Page 32 of A Night of Indulgence and Sloth
“I love your scent, Petal.” His raspy voice gives away that he’s not yet fully awake.
Like a fool, I’m frozen in place. Whatever happened to the smart woman yesterday who sucked face with this delectable man and then somehow shut it down? Shit. If his hand found its way beneath the band of my pants, I’d be a goner.
His teeth scrape against my ear, and his familiar hardness presses against my ass, causing my core to clench with need. I’m mere moments away from twisting toward him and letting myself have everything his body promises mine when his phone rings.
If the ringtone doesn’t wake him up, the vibrations currently reverberating through the table surely will. But there’s no way in hell I’ll move before he does.
I can tell the moment he wakes up and realizes just how close we came while sleeping. Like the heat that emanates off a shaft of light, I feel his gaze and force my eyelids not to move. With a tenderness I want to hold on to, he places a kiss on my head before extracting his arm from around me.
Acting like that kiss didn’t just make my heart grow three sizes, I stretch and pretend I’ve just woken up, cracking my lids slowly.
“One second,” he whispers into the phone before placing it on the bedside table and pulling his pants on.
“I’m sorry I woke you. Go back to sleep, Lily.”
I say nothing as I watch him throw a shirt on and grab his phone before exiting the room.
As if I could go back to sleep now. Not with the way my stomach flutters with an ache only he can fill.
I slump back on the bed, letting out a disgruntled puff of air as Aiden’s masculine scent surrounds me.
Shit. I’m so fucking screwed.
Liliana
If I was wondering why my libido started raging over the past few months, I now know why. The sight of Aiden and Kaleb dressed in formal suits has me salivating.
It’s okay to lust after your bosses, right? I’m sure everyone fantasized about it at some point in their lives. It couldn’t just be me.
Between waking up in Aiden’s arms and Kaleb holding me through the turbulence on the plane, I can’t stop envisioning what might happen if we gave into this thing that plagued us. It’s silly, really. I would never want to come between them, and that’s exactly what would happen if I was forced to choose. But I’d rather have their friendship than nothing else.
Calantha had strong feelings about my choice, or rather, my lack of it. She didn’t understand why I would rather keep things completely platonic with both of them than lose one, but I liked who I was around them. Kaleb made me feel like a carefree kid again, and Aiden instilled a sense of confidence in me that I never thought I’d feel again. I wouldn’t risk losing either of them.
She dropped the argument eventually, but I saw the fire in her eyes tonight while she helped me get ready for the charity gala. If she couldn’t convince me herself, she’d do all she could to make me as tempting as possible. Secretly, I loved her for it.
Whoever was in charge of setting up Guastavino’s for this event had exceptional taste. Hell, whoever picked this venue to begin with was someone I’d like to meet. The main floor has three bars for guests to procure their cocktails, with random elevated tables scattered throughout the room to showcase auction items which would take up the latter part of the evening.
As much as I love the gorgeous red dress that Calantha and I picked out, I can’t help but feel like an imposter. My attire is notably cheap compared to others in attendance tonight, my two bosses included. It feels weird to be in a room with this many people who probably have more money in their bank accounts than I’d ever see in my entire life.
How was I supposed to fit in with anyone here?
“Penny for your thoughts,” Kaleb whispers in my ear as we wait for our drinks at the bar.
“They wouldn’t even be worth that, I’m afraid.”
He eyes me skeptically, but loses his chance to reply when the bartender brings us three glasses. We make room for the other guests to order, moving to the side of the bar as Aiden approaches and Kaleb hands him his drink.
Both of them lavished me with compliments when we met at the office earlier tonight so that we could arrive together, but I couldn’t hold a flame to their elegance. They are breathtaking in their suits, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed. All eyes were on them as we made our way toward the first table of auction items.
Based on the looks on the women’s faces, it wasn’t hard to figure out that they envied me. Which was silly. I was Kaleb and Aiden’s employee. It wasn’t as if I shared an intimaterelationship with them both, regardless of how often my thoughts might have taken me there.
When I catch sight of the items up for auction, my mouth goes dry. Gorgeous paintings by some famous artists, week-long vacations on private islands, signed sports memorabilia, and even an instrument signed by some classical musician I’d never heard of. I definitely couldn’t afford to bid on anything here.
“Wow,” I say in a breath, more to myself than either of my two companions. They both look at me though, and Kaleb chuckles while Aiden only smirks.
“See something you like?” Aiden asks, making my face flush with heat.Maybe wearing a red dress wasn’t such a good idea.
“Oh yes. The island looks quite charming, I do think,” I reply with an accent that was supposed to portray a haughty British heiress but probably comes off more like the scullery maid. Being the gentleman that they are, they both only smile instead of poking fun at my failed accent.
