“It hadn’t even occurred to me to feel guilty.” How in the crinkling crabsticks had I forgotten to feel guilty?
Beth slapped my arm but not hard enough to hurt. “Don’t even think about starting now.”
“It’s just, how could I not even have thought about it?”
“Because it was great and something else that you did for yourself. You don’t need to feel guilty about living your life, El. We’ve been over that. Now instead of burrowing yourself into a hole, give me details. I want all the details.”
I shot her a look. “I can’t give you all the details.”
“Okay, let’s just start with the most important then.” She held her hands up and spread them until they were about a foot apart. “Stop me when I get into the right ballpark.”
Her hands started moving closer together.
“Beth!” I grabbed one of her hands and forced it back to her side as she dissolved in a fit of laughter. “I’m not telling you that.”
“Why not?”
“It’s private.” My cheeks grew uncomfortably warm. “But you weren’t far off to begin with.”
Her laughter abruptly ended as she gaped at me. “No way. That was like, twelve inches. Is that even possible?”
I shrugged. “Obviously.”
When she gaped at me once again, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “I’m kidding. Jeez. Relax.”
“Oh, I’m betting you were super relaxed after, if it’s anywhere even near that. Although I’ve got to tell you, I don’t really believe you.”
“Of course you don’t. Twelve inches is ridiculous and would probably constitute some kind of rare medical condition.”
She swatted my arm again. “I knew it. Enough messing around. Give me the real details.”
“There’s not much to tell you. It happened. It was incredibly satisfying. Then he left.”
“Has it happened again?” She frowned. “You’ve been there over a month now.”
“I know, but I’ve been busy, and he has too. We’ve spent a ton of time together, but things haven’t progressed that far again.”
“Do you want it to?” She cocked her head as she waited for my answer.
I didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes.”
“Does he know that?” Chewing on her lower lip, her eyes darkened with worry. “Please tell me you guys talked about it before it happened.”
“Sort of. We checked in with each other to make sure we both wanted it and that kind of thing. But it’s not like we sat each other down and had an intense conversation about the future of our relationship. Or lack thereof, in our case.”
“So he doesn’t know you want it to happen again?”
I shook my head. “No. It hasn’t come up.”
“Did you mean to make a punny?” She wiggled her nose and laughed. “But okay. I get it. It’s not an easy conversation to have with someone.”
“It’s really not.” Before one of my essays had been due, I’d seriously considered booty- texting him but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. “I mean, what words does one even use for something like that?”
“I can think of a few, but I don’t think you’re going to be able to work any of them into casual conversation.”
“Yeah, I think I know which ones you mean.” I laughed. “Maybe I should put it this way. I know the words. I just don’t really know how to string them all together in a way that doesn’t make me look like a hussy.”
“You’re not a hussy.” She shook her head. “You’re, like, whatever the complete opposite of a hussy is.”
“Are you calling me a prude?” I lifted my eyebrows. “Because from where I’m sitting, I’m the one trying to get it on with someone while you’re just laughing at me for it.”
“Fine.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re not a prude. Maybe the next time you’re spending some time with him, just tell him you’ve been really stressed, and you need his help to relieve it.”
“Good idea. Should I also download a soundtrack from a porno, and do you think I should start playing the first song before or after I make that statement?”
“You’re impossible.” She took a sip of her drink before her expression turned serious again. “Hey, just, uh, you know, keep your eyes open. Don’t do something silly like go falling for him. He’s a rich playboy. He’s not the man you spend the rest of your life with.”
“I agree.” I really did, but sometimes, I wondered if we were right. There was a lot more to Taydom than what met the eye, hidden depths I had only just started to explore.
When I got home later that afternoon, he had yet another surprise in store for me. On my kitchen counter was a gorgeous bouquet with a handwritten note in his own scrawling handwriting, saying that he hoped my day was awesome.
Somehow, that just didn’t seem like a playboy thing to do. Unless I was misunderstanding the meaning of playboy, and if I was, were they really as bad as they were made out to be?
Because Taydom certainly wasn’t. If anything, it was starting to feel like he was too good.
Chapter 22
Taydom
“One word for you, brother,” Andrew said as he sauntered into my office. His grin was as wide as the Milky Way and his arms were spread out at his side. “Nightingale.”
“As in the last name of the nurse or the bird? I’m going to need a little bit of context.” I was distracted by the contract lying on my desk. I had been reading through it for an hour and I really wanted to finish it before I went home.
My best friend tutted at me with a shake of his blond head. A smirk curved his lips. “You’re hopeless, man. I’m not talking about the nurse or the bird. I’m talking about the new karaoke bar opening tonight.”
“No.” I rubbed my tired eyes and waited for the sting to pass before looking at Andrew again. “If you were about to ask me to go, that’s my answer.”
Gracefully lowering himself into a chair, he straightened his tie and crossed an ankle over his knee. “Why not? I’m going and you haven’t even heard the best part yet.”
“Yeah?” I cocked my head. “What’s that?”
