TENSE - Volume One (The TENSE Duet Book 1)

by Deborah Bladon

  His words don't sting. Tyler and Cadence sat me down a few months ago and gave me the same speech. They want to invest too but I've been wary of mixing business with such a close and important friendship. I consider them my New York family and if I were to lose the money they invest in me, I'd never forgive myself.

  "You want to work at this full-time one day, don't you?" He presses on when I don't respond immediately. "If you keep waiting, you might miss your chance to hit it big. Your tomorrow can be today, Sophia. I can help make it happen."

  His words are encouraging even though the idea of having his money backing me feels like a recipe for relationship disaster. "It wouldn’t be good for us."

  "For the dating us?" He cocks his left brow as a smile ghosts his lips. "Our business arrangement would have nothing to do with that."

  It's not that cut and dry. I know all about what happened to Evlin Dawn and her husband when they launched Bluenix. Six months later her brand had a spread in Vogue and her husband was in the Caribbean with a model they'd hired for their print campaign.

  "I don't think we can separate the two, " I say honestly. "What happens when we break up and you have to come to shareholder meetings?"

  His smile fades. "We're adults, Sophia. We can handle it. If we can't I'll send a liaison in my place."

  "A liaison?"

  He eyes the people seated at the bar. "My sister. Nyx will take over controlling interest of my shares if it ever gets to that point."

  I don't know much about his family other than what I found online. There was mention of his sister, Nyx, in one article but I only skimmed it looking for details about the man sitting next to me. "Does she have better fashion sense than you?"

  His gaze skims the jeans and blue button down shirt he's wearing. He'd slid out of his wool coat once we sat down. "What's wrong with my fashion sense?"

  "Joe won the best dressed contest tonight," I point out wryly. "At least he wore a suit to meet me."

  "He was meeting us," he corrects me. "I assume he came here straight from his first day of work at Foster. Besides, I had no idea if we were hanging out here or in a room."

  I lower my voice to a purr. "The night is still young, Mr. Wolf. If you play your cards right, I might be able to show you a luxury suite."

  He finishes the last swallow of scotch in the bottom of the glass. "You're very resourceful and multi-talented. Speaking of which, tell me you'll think about my offer to invest. We can have Nyx sit in on our business meetings if you want. She's a lot like you. Her entrepreneurial spirit is on overdrive."

  I focus my eyes on his. "Does she own her own business?"

  "She does," he doesn't elaborate. "You two need to meet. I'll make that happen, but first show me that luxury suite."

  Chapter 28

  Nicholas

  When I asked Sophia to take me up to the room she talked about, I assumed I'd finally get to feel her ruby red stained lips wrapped around my dick. I saw the way she was looking at me in the elevator as we rode up to the top floor. She knew that I wanted her. I made that clear when I hooked my arm around her waist while she stood in front of me in the lobby waiting for the elevator to arrive. When she subtly ground her ample ass into me, my cock instantly hardened.

  "What did you think we were going to do up here?" She approaches me from behind, her reflection coming into view in the window's glass. "I noticed you folded your coat over your arm so you could hold it in front of you on the ride up. You were obscenely hard, Nicholas."

  I turn to face her. She'd left me alone as soon as we walked into the suite when her phone rang. I thought she'd ignore it in favor of dropping to her knees, but she politely excused herself and took off into another room, closing the door behind her.

  I listened, but the walls in this place shielded her voice completely. I didn't think anything of it until a full fifteen minutes dragged by and I'd had my fill of the view of the city from the wall of windows we're standing in front of.

  "I'm not anymore." My hand skims over the front of my jeans. "Do you need to put out a fire? That call seemed important."

  "It was."

  I wait for more of an explanation, but she's quiet as she stares over my shoulder at the darkened view of Central Park.

  "So your boss owns this place?" I ask, knowing that talking about sex is only going to irritate the hell out of me. I want to fuck her. I've wanted it since she walked into the hotel and took off her coat. Her body is amazing and since I've been inside of her, I have to work to control the constant need I feel when I'm near her.

  Her gaze pulls away from me as she surveys the impeccably decorated suite. "I think he forgets that he does. He's got a lot on the go."

  It's hard to imagine anyone forgetting that they own a place like this. I'm not easily impressed, at least not at this stage of my life. I can stay in a suite like this without a second thought to the cost but I rarely do. I don't see the purpose when I'm traveling alone. If I had Sophia by my side, it would be different. I'd want to give her the best of everything, but she'd never let that happen. She manipulated the situation with Joe in order to stay out of my debt. It's clear that she doesn’t want to owe anyone anything.

  "Do you like working for him?" I ask as I study her profile.

  She turns to look at me, her blue eyes locking on mine. "Sure. Gabriel's a good boss."

  He must be if he allows her unfettered access to this suite. We didn't stop anywhere on our way up here. She had the key card in her purse the entire time which means she uses it on a regular basis.

  "Who else have you brought here, Sophia?"

  She keeps her eyes on me although her top lip quivers so slightly that it's virtually unnoticeable. I see it because I can't take my eyes off of her.

  "No one," she confesses in a low tone. "I come here myself sometimes."

  "Yourself?"

