"Is that a yes?" he asks, his voice deep.
I hesitate for a long moment. "You're going to regret it."
"Somehow I doubt that," he says, then reaches between us and enters me in one swift motion.
This time, I climax.
* * *
"Aub? Where the hell have you been?" Natalie says the moment I walk into our apartment two days later.
Throwing my keys onto the table, I give her an apologetic look as I place my purse down and tug my coat off.
"I'm sorry. My cell died and Daniel has a lame Samsung. I didn't have a charger and I wasn't going out to buy one in the crazy weather."
Her jaw drops, eyes widening. "I almost put out an Amber Alert on your dumb ass. Why didn't you call me from his phone?"
I give her a droll stare. "I did. You didn't answer."
"No, you didn't."
"I did," I say. "I called the night I decided to stay."
Natalie picks up her cell phone and scans it. Shaking her head, she says, "You're crazy. I don't have a missed call from you."
I frown, thinking back to that night and how drunk we’d gotten. My face twists up into a smirk of embarrassment.
"I wonder who I called then because someone got a drunk message from me and apparently it wasn't you."
She shakes her head and grins. "You got a special delivery. Some package."
"I did?"
"I put it in your bedroom."
We both walk into my room and there's a big white box with a satin bow wrapped around it. I'm dumbfounded wondering where it came from.
Pulling off the lid of the box, I place it on the bed and find a card lying on top of the black tissue paper.
"Oh, so seductive," Natalie says, her voice animated. I take the card out and read it with Natalie leaning over my shoulder.
A limo will pick you up at 8pm on Saturday. Looking forward to seeing you again. Expect to stay the night with me. Until Saturday, sweetheart.
A knot forms in my throat. My stomach plunges to the ground. I instantly feel sick.
James.
Thank God he didn't sign it.
"Who's it from?"
"Ah, Daniel. No wonder he pushed to have me sleep at his place. He must've wanted to surprise me," I lie through my teeth. "He mentioned some dinner event for his work." Not necessarily a lie.
I place the card on the bed and move the tissue around, and pull out another box. Inside there's a pair of sky-high rose gold pumps that shimmer against the window light. They're classy and scream sex rolled into one.
"Red bottoms. Nice, so he's got taste. What else is in there?"
There's another box, this one a little heavier and I already know what it is. Flipping the top back, there's a matching strapless cocktail dress covered in rhinestones.