by C. J. Thomas
Chloe shook her head, grinning. Then she stepped away from the kitchen table while Chandra moved aside as well. I gasped when they revealed the massive bouquet of blood-red roses in a crystal vase beside a bottle of wine.
“What’s this?” I made a beeline for the flowers, which had to be the most perfect I’d ever seen, and buried my nose in them. Every girl loves roses, but they happened to be my favorite flower.
The scent was intoxicating.
Next, I examined the wine—champagne, actually. “Dom Perignon?” I gasped. “This is, what, two hundred dollars a bottle? Maybe three?”
“At least,” Emery said, grinning.
I looked at all three of them, one at a time. They wore identical expressions, expecting a response from me. “Who’s it for?”
Chandra burst out laughing. “Who do you think, you goon? It’s for you!”
“Me?” My eyes nearly fell out of my head. I inspected the bottle, then the flowers in their exquisite vase. “No. No way. Come on, stop playing around. Who are they really for? And who are they from?”
“They’re really, truly for you,” Emery assured me. She fished around in the blooms to pull out an envelope with my name scrawled across the front. It wasn’t the typical florist card.
“We didn’t open it,” Chloe swore. “We didn’t want to invade your privacy.”
“Thanks for that,” I said under my breath, walking to the other side of the kitchen to inspect the note.
Sure enough, the envelope was sealed—not that I didn’t trust my friends. I opened it to find a simple message, handwritten on thick card stock faintly embossed with the gold letters AB at the bottom: Can’t stop thinking about you after last night. Call me. A phone number was included.
There was only one person it could be.
“How the hell did he manage this?” I looked around at blank faces. “I didn’t give him my address!”
“Clearly, he’s a man who knows how to get what he wants,” Emery teased.
“And he wants you, baby!” Chloe squealed, laughing her head off. The other two joined her. I couldn’t quite reach their level of mirth. I looked at the message again. Can’t stop thinking about you after last night.
What had changed so quickly?
“He didn’t seem like he wanted me this morning—I mean, he wanted me,” I blushed, “but he didn’t want me to hang around. We never talked about making it more than just a one-night stand. He actually looked relieved when he bundled me into the car. I couldn’t leave fast enough. And now all this?”
“Please, please, for the love of God, don’t over-think this.” Chandra perched herself on the counter, sitting beside me. “You always do.”
“Do not.”
“Do too,” all three voices answered in unison. I rolled my eyes.
“Honey, you deserve to be pampered. Why question it?” Emery frowned. “I mean, what if he was just a little skittish this morning? It happens. A lot of guys—especially the really hot ones like him—aren’t used to a woman spending the whole night.”
“That’s true,” Chloe piped up. “Some of them just wanna kick you out of bed as soon as they’re finished with you. Maybe it weirded him out when you woke up together.”
“Do you think I should’ve left?”
“No! But he might have been weirded out a little, is all.”
I nodded, deep in thought. It made sense.
“Once he got to thinking about you, he realized what a catch you are.” Chandra nudged me, chuckling. “I mean, you must’ve rocked his world last night if you deserve a two hundred dollar bottle of wine. And how many roses are in that bouquet? Three dozen?”
“I think so,” Chloe replied, counting them. “They’re so beautiful, I can’t imagine how much they must have cost.”
“So, what, I’m supposed to be flattered because he spent a little money on me? You guys are making me feel like a prostitute.” I smirked, only half-serious.
It was the gesture that counted, not how much money he’d spent . . . though I was still impressed, in spite of my moral standards.
Emery craned her neck to get a look at the note. “Here,” I said, holding it out. “No secrets. Nothing dirty.” She scanned it with a smile.
“Can’t stop thinking about you? Yeah, you must be incredible in bed. And I bet his bed has seen a lot of action.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
“Maybe he sends all his girls flowers and champagne the next day,” I suggested.
