Chapter 24 Twenty four

Chapter 24 Twenty four
REINA’S POV

The next morning arrived with a quiet tension that felt almost tangible. I woke early, body still humming from the night before. My own touch, the fantasies of Orion’s hands and mouth, the way my release had left me breathless but not satisfied.

Nothing could satisfy me except him now. I pulled on a simple sundress, the same soft yellow one from our spa day, and padded barefoot to the living room.

Orion was already there, standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows with a coffee mug in hand. He wore a charcoal suit, tie perfectly knotted, hair still damp from his shower. The early light caught the sharp line of his jaw and the faint shadows under his eyes. He hadn’t slept well either.

He turned when he heard my footsteps.

Our eyes met.

The air between us crackled but neither of us spoke.

I crossed the room slowly. He set his mug down on the side table without looking away. When I reached him I didn’t hesitate. I rose on my toes, slid my arms around his neck, and kissed him.

It wasn’t gentle.It was hungry and sensual.

All the pent-up want from last night poured into that kiss. My tongue found his immediately, stroking deep, tasting coffee and heat and the faint edge of restraint he was clinging to by a thread. His hands came to my waist, fingers digging in hard enough to bruise, pulling me flush against him. I felt his thick and hard member straining against his trousers and pressing into my stomach. A low groan rumbled in his chest.

I arched into him, hips rocking instinctively, seeking friction. He growled against my mouth, one hand sliding down to cup my ass, lifting me slightly so the pressure hit exactly where I needed it. I whimpered, fingers threading into his hair, tugging just enough to make him hiss.

The kiss turned wilder, teeth grazing lips, tongues tangling, breaths coming in short desperate pants. His other hand slid up my back, under the thin straps of my dress, palm hot against bare skin. I ground down harder. He thrust up once, involuntarily, the friction making us both moan.

Then he broke away.

His forehead dropped to mine. His breathing was ragged, chest heaving. His eyes were almost black.

“Fuck, Reina,” he rasped. “I can’t, I have to go.”

Before I could protest he stepped back, adjusted himself with a grimace, grabbed his briefcase, and strode toward the elevator like the hounds of hell were after him.

The doors closed.

I stood there, lips swollen, thighs trembling, heart hammering.

I touched my mouth with shaking fingers and smiled.

He was running again.

But he wasn’t running far.

I quickly dressed up and rode the elevator to the lobby to meet the driver waiting for me.

When I got to Gran's house, the etiquette instructor was waiting when the driver dropped me off. Madame Claire was tall, silver-haired, impeccably dressed in a navy sheath, posture so perfect it looked effortless. Gran sat in an armchair nearby, sipping tea, eyes twinkling with amusement.

“Reina, darling,” Gran said. “Meet Madame Claire. She’ll be teaching you the finer points of high-society navigation.”

Madame Claire inclined her head. “A pleasure, Mrs. Blackwood.”

“Reina is fine,” I said, smiling. “And thank you for coming.”

We began in the formal dining room.

The lesson was not easy.

Posture first: shoulders back, chin level, spine straight but not rigid. I caught myself slouching three times in the first five minutes. Madame Claire corrected me gently but firmly with a light tap of her ruler against my shoulder blades.

“Elegance is in the spine, dear, not the effort.”

Next came dining etiquette: which fork for which course, how to hold a wine glass, how to excuse oneself without disrupting conversation. I managed the forks reasonably well as farm life had taught me to eat neatly but the small talk practice felt like walking through quicksand.

Madame Claire role-played a society matron asking probing questions about my background. I answered honestly, but every time I mentioned the farm or Bessie, her eyebrow lifted slightly.

“Charming,” she said. “But perhaps frame it as ‘rural heritage’ rather than ‘goats in the laundry room.’ Subtlety, dear.”

Gran laughed softly from her chair. “She’ll get there. Reina learns fast.”

By the end of the two-hour session my back ached from holding perfect posture, my cheeks hurt from smiling politely, and my brain felt full of rules I hadn’t known existed. But I had managed. There were no major disasters and Madame Claire even gave me a small approving nod before she left.

“You have natural grace,” she said. “We’ll refine it. Tomorrow, same time.”

Gran stood and hugged me. “You did beautifully. Now, important news.”

She pulled out her phone and dialed a number on speaker.

My mother answered on the second ring.

“Mrs. Blackwood!” Mom’s voice was warm and surprised. “Is everything all right?”

“More than all right,” Gran said. “We’re moving the wedding up. Two weeks from Saturday. Here at the house. I’d like your family here—the sooner the better. Flights, accommodations, everything taken care of. We want Reina’s people with her.”

Silence. Then Mom’s voice, thick with emotion.

“We’ll be there. All of us. Thank you.”

Gran smiled at me. “Good. I’ll send details this afternoon. Bring the brothers too. Reina needs her wrestling partners.”

Mom laughed. “They’ll behave. Mostly.”

We hung up.

Gran squeezed my hand. “Your family will be here in a week. We’ll have a proper welcome dinner. Now go home and rest. Tomorrow is another lesson and I suspect Orion has plans for you soon.”

My cheeks warmed. “He’s proposing?”

Gran’s eyes twinkled. “He hasn’t told me the when. But he’s been speaking to a jeweler. Be ready, darling.”

I hugged her tightly. “Thank you. For everything.”

She kissed my cheek. “You’re family now. We take care of our own.”

ORION’S POV

I barely made it through the morning meetings. Every time I shifted in my chair I felt the ache from the morning kiss, the memory of Reina’s body grinding against mine, her soft whimpers against my mouth. I excused myself twice to splash cold water on my face in the executive bathroom.

By noon I couldn’t take it anymore.

I called Gran.

“She’s ready,” I said when she answered. “Doll her up tonight. I’m proposing.”

Gran laughed delightedly. “Finally. I’ll call the stylist. Hair, makeup, the works. Eight o’clock at the house. Bring the ring. And Orion?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t faint when you see her. She’s going to take your breath away.”

I hung up and stared at the ring box in my desk drawer.

Two weeks.

Less than two weeks now.

Tonight I would ask her to marry me because I couldn’t imagine another day without her as mine.

I slipped the box into my pocket and prayed I could survive until eight o’clock without losing my mind.