“Me!” came a familiar female voice. Daniel felt the tension ease from his body as he opened the door and found a very drunk Emma standing there. She reeked of liquor.
“Ems, you’re drunk,” he told her flatly.
“Let me in,” Emma pleaded as though she were a vampire who required an invitation to enter his home.
Not wanting to cause a scene in his building at such a late hour, Daniel stepped aside and let her into his apartment.
“Do you need me to call you a cab?” he offered.
“I was just in one!” Emma laughed.
“Ems, why have you come here?”
“Shh!” Emma held a finger to her lips. “You don’t want to wake the woman you’re seeing.”
“There’s no one here.” Daniel sighed.
“Oh, so we’re alone,” Emma stated flirtatiously, taking a step towards him. She couldn’t fail to notice how ripped he looked in only his underwear. Just the sight of him made her entire body begin to tingle with desire.
“You should leave.” Daniel pointed towards his front door. “You’re drunk.”
“Just drunk enough.” Emma began to unzip her dress.
“Ems, don’t!” Daniel objected. “This isn’t what you want.”
“Isn’t it?” Emma stepped out of her dress to reveal the matching black underwear she was wearing. Daniel felt his pulse start to quicken seeing her like that.
“Emma, come on, quit kidding around.”
She approached him gracefully and rose on her tiptoes so that she could whisper directly into his ear. Her breath fluttered against him, making his heart race.
“You can put it wherever you want,” she told him as she ran her hands down his back.
Daniel groaned, feeling his resolve start to weaken.
Emma moved away from him and sauntered over to his kitchen counter. She ran her hand across the smooth sleek surface of the granite island where Daniel would sit and drink his morning coffee and read the paper. Biting her lip, she glanced seductively at Daniel, who stood watching her with a full-blown erection.
Taking her left hand, Emma placed it within her black panties and began to finger herself. She leaned her head back and gasped in delight at her own touch.
“Dear God,” Daniel murmured, running a hand through his hair. He kept telling himself she was drunk, that he’d be taking advantage of her. But there she was standing in his kitchen playing with herself! There was no way any man could resist such an invitation!
Emma drew herself close to climax and then stopped and slid her panties down her legs and stepped out of them. Then she released the clasp on her bra and let it fall to the ground so that she was completely naked.
Daniel watched her and pulled off his own boxer shorts, desperate to have her.
Emma pulled her naked body up onto the granite island. She positioned herself on all fours and arched her back. Daniel almost came just watching her. She turned to look at him, her eyes full of want and desire.
In less than a second Daniel was by the island. He grabbed Emma by the hips and pulled her close to him. He wanted to taste her.
She came as he teased her with his tongue. He felt her body shudder around him and smiled with satisfaction.
He expertly spun her around beneath him so that her back was against the granite worktop. The surface was hard and cold beneath her back, but Emma didn’t care. She looked deep into Daniel’s eyes as he ran his hands over her breasts.
“Oh, Ems,” he groaned.
“Take me,” she whispered to him. “I want to cum when you’re inside me.”
Daniel held Emma’s hips and guided himself inside her.
“Oh God!” he cried, not caring how loud he was. She felt so good. She was so wet, so ready for him.
The sex was frantic yet tender. Emma came twice more while Daniel penetrated her as she lay upon the island in his kitchen. She writhed beneath him, savoring every moment. When Daniel climaxed, they were both breathing hard, their bodies covered in beads of sweat.
Hurriedly Emma pulled her underwear and dress back on. Daniel watched her, feeling uneasy. He was about to suggest she just stay there when Emma whispered, “Nick told me not to come here. He told me to go straight home.”
“Nick?” Daniel tensed hearing the name. “You were out with Nick before you came here?”
“Yes,” Emma confirmed. “Why?”
“No reason.” Daniel shrugged casually. “I’ll call you a cab.”
EMMA MOANED AS SHE rubbed her sore head and nursed a cup of black coffee.
