Breaking Joseph (19 page)

“Five years,
now. We’re practically married anyway but of course, it’s only now
we’re allowed to do it.” Abi had a light accent–Italian, judging by
her name. She chewed her glossy lip and then winced as her phone
vibrated. “I have to get this. Apologies. ’Ello? Oh, fuck you,
Andreas!” She twisted in her seat as if it was as good as leaving
the room.

“I’m sorry
about this,” said Sadie.

“For fuck’s
sake!” Abi snapped, gesturing wildly. “Is it so much to ask that
you just deal with it?
Figlio di puttanta
! You disgust
me.”

“Who’s
Andreas?” I whispered.

Sadie pursed
her lips. “Her PA.”

“I see.” I
giggled into Joseph’s shoulder. “She doesn’t talk to you like that,
does she, Sadie?”

The blonde’s
cheeks burst with crimson and I gave her a silent, knowing nod.

“I think she’s
wonderful,” Joseph announced with a smirk.

Sadie shook her
head. “
You
would!”

I glanced
between Joseph and Sadie, and wondered what kind of relationship
they had. There had always been gossip–it was going to happen,
given the nature of her position–though I’d never believed much of
it. She seemed so mellow and warm compared to his cool temper that
I’d never assumed they would actually be friends.

“
Gustafave
. Ugh! I’m so sorry.” Abi turned back to us with a
sigh. “No rest for the wicked, mmm?”

“So what is it
you do?” I said.

“PR, bella.
Joseph. Where did you find this girl? What happened to your last
one, you bastard?”

“PR, huh?”

“Don’t worry.”
Sadie patted my arm. “I was surprised too.”

“It…ended.”
Joseph swallowed, half amused, and half scanning the crowd for
Isobel, lest she hear him. “Leila’s been training in my
office.”

Abi leaned over
and brushed my chin with long fingernails. “You are far more
suitable,
bella.
The last one had eyes like she’d just
fallen out of an opium den.”

Sadie gawped at
her. “Abi!”

I wanted to
weep. I loved Abi too–but poor Andreas.

We had almost
finished the main course when I spotted Isobel a couple of tables
away. She caught my eye immediately and just stared blankly,
sucking at my shame, demanding that it show itself. It took three
blinks to break the spell.

“Are you all
right?” Elise nudged my plate. “You’ve hardly eaten a thing.”

“It’s been a
long week.”

“Oh. Just
didn’t want to think you were feeling funny about…you know.” She
smiled shyly.

“Oh no. No.” I
brushed my knee to hers under the table. “Nothing to do with that,
chick.” I polished off my second Bellini and reached for the wine.
“Trust me on that one.”

“Leila.” Joseph
caught the bottle before I could pour. “Slow down a little.”

Abi snorted.
“She’s trying to dull the pain of going home with you!”

“Why would she
want to dull it?”

I felt his
fingers swirl at the base of my spine and they caught each nerve
ending through the silk, playing them like strings on a harp. God,
I wanted to rush home with him, to peel his clothes away and have
his weight atop me while he bit at my neck. To have his voice
burying into my skin where it belonged, rather than the foot away
it was resigned to in this noisy, annoying room.

The auction
lasted over an hour. Joseph bid on two cars and lost both with much
swearing, though his donated script fetched a tidy sum. Abi and
Sadie won a cruise on a yacht belonging to some European celebrity
and ordered Champagne to celebrate. Yves was slurring before we got
to the cheese course and practically passed out by coffee, while
Miranda had three cups and her eyes stretched like saucers.

A DJ came on
after the patron speeches and I excused myself to get some air. Out
in the smoking area, I found myself squashed not far behind two
very familiar figures.

“It stinks out
here, Tobe,” Matt complained. “You were meant to have quit. I
thought you were saving for Amsterdam?”

“What’s the
point of going to Amsterdam if you don’t smoke?” Toby said.
“Anyway, you wanted to get out of there.”

I leaned
forward to tap Matt’s shoulder but another couple kept getting in
the way.

“Yeah, well.”
He shrugged. “Not sure how long I can watch them. Fancy taking off
in a bit?”

“What?
Seriously, you’re going to give up another two hours of free drink
because of that bitch?”

I took a great
gulp of smoky air and then clapped a hand up to ease the
coughing.

Matt shook his
head, dark hair tumbling into his eyes. “I don’t need the reminder
right now, okay?”

