Chasing Forever(Chasing Series #4)(10)

"I'm quite busy at the moment. You guys go right along without me." I focused my attention back on the screen before me, but when I heard Chad clear his throat with his fingers tapping on my desk, I looked up and gave him a patient expression. "Yes?"

"You can't bullshit a bullshitter."

Right on. "Good to know. Anything else, Chad?"

He pouted like a petulant child with great persistence. "You've been cranky for the entire day. She might lighten your mood."

"Well, didn't it ever occur to you that she might be the cause of why I'm cranky right now?" Let's face it. I was a miserable fool. The whole divorce battle with Amelia was not progressing as I would've liked, and knowing Lucy was in love with another man …  neither was a sure recipe for pure bliss.

He blew out a breath. "God-you need to go jackoff or something!"

"Still ineffective."

"Seriously?"

I shrugged. "So will you leave me alone now?"

"Fuck that. Maybe I could convince her to sleep with you. Would you like that?" he teased, winking.

Chad was a bit mad, but still …  just the thought of having her for a night had already gotten my blood roaring. The tightening of my pants sure didn't help, either.

"I'll see you later, mate."

Chad sighed, knowing that I wasn't going to be convinced. "Fine. But I'm inviting her out to party with me tonight. Up to you if you want to tag along, beeotch."

Last year, I used to find it amusing that Chad used these sorts of tactics on Blake to get Sienna back. Now that he was doing the same thing with me, I wasn't quite sure if I liked it at all.





Chapter 9

Lucy



"I think I need to go on a mission to get Toby laid."

The melon and prosciutto were halfway to my mouth when I froze after he'd dropped that bomb. Had I heard him right? "I beg your pardon?"

He smiled brightly at me. "He's been so moody. I think the poor baby needs some good lovin'."

Clearing my throat, I reached out for the chilled water and took a lengthy sip. "And you know this because … ?"

"Hey, it's been a while for him. He told me so-sort of."

"Huh." They were that close? Good on them …  but his sex life? I wasn't aware that Toby was forthcoming about his sexual endeavors.

I was about to take another bite of my antipasto when I noticed that he was silent, not eating at all. He just kept staring at me. "What? Is something the matter?"   





 

"It is a matter of pleasure." He cleared his throat. "I think you guys need to hook-up. Even just for one last fuck. You know, release all that anger and tension in quick thrusts and orgasms."

"Have you gone bloody mad?"

"Nah." He thought a moment before shaking his head entirely. "I don't think so. Why?" he blinked those dark, sooty lashes at me.

What? Gah, this bugger was about to give my heart convulsions. "Why? You know bloody why! He might think that we'd get back together again. Besides, things are quite complicated as it is. Add sex in it, and it just doesn't make sense."

"Lucy, I love you. I fucking do. But I also remember hearing your screams in the bedroom. When was the last time someone rocked you that well?"

Not since Rome. "You're crazy." Like I would consider it. Chad was being silly. "Did he put you up to this?"

"Yeah, right. I think he'd more likely bang someone random, anyway," he said thoughtfully, making me slightly aggravated. "Not like you care about that."

I sure did, but I wasn't going to admit it. While Chad was now jumping subjects to Sienna and Blake's return tomorrow, I was left with my damning thoughts …  Toby with another woman. Surely after his divorce, he wouldn't be single for long.

Toby was sinfully gorgeous with a lean, sculpted physique that held grace and elegance. He was eloquent and had impeccable manners to a T. He was also not only brilliant in finance, he was an amazing lover. Add the fact that he had the filthiest mouth during sex only drove me crazier about him.

Yeah, he wouldn't be single for long.

After my lunch with Chad, and since I didn't have any classes for the rest of the day, I randomly took a chance at spontaneity when I walked past a salon. Since I was bent on starting over, the stylist didn't have to convince me that hard to chop some of my locks off. Since Toby used to like my hair so much, I thought it best to let go of him-his memories-one at a time.

