Desire Page 7

  Anna would be proud.

  I turn back to face the mirror, and snap a photo on my phone. I quickly text it to Anna.

  The phone immediately rings.

  “Damn girl, I’d fuck you right now if you were here,” Anna squeals before I have the chance to say hello.

  “I can’t believe how I look,” I say, the amazement evident in my voice.

  “I always knew you’d scrub up well.”

  I roll my eyes, and say, “Whatevs.”

  “Shawna will be happy when I show her the picture. She’s been on cloud nine all day because of you.”

  “God, really?”

  “Yeah, she even had a big meeting during which she told us that the company was almost out of money. And that she’d planned to ask everyone to take a pay cut, or even to work for free in exchange for stocks. But that now that hopefully won’t be necessary because of you spending the weekend with Leo.”

  “She wants us to work for free?”

  “She said there’s no choice because we need the rest of the money for marketing. But that we don’t get shares, and when Mini Motivations is a massive success, we’ll all have way more money than we were getting for salaries. But that’s irrelevant, because Leo is going to take one look at you in that dress and give us whatever we need.”

  I chew on her words, feeling deflated compared to how I felt before the phone call.

  “What do you think Leo and Shawna talked about in the meeting room this morning?” I ask.

  “I don’t know. They were only in there for five or ten minutes.”

  “Do you think they talked about me?”

  “Obviously. You saw Shawna gave you those crazy thumbs-up when Leo was asking you to go for lunch. Ever since you left, she’s been walking around with a spring in her step.”

  I glance up at the mirror again. Somehow a red dress seems far more appropriate than it did when I selected it. Seeing as I’m clearly being used as a prostitute.

  “I feel like a whore.”

  “Who cares? You are there for you. Leo is so hot that you’d be crazy not to have a little fun and lose your virginity to him. God, I can’t believe you’re still a virgin at twenty-three. You need to fix that and discover what you’re missing out on.”

  “But I feel like a whore.”

  “Who cares? Lighten up and have a little fun. Look at you, you look amazing. Better than any movie star. You’ve been flown off on a private jet by the sexiest man to walk the Earth. One who just happens to be a billionaire. And you’re worried about what exactly?”

  I think back to my apartment, to the way my body reacted when Leo kissed me. My insides melted, and stayed that way for the entire plane ride. Just being near him made me ache for his touch. I want more of it. Of him.

  When he touched me in the closet, I had the most intense orgasm of my life. I can’t imagine how good it will make me feel with more time.

  “Okay, you’re right. I’m here for me. Anything else, any other arrangements they might have about me, are purely incidental.”

  “That’s the right attitude. Now go and let him fuck your brains out.”

  We end the call. I take a final look in the mirror, recapturing most of the earlier awe I had for myself.

  Grabbing the new clutch purse from the dresser, I open the bedroom door and step into the hallway.

  I make my way through the vast apartment. It’s not at all what I’d expected. The interior decor is modern and minimalist. Almost like it’s out of the pages of a Scandinavian design glossy magazine.

  In my killer heels, I grip the banister as I descend the sweeping pale wood staircase. The last thing I need to do is wipe out and tumble down the stairs. I already embarrassed myself enough when I humped his leg during my dream.

  My heels click on the bare wood floor as I make my way through the apartment in search of Leo.

  Instead of a grand central hallway, the rooms spill into one another. All have a minimalist feel. I take my time, trying to get a better sense of who Leo is from the contents of his apartment.

  Although the furniture and artwork he has are clearly extremely expensive, there isn’t much else in the way of luxury. No needless statues or decorations.

  Only what he needs, it appears.

  I’m standing in the middle of a room that has one wall lined with a pale wood bookcase. It’s full of books, though not crammed with them. I take a step closer, to be able to see the titles, when I hear Leo’s voice.

  “Have you heard from Laura—”

  He appears in the doorway, wearing his tuxedo. Holding his phone, his hand drops to his side. Leo stands motionless, staring at me. My chest fills with tingles as we face each other.

