by Ella Jade
“Well, maybe this weekend just the two of us can go to dinner or something.”
“We will.” I focused on my computer screen. “See you tomorrow.”
One of the benefits of no longer drinking was the solid growth of my company. I had plenty of time and determination. But even I needed an outlet. I picked up my phone. If she was my latest habit then so be it. I needed her tonight.
My place at 8. Don’t be late.
I hit send and set my phone down. She never replied but always showed up. Once I saw her face all the tension of the day would disappear.
***
Ten after eight and she finally managed to make her way up to my penthouse. Opening the door, I shot her a stern glance. I didn’t like to be kept waiting. My world moved at a very fast pace. I didn’t have time for many things. She was a pleasure I didn’t want to wait for.
“You’re late.” I took in her flustered appearance. “I said eight.”
“Sorry.” Her clothes were wet and her hair damp but she was still the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I never asked her age but she was younger than me by at least five or six years. “It’s raining really heavy and I walked here.”
Walked? Wasn’t I paying her enough to afford a cab?
She stood in the doorway shivering and I thought about not going through with this tonight. She appeared off. Not that she had ever been comfortable in my presence but she looked upset. Maybe I was being too hard on her but I didn’t want her to like me. I didn’t like myself for what I’d been doing to her.
What’s your story, gorgeous? Did I want to know? Maybe this wasn’t the right woman to be playing this game with. Was she too fragile for me or once she left did she forget what we had done? These were questions I probably should have asked before we started this whole deal.
“Perhaps we should forget about tonight.” I studied her face as disappointment overtook her delicate features.
“No!” She spoke louder than normal. “I’m late but just by a few minutes. I’ve done everything you’ve asked.” She pleaded with me. I saw the determination in her eyes. Was she so desperate for the cash? “Don’t make me beg.”
This was the most she’d ever spoken to me, and to my surprise, I liked it. “Come in.” I motioned for her to join me. She walked over to the foyer table and turned her back to me. I had her well-trained. No more second thoughts. I stalked toward her. I wasn’t forcing her to be here. I’d given her the out and she didn’t take it.
Trailing my hand down her spine, I secured the hem of her dress between my fingers. Stepping closer to her, I lifted the thin material over her back, exposing her sexy pale blue panties to me. She always matched her underwear to her dress. I wondered if she was as compulsive as I was.
“Spread your legs.” She did as I asked while I grabbed her wrists and pressed them against the table. She sucked in a sharp breath when I pushed my knee between her thighs and rubbed it along her smooth legs. She was tense. It usually took a few minutes to ease her into this. “Why do you keep coming back?”
I’d grown accustom to her not responding, but I continued to talk. I took her apprehensive personality as some sort of challenge. Sliding my finger down her back, her flesh grew hotter. Once I reached her panties, I hooked them on either side and glided them down her trembling legs and waited for her to step out of them. Resting my palms of her ass cheeks, I kissed my way up the back of her leg.
“Oh...” she moaned, relaxing just a bit when I ran my hands across her bottom and took her hips in them, slowly moving into a standing position.
“Will I be surprised to find you’re ready for me?” I was already solid as a rock, but when I slipped my fingers between her legs and pushed inside her sex I thought I’d lose it. “Perfect.”
I reached inside my pocket and retrieved the condom I’d placed there just before she arrived. Popping the button on my jeans, I lowered the zipper. She shifted from side to side as I sheathed myself in the latex. She was as impatient as I was. I heard it in her breathing, sensed it in her overheated flesh. What motivated her to do this? Why was I so intrigued?
“Arch your back.” I pushed her hair to the side and pressed my lips against the nape of her neck. Inhaling her warm vanilla scent, I fought the urge to kiss her flesh. Tonight I’d taken more liberties with intimacy than I had in the past with her. She didn’t seem to mind. Gripping my length in my hands, I pressed on the small of her back. Teasing her with my tip, I rubbed it along her entrance. What I wouldn’t give to go bare with her. That would really break the intimacy rule.
Her breathing was more rapid now. It filled the space between us. I liked the quiet. It gave me time to focus on her. Helped me forget the stress of my day and all my inner-demons I was so desperately trying to forget.
With one quick thrust of my pelvis I was inside her heat and she settled down. When I moved inside her she relaxed. I noticed it the first time we were together. She held on to the edge of the table, her knuckles white from her firm grasp, but once I started the in and out motion, she loosened up. And then there was that low, sexy moan she rewarded me with every time I entered her. Hearing her enjoy herself made me feel less of a sick fuck for doing this to her.
“Mmm...” she breathed out, fueling me to go deeper, harder and faster.
When she clenched around me, it took most of my effort not to lose my control. It was too soon to end this. Once it was over, she was gone. The first few times we were together, I preferred it that way, but now I wanted more. Hell, didn’t I always end up wanting more?
I twisted my fingers in her hair, wrapping her sexy tresses around my hand and pulling her head back so I could see her face. She quickly dropped her gaze. She never looked into my eyes. Maybe if I upped the price on our agreement I could make her look at me. Would she see me for who I really was? Did I want her to know me like that?
