TENSE - Volume One (The TENSE Duet Book 1)

by Deborah Bladon

  Chapter 33

  Nicholas

  "You look much better with the glasses, Nicholas. You should always wear them," my mother says as I sit next to her on the patterned sofa she bought when I was a kid.

  I've offered to fix up my parents' place, but they've always told me that there's nothing wrong with the apartment they live in. They're right. It keeps them warm in the winter and the noisy air conditioner my father installs in their bedroom window keeps part of the place cool in the summer.

  Aesthetically, it's a trip back to a time twenty years ago. The entire place needs a facelift, but I've learned through the years, that the décor is a moot point only in my eyes.

  "I met someone."

  I don't look in her direction when I say it. My mom has standards for her sons that none of us will ever meet. It's likely the reason the three of us are all still single.

  "A woman?"

  The question is ridiculous. It's also a buffer between her surprise and the response that is sitting on the tip of her tongue. I've only ever told my mother about two women in my past. Briella was one and the other was a fleeting infatuation that lasted no more than a day after I confessed my feelings for her to my mother.

  She shifts in her seat, clearing her throat in the most vocal way possible before she spits out the three words I know are coming. "It's a crush."

  "I'm too old for a crush," I toss back with a wide smile. It's the smile she craves when I walk in the door. She knows I want her approval in every aspect of my life, including the women I date. That's why I rarely mention them. There's no need to open that door unless I'm prepared to step through it by introducing her to the woman in question. "This is more. I'm crazy about her."

  She nudges her own glasses back up the bridge of her nose before her hand sweeps over her brown curls. "What's this girl's name?"

  "Sophia," I go on, "Sophia Reese. She's beautiful and talented."

  "Aren't they all?" she asks barely under her breath. "What does Sophia Reese do?"

  She makes me want things I thought I'd never want again. She makes me feel like there's hope.

  "She's an executive assistant at a company downtown." I purposefully avoid specifics so I can focus on the future that I know Sophia is carving out for herself. "She's also a fashion designer."

  "A designer?" My mom's eyes light up. They're the same blue as mine, but hers are surrounded by the fine lines that come with time and worry. "What does she design?"

  "Clothing for women." I dig my phone out of the front pocket of my jeans. "I'll show you her website."

  I type in the address to Sophia's site and I'm greeted by a new design. Joe's obviously paying off the debt he owes. The site looks cleaner and the navigation is simple and precise.

  "You can see some of her designs here." I hand the phone to my mother. "She's going places."

  Her gaze drops to the screen of my phone, her finger busily scrolling through the dress, skirt and blouse designs. "Your girlfriend does good work, Nicholas. When are you going to bring her around?"

  It takes me a beat to answer. "Soon. I'll talk to her about the four of having dinner."

  "I'll cook the dinner." She pats the top of my hand. "No need to spend money for no reason. I'll make my pot roast and your girl can tell me all about the world of high fashion."

  ***

  "You didn't think this was something worth mentioning before?" Sophia darts up onto her tiptoes and kisses me. "I can't believe this, Nicholas."

  I can't believe this gorgeous woman just kissed me in the middle of the street. I grab her elbow and hurry her to the curb before we both get run over by a delivery truck headed straight for us.

  "I wasn't sure if you'd be receptive." I adjust the scarf around her neck. "You got riled up when I asked Joe to help you."

  "Joe is Joe." Her eyes shine with excitement. "Claudia Stefano is not Joe."

  She's right. Claudia Stefano just happens to be one of the most influential women in the fashion industry today. She's also a fan and when I crossed paths with her earlier today after I left my folks' place, I mentioned Sophia to her. She was receptive to the idea of meeting with her as long as I agreed to be there.

  Claudia and I have struck up a friendship of sorts. It's not close. We rarely see each other, but there's a familiarity between us that works. I send her copies of my new books and she raves about them on social media. Considering her own following numbers in the tens of millions, a good word from her is guaranteed sales.

  "We'll have dinner with her next Wednesday."

  "I should wear something special." Her eyes scan her heavy wool coat. "I might have to work on something new. This is Claudia Stefano, Nicholas. Claudia Stefano."

  "You could wear anything you've already designed and she'd be impressed." I brush my fingers against her cheek. "You're going to blow her away."

  "You know she just opened a new string of boutiques, right?" She bounces up and down on her heels. The nervous energy flowing through her is palpable. "I read in Vogue that she's on the hunt for new designers to showcase."

  "I could come over to your place to see your designs." I haven't pushed her to let me see more of her world. I know that when we first met she was wary of how close I got to her, but things have changed. We have changed.

  "You could." Her lips purse. "I could make you some pancakes."

  "Tonight?" I push because I want that access. I want to be invited into her life in a way I haven't been before.

  "I can't tonight." She sighs. "I didn't realize I'd see you today."

  I surprised her on her way back to the office at lunch. I was heading there when I spotted her outside a restaurant talking on her phone. As I approached, her smile widened and the call ended. "We'll do it another night. I have another surprise for you. We can talk about it the next time I see you."

  "We'll talk about it now." She grabs the lapels of my jacket in her fists. "What's the surprise?"