  "Mr. Foster's mom stays here when she's in town." She tilts her chin toward an open door that I assume leads to a bedroom. "I'm usually at her beck and call. I do it because Gabriel asks me to but on the day she leaves I always arrange a car service for her. Once I know she's gone, I come here and order the most decadent dinner on the menu and watch the sunset out these windows."

  "You bill your dinner to her stay?"

  She sucks in a breath before she nods once.

  I bark out a laugh. "How fucking amazing is that? I love that you break the rules."

  Her eyes stay trained on my face for a few seconds longer before a bright smile slides across her lips. "Gabriel's mom left two hours ago so you and I are splitting a Wagyu beef and Foie gras burger with a side of the best fries cooked in truffle oil you'll ever taste."

  ***

  "You've got it all figured out, haven't you?" I look down at Sophia as we walk toward my apartment. "I saw the way you joked with the guy who brought our food up to the room. He obviously knows you're not Gabriel Foster's mom. You don't seem worried that he'll fuck up your free room service plan."

  "He won't." She shakes her head, her hands bunching up the scarf around her neck to pull it tighter. "I'm in charge of Mr. Foster's annual symphony subscription. When he isn't planning on attending with his wife, he hands off the tickets to me. Sometimes I go but if I don't, I give the tickets to other people who work for Mr. Foster, including the man who brought our food."

  "You bribe your fellow employees with tickets?"

  "You make it sound dirty." Her perfectly arched brows wiggle. "I consider it a fair exchange between friends."

  I hold onto her elbow as we cross the street, guiding her around a group of pedestrians crossing in the opposite direction. "What else have you gotten in exchange for those tickets?"

  She blinks as she comes to a stop on the sidewalk. "One time when I took a pair of tickets to the manager of the Liore boutique she gave me a bag full of imperfect samples that Mr. Foster had told her to trash. There was absolutely nothing wrong with any of those panties except some snags in the lace."

  "You'll have to show me
those snags."

  Her lips twitch as she tries to suppress another smile. "You already have a pair of my panties. You can check out those."

  I do have a pair. I tucked them into the top drawer of my nightstand after she left the other night. "By the end of tonight, I'll have another pair to add to my collection."

  "Is that an invitation?"

  "It's a promise," I exhale before I kiss her softly, my tongue parting her lips so I can taste her. "Come home with me, Sophia."

  "How can I say no when you kiss me like that?"

  Chapter 29

  Sophia

  I knew even before he closed the door of his apartment behind us, that I'd take Nicholas in my mouth. I'm no expert when it comes to oral sex. I much prefer receiving to giving, but that's because most of the men I've slept with haven't had mouth-watering dicks. Nicholas Wolf is a definite exception. I've thought about licking and sucking his cock since we met and tonight, I'm about to make that happen.

  "You haven't said two words since we got here, Sophia. What's on your mind?"

  I have been quiet. I sat next to him on his leather couch and listened to him tell me about his next book tour. It sounds both exhilarating and exhausting. I've never been to most of the places he's listed, although I'd love to go to Paris. I've always envisioned myself there, participating in Fashion Week with a show of my own.

  "Nothing." I look down at my lap.

  "I've told you before that you're a shit liar." He turns toward me. "Something's changed. You look nervous as hell."

  "I'm not a liar." I close my eyes to shield the truth from him. "I'm also not nervous."

  I can sense movement and then I feel his soft lips press against mine. "We don't have to fuck, Sophia. We can just hang out if you'd prefer."

  My eyes flash open to meet his. "I don’t prefer that. It's just…"

  "It's just what?" he interrupts me with a sigh. "I want you to relax. I want you to have fun when you're with me. Right now you look like you're ready to explode."

  My gaze catches on the trio of picture frames on the table near the piano. I want to ask him about the girl in the photograph. I haven't dwelled on the mystery of who she is but it's a thought that has crossed my mind since the last time I was here.

  "You look like you're in another world." His index finger brushes my chin. "Does this have to do with that call you took when we were at the hotel?"

  It doesn't. The call was personal. I should explain it to him but now isn't the time. I'm not about to ruin our evening with the dull story of the one endlessly annoying issue that keeps popping back into my life. If this thing between us lasts beyond a few weeks, I'll confide in him, but until then I see no reason to. "No. It's not about the call."

  "Is it about me?"

  I tilt my head to look at him. He's not asking me that because he believes he's the focus of my every waking thought. I see the concern in his expression. If I didn't know better, I'd bet money on the fact that Nicholas Wolf is wondering if I'm about to dump him.

  "Why would it be about you?"

  A smile ghosts his mouth. "You weren't happy that I hired Joe to help you. I thought maybe you wanted to give me shit about that."

  "I handled that like a pro if I do say so myself." I brush my hand across my shoulder. "You get all of your money back and I get a new website for free. We both win in that deal."

  "You also got my tech guy a job, so he won't be able to work on my stuff as easily as he used to."

  I shoot him a look. "Don't be selfish, Nicholas. Your website makes mine look like a clown show."

  "You've seen my website?" He inches closer. "Has the stalked become the stalker?"

  I rest my hand on his thigh. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? It would make your day if I chased after you."