  I swear he gets sexier every time I see him. And a tuxedo always does wonders to a man’s sexiness.

  There is a muffled voice from Leo’s phone. He taps the screen with his thumb, and shoves it in his pocket without taking his eyes off me. He shifts his gaze to my face, his eyes locking on mine.

  “You’re breathtaking,” he says.

  “Thank you. For everything, the dress, the pampering.”

  “It’s my pleasure, I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

  “It was a fun afternoon,” I say. In an attempt to mask my physical reaction to him, I bite my bottom lip and smile.

  “I have one more thing for you,” he says, moving across the room.

  The closer he gets to me, the more tingles fill my body. They spread out from my chest to my arms and legs and I worry my knees might buckle.

  Leo stops in front of me, our bodies inches apart. I swallow as all the moisture in my body rushes to my center again.

  He casually pulls something sparkly from his inside breast pocket. He holds it up between us and lets it dangle from his fingertips. It’s a drop necklace that sparkles in a way only real diamonds sparkle. A vertical row of six or seven large jewels are stacked on top of one another.

  “I can’t accept this,” I say.

  “I insist,” Leo says, laying it around my neck and doing up the clasp.

  I crane my head down to look at it. The bottom diamond sits between the valley of my cleavage. I’ll just borrow it for the night, I tell myself, knowing he just made my already amazing movie star appearance even better.

  “We need to go. Unfortunately,” he says, and brushes my cheek with his lips.

  Chapter 15

  Leo

  “Ladies and gentlemen, once again we’d like to thank you all again for your support of the Bannerman Foundation. We’re going to open up the dance floor now, but please keep those donations coming in throughout the evening,” Darcy Bannerman says at the podium.

  A swing band strikes up the first song as the crowd erupts in applause for Darcy and all the work she does for the Bannerman Foundation.

  All evening, I’ve consciously kept my hands to myself. As much as I wanted to be all over Grace, I don’t want her to associate tonight with the first event we went to.

  That night I made a lot of lewd comments and let my hands wander, something I will always regret.

  Tonight I want her to know how differently I view her. How her being an escort is the absolute farthest from the truth it could ever be.

  She’s smart and witty, not to mention beautiful. I couldn’t ever view her with anything but my utmost respect.

  The band starts playing “Moonlight Serenade,” and I seize the opportunity to have her in my arms.

  “Shall we?” I ask, extending my hand to Grace.

  An easy smile spreads across her face, and she takes my hand. I lead her to the dance floor, put one arm around her back, and clasp her other hand in mine.

  We sway around the floor like we’re in an old World War II movie, with Grace being more beautiful than Rita Hayworth or Betty Grable ever were.

  I’m aware of the sheer number of people watching us.

  We’ve already had our pictures taken for numerous society magazines. I may be the famous billionaire, but Grace is the one who cau
ght their attention. She’s exactly the type of person they like to feature in their pages — stunning.

  “I can’t tell you how beautiful you are,” I say, my voice low and steady.

  “Thank you,” she says, smiling up at me.

  “I don’t just mean the way you look tonight. Though to be honest, I’ve never seen anyone who looks as good as you in the flesh. I mean everything about you is beautiful. Inside and out.”

  Grace’s eyelids flutter, and she looks away. I pull her even closer, pressing her body against mine. Inhaling her flowery scent, I close my eyes and rest my head on hers.

  All I can think of what I’m going to do to her when I get her home. I want this night to be magical for her. A night she’ll cherish forever.

  My dick stiffens, though neither of us care.

  The song ends, morphing into something up-tempo. She follows effortlessly light on her feet as I increase our pace around the dance floor. I even send her into a sweeping dip. She’s every bit as graceful as her name.

  The song ends, and I naturally break my hold on her, and lead her back to our table. Though really I want to lead her straight out the door.

