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Ryzen honked again, and I jogged down the gravel driveway like a baby deer in heels. When I got in the car, he reached over and kissed my cheek, pulling my seatbelt around me and locking it in place.
My skin felt warm where his lips had touched. “What was that for?”
“You did good, kid.” He snickered at my attempt to slap his arm. “Maybe don’t drink as much next time, but otherwise very believable.”
The drive home down Lake Shore Drive was quick and mostly silent. The leather of the car seat was warm against my skin, soft jazz playing over the radio. I closed my eyes for a second and when I opened them again, we were pulling into the garage.
“You’re good from here, right? You got your keys, purse?” He pushed my hair behind my ear and trailed his fingers over the back of my neck.
“Aren’t you coming up? Not to my place, but um, to yours?”
He shook his head and rubbed his hand over his face. “I have to deal with something. I’ll be back later.” He leaned over and I closed my eyes, puckering my lips. The chilly wind from the garage came blasting through as I realized he had only reached over to open my door, not to kiss me.
I didn’t know what I had been thinking. We had already decided to keep it business-only while in private. It was better that way. Would make it easier when we had to end things. I wasn’t sure if it was the whiskey, or the champagne, or the sexual frustration I had felt over the last few weeks, but I reached over and tugged him close until my lips were on his. He didn’t kiss me back at first, as if he was confused about what was happening. Slowly, he relaxed and opened his mouth to me, his tongue swooping in and dominating mine. His hand trailed down my back and he gripped me tight, pulling me closer against him.
The garage door opened, and I pulled away from him as the car drove in. It wasn’t like we needed to hide, but I had flashbacks from when the paparazzi had broken in and took those pictures of us. The last thing I needed was to land on the front cover of another tabloid.
Miss Swanson parked two spots down from us and gave us a wave as she hauled her groceries out of the back of her car. “Well? Aren’t you going to help an old lady out?”
I chuckled and shook my head. Miss Swanson, everyone, the queen cockblocker. I didn’t think she was even supposed to be driving. “Don’t worry, I got it. Go take care of your business.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek, and stepped out of the car.
“We’re not finished here, Miss La Roux.” Ryzen winked and punched the ignition on, and I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face as I shut the passenger door.
I certainly hoped not. If I went on like this any longer, I might have to steal more boxes of sex toys from work. I turned to Miss Swanson and grabbed the four paper bags on the ground. “Come on, Miss Swanson. Tell me about your day.”
We walked slowly to the elevator, and I half-listened to the way up to the twentieth floor. What a night it had been, one I wouldn’t soon forget.
Chapter Eight
“Thora!” I yelled from the back of the storage room. “Can you bring me the tape?”
A minute later, she rounded the corner and her mouth fell open at the mess I was making. Well, to me it was organized chaos, but to Thora, an organization queen? Oh, no, this was a disaster zone.
She held her hands up in front of her and walked slowly towards me. “Nova, put the markers and the Post-it notes down before somebody gets hurt.”
“Ha-ha.” I stuck my tongue out at her and stood up from the ground. “You know I’m perfectly capable of organizing some boxes.” I stacked a box of butt plugs on top of a box of anal beads. It was quite fitting, because everything was a pain in the ass today. Not only was Juliet MIA for the second time this week, but we had less than five weeks to pack and move. Which also meant we only had six weeks to package and ship out the five thousand rose stimulators to La Madam Orgo. It was the biggest order we had ever received, and we had to meet that deadline no matter what.
“I know you are capable”—Thora grabbed the black marker out of my hand—“but this is my job, and you have more important things to do.” She grabbed the box of butt plugs and moved them to the other side of the storage room. “Juliet said if your gremlin came out, I was to tell you to take a break.”
I really needed to tell Juliet to stop telling people that nickname. “Fine. I’ve been at it since five a.m. anyway.” I blew my bangs out of my face and wiped the sweat from my forehead. “Do you need coffee?”
“Oh, God, yes.” She lifted two more boxes in her arms and moved them next to the butt plugs. If there was one thing I had learned about Thora, it was that she was small but mighty. And could never turn down coffee. She was just as caffeine-addicted as we were, if not worse. “But go to the park first, then coffee. I know you need to recharge.”
There was a park down the street from our office that had the perfect spot to lie in the sun. I tried to go there every chance I got, which wasn’t as often as I would have liked. Lying in the sun for a solid twenty minutes a day really did wonders for one’s mental health, believe me. It was like letting the universe burn off all your stress. I grabbed my purse as Thora pushed me out the door and walked the five minutes down the block until I found my perfect sunspot. The grass tickled my feet as I stood and raised my arms over my head, reaching for the sky.
I stood that way for a few minutes before I lay down on the grass, pulled the amethyst crystal from my pocket and placed it on my forehead. It had been Thora’s idea. She said it would charge me and make me feel good, and hell, who was I to argue with her?
Things were getting hectic. Out of control. It was hard following all the rules Ryzen had given me. It was a constant internal battle of “I will not let any man control my actions” versus “yes, Daddy, I will do whatever you say.” I breathed in deep through my nose and exhaled through my mouth, repeating in my head the mantras Thora had given me.
I am calm.
I am in control.
I am a badass
I am a lioness.
My body relaxed, and suddenly I didn’t care about anything except being in that moment. Maybe Thora was onto something with this whole crystal-on-the-head meditation thing.
