Page 1 of Under the Influence
Isnipthe tags off the black thong and slide the silk fabric up my freshly waxed legs. Hopeful Leighton will enjoy his surprise. All men like slinky lingerie, right? Embarrassed that I have to wonder. Ashamed we're going to be intimate for the first time, and I don’t even know what my boyfriend findssexy.
There's no question Gio would like them. He’d like them so much he’d rip the panties off my hips as soon as he stripped me out of my dress and laid me across his bed. A bittersweet laugh bubbles in my throat. Or bend me over his desk. Or lift me onto his lap. Wedged between his broad chest and the steering wheel when he couldn't wait until we returned to his penthouse to take me. Then he’d send me a box the next day overflowing with new pairs, that he’d only end up tearing off too in his urgency to be insideme.
But that frantic desire ended a long time ago. Extinguishing as instantly and furiously as our relationship ignited. And, now I need to move on. I know it. My family and friends know it. Everyone urging me to be happy with Leighton. A man with enough patience to love me despite my heart belonging to someone else. To settle for chaste kisses and innocent hand holding until I accept the future he offersme.
That future begins tonight. Leighton and I have both waited long enough, and this party is the perfect opportunity to tell him yes. I spritz Le Chevrefeuille in the hollow of my breasts and across each wrist. The luxurious perfume much too expensive for my college debt laden budget. But Gio always enjoyed spoiling me. Surprising me with the fragrance he swears smells like honeysuckle, although notes of citrus and jasmine are just as prominent. I can't help but giggle again. I think he just wanted something to argue about so we could makeup.
I grab my flat iron and slide the last few stubborn curls through the tongs. Gio always hated my hair straightened. Attempting to persuade me with his charming and heartfelt assertion that I'm gorgeous with the natural waves coiling my thick strands. Encouraging me to give into a wilder style. In my appearance and behavior that only he could coax out of me. I never felt more confident and beautiful than I did when I was with him. Heat flushes my cheeks almost as hot as my straightener. I never thought I would do the things I did when I was with him. Inside and outside the bedroom. Although, despite his rough and dominant demeanor, he never treated me with anything but love and respect. Until theend.
I nod back at myself after one last inspection. I think Leighton will be happy. I know I am. I can trust Leighton. He'll be sweet, gentle, and chivalrous. As a lover and a husband. The kind of man who will stay up all night with sick kids and vacuum without being reminded and heap a second helping of tofu teriyaki onto his plate despite the entree tasting even worse than itsmells.
Because that's the kind of relationship that lasts. Not one with a dangerous mobster who makes my body clench in anticipation just from the sound of his voice. Who indulges my love of decadent champagne by ordering the bubbly for no reason at all. Trusts me with his deepest fears as I rest my head on his chest in the darkness after making love to me forhours.
Blinking away the burning in my eyes and throat, I force a smile on my face. No, none of that means anything anymore. To him or to me. Leighton’s everything I need now. I can’t wait to start my life withhim.
“Your girl’s here.”
Motherfucker. My fingers pause over the keyboard for less than a breath before I resume typing. Of course Tucker fucking notices. He fucking notices everything. That’s what I fucking pay himfor.
But this time,this time, I wish he actually was as fucking stupid as he looks. Because I don’t want to talk about her. And I sure as hell don’t want herhere.
“Who?” I ignore the subtle lift of his cheeks before his face falls impassive again. Son of a bitch almost smirked at me. Because he knows I’m a fucking piece of shit liar. “That slut I pounded lastnight?”
Now he really does grin. His full on ‘you’re a fucking moron’ smart ass smile. Both of us well aware I haven’t fucked anyone sinceher.
“Chryseis.”
Him even saying her name pisses me off. He’s been my fucking best friend since I got my ass kicked for shorting Ricky when I was selling on Morgan, and Tucker literally dragged my unconscious body to the emergency room. But my mom was fucking hungry. Fuck, we were both hungry, and I needed thecash.
Luckily, hospitals can’t sue kids and since no one came to claim me, I snuck out free and clear after sleeping like I was at the fucking Ritz in an actual bed. The first night in my entire short life that I could ever actually remember being warm, safe, and full despite the pain throbbing in my mangledbody.
Left with just the jagged scar on my cheek to always remind me that only the boss doles out the orders and the beatings. Something I made very clear to Ricky a few years later. Then his boss, and then his boss. Until I was the motherfucking king of thiscity.
But right now, I’m pissed. He’s just fucking with me. Chryseis would never show up uninvited. Hell, she wouldn’t come even if I begged her to. Not that I can fucking blame her after what I did. “What the fuck are you talkingabout?”
I keep slamming the keys. Like I don’t even give a damn. Like my entire fucking universe isn’t near enough that I swear to fucking god I can smell her honeysuckleperfume.
I don’t even know what I’m writing anymore. My cock aches as much as my heart. God I fucking missher.
“Donaldson said she came in about ten minutesago.”
The guard in the lobby who prevents the problems from my past from trying to insert themselves into my present by keeping them from getting on the elevator. And making sure Chryseis always got upstairs as fast as my dick got hard from the mention of hername.
“Doesn’t he know I don’t give a damn about heranymore?”
“I guess he never got the memo.” Tucker taps the side of my laptop. “She went into Cielo. With aguy.”
She’s on a fucking date? Hell the fuck no. Not my woman. Not with some motherfucking asshole who doesn’t know who the fuck I am or what she means tome.
I jump up, and my chair slams into the wall behind me. Throttling the mirror so hard the black frame splinters, raining down onto the credenza. I don’t even flinch as glass shards spray across my back. I’ve got shit to do. Like fucking beat the son of a bitch who is stupid enough to think he has a chance to take what’smine.
Tucker’s on my heels as I stride down the hallway to my private elevator. Not sure if he’s trailing so close to help me destroy the bastard or stop me from getting my ass thrown in jail. Either way, he’s going to do whatever the hell he has to do to ensure I findher.
We ride down in silence. Only the sound of my best friend swiping his screen echoes in the tense air. Relaying the intel as he receives the updates. I care, but I don’t. I just want out of this cage. I just want oxygen to permeate my squeezing lungs. I just wanther.
“It’s a Christmasparty.”
She should be celebrating withme.
