Valerie
Aphone chimed that wasn’t mine— because I didn’t have one— and Carlyle groped blindly on the nightstand with his free hand. Cuddling against his side, I gnawed on my lower lip and twirled his chest hairs around my finger, my eyes glued to my laptop screen. His warm, rough skin against my cheek felt so nice, and I inhaled a deep, leisurely breath thickened with his smell and held it.
“Are you going to ask me, or did you just want me to tell you, Valerie?” Setting his phone down, Carlyle mumbled against my crown, and his fingers buried deep under my loose bun to knead my scalp. “I know you have questions.”
“What’re they like?” As much as I’d pre-prepared my question, Carlyle had prepared his answers, and I tore my eyes off the movie to glance up at him under my lashes. His jaw ticked against my forehead, and I turned back to my laptop just as an explosion, well, exploded.
“It depends on which one you go to. Normally, they’re in seedy abandoned buildings, and no one knows where or when until about an hour before. Alternatively, you can rent them as long as you have your own space. If it’s private property, and everyone’s consenting adults, the cops can’t do anything about it if they show up. To be honest, I’ve never done either. I attend a charity event twice a year that uses these setups. Coincidentally, I donate quite a lot because I feel it’s a good, proper cause. The guy who runs it is very . . . well, he’s a character, for sure.”
“Why’d you bring it up if you’ve never been to one?”
“Because I wanted to gauge your reaction.” Answering quickly, Carlyle twisted to face me fully, and my brows furrowed in confusion. “I wouldn’t make you endure something if you don’t like, but I also don’t know anything you like to do, Valerie, except draw, of course, but I definitely got the short stick in that department. I figured that I’d ask because it’s pretty extreme, and we can always backtrack.”
“Oh, kinda like having too much as opposed to too little.” Grappling my ass to squeeze us together, Carlyle nodded again, a seriousness draping his sharp features. My mind churned, trying to burp up an idea, any idea, and I licked my lips heavily. “I think I would much rather get locked in a hotel room with you rather than anything else . . . unless there was, like, a drunk drawing thing or something.”
“If your sister wasn’t here at that moment, I wouldn’t have invited her. It’s impolite to just ignore her when she’s standing right there.” That brutally honest response drew a little giggle from me, and it ended in a gasp when Carlyle slipped his hand under my shorts and panties. “What do you like to do that’s not sex or drawing?”
“That’s pretty much my entire personality.” He cracked a smirk, and I giggle as I shook my head. “No . . . um . . . I guess my favorite thing to do that’s not sex and drawing is probably . . . hanging out with my sister? I mean, we’ve always worked, and I don’t even remember most of college. Whenever I had free time, I’d always do stuff with her. I guess it’s kinda not the answer you were looking for, but my life is kinda boring.”
“Trust me, I understand that. I have to actively find things to do, but most of the time, it doesn’t seem worth it. I have two younger brothers, but we’re not that close. We only get together because our dad’s a sadistic sociopath and loves watching us squirm.” A little laugh escaped me, and Carlyle’s smile strained a little, creating crow wrinkles around his eyes. “I know it’s only Wednesday, but every day is Saturday when you’re between jobs. Theo being off, I was hoping to catch you alone. I even let my driver off for the night.”
“We’re alone now. What did you wanna do?” I expected some sexy comeback, but Carlyle sat up and took his hand out of my pants. Rolling onto my back, I paused the movie to watch him stand, and he gestured me up as he stood.
“It’s scandalous, I know, but I thought I would drive myself somewhere for once.” Smiling broadly, I threw my legs over the side of my bed, and Carlyle waited patiently as I stuffed my legs into a pair of sweatpants. “You said you were getting your phone tomorrow. Why don’t we go tonight? We can go to Buffalo.”
“Yeah, sure. When was the last time you drove?” This was gonna befun— the upstate countryside, alone, going somewhere without telling anyone, and Carlyle smiled as eagerness dribbled from my tongue. “I haven’t driven since moving here. Natasha and I saved up enough for the apartment and stuff before moving, but work and all that was within walking distance, so we put off getting a car.”
“Wise financial decision. I don’t drive nearly as often as getting driven around, but every few weeks, I get the urge.”
“Oh, wait . . . I should put on different pants if I’m gonna be out in public.” Shimmying out of my sweat pants and booty shorts, I fixed my panties against my ass cheeks, and Carlyle hummed softly in appreciation. “Yeah, I mean, I’ve been putting off getting a phone because I just put it off all the time.”
“When you work for me, you’ll get company-issued phones. Speaking of, what are those other two doing while they’re waiting for Natasha to finish her project?” Pulling open the door of my closet, I flipped through pairs of jeans as Carlyle posed his question. “Hopefully, they’re using their time constructively. Natasha had initially said it would take three weeks, but since she’s not on the job and can devote her time fully, I expect it sooner.”
“They’re doing all the planning and pre-work. Fred was a comic book storyboard guy before he went into IT. I’ll just be drawing and illustrating everything. Natasha’s doing all the scripting, and Marshal’s organizing everything.”
“You’ve got a cute little team going on, Valerie. I can’t give you an edge because we’re sleeping together, but I really do hope you succeed.” I snatched a really nice pair of plain, leather pants off its hangar, and my chest warmed at Carlyle’s sincerity. “To be honest, I’ve had a crap work week, and it’s only half over.”
“I am all ears if you wanna complain about it because I probably wouldn’t understand anyway.” Plopping on my bed, I glanced up as he scratched his jaw thoughtfully. Working my feet one by one into my pants, I carefully worked them up my legs, and I stood up before he opened his mouth.
“Basically, I’m about to initiate a hostile takeover, but getting everything ready for it is exasperating. I knew things wouldn’t exactly go precisely the way I planned, but there’s been a major kink in the operation.” Bouncing to pull the soft leather up over my ass, I nodded even though I had absolutely no context to understand any of that. “It’s a hassle, but someone’s got to do it.”
“That was a perfect time to say ‘gotta.’” Smirking at my own point, my smile widened at his deep, husky laugh, and I pulled the strings taut to tie them in a bow. “Anyway, I can’t imagine how much work goes into that. No wonder you need some downtime.”
“My father and both my brothers decided to commandeer my building for the past three weeks, too. I have a feeling they’re not leaving any time soon.” He sounded so grumpy at that, and I stuck my feet into a pair of sneakers before sauntering over to him. Winding my arms around his neck, heat slithered up my sides when he rested his hands on my hips, and I ran my fingers up the back of his scalp through his hair.
“Does anyone ever ask you what you want, or do they just shirk responsibility on you and expect you to deal with it?” Troubled quizzicality drew together his brows, and I ducked my face into his neck to lean into his embrace. Tentatively, strong arms crisscrossed my back, and Carlyle rested his cheek on my forehead to sigh heavily.
“No one ever asks me what I want. I never realized before recently how much I . . . I really hate my life. I grew up being told I was the oldest, and I was always going to have to mop up messes whether I liked it or not.” My heart ached for Carlyle, and I tightened my grip on him as he squeezed my shoulders. “I don’t think I can answer that on any level.”
Now, Ihadto show Carlyle a good time— we were gonna have fun, come Hell or high water.
