Fortunate Encounters (The Sign Series Book 1)

by Caterina Passarelli

  What happened with Clark was more fun than I’ve had in a long time. It was the best sex of my entire life. But since our night together, I can’t stop thinking about him. And that is not what you want when you are in a friends-with-benefits relationship. You should be able to dismiss the thought of them, not daydream about them. That’s how I assume a situation like this should go, but I don’t quite know; I’ve never done this before.

  “Why not? He seemed like a good match at the charity event,” Lauren says, flashing me puppy dog eyes, as if me turning down Clark is hurting her.

  “You talked to him for two minutes. How would you know that?”

  A look of pure sass consumes her face. “I just know, okay. It’s obvious to spot attraction. You guys were looking at each other with googly eyes.” Lauren mimics what ‘googly eyes’ would look like. I’ve never looked like that a day in my life.

  “We did no such thing. You are ridiculous.”

  “And when Grace was telling him about your charity work he was very interested in what she was saying. That’s a good sign.”

  “Just because a guy has manners does not mean we are a good match. Stick to your day job and leave the matchmaking to the professionals.”

  Lauren picks up her turkey sandwich, rolls her eyes, and says, “Whatever.”

  My phone lying on the table vibrates as both of us look at it in wonderment.

  Flipping it over to show the screen, Clark’s name pops up with an incoming text message.

  “What does he say?” Lauren grabs my arm.

  Pulling my arm out of her tight grasp, I debate whether to read the text in front of her.

  “You will open that in front of me or I’ll call him myself.”

  Sliding my finger across the screen to reveal the message, I hope it’s not inappropriate. He doesn’t seem like the dick picture kind of guy, but you never know.

  Princess,

  You ready for round 2?

  -C

  Lauren’s jaw drops. “You had sex with him? Why did you leave out the best part of your story?” She squeals in excitement as another death stare comes across the room from Olga.

  “No, I did not. He means round two as in another date.” Even I know she knows I’m lying. I don’t want to admit that I had sex with a guy I barely know and don’t plan to do that again. I’m judging myself hard enough; I don’t need my friends to judge me too.

  “I dare you to say you’re more than ready.” She winks.

  “Why are you encouraging this?”

  “This is so exciting! And let’s be honest, Juliette, you haven’t done anything exciting in a long time. You should live a little. You’re young and beautiful, but you sit at home with your cat too much.”

  “Don’t you dare bring Milo into this,” I say, pointing my finger at her. “That’s a low blow to make me the cat lady.”

  But she’s right. Outside of my date with Clark, I haven’t done much since rescuing Milo.

  Wait, does it even count as a date because we aren’t courting each other? I can call it what it was—a good time with no strings attached. I’m nervous that I already want strings. However, Clark cannot be the person I want strings from. He’s made it clear he’s not a guy who even gives strings. Instead, he’s the puppet master.

  As I’m deep in thought, Lauren snatches my phone and types a reply to Clark.

  More than ready baby ;)

  -Queen Jewels

  “I can’t believe you just did that!” My shouting gets yet another stare from Olga, but at this point I don’t care. Staring at my phone in utter disbelief, I could kill her. Panic courses through my body. Why am I having this kind of reaction? It’s Clark—who cares what he thinks of me. He doesn’t need me for my stellar personality. I’m not trying to impress him.

  Clark sends a message back almost instantly.

  I’ll show you some queen jewels. See you tonight at 8.

  He attaches a location to the text, which appears to be in a residential neighborhood. I’m going to his house? Or maybe this is the fuck pad he takes all the women to. I’ll pass out if I think too much about that.

  “I can’t wait to hear about all of this tomorrow,” Lauren squeals.

  “You aren’t going to hear another word about Clark. You just lost your privilege to hear any juicy stories when you stole my phone.”

  Again she tries to trick me with her sad face, but it’s not going to work.

