"I knew you had talent." She touches my forearm, her fingers gentle. "We had a discussion more than a year ago when I came up to Gabriel's office. Do you recall?"
I would have felt embarrassed to have this conversation a few months ago, but not now. I've proven my worth to her and to everyone who has been working in this department for years. "I criticized your choices in the winter line last year."
She straightens, her hands going to her hips. "I questioned myself for months about those choices. I debated them, changed them, and then changed them back."
It's the first I've heard of it. I assumed she was confident in the pieces she'd chosen. Her demeanor during that conversation suggested as much.
"I knew that day that you had a special sense about you." She turns to stare at the white board where I've sketched each piece that I'm including in Ella Kara's initial offering. "I mentioned it to Gabriel. He told me it was expected that you'd have an opinion since you worked in the industry as an assistant."
I'm not surprised that Mr. Foster viewed it that way. I was there to cater to him. That's what the man was paying me for. My value beyond that wasn't apparent. "He wasn't aware that I was a designer back then."
"None of us were." She moves to face me again. "I'll retire in the next year or two, Sophia. I'm glad I didn't before now. Working with you on this has been one of the highlights of my career."
I swallow back the flood of emotion I feel. "You can't know how much your words mean to me. I've idolized you for a very long time."
"Not that long." She taps the tip of my nose with her finger. "You've admired me for a few years, dear. It's been just a few years."
I smile at the reminder not to bring up her age. "Yes, you're right. It's been a few years and having the chance to work with you has made me a better designer. "
***
"You told Nicholas about Franco?" Cadence stands in the lobby of my apartment building. "Things must be serious."
I'd called her on my lunch break to fill her in. I could tell she was surprised, but I had no idea it would shock her enough to lure her down to my building at the end of the day. "I hadn't brought him here yet. I thought he deserved an explanation."
I'm tempted to let her respond, but I don't. I keep talking. "Why are you here? I thought you were meeting Tyler for dinner at Nova tonight."
"He bailed." She tries to fasten a button in the middle of her coat but it's never going to happen. Her belly has popped and the coat is at least two sizes too small now. "I thought we could hang out and catch up on our Netflix show."
I hate to turn her away. Cadence has always been there for me but this dinner at Mr. Foster's is exactly what I need tonight. I haven't seen Nicholas in days. I've been too busy with the impending Ella Kara launch and he's been immersed in the novel he's writing. Our only communication has been a few calls and text messages.
"I'm sorry, Den. I have plans. I'm going to Mr. Foster's apartment for dinner tonight."
"You're what?" Her expression immediately brightens. "That's a big deal, Soph. You're rubbing elbows with Manhattan's elite."
"I'm not," I scoff as I loop my arm through hers. "Come upstairs and we can talk while I get ready."
"Do you have any chocolate chip cookies?"
"I think so." I stab the elevator call button. "Do you have a craving?"
Tipping her chin, she looks down at me. "I do. Please tell me you have goat cheese."
I step back as several people exit the elevator. "You're not planning on combining those two things, are you?"
"I'm going to make a chocolate chip, goat cheese sandwich while you get ready for your fancy dinner."
I move forward onto the elevator once it's cleared. "I just lost my appetite."
Chapter 24
Nicholas
"Thank you for letting me pick you up at your place."
Her gaze shifts from the back of the driver's head to my face. We're in the backseat of a sedan, part of the fleet from the car service I use on occasion. I'm apt at getting around the city via Uber or public transportation but tonight is special. I knew Sophia would wear something memorable; something that deserved a heated seat and a comfortable headrest.
She looks breathtaking. Her dress is a deep royal blue, her heels nude. She's left her hair down and the entire image is mesmerizing. If this dinner weren't as important to her as I know it is, I'd have taken her to her bedroom as soon as I arrived at her place.
"We can go back there after dinner." Her eyebrows wiggle. "I have something to show you."
I inch my hand up her thigh, pushing the fabric of her dress with it. "Do you keep it under here?"
Her gaze falls on my hand. "Do you want to touch me now?"
I want to fuck her now. I have a condom in the inner pocket of my suit jacket. All I need to do is tell the driver to circle the park while I pull Sophia onto my lap and fuck her sweet body until sweat dots her upper deep red lip. The only separation between the driver and us would be a thin plastic partition.
"I'd fuck you now if you'd agree to it."
She inches her ass on the seat. "Have you done that before? Have you screwed a woman in the back of a car like this?"
She was a fan, drunk on the attention I gave her at a book signing. It was an early summer evening in a car that was taking me to the airport in Dallas. I invited her along for the ride and fucked her while her face was pressed against the sticky fake leather of the seat. I never knew her name.
"Don't ask me that."
"I'll take that as a yes." She raises the corner of her mouth in a challenge. "Where else have you had sex?"
"Sophia." My tone is low. It's a warning. "We agreed that we wouldn’t discuss past lovers."
I wait for her to bring up the fact that I now know every detail about the life of one of her former boyfriends, Franco Abano.
