Chapter 20: : Chapter 20

I hesitate as I stare at Ezra’s front door, unsure how to navigate the new dynamics between Serenity and me. Do we still hang out together, or does she want certain boundaries between us? “Fuck it,” I murmur, before ringing the bell.

She opens the door moments later, and a rush of something I can’t quite define runs down my spine as I take her in. She looks fucking breathtaking in those tiny shorts and her sports bra, random paint streaks all over her body and her beautiful, long, curly hair cascading over her shoulders, to her waist.

“Archer,” she says, clearly surprised to see me so early on a Saturday morning. “Hi!”

I grin as she steps aside to let me in. “Hi, darling,” I murmur, the endearment slipping past my lips subconsciously.

She smiles in that adorably shy way, and my heart begins to beat a little faster as she leads me into the living room. Her eyes roam over my jeans and tee appreciatively as I sit down and lean back, and it takes all of me not to pull her on my lap and kiss her.

“I started the painting you requested,” she tells me, plopping down right next to me, her thigh brushing against my jeans. “I didn’t want to bother you unnecessarily, so I brought some of the supplies you bought back with me. Since Ezra isn’t home this weekend, I figured I could work on it without being interrupted.”

It’s unreal how much her mere proximity has started to affect me. I’ve never experienced anything like this. The giddiness, the way my heart races when she looks into my eyes. It’s all new, and it throws me off. I can’t resist touching her and wrap my arm around her, pulling her closer, my face inches from hers. “So you planned to paint all day today? Bring it all back to mine later. I set up the spare room for you, so you’d have your own space for it. I want you in my home, darling. You’re always welcome, even if I’m not there.”

She nods, her eyes dropping to my mouth. I watch as she bites down on her lip, and my cock instantly hardens. The hold she has over me is unbelievable. “Okay, I, um, I will, and yeah, I was just gonna paint. Unless you had something else in mind?”

I reach for her and lift her onto my lap, my willpower entirely nonexistent when she looks at me like that. She gasps, her eyes widening when she feels my cock pressing against her ass, her gaze instantly becoming heated. Her breathing accelerates just a touch as she places one hand over my heart, the other moving around to the back of my neck.

“I did have something else in mind, actually,” I murmur, holding on to the last shreds of my sanity with all my might as I grab her waist, loving the feel of her. “Knowing you, you probably have a list of things you want to do here, don’t you?” I smirk, and she raises a brow. “Other than me, of course.”

She laughs, and her head falls back in the most beautiful way. “You’re ridiculous,” she says, her eyes twinkling. “But yes, I do have a list.”

“Let’s do something on your list today, then. I’m free all day.” It’s not exactly true. I have mountains of paperwork to get through, but I don’t give a fuck. It’s been so long since I last took a day off, and one day won’t kill me.

“Really?” She looks so bewildered, so hopeful, and instantly an unbidden thought comes to mind. I’d do anything for her if she keeps looking at me that way.

“Yep. Go get ready. I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

She jumps off my lap excitedly. “Then I want to have brunch at the highest restaurant in the city. Can we?”

“Heritage Harvest?” I ask, raising a brow.

She nods, her gaze pleading. Sera looks like she’s about to attempt to convince me with a thousand reasons why that’s what we need to do today, and I grin.

“You got it, baby,” I tell her as I grab my phone.

She does the cutest little jump before turning and rushing away to get dressed, getting ready in record time. Not even thirty minutes later, we’re walking into the restaurant she wanted to go to, my hand on her lower back, a strange sense of pride rushing through me.

There’s something thrilling about having her by my side. It makes me feel like I’m on top of the world to stand next to her, especially in that gorgeous red summer dress she’s wearing, her lips a matching shade.

“Mr. Harrison,” the restaurant manager says, his demeanor nervous as he throws Serenity a smile. “It’s such an honor to have you here today. We prepared our best table for you.”

I nod, and they lead us to a floral birdcage-style booth on the rooftop terrace. Serenity gasps, and I smile to myself as she scoots along the circular bench. It’s been positioned to face an unobstructed view offering us a great deal of privacy. Even I have to admit it’s pretty damn magical.

