27. Claire

The following morning at Nuvola has me working at a frantic pace because I don"t know what I"m supposed to do when meeting my boyfriend"s ex, who knows a shit ton of stuff about him. She has that on me. Time, age, maturity, they"re all on her side.

"Claire," Julian calls me into his office.

My mind won"t stop scrolling down my mental To-Do list.

"Yes?" I ask him.

"Take a breath, babe, come here." He pats his legs for me to sit and I oblige even though his office door is wide open.

"Someone will see us, Julian."

"I don"t care because I"m going to fire you."

I push away from him, but the strength of his hand on the small of my back keeps me in place. "Excuse me?"

"I don"t want your philanthropy idea to be under the umbrella of Nuvola. There"s too much darkness surrounding me, this company, and everything that"s happened with my parents. I don"t want you tainted by the Blackwell name anymore. So, I"m going to give you the seed money to start your own non-profit."

My eyes widen. "That"s crazy. That"s great. I don"t know what to say. Thank you for firing me."

Fiona walks in with her stupid binder and a smile on her face. I push myself to get off Julian"s lap because he hasn"t fired me yet.

"Did I just hear correctly that you"re firing, Miss Anderson?" Fiona"s eyes light up. "That"s great, I have the perfect candidate?—"

Julian holds his hand up to stop her from speaking. "Fiona, you have six months to fix those deals you botched by opening your big mouth to those sellers. I want those properties paid for and in my portfolio or you can look for a new job. I"m taking off for the next few days, I"m not to be disturbed. Understood?"

She blanches a pale shade of peach as she backs out of his office.

"I need you to go to Nina"s before we fly out this afternoon. Okay?" Julian says. "There"s a gift box there you need to pick up for our trip."

"That devilish smile tells me it"s something made of leather rather than lace."

Julian licks his lips with a boyish shrug. "You"ll see. Now go. We have to finish up a few things before getting out of here."

I can"t stop the joy exuding out of every pore in my body as I go to my desk and message Edward I"ll need a ride to Nina"s. However, a dark cloud looms over my desk with Fiona standing there, binder in hand, and an envelope much like the one that allowed me to see the man responsible for my father"s death.

"You look like you"re going out. Take these with you and drop them at the address on the envelope." She slaps it down on my desk.

"No. Let me be very clear, Fiona, I"m not your lapdog. I"m not even an executive assistant anymore. So, Ms. Executive, I no longer have to assist you. Do it yourself." I pick up the envelope and push it against the binder at the center of her chest.

Fiona stumbles back but steadies herself before her face reveals her intentions. She lunges at me, screeching and ready to claw my eyes out, but good old training with Bonnie. I dodge out of her way and push her in the back, which sends her skidding to the carpeted floor for everyone in a nearby cubicle to see.

When I turn toward Julian"s office, he"s standing there with a furious gaze locked on Fiona.

"Fuck the six months. I want your credentials with security within the hour. Your services are no longer needed. Leave peacefully, and I won"t press charges for attacking a Nuvola employee on company property."

Fiona skulks away to her office just in time to see Julian"s expression shift to lust as he looks to me. I smile and drop my gaze, suddenly shy, before I haul ass out of the office to get to Nina"s Boutique where I slam into a rock-hard chest as I barrel into a man leaving the store.

My eyes travel up the frame of one of the most handsome men I"ve ever seen. Ice blue eyes, with a salt and pepper beard to complement a head full of dark brown hair.

"Fuck!" I rub my nose as his hands steady me and Edward comes to my side.

"Holy shit, Luca, what are you doing on this side of the country?" Edward asks. It"s clear they know each other, and he introduces us. "Claire, this is Luca Devlin. One of Julian"s first clients."

"How is Julian?" Luca asks. "Tell him he has my condolences. I just heard over the news his father passed in some car accident this morning."

I don"t have time to process that right now, but still, I step back and shake the man"s hand. "Thank you. I"ll be sure he gets the message."

