Second (Betrothed 6)

He nodded to my pocket. “Are you going to call the model?”

“Oh…I guess.”

“You were a lot more excited about her a moment ago.”

That was before I started thinking about Annabella. Women had come and gone since she’d been in my bed, but my thoughts were solely on her. She was the only person who kept my attention after the sex was over, the only woman I ditched a condom for. “Just got a lot on my mind.”

Hades knew what I was thinking before I did. “Forget about Anna, alright?”

“I have.”

“No, you haven’t.” He called me out on my bullshit all the time, whether it was about my personal life or my numbers. “And you need to. That model seems like exactly your type, so call her, fuck her, and move on.”

I’d already made my peace with my decision, and Annabella seemed to as well. It was time to stop living in the past, to stop looking at her like I had every right to fist that hair like a leash. “Got it.”

He pressed his hand against the stack of papers on my desk. “And get this shit done within an hour.”

“I’m about to take lunch.”

He pulled his hand away and gave me a vicious look, like a gargoyle haunting an old cathedral.

“Or I’ll take my lunch in here…”

I lay in bed and read the text on my phone. Meet me at the bar in fifteen. It was from Hades.

The sound of the running shower came from the bathroom, and the fire burned in the hearth. There were a couple of empty bottles of wine scattered around, and I’d had enough to drink that I really didn’t need more booze. Why?

He never texted back…in typical Hades fashion.

Charlotte stepped out of the shower with a white towel around her lithe body. Her dry brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, and she instantly dropped the towel next to my bed and pulled on her panties that had been left on the floor. She arched her back as she moved, as if she was on the runway.

I watched her because…you know, how could I not?

She sauntered to the bed, her eyes focused on me like she wasn’t satisfied with my performance for that evening. “Has anyone told you that you have the prettiest eyes?” She straddled my hips on top of the sheets, her tits in my face.

More times than I could count. “No.”

“Well, you do.” Her palms planted against my stomach, and she started to pull the sheets down. It’d been a week since I’d called her, and she ended up in my bed several times throughout that time. She was the one who texted me for more, unapologetic about using me. But she was so greedy with my body that I wondered if she wanted more.

I steadied the sheets. “I have to go.”

She pouted her lips. “Right now?”

“Unfortunately.” I knew her panties were on, so she had probably intended to suck my dick, which she was very good at.

“And where are you running off to?”

“A bar. I have a business meeting—best way to describe it.”

“Then I can come along.”

I glanced at the time on my phone. “It’s almost eleven.”

“So?” She wiggled her body on my lap. “If I’m with you, then you can’t go home with someone else.” She was confident about her desirability, knowing she was one of the sexiest women in the country. So, if she was on my arm, I wouldn’t notice anyone else.

“Why do you care if I go home with someone else? You can have any man you want.”

She moved on top of me, crawling like a kitten. Then she pressed her full lips against mine and gave me a soft kiss, a gentle moan coming from her lips. “I know. And you’re the man I want.”

Charlotte had her hand on my thigh, and when a drop of scotch caught in the corner of my mouth, she wiped it away with her finger and placed it into her mouth for a taste. She was all over me, cuddled into my side like we hadn’t even slept together yet.

Hades slid into the spot in the booth across from me, a glass in his hand. He glanced at both of us but didn’t comment on the ridiculous PDA. When he and Sofia first got together, I had been subjected to their make-out sessions and ass-grabs. He glanced at Charlotte before he gave me a pointed stare.

“She wanted to come along,” I explained without actually hearing his question.

Hades addressed her. “Hades. Nice to meet you.”

“Hi.” She waved with her fingers. “Are you guys friends?”

“Yes,” I said. “And business partners. He owns the other half of the bank.”

“Interesting.” She glanced at his left hand. “You’re married.”

Hades nodded. “And I have a son.”

“Aww,” she said. “How old is he?”

“His first birthday is on Saturday.”