by Tia Siren
“You didn’t tell me you were coming today. I mean, you didn’t tell me any date, actually.”
I winked. “I wanted to make sure it was a surprise. If you knew I was coming, you might have dodged me.”
“Yes. I definitely would have,” she spat out.
“Mia, come on now. You know you’re happy to see me. It’s been so long,” I soothed.
She opened her mouth to fire another retort but quickly shut it when she heard the doors open behind her.
An older woman with perfectly smooth black hair cut into a sleek bob walked through. She had a commanding appearance. She had to be someone important. She was beautiful in a regal sort of way. I imagined she had probably been a model in her youth. She had excellent bone structure and healthy, glowing skin despite her years.
Mia turned to look at the new arrival. “Helga!”
“Who’s this?” the woman asked, looking me up and down as if she were considering me for purchase.
“This is Brad,” Mia said.
“Brad!” Helga’s voice went up a couple octaves. “Oh my. I’ve heard about you,” she said, stepping forward and extending her hand.
I took her hand, kissed the top of it, and smiled. “I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”
She winked. “I guess that’s for you to determine, isn’t it?”
“This is Helga, my boss,” Mia said, making the introductions. “Helga, Brad.”
“Good to meet you, Helga.”
The woman turned to Mia. “Go. Get out of here. Your day is officially cleared. So is tomorrow.” She turned back to look at me. “You’ll be here for the weekend.”
Uncertain if it was a question or an order, I nodded my head. “Yes, I’ll be here through the weekend.”
I didn’t tell them I had planned to stay until Monday. If things went bad, I wanted to leave myself an out; I could say I had to work and change my flight and run away like I had in the past. I hoped it didn’t come to that, but this was a huge leap of faith. There was always a chance it wouldn’t work between us. After seeing her and touching her, I didn’t think that was going to be a problem at all, though. The chemistry between us was still there.
“Good. It’s settled then. Goodbye, Mia,” Helga said. She walked back through the doors.
Mia stood there, her mouth hanging open, and looked at me, then the doors. “I have to get my purse. And my laptop,” she mumbled before spinning on her heel and going through the same doors.
I turned to look at the receptionist, who seemed very interested in the situation.
“We haven’t seen each other in a while,” I said, trying to explain Mia’s reaction.
She nodded. “I didn’t realize Mia had a boyfriend.”
No reply seemed most prudent, so I didn’t disagree with her assumption. I was happy to hear Mia truly was single. In the back of my mind, I had been a little worried she was seeing someone and hadn’t told me. I knew she never believed I would show up.
Mia came back through the doors a few minutes later and slowly walked toward me. She stopped in front of me, stared at me a few seconds, and then moved to the elevator. I followed her, not saying a word. I could feel the receptionist staring at us, waiting to see what we would do. I wasn’t interested in putting on a show.
The elevator doors finally slid open, and Mia and I practically pushed each other out of the way in our rush to get on the elevator and out from under the prying eyes behind us.
The second the doors slid shut, she turned and looked at me. There was fury in her eyes, and realized I had just locked myself inside a small box with an angry woman. She slapped my shoulder and then my chest. I didn’t move. I let her. It was something she usually did when she was pissed or frustrated with me. It wasn’t a mean or hard hit; it was just her way of letting me know I’d pissed her off.
I raised an eyebrow, waiting to see if she had more to give.
“You horrible, rude, cruel man! How dare you show up here without an invitation! You actually think you can walk right back into my life after what you did to me? You pig. Slimy, nasty pig!”
I couldn’t help but smile at her. I had missed even this, her raging at me.
“Don’t you dare smile at me!” she shrieked. “You’re a world-class jerk!”
I kept smiling. I would let her get it all out now so the rest of my visit was relatively peaceful. I couldn’t deny her insults. They were all true.
She opened her mouth to call me more names, I assumed, but the elevator doors opened, preventing the words from coming out of her mouth. She stomped out of the elevator and across the marble floors to the tall doors leading outside. I followed her, easily keeping pace.
Outside, her arm shot up to hail a cab, and it didn’t take long for one to pull up to the curb.
“Where are you staying?” she asked, sliding into the back seat.
“With you,” I said, using my size to bodily push her across the seat of the cab.
Mia stared at me in horror. “No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Where to?” the driver asked.
I looked at Mia, waiting for her to give the man her address. She made a loud growling sound before finally spitting it out.
Mia was frustrated and wanted to slap the shit out of me, but I smiled broadly the entire ride. That was all fine with me. I finally had her near me. I could smell her sweet perfume, and it was making me giddy. I felt like a teen girl meeting my crush for the first time.
She looked straight ahead, refusing to meet my eyes. I busted into laughter, earning me a quick glare before she focused on the road ahead.
She could try to ignore me all she wanted, but I wasn’t going away.
Chapter Fourteen
Mia
Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! Brad was sitting next to me in a cab in New York City. If he hadn’t been watching me so closely, I would have pinched myself to see if I was dreaming. This couldn’t be happening. I’d been thinking the man had unceremoniously dumped me for the second time and now he was right here, thinking he was going to stay at my apartment.
