by J. P. Comeau
And when he didn’t answer, I went in for the kill.
“I have an email sitting in my inbox currently that states Mrs. Daily has no idea of the offer I’ve made. Which, for the record, is now twenty grand above asking price.”
“All that means is--.”
I interrupted him. “Mrs. Daily didn’t even know we were debating back and forth about her property. Which puts you in breach of contract. I’ll have my lawyer contact you--.”
“Mr. Hearthstone, all I meant to say was--.”
“--and once my lawyer contacts you--.”
“All right!” he exclaimed.
A massive smile crept across my face as I turned towards the club.
“All right, what?” I asked.
He sighed. “What do you want, Mr. Hearthstone?”
“I want you to back off so I can execute this deal with your client. I know she’s more than willing, and I know she’ll take my offer. You just don’t like it because it’s me. But, that’s not how business works, Mr. Walsh. And if you wish to make a name for yourself in Vegas realty? You better not bite the hand that has the most pull. Understood?”
“Uh, understood.”
“Wonderful. I’ll have my lawyer put the changes in an official document for you to sign and notarize. It will stipulate that all offers are to be run through Mrs. Daily, and you are to serve as nothing more than a signature.”
“Okay, Mr. Hearthstone.”
“Great. I’ll have my lawyer draw up the paperwork, and it will be in your mailbox Monday morning. I expect it signed, notarized, and returned back to me by the end of the week. Any issues with that?”
“Nope.”
“All right. It sounds like we have a plan. It’s been wonderful doing busi--.”
I heard the line click, and I chuckled to myself. Ah, they were always such spoilsports. I smiled as I shot an email to my lawyer, letting him know what was going on and what I needed. I gave him the timeline, told him to bill me for his weekend work, then slid my phone back into my pocket.
And as my eyes studied the entrance to the club, guilt washed over me.
You treated her like shit.
But maybe I wasn’t too late. Maybe she’d still let me make it up to her.
7
Karina
A voice rose from behind me. “I’d like to apologize!”
I jumped at the sound. The stalwart, loud voice trumpeting behind me. Above the beating of the music and the smell of stale booze filling the air, I quickly whipped around to find Zane standing behind me. He had a cheeky grin on his face and a bright pink drink in his hand. No doubt, another one of those very delicious strawberry margaritas.
And when he held it out to me, I took it.
“If you keep buying me these, you’ll have to carry me out!” I yelled over the music.
He stepped closer. “And I’d make sure you got home safely, too.”
His cologne reminded me of the time I went running through the woods with my mother catching fireflies. How the leaves and the air overwhelmed me while the twinkling little creatures guided me deeper into their world. His cologne pulled me there. Deeper into his world. And as I took a step toward him, I felt his body heat reaching for me.
Radiating, and wrapping around me.
Just like his cologne wrapped around my head.
“I really am sorry,” Zane said.
I shook my head. “I understand the need for work. When I am working, I’m fully focused on that and nothing else.”
He nodded. “It’s nice to finally meet someone who understands that concept.”
I giggled. “Well, don’t get me wrong. I leave work at work. Then again, I also don’t own my own business. So, I’m not the one to be taking advice from.”
“Huh. Leaving work at work. What a monumental idea.”
I smiled. “At any rate, your apology is accepted.”
“I have a tendency to be a workaholic like my father.”
“You don’t sound proud of that fact.”
Zane shrugged. “It’s nothing to be proud of. But, it is what it is. Someone has to hold down the fort while others fraternize.”
He nodded over my shoulder, and I turned around. Roxy was standing at the balcony, swaying her hips and throwing back a shot of yellow liquid. And Kelly? Well, she was on the couch with Brenden. I watched him whisper something in her ear, and she smiled at him before their foreheads connected.
“Doesn’t he have a girlfriend?” I asked.
Zane stepped up beside me. “Trust me, that never stops him.”
“It usually stops Kelly,” I said taking a sip of my drink.
