Dirty Little Secrets (Dirty Little Secrets #1) (16 page)

“Benefit,” he corrects.
 

I playfully roll my eyes. “After the
benefit
, whatever will you do with me?”
 

“Oh,” he says throatily, his voice dark and deep. “I can think of lots of things.”
 

Mmm. I’m looking forward to them all.
 

* * * * *

It’s surreal to me that I’m standing in the middle of a ballroom that is located in someone’s home. A
ballroom
. In someone’s
home
. What do they do when they have guests over, and someone asks to use the restroom? Do they say, “Out this door, take a left, and it’s the door just past the ballroom”? Sure, this is one of the most upscale buildings in the city, but I never thought there was this kind of real estate inside. I feel like I’m stuck in some grand musical from the fifties or something.
 

It’s not unpleasant, it’s just…surreal. Caleb is the only rich person I’ve ever known, and I thought he could be a little silly with his money, like when he hired a bodyguard to follow me around the city. No, that purchase was practical, and money well-spent. A ballroom? That’s just crazy.
 

Speaking of the bodyguard, Sam’s here with us tonight, although I can’t imagine why. I didn’t have the heart or the wherewithal to fight Caleb on it before we left the house. If it makes him feel better, then I’ll go along with it. Besides, there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of personal security here tonight, so maybe Caleb brought him along for that reason. Whatever the reasoning, I find that I don’t really care. Even though I teased Caleb about coming here, I’m actually having a great time.
 

Ben and Felicity are in attendance, like Caleb said they would be. Ben has a date that I’ve only seen once tonight; she seems to be a socialite in her own right, and Ben doesn’t seem to be all that interested, so I’m guessing it was a last-minute date. Felicity is here alone, and she’s off getting a drink.
 

Caleb is standing next to me, his hand settled on the small of my back, where it has been most of the night. I’m not sure if he wants everyone here to know that I’m here with him, or if he just wants to keep a connection with me, to keep me from getting too nervous. Regardless, I like the reassuring feel of his skin on mine. I’m not going to complain about it.
 

An incredibly attractive man with dark blonde hair and bright blue eyes approaches Caleb and me. He’s gorgeous in a rugged way, and the unshaven stubble on his face contrasts with his pressed, polished tuxedo.
 

“Nice of you to show up,” Caleb says, smiling as he reaches out and shakes this man’s hand. Based on the pictures that I’ve seen of this man with Caleb and Ben, I’m assuming this is Oliver.
 

“Flight got in late,” he says with a smile. “You must be Mia.” He reaches out and takes my hand. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. Caleb talks about you a lot.”
 

I get the feeling that Oliver is gently ribbing Caleb, but when I look over at Caleb I can see that he isn’t bothered by it in the least. “I do,” he says, grinning.
 

“It’s nice to meet you,” I reply, and give his hand a squeeze.
 

“I hear you two met at one of my properties.”
 

“We did,” I confirm. “It was lovely.”
 

Oliver grins at me, and wow. That grin is more than a little breathtaking. It makes him even more handsome, which I wasn’t sure was possible.
 

“Are you talking about the hotel, or meeting Caleb?” he asks, teasing.
 

“Both?”

Oliver laughs. “I’m going to take some matchmaking credit there,” he says lightly.
 

“Having fun without me?” Felicity says, before taking a sip of champagne.
 

Caleb replies, “Never,” while Oliver gives Felicity a long, loaded look.
 

“Hi,” she says to him, looking a little coy. Her voice is quiet and shy, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was blushing.
 

Oliver’s whole demeanor changes, and he gives her a soft, boyish grin. “Hi.”
 

Oh.
Oh
, there’s something between the two of them. Either that, or they desperately want something more. Hmm.

“Mia,” Ben says, as he walks up to our little group. “It’s good to see you again. You look beautiful tonight.”
 

“Thank you,” I reply with a smile. “And speaking of thank you’s, I owe you one. The system you built for me is magnificent.”
 

