Beguile her: Laws of Seduction Book 2 (7 page)

“I’ve been fine,” I say in a cold voice, but Mark decides not to take the hint and sits down on Sam’s chair uninvited. 

He leans back in a casual position with his back slouched down in his chair and his legs splayed out in front of him. Drumming his fingers on the table, he looks at me. After a long pause, he begins, “My parents were asking about you… wondering how things were going with your new job.”

I had liked his parents a lot. “That’s nice of them. You can tell your parents that things are going well and I like my new job a lot.”

Mark gives a grunt of acknowledgement. This is really weird. First he seeks me out, and then he seems to be barely paying attention to what I say. “You haven’t been returning my calls.” 

“You know how it is… new job and all. I’ve been pretty busy.” Then I decide to be more direct. “And Mark, we have been broken up for months now.”

Suddenly sitting up, Mark grabs my hands between his, and I jump. He must have been working himself up to some sort of declaration. I try to pull my hands loose, but his grip is too strong so I give in and wait to hear what he wants to say. “Lainey, I miss you.” This surprises me, because when we were together my presence had been optional most of the time. Mark had been so interested in himself I sometimes thought he forgot I was there. When I don’t respond to his declaration, he continues, “I want you back. What will it take to get you back?”

Completely shocked, I am rendered speechless. Of course, at that exact moment, I hear a familiar voice. “Hello, Lainey, care to introduce me to your friend?”

Oh shit. I close my eyes and pray that the floor will open up beneath me and swallow me whole. This is not good. Giving another experimental tug on my hands, I open my eyes to see James glaring down at Mark. Finally, I manage to pull one hand free. I would have jumped up from the table, but Mark still has my other hand in a firm grasp, pinning me to the table. I watch James’s eyes move to our joined hands and give an inward shudder at the coldness I see there. “Mark...” I start, swinging my eyes back to him, but then I shut up when I see the mutinous set of his jaw that I recognize all too well. Asking him to let go of my hand will only ensure that he does the exact opposite. Looking between the two men, I start to feel irritated. “James, this is Mark… my ex-boyfriend.”  Dammit, I stutter a little over the ex-boyfriend part. Turning back to Mark, I give my hand another tug, and Mark finally lets go. “Mark, this is James... my…” I trail off, uncertain of how exactly I should introduce James when I hear James finish for me.

“Current boyfriend.” Whipping out his wallet, James throws down a fifty before reaching out and pulling me up from my chair. We walk out the door with James towing me along behind him. I look back to see both Sam and Mark staring at us with open mouths. Sam won’t get to meet James after all I think with a twinge of disappointment. Boyfriend? Did James just say he was my boyfriend? I can’t help the wave of giddy happiness that runs through me like a lightning bolt. James is still dragging me down the block at a breakneck speed when I dig in my heels. “Can we slow down?”

The look on James’s face when he turns back to look at me says, “Do you really want to mess with me right now?” but he does slow his pace. We are apparently looking for a cab. We are almost to the entrance of Washington Square Park when we finally find one. We settle into the back and James gives the cabbie my address. Is he just going to drop me off? I open my mouth to explain about Mark, but James just holds up his hand and says, “Wait.” 

When we pull up in front of my apartment building, James breaks the silence. “Go up and pack an overnight bag. You have ten minutes.” My eyes widen at the short time span, but I decide to play along and hurry into my building. At least he is not tossing me to the curb. Inside my apartment I throw together some toiletries and a work outfit for tomorrow. Rushing back out to the taxi, I wonder how far over the time limit I am. As soon as I am back in the taxi, we take off towards James’s apartment.

The taxi ride seems to take forever. James sits motionless beside me, his hands resting on his thighs. His stillness just makes me want to fidget more, and I struggle to sit still. I am relieved that a calmer, more in-control James waits for me to exit the taxi. Taking my bag, he moves us through the door held open by the doorman, his hand resting on the small of my back. He greets the doorman and concierge politely before guiding me into the elevator. James is still wearing the blue suit that he was wearing earlier in the day. I watch as he loosens his tie, which is a lighter shade of blue, and undoes the top button of his shirt, all without once looking in my direction. I am beginning to wonder if I am getting the silent treatment, since other than telling me to pack, he hasn’t said a word to me. Entering his apartment, James moves to the kitchen, where he pulls down two glasses and pours us both drinks of… scotch? James throws his drink back before turning back to look at me where I am l standing in front of the couch. “Don’t you want your drink?”

