Ray of Love (Lifestyle by Design Book 3) (7 page)

She followed him to the door and they exchanged a sweet goodnight kiss that made her wish he was staying.

~~~~~~~

Faye felt so refreshed after her shower that it kept sleep at bay. Her mind insisted on replaying her wonderful night with Ray.
 

God, it would be so easy to fall for him. But even though she couldn't slow down her physical attraction, she needed to proceed with caution when it came to her emotions. She had made the mistake of committing to relationships too early in the past, only to find out they weren't her happily-ever-after. Her past boyfriends were all nice, decent guys but after the flames of passion died down, they - and she - didn't have enough devotion to make it work when the going got tough, or when unexpected circumstances were thrown their way.

She didn't exactly know how to cultivate the kind of "for life" relationship that her best friends had found with their partners. All she knew was that she was always gung-ho with falling into a new one. Unlike her, Clarise and Jessa were much more conservative and circumspect with their dating before they met the loves of their lives. Now they were getting married. She wanted to find true, lasting love too, not get stuck in a cycle of passion-then-fizzle.

Could Ray be 'the one'? It was far too early to tell.

She couldn't change her bold personality, but she could curb her impetuousness. One way to do that was to not utter a single word of love until she was absolutely sure that it was indeed love she was feeling and not simply 'mess-with-my-mind' lust.

*******

"Damn, woman. It's just so good," Ray gushed.

He was on his second helping of Faye's special cherry cheesecake that they totally forgot to have the previous night.

Faye chuckled. "I swear you looked orgasmic just then. Is it more delicious than sex?" she asked naughtily.

He gave her a smouldering look. "Nothing, and I mean
nothing,
could be more delicious than sex with you, baby."

"Oh, you're so sweet."

His body hardened as she sat on his lap and locked her lips with his. Christ, no one else had been able to turn him on as quickly, as easily and as often as Faye had.

He stood up, carried her in his arms, and marched to her bedroom.

"It's time to show you what else occupied my mind in the cinema during our first date," he said huskily.

"But you haven't finished your cheesecake yet," she mumbled against his neck.

"Your fault and you know it."

Ray smiled contentedly as Faye went to sleep with her head on his shoulder and half her delectable body sprawled on top of him.

Once again, their night had been spectacular. It had been so erotic sharing with her more of the X-rated positions he daydreamed about on their first date. Faye was sexy, adventurous and extremely giving in bed - and in the shower. She simply blew him away.

But then again, he was in love with her. Utterly and completely.

The thought overwhelmed him with tenderness and warmth, especially since the object of his affection was sleeping soundly in his arms.

He knew she wasn't ready to speak words of love yet, but he hoped it wouldn't be too long before she fell for him and uttered the three little words he longed to hear.

He was bursting to tell her he loved her, but the last thing he wanted was for her to feel pressured and shy away from him. He consoled himself with the fact that he was dating her this time, unlike before when he thought he had no choice but to forget her. He thanked his lucky stars she was now his.

Well, okay, she was not officially his yet. They still hadn't discussed going steady with each other but surely, judging by the intensity of their lovemaking, she couldn't be thinking of seeing anyone else? He fucking hoped not. He'd kill anyone else who touched her.

He was also itching to stop hiding their relationship. He wanted to be free to show the world how much she meant to him and claim her as his. Was he being too presumptuous? He knew it was too soon but he couldn't help it. He had wanted her for so long.

He'd give her time, maybe another week or two, then he'd broach the subject of them 'coming out of the closet', so to speak.

With that goal in mind, he fell into a deep slumber.

CHAPTER SEVEN

"Okay, tell us all about it," Clarise demanded as she kissed Faye hello.

"Tell you all about what?" Faye responded innocently as she watched three expectant bodies settle down on their chairs at their Monday lunch hangout.

"Your Friday night date with John that you refused to discuss during Meg's hen's party. You were literally daydreaming all of last Saturday."

"Yeah, Faye," Jessa piped in. "John must have given you a really good time that you hardly paid attention to the certified penis model who posed for us that night. I seem to remember you were the one most excited about having a male body to ogle when Clarise was still organising the hen's."

