Secret Designs Page 14

  *******

  Ari was about to prepare some onions when the doorbell rang. Her heart started racing. Would that be Kane and Jasmine, or Dylan?

  "I'll get it!" they heard Fred call.

  "Thank you, sweetheart!" Linda called back to her husband.

  A couple of minutes later, a woman walked into the kitchen and Ari went cold all over. It was Rosalie.

  Fuck.

  Suddenly she wanted to go home.

  "Hello, Rosalie," Linda greeted the young woman warmly. "This is a surprise."

  "Hi, Linda. I thought I'd drop by tonight and say hello to everyone. I hope you don't mind," Rosalie replied.

  "Of course not. You're welcome to drop by anytime. Do you remember Ari, Rosalie?"

  "Yes. How are you, Ari?"

  "I'm well, thanks. And you?"

  "Good, thanks."

  Was it her imagination or was Rosalie's voice colder toward her?

  "Rosalie, you're joining us for dinner, yes?" Linda asked.

  "I was hoping you'd ask," Rosalie said with a chuckle. "I take it Dylan will be here, too?"

  "Yes, he'll be here," Linda replied with a knowing smile.

  Ari refrained from rolling her eyes. Was it too late to leave? She bet Pretty Miss Rosie was going to try to get her paws on Dylan again tonight. She didn't think she'd be able to take it if Dylan flirted back. She just might scratch them both.

  Her eyes stung, not because of the onion she was chopping, but because her heart was being squeezed tight. If Dylan did flirt with Rosalie tonight, it would serve her right. She was pushing him away, and it was only a matter of time before he got sick of it.

  Deep in her heart, she knew Dylan was suffering just as much as she was. She could hear it in the phone messages he'd been leaving and the texts he'd been sending.

  Could she really be so unforgiving? Could she really be so proud that she was closing the door on the man she was in love with?

  I love him.

  Tears fell from her eyes and she hastily wiped them with the back of her hand.

  "Ari!" Linda cried. "Don't use your hand. You'll just make your eyes burn more. Here." Linda handed her a tissue.

  "Thank you," she murmured.

  "Hello, Mu —. Ari, what's wrong?"

  Ari glanced up, her eyes locking with stunned blue ones that made her heart stutter.

  "She was chopping some onions and then used her hands to wipe her eyes," Linda tut-tutted.

  "Are you okay?" Dylan asked, his tone laced with concern.

  She gave him a watery smile. "Yeah," she said, sniffing.

  Oh Dylan. I've missed you.

  "Dylan," Rosalie purred, placing her hand on Dylan's arm. "How come we haven't seen you at the clubs for weeks now? What's been happening, darling?"

  Darling! Grrr.

  "Been busy," Dylan answered rather brusquely, then turned to Linda. "Mum, I'm afraid I can't stay tonight."

  "Oh? Why not?"

  "Too much to do. I just came by to say hello."

  Disappointment stabbed at Ari. Now that she'd seen him again, she didn't want Dylan to go. In fact, she wanted to throw herself at him right there in his mother's kitchen, with his mother and Rosalie looking on. But she was too shy to do that.

  "But you must stay for dinner, Dyl! You can leave straight after, if you really need to," Linda insisted.

  "Yes, Dylan," Rosalie interjected. "Sounds like you're working way too hard. Chill out with us tonight."

  "Yes, Dylan. Please stay," Ari heard herself echoing the other women.

  "Okay," Dylan agreed, gazing at her with an unreadable expression.

  *******

  Ari sat uncomfortably next to Jasmine at the dining table. She was seated opposite Rosalie, who had placed herself conveniently between Dylan and Linda.

  After her fake greeting when she arrived, Rosalie had practically pretended she didn't exist. Not that she cared. She couldn't bear to look at the woman either, when every time she did, Pretty Miss Rosie was making cow eyes at her Dylan.

  Yes. Her Dylan.

  It took her a while to figure out that not being with him killed her more than her fear of being judged. Besides, if Dylan said he didn't think of her as a gold digger, then she'd take that at face value.