  "My mother wants to meet you."

  All of the color drains from her face instantly. "Your mom?"

  I know it's early for that, but I'm not against breaking dating code with this woman. "I told her about you earlier. She loves your designs."

  "You showed her my designs?"

  "I showed her your new website," I make a point of mentioning that. "She loved the designs and the site. Joe did a good job."

  She nods, but her mind is somewhere else. She's contemplating, considering. "Do you think she'd like me? I mean beyond my clothing designs, do you think your mom would like me?"

  "I know she will," I fire back quickly. "It doesn't have to be an event. She wants to make dinner, but I can easily convince her to meet us for brunch on the weekend or lunch one day if you want a guaranteed escape. I think I'll invite my sister too. It would be good for you two to meet since I still want to talk about investing in your business."

  "We could all meet at a place close to the office." Her voice is serious. "If we did it in a couple of weeks, would that be okay? I need to focus most of my time on the new dress I'm going to design for our dinner with Claudia."

  I smile to hide the disappointment. I'm moving this too fast. She's feeling pressured. I see it in the way her shoulders have tightened and her hands have fisted in front of her. "We'll do it whenever you're ready, Sophia. No rush. Take all the time you need."

  Chapter 34

  Sophia

  "You're full of it, Sophia." Dexie Walsh finishes the last sip of wine in her glass. "You're just saying that you're going to have dinner with Claudia Stefano because of that picture of Libby Duncan holding my purse at her latest movie premiere that went viral online. You're totally trying to one up me."

  "First off," I begin as I wiggle my right index finger in the air. "That picture didn't go viral. It barely got a thousand views on that fashion blog, Dex. Secondly, I am having dinner with Claudia Stefano and it may benefit you too and lastly, I loved that purse Libby Duncan was holding. It was one of your best to date."

 
She pushes her hip against my kitchen counter. "Let's pretend you are actually having dinner with Claudia Stefano. Explain how that would benefit me."

  I roll up the towel in my hand and toss it in her direction. "Dry the plates."

  "Let them drip dry." She places the towel on the counter next to me. "We could have eaten out of the take-out boxes. You didn't have to set the table."

  I reach for the towel and give each of the two plates I just washed, a quick dry before I place them back in the cupboard. "We have dinner once a month. It's always the same take-out. I wanted this to be a mini celebration in honor of my impending meeting with Claudia."

  "It's Claudia now?" she quips. "You two are on a first name basis already?"

  "Nicholas calls her that. They're friends."

  I study Dexie's face as she considers that. Her blonde hair is streaked with pale pink. The color does little to accent her dark eyes, but they still pop. Dexie works full-time in the marketing department of Matiz. We met through Crew initially, but as soon as we realized that we both have a love of fashion, our connection took on a life of its own. Dexie designs handbags and crafts them all in a small studio uptown. She's offered me a corner to work on my own stuff, but the space is too cramped and I'm much more comfortable here, in my apartment with my sewing machine and over a thousand square feet all to myself.

  "I still can't believe you're fucking Nicholas Wolf."

  I feign a sigh. "We do more than fuck. We date."

  "You eat dinner and then you fuck, right? Isn't that what dating is?"

  I turn toward the living room. "Technically, I guess that's a big part of it, but he wants more already. Today he told me that his mom wants to meet me."

  "Already?" She pours more wine in her glass. "You two just met."

  It's been a few weeks, but she's right on point. It's early in our relationship and meeting a parent is something I've only done once before. In my world, that's reserved for something more serious than a few dates and a handful of moments of intimacy.

  "I like him a lot," I confess. "He's told me some stuff about his past that helped us get closer. I think he sees the same potential with me that I see with him."

  "What stuff did he tell you?" She tucks her hair behind her ear. "Is it juicy? Should I pull up a seat?"

  I wave toward the living room. "Be my guest, but I'm not sharing. He told me things in confidence and I'm not breaking his trust."

  "Some friend you are." She giggles. "Forget him then. Tell me about Claudia."

  I laugh at her use of the designer's first name. "Nicholas is taking me to meet her for dinner next Wednesday. I'm going to design a new dress and I thought if you wanted, I could use one of your bags as an accessory."

  She reaches forward to hug me. "You're not fucking serious, are you? Tell me this is real."

  I push back on her shoulders and gaze down at the pink, long sleeved off the shoulder shirt she's wearing. I designed it for her months ago and virtually every time I see her now she's wearing it. Tonight it's paired with worn blue jeans. Often, she'll be wearing it with a black skirt. Besides Cadence, Dexie is the only person who is as excited about my designs as I am. "This is as real as it gets. I need something tasteful that will go with the new black dress I'm designing."

  "I have a clutch that I think you'll love. I can drop it by Foster tomorrow on my lunch break."

  "This dinner could change our lives forever, Dex."

  "If it does, you'll need to thank Nicholas for both of us." She wiggles her perfectly arched brows.

  ***

  "Are you here for the piano or me?"

  I smile up at him. He's been sleeping. I can tell by the way his hair looks and the fact that he's wearing nothing but a pair of black silk pajamas. I came over to his place right after Dexie left my apartment. We'd worked side-by-side for two hours on a sketch of the new dress I want to wear when I meet Claudia.

