Dazed (11 page)

“Aerie, I assume,” she says extending her hand. “It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you.”

The word
finally
bites, but I choose not to assume she’s insulting me. She is stunning—her hair is shoulder length, pin straight, and dirty blonde.

“Kimberly.” I stress the word. “The pleasure is all mine. I’m so happy to have you aboard and look forward to growing the magazine circulation with you.”

She passes a coffee my way. “Oh, call me Kay. Kimberly is so formal and I think a pen name is in order. Although I’d love to ride my previous successes from the
New York Times
, I explained to Damon I think I’ll be more successful without the bar set so high.” She looks at him. “And he agreed.”

He nods.

I smile, and put a hand out to the coffee. “I’m fine with tea, but thank you anyway.”

She shrugs. “I’ll get to know all of your habits. Next time I’ll bring you tea.”

“Well, ladies, I don’t want to take too much of your time this morning, but I thought it would be worth discussing a training schedule. As you know, Aerie, Sound Entertainment won’t launch until the summer, but I’d like you to get Kay up to speed in the meantime. In fact I’d like you,” he says to Kay, “to interview my fiancé, Ivy Taylor. She’s preparing a new album that won’t release until next year, but I’d like to see your brilliance applied toward growing her career.”

I don’t let this ruffle my feathers. I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunities for me to meet with Ivy once her album releases. The meeting seems to go on for hours, and my mind wanders back to Jagger at every opportunity. I get lost in the memory of our night together.

Damon’s deep voice rattles me from my thoughts. “Ms. Daniels, you’re in agreement then?”

When I don’t answer at first, Kay jumps in. “Aerie and I will be the perfect workmates.”

I glance her way, silently thanking her for cluing me in. I guess she’ll be sharing my office. “Yes, of course, Damon. Anything she needs,” I answer, turning to meet his glare.

“Great then. Kay the construction will begin on the ninth floor immediately and by summer’s start we should have a state of the art newsroom and studio.” I swear I could practically see him rubbing his hands together as he speaks.

Damon rises and I say my goodbyes, scurrying to my office and wondering when Kay will be moving in. Once I sit in my chair, I grab for my purse and remove my BlackBerry. No messages. I go about the rest of my day, trying to make up for lost time and when I look at my BlackBerry again it’s four o’clock. Still no messages. I had told him I’d leave work at six today so I guess there was need to call me. I just thought . . . I’m not sure what I thought.

Time passes slowly after that. I twirl in my chair and pop my legs up on my desk. I’ve always prided myself on never being one of those needy girls, well not never—once and only once. But I learned my lesson quickly, and not since Levi have I sat around and waited for a guy to call me. So why is it I’m thinking it would have been nice if Jagger called me today? In fact, why isn’t he calling me? Oh God, what if he doesn’t pick me up? Was he really just using me?

My phone rings and I jump.

Reaching to pick up the receiver on my desk, I hug it to my ear. “Hello?”

“Aerieee, I’ve been waiting for you to call me all day.” It’s Dahlia.

“Dahlia girl, how am I supposed to know you’ve been waiting for a call? I did just see you yesterday.”

“Fess up now. Don’t make me squeeze it out of you.”

I laugh. “Jagger spent the night.”

“I know that. I figured that out when he didn’t come home. So . . .”

“So we had sex,” I say it as fast as I can.

“And?”

I bite my lip just thinking about it and the ache between my legs is back. “And, I think I had my first orgasm.”

A scream explodes through the line. “You think?”

“No, I did. I know I did. More than one by the way.” I can’t believe I’m having this conversation at work.

“So you still like him then?”

“Yes, Dahlia, I still like him. Actually, I really like him.”

For the longest time silence fills the line.

“Dahlia?”

“Sorry, Aerie. I am trying not to cry right now.”

“Dahlia! It’s not like I’ll be getting married tomorrow. I like him. I enjoy his company.”

There’s a knock on the door and before I say, “Come in,” it opens. Kay stands there. I kick my feet down and straighten myself.

“Hey, Dahlia, I’ll need to call you back later, but—really quick—is he there?”

