Three weeks ago, when I visited Trent to give him a piece of my mind, something I wasn't expecting happened. Trent offered me to be in the auction he was throwing, three weeks from that day.
Of course, we argued for about an hour or so about Callum and what I saw. He, too, insisted what I saw wasn't what it looked like. And the more he stuck up for his brother, the more upset I became.
Not that I was upset he was sticking up for Callum; I was angry he wouldn't explain what I had witnessed earlier in the day and everything else I wanted to know about him; he remained tight-lipped. Claiming it was his brother who needed to tell me everything.
Same shit I'd heard for months.
Even though Trent was part of the mess between Callum and me, I told him I couldn't be angry with him like I was with his brother since Callum was the one who could have made the day turn out much differently than how it went down. All he had to do was tell Trent he'd meet with him later, and the incidents that happened that day probably never would have happened.
Trent's offer to put me up for the auction block wasn't to help make him money for the club. And he didn't intend to auction me off for another man to whisk me off my feet. It was something he claimed I needed to do to get under Callum's skin, and to light a fire under his ass to get him to see what he's been doing, not only to me, but to himself. Saying if I really wanted to know how Callum felt about me and if I wanted to see with my own eyes if he truly loved me like he claimed he did, I'd put myself on that stage to give Callum a chance to show how much I meant to him and what he'd do for me.
At first, I told him absolutely not, telling him that if Callum loved me, I wanted him to prove it differently—and that I shouldn't have to auction myself just for him to prove his love for me. He, of course, insisted this was the best plan to wake his brother up and teach him a lesson.
Again, I didn't understand why he was trying to help me with his brother when he was part of the problem, but the expression on his face—showing a look I needed to trust him, said I needed to believe his plan would work. And that he was trying to help out us both.
So, I told him I'd be going out of town to think about it. When he asked where I was going, I told him it was none of his business—only because I didn't want it getting back to Callum. I wanted to continue making him stew about what he'd done. But I also wanted him to think long and hard if I was the girl he wanted to have a future with.
And since the auction he insisted I be in was three weeks away, I thought about his offer. And the more I thought, the more I felt my escaping Chicago for some time away from everyone would give us time to think about our relationship and what we wanted from each other.
In my eyes, I felt it would be an excellent plan for Callum and me to take a break to figure out if we're right for each other since we both had issues when it came to trusting the opposite sex.
In addition to not giving Trent my answer right away, I also felt it would be fair if he granted me time to think about whether putting myself on stage to be auctioned off would benefit Callum and me. Because if everyone is correct about me jumping the gun and assuming the worst of the situation I saw, I didn't want to piss him off.
Either way, I knew he'd be pissed at whatever decision I made. But the way I saw things, I felt if I decided to go with Trent's plan, it'd be the price he had to pay for all the secrets he kept from me. I also wanted to make him understand that I won't put up with secrets anymore.
The plan was for Callum's friends to bring him to the club, but when I stood on the stage looking around the room for them and saw nobody I was supposed to see, I knew the plan didn't work and he told his friends to get bent. And I instantly became nervous and started regretting my decision to go on stage and let men bid on me.
Then the bidding war between multiple men began, and I started freaking out more than I was, especially when the bids were getting higher and how the speed of the bids were being thrown out there. And when I didn't hear Callum's voice fighting for me, and the bids were growing in the millions, I nearly threw up on stage.
And it was because I knew the bidding was going back and forth between two men, and because I had no idea who was bidding. I tried listening and looking to see who they were, but the voices were so faint, I couldn't place them, not to mention with as packed as the room was. All I saw were hands raising in the air for each bid.
All I hoped for was that Callum decided to finally show, and it was him bidding against another man, fighting to keep me all to himself.
Then I got numb when the bidding ended at fifty million and nearly passed out on stage until I saw Callum storm onto the stage with fire in his eyes—that moment, I knew I was in trouble—deep, deep trouble.
Trent's plan worked, but it instantly made me feel guilty that I cost Callum fifty million so that he could have an hour of my time to explain to me something I should have allowed him to clarify three weeks prior—without it costing him a penny. And even though he said he doesn't want the money I cost his checkbook, I'll still give him, returning his money of what I earned from the auction whether he likes it or not. I didn't do it to make money off him, but for my peace of mind. Also, since my history with men isn't the greatest, and how I was told I wasn't girlfriend material, I needed assurance from Callum that I was worthy of his love and being a billionaire's girlfriend.
Now that Callum told me why he'd flinch, make faces, and his mood changes whenever I told him ditto after he'd told me he loved me, it has me feeling like the biggest bitch on the planet. I should have realized there was a reason behind his hate for that word just by his expressions and demeanor afterward. And because I felt guilty for repeating something Victoria would tell him, I gave Callum a blowjob on the way to his place—my new home.
It was my way of apologizing for overreacting, not giving him a chance to tell his side of the story, and not telling him I loved him when I did.
