I get up and meet her at the bottom of the stairs. I take her hand and pull her closer to me. I’ve been careful when kissing her. I don’t want to push her. I want her to feel comfortable with the pace.
When I make love to her - and that day will come – it will be because she’s ready and she wants it just as much as I do.
I place a soft kiss on her cheek and then go to grab my keys. “Let’s go.”
Simon is already waiting for us when we walk out onto the pavement. This time Kris doesn’t argue and gets in.
The SUV pulls away from the curb, taking us on our first date. I’m excited. So far everything is going as planned.
“What do you do for a living?” Kris asks. “I never…” she waves her hand in the air, “It’s weird. I never thought of you as a man with a normal job, a family … you know, the normal stuff.”
“How did you think of me?” I’m half scared of her answer.
“I don’t know, it’s confusing. At first I thought you were sad. You always looked sad. Then,” she shrugs, “I don’t know. One day you were protective and gentle and the next you were mean and controlling. The only thing I do know is that you are nothing like those other men. You never treated me like they did. They didn’t even refer to me as human, I was merchandise to them. At the end of it all I felt safe with you in my own twisted way.”
My heart is beating fast. I didn’t expect her to be that nice about it. “And what do think now?”
“Now?” I nod when she hesitates. “You’re a totally different person. You’re kind and patient. I think deep down I knew you were different than Warren all along. You never hurt me like he did. I think that’s why I felt safe with you. I just wish none of that had to happen. I would have liked to have met you under different circumstances.”
I take her hand in mine and bring it to my lips. I place a kiss on her palm and then hold her hand on my thigh. “I want you to still feel safe with me. I said it then and I still mean it, I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“I have a question.”
She looks uncomfortable asking, so I encourage her with a smile. “You can ask me anything.”
“Why go through all this trouble? You say you want to get to know me, but why? The dating, the kissing, I don’t understand any of it.”
That’s when I realize she really doesn’t know how I feel about her. I slip my hand behind her neck and pull her closer. “I want to get to know you better because I think you’re an amazing person. The dating and kissing is because I care about you and I can’t keep my hands off you. I would like a chance to see where this can go.”
“Is that why you bought me?” Her voice is small as she asks this.
“I paid that amount so that no one could buy you. You’re not for sale. I wanted you to have your freedom, but I never stopped thinking about you.”
She leans forward and places a kiss on the corner of my mouth. “Thank you, Garrett.”
“For what?” I’m about to tell Simon to take us back to the apartment. I’d rather be alone with her right now.
“For not leaving me there. Thank you for caring.”
It’s hard to keep my hands off her, to not devour her right here in the back seat. I clear my throat so I don’t sound like a horny teen. “You asked what I do for a living.”
She nods, leaning her body closer to me. It’s making everything harder.
“I just sold off most of my shares in my promotional company, Fine Promotions. After we came back I dealt with some issues at the office and then we decided to sell some shares so we have more time to focus on other things.”
“Like what?”
I love how things are between us now and where it’s heading. It actually looks like she’s giving me a chance to redeem myself.
“I wanted to look for you and there you were under my nose the whole time.”
She looks a little shock at my admition. “You were going to look for me?”
“Of course. I’d be insane not to.”
Simon stops in front of the restaurant and I help her out. She grabs my hand and holds me back. “I don’t think I’m dressed appropriately for this restaurant,” she whispers.
I pull her hand through my arm. “You look stunning. There’s nothing wrong with what you’re wearing.”
We walk in and Kris inches closer to me as the hostess smiles at us. “Mr. Macht, it’s so nice to see you again. Your usual table?”
“Please.” We follow her to the back and I pull out Kris’s chair for her. When I take a seat opposite of her, her eyes are wide on me. “What?”