“He stopped by long enough this morning to shower and then took off. I haven’t seen him since then. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, Dahlia girl. Just curious. I’ll call you later.”

I hang up the receiver.

“Aerie, I’m so sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to stop by and make sure you were really okay about sharing your office with me until mine is ready.”

I roll my chair toward her. “It’s fine. When did you want to move your stuff up?”

“Friday should work. Damon said construction wouldn’t begin before Monday.”

“Tomorrow I’ll ask Shelly to arrange the move then.”

“Thanks so much. I look forward to learning the ropes from you.”

I fold my hands on my desk and give her a friendly smile.

As soon as the door clicks shut, I pull my BlackBerry from the pocket in my purse—6:05. Finally! Time to leave. Anticipation at seeing him again burns through me, but fear that he won’t be there worries me. As I walk out of the office, I convince myself that he’s not using me. That playing the role of my uncle in the movie isn’t why he’s spending time with me. But old ghosts haunt me and I remember what happened with Levi—how one minute he had me under him naked and the next he was kissing another girl.

The automatic doors open and through the light drizzle I can see his car isn’t parked where he dropped me off this morning and my heart sinks. But then I glance sideways. Under the awning, leaning against the wall, I spot him—the wayfarers that cover his gray eyes, the faded jeans that fit snuggly on his narrow hips, the scuffed boots with the orange laces, the messy but somehow perfect dark hair, and the wool coat—the one I told him I liked. He appears deep in thought, but then suddenly glances up.

He walks toward me and tucks his glasses into the opening of his coat before reaching me. I stand there, unable to move. I’m so elated that he’s here. His hands curl behind my neck as he pulls the clip from my hair out with one hand and sticks it in his coat pocket, tangling his fingers though my hair with the other. Before I can study his expression, his lips are on mine. Soft, full, kissing me with burning passion. He pulls back, leaving me breathless and completely aroused.

“How was your day, Alice?” he asks with a grin.

I press against his chest, not caring that this is a very public display of affection. Then I lean back to look into his eyes. “Better now that work is over.”

His hands run down my arms and lace in my fingers, and my stomach dances with excitement.

“And how was yours?” I ask.

As he speaks I notice sadness in his eyes. “Mine was—”

“Have a great night, Ms. Daniels,” Shelly calls from behind me.

I turn toward her voice. “You, too. See you tomorrow.” I wave.

Before I can turn back to him, his lips are near my ear. “I missed you.”

I can almost feel his beating heart against my back. I flip around and reach up on my toes to find his mouth. “I thought about you today.”

He dips his head and finds my lips, brushing them lightly. “What exactly did you think about?”

I normally wouldn’t want to say what I’m thinking, but it’s the truth, so I say, “How you could make me come like no one ever has. How you felt inside me.”

His lips curve into that smug grin and his stormy eyes dance with pleasure. “Good, because that’s all I thought about, too. So what do you say we get out of this rain and I feed you, so we can go practice?”

“Where’d you park?”

As he pulls me closer he lets the umbrella drop to the ground. He wraps one around my waist. Then with his sexy smoldering grin, he points toward the parking lot. “Where I’m supposed to park.”

I don’t care that I’m getting wet, I don’t care that my shoes might be ruined, I stop right there and step in front of him. “What do you say we order in again?”

Chapter 6

Unconditionally

The past six weeks have passed by in a whirlwind. Jagger and I have been spending more than just a lot of time together. We have seamlessly combined our lives. He’s joined my evening yoga classes and sometimes he comes to my morning training sessions. He’s not a morning person though—it’s cute how much he dislikes getting up. He stays with me almost every night, and I have never had sex as much or as often as I do with him—I love every minute of it.

The movie audition has been delayed because of script issues. But regardless, Jagger has kept busy. He picked up a few small modeling jobs and last week he went for a second round of shots to do print for a big fashion house. He’s pretty excited about that. He’s also gone on numerous casting calls. He was offered a small part in a movie that he turned down because he was filming overseas and it would interfere with his audition for
No Led Zeppelin
. And although I’d like to say I’ve been the one helping him, he’s been helping me as well. Having someone to talk to while I go through my uncle’s belongings has been therapeutic. I’ve found photos, cards, and his complete vinyl. We also found a bunch of old sales reports, some from when Uncle Ian was Avery Wilde’s silent partner and some from Nick Wilde’s days under the Little Red label. I know Avery was very involved in his son’s career so I assume the items just got mixed up in their offices.