“They have a crazy happy hour going on. I’m talking about the kind of specials that will have people lining up down the block. Yours truly is on the list and I can bring a friend. Be my friend please? Women love karaoke. I guarantee the pussy at this place—”
“No.” I pointed at the hundred-plus-page contract I was reviewing. “I don’t give a damn about that. It’s been a long day and I’ve done nothing but work. I’m exhausted. As soon as I’m done here, I’m going home. I need to sleep, Drew. I’m sorry but not tonight.”
Andrew pouted, but he must have seen the resolve in my eyes because he raised his hands and shrugged. “Okay. It’s your loss, but I can see I’m not going to change your mind. Let me know when you get bored as fuck after getting home. I’ll see if I can get you in.”
“Sure, man. Thanks.” My shoulders lowered as I sighed when he left my office a few minutes later. It really had been a long week and I was looking forward to getting home.
Elsie had been busy as fuck since classes started back up. We’d spent a lot of time together since she’d moved in, but it was sporadic. I never knew if or when I was going to see her.
Even so, I couldn’t deny that I hoped I’d run into her tonight. Nothing sexual had happened between us since that first day but I sure as hell still wanted a repeat performance.
Knowing how much pressure she was under and how much she was struggling to adapt held me back, though. No matter how much chemistry simmered between us whenever we saw each other, I wouldn’t push her.
With all that in mind, I was pleasantly surprised when she came out as I pulled up the drive. It was later than when I usually got home, but it seemed she had been waiting for me.
Twilight had fallen and the sky appeared pinkish. The treetops were shadowy guards keeping watch over the house and rustling in the warm breeze.
Warm orange light spilled out
of Elsie’s cottage as she stood in the open door.
“Hey,” she called when I got out of my car. “Long day?”
I slammed the door shut behind me. “The fucking longest.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” A slow smile spread on her lips as her eyebrows rose. “You look like a zombie.”
“Thanks, you look great too,” I teased, but she really did.
Her hair was damp from a recent shower and was pulled up in a high knot behind her head. Soft sweatpants hung from her hips, and on top was the signature tank top I’d learned she loved putting on whenever she got home.
She’d claimed once that having to wear one was because of “big-boob problems.” Apparently, other women could forgo a bra all together, while she still had to rely on something built in or wearing a bra.
A plethora of responses had been on my lips and my hands had twitched to show her just how much I loved what she had referred to as problems. I’d kept them by my sides, though.
“I know, right?” she joked back without skipping a beat. “The Zombie is a total trend around here these days.”
I laughed as I lifted my laptop bag out of the trunk and slung it over my shoulder. I turned to face her. “Which begs the question, why are you out here? Shouldn’t you be catching up on some sleep?”
“It’s not that late.” She rolled her eyes and grabbed the dishcloth I hadn’t noticed hanging over her shoulder. Twisting it between her hands, she dropped her head back to indicate her house. “I made some dinner, but we can do it another night.”
“No way.” I patted my stomach as I secured the laptop with my free hand and walked toward her. “I’m starving. Whatever you made will beat the noodles I was about to throw in a pot.”
“That’s good because I don’t actually think I could have refrozen the pot stickers and I’m pretty sure the salad I made wouldn’t have lasted.”
She turned and headed into her house, leaving the door open behind her. I shut it after walking in, slinging my bag off my shoulder and setting it down near her front door.
“Pot stickers and salad, huh?” I salivated as I followed her to the kitchen. “Any chance you’ve got some hot sauce with that?”
“Do I have hot sauce?” She scoffed and winked at me over her shoulder. “Is Taydom Gaines the king of real estate in this city? Is Woodstock a farming town? Is your mother the best cook in four counties?”
“Okay, okay.” I groaned and put my hands up in surrender. “The answer has to be yes.”
“Of course it is.” She walked over to her fridge and pulled out a fresh Asian salad, along with two clear little bowls filled with a bright red sauce. “Have a seat. This is my treat. The table’s already been set.”
The stool scraped as I pulled it out and sat down. Scents of coriander, pork, and chili hung in the air, and I had to bite back a moan. “If you’re trying to seduce me, it’s working.”
Elsie’s head tipped back as she laughed. “I’ve heard that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach.”
“His heart?” I cocked an eyebrow as I loosened my tie. “I’m not so sure about that. His bed? Definitely.”
She removed a pot from the oven. “Well, I think a lot of women confuse the way to a man’s heart with the way to his bed.” Amusement danced in her eyes as she put the pot down on the counter and opened the lid to release more of that delicious aroma. “Come and get it then. We’ll see where it leads.”
Slap me silly and call me Sonny. This was the first time she was openly flirting with me. I couldn’t say I minded it at all. In fact, it was more like the complete opposite.
Elsie had dimmed the lights in the house so that the entire open area making up her living and dining room was lit with only that soft, warm lighting. Soft French music flowed from the radio in the kitchen and she looked happy, relaxed even, as she took two plates out of a cabinet.
