Charade (Swept Away, #1.5)

“Yeah, that would be great,” I said eagerly. If I could meet Mattias, I was pretty sure I could convince him to let me do some “research.” I’d just play up how important Bradley Inc. was to the city and how the company helped to speed the shift of Manhattan into a big power player in the business world. I was confident he didn’t know the history of the rise of Manhattan so he wouldn’t necessarily know that the shift happened before Bradley Inc. was formed. At least I was counting on him not knowing that.

“Are you going to spend the night on Wednesday, then?” he asked me, and I grimaced at the wall opposite me. Why did it always come back to hanky-panky with David? I knew it wasn’t just him. Every guy wanted sex, but I was getting tired of fending him off. Every day we spent together, he was becoming more and more aggressive. I’d had to push his hand away more times than I cared to and his constant pawing and pitiful faces were getting old. I was pretty sure that my no’s were getting old to him as well. I didn’t want to acknowledge that it was also getting harder and harder for me to say no.

“Try and stop me,” I said lightly. I didn’t want to give him any reason to not want Wednesday night to be a success.

“Does that mean what I think it means? Are you ready?” he asked, his voice filling with excitement. David had been as patient as he could be, but I knew that the no-sex policy was getting old to him. He’d been surly the last couple of times we’d made out and I had the feeling that our relationship was coming to a point of no return. I knew that he wanted more than touching and kissing. The fact that I hadn’t yet given him a blow job was annoying him, but a blow job is just as intimate as sex to me.

“We’ll see,” I giggled. “Anyway, David, I have to go. I’ll speak to you later, okay?”

“Sounds good,” he agreed. “I’ll see you Wednesday.”





six

“It was nice meeting you, Rosie.” David hugged her as we said our goodbyes after dinner. She grinned and winked at me as we left the restaurant. I smiled back at her weakly. I was finding it hard to stay positive. Mattias had backed out of another dinner. I didn’t understand what his problem was. Why didn’t he make the time to meet me? He had to know that it was important to David by now.

“It was great meeting you as well, David. Hopefully, we can all go out to dinner again soon.”

“That sounds like a plan.” He stepped back and grabbed my hand. “Now we hate to love you and leave you, but Bianca and I have plans.”

“We do?” I looked at him in surprise and then I remembered our phone call. Oh, shit! Of course, the shit was going to hit the fan before I’d even gotten to meet Mattias.

“Well, I don’t want to prevent you guys from having a great rest of the night.” Rosie gave me a kiss on cheek. “Seal the deal tonight?” she whispered in my ear and I blushed. Rosie hopped in a cab before I could say anything to her.

“She’s nice,” David said as we walked hand-in-hand down the street. “That was a fun dinner.”

“Yes, it was. Thank you.”

“No need to thank me.” He stopped and pulled me toward him. His body felt warm and hard against mine. “You can show me your thanks in other ways,” he whispered as he leaned down to me. I felt his warm lips press against mine and I kissed him back and closed my eyes. His hands circled my waist and then I felt them cupping my ass, pulling me against him so that my breasts were pressed on his chest. His tongue entered my mouth urgently, and as his kiss deepened so did the pressure of his hands as his fingers traveled to my waist. His kiss was sweet and I could taste the faint traces of lemon in his mouth from his dessert. He pulled away after a few minutes with lust in his eyes, and gave me one quick kiss on the lips before speaking. “I can’t wait to get you home.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me with him as we walked briskly to his apartment. My heart was racing and all I could think about was how far I was willing to go. If Mattias was ever going to make an appearance, I might need to step up my game. And in order to step up my game, I needed to step things up with David. I just wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do that.

*

David’s bed was plush and comfortable. That was the best thing about spending the night with him. I loved being able to stretch out and just relax.

“I love your hair, it’s so silky.” David reached over and stroked my hair and I stared at his naked chest.

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