Nightie Night: The Lingerie Series (Stir Sticks & Stilettos) (6 page)

“Yeah, how could you.” I fingered my
hair back behind my ear.

“So, if you finally got to do the
lusty, sweaty tango with Aaren why do you look so depressed?” she teased,
wiggling her pinky finger. “Was he just a little below average even with all
his height?”

Swatting her hand down, I laughed,
shaking my head. My sex was still throbbing at the remembrance of just how
above average he was. “That’s not the issue.”

“Then what gives?”

I don’t even know why I was trying
to fight telling Oriana. I’d never held a secret from her before. The two of us
had become fast friends our sophomore year in college and soon after, she had
become part of the Henderson family, making us practically sisters. I was glad
my assignment was over so I could help her plan her wedding in less than five
months to my cousin.

“He’s married, Orian—” The thickness
in my throat broke off my words and released the tears I’d been holding back.
Wrestling out the next words, I said, “I feel like such a fool.”

Scooting over, she gave me a one arm
hug. “I know when you pointed him out to me when I came to have lunch with you
there wasn’t a ring on his finger. So I know you didn’t know. How did you find
out?”

“The worst way.” I stood up and
moved to the dresser. The woman looking back at me in the mirror wasn’t the
polished professional I had been when I left my house, or the vixen I had
seemed to be in Aaren's bathroom, but a worn out, emotionally beaten person. I
hated that look, it reminded me too much of how I looked after my ex until I
pulled myself together. I would again.

“Please don’t say his wife walked in
on the two of you?” Oriana’s gaze met mine in the mirror.

“Thank God no. She called just after
we’d finished. There I was basking in the afterglow of what could only be
described as the most earth rocking, soul shaking sex I’d ever had. Only to
pick up his phone and have Gabrielle’s voice greet me while I’m staring at the
picture of their family on his desk.”

“Oh, shit.” Oriana had a hand over
her heart. “How long have they been married?”

“I don’t know. Didn’t ask. Wasn’t
sticking around to find out.” Picking up a brush, I dragged it fiercely through
my hair and then picked up one of my old bands and pulled it into a ponytail.

“Gabrielle. Is she Latin or
something?” Oriana crossed her legs and folded her arms.

“Nope. A pretty black woman who
looked so happy in the picture with Aaren and their son, who was at least
four.” I removed my shirt, skirt and unhooked the front latches of my corset. I
didn’t bat an eye about being all natural in front of her. My best friend had
seen me nude almost as many times as my mother. Moving to my closet, I pulled
on a robe.

“So, even if not married long
they’ve been together for a while.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Kalan.”

“Don’t apologize. You’re not the
ass, he is.”

“Yeah, but I know how much you cared
for him. Two years is a long time to have your mind set on someone…I’d almost
say you were in lo—”

“Don’t you dare say it!” I set my
hands on my hips and aimed a glare at her.

Holding her hands up in defense, she
stood. “Okay. Fine. You going to talk to him about it? You know, ask him why?”

“Never. This internal audit is
finished. On Monday, he’ll pick up all the packets for the shareholders meeting
Tuesday morning. It was already set for him to give the presentation alone.” I
brushed my hands against each other as if knocking the dust from them. “Done.
Case closed.” 

“Whatever you feel is best, Kalan.
You know I got your back.” Crossing the room, she gave me a hug. She moved away
and headed to the door. “That means even if you want to catch him in a dark
alley, I gotcha back.”

I laughed and it felt good. I knew
she was only joking, neither one of use were vengeful people, but it gave me a
nice thought. “Thanks, girl.”

Smiling, Oriana left.

Turning to the bathroom, I headed
for the shower. I would make myself put Aaren Reston out of my mind. It was
over. Yes, I had spent the better part of the last two years pining for him and
imagining a relationship with him…maybe even falling for him a little, but
lesson learned. After tonight, the book of us would be burned on the bonfire of
heartache.

~YH~

“Knock, knock.” Glancing up from my
computer, I saw Tashi, Mr. Reston's secretary, as I liked to refer to him now,
standing in my doorway.

“Yes.”

“Sorry to bother you, Kalan, but Mr.
Reston needs a favor from you.” The petite Asian woman took a couple steps into
the office.

No, he doesn’t.
Especially not after I’d spent all
weekend forcing myself to not think about him. Repeatedly an unknown number had
shown up on my phone but I had ignored it out of fear it was him. I just needed
my subconscious to get the message. This morning like the last two, I’d
awakened from an erotic dream of the two of us and had to masturbate twice to
calm my body and shower for work.

“I’m sorry, Tashi, I’m busy. He’s
going to have to find someone else.” Smiling to take the sting out of my words,
I turned back to the monitor.

She moved further into my office.
“There isn’t anyone else. You two completed the internal audit together.”

Oh, shit. Now she had my full attention.
Had I messed up something in my mad dash away from him?
“What’s wrong with the audit?”

“Nothing’s wrong with it. However,
Mr. Reston left early this afternoon.”

Shaking my head, I said, “I’m still
not following.”

“Because of a family illness, he
will be out a few days. He will need you to give the presentation tomorrow.”

“What?” I stood up. In a way, this
was good news. If I gave the presentation to the shareholders, I’d be more than
just a name on the credits of a PowerPoint slide, but someone they could hear,
see and remember. Especially Mr. Pace. So maybe the next district manager slot
that came open in my department could possibly be mine. “I can do that.”

“Great.” She smiled, her face
relaxing and appearing more relieved. Tearing off a sheet of paper from the
tablet, she handed it to me.

I frowned. “What is this?”

“Mr. Reston’s home address.”

I swallowed. “Why do I need this?”

