I’m also moments away from facing Doug Wellington, and unless he’s partially lost his memory, he’ll most likely get a flashback of what I did last summer with his son and his son’s best friend.

  It all seems to be heading for a disaster, and just as I brace myself, another silhouette enters the place, and I need a Heimlich maneuver.

  I start coughing, and Liv shifts her gaze to me, my eyes stitched to the woman who’s waiting patiently by Braxton’s side.

  She’s blonde and good looking, her face lit up by a smile. A short sequined dress hugs her lean body, setting off her toned, long legs. She looks like a model or an actress or someone who doesn’t eat much.

  The two men flank her as they enter the room.

  They all head for our table, Jonas engaging them in a conversation. They stop in front of us, and Jonas makes the formal introductions.

  The men at the table shake hands with them while the women smile and nod. I can’t take my eyes off Braxton.

  He sweeps the table with his gaze as he meets the other people’s eyes while purposely avoiding mine.

  Doug Wellington lays his eyes on me, and smiles politely. We exchange a few words, not the slightest awkwardness in his voice. They both behave as if we’ve never met before.

  Doug shifts his focus back to Jonas as Braxton pulls the chair out for his date who sits across from me. He takes the seat right next to her, the woman striking me as beyond smitten with him. Braxton turns to Jonas and his dad, joining their conversation.

  I watch them, perplexed, my heart fluttering in my chest, my hands damp with sweat.

  Elan’s voice rolls in my ear.

  “I’m stepping outside for a moment,” he says, and I nod, unable to speak.

  As Elan pulls out of his chair, Braxton’s eyes go to him briefly, showing no emotion whatsoever.

  Swiftly, he pulls his gaze away and shifts his focus back to Jonas.

  Am I in a parallel Universe? Is he not seeing me?

  Liv asks me something about the food, and I mumble a few words.

  Her fingers brush my arm.

  “I’m going to the ladies room.”

  “Me too,” I say, and I rise to my feet, out of reflex running my hands over my dress, smoothing the fabric.

  The woman in front of me gives me a friendly smile. Braxton doesn’t spare a glance in my direction. He must do it on purpose.

  Tense and confused, I follow Liv.

  Moments later, she’s retouching her lipstick while I’m checking my lashes. Through some miracle, she didn’t catch Braxton’s name.

  We strut back, and Jonas swoops Liv for a dance before we reach the table.

  I glance around. Doug is nowhere in sight. Elan is still outside, talking on the phone while Braxton twirls his date on the dancing floor.

  The food I ate an hour ago takes residence in my throat.

  I don’t know what annoys me the most. The fact that he doesn’t acknowledge me which in itself is a good thing or the fact that he holds a woman in his arms.

  I steal another glance in his direction.

  His back is turned to me. I take a moment to examine the perfect fit of his suit on his athletic body. He tilts his head toward the woman and mutters a few words, and she grins in response, melting in his arms.

  His hand slides lower, almost touching her butt, and jealousy shoots through me.

  I sink into a chair and look outside. Snow covers the streets.

  For a few moments, I stare vacantly out the window, my throat dry, my lips trembling with fury, a cocktail of emotions drilling holes in my stomach.

  I whip my eyes to them again, hoping I’ll catch his gaze. No chance. Their eyes are locked. I check the time. I could just go home.

  The music stops before I get the chance to grab my purse and pull out of my chair. I freeze for a moment, expecting Braxton to come back to the table.

  Instead, he grabs the woman’s hand and walks her to the exit. Liv and Jonas make a stop across the room. Elan stands not far from them, talking to a man.

  I snatch my purse and my phone, push out of my chair and briskly stride to the exit.

  “Braxton?” I call him as he holds the coat open for the woman.

  My voice sounds like a blizzard.

  “Yes?” he says, without turning to me, and also without the slightest inflection in his voice, as if he was expecting me.

  “May I speak with you?” I ask, my voice a bit limp.

  “I’m a little busy right now,” he says, precious, making me feel like shit.