Toby took a
long drag. “Reminder of what?”

“That the bad
guy got the girl.”

“I think you’ll
find that the bad guy got the
prostitute
. Boo fucking
hoo.”

Ouch.
Again.

“Yeah. I guess
they deserve each other.” Matt attempted a smile, but only half his
mouth obeyed.

“I hope she
gives him syphilis and his cock rots off.”

They turned
before I remembered that I was eavesdropping, and Matt looked
straight at me. The colour drained from his cheeks.

“Leila,” he
spluttered, reaching out to guide me over. “Hi.”

I nodded
soberly at Toby, who suddenly puffed away at twice the speed. Then
I pulled words from clay. “So…how’s your leg?”

“It’s better. A
bit. A little bit.” He poked his brother in the ribs. “Tobe was
just going to get some drinks.”

Toby’s eyes
shot up in exasperation. “I’ll see you inside,” he muttered,
stomping off.

I stood for a
moment, focusing on the decking and the melee of chatter around
us.

Matt nudged me
with a light hand. “You heard us, didn’t you?”

“I did.” I bit
my lip.

“Huh.” He
stepped from foot to foot. “I’m sorry.”

More
silence.

“So how’s it
going?” he said.

“It’s good.” I
cocked my head. “I met Sadie’s girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend? Oh
man.” He hooted. “Aidan is going to pissed that he missed that
one!”

“I hadn’t
thought about it like that, actually. I feel smug already.”

“Smug about
what?” A large hand cupped my hip, and Joseph materialized behind
me.

“It’s
nothing.”

He and Matt
eyed each other. Tension fizzed in the air.

“Elise was
worried about you,” Joseph murmured. “So was I.”

“I just needed
some fresh air. It’s stuffy in there.”

He sniffed.
“It’s hardly fresh out here.”

“Don’t worry.”
Matt’s voice swelled with Dutch courage. “I wasn’t about to have
her up against the wall.”

Ground, I know
we’ve only just met, but do you swallow?

Joseph’s upper
lip twitched. “More’s the pity–you know how I like to watch.” With
that, he gripped my elbow and steered me back inside.

“Was that
really necessary?” I hissed.

“You could say
the same of him. He asked for that.”

I wasn’t sure
who had more of a point.

We stayed a
while to chat and dance. It was already past eleven, and I sent
Clemmie a text to warn her that I was nowhere near getting
home.

Slut,
she wrote.
I’m jealous. Have five for me! X

Joseph was a
surprisingly good dancer. He didn’t spend much time on the floor–he
kept drifting off to network–but he never seemed to forget where I
was. When he reappeared he would scoop me up and press me against
him, stealing my rhythm and crafting it as his own.

Kenji and Elise
had evidently had practice, because they chucked each other about
like professionals.

“Americans,”
Joseph groaned during their enthusiastic salsa. “I do not know that
guy.”

Lessons from
Ronnie, perhaps.

As I laughed
over his shoulder, I caught sight of Poppy and Isobel on a corner
table. They shared a bottle of wine and were deep in discussion,
heads bowed. I supposed they now had a mutual hatred of me and
Joseph in common.

“What’s wrong,
sweetheart?” Joseph nudged my chin up.

“Nothing.
Nothing.” I stood on tiptoe and kissed him. It wasn’t really
appropriate, and though I expected him to pull away, his mouth
lingered on mine.

“I think it’s
time to get you home, Miss Vaughn,” he mumbled.

They were the
sweetest words I’d heard all evening. “Please.”

“I’ll have the
car brought around.”

We left for
Joseph’s apartment with Kenji and Elise following for drinks. On
the back seat, he cupped my face, and we spent the ten-minute
journey inhaling each other in words, breath, skin. I felt like I
was sixteen all over again, but Sarah wasn’t arriving. She wasn’t
even invited to the party.

He attempted to
pull my skirt up, but it was too long to do so discreetly. Then he
tried peeling my bodice down and I slapped his hands away,
giggling.

“Why did we
invite people back again?” he said.

I toyed with
his cock through his trousers. “You won’t regret it, Joe.”

“I won’t? What
have you got planned?” He eyed me suspiciously. “I’m not about to
swap any car keys with Ken.”

“You were just
telling the whole smoking area how much you like to watch.”

“Christ, Leila.
I don’t want to see you with one of my
friends.
” The disgust
that creased his face was comical. “I think we need to make some
rules in that regard.”