“Ah, they’ve been on and off since sophomore year. And I’m sure that’ll never change.”
I tilted my head to the side. “I’ve never seen her smile like that before.”
“To be honest? Brenden doesn’t smile like that with anyone else, either.”
I looked up at him. “So, what’s the issue?”
He snickered. “Brenden’s a manwhore. That’s the issue.”
I threw my head back with laughter as his chuckle washed over me. I felt my skin prickling as if the sun had drifted my way and was determined to melt my inner ice castle. I wanted to be closer to him. I wanted to wrap my arms around him. I wanted to steal his warmth for my own and inhale his cologne until my nose became used to the smell.
But, I settled for sipping on my drink.
“Did I get the right one?” Zane asked.
I nodded. “You did. Though I might end up needing some food after this one.”
“Well, allow me to offer you food that is anywhere but here.”
“Anywhere but here, huh?” I asked quizzically.
He nodded. “Yes. Because that gives me an excuse to ask if you’d like to get out of here. Which, of course, gets me out of here.”
“Ah, so I’m just the excuse to leave.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I can leave at any point in time. Brenden is so preoccupied that he won’t notice at this point. But, I’d much rather have your company in the process.”
I leaned closer and whispered in his ear. “Well, why don’t we share a drink and see where that takes us?”
One drink became two, and two became three. And by the time Zane and I set our sights on food, we were both stumbling our way out the door. He flagged down a cab, and he rattled his address off. But, when the driver scrunched up his nose, I hiccuped.
Then, I interjected. “Yeah, I think my place is closer.”
I spouted off my address in Henderson, and the driver looked a bit more relieved. Zane kept telling terrible jokes, and, for some reason, they tickled my funny bone. It seemed only moments before the cab driver dropped us off at my place, and we made our way inside. I kept grabbing onto him, holding him tightly for support. And it wasn’t until we finally got my front door closed that he whipped me around.
Pressing my back against it.
“You are…”
I looked up at him as he licked his lips.
“Yeah?” I asked softly.
His eyes fluttered closed. “What kind of perfume are you wearing?”
I grinned. “You like it?”
“I haven’t been able to stop focusing on it.”
“It’s something called Code Luna. My mother got it for me for Christmas last year.”
His hands gripped my upper arms. “It smells… divine.”
His gaze held my stare, and I couldn't stand it a second longer. I needed him to kiss me. I needed to feel him against me. My heart thundered in my ears. His hands fell away from my skin, and my gut called out to him. I closed my eyes as my breath shortened. Blood rushed through my ears as his hands planted onto either side of my head.
And when I felt his breath against my lips, my eyes fell closed.
“Your perfume is intoxicating,” he whispered.
I brushed my lips against his. “Then you’ll really like my lip gloss.”
His lips crashed against
mine, and my barriers came tumbling down. His tongue flooded my mouth, slipping over the roof of it as I melted against him. His arms blanketed me, wrapping me up in his warmth. Like a heated blanket on a cold winter morning, he filled me with comfort I hadn’t experienced in years.
I ached for more of it.
I pressed against him, guiding him toward the stairs. We stumbled up them with wandering hands as giggles fell from our lips. We left a trail of clothes from the front door to my bedroom. We tumbled to my mattress, with pillows falling to the floor and blankets throwing themselves about. I felt his hands everywhere. Like fire, rushing against my skin. The heat that grew between my legs beckoned to be put out.
And only Zane could give me that.
Moans fell from my lips as his cock grew against my inner thigh. My back arched as he wrapped his soft lips around my pert nipples, throwing me off the edge into an endless abyss. I threaded my fingers through his hair. I grasped the thick strength of his tendrils as his lips kissed anywhere they could land. His own wetness coated my skin, signaling for my thighs to spread as he reared back. As he hovered over me.
As he lined himself up with my pussy.
