Audra gave a shrug of her shoulder. “If those are the terms you are comfortable with, I have no problem. James?”
Both women turned to look at him, whose eyes were burning into Natalie. She knew there was a war inside him, his brain fighting against his heart and the arousal straining against the limitations of his pants.
“Twenty thousand it is.”
The fluttering in Natalie’s stomach reignited.
“Here is how we will do it. I will go to the bedroom and wait for you to come in one at a time; the order is up to you. You come in, we kiss, and after you have both gone I will determine the winner.” She stood from her makeshift seat, shoulders back, breasts full and pert against her shirt, and secluded herself behind the closed doors of the bedroom.
Her heart pounded in her chest, so loud she was almost convinced Audra and James could hear it from the other side of the door.
Holy fuck, are we really doing this? She shook her hands out at her sides and waited, listening over the sound of her heart for any indication of footsteps approaching. She nearly jumped when the door handle jiggled, and stepped away as Audra came into into the room, closing the door again behind her.
“Ladies first. He insisted.” Audra said, her inviting laughter putting Natalie at ease almost immediately.
Natalie blew a shaky breath between her lips. “I feel like I am a teenager playing Seven Minutes In Heaven,” she confessed. Audra held her hands in her own, caressing her thumb across the backside of each. If she was any bit as nervous as Natalie, she hid it well.
“Believe it or not I have never played that game. Who better to do it with than you?”
“Well you know the rules. All you have to do is-“
Audra silenced Natalie with a kiss, a gentle caress of their lips moving in symbiotic tandem that sent electrical impulses straight from Natalie’s mouth to her breasts, and the delicate muscles between her legs, clenching with anticipation. Natalie devoted herself to the passionate embrace, pushing her body flush against Audra’s with the aid of her arms wrapping around her neck. She lost herself in the moment, savoring the taste of Audra’s mouth, the smooth movements of their lipsticked lips as they moved together. When Audra began to pull away Natalie whimpered and maintained their embrace.
“Consider that a preview of the rest of your evening,” Audra said softly.
“Are you sure that is wise with him here?” It was not difficult to conceive of James’ feelings if he were to so much as hear a whisper of intimacy between the two women. They may have all been on friendly terms at the moment - thanks in large part to the alcohol - but the situation was tenuous at best, and did not stand a chance against any one person’s jealousy.
“I am sure. James and I have kissed and made up. You saw it yourself.”
Natalie snorted, but her mind played the kiss again, which made her smile. “Is that what you are calling it?”
“We are.” Audra’s nose crinkled at something, and half a second later there was a distinct vibration in her pants pocket. “I will take this in the other room while you kiss James.” She kissed Natalie again, just a quick peck on the lips, before slipping back out of the bedroom, phone in hand.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Natalie turned and paced from the door to the bed as the realization that James Fitzgerald was moments away from entering the room and kissing her. The same man who showed up unannounced and crashed their Vegas getaway. The man who bought her the Bugatti to prove he won a bet. The man who disappeared after promising he would always love her no matter what.
The man who was still very much in love with her.
The door opened behind her as she paced one step away from the edge of the bed, and then closed just as quietly with a soft click of the handle mechanism.
“It’s almost like traveling back in time, isn’t it?” he asked from across the room. “A clandestine meeting for one kiss.”
Natalie’s mind went foggy as she traced back in time to search for the memory he was referencing. Of course. The night at Serpentine. James hiding his identity behind a black mask, flirting with her before coming up to her room and kissing her. And then everything that happened after.
“I remember,” she admitted.
“I remember the dress you wore the night you came to this room.”
God, that dress. Metallic silk with a long pleated skirt that hugged every curve she had. Her cheeks flushed with heat as she recalled how he went under the skirt to kiss inside of her, between her legs, until she was coming undone by his tongue.
Her heart leapt as her eyes focused from the past to the present, where James was inches from her, his blue-green eyes crackling with a heady intensity.
“You didn’t forget,” he groaned, though Natalie couldn’t tell if it was the James from her memory, or the James standing in front of her. “Nor have you forgotten this.”
Her breath was gone the moment his lips touched hers. Who needed breath when every nerve ending in her body was hyper focused on James and the sweet sensation of his tongue tasting hers. Every kiss they had ever shared played in a loop inside her mind, from the first outside the elevator at The Golden Palm when his lips crashed against hers, to the last in her condo after making love for the last time, and minutes after he declared he loved every version of her, bad and good. But he had not loved every version of her, hence the Bugatti she dropped off to his father only that very morning.
She pulled out of the embrace of his arm, not knowing she had been in it to begin with, and turned away immediately to put some distance between them. The winner was obvious, and she was still trying to catch her breath from the intimacy of both James and Audra.
“What’s wrong?”
Natalie’s chest doubled in volume as she breathed for fresh oxygen, her back turned to him so he could not see how much she was affected.
