Page 45 of Under Your Scars

He pumps into my mouth twice, and then with a loud grunt that I swear has the glass of his desk vibrating, he spills down my throat without a warning. His cock twitches and pulses with satisfaction against my tongue, and he hums when he pulls back, gathering a few errant strands of his milky semen and shoving it back into my mouth with his thumb.

He lets go of my hair and tucks himself back into his pants, and then with the utmost care and concern, he trades places with me, making me sit in his office chair while he cleans my face and chest with a tissue.

“You’re nothing but trouble, Elena Young.” I blink at him, zoning out for a second, feeling like I’ve got the most uncertain hit of déjà vu in my life. I don’t hear the rest of his words. I don’t even realize I’m staring at nothing until he taps my nose.I bite my lip, embarrassed that I missed everything he said.

He saves me from having to ask and repeats himself. “We’re going out tonight. I’m giving you the rest of the day off to get ready.”

“Get ready? Where are we going?”

He pulls out his wallet and proceeds to shove a black American Express credit card between my lips, and then completely ignores my questions. “Go shopping. There’s a car waiting downstairs to drive you wherever you need. Find something pretty to wear tonight. Be ready to go at six.”

My jaw falls open and the card slides from between my lips and lands in my lap. “You’re joking,” I scoff, wide eyed and confused while he stares with what I can only describe as pure adoration in his eyes as he kneels in front of me. “You’re giving me your credit card?”

He raises a brow in confusion. “You want cash instead?”

I giggle. “No!” I lean forward and kiss him, my mouth aching. “Is this a test? Am I supposed to say ‘no,don’t spend your money on me’?”

“Elena, let me be very clear.” He stands up and leans against the desk, and then rubs his thumb over my cheek while I look up at him. “I will never, ever deny you anything. I don’t give a fuck how much it costs. You can buy the entire Chanel catalog and I wouldn’t bat an eye. Actually, please do that. My cock is already getting hard again thinking about you spending all my money.”

I pick up the card and twist it, the heavy plastic gleaning against the light from the window. His name is printed neatly at the bottom of the card.

Christian Thomas Reeves.

I peek at him from under my lashes and give him the most mischievous look I can manage. I wave the card in the space between us. “I think my first purchase will be a penthouse.” He tucks his wallet back into his pocket and laughs. “Can I at least know what kind of attire I should be wearing? Are we talking Miss Universe or cocktail party?”

Christian hums to himself. “Wear something sexy and easy for me to get you out of.”

He winks at me, presses a quick kiss to my lips, and lightly smacks my ass, warding me towards the elevator door.

There’s one mall on the rich side of Meridian City, the kind of mall filled with designers and overpriced food courts.

The driver Christian sent for me followed me into the mall, which I thought was weird. It was only after I clocked the outline of a gun in his pants that I realized he must be private security.

He’s big and burly and never takes his eyes off me while I shop. Not in a creepy way though, more like a ‘Christian Reeves will kill me if anything happens to you under my watch’ kind of way.

After some prying, I learn that the massive man’s name is Gavin. He’s a retired Marine. Has a wife and a newborn. He’s been working for the Reeves Estate for six years. Started out as perimeter security for the mansion and is now one of Christian’s most trusted bodyguards.

Gavin tells me that Christian doesn’t use his security to protect himself, but rather the people he cares about. Well,person. Christian has a godfather named Edwin, who has been with the Reeves family since his father, Thomas, moved to Meridian City. Edwin was Thomas’ private secretary and raised Christian after his parents died. Gavin used to tag along when Edwin wanted to get out of the mansion to make sure he didn’t fall or get bombarded by reporters or mugged outside a coffee shop. Edwin has become frail in his old age and has trouble walking, so he never leaves the mansion anymore.

If Gavin is following me around a mall, it’s not lost on me how that must meanI’mincluded among the people Christian cares about. The thought alone makes me blush and smile like an idiot.

I’ll be the first to admit that I love shopping just as much as the next girl, but when your ultra-rich boyfriend hands you his credit card and tells you money is no object, it’s a whole different world. I’m not typically one to spend so frivolously, but Christian was very encouraging. I jokingly texted him that I couldn’t decide between the black Louboutin’s or the nude ones, and he simply texted back ‘get both’.

I shop for five hours. Three of those, I spend on trying to find the perfect dress. I still don’t know where we’re going tonight, so I hope my choice of attire doesn’t have me making a fool of myself.

“He talks about you all the time,” Gavin says in his thick Jersey accent, causing my head to snap up to him in curiosity as we walk back to the car, a dozen shopping bags in his hands. “Don’t think I’ve heard him get through a sentence without mentioning your name.”

“Really?” I ask, insecurity prominent in my voice.Gavin laughs quietly to himself as he opens the car door for me. I slide in and he walks around the hood to get in on the driver’s side.“What’s so funny?”

“He’s down bad.” He takes off towards my apartment. “He was…different before he met you.”

“Different how?”

Gavin takes a deep breath as if he’s considering how much he should say. “Sad. Violent. Angry. I don’t think he’s smiledoncein the past thirty years, but then he met you. I don’t mean that fake shit he does for the press. I mean a real smile.”

Sad? Violent? Angry?

I would haveneverused those words to describe Christian. But I suppose now that I think about it, I don’t actually know anything about him. At least not anything that the general public doesn’t already know. I guess he must be a little violent to have accosted Neil Hayden the day we met, but otherwise, he’s been nothing but charming. He’s a sweetheart.