Indulgence (179 page)

“Cassidy, let it ring.”

“It could be Cecily,” I pled as I tried to slide off his
lap, echoing his groan of disapproval. I gave up trying and remained on his
lap, straining to grab my phone. I looked at the number, not recognizing it so
I sent it to voicemail. “I don’t know the number. If it’s important they’ll
leave a message.”

I tossed the phone down on the couch beside us as he
tightened his arms around me. I needed to be closer to him so I repositioned
myself. I straddled his lap as his mouth assaulted mine. I helped him out of
his jacket as he started fumbling with the buttons on my blouse. He rolled his
hips and hit my core just right and made my stomach drop. I moaned into his
mouth and pulled his shirt out of his pants.

“You like that,” he whispered in my mouth as he continued
rolling and grinding his hips into me. I clung to him and began sucking his
ear. “You’re making me wild, Cassidy.”

“Oh God, I’ve dreamed of this, of you, for so long.”

“Holy hell, I’m so sorry.” We’d been caught in the act.

Red handed.

I jumped off his lap and he was up almost as quick,
shielding me with his body. I peeked around his shoulder and saw Lena and a
security guard standing in the doorway.

The security guard took in the scene and offered his
apologies to Mr. Benedict before heading back to the lobby. Lena on the other
hand turned her back to us, but not before I noticed she was fifteen shades of
red.

“Don’t you people knock?” James was furious. “Ray, get back
in here.” Oh no, he was going to annihilate the poor security guard. Ray made
his way back in and was apologizing profusely. “I expect utter discretion, not
a word.”

“Yes sir, of course, sir.” James nodded to him and Ray
headed back out. Lena was now facing us and she mouthed ‘
sorry’
to me
and I just shook my head. This was bad and completely unethical.

“Lena, what do you need?” I asked her while tucking my shirt
back into my pants.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, I didn’t know.”

“LENA! It’s alright. What do you
need
?”

“Right. Francis is throwing a fit; something about the
choice of appetizers.”

I released an exasperated sigh. “This man is going to put me
in an early grave if I don’t put him there first.”

“Who’s Francis?” I sensed the tension in James’ voice. I
looked to him seeing he’d already fixed his hair and was putting his jacket
back on.

“Just the caterer, nothing I can’t handle.” I pulled my
purse off the table along with my bag, shoved my phone inside and started to
leave.

“Cassidy?” James placed his hand on my arm. “Dinner?”

I dropped my voice so Lena couldn’t hear. “James, I can’t do
this. This is unprofessional, I’ll get canned. I have a lot to get done for
tonight and the auction next week.”

“Cassidy, this isn’t over. Not by a long shot. You won’t get
rid of me so easily.” He released my arm as I headed out the door with Lena.

“Not a
word
Lena.” She nodded as I left James staring
after me.

*****

The ballroom was spectacular. The hotel sat on the north end
of town, lakeside. The ballroom opened up to a beautiful garden that overlooked
the river. There were over two dozen gold and crystal chandeliers that hung
from the twenty foot ceiling. The center pieces were in their resting spots and
thirty tables formed a circle around the enormous dance floor. It was going to
be an amazing night for my first masquerade. Last year I hadn’t attended the
event after coming down with a bug during the final preparations. I was giddy
just at the thought of my dress and all the other patrons in their costumes
that night.

Cecily was originally against the location choice when I
told her we booked The Benedict for the masquerade this year. She was convinced
they wouldn’t be done with the remodel in time and even booking the auction
there was cutting it close. J.J. Benedict had assured me for months that
everything would be ready. He was right.

*****

The rest of the day was a flurry of double and triple
checking all the arrangements. I had to keep Francis in line, secure the floral
arrangements, and finalize the seating chart per Mrs. Whitford’s
specifications. Before I knew it, my time was up. It was just after five and
the doors opened at six-thirty with dinner being served at seven. I had to go
get ready.

I found Lena to let her know I was headed up to my room. I
hated her; she didn’t even look like she’d broken a sweat. Me, however, I could
feel my blouse clinging to my back. She assured me she’d be up soon to do my hair
and makeup. I grabbed my pile of notes, extra brochures, purse and jacket and
rushed toward the main elevators.