  No one will hear another word about Clark. He’s going to be my secret, as I’m sure I am to him. There will be no way to explain why we split up, whenever we decide we are done doing, whatever it is we are doing.

  I don’t even know how to explain it to myself.

  Pulling up outside of the address Clark gave me, I see a modest home in a very influential neighborhood. It has to be worth a fortune. It’s a ranch-style house with impeccable landscaping, bright yellow daffodils surrounding the walkway to the front door and not a bush is overgrown. My guess is this is his home; it doesn’t scream fuck pad.

  Quickly after I knock on the door, Clark opens it. His brown hair is wet, and he looks like he just jumped out of the shower. He’s wearing a green t-shirt and jeans, and his feet are bare—absolutely relaxed. Every time I’ve seen him he’s been dressed professionally; this is a nice change.

  “Come on in,” he says, waving his arm into the home.

  Everything is top of the line—granite, marble, stainless steel. You name it, he has it.

  “Your home is stunning,” I say, walking into the entryway. He leads me toward the kitchen.

  Clark has to be filthy rich. I never saw myself with a high-powered man. More like a nice guy who has a stable job. We’ll raise our two children together in our middle-class home. Quaint and peaceful.

  You aren’t “with” a guy who is loaded. You are just having sex with him.

  “Thank you. My mom decorated just about everything,” he laughs. “She even has the flowers delivered.” He points to the bouquet on the counter.

  “Are you close with your mom?” I ask the question but feel awkward about it. “You don’t have to answer that.”

  “Why wouldn’t I answer it? You don’t want to hear my answer?” This gets another laugh out of him. He’s acting friendly while I’m freaking out on the inside.

  I take a seat on the barstool at his giant kitchen island, which has a gourmet spread of meats and cheeses on it.

  “No, I do want to hear the answer. I just wasn’t sure it was appropriate to ask.” I look down at the food. I’m off my game tonight about what to say or do. This keeps happening when I’m around him.

  “Talking about moms is an inappropriate topic?” He cocks his eyebrow in curiosity. “Am I missing something? Fill me in on what’s got you avoiding eye contact with me.”

  Looking up to meet his stare. “I don’t know how to do,” I wave my hand between us, “this.”

  “This …?”

  “This situation. I don’t know if it’s worth it to ask you questions about yourself, if we are going to drop each other tomorrow. Or if you don’t even care enough to learn about me in a personal way, outside of the bedroom, of course.”

  “Who said we are going to drop each other tomorrow?” He leans over the black and white marble island to get closer to me. “Is that what your plan is? Use me for my meat and cheeses and then ditch. Don’t forget about my massive sausage.”

  Laughing, I find my gloomy mood lifts slightly, but the tension is still there.

  “No, that’s not what I’m planning at all. I just don’t know the etiquette here.”

  Clark walks around to sit by me. He picks up my hand in his. “How about there’s no etiquette. If you have a question, you ask me. If I have a question, I ask you. Just because we aren’t going to be in a relationship doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

  Friends.

  That stings a little, even though it shouldn’t because I knew what I was signing up for.

  “With benefits?” I a
sk with a harshness he must not notice because he instantly jumps in.

  “With benefits, exactly,” he says, laughing.

  His words get under my skin. I don’t even know why I’m annoyed though. This is going nowhere. If he were a guy who showed up from an online dating site, I would never give him a second date. Even knowing all of that, the thought of being just his friend pisses me off.

  “Why don’t you do relationships?” I blurt out, afraid of the answer.

  “Because I find no value in them.”

  “That’s all you’re going to say? You find no value in them. That’s a load of horse shit.”

  “I’ve never been in a relationship. The idea of being tied down to one person, answering to one person, worrying about that person—it sounds exhausting. I have a lot on my plate with an entire company to run. That’s all I can take.”

  He put an end to that question. And his answer wasn’t that bad, except for the fact that it’s heartbreaking. He talked about wanting children before; how does he plan to get them if he doesn’t commit to one woman? I am not about to explain that to my fuck buddy though.