“Heavy night, was it?” Damion asked as he dropped a bagel into the toaster.
“Yeah.” Emma’s voice was hoarse when she spoke, her tongue as rough as sandpaper.
“Nick is quite the party animal.” Damion laughed. “Will you feel up to coming into work today?”
Emma moaned again at the thought of getting dressed and leaving the apartment. She was currently wearing her pink flannel pajamas and liked how soft and comfortable they felt against her skin.
“Let’s just call it a sick day.” Damion winked. “Besides, all we’re doing is going over the refurbishment plans.”
“I should really be there,” Emma croaked. She was the face of the company; she knew it was important for her to be involved as much as possible.
“Only if you feel up to it. I think Daniel mentioned he might swing by if he has time.”
Emma flinched and held a hand to her mouth. She dashed over to the kitchen sink and retched. Damion grimaced as he watched and flung his warmed bagel into the trashcan, his appetite suddenly gone.
“I think you should stay here,” Damion advised as Emma wiped her mouth.
She didn’t like to admit that it was the thought of seeing Daniel that made her feel sick. Her stomach tied itself in knots each time he crossed her mind. She didn’t know what was going on between them; she just knew that when she was sober she wanted to avoid him.
“Watch some TV, rest on the couch, you’ll feel better soon.”
“Thanks.” Emma folded her long legs beneath herself as she dropped down onto the couch and switched on the large plasma TV.
“I’ll fill you in on everything you missed.”
“Thanks.” Emma was starting to feel sick again. Her stomach wobbled uneasily as if she were on the deck of a boat out on stormy waters.
Damion disappeared to his bedroom briefly. He returned smelling of fresh cologne, wearing his suit jacket and carrying a briefcase. He looked both handsome and professional.
“See you tonight, darling,” he joked as he opened the front door and headed out into the main corridor.
Emma sighed in the emptiness of his apartment. She knew Damion liked having her stay with him, but she feared she’d lingered there too long and she risked giving him false hope. She had to stop procrastinating and find a place of her own. Wearily, she stretched towards the sleek coffee table and pulled the iPad off it. With a few strokes of her index finger, she was scanning properties available in the area.
“NO EMMA TODAY?” NICK noticed when Damion strolled into the former Delacourt family home alone.
“Nope.” Damion shook his head. “You really did a number on her.”
“I did?”
“Yeah, she’s a wreck this morning, throwing up and everything.”
“Mmm.” Nick pushed his hands into his pockets and remembered how Emma had bundled herself in a cab before he could ensure his driver took her back to Damion’s.
“I guess it was a messy one.” He shrugged. “We stayed out pretty late.” The latter part wasn’t true. Nick had been home and safely tucked up in bed by half past twelve. But he wanted to test the waters and see if Emma had gone elsewhere after the club as he suspected.
“Yeah, she didn’t get in until half past three.” Damion moaned. “Woke me up. I thought we had a burglar or something as she came stumbling through the front. She even managed to fall over the couch, twice.”
“She was... pretty drunk.”
“I had to help her into bed. She could barely get out of her clothes. Next time, maybe don’t let her drink her own weight in wine.”
“You got it.” Nick smiled as Damion wandered off to speak with the contractors. Nick watched him leave with a sad look upon his face. Speaking with Damion, it was like speaking with Emma’s boyfriend. He was kind and protective about her when the reality was that he’d looked after her when she’d previously been hooking up with a different guy. The situation was becoming increasingly messy, and Nick didn’t like it one bit. Messy meant that people were going to get hurt. The future of Delacourt Designs depended on no one breaking one another’s heart.
Daniel breezed into the building, smelling fresh and looking alert. Nick had to hand it to the guy that an early morning bootie call certainly didn’t affect his professionalism or style.
“Morning,” Nick greeted him politely.
“Morning,” Daniel replied, his greeting more icy in tone.
Nick observed Daniel as he glanced briefly around the room. He went over, clapped Damion on the back, and started to speak with the contractors.
