The Apartment: The Complete Affair (An Apartment Novel Book 3)

by Amanda Black

  “Lily, are you single?”

  Emma overheard and perked up like a prairie dog, speed-slurring an interruption. “Oh my God, Maggie, I know exactly what you’re thinking!”

  “Why do you ask?” Lily hedged, suddenly feeling a chill. She glanced down at her now-bare ring finger, thinking of the engagement ring hidden away in her desk drawer until she could give it back to Scott properly.

  “Well, it’s just that we’ve never really talked about your life much, and I’ve never thought to ask before. Besides,” she glanced between her and an eagerly nodding Emma. “I think you should meet my brother-in-law. It might be a bit soon because he recently got out of a bad relationship, but something tells me that he would really enjoy meeting you.”

  “Oh, no,” Lily replied quickly, shaking her head. “No, no, no, no. Thank you so much for thinking of me, but I’m really not the best person to consider for that right now.”

  “Why?” Emma piped up, her gossip detector going off.

  Lily looked back and forth between them both before promptly bursting into tears. She had always gotten overly emotional when she drank, and the combination of the guilt that she was feeling mixed with the sweetness of Maggie’s suggestion was more than she could take.

  “Oh my God, what’s wrong?” Maggie leaned in, stroking her back reassuringly. When Lily let out another loud sob, she began to get concerned. “Sweetie, whatever’s bothering you, you’ve got to let it out.”

  “I… I’m…” Lily paused to wipe her eyes before looking up at her new friend. “I’m supposed to be engaged.”

  “What do you mean, ‘supposed to be’?” Emma probed, causing Maggie to wave her question away in dismissal. She could tell that Lily would need to be coaxed gently rather than forced to answer any questions.

  “Don’t listen to her, Lily. She’s just nosy. You take your time and just tell me what you think you can when you’re ready.”

  “I’m supposed to be, but I don’t want to be,” Lily whispered. “He’s such a sweet boy, he really is. He’s always been very kind to me. I love him, but not like I should.” She paused to look at the two women, one with the face of a spectator, the other with a look of understanding. “I thought I did,” she cried. “I thought I had everything I needed to be happy in life—or at least as close as I’d ever get.”

  Maggie gently patted her hand. “And then you met someone, didn’t you?”

  “How did you know?” Lily asked. Emma simply shifted her eyes back and forth between them as if she was watching a gripping tennis match, loudly slurping her mixed drink through a straw.

  “I don’t know how I didn’t put it together earlier tonight, honestly. You seem different lately. More alive, if that makes any sense.”

  “I do?”

  “Yeah. You look like a woman in love.”

  “Well, fuck!” she groaned. “It’s all pointless now, anyway. I’m head over heels for a guy who’s leaving town any day and I’m too damn scared to tell him.”

  “Why?” both women asked in unison.

  “Because I’m terrified it will just make him run away that much faster. He doesn’t seem to be the kind who sticks around.”

  “How can you know that for sure?” Maggie asked.

  “I broke the rules,” Lily sighed, hanging her head low. “It was just supposed to be a fun distraction while it lasted and then we’d each go our separate ways. I was never supposed to get attached. Now every time I see him it hurts even more than the last when I have to leave.”

  “And he doesn’t feel the same way at all?”

  “That’s what kills me! There are moments when I could swear that he feels it just as strongly as I do. He sometimes acts so jealous and possessive, but any time I’ve tried to hint at possibly wanting more, he changes the subject.”

  Maggie thought about what she said for a minute. “Is it possible that he’s trying to convince himself that he doesn’t feel that way?”

  “What do you mean? Why the hell would anyone do that?”

  “So he can try to keep from becoming attached, too. Does he know that you’re engaged?”

  “Yes,” Lily whispered, thinking back to the moment when he had discovered the ring on her finger.

  “Well, think about it. He sees you willingly staying with another man. In his mind, you’ve already chosen someone else, no matter what you do with him. And I don’t care what you say, some men just don’t respond to hints. They need it spelled out for them with capital letters and small words.”

