“Well.” He paused to consider this and then nodded. “A bit. Maybe more than a bit. Possibly a lot. Not totally smashed though.”
I eyed the distance between me and the door, or at least me and the biggest pool of light. It was a fair distance. The noise coming from inside the mansion would make it difficult for anybody to hear anything from outside. And I…well, I wasn’t so certain I wanted to make that much noise. I really, really wasn’t.
Sober Flynn might've kept his promise not to say anything to Edward. I wasn't so sure drunk Flynn would do the same. Either way, I didn't trust him.
“Just go away, Flynn.”
“I can’t.” He shrugged and gestured to me. “‘I’m here on bish—business. Got a few clients who need more pictures of you. You’re my biggest draw right now, Tennessee.” He gave me a wide grin and folded his arms over his chest, sliding his gaze down over me.
I echoed his pose, but mine held none of his cocky confidence. If I could have, I would have run. My entire body flushed, and only half of it was shame. “Go away,” I whispered it this time. “Please. I already told you, I’m not doing any more work for you. Ever.”
“Aw, bullshit. You enjoy it too much.” He shoved a hand into his pocket and a few seconds later, plucked out a card, displaying it. “Times, payment offered, the works, Tennessee.”
He held it out to me.
I glared at the card, then at him, trying to pull up anger to burn away everything else. I could handle him when I was pissed.
“No.” I backed away, shaking my head. “Don’t you get it? I’m not doing this. You’re ruining my life. I’m not working for you again ever.”
This time, something in my voice got to him and he stilled. He looked at the card and then at me. For a long moment, he didn’t say anything and then he shoved the card back into his pocket, a sneer drawing his lips tight. “You better think this all through, Gabriella. You’re so certain you’re ready to throw away good money just because you got your panties in a twist?”
“My…” Through a sheen of tears, I stared at him. My voice broke as I demanded, “My panties in a twist? You son of a bitch, I cheated on Edward with you! You promised you wouldn’t do anything and I ended up drunk and then naked in your bed and you think my panties are in a twist? They ended up on your fucking floor!”
“So that’s what this is about.” He snorted and spun away. I watched as he shoved his hand through his hair and stared up at the canopy of trees that spread out over us. After a moment, he looked back at me. “You know, you should just do the smart thing. Do the job or I’ll just show Edward the pictures.”
Every cell in my body tightened as anger became a living thing inside me. “I’d rather he see the damn pictures than keep working for you.”
“Even if I show him the ones with Cody?”
“That's low, Flynn. Even for you,” I spat out, brushing at my cheeks. “They're your brothers.”
“What about if I tell him about our little night out?”
My blood ran cold, but I just stared at him. He wouldn’t do that. He loved Edward too much and he didn’t want to hurt him or make him angry. Then again, he'd just threatened to let Edward know that Cody had been in on my modeling sessions. Who knew how low this bastard would go?
And that was it. I didn't know. I couldn't keep doing this, making myself sick with worry. My shoulders slumped. “You do what you have to. I’m not doing this anymore.” I turned to leave.
“I will show him the pictures, Gabriella.” His voice came in a low, heated growl and I realized he meant it.
Raggedly, I whispered, “I hate you.”
“Yeah, well. I don’t really like you right now either, Tennessee. But cheer up…nothing happened last week.”
He started to shove past me, the reek of expensive alcohol surrounding him.
I shot out a hand as his words registered, doing something I told myself I’d never again do. I touched Flynn McCreary.
“What?” I demanded.
He twisted out of my reach, but instead of pulling back, he caught my chin in his hand and angled my head back, almost painfully. Then he lowered his head, staring down at me with a brutal, burning gaze, his mouth barely inches from mine. “You heard me. Nothing happened. You’re still all good and pure for your beloved Edward.”
He let go, rubbing his hand on his pants as if the feel of my skin was somehow tainted. He turned to stride off.