“Hey, man, I appreciate you stopping by.” Damion smiled at his friend. “It’s always good to get a number of opinions on stuff.”
“Happy to help while I’m here,” Daniel replied.
“How long will you be here?” Nick asked, heading over to the duo. He kept his voice light and friendly.
“Excuse me?” Daniel didn’t react well to the question despite the careful delivery.
“I mean, don’t you have to go back to England at some point?”
“Yeah, at some point,” Daniel replied before he physically turned his back on Nick to speak solely to Damion.
“I could really use some coffee,” Daniel exclaimed.
“Me too,” Damion agreed. “I’ll go turn on the machine in the function room.”
“Aren’t you going to ask where Emma is?” Nick asked Daniel’s back. He noticed the shoulders tense as he did.
“I was just about to.” Daniel turned and gave him a polite smile. “Where’s Emma?” he flicked his eyes over to Damion.
“She’s hungover,” Damion explained. “Too much wine last night. Blame him.” He laughed and pointed at Nick.
Nick shrugged off the blame and continued to watch Daniel intently.
“Not very professional if you ask me,” Daniel stated. Then to Damion, “You need to control her better.”
Nick gritted his teeth together in frustration. How could Daniel behave as he did, considering what was going on? He kept setting poor Damion up to fall even more madly in love with Emma when all along he was the one sleeping with her!
“You know what she’s like; she’s stubborn. Come on, let’s go get that coffee.” The two of them strolled off, but Damion turned to look back at Nick.
“You coming?”
“Nah.” Nick shook his head. “I actually need to check something with Emma. I’ll swing by your apartment and see her there.”
“Okay, man, see you later.” Damion waved while Daniel just looked at Nick with contempt.
IT TOOK EMMA ALMOST ten minutes to answer the door to Damion’s apartment. When she finally appeared, she was wearing pink pajamas and clutching a hot water bottle. She looked pale and withdrawn and smelled slightly of vomit.
“Morning, sunshine,” Nick quipped.
“Nick, hey,” Emma croaked, moving aside to let him in.
“I think we might have overdone things a bit last night,” Nick declared as he went to the far side of the room and cracked a window.
“Hey,” Emma objected. She was already feeling cold.
“Trust me, this room needs air. It smells like a pair of frat boy’s pants.”
“Fine.” Emma sighed and flopped back down onto the couch.
Nick sat down opposite her, perching on the edge of a leather recliner that faced the window and the impressive vista of the city beyond.
“Do you remember much about last night?” he asked her, resting his hands on his knees.
“Not really.” Emma hugged herself and tried to ignore the pounding in her head.
“So you don’t remember hooking up with Daniel after you left the club?”
“Oh my God!” Emma’s eyes flew open with terror. “What did he say?”
“Relax. He didn’t say anything. I just had a hunch.”
“A hunch?”
“You bundled yourself into that cab like you had somewhere to go,” Nick explained. “I figured you’d gone to visit your favorite piece of man candy.”
“It’s not like that,” Emma objected sternly.
“Isn’t it?” Nick challenged. “So you’re not his booty call? Shouldn’t he be the one putting you into bed, cleaning up your sick, and taking care of you? Not Damion.”
Emma lowered her head guiltily. She knew that Nick was right.
“It’s just casual,” she explained, her voice low.
“We both know you’re not the sort of girl who does casual,” Nick said gently. “So why keep doing this to yourself?”
Emma started to cry hot salty tears as her shoulders shook. She wiped her eyes with her flannel pajamas, but she couldn’t stem the flow. Her cheeks started to turn red and blotchy.
“Hey, come on, I’m just here to talk not upset you.”
“But you’re right,” Emma howled. “I’m a complete fool. I keep going back to Daniel even though all he ever wants is to fuck. He’ll never actually want to be in a relationship with me again. And Damion actually cares about me, and I exploit those feelings even though I don’t think about him that way.”