“No way. And if he does, I’m gonna bet money that he doesn’t include his phone number!” Emery laughed, snatching the paper from my hand, holding it above her head.
“Give it!” I tried to reach, but she kept moving it just out of my grasp.
“Oh, so you want it, then? You wanna call him?” She grinned.
“Yes, okay? I want to. Jeez, I’ve wanted to call him all day, only I couldn’t until now.” My cheeks burned with embarrassment.
It was a real change for me, being the one getting advice instead of the one giving it. I was always on the other end of the story, always the one supporting my friends when they met a guy they liked but were unsure of. In any other circumstance, I would’ve been the one playing Keep Away with the card.
Emery slid an arm around my shoulders, handing the note over. “So go for it.”
“No way! Not right now!”
Chandra let out an exasperated sigh. “Kenzie, seriously? You said you weren’t gonna over-think it.”
“I’m not, but I’m also not going to call him right away like a lovesick schoolgirl. Jeez, give me a little credit.” The last thing I wanted was for him to think I’d run for the phone the moment I got home. I wanted him to sweat it out a little—a man like him was clearly used to getting what he wanted, when he wanted it.
He’d get me, but he’d have to wait.
“Whatever you do, don’t call him.”
I looked up at Chloe whose face was serious. “Why not?”
“Because that’s been done to death. You should find some other way to tease him. Like . . . I know! Send him a naughty picture.”
“Oh, no way.” I shook my head, absolutely adamant. “That’s not my style, and you know it.”
“No, but neither is spending the night with a man you only just met. And that seems to be working out pretty well for you.” Chloe ran a hand over the flowers, the bottle of champagne.
“I don’t know. I mean . . . no. I’ve never done that before. Oh, my God. With my luck, I’ll send it to the wrong person. I’ll misdial the number or something stupid like that.”
“Then we’ll help you.” Chandra grinned.
“We? When did this become we? You think I should do it, too?”
“I’m pretty sure we all do.” I turned in shock to find Emery nodding her head. “Come on. Have a little fun. I bet he’ll love it.”
“What about me? I hate it!”
“Lighten up, will you? Jesus. Have a little fun before you die.” Chandra took me by the arm, nearly dragging me to my bedroom. “We’ll find something hot for you to wear in here.”
“I think she should just wear panties,” Chloe said. I turned to her, slapping her arm.
“You’re the worst.”
“No I’m not. Like, I don’t know . . . cross your arms over your boobs or something.” She demonstrated, giving me a sultry look on top of everything else. I couldn’t help giggling.
“Oh, you should be a model,” I teased. “You’d have guys all over the world jacking off to you.”
“Whatever, I think it would be hot.” She shrugged, going through my underwear drawer without asking.
I gave up protesting. They were going to have their way, no matter how uncomfortable I was with the idea.
It was a real wake-up call, the way my stomach turned to a block of ice when I thought about sexting Aaron. I’d always considered myself a daring, in-control kind of girl. I was the friend who bought sex toys for her newly-single girlfriends. I never blushed at sex ta
lk.
Yet the idea of taking a naughty-yet-clean photo and sending it to a man who’d already seen me naked had me questioning myself.
I barely noticed when Emery unbraided my hair, shaking it out around my head until it looked as though I’d just rolled out of bed. Meanwhile, Chandra and Chloe agreed on a pair of panties sexy enough for the task.
“I can’t believe I’m letting you guys talk me into this,” I grumbled, stripping off my suit. The three of them stood around, waiting. “Uh, can I at least do this part on my own? I mean, seriously.”
“Oh, you want to take it yourself?” Emery asked.
“Don’t you think it would be a little weird if another person took it for me? Shouldn’t this be a selfie?”
“Yeah, you’re right. Come on, ladies. I’m starving, anyway.” Chloe herded the other two out of my room and shut the door behind her. I breathed a heavy sigh, sitting on the edge of the bed with my head in my hands. What was I about to do?