I tried to organize my pile of crap when the elevator door
dinged open. I walked in, still looking down, unaware of my elevator companion.

“Twelfth floor?” I simply nodded because I was so
preoccupied with my notes.

I rushed out as
Godsmack
echoed
down the long hallway. I almost dropped the phone trying to answer Cecily’s
call and cursed Lena at the same time. The girl had great taste in music, but
she had to stop changing my ring tones. “Yes, Cecily…”

~ JAMES ~

I entered my room laughing. Godsmack? Interesting. She
didn’t look up once to see it was me with her in the elevator and I didn’t have
the heart to cause her more stress before the masquerade. I threw my briefcase
on the couch and dropped down on the other end as I loosened my tie. I knew
this day would come, I just hadn’t predicted it taking so long.

I was caught off guard in the elevator that morning when she
barreled into me and I had to stop myself from calling her ‘Blackbird’. She was
making this harder than I had anticipated. My head was pounding as I pulled the
tie from my hair. Resting my elbows on my knees I placed my head in my hands
and sighed. Even stressed out, she was breathtaking.

I had left her alone twice that night; once when the cops
were questioning her and again to grab us some coffee from the vending machine.
The last time we were in the same room together she was cradled in the arms of
a cop. It was evident I was long forgotten as she was carried out of my life,
or so I thought. I later discovered that the cop was her brother and set my
plan in motion. Though, I hadn’t planned to be kept away from her for so long.
She’d haunted my dreams, especially her unforgettable eyes, almost every night
since I first laid eyes on her. Now she was just down the hall. This had my
father and Aunt Bev written all over it. I remembered my conversation from that
morning with Dad.

As the bellboy hurried out I told him to refuse any tip
she may offer. He acknowledged and hurried out with her bags.

“That boy is terrified of you, James. What did you do to
him?

I ignored his question and sighed.

“When are you going to talk to her? After all this time,
James, what are you waiting for? You’ve avoided her long enough. She’s staying
in 1204 for the night. Your Aunt Bev assures me she’s single on top of being an
excellent event planner. Nothing is standing in your way.”

I glared at him and decided to ignore him. I knew it was
a mistake to confide in him. “I assume Aunt Bev is paying for the suite?
Whatever you’re up to, DON’T! Besides, I have a meeting with her in thirty
minutes.” He just chuckled. The man was worse than Mother when it came to
meddling. He started to ask me again when I was going to tell her. “Leave it
be, Dad.”

I hadn’t attended the masquerade ball in years. She had to
be good if Cecily had given her the reins. I should’ve stayed away from her,
for her sake, but I couldn’t, not anymore. And given her response to me at our
meeting, she couldn’t either. Just thinking about her had me hard as a rock.

I checked my watch. The masquerade began in less than an
hour. I finished removing my suit, cranked up the sound system and got in the
shower. Still rock hard, I obliged my aching cock and was rewarded with a quick
and meaningless release.

I made hasty business of getting ready. GnR was humming
through the surround sound system. I shaved off my thickening beard, leaving the
goatee, hoping it would help disguise me. I scoffed as Axl started singing
about having
patience
while I put my suit on
.
I pulled my hair back, put on my mask and
checked my watch again. I made my way to the elevator and tugged at my tie. I
normally hated these functions, but I was hopeful tonight would be different.
It was a quarter after six and I thought that maybe she had already headed down
when I heard the click of her door.

I immediately went stiff as the ache in my pants was
renewed. The shower had done nothing to cool me down. She looked fabulous with
her flaming red hair pinned up with a few pieces framing her face. The dress
was strapless, black and olive green taffeta. The floor-length gown hugged her
curves perfectly and puddled just below her feet. As she approached, I could
see that she was feigning bravery as she smiled hesitantly. I was mesmerized in
the blue lagoons that were her eyes; her black filigree mask just pronouncing
them more.

