Page 50 of The Billionaire Offer
“How did you know?”
She shrugged. “Because I know you, Bart Philips.”
Lathering some shampoo into my hair, she motioned for me to turn again before I let my head drop back so she could wash it out. After that, we climbed out of the shower together and dried off the worst of the water before kissing on our way to the bed.
We toppled onto it, making out furiously until I remembered that the condoms were in my bag. “Fuck, I need to go grab my wallet. Possibly my whole suitcase if I’m not going to have to leave again after this time.”
She giggled, her fingers tangling in my hair before she kissed me again. “What do you need?”
“Condoms,” I said.
She reached for the nightstand and came back with a foil packet in her hand. “Oh, like this one?” she asked, smiling coyly as she handed it over. “I had some time to prepare while you were outside.”
I took it from her, sitting back on my heels to roll it on. “How many have you got?”
“Enough.” She waggled her brows at me. “For tonight, anyway. We might have to dig into your stash next time.”
As soon as we were protected, I crawled back over her and kissed her as I positioned myself between her legs. “I guess it’s a good thing I came prepared, too. I think my stash should last us a while. I bought a whole box.”
“Says the guy who got us two bedrooms.”
“Nope, says the guy who was hoping we’d only be using one of them.” I lowered my mouth to hers and kissed her slowly as I sank into her.
She writhed underneath me, moaning as we started moving together. She was so hot and so tight that I had to back off a few times to preserve my sanity, but when I felt her tense, I finally allowed myself to go over the edge with her.
Collapsing beside her, I lay there with her in my arms for a few minutes, stroking her hair and her back as we both waited for our bodies to return to normal. Serenity waited for me to take care of the condom, then beckoned me back to bed and cuddled into my side, holding on to me as her breathing evened out and she fell asleep.
Relieved that it didn’t look like she wanted me to go back to my own room, I closed my eyes and drifted off not long after. We’d had a hell of a day and we were doing it all over again tomorrow, so I needed to get some sleep, but I also wasn’t quite done with her for the night yet.
When I woke up a few hours later, I knew immediately that the bed we’d fallen asleep in together was empty. Sitting up, I started to climb off the mattress to go look for her when I noticed that the sliding doors in front of the bed were ajar.
Squinting into the darkness, I rubbed my eyes until I could focus better. Then I realized she was out there on the small balcony that led off this room. She was sitting on a chair with the tiny guitar I’d gotten her perched on her lap, strumming softly as she sang.
She was keeping it down, but eventually, I managed to hear what she was singing. It was a love song, and one I assumed was an original since I hadn’t heard it before. Straining my ears to catch the lyrics, I stayed on the bed, just watching her for a while and letting her do the thing.
As she sang, I wondered if this was one of the songs I’d inspired. Or maybe notme, but being with me these last few weeks. She sang about how puppy love sometimes grew up with us, and I sighed. I already knew my puppy love for her had grown up with me. I just wished I had the courage to say it.
CHAPTER32
SERENITY
Sitting on that balcony, I was more inspired than ever. I’d woken up with a bang a few minutes ago, an idea for a new song in my head. It didn’t sound like much yet, but as I quietly sang the words and added a few ideas of chords that tumbled into my head as I went, I knew it would get better.
It wouldn’t be the kind of song that moved mountains, but making love to Bart earlier had struck something deep inside me. This song was cute, and maybe it wouldn’t move mountains, but the one that would was coming. I could feel it.
Part of it was the city and all the new things I’d done, but the much bigger part of how I was feeling at that moment was all about the man sleeping in the bed inside. Bart had brought a different kind of passion into my life. Something that was about more than just singing and writing.
With him, I’d seen a glimpse of what my life could be. Not the money or the fancy trips and hotel, though those were nice, but the companionship, the romance, and the burning desire meant so much more.
When we’d been kids, graduation and college had always been hanging over our heads. Then we’d gone to college, and as happened to so many people, we’d grown apart. It hadn’t seemed like such a big deal at the time.
As adults, however, I was realizing that we were even better together than we had been as teenagers. It had taken me a while to pinpoint why, but I was pretty sure I knew now. In the years we’d spent apart, we’d focused on ourselves. On learning who we were and becoming those people. And those people didn’t have anything looming that threatened to break them apart.
Sure, there was the end of the trip, but that didn’t have to be the end. There was nothing anywhere that said this couldn’t be just the beginning, and that was exciting. This could be how our story started. The real story of our second chance.
Once again, I felt that warmth in my chest that said something was bubbling in that vat of inspiration. I couldn’t wait for it to reveal itself, but I didn’t think it was going to happen tonight.
Giving up on the cute song since it felt like it was just a distraction at this point, I reached for my phone and jotted down the basics of it so I could finish it some other time. Finally, once that was done, I went back inside and crawled back into bed, cuddling in next to him.
