Page 46 of Sex, Lust & Lingerie

My eyes met his gaze. He was still staring at the cloud.

“Use your imagination. What does that cloud look like to you?”

I looked up again and studied the fluffy puff. I was awed. “It looks like a heart. What do you see?”

“I see a woman’s body inside a heart.”

I gazed at the cloud again. Oh my God. He was right. The way the pink-blue sky intercepted the cloud created that illusion. “I can see it!” I gasped.

Pleased with my vivid imagination, Jaime flicked the tip of my braid across my ticklish neck and plunked a kiss on my cheek. “Did your father ever play games with you?” he asked.

My chest tightened. My lightness of being gave way to darkness.

“I never had a father.” My voice was sad and distant.

Jaime shifted. “What do you mean?”

“My mother was a hooker. A crack whore. I was an unwelcome accident. My father could have been anyone she fucked.” Tears of shame sprang to my eyes. I had opened up to him. Shared something hidden in my past.

Skimming my breasts, he brushed away my tears. “Gloria, my angel, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. If we’re going to have a relationship, then we’ve got to be open and honest with each other. I’ve shared my scars, and you’ve got to share yours.”

He dusted the tip of my braid across my shimmering scar. “Gloria, did your mother have something to do with this?”

My body stiffened as my heart skipped a beat. How could I tell him the truth behind this scar? So much of me wanted to blurt it out to this man who now possessed me, but I knew the instant I confessed my misdoing—my secret—he would leave me in a heartbeat. I tried hard to banish the memory. As always, it was futile. That nightmarish night replayed in my head in its full gory horror. A cool ocean breeze sent a shiver all over me and brought me back to the moment.

“No, she didn’t,” I stammered. “I ran away from her.” At least, I was being truthful about my relationship with her.

“Is she still alive?”

“I don’t know. And I don’t care. I’m sure she feels the same way.”

His eyes stayed fixed on the scar, his expression somber. “Did you try to take your life?”

Oh, God, why couldn’t he give it a rest?

“No.” I sucked in a breath. “Jaime, please. I can’t go there with you yet.” And maybe never.

“Okay, Gloria, I get it. You can’t completely trust me. Maybe one day you will.”

I absorbed his words. My wishful thinking hoped he was right. Calming myself with another deep breath, I moved away from the past and jumped into the future.

“So, Mr. Imagination, how do you envision us having a long distance relationship?” With three thousand miles separating us, it wasn’t going to be easy.

He toyed with my braid again. “Like I always say, where there’s a will, there’s a way. I’m thinking we shoot the Gloria’s Secret campaign out here in some decadent Beverly Hills or Hancock Park mansion. I can also fly out here on weekends. In between, I expect to Skype you regularly. Not just in your office. I want you to take your laptop or tablet to bed every night. I’m going to go to sleep with you and wake up to you every day.”

The thought of having both virtual good-night and wake-up sex with my sexy, creative beast on a daily basis sent hot tingles to my already zinging core.

“And what about Victor?” And what If I’m ousted from the company tomorrow, I silently added with a shudder.

“Fuck the bastard. He won’t be around.” I could feel every muscle in his body constrict.

Before I could probe further, his cell phone rang. With his free arm, he reached for it. It was in a pocket of his white linen pants. He put the phone to his ear and listened.

His mouth twitched. “Yeah, babe, I haven’t forgotten. I’ll see you there soon.” With that, he ended the call and sat up, lifting me up with him. Before putting his phone away, he glanced down at the time.

“Gloria, I’ve got to go. I have to meet with a client.”

“That client you call babe?” My tone was sharp. I needed to know.

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