She bit her lip as she quivered beneath me. Her skin creased between her brow as her muscles tightened. I loved when she came. With each of my forceful thrusts she grunted.
“Let go,” I moaned. “Just let go. Let me hear you.”
She ignored my requests and I wondered if that was her way of staying in control of herself. Was she fighting a battle too?
I could hold off no longer. A hot wave of desire coursed through me, filling me with the need to release. As much as I wanted to prolong this, our encounters were meant to be fast, satisfying and nothing more than a quick fuck. That was what I said I wanted when I started this charade and now I couldn’t change the terms.
“Gorgeous.” I snaked my hands under her dress and squeezed her perky breasts. I’d bet my company they were the best set I’d ever seen, if I’d seen them. There was so much about this woman I wanted to see. “Ahh...” I pounded into her until there was nothing left for me to give.
Collapsing against her as she dropped onto the table, she rested her cheek on the cool wood. I lingered a few moments longer than normal, waiting for us to calm down. My chest against her back, both of us hot and disheveled. My heart beat hard as I tried to regulate my breaths. Coming down from the high she created left me craving more. I recognized the signs of my addictive personality and that annoyed me. She represented my weaknesses.
I stepped back and pulled up my pants. True to form, she didn’t move a muscle. She hated me as much as I despised myself right now. She had to. Didn’t she? It was a relief when she didn’t move. I didn’t want her to look at me.
Tonight I did something different. Before paying her, I opened the drawer of the foyer table. How she managed to stay so still was beyond me. Taking my wallet out, I found a fifty. I shoved my hand in my pocket and took out the envelope. Placing the fifty on top of it, I tossed them both on the table by her face.
“Take a cab home.” I stared at her for a moment before bending down and stealing her panties. That was my way of keeping her with me a little longer. I told you I was a sick fuck. “Use the service entrance when you leave.”
The last thin
g I needed in this town where everyone was looking for a scandal was for one of my neighbors to see I had a woman in here for less than twenty minutes a few times a week. It wouldn’t be difficult to figure out what she was doing here. That was just the sort of misconduct I would drop a client for. Good thing I wasn’t running for office.
As I headed upstairs, she didn’t make a sound. She never did. I wondered how long she waited until she snuck down the service elevator. Turning on the water, I made sure it was as hot as I could tolerate. I striped off my clothes, disposing of the condom in the wastebasket. Having unattached sex with her was intended to calm me down and make me feel better. Take away my stress. It wasn’t working. I wanted more, but I’d gone about this the wrong way. I could never expect her to see me as anything more than the jerk I was. Who propositions someone for sex?
When she left I wasn’t supposed to care. I should be going about my business but that wasn’t happening. What was it about this woman that had her invading my thoughts all the time? Why was I letting her into my quiet space? Why was I risking what I’d worked so hard to maintain for someone I barely knew?
I grasped the counter, staring into the mirror as the steam began to coat the glass. Bastard. I should leave her alone but I know I won’t.
Chapter Three
Cecilia
Sitting at the outside bar of a trendy spot on a summer night was supposed to be fun. My mom and Carla had convinced me to go out with my friend Kirsten. They said I needed a night out to unwind. I wanted to stay in, take a relaxing bath and read a book.
That wasn’t entirely true. What I really wanted was for Jameson to summon me. The only time I seemed to forget about what was going on with my mom was when I was with him. My other problems like making my student loan payments and finding a higher paying job didn’t seem as monumental when I was with him. His voice, his touch, even his lips—the ones that had yet to touch mine—were on my mind constantly. What was it about this guy that had me so intrigued?
“Hey,” Kirsten said. “You spaced out. Are you okay?”
“Huh?” I sipped my martini. “Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind.”
“That’s understandable but your mom told me she wanted you to have a good time tonight.”
“So, ah, you’re a doctor.” Kirsten grew up on our street. She was about eight years older than me. She used to babysit me. Through the years we stayed in touch. When she went off to college she always made time for me. “What’s your take on my mom’s prognosis?”
“I’m a pediatrician not an oncologist.”
“You know her case pretty well.” Kirsten had followed my mom’s diagnosis from the beginning.
“I don’t think I can tell you what her oncologists and the slew of other specialists haven’t already.”
“It’s a rare form of cancer, its spread and things don’t look promising.”
“Don’t lose hope.” She patted my hand. “I’ve seen medical miracles before.”
“How is your job going?” I didn’t want to make this night about me. The whole reason I went out with her was to take my mind off things.
“I like it. I’m glad I came back to D.C. I missed it.”
“I’m glad you’re back too. I missed you.”
“How’s your job going? Do you like working for Senator Apell?”
“He’s great. I hear he’s getting ready to retire next term, so I’m hoping he makes good on his promise to relocate me. I love working in the political forum and there are plenty of opportunities here, but I haven’t been in the right place at the right time I guess.”
“It’ll happen for you. You’ve only been out of school a few months. Your time will come.” She squeezed the lemon wedge into her iced tea. She was on call tonight so she wasn’t drinking. Glancing over my shoulder, she gazed by the entrance. “Do you know Jameson Clark?”