“I…” Swallowing, I stared at his retreating back. My brain was spinning and my stomach churning. “What...how could you let me think that?”
He froze at my question and spun around, storming back to me.
His hands shot out and I flinched as he grabbed my shoulders. An ugly, brutal anger twisted his face as he hauled me closer. I could feel the strength in his grip and knew that he could truly hurt me if he wanted to.
“I’ll answer that question as soon as you answer mine.” His words were a low hiss. “How could you think I’d do that? You were drunk off your ass and you think I could have taken advantage of you? Fine. You think that low of me, so I let you think whatever you want. You were too drunk and close to passing out in the car. I wanted to get some water and food inside you so I took you to my place, but you were already half out of it. I got you to drink some water and then you got sick. That helped, but you still stripped out of your clothes and came on to me. Then you passed out in the middle of yelling at me for not fucking you. I left you in the bed and slept on the lounge near the windows. End of story.”
He let me go and stormed off, leaving me staring after him.
Shaken, I sagged against the brick wall, wrapping my arms around myself.
Tears burned my eyes and I didn’t even try to hold them back this time. I wasn't sure if I was crying for what I'd thought I'd done, for what I really had done, or for the fact that I'd thought the worst of someone who'd done all he could to keep his promise.
Chapter 8
“Thank you for coming.” Edward smiled at yet another guest as he went to leave. He was seriously the quintessential party host. He was the quintessential everything.
I was lucky to have him. And now I didn’t have anything to feel guilty over. Well, not exactly. Sure, I'd thrown myself at Flynn, but I'd been drunk. I hadn't been thinking clearly. I shouldn't feel guilty about that. So why did I?
I didn’t know, but it wouldn’t go away. I supposed if I thought about it, I could've figured it out, but I didn't want to think about that ever again.
I focused on smiling and blanking my mind as the guests continued their slow trickle towards the exit. Most of them had already gone, but as if by some unspoken cue, the rest were now getting ready to go.
With one exception.
The lovely and icy beauty that was Stacia Vanderbilt still lingered by the bookshelves, staring at them as if she’d never seen anything so fascinating. Except every few moments, I’d see the look she’d give Edward. And she made sure I saw it too.
I didn’t let it get to me.
I couldn’t. I would prove I was the better woman.
Edward caught my hand and rubbed the inside of my wrist with his thumb as he bade good-bye to a couple with spiked, multi-colored hairdos. They’d gushed over Kendra and one of them had mentioned a previous photoshoot. I was pretty sure she'd said something about them designing lingerie. I liked them. They’d stopped a few times to chat with me and they were funny, sharp and had made cutting comments about some of the other guests.
“I hope to see you again sometime, Gabriella,” the woman said. I thought her name was Naomi.
“Me, too.” I managed my first real smile in several hours and caught her hand, squeezing it.
Then there was just Stacia.
Edward glanced toward her and then at me.
He leaned in and kissed me softly, just a light brush of his lips over mine. “A few more minutes.”
It took more than a few as she deftly deflected all of Edward's subtle hints that it was time for her
to go. I idly wondered if I could create a character like her. The woman who wouldn't leave. I could see it as a sketch in my head. Her hosts would come out in their pajamas and she'd still be talking as if nothing had changed.
I’d gone through another glass of sparkling water before she left, but my head was clear and my bladder was full. I went to the rest room as he escorted her all the way out, unsure that I could trust myself to give her a polite farewell. When I came out, he was waiting for me.
I smiled at him and opened my mouth to say something. I wasn't sure what, but I didn't have a chance to figure it out, because in the next moment, I found myself with my back up against the wall and his mouth on mine. There was a hunger in his kiss that he had only ever hinted at and it caught me off guard. When he pushed up the hem of my dress, heat blistered through me.
He cupped my ass, only thin silk between our skin. I gasped as he picked me up. His voice was rough as he ordered, “Wrap your legs around me.”
