“You have a look on your face,” Matt says, offering his hand to shake mine.
“What look?” I pull off my sunglasses.
“You look happier than I’ve seen you in a very long time, friend.”
Despite living out here and our hang-outs dwindling to two or three dinners or parties a year, I know this to be true. Back in college I was the guy sulking in the corner, nursing a drink on my own and rejecting the advances of pretty much any woman who walked over or even, frankly, looked my way. I never liked to party and much preferred to study, but Matt and my other suitemates made me go out, practically forcing me into something nicer that a T-shirt on a regular basis.
I didn’t like any of the women I met, though. There was no real challenge, no chase, and I never liked things that came too easily. They just fell into my lap. There was no mystery to any of it — and it was that same apathy and general despondency that made a good pool of candidates for me to drown my sorrows in after the divorce. But Angela is all mystery. And she’s all mine.
“Thanks,” I say to Matt, aware of the fact that he is very right in his assumption. “I am happy.”
It feels good to say that.
“Let me show you the property.” He claps his hands together once and puts a hand out for me to lead the way. He enters the combination for the gate and it swings open slowly, giving an unobstructed view of the home.
“Damn.” I chuckle. “This place looks fantastic.”
“Wait until you see it.”
He gives me a tour of the place. The wide driveway is flanked on one side with a plush green lawn and a modern fountain in the center. The entrance to the home is wide and lit up by wall sconces. The whole thing is sleek and modern, with tall glass windows on the left side of the home.
Matt unlocks the door and opens it for me to step inside. My dress shoes click on the blond wood flooring as I take it all in, but the most stunning part is the infinity pool out back and, beyond it, the ocean.
“Chef’s kitchen, five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and a priceless view,” Matt says in a tone that’s meant to entice.
“And a pool.”
“Of course.”
I smile and turn to him.
“I’ll take it.”
“Just like that?” Matt says.
“Just like that.”
I put my hand out and we shake on it. I know Angela is going to love this.
This is going to be fun.
8
Angela
“Where are we going?”
Joshua grabs my hand and takes my carry-on from me. I’ve been clutching the handle for the last four hours, all the way from the airport in New York where I was informed by Joshua’s driver that I would be taking his private jet out to California to this moment. I think I was using it as a life-raft. I kind of feel like I’m drowning.
“You’ll see.”
He flashes me the most beautiful, confident smile as he opens the door for me and I slide in. He comes in after me and I look over, a little self-conscious. He knows I’ve never flown on a private jet before, and as though he can read my mind — or maybe he’s just reading the expression on my face — he reaches over and takes my hand, not saying anything and just sliding his thumb over my knuckles. It’s instantly reassuring and calming.
“How is Emily?” he asks.
“She’s great,” I reply. “Get this, she’s actually thinking about going to law school instead of med school. Can you imagine that, her as a lawyer?”
“Ha. Her mom always said she’d become a doctor or a lawyer. Em was always interested in medicine. I wonder what made her change her mind.”
“I bet it has something to do with what a good lawyer you are. She’s actually thought about working as a public defender.” I give it a moment of thought. “I guess that’s actually nothing like what you do, huh?”
“As long as she’s happy.”
I hate that I might cause a strain on their relationship.
They have a call every Thursday night but I know he hasn’t seen her as much as he’s wanted to, being out here in California for some business and going back and forth between here and New York. He’s always been a patient, compassionate and doting father, and it was always a relationship I looked at when I thought about the kind of man I would end up with. I never thought it would be Joshua, but now that I have him, I can’t imagine not being with him ever again. I know he’s going to be a good father — because he already is a good father. I always thought he looked at me kind of like a daughter.
But he doesn’t. I feel my cheeks blush when I think about all the sexy, flirty texts we’ve been sending to each other. He’s demanding even over text, sending me things like I want you to think of me tonight when you touch yourself or keep your pussy safe for me. During the day we can say all the lovey-dovey stuff to each other, but at night, it’s different. He changes from this incredible man to an incredibly dirty talker. Possessive, demanding, hot. He sends me messages that make my heart race and make me tingle all over, and when I close my eyes at night and think about the life we’ll have together, I become overwhelmed with happiness.
We ride in the back of his car in a deliciously comfortable silence, the kind you can only fall into with an old friend. The car ride is quick, though, and with my eyes closed, just as I think I’m going to fall asleep, we roll to a stop. I open my eyes and peer up through the window at a row of lush hedges and beyond it, a looming, modern gate. Palm trees sway peacefully in the breeze and I turn my face to look at Joshua, a weightless feeling lifting through my chest.
“Go on,” he says, “you wanted to know where we were going, so take a look.”
I get out of the car and look up, pulling my sunglasses off my head and slipping them into my back pocket. I throw a little look behind me — he has to be kidding. This is where we were headed and he didn’t want to give me a little warning first?