“Your favorite champagne,” the manager says, smiling. All the while, Serenity just takes it all in, some of her initial excitement seemingly dimmed as she begins to tap her leg. “There’s a set menu today, but if there’s anything off the menu you’d like, we will of course make that for you.”

I glance at my girl and place my hand on her thigh, a rush of possessiveness coursing through me when she looks at me. “Tell me what you want,” I tell her. “Anything at all, darling.”

She smiles shakily and shakes her head. “The set menu is fine.”

I nod, and the manager walks away, leaving the two of us alone. “What’s wrong?” I ask, slipping my hand underneath her dress to caress her thigh.

“Nothing,” she says, looking away.

I reach for her and gently pinch her chin, turning her face back to mine. “Communication is important to me, Serenity. If we’re going to be together in any capacity, I need you to communicate with me.”

She looks into my eyes, insecurity flashing through them. “It’s just…you’ve clearly been here before. It’s silly, but my thoughts just began to spiral. I thought of you coming here with Tyra, and I just felt so guilty to be sitting here with you. It’s not my intention to take her place. I’d never dare even dream of it, and I just…”

I cup her face, the same guilt she’s feeling hitting me hard too. “I’ve never been here with her, but even if I had, it wouldn’t matter. One of the reasons I agreed to this arrangement between us is because I want to make an active effort to let her go.” I sigh and run a hand through my hair. “No one could ever replace her, but I don’t want to live in the past anymore.”

She nods, her expression solemn. “Me neither. When I added this place to my list, I thought that I’d come here with—”

I lean in and kiss her, cutting her off. She startles, and then she kisses me back, her hand wrapping around the back of my neck. My forehead drops to hers when I pull away, my heart racing. “I don’t want his name on your lips when you’re with me.”

She bites down on her lip when I pull away, her gaze heated, and I can’t help but smile. It’s odd, how frequently I find myself smiling in her presence. I’m enthralled by her, and I don’t snap out if it until our brunch is served by the chef himself.

“He seemed even more nervous than the manager was,” Serenity says, taking a bite of her food, the sun shining down on her beautifully, illuminating her like some sort of goddess.

“Probably because I own this restaurant and he realizes that he’ll lose his job if you don’t enjoy his food.”

She stares at me wide-eyed, and I grin.

“What?” I murmur. She’s so fucking precious, and I don’t think she even realizes it.

Serenity pouts in the cutest fucking way, and desire rushes through me. How the fuck does she do this to me? “I thought this was just a popular date spot for you and that’s why they all knew you. I’ve seen photos of you with famous models and actresses in that gossip magazine, The Herald.”

I grin as I cup her face, my heart beating wildly. “You’re jealous.” Her eyes flash angrily, and I chuckle. “What a beautiful fucking sight. Almost as pretty as when you come for me.”

“I—I’m not!”

I smirk as I lean in to kiss her, taking my time to part her lips and tangle my tongue with hers, just the way she likes it. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about her body recently, it’s that her tongue is sensitive, and kissing her turns her on faster than anything else could.

“I’m yours,” I promise her when I pull away, enjoying the way she pants for me, the way her eyes fill with desire, all for me. “I’m yours for however long this lasts, Serenity. I don’t share, and I don’t expect you to either. While we’re together, you’ll have all of me.” I pause then, hesitating. “Besides, none of those dates were what you think they were.”

She nods and pulls back a little, clearly flustered as she reaches for her fork and takes a bite of her truffle eggs. “Tell me about the restaurant,” she says. “I never realized you owned anything other than Serenity Solutions.”

I smirk as I grab her wrist and steal her next bite off her fork. She makes me act in ways I never have before. Somehow, being with her makes me more playful, more like a version of myself I thought disappeared over a decade ago.

