Sin

by Deborah Bladon

  I reach up to glide my hand over his cheek. “If you keep looking at me like that, I’ll stay.”

  He presses his lips to mine. “Forever?”

  I hear the vulnerability in his voice. I feel it within me too. The unspoken line between casual lovers and more is blurred. It’s so blurred that neither of us can see it anymore.

  Before I can say anything, he shifts back on his heels and slides to the edge of the bed.

  I watch in silence as he opens a condom package and sheaths his cock. His hand runs over the length from root to tip once, and then again.

  Spreading my legs, I motion for him to come to me.

  He does. He crawls across the tangled bed linens until he’s above me again.

  Gripping his shaft, I rub him against my cleft. I close my eyes to savor the sensation; that moment right before he plunges into me, and the pleasure takes over.

  “Open your eyes, angel.” His voice is gravelly, deep and desirous.

  I stare into his eyes as he slides his cock into me, each movement almost too much to bear.

  We find our rhythm quickly.

  He fucks me with slow, even strokes, keeping his eyes pinned on mine.

  When he ups the pace and braces his hand on my hip, I moan. It’s so deep, so good and when I come around his cock, he buries his face in my neck.

  His breathing is ragged and intense when he comes, holding me in place, whispering words against my skin about never wanting to let me go.

  Chapter 39

  Jeremy

  “Get your head in the game, Jeremy.” Rocco taps his knuckles on the table. “You’re going to walk out of here a poor man.”

  I don’t give a fuck.

  I arrived at Rocco’s apartment hours ago with a thousand dollars in the pocket of my jeans. I’m down to my last hundred now and it doesn’t look promising.

  It’s rare that I win on poker night, but tonight I’ve barely glanced at my cards.

  Linny Faye has consumed me all day.

  I said goodbye to her at the hotel this morning and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her since.

  I swear to god I’m falling in love with her.

  “I’m out.” Dylan Colt, Rocco’s friend, drops his cards on the table. “You two can battle this one to the end.”

  The night started with Rocco, Dylan and me.

  Harve showed up an hour later with a case of cheap beer and two hundred dollars.

  He lasted five minutes in the game and two beers before he went home to Blythe.

  “I almost feel bad for taking your money tonight.” Rocco leans back in the wooden chair he’s sitting in. “You’re clearly not all here, Jeremy.”

  I laugh. “It’s that obvious?”

  He places his cards facedown on the table. “Everything alright at home?”

  Rocco knows what’s waiting for me at my apartment every time I open the door. I confided in him after he showed up there one day unexpected.

  “It’s not that.” I shake my head. “I met someone.”

  “Someone?” Dylan’s dark brows rise. “I’ve known you for a couple of years and I’ve never heard you mention a woman.”

  We’re not friends outside these games, but Dylan’s a solid guy.

  He’s drowned his sorrows in a few glasses of vodka during our games and confessed one night that he’s been hung up on a woman named Eden for years.

  I barely know the guy, but I could see that it tore him up inside.

  I took it as a reminder that relationships can destroy a man. I vowed that night, as I often do, that I’d never willingly hand my heart over to a woman.

  Then I met Linny Faye.

  “I haven’t met anyone worth mentioning until now,” I fire back at Dylan with a grin. “It’s early. We’re having fun but Jesus, this woman.”

  Rocco pushes back from the table and stands. “You deserve it. Enjoy it.”

  I nod. “I’ll take that advice.”

  “I went over that email you sent with the details of the launch contest for the vanilla vodka,” he says as he opens a bottle of beer in his kitchen. “Whoever came up with that is a genius.”

  “You approve?” I ask with a laugh.

  “I’m thinking of hiring them to handle marketing for a few other projects I’ve invested in. Do you think he’d be open to that?”

  I glance back to where he’s standing, pride blooming in my chest. I want the best for Linny. I want everyone to know how talented she is. “She’d be open to that. I’ll send you her contact details.”

  He lifts his beer in the air. “I can’t wait to talk to her.”

  I can’t either.

  With any luck, I’ll be next to her within the hour.

  ***

  Linny: Why don’t you come to my place?

  I glance down at my phone again. I’ve read her text message at least a half-dozen times since she sent it to me.

  It lit up my phone when I was about to leave Rocco’s place, penniless and anxious.

  I was anxious to see her. The need to hold her had only increased after I told Rocco about her marketing skills. I could talk about the woman all day to anyone who’ll listen.

  Now, I’m standing on the sidewalk in front of her building.

  I called her after I read the message the first time. I asked why she didn’t want to meet at the hotel.

  In a breathy voice, she told me that she’d prefer to have me in her bed.

  It was only after she assured me that Mitchell was on an airplane headed to Boston for a consultation with a client, that I relented.

  I won’t put her at risk.

  The CEO job means everything to her and I’ll move heaven and earth if need be to secure it for her.

  I type out a quick message after I enter the foyer of the building.

  Jeremy: I’m here. Buzz me up, angel.

  Linny: I’m 502.

  I yank open the heavy glass door and make my way to a bank of elevators across the lobby.

  I jab my finger into the call button.

