Page 10 of Rules Of Engagement: St. Louis
“What is it going to take for you to call me Christian?”
Tinkling laughter floated from her mouth. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll surprise you.”
“Hmm, I’m looking forward to that.”
Outside, a black car sat at the curb. “I hope you don’t mind, I called my service car to pick me up.”
“Because you don’t want me at your house?”
“Because Idowant you there, and we’re technically still on a business date. I don’t mix business with pleasure.”
I chuckled, understanding that once tonight was over, everything between us would be out of the business realm. Iwalked her to her car, still not ready for the night to end but knowing it had to.
“Thank you,” I said. “For tonight. For the arrangement. For being nothing like what I expected.”
“Thank you for being what I needed without knowing I needed it.”
I leaned down and kissed her cheek, breathing in the scent of her perfume. “Good night, Naomi.”
“Good night, Christian.”
I watched her car drive away, then stood on the sidewalk for several minutes, staring at the card in my hand.
Naomi
SIX MONTHS LATER
“Can I have a moment of your time?”
I took the phone off speaker and placed the device to my ear for more privacy. In the back seat of my black car service vehicle, I glanced out the window and crossed my legs to keep my pussy from pulsating like it did when Christian’s voice serenaded my eardrums.
“You’ve got it.”
“I mean, in person.”
My brows dipped and I glanced at my watch. “It’s not our day.”
“Yes, I understand that but there’s something I need to run by you before our day arrives. It won’t take long. I’m hoping to make it worth your while.”
A ripple of warmth cruised through me. “My interest is piqued. What are you up to?”
“Twenty minutes,” he said. “Thirty,” he backtracked.
My lips curved into a smile that I desperately tried to fight back.
“I’m on my way to an appointment, Christian. My guest is waiting for me.”
“In that case, forty minutes.”
Laughter burst from my mouth, and I heard him suck his teeth. I imagined his handsome face, that five-o’clock shadow, those succulent lips, those soft brown eyes that turned into a dangerous naughty gaze as if he was ready to tear me apart. I squirmed again, shifting in my seat, unable to keep my pussy still.
“I think you’ve lost the plot, lover.”
“Oh I’m so much more than that, aren’t I?”
Warmth ignited, sending heat flourishing over my skin. The truth was, he was so much more. During the last six months Christian and I had met up, we’d yet to consummate our situationship. Instead, we’d found joy in foreplay, with our mouths, our hands, while deepening our knowledge base of each other through conversation. From time to time, we spent nights together, not fuckin’ but holding each other. We were a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, we were everything… and nothing at all. Ghosts in the wind. Once our time was over, we’d split and not bring each other up in our personal lives. Like we didn’t exist until those stolen hours.
“You want to be.”