  Dexie had contributed with the random nod of her head or wince. By the time we were done, I had a design that I know will impress the woman Nicholas has arranged for me to meet. If this design doesn't get my pieces a spot on the rack in one of her boutiques, I don't know what will.

  "I'm here to show you my latest design." I look past him to his darkened apartment. "Can I come in?"

  "If you promise to strip as soon as I close the door, the answer is yes."

  I laugh as I push past him. "I wanted to show you this so badly. I should have called first to see if you were awake."

  "I settled in early because I'm getting up at dawn to finish the rough draft on my next book."

  "Action's Cause?"

  He huffs out a laugh. "I finished that one up seven months ago. The one I'm working on now is the follow-up to that."

  "What's it called?" I ask excitedly even though I've yet to read more than the first chapter of Burden's Proof.

  "That's between me and my publisher."

  I smile when he winks at me. "You don't have a title for it yet, do you?"

  "Fuck, no. I'm stumped. Throw out some ideas for me."

  "For a title for your book?" I eye him suspiciously. "You know that I have absolutely no talent when it comes to stuff like that."

  "That's what makes you perfect." He leans forward to kiss me softly. "You don’t have any skin in the game. You're impartial."

  "In that case, I need to read some of it to get a better idea of what I'm working with."

  He wraps his fingers around my wrist, his touch soft and gentle. "You're not serious, are you?"

  I know how much it would mean to him for me to show more of an interest in his work. He's gone out of his way twice to help me with mine. He set me up with Joe and a week from now I'll be breaking bread with one of my fashion idols and it's all because of him.

  "I want to read it."

  "Now?"

  I didn’t expect that. I assumed we'd make love and then I'd show him my sketch but he needs this more than I need his approval on a dress that I already know is spectacular. "Now."

  "Wait." His thumb runs across my cheek. "I'll take you to bed first, make you come and then you'll tell me whether you think my next book is a fucked up mess or not."

  "That's a deal I can't possibly refuse."

  Chapter 35

  Nicholas

  I fist her ponytail in my hand as I take her from behind. I've been inside of her before but it's never been like this. I'm deep. I'm so deep that with every drive of my cock into her tight wet pussy, she cries out my name.

  "You like it this way," I whisper in her ear as I fold my body over hers.

  She only moans in response so I up the tempo, driving my dick into her in long, easy strokes. This woman was made to be fucked. Her body is sensual and ripe; her ass enough to send my heart racing. I skim my palm across one cheek before I grab the lush flesh in my fist.

  She moves back trying to take more from me.

  I haul her up and into me, grabbing her left tit from behind. I squeeze it, the nipple furling into a tight point beneath my fingertips.

  "Oh, God." She reaches down to circle her clit with her finger but I want to see her face.

  I turn her over quickly before I sink back into her. "I want to see you come."

  She opens her eyes as I fuck her. Her gaze locked to mine. She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Her lips parted slightly, her hair stuck to the side of her face and her eyes lost in the moment of pure pleasure.

  I pump harder, wanting her to come before I do.

  She lets out a low moan and just as I feel her pussy clench around me, I lose it, coming inside the woman I'm now sure I'm falling in love with.

  ***

  "This is better than Burden's Proof." She turns away from my laptop screen to where I'm lying next to her on the bed. She's sitting cross legged in just a pair of panties with my computer balancing on her thighs. If this isn't what a writer's wet dream is, I sure as fuck don't know what is.

  "You actually like this one?" I ask suspiciously. "Are you just sayi
ng that because we fucked earlier?"

  Her ass squirms on the sheet. "I'm still sore from that."

  I don’t apologize. There's no fucking way I will. I was deep inside of her. I loved every minute of it. She did too. "I'll kiss it better later."

  "Promise?"

  "I don't have to promise to eat your pussy, Sophia. I'd do it all day if I could."

  "How would you write?"

  I huff out a laugh. "Good point."

  She nods as her gaze drops back to the screen. "I have a question about the book."

  "Ask away." I rest one of my elbows on the bed to raise my body.

  She hesitates before she turns to look at my face. "Did you model the character of Julia after me?"

  I didn't. I wrote Julia's character weeks before I met Sophia. I wrote her to honor Briella. I have a character in every book that I silently use to pay tribute to the first girl I ever loved. Julia is fierce and untamed. She's a young woman driven by her passion to succeed. She's everything Briella was. "I actually wrote the parts with Julia before we met."

  "That makes sense." She laughs off my response. "She's so vivid. I just thought that she must be written about someone so I assumed…"

  She stops herself as her gaze falls back to the laptop's screen. "This is so good, Nicholas. I'd like to read the entire thing."

  "Be my guest."

  She puts her hand on my cheek. "It's almost morning. I have to go to work in two hours. As much as I'd like to spend all day in bed with you reading this masterpiece, I can't."

  I glance back at the clock on my bedside table. I must have been lying next to her for hours as she read. "I'll give you one to go."

  "To go?" She giggles as she watches my nude body as I jump to my feet.