He released me and coaxed me down onto the bed so I lay on my back. He leaned over me, his lips glistening. My own trembled. He was unabashed about everything, yet I still clung to my inhibitions as if somehow they could save me from Blake's total lack of them.

He lowered, his body hot against me. "I want inside you, baby. All of you," he whispered.

My heart fluttered. Lust and nerves stole my words. Goddamnit.

"I'm-I'm nervous, that's all."

The concern in his eyes faded. He hushed me with a kiss, tinted with my own taste. He moved down my body and lifted my legs over his shoulders, positioning himself between them. I relaxed slightly, my defenses weakening at the sound of his voice and his closeness.

He found his mark, and I tensed, fighting the urge to skirt away from him again. He hushed me. "You have nothing to be nervous about. I love your body. I'm borderline obsessed with it, in fact. Just relax and let me make you come."

He flickered his tongue against me, and then lower, circling the sensitive spot that wanted to tense and release all at once. Fuck.

I sucked in a sharp breath and gripped the blankets on either side of me. He kept on, seducing me with his goddamn tongue in ways I never knew were possible. When he stopped, I melted down into the bed, distracted enough to relax. When a slick finger pushed past the tight ring of my ass, I gasped.

"Oh God."

I squeezed my eyes closed, trying like hell to accept this first step toward a level of intimacy that I wasn't entirely ready to give Blake. Despite all the doubts shouting across my brain, a sudden heat rushed to my cheeks and over my skin. The places our bodies met heated, becoming as slick as the finger that was probing deeper inside of me.

I bucked my hips and moaned before I knew what I was doing.

"You like that?"

Do I? Jesus, I didn't know. All I knew was that I was about to come apart-that my body was begging to come apart. I felt everything, everywhere. My body was rioting under the sensations he was giving me. He withdrew from my tight hole only to twist his way back in again. Repeating the motion, he brought me back to the edge with alarming speed. I clenched tightly around his fingers. I hovered, breathless, on the precipice of pleasure and pain, a state that he'd brought me to so many times before.

"I don't think... I can't." I arched my back, my muscles tensing against the penetration.

Blake answered swiftly with a second invasion. His two fingers stretched me, claiming this part of my body as his. I gasped at the discomfort when his mouth covered my pussy again, delivering hot, wet, and tantalizing licks over my flesh.

I went higher and higher until I soared. I couldn't take it anymore. The orgasm crashed over me like a tidal wave. I might have screamed. I might have blacked out. I was trembling when he hovered over me again with lust-filled green eyes.

We were both breathless. He pressed the head of his cock against my pussy and pushed inside of me. Deliciously filled once again, I hurdled toward another toe-curling orgasm. Sensation number three, Blake's ample cock stretching me so wonderfully had my head buzzing. Had I ever been fucked so thoroughly? I wasn't sure.

He pounded into me and my body responded, clutching against his thick penetration. "So tight."

The friction was acute. I clung to him. I was falling again. I was flying. His name left my lips with my helpless cries.

"So fucking tight. Fuck... Come with me, baby. One more time."

I trailed my nails down his back as he drove deeper. My head pressed back into the pillow, and my back bowed off the bed. He was so deep inside of me, and yet I harnessed all my power to fuse us tighter. I spasmed again, harder. I was trembling. A hoarse cry tore from me as he came, spilling warmth into me.

We never made it to breakfast. Every muscle in my body was exhausted from what we'd done-what he'd done. We slept a little more, showered, and finally mustered up the energy and willpower to leave the hotel room.

Blake took me to the priciest restaurant in the city he could find for lunch. We had champagne and ate a delicious meal before we headed to the stores. For a while we simply walked, enjoying the fresh air and being together, hand in hand. We passed by a few stores displaying famous brand names I'd never owned and hadn't planned to.

"Let's go in here," he said, halting us in front of a revolving door that was guarded by a man in a suit.

Happy and a little buzzed, I followed him in. I walked along the sparsely stocked shelves, afraid to touch anything, let alone get attached to something. Maybe the bubbly had dulled my senses, because my mind said Oooh as we passed a bag that caught my eye. I ran my fingers over the smooth dark brown leather and then down to the clasp where a thick label hung from it. I turned it over and gawked at the hefty price.

Oh shit.

