My naked body moves restlessly on the bed as my pace increases. The tattoo on my chest ripples as I remember Lia’s moans of pleasure. She was so lost in the moment; I doubt she was aware of chanting my name while she brought herself to completion. It was both torture and unbelievably erotic. If not for scaring her to death, I would have been at her apartment and inside her within twenty minutes. Patience is not something I am familiar with; whether right or wrong; people with money rarely have to wait for anything they want.

I moan Lia’s name as streams of cum shoot from my cock and onto my stomach. My body quivers in release. My cock is still semi-hard. It wanted the real thing, not a hand and a memory. If nothing is resolved at dinner tomorrow night, I’ll resolve it for her soon; waiting is no longer an option. I get off the bed to clean up and hear a text chime as I walk back into my bedroom. The pang of disappointment I feel at seeing Aidan’s name is disconcerting.

“So, who was the girl tonight?”

Fuck, just what I didn’t need, Aidan nosing around Lia. The fact he is curious enough to text me this late is a bad sign.

“None of your damn business.”

A few moments pass without a reply, but I am not worried about pissing him off with my harsh statement. Aidan and I have been friends for too long to be easily offended by the other.

“Interesting, brother.”

I am getting tired of this conversation and don’t want to encourage him to continue his cryptic messages.

“Is there a point here?”

He fires back almost immediately.

“No point. Just a ghost walking over my grave tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With those words, he is gone, and I don’t bother to reply. We both know what he is referring to. I can only hope to God this isn’t my main source of attraction to Lia. I, more than anyone, know you can’t go back. The only option is going forward, and that is what I’m ready to do. Why her and why now, I have no idea, but I have no desire to stop…I can’t stop.

Chapter Five

Lia

This entire day has been shit. I overslept this morning and am late to my first class. I detest having to walk in after everyone is already sitting…staring at me. I’m always one of the first to arrive. I like to find a seat so there is no danger of being in the spotlight. Heck, half the students have probably never realized I’m in their class. I also discover that the books I need for my new math class are twice as expensive as I expected. Textbooks are like buying bars of gold that will be useless in a few years. How can they possibly justify what they charge? And, Lucian wants me to quit my job? I laugh a laugh completely devoid of humor. I need to do the opposite: work even more in the coming months to offset my expenses.

I received an email earlier from Date Night with a job request; this time he used his real name. I want to be pissed off about him booking the date through my job, but pride goeth before the fall, and after today’s discovery, I need the money more than ever. I’m in a quandary, though, because he has seen both my dresses. This problem has never arisen. Even with my repeat customers, there are months between the bookings, and I feel safe in assuming they don’t remember what I wore previously. Both of my dates with Lucian were recent, and I feel sure he remembers every detail. I have no money to purchase something new, so I’m left with groveling to Rose. We are the same size, although she is taller than I am. She also has a blue silk dress I think would be perfect. I’ll offer to do the dishes for a week. That is something she would give almost anything for since she hates that particular chore.

I arrive at home in time to see Jake with his tongue in her mouth and his hand on her ass. Crap, can’t they ever take it in the bedroom? Rose looks up, not seeming the least bit embarrassed; I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t care if I watched the whole thing from start to finish. Jake, however, has the grace to blush, which looks adorable on a macho guy like him. “Hey, chick,” she says. “Do you want to go for some Mexican food with us? Jake’s parents sent him a gift card to the place down the street.” My stomach rumbles at the mention of food, and I’m disappointed to turn down a free meal at one of my favorite places.

“I wish I could, but I’m working.” I decide to hit her up for the dress while Jake is here. She is less likely to turn me down while her doting boyfriend has her in a pre-sex state of bliss. “Could I possibly borrow a dress for tonight?” Shit, I don’t want to admit to her that I am seeing the same guy; that is unusual enough to get her attention. “I…haven’t had a chance to do laundry, and I spilled stuff on my other dresses.” To my relief, she gives me no more than a passing glance before returning her attention to Jake. “Sure, take what you like.” She is wrapping herself around her man when she adds absently, “You know the routine.” Obediently, I walk over to the pad of paper in the kitchen and write down Lucian’s name, but only put a question mark beside the location since he is picking me up. There is no way I am sharing that information with Rose. It’s our rule that I always have my own car. I can’t assure her he isn’t a serial killer without telling her the whole story, and that isn’t going to happen tonight. I run to her room, grab her blue dress, and decide to push my luck and borrow her matching heels, as well; they are better than anything I own. It would probably be safer to wear old jeans and a ratty t-shirt, but I want to look like someone a man like Lucian Quinn would have dinner with tonight.

I quickly shower, apply some of my honeysuckle lotion, and wear the one matching black bra and panty set I own. The teal-blue dress fits like a glove and hits me just above the knee. The V-neck makes the most of my breasts and I twirl, happy with the results. My brown hair hangs in soft waves down my back. My makeup is minimal, but I do add some eyeliner to give my eyes a smoky appearance. I’m almost ready when I experience a moment of panic. If Lucian comes to my door, there will be questions, and a lot of them. With ten minutes until he is due to arrive, I grab my purse and run out of the apartment. His car is just pulling to the curb when I breathlessly walk down the walkway. Surprisingly, Sam stays in the car and Lucian steps out of the back. He is wearing another suit, which screams expensive. His thick, dark hair beckons me to run my fingers through it. The man must spend some serious time in the gym because there doesn’t appear to be a spare ounce of flesh anywhere on him. He is stunning. He looks surprised when he sees me standing there gawking at him. “Lia, I was coming in to get you.”