“Alcohol?”
“The best Sazerac in New Orleans.”
He stood over me until I downed more than half the contents in the glass. The liquor burned a path from my throat to my stomach. On an empty stomach, it didn't take long to feel the calming effects wash over me.
“Now tell me about this mystery man.”
“Really, Sloane? Is that all you heard?”
“I heard my friend saying she enjoyed the best orgasm in her life. It must have been amazing to threaten that fucker into dumping you before you dumped him.
I gaped. “I wouldn’t have dumped him!” I swore, but now I wasn’t so certain. Did Dax feel threatened?
Sloane waved my protest aside. “Sha, it always takes a better person to show us what we’re missing. That fucker was a selfish prick. Emotionally and sexually.”
Sloane planted himself on the sofa, his feet tucked under him. I slipped my heels off to do the same. It was better to get comfy because years of friendship warned me that he was not going to let a little thing like losing Dax get in the way of juicy gossip. And apparently me in the Den was mouthwatering information.
“There were times Dax could be really generous,” I said.
“Because he was buttering you up for a big ask.” Sloane blew out a sigh.
“Like convincing me that the Den was what our relationship needed,” I mumbled more to myself than to Sloane.
“On the bright side, that fucker happened to be right.” He nudged me with his elbow. “Who knew you had that in you?”
I smiled.
“But did you enjoy the experience enough to return?”
I flushed, acutely aware that my pussy was still home to my lover's cum. Even if I wanted to return or thought about seeking an invitation in hopes of seeing him again, that was impossible now.
Not seeing him again, though, was the greater loss.
One good thing came out of tonight, more than ever, I was intrigued about how far I was willing to go sexually. In a few hours, my lover had nurtured that curiosity where Dax only sought to control it.
Sloane smirked as if an answer to my question was no longer necessary. “You wear your emotions on your sleeve—it’s what I love about you. No pretense.”
“I would say thanks but I get the feeling you’re not done.”
He grinned. “That makes you a magnet for fuckers.”
Sloane was plain-spoken, but he’d never been this vocal about Dax. Probably because he knew I was too blinded by my own infatuation to see the red flags glaring at me. “I just wanted what my parents had.”
He sighed. “You’re a rare gem Zoerina Prince and your parents were just as rare in the way they loved each other.”
I hugged my knees to my chest. Sloane had spent a summer with us before their car accident and had walked in on my parents’ shenanigans more than once. He wasn't wrong but maybe it was time I stopped being the naive hopeful. Maybe I wasn’t meant to have love and happiness, no matter how bad I wanted it.
“Because of my fanciful wishes a man is hurt.”
“Oh no you don’t, Sha. That fucker is one hundred percent responsible.”
“But—”
“No buts. This is your fresh start. Tomorrow we’re going to get your things. You’re going to start that new job in two weeks, and everything will be right as rain.”
CHAPTER 7
Anik