So what. Have a little fun.
It was saucy, the idea of answering his gift with a naughty picture. It was worth a thousand words, wasn’t it? And I wanted to get back into his bed, for sure—or wherever else he felt like doing it. Why not cut to the chase, then?
I decided to take Chloe’s advice, slipping off my bra. I turned the phone’s camera around so it faced me, then did a few test shots with my arm over my breasts. It covered just enough to keep things rated PG-13, but promised a lot more.
Then, it was a matter of angling the camera so he could see I was only wearing the panties. I stretched out on the bed instead of standing, angling the camera above my head and slightly behind so most of my body could be seen. The swells of my breasts peeked out around my arm. I bit my lip, reminding myself to think nasty thoughts while I did. It would show up in my eyes. I chuckled at myself for thinking something so corny.
Until I snapped the first shot and saw the difference from the practice photos. There was so much in my eyes, in my face. I’d been thinking about the way he rode me from behind until I screamed.
Yes. That was the winner. I carefully deleted the other photos, leaving just that last shot. Then I put on my bathrobe and opened the bedroom door.
They were waiting for me, the liars. “I thought you were starving,” I said to Chloe, crossing my arms.
“I am. You took forever, too.” I scowled at her, but I couldn’t be mad.
“Come on! Let’s see!” The three of them were determined to get a look, so I handed over the phone. I watched as their faces went slack-jawed.
“If he’s not free tonight, how about the two of us get together?” Chandra asked. “I’ll treat you so good.”
I laughed, throwing my head back. “Yeah, tempting, but no thanks.”
“Damn, girl. You look hot as hell,” Emery marveled.
“You don’t have to sound so surprised,” I smirked.
“Not surprised, just . . . impressed. Yeah, I think impressed is the right word.” She shook her head, smiling. “He is gonna shit himself when he sees this.”
“I would hope he’d have a different reaction,” I murmured, sliding the phone from her hand. She stuck her tongue out.
“You know what I mean. Okay. So, that was the easy part—taking the pic, I mean. You ready to send?”
I chewed my bottom lip, suddenly out of confidence. “Yeah, I guess so.” I looked at Aaron’s note, entering the numbers into my phone one at a time. “Okay,” I said, handing the phone around, “we can all agree that I typed the numbers in correctly, yes?” They all nodded, so I attached the photo to the message.
“Are you gonna say anything?” Chandra asked.
“No,” I said. “I’ll leave it up to him to read into it.” I closed my eyes, said a quick prayer, and sent it off. Then I immediately felt sure I would throw up, but the looks on my friends’ faces bolstered me.
The ball was in his court.
CHAPTER 9
Aaron
I was never the most patient man, so waiting to hear from Kenzie was tantamount to torture.
She would call. I knew she would.
I wouldn’t have included my phone number with the flowers if I’d had any doubts. When I thought about the way she lingered in bed this morning, the way she kissed me before getting into the car, it was clear she wanted more.
Who wouldn’t? She’d come twice, maybe three times, and from the way she let loose on me, I guessed she didn’t often have the chance to let her wild side show.
Truth be told, it wasn’t all one-sided. I wanted more of her, too. I’d been with a lot of women, many of whom were memorable, but she was something special.
After we’d finished, I’d felt . . . satisfied.
That wasn’t the norm for me. It always felt like there was something missing until she came along. Maybe it was the way she let me control her, or the way she let me have my space instead of falling all over me afterward.
I hated when women did that.
It wasn’t just the sex, either. She was interesting. Intelligent. Her banter wasn’t all sexy or flirtatious—a relief, since I was sick to death of women giving me the same lines over and over.
She was fun to be with. I didn’t have any female friends, but if I had, she would’ve been one of them. I would just have to control the urge to fuck her brains out.
While I waited at my apartment for Kenzie to contact me, I asked myself if I wasn’t maybe just a little too glad to have an excuse for us to get together again. I didn’t have to sleep with her again to get revenge on Reed, after all.
