by Eve Black
His steel eyes darkened to obsidian, his hands reaching out to grab at the sheet covering her. She swatted him away. He frowned. “Your ass and hips are just fine, Diana. Why do you think you need to worry about something like that?”
A flush flew up her neck, kissing her cheeks. Was he serious? “Because I’m plus-sized going on plus-plus-sized.” And she’d be even plussier once she hit the weight gain portion of the pregnancy.
“Is that supposed to mean something?” he asked, his tone incredulous.
She sneered. “Of course it means something. I’ve seen the women you’ve been with; thin, with perky tits, long legs, and faces made for magazine covers.” Lord she hated those women, and not because she didn’t look like them, but rather because she constantly compared herself to them. She knew she shouldn’t, that she was big, beautiful, and worthy of everything those women were, but that didn’t stop that hideous voice in her head, telling her that David preferred women he could be seen with, women who he could hang from his arm like a decoration.
That wasn’t her. She dropped her gaze from him, attempting to hide the flush of confusion heating her skin.
As if reading her mind—as he always seemed to do—he reached out and gripped her chin in his hand, forcing her to look him in the eye. “You’re gorgeous, Diana. I wouldn’t have fucked you otherwise,” David ground out, his eyes narrow and yet filled with fire. “I don’t make it a habit of taking unattractive women to bed.”
A thrill raced through her. He honestly thought she was attractive?
“I can see the question in your eyes, Peaches…” He leaned forward, using his impressive core muscles to keep himself upright as he took her face between both hands. “The moment I saw you, I knew I had to have you. No, you are nothing like the other woman I’ve been with, but that is part of the allure. You were more…natural, not made up with cosmetics, plastic, and flashy designer clothes. Your laugh is real, honest, husky. And your scent—” David brushed his nose over Diana’s neck, inhaling deeply. “—is unlike anything I’ve ever encountered. Fresh, luscious, sweet, decadent.” He shifted, leaning closer, his breath hot against her sensitive skin, before skimming his lips over where his nose had just been. “I knew then that I needed a taste of you, Diana.”
She shuddered, his words, his nearness sending chills of want through her flesh.
“And you got your taste,” she murmured, her voice a low hum.
He kissed the spot just beneath her ear, flicking out his tongue. She gasped, shuddering all the harder.
“Yes, I got my taste,” he drawled low. “But it wasn’t enough.” The steel in his gaze burned to molten, setting fire to the last ounce of her doubts. “It will never be enough,” he growled and she trembled against him.
Taking her mouth with his, David spent the rest of the evening showing her that she would never have enough of him, either.
When she awoke the next morning, it was to find the bed beside her empty. Startled, she sat up, the sheet sliding from her naked chest.
“David,” she called out, turning to blink at the clock on the bedside table. It was just past 6AM. Usually, if it were a work day, she’d already be up getting ready for work, but since she was in Manhattan on a Saturday, she figured she’d get to sleep in next to David that morning.
Apparently, that wasn’t part of his plans for the day. Sighing, she threw the sheet off her body and slipped from the bed. She didn’t have a change of clothes, and what she did have she’d worn to work the day before. Talk about a walk of shame; everyone in the office would know what she’d done. Thankfully, they wouldn’t know who she’d done it with. Not that that helped her current, pressing situation. Cursing, she pulled on her discarded panties, wondering if she had enough time to run to Margie’s place to grab the stuff she’d left there the weekend before.
Glancing at the clock again, Diana’s gaze caught on the rumbled sheets and pillows on the other side of the bed. The side where David had slept.
Where had he gone? She knew he was a busy man, his empire requiring his attention, but was that an excuse to not wake her up and tell her he was leaving?
Did you do that? She grunted, rolling her eyes at herself. No, she hadn’t, she left him their first night together. But how long would she have to relive that decision? It was as though it had taken on a life of its own, busting into her conscience to berate her for being such a coward. So, was David giving her a taste of her own medicine?
Rushing to the bathroom to potty, she couldn’t miss her reflection in the large, ornate mirror. Her hair ruffled and poofy, her lips swollen, her neck red from whisker burn…she looked as though she’d spent the night fucking. And she had. Her pussy throbbed, memories of her night with David drawing the heat from her limbs to pour it into her core.
She groaned.
Realizing she had little time to ruminate on all that had occurred, she hurried to dress, ran her fingers through her hair, and departed the suite in record time.
And it didn’t skip her mind that they, not once the night before, spoke about the baby.
Chapter 16
Margie burst through Diana’s office door, a heaping armful of flowers in her arms.
“What is all that?” Diana asked, her eyes wide and curious about the many colors of tulips and roses in her friend’s embrace. “Did a florist explode?” She chuckled at her own joke, though she didn’t really find it humorous.
Margie snickered, stopping at Diana’s desk and offloading the flowers which were in a tall, wide crystal vase, on to the desk top where all the files were open and waiting for Diana’s focus. She’d had none all day.
“These, darling, are for you,” Margie informed her, her face alight with both glee and mischief.
Shocked, Diana could only stare at the flowers, their scent beginning to fill her small office like a spring garden.
