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Please continue reading if you’ve read the story starter – a very long Chapter 1 – and you’re ready to dive into the story with me.

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About the story: (short description. Click here for longer)

“Let Me Love You” is a tale of love and sacrifice and a poignant story of self-discovery, celebrating the human capacity to find love in the most unlikely of circumstances.

Please enjoy the current WIP of Iris and El. This will be published freely up to a point, like in the old days, and then the entire book will be posted for full download. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. And don’t forget to check out the companion stories. (Wicked Chances, Dreams of Reality, The Convenient Wife, The Other Side of Love, She Works Hard for the Money & Ravenous)

Enjoy, Your Author, Sylvia Hubbard

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Read more: Let Me Love You – Chapter 62✍🏾📚❤️ #SylLit #WIP #livestory 📖💓 #marriedwife #demandedconsensual #darkromance

AUTHOR’S NOTES: Thanks for your patience. I’ve been digging into the Essence’s Divinity final edits like a mugfug and I hope to get them done by the end of the day.

I’ll type more later.

Your author, Sylvia Hubbard

Somehow, El did tell her the details of the meeting. 

After Iris left the room, Alejandro confirmed her proposals and the land. With the informational notes only El could see in the proposal, he was able to further impress the hotel magnet with not only current perspectives but also the future. 

To be spiteful, El added that an agreement could only be reached if Alejandro made no side deals with Wexford, and if any improprieties that affected their deal and El’s reputation through the Bellini Entreprises could lead to a large payout for El. She knew this would bite Dalton Bellini in the chest, and he’d have to ensure the deals he made with Wexford or the congressman wouldn’t harm the company. 

Worriedly, she said, “I don’t think Mr. Dalton Bellini will take having to double-check his resources.”

“After what you revealed about possible dirty dealing and some research after you left, Alejandro agreed,” El responded. “When it comes to the Bellinis, the bottom line is that it’s all about family.”

Iris had given El the time he needed to get into the Bellini family, and this would lead to more. Once Dalton Bellini saw the prosperous proposal and possibility, plus the duplicity of Wexford and the congressman, it would only be smart to put all the business into El’s capable hands.

El arose from the bed and went to the small refrigerator in the bedroom, where there were ginger beers. “Once Alejandro goes back and boasts what we did, it could catch Dalton’s ear, and the company could rest on its laurels.”

Iris wondered if he had noticed that he said ‘we.’ Without pointing it out, she said, “It’s been your hard work through the years, El. It’s finally paying off. Unfortunately, it’s when everything is falling apart, but perhaps things must break to be put together stronger.”

He handed her his open ginger beer to share with an inquisitive look on his face. “I find your intellect arousing, Iris.”

She took the beer in appreciation. “And after the Bellini deal closes. What’s next for you?”

“I think I should spend time with my wife.” He winked, and she blushed, tearing her eyes away before she worked herself up again. 

El crawled into bed, spreading her legs to make room for his broad shoulders as he laid his head high on his thigh. Her fingers naturally were drawn to his head to caress and massage, soothing her as he relaxed even more. His full weight on her legs wasn’t a problem. There were so many nights Dwayne’s dead weight crushed her legs to the point she couldn’t walk immediately in the morning.

El’s weight didn’t cut off blood vessels, and damn if it didn’t feel comforting to feel him there.

“Were you going to meet Alejandro later like he wanted you to?” Iris asked.

“It would be easy since they are meeting in this hotel’s VIP part of the restaurant downstairs.” El took a long breath as she continued to massage his scalp. “Will you be fine without me?”

“Kelsey Bellini approached me in the lobby when I initially arrived. She liked some ointment I’d made for Clem. I could hit her up and see if we can meet. And I brought extra vapor rub with a little lavender for you. It’s in my bag, and you can grab it on your way out.”

El moved up her body, reached for both phones and handed hers over.

Iris sent a quick note to Kelsey to see if they could meet that evening. By the time she received a confirmation, he was done with his evening plans and pressed her down on the bed as she relayed her plans for the night.

“Let’s take a nice long nap, and then we’ll part,” he suggested.

Iris was glad he didn’t tell her to stop doing her ‘little‘ business. That’s what Dwayne would have said, and her father would have just prevented her. She wouldn’t compare her former husband and her father with her soon-to-be new husband. 

Husband.

The word was dizzying in her thoughts as El pulled away the front of her robe to expose her already erect nipples. His mouth immediately attached, and Iris nuzzled her face on the top of his head, enjoying the warm, delicious suckling sound and the warm, gentle pull on her groin until she fell asleep. 