“I know.” He’s grinning, like any cocky programmer worth his salt would. That makes me like him even more. “I’m happy to do it. I know what it’s like to be without something. These three used to make fun of me for always having my laptop on me,” he says, motioning toward Caleb, Oliver, and Felicity. “I’d be enraged if someone stole it out from under me. I hope you set up some protocols.”
 

I give him this mock offended look. “Of course I did. The whole system overwrites itself when someone who isn’t me tries to log in.”
 

“A woman after my own heart.”
 

“Hey,” Caleb interrupts. “You’ve got your own date, not that you seem to be all that interested.”
 

“Cara called me, I didn’t call her,” Ben says, trying to defend himself. “This was strictly a business arrangement.”

“Oh, the depths she sank to, just so she wouldn’t have to walk the press line alone,” Oliver says.
 

“You’ve been there a time or two before,” Felicity teases.
 

Oliver winks at her, and I can practically see her swoon.
 

“Ignore them,” Ben says to me, pulling me to the side so the others can’t hear our conversation. “I know you said you have some projects you’re working on, but I meant what I said about wanting to see what you can do. My company has great benefits, and for someone with the kind of coding experience you have, I can surely make it worth your while.”
 

“I’ll consider it,” I tell him, smiling. I know he must think that I’m playing professionally hard to get, but I’m not. I really do want to consider his offer; I would love long-term gainful employment here, and a chance to work on some large-scale innovative projects. I know this is crazy, and that it’s foolishly hopeful, but the longer my tracking program runs without any hits, the safer I feel here. The safer I feel, the more hope starts to creep in where it has no business being. Hope makes me think that maybe I can stay here. Hope tells me that I might be able to make a fresh start in a new city, and outrun all the consequences that are waiting for me back in Chicago.
 

Hope is a terribly seductive thing.
 

I turn to Caleb, who is patiently waiting for me to return the to the conversation. Oliver and Felicity are off in their own world, and Ben walked away to find something to eat.
 

“Hey,” I say to Caleb, gently pulling on the sleeve of his jacket to get his attention. I nod in Felicity and Oliver’s direction. “Are those two…”
 

“No,” Caleb answers hastily, without even a thought. “No way. Ben would lose it.”
 

I want to tell him that Ben shouldn’t have a say in his sister’s or his friend’s love life, but it’s not my business, and I don’t want to fight about it.
 

“One of my investors is over there, mind if I go say hello?” Caleb asks.

Bless him for noticing that my eyes completely glaze over when he’s talking business. I nod, and give him a quick kiss before he walks away. Oliver joins him, leaving me alone with Felicity.
 

“We should head to the powder room,” Felicity says. She smiling at me, but she gently grabs my wrist and pulls me through the crowd, so there isn’t really time for me to argue with her.
 

The room is empty, thankfully, and she pulls a compact out of her purse and pats my cheek with it.
 

“Your bruise was starting to show,” she says.
 

“Oh!” I turn and look in the mirror, where I can see the faint hint of yellowish-green peeking out from under my foundation. “Caleb didn’t say anything.”
 

Felicity smiles at me. “I don’t think that’s what he notices when he looks at you.”
 

I can’t help but smile back at her. She’s so sweet, and I’m so lucky to have a friend here, someone I can talk to who isn’t Caleb.
 

“Thank you for taking care of me.”
 

“You’re welcome,” she says, patting my cheek. “Does it hurt?”

“No,” I tell her. “Not anymore.”
 

I watch her in silence, until the curiosity is too much. “I’m surprised you noticed the bruise,” I say.
 

“What do you mean?”
 

“You mentioned Caleb not noticing this when he looks at me, with the way you were looking at Oliver, I’m surprised you noticed this.” I make sure to convey that this is all very lighthearted teasing on my part. I don’t want her to get defensive, but she and Oliver are incredibly obvious. I don’t think she knows this.
 