  I’m about to see Linny in her apartment. I’m about to fuck her in her bed. It feels like we’re taking a step forward that we can’t retreat from.

  Hope isn’t a feeling I’m familiar with, but it’s there, in my chest, inside my beating heart.

  I step onto the elevator, push the button marked five and take a deep breath.

  Chapter 40

  Linny

  “Do you want something to drink?” I gesture toward my kitchen. “I have wine and soda. I might have some orange juice.”

  “Thank you, but I’m good.” Shaking his head West takes in the open concept space.

  I’m proud of my apartment. I purchased it two years ago. My dad was determined to help me with the down payment, but I politely turned him down.

  I wanted my signature on the property documents to mean something.

  I did this alone. I earned and saved every penny that has gone into making this one bedroom apartment a home.

  “Do you live alone?” He shoves his hands into the front pocket of his jeans.

  “Just me and my shoes.” I laugh. “I’m not obsessed with nice shoes, but the walk-in closet sold me on the place.”

  “You own?” His brows perk.

  “Every square foot.” I wave my hand in the air. “All seven hundred and twenty-two of them.”

  He looks down at the hardwood floors. “It’s a great space and the neighborhood is good. It’s a solid investment, Linny.”

  “Where do you live?”

  His hand jumps to his jaw. “Where do I live?”

  I nod, narrowing my eyes. “You’ve never mentioned it. I picture you as a Tribeca kind of guy.”

  Laughing, he scrubs his hand over the back of his neck. “What exactly does a Tribeca kind of guy look like?”

  I rake him from head-to-toe, enjoying the view. He’s dressed casually tonight in jeans, a white V-neck sweater and black shoes. He looks sophisticated and sexy.

  I’m s
till wearing the navy blue sheath dress I had on earlier when I met Ivy and Jax for dinner. Ivy wanted to congratulate me on the success of her campaign. I was happy to oblige since it meant dinner at Calvetti’s.

  “They’re hot as fuck and confident. Oh, and fearless.” I tilt my head. “And Tribeca kind of guys know how to kiss.”

  His hands are out of his pockets and on my face before I take my next breath.

  “How many Tribeca kind of guys have you kissed, angel?”

  I stare into his dark brown eyes. “If you live in Tribeca the total would be one.”

  A ghost of a grin touches his full lips. “I live on the Upper East Side.”

  “I’ll amend my answer to zero.” I perch on my bare tiptoes to press a kiss to the side of his mouth. “Maybe one day I can see where you live.”

  His answer is lost in our kiss when his lips slide over mine and his hands glide down my back.

  ***

  The sun is filtering through the sheer curtains in my bedroom and tossing slivers of light onto West.

  He’s on his back in my bed with one arm over his head. The other is resting on his stomach.

  The sheets are tangled around his legs. The rest of him is bare.

  We made love for hours last night, lost in each other.

  After his phone rang twice, he turned it off and tossed it onto the cushion of an antique upholstered chair near the window.

  I left my phone in the other room, tucked in my purse.

  I didn’t want there to be any interruptions during our first night together in my apartment.

  I rest my head back on my pillow and close my eyes even though I need to get ready for work.

  “Angel.” His whiskered jaw brushes against my bare shoulder. “Are you awake?”

  I open my eyes to the sight of his gorgeous face. There’s a faint red mark lingering on his bottom lip from where I bit him last night as he fucked me hard. It was so hard that tears welled in my eyes.

  It wasn’t from pain, although the sting of him plunging deep only spurred me on more.

  It was from pure happiness.

  I’ve never felt this close to a man before. I’ve never wanted to crawl into someone’s arms and stay there.

  “Good morning,” I whisper, curling my hand under my pillow.

  His lips curve into a soft smile. “The best morning.”

  Running my fingertip over the crimson mark on his lip, I smile back. “There’s evidence here of what we did last night.”

  His hand sneaks under the blanket to rest between my legs. “Here too. Are you tender?”

  I nod silently.

  His gaze skims my face. “Was I too rough?”

  My fingers caress his bicep. “No. I liked it.”

  His shoulders tense, the motion flexes the muscle beneath my touch. His hand moves to my side. “There’s something, angel. I need to ask you something.”

  I sense the shift immediately. His jaw tightens and his eyes narrow. A mask of serious contemplation slides over his expression.

  “Ask,” I say softly. “You can ask me anything.”

  I’ve been steeling myself in preparation for him to ask about my past. I know it’s coming. The question I’ve been dreading may drop from his lips in the next ten seconds and I’ll answer honestly.

  “I know that you ended things with Roland.”

  I breathe a sigh of relief. Roland . He’s my immediate past, not my distant and forgotten past.

  “I did,” I confirm with a nod of my head. “There was never anything between us. It was just two dates.”

  He glances back over his shoulder. “Forgive me, angel.”

  “For what?” My heart thrums a beat so loud that I can barely hear my own words.

  “For what I’m about to ask you.” His voice is quiet and laced with an ache that tugs at my heart.

  “Ask, West. Please just ask.” I glide my hand up to his neck. “I want you to ask.”