I follow him into the kitchen and pick up the glass he has poured for me. Hesitantly, I take a tentative sip. As the fiery stuff hits my throat and floods my nasal passages, I cough and sputter. “It’s a bit stronger than I am used to,” I gasp.

He lets out a bark of hollow laughter and takes my drink, throwing it back as well. “Care to explain that little scene I walked into?” He no longer sounds amused.

I look around as if for inspiration. 

“Lainey,” he says in a deep voice that is somehow sexy and at the same time threatening. “You are just making my imagination run wild with your silence.”

“It’s just that I don’t know how to explain it. It would help if you knew Mark. He is very tenacious.”

“Has he been bothering you?”

“Do you mean like stalking me?” I look up at him in surprise. “No, no, nothing like that. I mean he has left me some voicemails that I usually just ignore or delete, but he doesn’t follow me or anything like that.” At the look of skepticism on James’s face, I hurry on. “Mark is a good guy. He really is.” Seeing that I am not influencing James’s opinion, I try again. “Mark and I should never have been together. I guess I shouldn’t speak for him, but for me the relationship was… convenient. It was easy to fall into a relationship with him. In the beginning it was flattering to have this handsome, smart guy paying attention to me. We went out on a few dates, and before I really knew what was happening, we were this couple… boyfriend and girlfriend. Before Mark, everyone was asking me, ‘why don’t you have a boyfriend?’ After Mark, everyone seemed happy… except for me… and probably Mark. It took me a long time to figure out that I didn’t love Mark, and that it is better to be alone than with someone you don’t love no matter what other people think.”

James shrugs out of the suit jacket and pulls off his tie. “I think you’re wrong. He does love you, and he wants you back.”

I shake my head in denial. “He says he wants me back, but James, he is not in love with me. He is in love with the idea of us... Mark and Lainey the adorable couple, the couple that was supposed to last forever,and he is… stubborn. He cannot possibly be in love with me… because he doesn’t even know me.”

Finally, I think that James believes me, because the tense look around his eyes disappears. “Lainey, when I saw you together with him tonight, I thought I might lose it.”

 This is a huge admission coming from James, since he prided himself on his self-control. “I don’t blame you. I would have been angry and upset too if it had been me. Mark had no right forcing me into that confrontation.”

“Just tell me one thing. Why were you holding his hands?”

Now this is going to be tricky, because I’m not sure how James would react to the fact that Mark was forcing me to hold his hands. “I wasn’t holding his hands. He was holding mine, and I did not initiate any of it.” I look into James’s stormy blue eyes. “I swear it.”

He sweeps me into his arms and breathes into my ear. “I believe you, Lainey. I do. It’s just that I know that he has had your body, and the thought of his hands on you…”

I don’t really want to trot out my sexual history, but I think that I can ease James’s mind somewhat. “James… there is something that I should tell you.” James raises his head and looks down at me, waiting for me to continue. “I had a lot of trouble… you know…” I gesture with my hand, trying to think of the most diplomatic way to say it. Why is this so embarrassing? “achieving orgasm with Mark.” I finally manage to spit it out, and at the same time I feel a surge of heat rush to my cheeks.

“What? How is that possible? You are so responsive.”

I give a little shrug and feel myself blush even harder. “I have always chalked it up to a lack of chemistry.”

“Or him being a selfish bastard in bed,” James says with a hint of a grin.

Okay, I am not going there.

“You’re so cute when you blush.” James brushes his hand against my burning cheek. “Maybe he didn’t like to spend hours and hours thinking of ways to make you come.”

“Is that what you do?” I ask breathlessly as liquid heat rushes into my nether regions.

“Oh yes. Hour upon hour. Would you like an example?”

“If you are offering, I wouldn’t turn you down.”

