“What do you mean?”
“I’m just really tired. I think I’m going to bed early tonight.”
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah, totally fine,” I lied. “It’s just been a long week, lots of driving.”
I heard him sigh over the phone. “I know. I’m sorry that I’ve had you do all the driving. I’m just slammed as I wrap up some stuff before Christmas.”
“I know. I’m just gonna stay in and go to bed early.”
“Okay, I’ll let you go. Give me a call tomorrow.”
“Sure.”
“I love you.”
I bit my lip, not sure what to say. “I know.”
There was silence for a moment. “Anna, are you sure you’re okay.”
“Of course. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
I hung up before he could ask anymore questions. That probably wasn’t the best way to handle that, but I wasn’t sure I could lie to him, and I definitely wasn’t ready to talk this out with him. Besides, he might change his mind. There was no guarantee that he would really ask me to move in with him. Maybe what his brothers said got through to him.
I sat in my chair for another half hour before deciding that going to bed really did sound like the best option. I walked through the house and turned off all the lights, then made my way upstairs to my room. I really didn’t have very much furniture and my bed was small in comparison to Robert’s. I really needed to think about getting a new bed.
I was just dozing off to sleep when I felt arms wrap around me and pull me in closer to a very large, very warm, sexy body. I sighed contentedly as Robert kissed my cheek.
“You came.”
“You sounded strange on the phone. I was worried. You would tell me if something was wrong, right?”
I swallowed hard and nodded.
“Anna, I can’t do this without you again. I spent way too many years wishing that I had you by my side. Now that I have you, I won’t lose you.”
I didn’t know what to say, so I rolled over and pulled him closer so I could kiss him. His hands slid over my body and through my hair. I didn’t know if this would work out between us, but I wanted him for tonight and as long as I could have him. Because deep down, I knew that if he asked me to move to the city, that would be the end of us. I knew myself well enough to know that I had no desire to live up there. I loved Robert, but I would be miserable up there, and then we could never truly be happy. So, I took what I could from Robert for tonight and decided to worry about the rest later.
Robert
With just five days to go until Christmas, I was almost free to spend two uninterrupted weeks with Anna. She got the time off from Eric, and I had put in for my vacation time. There was just one thing I needed to do before taking that vacation, and that was attend the company Christmas party. I hated going to this thing, but it was required, especially if I wanted to make senior partner.
“Hey, did you already get presents for your brothers?” Anna asked as she walked out of her kitchen carrying a glass of wine. She was dressed only in one of my shirts, which was damn sexy. I couldn’t focus on anything other than the fact that her legs looked phenomenal as she walked across the room to me.
“Robert, are you listening to me?”
She stopped right in front of me and I pulled her between my legs, wrapping my hand around her thigh. Slowly, I slid my hand up to her ass and under her panties. I could hear her slight intake of breath as I ran my finger down the crease in her ass. Leaning forward, I nipped at the bottom button of my shirt, tearing it away with my teeth. I repeated it with the second and then moved the shirt apart with my nose, skimming it along her belly. I could feel her whole body shaking as I moved my fingers down to her pussy, running them just along the outside of her lips. She was already soaked for me.
Gripping her underwear between my teeth, I pulled them down her legs, just far enough that I could get a taste of her. With one finger, I teased her as my tongue slid along her clit. She tried to wriggle out of my grasp, but I held her close to me with my other hand, squeezing her thigh as I worked her clit with my tongue.
“Robert,” she gasped, tugging at my hair.
I slid back on the couch, pulling her with me until I was laying down and she was sitting on my face. I loved her taste, but I loved watching her come even more. I could feel her juices slide down my face as she started riding me, begging me to give her what she needed. She seemed to be struggling to get there, so I slid my finger to her ass, pressing against it. Her body jerked, so I added a little pressure, rubbing circles on her hole, wanting to feel my dick inside her. One of these days, I would take that hole and make her feel all of me inside her. Her legs shook and her body quaked as she came on my mouth. I took everything she gave me, and grinned up at her when she shook her head at me.
“I can’t believe you just did that.”
“Why?”
“Because I was trying to have a conversation with you and you totally hijacked my conversation.”
“It was for a good cause.”
“Oh yeah?” she smirked. “And what cause was that?”
“Pleasing my girlfriend. I figured a charitable donation would be something you would appreciate.”
“Oh, I definitely appreciated that,” she said, moving off me. She moved to undo my pants, but I stopped her. I had to talk to her about this party before I forgot. As it was, it was last minute, and I knew she wasn’t going to like it. Eating her pussy was one way for me to loosen her up before asking her.
“I have a Christmas party tomorrow. I was hoping you would come with me.”
She froze, her hand still on my dick as she looked up at me. “Tomorrow?”
I nodded. “I know it’s last minute, but I’ll take care of everything. All you have to do is show up at my place and everything will be waiting for you.”
She laughed, but I had a feeling it was one of those laughs that meant she was really pissed off at me. When she shoved off me and walked across the room, snatching her wine and draining it as fast as she could, I knew I wasn’t wrong.