“Nothing,” she lied. “I don’t want Audra to get the wrong idea about what we are doing in here.”
“Audra had to run downstairs. She should be back in a few minutes,” James said.
Natalie turned to face him and, distracted, asked, “Now? It’s-“ she glanced down to her wrist, only to realize she was not wearing a watch.
“Late,” he finished for her. “To anyone else, maybe.” His face was as flush as hers felt. Even from the short distance she could see how much she had affected him.
“She did rearrange her schedule to be here with me,” Natalie conceded, feeling rather sobered by the notion that Audra had gone downstairs - probably to work - even if it was only for a few moments. But a better part of her knew exactly how that night would end. Audra wouldn’t be working in the middle of the night if it wasn’t important, which meant it was very important. Something that would probably keep her up all night working instead of doing what they had planned to do.
“Can I ask you a question, James?”
“Go for it.”
Natalie took a seat on the end of the bed and crossed her legs, folding her hands into her lap. “When we were dating, how did you manage both your schedule and being with me?”
James put his hands in his pockets and straightened his shoulders as much as they would allow. “I made time for you.” He said it as it as though it were inconsequential, a question whose answer was obvious. “You might be surprised how many nights I stayed up to work after you fell asleep.”
“And business trips? You were hardly ever gone for more than one consecutive night.”
“Again, I made time. Why are you asking me these questions, Natalie?”
Natalie chewed the inside of her mouth and looked up at him. He knew why she was asking, but the fact that he wanted her to answer meant something else entirely.
“You cannot compare us, Nat. Audra is the only person I know who works as hard as I do, if not harder. I can only imagine the kind of pressure she is under now that she is working with my father instead of with me. You should cut her some slack.”
Natalie’s jaw dropped, agog to have hea
rd James actually defending her relationship with Audra.
“What?” he asked at her look. “I may not like the fact that you two are in a relationship, but that does not mean I am going to impugn her work ethic.“
“I-“ she stopped herself. “I am not comparing her to you, per se. I just wish it was easier sometimes.”
He took a step toward the bed, and her. “Was it easier? With me?”
“There were moments where it was easy,” she admitted thoughtfully. “But it was not easier being with you in the general sense.”
“How so?”
“Well for one thing you come with a lot of baggage. I do not know many girls my age who would want to be with a man who already has an ex-wife and two kids. Not to mention you are arrogant, controlling, and at times far more intense than any one person should have to deal with.”
“And when I met you you were young, naive, and inexperienced. That did not stop me from falling in love with you, even if you do regret it now.”
Natalie blew out an exasperated breath. “We both know that no longer matters, James. There is a blue Bugatti locked away in the garage at Fitson to prove it.”
“And I never-“ James was cut off by the sound of the door opening, and Audra appeared on the other side, looking as though she had run up the stairs to get to their suite rather than take the elevator.
“What’s wrong?” Natalie went immediately to Audra’s side, sensing something was not right.
“I need to fly back to Los Angeles tonight, “ Audra said, heading straight for her still-packed belongings.
Natalie could feel herself blanching as the words settled into thoughts. “What?! Why?”
“I cannot explain right now. It has something to do with work.”
Natalie took a deep breath and relaxed out of the sheer terror that had gripped her not even a moment prior, thinking that Audra was leaving because of something she overheard Natalie and James say.
“What’s going on?” James asked, jumping into the conversation at the mention of work.
“Nothing for you to be worried about. At least not yet. I will handle it tonight and be back tomorrow afternoon, or the evening at the latest.”
Natalie did not know what to say. She merely stood and watched as Audra collected her few travel items in her hands before turning around to eye each of them, like a mother about to scold her children.
“While I am gone you two need to find a way to make up and move on.”
James crossed his arms over his chest. “Audra, what-“
“I mean it, James. Whatever you need to do to make up, do it. When I get back we can talk about you returning to Fitson Monday morning.”
What the? Natalie felt like she was dropped into the middle of a movie she had never seen before. But before she could say anything, Audra was headed out the door as quickly as she had come in it.
“I will call you first thing in the morning,” her voice rang out just before the suite doors closed.
Natalie scoffed as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. “Do you know anything about this?” she asked James.
James dropped his shoulders and gave her a pointed look. “Do I look like I know anything? Whatever it is I am sure she has a handle on it.”
“If Joe left in the middle of the night to take care of something work related without offering explanation, I might be a little upset.”
“Well when you and Joe have been together for another ten years maybe you will feel differently,” he snapped. There was a tense moment between them, Natalie bristling at the implication of his words, and James’ anger rising in him at the mention of Joe. “Can we not talk about him, please?”
“Sure,” she sighed. She turned on her heel and crossed the room, putting some distance between them as she entered the living space on the other side of the door.
James clenched his hands into fists at his side. If they were going to put their differences aside he was going to have to find a way to deal with Joe. He managed civility for his daughter, he could do the same for Natalie.
