Page 35 of Emergence and Ascendance

"This sounds incredibly complicated. Who?"

"Sexy Enemy."

"Sexy… shit… Christian Devereaux."

I lifted from the bed, walked into the bathroom, and turned on the faucet. "The one and only."

"Oh my fucking goodness. This is so perfect." She was excited; I was mortified. While she gloated, I snatched up my toothbrush and pushed it under the steady flow of water before lining it with toothpaste, then shoved it in my mouth.

"It's not perfect. It's the absolute worst thing that could happen." I spoke while I brushed, staring at my hair all over the place. My smooth brown skin still glowed even though I skipped my p.m. skin care routine last night.

"How, friend? You need him on your side and what better way is there to gain a man's cooperation than putting that goodshit on him? That million-dollar property is as good as yours, Scot."

I spit, rinsed my toothbrush, and lifted my mouthwash. "You're completely missing the point. That man put his hands on me and his tongue in me. How can I look him in the eyes and expect him to take me seriously now?"

"Same way you did last night when he had his hands on you and his tongue in you. Stop tripping. This doesn't change a damn thing. If anything it sways this deal in your favor."

I tilted my head back, then swished and gargled before spitting in the sink. After pushing my hand under the water to make sure I didn't leave any residuals behind, I groaned then responded. "I didn't look him in his eyes last night. I was blindfolded through the entire thing. Which makes it worse because he knows it was me but I don't know it was him."

"I'm confused. If you didn't see him, then how do you know it was Sexy Enemy?"

"We had a drink yesterday after I did the property survey. We talked, I know his voice. That same voice was attached to the man I was with last night. It was him, Tez."

His voice, his presence, every-fucking-thing about Christian was in that room with me last night.

"So what I'm hearing is you're panicking for nothing. You could be wrong."

"I'm not wrong."

I began the process of washing my face, going through the simple steps of my routine-deep cleanser, toner, and moisturizer.

"Okay, so go with it. He was there to do the spanking same way you were there to be on the receiving end. That's a level playing field, Scot."

"In a realistic world, maybe, but that shit doesn't exist. You know how my father is with Alex. He can do whatever he wants.If I'm not wearing a damn chastity belt then I've tarnished the family name. Those are the exact same principles that exist in the business world."

"Have you forgotten I know where you buried all the bodies? If that's truly the case, then you tarnished the family name a very long time ago. Our twenties were a sexually questionable time, friend. Good times for sure, but very much scandalous behavior."

I barked a laugh and cringed with the reminder. There were a few things I would love to have erased from my history. Things I thoroughly enjoyed but had me questioning my sanity yet also fully understanding why last night didn't have me running.

"Very valid point, and you just make sure you take those scandalous details to the grave, but that's not helping my case. I don't think I can sit across from that fine ass man and negotiate terms and ownership knowing the ways he made me cum last night."

"Fine ass man…"

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I clearly forgot who I was talking to. She could see right through my bullshit and translate the unspoken words between the lines. Fine ass man meant I wanted him, and I did. Now she knew that too but I still tried to smooth it over.

"Yes, fine. No point in denying the obvious. You did a whole FBI report on the man. You know what he looks like."

"Mhm, I sure do, but his looks aren't the issue. You sitting across from him negotiating terms about that property isn't either. The problem is you can't sit across from him and be professional knowing you want Christian to be the only man who puts his mouth on your pussy, friend. That right there is a problem. You should have started with that and we could have skipped all this back and forth."

I opened my mouth to argue then decided to just go with it. "I can't want him in my bed and this business deal. That's a whole fucking disaster, especially if he wants to be in both."

"Oh shit, wait, so the attraction is mutual?"

Yes, it was. Christian was definitely attracted to me. He made no effort to hide it yesterday.

"Very mutual and last night I handed him my pussy on a silver platter."

---