Page 23 of Opposites (Never) Attract
He pulled his hand away from himself and tightened up the belt on his robe.
“I’ll give you a minute to recover,” he said, as he made his way to the door. “I’m going to go find one of those cleansing teas.”
Once the door closed behind him, I collapsed back into the treatment chair and covered my face with my arms. Orgasming in the spa had never happened before. I could admit to feeling desire in the past when the belt was low on my stomach or my mind went a certain way. But the treatment was the treatment. And sex was… mostly awkward and almost always unsatisfying.
But this combination of pleasure and pain? Tag looking at me like that with total control?
What did he mean by…play?
How far will I go to find out?
FOUR
KAITYLN
The answer was,two thousand miles. The distance from NYC to Wyoming.
But it wasn’tallbecause of Tag.
At some point Saturday night, while I’d been lying in my bed, trying to keep my fingers from reaching between my thighs, I’d somehow accepted that this trip was inevitable and it was pointless to resist. My family had sent Tag, of all people, so there had to be a real problem in the Gulch. And maybe, (I could only admit this because I’d been alone in the middle of the night), I was flattered that they finallyneededme.
Now, it was Monday morning, and I had nothing but regrets.
I should be in the office. I should be meeting with my team. I should be reviewing the data from over the weekend. Studying the early trends on the Nikkei.
Instead, I was heading home to Last Hope Gulch, and none of it made sense.
On Sunday, I’d called Jared at the firm to let him know I had a family crisis that required me to be in Wyoming. He’dreluctantly approved my absence, on the condition I checked in daily with the firm, along with my newest client in Singapore.
As if I wouldn’t do that. Jared was the kind of misogynist who liked to treat every woman he met like she was thirteen years old, in an effort to make himself feel more powerful.
I wouldn’t put up with it if it weren’t for the partnership I desperately wanted. At the firm, the last person who made partner was a big part of the selection process for the next person who would make partner.
So, I couldn’t put my stiletto through his eyehole like I wanted. I had to smile and nod and take his condescending bullshit in stride.
I’d scrambled to pack my most Wyoming clothes, but I didn’t have much that wasn’t designer and none of it was very sturdy, so I packed what I liked instead. Clothes that made me feel confident. Like Kaitlyn. Not Smarty Sunshine. Which meant I had power suits, one pair of yoga pants, and absolutely no denim in my suitcase.
I called Harmony to let her know I was coming home, and I was still deaf in one ear thanks to her shrieks of delight.
What I didn’t do was call my mother, but it was always just easier to communicate with the whole family through Harmony. My mother, as much as I loved her, could be…difficult. But, I told myself, most mother/daughter relationships had their challenges, and I’d left home so young, and both of us maybe felt abandoned by the other.
At least, that’s what my therapist said.
Whatever. I let Harmony tell Mom I was coming home.
Now, I was in a private jet trying to avoid eye contact with Tag. Every time I looked at him, I remembered theway he’d stroked himself after he made me come. It was like an unfinished movie or something. I wanted to see the end of that scene.
I wanted so much.
But I couldn’t have any of it.
We’d been silent for an hour and the tension was killing me. When I crossed my legs and my thigh was revealed in my white linen Ralph Lauren shirt dress, I felt his eyes on me, but when I looked at him, he was turned to the window.
Now he had his hat down over his face trying to take a nap.
Enough, I told myself. You are a grown ass woman. Act like it.
“If the McGraws are so broke, how do they have a private jet?” I asked.
