Revelation: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series) (28 page)

When she finally opened her eyes in bed, the apartment was quiet and she was alone.  She looked at the clock.

10:37am. 

Next to the clock was a glass of orange juice and some pills next to it.  On the pillow next to her was a napkin with writing on it.  She grabbed it to read.

Hey Counselor,

I got called away to work and don’t know how long I’ll be.  I have a feeling you’re going to
be needing the ibuprofen on the nightstand.  Take two and go back to sleep.  I’ll text you later. 

-XO

She held the napkin to her chest.  She was remembering bits and pieces of the night before and she wasn’t exactly thrilled with them.  In fact, she was pretty sure she’d said and done some things that were going to cause her to have a panic attack very shortly.

She remembered dinner and him asking her if she’d wanted more than just sex in their relationship.  Had she slipped and given him the impression that she
did
want more? 

And Scott.  Lord, how on earth in a city this big could she bump into him?  It was beyond her.  She hadn’t realized he’d moved to New York but then again she hadn’t kept in touch with him.

She remembered Mike telling Scott off after he’d made a comment about her lack of sexual abilities that Mike didn’t take kindly to.

She thought she remembered Mike saying he didn’t have to work.  And her memory was a little foggy about what they talked about at the club or when they got to her apartment.  She just remembered a mind blowing orgasm and looking into his eyes.  Had they had sex?

She groaned as she covered her face with the pillow.  What had she said to him last night?  She shouldn’t have had so much to drink, but she was having such a good time.  Usually, given her size, she rarely had more than a couple of drinks, but she knew she had more than that.

Shit.  And now he was at ‘work’ even though she’d thought he’d said last night he didn’t have to work, otherwise why had he wanted to sleep over?  He wouldn’t have chosen to sleep over if he’d had to work, right?

What had she said to him?  Did she say something that put him off and that’s why he’d left? 

Did I tell him –?  Did I tell him I was falling in love with him?!  No.  I never would’ve said that.  Not even if I was falling over drunk.

Right?

Emily squeezed back the tears that were forming behind her eyelids. 
What the hell did you do, Emily?

S
he had to end it.  She knew she had to anyway.  It was inevitable.  He wasn’t long term material, she knew that from day one.  Granted, they’d only been together a week, but she hadn’t been prepared for her feelings to get so involved, and now that she wasn’t sure if she’d said something that she shouldn’t have said, she needed to end it.  Period.  Make a clean cut.  He would be relieved, she was sure.  That way he could play the field to his heart’s content.

The breath in her lungs seemed to rattle around until she realized she was gulping for air.  A sob escaped from her mouth. 

Are you crying, Emily?  You don’t cry.  What the hell is wrong with you?!  He’ll be thanking his lucky stars when he sees you’re not serious about this thing.  It’ll be fine.  You two can go back to being friends who fight and argue.  That’s all.  He’ll be fine with it.  You’ll be fine with it.  Don’t drag it out.  Just do it quickly, like ripping off a band aid. 

She was hyperventilating, trying to take deep cleansing breaths.  She could do this.  She could do this…

……

The first text from him came in around one o’clock.

MC: 
Hey u.  How r u feeling?

Thankfully, she hadn’t seen it until close to three.  She had gone food shopping then to the studio to work out.  When she’d finally seen the text, she worked on a response that was quick and succinct.

EW: 
Feel good.  Have a ton of work to do for tomorrow.  Will talk this week.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.  It had been over two hours since he’d sent his text, but he responded to hers almost immediately.

MC: 
I’m tied up for a while.  Hoping to get away soon.  I’ll stop by on my way home.

Maybe he really had been called away to work.  Either way, she couldn’t see him.  She didn’t think she’d be able to go through with ending it and not break down.

EW: 
I really do have a lot of work to do.  We’ll talk later this week.
 

She touched her lips after hitting send and sat back on her sofa, staring at the phone.  She tried swallowing around the ball of emotion stuck in her throat, but she was finding it difficult.  Her phone beeped as another message came in.

MC: 
Just a heads up that we’re not always gonna play it ur way.  But I’ll call u tomorrow, Em.  We’ll talk.  XO

“No,” she groaned at the phone.  “Don’t be nice!”  She had to get out of the apartment.  She needed absolute distraction and there was only one thing, other than Mike’s naked body, that would make her feel better:  Retail Therapy.

……

Monday afternoon she sat at her desk looking down at her new peep toe pumps.  They were a deep blood red.  She had needed a pick me up and these shoes did just the thing.  She’d made it through most of the day without hearing from Mike so she considered it a success, although she was dreading when he would call. 

Thankfully, she had a two hour meeting set up with a new case she and some of the attorneys were working on and she’d have to turn off her phone.  She did just that and went to the meeting.  Keeping her phone in her bag so she wouldn’t be distracted, she made it through the meeting and after it was over, Joe approached her.

“You look a little distracted today.  Your weekend go okay?”

“Yeah, it was great,” she said with a bright smile.  “How ’bout you?  Do anything exciting?”

“Nothing as exciting as you, I’m sure,” he said with a dry smirk.  “A few of us are going out for drinks.  Do you want in?”

Perfect!  “Yeah, when are you all going?” 

“We’re closing up shop now.”  He mentioned a bar around the block.  “See you there?”

“Yeah.  Catch you later.”

“Great.  And hey, if you wanna bring someone,” he said letting the sentence hang.

“Thanks, but he’s working.  I’ll see you over there,” she said, then turned back to her office.

You’re a coward and a liar, Emily.  I never thought I’d see the day.

Terrence stopped her before she got to her door.

