Chapter 7 Harper
HARPER
Lila and I curled up on opposite ends of my couch with our wine and bowls of popcorn and stared at the blank TV screen. She sipped and eyed me from the side. “So, are you going to tell me what happened last night or not?”
“Not?” It came out on a light chuckle, and she threw a pillow at my head. I batted it away, a full-bodied laugh shaking my shoulders. “Fine. I’ll tell you.”
She leaned forward, her eyes wide.
“I had sex with them.” A smile burst out, giddy little bubbles popping along my skin and shivering down my spine.
Lila grabbed my arm. “What do you mean, them?” Her nails pinched my skin, and she shook my arm hard enough to slosh my wine. “Tell me everything.”
I gave her a PG explanation of my experience.
I refused to give her too many details. Even though we were best friends and I trusted her with this secret, there were parts of that night—of the person I’d become—that I wasn’t ready to reveal.
Like how I’d wanted all three of them to push their cocks into me and let me ride them like a damned rocket.
Or how I’d enjoyed Dante choking me and how I’d wondered what it would feel like to have him take things a little further.
“You bad, bad bitch.” Lila smacked the side of my arm with the back of her hand. “That sounds incredible. I envy you.”
“It was the best sex I’ve ever had.” I sighed into my wine. “But we agreed it was a one-time thing.” Disappointment sat bitter on my tongue, but I forced it down. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to go back to the typical dating scene after last night.”
Lila topped off my wine and gave me a sad smile.
“I get it. Men our age are total assholes. I’d do anything to have a night like yours.
Even with just one guy. To have that kind of explosive chemistry and sex.
” She shivered while smiling and rubbing her arms. “The closest I get is with my new dildo. I call him Brad. You might have to invest in one for yourself. Not as good as the real thing, but Brad’s big enough to get the job done. ”
Big enough. A memory of Alexander’s incredible cock popped into my head. My stomach clenched and I soaked my damn panties. “I saw Alexander on my way out of the building tonight. He looked at me like nothing had happened.”
Almost like it hadn’t mattered to him at all.
That hurt more than anything. I’d understood and obeyed the rules we set out, but it hurt to have him look at me and not even show a shred of emotion.
What would it take to snap that control?
Even as he railed me last night, he’d been tightly wound and in complete control.
What would it feel like to have that break, for the animal I’d glimpsed inside him to burst out?
“I’m sure he didn’t mean for it to look that way.
It’s not like he could pin you against the wall and tell you how much he wanted you right there in the elevator.
” Lila’s eyes danced, her mischief and sexual energy on full display.
“It’s better to have the experience, right?
” She nudged my wine glass toward my mouth.
“And now you’ll know what kind of standard to set for the next man who takes you to bed. ”
“You’re right, but there’s no one else in the world who can compare to them.
” I sighed and closed my eyes, shutting out the sight of my drab apartment.
I’d moved in here after Dad passed away, unable to bear the sight of my empty childhood home.
This was almost worse. I’d taken some of the furniture, things like Dad’s old desk and the entertainment center.
I’d bought the couch and chairs from an online store and barely bothered looking for decor that matched.
The eclectic mix of old and new comforted me.
Lila scooched down in her corner and propped her feet on the coffee table. “Who has the biggest dick?”
“I’m not answering that.” I snorted and sat up, drinking my wine and trying not to remember every touch of their skin on mine. Lila rolled her eyes and I giggled. “Don’t start.”
“I’m not starting anything.” She grabbed her phone and typed, then she showed me the screen. “But if you ever get the chance, you have to try this position with them. They’ve already rocked your world, but this will rock theirs too.”
I took her phone and turned it sideways. “I can’t even tell what’s happening.”
“Oh, girl. I really hope they change their mind. And I know you didn’t bring it up, but I’m going to, don’t be afraid to talk to them.
Tell them what you want. Men like that, who listen to you, are too good to pass up.
They know how to please you, and it sounds like that’s what they want. So let them.”
They’d said something similar last night. “It just feels weird. I mean, saying fuck and cock around you is one thing, but with them?”
“With them, they know what to do with fuck and cock and cunt and ass.”
“Lila!”
“Oh, don’t Lila me.” Lila scooted closer and put her arm around my shoulders. “You might not get another chance, but if you do, go for it. What can it hurt?”
She had a point.
My phone dinged, and Dante’s name appeared on the screen.
“Ohhh.” Lila wiggled her eyebrows and snatched my phone from the coffee table. “What’s it say?”
I unlocked the screen and scrolled to the message with Lila leaning to read over my shoulder. My mouth went dry as I read and then reread the text.
Dante: We all agreed this would be a one-time thing, but after further discussion, we would like to request another ‘private meeting’ with you. Perhaps after the company gala?
Lila covered her mouth with both hands and let out a short but excited scream. “They want to have sex with you again.”
“You don’t know that.” I ignored the undertones of the message and tried to take it at exact face value. My heart turned somersaults and my stomach clenched. I wanted it too much. I knew that already, and it wouldn’t be fair of me to assume they wanted more.
