Dazzle her: Laws of Seduction Book 3 (10 page)

Needing privacy, I head to my old office. A contractor has already begun work on the repairs, but luckily there are no workers there now. My feet make a crunching sound as I walk across the sheets of plastic covering the floor. Standing at the window, I scroll through the text messages on my phone. The last message sends cold shivers down my spine.

WHERE ARE YOU?!?

That message looks like it was sent when I was having dinner with Davis. I lean my forehead against the cool window pane. Should I go and apologize to James for not answering his messages? I had been exhausted last night and hadn’t thought that he might be wondering where I was. The intensity of my relationship with James is something new to me. My relationship with Mark had been much more casual. We had gone days without seeing each other. Then it hits me. I can’t very well explain to him why I was having dinner with Davis without ruining his birthday surprise. After considering my options for a few minutes, I call Sam, who answers on the second ring.

“Lainey, I forgot to tell you that James called last night looking for you.”

I close my eyes in defeat. So much for asking Sam to cover for me. “What did you tell him?”

“I told him that I was not your keeper and that I didn’t know where you were.”

“It is James’s birthday this weekend, and I wanted to surprise him with some photographs of me.”

“What kind of photographs?”

“Sexy ones.”

“Huh, he should like that.”

“Yea, I thought so, but now I have to come up with a plausible excuse for being M.I.A. last night.”

“You could just tell him the truth, but leave out the part about the photographs being for his birthday.”

“Davis was the photographer.” I hear nothing but silence on the other end of the phone, and I begin to wonder if our call was dropped, when Sam responds.

“Okaaaay, that makes it a little more difficult.”

That was putting it mildly. “The photos are fantastic, Sam.”

“That’s nice, Lainey, but I doubt they will be much consolation when James finds out who took them and that Davis is the reason you couldn’t be reached last night.””

“Maybe I can tell him I was with Nick.”

“I don’t know, Lainey. The truth might be better.”

“You didn’t see him, Sam. He was really angry. He didn’t even acknowledge me when I saw him at the elevator.”

“I guess you know what you are doing. Good luck. I think you are going to need it.”

With Sam’s ominous words ringing in my ears, I disconnect and attempt to reach Nick. The call goes straight to voicemail, so I send him a text message instead.

If anyone asks, I was with you last night. xxx

I had been so excited about my idea of pictures as a gift for James, I had failed to consider his reaction to who had taken the photographs. I was so gaga over James that I couldn’t even imagine looking at someone else. The memory of my words from two nights before replays in my mind. I had even told him that I loved him. The fact that he had not reciprocated was like a stab in my heart. What if he couldn’t return my feelings and dropped me again? Panic at the thought makes me leave the office to search him out. I walk up to Melanie’s desk. “Is James still out?”

“Yes, but he should be back soon.”

“Can you call me when he gets back? I need to talk to him for a few minutes.”

Melanie gives me a friendly smile. “Sure thing, Lainey, I’ll let you know the moment he gets back.”

“Thanks.” I wander back to my desk and find it difficult to concentrate on my work.

Finally I see Melanie’s extension appear on my phone as it rings. Grabbing the receiver, I ask, “He’s back?”

“Yes, but you had better hurry. He only has a few minutes before his next conference call.”

“I’m on my way.”

I give James’s open office door a few brief knocks to alert him to my presence before walking in. James, who had been looking out the window, swivels his chair around to watch as I walk toward his desk. The coldness in his eyes and his utter stillness set off alarms in my head. A volley of words come rushing out of my mouth. “James, I am so sorry I didn’t respond to your texts and calls.” His lack of response unnerves me. “I had something important to take care of, and I lost track of time. By the time I got home, I was so exhausted that I just fell into bed.”

“So it was a late night, was it?” James’s clipped tone makes me jump. For some reason I had expected him to warm up after my apology.

“Y-y-y-es, I was out until about midnight.”

“Who were you out with?”

The moment had come when I had to decide. Feeling a little too much like a miscreant child standing in front of his desk, I walk around to the other side. James turns and rolls back in his chair so he can look up into my face. “It doesn’t matter who I was with. If you don’’t trust me, this isn’t going to work.”

“That’s your answer?”

“Yes, James. That is my answer.”

“I have a conference call right now. We can talk about this more later.”

Resentment floods me at his cool dismissal. “No, James. We don’t need to talk about this later. You either trust me or you don’t. It’’s a two-way street, you know.”

James does not respond to my heated tone. “Close the door on your way out. I don’t want to be interrupted.”

Infuriated by his indifferent response, I turn and walk out the door, closing it softly behind me, although it takes all of my willpower not to slam it. I fume all the way back to my desk. He is back to blowing hot and cold. It’s like he has a switch for his emotions that he can turn on and off. Realizing that I am falling behind in my work, I force all thoughts of our argument out of my head and return to the brief glaring out at me from the computer screen.

CHAPTER 13

I am pushing myself hard as I run down the pedestrian path along the West Side Highway. By the time I reach James’s apartment building, I am drenched in perspiration. I wipe the sweat off my face with my t-shirt before entering the lobby of his building. The concierge waves me on towards the elevators. My trepidation rises the closer I get to James’s floor. When the elevator opens, James is not standing there to greet me. I walk further into his apartment and find him sitting on his couch with a glass of scotch in his hand. Catching sight of me, I watch as his eyes run up and down my sweaty form. I hear the clink of ice as he waves his scotch tumbler in my direction in a mocking toast before throwing back the contents. “To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”

James’s high-handedness in dismissing me from his office in such a cavalier way had begun to irritate me more and more. Finally, deciding that I wasn’t going to wait around until James deemed it was time to continue our discussion, I left the office without telling him. I had begun to regret the decision almost immediately. If I want James’s understanding about last night, I am going to have to control my temper. My decision to run from my apartment to see James had been a good one. A lot of the tension from earlier in the day had evaporated. “Can I take a shower?””