I did and he wrapped one arm around my waist. The house blurred around me as he started to walk. In just a couple minutes, we were in the bedroom and he all but threw me down on the bed, coming down on top of me in the next breath.
“I want you,” he rasped. “Now.”
“Then have me.” The words were practically a whimper as excitement buzzed through me. Finally, my brain had kicked off and I wasn’t thinking about Flynn, Stacia, Kendra, our problems or anything else. Only him. He pulled aside the crotch of my panties and shoved inside me.
I cried out at the sudden intrusion, shoving my hands into his hair. I pulled on it for a moment as my body shuddered from the feel of him. Then I was pulling him down to kiss me. When he pushed his tongue into my mouth, I sucked on it. He groaned, his cock throbbing inside me as he rocked his hips.
I contracted my pussy around his cock and the groan became a growl. He pulled back and then drove deeper into me, harder and faster and then I was moaning, rocketing towards orgasm. He gasped out my name before his teeth found the soft skin of my throat.
I closed my eyes and for a moment, I had a flash.
Sunlight shining in through the windows, cadet blue eyes glinting down at me.
Edward twisted a hand in my hair and arched my head back. “Open your eyes. Let me see you, darling.”
I looked at him, focused on his face. “Edward.” I said it almost desperately—I was desperate. Desperate to forget, desperate to lose myself in the man who loved me, the man who cherished me and didn’t try to hurt me.
He cupped my hips and lifted me up higher, surging deeper and deeper until he could go no further. His cock pulsed as he rubbed against the bed of nerves buried deep inside. The sensations sent a tremor of feelings coursing through me and I cried out, clamping down on him as the orgasm slammed into me.
Edward started to climax and the hot splash of wetness pushed me higher. I clung to him, holding him inside me, never wanting to let him go. I wanted us to stay like this forever. Locked together.
I was still panting, sweating when he collapsed down on top of me, his head resting on my chest. I ran my fingers through his hair and closed my eyes as our breathing slowed.
Wayward thoughts trickled through my brain and I found myself thinking things I shouldn’t. I opened my eyes and looked down at the man lying on me, the one whose body was still joined with mine. I’d focus on him.
That was what I needed to do anyway.
Chapter 9
Paper tucked under my arm, coffee in one hand, I fought with the keys and tried to remember which one was for the front door. Edward had left earlier for work and now I was planning to go to the nearest coffee shop where I could drink more coffee and search for another job.
I had my laptop tucked away inside my purse and I planned to bolt my wake-up coffee on the way, then tuck myself in a dark corner with a tall vanilla iced latte and occupy my mind with job hunting. Something that would keep me from thinking about how I'd done another shoot with Flynn, even after that awful encounter at the party. We’d barely spoken two words to each other the entire time, and that had involved setting up for the shoot, managing instead to communicate through a series of gestures and monosyllables. We’d finished up in under two hours and he’d paid me a thousand dollars.
I'd told him not to call me again and he hadn't responded. I suspected he would call me and I wondered if, this time, I’d find the guts to say no. And always, following that was the question that made my stomach twist. Would he show Edward the pictures?
My phone rang, startling me out of my reverie and I ended up dropping my keys, my coffee and my purse. It clattered on the marble floor and I reached for it, heart pounding as I realized how close I'd come to losing my laptop. As I bent, my hip bumped into the table next to me. It wasn't hard enough to hurt, but it was hard enough to jostle the vase that sat on one end of the table.
In slow motion, I saw it all happening. My phone playing the theme song from Titanic as the elegant piece of crystal toppled over and crashed, straight down on my laptop.
Water and flower petals and pieces of crystal flew everywhere.
I stood there, stunned, while my phone finally went silent. Numb, I picked it up and looked down at the little 'missed call' message on the screen.
No shit.
Tears burned my eyes as I stared at the vase, something that probably cost more than I’d earned in that miserable photoshoot. And I hadn't even looked at my laptop yet.
