Page 25 of Crave Me
Chapter Nine
Chloe
“What’s going on with you, Chloe?” Tyra had been looking at me strangely all day, not like I didn’t deserve it.
I blew out a breath full of puffed cheeks and turned to her. “I’m fine. It’s nothing, really.”
Just my first meeting in almost four hours with Simon. Simon Delgado as The Dom. At the luxurious Alloway Hotel. Room 2331. I was equal parts anticipating and excited, as well as highly disappointed. When he told me one month, I had assumed we’d spend time at Luminous, or his place. Or maybe mine. A hotel, even if it was luxurious, was more impersonal than I’d hoped for. It reeked of morning after regret, and sneaking out in the middle of the night without anyone noticing.
“You’ve screwed up three times while ringing up customers, Chloe.”
I’d screwed up five times. She’d just been at lunch during two of them.
“I know.” I pressed my fingers to my forehead, tried to rub the tension away but it was fruitless. “I just have a lot on my mind today, but it’s nothing bad. Just weekend plans.”
“A date?” A perfectly waxed brow of Tyra’s peaked and she winked. “Tell me all about it. Oh,” she clapped her hands together and rocked on the balls of her feet. “Is it the guy who was here earlier this week? He was scrumptious.”
I laughed, shook my head and went back to sifting through a new shipment of sweaters. They needed to be folded and placed on display tables. “How about you take the floor for the rest of the day and I’ll handle this so I stay away from customers so I don’t ruin anything else.”
“And ignore me about the date and the man?”
“Yes.”
She humped. Tyra loved men. All of them. It didn’t even matter that she was married, her husband was a Senator and spent more time in Lansing than with her, but they were both devoted to one another. She just liked to look.
“You’re no fun.” I faced her, spreading out a cranberry colored cable knit sweater in tunic length without needing to look at what I was doing. “Tell me who the guy is. Please?”
Tyra was also someone who was used to getting her way.
I focused on what I was doing and folded the sleeves inward to the center. “He’s an old family friend, Cassie’s ex, actually.”
A pit settled in my gut. He’d made it clear it’s all he would ever be, and while I was trying to remember he’d never be more, the twenty-one-year-old I had once been still hoped.
“Yeah,” she snorted. “And I’m your cousin. Please. The man wants you.”
I finished folding the tunic and moved to the next. “You’ve got it wrong, Tyra. Promise.”
Her giggle filled the store, tinkling in a way that had me smiling despite myself. “Silly boss. I’m never wrong. And I’m willing to bet that pair of Jimmy Choo’s over there I’m right.”
My gaze drifted to where she pointed. A simple, but elegant pair of nude pumps with the classic red sole. Four-inch stiletto heels, conservative enough to wear to one of my family’s gatherings, but sexy enough to let a man know you were sexier and more daring than you might appear to be. I lusted after them and had mentioned them to Tyra several times.
“Fine.” I took the bet. He’d already promised me anyway. We’d never be anything more than sexual partners for a few weeks. It didn’t matter if he was in my heart, I wouldn’t be in his. “Deal.”
We shook on it and I spent the rest of the afternoon putting away clothes while simultaneously trying to ignore the sliver of hope Tyra had put inside my head.
* * *
As the elevator took me closer to my evening’s destination, I clung to the card in my hand. I’d read it enough times in the last twenty-four hours to have every word memorized, but doing something was the only way I could stop from relentlessly fidgeting.
Little Bird,
Location: Room 2331 Alloway Hotel Room.
Time: 10:00p.m.
Arrive on time. You will have five minutes to prepare yourself before I enter.
Present yourself to me. Face the door, on your knees. Knees spread, eyes down, palms facing up on your knees by the chair.