“My mom loves cooking, and when my grandfather disowned me for refusing to follow in his footsteps and becoming a hotelier, she began to implement weekly cooking classes for my sister and me over video calls. I think it was just her way to ensure I stayed part of our family even after I moved out and began to spend less time with them, but it resulted in me becoming a huge foodie. I wouldn’t want to be a chef, but I love the idea of having some input on menus and giving aspiring chefs a chance. Every time I find a new chef I love, I check if they’d like to run a restaurant for me.” I point at her food and smile. “I found this chef through his social media videos. He’d been cooking at home as a hobby while working three different jobs, but he was meant for this restaurant, and hiring him was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

She looks at me with a hint of pride, and it does something to me, makes me feel vulnerable. “Why doesn’t anyone know about this? I’ve never heard Ezra mention it.”

I shrug. “He knows, but he also knows I like to keep these kinds of things low-key.”

She nods, and we fall into easy conversation as we eat. I let her steal bites of my food, and she lets me steal kisses. Everything with her is so fucking effortless, and I never knew it could be like this. I feel so free around her. I didn’t even realize how tense I was before I sat down here with her.

“What other hobbies do you have?” she asks eventually, genuine interest in her expression. “I feel like I’ve known you for half my life and I’m only just finding out that I don’t actually know you at all.”

I grin as I place my hand on her thigh and squeeze. “I’d argue that you know me better than most.”

She bites down on her lip again and throws me a flustered look. “Arch.”

I laugh and pinch her chin as I lean in for a quick kiss. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun just hanging out and chatting with someone. “I love art,” I tell her. “Food and art are the two biggest loves of my life.” I look into her eyes, my gaze searching. “I’m a huge fan of The Muse. Have you ever heard of her?”

Her eyes widen a fraction, panic clouding them for a second, before we’re interrupted by the chef serving us desserts before she can answer. I watch her as she looks at the variety of pastries and cakes excitedly, and the way she moans when she takes a bite of chocolate cake fucking drives me wild.

“Come here,” I murmur, pulling her onto my lap.

She gasps as I wrap my arms around her. “Archer,” she whisper-shouts.

“No one can see us from here, and now that we’ve been served dessert, they won’t bother us for a while.” I lean in and kiss her just below her ear, earning myself a delicious little shiver. “I vividly remember you putting one interesting item on your list when I asked you what you wanted sexually.” She wanted me to make her come in public, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Her breath hitches when I part her legs and slip my fingers between them, my cock twitching when I find her wet already. I suspected kissing her as much as I have been today would do it for her, but feeling it…fuck. Nothing makes me feel more powerful than knowing I have that effect on her.

“Eat your dessert, baby.”

Her hands tremble as she does as told, taking another bite of her chocolate cake as I coat my middle finger in her wetness. Her hips roll when I slip two fingers into her and use my other hand to caress her clit. “You have no idea what you’ve been doing to me, sitting here looking so damn pretty, do you?” I curl my finger, teasing her, and she begins to rock in my lap. “And then you go and fucking moan as you take a bite of that damn chocolate cake, breaking down my willpower.”

“It’s delicious,” she says, panting. “You should try it.”

“Then give me a bite, darling.”

She whimpers a little as I increase my pace, but even so, she picks up her fork and feeds me a bite, our eyes locking as she turns in my lap. She’s such a good fucking girl, obeying my orders like that. This connection between us, the way she looks at me as she rides my fingers…it’s fucking addictive.

“Kiss me.”

Her fork clatters to the table as she pushes her hands into my hair and pulls me closer, her lips crashing against mine as I bring her to the edge and keep her there, loving the way she’s trying not to moan.

“You’re such a good girl,” I whisper against her lips when her forehead drops against mine, her breathing erratic as she chases release. “You want to come for me, don’t you?”

She nods, her pussy clenching desperately. “Please.”

I grin, my heart overflowing with something I’m not quite familiar with. Protectiveness. Possessiveness. Desire. “Then come for me, baby,” I whisper, giving her what she needs.

Her lips find mine as her muscles contract around my fingers, and I swallow down every single one of her moans. I never even meant to touch her today. This was supposed to just be a friendly get-together, it wasn’t meant to be a date, but fuck, I don’t think I can be around her anymore without wanting her.