by E. L. Todd
“So, does that mean you’ve slept with him?”
“Not yet,” I said with a frustrated sigh.
“Not yet?” she snapped. “How is that possible?”
“He wants to take it slow.” If I removed my hormones from the situation, I would understand why he felt that way. But I was too horny to listen to reason. And I wasn’t just horny for anyone—only him. If he hadn’t given me those amazing orgasms, I wouldn’t be able to function at that moment.
“You’ve already been dating for eight months. How much more time do you need?”
“We’re switching from friends to lovers. It takes time.”
“You were never friends,” she insisted. “You’ve always been lovers—without the fooling around part.”
“Maybe.” I knew she was dead-on about that.
“So, what next?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, where is this relationship going?”
“I don’t know.” I hadn’t really thought about it. Hopefully, forever.
“What kind of fooling around have you done?”
“Just some oral.”
“He went down on you?”
Oh yeah. “Yep.”
“How was he?”
“Fucking amazing.”
“Ugh.” She took a long drink of her cosmo. “I’m so jealous. Muriel was so good at that stuff.” Her face fell in depression, a look I’d seen so many times.
If they were so happy together, why did he leave? It was as much of a mystery to her as it was to me. “You’ll find someone else who’s better.”
“Well, I’ve been looking, and I haven’t met him.”
“Just be patient. It took all my life to find Volt.”
“Please tell me he has a brother,” she begged.
“He does, but I’ve never met him. Have no idea what he’s like.”
“When you meet him, let me know if he’s hot.”
“Will do.”
“So, have you guys said I love you yet?”
“No.” The thought hadn’t crossed my mind. I knew how I felt but didn’t see the point in saying it out loud. It was obvious with everything I did and said. With him, I wasn’t so sure.
“I’m surprised you’re having dinner with me right now when you could be with him.”
“Where do you think I’m going right after this?”
She chuckled. “Well, thanks for not ditching me.”
“Never,” I said. “The one thing I don’t like about our relationship is the hos.”
“Sorry?” She raised an eyebrow.
“All of his skanks keep sniffing around. You know, the girls he used to screw around with.”
“Oh…stupid sluts.”
“I suspect they’ll keep coming around for a long time. I’m trying not to get upset about it. It’ll get me nowhere.”
“If he’s with you, then there’s nothing to worry about.”
“I know… I just hate being woken up in the middle of the night when they come to visit.”
“If you punch them in the face, they won’t come back.”
I chuckled. “Yeah…but I’m not really that catty.”
“Maybe you should start being that catty,” she said. “They definitely won’t come back after a brawl.”
“I guess.” I still couldn’t picture myself punching a woman in the face when she was just trying to get laid. It’s not like they knew Volt had a girlfriend.
“So, when am I going to meet this stud?”
“I don’t know. When do you want to meet him?”
“Soon,” she said. “I want to put a face to the name and make sure he’s good enough for you.”
“He’s definitely good enough for me. Frankly, I’m not sure how I landed him. The first time I looked at him I assumed he was out of my league—forever.”
“Shut up.” She brushed my words off with a flick of her wrist. “You’re out of his league. I can guarantee you.”
Ha. She hadn’t seen him. “Thanks for saying that, but I think you’ll be eating your words when you meet him.”
“I really don’t think I will.”
“So, are you dating anyone?”
“Eh.” She shrugged. “I’ve been using Tinder a lot but haven’t found anyone promising. It seems like most guys in this city just want to get laid and move on with their lives.”
“Yeah.” I’d had the same realization too. “But it’ll happen. Keep looking.”
“I will. Maybe one day I’ll turn the corner and my very own Volt will be waiting there for me, hot as lightning.”
I smiled. “I’m sure he will be.”
Chapter Eight
Volt
My feet were resting on my desk, and I was looking at pictures on my phone when Nancy walked in.
“There’s some woman here to see you.” She quickly turned away once she’d given her message.
“A brunette?” I asked hopefully.
“Yep.” She shut the door and walked down the hallway.
Taylor was there to see me. She’d never been to my office before, but it wasn’t difficult to figure out how to get there. At that moment, I was looking at pictures of her on my phone. The other night, she was sleeping, and I snapped a few good photos. She has a natural smile on her lips when she’s dreaming, and I think it’s cute as hell.
I walked to the front of the lobby with a hard cock in my slacks. I was excited to see my lady, to give her a hot kiss right on that perfect mouth of hers. When I went down on her, I couldn’t get her taste out of my mouth. It was so sweet, like juicy watermelon. I never wanted that flavor to leave my senses.
When I entered the lobby, I didn’t see Taylor anywhere.
Instead, I saw Julia.
Uh, what?
“Hi…” I couldn’t catch my footing because she surprised me. She was the last person I expected to see there. One time, we met there before we went to lunch. Since we’d broken up, I hadn’t heard from her so I wasn’t sure why she was there. “How are you?”
Resignation was on her face, like she’d given up on everything in life. “I want to talk to you.”
“Okay, can it wait until I’m not at work?”
“No.”