I dash inside the boutique while Edward and Luca speak. By the time I come out, Luca is gone and we"re on our way back to the office. Fiona has a box of her belongings in her hand as she stands outside the building. Julian waltzes by her to get in the car beside me for us to run our last errands before we get on a private jet to Lake Tahoe.

Dr. Malia Mescal is gorgeous in every sense of the word. Long black coils fall at varying lengths around a face with honey brown skin and almond-shaped eyes. They"re a mix of colors that lure me in, and I ignore the man who answers the door and kneels beside her. It"s obvious to me why she and Julian didn"t work out. She"s in a custom-made pantsuit and the slave is in linen pants, shirtless and wearing a diamond collar.

"It"s so nice to finally meet you, Claire. Edward has told me so much about you." Her deliberate word choice makes Julian roll his eyes. "I"ll show you around and take you through some things we like to do out here to relieve stress and demolish nightmares."

The way her voice soothes something deep inside of me, is telling. I want to open up to her. I want her help. I want her all to myself and that"s when Julian leans in close to whisper in my ear. "Don"t fall for her, Claire. I saw you first, you belong to me."

"I do, always and forever, just as you will always belong to me."

Dr. Mescal smiles. "You two are so sweet. I"m happy for you both. It"s going to take some work to get you both sleeping through the night, but I have hope you"ll leave here with all the tools you need to live happily together."

Julian turns to her, "How much did Edward tell you?"

Her eyes drop down to his bandaged knuckles. "Enough, but the news of your father"s death tells me a lot more. Shall we begin?"

Dr. Mescal leads us into her office, where we start from the beginning. It"s the beginning of us, the beginning or our lives together. Later that night, lying beside Julian, he reaches for the package I picked up from Nina"s.

I"m too tired to think, but when he opens the box to pull out a ring box, I sit up. "What do you think you"re doing?"

"Being honest with you, Claire. I"m not going to ask now, but I want you to know I have this. The work we"re doing here, is moving us toward this goal. I want to be a man who deserves to put this ring on your finger and to honor you as we grow together. I"m not easy, but I love you. You"ve taken all of me and still choose to be here."

"I love you too, Julian. I"m choosing to be here because you"ve chosen to be honest with me, to let me in and I want to do the same for you. I can"t wait to see what life has in store for us."

"I can"t wait to feel you wrapped around me, Claire. You"ll be mine, forever."

Julian places the ring box on the nightstand beside me, reaching over me, but stopping when his mouth hovers over mine. It"s insatiable, the lust and anticipation between us. The softness of his lips capturing mine is the opposite of his firm hand slipping under me to pull my body under his.

My legs naturally spread to give him room. Our tongues chase one another while his fingers prepare my pussy for him, gently stroking between the folds of my slit. Sensations of wild pleasure erupt across my body when he rubs my tender nub.

My moans and gasps of bliss echo around the room as Julian strokes his fingers in and out of me. He coaxes out one orgasm after another. The bulge of his hardness rubbing against my entrance makes my core tighten from the pressure of him easing every inch inside of me.

"Relax, Claire, let me inside you," he whispers against my ear, taking the lobe between his lips, and using his tongue to ignite a trail of pleasure down the side of my neck. My breathing quickens and my nipples perk as I bring one knee closer to my chest, giving him more space to slide inside my walls.

"That"s perfect, Claire." Julian"s husky tone, laden with seduction, holds me in a trance. His hand grips my ass while his other anchors to the mattress in a way my leg has to press against his shoulder. Every motion is deep, powerful, sensitive. Our rhythm, his thrusts, the way my body rolls into our own melody of lovemaking brings a single tear to my eye.

Happiness and peace wash over me for what we"ve had to fight to get here.

Julian"s thrusts come faster, harder, and deeper.

There"s no one else for me. With that ring in a box beside us waiting to grace my finger, there"s no one else for him.

The sounds of my juices coating his shaft entice me into another wave of pleasure that pushes me over another orgasmic cliff.

This is our forever. We get to love and fall in love over and over again…forever.