“You will need to pick up the
packets for the shareholders from him. He collected them on his way home before
he found out the nature of the emergency.”

Oh, God. Why do I keep taking one
step forward and being dragged three steps back?

Exhaling aloud, not caring if the
other woman heard me, I sat down again, frustrated.

“Um, Kalan. Can I tell Mr. Reston
that you’ll be by?” Tashi asked.

Still staring at the address, I
nodded. “After work. I’ll stop by after work.”

“Okay.” I heard the muffled sounds
of Tashi’s sensible heels on the carpet as she left my office.

After work. There was only three
hours left in the workday before I would be headed to his domain.

Three hours to get myself together
to see the man that had fucked me and stomped all over my heart and didn’t know
it. And probably didn’t care. Shoving the address into my purse, I faced my
computer and got back to the work at hand. I couldn’t think about him now.

~YH~

I couldn’t believe I was standing at
Aaren’s door, ringing his doorbell. During the drive over, I continued to work
hard at convincing myself that this was professional, not personal. Aaren and I
were done. The short liaison between us was a mistake. I even took a few
minutes to call Oriana and let her give me a pep talk. Now, I just had to learn
how to keep it in the past and work with him. He was like any other senior
executive at the company.

Then he opened the door and my heart
stopped beating for a minute and the stars came out in the bright early evening
sky.
This is not good.

“Hi, Kalan.” His voice was a low,
husky rumble that stroked along my spine and warmed my core. However, that
sound was second to the broad, welcoming smile he gave me.

Don’t give in.

“Mr. Reston.” I lifted my chin and
kept my voice even, professional and cold. “I’m here to pick up the packets.
Your secretary said they were here.” 

He frowned, but stepped back.
“That’s right. Come in.”

“I’d rather remain here while you
get them.”

The furrow between his brows
deepened. “I’m not going to bite you, sweetheart.” His green eyes became
shadowed, intense. “Unless you want me to.”

My heart started to race and a low
hum started in my core.
Stop it
, I ordered my body. Swallowing, I licked
my lips. “I think it’s best if we keep things between us professional, Mr.
Reston.”

Before I knew what was happening, he
reached out, took hold of my arm and dragged me over the threshold and shut the
door behind me.

“You have one more Mr. Reston,
Kalan, and I’m going make you remember how throaty you can scream my given
name,” he growled.

He was standing too close to me. His
cologne was potent and intense, reminding me of hot nights filled with
pleasured moans. I pressed my back to the door and he had his palm flat against
it, caging me in. “Mr.—”

A single brow ticked up.

“Aaren,” I cleared my throat. “The
packets, please.”

“I’ll get them as soon as you tell
me what’s wrong between us.”

I laughed and tried to push further
into the wood behind me. “There’s no us. Now, can I have the—”

“No, damn it.” He shoved away.

 I inhaled several breaths, happy
that I wasn’t taking in his heady cologne so strong anymore. The house was
quiet around us, too quiet. Where were his wife and son? Is that why he’d
invited me over because they were away? If that was the case, he had another
thing coming. Being an accomplice in his affair once was a mistake. I'd be
damned if I let him pull me into another now that I
knew
he had a family.

After a few steps, he turned back to
face me. “Is this some kind of game you’re playing?”

“Me?” I stepped from the door and
poked a finger into my chest.

“Hell, yes. Because I’m not used to
making love to a woman and then having her act cold and indifferent towards
me.”

“You’re not—” Grinding my teeth, I
drew in a loud breath through my nose before continuing. “I don’t give a shit
what you're used to or not. For a cheat, I’m surprised you have any standards
at all.”

He took a large step to me and tilted
his head, giving me a hard stare. “A cheat?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Not sure what you
call having an affair on a wife, especially when you have a son, but the rest
of the world calls it cheating.”

“Enlighten me. Who am I supposed to
be wedded to?”

Really, the gall of this man.
“Gabrielle. You two have a cute son
named Jason. Don’t play me for a fool, Aaren. I spoke to your wife, remember?
Right after we—” My arms waved around in a non-verbal circle, which to me, was
universal gesture for sex.

In an instant, his face relaxed, his
eyes returned to a pale green and he burst out laughing.

For a moment, I just stood there
staring at him. This man had lost his mind. I was sure I was a witness to him
cracking up.

“I don’t see anything funny.” I
folded my arms under my breasts.

“You wouldn’t.” He tipped his head
back and stared up at the ceiling as if he were looking for guidance or some
sign.

I couldn’t help but glance up, too.
Lord,
if you’re giving out aid, I could use some, too, about now.

Lowering his head, he fixed his gaze
on me. “Kalan, I’m not married. Gabrielle is my sister and Jason is her son.”

I shook my head. “Now who’s playing
games? I saw the picture on your desk, she’s black and that little boy is
mixed.”

He moved closer to me, close enough
for me to feel the heat from his body but thankfully his hands were in his
pockets and he didn’t touch me.

“You’re correct. Still she’s my
sister. Her husband, Michael, passed away six months after my parents. A rare
brain tumor. The medical debt wiped out all her savings and caused her to lose
her house. Three months after I moved here, I made her and Jason move down here
with me until she was able to get on her feet. She’s been working part-time
jobs. But it paid off because she is debt free. Last Monday she started a full
time and got an apartment.”

One hand came out and cupped my
cheek. “My nephew has pink eye. A mild case, but he can’t go back to daycare
for the next couple days and his medicine starts working. He’s upstairs
sleeping before one of his favorite cartoon movies. Gabrielle couldn’t get time
off because she just started.”

“Oh.” It was all I could think to
say because I felt like a big, foolish idiot. However, the heavy weight was
lifted from my chest and the cloud of glum was gone.