White Lies (11 page)

She took him in hand for a moment so that she could look up at him, meet his eyes, and smile
.“
Yo
u’
re doing something for me. Right now
.
”

She bent over him again, and knew as soon as her tongue touched him that there was no turning back; he was teetering on the knif
e’
s edge of orgasm, and she locked eyes with him, stroking the base of his cock as she sucked him off. He came with hot rushes of fluid, and she swallowed him easily, letting him see how she savored him, how hot it was to see him trusting her with this, how vulnerable he was making himself, how intense the moment was.

It almost was
n’
t a surprise when his knees went weak, and he slipped down the door to land on his ass. He chuckled for a moment, but the laughter flipped over into a sob almost too easily. She opened her arms for a moment, not quite confident enough to just reach out and gather him up, no matter how badly he was hurting. He almost bowled her over with the force of his motion as he dove into her arms. He curled up, almost like a child, his head resting on her shoulder as he clung to her.

He did
n’
t cry, after that one solitary sob, but he wrapped his arms around her so tightly that she thought she might have to ask him to relax so she could breathe. Almost, but never quite that tight.

When he sat up and faced her, his expression was quiet and calm again
.“
What is your plan for the day
?
” he asked as he stood, straightening his shirt, and zipped his fly. He walked across to his closet, and pulled riffled through several different colors of tie.

The speed at which he changed gears made her head spin. She took a short breath to get her bearings, and then smiled
.“I’
m not entirely sure. I do
n’
t have to actually be in the
Voic
e
’
s office until Friday, but I have some work I need to do
.
”

“
Stay here
,
” he said
.“
Be here when I get home
.
”

The invitation happened so quickly she was almost surprised
.“
I do
n’
t have any of my things
.
”

“
What would make you more comfortable, me having a car bring you to your studio to pick up your things, or me having things sent here for you
?
”

“
Ale
x
—” Zoey took another, longer breath
.“
We barely know each other
.
”

He did
n’
t look at her, just went to the long mirror and knotted his tie
.“
Funniest thing. I need to be looking at myself in a mirror to knot a tie. I do
n’
t know why. I should know how to do this by now
.
”

“
Yo
u’
re not answering me
.
”

“
You have
n’
t said anything that required an answer
.
”

“
I ca
n’
t jus
t—
shack up with you
.
” There were so many more words than that, and she knew that sh
e’
d said them in entirely the wrong order. She should have started with what it had been like growing up, being the girl everyone had assumed, for no reason sh
e’
d ever understood, would be easy. How whether sh
e’
d decided to give in or decided to hold out, it always backfired. How sh
e’
d grown up stuck in a game she could
n’
t win. How he was the first person in a thousand years to not make her feel that way. To pay attention to what she wanted, and try to give her that. To notice that her ass looked better in jeans that were a medium rise, instead of the super low cut that was fashionable. To notice her breasts and whisper in a moment of heat that he liked them better small, that he could get more into his mouth that way.

Instead, sh
e’
d leapt for the words that would sting the most, implying that she thought he was just another playboy, like her gossip rag already told everyone in the world that he was. He covered the hurt in his eyes quickly, but not quickly enough
.“
I see. I thought we had reached an agreement
.
”

“
Abou
t—
helping each other
?
”

He gave a short nod as he shrugged into his suit coat. It fit his narrow figure well enough to make her ache to kiss him again
.“
So if I grab all my stuff, haul it all here, and then we sort out the myster
y—
then what? I ca
n’
t get used to living like this, Alex. Thi
s—
this is
n’
t my reality
.
” The other stuff was all too hard to say. This was something, though, something real and true that she could articulate. This was a fairy tale dream. Waking up in a soft bed, someone making her coffee that was beyond divine, making her whatever she wanted to eat, with a personal gym, a view of the city, a car service on speed dial. She could
n’
t go from this back to eating ramen the week that rent was due. She could barely survive her life as it was without hating every second of it. A week away from it, and it would kill her to go back. Not all at once, but slowly, inch by inch. And she knew it.

