Beguile her: Laws of Seduction Book 2 (10 page)

“That was a mistake, also known as Jenna Reardon.”

“So she’s an ex?”

“Let’s just say that she is into kinky sex, and I decided it wasn’t my scene.”

Great, another sexual nemesis that I will have to measure up to. “What kind of kinky sex?”

“A couple of years ago I was a little bored, so I experimented a bit in the sex club scene. That’s where I met Jenna.”

“Is she a dominatrix?”

James lets out a bark of laughter. “Where do you get these ideas?”

Heat floods my cheeks. I toy with my fork and look down at my plate. “I feel very inexperienced.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh at you.” James reaches over and pulls up my chin so that I am looking into his eyes. His thumb brushes my cheek. “You are so sexy, and you don’t even know it. Baby, that is the biggest turn on there is.”

Reassured, I turn my face into his hand and nuzzle the inside of his palm. “So, sex clubs?”

“Maybe I’ll take you some time, and you can see for yourself. It’s mainly a lot of dancing and nudity.”

“And Jenna? She seemed a little…” strange, rude? I debate for a moment before settling on an acceptable adjective: “…self-absorbed.”

“I hooked up with Jenna a couple of times, and I cut her loose when she started wanting more. That’s all there is to it.”

“I don’t think she’s over you.”

James shrugs nonchalantly. “That’s her problem. I never promised her anything.”

His behavior seems so heartless. His coldness alarms me. Is this how I can expect to be treated? As if reading my thoughts, James continues, “That has nothing to do with us. What we have is completely different.”

“How is it different?”

“First of all, I am sitting with you at the Gotham Bar and Grill on a dinner date.”

“You never took Jenna out to dinner?”

“No, baby. I never took Jenna out to dinner. We would meet at the clubs, and then we would have meaningless sex.”

“Meaningless or mind blowing?”

“Don’t be sarcastic. It doesn’t suit you.”

I resist the impulse to stick my tongue out at him. Replaying the encounter with Jenna in my mind, I wonder what rematch she could be referring to. A memory of James in his tennis whites from our weekend in the Hamptons flashes through my mind. That had been a client meeting I remind myself. Surely, I must be mistaken that there is some kind of correlation. Uncertainty rips through me.

James seems to sense my growing unease. “Lainey, what is it?”

“What did she mean by a rematch?”

My apprehension increases when I see a flash of something that I can only classify as guilt cross James’s face. It is gone so quickly that I can’t be certain of what I saw. “She was a guest of my clients. I played her in a round of tennis.”

“The weekend you took me to the Hamptons?”

“Yes.”

So while I had been spending a solitary morning on the beach, he had been out playing tennis with his ex. “Is your client a man or a woman?”

“Why does that matter?”

“I don’t know. It just does.”

“Listen, I don’t know why you are getting so upset about this. It wasn’t a big deal.”

“A woman then. Does she also want to sleep with you?” The utter lack of expression on his face gives him away. “Oh wait, let me guess. She already has. I guess your policy against fucking anyone from HM did not extend to your clients.”

“It was many years ago before she became my client, and as a matter of fact, I think someone else would be a better fit for her. The problem is that she threatens to leave the firm entirely unless I agree to remain her attorney.”

“Gee, it must be tough being you.” I instantly regret having spoken my thought out loud.

James leans back in his chair and drums his fingers across the table twice while quietly contemplating me. I have to strain to hear his next words. “If we weren’t in such a public place, I’d find another use for that smart mouth of yours.

Sparks fly as a silent battle of wills rages across the table. I am the first to give in. “You’re right. That was uncalled for, and I shouldn’t have said that.”

James dips his head in acknowledgement.

I decide I have pushed him enough for one evening. It is going to take some effort on my part to accept his past which is littered with beautiful, desirable women. I recognize that it is more my problem than his and resolve to not let jealousy get the better of me the next time I find myself in a similar situation. I am also sure that it will be more the norm than the exception. The conversation turns to less controversial topics and I am relieved when our earlier rapport is restored. I am also hoping that after dinner, James will take me back to his apartment where he can show me the difference between meaningless and mind blowing.

CHAPTER 10

I still haven’t forgiven Mark for cornering me in the bar on Monday night, but its Thursday, and he is still bombarding me with voicemails and texts. I need to contact him, if only to stop the deluge of messages. After deliberating for a few minutes, I decide on a phone call. He picks up after the first ring.

“Lainey?”

“Hi Mark.” I should have thought this through. Uncertain of what to say next, the silence grows and starts to become uncomfortable. Mark finally breaks the silence. “I’d like to see you.”

“Oh, Mark. I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

Mark rushes to interrupt me. “I know I behaved badly on Monday. Can we please just meet so I can at least apologize in person? We could meet for lunch.”

Our history together makes it impossible for me to turn him down. “I guess I have time for lunch today. I have a business thing tomorrow.”

“Today is fine. I’ll pick you up in front of your building at twelve.”

As soon as I agree, he hangs up. He probably doesn’t want to give me time to change my mind.

Mark is punctual as usual, and I agree when he suggests and Italian restaurant on 39
th
Street. The atmosphere is a little more formal and date-like than I would have preferred, but I decide not to object. I can tell Mark is making an effort to respect my personal space. He hasn’t touched me once since I met him outside of my building. This relaxes me into a more laid back attitude in regards to the choice of restaurant.

Once we are seated we talk about our jobs until the waiter comes back to take our order. After our waiter leaves, Mark’s attitude turns pensive. “You’re with that guy now?”

Fighting the urge to fidget, I hold Mark’s gaze. “Yes, and his name is James.”

Mark looks away first. “How long have you been together?”