“What do you mean they’re for me? And when did you become the delivery girl for this floor?”
Margie waved off Diana’s remarks. “I was passing reception in the lobby when these were brought in. I told Elaine I could bring them up to you because, well, I wanted to see your face when you got a look at them.”
Diana shook her head.
“I’m sure you can guess who they’re from,” Margie prodded, her eyebrows wiggling comically.
Planting her hands on her hips, Diana huffed. “Who?”
“Just read the card.”
Narrowing her eyes at her friend, Diana drawled, “Had a look did you? Why don’t you just tell me.” Hell, she was pouting. But it wasn’t every day that she got flowers, and it didn’t seem right that Margie got to see them and the note from who sent them before she did.
“I didn’t read the card, Diana, but it doesn’t take a snoop to know who sent them.”
Relief filled her, but then the guilt came in, too. Warmth spread over her face.
“Sorry for assuming you’d snoop, Margie.”
“Pfft. Now, let’s see what Mr. Billionaire Baby Daddy said,” Margie chirped, which made Diana giggle.
Searching through the bouquet, Diana spied the card first. She pulled it from its holder and peeled the flap back on the tiny envelope. Holding her breath, she tugged the small card free.
It read: I can’t get the taste of peaches off my tongue. I’m craving you. Tonight. 7PM. Incantata.
It was signed with a beautifully scrolling D.
David.
Diana’s breath exploded from her chest just as she tried to swallow. Choking, she coughed, trying to get her bearings. Lord, David certainly didn’t play games, he told her what he wanted and when. Then, the anger came. What, did he just expect her to jump to do his bidding, be his beck and call BBW?
She grumbled under her breath about arrogant assholes, totally forgetting that Margie was still in the room.
“Well? What does it say?”
The office phone rang, saving Diana from having to answer. She raised a finger to tell Margie to wait, then she answered.
“This is Diana,” she greeted into the receiver, hoping she sounded livelier than she felt.
“Diana,” Mr. Ayers drawled on the other line. “Please come see me in my office.” He didn’t give her time to ask what the impromptu meeting was about, before hanging up. That was new. That was unexpected. Ayers had never been so curt to her before.
Has someone pissed in his Cheerios? She wanted to roll her eyes at her ridiculousness, but she didn’t. Because that wasn’t the reason her boss was calling her into his office instead of sending a message through the inter-office messaging system.
Anxiety bit at her, making her slow to replace the phone on its receiver.
Margie was still there, staring at her.
“What was that about?”
Diana shook her head, her shoulders edging up toward her ears. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll go find out, though.”
Margie walked out the office door before Diana but stopped just outside it.
“I’m going to grab some lunch from the cart in the lobby, but then I am coming back here so we can talk.”
The anxiety growing black tentacles in her chest, Diana could only say, “Alright.”
Margie left, but not before scouring Diana’s expression, her own eyes bright with concern, and once she was gone, Diana made her way to Ayers office, her legs as solid as banana pudding.
Sucking in a breath, hoping it would fortify her, she let it out, still feeling like something, just beyond that door, was going to swallow her whole.
She knocked, and Ayers called out, “Come.”
Hands shaking, she opened the door and stepped inside. Ayers sat behind his desk, his laptop open, and files piled neatly, nearly obsessively beside it.
“Can I help you with something, Mr. Ayers?” she asked, her voice surprisingly not strangled.
He waved her over. “Sit, please, Miss Bluth,” he intoned, his piercing blue eyes blank.
She sat, clasping her hands in her lap.
“I’m going to cut to the chase, because I owe that to you, Miss Bluth.”
What was happening? The hair on her neck stood up, and a wave of terror snaked down her back.
“I’ve had reports that you were spotted at the Bella Notte, where you were also seen leaving, and then going up stairs with one of our clients. I don’t need to tell you what assumptions have been drawn.”
Diana’s breath lodged in her throat.
David.
He was talking about the night she slept with David Brenner that first time. But that was weeks ago! Why was this coming out now?
In a gush, words spilled from her lips. “Sir, I can explain. I knew he was a client because I’d seen him in the building that day, but when he approached me in the bar…well, I…”
Ayers placed his hands on his desk and pushed his chair back, slowly standing to peer down at her with disappointment etched into his expression.
“I know David personally, as I’m sure you are aware, and I know his reputation with the ladies. However, I also know you are aware of our policy of employees keeping their hands off our clients. You were aware and you did it anyway, and that is grounds for immediate termination.”
A choked cry escaped her mouth.
He held up a large, long-fingered hand.
“But…since you have an exemplary record with this firm, and because I do know David Brenner and his tendency to do whatever the hell he wants, I’ve decided to give you the benefit of the doubt.”
Relief cascaded through her, immediately followed by humiliation. She had done this to herself, she had no one else to blame.
“Sir…thank you,” she murmured, unable to raise her voice higher than that. “I admit to my wrong doing and can only hope that this doesn’t affect my place within the firm moving forward.”
Ayers pursed his lips. “You misunderstand, Diana. I may have given you the benefit of the doubt, but the other partners are not so generous. They are demanding a disciplinary review.”