"We're adults." She checks her watch. "We won't be at Gabriel's for at least ten minutes so let's talk about what we did and didn't like with our past lovers."
I don't want to. I can't imagine a scenario where discussing the intimate details of sex with another woman will end well. Sophia has a jealous streak whether she'll attest to it or not. It's what lured her down from the balcony at Veil East. She saw me talking to Penny. She envisioned the two of us fucking and she decided to put a stop to it. It's as simple as that.
"I won't discuss the women I've slept with, Sophia. That's all in my past."
She huffs. "You don't have to tell me their names or how you rate them. I'm asking what you liked doing with them."
Everything she can imagine and more. "Where is this coming from?"
Her eyes skim over the front of my pants before they level on my face. "You like having sex in places where you can get caught."
"Do I?" I bark out a laugh. "I'm an exhibitionist now?"
"You said you'd fuck me on the Ferry and just now you wanted to fuck me in this car. You have a condom in your pocket, don’t you?"
I won't lie to her. "I do."
"I've never done those things." She lowers her voice to a whisper. "I don't know if I ever could."
Restless, I move to touch her hand, but she pulls it back. "Sophia, don't assume anything about me."
"If you need a woman in your life who will fuck you in the middle of the day on the Brooklyn Bridge, I'm not her."
"I need you." I lean forward on the seat so I can look at her directly. "If I have a driving need to fuck in public it's because I crave you constantly. I want you every second of the day."
The only response I get is silence.
"For the record, anything I've ever done with a woman in my life isn't even a memory worth holding onto at this point. I want you. I want us to be together, alone when we make love." I push her hair behind her ear to get a better view of her profile. "I cherish you, Sophia. That condom is for later. You told me you hadn't allowed many people into your apartment, so I assumed you wouldn't have protection there."
"If we never have sex in a publi
c place, you're all right with that?"
I am. The few times I've done it has been exciting but they've been nothing compared to being with her. "Completely."
Her shoulders ease back into the seat. "That's the last time we'll talk about the past."
It's not. At some point, we need to have a discussion about that fucked up asshole, Franco Abano. It's just not happening tonight.
***
Cruel irony is a part of life that no one can prepare for. As I walked into the foyer of Gabriel Foster's lavish penthouse, my mind was focused on one person. A man from Sophia's past. I was reading a text from Crew about Franco Abano when I heard a familiar voice from across the room.
My past was standing in the center of a large living area with a glass of wine in her hand and a tall, bearded man by her side. Her long red hair looked just as it did that day eight years ago when I ran past her at the top of the staircase of her home in search of her sister.
Lilly Parker, Briella's sibling, is here.
We haven't spoken since the joint funeral where she was forced to say goodbye to her sister, her two brothers and her mother. We never mentioned her father in our conversations but I knew that she mourned the loss of him too. It wasn't the loss of his life but the loss of the trust she had in him.
"Lilly," I whisper her name knowing she can't hear me. Sophia does.
"That's Briella's sister," she says it matter-of-factly as if the pain that bonds Lilly and I doesn't exist. It's the reason we've never sought each other out. I can't look at her and not see Briella in the contour of her jaw or the color of her eyes. She can't look at me and not see the promise of the future that her sister lost.
"Sophia." A petite, obviously pregnant woman approaches us. "This must be Nicholas."
My eyes dart to the other room and Lilly. She's still so engrossed in her conversation that she doesn't notice our presence.
Sophia reaches to hug the woman. "Isla, this is Nicholas Wolf."
Isla Foster's face immediately blushes red. "I'm your biggest fan. I know people say that to you every single day but they're all liars. I have read every book you've ever written at least nine times.""I'm flattered," I say as I look at her face. She's pretty, young, her eyes a shade of blue similar to Sophia's.
"I can get you a drink." She grabs my hand. "I bought the brand of scotch Deacon drinks in Burden's Proof. I thought it must be a shout-out to your favorite. "
It was a subtly placed sponsor ad meant to drum up business for a failing liquor company. That was the brainchild of Cheyenne. I have no idea if their sales increased. I doubt it since they haven't contacted us for a new deal. "That'll be fine."
Sophia shoots me a look. "Can you give us a minute, Isla? I have to ask Nicholas something."
Disappointment wages war with confusion on her face. "I'll be in the kitchen getting a scotch and a glass of red wine for you, Sophia."
When she's finally out of earshot, Sophia tugs on the lapels of my suit jacket, so I turn until my back is to Lilly. "We can leave, Nicholas. If you don't want to talk to her, we can go."
I've run from my past for eight years. I've avoided Lilly at social gatherings. On the anniversary of Briella's death, I've always stayed offline. There are too many articles, tributes and remembrances to the family who lost their lives that day.
Lilly's face is always in the midst of it all. The organ donation app she developed is dedicated to the family she lost. She's turned her tragedy into a triumph. She's helped thousands of people find an organ match. Beyond that, she's been instrumental in introducing organ recipients their donor families. Stories of those meetings have punctuated daytime television for the past two years.
I feel a faint tap on my shoulder and I know. I fucking know that I can't run now.