“Why are you only telling me now?”
“I honestly forgot,” I said, telling her only half the truth. I had forgotten about the party, but my boss had reminded me three days ago. I just hadn’t wanted to give her a chance to back out of going with me, so I didn’t tell her until now.
“Robert, you can’t just spring this stuff on me at the last minute. I don’t have a dress or-“
“I told you, I’ll take care of all that. Hair, makeup, the works.”
She nodded, huffing in irritation. “So, you didn’t remember to tell me sooner, but you have time to bring in everything I would need at the last minute.”
“Anna-“
“Why do you do this?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s like you’re trying to wield your resources against me.”
I shrugged slightly. “I would say I’m wielding them for you, but I’m guessing you’re not seeing it that way.”
“Robert, I really don’t want to go. I don’t like your boss, and I hate parties like that.”
“Look, I know it’s not your thing, but this is my job, and I have to go. I want you by my side.”
“Please don’t ask me to do this.”
“Anna, it’s a party. We mingle with some people, have a few drinks, and then we leave. We don’t have to stay very long.”
“Right,” she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Until you get pulled away to talk business, and then where am I left?”
“I won’t leave your side the whole night. I promise.”
She sighed, but nodded. “Alright. I’ll be there.”
I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. “Thank you.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me back. “You’re going to pay big time for this.”
I grinned and palmed her breast in my hand. “Oh, I intend on paying up.”
She chuckled
and pulled my hands away from her. “Oh, I know you will, but not like that.”
Anna
I was just about out the office door when Eric walked in, papers in hand. “Any chance you can take care of these before you take off?”
I glanced at my watch and nodded. “Yeah, I have a few minutes.”
I really didn’t, but I also didn’t really care if I was on time to my dress-up session with whoever Robert hired to make me look the part for tonight.
“Why are you taking off so early tonight?”
“Robert has a company Christmas party that he wants me to go to.”
His eyebrows shot up. “And you agreed to go?”
“He didn’t really give me much of a choice.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and watched me shuffle the papers and start entering the data into the computer. “Anna, you’re not someone that can be pushed around. So, why are you doing this?”
“His boss is going to be there.”
“Yeah, and you hate his boss.”
“I know.”
“Have you told him yet about his boss threatening you?”
“No, and I’m not sure I want to tell him.”
“Anna, you can’t let him keep working for that asshole without knowing what he’s in for. If it happened on this job, how many more times is his boss going to manipulate him to get what he wants?”
I sighed and finished up what I was doing, then I picked up my keys and purse. “Look, I can’t say anything yet. He’s so close to making senior partner. When he finishes this case-“
“There’ll be another case,” Eric insisted.
“You don’t know that. Besides, my part in all of this is over. I did what he wanted, and now Robert just has to finish up the divorce.”
“Anna, guys like that take what they want. Just because he can’t use you anymore doesn’t mean he won’t try in another way.”
I ignored him and walked to the door, pulling it open, but Eric shut it. “Anna, think about this. You have to tell him.”
“Not yet.”
“Then I will. I can’t let my brother work for someone like this.”
“Just stay out of this, Eric,” I snapped. “I didn’t ask you to get involved.”
“You did when you came to me with your problem. And I went along with it, but now that your part is over and he’s closing the case, you need to let Robert in on what’s happening.”
“I will, but not until the case is over. Once he’s done, I’ll tell him and he can decide what to do from there. I won’t risk him losing his license.”
Eric gritted his teeth. He knew I was right, but I also knew that he didn’t like it. “You promise me that you’ll tell him when this is all over.”
“I promise.”
He nodded and stepped away from the door, allowing me to walk out. I hurried out to my car and headed for the city. I really didn’t want to go to this party, but I also wanted to be there to keep an eye on Robert’s boss. If he did anything to try and pull Robert’s strings again, I wouldn’t hesitate to tell Robert. But I had to be smart about all this. Robert’s career was on the line.
By the time I got to Robert’s place, I was a nervous wreck. I didn’t know what the hell he was thinking, bringing me along to a Christmas party with people that I didn’t know or want to know. There were two women waiting for me when I arrived at his apartment. They shuffled me into the bathroom and started getting my hair and makeup ready. By the time they were done, I felt caked on and completely out of my element. I hated makeup.
My eye itched and I went to scratch it when the lady slapped my hand away. “You can’t touch your makeup. You’ll mess it up.”
“My eye itches,” I snapped.
“We just spent an hour making you look good. If you mess it up, I won’t be there to fix it.”
“Well, then maybe I should just wash it off and go without any so I don’t have to worry about smears!”
The women gasped and stared at me like I was crazy. And if it weren’t for the fact that Robert was most likely paying these women to make me look like this, I would wipe it off just to spite them. But Robert apparently wanted me to look like this, and since it was his Christmas party, I would go along with it.
I went into the bedroom to get dressed and the women followed me. “What are you doing?”