Stunned, I take a few slow steps toward the gate and he runs around me to punch in the security code. The gate starts to swing open and reveals a long driveway. He takes my hand and we make our way to the house, and once inside, I feel like I’m in a dream.
“This is wonderful,” I say, walking in a small circle in the foyer. “But I’m confused. Why are we here?”
“I bought it for us,” he says, putting his hands in his pockets. I feel like my breath has been taken away.
“For us?”
“I want you to move in with me.” He takes a big step forward. “I’ve wanted to ask you since the day you stumbled into my party, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you. The house is big enough for us to grow into with our family and there’s a pool, as you can see”—he gestures toward the back of the house, where large floor-to-ceiling windows show a stunning view of the pool and ocean—"and there’s an office where you can work on your books. The house is close enough to your school that you can commute.”
“I can’t believe it.” I put my fingers to rest on the steel banister leading to the second story. I really can’t believe it. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted. A life with him. A home to grow into.
“So will you move in with me?”
“What about your work?” I ask. “You’re based in New York. I don’t understand.”
“I’m not doing that kind of work anymore. I’ve taken a position out here.”
“Don’t tell me you’re becoming a public defender,” I say. Now I know that he’s spoken to Emily about it, and she did get the idea from him. Daddy’s girl.
“I figure I’ve spent enough time helping rich assholes break up. It’s time for me to give back. And it’s because you inspire me, Ange. I spent so long worrying about keeping up with my peers and landing the next client, and it got me nothing. When you came into my life, I realized that I was living for all the wrong things. I want us to start over here. Together. I just want you. I want to protect you and protect Emily from judgment, but I know we’re doing nothing wrong. I don’t care what people think about me, but
I care about what people think about my girls, which means I will do everything I can to remove the stigma around us being together. That’s why I want our life to start here. I want a fresh start. I want you.”
“I want you too, Joshua,” I say. “You are the only man I’ve ever loved. The only man I’ve ever wanted.”
“I can be jealous,” he says, taking a step toward me. “I can be possessive and I might get angry if I see any other man looking at you.”
“You can’t take my bikinis away from me,” I laugh. “You can’t stop me from going to the beach. You can’t stop me from going to class and you can’t stop me from having my own life.”
“Just know that if I catch anyone looking at you there will be a problem. I might just have to punish you for prancing around other men wearing just scraps.”
I bite my lip as my body tingles.
“Promise?”
“I promise. So does this mean you’re moving in with me?”
“Yes,” I say, blinking away a few tears. “But I have one condition.”
“Tell me what it is and we will make it happen.”
“I want us to tell Emily about us. Together. I don’t want her finding this out by accident. It has to be on our terms.”
He steps toward me and takes my face in his hand, brushing a stray hair behind my ear.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
He crushes his lips to mine and I squeal as he grabs my ass and makes me wrap my legs around him. He carries me to the stairs and keeps kissing me as he strides to the second floor like he owns the place.
He does.
And he owns me, too. My heart, my soul, my everything. He always has.
“Let’s go figure out what room we want to be ours,” he says against my lips. “There are three that can be considered the master.”
“Sounds perfect.”
“You know, there are five bedrooms in this place,” he says.
“We might have to christen all of them to figure out which one we want.”
“I like the sound of that.”
He puts me down and I find my footing easily and watch as he stalks toward me again, licking his lips and unbuttoning his shirt.
Tonight is going to be a good night.
9
Joshua - Two Weeks Later
Public defenders aren’t paid enough. Their caseload is too heavy. They barely have enough time to prepare for their hearings. They only get a few minutes alone with a client to go over the facts with them before they’re thrust in front of a judge.
This experience has made me a little disillusioned with the system. There’s been more than one occasion where I’ve had to shuffle through paperwork while I’m in front of a judge who is silently — well, judging me — over a pair of eyeglasses. I don’t like to not look good in my career. I love to look good. I’m planning to set up a firm that takes on pro-bono cases for the public who can’t afford a good attorney and have to rely on the attorneys provided by the state. It’s not meant as an insult against the public defenders of this state, or an indictment of their professionalism. But I think I can help more than I have been.
And I’d be killing two birds with one stone if it also meant getting this paperwork out of my car.
“What are you doing here?” Angela smiles, bending down to look at me through the open passenger-side window.
“I took the afternoon off so I could see you. Get in,” I say, reaching over to grab the box of manilla folders from the passenger seat. I nestle it onto the floor behind the seat and Angela slips into the seat next to me.
“This is such a lovely surprise.” She smiles over at me and I take the back of her head in my hand, pulling her lips to mine. She moans against my mouth as I take her softly and slowly.
The past two weeks with her have been incomparable with any other time of my life. She makes me smile again. She makes me laugh. She makes me remember what it’s like to sit in comfortable silence and feel nothing but bliss.