James’s eyes take on a heated glow. “I would be happy to demonstrate what we have on offer tonight, but first things first. You have got on far too many clothes for what I have in mind.” With that tantalizing statement, James moves his hands to the fastening of my jeans. After unbuttoning them, he helps me shimmy out of them. Stepping back, he says, “I’ll let you finish the rest.”

With a little uncertainty, I pull my t-shirt over my head. Seeing his appreciative look, I become bolder and do a little striptease while taking off my bra and panties.

“You are so hot.” He walks over to me, still dressed in his suit except for the jacket and tie, and runs his hand down my side. His fingers touch the side of my breast and my waist before sliding behind me and gripping my behind and massaging it with hard fingers. Standing completely nude and accessible to him while he is still fully dressed is strangely erotic. I give a little moan as bends down to nuzzle my neck. “You aren’t expecting any guests, are you?”

I feel his chuckle against my neck before I hear it. “No, baby. Just you.” His whiskers scrape against my skin, making me long for his warm mouth to soothe the abrasions. Then James is kissing me, his mouth plundering mine with a ruthlessness that makes my knees weak. He lifts me up to sit on the kitchen island, and I gasp as my skin meets the cold granite. I soon forget the cold as James bends down and kisses his way up my thighs. Pushing my legs wide apart, he places them on his shoulders. My body tenses in anticipation, but James doesn’t seem to be in any hurry. He lifts his head and bores me with a possessive gaze. “You are mine.” His thumbs make circular motions on the back of my thighs, and his warm lips return to their sensual path. “Is there something you want?” The feel of his warm breath against my inner thighs makes me squirm. He moves his hands to my hips pinning me down so I can no longer move.

“You. I want you,” I manage to gasp between pants. I am so tense with wanting that the soft swipe of his tongue makes me cry out. He licks and sucks with intense purpose. My body teeters on the edge as he works his magic. White light bursts behind my eyelids asa an earth shattering release washes over me.

James slowly kisses his way up my body until we are eye-to-eye. “See, extremely responsive.”

A contented “Hmm” is all I can manage before I feel him scooping me up and carrying me into the bedroom.

CHAPTER 7

James’s alarm goes off at what must be an ungodly hour, but I turn my head to see that it is 7 a.m. Groaning in dismay, I tuck my head back down and bury my head under the covers. A hard slap on my behind has me sitting up with a shriek. My indignation relents when I catch sight of a grinning James sitting bare chested beside me. God, he is sexy. “You sure are chipper this morning,” I grumble.

“I got laid last night.”

“Hmm, it must have been good.”

James looks at me as if giving it some thought. “Oh, it was good, but I think with a little more practice it could be even better.”

“Practice, huh?”

“Yes, I definitely think more practice is called for.”

We end up having to rush to make it to work on time. I ask James how he usually gets to work and am surprised when he tells me that he has a driver. When I want to walk to the subway, James puts his foot down, so that’s how I find myself riding in a town car to work, although I convince him to have the driver, whose name is Gary, stop and let me out a short distance from the office. It is only a block, but I enjoy the feeling of blending in with the other Midtown commuters. Everyone is fresh and focused on getting to their jobs, and even the air seems to have an electric charge.

The kinetic morning energy is like a jolt of caffeine. I walk through the lobby doors, where cool air hits me, a stark contrast to the hazy, humid air from outside. I am both frustrated and touched to find James waiting for me at the elevator bank. He has the presence of mind not to stand right next to me, but I can’t help looking at him. The man does look good in his business attire. He is wearing a gray suit that looks almost aquamarine with a peacock azure tie that sets off the blue of his eyes. The same eyes that keep giving me knowing looks. I know he is teasing me for being so circumspect, and it makes me want to laugh. When I see a couple of lawyers from our firm step up to the elevator bank, I give James a warning look before pointedly ignoring him. When the elevator arrives, we crowd on, mumbling greetings to our work colleagues. James, of course, ends up crowded up right next to me, and I hope that he won’t try anything. I watch nervously as we ascend, stopping on various floors to let people out. As the throng of people on the elevator thins out, I am relieved when James gives me some space. I feel my phone vibrating with an incoming text. Taking it out of my bag, I see it is from him.