Shocked but not surprised, she closed the hinge of her jaw and waited for him to continue.
“You are to be suspended from work, without pay, until an investigation into your behavior is completed.”
Diana shot to her feet, fury taking the helm.
“Suspended without pay! They can’t do that. I’ve been a model employee—working long hours for you, never asking for special considerations.”
Ayers sighed, his expression now unreadable.
“And what about this investigation? What exactly needs to be investigated? I spent one night at the Serata Incantata, I slept with David Brenner and I left the next day. I didn’t even tell him my name, for God’s sake. It was supposed to be casual, it was never meant to be anything but nameless sex between two consenting adults, and now it’s going to be turned into some kind of dog and pony show with a farce of an investigation.” She didn’t bother telling him that she’d had sex with him since then, and they were, more than likely, going to have sex again. It wasn’t any of Ayers’s business what she and David did on their own time.
That first time, though…you knew it would come to this.
Shit!
She threw her hands into the air, guilt, fear, and rage exploding within her.
She knew she was letting her emotions reign, but what the hell else was she supposed to do? Suspended without pay, for however long the other partners needed for their fucking joke of an investigation, meant that she wouldn’t have money for food, the mortgage, Deidre’s tuition, or to put into savings for the baby. All because she’d let some beautiful billionaire charm her into his hotel room.
Goddammit!
Once again, she was getting fucked by David Brenner.
Once in her office, her face hot as hell, she pulled out her cell, dialing David. He didn’t answer, so, she left a voicemail.
“David, something’s come up. Please…call me back. We need to talk.” She sounded worn out, desperate, and why not? She just been handed the world’s rankest pile of shit.
Hoping she’d hear from David pretty soon, she went about straightening up her office—what was once her office, and stacking the files for her current cases on the side of the desk. Melinda, Kilgore’s paralegal, would be in to get them. They were her problem now.
When another ten minutes passed, Diana checked her cell. No calls or texts from David.
Heaving a sigh, she tried again. When he didn’t answer this time, a sliver of unease skittered through her blood.
Was he avoiding her? After sending her those flowers and that note?
What the hell was going on? Give him time to get back to you, maybe he is in a meeting. His life doesn’t revolve around you.
Truth. So why did it feel as though her world was about to collapse into the black hole of David Brenner?
Staring out the window behind his urologist’s desk, David only half listened to the nurse prattling in his ear. It was the same nurse he’d fucked months before and, for the life of him, he couldn’t fathom what he’d seen in her. Certainly, she was pretty enough, but that was where it stopped. She was thin—too thin—her clavicle protruding from her chest above two breasts that were too hard to be real. Plastic. Just like her smile. Fake. Put on to try and seduce him. He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. When she—he thought her name was Pamela—followed him into Dr. Branchard’s office, he assumed she’d leave him to wait for the doctor alone. Instead, she closed the door and began her campaign to get into his pants again.
“We had a wild night, didn’t we, David,” she purred, running her hand over his shoulder. He shook her off, ignoring her pout.
“We did,” he admitted dryly. “One night. That’s it.” He pinned her with a hard gaze, hoping she’d get the hint. And why was he not just telling her to kiss off? Well, he could blame Diana for that. Since their first night together, something had begun to take shape within him, and it was suspiciously shaped like thoughtfulness. After she’d abandoned him, he’d spent too long hating that feelin
g, so much so that he’d begun to wonder what it felt like when he’d done the same to his bedmates. It felt like shit. He hated feeling like shit. So…he did his best to make sure that Pamela wouldn’t feel like shit right now. “It was a pleasure, but I cannot offer you another.”
She continued to pout, anger flashing in her brown eyes. She opened her mouth, probably to curse his existence, but the doctor entering the room saved David from having to experience it.
“David,” Dr. Branchard said, his smile genuine. He reached out and took David’s outstretched hand, shaking it heartily. “I’m glad to see you, though I am surprised.” Branchard turned his bemused gaze on his nurse. “Pamela, thank you for keeping David company.” It was a dismissal, a smooth one. David wondered if he should be taking pointers from his urologist.
Pamela tensed, pressing her mouth in a thin line, before nodding and leaving the office. The door clicked shut behind her, and David let out a breath. Since when had being around pushy women been something to endure?
Since being with Diana was so natural. So…pleasurable—and it wasn’t just the sex. Whenever he was with her, he felt contentment, something he’d never felt with a woman before, even Rinna. With Diana he could laugh, relax, enjoy just being himself. It was addicting. So much so that leaving her that morning had nearly torn him apart. He wanted to stay with her, wrap her in his arms, and make love to her one more time. But he couldn’t let himself fall into her web.
She claimed to be pregnant. With his baby. An impossibility. When he’d first heard of her trip to the obstetrician, he believed she was preparing to launch an attack against him; battling him for money. As Rinna had tried to do. But…when she hadn’t contacted him—or an attorney—he had to sit back and rethink intentions. Since the beginning, Diana had proved to be…difficult. Since their first night together, rather than pander to him, telling him what she thought he wanted to hear, she’d been elusive, almost as though she’d been avoiding him.