We parted ways on bad terms, and I hadn’t expected to see her again. I was hoping we’d never cross paths ever again. She was a nice person with perfect features, but she wasn’t the right person for me. “Then what’s up?” I put my hands in the pockets of my slacks. “Everything alright?”
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and…I don’t want us to be apart.” She tucked her luscious brown hair behind her ear, showing off the perfect angles of her cheekbones. She wore a black skirt with leggings underneath, and the sweater was skintight against her chest.
She didn’t want us to be apart? “I’m sorry about that but…there was no other option.”
“I think if you gave me a real chance, we could be something. I’m tired of dating and looking for a man to replace you. I just want you.”
Now I really felt like shit. I never should have dated her to begin with. I allowed her to become attached to me, and as a result, she got hurt—badly. I made her believe there was a chance we might go somewhere before I crushed her dreams. “Julia, nothing has changed. My feelings for Taylor are stronger than ever. She’s the woman I want to be with. I’m sorry.”
“But I can be whatever you need, Volt. Just give me a chance.” She took a step toward me, invading my personal space and putting me on high alert. The only person who got this close to me was Taylor—and that was because she was going to kiss me.
The elevator doors beeped behind her as someone stepped onto the floor. It was probably a client walking in for an appointment, and there was someone manning the front desk so I didn’t need to concern myself with it.
I just had to get rid of Julia.
“Julia, I can’t. I’m with Taylor now. I’m sorry this hurts you. I wish I’d never gotten involved with you. I really do feel
like shit about it.”
Instead of being deterred, that just egged her on more. “I can be everything you want in a woman, Volt. Never in my life have I been rejected. I don’t understand why you don’t want me.”
I admit she was exceptionally beautiful, but her arrogance was a major turnoff. “The problem is with me, not you.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck and quickly leaned in, prepared to kiss me good enough to change my mind. It happened so fast, and her lips were almost on mine.
I turned my face away quickly, terrified by the attempt. Taylor and I were doing great, and I wasn’t willing to lose that for anything, even if the kiss was accidental and against my will. She was okay with Brittany stopping by my place, but how long would her patience last? I didn’t want to drive her away—not when I was this happy. “Julia, I don’t think you understand what I’m saying. I’m—” I halted in midsentence when I spotted Taylor over Julia’s shoulder.
Her arms were across her chest, and she looked pissed.
Like, psycho pissed.
My-life-was-over kind of pissed.
“Julia, Taylor is my girlfriend. And I think you should leave as fast as you can.”
“Excuse me?”
“Because she’s standing right behind you—and I think she’s going to murder both of us.”
Julia’s face paled as she glanced over her shoulder.
Taylor gave her a smile, but it wasn’t the beautiful smile I was used to seeing. Somehow, it was lethal. She gave Julia a curt wave, her eyes darker than coal. “If you’d stop kissing my boyfriend, I’d like a word with him.”
A catfight was about to go down in my office. “Julia, run. I’ll try to hold her back.”
Julia turned on her heel and darted away, her feet carrying her as quickly as possible without actually running. She held her bag tight against her body, prepared to use it as a weapon against Taylor.
Taylor watched her go the entire way. “You better run.”
Julia broke off in a run, and instead of taking the elevator, she headed for the stairs. The door flew open, and her heels clanked against the concrete as she got the hell out of there as fast as possible.
Now it was my turn to face Taylor’s wrath.
She turned to me, her arms still tight over her chest. The look she gave me wasn’t quite as frightening, but it still gave me the chills.
“Look, I can explain.” I walked toward her so I wouldn’t have to talk so loud. One of my secretaries was sitting at the desk just a few feet away, and she got to see the show from the first row. “She just stopped by. I didn’t know she was coming. And she—”
“You don’t need to explain anything, Volt. I saw what happened.”
“But it wasn’t the way it appeared. I didn’t kiss her—”
“She kissed you. I know.” She hadn’t loosened her arms from her chest, still angry. “She begged for another chance then kissed you in the hope that would change your mind. I saw the whole thing.”
“And I hope you saw the part where I pulled away.”
“Yes, Volt. But I was expecting that to happen.”
“Okay…then why are you so mad?”
“Because it’s just rude to kiss a guy when you know he has a girlfriend. It was one thing when that skank didn’t know you weren’t available, but to go for a guy when he’s in a relationship…that’s just cold. Women shouldn’t do that to each other. It’s not classy.”
At least I was off the hook. I was expecting this conversation to pan out much differently. “It’s my fault. I never should have dated her, especially when I dated her for the wrong reasons.”
“I’ll give her that. That must have been hard.”
“She knew I had feelings for you.” It wasn’t like she went into the relationship totally blind.
“She did?” she asked in surprise.
“Well, yeah. I told her.”
“And she was okay with that?”
“She thought…she would get me to forget about you.” I cleared my throat and looked away, feeling awkward mentioning a physical relationship with another woman.
“Well, that plan backfired.”
“It sounds like she doesn’t like losing more than anything else. Doesn’t take rejection very well.”
“Well, she needs to get over it. Because she ain’t all that and a bag of chips.”