  “Okay, then––”

  “Goodbye, darling,” he unexpectedly says to the woman.

  He kisses her goodbye, and she slips out the door while I turn to stone in the middle of the foyer, looking like an idiot.

  There’s not enough time to make sense of what just happened before he grabs my arm and coat and pushes me out the door. A limo waits in front of the entrance, the driver rushing to crack the door open for us.

  I slip inside without much fuss, and he climbs in as well, the door shutting behind us with a smooth sound. I set my coat and my purse on the side.

  “What is this, Braxton?” I burst out, finally finding my voice.

  “I could ask you the same thing, Violet,” he thunders, glaring at me.

  “What do you mean?”

  His eyebrows shoot up.

  “What do I mean?!”

  “Yeah... What do you mean? I’m not the one who’s acted as if we’ve never met.”

  “Hmm...” he says, a smirk sprouting on his face. “Have we? If we did, I don’t remember this snotty Violet. How long has it been? Two, three weeks since you left Spain? And you’re already plugged into your old world with a jerk in tow.”

  “As if you were alone.”

  He waggles his finger at me.

  “No, no, sweetie. I’m not the one who broke up with Jagger to put myself back on the market in New York. What did I tell you, Violet? That first night in Miami. Hmm? Didn’t I tell you not to play with him? Didn’t I say that no game is worth his heart?”

  “It’s not a game,” I say.

  He chuckles sarcastically.

  “Oh, it’s not... How old are you again?”

  “Older,” I murmur, not really keen to hear the rest of his argument.

  “Older, you say... Well, you remind me of a six-year-old girl who can’t decide which candy she wants to eat.”

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I toss at him, annoyed, and he whips his eyes at me.

  A grin pushes to his lips, making my blood simmer.

  “Oh, yeah... I do. I know you better than he does, and even better than you know yourself.”

  He shifts in his seat.

  “See, the thing is, you’ve never shown him the other side of you, the other woman in you. Love has made him blind, but you can’t fool me, baby. There’s a reason you swing in so many directions, and there’s also a reason you love two men. You are two women, Violet, and don’t fool yourself. You’re not the woman for that Elan guy as much as you weren’t the woman for Brad or Jonas, or whatever so-called decent guy ignites your imagination, so stop lying to yourself.”

  “It’s not about men,” I say curtly.

  “Oh, isn’t it?” he sneers at me, and I flick my hand at him dismissively.

  He cuffs my wrist and pulls me close to him.

  “What is it then, darling?” he says, his eyes narrowing with a sly smile, his hand sliding up my thigh, smoothly slipping under my dress. “Hmm?” he murmurs as he flicks a garter open, hooks his fingers inside my G-string and yanks it down, ripping the delicate fabric.

  “What is it about, baby?” he purrs, his breath on my lips, his fingers trailing my slit. “Tell me. I’m dying to hear,” he says, stroking me gently. “I may be young, but I’m not a boy, and he isn’t either, and I told you he had picked you for a reason, yet you didn’t want to believe me, did you?”

  A hot, wet sensation swirls between my legs.

  His thumb slides up and down my clit and then does small circles, sending shudders through me. He locks my eyes, his breath fanning over my lips, his fingers slowly sliding between my parted legs.

  “You crushed his heart with your stupid little whims,” he says, and as much as I’d like to retort, I’m too hot, and it’s a little too late to say anything dignifying.

  My hand curls around his neck as he crushes my lips, our tongues connecting in a feast of lust.

  I moan in his mouth and rain on his fingers, and all I want right now is to feel his cock inside me. My hand goes down to his fly, pulling his zipper.

  He rolls me on his lap, my knees on either side of him.

  “That’s my fucking girl,” he says as he yanks my dress up to my waist, and slides me down on him.

  I yelp and bite my lip, tasting my blood as my walls clench around his girth.

  Without the slightest hesitation, he hooks his fingers inside my neckline and tears my dress off me. The lace cries in his hands, and then my bra flies off my chest.

