Chapter 10
10
R AIN
“I’ll be ready around seven,” Eve says.
I glance at the time on my phone.
It’s not even five.
“Do you want me to pick you up?” I ask.
Eve’s voice echoes on the speakerphone.
“We can meet over there. Dress nicely.”
I smile.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“I’m taking you to a dance club. Many eyes will be on us, and some will hopefully shift to me. Maybe I’ll get lucky tonight.”
“Are you using me as bait, Missy?”
She chuckles.
“Always.”
“How was your gym workout this afternoon?”
“It was a hardcore, strenuous effort.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I tried to keep up with my instructor to impress him. I think he likes me a little.”
“Ohh.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“And, um… That’s it. He didn’t say anything to me, and I didn’t want to make a move and look desperate, so that’s that. Enough about him. I want to focus on this evening. And right now, I need to shower.”
“Okay. Bye.”
Head wrapped in a towel, and a robe tucked around my body, I prop my back against the headboard, stretch my legs, and move my eyes to the view.
The light of the summer afternoon streams through the windows, the Manhattan skyline looking mesmerizing in the distance.
I pick up my phone again, sift through the numbers, and tap one of them.
The phone starts ringing.
I don’t think he’s going to answer.
It’s Saturday afternoon, after all.
He does.
“Rain?”
He sounds surprised.
“Hey, Lex. Are you...? I’m sorry. Is this a bad time?” I ask, his heavy breaths echoing at the other end of the line.
“Nope. I’m working out. Hold on a second,” he says before going silent for a few seconds.
He comes back a moment later.
“Hey,” he says again, his voice different now.
“Do you have a moment?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Is Dahlia back?”
“She’s coming home tonight.”
“I wanted to ask you something.”
“Shoot.”
“Do you remember my birthday four years ago?”
Silence comes from him.
I look at the phone to see if he’s still on.
“Yeah...” he says softly.
“You came to my apartment that day, and my sister saw us together and took pictures of us before sending them to James. Do you know anything about that?”
Another moment of silence comes my way.
“Lex?”
“Yeah...”
He clears his throat.
“Yes, I know,” he says again.
“How do you know?”
“He confronted me that day, and we had an argument. How do you know about the pictures?”
“My sister told me about them.”
“She did?” he asks incredulously.
“Yes. She also told me the pictures had played a role in James and me getting back together. What did you tell him that day?”
His words come after a moment.
“The truth.”
I wait for him to elaborate.
“He drove to me that day. After he’d gotten those pictures. And he was pissed as hell when he pushed his phone in my face and straight out asked me if I’d slept with you. He was hurt because he thought I had. I told him why I came to you. I also explained to him he was the only one with a real chance to be with you. I told him he’d blown it once and shouldn’t do it again if he wanted you. Ultimately, I told him he needed to do something he hadn’t done before. Open up to you and make you trust him. He knew he was responsible for you moving to New York and leaving him. It was difficult for him to swallow the truth, but he accepted it eventually.”
His words echo in my head for a few good moments before I speak again.
“Thank you,” I say quietly. “You’re a very good friend.”
“I don’t have a choice, do I?”
A smile tinges his voice.
“Love you,” I murmur. “Say hi to Dahlia for me.”
“Love you too, baby. Have fun in New York.”
“I will.”
I place the phone beside me, roll to my side, and look out the window.
The sunset is a big splash of red, orange, and purple across the sky, and the cars look like moving dots across the bridge, the city humming with vibrant life.
I train my eyes in the distance and stare at the panoramic view for a few more minutes before sliding off the bed and heading to the walk-in closet.
* * *
RAIN
Early in the evening, Eve and I walk into a nightclub.
We dance for about an hour and have a good time before Eve hits it off with one of the men in our group, and I realize she won’t sleep at my place as we have planned.
She wants to spend time with him.
Minutes before midnight, I take a cab home.
“Good evening, Miss,” the doorman says, sliding the doors open for me.
Smiling, I enter the lobby.
The elevator takes me to the last level, where I walk straight into the penthouse suite.
A dark sky stretches outside the windows, with millions and millions of stars pulsing across.