Blake leaned down and whispered in my ear. "Every time I catch you looking at the price tag, I'm paddling your ass when we get home. So just keep that in mind."

I frowned. "What if I accidentally see it?"

"Depends if you decide to buy it."

I took a second glance at the tag to make sure I'd read it right. "This purse is three thousand dollars, Blake."

He shrugged. "Good, get it."

"That is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a purse," I hissed, not wanting to insult the store staff or reveal that I was woefully out of my element here.

He stood close, lowering his voice. "You worrying about money when I have fucking mountains of it is ridiculous. Pick up the purse and move on. We have a mile of stores to hit today, and I'm buying whatever your eyes land on."

I let out an exasperated sigh. My brain couldn't begin to process spending that kind of money on myself. While I battled over how to convince him that this plan was absurd, Blake picked up the purse and continued walking through the store without me. I rushed up beside him.

"Blake, stop. I seriously don't need that."

"We're getting it."

"I don't even like it," I lied.

He lifted an eyebrow.

"There are people who have nothing, and you want me to spend an excessive amount of money on something I don't need."

"I want to spend an excessive amount of money on you. It's your birthday. I want to spoil my fiancee. I've worked hard for the money I've earned, and that's my right."

We stared at each other a moment, a silent standoff. His jaw set.

"Would it help if I matched the gift with a donation to a charity of your choice?"

I rolled my eyes, my shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Can we buy the fucking purse now?"

I knew I had to pick my battles. This was a war, and Blake wasn't going to let me win it. I sighed in surrender. "Fine."

"Good, because we're hitting the Cartier store next. I'm just breaking you in."

Fresh discomfort rattled over my nerves. Damnit. "I might need more champagne for this."

He smirked. "I'm sure that can be arranged."

CHAPTER SIX.

Three hours later, we were back in the hotel room. I dropped the few bags that Blake let me carry and collapsed onto the bed. I was shell-shocked, sticker-shocked, and bone tired. Per Blake's request, I refused to look at price tags as much as I was able to. Most of the time, it was irrelevant, because price was never discussed as the salespeople offered their finest wares.

Blake had spoiled me, excessively. Spoiled was an understatement. I had walked away with a new wardrobe, new lingerie for every day of the week, and more designer baubles than I'd ever seen on anyone.

We napped for an hour before showering again and getting dressed for dinner.

I slipped on a long-sleeved black dress that Blake had insisted I get after modeling it for him in the store hours earlier. The hem came mid-thigh, and the back scooped down low-perfect for a late summer night.

I clipped on the large-faced diamond-studded watch that must have been obscenely expensive. The afternoon, draining as it was, had been amazing. I couldn't help but feel special as the salespeople nearly danced around us, vying for every opportunity to slide Blake's credit card through the machine by wowing me with the best of everything.

Blake was dressed in dark gray pants and a black button down shirt rolled up at the sleeves. His hair was mussed from our nap. His eyes were bright and sparkling. I couldn't help but smile as his reflection came closer to me.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

I rolled my eyes. "Where do I begin?"

He laughed, fondling the sparkling diamonds that dangled from my ears. "You're welcome. And thank you. For agreeing to make me the happiest man on earth. I already am, but getting to share the rest of my life with you is the best gift you could ever give me."

"I feel the same way. I don't need diamonds and handbags to be happy, though."

He cocked his head. "Spoiling you makes me happy. So let me do it a little bit."

"How about we limit the shopping sprees to special occasions?"

"Whatever you say, boss," he muttered, nuzzling my neck.

I couldn't hide my smile when he spun me toward him and captured my lips. What started slow had become a deep and wanton kiss in moments. He pushed past my lips, his tongue plunging gently to meet mine. I moaned, sifting my fingers through his hair as I pulled up to him. Stepping forward, he pressed me carefully against the mirrored dresser where I'd been getting ready. I lifted my thigh up into his grasp. Squeezing me gently, he released my leg and broke the kiss.

His eyes were dark, and the evidence of how much he wanted me strained against his slacks. "I hate to be the voice of reason, but we should probably go. I wouldn't want you to get all dressed up only to have me strip you bare and fuck you mindless before we leave the hotel."

My breath rushed out at his threat. His tongue traveled over his bottom lip, a sensual promise of things to come.

