Twenty-Three #2
He had no idea if she liked the recurring flower deliveries he started a few days after leaving, but he hoped so. Hell, the only reason he knew she saw them at all was because she still hung out with Pip, Luc, and Lina.
Once he had finished with the list of flowers representing apologies, he moved on: pink roses, white tulips, and blue hyacinths.
From the very start, each bouquet had been accompanied by a lengthy text message, apologizing profusely and explaining all the ways he’d make it up to her if only she’d let him.
But every message went unanswered, and she still hadn’t called him, not that she was obligated to.
Flagging down a taxi, he got in and gave the driver the address of the hotel.
The hotel was so close that James could’ve walked. But he was exhausted and the last thing on his mind was a ten-minute trek.
His phone pulsed, and he glanced at the screen, doing a double-take.
Sophie had responded. After a week of one-sided messages, she had responded.
Call me
With shaking fingers, he hit the appropriate option and sat back in his seat as the phone rang.
“Hello?” Desperation and emptiness swirled in his tone.
“Hi,” she said after a moment. “I’m sorry about not calling you sooner.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “You … didn’t need to.”
Relief flooded him, but how could he tell her the truth without spilling just how much she drove him out of his mind?
“Yes, I did. I should’ve,” she murmured. “Thank you for the flowers. And the pictures, and I’m sorry.”
He frowned. “Sorry for what?”
She drew a deep breath. “I—”
“Sorry, hold that thought for a minute,” he said as the cab stopped. Paying, he clambered out and headed into the bright fluorescents of the lobby. “Go on?”
She sighed. “I’m sorry because Marilyn told me you had nothing to do with my promotion, and I should’ve believed you when you told me instead of getting mad.
But I—I don’t know. There was so much other stuff happening and—I’m sorry.
I found out days ago, but didn’t call because I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. ”
His footsteps faltered, squelching on the marble tile as he exited the elevator. “What? Why wouldn’t it be a good idea?”
Something rustled on her end. “Well, I mean, think about it. The person who leaked the news is still out there and most likely still has eyes on us. If I called you and you decided to come see me when you get back tomorrow, that undoes this new leak Marilyn just put out trying to save our asses.”
“Sophie, we’ll be fine,” he assured as he pulled his keycard from his pocket. The past two weeks had been like fighting his way through a blizzard, and he never wanted to repeat it.
“But how do you know?” she demanded. “That’s what we thought the first time, and—”
“I don’t know,’ he admitted. “But we risk it, just like you told me.”
She heaved a sigh. “Alright. So … how’ve you been?”
“I could be better.” He somehow found it in himself to chuckle. “What about you?”
“Same here.”
He grinned. “Did you get the other things I sent?”
“What others?”
“I guess they haven’t gotten there, then.” Dropping into the armchair, he put the phone on speaker and slipped it on the coffee table. “It’s only three items, so hopefully they get there soon.”
“Be honest, how much did they cost?”
“Not enough,” he admitted.
“James—”
“I told you, I like to spoil you,” he teased. “Anyway, tell me about your week.”
Even if he’d been in New York, he’d want to know, for no reason other than it was Sophie.
Her rich laugh rolled over him. “I mean, if you insist.”
The information started as a slow trickle, but it quickly turned into a waterfall. Her voice twisted around him, filling him in on details both insignificant and noteworthy.
“Really, that’s all that happened?” he asked. “Nothing else interesting?”
“Is this a trick question?”
He crossed his ankles, eyes gleaming. “No, but I guess both my financial advisor and accountant called me by mistake. Apparently, I’ve been spending a lot of money in the past two weeks, and they worried my card got stolen since I don’t tend to frequent The Bergdorf Goodman Women's Store quite so much.”
“You were the one who said to use your card,” she protested
“Yes, but a hundred thousand’s worth? What did you even buy with that much money?”
“Hey, do you know how much clothes are at that store? Things add up. Plus, I spoiled my friends and family a bit. But if it’s such a big deal, I’ll—”
“Don’t you dare say you’ll pay me back,” he warned. “I told you—that’s your card, now. Do whatever you want with it.”
She scoffed. “Then why were you making a fuss?”
“I wasn’t,” he said. “I was just upset you didn’t spend more.”
“I would’ve, but I got busy.”
He let out a laugh, pride blooming. “Listen, can I call you back? I need to take a shower.”
Her breaths shook. “Or … you could stay on the line.”
He blinked. “What?”
“Don’t hang up,” she said. “Just put me on speaker and pretend like I’m there.”
A door clicked shut behind her words, followed by the rustle of fabric and the creak of her bedsprings.
Oh.
Swallowing, his cock hardened as he stripped and stepped into the shower. He rested his phone on one of the built-in shelves, far from the water’s reach.
“If I were there with you, tell me what’d you do.” Her voice fluttered,
brushing over his skin like the water streaming down his back. “What’d you do to me.”
He stared at the ceiling, his eyes searching out a crack and following it.
“I’d undress you.” His voice dropped to a fraction of his standard octave. “And then I’d lay you down on the bed and brush my fingers across your skin.”
Her breathing hollowed out as she put the phone on speaker. “That’s it?”
“Patience, Sophie,” he coached. Closing his eyes, his fingers transformed into hers, gliding over his cock.
Bracing a hand on the wall, he bowed his head, breathing deep.
“Patience is for losers,” she moaned. “Now be a good boy for me and keep going.”
His legs almost gave out as his cock swelled in his hand. “Jesus, say it again.”
“Keep going, and maybe I will.”
He grinned and obliged, telling her in a midnight voice how his hands would play with her nipples, trace down her torso, and dip between her legs. How he’d do it so slowly, she’d wonder if she was going insane from the pleasure.
Electricity built at the base of his spine, but he pushed it away as he explained how he’d fuck her with his fingers until she begged him to replace them with his cock.
Small moans and gasps floated from the receiver and he groaned as his fingers inched up and down his cock.
“Tell me, are you fucking your fingers and pretending they're mine?” His voice lowered, barely audible over the rush of the water. “Do you like knowing you’re soaked for me?”
Whispered obscenities escaped her, and his lips kicked up. “What was that?”
“Check your texts.”
Reaching for his phone, he swiped over to his message thread with her. A second later, an image popped into existence.
It was slightly blurry and darkness coated the room in the background, but there was no mistaking what it was.
There was the curve of her calf, the swell of her thigh, and right above that—
Jesus Christ.
“You’re drenched,” he breathed.
“It’s better in person,” she panted.
“I know.” He chuckled. “But let’s settle for the next best thing.”
“Which is?”
“Telling you how I’d lick every inch of you, and drive you crazy until the only thing you can remember is my name.” He closed his eyes, nothing but her behind them.
“Fuck,” she whispered.
He smirked. “Would you like that?”
A vibrating broke up her sharp gasps and shaky breaths, and satisfaction bloomed in his stomach.
“A vibrator?” he mused. “Dirty girl. That’s an unfair advantage.”
She hummed. “I’d say you’re the one with the unfair advantage.” She moaned. “All the way over in London, and making me see stars. How is that fair?”
“Remind me to use it on you when I get back,” he said.
The buzzing increased, and he fisted his cock, tightness gathering in his lower belly.
“James,” she gasped. “I’m going to—”
Her moans carried through the receiver, her orgasm hitting hard, and he gave in to the tension bracketing his own body.
His body stiffened, and grunts worked up his throat as he came, doubling over.
Beats of water drummed on his back as he straightened. “Look at you. Over three thousand miles away and still bringing me to my knees.”
She laughed. “Yeah? What else can you do while you’re down there?”
He grinned brazenly at the shower tiles. “I’ve got a few ideas.”