Persuading Him (9 page)

We finally got out of his truck and went inside.  I completely forgot about Ace.  He greeted me with a wagging tail, but the second Radek stepped out from behind me the hair on his back went up a little and he growled low.

I used my body to push him back and asked him to sit which he did immediately.  Radek was still standing by the door.  I waved him forward once Ace relaxed a little.  Releasing him from the sit, he walked over and inspected my man.  He must have scented me on him, because he wasn’t as upset as he first had been.

I stood by, reading his body posture, making sure that if he even flinched I would intercept.  Luckily, nothing more happened.  Radek followed me into the house and we sat down in the living room so Ace could get more acquainted with him.  I grabbed some dog food along the way and slipped it into Radek’s hand.  He fed him one piece at a time, even asked him to sit and lay down for a piece.  Ace listened to him which made me smile.

Standing, I went to the kitchen, leaving them alone.  They were still in eyesight so if I needed to do something I could, but I also had dinner to make.  “We’re eating in tonight,” I called.

“You’re going to cook?”  Just because I hadn’t made us anything yet, didn’t mean I couldn’t.

“Don’t act so surprised.  I do know how to prepare meals.  I have managed to live on my own for quite some time now.”

“I know you have.  I just thought you ordered out a lot.”

“Oh I do, but sometimes I want to feel domesticated and put on my apron.”

“You own an apron?”

“I do.”  Putting it on and tying it around my back, I twirled to model it for him.  The apron had a black, sweetheart top with white lace around the edges, a black flared skirt with white piping, and a black and white lace overlay.  A large black sash went around the waist and black fabric looped around my neck.  It reminded me of a French maid’s outfit, but a little more practical for cooking.  If I was going to make food I figured I should look hot doing it.

His mouth hung open.  “Like what you see?”

“Yes, very much.  I’d like it better with nothing underneath.”

“We can arrange for that later.  Right now I have dinner to make and have no desire to cook naked.”

Dinner was easy.  I made tacos.  World class chef I was not.  I did basic meals, nothing extravagant.  The whole time I cooked I watched my pilot interact with my dog.  By the time I was finished, Ace was between Radek's legs, on his back, with his belly in the air.  I was happy to see they’d bonded, because I didn’t want either to go anywhere.

That evening when we went up to bed Ace was right behind us.  He didn’t immediately lie down.  Instead he sat and stared at Radek when he climbed into bed with me.  Like he was saying ‘What the fuck?  Why is he allowed up there and I’m not?’.

Surprisingly, Ace didn’t bother us throughout the night when we fooled around, except for one time.  I yelled like I normally do when I climaxed causing him to walk over to Radek’s side of the bed and growl.  A quick command from me and he was back on his bed.  He did grumble a few times though.

I had a hard time sleeping.  Somehow I went from being single with no one to take care of but myself to in a relationship and having a pet.  I was used to going with the flow of things, but those were two big changes in my life.

Radek and I had a lot to discuss.  We still didn’t know each other well, except in the bedroom.  I could tell you every indentation on his body.  How the ridges of his abs felt under my tongue.  The way his cock would pulse inside of me when he came.  My all-time favorite was sucking on his neck or ear while he emptied himself into me.  Those subtle touches would cause goose bumps to break out over his skin.  I loved how I had that effect on him.

I’d have him all to myself for a week.  We should really talk at some point.  What if he had a fetish that I wasn’t down with?  I knew some women liked their feet being played with, but not me.  If his tongue touched my toe I’d probably end up kicking him in the face.  My feet were off limits sex wise.  Yup, we had to talk…about everything.

~ 12 ~

Our week together went by in a blur.  I didn’t learn much about Radek except he was thirty-eight and retired from the Air Force.  I knew he was older than me, but didn’t know by how much.  Ten years wasn’t bad.  Shit, he could have told me he was much older than that and I wouldn’t have cared.

He was packing up his clothes to go home for a few days.  I didn’t want to see him leave, but at the same time if he kept staying with me he should just move in and I was in no way ready for that.  We decided to date.  We technically only went out on one date to the movies.  The rest of our time together was spent at my house.  Due to our media attention, we tended to stay inside most of the time.