Alex turned back towards her, his eyes large and soft for a moment. Zoey could hear the words echoing between the
m—
this could be her reality. In that moment, all sh
e’
d need to do was say that she wanted it, and h
e’
d give it all to her, every single piece of it. Just because she looked at him, and did
n’
t stop looking at his wallet, or the depth of the color in his skin, but kept looking, to see the man inside of those features.

If he wanted her, it was going to have to be for more than that. He needed to know her. He needed to want her for herself, not just for how she looked at him.

And then he smiled, the softness washing away, replaced by that businesslike calm
.“
Of course
,
” he said
.“
I understand. Still, feel free to work here today, if yo
u’
d like. We can have dinner tonight, and formulate the next steps of our plan
.
”

She did
n’
t want to say yes. She had a nagging feeling that it was very much the wrong thing to do. But she did
n’
t know what choice she had
.“
All right
.
”

“
Let me see your phone
,
” he said, and she picked it up off the bureau, where Sophia must have left it when she brought the rest of Zoe
y’
s things into the room. She passed it to Alex, and she watched him tap a few things into it
.“
Tha
t’
s the car company, my office, and my cell. If you need to get anywhere, feel free to use the car company,
I’
ll let them know they may hear from you. Call my office or my cell if you need me
.
” He paused, and then offered her that slow, shy smile
.“
Almost no one has my cell phone.
I’
d obviously like to keep it that way
.
”

“
Of course
,
” she said. It was
n’
t anything like enough
.“
Thank you
.
”

His hand went to her hair, stroking along the curve of her head, finding her jawline, and tracing that until his thumb could brush over her lower lip. The attention made her shiver, and reminded her quite viscerally that even though sh
e’
d had her fingers in her pussy just a few minutes earlier, she had
n’
t come at all
.“
Have a bath, if you want
,
” he said, his voice thick and hoarse
.“
Pile your hair up high and cover yourself in suds
.
”

“
Call me when yo
u’
re on your way home
,
” she replied, resting her hands on his shoulders and leaning up to kiss the pulse in his throat
.“I’
ll make sure
I’
m waiting for you
.
”

His nostrils flared ever so slightly as his pupils widened
.“
I think I could fuck you pretty much all day long, and never be satisfied
,
” he whispered
.“
Have you ever been tied up at all
?
”

She shook her head, feeling her heart skip into another gear entirely.

“
Perhaps we can experiment with that later
,
” he said
.“
You might enjoy it. The feeling of being restrained, of giving up control, can be delicious
.
”

“
Okay
,
” she said. Her breath was a bare whisper.

His head bent towards hers, and she expected the kiss to be full of fire and lust and promise for later. The soft brush of his mouth on hers was something entirely other. It was thanks and leave-taking and a reminder that he would return.

It reminded her that no, she did
n’
t know anything about this man, not really, but what she knew led her to believe that she wanted to get to know him better.

“I’
ll call you
,
” he said.

“
Does your phone have video calling
?
”

He looked at her like she had a second head
.“
Of course
.
”

“
Call me with that
,
” she said
.“
Right around noon, maybe.
I’
ll want a break from work by then. Maybe
I’
ll take a bath
.
”

He watched her with the same heated eyes sh
e’
d seen in the club, that first night
.“
Oh
?
”

“
Mmmhmmm
.
” She reached out and trailed a finger tip down the length of his tie, never touching his skin, just letting him feel the pressure of her hand as he reached all the way down, hooking her finger in his belt and tugging him ever so slightly towards her. It was just enough to make him sway on his feet
.“
Where do you keep the toys
?
”

His teeth tightened over his lip, dragging over it in a slow motion that made her want to pull him down to her again, have him all over right there in the room. To hell with making Cindy wait, to hell with whether or not she heard them. Her pussy was aching, and god help her, he was reaching out to her, his finger sliding inside her jeans, where hers had been, twisting around her clit with savage intensity, just enough to make her ride his hand for a long, aching second. He whispered
,“
In the chest at the foot of the bed. Do
n’
t come until I call
.
”