I stop in front of the glass wall and stare at the skyline, the lights underneath, and the moon sparkling above.
I miss so many things.
I miss James, our home, and having our friends around the table. Eve, Lex, and Dahlia. Ed and Thea. Even my sister and her future husband if she’ll ever agree to come and visit me.
But most of all, I miss him.
My husband.
I pull away from the window, set my purse on the table, and fish out my phone.
A text from Eve puts a smile on my face.
Eve: He is delicious.
A picture of her with that man leaving the club flashes across the screen.
He is cute.
I check more messages. There’s nothing from James. And my last text message hasn’t even been opened.
I set my phone next to my purse and go to the bathroom.
Moments later, I shed my clothes and walk into the shower.
I relish the warm water rolling over my body before I turn it off and exit the bathroom, wrapped in a bathrobe.
A sound comes from the hallway, making my pulse spike.
Glancing around, I pat my pocket and realize I'd left my phone in the living room.
Tense, I take a few steps in that direction when another noise comes from the entrance.
I shift my gaze to the door.
It’s cracked open, yet no one is there.
Footsteps ring outside, making my chest tighten. A man pushes the door open, his silhouette filling the doorframe.
He walks in, his gaze trained on his phone, his head tilted down.
“James...?”
He flicks his eyes up, a smile curving his lips.
“Hey, baby,” he says, taking me in.
“James... Oh, my.”
My voice explodes with joy as I dash to him.
He opens his arms and catches me as I hop up and wrap my legs around his waist, my robe open.
My lips connect with his, my fingers sliding through his hair while my nostrils are tickled by his scent. A dash of smoke, pervasive summer, and musky cologne.
“Mmm...” I moan against his lips, my arms looped around his neck.
He kicks the door shut, lets me down without breaking the kiss, slips his hands inside my robe, and takes it off before dropping it to the floor.
He pulls me into him while I press myself into his frame.
He’s warm and tense, his sharp clothes rustling.
I wish we could talk first.
I have a million questions for him.
“Do you want me to fuck you in the hallway?” he asks, hoarse.
“Yes…” I murmur and lock his lips again, unbuttoning his dress shirt.
The clinking of his belt buckle echoes in the air as he unfastens it and works his fly open.
Moving my hands over his shoulders, I take his shirt off.
He lifts and props me against the wall table before making room for me with a sweeping motion and sending a few things to the floor.
Eyes locked with mine, he pulls my hips closer, his lips arched into a fiery grin.
Without breaking our stare, he reaches inside his suit pants, grabs the root of his erection, and slides his hard length into me without much introduction.
A gasp falls from my lips as I feel him deep inside my core.
“Ahh....”
Hungry for him, I push myself up, wrap my arms around his neck, and claim his mouth.
My lips stay locked with his as he lifts me from the table, grips my backside with both hands and thrusts hard into me.
“I missed you, James,” I murmur against his lips, my fingers tangled in his hair, my heart filled with joy as I get to see his face and mesmerizing eyes again.
The most beautiful grin I’ve ever seen tugs at his lips.
“I missed you too, baby,” he says.
I hug him tightly while he carries me to the bedroom.
Without leaving my body, he slides me onto the bed, and I spread my legs beneath him.
“This is the best surprise ever,” I say as he props himself on his elbow, holds me with his free arm, and rocks his hips against me, filling me up repeatedly.
My fingers trace his hair and neck and shoulders as if I want to make sure he is truly here with me.
His rhythm picks up, and lowering my eyelids, I revel in that sensation, getting drunk on every second he is connected to me, and I have his breath over my lips.
I wish I could stay in his arms forever.
Emotions tumble through me.
Mixed, raw, crazy feelings I never thought I’d have for a man.
I’m high, low, ecstatic, desperate, empowered, and ferociously dominated.
“James...” I call him quietly. “I wish you could come back home,” I murmur, the words dripping from my lips.
He slows down, his fingers threading through my hair, his lips coming next to mine.
He breathes into me, pouring more fire into me.
“I will come home...” he says against my lips. “I promise you. I will.”