Page 43 of Torch

I looped my arms around his neck. “I do. It makes me want to get back to those baby-making activities your mother was talking about.”

He threw his head back, roaring with laughter. Swinging me over his shoulder, he got up and made his way to the bedroom. He smacked my ass, and I moaned. “You ain’t said nothing but a word, beautiful.”

After two more rounds of sex, we took another shower and got dressed. Christian wanted to take me to get my gown for the ball. I was geeked when he chose the Lamborghini to drive. I had never been in anything like that before. When we arrived, the saleswoman had twenty dresses ready for me to try on. She had even closed the store so we could shop in peace. His lifestyle was taking some getting used to. It was hard to believe he was this wealthy, because you wouldn’t know it from how he carried himself every day.

I didn’t even bother trying to offer to pay for my dress because I was starting to understand Christian would never allow me to spend my money. Plus, he genuinely loved doing things for me. For so long I had to decline gifts from Julian, knowing it would eventually be thrown in my face. I had to realize that wasn’t my situation anymore.

So, for two hours, my man pampered me like a princess. I nearly choked on my champagne when the saleswoman gave him the total. This crazy man spent forty-five thousand dollars like it was nothing. He didn’t just get a gown, though. He also got shoes and jewelry. I tried to decline those, but he gave me that look he always did, telling me to let it go. So, I did.

As we left, I jokingly said I should drive us home. Imagine my surprise when he dropped the keys into my hand without hesitation. Before we pulled away, he explained all the buttons in the car to me. At first, I was nervous driving something so expensive. Christian sat in the passenger seat, reclined, fully relaxed. He scrolled through his phone with his right hand while his left hand casually rubbed my thigh. Eventually my nerves went out the window, and now we were enjoying our ride home.

Halfway home, I heard my phone ringing in my purse. “Baby, can you grab that to see who it is?”

He reached inside, pulling my phone out. “It’s your grandmother.”

“Answer it on speaker, please.” He did as I asked. “Hey, Granny,” I said.

“Hey, sweetheart. You doing good?”

“Yes, ma’am. And you?” I asked.

“I’m okay. I just called to see if you knew someone who could come cut my grass. Dillon has the flu, and this grass is getting too long,” she said, referring to her neighbor’s son who usually cut her grass for her.

Before I could answer her, Christian started pointing at himself. I frowned, looking over his attire. This man had a damn Rolex on, talking about mowing someone’s grass. “Hold on, Granny.”

Christian muted the phone. “I can mow it for her. Does she have a lawn mower, or do I need to get the one from the clubhouse?”

“Babe, do you see what you have on?”

“Brit, this is all material stuff. I’m not worried about it. Now, does she have a lawn mower?”

I nodded, and he unmuted the phone. “Actually, I do have someone who can do it. I can be there in the next forty minutes.”

“Okay. Thank you, baby. I’ll see you soon.”

After the call ended, Christian looked at me, puzzled. “I thought you said your granny lives in East Overington Ridge?

“She does.”

“Brit, that’s ten minutes from here.”

Now I was sure he had lost his mind at some point today. “Christian, we are not taking your Lamborghini to that neighborhood.”

He scoffed, relaxing in his seat again. “We’ll be fine. Trust me. Go ahead and take this exit so we can get to your granny.”

I shrugged my shoulders, taking the exit. If something happened to his car, he couldn’t say I didn’t warn him.

Ten minutes later, we were pulling into my grandmother’s driveway. I was beyond nervous. Although everyone around here knew me, I didn’t put it past them to try something. I saw way too many stares as we drove through the neighborhood. As I got out, I saw a group of guys watching us. Christian got out, grabbed his cut off the backseat, and put it on. As soon as he did that, the guys kept walking. I turned to Christian, and he was watching me with a smug expression.

“Whatever,” I sassed, strutting to the porch.

I didn’t make it too far before I felt a sharp slap on my ass. I whimpered, feeling aroused. Christian wrapped his hand around my throat from behind. “Watch that attitude, baby. I’ll be too tempted to fuck it out of you.”

With anyone else, I probably would have been pissed. But with Christian, I was so turned on. His ability to switch from sweet to dominant needed to be studied. He had me ready to drag him to the back seat of his car and let him do exactly what he said. Before I could give a rebuttal, the front door swung open. Christian removed his hand and slung his arm over my shoulder.

Granny's face lit up with a bright smile. “Well, who is this, Brit-Brat?”

“Granny, this is my boyfriend, Christian. Christian, this is my grandmother, Etta.”