“By all means. Mi casa es tu casa.”

“I’ll just be a few minutes.”

I strip off my clothes and rinse off under the spray of warm water before stepping out and drying off with one of James’s fluffy towels. I wrap myself in the robe that is hanging on the back of the bathroom door and pop my phone in its pocket before going back to the living room, where James is scrolling down his phone in the same spot I left him in.

Eyeing him warily, I walk over and sit down on the coffee table across from him. The hand holding his tumbler rests on the arm of the couch, and he taps one finger on the rim while regarding me intently. I refuse to be intimidated by this. I shift and the robe falls to the side, revealing more of my leg. The burning look in James’s eyes reminds me that I have nothing on underneath my robe. I shift again as a course of unexpected desire shoots through me, making my nipples tighten in anticipation. James stops his finger-tapping and leans forward, setting his glass onto the coffee table next to me. I get a whiff of spicy cologne and the scent that is pure James before he returns to his relaxed position on the couch. I know that if he were to touch me in this moment, I would light up in flames.

The sound of an incoming text on my phone interrupts the charged moment. “Are you going to get that?”

“No, I don’t need to.”

“Why won’t you tell me where you were last night?”

“Why is it so important that I tell you?”

“Lainey, don’t answer my question with a question. I want an answer.” Once again my phone pings with an incoming text. ““Maybe you should respond to that.”

“It’s not important. It can wait.”

“No, I insist. Check your texts, Lainey.”

I note the impeccable set of James’s jaw and decide that it is not worth arguing about. Taking my phone from the pocket of the robe, I see that Nick has sent me several texts.

Lainey, what are you up to??

Then the second text. Have you been a naughty girl?

Grimacing at Nick’s assumptions, I am about to turn my phone off when James unexpectedly jerks the phone out of my hand. My eyes widen in horror as he scrolls through my latest messages with Nick. I jump up and lunge for my phone, but it is too late. James has already seen the incriminating texts. Why did I have to send that stupid message to Nick this morning. I realized almost immediately after sending it that it would be wrong to lie to James. For our relationship to succeed, he needed to trust me.

I frantically try to grab my phone, but James holds it out of my reach and at the same time manages to wrestle me down onto the couch. My own ire ignites, and I ignore the fury blazing down at me. “What the hell is wrong with you? You can’t just grab my phone and read my personal messages.”

“From someone asking for my trust, you sure do seem to have a lot to hide.” James manages to get out around clenched teeth.

“Some women may find this possessive, domineering bullshit sexy, but let me tell you, I do not. Let me up.” During our tussle my robe had fallen open, and I feel exposed.

I watch as James’s eyes fall away from my face to take in the wide expanses of bared skin. Raising his eyes back to mine, he smiles with cold calculation. “Oh baby, I like you right where you are.” A shiver of apprehension rolls over me. “Tell me, Lainey. Have you been naughty?”

Looking up at him with wide eyes, I shake my head back and forth. “That’s not what your friend Nick seems to think.” I feel his fingers playing lightly against the back of my knee. Little prickles of desire shoot through all of my nerve endings. He trails his fingers up my thigh and over my core, which is beginning to throb with wanting. My breath hitches as he continues by making light circles on my abdomen before cupping my breast and brushing his thumb across my hardened nipple. I bite back a moan as he leans down and nuzzles my ear and neck. In a low, gravelly voice, James demands, “Who were you with last night?”

His question reminds me that I am angry with him. My body is on fire for him, but drawing on all of my self-control, I buck my hips, trying to throw him off of me. “Using sex as a weapon isn’t fair.”

James grabs my wrists and pulls them over my head, holding them securely with one hand. “If I have to, I will use every weapon at my disposal to find out who you were with last night.” Bending down, he licks and bites my lower lip before plunging his tongue into my mouth and kissing me thoroughly.

When he finally pulls back to look down at me, I am breathless. I try reasoning with him. “James, stop this. I will tell you. I was with a friend, and it was completely innocent. I am only interested in you. You have to believe me. If you don’t, we might as well end this relationship right now.”

“What friend?”

“Argh, you are like a dog with a bone. Haven’t you been listening to me at all?”

“What friend, Lainey?”

We stare stubbornly at each other until I relent. “Fine. I will tell you, but the answer will not make you happier. I was with Davis.”

I watch the alarm dance across James’s face as he sits bolt upright. “What the fuck?”

I pull the ends of the robe together over me. “I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you would be upset.”

“Upset is the least of what I am feeling right now. You blew me off yesterday so you could hang out with that douchebag?” he asks incredulously.

“Hey, Davis is a nice guy. We are actually becoming pretty good friends.”

This is apparently not what James wants to hear. He stands up and starts pacing back and forth, raking one hand through his hair. Stopping momentarily to glare at me, he lets out a pained groan before resuming his pacing. After watching him walk back and forth a few times, I forge on. “This is where the trust comes in. Now you have the answer to your question, and now you have to trust me when I tell you that nothing happened. It was an innocent meeting between friends.”

James finally stops his pacing and looks at me. I make an effort to reassure him. “You are the only person I am interested in. There is no one else.”

James reaches out and cups my face, smoothing his thumb along my cheek and over my lips. “He didn’t touch you here?”

I shake my head no.