With our eyes connected and our bodies intertwined, he breached me. Pushing back my folds and drenching himself in my wetness. Groans filled the room as his face fell to the crook of my neck, kissing and sucking. Pushing a blinding pleasure through my body that threatened to swallow me whole. Every roll of his hips pulled me under. Every thrust of his body drowned me in his lake of fury. My bed lurched with every movement as my nails raked against his back, clinging to him as I breathlessly called out his name.
“Zane. That’s it. Oh-oh, my--yes. Zane. Oh, shit. Oh, f--yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.”
His grunts filled my ears. His massive cock grew against my walls. I clung to him, locking my legs. Worried that I might wake up from his debaucherous dream. I climbed the precipice. I felt his end nearing. His thrusts grew ragged, his pants warmed my skin, and every single part of me wanted to cry out in ecstasy.
Except, the knot of happiness forming in my throat cut off my ability to speak.
“My God. You’re beautiful. So--close--.”
My body caved, and my walls collapsed. My body spun out of control as it jumped and quaked beneath him. His lips fell against mine once more, swallowing my sounds as I went weak beneath him. My body, cushioned by the mattress, as he laid there on top of me.
Filling me.
Marking me.
Making me his for the night.
And as my eyes fluttered close, the last thing I recalled was his voice in my ear. His ethereal, angelic voice as those luscious words fell from the tip of his tongue.
“Such perfection, you are.”
Had I not been so tired, I actually might have cried.
My eyes fell open, and I found myself staring at the wall. My head hurt as if someone had smashed it right through a concrete wall. I drew in a deep breath as I sat up, trying to force the vomit back down as it rose up the back of my throat. But, the second I felt something shift beside me, I leapt to my feet.
Before realizing I was completely naked.
“What the--?”
My brow furrowed tightly as a man flopped against his back. And when his face came into view, the entire night came crashing back to me. The booze. The club. Zane, and his suit.
My eyes fell to the floor, and I didn’t see his suit.
Why don’t I see his suit?
“Mmm, yeah,” Zane groaned.
I jumped at the sound of his voice before my head started to pound.
“There you are,” he murmured.
My brow furrowed tighter as he reached out for my pillow. He pulled it close, burying his face into its cushion. He drew in a deep breath as I stood there, wondering what in the world I had actually done.
Zane was in my house. Naked.
Holding a pillow as if it were me.
What have I done?
What did I do? I’d never been in that position before. Did I wake him up? Kick him out? Make him breakfast? No. No breakfast.
Think, Karina. Think.
“Leave,” I whispered.
It was the only thing that occurred to me to do. I didn’t know what to do, so all that was left to do was leave the situation. Surely, some strong coffee and fresh air would do me some good. My joints ached as I walked around, looking for some clothes. Where the hell were my clothes? My head pounded so hard my vision shuddered, and with every breath I took, it felt like I was going to puke.
Until finally, I found my robe.
“This’ll do,” I murmured.
I swallowed hard as I looked around for my phone. Why the hell couldn't I find any of my things? I rushed out into the hallway and saw the trail of clothes leading down the stairs. Straight to the front door, where my purse sat on the floor.
“Bingo,” I whispered.
I scooped it up and threw my front door open. I hadn’t even locked it the night before. I cursed myself as I rushed outside, fumbling with the keys to my car. I unlocked it and threw myself inside. I blinked a few times, trying to push the haze of sleep away. I drew in a deep breath and smelled the remnants of his cologne. And for a brief moment, my heart hurt.
He’s probably just a rich douchebag anyway.
I cranked my car and backed out of the driveway. I blinked and squinted, trying to find my wits long enough to get to the coffee shop up the road. I could have walked there, but certainly not in my robe. And without having looked in a mirror, I allowed myself to imagine what I might have looked like.
Which was certainly not good enough to walk down the sidewalk in broad daylight.
“Coffee. Food. Applications. That’s what you focus on.”