"Hey, I did notice that Mr. Penis Model was quite hunky. But it wasn't as if he was pumping and gyrating in front of us. He just sat there and posed for a still-life drawing. Wasn't it interesting that a couple of Megan's girlfriends propositioned him afterwards? I wonder if he went home with one of them."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Victor quipped. "When he gave that sexy, come-and-get-it grin instead of being embarrassed that his exposed manhood got erect with twelve women and two gay guys staring intently at him, I actually thought more than two girls would want to jump him. How many from our group were still single, by the way? I didn't want to ask the girls directly. It seemed rude."

"Five," Clarise answered. "Well, four, if we exclude Faye," she continued slyly as she raised an eyebrow at her best friend.

Faye chuckled. "Five. There were five of us single women in that group last Saturday."

"So, your thing with John is definitely just casual? You're both still free to date other people? He must be great in the sack, though, judging from your recent dreamy looks."

Drats. How do I respond to that?
"Yes," she replied. "Anyway, it was a shame you couldn't join us earlier that day, Victor. I thought that massage we had was really good. What did you girls think?"

"I have a feeling you're trying to change the subject, Miss Summers," Clarise observed shrewdly. "It's very unlike you to be reticent with details of your hot dates."

She blushed because her friend was right. "No, I'm just saying the massage was good," she answered unconvincingly.

"Faye blushing and, I do believe, hiding something from us," Jessa teased with slitted eyes. "Why ever so?"

She sighed. "I really like him. But as you know, I've decided not to get carried away with my emotions too quickly. We're enjoying the sex at the moment, that's all."

"So the sex is good?"

She tried to stifle the ear-splitting grin that formed on her face but failed. "The sex is fantastic. John has a body to die for and he certainly knows how to please a woman with it."

"Hello, guys," an achingly familiar voice from behind her said.

"Hey, Ray," her three friends said in unison.

They were all so engrossed with their conversation none of them noticed Ray walk in the restaurant.

Shit. Did he hear?
Faye felt the flush spread to her neck and face.
So what if he did, Faye? He's told you the sex was amazing. And surely he knows how good he is in bed.

Disconcerted, she watched as Jessa stood up to greet a pretty brunette who looked vaguely familiar. The next moment, Ray was introducing the woman to the rest of them.

She's here with Ray?
Her embarrassment was quickly forgotten as she scrutinised the new arrival.
 

"And this is Faye Summers, their best friend," Ray was calmly saying to the elegantly dressed lady.

Faye glanced at Ray. His face was impassive but his eyes were warm as he looked at her.

"Good to meet you, Faye," the brunette crooned in a soft, silky voice.

Faye grasped the hand extended towards her, struggling mightily to smile and look friendly even as acute jealously unexpectedly roared within her.

"Nice to meet you," she managed to blurt out.
Who the hell is this woman again? I didn't catch that part.

"You guys enjoy your lunch," Ray said as he waved goodbye and escorted his companion to their table.

"Who was that again?" she asked Jessa.

"Rita Maxwell, the owner of Jezebel."

"Oh." Faye realised why the woman looked familiar. Jezebel was a chain of stores selling stylish accessories for women. She had seen her picture before in a magazine. In Ray's
Lifestyle by Design
, in fact. She was even on the front cover because she won an award - Businesswoman of the Year, or something.
What's Ray doing here with her?

"She's one of your clients, huh?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Yes, we've written an article on her. She's also now a regular advertiser," Jessa replied. "I'm surprised Ray took her here. He usually takes clients to a swankier place."

Victor winced. "I'm responsible for that. Ray and I have a meeting with Alison Costa to discuss graphics and photography at one-thirty. He asked me this morning for a good restaurant that had really fast service and since we all love this place, I suggested it. I didn't know he was taking Rita Maxwell to lunch. I hope they enjoy it here."

"I doubt Rita would mind much where they're eating," Clarise mumbled in a low voice.

"Why do you say that?"

"She's interested in Ray."

Jessa and Victor nodded in agreement.