  She was ready to move on now—with him.

  If only he'd look her way. She could tell he was at pains to avoid her. Why was that, when just two days ago he'd sent her a very sweet text saying he was missing her and to please talk to him?

  Come to think of it, she hadn't received anything from him after that. She used to get at least two messages daily without fail, even though she never responded.

  She swallowed down the panic that gripped her chest. Had he given up on her?

  "How's your online shop going, Rosalie?" Linda asked.

  "Oh, very poorly, Linda," Rosalie replied with a sad pout.

  "You have an online shop?" Fred asked.

  "Yes, it's for international orders of products we sell. It was my idea, so my parents said I could run it however I want. The website's been up for three months now, and I'm hardly making anything from it. My marketing efforts are not getting me any return on investment."

  "Ask Dylan. He knows all about this online stuff," Linda suggested.

  Ari took a sip of water to distract herself. It hurt that Dylan's mum was constantly pushing another girl at him. Hadn't Linda ever thought of pairing Ari up with her son?

  "What kind of marketing have you done so far?" Dylan asked Rosalie.

  "I'm paying for Adwords and for someone to work on SEO for the website."

  "How much have you shelled out?" Dylan prodded.

  Rosalie detailed her current marketing expenses.

  "What? That's crazy!" Dylan exclaimed. "For that kind of money you can do far better. By the sounds of it you might be getting ripped off."

  "What do I do?" Rosalie cried, genuinely upset.

  "I'll have a look at it," Dylan offered.

  "I can't afford you, Dylan."

  "I'm not asking you to pay," he snorted.

  "You're serious? You'll work with me on this?" Rosalie asked, her face split by a wide smile.

  Dylan shrugged. "It shouldn't be too hard. I might even create a simple mobile ordering app for you that should work worldwide."

  "Really? When can we start?" Rosalie asked, almost jumping out of her chair in glee.

  "I'll check my calendar."

  "Okay. Thank you!" Rosalie leaned over to give Dylan a kiss on the cheek before exchanging a pleased look with Linda.

  Ari felt like weeping.

  How easy was it for Rosalie to take up Dylan's offer? For free. If it had been her, she would have um-ed and ah-ed about it, not wanting to impose or take advantage.

  Hell. She really had to change her tune. Why did she find it so hard to accept something, especially from Dylan?

  Easily answered, Ari. You're afraid it would be thrown back in your face and you'd end up paying for it eventually.

  But Dylan was not Richard.

  And Rosalie was spooning food onto Dylan's plate and it didn't seem to bother him.

  "Thank you," he said to Rosalie with a smile.

  Ari went through the motions of pushing food down her throat. Was he trying to hurt her back?

  "I was just telling Ari I have two new customers for her, Jaz," Linda announced.

  "Oh, that's great, Mum," Jasmine replied, giving Ari a smile.

  Ari plastered a false grin on her face and suppressed a sigh. Linda had bad timing. She didn't want attention on her now, when she was having a damn difficult time hiding her emotions.

  "How do you market you work, Ari?" Rosalie asked, seemingly friendlier.

  "Well, right now, it's all word of mouth—mainly Jaz's and Linda's."

  "I'm sure if you give your designs more exposure, you'll get more customers," Linda said kindly.

  "I hope so," Ari replied. "It's tough out there. Not to mention I'm a marketing tragic."

&nb
sp; She waited for Dylan to say something—like make her an offer similar to what he gave Rosalie. Anything. Just to show he still cared.

  Nothing.

  He simply continued eating what Rosalie put on his plate.

  Ow. Ow. Ow.

  *******

  Ari tried not to stare at Dylan as he played pool with Kane. Part of her wanted to leave so she could cry in peace. But another part of her—the desperate part—wanted to stay. She pretended to be checking something on her phone so she didn't have to mingle with the others. It was too painful to watch Dylan laugh at Rosalie's jokes when all he gave her were polite one-line answers when she tried to engage him in conversation during dinner.

  With each second that Dylan didn't pay her any attention, her heart slowly withered.