  Clark brushes the hair out of my face then smiles. “And to answer your other question—yes, I am close with my mom. Unlike my father, she is kind-hearted. She never pushed anything on me, and she knows how to maintain boundaries,” he says as he laughs and shakes his head, “again, unlike my father. She reminds me a lot of my sister.”

  Even though I made a big deal about it, I’m happy he answered my question.

  “Your mom sounds like the exact opposite of mine.”

  “Oh yeah, she seemed like a doll,” he says, laughing. “You going to eat?” Clark nods at the food and passes me a plate.

  I’m going to dismiss this ‘friends with benefits’ thing to the side … for now. Tonight I’ll have fun, which everyone seems to be pushing me toward. Tomorrow I’ll decide what’s for me.

  And who knows? Tonight could be shitty. Our wild night may have been a one-time thing that I can easily put in the past.

  Along with the cheeses and meats, Clark has an assortment of fruits in a bowl on the counter. He walks over, picks up a ripe mango, and then grabs a knife from a drawer. I watch his every move in silence—anticipating what he’ll do next.

  He slices the mango and brings a piece to my mouth. I bite, causing juice to drip down my bottom lip. Clark leans in to slowly run his tongue over my lip. He pulls back and grins.

  I bite my bottom lip—tasting a mix of sweet mango juices and Clark’s tongue. I want more. As if he can read my mind, Clark brings me another piece of fruit. I run my tongue along the mango before biting off a piece while the other half remains in Clark’s hand. His eyes are glued to my mouth, and they too look hungry.

  “Do you know you giggle when we fuck?”

  What? I am utterly embarrassed because he already thought I was virginal.

  “Does it bother you?” I ask. I don’t need something to be self conscious about.

  “Not at all. Don’t stop.” He smirks and then holds up the fruit. “Want more?”

  I lean in toward his fingers, putting them in my mouth with the rest of the mango. I swirl my tongue around for extra effect and then pull back—losing his fingers, but devouring the fruit.

  “I want all you’ve got.” I smile a wicked grin.

  There was too much truth in that comment.

  “Are you sure you can handle all I’ve got?” His deep voice practically growls the question.

  I run my tongue along his earlobe before gently sucking on it. “Try me,” I whisper.

  Clark picks me up off the barstool, which falls to the floor, and places me on top of the island. His mouth slams onto mine as I let out a moan. I scoot myself closer to the edge, wrap my legs around his waist, and press myself against his manhood. I’m in just the right spot to grind into him. It’s a delicious torture.

  Clark grabs a handful of my hair and pulls my head back to expose my neck. He trails kisses up and down until he bites my shoulder hard.

  I moan out.

  Running his hands down my thighs, Clark pulls my dress up around my waist and pushes my panties to the side before circling my clit with his thumb.

  “Nice to see you are ready for me.”

  My body aches as he teases my entrance with his skilled fingers.

  I wrap my arms around his neck and push myself into him. He smiles, knowing he’s torturing me, right before he slips his finger into my entrance. Clark makes a curling motion with his finger and hits a spot inside of me that causes my legs to shake uncontrollably as pleasure courses through my body.

  He emits a low growl as he watches me lose my mind.

  “I want you. Now.”

  Clark pulls me off the island. He tugs on my panties, and they rip off my body in shreds of fabric.

  “Not too fast, Mr. Chambers,” I tease while skimming my hands down his chest. I get down on my knees.

  “I don’t know if I can handle that right now,” Clark says as I stare up at him with wide, eager eyes.

  “Strip,” I command.

  In a flash, his jeans and boxer briefs are kicked to the side.

  He’s standing before me with his luscious body on display. I reach my hand up to cup his balls and slowly massage them while I run my tongue along his hard shaft.

  Clark lets out an animalistic sound above me that encourages me to keep going.

  I bring one hand up to slowly pump his manhood while continuing to circle my tongue around his tip. Occasionally I bring it into my mouth to suck on.