"You can rest assured that will be happening when we get back though. I haven't nearly had my fill of you for the day."

"Are you trying to break a record for the amount of times I can come in a single day?"

A wry smile twisted up his lips. "What can I say? I have a thing for birthday girls."

Already the day had been the best birthday I could remember. Nothing came close to being spoiled and loved well by the man I was about to marry. I pushed him back a little farther and hurried to get ready before we started something we absolutely had to finish.

Blake had chosen a renowned steakhouse in the city. The waiter seated us in a quiet corner of the restaurant. We ordered, and the server poured a bottle of wine into our two glasses. The sun had gone down, leaving a pastel glow over the endless horizon of the lake. I barely heard Blake's voice in the background.

"What are you thinking about?"

I broke out of my trance and picked up my glass. "Let's toast."

"What should we toast to?"

Not the past. The opposite of the past, in fact. "Let's toast to the future."

He touched his glass to mine, the faint clink the only sound between us for the next few minutes.

"Are you happy we came here?"

I thought about his question, my focus traveling back to the shimmering water. "In a way. I don't know. It's been a lot to take in."

He sat back in his seat as I contemplated everything.

"My family-my mom's family-has a beach house over there." I pointed to the window, to an invisible place across the lake where I'd lived another part of my life. "Across the lake, in Michigan."

Blake's gaze returned to me after a moment. "I didn't know that. When was the last time you were there?"

I took a careful sip of my wine. The robust flavor rolled over my tongue, the aroma coming through my nostrils. I swallowed it, grateful for yet another decadent experience I'd been afforded simply by being in Blake's life. I wasn't sure I would ever get used to being so completely spoiled, but I loved the man and I wasn't about to argue with the things that made him happy. My thoughts skipped back to the lake house and the last time we'd been there as a family.

"A long time ago," I finally said, "before I left for boarding school, we took our yearly vacation there. It was the last summer my mom was alive, actually-the last time I remember feeling like a kid. She wasn't feeling well and couldn't keep up. I had a lot of energy. Elliot's girls reminded me of that. We always had so much fun together, but that summer my mom wasn't up for much. She was always tired. I didn't know it at the time that she was already sick. It's one of those things you don't piece together until you're older."

I closed my eyes, pushing down the emotions that resurfaced with her memory. My mother. The one person who I could always count on to take care of me, to see me through the hard times. God, I still missed her. Her laugh and the way she would hold me tight, with every last ounce of her waning energy. I let out a breath, determined to hold it together.

"After a while, I'd go back in my mind and try to grab my last memories of her. It all made sense one day." I shook my head. "Anyway, her family was always distant. I never had play dates with cousins or visits with Grandma and Grandpa like normal kids. Even then, knowing that she was dying, they didn't change the way they interacted with us. My aunts and uncles would be in town, and they never had room for us there. If the cousins ever bickered, somehow the blame fell on me. After a while I just started to withdraw, do things on my own. Being an only child, that wasn't so hard. Mom, Elliot, and I would go swimming or drive to town. We made our own memories, the three of us."

Blake reached out, feathering a soft touch over the back of my hand. "Why do you think they treated you that way?"

"I used to think it was because of me, that my mom getting pregnant with me disappointed them so much that things were never the same after. But Elliot told me something last night..."

Blake stilled. "What did he say?"

"He told me they had wanted my mom to force Daniel into a marriage. They wanted her to tell his family and make Daniel do the honorable thing. I guess even after he'd broken things off with her, she refused to push him. She wanted me, and I guess she loved him enough to let him live the life that had been planned for him."

Blake was silent a moment. "She made the right choice. Imagine what your life would have been like growing up in his family."

I traced circles over my glass, fixated on the light reflecting off it. "I don't know. Sometimes I think about it, and I wonder if she could have made him a better person. Or if she'd have ended up like Margo. The perfect wife at the side of her politician husband, consumed with achieving success and looking the part."

Blake laughed softly. "If you're anything like your mother, I'm guessing no."

I smirked. "Are you saying I'm not first lady material?"

"No, you're Madam President material."

I laughed, entertaining that ridiculous thought for a moment. Entrepreneurship was well and good, but I had no political aspirations. I couldn't imagine Blake did either. "And what would that make you?"