  “Mmm, boys are dumb!” Emma mumbled around her straw before sucking up the rest of her drink.

  “You got that right,” Lily huffed. “Well, anyway, I’ve decided that I have to end the engagement. It’s not right to keep it going when my heart isn’t in it, with or without anyone else in the picture. I’m only sorry that it took my dishonesty to make me realize how unhappy I was.”

  “I think that sounds like a smart idea. Better to deal with a little pain now than a lot of pain later. Now, enough of this talk.” Maggie summoned the waitress. “Let’s have another round! Oh, and just remember, if it doesn’t work out, I know a guy.” She winked at her, making Lily laugh for the first time since they’d started the conversation.

  She felt so much lighter just by telling someone what she had been so torn up about. She also felt better about the situation after the way Maggie described her stranger’s possible perception of things. In fact, she felt so much better about it after one more drink that she decided she wanted to see him as soon as possible.

  Excusing herself from the table, Lily told them that she wanted to step outside and get some fresh air. She didn’t want to lie, but she had the feeling that Maggie would insist on escorting her to his door if she knew what Lily was contemplating.

  Her thoughts were so fuzzy from the drinks and so concentrated on her stranger that she wasn’t paying attention as she walked out the door and straight into the warm wall of someone’s chest. Strong hands gripped her arms to steady her, and when she looked up to apologize she gasped loudly.

  Smoldering jade eyes looked back at her, just as surprised as her own.

  Chapter 22

  Ethan looked down into the warm eyes in front of him and felt his heart skip a beat. He wasn’t sure if it was from the shock of seeing her there or the uncontrollable delight.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” he gasped, still gripping her shoulders firmly. His goddess blinked a few times to focus on his face, as if she almost didn’t believe what she was seeing, before smiling widely and wrapping her arms around his waist.

  “Hey, Stranger!” she said with the tiniest of slurs.

  When the smell of alcohol drifted up to him he looked at her more closely, finally noticing how glassy her eyes were and how heavy her lids appeared. “Are you drunk?”

  “Lil’ bit,” she giggled. “I was just about to go find you!”

  “You were, huh?” he teased briefly before he remembered where he was. Looking up quickly, he darted his eyes over her shoulder toward the door. A tipsy goddess could be entertaining, but standing there waiting to see what she did next wasn’t worth the explanation that would be needed if his family or her fiancé suddenly walked outside. Dragging her farther away from the door, he turned back to her. “Are you alone?”

  “Well, my friends are inside, but I was leaving to go see you.” She couldn’t take her eyes off his beautiful features, concentrating longer than necessary on his lips while she spoke.

  “But… he isn’t here?”

  “Huh?” Lily asked, finding it very difficult to process the actual words that accompanied his velvet voice. It was so rich and sexy that she wanted him to let her crawl inside his throat and live there. It wasn’t until she managed to drag her eyes back up to meet his that things seemed to click into place. “Oh! No, no. He’s still out of town.”

  Ethan let out a relieved breath, and it wasn’t until that moment that he realized he’d been holding it in. Allowing for a bri
ef second to collect himself, he finally glanced down long enough to notice her clothing—and felt his heart stop all over again.

  “What the fuck are you wearing?” he growled.

  “Do you like it?” She smiled, turning around in a wobbly circle in front of him. “I had a makeover!”

  “I’ll say,” he muttered under his breath. When his heart finally started beating again it was only to force all the blood in his body to his groin. She had never looked so sexy before. Well, she had never looked so intentionally sexy before. He had never found a time when he didn’t want her—every look she had drew him in like a moth to a flame—but this particular look was custom-built for seduction.

  And it was working.

  Her eyes were accentuated with a smoky liner that made them pop even more than usual, and her hair was swept up off her shoulders enough to show off her mouthwatering cleavage. The color of her blouse against her creamy skin as it hugged her delicious curves could have been described as a religious experience, but the absolute showstopper was her skirt: it made her legs look ten miles long and filled his mind with filthy images of bending her over the nearest object and flipping it up.