Work picked up for him instead of dropping off since we went public which made me happy.  He had a few short trips for local businessmen to take care of, but he was going to be home more than not.  I liked that and had to admit I wanted him all to myself.  Money could buy a lot of things.  Knowing I could hire him to be my full-time pilot and have him on stand-by was a possibility.  I couldn’t do that though.  If we were engaged or married, than yes, I would.

Engaged or married?  What the fuck had come over me?  The fact that I was even thinking that should have thrown up red flags.  I wasn’t the marriage type.  Could he have changed that part of me, making me want to commit to someone longer than a few months?  Granted, he was my first serious relationship.

He must have noticed my deer in the headlights look and stopped what he was doing.  “Babe, what’s going on?  We were talking and you drifted off?”

“What?  Yeah, sure, I’m fine.”

He chuckled.  “If you say so.”

We kissed goodbye at the front door.  Ace even walked him to his truck, giving him a quick lick on the face before he got inside.  Maybe some time apart would be good for us.  When he was there I was completely wrapped up in him.

My dad called while Radek was over, said nothing was wrong, but wanted me to call him back when I could.  Ace trotted in behind me before I closed the door.  Grabbing my phone, I dialed his number.

“Princess!  So happy you called me back.”

“Princess?  What are you buttering me up for?”

“I’m doing no such thing.”

“Yup, whatever.  Spill.”

“What are you doing on October seventeenth?”

“Um, nothing that I know of, but that’s a few months away.”

“Good.  I’m going to need you to fly out to Kansas.  I’m getting married.”

If I would have been drinking something I would have spit it out.  “I’m really happy for you, but don’t you think it’s a little soon?”

“Not at all.  I’ve known Karen for years.  This is all part of my living each day to the fullest.  I want to shout from the highest mountain and let everyone know how happy I am.”

I couldn’t fault him.  He was right.  Whatever made him happy I was on board with.  I would do whatever he asked me to.  “I’m there.  Does Karen need any help with the wedding planning?”

“Thanks, kid.  She hired a wedding planner, but even with her help she feels overwhelmed.  Would you be able to come out this weekend to help with some of the decisions she has to make?”

Karen never married and didn’t have any kids.  I could imagine how much stress the wedding planning was putting on her, on top of managing my dad’s busy calendar for work.  Knowing him, this was going to be one big wedding.  “I’d be happy to.  I’ll fly out Friday and stay until Monday.  Would that work?”

“Yup, we’ll make it work.  I’ll have the cake and food tasting scheduled and maybe you can help her find a dress.”

“I would love to.  Hey, Dad?”

“Bring him.  I need to meet the man who is in the newspapers with my daughter.”  I loved that he knew what I was going to ask.

“Thank you.  I’ll see you soon.”

My first call after I disconnected with my dad was to Radek.  “What’s up?  Miss me already?”

“How did you know?  Listen, what are you doing this weekend?”

“You, if I’m lucky.”

“Cute.  Answer the question.”

“Nothing, but I have work next Wednesday.”

“Want to fly me out to Kansas on Friday?  My dad just told me he’s getting married and wants me to help Karen with some of the wedding details.  He also said he wants to meet you.”

“Uhhh, sure.  I think the flying out and back will be the easy part.”

“You two will get along great.  Speaking of getting along, I’m going to call Rob.  You need a co-pilot and he’s the one I use.”  My regular pilot, Jonathan, called me after Radek and I went public.  He asked if I would still need his services.  I said yes, although I wasn’t sure how often.  He’d been flying me for a while and I knew I needed to be honest with him.

“Rob?  Seriously, Kasi?”

“If this is going to be a problem for you I can call Jonathan and let him fly us.  He doesn’t have a problem flying with Rob.”

“No, I’m not trusting your life in anyone’s hands, but mine.  I’ll deal with Rob.”

I smiled even if he couldn’t see it.  “Good.  I’ll call tomorrow and we can work out the details.”

“Sounds good.  Night, baby.”

“Night.”  I sighed.  He was very protective of me and I liked it.