*****

It seemed like I laid next to her for hours, just listening
to her soft breaths, before sleep took me. I replayed the entire evening in my
head more than once; she was absolutely breathtaking. I didn’t know how I
managed to stay away from her for so long; I was an idiot to wait as long as I
did. As the rays of dawn started peeking through the windows I rolled over to
gaze at her. I bolted upright; she was gone. “Cassidy!” I jumped out of bed and
proceeded to search for her with no luck. “Dammit!”

~ CASSIDY ~

I had to get down stairs. Lena had left several minutes ago
and I had assured her I’d be right behind her. She hadn’t inquired about James
and I was thankful. I checked myself in the floor-length mirror for the tenth
time and recalled dress shopping, which was an absolute nightmare.

After a long day of dress shopping with Lena a few weeks
back, she told me about a shop across town that rented designer dresses for all
occasions. It was in the posh part of town so I took her word for it. She was
an absolute life saver. I needed a masquerade dress and one for the auction. We
headed to the shop, and after trying on dozens of gowns, I settled on a one
shoulder blue number for the auction and a black strapless gothic ball gown for
the masquerade. Both dresses fit like a glove. I had never worn anything so
elegant and I was nervous as hell. Lena assured me that I would knock them dead
both nights.

I checked my hair and makeup, again thanks to Lena, miracle
worker that she was. I was tying my mask when my phone started buzzing again.
“Shit.” I looked to see it was just a text from Calvin.

Knock them dead, sis!

I smiled at his text while grabbing my evening bag and
double checked that my key was in it. “You got this, Cassidy.” I made my way
out the door.

I froze when I saw a masked man standing by the elevator.
“Shit.” I tried to catch my door before it locked.
Click.
Too late, I
couldn’t turn back. The masked man lifted his head and smiled.
Good Lord.
Now that was a smile to make hearts melt.
I returned the smile as I walked
his way.
Please don’t trip, please don’t trip…

I made it to the elevator, without tripping. Whoever he was,
he was sex on legs. His dark hair was slicked back and I noticed he was clean
shaven except for a goatee. His mask looked like solid steel and did nothing to
give away his identity since it covered most of his face. The suit hugged him
in all the right places I could see, and was all black except for the green tie
that almost perfectly matched my dress. His hands were in his pockets and he
flashed an incredible, familiar smile at me. I struggled to keep eye contact
and to keep my breathing even.

“Good evening, Miss Charles. You’re a vision.”

The minute I heard his voice I knew it was him.
Shit!
What
was he playing at? “Thank you.” I took a deep breath. “I didn’t realize you’d
be attending the masquerade tonight.”

He pushed the down button to the elevator and outstretched
his hand toward me. I don’t know why I offered my hand to him, but I did. He
raised it to his lips and kissed my wrist. His touch sent a thrill through me.
His lips lingered a little longer than necessary and I blushed before pulling
my hand away. He released my hand as the elevator doors opened. “Shall we?” I
stepped in and he followed, pushed the button for the lobby and the doors
closed.

He still hadn’t answered my question and I wasn’t going to
press the issue. I turned to him as he closed the distance between us. “You
look ravishing.”

I tried to maneuver around him and got tangled in my dress.
I was instantly aware of his hands on me, one on my upper arm and the other
around my back. The hand on my back began caressing my skin leaving me short of
breath. We were against the wall when I looked up at him. He wasn’t smiling
anymore.

“Pardon me.” I looked into those green eyes at the same time
his masculine scent traveled through my senses. I couldn’t help but close my
eyes and inhale deeply. I was instantly turned on and scared as hell.
What
was wrong with me?

“You should watch where you’re going, Blackbird.”

Why did he always call me that? I mean, it was endearing and
I kind of liked it. I started mumbling, but before I knew it, that sweet breath
of his mingled with mine. I closed the last inch between us as his lips softly
pressed to mine. I had lost all sense, kissing a man I barely knew, again. I
reached my hands up to his head and freed his hair without thought and started
running my fingers through the damp strands. He responded with a groan and
deepened the kiss as his hands ran across my back. His hands were like hot
stones, velvety hard. His tongue ran across my upper lip which caused me to
shudder.