Page 34 of Suddenly Single

“Don’t you dare.” I growled. “My dick is hard just thinking of you jerking off. I want to watch you, then I’m going to—”

“Mom!” Carter yelped, and I realized he must be at work. Damn it, Sissy could ruin a wet dream. “Look, I need to go. Uh, something’s come up.”

I pressed down on my erection and moaned audibly into the phone.

“Oh God.” Carter breathed. “I’ll be right with you, Mom.” I heard a door slam.

“Hey, speaking of overbearing mothers, mine wants to see you ASAP. Everyone misses you.” I was tempted to unzip my slacks and jerk one out right now, but knowing my luck, someone would interrupt.

“Aww,” Carter crooned. “I miss them too.”

“Well, that settles it. Can you come by tonight?”

“Can we make it a sleepover?” Carter asked, and I resisted the urge to order him to stay the night. I wanted to claim him, make him shout my name while I made him come over and over again. But, despite my raging boner, we needed to take things slowly.

“Let’s decide later tonight, after dinner.” I sighed, then pressed down on my cock and groaned. Neither of us said anything, but I could hear his staggered breathing.

“I love you Asher. See you at seven.” Carter breathed, then hung up.

Chapter 20

Carter

“What’s wrong with you today?” Mom asked when I entered the showroom. “One minute you’re acting all moony over Asher, and the next you’re practically tossing me out of your office.”

I couldn’t tell Mom that she had walked in on a sexy phone call with Asher. Mom and I were close, but not that close. “Sorry, Mom. I was dealing with a, um, frustrated client.” I sighed and shook my head. That frustration would be over soon, I prayed. Asher and I had a wonderful sex life, but over the last few months it had dwindled down to almost nothing. It was a symptom of our problems, but hopefully we were on the mend and everything would go back to normal.

“Customers can be so picky about the stupidest things sometimes.” Mom said, then handed me the mail. “These just arrived.”

“Thanks.” I muttered, glancing through them to see if any of it was important, but it was all junk and bills. “So, guess where I’m going tonight?”

“Is the club having an event? Or did you and Asher work things out enough to actually see each other again?”

“The latter.” It took a major effort not to jump up and down like a ten-year-old. “I’m having dinner with Asher and the Yateses. I feel like I should bring something, but don’t know what.”

“Why? I mean, you live there, or at least you did.” Mom said, whipping out a compact. She turned to the antique mirror behind the cash register and dusted her face with bronzer. “Actually, take something with you. A gift for Asher. Something romantic, don’t you think?”

“I sent him several bouquets of roses today. Do you think more would be overkill?” I asked, then realized that when it came to romance, more was more. You couldn’t overdo it, especially when we were working through our problems. Mom opened her mouth to reply, but I held my hand up. “I will bring him something. The question is, what?”

“I bet the Pink Cadillac has the perfect gift.” Mom winked, referring to a store in the Cary Court shopping center. It sold bizarre clothes, and had a wonderful selection of cards and naughty novelty gifts. Hmm. Something for the bedroom would be perfect. “Do you want me to help you pick out a present?”

That’s a big no. “Oh Mom, you stay here and mind the store. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“God, I hope this gift isn’t too over the top for Asher.” I flipped the turn signal and moments later I was on River Road, passing the Country Club of Virginia. Asher was a gifted lover, but he was a little conservative in the bedroom. I’d bought a game called Kinky Truth or Dare. When I was a kid I’d loved playing truth or dare, but not the spicy variety. Hopefully we’d be able to put it to use tonight.

“If he wants me to spend the night, that is.” I sighed. I missed waking up in his arms, and the smell of his skin after we had sex. If he could bottle his musky scent, he’d make a fortune.

My heart pounded when I passed the Episcopalian retreat. The Yates estate was less than a mile away, and as much as I wanted to see Asher and the family, I was scared. What if things took a turn for the worse? I couldn’t bear any more fighting, but I guess the only way for us to work through our issues was to confront them head on.

The brick wall surrounding the estate came into view, and when I pulled up to the gate, my fingers trembled as I punched in the code. I messed it up on the first try, and felt sweat dripping down my back. “Why the hell can’t I get it right? Did they switch the code?” I pressed the buttons again, and the black metal gate slowly parted. “Thank God.”

I passed through the gates only to find an enormous goose sitting in the middle of the driveway. “Shit.” I muttered, and beeped the horn. Geese scared the hell out of me. When I was a little boy I’d been attacked by one who’d chased me around the algae-filled pond at Bryant park. The goose didn’t move at first, so I pulled up closer to it and lowered the window.

“Get out of the way, you vile creature.” I shook my fist at it, then heard a man laugh. It was one of the gardeners.

“I’ll take care of it, sir.” He boldly walked up to the bird and spoke in Spanish. The bird eyed me, then waddled away to the side of the pond where its flock were shitting all over the grass.

“Thanks.” I rolled up the window and soon the house came into view. As a designer, I had to admit that the Yates house was the most stunning mansion on River Road. It was three stories tall, had 33 rooms, and took up 12,000 square feet. The perfect example of the American South during the gilded age, and it had been in the family for generations.

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