Chapter 12 #2
The two of us fell quiet, with the exception of the occasional slurp of our drinks.
While I’d admitted that I didn’t hate Miles, that was nowhere near the truth of how I felt about him.
How I’d felt about him since the minute I laid eyes on him four years ago.
If it was a feeling that hadn’t changed in the years since we first met, I doubted it would ever change.
Meaning, I got to spend the rest of my life wanting a man who couldn’t stand to be around me.
“Oh, Sofe,” Riley said, squeezing my arm again. “Miles is an idiot if he can’t see what’s right in front of him. I get his loyalty to Theo, but he really is a moron if he is going to miss an opportunity for happiness.”
I didn’t reply. What could I say? Clearly, Riley and I had differing opinions on Miles’ feelings.
We walked a little further when suddenly, Riley brought me to a stop outside a store. “You know what you need?”
“What?” I asked hesitantly, not liking the calculating look on her face. Her gaze moved to the store window where a mannequin displayed a very sexy, but very revealing, sparkly blue dress, the color matching my eyes. “You need a night out! We should go to Kai’s club tonight.”
I snorted. “I absolutely do not need a night out, especially at a club. Did you not just hear about the last time I went out?”
She bounced on the spot like an excitable puppy, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t rub off on me. “That was different! Come on, it’ll be fun. Just me and you. We’ll even have an area to ourselves so we can drink and dance without worrying about anyone bothering us.”
Temptation zapped through me. I hadn’t had a night to enjoy myself in forever. Seeing my resolve weakening, Riley grabbed my hand and dragged me into the store.
“Miles won’t let me,” I protested.
What could I say? Old habits died hard.
“Fuck Miles! He’s not the boss of you,” Riley replied, her lips pulled into a sly smirk.
She was right. Fuck Miles. Wasn’t that the motto I’d adopted since the wedding?
With little persuasion, I bought the blue dress, even agreeing with Riley that I looked hot in it. Not that I wanted to attract unwanted attention, but for once, I felt good about myself.
Confirming our plans for later, Connor and Rob took me home, my excitement swirling in the pit of my stomach at having something to look forward to.
I threw a quick dinner together, making sure to line my stomach before I started drinking, and then headed upstairs to my bedroom to start getting ready.
I had to admit that Miles had done a good job of choosing my bedroom for me. While it was a fraction smaller than my old bedroom, it was exactly the kind of room I would have picked for myself if I’d been given the choice.
It still had a walk-in wardrobe and ensuite, but the bed wasn’t a pompous four-poster, and the view from the floor-to-ceiling windows over the city was spectacular, particularly at sunrise and sunset.
Not bothering to lock my bathroom door—what was the point?
No one was home—I ran the shower and stripped off.
When steam billowed from the hot water, I climbed in and allowed the stream to wash over me.
Anticipation thrummed through my veins as I rubbed soap over my body and pictured myself dancing at the club later.
Before long, I was singing along to an upbeat song, softly at first, but the more my excitement grew, the louder my voice got.
Losing myself in the song, the music playing in my head, I imagined an audience watching me as I sang, reminding myself of the exhilaration I felt whenever I was on the stage at Bar Forty-Four. Before long, I was moving my hips in time with the notes leaving my mouth.
I grabbed the shower head and pulled it off the hook, closing my eyes as I used it as a microphone, and smiling to myself. I would have looked ridiculous if anyone saw me, but I didn’t care. Papa had barred me from singing at home, but I wasn’t barred here, and I was damn well enjoying myself.
Lost in the music, I moved the shower head over my body, washing the suds off, before lowering it between my legs. My singing was instantly cut off when an ‘oh!’ left me at the feel of the powerful water hitting my clit.
My eyes shot open as a devious smile tugged at my lips. I was alone. I hadn’t gotten myself off since days before the wedding, maybe even weeks.
At that realization, my core clenched. Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I closed my eyes again and moved the shower head back between my legs, allowing all thoughts of the night ahead to leave me, replaced by images of hands touching my body.
Lips kissing their way down my jaw, my neck, to my breasts, and sucking a nipple.
Not just anyone’s hands or lips either.
My husband’s.
Keeping the powerful stream aimed at my clit, I reached up with my other hand and pinched my nipple, gasping at the bolt of pain and pleasure that zipped through me.
In my head, I wasn’t in the shower. I was on a stage, with eyes watching me as Miles lowered himself to his knees and hooked a leg over his shoulder. His mouth kissed the soft skin of the inside of my thigh, teasing me with light grazes of his teeth.
My breathing turned to pants as pressure grew in my core, my climax gathering momentum. Until a creak of floorboards had my eyes flying open and my movements stilling.
In the steamed-up mirror, my gaze clashed with a familiar set of eyes, only instead of them filled with their usual contempt, they were filled with something else.
Something I’d seen in the same eyes four years ago.