Page 75 of Games We Play
They never came. Leah didn’t need the words, anyway. All she needed was that frenzied caress when her girlfriend rode the last crashing wave of the night and collapsed. Words weren’t everything.
Chapter 24
Sloan enjoyed her first cigarette in much too long.Maybe I’ll finally be able to kick these things now that I’m having the best sex of my life.She gazed out at the sunny Thursday morning spreading across downtown Chicago. The only thing to draw her attention away from it was her girlfriend emerging from the bedroom, freshly washed and dressed for their day out together.
It hadn’t been easy to arrange Thursday off, but Ayla was an angel in disguise when it came to finagling her boss’s schedule. Sloan could have asked for the whole week off, and Ayla would have foundsomeway to make it happen.I need to pay her more.Shit. Sloan really was having great sex if she thought that!
“I knew that outfit would look amazing on you.” Sloan followed that up with more congratulations, both for herself and her well-dressed girlfriend. Leah was radiant in an earth-brown pencil skirt and black cashmere turtleneck. A ring of black pearls – a gift from Sloan’s collection – encircled her throat, and the diamond bracelet she received at dinner dangled from her wrist. Leah’s hair wasn’t as curly as it had been after her trip to the salon, but the dulled look made her look perfectly chic for a day out on the town. All she needed was a decent winter coat, and she would be good to go. “I spend so much time thinking about your body and what would look good on it.”
Leah sidled up to her girlfriend. She must have received a small bottle of the cherry blossom perfume, for it was as strong as the night before. Neither bed nor shower could kill that floral scent. “You look pretty good in it.”
“Do you know why I wanted you wearing a tight skirt today?” Sloan said, ignoring that flirtation. “Because after a night like last night, you need something to help you keep those poor legs together.”
Leah looked like she wanted to gently bop her girlfriend on the head. Instead, she tucked some of the long, silky black strands of Sloan’s wig behind her ear.Jesus. That’s some tenderness.Sloan had lowered some of her guards, but not all of them.
After all, Leah had declared her love. In the heat of ongoing lovemaking, but it must have come from a real place for her to think it.I didn’t say a single thing.Sloan had continued to do what she did best – taking out her frustrations and shortcomings on someone else’s pussy.
“I’m ready for some breakfast,” she said. “How about you? There’s a great brunch spot not too far from here. Sean will meet us there so we can eat in peace.”
Her phone buzzed with messages from her PR person. Ayla was probably blowing her up, too.Yes, yes, I saw the news.Sloan and her new “mysterious girlfriend” had made front page of the tabloids, sharing a spot with some old man cheating on his wife with a younger model. Sloan had never seen so many high-resolution photos of her making out with another woman before, but there was a first time for everything.
Leah didn’t know about it yet. Sloan planned to reveal what had happened over brunch, because such discussions were always better when one had food in their stomach.
“I am pretty hungry, yes.” Leah picked her purse off the floor and looked through its contents. “Burned a lot of energy last night.”
“You and me both. Let’s head out and figure out what we want to do with the rest of our day.”
Her phone was still ringing.Good thing it’s on silent.Didn’t stop it from buzzing in her pocket, though. Into her bag it went, where it could bother her pack of cigarettes and wallet. Sloan was more focused on wrapping her arm around her girlfriend’s midsection and directing her to the front door.
She recognized Sean’s ringtone blasting from the depths of her purse. Before she could instinctively reach for it, however, she discovered the security breach.
Aaron Giles. Standing in her foyer, pissed as all shit.
Leah shrieked in fright and hid behind her girlfriend. Sloan advanced on him. “The fuck are you doing in here?” Bad enough he sent his mistress to see Sloan the last time she had a guest over, now he was here to fuck with her? The man had no shame! “I told you I would be here until Saturday!”
“Yes,” he grunted. His clothes were fresh and clean, but he had yet to shave. Had he hit the shower that morning? “That’s how I knew where to find you, Maggie.” He cocked an eyebrow at Leah’s presence. “Have a pleasant evening? No, wait. Don’t tell me. Because you two are plastered across the media andMr. Wright saw you cavorting with a woman!”
“Ugh. Please.” Sloan brushed lint off her jacket. “I did my duty yesterday. I was late to my date because you insisted we spendsooomuch time socializing with Harold.” It had been excruciating, knowing that Leah was in town. “So what if he knows I’m a big, dirty lesbian?”
She knew that look on Aaron’s face.Beyond. Pissed.Sure, he looked plenty calm on the outside, but that grinding jaw was the first tell-tale sign that Sloan needed to put herself between him and Leah. Now.
“He called me this morning and said he’s pulling out, you fucking cunt!” Aaron slammed his fist against the wall, knocking a small painting off its hook and sending Leah behind the couch. “That’s what you wanted, isn’t it? Because I swear to fucking God, Mags, you’re trying to destroy everything we’ve built over the past fifteen years!”
Sloan put her hands on her hips. “We don’t need his sleazy money. We’re plenty fine without…”
“Thirty million dollars,” Aaron growled. “He’s pulling out the thirty million dollars we’vealready spentin Portland. Do you know what that fucking means?”
“We can get that money from others. We have investments coming in at the end of…”
“I don’t give a shit about the investments, Maggie!” When Aaron was riled up enough, his voice had the power to carry across town. There were men boarding planes at O’Hare who suddenly couldn’t find their balls anymore. “I give a shit about you acting like a fucking fool when…” Something caught his attention.
That something was Leah, which Sloan unfortunately discovered when her girlfriend attempted to sneak into the bedroom. She had turned right beneath the chandelier, and the light reflected off the diamonds encircling her wrist.
Aaron wasn’t an idiot.
“Is that… is that your…” Too bad he had already hurt his hand on the wall. Whatever would he do to show his manly aggressionnow?“That’s it, Maggie. That’sit.I’ve put up with your bullshit for too long. It’s one thing for you to ruin the best business relationship we’ve ever accomplished since we… God damnit, it’s quite another for you to give your whore something as precious as your wedding ring!”
Leah stopped in her tracks. At first, Sloan thought she had handled Aaron’s outburst well. Then she tasted the bile in her throat; felt the tingle in her toes.