Then when we got to Callum's house, instead of him giving me what he wanted to give me, we ended up in his bed, where he was doing as he promised he'd do—making love to me. It wasn't boring as he said it would be—it was magical, slow, bittersweet, and so romantic I repeatedly orgasmed without him trying to give me one. The way his cock slid against my clit, and how his cock slowly moved inside me, the walls of my pussy feeling every inch of his dick, overstimulated me—giving me orgasm after orgasm after orgasm, and I couldn't be more satisfied right now with this choice of his for makeup sex.
"I love you, Callum," I whispered.
His mouth fell on mine, softly, slowly, passionately kissing me, helping the butterflies continue assaulting my belly. His hips paused when he left my mouth and looked me dead in the eye when he confessed, "I love you, too, Eloise. More than I'd ever loved anyone. And that's a fact." His mouth lowered, and he kissed my lips before saying, "Just promise me from now on, you'll never take off again. Come to me first if I've done something to upset you."
"I promise. After all, communication is key to a healthy relationship, is it not?"
"It is. And I'll admit, it's something I need to work on. I'm sorry, Eloise." He kissed my lips again. "I never should have told you I went to Oregon for work. I should have told you my intentions for being there from the start. It'll never happen again. I also never should have hidden who I was after I figured out you were the woman I slept with in Florida. From this moment on, there will be no more secrets, no more lies, and no more giving you reason not to trust me. You're my girl, the woman of my dreams, my person, and believe it or not. But you're the love of my life. And I will never do you wrong ever again. I want you to remain in my life forever. Which means I want to grow old with you."
My belly just flip-flopped.
And the butterflies fluttering their wings inside my body just increased the speed of their wings, tickling my insides more than they already were.
His thrusts increased. "Come all over my cock, sweetheart."
"Come inside me, too," I countered, begging, feeling needy, wanting to feel a part of him warm my insides.
"Eloise, come for me," he begged through gritted teeth, when my sensitive set of lips defied his order. "I'm about to let go, and I don't want to do anything before you," he added, hope in his tone he doesn't embarrass himself by losing it before me.
That's all it took for me to get stimulated by his words, and facial expression to shudder and release what he wanted to feel—my release warming his cock. "Thank fuck..." he excitedly groaned, his thrusts growing harder and faster. And then he shoved himself deep inside me and held it in place, where I felt his secretions warm me below. And as we watched one another release our arousal together, it brought smiles to our faces.
He rolled onto his back, pulling me on top of him, and we just stared into each other's eyes without saying a word—it was warming, touching, and full of emotion that I couldn't help the tear that formed and fell from my eye, dropping directly onto Callum's cheek.
It wasn't a tear of sadness. It was a tear of happiness. "Sorry," I whispered, wiping it off his face. Only his hand stopped me from removing it.
"Leave it," he commanded, then rested the palm of his hand on the left side of my face the tear fell from, saying, "I want to be reminded of what I caused, how I hurt you. I don't ever want to repeat it."
I turned my head, wanting to feel his touch on my mouth. Then, smiling, I said, "It's not a tear of sadness. It was a tear of joy. I'm happy, Callum. Really effing happy."
His face brightened when his mouth curved into a smile. The same that makes my heart flutter every damn time he rewards me with it. "I'm happy, too. I never knew I could be this happy again. And to be honest, I'm glad I waited as long as I did to see the light."
With my head sloping to the side, I asked, "Why's that?"
The corner of his lips twitched, then they curved higher, and he lovingly slid his fingers through my hair, confining it behind me as he said, "Because by waiting, the best gift anyone could ever give was given to me—you."
He moved on top of me as he rolled me onto my back, pecking his lips on mine. "Thank you for giving me another chance to prove I'm the real deal. I apologize for everything I've done, and if the fifty million wasn't enough to show how much you mean to me. I'll fix that in the morning," he said, probably trying to get a rise out of me, but I didn't take the bait. "Instead of twenty million going into your bank account, it'll be much more—much, much more."
I grinned. "Callum, come on now." I playfully shoved his chest. "Fifty million is more than enough to show your love for me. In fact, it was ridiculous, especially when the bid amount was at eleven million. Why did you raise it to fifty million, anyway? You could have just said twelve million."
"I had my reasons."
"Callum," she scolded, "no secrets, remember?"
He chuckled. "It's no secret, Eloise." He kissed my mouth, then broke the kiss, trailing his lips along my neck, saying, "Think about it. What would make me want to raise it?"
"To stop the other person from bidding?"
"That's part of it, yes. Obviously, I didn't want Aaron's favorite person bidding on you—you know, Rico Suave as he calls him," Callum chuckled, "but that's not the real reason. Guess again," he grinned.
I know the answer to his question. But I wanted to mess with him, so I hummed, pretending to think about why he did what he did. Then, after making him wait a few minutes for my response, I finally said, "To prove you'd do anything for me?"
"That's part of it, yes," he said, then asked, "And what else would be a reason for me to go that high without needing to?"
"Because you're crazy," I laughed.
"That I am," he chuckled. "But I'm sorry to say, that isn't it. I went as high as I did to prove a point. To show that I couldn't care less about money. As I said earlier. If the bidding went to a billion dollars, I still would have bid, and I would've continued bidding until I was broke. I wanted you to see, I meant every fricken word when I talked about you and me and our future. I meant every damn word about you—about us. And I would have because you're worth keeping in my life; you're worth everything to me, Eloise. And I mean everything. Money doesn't bring happiness to someone's life; the person in your life showing their love for you is what makes a person happy."