  Winding our way through the round tables, we bump into another businessman I know, billionaire Colt Pedersen. He made his fortune in currency trading, but our mutual love of fucking nameless women brought us together as friends.

  “Holy shit, where the fuck did you find her? She’s unreal. You’ve got to give me the name of the agency. For her I don’t mind sloppy seconds,” Colt says, not caring if Grace can hear him.

  I quickly let go of Grace, and spin Colt away from her. With our backs to her, I hush him harshly.

  “She’s my date,” I say, trying to stifle the happiness I feel at the statement.

  “Date? Since when do you date?”

  “Since I found her.”

  Colt looks over his shoulder, and shamelessly drags his eyes from the top of Grace to the bottom.

  “Lucky man,” he says, patting me on the back.

  I give him a nod, and turn back to Grace. Taking her by the hand, I decide I’ve had enough of the charity ball.

  “Let’s get out of here before we get locked in a closet,” I say.

  Grace grins and gives a slight shrug of her shoulders. “It was kind of fun being stuck in the closet. I enjoyed myself.”

  “Me too, but we’ll have even more fun in my bedroom,” I say, chuckling.

  For the first time tonight, I drape my arm around her shoulders as we walk. She folds her body into mine, and my dick twitches like crazy.

  Grace makes my entire body crazy.

  My driver has already pulled the car around, a midnight blue Maybach. I hold the back door open for Grace before going around to the other side and getting in beside her.

  The slit on her skirt reveals her leg almost all the way up to her hip, and I have to clear my throat to stop from attacking her right here and now.

  Grace looks over to me, her eyes bright and she smiles. She slides across the back seat until she is tight against me. The movement exposes even more of her legs. Her long, shapely legs that I need wrapped around me. My waist, my neck. Our arms intertwine, and we lace our fingers together.

  I clear my throat again.

  “That was fun,” she says, the elation in her voice impossible to miss.

  “It was definitely the most fun I’ve ever had at one of these events.”

  “The dancing was the best.”

  “We could have stayed longer and danced more, if you wanted.”

  “I don’t know that my feet could dance much longer in these shoes. The heels are so high, and they haven’t been broken in yet. My feet are sore.” She kicks her leg up in the spacious back seat, showing me the height of her new Louboutins.

  As she lowers her foot again I grab it, stopping it from touching the floor. Leaning forward, I slip her shoe off and start massaging her foot.

  Grace groans in approval, and says, “Maybe I should’ve stayed on the far side of the seat, that way you could’ve rubbed both my feet.”

  “Nonsense,” I say.

  I release her foot, and let my hands travel over her calf and thigh, massaging as I go. When I reach the top of her leg, I shift my gaze to hers. She is watching me intently, her lips slightly parted.

  Holding her gaze, I twist my body and lean into her, pressing my mouth over hers. She tastes every bit as good as she looks. Grace’s tongue twirls around mine, like our earlier dance.

  Unable to resist any longer, I brush my fingers over her panties. The slickness is impossible to miss. I slip a finger, one pinky finger, under the edge and flick it over her wet mound.

  Grace moans into my mouth, and parts her legs even more. I let my finger delve deeper into her folds. My cock is fully alert, and I curse Manhattan traffic. I want to be home now with her in my bed.

  Instead, I circle her entrance with the pad of my pinky, dipping in once or twice just to tease her.

  “We’re home, sir,” my driver says, pulling in front of my building.

  We finally break our kiss, it seems like our lips were locked together for an eternity.

  “Your shoe, Cinderella,” I say, picking up her shoe from the floor and slipping it back on her foot.

  “Thank you, Prince Charming,” Grace says, her face beaming.

  My driver opens the door, and I climb out first. I reach my hand out for Grace to hold as she slides the rest of the way across the seat and onto the sidewalk. Her dress falls perfectly back into place, showing off her curves. It seems almost criminal to take that dress off her.

  But I must.

