I woke up engulfed in a warm embrace with the sun flashing aggressively in my face. I slowly open my eyes to be face to face with Ivan's chest. I smile and peel his arms away from my waist to go to the bathroom. Walking in, I shut the door behind me and do my business before quickly brushing my teeth. I peep my head out of the door to see Ivan sleeping peacefully and tip toe my way down the stairs. Entering the kitchen, I open the fridge and pull out some ingredients, wanting to make Ivan breakfast.

I decide to make some chocolate croissants, sausage, scrambled eggs as well as some coffee. I walk over to the radio and turn it on, making sure to turn it down slightly. I begin by making the croissants making sure to spread a bit of Nutella in the middle before rolling it up. I pop them into the oven and begin on the sausage. My apartment began to warm up and smell like chocolate making my stomach grumble. I quickly scramble the eggs and take the sausage off the stove before putting it on a pastel blue plate. I jump up onto the counter and wait for the croissants to bake, gently humming along to the radio. In ten minutes, I have everything ready and begin walking up the stairs towards my room.

Kicking the door open, I watch as Ivan comes out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist and gulp before closing my eyes. I try my hardest to get the inappropriate thoughts out of my head but fail.

"Is there something wrong mia cara" he asks the smugness evident in his tone.

"N-nothing's wrong, just go put on some clothes" I stutter out earning a laugh from him but his footsteps retreat to the closet. I let out a breath and walk over to the nightstand to set down the tray. I plop down on the plush mattress and close my eyes, taking deep breaths. Moments later I feel the bed dip and open my eyes to come face to face with Ivan on top of me.

"H-hi" I whisper breathless as he gazes at me intensely.

"I love you" he declares not breaking eye contact causing my heart to swoon. He lowers himself to capture my lips between his and I use my hands to grip his chin. The kiss immediately becomes heated and my lips struggle to keep up with his aggression. I moan when he bites my lower lip and before I know it, I'm in only my panties. I gasp when he dips his head to take my hardened nípple in his mouth sucking. I let out a groan and arch my back towards him as he continues his assault on my breast. He breaks away to pepper kisses down my stomach before his mouth is kissing along the hemline of my panties. He looks up at me teasingly before pulling them off completely.

"I-Ivan please" I moan snapping him out of his staring. His eyes darken completely and before I know it he's plunged deep inside of me taking us both into bliss.

--------------------
I walk out of the closet in a long shirt and situate myself on Ivan's lap.

"I made you breakfast and now it's cold because someone got a little distracted" I tease causing him to chuckle while he rubs my thigh.

"Are you sure it wasn't both of us that got distracted because last time I checked you were moaning underneath me" he replies smugly causing me to blush furiously and hide in his chest.

"Either way you're going to eat the breakfast I made you and you're going to enjoy it" I snap jokingly and he smirks.

"I can think of many other things we'd both enjoy" he suggests and I slap his chest before giggling.

"We've been at it all morning and you're still not tired" I exclaim throwing my hands up as he smiles at my reaction.

"Mia cara, I told you, I'm addicted" he says while snuggling into my neck placing kisses every now and then.

"Stop it" I moan accidentally but he continues his assault causing me to hop off his lap. He makes an attempt to grab me and I dodge his arm before rushing down the stairs. I jump onto the couch, turning on the television before beginning to watch. Ten minutes later I hear footsteps and Ivan walks into the room with an empty tray.

"What took you so long" I ask as he plops down on the recliner.

"I got a call from Simone about the gala" he informs me with his eyes closed.

"And the food" I question glancing down at the empty tray.

"Was delicious mi amour" he tells me with a smile and I sit back to continue watching tv. We spend the next couple of hours lounging around until it was time for us to get ready.

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It was now 6:30pm and I just hopped out of the shower wrapping a towel around myself. Ivan had gone home to get dressed promising to pick me up at around 8pm. Walking into the room, I head for the closet and take out my mother's dress along with the heels. The dress was a floor length maroon gown with embellishments on the top half and flowly bottom. I paired it with a pair of black pumps and diamond jewelry to match the top. For my makeup, I did a bronze smoker eye adding a bold red lip to make it sexier. For hair, I curled all the strands and put it in a messy side bun, making sure to leave pieces to frame my face. I painted my nails black and made sure to put on my mothers ring before grabbing my clutch. I walked down the stairs and took a seat on the couch taking my phone out to shoot Ivan a text.

Are you here yet?
-A.W

I put my phone down as my nerves finally kick in at where I was heading. Moments later my phone dings alerting me of a text.

Give us 5 minutes, we're half way there
-I.S

I close my eyes and take deep breathes giving myself a small pep talk before Ivan showed up. My doorbell rings, startling me and I get up to go open it. Throwing the door open, I gasp at the sight in front of me, running my eyes up and down Ivan's body. He was wearing an expensive looking suit with his hair slicked back sexily. I clench my legs together as heat pools in the pit of my stomach. I watch as his eyes hungrily drink in my appearance and I clear my throat to get his attention.

"Mia cara I don't know if I'll be able to keep my hands off you" he confesses and I blush as he adds "you look absolutely mesmerizing"

"I might need to learn how to kick box so I can kick the ass of any women ogling at you" I reply only half joking. He throws his head back in laughter causing me to crack a smile. He sobers up and takes my hand in his, causing a trail of heat to travel up my arm.

"We should get going if we want to make it in time" he tells me and I nod before following him down to the limo. He opens the door for me and I thank him before sliding in, with him coming in right after. We pull off away from the curb and begin our journey towards the gala.

"So when we get there, we'll be bombarded with reporters wanting to get pictures of you" he notifies me and I scrunch my nose in confusion.

"Why would they want pictures of me? I'm not the one who's friend is being honored or the head of a famous industry" I voice my confusion causing him to smile.