“Helping you get dressed.”
“Why would I need help getting dressed?”
“So that you don’t mess up our work,” the second lady said.
I shook my head and pulled out the black dress that was hanging in the closet for me. When I saw it, I gaped in surprise. He expected me to wear this?
“No, there is no way I’m wearing this dress. Do you see how low cut this is? My boobs will fall out.”
The first lady walked up to me and smirked. “That’s the back.” She turned it around where the cut was even lower. “This is the front.”
I stared at her, sure she was lying to me. Who would wear something like this? And how would one stay inside a dress like this?
“Relax, it has a sheer overlay to hold the dress together in the front.”
“Oh, well, thank God for that. Here I thought the only problem was that my dress might open and my boobs would fall out.”
“This is elegant and by a famous local designer. You’ll be the talk of the town wearing this.”
“I don’t want to be the talk of the town. I don’t want to be seen in this at all. Get me something different.”
The woman scoffed. “We don’t have time to get something different. It’s this or you can’t go. These Christmas parties that the firm throws are elegant. The women are always trying to outdo each other. You’ll shine in this, and every man will take notice of you.”
“Great, just what I want,” I said sarcastically.
The second woman walked forward and grabbed at my robe, ripping it open. “Oh, relax. It’s a few hours of looking stunning. I’m sure you’ll survive the torture of not appearing insignificant.”
Wow, as much as I didn’t want to admit it, that kind of hurt. It wasn’t that I cared what other people thought of me, but man, women could be so brutal to each other. This was why I stayed as far away from Chicago as possible. I wanted a simple life where women weren’t this catty and snarky over something as stupid as a dress.
I quickly slipped the dress on and immediately wanted to cover up. I felt naked in the dress, and I knew I wouldn’t be comfortable the entire night, as long as it felt like my body was on display. And worse, the dress had a huge slit up one thigh. How was this supposed to be elegant? I was going to freeze my ass off half the time, and the other half I would be worried that my vagina would fall out of the bottom of the dress.
“You look beautiful,” Robert said from behind me. I turned around to see him in a tux, looking extremely handsome. But then, he looked good in anything he wore. “The ladies did a phenomenal job. You look amazing.”
That comment stung. Was I not good enough before? Did he think I needed my hair done fancy and my makeup caked on to look beautiful? I didn’t think he really felt that way, but this was what he was used to, and there was no way I would ever be the girl that wanted to get dressed up for a party. I already wanted to wash all the makeup off my face.
“Thank you,” I said with a smile. It was forced, but I did the best I could.
“We should go. The party has already started, and I’m fine with being fashionably late, but we’re pushing it.”
Shaking off my nerves, I took the clutch that one of the women offered me. When I looked inside, it was filled with makeup. I dumped it out on the bed and stuck my phone inside, along with my wallet. Makeup would be useless to me tonight. I followed Robert out to the front of the apartment and grabbed my coat, only to have him stop me.
“Here, I picked this out for you.”
I looked at the hideous piece of fur and held back my cringe. Did he really expect me to wear that thing? It wasn’t something out of
the eighties, but still…it was fur. Just like that damn fur wrap. Was this what rich people wore? Who actually thought fur was fashionable anymore?
“I’ll just wear my coat.”
“Come on,” he smiled. “Your coat is fine for going somewhere casual, but it doesn’t match your dress.”
Nothing matched my dress. In fact, I was pretty sure that the only place I would feel comfortable wearing this thing was in the middle of a strip club. But I was going with Robert to a work party, so I sucked it up and put on the damn coat. The ladies left before us, leaving me standing in the hallway, waiting for Robert to finish up a last minute phone call. By the time we were downstairs, I was already forcing myself not to touch my face. It felt like my whole face itched solely because I knew I couldn’t touch it.
When we arrived at the party, I gazed up at the building, beautifully decorated for Christmas and sighed. This was not at all my scene, but the look on Robert’s face right now, the pride that shone was too much for me to tell him I didn’t want to go in. I took his hand and let him lead me into the building. A ballroom had been rented for the occasion, and everyone was dressed for the part. Beautiful women sashayed around the room, each one trying to outdo the next woman. The men all congratulated themselves on their accomplishments for the year, and snidely congratulated others for their lesser accomplishments. It was disgusting.
Robert led me around the room, introducing me to so many people that my head spun. Maybe that was the champagne. I was already on my second glass and in desperate need of much more if I would survive this night.
“Robert,” Mr. Mosley said jovially. “I see you brought your lovely lady with you. It’s good to see you, Anna.”
He held out his hand and I placed mine in his tentatively. The smarmy look on his face sent chills down my spine. My hand felt sticky in his and I quickly yanked it back, brushing it against my dress. Robert wrapped his hand around my waist, talking to Mosley about something, but I was tuning him out, trying to find the best way to exit before I threw up all over the place and embarrassed myself. This guy made me sick.
Collateral Damage: A Small Town Romance Page 27