“Rules? How
very boring.” I tugged his mouth down to mine with a handful of
hair. “I haven’t arranged any swinging, Joe. Don’t worry.”

“Invite Sadie
and Abi. Then you can swing however you like.”

“I could lay
them out on the coffee table.” I smirked. “Get the rolling
pin.”

His cock
twitched beneath my fingers, and he growled. “Should have booked
the fucking limo. I thought they were crass, but the privacy in
here leaves a lot to be desired. Ugh…”

Back at his
apartment, we switched on the glowing up-lights and put a piano
piece on in the background. He and Kenji cracked open a bottle of
whiskey while Elise and I mixed pretty cocktails from his
well-stocked liquor cabinet. Since we’d left the ballroom, my
paranoia had evaporated, so I went easy on the alcohol–just didn’t
need it to relax.

“Finally!”
Joseph held his iPhone aloft. “They’ve accepted the offer. It’s all
going through!”

“No more
negotiations?” Elise looked deflated. “I was looking forward to
those. We were almost at the point where we could get
sarcastic.”

I wrapped my
arms around Joseph’s waist. “It’s going to be a long day tomorrow,
isn’t it?”

“Uh-huh.” He
smiled down at me. “Fun, though.”

“You have a
weird idea of fun,” Kenji complained. His phone call connected and
he shuffled off. “Hi. Deacon? Great news. We’re good to go
here…”

“I guess this
means no ring shopping until the weekend.” Elise sloshed her drink
about as she waved her unadorned hand. Pithy juice licked the edge
of her glass.

“Are you having
a diamond?” Joseph asked innocently. “I hear anything else these
days is vulgar.”

At his mockery
of Isobel’s “taste” in jewellery, I kicked him in the shin and he
twisted me round, pinning me against the kitchen island. We
wrestled, whooping with laughter as he attempted to bend me for a
spanking, and it was only when it went silent that we glanced back.
Elise and Kenji watched with chewed lips and raised brows.

“Sorry.” I
cleared my throat.

“I’ve seen much
worse.” Kenji started laughing and Elise whacked him in the gut.
She shot me a knowing look as he coughed and spluttered, her eyes
darting toward the couch. Joseph patted him on the back with a
little too much pressure and poor Ken continued to choke.

“You’re not
even married yet and you’re a beaten husband.” Joseph grimaced.

“Oh, fuck you,
Chairman. You’re pussy whipped already. You can hardly talk.” Ken
ducked as Joe threw a punch at him and the pair of them careered
into the island headfirst.

“They’ve had
one drink and turned into Neanderthals,” Elise said.

“I say we leave
them to it.”

“Good show,”
she quipped.

“You start
taking the pee out of my accent and I am not helping you at
all!”

“But I like
your accent! It’s pretty.” Her plum-stained lips curved over white
teeth, and her tone softened. “Like you.”

I took her hand
and led her to the couch.

We shifted
about, sipping drinks and getting comfortable against the scatter
cushions. In the kitchen area, the men finally gave up their mock
bullfighting and cracked open beers.

“So.” Her voice
wavered with that awkward little shiver.

I took a deep
breath and laid my hand on her knee. Her dress was as long as mine
but spun in gauzy chiffon, light beneath my fingers for the tugging
up. I saw her pupils dilate as I found her bare skin, as I stroked
with the tips of my nails.

Joseph told
Ken you liked girls,
she had said.
And you know what Ken has
always wanted.

“What are you
waiting for?” I whispered.

Her cheeks were
smudged in cherry; her lips had begun to part and they were a
teasing reminder of pink elsewhere.

I think it’s
what I want too. Does that sound weird?

I leaned in and
planted a kiss against her collarbone. She stiffened and inhaled as
if I’d just shot her with a few thousand volts.

“Close your
eyes, baby,” I said.

She tipped back
her head and sighed.

I played my
hands up over her belly and came to rest on the firm cups of her
breasts. I swore she arched against them as I licked her jaw.

When she’d
asked me to perform like this, she’d been so coy. Now, her mouth
was warm and plump, her movements unsure to begin with, and desire
frothed in Charlotte’s veins like a well-shaken soda. Did Elise
know she was really having a threesome? Beneath her dress, her
nipples grew stiff and I found myself circling them, pulling gently
and delighting in her little gasps.