That evening I called Rob, letting him know my plans.  He was on board, but seemed hesitant about working with Radek.  I informed him that I could replace him.  That if working with him was going to be an issue I needed to know, which made him quickly change his tune.  I also called Aubrey to make sure she could take Ace for the weekend and called around to find a new stewardess.

Karen called me a couple of times during the week.  Once was to thank me over and over again for helping her.  The others were to ask if I would help with certain things while I was there.

Friday morning I was packed and waiting for my ride.  Radek insisted on picking me up even if he was going out of his way to get me.  He also told me to wait to drop Ace off, that we could do it together on our way to the airport.

Poor Ace.  He gave me the sad dog look like I was permanently abandoning him.  Maybe that’s what happened to him before.  His owner could have dumped him at the shelter.  I assured him that I’d be back even if he didn’t understand.  Aubrey brought him immediately outside to play to help distract him so I could slip out.  It wasn’t as easy dropping him off as I thought it would be.  Radek had to practically drag me out the door to get me to leave, all the while telling me that he was going to be fine.

We arrived at the airport on time even though it wasn’t like the plane was leaving without me.  My pilot made sure to clasp my hand as soon as I got down from his truck.  I was sure he did it to rub in Rob’s face, but I didn’t care.  Rob needed to realize that him and I were nothing more than friends.  Plus any time that I could touch Radek was a bonus.

Rob was waiting on the tarmac for us.  He gave me a hug that lasted a little too long.  I had to push away from him to get free.  The two men faced off with one another like it was a battle.  Radek pulled me into him, wrapping a protective arm over my shoulder.

“If you two are done with your pissing contest I’d like to get in the air.”

I climbed the stairs to the jet.  They stayed on the ground talking, but I didn’t give a shit about what.  I knew both men would put my safety first.  Maybe they would leave whatever issues they had on the ground.

Climbing inside I saw a beautiful redhead.  Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wore a warm smile.  She was petite, slender, and dressed professionally for work.  She reached her hand out to me when I came aboard.  “Hi, Kasi, I’m Natalie.  If you need anything during the trip, please let me know.”

“Thank you, I will.”

I liked her already, especially since when Radek boarded he only had eyes for me.  That was my man.  I’d fight someone for trying to steal him away.  He went into the cockpit, but Rob hung back.

“I’m sorry if I was being a dick.  I only want what’s best for you.  If that’s Radek then I’ll be behind you one hundred percent.”

“Thanks, Rob.  I appreciate you apologizing.  I still want us to be friends.”

“Me too.”

The flight to Kansas was smooth.  Natalie only asked me once if I wanted something to eat or drink, then busied herself straightening up the plane.  She was what I loved in a flight attendant, courteous and professional while giving me my space.  I asked for her full name and who she worked for so I could contact them to request her in the future.

Radek and Rob emerged from the front of the plane once we were on the ground again.  Two black SUVs were waiting outside.  One was taking Rob and Natalie to the same hotel I usually stayed in and the other was taking Radek and me to my dad’s house.  He insisted on us staying with him.  Normally I’d insist on the hotel, but thought it would be easier to help Karen if I was close by.

My father’s home was very large and traditional looking.  Grey and white stone exterior, five bedrooms, five full baths and three halves.  Tennis court, swimming pool, hot tub, basketball court, and a theater room.  Amenities that you would typically find in a gated community, not a house.  There was never a lack of things for me to do growing up.

What I never felt there was like it was too cold.  My dad never told me not to touch something or to stay off of the furniture, not to walk around with my shoes on.  He let me be a kid.  Of course that meant our housekeeper stayed busy, but he made sure to pay her extremely well for having to deal with me and all of the messes.

No matter how old I was or how long I’d lived away, that place would always feel like home.  I’d learned that it wasn’t the house, the location, or what was inside the home that counted.  It was the people and the memories you made that gave you the sense of being home.

~ 13 ~

My dad and Karen greeted us on their home’s front steps when we pulled up.  I squeezed Radek’s hand in assurance before getting out of the SUV.  He was nervous even though I told him he had no need to be.  All my dad cared about was that his only child was being taken care of and was happy.  That was it.