I pep-talked myself while I white-knuckled the steering wheel. My only hope was that, by the time I got back, Zane would be gone. Should I pick him up something just in case, though? In case I get back, and he’s downstairs waiting for me?
“What have you done?” I groaned.
“Welcome to Cafe Mama Jama! What can I get for you?”
I winced at the piercing voice as I rolled down my window. “Uh, yes. Hi. Can I get--.”
Get him something.
“A, uh, large iced caramel macchiato. With an extra shot.”
“Will that be all, ma’am?”
Get him something, Karina.
“Um, no. I’d also like a cinnamon roll and one of your hard-boiled egg breakfast boxes, please.”
“Anything else?”
Don’t be an asshole. Get him something!
I shook my head. “That’ll be it. Thank you.”
“All right! Your total is $15.23, and I’ll gladly take payment up at the next window.”
Sheesh. “Thanks.”
After paying for my food and pulling into a parking space, I started chugging my coffee. I forced it down my throat before unwrapping the cinnamon roll and practically cramming it into my mouth. I needed to sober up. I needed to prepare myself for the day. I needed to look ahead and not behind.
That’s when my cell phone beeping finally caught my ear. As the fog slowly lifted with caffeine rushing through my veins, I dug around for my phone. I blasted the air conditioning in the hopes that it would help me wake up, and I saw I had twelve pending emails I hadn’t checked. Anxiety filled my veins, causing my hand to shake as I tapped on the little icon.
Before, my heart sank.
Thank you for your application. Unfortunately, the position has already been filled.
Every single email started, and ended, with that same sentence.
And I wondered if Vegas would devour me whole the way Zane had last night.
8
Zane
I walked mindlessly into my home and closed the door behind me. Slowly looking around, I took in the decadent expanse before me. The white marble floor with gray and golden streaks. The staircase that lined the left wall with a blonde mahogany banister. I gazed up at the hallway on the seco
nd-floor balcony that led back to my bedroom. A room that lined the entire back expanse of the house on the upper floor with a bathroom I had remodeled three times to suit my pleasures. I drew in a deep breath and expected to smell the scent of the flowers in my backyard. Since I had bought my mansion, I had my yard painstakingly taken care of, both in front and outback. In the front? A nice, freshly-mowed lawn, with rose bushes that lined the perimeter of what some would call my estate.
But, out back was my favorite. I had my garden out there, brimming with beans and tomatoes and carrots and lettuce. I had blackberry bushes, gooseberry bushes, and strawberry bushes with cranberry vines. All of it, snaking around the perimeter in my backyard.
Around me was the desert. Around the ten acres of property I owned, there was an endless expanse of sand and cracked earth and clay mountains and cacti. My yard was an escape from all that, though. Ten acres of grass and shrubs and food that attracted everything from butterflies to bees to bunnies.
None of that mattered right then, though.
Not when the only scent to fill my nostrils was hers.
How the hell had I fallen asleep with her?
It still boggled my mind. I never stayed with a woman like that. And not only did I stay the night at her place, but I woke up with her in my arms. The feeling of peace that came over me first thing that morning left me breathless. I was so soothed at her presence against me that I fell right back asleep.
Before waking up all alone.
As if she had never been there in the first place.
In fact, the only proof I had that she had been with me was the fact that we were in her home. I waited around for a little while, wondering if maybe she had simply run out. I thought about making her breakfast. Or putting on some coffee. But, after half an hour of her not turning up, I just got dressed and left.
Nothing felt right about any of it.
Except waking up to her.
Katrina.
No. Not Katrina.
Caroline?
Definitely not.
Holy shit, what is her name?
I raked my hands down my face. How much of an asshole did I have to be not to remember the woman’s name? I felt like a shithead. I groaned as I walked through the open foyer, not bothering to turn on the crystal chandelier that hung from the ceiling. I stalked off into my kitchen and put on a pot of coffee before walking over to my fridge. I ripped the damn thing open and pulled out a fruit and cheese plate that sat right in the middle of the shelf.