That night, I met up with Chad and a few of his artsy buddies in South Kensington for drinks then later on dancing somewhere close by. The bar lounge was medium sized compared to most places I was accustomed to, but I supposed with all the eclectic paintings on the wall, it made sense to have a cozier feel to the place. The red, leather sofas that were scattered about in different angles gave it an edge. Add the corset-wearing waitresses with winged black eyeliner on their eyes, and it certainly made quite the impression for folks that were plain and boring like I was. The air was lively, the chatters were loud and people were having a nice evening.

After dipping my nose from one book to the other, it was nice to be out and feed off other peoples' energies. Even if I felt like death inside, it was an amazing feeling to be surrounded by laughter and positivity.

Well, it was all positive up until I saw one of Chad's gay friends start to get touchy with his arm. After being introduced to his friends, I tugged him to the side, whispering into his ear, "You're married; you shouldn't act like you're still single and available."

He grinned at me, looking tipsy as he pinched my cheek. "Baby, you got nothin' to worry about with me. I'm good," he said before he squinted his eyes, frowning. "Something's different with you … "

If he hadn't noticed my hair, yeah, he sure was drunk. "New hair," I said self-consciously as I touched the ends of my perfectly bouncy, blow-dried do.

His eyes bulged out, shocked. "Oh, fuck, you chopped it off! Well, most of it-wow." He licked his bottom lip while his eyes roamed my new style; more awake compared to a minute ago. "You look fantastic," he gushed then took hold of my hand and made me do a small twirl.

I was pleased that I had finally had the guts to give myself a new look. I felt different-like I had been reborn and I could be whoever I wanted to be-and not the broken woman who was failing to see that there was a future beyond heartache.

Four champagne flutes later, I was more comfortable in my own skin as I joined in the sexual jokes with Chad and his friends. The things that gay men talked about made women and their sex talk over lunch seem pretty tame.

"I don't think tea-bagging's disgusting," said Braun, the trendy editor at one of the infamous gossip rags in England. "I'm sure it's like suckling boobs-soft and smooth, deliciously warm and comes in different sizes."

"Like you'd know anything about tits," Chad chirped in. "What ya think, babe? Since you have breasts and all?"   





 

I blanched, almost choking on my fifth champagne serving. "Honestly, I wouldn't know. I haven't done the whole girl on girl thing, or tea-bagging." I smiled cheerfully, shrugging before taking another sip.

After the hows and whys, each and every one of them put in their two cents and gave me graphic descriptions of how to make your man happy and sated. Arguing with them that I didn't have a man to tea-bag with was a moot point, so I listened and took a mental note of everything they told me.

Before Toby, I had only had one sexual partner, a guy from high school who I dated for six months. His name was Oliver and he had no idea how to roam about a woman's body. His lovemaking had been nothing spectacular, although he'd made up for it by being an amazing kisser and he had never forgotten to bring me coffee every morning. Even though there were perks of having him as my boyfriend, I couldn't go on being with him and having to deal with restraining myself from screaming my boredom during intercourse.

So after Oliver, I hadn't considered myself a sexual woman. I mean, everyone had been raving over how great and amazing it was, but I had been left unconvinced. Unsatisfied.

I became one of those women who thought sex was overrated. I had thought about nuns and how they'd joined the convent, probably after they'd encountered the same problems as I had. If one had an uneventful experience such as that, they would've been just as convinced as I that they didn't need it as a part of their lifestyle. It was not that I'd hated sex, but it had only amplified how bored I was with everything related to Oliver. So when Toby had come along and brought about all of my mega crushing on him, I had never thought sex with him would be anything other than exciting. He had proved me wrong-for five days straight.

Thinking back on how he and I had begun brought a sad smile to my face. Even drunk, there was no means of escaping him. My heart ached as I recalled how things had blossomed and unfolded between us.



Dinner in Chinatown had never been that memorable, until now. Toby sat across from me, looking relaxed as he leaned against his chair, noticing everything I did. His heavy scrutiny had put me at the edge of my seat. Though there were other people around us, it was only him I could see and focus on. The man seemed to possess the power to enchant me, inducing all of my senses to only heighten my awareness of him-and the penetrating way he was studying at me …