Lila grabbed my arm and shook me hard. “Stop that. Read the damned message, Harper. They asked for a private meeting after the gala. That can only mean one thing. Are you going?”
I hesitated, my hands warming around the phone. “I hadn’t planned on going since I don’t have a date.”
“Fuck that. You have three men who want to see you afterward. You don’t need to take a date.” My best friend in the whole world shook me again. “Harper, I swear to god, if you ignore this I will never speak to you again.”
I snorted. “Yes, you will.”
She huffed a laugh. “You’re right. But I’ll still be pissed as hell.
I get that it’s not ideal, but damn it, girl.
You need this. I need this for you. Let me live vicariously through you.
” She tapped the phone screen, making it light up.
“It’s Dante, isn’t it?” She tapped the screen again with one long red nail.
“Dante has the biggest dick. He gives big dick energy.”
“I’m not talking to you about that.” My cheeks heated as memories swept in. Dante wasn’t the biggest of the three, but that mattered about as much as what color I decided to paint my nails. They knew what they were doing. Did having a larger than average cock help? Sure.
But they’d gotten me off with their hands and mouths with such stunning pleasure that I couldn’t care less about their size. Well…maybe I cared a little. They sure did feel good when they stretched me to my limit, filling every possible inch of me.
Grinning, Lila flopped backward onto the couch and grabbed her wine. “Fine. But I want details afterward.”
“Ew.” I pretended to gag. “I don’t ask for details about your sex life.”
“Because you don’t have to. I tell you every single detail. In detail.”
“Not because I want to hear it. I’m agreeing to meet with them, so you don’t have to hound me about it.” I rolled my eyes as Lila squealed and bounced on the couch, but I couldn’t help grinning as I typed out a short message to Dante.
After the gala is fine with me.
I left it at that. My fingers twitched on the screen, a million questions racing through my thoughts.
I wanted to know what exactly they meant.
Was Lila right and they couldn’t let me go after our agreement?
It seemed impossible. No man had ever chosen to sleep with me more than once.
If I got them into bed at all, it was exactly as Dante pointed out.
The guy in my bed found his release but never seemed to give a fuck about mine.
I’d been left empty and unfulfilled and desperate enough to drag out the toys tucked away in the drawer beside my bed. That was supposed to be the point of having a man over, to have connection and fulfillment. If I wanted to get off, it was easy enough with the use of a dildo.
A sigh worked its way up from my core. I locked it behind my teeth and tried to keep my face from giving away my frustration.
Lila knew me too well and would pounce on any insecurity. She’d always been my biggest cheerleader and hated when I put myself down.
We spent the rest of the night with me trying not to think about the gala and Lila talking about nothing but the gala.
By the time she left and I fell into bed, I’d almost changed my mind about going.
I woke to a voicemail the next morning. Lila’s cheerful voice filled my bedroom. “Don’t you dare try to back out. You’re going to the gala.”
I snorted and covered my head with the blanket, fully prepared to call in sick at work and refuse to move from my bed. If I knew Lila would let me, I’d go for it. But she’d show up, drag me out of bed, and shove me out the door.
So, I fought my way out of the covers and went to work like it was any other day.
I somehow managed to get through my job without any major blunders and drove home to dress for the gala.
I’d barely gotten through the door and closed it behind me when the doorbell rang.
Surprise skittered up my spine in a rolling wave, and I opened the door a crack to peer out.
A long black box rested on the doorstep, with a crisp, white card tucked underneath an elegant silver bow. I checked left and right along the sidewalk, but no one caught my eye. I opened the door a bit further and pulled the box inside, snatching the card up and ripping it open.
“I look forward to seeing you tonight. Dante.” The bold script locked my heart in a furious beat, but it was the intention behind the words that had me digging into the box with a kind of frantic fervor.
The black lid gave way to piles of white tissue paper. I peeled the layers back one by one, revealing a swath of red fabric. “No way.” I ran my hand along the skirt and up over the ruffled shoulders. “No way in hell he sent me the fucking red dress from Pretty Woman.”
I pinched the shoulder pieces between my thumb and forefinger and lifted the dress from the depths.
Nope. Definitely not the same dress, but the gut punch feeling refused to abate.
It mixed with a jolt of pleasure that he’d cared enough to send me a stunning dress, but was he trying to buy me in some way?
I couldn’t make sense of his intentions.
The dress was something from a dream. The long skirt tapered at the waist in an hourglass shape that would hug my curves.
I checked the tag. How had he known my exact size?
I wasn’t exactly easy to fit, but this dress might as well have been tailor made for me like one of his suits.
I carried the dress to my room, laid it across the foot of the bed, then returned for the card. I read it again before trying to stuff it back in the envelope. The edge caught on something, forcing me to stop and peer inside.
A gold keycard glimmered at the bottom of the card. The hotel’s logo was etched on the front, and the word penthouse on the back.