Tease (Songs of Submission #2)(13)

“Uh oh,” Darren said. “Kevin’s back.”

“It’s not Kevin,” I said.

Gabby’s eyes narrowed. “Cancel them.”

“I don’t want to. Tomorrow, you and I can call WDE. Testarossa’s assistant will pick up. We’ll make the appointment during lunchtime so he takes us out. Until then, you guys go out and have a good time. Come on. Give me a hug.”

She did. Thank God, because I didn’t know how much more convincing language I had in me.

CHAPTER 6

I texted Jonathan as soon as I got outside.

—Are you up?—

—I’m on Asia time. Wide awake.—

—Me too—

—So, why aren’t you here?—

—Coming—

—!—

—j/k—

I’d been debating seeing Jonathan when a late night with the crew was the standard procedure. Testarossa had handed me the perfect incentive, but I’d almost wished he hadn’t. I’d rather tell them I was ditching them to get laid than that Gabby’s dream agent wanted to rep her as an optional attachment, or not at all.

I wouldn’t abandon her.

I couldn’t. I didn’t know how.

She wasn’t just my first lover’s sister. They’d both become my family. We’d been through stuff together.

CHAPTER 7

I remembered where Jonathan lived, up by the historic fig trees. I had no idea how many cars he owned, but the little Fiat in the drive didn’t look like his style at all. At ten p.m., he shouldn’t have had any guests, but he stood on the porch with his arms crossed, talking to a blonde a few years older than me. She wore a printed, ankle-length dress and a loose jacket. He saw me pull in and waved. The blonde kept talking. I didn’t know if I should get out or hide until she left.

That was ridiculous. I had a right to be there. I gathered my things and got out of the car. As if on cue, the woman turned and stepped off the porch, tapping something into her phone. As we passed each other, she glanced at me, but she got the phone to her ear in time to avoid greeting me.

“That was awkward,” I said as I stepped onto the porch.

“Not really,” Jonathan replied. “Or, I mean to say, not yet.” He wore a sweatshirt and jeans, but not old, grey things. He wore designer clothes that were new at the edges and fit as they should, bringing out the beauty of his body without showing an inch of skin.

He looked behind me at the Fiat as it pulled out.

“Your assistant?” I asked.

“One of them.” When the Fiat got into the street, he clicked a button on his remote box, and the gate slid shut. He leaned on the door jamb. “How did your gig go?”

“Fantastic. We’re about to land a very good agent.” I suddenly felt exposed, standing out on the porch again in a sleeveless, button-down shirt dress and heels.

“Oh, really.” He put the remote on a table by the door.

“Really.”

My dress had a fabric belt on sideseam loops. He pulled the bow loose and yanked the belt off. “Can you unbutton that thing and tell me the rest?”

“Is there some superstition about me entering your house with my clothes on?”

“I prefer you without them. And I like fresh air. Come on, I want to hear about your career.” He wrapped the belt around his hand, which was muscular and square with a little hair on top.

I slipped my top button through the hole. “You want me to undress or tell you about the agent?”

“Yes to both. Tell me how it went.”

I slipped the next button through, exposing the space between my br**sts. “I almost screwed up the entire thing. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind for the first song.”

“My fault?”

“No. Actually...” I didn’t want to bring up his sisters or my ex-boyfriend. Not with me getting down to my belly, and him watching the buttons’ progress. “The agent wanted to go out tonight and talk about things.” I finished the last button and stood in front of him.

“You could have gone.” He stepped out of the doorway, reaching for the split in the dress. When he touched my throat, I lifted my chin. “We didn’t have definite plans.”

“He wants to ditch Gabby. I can see it. I’m not ready to tell her, and if we went out with him, she’d know.”

He ran his hand down my body, only touching what the open dress revealed. “You think you can protect her from getting ditched?” He slipped his hand into the front of my panties. He stopped before he hit my growing wetness, but the electricity of his touch under my clothes made me gasp.

“Probably not for long.” I stepped toward him. He pulled the dress off me. I unhooked my bra and let it drop to the floor.

Again, I stood almost naked before him. He unwrapped my belt from his hand, put it around my neck, and used it to pull me toward him. Our tongues and lips met. He let go of the belt, leaving it draped over my shoulders, and moved his hands under my panties, onto my bare ass. He grabbed it, pulling me to him, grinding me against his erection. I slipped my hands down his shirt, and he pinned them behind my back.

“I have a call with Seoul in seven minutes,” he whispered in my ear.

“You couldn’t make yourself come in seven minutes.”