“Maybe he just needs to be reminded about what he’s missing out on…” Aspen looked like she was planning something. That was always a dangerous thing.
“And what if he rejects me again? I don’t think I could take much more rejection right now.” I rolled onto my back.
Aspen laughed. “There’s always that risk. By you’ve got to put yourself out there too if you expect him to put it all on the line.”
Damn… She had a good point. Aspen stood up and sauntered towards the bedroom door to leave. “Be vulnerable, and he might just be vulnerable back.” With that, she winked and left me alone in my room.
I hugged my pillow. Was she right? Could that man really be tempted? He seemed impenetrable. Every time we’d been together, he was so wound up. I’d never seen him lose control… apart from that one night… when he kissed me.
Aspen was onto something. I’d seen a chink in his armor. Maybe there was a way in…
He was so close to really letting me in…. Perhaps it was just up to me to show him how.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Julian
I surprised even myself when I agreed to take Lola to The Reunion again. But she was almost in this as deep as I was now, and nothing I did would deter her.
I only hoped that I could protect her from the fallout should Cole become suspicious of our activities.
He was suspicious of me whenever we saw each other out at events. It almost felt like he enjoyed knowing that I couldn’t move on. By ignoring me, he taunted me. I wonder if he knew that I knew the whole truth. That he had Hannah, when I thought she was all mine.
Lola and I lounged in the Gold Room, joined by Minty, who was there with a client. We updated her on the latest developments. Minty was eager to help us, despite my protestations. The last thing I needed was more people involved. More innocent’s who could get hurt… or just in the way.
“There he goes again,” said Minty, nodding towards Cole, who had been sitting on the other side of the room. We watched as he received a phone call. An irate expression appeared on his face, and he marched out of the room to answer it.
“Yeah, I noticed it too. He keeps coming in and out. Whoever he’s playing phone tag with is not making him happy.” I took a swig from my bourbon on ice. “I’d say it’s just business… But he’s been acting weird in general.”
“He’s distracted.” Minty took a sip from her champagne glass. “He’s usually enthusiastic about joining in when he comes here, but tonight he’s just been sitting over there, watching.”
“Well, not just watching. He’s been enjoying some company…” Lola added, placing her hair behind her ear. She referred to the two girls that had been trying to get his attention as he sat absorbed in whatever was on his cell phone screen.
Before any of us could speak again, Cole came striding back into the room and took his place back on the sofa with his two admirers. He threw his phone down on the couch and pulled one girl onto him, kissing her vigorously.
I glanced at Lola, that familiar pink hue colored her cheeks. Did she know how damn beautiful it looked? I doubt it.
I wasn’t the only one who was drawn to her that night. Stray eyes from throughout the room admired her perky cleavage, which looked incredible in her red body-hugging gown. The way it plunged in both the front and the back made it impossible not to think about what she looked like underneath.
I looked away.
Focus Lewin.
“We need to know who he’s been on the phone with,” I said.
“I can try,” Lola suggested. “His phone is sitting there on the sofa. I just need to swipe it for a moment, and I can see his call log.” The thought made me nauseous. “No, Lola. You’re not going near Cole, not after what he did to you.”
“Well, he has nothing against me.” Minty rose from the lounge. “It’ll be a piece of cake.”
“Hey, no—” I started, but it was too late to stop her. She was already sauntering across the room. When she got to the sofa where Cole was seated, she sat down and scooted up to one girl who was kissing Cole’s neck. As if she had done it dozens of times before, Minty grabbed the phone and gazed at the screen. She swiped a few times and then threw it back on the sofa before returning to us.
“Get out your phone,” she said when she sat back down with us. I handed her my cell, and she typed the number into my contacts, before giving it back to me.
“That was impressive.” I slid my phone back in my pocket.
“You think I haven’t snooped through a man’s phone before?” She flicked us a sly smile.
“Hey, Cole is leaving.” Lola’s eyes darted to the doorway, and we all turned.
Sure enough, Cole was leaving for the night, arm in arm with both girls from the sofa. The three of them disappeared into the passageway, which led back to the front of the mansion.
“Well, now that my job here is done, I better go find my date. He’s back in the boring room,” she said, referring to the Meeting Gallery.
While Minty slinked off, Lola and I threw back our drinks in silence. Lola was quieter than usual. I couldn’t tell if it was because there were about thirty people in various states of undress, copulating in front of us, or if I’d done something to offend her.
Lola clutched her champagne glass and looked straight ahead.
“Hey, what’s up with you tonight?” I nudged her.
She snapped back to reality and looked me in the eye.
“You know, Noah kissed me.” She blurted it out as if it been on the tip of her tongue.
It felt like a punch to the gut.
“I don’t know why you said that.” I narrowed my eyes at her.
She didn’t answer, staring off into the distance again.
I tugged on her arm, forcing her to look at me. “Is this your way of telling me you finally got what you want?” I raised my voice. “I mean, are you trying to make me jealous? Because I know that you love the guy… That’s been obvious from day one. So now you’re together. I get it, I won’t try to kiss you again, don’t worry about that.”