Nick joined Emma on the couch and placed a comforting arm around her.
“I need to get my life together,” she sobbed, shuddering with sadness. “I need to get my own place, to get my head straight.”
“Okay, I’ll help you with that if I can,” Nick told her kindly. “But what about Daniel? Don’t you think it’s time you were honest with him?”
Emma knew what she needed to say to Daniel. She needed to tell him that a casual relationship wasn’t enough for her; it was all or nothing. But she already knew that Daniel would choose nothing. He’d be on the next flight to England before she could blink. Then she’d be without him, lost to her own despair. Having him in a casual context was better than not having him at all, wasn’t it?
“You just need to be honest with yourself,” Nick urged her. “If you want a real relationship with Daniel, tell him that. He might surprise you.”
“You think?” Emma’s voice grew high and hopeful.
“No,” Nick said bluntly. “The guy is a douche, and I honestly don’t know what you see in him. But the heart wants what the heart wants; I’m not one to judge. I’m just...” Nick sighed and looked out of the far window. Ominous gray clouds were rolling in and settling above the city. Soon it would rain.
“I worry about Damion,” he admitted. “He really cares about you. I don’t want to see him get hurt.”
“Yeah, me neither.”
“You been looking at apartments?” Nick picked up the iPad that Emma had discarded beside her. It was open on a realtor’s page listing two-bedroom apartments in the city.
“Yeah.” Emma coughed. “I really need my own place, especially as the renovations are progressing so much at the house.”
Nick scrolled through the available apartments and made complimentary sounds. “There’s some real nice places here,” he told her. “Want to go look at some today?”
“I’m not really dressed.” Emma lifted her arms to highlight her casual attire.
“Then get dressed,” Nick urged her. “Have a shower, put on some clean clothes, and let’s go find you an apartment of your own. Its time you got your life together, Emma Delacourt! The business is booming; time to fix your personal life!”
Emma had to admit that Nick’s enthusiasm was inspiring, and she was tired of crashing at Damion’s place. She realized that the reason she’d been holding
back on getting her own place was partly because she kept hoping that Daniel would ask her to move in with him. What a fool she was.
“Thanks, Nick.” She smiled warmly at her friend. “Thanks for everything.”
“Anytime.” Nick smiled back. “Now go get cleaned up. You smell like puke!”
EMMA TWIRLED AROUND the open-plan living area.
“I love it,” she enthused. The realtor smiled politely.
“I told you.” Nick winked at her. “This apartment has Emma Delacourt written all over it!”
The apartment was located in the center of town in a refurbished fire station. It boasted brick feature walls and high windows that let in an abundance of natural light. It was traditional yet stylish and perfect for Emma.
“So shall we confirm the sale?” the realtor pushed.
Emma hesitated for a moment. The apartment was more than perfect and she did love it, but buying it would cement her future away from Daniel.
“She’ll take it,” Nick answered on her behalf. He saw the conflicted look in her eyes and knew what was holding her back.
“Wonderful.” The realtor smiled falsely. “I’ll go prepare the paperwork.” He strode out of the apartment, back to his waiting car, leaving Emma and Nick alone.
“I do love it,” Emma reiterated.
“I know, that’s why you should take it. You’ll be happy here.”
“Yeah.” Emma sighed and looked out of the tall window. She could see the city pulsating all around her, and just in the distance loomed the impressively large structure in which Daniel lived. He would be within walking distance. Her whole body twisted at the thought. Would she sit in her new apartment, alone, watching to see if and when the lights went out in Daniel’s apartment? Was this new home too close for comfort?
“Emma, you need to move on,” Nick said softly, joining her by the window and glancing out.
“Instead of looking that way”—he pointed at Daniel’s apartment building—“why not try a new perspective?”
He physically moved Emma ninety degrees so that she was looking down at the less developed part of the city that retained its rustic charm. She could see boutique shops and terraces adorned with flowerpots.
Designing Emma (Volume 4) Page 6