Once I told him about Damon and my other half, I stopped talking about work. It wasn’t as interesting as other topics. And sharing an office with Kay has been much more pleasant than I thought it would be. She’s actually really nice and doesn’t seem to have any hidden agendas. She keeps to herself and sometimes even seems nervous. I don’t ask—it’s not my business. But I have shown her all the facets of my job and she seems very appreciative. In fact, with her at the magazine, I’ve been able to come in a little bit later and leave slightly earlier—a win/win for both of us. And a bonus—Damon was really happy with the article we co-wrote about Ivy Taylor and I think he feels comfortable that the magazine is running smoothly—so he hasn’t been around as much.

This year’s Valentine’s Day was the first in a long time I actually had someone to share it with. Jagger bought me two movies.
Alice in Wonderland
and
Through the Looking Glass
, and he made me dinner—chicken cacciatore. It was delicious. And over my candlelit table, he also formally asked me if I would be his girlfriend. My pulse raced at the idea of us being exclusive and we never made it to watching the movies that night. But rather, before we had even cleaned up the table, I did something right in my dining room I had done a handful of times in the bedroom with other men, but hated each and every attempt—I took his cock in my mouth. And there was nothing I disliked about it, especially after witnessing his reaction.

***

Despite the rumor that nobody walks in Los Angeles in the winter, today Jagger and I spent this first Saturday of March roaming the city. And now I’m coming home with a beautiful red-and-gray-checked scarf around my neck and a monogram bracelet with a snowflake hanging from it. I selected the scarf because it reminded me of him, and Jagger surprised me with the bracelet—telling me it reminded him of the beginning of the movie
Through the Looking Glass
and the first time we met. When he clasped the bracelet around my wrist, I knew—I knew I loved him.

When we finally pull in the driveway at River and Dahlia’s house, we are both exhausted. They’ve gone for the night to a Lakers game so we decided to hang out here.

He opens my door and just as I clear it, he slams me up against his car. “You look incredibly sexy today,” he murmurs.

My body tingles in every place possible, as the warmth of his breath passes over my mouth. I look down at what I’m wearing. Skinny denim jeans like the ones Dahlia helped me pick out a while ago, a tight gray sweater with one of my grandmother’s glass pendants hanging from my neck, and low, black ankle boots. “Really? In this outfit?”

He cages me in and I can feel his hard cock against my stomach. “It’s not the clothes, it’s the way you move in them.”

I push his hair from his eyes. “Thank you,” I say, not sure how else to answer.

I have to look away to not get lost in his eyes. Of the dozen or so relationships I’ve had so far in my life, no one has ever made me feel as wanted as he does. The sexual chemistry between us frightens me. I’ve never had this kind of connection with anyone. And sometimes, like now, I have to try to get some control.

With my breathing embarrassingly fast, I duck under his arm and head toward the trunk. “Come on. We have a car to unload and dinner to make.”

He gives me a sly smile. “Is that what you want?”

Trying really hard not to run back to him and jump him, I say, “Yes.”

He shrugs and moves my way. “Okay, then use me for my cooking skills, but I expect proper compensation later.”

I swing the totes into his arms and lean in to nip his lip. “You can count on it.”

With bags of groceries in his arms and a huge grin on his face, he waits for me to hit the keypad next to the garage door. As the door rolls open, I study the lean lines of his body and appreciate the way his muscles move holding the bags. Tonight we’re making Fettuccini Alfredo and I know I’ll have to work out extra hard this week after this meal. I don’t get how Jagger stays so thin with what he eats, but he seems to have a good routine down that I have slowly adopted—eat healthy during the week and work out heavily. Then on the weekends eat what you want. We head toward the stairs in the corner of the garage and before we reach them he motions with his chin toward the door that opens into the lower level.

“Why don’t you grab us both a sweatshirt and we’ll watch the sunset before we cook?”