  "It would make my year." His hand moves to cover mine, sliding it up his leg. "I can't think of anything better in life than being pursued by you."

  "I thought I already caught you." I look down at where our hands are now resting on the top of his thigh.

  He tugs me closer. "You have. I'm yours to do whatever you want with."

  "In that case…" I run my lips over the stubble covering his jaw. "Stand up and drop your pants."

  ***

  He didn't drop his pants in the living room. Instead he took my hand and walked me to his bedroom. I wasn't sure if he missed the inference in my words, but I didn't care when he stripped me naked and went down on me first.

  I'd never tell him to stop when his head is perched between my legs. Instead, I propped myself up on my elbows and watched him eat me out. His eyes fluttered open occasionally and the hum of his groans only spurred me closer to the edge.

  The man knows what he's doing and he proved that in spades when I came, the sheets of his bed clenched in my fists.

  Now, he's on his back, spread eagle in the middle of the twisted sheets with his swollen cock resting against his body.

  "This is beautiful," I say quietly as I kneel next to him. "Not all men have cocks that look like this."

  "I'll take your word for it." He opens one eye to peer at me. "I haven't seen a lot of them."

  I skim my thumb over the purple-tinged crown smearing the large drop of pre-cum that's been tempting me. "I've seen a few."

  "Just a few?"

  I've never told anyone my number. I don't think that's what he's asking but I'm not ashamed of the fact that I've had only a handful of lovers in my life. "Yes, a few."

  He doesn't press for more. His eyes flutter closed as he relaxes his back against the dark linen sheet with his arms crossed over his head. "Suck, Sophia."

  The words are direct and heated. It's not a command, although it doesn't border on a request either. It's a plea. I can hear that in his voice. He wants this just as much as I do.

  I lean forward and run my lips over his cock before I part them and trace the same path with my tongue.

  He gifts me with not only a hot-as-fuck growl but a hand in my hair. He twists the strands between his fingers. "In your mouth."

  I do it, slowly. I inch my lips over him until I can't take anymore. His hips rise from the bed as he seeks more so I circle him with both hands and pump. I pump and I suck, my head bobbing up and down as I try to find a rhythm that matches the one of his body.

  "I need my fingers inside of you when I come. Give me your pussy," he bites out on a ragged breath.

  I do. I inch my knees closer to the edge of the bed, never once letting his cock slide out from between my lips.

  I whimper when I sense the light brush of his touch against me. He moves and then I feel the sensation of wetness and warmth. He must have licked his fingers to ready them for my tender flesh.

  I pump harder and swirl my tongue around the head of his cock as he slides two fingers inside me. I can't stop my body's need so I rock back and forth, fucking his long elegant fingers as he fucks my mouth, each stroke deeper than the last.

  He thrusts harder when he nears his release and the second I feel the crest swell under my tongue, I move away from his touch because I don't want anything to steal this from me. I relax, close my eyes and enjoy every last drop.

  Chapter 30

  Sophia

  I put on the button down shirt he was wearing before he took me to bed. He'd thrown it on the floor on top of his discarded jeans and belt. After he came, I crawled up his body so I could rest my head on his chest. He was spent, laughing softly about how I'd drained him dry and he needed a nap to recharge before he'd make sure I was satisfied.

  I don't know a woman who wouldn't be satisfied by his tongue or the taste of him. I've never done that before for a man and now all I want is to do it again.

  I quietly pad down the hallway barefoot in search of something to drink. I know that he keeps the glasses in a cupboard over the stove and a pitcher of cold water in the refrigerator. I get both, finishing off the entire glass of cool liquid in one long gulp.

  A small green light flashes across the room and it takes m
e a second to realize that it came from the alarm panel. Nicholas armed it when we arrived, just as he's done every time I've come over.

  The building I live in has a doorman but beyond him and the deadbolt lock on my door, I've never feared for my safety. Nicholas has taken extra precautions with this place which I assume is because of all the beautiful artwork that is hung on the walls.

  I cross the room to find my purse. I'd left it on the coffee table earlier when we were sitting next to it. I reach in and fish for my phone. I doubt that there's anything that needs my attention now but since my date for the night is passed out cold in the other room, I might as well draft some of the emails I have to send out to Foster executives in the morning.

  The light from my phone's screen illuminates the area around me and my eyes instantly gravitate toward the frame. The frame itself may be unremarkable but the picture that it's showcasing isn't. I get up and move to the chair next to that table where the frame is. I turn on my phone's flashlight, shining it directly on the picture of Nicholas and the mystery girl.

  I pick it up, hopeful that a closer view will offer more insight into who the dark haired beauty is. It doesn't. I cradle it in my hands, my gaze riveted to the smile on the face of the man who is fast asleep in a bed down the hall. It's the same man who obviously clings to something in his past that this photograph represents.

  I fumble with the frame as I'm about to set it back down. I gasp when it falls from my hands. I reach forward, grabbing the corner just before it hits the floor. I breathe a heavy sigh of relief because I don't know how in the hell I would have explained to Nicholas that I dropped the picture and broke the frame all because I couldn't keep my curiosity in check.