37

Chapter 37.

It was a colonial style mansion with white stones that gleamed against the sunset. It had to have been built in the 1930s—the marbled pillars that led into the entrance were reminiscent of the ones I’d seen in my history design books.

The arched windows—there were far too many to count, were at least eight feet tall and the glass within them was tinted black.

“Olivia?” Jason was standing at my door with his arm outstretched. “Would you like to come inside?”

I stepped out of the car and followed him up the smooth slate steps and past the vintage front door.

The inside of the house was a stark contrast to the outside. While a few remnants of the colonial style had been saved, most of the house had been completely modernized: There were walls constructed completely from glass and free-standing spiral staircases. There were also high vaulted ceilings and recessed lighting.

Why does he need all this space?

He stopped walking once we arrived in what appeared to be an old parlor room. He pulled out a chair for me and walked behind the enormous bar.

I looked all around me, admiring the original artwork that hung in sparkling silver frames. “Will you give me a tour of everything before we leave?”

“Of course.” He opened a cabinet. “I can show you around the whole place tomorrow.”

“Do you really need more than one house in the same city? Why can’t you just stay in this one? It’s more than big enough...”

“I see my properties as investments.” He uncorked a bottle of wine. “This house isn’t really a home right now. It’s considered to be a landmark.”

“Why?”

“It once belonged to Charles Ellis, the other designer of the Golden Gate Bridge. He built this house to show off how innovative he could be, how far he could push structural design in the 1930s. Apparently he was spending too much time on it, so they put him off the bridge project before it was completed.”

“He never got credit for helping?”

“Not until 2007,” he said as he handed me a glass. “He’d been dead for decades by then though.”

“How sad...What made you buy it?”

“I was looking for an estate to invest in years ago, and it caught my attention as soon as I drove by. It reminded of a house in a book I read once. It’s a classic, but I can’t remember the name of it for the life of me right now...”

“What’s the book about?”

“Are you going to try and guess the title?” He smiled. “Are you that good with books?”

“Maybe...”

“1920s. Jazz Age. Wealthy guy who loves to throw lavish parties. Townspeople have no idea how he acquired his wealth and he’s in love with—”

“The Great Gatsby?”

He nodded and took a sip of his wine. “I’m impressed.”

“This house doesn’t really feel like single person space. It seems like it’d be more fitting for a family.”

“I can see that. Maybe someday I’ll have one here...”

I stilled.

It was moments like this that the insecurities I’d managed to bury crawled out of the ground and laughed in my face. I knew damn well that this fling wouldn’t last forever, that we weren’t meant to be together, but there were small instances that made those facts more apparent, more glaring.

And anytime those instances came up, the confidence I’d built up quickly crumbled into a million little pieces.

“Can I be frank with you for a few seconds, Jason?”

“You’re asking for permission to speak?”

I sighed. “You just reminded me of a reason why I shouldn’t be with you.”

“Come again?”

“You and I should end this before it gets—”

“Before it gets what?” He set his glass down and narrowed his eyes at me.

“You just said you wanted to have a family of your own here one day and I can’t give you that... Ever. My tubes are tied and even if I were to get that reversed, it’s pretty risky for someone at my age to...Anyway, we’re not that serious about each other so I don’t know why I even—” I sighed. “I think we should go back to the strictly sex thing that we had before. I don’t want to hold you back from enjoying your twenties. I definitely enjoyed mine and I want you to do the same. After we get done having sex tonight, take me home and we can try to put whatever this is back to where it once was...”

He stared at me, blinking slowly as if he was trying to process everything I’d said. I braced myself for his rebuttal, but he simply rolled his eyes and downed the rest of his wine.

He strolled over to me and pulled me out of my chair. He placed his arms around my waist and pressed his forehead against mine. “One, I’ve never had any desire to have kids of my own. Never. Two, when I said I wanted a family here, I was referring to one that would rent out this house because I’m putting it on the leasing market at the end of the year. Three, you should’ve told me that your tubes were tied a long time ago. I would’ve stopped buying so many fucking condoms. And four, you’ve never struck me as the insecure type so I’m not sure why you’ve been backpedaling so much lately, but let me make this clear: I am serious about you. I am enjoying my twenties. We’re not going back to a strictly physical relationship, and I’m not taking you home until tomorrow. Are we clear?”

“Yes...” I whispered and felt my heart skip a beat.

“Good. Let’s take a shower.”

“Together?”

“Of course not.” He released me from his arms. “I’ll take mine upstairs and you’ll take yours downstairs. As soon as we’re done, I’ll tuck you into bed and kiss you goodnight.”

Before I could fire back, he clasped my hand and led me out of the parlor and up the grand staircase. He twisted the doorknob to a black door and pulled me inside a massive bathroom.

Wow...

It was the size of my living room five times over; the crystallized glass shower alone was the size of my office. From its windows, I could see that there was a wet bench that wrapped around its insides, a sleek entertainment system that was embedded into the wall, and rotating panels with water jets that hung from the ceiling.