  When he must not be able to take much more, Clark pulls me up from the ground and spins me around to face the island. He wraps his hand around the front of my body where he finds my quivering clit. He hits just the right spot and flicks his finger over it—faster and faster.

  Clark pushes his manhood into my sex from standing behind me. Thrust after thrust he gives me just what I need. His finger never leaves my most sensitive spot. All of the sensations cause my vision to narrow and ears to ring.

  “I can’t take much more,” I hiss.

  Clark bites down on my neck for one final thrust as our bodies pulse.

  I can’t even bother to stand, so I bend forward and lay my chest down on the island. Clark follows my lead as he lays his chest down on my back to hold me.

  “This is nice,” he says in a sweet yet drunk sounding tone. He runs his hands up and down my sides. “I can’t move.” Then he laughs a deep belly laugh.

  It’s as if we both just got wasted … on pheromones and orgasms.

  Before we fall asleep on the kitchen island, Clark pulls out of me and puts his clothes back on. I pull my dress, which was hiked up around my waist, back down my legs. Long gone are my panties—I’m as dressed as I can be. Commando it is.

  “That was incredible.”

  “Fuck yes it was,” Clark says, which makes me smile.

  We both stare awkwardly at each other and then at the spread of food still in front of us. I don’t quite know what to say.

  Do I stay and we watch a movie? Netflix even though we already chilled?

  Talk about our days?

  Cuddle up on the couch until we drift asleep in each other’s arms?

  Clark made it clear he doesn’t do any those things. We aren’t at that level.

  You just let a guy have sex with you and you aren’t at the level to cuddle on the couch? What are you doing with your life?

  “So …” I say, still not making eye contact. “I should be going.”

  “Already?” Clark asks. It’s hard to read his tone. Is he saying that to be nice, but he really does want me to leave? Or does he mean it? Or … why the hell am I putting myself through this internal battle?

  Leaving is the only thing that makes sense.

  “Yes, tomorrow I’ve got an early morning.” I walk to his front door with my shoulders back as if I’m confident about this decision. Clark trails behind without saying a word.

  He reache
s for the front door to open it for me. Ready to shove me out so soon? Does he have another woman coming over for round two?

  Calm down, Juliette, you were the one who said you wanted to leave.

  This all just makes me so angry. I don’t know how to act.

  “I’m sad to see you go,” he says.

  “Where did that come from? Do fuck buddies say things that are sweet? This isn’t a wham, bam, thank you, ma’am?”

  “Is that what you want?” His tone is no longer friendly.

  “I don’t know what I want. I should be going.”

  I push past him and dash out to my car. I’m out of the driveway in a flurry, and I don’t look back.

  This has to end. No more wham bams for this ma’am.

  The first thing I’m going to do when I get home will be turning my dating apps back on. I can’t believe I was blinded by Clark and turned them off.

  If I have someone else to think about, I’ll forget Clark entirely. Just what I need.

  11

  He bit my hand.

  Is this real life?

  Looking across the table at Tyler, the man I’m on a first date with, I can’t contain my shock. This evening started off with a riveting conversation about science, modern medicine, and our family upbringings. It was all very respectful.

  I agreed to this date after desperately browsing the eLove app after running out on Clark.

  Tyler picks up my hand as he plants a delicate kiss on top of it. I’m not the biggest fan of public displays of affection, but I put up with it because I don’t want to be awkward.

  Until … he turns my hand to the side and bites down on it. I spot teeth marks in my flesh from a man I just met twenty minutes ago. Nothing gives him the right to do that.

  My jaw drops as I pull my hand back from his grasp. “What did you do that for?” I practically shout.

  “Women like pain. It turns them on.” The seriousness reflected in his eyes leads me to believe he’s not joking.

  Where did he get an idiotic idea like that? And what’s even more startling is, this man is a doctor. You’d think he’d know better than to bite a woman he just met.