Work In Progress (Red Lipstick Coalition #3) - Staci Hart Page 0,119

book signing, and as badly as he needed to be here, writing, I was looking forward to a weekend away. I imagined us walking down Navy Pier and taking a selfie in front of The Bean like cheesy tourists. I pictured sitting next to him at his book signing, like he’d asked me to, surprised that the thought of being there with his readers didn’t make me feel anxious at all. And I fantasized about a couple of long, sleepless nights in a penthouse suite with my husband.

I smiled at him like a loon.

I wasn’t afraid of anything. Not with Tommy by my side. I was untouchable. I could do anything.

For weeks, I’d been looking for a way out, but the answer had been right there. I only had to find my voice. And Tommy had taught me how to sing.

I had story angles to pitch. I had outlines and options. And I found myself certain I could convince her.

Because I wouldn’t betray Tommy. Not for anything in the world. And when I left Janessa’s office today, she’d know that to be an indisputable fact.

Tommy drew a noisy breath through his nose, curling his arm and squeezing me to him as he roused. His long, dark lashes fluttered, blinking open lazily, his black eyes stirring along with his cock.

“Morning,” I said, smiling.

He twisted, tangling our limbs as he pressed me into the bed with his chest, his thigh between my legs. “Morning,” he echoed the split second before his lips claimed mine.

The kiss was long enough to leave me limp and buzzing in his arms, but nowhere near long enough for me to be satisfied. When he broke away, my eyes stayed closed, and I sighed into the ether and melted into the bed.

A soft chuckle compelled me to look up at him.

I shifted my hips, stroking myself on his thigh, eliciting a moan from the base of his throat.

“Careful. Move like that, and I’ll be tempted,” he said with a voice gruff and rumbling.

I shifted again, ignoring the tenderness of the flesh between my legs. “Maybe I want to tempt you.”

He nipped at my lips but didn’t make a move to settle between my thighs like I wanted him to. “Tonight. I want to give you more time.”

The wry smile I wore slid into a frown. “What if I don’t want to wait?”

“Too bad,” he teased, smirking.

My frown jutted into a pout. “How come?”

He leaned closer, that sideways smile a dangerous warning. “Because tonight, I don’t want to be careful.”

“Oh,” I breathed, tingling heat brushing my cheeks.

His hand found my breast, tested its weight, squeezed gently. His attention turned to his fingertips, his body shifting to slide down mine. “Don’t sound so disappointed,” he said, surveying my breast with his full attention. “I didn’t say you wouldn’t get an orgasm.” His lips closed over my tight nipple, teeth skimming the aching peak.

And Tommy made good on his promise, just as he always did.

A couple of hours and several orgasms later, I stood in front of my vanity, back straight and face set in determination as I recited the pitches in my mind. I smoothed my shirt. Turned to check the back of my skirt. Leaned into the mirror to get a good look at my lipstick, wearing Loud and Clear like a talisman.

“You’re gorgeous,” Tommy said from behind me.

When I turned, it was with a smile and a flitting of my heart. “Thank you.” I strode toward him, not stopping until our bodies were flush.

He brushed my hair over my shoulder. “Tell me you’ll hurry back.”

I smiled. “I’ll hurry back.”

“Tell me you’re packed.”

“All packed.”

His hand slid down my back to cup my ass. “Tell me you’re not wearing panties.”

A laugh shot out of me. “Sorry, but I can’t walk into Janessa Hughes’s office without the comfort of underwear.”

Tommy leaned in. “Then tell me you’ll let me take them off the second you walk through the door.”

“Deal,” I said just before he kissed me too gently, seeming to take care for my lipstick.

Damn his good manners.

I sighed. “Let me get out of here so I can get back.”

“All right. Tell Janessa I said to go to hell.”

“I’ll be sure to relay the message,” I said on a laugh, turning for the living room.

A longer, less careful kiss at the door left me wishing I could fast-forward until we were on our way to Chicago.

Down the stairs I trotted, slipping into the backseat of the Mercedes. Tommy waited at the top