  “Oh!” she blurted out, interrupting his train of thought. “I wanted to talk to you.”

  “What about?” he asked, doing a bad job of hiding his repeated glances at her legs.

  “Well, it’s private. But I think you’ll like it. Maybe. I hope you will.”

  Ethan forced himself to look away from her outfit long enough to say, “I’m sorry, what? I have no idea what you just said.”

  She startled him then by reaching out slowly and squeezing his bicep through his jacket sleeve.

  “Can you give me a ride?” she all but purred. “I was going to go to the apartment to talk to you, but I don’t care where we go, really. I just wanted to be alone with you.”

  Ethan only picked up on “alone,” “apartment,” and “ride,” but it was enough to set him in motion. He glanced down at his watch quickly before shooting another look toward the door, making his decision with a sharp nod of his head. “Alright, come on,” he said, rushing her away with an arm behind her back.

  It took everything he had to keep from sliding his hand underneath her skirt as they walked.

  He led her down the side of the building and around the corner, into the dark outskirts of the parking lot where he had finally found a spot for the Audi. He quickly ushered her into the passenger side and shut the door, casting a few more furtive glances around the lot before joining her on the other side of the car.

  “So,” he said after a moment of silence in the dark of the front seat. “Do you want me to take you back to the apartment, or did you just want to talk in the car? I could drive you home if you like.”

  “No you can’t,” Lily giggled.

  “Why?” He wondered to himself again if she lived in that shack he’d seen on the outskirts of town and realized that if she did it probably wouldn’t be wise to risk her being seen with him in the car.

  “Because then you would break one of your own rules, silly!” She giggled again, reaching out to brush her fingers down his cheek. “That would tell you something about me.”

  She stared at his mouth again, tracing it lightly with her fingertips. “But who knows? Maybe you won’t mind so much after we talk.” Her voice had dropped to a mere whisper, and Lily had managed to hypnotize herself by not pulling her eyes away from his lips.

  Ethan was having a very difficult time of his own trying to concentrate when her fingers were stroking him like that. She wasn’t making any sense, and he didn’t know if it was because she was drunk or because she was touching him.

  “Um,” he blinked a few times and tried to clear his head. “How about we head back to the apartment for now? We probably shouldn’t just sit here.”

  “Fine by me,” she clearly purred that time. Lily knew that if he didn’t make a decision soon, she wouldn’t even remember what it was she wanted to talk to him about. Her mind was becoming cloudier by the minute as she looked at him, wanting to taste his mouth again.

  As Ethan went to turn the key in the ignition, he cursed to himself when he remembered why he was even there. “Shit! Just a minute,” he apologized as he fished his phone out from his coat pocket, firing off a quick text message.

  Sorry, man. Something came up last minute.

  A reply buzzed in his hand before he could even put his phone away.

  What was that, your dick?

  Ethan rolled his eyes before typing back a response to his brother. It was scary how perceptive he was, even by text.

  Ha ha, real funny. Fucker. There’s just something I have to take care of and it can’t wait.

  OK. Whatever u say. But if u punk out on dinner tomorrow b4 we leave, mom is gonna have your ass. Speaking of ass, spank your mystery girl 4 me.

  Fuck off. And don’t worry, I’ll be there.

  Ethan shoved his phone back in his pocket with a huff, wondering how the hell so little got by Eric. “Sorry about that,” he said, turning to face his tipsy goddess again.

  “Hey!” She looked back up at him with a huge grin on her face, not even noticing that he’d been texting. “We’re in your car!”

  “That’s right,” he couldn’t resist a small chuckle. She was unbelievably adorable and carefree like this. “We were just leaving, remember?” As he placed his hand on the key ring again, he was surprised to feel her small hand cover his own.