  “You reached into your nightstand to grab two condoms.” He jerks a thumb over his shoulder toward the wooden nightstand that sits next to my bed. “There are a lot of condoms in there. Boxes, Linny. I need to know if you’re sleeping with anyone else.”

  Before I can answer, he’s brushing a strand of hair from my forehead. “If I’m out of line, tell me.”

  “You’re not out of line.” I swallow hard. “There are a lot of condoms in the drawer.”

  His gentle smile encourages me. It soothes me.

  “There’s a card in that drawer too.” I gesture over his shoulder. “It’s a birthday card.”

  “A birthday card?” His brow furrows.

  Sliding away from him, I rise to my feet. I’m fully aware that I’m completely naked and his eyes are pinned to me, but I round the bed and tug open the drawer.

  “I’ll find it.”

  I yank out the box that I opened. Then box after box of unopened condoms, stacking them on top of the nightstand.

  “You don’t have to do that, angel.” West’s hand is on my wrist.

  I freeze and look down at him. “I do.”

  I tug my hand free and keep stacking boxes until I see the corner of the bright pink envelope. I grab it and slide it out, handing it to him.

  “My friend, Harmony, stayed here with her husband a few months ago when I was out of town.” I settle on the bed next to him. “It was a week before my birthday. The morning of my birthday she texted me and told me to open the drawer.”

  His eyes dart down to the envelope.

  I shake my head and bite back a smile. “I opened it and found all the condoms and that card.”

  “This card?” He waves it in the air.

  “Open it.”

  “You’re sure?” he asks with a rise of his brow. “If it’s private…”

  “It’s not.” I rest my hand on his bare chest. “I want you to open it.”

  He does. He slowly slides the card out after a quick glance at my face.

  I watch as he scans the front of the card before opening it. As he reads, the smile on his face gives way to laughter.

  “Happy Birthday to you and your pussy, Linny. Call it wishful thinking, but here’s hoping that this is the year that you both get some action. Love and kisses, Harmony,” I recite word-for-word what Harmony wrote in the card.

  West hands the card back to me. “I like Harmony.”

  “I love her.” I tuck the card back into the drawer. “I’ve used two condoms. Just two. Both last night with you.”

  He reaches for my hand and brings it to his lips, kissing it gently. “I didn’t mean to assume anything.”

  “You were curious.” I look over at the boxes of condoms. “I’ve been curious too. I’ve wondered if you’ve been with other women since we reconnected here in New York.”

  I swallow and continue on, not giving him a chance to say a word. “That day in your office, you said that you hadn’t been with anyone since Vegas, but that was in the heat of the moment.”

  “I meant every single word I said that day, and every day since. There’s been no one since we were together in Vegas. I don’t want anyone else, angel.”

  “I don’t either,” I whisper. “I only want you, Jeremy.”

  Chapter 41

  Jeremy

  They’re the words I’ve been craving, even though I didn’t realize it.

  I wanted that reassurance from her. I needed to hear it from her.

  “We’ll only see each other,” I state, not ask. “You won’t sleep with anyone else. I won’t either.”

  She nods slowly. “I’d like that.”

  I’d fucking love that.

  She pushes the condoms back into the drawer. “I should shower.”

  I should join her, but I’ve ignored my phone all night. The vanilla vodka is on the precipice of launching and I have a shitload of work to do today.

  She starts rising from the bed, but I stop her with a hand on her wrist. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”

  A smile spread
s across her face. “I’ve never met anyone like you either, West. Not even close.”

  “Being here with you last night meant a lot to me.”

  Her fingers play with the edge of the sheet that’s covering me. “To me too. I’ve never spent the night here with a man before.”

  It all feels too good to be true.

  How in the hell did I find this woman? Twice.

  Her fingers move to my chest. “I need to get ready for work.”

  I do too.

  I watch her sexy, lush ass sway as she walks toward the bathroom.

  Once the door closes behind her, I’m on my feet searching for my phone.

  I know I shut it off in frustration and tossed it toward a chair near the window.

  I push my clothes aside and find it, pushing the button to power it back up.

  Tugging on my boxer briefs, I’m assaulted with a symphony of noises.

  Chimes, bells and dings penetrate the silence in the room.

  I scoop the phone into my palm and scan the screen.

  Fuck.

  I stalk across the room to the bathroom and swing open the door.

  She’s there, nude and standing in front of the mirror. The shower hasn’t been turned on.

  “Angel,” I say breathlessly, a combination of pure desire for her and fear over what my selfishness last night has cost me. “I need to go.”

  “Now?” Her brow furrows. “What’s wrong?”

  My phone starts ringing in my palm. “I have to take this.”

  “Go.” She waves her hand in the air. “We’ll talk later.”

  I turn and shut the door behind me before I put on my clothes, grab my wallet and keys and race out of her apartment.

  ***

  “I picked up a sandwich for you.” Blythe drops a white paper bag on my desk. “I got a call last night.”

  I look down at my watch. It’s well past noon. I made it into the office a half hour ago after spending the morning at the hospital and then at my place. “Thanks for the sandwich.”