There are so many things to love about her, like the way the sunlight dances across her skin or the way she likes to hold her arms out as she runs into the churning ocean surf. I’m obsessed with every little detail about her and the obsession has only grown.
I like when she teases me, wearing a short skirt out on a date and knowing that other men will look at her. It turns me into a possessive, jealous son of a bitch, and if I can make her come an extra time to punish her while I slide into her over and over from behind, her ass cheeks raw and pink from my hand — it’s a win-win.
“When is Em coming in, again?”
Despite Angela’s eagerness to bring the truth to light, she is afraid of the aftermath.
We pull out of the parking lot behind the Humanities building at Angela’s school. There’s something about the way she holds her schoolbooks against her chest, her eagerness to learn, that makes me want to give her some new lessons of my own.
“The jet is scheduled to land at four tomorrow evening,” I say as we glide onto the street.
“And then we’ll tell her.”
She glances over at me and bites her lip. I reach over to grab her hand. We’ve been dancing around the subject of telling my daughter about my and Angela’s relationship because I know Angela is apprehensive. She doesn’t want to hurt Emily — hell, of course I don’t either — and I know Angela is confident we are doing the right thing by telling her on our own terms.
I mean, what would the alternative be? Waiting until Angela is pregnant and starting to show and dropping the news on Emily then?
I don’t know what my daughter’s reaction is going to be, but I know she will come around and support us in time. I’ve tried my best to be a good father, and I think I’ve taught her that compassion and patience are the best traits you can hold. I’ll be patient and wait for her to come around. That’s the only choice there is.
Angela and I have the perfect life together. I deserve a shot at happiness. And I know having Angela is the only way I’ll be happy.
“How was work today?” Angela asks. It’s Friday and I didn’t have anything in court today because the judge I was scheduled to appear in front of called in sick and there was no one available to take over her docket. I moved some things around and was able to go into the office for a few hours in the morning and get home in time to pick Angela up.
“It was okay,” I sigh, gliding my hands across the steering wheel. “There are better things to talk about, though.”
“Oh, really?” She teases me, sliding one hand across the median between us. Road head? That’s not what I had in mind. I don’t venture there, instead keeping my eyes on the road even as my cock thickens at the idea of being between her beautiful lips in a semi-public space.
“If you’re planning to get into my pants, maybe we should save it,” I grunt-laugh as her fingers trace naughtily back to her side of the car. “I was thinking of taking a dip in the pool when we get home. First thing. Jumping right in.”
“And you’re not even going to take off your suit?” She laughs.
“Just watch me, I will go in, shoes and all.”
“Maybe I can convince you to get out of those clothes, Mr. Stevens.”
“How are you going to do that, baby?” I glance over at her and watch for a moment as she traces her collarbone with her fingers, drops her head back and squeezes her thighs together. The flash of black pleated material with the hem high on her smooth thighs is the stuff dreams are made of. I put my eyes back to the road and grip the steering wheel as I swallow thickly. My cock is pulsing and humming like a goddamn car engine, rearing me up and getting me ready to go.
“Maybe I can get myself ready for you.” She moans softly as her fingers glide up the front of her shirt. Jesus Christ. My tongue turns to lead. She grasps the fabric and slides it up, flashing her white panties for me. The crotch is soaked through. It looks like she’s been edging herself all fucking day — another thing we love to do together.
“Who m
ade your pussy wet?” I growl.
“You did, Mr. Stevens. You made me all wet. Every time I think of your tongue down there I get wet.”
“And you were wet in class, were you?”
“Yes,” she breathes, sliding her hand down inside her panties, her head still tipped back. “I got so wet. I was bad.”
My pulse is now racing in my ears, working a mile a minute. I slam on the brakes at the red light on the corner of our street and look over again to see my girl — and to see the growing wet spot on the crotch of her little panties.
I run my hand over the front of my pants — my cock is engorged and pulsing and I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get the car in the driveway before I’m attacking my fucking perfect woman — but then her hand comes to a stop and she looks over at me, her face suddenly pale.
“We have to stop.”
“Fuck no, we don’t have to stop,” I groan, shifting my hips.
She points out the windshield and I crane my neck to see what she’s indicating. There’s a cab up ahead and —
“Fuck,” I groan, smacking the steering wheel.
Emily is piling out of the back of it and tugging her suitcase along with her. She knew Angela and I were out here, but had no idea we were living together, of course. And now, here she is, in a big hat and big sunglasses. She loves California. Now she’s going to associate this trip with lies and deceit instead of affection and love.
As the cab starts to drive away I pull in behind it, cutting the ignition and putting a hand out to tell Angela to stay put for a moment. She understands exactly what I’m telling her and sits back in her seat.
When I get out and slam the door behind me, it grabs Emily’s attention. A big smile spreads out across her face and she throws her arms around me and I wrap my arms around her in return.
Tonight's The Night (Night #5) Page 6