My breathing was coming too fast; I was on the verge of hyperventilating. I had to pull it together so he didn’t see how badly he could affect me. My body felt as if there were an electric charge between us. It wasn’t the painful zap one got after running their feet over carpet. This was different. It was a sexual zap. My body was humming.
The moment his body pressed against mine and I felt the pecks on my cheeks would be forever ingrained in my brain. I had practically melted against him. It had felt too good, and that really pissed me off. I wanted to tell him to get lost, but my body had other plans. The chaste kiss on my cheek had me wet. If he could make me burn with just a simple kiss on the cheek in a public setting, I couldn’t imagine what he could do to me when he put his mind to it in private.
“Mia?”
I blinked. Had he been talking to me the entire time?
“What?”
“I think we’re here,” he said, pointing to my building.
The cabby was looking at me in the rearview mirror. “Here?” he asked.
I nodded, feeling like a complete moron. “Yes,” I said, fishing in my purse for money.
Brad gave the guy a twenty and opened the door to get out. He reached a hand back inside to help me.
“Thanks,” I muttered.
We stood on the sidewalk, staring at each other. I didn’t know what to do. I was afraid of what would happen if I took him inside. Not afraid, eager.
“You live here?” he asked.
I nodded my head. “Yes.”
“Do you want to go in, or should we stand here on the sidewalk a bit longer?” he asked with that playful grin on his face.
I took a deep breath. “Fine. We’ll go in.”
He opened the door and I strolled into the lobby. I couldn’t hide the pride I felt walking into the building with a man as hot as Brad. I didn’t bring many men back to my place, but the o
nes I had were not even close to being as good looking as Brad. He was hot—melt-your-panties, start-a-fire-in-your-belly hot. How had he gotten better looking with age? It wasn’t fair.
We rode up in the elevator, neither of us saying a word. Once we hit my floor, I walked down the carpeted hallway to my front door. I paused, key in hand, and looked over my shoulder to take one last look at the man.
He raised an eyebrow, questioning me.
I shook my head, slid the key in the lock, and pushed open the door.
“Damn, this is a nice place, Mia. You’ve really done well for yourself,” he said, looking around my condo.
I was proud of the place. It was comfortable and modern with little rustic touches here and there. I had hired a decorator when I first moved in, but the design had felt cold. Over time, I had slowly replaced little things with kitschy items that made it feel more like a home than a mausoleum.
I heard the door close and turned to look at him. He dropped his bag on the floor and stepped toward me. His arms snaked around my waist as he pulled me against his lean body. He was leaner than I remembered, but still just as hard. His chest pressed against mine, bending me backward a little with the force.
He let go of me as quickly as he had grabbed me.
“I’m starving,” he blurted out. “Please tell me you have something to eat.”
I stared at him. That was what he wanted? “Food?” I asked in disbelief.
He nodded. “I wasn’t going to eat airport food, and I went straight to your office.”
“I, uh… No. I don’t think I have anything. Do you still eat all that health crap?” I muttered.
He grinned and nodded. “I don’t call it crap, but yes, I prefer clean, healthy eating. You?”
I shrugged. I didn’t want to admit he still influenced me after all this time. “I’ll change,” I said, walking away from him.
He was very demanding. That was different. The old Brad was a more easy going. This Brad seemed like the kind of man who took charge in every situation. I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. I was actually kind of turned on by it at the moment, though.
I walked into my closet and tried to find the perfect outfit for hanging out with an old friend. Most of my wardrobe was high-end fashion or sweats. I didn’t have a lot of in between. I dropped to my knees in front of a drawer where I knew I had a few pairs of old jeans. I hoped they still fit. I slid them on, left my white blouse on, and put on a pair of spring wedges.
When I returned to the living room, he was staring out the windows, looking at the Hudson River.
He looked at me and smiled. “This is an amazing view. I knew you would get everything you dreamed of.”
“I’m ready.”
“Good. Where are we going?”
I shrugged. “What are you in the mood for?”
The look on his face told me exactly what he was in the mood for. That wasn’t on the menu.
“Let’s just walk and see what we find. It’s been a long time since I got to breathe and smell New York.”
I laughed. “I don’t know if you want to take too deep of a breath. The smell isn’t always that good.”
The elevator ride back down to the lobby was quiet. Once we hit the street, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side.
“I’ve missed you, Mia,” he whispered.
“I’ve been right here.”
He chuckled but didn’t say anything more.
“How about vegetarian?” he asked.
I scoffed. “You’re a vegetarian now?”
“No. Not really, but I like to eat vegetarian when I can.”
I shook my head. “That sounds very boring.”
He laughed and ran his free hand over his chest and flat stomach. “You don’t get this by chomping down on hamburgers and pizza every day.”
I rolled my eyes. “I see you’re still struggling with your confidence.”
He laughed again. “Say what you want, but my body is a temple. I treat it very well. I would say you’re obviously eating right. Your body is smoking hot.”
“Stop,” I growled. He wasn’t going to flatter me until I fell into bed with him. “Here, how about this place?”
