get Kaley from the sitter’s and then meet Ash at Jim and Avery’s for dinner.”

“Ash and Andie use the same sitter, right?”

“I’m right here, Jace, and yes,” Andie chuckled. “What are you doing?”

“What do you want, Stone?” Jake questioned.

“I’m doing the right thing for once since I met you, gorgeous,” I answered her.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Jake asked, confused.

“I’m talking to Andie. Hold on,” I said, my brain starting to scramble as I watched Andie’s face contort into a cute expression that made me want to bring her into my arms right then and there.

“Well, excuse the fuck out of me. I’m sorry, but who called who here, dickwad?” Jake bitched on the other side of the line.

“You’re right. Okay, I’m sorry,” I said, laughing. “Forgive my horrible manners, sir. I was calling because I need you to pick up Duke from that sitter’s house tonight, too.”

“That bitch yapping little prick can walk his cocky ass home. I’m not?—”

“Listen, you owe me, and I’m fairly confident you’re still in your head about our loss yesterday. Duke will snap you right out of that shit. Besides, Ash said Duke loves the kids, and they love him.”

“I planned on fucking my wife tonight, and that little bastard isn’t going to block my cock again like he did all weekend when we watched him,” Jake said.

“Lock him up in the pantry or some shit.”

“Is this little fucker cockblocking you as well?” he asked.

I heard the smile in his voice and couldn’t resist laughing, “Sure as fuck is, and if I ever want to get laid properly in this relationship, I need you to watch him.”

“I’m supposed to help you get laid by making it so I can’t get laid, eh? What kind of world are we living in?” Jake’s humored voice told me he’d get the dog and deal with him for the night, but I would have to pay the piper for this favor.

“I just need you to take him until I figure out how to manage the little tyrant and put him in his place.”

“Only because I owe you for taking that second surgery with me will I bring the damn dog home for the night. But he goes right out of the house the next morning.”

“Have the kids sleep with him or something,” I said.

“Tried that, but I swear that dog matches his yapping to my romantic moves. He’s a goddamn menace,” Jake said while I laughed. “You’d better hope I don’t block your number after this.”

“Okay, I hear you loud and clear. Thanks, dude. I’ll talk to you later,” I said, hanging up the phone.

“Well, that wasn’t an ordeal or anything,” Andie said with a confused look. “Are you trying to ensure that everyone hates us as a couple?”

I laughed. “I’m not finished with our day,” I said, staring into her beautiful eyes. “I want you to stay with me. I have a room that will work perfectly for Brandon as well, if you think he’ll be comfortable staying here?”

She softly exhaled. “He does very well when staying with others,” she said, then reached her hand up to my face. “You’re acting a little unhinged right now, though.”

I bent to kiss her lips, rubbed the top of Brandon’s sleepy head, and let her observation slide. “Let’s get him settled in his room, and then I’m taking your gorgeous ass and running a hot bath for the both of us.” I arched a brow at her. “I hope you love baths?”

“I think I’m starting to love you,” she chuckled. “But honestly, I need to get a play pen or something. I can’t just have a random sleepover at your house with a one-year-old and not have extra clothes and diapers.”

“Follow me,” I said, leading her up to the second floor of my place and to the smallest room I had in my home. “You get him settled in here. I’m going to run out and find the closest store with baby paraphernalia because we’re going to make this work.”

“Quite determined tonight, are we?”

I brushed the back of my knuckles along her soft cheek. “I’m just sick of wasting time and being constantly interrupted when we have it.”

“Here’s the key to my house. The playpen is in Brandon’s closet, and his backpack is hanging on the back of his door.

It’s already got extra clothes and diapers packed in it,” she smiled and sighed.

“Let’s hope his teething doesn’t keep him up all night, or you’re really going to get a taste of the life you believe you want. ”

I grinned. “I wasn’t lying when I said that to you earlier today.” I took the keys to her place, kissed her lips, and stepped toward the door. “I find something about all of this beautiful and comforting, and I think it’s because I’ve never known anything like it in my entire life.”

“That’s what scares me,” she shook her head. “Now, go get his stuff while I draw a bath for us to enjoy when you get back.”

My dick immediately joined the conversation, and the surge of energy that hit me was enough to make me consider skipping Brandon’s stuff for now and handling it later. The need to have this woman again was damn near overpowering.

“Make yourself at home. I have a feeling you’ll be impressed with my bathroom,” I grinned. “It’s on the third floor.”

It took about thirty minutes to gather everything, and when I got back, I peeked into Brandon’s room.

