The Mistaken Escort's Pleasure: A Liaison Novel (8 page)

The Friday night traffic was heavy, but he was able to flag down a taxi at the corner of Wall Street and Broad, and relaxed back in his seat as they turned on FDR Drive.
 
Before long, the driver pulled up to Ellie’s place.
 
He peeled off some bills for the driver as he exited the cab, and strode through the door as the doorman opened it for a couple who were on their way out.
 
He darted around the perfumed couple and made a beeline for the elevator.
 
As he pressed the button, he found himself tapping his foot as he waited for the elevator to her fourth-floor apartment.

The elevator ride felt like hours, but he took a deep breath as he stood outside her door.
 
He couldn’t help the smile as he heard her laugh, and he knocked, a little harder than he intended.

When she opened the door, his world had righted, because she was standing in front of him.
 
Her hair was up in a severe knot, and she wore a business suit that hid the vivacious woman he’d gotten to know.
 
He wanted to rip the pins out of her hair and run his fingers through it, but he settled on her beautiful face as a smile bloomed there.

She breathed his name a split second before she launched herself in his arms.
 
He caught her with ease, wrapping his arms around her and bringing her flush against his body, before he kissed her breathless.
 
He couldn’t remember who initiated the kiss, and at the moment, couldn’t bring himself to care.
 
She was in his arms, where she belonged.

He pulled back and buried his face in her neck, breathing her in.
 
His body hardened at her familiar scent.
 
He was amazed how much he missed her soft fragrance, her laugh.
 
He tightened his arms, reluctant to release her, even after he heard someone inside her apartment clear their throat.
 
He pulled back and smiled down at her, and she conveyed how much she missed him when she relaxed in his arms.
 
He growled when he spotted the flare of desire in her eyes.

“I think you can put her down now,” came a man’s voice, clipped and strained.

Without skipping a beat, she muttered, “I kinda like it up here.”

The smile on his face grew, and he leaned toward her to press his lips against her forehead.
 
He put her on the ground and raised a brow in surprise when she interlaced their fingers before she pulled him into her apartment.
 
He didn’t care where they were headed, as long as she kept touching him.

As soon as he crossed the threshold, a strong hand gripped his forearm and whipped him around.
 
A woman, beautiful but somewhat severe, smiled at him as her finger tapped on her chin.

“Hmmmm.”

Ellie stepped to his side and he slipped an arm around her waist, squeezing her.
 
He caught her eye, and hoped that he conveyed that his lone interest was in his arms.

“Nina, this is Lucian.
 
Lucian, one of my best friends, Nina.”
 

Ellie eyed the two of them for a long moment, and it struck him that she kept silent because she wanted to see his reaction to her friend.
 
Ellie had played second tier to her friend at times, but this time, it was her turn for attention.
 
He nodded at Nina, and turned his focus on the man who glared at both of them from the across the kitchen island.
 
They stared each other down as Lucian sized him up.
 
The man was shorter than him by several inches, but the look on his face was of pure fury.
 
His look was laid-back, but Lucian knew that the other man had no problem attracting women, as long as it wasn’t Ellie.
 
She was his.

“And this is Ben,” she said, never looking away from his face.

Lucian nodded and Ben responded in kind.

He returned his attention back to Ellie, feeling the tension leave his body now that he was able to see her, be near her.
 
He could feel the tension in the room, but chose to ignore it.
 
With the silence becoming almost oppressive, a knock on the door spurred Ellie into action and she dragged him to the door with her.
 
He didn’t know whether she was protecting him from Ben or whether she was trying to keep him away from Nina.

He hadn’t known what to expect when he saw her again, but the gnawing restlessness clawing at his chest all week disappeared as soon as she touched him.
 
He half expected that she might have talked herself out of seeing him because of the time they spent apart.
 

“I’ve missed you,” she whispered when they were out of earshot of her friends.

“I missed you, too.
 
I ordered dinner for all of us, if that’s okay.
 
I wanted to see you and meet your friends, although one of them hates me.”

“Well, I know you’re not talking about Nina because she’s too busy eye-humping you, so it must be Ben.”

His sharp laugh drew a huge smile.
 
When she gave him a smile, he felt as though he’d been given a precious gift.

She opened the door, and he chuckled at the expression on her face.
 
They stepped back to give the crew of five room to set up the dishes on the table, along with bottles of wine, soda, plates, utensils.
 
In less than five minutes, they were out the door—with a large tip from Lucian.
 
Soon the lids were removed from the containers, and the room was filled with the fragrance of garlic bread and other Italian delicacies.

Ellie snagged a slice of garlic bread and reached for his hand.
 
She indicated to her friends to start eating, but she pulled him near the cabinets and let go of his hand long enough to scramble onto the countertop.
 
She reached for him as soon as she was seated.
 
When he stepped between her outstretched thighs, he groaned aloud as he watched her small, pink tongue dart out and catch a drop of butter.

“I wanted to give them a chance to get some food.
 
How was your week?” she asked.

“It’s good now,” he stated.

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.
 
We were working on the software rollout, so it seemed to be a longer week than it was.
 
I finished coding about an hour ago.
 
My thoughts were elsewhere.”
 
He ran his hands up and down her thighs.

She finished the last bite of garlic bread and he held himself rigid, swallowing a groan.
 
He wanted to lick her lips, but he didn’t think her friends would appreciate it.
 
She scooted herself closer to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
 
Instead of the kiss he expected, she laid her head down on his shoulder and sighed.
 
He curled his arms around her and rubbed his hands up and down her back, hoping to drain the tension that radiated from her body.