It was a perk of the plan, however. A very convenient one.
I told myself there was absolutely zero chance of hearing from her before eight o’clock. From the way she’d made it sound, she wasn’t the type of person to leave the office at five, or even six. I got the impression Reed worked her like a dog.
I couldn’t wait to make him suffer for being such an ass.
I couldn’t sit around waiting for her, so I worked out in my home gym. The building had a gym on the first level—and I was sure it was nice—but just the thought of exercising with other people was enough to make me cringe.
I went to the bedroom I’d had converted to a gym, switched on the news, and caught up with the market. I’d done almost no actual work today, having spent all of my time researching Kenzie and Madison Media Group. It was gratifying to know my portfolio was doing well as I worked out on the elliptical.
After forty-five minutes, I got off the machine and turned off the TV before walking around a bit to cool down. I walked down my long, wide hallway until I reached the kitchen, pulling a bottle of water from the fridge.
The penthouse was quiet, peaceful—just the way I liked it. I needed to be able to hear myself think, and that wasn’t possible in a tiny apartment with noisy neighbors or roommates.
Before moving in, I’d had noise-absorbing foam placed under every floor. I didn’t have to worry about anyone next door since I was at the top of the building.
When my eyes drifted to the clock on the stove, I berated myself. It was only seven-thirty. She’d call when she called. She probably wasn’t even home yet.
And if she didn’t call? What then?
No, that wasn’t possible. She would. She had to. The rest of my plan was already in motion—I needed her along for the ride, which meant she had to be into me.
If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought I doubted myself.
Once I cooled down, I took a shower in the marble bathroom just off the master suite. I reflected on the fact that the shower stall alone was larger than my entire bathroom growing up—and I’d lived with five brothers and sisters. Meanwhile, my penthouse had three bathrooms and four bedrooms.
I knew it wouldn’t take any psychologist more than a hot second to connect my youth with my desire for space and peace. When I first moved in, I’d made it a point to use each bathroom at least once a day. Not just the same one every time, but all of them.
Just bec
ause I could.
I stepped out onto the heated floor, toweling off. A quick shave to freshen up. I wanted to be perfect for her, since I would be asking a lot of her in a very short time. I couldn’t give her any reason to turn me down.
I ran my hands through my damp hair, finger-combing it into place. Women seemed to like it a little messier, and Kenzie had obviously loved running her hands through it while I went crazy on her. I got a little hard at the thought, and couldn’t wait to take her again.
When I reached my bedroom, the phone buzzed on the nightstand. I didn’t love how quickly I jumped to grab it. Calm down, I told myself. She’s just another woman.
If I wasn’t careful, I’d end up screwing myself over instead of Reed.
Then I saw her picture and my cock went rock hard in an instant. All thoughts of keeping cool went out the window.
“Holy shit,” I muttered, staring at the image on the screen.
Biting her lip, staring up at the camera like she was about to do something dirty. Teasing me with her tits. Letting me see her long, lean body in a barely-there pair of lace panties. Hair messy, like she had already rolled around with somebody in that bed.
Thoughts of me, maybe.
I closed my eyes, putting the phone down, and clenched my fists to get a hold of myself. I hadn’t shot off in my pants—or, as it were, my towel—in a long time. I had to maintain control.
And I had to have her again.
Once I was sure I wasn’t about to spontaneously come all over my towel, I picked up the phone to call her.
“How long do you need to get ready before I pick you up?” I asked as soon as she answered. I didn’t ask if she was free or if she wanted me to pick her up. I didn’t have the time to waste. We both knew where we were going.
“Twenty minutes?”
“I’ll be there.” I hung up, getting dressed before heading down to the garage for my car. I wanted to drive her myself this time—I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep my hands off her if I used the limo, and as sexy as it sounded to fuck in the back of the car, it was never as much fun in real life.