He looked up at the sign and nodded his approval. We walked in and were seated quickly since the lunch rush was already over. I scanned the menu, seeing nothing that looked all that appealing to me.
“I’ll order for you,” he said, taking the menu out of my hands.
I opened my mouth to tell him no way but quickly closed it. I was pretty sure it didn’t matter what I said. He was going to do it regardless.
He quickly ordered two veggie lasagnas with no bread. I tried to protest the ban on bread, but the man ignored me.
“Was that your boss earlier?” he asked.
I nodded and quickly told him the story about her love of dog clothes and how she and my mother knew each other.
“She seems nice,” he commented.
“She is.”
“How’s your mom?”
Sighing, I told him about the cancer and her recovery. He was floored by the news. “Wow. I had no idea. I’m so glad she’s okay now.”
“Thank you. So am I. So, what have you been doing out there?”
“Surfing,” he said with a grin.
I nodded. That explained the permanent tan he was sporting. “Sounds fun.”
“It is. I love it and spend as much time at the beach as I can.”
We ate our meal, sans bread, and then strolled around the city a bit. He claimed he needed the exercise after his flight. I thought it was because he was homesick and wanted to remind himself of what it was like here in the city. After that, we headed back to my apartment.
“Do you drink?” I asked once we got inside, afraid to bust out the bottle of wine.
He shrugged. “On occasion.”
“I’m going to have a glass of wine. Do you want some?”
“Sure. That’d be great. Thanks,” he said, settling his large body on my couch.
After filling two glasses, I carried them into the living room. I paused, looking at him. His arms were spread out across the back of the couch. It was all very surreal. The last time I had seen him, it had been similar picture. He had been on my couch and I’d been bringing him a drink.
“Here,” I said, handing him the glass and sitting on the opposite end of the couch, cursing myself for not having more furniture.
“I don’t bite,” he said with a smirk. “Unless you want me to.”
I ignored his comment and reached for the remote to flip on the TV. I needed to fill the quiet in the room. If it was quiet, he would want to talk. If he talked, it would probably be about the stupid pact. I didn’t want to hear about it.
He seemed content to watch the news with me, for now. It was only eight o’clock, but I was ready to go to bed. I needed to get away from him. Breathing the same air as him was making me crazy. I could smell him and practically feel the heat radiating off his body.
“I’m going to change and get ready for bed,” I announced, practically jumping off the sofa.
I pulled on my favorite leggings and a long T-shirt. I wouldn’t be sleeping nude tonight, not with him so close. I went to the linen closet and found a blanket, then realized I didn’t have extra pillows for guests. I’d never had a guest sleep over before. I yanked one off my bed and took it to the couch. He wasn’t there.
“Figured I’d get comfortable, too,” he said from behind me.
I spun around and nearly creamed in my panties. He was standing there wearing a pair of gray sweats and socks. He was shirtless, and holy fuck, he was gorgeous. I had a sudden urge to run my hand over his bare chest. I wanted to lap at his nipples. My tongue darted between my lips as I thought about licking every inch of that smooth, tanned skin.
“Oh,” I said, my mouth suddenly dry. “Here, blanket,” I said, holding up the items before dropping them on the couch.
He laughed. “I�
��m not sleeping on the couch.”
He walked down the hallway and pushed open my bedroom door. My eyes went wide when he walked inside like he owned the place.
I followed him into the room. “What are you doing?”
He crawled onto my queen-sized bed and made himself comfortable. “I thought you said we were going to bed. It’s a little early for me, but I don’t mind.”
I stood there staring at him and his boldness. “Brad, this is my bed.”
He nodded. “I know, and this is where I’m sleeping. Get in.”
I shook my head and turned to walk out of the room.
“Mia.” I paused in the doorway. I didn’t want to, but he had used his damn radio voice on me. “Where are you going?”
I turned and glared at him, angry at him and his attempts to get his way. He knew what he was doing; I’d give him that. “To the couch,” I told him.
He folded his hands behind his head and leaned against the pillows, just grinning at me. “You know, there’s a perfectly good bed right here,” he said, nodding at the empty space next to him. “And this might look a little hard”—he patted his bare stomach—“but it’d make a good pillow and would keep you warm.”
I gave him a look of disgust and turned from the room, his laughter following me all the way to the couch.
After fluffing the pillow and unfolding the blanket, I snuggled into my bed for the night. The problem was, it was not nearly as comfortable as my actual bed. It felt like the gaps between the cushions were trying to suck me in. I tossed and I turned, trying all manner of positions, but I just couldn’t fall asleep. It didn’t help that I kept imagining Brad half naked and lying in my bed right down the hall.
Why was I letting him kick me out of my own bed anyway? After all the crap he had pulled today, showing up announced after eleven years—and at my office to top it off—I deserved a good night’s rest.
He was probably asleep by now anyway. I’d been out on my dumb couch for over an hour. Determined not to let him have all the control, I quietly grabbed my pillow and tiptoed into my bedroom. I paused, listening to his breathing. It sounded steady, like he was fast asleep.
I walked around the bed and crawled underneath the covers, being careful not to accidentally touch him. I lay flat on my back, my arms at my sides, and stared up at the ceiling.