Page 24 of Boss On Notice
But there’s something on my…
I raise my left hand to my face with the back of it facing me. A ring with a huge diamond is staring right back at me.
“Holy shit,” I whisper way too loud.
Orion responds by sawing another log. Shit, he snores loudly. Inch by inch, I slide off the bed. I have to get the hell out of this room. It’s not even my room. I wanted to sleep in my piece of heaven last night, not his.
Finally, my right foot touches the floor and then my left. I’m free. Adrenaline pumping like an oil rig, I bend my neck and touch myself between my legs.Shit. I had sex.Wehad sex.
But the ring… I don’t know what to do about it. Why would I be wearing a diamond ring? I force myself to look at the stunning piece of jewelry. Maybe it’s a gift from Orion or something like that. Maybe we went shopping last night, and even better, I bought it for myself.
I squeeze my eyes tight, trying to jog even the tiniest trace of a memory. I only succeed at making my head hurt more than it already does.
But, yes, that’s what happened—I must have bought the ring for myself.
I shake my head. No, that’s not what happened and I know it.
Shit.
My eyes dart around Orion’s suite. His room puts my room to shame. But I have no time to note the differences. First thing first, I need to get dressed. I scan the floor until my glare lands on my dress strewn across the threshold. His pants are nearby. I guess we didn’t waste much time getting undressed. I tiptoe over to retrieve my garment off the marble floor and then try to quickly put it on but the ring gets caught on the hem. But still, I force the dress over my head and hear a rip.
Shit.But I have to get rid of the ring.
I pull the ring off my finger as I pad over to the bathroom. Wow, Orion’s bathroom feels like it belongs in a five-star luxury spa. I locate toilet paper and then wrap it around the ring before dropping it into the trash bin.
My heart feels like it’s in my throat when I’m back in the bedroom and Orion mutters something as he flips onto his stomach. He’s probably going to wake up soon. I have to get out of here. I go on the search to find my shoes and panties. One shoe is on one side of the bed and the other is all the way near the window. I can’t find my panties. I know I put them on, but I can’t locate them. What the hell happened between Orion and me last night? Our clothes are not logically plopped here or there. I retrieve my shoes as fast as I can and then pinpoint the door. Without a second look back, I scurry to the hallway and get one foot out before I remember the most important thing I could leave behind.
“Shit, my purse,” I whisper.
I go back in, tiptoeing around and around until I see my clutch on a large chaise. My small wallet and lipstick are on the cushion beside it. It looks like I haphazardly dropped it on the furniture. What the hell was wrong with me last night? It’s not like me to throw my crap around the room—it’s not like me at all.
Orion is breathing heavily now, not snoring. I look at him just in time to see his right arm lift and flop down on the part of the bed I abandoned.
Oh no.
I stand very still, praying he doesn’t wake up. Several seconds pass and he remains asleep. I take that as a sign to get moving. My nerves are close to eating me up alive as I put one foot in front of the other and keep doing it until I’m back in the hallway and Orion, his suite, and that ring on my finger are safely in my past.
* * *
ORION LORD
FOUR HOURS LATER
I wince and suck in cold conditioned air between my teeth as I sit up. My back aches as it smashes against the padded leather headboard. Every muscle in my body is on fire, and my head throbs too. I have a hangover, and on a scale from one to ten it’s off the charts.
Ding-dong-ding-dom…
“Shit.” There it goes again, the ringing doorbell that woke me up.
“Where the…”Where am I?This isn’t my bedroom. I try not to let the heaviness in my shoulders weigh me down as I sort out the details of how I got to where I am. I’m in Las Vegas for a wedding. Last night I attended the pre-wedding dinner party. Then I…
Then I…
I rub my palms over my face trying to remember any portion of what had happened last night.
“Delilah,” I croak, and then cough to clear the frog out of my throat.
She wore that gold dress like a champ. I wanted to rub my hands all over her body. Her skin looked soft. It felt soft too. My hands remember being on her body. But I can’t make out how I touched her or what happened. Last night is not a blur, it’s a black hole.