I leaned back in my chair and slammed my drink down on the side table next to me.
“No. That’s not why I told you.” She leaned in closer to me. I was skeptical about what she would say next, almost bracing for the impact.
But instead of getting some kind of explanation. Lola wrapped her arm around the back of my shoulders and cupped my jaw with the other. Her lips were a warm, sweet paradise when they touched down on mine.
My body reacted in the only way it knew how… I kissed her right back. All the while, she was pushing into my mouth with the full force of her tongue. Even though she kissed me hard, her mouth was so soft. All I could do was surrender myself to the feeling of having her pour herself into me.
I lapped up every second of it. Having tasted it once, there was no doubt about it, I’d thirsted for more of it. That first night I kissed her, it had been a taste that I thought would quench my thirst, but all it did was make me rabid for more. And finally getting it was so damn intoxicating, I could barely control myself.
When she pulled away, she kept her face close to mine and whispered. “I didn’t kiss him back. I pushed Noah away — you want to know why?”
“Why?” I whispered back, hanging on her every word.
“Because the second he kissed me, all I could think about was how much I wished it was you. And how much better you tasted. How much you turned me on.” She rubbed my thigh.
I ran my finger over her shoulder. She wanted me instead of him? It should have made me feel good, to be wanted by her, but instead, the idea filled me with dread.
I pulled back, sliding her hand off my thigh. “Lola…” I tried to think of how to word what I wanted to say, but apparently, my eyes said it all.
Lola grimaced. “I knew you would do this.” She looked at me as if she was begging me to not turn her down once again. “Are you really so afraid to let go, Julian? Are you even attracted to me?”
“Of course, I am. You have no idea..” I ran my fingers back through my hair.
Lola thought for a moment, her eyes scanning the room. Without warning she got up, and walked over to one of the party attendants.
I followed her, grabbing her hand before she could talk to the attendant. “What are you doing?”
“You’re attracted to me and you paid for me. What is so wrong about having me? You said it yourself, you’re no monk.” She looked around at the surrounding couples who were moaning and touching… having a night they’d never forget. “Are you telling me that none of this tempts you? Or are you that unbreakable?”
I released her hand. “If you want to join in, then, by all means, go ahead. I’m not going to stop you.”
It was a bluff. I was lying to her and myself. Would I really be okay with her letting some other guy pleasure her in front of me?
“What is it about me that makes you want to run? Why can’t you give in?” She pleaded.
“You know why, Lola.”
She smirked. “You won’t sleep with a woman who’s being paid to do it.”
With that, she left me standing in the middle of the room as she marched towards the attendant. She spoke to her for a moment. Next thing, the attendant walked over to a giant gong in the corner of the room. She hit it with a soft mallet, causing the gong to sound throughout the space.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I whispered to myself. This place was too fucking much.
And what the hell was Lola up to?
It soon became apparent when various men from the room formed a line in front of Lola. They stood before her, some naked, others without their shirts on. But all of them had one thing in common. They were hungry… for her. That’s when it hit me, The Ritual. One man in that line was going to have her tonight.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Lola
“You can’t do this!” Julian pulled me aside, his eyes popping out of his head.
“Julian…” I closed my eyes for a moment. This wasn’t even about him anymore. “I just want to feel wanted. For one night.”
He looked at me as if he finally understood. “This is what you want? You want some guy to fuck around with you, with all these eyes on you? Do you really know what it will be like?”
“No, I don’t know what it’ll be like, but that’s sort of the point.” I lost my voice. “I know you might look down on me because of that, Mr. high and mighty. But you need to understand, I’ve been with one man, a man who didn’t even want to be with me. A man who probably only indulged me because he was leaving town. You have your one-night stands, and I can have tonight. Let me have it.”
Growing anger simmered behind his eyes, but I didn’t care anymore. If it made him so mad, then he could do something about it.
I left him standing there as I walked back over to the line of men, and two women, who had congregated. Some were older, some younger, but all of them gorgeous. One man in particular with striking blue eyes and blond hair caught my attention at the end of the line, so I walked towards him. Would he be my pick? His eyes told me he wanted me. That he wanted me bad. Deep inside, that’s what I was craving.
When I stood before him, I looked back down the line and decided he was the best option. But even so, I hesitated to make a choice. The attendant nodded, encouraging me to take my pick. My heart beat faster. Maybe this was a mistake.
I looked around for Julian. I couldn’t find him anywhere.
I walked up to the attendant. “Is this all of them? Do I have to make a choice right away?”
Her eyes were directed to something behind me. “Another man has just presented himself.”
I spun around. To my shock, Julian joined the line-up, unbuttoning his shirt as he did so. Dozens of female eyes diverted their gaze to him, waiting for the moment when he’d reveal his body. He was the most attractive guy in the room.
I walked toward him. Julian gazed at me with a steely expression and slowly peeled the shirt off his body, throwing it onto a nearby ottoman.