“I have a message for you from Big Papa Pookie Bear,” he smiled and wiggled his eyebrows.  “He’s just been trying to reach you.  I told him you were in a meeting.”

“Thanks.  Which reminds me, tomorrow when I have time we’re going to talk about your little shenanigans last week.”

“Don’t yell at me too much.  I’d do anything for love.  Big Papa sounds dreamy,” he said batting his eyes at her.

“Uh, huh.  Nevertheless, you and I are gonna have a little chat,” she said, turning into her office to grab her stuff.  She didn’t bother taking out her phone.  The butterflies in her stomach couldn’t take what she might find there.  She’d also have to watch how much she drank that night.  She still wasn’t back to normal.

Once she was packed up, she met her co-workers over at the bar and they all settled in for some nosh and good conversation.  And of course her little singing telegram came up.  Everyone wanted to know how things were going with Big Papa.

She inwardly groaned and told them all things were fine.  There was no way in hell that she was getting into the nitty gritty with this crew.  She barely shared her feelings with good friends.  She certainly wasn’t going to with her co-workers. 

Of course, she would’ve been able to avoid the topic of Big Papa with ease if the subject of the conversation hadn’t shown up unexpectedly at the bar. 

She felt his heat and smelled his scent as he approached from the side…

And knew she was in deep trouble.

She was sitting at one of the large tables in the back facing the door, but somehow she missed him when he walked in.  While she’d been turned in conversation toward the table, he’d come up and leaned behind her, wrapping his arms around her body.  Before she could stop herself, she pressed her back into him and soaked up his heat then turned her face up and looked up at him towering over her.

“Hey, Em,” he whispered in her ear.  “You hidin’ from me?”  Then he stood up and shook hands with Joe who introduced him to the group, exclaiming how happy he was that Mike could get off work after all to join them.

“I wouldn’t have missed it,” he smiled, looking right at Emily.  “Mind if I squeeze in?”

Everyone immediately made room for him and the conversations continued around them, and everyone kept bringing up the singing telegram.  They were all in love with him.  Emily’s stomach was in knots.

Mike put his arm on the back of her chair and began playing with her hair.  She could feel him looking at her and even though she tried not to, her gaze was drawn to his as if being magnetically pulled there.

His eyes bore into her and he smiled tenderly at her.  He looked tired.

“How did you find me?”

“Terrence,” he smiled smugly.

The man was dead.

“Everything okay at work?” she asked quietly.

He shrugged.  “We got a call on a stabbing.  A woman murdered in her house.  It wasn’t a B and E, so we’re looking for the husband.  He’s MIA.”  He ran his hand down his face.  “I’ll never understand how a man can do that to the woman he claims to love, cherish, and honor.”

It hit Emily in that moment that this man had an enormous amount of responsibility and strain put on him everyday, and here she was playing games with him, ignoring his phone calls when he’d actually taken the time to call her in the midst of his shitty day.

She was overcome with a sense of shame and guilt.

“I’m sorry.” She meant it on many different levels.

“Thanks, babe,” he said with a soft smile.  He stroked the hair away from her face.  “Do you have time to hang out tonight?  I could really use some time to decompress.”

She hesitated only for a second.  How could she deny this incredible man when he had become so precious to her?  She hadn’t known how much she’d grown to love him until that moment.  She could give him tonight if he needed her.  She could give him what he needed while protecting herself in the process.

“Of course.”

His eyes shone like he’d won the lottery.  “Let’s get outta here and grab some take out,” he said.  Then he leaned forward and kissed her softly.  “I need you alone right now.”

“Okay,” she whispered. 

You’re such a sucker, Emily.

……

They sat on her sofa eating take out from a Thai place Ayanna always recommended.  They hadn’t talked much on the way to the restaurant or the apartment.  So, there they sat, him still in a tie and jeans, her still in her dress, her red shoes kicked haphazardly on the floor.  Now that they were nearly finished, Mike finally put his food down on the coffee table and pulled her closer to him even though she was still eating.

She settled into the crook of his arm and brought up the chopsticks holding her food, only to have him lean in and eat the bite of food before it reached her mouth.  She glared at him but without a lot of heat. 

Why did he have to be so gorgeous?

“Why did you put your food down if you’re still hungry?” she asked, slightly exasperated.  She took another bite, this time eating it quickly before he could snag it.

“I am still hungry.  Just not for food.”  His hand was playing with her hair, while his mouth kissed her temple.

She swallowed slowly, determined to keep her emotions in check.  She could do this.  Just enjoy their night together without letting it go too deep.

She put her food down and turned to him.

“What are you hungry for, Detective?”

“I guess I’m supposed to say I’m just a predictable guy who’s happy with a beer, a ballgame on TV and a gorgeous woman by my side.”

“But?”

“Not in this case.  Tonight I just need one very specific and gorgeous woman.”

“What if this specific and gorgeous woman wasn’t by your side, but on top of you?” she asked while hiking up her skirt and straddling him on the sofa.  She could already feel his erection underneath his jeans, so she took her time to undo his tie while rubbing into him.

His eyes were practically devouring her and he licked his lips.

“Mm, that could work,” he murmured.  “I could definitely do without the beer and ballgame as long as I had you wrapped around me. I’ve become picky as of late,” he said then kissed her.  “It has to be you.  No other woman will do, I’m afraid.”

She tried not to feel giddy at his words.  “Really, Detective?  You mean if Candy Lane were exactly where I was right now, you would just throw her off?”

“Absolutely.”  He shuddered dramatically.  “She doesn’t hold a candle to you.  In fact,” he whispered in her ear, “no one does.”