“So the client turned out worse than you described him?”

She turned her face and kissed his neck, before she took a deep breath and tightened her arms.
 
“I found out that the client delayed because he wanted to spend time with me.
 
He asked me out as I was leaving work tonight.
 
I told my boss what happened, and she dropped the client.
 
My team put in so much work, but he wasn’t serious about our business.”

“I’m sorry, love.”

She lifted her head and gazed into his eyes.
 
“I’m glad you came by.
 
I was feeling lost for a little while, but now I’m better.”

His heart swelled in his chest at her admission, and he hoped his answering look told her that he felt as intensely about her.
 
He pulled her off the counter and with a hand on the small of her back, steered her toward the food.
 
Tiredness radiated from her, and all he wanted to do was to take care of her, and that included food.

They settled at her dining room table, and spoke of general topics.
 
Ben glared at him while a dreamy look would cross the man’s face as he looked at Ellie, who was oblivious of the attentions of her friend.
 
He learned that all three of them were friends for the last five years, both of them befriending Ellie because she was new to New York and the company.
 
In that time, Ben had never asked her out, or even hinted that he had any feelings other than friendship, so Lucian didn’t feel as though he was treading on their possible relationship.

During dinner, he could feel Nina’s eyes on him, and it bothered Ellie each time her friend’s gaze turned his way by the number of times she squeezed his hand.
 
He knew Nina had questions for him—either to protect her friend or for her own curiosity, he didn’t know—but instead of asking what she wanted to know, she skirted around it by asking him whether he had seen Ellie’s art.

“She created a sketch for my sister, and I honestly don’t think I’ve seen an artist so talented at capturing someone’s likeness.”
 
He squeezed her hand underneath the table.
 
“But I would like to see your paintings if you want to show me.”

“Maybe she doesn’t,” Ben interjected.

Nina glared at Ben a split second before he heard the thud.
 
He smiled down at his plate when Ben grunted in pain and bent down to rub his shin.
 
Nina smiled at him, and he gave her a small smile back.

For the rest of the dinner, he watched Ellie and Ben.
 
Although Ben’s feelings were obvious, Ellie thought of Ben as nothing more than a friend.
 
She treated him as a brother, and the relief that washed through him made him weak in the knees.

“So, Lucian, do you like being an escort?” Nina asked.

He choked, hiding the sound with a cough.
 
Before he could respond to her question, Ellie glared at her friend and cut off the words that were stuck in his throat.

“It’s his first time,” Ellie blurted.

Ben let out a strangled laugh, Nina smiled at her friend, and Lucian brought Ellie into his side and kissed her on the top of her head.

He felt a pang of uneasiness as she defended him.
 
As he watched her blush, he became determined that he would tell her the truth about how they met.
 
It was unfair to lie to her in the first place, and the more he learned about her, the more he wanted her as a permanent part of his life.
 
There was plenty of time to think about that, after he told her the truth.
 
And that, he decided, would be tomorrow.

By the time her two friends left for the night, exhaustion was etched on Ellie’s face.
 
He lifted her in his arms and carried her into the bathroom, setting her down in front of the mirror.
 
He turned to leave but her cool hand on his stopped him in his tracks.

“Stay with me tonight?” she asked.

“I—”

“Please?”

“Of course.
 
I’ll leave you alone to get ready for bed.”

She nodded.
 
The look of relief on her face made him smile as he closed the door behind him.

He took out his wallet and keys, and placed them on the end table to the right of the bed.
 
His eyes were on the bathroom door as he sat on the bed and removed his shoes and socks, before he stood and shucked his pants and slid the shirt over his head, leaving him in a pair of boxer briefs.
 
Just as he was draping his shirt over the chair she had in the corner of her room, the bathroom door opened and his heart stalled in his chest.

She had loosened her braid and brushed her hair, the beautiful mass cascading around her shoulders.
 
She had changed into flannel pajama shorts and a white tank, similar to the one she wore when he had woken her up, and he clenched his hands to stop himself from reaching for her.

“Lucian?”

“You’re very…”

“So are you,” she breathed.

“Come here,” he demanded.

She moved to him without hesitation, and he reached for her hands, placing them on his naked chest.
 
She moaned at the first contact, and he smiled as his mouth sought hers.
 
In the back of his mind, he knew she was tired, so instead of deepening the kiss, he lifted her in his arms and laid her on the bed.
 
Without breaking contact, he slid in next to her and pulled her head against his chest.
 
Their legs became intertwined and his heart beat faster as she absently caressed his chest.
 
He rubbed her back with languid strokes, breathing in her light scent, as she settled against him.

“Good-night, Lucian.”

“Night, love.”

A few minutes later, her breathing evened out and her body relaxed against his.
 
It took several minutes for his body to relax and enjoy her touch, but as she mumbled something in her sleep and burrowed her head farther into his side, the heat flared and he grew hard.
 
He resolved to ignore it, and with thoughts on the woman at his side, fell into a restless sleep.

Chapter Nine

In the five years she had lived in New York, Ellie had never been inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
 
But as she walked down the front steps of the building, hand in hand with Lucian, she was grateful that she had waited.

Experiencing it with Lucian was both exhilarating and deeply satisfying.

He stood next to her as she explored almost every inch of the museum.
 
His strong, steady hand enveloped hers as she pulled him from room to room.
 
She spoke in hushed whispers, as if the statues and paintings would be disturbed by her if she spoke in her normal voice, and he responded the same way.
 
It was a brilliant day that she was able to share with the man who had come to mean much more to her than she could even explain to herself.
 
It was perfect.