“Miss Gabriella! Are you okay…I heard something…”
One of the servants came rushing around the corner and she came to a stop at the sight of me. I sniffled and tried not to let the sob burning up in my throat escape.
“You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?” she asked gently.
I turned around and walked over to the steps, dropping down heavily as I stared at the mess I’d made. I'd barely been living here and I'd already started ruining things.
“I crashed into the table and knocked it over.” Even to my own ears, my voice sounded pitiful, like a five year old who’d done something she knew her parents wouldn’t be happy about. “I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s just a vase.” She came closer and after a moment, she sat down next to me. “I can call Mr. Edward.”
“No!” I shouted it so loud she flinched and immediately, I felt like a fool. She was just being kind. “I’m sorry. I…I just feel stupid. I don’t need to bother him.” Slowly, I shifted my eyes over to the vase. Licking my lips, I asked, “Do you know where he bought it?”
“No, I'm sorry.” She shook her head. “He won’t be angry, Miss Gabriella. It was an accident. He’s a nice man, Mr. Edward. He doesn’t get angry over accidents.”
“But I…”
She shook her head again, more emphatically. Then she rose and carefully picked her way through the glass, picking up my bag, my keys, my laptop. She grimaced a little as she held it up, letting water and petals fall away. A pale peach bloom clung to it and she put my other things down next to me so she could pluck the bloom away.
“Wait here.”
I frowned at her retreating back and then got up, moving over to the small closet concealed under the stairs. I came out with a couple of paper towels and a small garbage bag. When she came back, I was already picking up the largest slivers of glass.
“Miss Gabriella, if you do my job, Mr. Edward will think he has no use for me,” she chided gently.
I looked back at her and saw a glint of humor in her eyes. I managed to smile, but it was weak. “Yeah, I’m sure I know everything there is to know about taking care of a house like this. I can’t even make it to the door without being destructo girl.”
“Why don't you sit down and we'll check your computer first and then I’ll clean up the mess. You have things to take care of today, I’m sure.”
Things. Yeah. Job hunting. Wedding plans with the event planner from purgatory and the soon-to-be mother-in-law from hell. I went back to the stairs and sat down, watching as she picked u
p the laptop. “What’s your name?” I asked.
“It’s Mila.” She opened the laptop and started to dry it off.
My stomach clenched when I saw the screen. There were cracks in it. No, not cracks. The thing had spiderwebbed out from where the vase must've landed. There was hardly a section more than a couple inches wide without damage. More water dripped out from the bottom of it as she went to dry the underside off and I buried my face in my hands.
“Mr. Edward has another computer he keeps around the house. It’s his backup. I can get it for you.”
“The way my luck is going today, I’ll break it.” Shaking my head at her offer, I took the carcass of my old one. “I’ll take it to a repair shop. Maybe they can pull off a miracle.”
She started to protest, but something on my face must have told her she’d be wasting her time. She just sighed and nodded.
Because I’d already gotten in her way enough, I shoved the computer in my bag, scooped up my damp phone and slid out the door. Fate must have been feeling sorry for me because I found the right key on the first try this time.
I made it down two of the steps and sank down, staring down the curved driveway and wondering what I was going to do. It wasn’t like there were coffee shops on every corner here. I hadn’t thought of that. I hadn’t realized just how different life would be living with somebody rich enough to own real property in New York, property that meant coffee was more than a couple blocks away.
My phone buzzed.
Managing not to groan, I looked down.
Edward’s message was sweet enough. Except he had just called. I would have called him back shortly, but he couldn’t even wait ten minutes. Instead of trying to text him back and explain, I just returned his call.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
I’d heard once that if you smiled, it echoed in your voice, even if people couldn’t see you. So I tried to smile. It felt flat. “Hi, Edward.”
“I tried to call you earlier…”
“I know,” I said when he paused for just a moment. “I was uh…well. I kind of broke something.”
Pure Lust: The Complete Series Box Set Page 23