Chapter 41: Bathtub Fantasy

AVA

I spent the entire ride talking to Miles and texting Ella all she needed to know about Cyrus and me. Luckily, she was nothing but supportive and excited for us.

When Miles parked the car, I realized he had taken me to Cyrus’s place. We were in his garage, so I figured that meant Roald had indeed kept his promise and granted Cyrus access again.

I got out of the car and walked toward the entrance, where I found Cyrus waiting for me.

“I thought we were going to my place,” I said.

“I figured I’d make you dinner, to thank you for housing me.”

He wrapped his arm around me and took me inside. We passed Bert on the way in, who approached us immediately. His face was ridden with guilt.

“Mr. Brentstone, Ms. Mayweather, I’m so sorry for what happened earlier.”

“Don’t worry about it, Bert,” Cyrus said. “We know what Roald is like.”

We got up to the penthouse, and after getting settled back in, I looked at the clock.

“Cy, would it be okay to have dinner a little early tonight? I have an appointment at 7:30.”

Cyrus raised his eyebrows. “You have a date?”

I smiled and nodded. “I do. With a really great guy.”

“Theo?” he asked, smirking.

“Danny.”

His brow furrowed. “Don’t tell me you have an ~actual~ date.” I could tell he was trying not to sound too serious, but he failed.

“Danny is seven. I tutor him and his family.”

Cyrus looked surprised. “What do you tutor?”

“Sign language. Danny’s deaf, born to hearing parents, like 90 percent of all deaf children. Most of those families never end up learning sign language. I currently tutor like seven different families.”

“You do? I had no idea.”

“Accessibility is vital. My dad grew up in a family that didn’t accept his deafness, and they didn’t have the financial freedom to take classes even if they wanted to.

“I hope to educate people on the importance of signing and also to get them started in it.

“I ask for a small compensation now, but my goal is to one day offer these services for free. Maybe even expand and get some deaf people on board to replace me as tutors.”

Cyrus stared at me. “That’s great. I love that you do that.”

I kissed his lips softly. “Thank you.”

“I’d love to learn some sign language,” he said, apparently deep in thought.

After dinner, Cyrus insisted on driving me to Danny’s house, but when he pulled up, he got a little anxious.

“This is not a great neighborhood.”

“All the more reason to help.”

“I’ll walk you to the door.”

He walked over to the passenger side and opened my door for me. His flashy car stood out like a sore thumb in the surroundings.

We walked up to the doorstep, and I rang the bell. Cyrus said he’d go wait for me in the car, but just then Danny’s dad answered the door. He looked at Cyrus expectantly.

“This is my boyfriend,” I said.

My eyes flashed to Cyrus nervously. I’d never said that out loud before. And we ~had~ only just started dating.

Cyrus flashed me a proud smile. “Just here to drop off my ~girlfriend~.” He kissed me quickly before shaking Danny Senior’s hand and returning to his car.

***

I waved at Danny one last time before leaving. I found Cyrus standing by his car, holding my door.

I ran over to him and kissed him before getting in. We drove back to his place and went up to his penthouse.

“I’m going to run us a bath,” Cyrus said. “I’m a little stiff from sitting in the car.”

I ran my hand over his lower abdomen. “Nothing wrong with a little stiffness.”

His eyes darkened as he pulled me into his arms. That was my favorite, being pressed to his sculpted chest, his heavy arms wrapped tightly around me.

He smelled so good, and his slow breathing calmed me so much that I instantly felt sleepy again.

“I want to meet your family,” he said as he nuzzled himself into my hair.

I pulled back a little to look at him. “I would love that. And so would they. They’ve been asking about you since the night of the incident.”

My mind flashed back to that night when Cyrus had taken me home. I’d hung up on my worried parents because “my boss was there.”

They’d been pressing me about it ever since, and I just kept on telling them that he was the only one I’d been able to reach, that he’d driven me home and I’d offered him a drink as a thank you.

Technically I wasn’t lying. That ~was~ what happened that night. But I hadn’t told them about what happened afterward.

I’d even waited to tell Maisy for a while, scared it might somehow end if I would talk about it out loud.

But Cyrus had called me his ~girlfriend~ tonight. And he had told me ~he loved me.~ My stomach flipped just thinking about it.

“Ella knows. About us,” I said. “She saw the ink on my skirt and your shirt and put two and two together.”

“Good. Now let’s tell everyone else.”

I sighed.

Cyrus started unbuttoning my blouse. “I’d rather have them hear it from me than it be some kind of office rumor.” He slid the blouse off my shoulders and moved on to my skirt.

“Me too. But Ella’s not going to tell anyone.”

He unclasped my bra and kissed down my neck. I tried very hard not to get distracted by what was happening.

“You almost got in the car with Wilson and Brickman today. Not wearing any panties.”

I raised my brows and grabbed his face, pushing him back a little so I could look at him.

“And whose fault was that? You’re the one that insisted I took them off! And didn’t let me put them back on after…you know.”

“After I fucked you on my desk?”

“Well, yeah.” I felt my cheeks heat up.

Cyrus chuckled as he took off the rest of my clothes. He admired me for a second before undressing himself.

“Can’t believe you’re actually mine now.”

He pulled me to him again. Our naked bodies collided, sending hot sparks over my skin everywhere we touched.

I trailed my hands up and down the sides of his arms. “When did you start feeling the way you did?”

“Well, I don’t really know. I was attracted to you from the start, obviously. I liked that you told me off a couple of times.

“And you didn’t seem to care about the bonus I promised you if Ralls got on board, which was a good sign.

“And then there were those stockings that you were in at the Christmas party. Those kind of sent me spiraling.

“But then you went and dated Wilson, which messed with my head.”

I grimaced. “You were never supposed to see those stockings.”

“You wore them to seduce Wilson?” Cyrus’s face clouded over.

“I wore them for myself, actually. They made me feel sexy.”

“Well, you were.” He smirked. “I put that mental image to good use.”

My eyes widened. “You…touched yourself? Thinking of ~me?~”

“Oh yeah. So, so many times.”

I gasped at the thought.

He rubbed the pads of his thumbs over my cheekbones. “And I’m pleased to say, Ms. Mayweather, you exceed all expectations. And they were high expectations too.”

I giggled and batted my eyelashes at him. “Ever fantasized about us in the bathtub?” I asked, walking over to it.

He grinned malevolently. “Definitely. Let me show you ~exactly~ what I pictured.”