Her body swayed gently to the music as she dished up for us, and I was fucking mesmerized by her. Every movement and every curve called to me like it was a siren’s song and I was a poor sailor.
With her neck exposed from her hair being up, the shadows elongated her throat and dips appeared beneath her cheekbones. The sway and sashay of her body seemed to be completely unintended, like she just couldn’t help but move to this music.
Her clothes might not have been sexy in the traditional sense of the word, but she didn’t need skimpy or elaborate clothing to make me want her. Everything about her this evening was enchanting, tantalizing even.
“You know that I meant you should come and get your dinner and not me, right?” she joked, eyes twinkling in the dim light. “Stop looking at me like that and come get your food.”
“It was the food I was looking at like that.” The hell it was, but I wasn’t going to pass up on the meal she’d prepared for us. Other people might have tried for sex first, but not me.
First off, I was perfectly happy to just have a meal with her. Secondly, growing up the way I had meant that I always appreciated having food on the table. Having it go to waste was bordering on a sin in my book.
Ironically, it was one of the few sins I had a real problem with. Obviously, premarital sex wasn’t something I batted an eyebrow over, and after all I’d accomplished, greed probably wasn’t either.
No matter how much I gave back, I still had more than I could ever need or use in seven lifetimes.
Food wasting when I knew how much had gone into growing it, when I knew what farmers went through to make a fraction of what shit cost in the stores, that was something I wasn’t okay with.
“This is delicious,” I said once Elsie and I were seated and I’d swallowed my first bite. “Absolutely perfect after a week like this. How did you know?”
“I figured that if your week had been anything like mine, you might need a good dinner. Besides, I missed you. We haven’t seen each other much this week.”
My heart gave another odd tug. Fucked. That’s what I am. Totally fucked. “Yeah, I practically lived at the office this week. We have a big deal closing and the sellers have nominated an idiot for a lawyer. They insisted on using some friend of the family, despite my advice, and we’re all paying the price for it.”
“I’m sorry.” She made a face, her adorable features all scrunched up. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Can I hire you as my company psychologist when you’re done with school? That way, I could legitimately have people’s heads checked sometimes.”
She laughed and shook her head. “I told you. I want to keep working with children.”
“The people I work with are children,” I said. “Seriously, most of my clients act like oversized spoiled brats.”
She peered up at me from under her eyelashes as she chewed. Once she’d swallowed, she took a sip of water and shook her head again. “Oversized spoiled brats aren’t my game. I like the undersized ones. It feels like I stand a chance at helping them.”
“Some of my clients are skinny. That counts as undersized, right?” I pointed at her with a chopstick. “Before you say no, let me give you some examples from just this week.”
Elsie and I laughed nonstop for the rest of our meal. It wasn’t until our plates were cleared and in the sink that we stopped comparing notes and grew serious for once.
I swatted her on the ass with a dishtowel. “You cooked. I’m doing the dishes. It’s not negotiable.”
“Not negotiable, huh?” She planted her hands on her hips as she came to stand next to me, grabbing for the pot in my hand.
I held it way up high above my head and tried to look stern. “Not negotiable.”
“But you’re my guest,” she protested as she stood up on her tiptoes and extended her fingers to reach. “That means we leave the dishes to soak while we have an after-dinner drink. Then you leave and I wash up.”
“Nope. Technically, we both live here. Equal living for equal perks.”
Her nose scrunched up. “How is doing the dishes a perk?”
; “You only do dishes at home and where you’re really comfortable, right?” I grinned when she dropped back to her feet. “With you, that counts as a perk in my book.”
She was still standing really close to me, her chest almost all the way up against mine. “With me?” Her voice was small and just a little breathless as her eyes found mine. “You’re too smooth. Do you know that? It’s not fair to charm people out of doing their own dishes?”
“Everything’s fair in dishes and war,” I said as I lowered my hand to place the pot in the warm water.
“I don’t think that’s the saying,” she murmured, her gaze still locked on mine.
“It is for us,” I replied.
We surged forward at the same time, her arms coming around my neck as mine slid around her waist. Our lips met in a frenzy of pent-up need and long overdue desires.
She tasted heavenly, the zing of the chili still on her tongue. I moaned as I kissed her deeper and hauled her up against me.
However this night was about to play out, her lips weren’t the only thing I was tasting. I’d been dying for her for over a month and I was planning to get my fill.
Chapter 23
Elsie
Kissing Taydom felt like coming home. It made no sense. I hadn’t known him for a very long time, didn’t have much shared history with him, and admittedly, there was a lot I still had to learn about him.
But somehow, someway, being in his arms felt like home. After just that one night with him, I already felt like his embrace was familiar.
I melted into him, my hands messing up his soft hair as I tilted my head back to give him better access to my mouth. Neither of us seemed to be able to get enough of the other. We were pressed so close together, it was like we were trying to merge into one.
His hands were splayed across my back, fingers flexing as he held me to him. Need began building deep inside me, a slow burn that spread from my core to my extremities.
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