Sophia inches to the side so she can look behind me. I won't let her bear the brunt of this for me. I have to face Lilly, so I do.
I turn on my heel and look right at her. Her eyes fill with tears. "Nick. It is you."
"Lilly." I hold out my arms praying she'll hug me.
She moves forward quickly, her arms circling me. "I thought I'd never see you again."
Chapter 25
Sophia
I sat through dinner quietly watching Nicholas as the weight of the world slowly left his shoulders. We haven't spoken at length about what his relationship with Lilly was like after her sister's death but judging by what I saw tonight; they've turned a corner.
Isla met Lilly at a mom and baby swimming lesson late last year. They hit it off immediately and have since become friends. When Gabriel suggested to her that they host a dinner party, she thought Lilly and her husband Clive would be excited to meet Nicholas because of his notoriety. She had no idea about the history of Lilly and Nicholas. Gabriel was just as stunned when Lilly described their unique bond.
"Tonight went well." Nicholas reaches for my hand. We've been in the car for more than five minutes and neither of us has said a word to the other. He's been deep in thought and I haven't wanted to interrupt that. "I'll see her for lunch in a week or two. I'd like you to be there."
It's an invitation I want to refuse, but I won't. If he wants me by his side, I'll do it. "I can make it."
"Sasha will let you out of the design dungeon for an hour or two?"
I lean against his shoulder as the driver maneuvers the streets of Manhattan toward my apartment. "It's not a dungeon. I love being there."
He squeezes my bare knee. "It's where you belong."
I know he's right. I only spoke to Gabriel briefly about the upcoming exclusive viewing event we have planned for some of Foster Enterprises employees. There won't be more than a dozen people there, but their opinion matters to Gabriel and if I can impress them, the anxiety that has haunted his expression for weeks will ease.
Launching a new line is a monumental and risky undertaking. Doing it with a new designer at the helm comes with even more trepidation.
"I have to sleep sometimes," I joke segueing into the question I've been longing to ask all night. "I wouldn't mind having someone on the other side of the bed tonight."
The raw need in his eyes tells me everything I need to know before he even says a word. "I'll stay."
"Don't expect me to cook you breakfast, Nicholas."
"I'll handle that." He cups my cheek in his hand. "I'll take care of you tonight and tomorrow morning too."
***
I reach between us and grab his cock, cradling it in my palm. It's semi-hard which is surprising. I went to take a shower, unsure of whether his plan was to fuck or not. His night has been emotional and when he yawned twice on the way back to my apartment, I resigned myself to the fact that he may want to hold me and take comfort in my presence. I didn't assume that we'd make love, but now, I'm not so sure.
"You fell asleep," I whisper against his whisker covered jaw. "You were snoring when I came back in from the shower."
"Bullshit," he growls. "I don't snore."
"Next time I'll record it on my phone."
"You would do that to me, wouldn't you?" His hands find my ass, tugging me closer to his nude body.
"I liked watching you sleep."
"Why?" He inhales deeply. "You smell good. Is that soap or you?"
"Both." I nuzzle closer still. "You look peaceful when you sleep. It's like all those characters that run around in your mind all day have left."
"You think I have characters running around in my mind?"
I push his hardening cock against my bare core. "I see it behind your eyes. You're always plotting. Your mind never shuts down."
"It can't." He circles his hips. "I have too many stories to tell."
"Tell me a story now." I move my legs to gain better access, rubbing his erection against my clit.
"Once upon a time, there was a woman…"
I inch closer still, taking what I can from him. "Keep talking."
"Keep doing what you're doing." He groans deeply. "Can you get off like this?"
I
murmur a sound that I'm sure sounds like a yes to him.
"Once upon a time this very good-looking guy with a huge cock met a woman on the subway."
"So this isn't about you?" I throw my head back, enjoying the sensation of the approaching orgasm.
"It's about me." He presses his lips to my neck. "The woman he met was beautiful, smart and he wanted her the second he saw her."
"So he wrote out an invitation to lunch in his own book," I continue even though I'm losing focus on anything but what I'm doing to myself with his cock. "It was a weak move."
"She secretly liked how ballsy he was."
"No, she didn't," I whimper.
He reaches down to grab his cock, his hand circling mine. "She did. She wanted him from the start. She knew he was different. She knew he was the one."
"The one?" I arch my back as the orgasm inches up on me. "What one?"
His hand grabs my ass, tugging me closer still until my clit is pressed so tightly against the side of his cock that I hit the cliff and tumble over.
"The one who loves her." His words weave into my moan as we both grasp for breath.
Chapter 26
Nicholas
"Are you going to ignore what I said to you?" I rub her shoulder as I watch her pretend to sleep. "You're a shit liar and an even worse actress, Sophia."
"I'm not acting," Her eyes stay closed. "I'm not ignoring anything."
"I told you I love you."
She rests her forehead against my chin. "I know, Nicholas. I heard it."
Begging a woman to tell me she loves me isn't something I'm willing to do. "I meant it."
TENSE - Volume Two (The TENSE Duet Book 2) Page 9