  “Wait.” Her voice carried through the dark of the car, caressing his ears seductively before making its way down to his straining erection, causing him to bite back a groan.

  “Is something wrong?” he gritted through his teeth, wanting her so badly he could taste it. Her scent was filling up the car quickly and even the slight hint of alcohol couldn’t dilute its potency.

  “Yes.” Somehow her voice had gotten huskier, which he didn’t think was even possible.

  “What is it?” he squeaked out. He was trying to stare straight ahead, afraid that the sight of her in her skirt might be his undoing, but a sudden shifting in her seat made him glance sideways just in time to catch a small scrap of material sliding down her bare legs.

  “This is wrong.” She pulled his hand away from the ignition and placed it between her thighs, pushing his fingers forward until they were touching her wet flesh. “You aren’t in here right now.”

  Ethan’s heart stopped yet again and his eyes rolled back into his head. His voice was shaking when he finally found it again. “Are you sure about this? We’re in public … and you’re drunk.”

  Lily pulled his hand away and shoved his fingers into his mouth, making him groan and whimper as he sucked them clean.

  “Does that mean you don’t want to fuck me in your car anymore?” She leaned over and licked the outer shell of his ear for good measure.

  Reluctantly pulling his fingers out of his mouth, he turned to her and grunted. “I’m just trying to do the right thing here. I don’t want you to regret this after you sober up.”

  She chose that moment to pounce, climbing over him quickly and planting herself in his lap. It was a tight fit, crammed between him and his steering wheel, but there was nowhere else she would have rather been in that moment.

  “Fuck regret!” she panted before grabbing him by the back of the head and slamming her mouth down on his. She could still taste herself on his tongue and it was enough to make her dizzy with need.

  Any resolve that Ethan had left snapped in that moment. Snarling loudly into her mouth, he shoved his hands under her skirt, gripping her bare ass and grinding her into his throbbing erection. He thrust up against her as they devoured each other, and after mere seconds he could feel the front of his jeans getting damp from her moisture.

  Everything seemed to happen in a blur after that.

  Deciding that they didn’t have enough room, he reached down and slid the seat all the way back. He tore his hands away from her backside to wrestle with his button f
ly, only to have her beat him to it. With loud panting that was peppered with kisses and lots of fumbling, they both worked to yank his jeans down over his hips enough to allow his erection to spring free.

  There was just enough light in the car for Ethan to see her rise up on her knees far enough to maneuver him between her legs, gripping him by the base of his weeping cock and positioning the tip at her entrance. He was panting so heavily that in the back of his mind he wondered if he might hyperventilate, and as he watched their bodies connect he was afraid that he might start crying in agony at how slow she was going.

  Once just the very tip had been inserted, she stopped moving completely, waiting for him to stop whimpering and look up at her. When their eyes finally met again, Lily placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned forward, kissing him softly before pulling back and watching his expression as she sank down on him in one swift thrust.

  It was her favorite part, watching his face. Sure, it felt good as hell, but there was nothing like seeing that look of shock and amazement cross over his features. No matter how many times he’d been inside her, he never failed to look simply awestruck at how good she felt—and it was one hell of an ego boost.

  This time was the best one yet.

  His eyes widened and his brow furrowed, and he somehow managed to look scared at how good it felt, as if it just wasn’t humanly possible for anything on earth to feel so right. The panicked look he gave her was almost a silent demand for her to explain herself, to admit to some sort of black magic or voodoo that had him under her spell.

  Holding his gaze, Lily began to move on him, using his shoulders for leverage as she bounced up and down. Rocking her hips into him with every upward stroke, it wasn’t long before she had built up an amazing rhythm that made them both throw their heads back and groan.

  Her beautiful stranger had begun a steady litany of, “Oh God … Oh God … So good … So good … yes … yes … yes yes yes so fucking good!” and by the time he grabbed her ass to pull her onto him harder so that he could thrust up inside her even faster, he had regressed to nothing more than grunts and snarls.