Page 41 of Tart
“Thank you...I think,” I said, my lips dangerously close to his again.
“That was definitely a compliment. My mouth waters just thinking about how you’d taste under my tongue. Would you melt like butter the moment my tongue touches you? Do you taste sweet? Those are all things I want to know. Those are the things I have to know,” he hissed, pressing his hardness into my hip again.
“I’ll give you your thirty days, Bishop Halla,” I whispered into the night, my heart pounding from desire and the words I was about to say. “But first, you’ll have to marry me.”
I heard his fake proposal and a real one solidify into my reality, when another moan erupted from his lips right before they slammed into mine again.
MY BEDROOM AT THE APARTMENTwas emptying out. It was weird and exciting at the same time. I was moving out of my parents’ house for the first time in my life. I’m aware of how stupid that sounds, considering the circumstances, but I couldn’t help it. Watching Bishop carry my things from here to his house all day made my belly quiver with excitement. Yes, I was only moving next door. Yes, I was going to have my own bedroom and not be sleeping with that sexy hunk of a man, but none of that kept the excitement about a new adventure at bay.
I glanced around the bedroom and shuddered in a way that told me this was real. My life was changing. I was going to be a wife before I was even a girlfriend. I was also a burden to the man who was trucking around heavy boxes like they weighed nothing more than a pillow. I had to remember that. Last night, he said he’d prove to me in thirty days that I was what he wanted, not just as a fake wife, but as a real one. I gave it fifteen days before he regretted those words. I wasn’t going to hold him to this marriage. If either of us showed signs of unhappiness, I would end it immediately. It would break my heart to do it, but I would do it. Bishop was a good guy who deserved happiness with someone who didn’t jump at every loud noise and wasn’t broken in mind and body.
I folded the bedspread up on the bed and finished tucking it under the pillows. I was finally satisfied with how neat and orderly the room looked and felt. When Bishop came back, I’d have him lift the boxes onto the bed, so they were within easy reach. Since I wouldn’t be sleeping here, I planned to use the apartment as an office to get all of the bakery paperwork sorted out. I didn’t want to move it all to Bishop’s house only to move it back to the bakery. Besides, it would be nice to have time away from each other every day. He had work he needed to get done for school, too. Not being in his atmosphere all the time would guarantee me time away from this constant thrumming inside me to lay down in our marriage bed for real.
“Did we get everything?” he asked when he strode back through the door of the bedroom.
“I think so,” I said, looking around me. “Once we put the boxes up on the bed, I can use this room as an office. I have the desk set up so I can prop my leg up on the bed while I work.”
He hefted the boxes up on the bed and rested his hand on one of them. “I like this set-up. It gives you a good space to work while protecting your leg.”
I waved my hand at the bed, which was now filled with boxes. “I agree, but it just dawned on me that with the bed covered, I can’t sleep here if it’s storming. Maybe we should just put one up at a time.”
He dropped his hand from the box and walked over, taking my shoulders. “You won’t need to worry about it. I have a guy coming tomorrow to install a chair lift for the basement. You’ll be able to go up and down without worrying about falling. We’ll get a second pair of crutches to leave in the basement, too. That way, you don’t have to worry about taking them down with you.”
I tipped my head to the left in wonderment. “Bishop, you can’t put an expensive chair lift in your house just for me. That’s too much!” I hated how my heart pounded in a pitter-patter pattern at the thought of it.
He grasped my hand and held it to his chest. “Listen, my little tart. There is nothing too expensive if it means you’re safe. A friend of mine had one he was taking out of his parents’ basement, and he just wanted it gone. I bought it, and tomorrow it will be installed. You still won’t be able to go upstairs to the loft, but I decided as far as you were concerned, the basement was a better bet.”
I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him, my words a whisper against his ear. “Thank you so much, Bishop. I’m so relieved to know I’ll be safe at your house.”
He held me tightly and swayed with me, the warmth of him soaking into my chest like a soothing balm. “I’ll do anything and pay anything to keep you safe, sweetart. That’s why we’re doing this, so you can get back to living your life. I hope I’ll remain part of it, but if I don’t, at least I’ll know I had a little part in getting you back to the Amber you used to be.”
I didn’t know what to say to him. I didn’t know how to tell him all the things inside me, so instead, I pressed my lips to his and let the kiss tell him what I couldn’t find words to say. “You’re the best, Bishop Halla,” I said against his lips before I dove back in, my tongue caressing his. He had me pressed so tightly against him that I felt the second he went hard and rigid against my belly. Was I the reason he responded the way he did when we kissed? Logically I knew I was, but at the same time, it was hard to believe that a girl like me could turn someone like Bishop on that fast. He was the epitome of the perfect male specimen and by the feel of things, generously endowed in the steel rod department as well. I moaned, tipping my head to the left to give him better access to the roof of my mouth. I loved it when he stroked it with his velvety tongue. He made me want to come every time he did it. I rubbed my belly against him until a moan ripped from his throat that was absolutely panty mel—”
“Knock-knock,” came a voice. Bishop and I jumped apart. I would have fallen to the floor if Bishop hadn’t caught me.
I cleared my throat. “Hay-Hay, I wasn’t expecting you.”
She was snickering when she answered. “As I can see. I don’t mean to interrupt.”
Bishop held up his hand and smiled at my best friend. “Hey, Haylee. You aren’t interrupting. I was just heading back home.” He turned to me and winked. “See you later?” He mouthedlunch,and I nodded.
He strode past her, not bothering to hide the fact that I was the woman who turned him on. He was barely out the door before Haylee was squealing. “Amber!” I swear she was about to hyperventilate. “What the hell are you doing in your apartment, kissing Bishop Halla?”
I glanced around and shrugged. “Should I be standing on the sidewalk instead? His house? The dock?”
She stomped her foot with frustration. “You know what I mean!”
I held up my hand and motioned for her to go out and sit on the couch. “I told you Bishop kissed me before. This isn’t new.”
“A second kiss is new,” she said, lowering her brow. “You sometimes let a guy kiss you once, but you never allow it a second time.”
I shrugged, having no idea how to tell her that not only had he kissed me more than once, but I was marrying the guy. “That was more like the fifth or sixth kiss, but who’s counting? Last night, while I was kissing him on his lap, his Johnsonville was pretty excited to see me.”
She threw her hand to her chest and nearly hyperventilated. It took her a full minute before she could speak, and then it was more like high pitched moaning ofoh my God. Cripes, if she was this excited over a kiss, imagine what would happen in a few minutes when I dropped my bombshell on her.
“You were on his lap?” she finally got out.
I patted her shoulder and winked. “I’m not a virgin, Hay-Hay. I have slept with men before. For Pete’s sake, you make me sound like I’m sixteen and just been kissed.”