This is a tricky question and difficult to answer. “Not long. Does it matter?”

I am surprised when Mark becomes agitated. “Yes, it matters.” He overemphasizes each word. “When did you first start seeing him?”

A lightbulb goes off. He is worried that I was seeing James while I was still with him. “It was after we split.”

“He isn’t the reason you broke up with me?”

“No, I didn’t meet him until after we had already broken up. James had nothing to do with our break up.” We are interrupted by the waiter bringing us our food. I look at my salad and wonder how I am going to eat it. The charged emotional atmosphere has robbed me of my appetite. I notice that Mark makes no attempt to start in on his food either. “I’m sorry you thought that for even a minute. I would never have cheated on you.”

Mark nods his head in acceptance. “Where did you meet him?”

He doesn’t seem to want to let it go. “Mark, don’t do this to yourself.”

Mark looks at me impatiently. “Lainey, just answer me. You owe me that much at least.”

I close my eyes briefly. “Fine. I met him at the law symposium in Hempstead last April, but we’ve just been together for the last couple of weeks.” He doesn’t need to know about the one-night-stand in April.

“We broke up in March.”

“Yes, I know. The beginning of March.” I remind him.

He continues as if he hadn’t even heard me. “The entire time I have been trying to get you back, this other guy has been in the picture.”

I try not to wilt under his reproachful gaze. “It wasn’t like that.” I am not sure how to explain the ups and downs of my relationship with James, and it is not something I want to discuss with Mark. “I’m sorry that you ever had the impression that there was a chance that we could get back together. James never played a role in my decisions about us. I promise.”

“Then why? We were together for so long. We should be planning our wedding and thinking about kids. Weren’t you happy?”

I can’t repress a sigh. “Mark, you are a really great guy, but I just wasn’t in love with you like that anymore. You should want someone in your life who loves you with her whole heart. I am not that person.”

“Do you love him?”

I shy away from the question. “This isn’t about me and James. This is about you and me. You need to let me go and start looking for someone else.”

Mark seems to take hold of himself. “You’re right.”

“Yes, I am. Someday you will thank me.” I ignore the dubious look in his eyes. “Why don’t we get the food to go. I need to get back.”

“Yea, me too.” His eyes soften to affection, and I think it hasn’t gone that badly after all. “Thanks for coming Lainey. Listen, I don’t want to be that guy whose calls and texts you always ignore. I’ve been acting like a jerk for the past couple of months, and I don’t want that to overshadow the good times we had when we were together. Can we start over? As friends I mean.”

I smile at him. “I would like that.” Mark smiles back. I would like to think that we could make it through this as friends.

Sam and I walk into The Delancey on Thursday night for an impromptu birthday party for Nick. The Delancey is a club on the Lower East Side with an awesome rooftop bar. Although you can hear the music pounding from the floor below, the rooftop has a mellower vibe. Oceans of potted palm trees are tucked around comfortable seating areas. After the tense lunch with Mark, I feel the need to let go and enjoy myself.

We spot Nick, who has staked out a table with a magnificent view of the Williamsburg Bridge. He stands to give us air kisses. “You both look hot tonight. Lainey, you look so svelte in that dress. I love it. Sam, that red is hot.” He gushes.

I had changed into a gold sequined mini dress made out of a stretchy fabric. The gold sequins ran in a fine geometric pattern emphasizing all the right bits. Although the neckline was high, the back dipped down in a wide V to the middle my back precluding me from wearing a bra. The gold strappy stilettos that I am wearing are dangerously high, butSam had insisted that nothing else would do with this dress. Sam is wearing a short red halter dress that contrasts starkly with her pale skin. It is even more striking with the bright red lipstick that exactly matches the shade of her dress. Nick insists on spending a few minutes taking selfies with the three of us. Once Nick has poured us some Champaign I ask, “Where is everybody?”

“Brad is on a shoot, but he should be here soon. Actually,” Nick turns in his chair and pins me with a pointed stare. “I told Sam to bring you early because I want to hear all about this wild monkey sex you’ve been having.”

I turn to glare at Sam. “You didn’t… How could you?”

Sam makes no attempt to stifle her laughter. “I’m sorry Lainey, but it was just too funny. I had to tell.”

“You’ve broken the girl code, you know.”

Nick, who is practically bouncing in his chair, waves his arms cutting us off. “I don’t care about that. Just tell us the gory details.”

I roll my eyes. “There are no details… and there will be no details.” I quickly finish in a firm voice when I see he is about to object. “We were just kidding around, right Sam?” I implore her with my eyes. 

Before Sam can respond, Nick bursts out. “I am sorry Lainey, but Sam described what she heard, and it sounds like wild monkey sex to me.” 

Brad steps up behind Nick, “Wild monkey sex… this sounds interesting.”

“Agh,” I groan, and cover my face with my hands. I am one hundred percent certain that I will never live this down. I narrow my eyes at Sam, “I will never forgive you for this.”

Sam waves her hand in dismissal. “I can live with that. It was totally worth the look on your face when Nick asked you about the monkey sex.” 

“Stop laughing.” I command her remembering the best thing about The Delancey is their Margarita machine.

I know that Nick is just happy for me. He and I had met at low points in both of our lives. We met our freshman year of college. I had been struggling to come to terms with a traumatic even that had happened my senior year of high school, and at the same time, Nick was facing the realities of coming out to an unaccepting family. We had helped each other out a lot in those years. Nick had made me come out of the shell that I had retreated into, and I had provided him with the unconditional acceptance that his family denied him. I was able to complete my undergraduate degree in three years and had moved to New York City for law school. When Nick graduated year later, he had followed me, met Brad, and the rest was history.