  Jasmine joined her in her corner and handed her a glass of wine, which she gratefully accepted. She was driving, but she'd only take a few sips. She needed it to give her courage to approach Dylan. She didn't want this night to end without telling him she was sorry—that she wanted him back.

  She wasn't sure how he would react. In fact, from how things were at that moment, she was afraid he'd just walk away after she'd confessed.

  But this was her doing. She was the one who pushed him away. It was her turn to grovel and tell him how she felt, regardless of what his response might be.

  It was just a little hard to do that with an audience.

  Dylan walked around the pool table to take a shot and ended up standing right next to her.

  "Are you driving home tonight, Ari?" he asked quietly without looking at her.

  "Yes." She trembled at the fact that he was talking to her. She gave herself a mental snort at how pathetic she'd become.

  "You shouldn't be drinking," he said, his voice barely a whisper.

  "I'm only having a few sips," she replied, thrilled by his concern.

  Dylan carried on with his game of pool, ignoring her after that. But their short conversation gave her hope—and the courage she was looking for.

  Jasmine squeezed her hand. "What are you going to do, Ari? He's just waiting for you."

  "You think?" she asked with a doubtful look.

  Jasmine shook her head. "I'm not going to say anything more. You guys have to find your own way, by talking and being open with each other. That's something no one else can do for you."

  She nodded. "I know."

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  "Who's there?"

  "Dyl? It's me," Ari said shyly as she spoke at the security intercom of his building.

  "Ari?"

  "Yes."

  The front door unlocked and she walked in.

  She psyched herself up as she rode the elevator to his floor, her heart seeming to go a thousand beats per minute.

  She'd left his parents' house five minutes after he did, and had driven straight to his place. Yes, she was going to put her heart and soul on the line, hoping against hope that he still cared enough to want to start again with her.

  The lift doors opened and she walked out, palms sweaty, face flushed, and heart racing. Gosh, she was as nervous as hell.

  She had gotten to his door and had just lifted her hand to knock when it opened. Dylan stared at her, his eyes questioning.

  She opened her mouth, about to say hi, but her throat closed up. To her utter dismay, a sob escaped her instead, and tears streamed down her face.

  "Oh, baby," Dylan breathed, pulling her to him as he shut the door behind her.

  She wept on his shoulder, her fingers clutching his shirt, as Dylan held her tightly against his chest, kissing her hair and whispering, "I'm so sorry," over and over.

  She didn't know how long they stayed like that. When her sobbing stopped, she lifted her head to look at him. He was teary, too.

  She cupped his face with her hands and gazed into his brilliant eyes.

  "Tell me honestly, Dylan," she said softly. "Have you changed your mind about wanting to be with me?"

  "No," he whispered. "I love you, Ari."

  Her lips curled into a relieved, tremulous smile.

  "Dylan, I love you, too."

  His smile was blinding as leaned down to kiss her. The moment their lips touched their passion for each other blazed.

  She ran her hands on his body restlessly as they devoured each other's mouths. Mindlessly, she burrowed her hand underneath his shirt and stroked his bare back as her leg lifted up to wrap itself around his thigh.

  Dylan groaned, grabbing her bottom and pressing her harder against his growing erection. His lips moved to her neck, licking and nipping, as she lifted her other leg so both were draped around him. He carried her to his bedroom and undressed her with impatience.

  In less than a minute she was naked and panting before him on his bed.

  He bent to kiss her all over—face, neck, shoulders, arms, belly, thighs, feet. It was like he was feasting on her, trying everything on offer.

  "Dylan," she moaned, her body in flames from his zeal.

  "I missed you so much. I love you so much," he breathed on her burning skin.

  She was in heaven as he proceeded to show her just how much.

  *******

  Ari took out a bottle of cold sparkling water from Dylan's refrigerator, thirsty from their physical exertions of a couple of hours ago. Funnily enough, they'd both fallen asleep straight away after just one round. Well, she had been sleep deprived for days so she wasn't totally surprised by that. She guessed Dylan must have been, too.

