Laughing with satisfaction, he places a kiss on my forehead. “I have to go to work now.” Then he hops off the bed with a spring in his step.
Damn, he looks good. All that lean muscle rippling. His butt is perfect. The Renaissance masters would weep if they could see it. Still, it’s unfair he’s so full of energy. Is he an incubus sucking all my life force out through sex? Although… Well. Sex with himisamazing, so I can’t really complain about his performance. I’m just not sure what to make of the fact that I’m so languid and lazy afterward.
Just as he’s about to enter the bathroom, something pops into my head. “What am I supposed to do to keep myself busy?”
He looks at me over his shoulder with a shrug and a masculine smile that makes my belly flop. “Whatever you want. You have my black card. Be a good girl, rest and spend my money.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lareina
After Ares is gone, I lie in bed a bit longer. I’m not sleepy, but I’m also not in the mood to move, either. Should’ve known Ares would want to be proven right.Lawyers. I shake my head, smiling. Can’t argue with him with words or actions.
Something buzzes on the nightstand on my side. I frown a little. What’s that about? It continues to vibrate.
My phone!
I haven’t had one for so long that I forgot. I grab it and look at the screen. An unknown number. Huh. Who could it be? Other than Ares, Lucie and Ethan, nobody has my phone number.
Oh no…Doris, Vernon and Rupert… I totally forgot about them, but they couldn’t possibly stay away from me this long without making an attempt to figure out where I went and how to reach me. Although I’m not sure exactly how they’ve found my number, the possibility of losing out on sixty billion has to be motivating.
And I was feeling so good after that amazing orgasm.
“Hello?” My tone is terse. What are some clever things I can say to Doris? Ideally something so taunting that she’ll pop a vein and die from swelling to the brain. I won’t even gloat as she screams in pain, because I’m nice like that.
“Hello?” comes a soft voice. “Is this Lareina?”
“Yes,” I say warily, trying to place the caller. She sounds familiar, but the only thing I can be certain is that it isn’t Doris.
“It’s Akiko. We met last night…?”
“Yes. Of course I remember.” I sit up. How could I forget Ares’s stepmother, who’s shown me nothing but courtesy?
“Great.” She sounds relieved. “I was trying to see if you’re doing anything today.”
“Um.” I think about what I should do—other than “being a good girl and spending my husband’s money”—then remember the stuff in the living room I need to make decisions on. Ares probably wants it out of the way as soon as possible. “I was going to try on some clothes Ares had delivered.”
“By yourself?” She sounds scandalized.
“I guess…?” Ares is at work, and Lucie has a demanding career as a jewelry company CEO. Sadly, I’m the only person in my social circle without much to do.
“What fun is that?”
“It’s more for practical reasons. I don’t have many things to wear, so he probably thought it’d be easier to have his personal shopper send things over for me to pick.”
“That boy.” Akiko sighs. “He’s such aman. Ridiculous to think that that’s the proper way for a woman to shop, trying things on in a living room. And byyourself.” She sighs again with disapproval.
“I’m sure he meant well.” Loyalty is the cornerstone of a good temporary marriage.
“Of course, but it’s so…sterile.” She makes a soft tooth-sucking sound for a moment. “Why don’t we do this? Unless there’s something amazing in what his personal shopper sent, return it all and we can do somepropershopping.”
Her offer is tempting. I’ve never really done any “proper shopping”—and part of me would love to experience it. Still…that living room full of clothes…
“You don’t think he’d mind? There’s enough here to open a department store.”
She scoffs. “I doubt it, especially if you have that many things. He probably has no idea what was sent. We’ll go to an actualstore. I don’t have the best sense of fashion, but I’m more than happy to ooh and aah.”
I laugh. “I doubt that. I absolutely loved your kimono. And the beautiful plating of each course. You did it yourself, right?”
