Flesh: Part Fourteen (The Flesh Series Book 14) (2 page)

“
I'll
try to think of something.” I take a step away from him,
feeling suffocated by the panicked vibe he's exuding.

“
Don't
try. Do.” He turns away from me, and I listen to his heavy
footfalls as he walks back to his desk.

I wrap my arms
around myself and quickly return to my computer to send Lucian an
e-mail, Cc'ing both Tyra and Derrick so they'll know that I'm not
slacking off in regards to getting Lucian back on board with the
project.

Doctor Reddick,

Please contact me
as soon as possible in regards to selecting furniture for the rest of
your house. We here at Environ Design would like to make the process
as easy for you as possible. If you are unable to make time to
physically come see all of the furniture before the purchasing
process, we would like to work with you to find another way to
complete your project.

Regards,

Amy Underwood

Interior Designer

Environ Design

Send and wait.

And wait and wait
and wait. End result, no response.

I sigh in
exasperation as I shut down my computer for the evening. As soon as
I'm done, I text Lucian, “Please call me as soon as you get off
of work. We need to talk.”

With nothing left to
do, I head home for the evening, my mind full of all new worries
regarding Lucian. How I wish he wasn't involved with my company? He's
every bit as unpredictable as a client as he is as a love interest.
And this does put an even greater strain on things between us.

By the time I get
home, he's already responded. “I have stuff I want to talk
about with you too. Have dinner with me tonight. I'll pick you up at
seven.”

There's an
uncomfortable feeling in my stomach as I start getting ready. I open
my closet and find my little black dress, wondering if it might be
too cheap for wherever he plans on taking me. The dress comes down to
my knees and hugs my curves. The sequins that cover it make it
glitter in the light. I've always felt sexy in it, but it doesn't
exactly seem like something you'd wear to a fancy dinner.

Oh well, the goal
for tonight is to charm Lucian into finishing his interior design
project. I'll beg, plead, and suck dick to get him back on track.
Whatever it takes.

I put the dress on,
then sweep my hair to the side and curl it into soft waves. After
that, I put on darker makeup than usual, wanting to channel my inner
sultry Goddess. Just thinking about those two words makes me smirk.
Lucian first used them when I was taking pictures of his house. That
seems like ages ago. And it seems that way because it was ages ago in
Environ Design time.

I slip on some black
hose and a pair of black heels before taking a small black clutch
from my closet, making sure that my hair and makeup look good one
final, and then going to lean against the back of the sofa and stare
at the door while I wait for Lucian's driver to come retrieve me.
Lucian is a creature of habit, so I know he won't come up to my
apartment unless coerced, and it was not a wrong assumption.

At slightly before
seven, there's a knock on the door. I open it to Lucian's driver, who
quickly scans me up and down with his eyes before politely smiling.
“Doctor Reddick is waiting for you downstairs, Miss. Shall we?”

“
We
shall.” I glance around the apartment to make sure I didn't
forget anything before locking the door behind myself and following
him to the limo.

By the time we reach
the limo, my palms are sweating. I'm going to have to figure out how
to ease into the discussion about Lucian's interior design project
tactfully. Our relationship still seems so fragile, and I don't want
to mess things up by nagging him about the project.

“
Oh
wow,” Lucian says as I slide into the limo beside. “You've
definitely been holding out on me with that dress.”

Almost the second
that my butt hits the seat, he's tugging at one of the spaghetti
straps of my dress. I scoot over until our bodies are touching,
knowing that he wants the closeness. He'd probably prefer for me to
sit on his lap, but I feel a bit too uneasy for that.

“
You
look dapper as well. Then again, you always do.” I nod towards
his suit. He seems to have an endless supply of them though most of
them look the same.

“
Dapper,”
he parrots back with a smirk.

“
Not
a fan of my choice of words?” I grin up at him, gazing into his
gorgeous blue eyes.

“
Your
choice of words amuses me.” He scoops my hand up in his,
splaying my fingers out. His expression is soft, somewhere between
contentment and thought.

“
What
are you thinking?” I lace our fingers together and curl mine,
feeling warmth radiating within me from his affectionate touch.

“
Just
things.” He gives me a sideways glance, and I can see mischief
in his expression.

“
Things
we'll talk about later?”

“
Yes.”

“
I
look forward to it then.” I lean against Lucian and rest my
head on his shoulder.

The thought of
saying what I need to say makes my grin falter. It sounds like he has
something special to tell me, and all I have to say to him is that he
needs to hurry up with his interior design project. I suppose this is
the consequences of mixing work with pleasure though.

The rest of the
drive is quiet though not uncomfortable. I imagine that we're both
contemplating exactly what we'll say when the time comes to dish out
our topics. I spend just as much time wondering what he has to tell
me as I do thinking about what I'm going to say to him.

We pull up in front
of a French restaurant whose name I can't even pretend to try to
pronounce. I want to be wowed, but in all honesty, I'm more lost than
anything. I've never heard of this place, and I never travel to this
side of town, so I have no idea what to expect.