  I grab the sides of his shirt, and rip it open, the buttons flying on the floor. With one smooth motion, he glues my breasts to his bare torso, my center pulsing, filled with him.

  “You feel so good,” I say, riding him with passion.

  He’s warm and hard as stone, and throbbing.

  “You too, baby. Now, give me what I want,” he murmurs as I pick up the pace. “Slam it hard, baby,” he rumbles, his eyes getting unfocused and hazy, his lips curling and trembling with pleasure.

  My nails sink into his pecs as I grind against him fast and hard, the surge of pleasure sweeping through me.

  He grabs me and tilts his hips up, blasting his load in me. Warm, wet cum starts trickling down on us, dripping from my core.

  The car pulls to a smooth stop in front of a hotel. Panting, we both look outside. Everything sparkles wrapped in snow, more flurries swirling on the sidewalk. He straightens his back, and I pull off him, slumping in my seat.

  “Where are we going?” I ask, still breathing raggedly.

  “My place,” he says, holding my coat for me.

  He tucks his shirt under his jacket.

  “Leave it,” he says as I pick the ripped dress off the floor.

  He pulls the door open.

  “Come.”

  He holds my hand as I step out, my naked body warm inside the coat, my skin still sweaty, and my hair damp.

  The doorman swings the door open while Braxton curls an arm around me and walks me inside.

  12

  VIOLET, New York

  We enter the hotel lobby, our fingers clasped together, my left hand curled into a fist, holding my coat closed around my naked body.

  We step into the elevator, and the moment the doors slide shut, his hands draw my coat open. He takes me in with a lustful smile, his hand going between us, cupping my mound as he covers me with his body and starts to kiss me.

  We float a few floors up in a daze.

  I barely close my coat when the doors split open. He leads me through a corridor styled with flowers and modern art. He swipes his key card, pushes the door open and pulls me inside.

  There’s the counter of a small bar in a corner, and that’s how far we make it. His hands slide inside my coat, taking it off me as I peel the jacket off him.

  His hands claim my body again.

  “What were you missing, Violet?” he asks, softly this time, his palms coasting over my bare skin, spurring waves of tingles in their wake.

  His arm curls around my waist, his hand sliding down my butt as his fingers stroke the flesh between my legs.

  Gasping, I toss my head back, my eye heavy with pleasure.

  “Hmm?” he murmurs, drinking in my reaction.

  Gaze set on his mouth, I pull his shirt open, and wrap my fingers around his neck as our lips lock in a kiss.

  “Tell me, baby. What pulled you away from us? You do remember…” he says, breathing heavily, as he slides his fingers into me, “…how it feels to suck my cock while having him inside.”

  His words set my blood on fire. My body tenses, my hips grinding against his hand. He watches me with bedroom eyes as I near that blissful edge.

  He trails the side of my neck with his lips as I tilt my head back, and arch against him, grabbing his hard shaft.

  “It felt good... Didn’t it?” he purrs, and my nails start peeling the skin off his back. “Yeah, it fucking did,” he mutters, and I quietly growl as he swiftly tips me over the edge.

  Flooded by pleasure, I jerk in his arms.

  I’m still shaking, barely slowing down, when he lifts me up and sets my backside on the counter. His elbows slide on either side of my thighs as I lean back and bend my knees, letting him lick and taste every bit of my wet arousal.

  Within mere moments, he takes me to another peak, my hands clutched on his hair, his lips moist and swollen, giving me so much pleasure.

  Panting, I pull upright, and he sweeps me off the counter. I struggle to steady myself on my heels. He slides his arms on either side of me, boxing me in.

  We lock drunken eyes, both heaving.

  “What were you missing, Violet?” he asks with a gravelly voice. “Tell me, baby.”

  “Him... You,” I say, running my palm down his abs, brushing his groin, and opening his fly.

  “And why couldn’t you say so?”

  “Because I thought something was wrong with me wanting you both so much...” I murmur, my hand connecting with the velvety skin of his erection.