***

When Iris awoke, El wasn’t in bed with her. There was a note on the hotel’s letterhead in his handwriting, thanking her for the vapor rub, letting her know that he had taken off for dinner with Alejandro and would try to apologize to Renaldo, who would also be in attendance.

She sent up a little prayer for him and then quickly got dressed for her dinner with Kelsey.

When Iris stepped out of the shower, her eyes were immediately drawn to her left hand, and the enormity of her decision hit her. She was going to marry El, her boss. 

Could things go any better for her? Were there other choices to make? 

Not for her and not for Clem. El was right. She needed him to keep them safe, and she could leave anytime if his promises were true. Debt-free. And able to go far away without looking back. 

Sacrifices. 

She had made them all her life. 

What was one more? For infinite peace in her life.

Just don’t lose your heart, she warned herself.

Looking at the gorgeous ring again, Iris sighed and wondered if she would have to leave the ring when it was all over. 

***

Arriving early at the bar where they were to meet, Iris was shocked to see right above her a private dining area where El was with several handsome Italian American men. She knew the majority of them to be of Bellini descent, and she busied herself with her phone so as not to stare up at El, very proud of him.

Her phone chimed, and she welcomed the distraction.

“Hi Cousin, it’s Essence,” the voice on the other line said. 

“Oh hi, what’s going on?”

“You know that patient you were highly interested in.”

“Yes.”

“He’s awake, but I haven’t said anything to anyone – not even that officer. How fast can you return to Detroit?”

Iris glanced up at El, and he happened to look in her direction with a respectful nod. She looked away to pay attention to her phone call. “Is tomorrow early enough?”

“Come straight to the hospital. Whatever you need, you can get from him. He asked for you.”

A chill went through her as she sent a message to El about getting back to Detroit and Damien’s condition. “Did he say why?” she asked as she pushed send on her message.

“No, and he doesn’t want his relatives to know his condition. I didn’t even tell the police officer or the DA, who kept inquiring about him. I can hold them off for a few days. So I will see you as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, Essence. Thank you so much.”

Kelsey arrived just as she was getting off the phone with Essence. For some reason, Iris nervously mentioned she’d been on the phone with her cousin and would have to return to Detroit soon. 

This eased them into the discussion of Iris’s love for building natural products and how it was helping her cousin. Kelsey shared that the product enormously impacted her life in just a day. 

By the time their discussion was finished, in between having some light snacks, Kelsey was making a meeting in Detroit three weeks from this day.

Out of the corner of her eye, Iris saw one of the very handsome Italian men coming down from the VIP and waiting impatiently at the restaurant doorway, constantly looking in their direction.

“I’m sorry I must leave our meeting so urgently,” Kelsey said. “I practically squeezed this in between something else.”

“Understandable. After everything you’ve been going through, this is very understandable,” Iris said.

Kelsey smiled as if Iris had made her the happiest woman in the entire world. “You don’t know how much you’ve changed my life, Iris,” she said in delightful relief as she gathered her purse. “Once I settle in Detroit, I will host a formal tea just for you and your cousin. So I hope you are prepared for the attention.”

“Thank you,” Iris said gratefully, standing up with Kelsey. “And we are.”

For the first time in her life, Iris was ready for this opportunity, and she would have El to thank. 

Instead of going straight to the room, she sat at the bar a little longer to finish her wine, enjoying a moment of peace and happiness.

Just as she was finishing up her drink, another one was delivered. 

Iris was about to ask the bartender who delivered the drink when El slid into the seat next to her. 

“You look like you’re the happiest woman on earth,” he said.

Damn, did he look so good in the soft gray three-piece suit? She played it cool, though. “Were you watching me?”

“How could I not? You drew my attention from the moment you entered.”

She tried not to blush. “I don’t think my fiancee would appreciate me speaking to a stranger,” she said.

El blinked seriously for a moment and then narrowed his eyes at her. Was he mad that she was playing games with him? 

What guy didn’t like role-play?

“Then your fiancee’ should stay close so men like me won’t approach you.”

“Like you?”

He leaned in close. “I’m a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Iris shivered at the danger his deep voice incited in her ear. “I won’t mind being a sheep for you for a night, sir.”

Did he growl? She was sure she heard a growl. 

“Get upstairs and get the bathtub ready for us, woman,” he hissed, tossing a bill for the bartender on the bar to pay for her tab. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

Iris almost danced out to the elevators to go to their room. 

End of This Chapter | Post your thoughts in the comment | Let the author know what’s going on in your head

Let Me Love You (c) 2024 Sylvia Hubbard All Rights Reserved

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual person, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
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