He heard the music turn up in the other room and headed for it, only to be met with ambient darkness and the pulsating music. Natalie stood at the bar pouring herself a glass of something, swaying her hips and shuffling her stockinged feet to the beat.
Beyond the glass walls it was deep night in Las Vegas, but the city itself was not yet asleep. And neither were they.
“We could go out again if you are in the mood?” he offered, watching the sinuous movements of her body as she danced.
“No, thanks,” she declined.
“We could finish our discussion from earlier?”
At that, Natalie turned and narrowed her eyes at him. “Which discussion would that be?”
“The one where I apologize-“
“You already did,” she interrupted him.
“-and tell you that I was wrong,” he finished, interrupting her interruption. “About not being able to love you. Of course l still love you, Natalie.”
Natalie set her drink down on the bar and leaned against it, arms crossed over her chest. “Why are you telling me this now? And do not tell me it is because Audra thinks she can order us to get along.”
James stepped until he was no more than three feet away from her. “No, but I have no desire to fight with you, Nat. Not having you in my life is far worse than seeing you with someone else.”
Her face twisted into a scowl as she pushed her body away from the bar to cross the room, far away from him. “Why are you telling me this, James?”
“Look at where we are, Natalie! This is the first time we have been alone together to talk about what happened between us. Don’t you think we owe it to ourselves to have that discussion?”
“Not if your intention is to belittle my relationship with Audra!” she said, accusation in her raised tone.
“No, I promise you that is not my intention. I just want you to know how sorry I am.”
Natalie cast her head back and rolled her eyes. “About the Bugatti. You already apologized for that.”
“No, not for the car. For not fighting harder for you when you told me you needed space.” He could tell by the sudden pained expression on her face that he had hit a nerve. “I thought if I did what you asked of me, everything would be fine. But now I realize it is what you didn’t ask me to do that mattered most. Even if the outcome had been the same I should have worked every single day to show you how much I love you, how much I only want what is best for you.”
Was it only his imagination, or were her eyes watering with tears? It was difficult to tell in the ambient lighting, but the mood had definitely shifted. It was almost as if he could feel her defenses weakening, though not for a lack of trying. She brushed her hair back off her face, her silvery blue eyes darting across the floor in search of something.
“I need some air,” she said finally. He didn’t follow as she made a beeline for the bedroom, and he watched quietly when she emerged a minute later having replaced the shirt for a shift dress, the hem of which barely grazed the stockings she still wore. She left the suite wordlessly, letting the doors close quietly behind her, shutting him alone in the suite.
Something had changed between them. He could feel it even in her absence. He knew too well she had used alcohol as an excuse to let herself be friendly with him. Or more precisely, the alcohol enabled her to behave the way she wanted to behave around him. Even if that was not convincing enough for him, their kiss was. If he could feel the shared history between them with just one kiss, then she surely could as well. There was more going on with her than she was willing to let on, of that much he was sure.
Heading for a console table ensconced in the seating area, James picked up the room’s phone receiver and dialed a familiar extension.
“Brandon, it’s James. Natalie Harlow just left the Garden Suite. I need you to let me know where she goes. Thanks.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Natalie recognized Serpentin
e’s gothic ballroom vibe in spite of the strobing dance lights that flickered across the space, briefly illuminating the revelry going on around her. The bar, which looked like it had been carved out of the massive trunk of a tree, was packed. She managed to slip in between two parties of girls wearing sashes, crowns, and penis necklaces, and immediately caught the eye of a cute bartender wearing nothing more than what Adam wore in the Garden of Eden.
“Can I get a martini? Extra wet.” The bartender winked before turning to make her drink, and when Natalie turned her attention in the direction of the dance floor at least three people at the bar were giving her dirty looks, presumably for ordering before they could. She brushed them off and watched the dancers instead. The first and last time she had stepped foot into the club it was Ladies Night, and every man in the club was required to wear a black mask to conceal his face. Unbeknownst to her one of the men was James, only she did not find out until the morning after she tried taking him to her hotel room for a hookup. There were no masks in sight that evening, and no James for that matter either.
“Martini, extra wet,” the bartender announced behind her. She turned and smiled before reaching out with a bill in her hand. “On the house,” he said with a wink and a smile. She returned the smile, then resumed watching the crowd as she drank a third of the glass in one sip. There was an odd sense of peacefulness to being alone in a city like Vegas. Well, as alone as she was. The trip was not what she had intended so far, and it was only one day in.
She wanted to be pissed at Audra for leaving without much explanation, but knew she reasonably couldn’t. Audra was married to her work, which in a way made Natalie her mistress. And what the hell was that comment about making up with James? Did she honestly think one drunken night of fun was going to be the magical undoing of everything - all the relationship drama - that preceded it? Just because they all shared a few harmless kisses?
Unbidden Love (Book Five of the Bidden Series) Page 16