Page 34 of The Tycoon
Lifting a brow, I give him a curious look. For someone who supposedly loves lounging on exotic beaches and spends time in the sauna daily, his answer surprises me.
“Really?”
“Yeah,” he begins dancing his fingertips up my calf to my thigh. “Now I have you to keep me warm if I’m too cold. I’ll have you cuddle up with me and I’ll be at the perfect temperature. Hmm…maybe I should buy us a cabin up in Alaska. The thought of being snowed in with you sounds mighty fine to me.”
I can’t help but laugh. While I approve of his answer and think he’s the sweetest thing ever, this is now the fifth location he’s suggested we buy a house in. First were Hawaii and Positano because I’ve always wanted to go to both but have never been. Then he brought up San Diego so I could go home whenever I wanted. Next came Orlando because I love theme parks, and now Alaska so I can keep him warm. I know he has the means, but he doesn’t have to say things like this to impress me. I don’t think there’s anything he could do to make me want to leave him.
“You know, they do have cabins we can rent, Sir. Wedon’t have to buy one.”
Shrugging his shoulders, he locks his needy eyes to mine.
“While yes that’s true, do you really want to climb into a bed that still has traces of the previous occupant’s semen? We all know that housekeeping isn’t as meticulous as they claim to be, even in the swanky resorts.”
Twisting my face in disgust, I try not to think about all the hotel rooms I’ve stayed in over the years, and how they were probably all caked in invisible DNA. On second thought, maybe hotel rooms aren’t as wonderful as I once thought.
“Ew. Good point, Sir,” I say.
“Mmhm, I always know what’s best, Princess. Just let me spoil you with a few vacation homes. After I buy our actual home, that is. Oh, speaking of,” he says, pausing to play with the lace hem of my silk pajama shorts. “We have a house showing this Friday at ten. There’s a new construction that just came on the market up in The Groves. It’s beautiful, I know you’re going to love it. Five beds, five baths, a little under five thousand square feet. It’s pretty perfect.”
Taking in a breath, my eyes widen as I register his words. I’ve heard amazing things about the new Master Planned community just north of Dallas. I’m shocked that there is a chance that we might live there, in what sounds like a gigantic house no less. With the best school district in the state, it would be a wonderful place for us to have a family. To put down roots.It’s everything I’ve always wanted. Now I really,reallywant to pinch myself.
“The Groves? Are you serious?” I ask, my voice lifting.
Nodding his head, Sutton gives me a flirty wink. A smug expression falls over his face while his fingertips trail upwards towards my panties. He’s quite proud of himself, but he deserves to be. He’s too damn perfect.
“Serious as a heart attack, Princess. I’ll pull up pictures of it after dinner. You’re going to love the kitchen. It has amassiveisland,” he says, his gaze dipping from my eyes to my lips, and back again.
My heart all but jumps into my throat, I know exactly what he’s thinking. We had a brief discussion earlier about things we would like to try. I somehow mustered up the courage to say that I’ve always wanted to be thrown onto a kitchen counter. I still can’t believe I said it out loud, but it seems to have made an impression on him. Now I’m equally excited, and nervous, for Friday.
Clearing my throat, my attention moves back to my phone. Blinking at the screen, I try my hardest to focus on the questions staring back at me. I hear him chuckle as the tip of his index finger makes its way under the seam of my panties. My breath hitches from his wanton touch, my cheeks start to flush. I know we don’t have any time to fool around butGod,does this man love to tease me.
“You’re so bad.”
“Oh, you have no idea,” he purrs, his finger grazing my hip. “How bad I can really be.”
I lift my eyes for a split second to look at him, it’s just enough time for me to see his ravenous expression. Clearing my throat once again, I squeak out the next question in the hopes of distracting both of us.
“Ok, here’s a good one! It’s kinda dark, but interesting. Ok. would you rather be strangled to death, or be smothered to death?” I give it a moment to marinate before I answer. “Well, that’s easy! I think I would rather be strangled!”
As soon as I finish my sentence, Sutton’s touch stills on my skin. He quickly pulls his finger from my panties, settling off an alarm in my brain. I turn to him, my face scrunching in confusion as I notice a sudden change in his demeanor. Gone is the confident, cocky man that I’ve been enjoying the company of. He’s turned into something I don’t recognize.
Sitting ramrod straight, his handsome face is completely void of all emotion. His eyes are so dark, they’re almost obsidian in color. They stare at my neck with an intensity that makes my skin pebble and my pulse race.
“No, you don’t,” he replies, his voice flat and removed of any warmth. “It’s a terrible way to go, you don’t deserve that hell.”
Hissing something under his breath, his bare shoulderstense and start to hunch. I can’t make out exactly what he’s saying, but it sounds just as ominous as what I was able to hear.What the hell is going on?
“Sir?”
His unblinking gaze stays on my throat, something dangerous flashes behind his eyes. His icy voice grows in volume, sending a sharp chill down my spine.
“Can’t do that to you. I won’t. Not you. Never you,” he whispers.
Swallowing hard, my anxiety spikes. I try to break his trance by moving my head so that his gaze is forced to meet mine.
“Sutton? Is…is everything ok? Are you ok?” I ask, my voice tight with uncertainty.
He continues to stare for another ten seconds before his trance finally lifts. The switch within him is like night and day, it’s almost as if he was able to somehow reclaim his soul.