A soft sigh of happiness slipped out of me when I saw him tucked into the low bed on the floor, throw pillows surrounding him like a cozy little nest. The scene was adorable and a bit surreal, knowing I’d helped create this perfect, nautical-themed space just for him.

I headed up to the third floor, where my master suite waited, and with it, the image I’d been craving to see. I paused in the doorway of the master bath, leaning against the frame, and let myself take it all in.

Fuck, she’s goddamn perfect.

Andie was soaking in my tub, my tub , and suddenly, the entire room I’d designed myself felt different. It was like everything was softer and lit differently.

My massive granite basin sat in the corner of the master bath like a sculpture, carved from a single slab of dark stone and polished until it shimmered like wet obsidian.

I’d designed it to mimic the feel of an infinity pool, the way the edge met the windows with no break, so when you sat inside, it felt like you were floating over the ocean.

It was unique, and everything I loved about my vision coming to life served as an escape from the world for me.

It all looked different now. Andie was half-submerged in the steaming water, her damp hair swept back, eyes closed, lips slightly parted like the warmth of it all—the stone, the water, the silence—had unraveled something deep inside her.

I smiled, just watching. The lights were dimmed low, casting a golden sheen over her skin and letting shadows trace the curve of her collarbone.

Beyond the breathtaking woman resting in my tub was the view through the floor-to-ceiling glass, which only amplified the moment.

The ocean stretched out in soft, silver waves under the moonlight, and the marina below twinkled like a constellation had crashed into the harbor.

The glass walls turned it all into a moving canvas behind her, with waves shifting and the night breeze stirring.

It created a surreal atmosphere, as if time had finally slowed down for both of us.

The third floor had been built to be my sanctuary, with every detail chosen for comfort and solitude. But in this moment, watching her sink deeper into whatever calm had taken over her, it didn’t feel like a sanctuary anymore. It felt like peace.

I’ll be damned if I wasn’t thinking this for the millionth time today…it felt like fucking home. A kind of home I’d never had or thought I needed until all of this hit me without warning. I wasn’t just falling in love with her. I was falling in love with everything that made her who she was.

I quietly stepped closer, seeing Andie’s lips curl faintly like she already knew I was there.

I wanted to remember this. The way she looked against all that stone and water and sky.

The way something I’d built for myself could hold her like that…

could move her like that. God, she was more than beautiful.

I peeled off my shirt and let it drop to the warm tile floor before taking off the rest. The water lapped softly as I climbed in behind her, careful not to startle her.

But the moment my legs brushed hers under the water, she let out a breath and a lovely, relaxed sigh that added to the unraveling I was feeling inside.

She leaned back against me instinctively, bare back pressed to my chest, while her head tipped to rest on my shoulder.

I wrapped my arms around her without a word, one hand trailing along the curve of her thigh beneath the water, and the other flattening over her stomach, holding her there.

I wanted to go further, but I needed to savor this moment first.

“Your bathroom looks like a luxurious spa,” she said, her voice humored but soft with relaxation.

“Thanks,” I chuckled. “I designed it myself.”

“Holy shit, Dr. Stone,” she said with a cute sassiness that I hadn’t heard since we first met. “You designed all of this just for yourself?” she asked softly, her voice sleepier now, like she didn’t fully want to break the silence.

I pressed a kiss to her temple. “I did, but,” I said, my voice low, “I didn’t know I’d be sharing it with you.”

Her hand slid over mine under the water, fingers lacing through as she turned just enough to look up at me.

Those eyes, those damn eyes that I could get lost in, were now hazy and heavy-lidded.

They met my hungry ones with something more profound than want.

Fuck, if I was honest, it was something that stripped me clean.

She never broke eye contact when she twisted and pulled herself up to straddle me, her hot slit slick against the tip of my cock she’d grabbed and was now teasing with her entrance that was primed and ready for my hard dick.

“Your favorite position, gorgeous,” I said, bracing my hand on the back of her neck and bringing her face closer to mine.

“I was gentle with you that first night,” I leaned up to kiss her lips, then my breath caught as she slowly slid down on my erection.

“I’m not going to be as gentle with you this time, gorgeous.

I’ve been waiting and fantasizing about this moment for too fucking long. ”

“You’ll fuck me the way I want you to, handsome,” she said, moving her hips in circles, the inside of her tight pussy grabbing and pulling my dick like it remembered.

“Damn, I’ve been waiting for you,” I said before my lips covered and swallowed her perfect breasts.

This is what I was craving, needing, and desperate for since that night, and I wasn’t going to stop until this perfect woman begged me to.