  I look down, taking in the chiseled hard crown, my thumb sweeping the wet tip, and then I look up.

  He tilts his head down, his lips slowly parting, curling into a lopsided smile.

  “Why did you leave and never come back?” I ask quietly.

  He flicks his gaze up.

  “It’s a long story.”

  I study his eyes for a moment, and a stark revelation washes over me.

  “You did the same thing,” I mutter, stroking him tenderly, brushing his erection from the root to the moistened tip.

  “Maybe. I thought it would be easier if I stayed away.”

  “Was it?”

  He sways his head side to side.

  “He brought you back, didn’t he?” I ask.

  He softly tips his chin down.

  “Where is he?”

  “London,” he says.

  My heart drops. My hand stops.

  “He lives with you?”

  He gives me another soft nod.

  “Yes, he does.”

  “Why didn’t he come?”

  “Because you didn’t give him that option.”

  “And you?”

  He grins.

  “I don’t care what you want. I can see through your bullshit.”

  “It’s not bullshit,” I murmur.

  “Yeah, baby... It is.”

  He looks down at my hand and his erection.

  He wraps his hand around my neck, and presses his lips on my temple.

  “I’ve had enough teasing. Now turn around, baby.”

  BRAXTON

  “What are we doing, Braxton?”

  “You know exactly what we’re doing,” I say, peeling off my clothing.

  My hard cock juts in the air, my eyes going down her back as she leans forward against the counter. I let my gaze sweep her tight ass, and toned legs, and her ribbon tied heels.

  I run my hand between her thighs, her pussy warm and wet against my fingers.

  “Legs open, baby.”

  Our eyes meet in the bar mirror, a different expression sliding on her face. She’s no longer the proper woman. She’s not even the woman in love. She’s the woman who loves cock, whichever way it is served, and she’s not too shy to show it. I was right about her as much as I was right about everything else. I press my erection against her, one hand kneading her breasts, the other grabbing her mound.

  “Which way do you want me to fuck you, baby?”

  Her eyes close for a moment, pleasure rolling over her face as I rub the crease between her butt cheeks and spread lube over her puckered ring.

  A shiver falls through her. I smile.

  “Don’t worry. It’ll get warm in a moment.”

  Her eyes pull open as I slowly probe her butthole. Her body takes my finger in, opening for me. Gently, I slide my well-lubed cock inside. My balls get tight.

  I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her into me, my fingers stroking her clit, her back ring squeezing me as I drive my shaft into her butt. I look down, indulging, and then up, my eyes flying to the mirror.

  Her lips curl into the ghost of a smile, her eyes twinkling with pleasure.

  “How is it, babe?”

  “Good,” she mouths and runs her teeth over her bottom lip.

  She starts moving against me, meeting my thrusts, and I could explode inside her.

  I pinch her nipples.

  She moans and rests her head against my shoulder exposing her neck. Thrusting, I clamp my fingers on her hardened buds and sink my teeth into her silky skin.

  She moans with pleasure.

  “I could fucking rip you apart,” I growl into her hair, my hand collaring her neck, my pace picking up.

  “You feel good…” she slurs, losing control, and climaxing, she slams against me, and I can no longer hold it together.

  A scream gurgles in her throat as I grab her hard, and shake my hips, blasting my load into her.

  A few moments tick by before I pull away, loop my arms around her and lift her up. I bite her chest, and her hands come into my hair.

  I walk with her into the bathroom and turn the shower on, warm water pouring over her face and her hair. She closes her eyes.

  “You fucked up my makeup,” she says, unable to unglue her eyelids.

  “Your ass is filled with cum, and that’s your problem?”

  She starts laughing.

  “You didn’t start with my ass.”

  “You want me to?”

  She giggles, and I pull her back into my chest and lean with her against the wall, cleaning her the way I used to do.

  She goes quiet for a moment and then her shoulders slant down. I turn the water off and twirl her around. Her eyes are filled with tears. I tip her chin up.