  Chapter 16

  Grace

  We stumble into the elevator in Leo’s building. As soon as the doors shut, Leo’s arms are around me. His hands travel over my back with a firmness that sets me on fire.

  My entire core bubbles with heat.

  Everything about this evening has been perfect. Everything about Leo has been perfect. Unlike the first event we went to together, this time he was the most perfect gentleman imaginable.

  Perfect.

  I don’t think I can use that word enough when describing him.

  In my dress, with him at my side, I felt like a princess. Or a movie star. We had our picture taken so many times, and I’m not even sure why, other than that I really do look as beautiful as I feel.

  And now, with Leo’s arms around me, I feel like I’m on fire. Like my insides are flaming as red as my dress.

  I’m trying hard not to think about anything other than this moment. Right now, Leo is making that easy for me.

  He nibbles my neck as his hands travel down the curve of my waist and settle on my hips. Electric currents seem to be traveling between his mouth, his hands and my center.

  Neither of us have said a word since leaving the car. Our bodies are doing all the talking for us.

  The elevator door opens, and we spill out into the hallway. Leo bundles me into his apartment, through his entranceway and into his cavernous living room.

  He stops us in the middle of the room, our hands impossible to keep off each other. I tug his bow tie loose and grapple with the buttons on his shirt. I still haven’t ever had a good look at his body.

  Leo slides his finger between the strap of my dress and the skin of my shoulder. He starts to pull the strap over the edge of my shoulder but abruptly stops.

  “I want to look at you, Gracie,” he says, setting the strap back in place and backing away from me. No one has ever called me Gracie, and my insides flutter at the name.

  He backs up the three or four feet to the sofa, and sits. Whether intentionally or not, I can’t tell. And he stares.

  His eyes flit over me, from my head to my heels. I’m not sure what to do, so I slowly twirl.

  When I’m facing him again, his eyes bore into mine with hunger. I return his gaze, holding his eyes, unable to look away.

  Heat still courses through me, but now nervous butterflies fill my tummy. An awkwardn
ess creeps into my stance, and though I hold his eyes, I lose some of my earlier confidence.

  I give a slight shrug of my shoulders, and wait. He pulls his eyes from mine, and rubs the sofa cushion beside him. As I take the few steps to the sofa, his eyes rake over me again, burning into me as I move.

  Leo lifts his arm and takes me, guiding me into the seat beside him.

  The moment I’m seated, he cups the back of my head and presses his mouth against mine. Electricity from his touch mixes with the nervous butterflies within me and I whimper.

  I try once more to undo his buttons but our bodies are too close together for much success. Giving up, I run my hands over his legs. The strong muscles of his thighs are evident even through his tuxedo pants.

  As I reach his hips and I’m about to feel for his hard dick, Leo stands, and pulls me with him.

  “Let’s go upstairs,” he says.

  A million more nervous butterflies erupt within me.

  Taking my hand, he leads me to the base of his sweeping staircase. With one hand in his, I hold up my dress with my other hand, so I don’t trip on it as we ascend the stairs.

  With each step, I get more and more nervous, and a slight tremble forms in my hands. Leo grips me harder, he must sense it.

  He leads me down the hallway, surprisingly passing his own bedroom door. When we reach the door of the room I am staying in, he pushes it open and gestures for me to enter first.

  My heart pounding, I step into the room. My jaw drops. Every flat surface of the room is covered in lit candles. In their flickering light, I can see that the bed has been sprinkled with rose petals. Classical music that I recognize as Bach softly plays.

  Everything seems so perfect.

  So staged.

  Too staged.

  I try to swallow, but my throat is too raw. Instead I summon Anna’s voice, relax and enjoy yourself, who cares about anything else. I take a deep breath, and try to relax myself.

  Easier said than done.

  Thinking of Anna immediately makes me think of Shawna. What did her and Leo talk about in the meeting room this morning? Did they really come to an agreement, a trade using me? And my virginity?