“
Pick
us up in an hour,” Lucian tells the driver before hooking his
arm around mine and leading me to the door.

Inside, the
restaurant is surprisingly quaint. The staff is all male, and all
wearing suits and ties. As far as the diners go, however, I feel like
Lucian and I are way overdressed.

Lucian tells the
host something in French, and I scowl at the fact that I can't
understand him, even if I'm sure it's nothing important. Then we're
led to a table in the far corner of the restaurant away from the
other diners. The host pulls out my chair, which feels a bit awkward,
and I sit while he places my napkin on my lap. Lucian speaks to him
in French again, and then he disappears.

“
I
didn't know you spoke French.” My eyes widen before I scan the
room for any sign of a menu. Maybe the waiter will bring them.

“
I
speak a few languages.” Lucian shakes out his napkin before
pulling it across his lap.

“
What
else do you speak besides French?”

“
German,
Spanish, Japanese. What I like to call the basics for travel.”
He smiles at me, steepling his hands on the table.

“
Oh,
you lost class points for putting your elbows on the table,” I
tease him.

He drags his elbows
off the table for a second before putting them right back in place
and letting out a short laugh. “It's 2015. I think elbows on
the table are acceptable at most places these days.”

“
Acceptable,
yes. Classy, no.”

“
And
when did you become such an expert on table etiquette?”
Amusement is plain in his voice.

“
When
my mother beat it into my head as a small child.” I glance at
the one waiter who seems to be serving all of the tables. “I
certainly hope the food is better than the service here.”

“
They're
short-staffed.” Lucian cocks his head to the side
apologetically.

“
Well,
I'd like some water ASAP. My throat feels like the Sahara.” I
briefly stick out my tongue as if it will help him to see how dry it
is.

“
Want
me to spit down it?”

“
No.
That's gross.” I cringe away from him, but I can't help but
chuckle at how playful he's being. Everything feels so natural
between us. I hate to ruin things by bringing up work.

“
They'll
bring us water when they bring our wine.” He nods at the
entrance to the kitchen.

“
Going
to get me drunk and take advantage of me? Is that your big game plan
for the night.”

“
It
wasn't until I saw you in that dress.” His eyes fall to my
cleavage, and it makes me want to cover myself though that would look
awkward. Instead, I blush like mad. “I think you'd like me to
take advantage of you.”

“
Maybe.”
I can't deny that I'm already horny just from being in his company.

If things go well
tonight, I'd love to drag him back to my apartment for sex. Nothing
BDSM this time. Just regular, boring sex in my little bed. It would
be nice to have a change of scenery, to do things on my turf instead
of his.

“
See,
you didn't have to wait too long.” Lucian turns to look at the
waiter, who is balancing two wine glasses of water on a serving tray
as he walks towards us.

“
Oh,
thank God.” I pull mine off of the table the second that he
sets it in front of me and gulp down half of it before glancing over
at Lucian. “Tell him I want a refill.”

Lucian's lips split
into a huge smile. “Tell him yourself. He speaks English.”

Embarrassment makes
my chest tighten as I realize what an idiot I just sounded like. My
body shrinks in the chair and I look up at the waiter apologetically.
“Can I get a refill whenever you get a chance?”

“
Of
course, mademoiselle,” he tells me before speaking to Lucian in
French.

It takes everything
to keep my anger at bay until the waiter leaves. When he's out of
earshot, I grip the side of the table with both hands, digging my
fingers into the red tablecloth. “Why didn't you tell me that
people here speak English? If they speak English, then why are you
speaking French?”

My discontent
doesn't seem to phase Lucian one bit. “Because it's easier for
them to understand French. And because I was trying to impress you.”
He lifts his glass and offers me cheers before taking a sip.

I hate it that I
can't stay mad at him for more than a few seconds. Especially when
he's being so honest and goofy.

“
Thanks
for taking me out like this.” I turn my gaze to the floor,
abashed by the feelings swirling inside of me.

“
It's
my pleasure.”

“
This
is the first time I feel like we've been on an actual date.” I
make circles on the tablecloth with my fingernail.

“
Is
that what this is?” he quips.

“
Lucian.”
My eyes flit up to meet his, my expression telling him that I'm being
serious. Now he's the one who seems uncomfortable. Maybe I was wrong
to say what I did about this being a date.

“
Oh
look, the wine is here.” His face brightens as he notices the
waiter coming our way again.

I
try not to frown while the waiter sets our glasses and an ice bucket
in front of us and then works on uncorking the bottle of wine. Did I
misinterpret Lucian's intentions for bringing me here? It doesn't
seem likely. This
is
a
date. A guy doesn't take a woman to a fancy restaurant and it not be
a date. At least, poor guys don't do that. Maybe this is just a
casual dinner for the wealthy.

Lucian picks up his
wine glass after the waiter fills it and gives the deep red liquid
within a swirl before sniffing it and taking a sip. I mirror his
actions, feeling a bit silly. He nods to the waiter, and the waiter
leaves. I'm beginning to wonder when we're going to get to order.