Across the room, was a marble spa tub that looked like it was meant to be a wave pool. And on the back wall, an open sauna puffed steam across the room’s sparkling white floors.

I stepped forward and ran my fingers against the marble countertop. Curious, I reached out to touch the quartz-like material that surrounded the wall length mirror, but I felt Jason wrapping his arms around me from behind.

“You frustrate the shit out of me, Olivia.” He looked at me in the mirror, sighing. “That said, I can’t get enough of you for some reason...Every time I think that you’ve almost accepted us, you come up with some new ridiculous reason to pull away...”

“Well, you’re not exactly the—”

“Shhh...” He spun me around and kissed my lips. “You’re not allowed to talk tonight.” He slowly lifted my shirt over my head. “But you can scream as loud as you want to.” He kissed me again and my heart started beating faster.

Looking into my eyes, he slowly pulled the silver clip I was wearing out of my hair. He tossed it onto the floor with my shirt and began unsnapping my bra.

He unclasped my pants and let them fall into a pool on the floor. Then he stepped back and looked at me, really looked at me, as if he were regarding something valuable, something he genuinely cared about.

He bent down and lifted my feet up one at a time, carefully slipping my heels off. He moved the shoes to the side and delicately kissed his way up my legs, stopping once he reached my waist. He held me steady as he ran his tongue above the outline of my lace panties, pressing soft, warm kisses against my skin.

As he slid my panties down to the floor, my body became a quivering mess.

He hadn’t touched or kissed me since that day he told me about the “promise” and I was suddenly feeling nervous.

“Why are you shaking?” He stood up and brushed his fingers against my lips. “I’m going to make it perfect for you.”

“Make what perfect?” I barely managed.

“You’re not supposed to talk, Olivia.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “If you say anything else, I’ll have to punish you. Are we clear?”

I nodded.

“Good.” He caressed my breasts and stepped back, gesturing at his clothes. “Your turn.”

I stood still for several seconds, not sure where to start—what to do. He and I had had sex hundreds of times, and we’d definitely become comfortable with each other’s bodies, but this felt more sensual—more intimate.

“Olivia?” He grabbed my hand and placed it on his chest. “Start with my tie.”

I rose up on my tiptoes and looped my fingers through the knot, trying my best to avoid his heated gaze. As the tie fell to the floor, I began unfastening his shirt’s buttons—smiling as I felt his skin warm up, as I felt his reaction to me.

I reached up and slid the shirt off his shoulders, taking my time with his sleeves. I stared at the perfectly chiseled chest that stood in front of me, running my hands across it and biting my lip.

“Finish.” He caught my wrist and darted his eyes from mine to his pants.

I unbuckled his belt, sliding it free from the pant loops. I undid the button on his slacks, and they fell down to the floor without any help.

Since he’d already slid out of his shoes, he smirked and playfully tugged at his dark blue briefs, where his huge erection was straining against the fabric.

I bent down to pull them off, but instead of using my hands, I used my teeth. I sat up on my knees and rubbed my hands up and down his length—making him gasp, and then I took all of him into my mouth.

I eased him in and out, slowly flicking my tongue against his shaft. I cupped his balls in my hands, softy massaging them as I sucked on him faster and faster.

“Via...” He groaned. “Via, stop.”

I slowly pulled back like I was going to consider his pleas, but then I twirled my tongue around his thick tip, watching him shut his eyes in tortured pleasure.

His guttural response to me was driving me insane; I felt so in control. I forced all of him into my mouth again, feeling his muscles twitch and spasm with the hard pressure of my tongue.

I started massaging him with my hands again, sucking on him even harder, but he yanked me up by my shoulders and spun me around.

He bent me over the marble counter and slid a finger inside of me, forcing wetness to slip down my thighs.

I waited to feel exactly what I wanted—what I needed. I waited for him to impale me and make me scream, but nothing came. Before I could turn around and ask what was wrong, I felt him lifting me into his arms and carrying me across the room—towards the shower.

The glass doors slid open as we approached, and as soon as he set me down on the floor, the lights that hung above started to glow in a soft yellow. The water jets that protruded from the walls and the ceiling began to spray warm water over us.

He walked over to a hanging shelf and picked up a couple of pink bottles. “Tonight isn’t about me, Via. It’s about you.” He spun me around so my back was against his torso. Then he began palming my breasts with one hand. “You are very tempting though...” He pressed his erection against my ass—frustrating me, making me want to turn around and—

“Are you about to say something, Via?” The way he said my name made me yearn for him even more. “Are you frustrated?” he whispered in my ear. “Tempted to try me because you don’t believe what I said about not talking?”

I sucked in a breath and shook my head.

“I hope not.”

The next thing I felt were cool droplets being squeezed onto my head. Then I felt his hands gently spreading the cream all over my hair.

I shut my eyes and leaned against him as he lathered my hair, as he moved his fingers around my scalp in a circular motion, leaving no part untouched.

Please don’t stop...