The next couple weeks are a blur of perfect pleasure. Every day, I climb out of Cassius's enormous, ridiculously comfortable four-poster king-sized bed, take care of the twins, then pad down the hall to the office with Luca and Lucie in tow, making sure they have something to occupy them while I get the filing done.
I spend the day organizing, booking meetings, setting up future travel-and, not gonna lie, slightly dreading the times that I have to book trips for him. Granted, the next time he plans to travel for work isn't for another couple of months, but a part of me still stares sadly at the week on the calendar when he'll be in London, already anticipating how much I'll miss him.
Every evening, Cassius returns to the apartment-usually with flowers or a present for Luca and Lucie, new clothes he saw that he just couldn't pass up, or a cute toy.
"You're going to spoil them rotten," I scolded him one evening when he showed up with a full playpen, complete with a mobile in the shape of the galaxy.
"I can only hope to be lucky enough to do so," he responded as he swooped in to kiss my cheek. And then nibble his way down my neck... And then drag me into the bedroom, where he threw me onto the bed, flipped my legs over his shoulders, and fucked me until we were both screaming.
But a part of my mind can't quite accept that this is really my life. That I've been living in this gorgeous penthouse, with this gorgeous man, who pampers both me and my babies every single day. Part of me is waiting for the other shoe to drop. For the catch-because there's always a catch.
I feel it in a knot in my stomach, even as Cassius and I strolled through a park near his penthouse at sunset, him pushing the stroller, my hand resting over his. The sunset that night was beautiful, stunning, and we sat in the park watching it for half an hour, smiling and laughing and talking about his day at work, my day with the babies. Even then, even in the middle of that perfect moment, I couldn't quite accept it.
He felt too good to be true.
It's been three weeks since we first met, when I come home from shopping with the twins to find a strange woman standing in the apartment. At first, I freeze, tensing, that knot in my gut unfurling.
Then she smiles and waves at the babies in the stroller. "You must be Luca and Lucie," she coos.
"And you are...?" I ask, still nervous, on-edge. Why can't I just relax and trust that for once, things are going my way in life?
"Lisa." She straightens to offer me a hand. "Mr. Anderson hired me to help out with the babies for the night."
I frown, my eyebrows contracting. "To help out? But, we didn't..."
Just then, Cassius steps out of the bedroom, and knocks the breath out of me. Well, to be fair, he does that most of the time, whenever I see him. He's always resplendent. But today he's extra decked out, in a formal tux rather than his usual suit.
"Manila," he purrs in greeting, and my heart does a funny little flip-flop at the sound of him saying my name. "Glad you're here. I've hired Lisa to watch the kids overnight."
I love the way he says that so casually-the kids. Like they're our kids, not just mine. Like he's sharing this responsibility too. Like he wants to be a part of their lives. Of all of our lives. But- "Overnight?" I ask, blinking in surprise. "But, don't you have that meeting tonight, downtown?"
His smile widens. "Ah, yes, about that. Apologies for the deception. I just didn't want you to make any plans. We haven't had a real date night yet, and that needs to change." Then he steps aside, waves me toward the bedroom. "You'll want to dress quickly, though. Or we'll be late."
He really spoils me far too much. I'll get as rotten as my kids. I grin at him as I slip past, and smile at Lisa on the way.
Of course, he planned ahead for this, too. There's not one but three formal dresses spread out on the bed, for me to choose from.
I pick the red dress, to bring out my eyes, along with the black glittery heels beside the bed. When I step back out into the living room, Cassius's eyes drink me in an inch at a time, savoring me the same way he savors a glass of fine wine.
"Perfect choice," he tells me with a wink.
I blush, my body on fire as always beneath his gaze. I love the way he looks at me. It makes me feel like a goddess among men.
Lisa, meanwhile, is already playing happily with Luca and Lucie. She pauses between bouncing them on her knees to grin at us. "Have a ton of fun," she says. "I'll take great care of these guys tonight."
"Thank you so much," I tell her as Cassius helps me into my jacket.
"My pleasure. It's sweet," she adds, beaming at us. "Seeing a married couple that's still so in love."
My cheeks burn brighter at the misstep, but Cassius doesn't correct her. He just smiles and leans over to ruffle Lucie's hair.
"Have fun here with our little ones," he tells her. Then, before I can quite process his statement-the unspoken meaning behind our-he rests his hand at the small of my back and guides me into the elevator.
The air between us sings with tension the whole ride down to the first floor. I feel electrified, ready to jump with nerves.
Out front, Amy has a car waiting for us-a full on stretch limo. I turn to gape at Cassius, but he just shrugs like it's nothing.
"It's our first official date," he points out. "I had to go all out."
"Had to makes it sound like I'm high-maintenance," I respond, grinning as he holds the back door open for me and I climb inside. I've never been in a limo – for prom we just used my uncle's old beat-up Cadillac. The inside looks just like I've seen on TV shows though, all sleek leather interior seats and a sidebar with crystal glasses and a shelf of liquors.
"Not at all." Cassius climbs in behind me, settles on the seat beside me and wraps his hand around mine, possessive. He's constantly touching me, whether it's to pull me onto his lap during movies or wrap his arms around me from behind while I'm cooking. I love it. I'll never get tired of the feeling of his strong arms around me, his hand in mine, our fingers intertwined. "I'm the high-maintenance one." His eyes sparkle as they meet mine. "I insist on spoiling you at every opportunity."
"Hmm. Well, you are definitely succeeding." I grin and tilt my chin up for a kiss. He kisses me slow, soft, deep. The kind of kiss that will never get old. The kind of kiss you can lose yourself in.
As the car starts to move, his hands slide around my waist, pulling me across his lap.
"Mr. Anderson," I gasp in fake outrage, as I position my knees on either side of his hips. His cock is already hard, pressed against the thin fabric of this fancy dress he bought me. "Why, this is very improper." I feign a high-brow accent, and he only just manages to avoid laughing as he catches my mouth in another kiss.
"Mm, I had the impression that you liked impropriety, Ms. Cross."
"Maybe," I admit slowly, wriggling my hips against his, so his cock rubs against my pussy. Shit, at this rate, I'll soak this lacy thong I put on in no time.
"Only maybe?" Cassius raises an eyebrow at me. "Well, in that case."