Felicity sighs, and there’s a wistful look in her eyes. “Oliver doesn’t feel that way about me. I’m just his best friend’s annoying little sister.”
 

I grin at her, because she so
blind
. “Oh, I’m pretty sure he think about you as more than that, if the way he looks at you is any indication.” I wink at her, and she’s definitely blushing now.
 

“There,” she says, snapping her compact shut. “Good as new.”

She, however, clearly does not want to pursue this conversation, and I’m not going to push her into talking about something she doesn’t want to talk about.
 

“Thank you,” I tell her, leaning in for a quick hug.
 

“Anytime.”
 

I’m finding that despite the fact that I came to New York City not intending to put down any kind of roots, the need to make a friendship grow with Felicity is pretty strong. She’s a lovely person, and I like being around her. I like
who I am
when I’m around her.
 

“Feel like getting together for lunch later this week?” I ask.

She beams at me as she slides her compact back into her clutch. “I’d love that.”
 

“You looked beautiful in that dress, but you look even better out of it,” Caleb says, as he kisses and licks his way across my chest. We’re both naked and in his bed, and it’s like coming home again, because it’s been way too long since we’ve been together like this.
 

My fingers slide through his soft hair, and I smile. For the past week and a half, ever since the robbery, it’s like we’ve been living in a world where everything is tilted just slightly to the right. Now, lying naked in each other’s arms, with Caleb’s hot mouth trailing slow, wet kisses across my skin, it feels like the world is starting to make sense again.
 

“I wish you would have kept the suspenders on, honestly. Actually, you should still be wearing the whole ensemble.”
 

Caleb chuckles, as he licks a circle around my nipple, then tugs it between his teeth. “You don’t like me naked?”
 

“I love you naked. You should be naked almost all the time.”
 

“Almost?” Another, more teasing bite to my nipple.

“We should’ve had a quickie in the back of the car, is what I’m saying.”
 

“Why didn’t you mention that?” he asks, as his lips continue their incredibly pleasant assault on my body. He lifts his head, his eyebrows furrowed together. “Hell, why didn’t
I
think of that?”

“Maybe you were distracted by me,” I say, arching my back to give me more contact with him. “I know I was distracted by thoughts of you doing what you’re doing right now.”
 

That answer makes him move to my other breast and continue the kissing and licking with even more enthusiasm. “So, you were too distracted by the thought of having sex to think of having sex?”
 

“Well…yes.”
 

He laughs, as his hand slides down the side of my thigh. “One of the many things I love about you.”
 

Somewhere, in the part of my brain that isn’t completely filled with lust and thoughts of sex, I register that Caleb just said the L-word, but I’m too wrapped up in all the things that he’s doing to my body to be able to focus on it. If I try to focus on anything other than what he’s doing to my body, I’m 99% sure that my brain will short circuit a little bit. Besides, loving something about someone isn’t the same as actually loving them. Those are two different things, so I’m not even going to dedicate any of my precious brainpower to dwelling on it.
 

“I was also thinking about doing this,” I tell him, gently pushing on his abs. “Lie back.”
 

With a wicked grin, Caleb does exactly as I ask. He knows what I’m going to do; the anticipation of it is written all over his face, and in the taught pull of his muscles. He loves it when I suck his dick, and it’s been far too long for both of us. He settles himself against the pillows, looking like some kind of artfully arranged Adonis. His body is just unfair, but I can’t deny the fact that I feel incredibly lucky that I’m the one who gets to see him like this, to make him feel so, so good. I know there are countless women who would love to be in my place, and I don’t take that for granted.
 

With a gentle scratch, I slide my nails down his abs. He’s irresistible like this—hard body and harder cock—and I just can’t keep my hands off of him. I maneuver myself between his legs, and when I get myself situated in a comfortable position, I slide my hands up the insides of his thighs. His muscles tighten, like he’s doing whatever he can to hang onto his control.