Both of my eyebrows shot up because I couldn’t believe what I actually heard. “I haven’t heard that saying in, like, fifteen years.”
“I work with kids all day, alright? I pick up on their vocabulary.”
“That doesn’t mean you need to repeat it.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, giving me a silent threat.
It didn’t go over well because I just thought she was cute. My eyes softened, and I felt my mouth ache for her. I leaned in and gave her a soft kiss, immediately feeling higher than a cloud.
When she pulled away, all the anger left her face. She was the woman I saw every day, always happy. “You know what? I think I have an idea.”
“Blow job in the bathroom?”
“Uh, no.” She rolled her eyes. “But nice try.”
“Damn…”
“What if we set Julia up with Sage? We both feel guilty for what we did to them. What if they really hit it off? I know Sage is attracted to her, and Julia might like the attention.”
“It’s not a bad idea.”
“Wanna give it a try?”
“Well…how about that blow job first?”
***
I asked Julia to have dinner with me, and Taylor asked Sage to have dinner with her. We were catching them both off guard, and hopefully, it would go over well.
Julia and I got to the restaurant first, and after a few minutes, Taylor walked in with Sage beside her. When they arrived at our table, Sage immediately looked at Julia. He connected the dots quickly and figured out exactly what was going on.
Julia took a little longer. “What’s this?” She eyed Taylor in fear.
Taylor directed Sage to sit across from Julia while she took the seat across from me. “We thought it would be a good idea to set you two up on a date. We think you’ll hit it off.”
“Us?” Julia asked in surprise.
“Yeah,” Taylor said. “Sage is a really great guy. He’s sweet, thoughtful, and very loyal. And he even told me you were the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.”
“What?” Sage blurted.
Taylor kicked him under the table. “Yes, he said that.” She shot him a glare so he would keep his mouth shut.
“And I think Julia is perfect for you, Sage,” I said. “She’s beautiful, funny, and smart.” Those last two were totally bogus, but I doubted Sage would care. “Have dinner together. The bill is on us.”
“Yeah.” Taylor patted Sage on the back. “Have a good time.” She rose from her seat, and I did the same. “Good night.”
“You two kids have fun.” I winked at them both before I grabbed Taylor’s hand and walked out with her. Walking away from Sage and Julia felt like the most natural thing in the world. When we had our double date, we were all with the wrong people.
But now everything was right.
***
“Stay at my place tonight.” I just paid the tab for dinner, and I held her hand across the table. My thumb brushed across her knuckles, memorizing the smooth skin of her delicate hands.
“I can’t.” A guilty look came into her eyes, like she hated telling me no. “I’ve been staying there for the past two weeks. I need to clean my apartment, do laundry, you know, spend time there.”
I didn’t want her anywhere else besides lying next to me in bed. “Then can I sleep over?”
“Sure. But my apartment is a lot smaller than yours. Not as fancy.”
“I don’t care.” All I cared about was her.
“And my bed is a queen, not a king.”
“It doesn’t matter what size the mattress is when you’re sleeping on top of me.”
> She smiled. “True.”
“So, can I grab my things and sleep over?”
“Absolutely.” Her fingers wrapped around mine, and she stared at me without blinking. She adored me as much as I adored her. Holding hands, doing something I usually made fun of people for doing, felt like the most amazing thing in the world. “Do you think the two of them hit it off?”
“I’m sure they did. If you stroke Julia’s ego, she’s yours.”
“I figured she’d be a hard girl to catch.”
“No girl is hard to catch if you understand what she wants.” Now that dinner was covered, I returned my card to my wallet, and we walked out together.
“Thanks for dinner.”
“Of course.” My arm hooked around her waist, where it usually rested. “So, I’ll get my things and meet you at your place.”
“Sounds good.”
I would see her in just a few minutes, but I needed to kiss her goodbye anyway. I brushed my lips against hers softly, loving how full they were. When she breathed into my mouth, it did amazing things to my body. “I love kissing you…”
“And I love being kissed by you.” She looked up at me through her thick eyelashes, her eyes glowing in an ethereal way.
“I’ll keep doing it then.” I gave her a final peck before I walked away.
***
I walked inside with my bag over my shoulder. I could tell she did a lot of frantic cleaning while I was away. There were no dishes in the sink, the tile was mopped, the carpet had just been vacuumed, and the laundry machine was humming from the hallway. “Baby, I’m here.”
Taylor came out of the bedroom, her cheeks red and her forehead damp. “Hey.” She tried to pretend she wasn’t flushed and exhausted from scrubbing the apartment clean in less than twenty minutes. “What took you so long?”
Not wanting to embarrass her, I didn’t say anything. “Your apartment looks nice.”
“Thanks. Just tidied up a bit.”
When I passed her in the hallway, I gave her a kiss before I entered the bedroom. I set my bag on the edge of her bed and noticed how sterile her room was. I’d been in there before—and it was usually a mess.
It was only eight thirty, but I didn’t want to do anything but go to bed. My favorite thing to do with her was lie in bed with her small body wrapped in my arms. Even when we weren’t doing anything exciting, it was still amazing. “What do you want to do?”