  Strong arms snaked around her waist, making her yelp in surprise.

  "Hmm," he moaned as he kissed her naked shoulder. "I like you walking around my apartment with no clothes on."

  She giggled, noticing that he, too, was naked—and very much awake. She placed the bottle back in the fridge and turned around, curving her arms around his neck.

  "There's a lot we need to talk about," she said, playing with his short hair.

  "I know," he answered. "But since you're not going anywhere tonight, I thought we'd save the discussion for tomorrow. Right now, I'm in the mood for something else."

  "Hmm. What's that?" she asked, pressing her body against his.

  "Dessert. I didn't have one at Mum's," he said huskily as he lifted her up and placed her on his dining table, her legs dangling on the edge.

  Her breathing became fast and hard. "Here?" she asked.

  "Yes," he said with a wicked smile. "I want to taste you all over," he whispered in her ear.

  She shivered with delight as he nibbled her neck, her throat, her shoulders. Just like he did in the bedroom, he laved her with kisses all over, but this time he was more measured, in control, unhurried.

  His mouth moved downwards, kissing and nipping the valley of her full breasts, her abdomen, her thighs. His lips left a trail of fire on her sensitised skin, rekindling her need for his possession.

  But for all the attention he lavished on her body, he avoided her most sensitive parts. Her nipples ached for his attention and her pussy, already slick with her wetness, was crying for his touch.

  "Dylan..." she whispered earnestly as his mouth busied itself on the inside of her thigh.

  "Yes, baby?" he murmured, moving his way back up her body with butterfly kisses.

  "Kiss me, touch me," she breathed.

  He chuckled against her belly. "Isn't that what I'm doing?"

  "Not there."

  He lifted his head to look at her, his gaze tender and carnal at the same time. "Where, sweetheart?" he asked with an impish smile.

  "You know where," she said, suddenly shy.

  "Tell me," he commanded salaciously.

  She licked her lips and moved her hand to a heavy breast. "Kiss me here," she said as she swiped a thumb on a hardened nipple.

  Dylan let out a soft moan as he flicked the bud with his tongue, then sucked on it.

  "Ah!"

  "What else do you want, baby?" he asked hoarsely.

  "My pussy, please," she cried softly, need overriding shyness
.

  "Yeah? What do you want me to do?"

  "Touch me there."

  He straightened as he spread her legs wider apart. His hands stroked her thighs slowly before he let his fingers get closer to her wet centre. He ran his thumbs around the lips then he wet them with her juices.

  She moaned, the anticipation burning her up further.

  Dylan shifted her bottom closer to the edge of the table and arranged a couple of chairs on either side of him. He grabbed her left leg and let it rest on a chair, doing the same for the right one. Now she was splayed before him, and panting loudly.

  He stared at her with lusty, hooded eyes, his hard, erect cock jerking in the air.

  Her chest heaved at the sight of him, her mouth open to take in more air.

  Dylan stroked his beautiful hardness with his hand before he stepped between her legs to slowly tease her entrance with his engorged length, coating the tip with her wetness.

  "Dylan," she cried, her hips bucking involuntarily, her body wanting to take him in.

  But he resisted. Instead, he brought his shaft to touch her swollen nub and stroked it with his manly heat.

  "Oh, God," she groaned. Her pelvis was restless as he played with her clit with his erection.

  "Oh baby, I can't wait to put this inside you. You're so fucking hot," he said breathlessly.

  "Now," she whimpered.

  "You want it now?" he asked huskily.

  "Yes, please."

  "Like this?" He inserted the head and pulled out, then in again, then out again...and again...each time only thrusting a couple of inches in.

  "Baby," she panted. "More please."

  He drove in again, much deeper this time, then pulled right out and stroked her clit with his cock...then in again, then out, then to her clit.

  "Dylan," she moaned. "You're driving me crazy."

  "Oh, God, sweetheart, so are you," he groaned before thrusting in her, sheathing himself to the hilt and moving in and out, this time not leaving her.

  Together they panted and moaned as Dylan drove into her over and over, again and again, tirelessly.