He's finally getting it...
He lowered his mouth and slowly kissed me. I sensed he was working his way up to something. The smile on his face, loving he had me back, that I was lying beneath him and in his bed. How he was now acting, kissing me, touching me, and whispering sweet things that made my belly a fluttering mess, I knew, even more, something was coming.
And I can't wait...
"A person's love for money can be the root of all sorts of evils. If you think about it, instead of loving people and using money, the greedy ones show how much they love money and use people. And that's not me. I didn't want you to think money was all I cared about. I wanted you to see that my heart doesn't want money; it wants you. And whatever amount of money I have in my bank account will never be the root of where my love for you comes from. I'd rather be broke and happy by having you in my life than have money and be depressed about not having you in my life."
My heart...
He quickly rolled off me, got out of bed, then rushed to his dresser on the other side of the room. Opening his top drawer, he removed something, then with it held behind his back, he headed back toward me, an alluring smile accentuating his handsome face. Then he was about halfway to me when he stopped, dropped to his knees, and inched his way toward me.
Once he got to the bed, he said, "I have something I want to give you." I'm pretty sure I know what he's about to give me. But not wanting to let him know I knew what was going on in his mind, I allowed him to continue saying what he wanted to tell me. Finally, when I moved to the edge of the bed after he asked that I come closer to him, he took my hand, and with love in his eye, he said, "This wasn't how I wanted to do this, but I can't wait any longer to give this to you. The item in question has patiently waited for weeks for its owner to take claims to it."
Yep, he's about to propose to me.
"Eloise Serena McKnight, our relationship may not have started on the right foot, and I know I put you through hell with how badly I wanted you fired more than anything, but boy, am I glad I was never given a chance to rid you from my life. I'm even more ecstatic that you turned out not to be Rabid Ruth from American Horror Story," he chuckled.
And he laughed harder when my face scrunched up, and I said, "Huh?"
He shook his head, muttering, "Inside joke with my friends."
"Explain."
He grinned. "I used to tell them all the time that I thought you looked like Rabid Ruth. And after our night together and discovering you were my assistant, I was happier than shit that you looked nothing like her. I may have been upset with myself I slept with an employee of mine, but I have to say, I'm glad I let my guard down that night when we unknowingly got the chance to really get to know each other. And sweetheart? Am I ever ecstatic that you ended up being the woman I couldn't erase from my mind. And I need to say, I never want you erased from my life—I want you tattooed in it. You are the only woman I want to look at every day, wake up to every morning, bury my cock in, and kiss. You're also the only woman my mouth and tongue want to taste, suck, lick, and tease—pussy, tits, and your flesh, that is, for the rest of my life."
"I want that too," I told him, grinning widely like the Cheshire Cat.
"Oh, sweetheart, you have no idea how much that's music to my ears." He pushed up to my mouth, kissed my lips, then returned to his knees, continuing, "All I want is you, Eloise. And all I want is to proudly show you off as mine—every freaking day. And whenever I have to travel somewhere, I'd love it if you were to accompany me every time. Only if that's something you'd want to do, though. Also, I don't know your thoughts about having children, and I'm sure it'll be one of our discussions later on, but I want you to know that I would be in heaven if you'd be willing to be the mother of my children."
I want him to be the father of my children, too—when I'm ready, of course. "Feelings mutual, but we'll talk about that later," because right now, I'm anxiously waiting to hear those four huge, major words leave Callum's beautiful mouth.
He chuckled. "Yes, that can wait. Something else is more important than us discussing having kids." He winked, sending my belly into a frenzy. "Anyway, what I'm getting at is that I think we'd make a great team, so, Eloise, if you haven't figured out what I'm up to, I'll fill you in." Oh, I figured it out; I'm just patiently waiting for those words to leave your mouth. "I want to show and prove my love for you every day for the rest of my life. With everything said, will you marry me?" he asked, bringing his hand from behind him to between us and presenting me with a massive-sized princess-shaped diamond engagement ring. And hundreds of sparkling diamonds that cascade into an infinity symbol on either side of the princess-cut diamond.
I wanted to tease him by telling him no, but after the hell I put him through these last three weeks and how I cost him fifty million dollars tonight, just so he could have his time to explain what happened the day I freaked out and left, I said, "Yes, Callum. I'll marry you."
A breath of relief left his mouth, and a smile as wide as the room appeared on his face. He removed the ring from the little black velvet box and slid the ring on my finger, saying, "I will spend the rest of my life showing you this isn't a mistake—that I'm not a mistake. And I'm the man you dreamed of having since you were a little girl, one you'd be proud to have at your side twenty-four-seven, three-hundred-sixty-five days of the year."
I grinned. "I want that, too, and I cannot fricken wait to spend the rest of my life with you."
His finger curled under my chin and lowered his mouth to mine, hungrily kissing me. "I love you, Eloise. I will do everything possible, never to let you down. You're my girl, my love, and my life—and I want it all to be forever."
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!! 🤞🤞