“What?” I coughed in my drink. Why would she ask that? I’d been so discreet. I’d never mentioned him to anyone.
“He’s standing by the doorway and he’s been staring at you for a few minutes. He keeps checking his phone but his attention keeps coming back to you.”
“It does?” I turned my head and found him standing there, occupied with his cell. I quickly looked away, not sure what to do. “How do you know him?”
“He went to school with John and me.”
John was her brother. They attended a private school in the city where their father taught. It was known for children of politicians and people with mega money. It didn’t shock me that Jameson had attended there.
“How do you know him?” she asked.
“We met at the cafe where I work on the weekends. We’ve talked a few times. I don’t know him that well.” That wasn’t a lie.
“It looks like he wants to know you.” She smiled and nodded. “He’s coming toward us now.”
“What? Why?” I straightened my posture and gulped what was left of my drink. What was I going to do? How was I going to play this?
“Good evening, ladies.” Jameson, in all his charismatic glory, leaned against the bar wearing his expensive suit, shiny watch and looking better than a man had any right to. Not a hair out of place. Even his five o’clock shadow was perfectly groomed.
“Jameson.” Kirsten hopped off her stool and gave him a hug. “It’s been a few years.”
“It’s good to see you.” He hugged her back as he held my gaze. “How is John?”
“He’s doing well.” She let go of him. “He’s at a law firm in New York.”
“Good for him.” He inched closer to me. “Cecilia, what a surprise to see you here.”
“Hi.” My voice was barely audible. The heat in my cheeks had me very aware that doing the things we had done together made me extremely embarrassed in his presence. He didn’t appear ashamed at all. In fact, he had no problem staring into my eyes when he spoke.
“CC was just telling me how you two know one another,” Kirsten said.
“Really?” He smirked. “What did you tell her, CC?”
“That we, um, you...” Did he just call me CC? “That we met at the cafe. You eat lunch there quite a bit.” Or at least he did before we started doing it.
“CC and I grew up on the same street.” Kirsten’s phone vibrated on the bar. “Sorry, I have to take this. I’m on call tonight.”
“I’ll keep Cecilia company.” Jameson took a seat next to me as Kirsten stepped away from the bar area. “Would you like another drink?”
“Sure.” I glanced at my empty glass. “I think I could use one.”
“Am I making you uncomfortable?” He motioned to the bartender and pointed to my glass. “I can leave. I don’t want to ruin your evening.”
“No.” I answered much too fast but I didn’t want him to go. “Aren’t you having a drink?”
“I don’t drink.”
“How come?”
“It’s a long story.”
I knew nothing about this man but I wanted to know everything.
“If you don’t drink, what are you doing at a bar?” When the bartender placed a fresh pomegranate martini in front of me, I told myself I had to drink this one slower. I wanted to remember everything about tonight.
“I was walking by and happened to see your pretty face. I wasn’t going to interrupt you but I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to text you all day.”
“Oh.” I took a sip, pressing my lips to the sugared rimmed glass, noting how his gaze immediately dropped to my mouth. Licking my lips, I set the drink down. “Why didn’t you?”
“I don’t know.” He seemed conflicted. “You’re becoming quite the habit.”
Tell me about it.
“Hey.” Kirsten returned as Jameson stood. He was more of a gentleman than I had thought. Well, at least with the women he wasn’t paying for sex.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah but I have to bail on our night out.” She took her bag off the stool where she’d hung it when we arrived. “One of my pati
ents has an ear infection. If I leave right now I can meet her and her mom at the office before they close for the night. The kid is attached to me and has trouble dealing with the other doctors in the practice. I’m sure it’s nothing but I don’t want them to wait until tomorrow morning.”
“That’s why you’re such a great doctor.” I tucked my hair behind my ear. “We’ll reschedule.”
“I was going to drive you home,” she said.
Without missing a beat, Jameson chimed in, “I can do it.”
“I can grab a cab.” I had money left over from the fifty he’d given me the other night. “It’s no problem.”
“Don’t be silly,” Jameson said. “I’d be happy to take you home.”
Mine or yours?
“It was really great seeing you.” When Kirsten kissed his cheek, an envious notion filled my head. Would I ever be able to kiss him freely? “CC, I’ll call you.” She hugged me, whispering into my ear. “Are you sure you’re okay to stay with him?”
If she only knew how many times I was alone and bent over a table in front of Jameson...
“I’m fine.” I kissed her cheek. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Bye, text me later.”
She hurried toward the door, leaving me alone with the last person I ever thought I’d be in public with. This certainly wasn’t one of his improper terms. A cozy evening at a bar, drinking a martini.
“I didn’t expect for this to happen tonight,” he said.
“You don’t have to stay. I can finish my drink and take a cab.”
“I don’t think so.” He sat back down. “We are together so we might as well take advantage of this opportunity.”
“You were talking about habits.” I brought my glass to my mouth, intrigued at how focused he was on my lips again. Did he want to kiss me? “Am I really one of yours?”
“What do you think?”
“You don’t give much away.” As the alcohol began to take over, I sensed a boldness about me that had never been there with him before. I wasn’t drunk, but maybe this was a good chance to get to know him.