"They want to know who's the owner of my heart and that would frankly be you" he replies making my heart melt.

"My heart is forever yours corazon" I tell him lovingly and he grins before continuing.

"We'll have to stop for a couple minutes to answer their questions before heading inside. We'll most likely be chatting for a couple of hours before Simone comes out. After, we'll have dinner and call it a night if you'd like" he informs me and my head throbs at the information.

"Is there anyone in particular you'd like me to know about" I ask making sure I don't make a fool out of myself.

"Just remember to ask Emilee Ronaldo about her upcoming fashion line and to never bring up Gladys Richards' husbands and you should be good" he jokes but I make sure to take note of it anyway.

"Husbands" I question and he nods before explaining.

"She's been divorced 8 times so her love life is quite bitter" he tells me and I immediately sympathize with her.

"How close are you and Simone" I ask wanting to know more about their history.

"We've been friends since college and at one point we were sleeping together" he confesses nervously and I ignore the pinch of my heart.

"What happened" I ask curiously even though my heart ached.

"I guess we just drifted apart once our lives became separate but we remained friends" he informs me and I nod before settling back in my seat. The rest of the ride is spent in an awkward silence until we finally arrive at the gala.

"Stick by my side and I'll handle the rest" he tells me making me nod in response before the door is opened and my eyes are blinded by lights. I feel Ivan grab my hand and pull me out gently before settling his arm around my waist.

"Mr. Stone over here" I hear a reporter shout out and we make our way towards him. He fumbles to get his recorder out before beginning his questions.

"So who's this beauty" he asks roaming his eyes across my body. I step closer to Ivan trying to shield myself from his gaze. Ivan steps in front of me slightly, a look of annoyance crossing his face momentarily.

"This is Amelia Winters, my assistant and girlfriend" he introduces me looking at me lovingly causing me to blush.

"How long have you been together" he asks fully intrigued by our relationship.

"About a month and a half now" I answer causing the reporter to switch his gaze towards me.

"That's the longest Mr. Stone has ever been with a women, much less a girlfriend" he says causing Ivan to tense. I manage to pull him away from the reporter before he did something stupid.

"Piece of shit, what business does he have in who I'm involved with" he snaps, his accent becoming quite prominent.

"He's a reporter Ivan, isn't that what he's paid for" I respond stopping us and placing my hands on each side of his face before continuing "I don't care for who you dated or for how long. It's in the past and all we can do is move forward" I assure him and he nods.

"I only have eyes for you mi amour" he tells me and I nod with a smile before leaning up to give him a quick peck.

"Lets head inside and meet some of your upper class friends shall we" I ask and he nods with a smile before resting his arm around my waist. We walk into the building and I gasp at the elegance of it. Their were high ceilings with chandeliers and marble floors that were too beautiful to walk on. The room was filled with men and women wearing expensive suits and gowns. They all had glasses of champagne in their hands while glancing around snobbishly. I immediately become intimidated and feel as if I don't belong. I quickly shake the feeling and put my shoulders back while tilting my head up.

"Come mia cara, there's someone important I want you to meet" he says ushering me towards a man. The man was quite good looking with beautiful brown eyes and a perfectly chiseled jaw. I refrain from gawking and settle on remaining quite.

"Ivan! Long time no see" the man exclaims and Ivan pulls away from me to give the man a hug.

"I've been quite tied up lately but have you been taking care of yourself" Ivan asks, his face lighting up with excitement.

"I have been thank you and I can see why, who is this goddess" he responds, immediately turning his attention towards me. I blush at the compliment but smile anyway.

"Amelia Winters, pleasure to meet you" I answer politely stretching my hand out. He grabs it and gently places a kiss on my hand causing me to pull back.

"Jake Reynolds, best friend of this oaf and owner of Reynolds & Co" he replies with a grin and I smile in return.

"Jake, this is my girlfriend and assistant so please refrain from embarrassing me any further" Ivan jokes lightly and I giggle in response. His attention darts towards me causing me to smile and he leans down to kiss the side of my head.

"Ah Amelia, why stick around with this lout when you can be happier with me" he flirts and I giggle before responding.

"Well Jake, from what I've gathered in the short thirty seconds I've known you, you're just as much if not more of a lout than he is" I joke and he throws his head back in laughter.

"Ah Ivan, you've got yourself a keeper" he says and Ivan looks at me adoringly.

"I know" he whispers before snapping out of it "It was nice seeing you again Jake, we need to catch up sometime in the next week" he tells him while pulling him into another hug.

"As long as Amelia is there, I'm all for it" he flirts sending a wink my way.

"Don't push it Jake, she's mine" he replies possessively and Jake puts his hands up.

"Relax Ivan, I was kidding" he assures him and Ivan nods before pulling me away.

"It was nice meeting you Jake" I shout over my shoulder before crashing into Ivan's chest. I look up at him and he crashes his lips against mine possessively causing me to gasp in surprise. I struggle to keep up with his pace but kiss back with just as much hunger.

"Ivan not now, we're in a room full of people" I whisper after pulling away looking around at all the people curiously looking out way.

"Let them wait" he says attempting to capture my lips yet again. I kiss back while wrapping arms around his neck before someone clears their throat. We pull away from each other and I come face to face with a gorgeous woman.

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Chapter 22 complete!! I'm terribly sorry about how i haven't been updating. I work everyday and have to balance that with school:( Winter break is coming up soon so expect updates everyday;) Thank you guys for all of the support on this book, you don't know how happy it makes me seeing all of your comments. If you have any tips/ideas for this book don't hesitate to message me. New character will be introduced in next chapter!! Make sure you comment, vote and share if you liked the chapter!
Love y'all<3
A.O