His Gift 3(3)
“Ow! What the hell?” He gripped his shoulder like I’d actually hurt him.
“That’s what I should be saying! Is this how you thank me for last night’s blowjob? By parading me half naked around armed policemen?”
“I didn’t notice they were armed,” Jake said, smiling, “but I don’t think they were planning to take you down.”
“I have to call Steph,” I said. “And let her know that I’m okay.” My mind was slowly gaining its sanity back. Policemen? Jeez Louise. What a way to wake up in the morning.
“It’s nice of your friends to check up on you,” Jake said.
“Yeah. I have great friends. They don’t buy me sexy men as birthday presents or walk around with collars on at my parties, but they’re okay people, all things considered.”
Jake’s grin spread wider.
“There’s a phone in your bedroom at the end of the hall,” he said. “You can call her from there.”
“Great,” I said, storming off in the direction he pointed. “Wait. My bedroom?” He was giving me a bedroom?
“And tell her not to call the police again, but that you won’t be around for the rest of the week,” he called.
I froze in the hallway. My bare feet sank into the plush carpet and I leaned one hand against the wall. Jake’s glorious green eyes glittered at me as I shot his question back to him.
“Oh, I won’t?”
“No,” he said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You’re staying here.”
Chapter Three
In keeping with the overall vintage castle feel of the place, the phone in my room was an old brass rotary phone. I had to spin the circular panel in front to dial Steph’s number. It took me four times to get it right; I kept fumbling and the thing spun the wrong number, but finally I got through.
“Steph?”
“Lacey! You’re okay!”
“Yeah, I’m fine. More than fine, actually.” I stretched one arm over my head and lay back onto the soft covers of the bed.
“You sound like you just got head from a sexy billionaire.”
I choked, and then tried to cough to get the lump out of my throat, then choked again. On the other end of the line, I heard Steph squeal.
“Oh my God! Andy totally called it. Andy, you were right!”
“Jeez, Steph—”
“Tell me all about it.”
“I can’t. Look, Steph, I just had to talk to two policemen in nothing but a sheet, and it’s all your fault.”
“What’s the guy’s name?”
“You made his birthday cake, Steph. You don’t know his name?”
“Psshh,” she said. “It’s not like it said Happy Birthday Eustace or whatever on it. It was gold orchids—”
“Not Eustace. Ugh, what kind of a name is that, anyway?”
“A billionaire name.”
“I’d never fall for someone named Eustace, even if he was a billionaire. Okay, Steph, I’ll tell you all about him later,” I said. For some reason I was unsure how much I wanted to tell Steph. She probably knew the name Jake Carville, at least if he was as famous as I thought he was. And as curious as I was to know his background… I wanted him to be the one to tell me. Was that weird?
“One little detail. One more. Please.”
“Okay, fine,” I said, racking my brain. “His penthouse apartment has an art gallery inside of it. That’s where we met, and he kind of... uh… went crazy with putting his hands all over me.” And inside of me, too. But I knew Steph would freak out if she heard that.
“Oh. My. God.”
“Yeah, and he has this art studio too. It’s amazing. He let me paint on all these canvases, and he’s got these oils—”
“Lacey, please. Focus. Less about paint. More about the sexy man who put his tongue in your pink.”
I blushed to think about it.
“He’s got beautiful green eyes, and dark hair, and he—oh, Steph! We kind of… well, he kind of… ripped your dress. I’ll buy you a new one—”
That was all I got out, because both Steph and Andy were hooting with laughter on the other end of the line.
“So you’re not a virgin anymore, huh? We’re going to have to celebrate with champagne once you get out.”
“Yeah, uh, well…”
“Well what?”
I twisted my fingers in the sheets as I stared up at the ceiling.
“Well technically I’m still a virgin. I guess. Technically.”
“He didn’t fuck you?”
“No,” I admitted.
“Why not?”
“Look, I don’t know. He’s… well, he’s kind of a strange guy. Secretive.”