"Really? How do you know?" Faye was deadly curious now.

"It's pretty obvious. If you watch, you'll notice the way she flirts with him."

She did watch Rita Maxwell. Yes, she did notice the touching of his arm here, the batting of her eyelashes there, the seductive look as she talked to him, the girly giggles when he said something. At that moment, smart and pretty Rita had all of Ray's attention. And she didn't like it one bit.

Suddenly, she had an overwhelming desire to walk up to Ray, sit on his lap and kiss him senseless just to remind him what it was like between the two of them. And to show Miss Businesswoman of the Year that Ray wasn't available anymore.

She shook her head to rid herself of her wayward thoughts. Wasn't she just saying she didn't want commitment yet? Didn't she just tell her friends that she and Ray - err, John - were still free to see other people and were therefore not together?

"What, Faye?" Victor asked, dragging her out of her brainwork.

"Beg your pardon?"

"You were shaking your head."

"Oh."
Shit.
"I was just thinking that if I was Rita, I would sit on Ray's lap and kiss him already," she said in a joking tone.

Her friends laughed.

"You think she's being too subtle, don't you?" Clarise remarked, buying her line. "Trust me. She can be, and has been, pretty obvious about her interest in Ray. But so far, Ray hasn't taken the bait."

"Well, Rita would be far from happy if she knew Ray couldn't have a long lunch with her because he's seeing an old flame in an hour," Victor commented dryly.

"What do you mean?" Faye asked impassively, although she was anything but.

"Alison Costa, whom Ray and I are meeting with after lunch, used to be our main contract photographer for the magazine. She also used to be Ray's girlfriend. After they broke up sometime last year, she stopped working for us but now it looks like she will be back on board again."

"Really? Why?"

Victor shrugged. "I didn't question Ray about his reasons. She's an excellent photographer, though, and great to work with. And she was much better than her replacement. I think that's why Ray wants her back."

"Well, it's been more than a year since they broke up," Jessa quipped. "Actually, it probably was around the time he asked you out, Faye."

"What? He meant for me to be his rebound girl?"

The three laughed.

"Come on, he did have a crush on you back then, Faye, and you know it," Clarise replied. "Anyway, Ray doesn't exactly divulge his love life to us, so we don't know why he and Alison broke up. But I think they're both professional enough to be able to work together again."

"Maybe he now has plans to date Rita," Jessa whispered loudly.

"Hmm, maybe you're right, Jess," Clarise said. "Although I still don't see him acting interested in her."

"Maybe he's just not into Rita Maxwell at all," Faye said rather unkindly.

"I think you're right, Faye," Victor agreed. "Girls, don't forget Ray mentioned dating someone named Jane a few days ago," he reminded Jessa and Clarise.

"Ah, that's right. I forgot about that," Clarise exclaimed. "In fact, I think he really likes this Jane person. She rang him on his mobile the other day when we were in the kitchen. You should have seen his huge smile and the way his face lit up when he was talking to her."

"There you go," Faye said with a delighted smile. "That's why he's ignoring Miss Businesswoman of the Year. He prefers Jane."

Suddenly, Faye felt a little bit sorry for Rita. It could be totally disheartening to want someone who didn't want you back.

What about Alison Costa?
a nasty voice inside her head whispered. She decided to ignore it, preferring to embrace the fact that Ray had split up with the photographer a long time ago.

*******

Ray tried with all his might not to keep glancing at Faye. Of all the restaurants he could have suggested, why on earth did Victor mention this one? He silently scolded himself for not realising this was the place Faye and her friends went to on Mondays. He just assumed they still went to the place they frequented when he used to join them all those months ago. Obviously, they'd changed location since then.

He knew he should have taken Rita Maxwell to a more upmarket place but the last thing he wanted to do was for her to think he was trying to impress her. He didn't want her entertaining thoughts that he was starting to be attracted to her. She hadn't exactly hidden her interest in him every time they had a business meeting.

Besides, he genuinely did need to be back at the office shortly for a meeting and Victor promised this place offered fast service, no matter how busy they got.