Skye?”
“Yeah. Sure.” I stand and grab the silver clutch. “Excuse me for a minute,” I say to Braden.
“I’ll be here.” His lips quiver slightly, as if he wants to smile but is holding back. I’m not sure what that means. I’m not sure about anything pertaining to Braden Black, most of all my ambivalent feelings.
Several guests clamor up to him as Tessa and I turn to leave the ballroom. Everyone wants to shake his hand, it seems.
When we get to the restroom, Tessa grabs a few paper towels and blots her forehead. Then she freshens her makeup. “How are things going?” she asks.
“I have no idea.”
“He’s obviously into you.”
“I suppose.”
“You suppose?” She laughs. “You are something, Skye.”
I rub soap on my hands and stick them under the faucet. The warm water coats them. “What does it all mean, though? For some reason, something about me appeals to him and he wants to have sex with me.” I reach past Tessa for a paper towel.
“And that’s a problem because…?” She throws her lipstick into her purse.
“He kicked me out of his place, Tess. He left to take a call, and then his driver took me home. It was humiliating.” I gaze at my reflection. My Susanne lip stain is holding up nicely.
“So tell him not to do that to you again.”
I raise my eyebrows. Is it really that simple?
“Have some fun, Skye. If this is just sex, accept that. Enjoy it until it’s over. You’re young. There’s plenty of time to find the love of your life. It doesn’t have to be Braden Black.”
But I want it to be.
The thought spears into my head on its own, jerking me by surprise. I erase it quickly. “No, it doesn’t have to be him,” I say.
“If he wants you back in his bed, establish some rules. No more kicking you out.”
“What if he says no?”
“What if he says yes?”
“What if he says something else?”
“What else is there to say? Either yes or no.” Classic Tessa. Always looking at things in a binary way. Everything is black or white, no middle ground.
“You’re saying I need to establish some rules?”
“Yeah, why not? You love rules, Skye.”
“I don’t love rules.”
She bursts into laughter. “You have rules for everything. You know what I think of your drinking rules.”
“Hey, my drinking rules keep me from getting completely inebriated and doing something dangerous.”
“There you go. So establish rules with Braden. Tell him if he wants you, he can’t kick you out and refuse to talk to you after sex. Seems reasonable to me.”
Seems more than reasonable to me as well. But will it be reasonable to Braden?
So much I don’t know about this man who rocked my world. Who continues to rock my world. My body isn’t my own when I’m around him. It responds to him in a way I’ve never experienced. I can act nonchalant, keep my voice dry and noncommittal, but none of that negates the physical response I have to Braden whenever he’s near.
Even when he’s not near. Just thinking about him here in the women’s restroom has my pussy tingling and aching.
I really want another orgasm.
I really want hundreds of them.
Tessa fusses with her hair a bit and then turns to me. “Ready?”
I haven’t touched myself up at all. “In a minute.” I quickly powder my nose and dot on some clear lip gloss. “Okay.”
As we reenter the ballroom, an attractive black-haired man asks Tessa to dance. She presses her evening bag into my hand and heads to the dance floor.
I head back to Braden’s table.
And gasp.
A beautiful blonde is sitting next to him.
Chapter Nineteen
I paste on a smile. “I’m back.”
God, I sound so saccharine.
Braden stands. “Skye, meet Laurie Simms.”
I hold out my hand, willing it not to shake, and glue on the smile once more. “Skye Manning.”
She takes my hand and gives it a strong shake. “Braden was just telling me about you. You work for Addison Ames?”
“I do.”
“She’s a doll. Please have a seat.”
Except she’s sitting in the seat I vacated only minutes ago. Braden holds out the chair on his other side. I suppose I can’t expect him to be rude and make the other woman move, though I secretly wish he would. Who is Laurie Simms anyway?
I sit. The extra bourbon is within reach.
Yeah, I take it. This seems like a four-drink kind of night.
“Addie and I go way back,” Laurie says. “I used to work for her father.”
“Oh?” I say. “What do you do?”
“I’m an attorney.” She slides a