My gasp was audible as I took in the sight before me. Julian’s hard, muscular torso and thick sculpted arms were covered in spectacular black ink. The years of training in the boxing ring had given him an amazing body… one that I couldn’t have imagined in my deepest, darkest desires. I wasn’t the only one who thought that. Every woman in that room wanted him the second he revealed himself.
Somehow I mustered up the courage to step toward him. The second that my fingertips ran down his pecks, his eyes fell closed. His heart beat out of control. When he opened them again, his gaze had darkened, his pupils fixed on me as he wandered them down my body and then back up to my face.
I let out a breath and swiftly turned to the attendant and nodded.
The attendant announced that I’d made my selection and indicated that The Ritual was over. While those around us moved away to resume their evening. Julian and I stood there, staring at each other.
“Were you hoping I’d choose you?” My hand was still on his chest, feeling his uneven breaths as they filled up his lungs.
He licked his bottom lip, trying to hide a smile. “No, I was hoping you’d choose one of the girls.” He shifted his gaze to one of the busty brunette’s who had lined up for the ritual.
“Well, those girls were certainly beautiful, but they were missing one key element… that I just couldn’t overlook.” I glanced down at his package, making it clear that a penis was high on my list of priorities when it came to picking a mate.
Julian let out an indecipherable sound from the back of his throat, as if my words had turned him on. He lifted his hand up to my face. Then, I fell to pieces in his palm as he leaned down and kissed me. When he broke away, he whispered, “This is clearly what you want. I wasn’t going to stand there and watch some other guy give it to you.”
After one more delicate kiss, he took me by the hand and led me further into the room until he found what he was looking for. A bed on a raised platform that was piled high with pillows and soft furs, making for a comfortable area to lie down. It was enclosed only by a translucent curtain on all four sides.
Julian closed the curtains, but it didn’t make a difference. I was all too aware of the eyes watching us, and we had appeared to attract quite a few admirers. The thought of people watching us, and getting turned on by it, made me even hornier.
Julian raked his eyes down my body, his arms crossed. “Take your dress off.”
As if on autopilot, I slipped the zipper down on my dress and flicked the straps off my shoulders. I rolled the dress down my body, exposing my hard pink nipples. Once my dress was gone, the only piece of clothing I had on was my lacy black thong.
When I was done, I looked back at Julian, and I saw him swallow, his Adam’s apple protruding from his neck. His eyes darted to my breasts and then down to my legs and back up. I could tell he was breathing even harder than before.
“Lay down,” Julian instructed, as if he already knew what he wanted from me. As if he’d played the scenario out in his mind a million times.
I wasn’t expecting him to be so bossy, but fuck… it turned me on.
Once I was comfortable, he kneeled down and whispered in my ear. “It looks like you have some fans. He gestured to the small gathering of guests who were watching us from just a few feet away on the other side of the curtain. One particular man, the blue-eyed blond who had lined up in The Ritual, couldn’t keep his eyes off me.
“Mind if I invite your new friend to give me a hand here?” Julian asked.
I raised my eyebrow at him.
“Trust me,” he whispered, and then kissed the side of my jaw, nibbling his way down to my mouth. When he pulled away, I nodded.
The idea of Julian and the other man worshiping me at the same time made the space between my legs thump with need.
Julian invited the man to join us, and he gladly accepted. He stepped through the curtain, and Julian pulled him aside, giving him an instruction that I couldn
’t hear.
Next thing I knew, Mr. Blue-eyes was caressing my legs from my toes, up to my thigh. Julian kneeled beside me, kissing and nibbling at my neck, occasionally diving his tongue into my mouth.
After a minute, Julian instructed the other man to caress my breasts.
“Rub her nipples, pull them,” Julian said between kisses.
The whole situation drove me wild with need, having both man’s attention. So did having Julian explicitly instruct the other man on what to do. It was almost as if he was doing it himself.
Julian whispered again to Mr. Blue-eyes. The other man offered me a sexy grin before he started slowly placing kisses down my chest, to my stomach… getting further and further south.
Was he going to… I swallowed. Had Julian told him to kiss me down there?
I couldn’t help but think about where he was headed next.
Julian sucked and nibbled down my neck and across my shoulders while the other man’s mouth got closer to my pubic bone. I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable, I was certain what would be coming.
With my eyes still closed, I felt fingers hook into my panties and drag them down my legs. Rough, strong hands pushed my legs open. I welcomed it, pushing my pelvis up and arching my back as if my body was ready to take whatever pleasure was about to come down on me.
And that’s when I felt it. A warm, wet tongue pressed into my folds, causing me to yell out. I opened my eyes, expecting to see the blue-eyed blond between my legs, but instead, it was a mass of dark hair. It was Julian. Julian Lewin was between my legs.
I arched my back again and ran my fingers through his hair. He flicked his tongue over my clit, interspersed with hard, flat licks further down. He lifted his head and looked at me as my eyes rolled back into my head. Seeing him like that was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen.
“You didn’t think I was going to let him have the best part, did you?” he said, referring to Mr. Blue-eyes, who was now lying next to us, watching me as I contorted in pleasure.
Obsession: Seven Vices Series Page 14