Free Gone - Part One by Deborah Bladon Page B

into mine again; gliding over them with the same heated rush I feel building within me.
    "You can fuck me tonight," I offer out of the unreserved need that is a constant presence inside of me. I've been craving his body since he left for his trip days ago. We've only been intimate a few times, but they've burned a place in my mind that can't be filled with anything else. I find myself jumping back to the erotic touch of his tongue on my core when I'm trying to work and it's impossible for me to fall asleep without coming while thinking about his cock inside of me.
    "I need to go to Boston tonight to see my nephew." He rests his forehead against mine. "He's under the weather. I got him some books and toys in Orlando to cheer him up."
    He's never mentioned anyone in his family but Parker but I know about Cory. I know that he's the biological son of Clive's sister, Christina. "Is it serious?"
    "No." He pulls me closer by wrapping both of his hands around my shoulders. "It's something he picked up at school. He'll be fine in a few days. He just needs rest."
    I nuzzle my cheek into his chest, soaking in the natural fragrance of him combined with the delicious cologne he uses. "Will you call me when you're back?"
    "The minute I'm back in New York, I'll call."

Chapter 17
     
    "Clive is going to appreciate every one of these suggestions, Lilly." Jordan gestures towards a row of chilled water bottles sitting on a counter near her desk. "Do you want more water?"
    I shake my head with a small giggle. "I've had three. I think I've had my limit for the day."
    She laughs heartily as she places the almost empty bottle that it's in her hand down before picking up another. "I can do with one more. After that, cut me off."
    I smile back at her, glad that we've hit it off as well as we have. After I arrived and we dove into the framework of the security system currently in place at Corteck, she'd taken a call from her four-year-old son. She put him on speaker phone so he could say hello to me and my heart had flipped at the sound of such a precious, young voice. It brought to the surface a rush of emotions I wouldn't be able to explain away so I'd excused myself to use the restroom while she finished talking to him.
    "You should come over for dinner one night." She runs her hand over my forearm as she settles back into the chair next to me at her desk. "Do you have a boyfriend? You can bring him too."
    "I don't have a boyfriend." I try not to laugh too heartily. I don't want to give anything away. Technically, Clive isn't my boyfriend so I'm not lying. "I just got to New York. I've been too busy with work to go out."
    "My husband has a lot of single friends." She twists the plastic cap back onto the bottle of water she's still holding in her hands. "We can invite someone over for dinner when you come."
    I scratch my neck while I stare at her face. The wide grin that covers her mouth is addictive. I can't help but smile back at her. "I'm not sure I'm ready to date yet. I'm still trying to find my feet."
    "It's not a date." She turns back towards one of the two computer monitors we've been staring at for the past three hours. "You'll come for dinner. A handsome, available friend of my husband's will come for dinner and we'll eat. It's simple."
    Life is never that simple. My life stopped being simple when Clive Parker slid his fingers into my panties.
    "I do want to make new friends in the city." I cock a brow. "I don't see how it can hurt."
    "Perfect." She slides her chair closer to me. "We'll do it on Tuesday."
    "Tuesday it is."
     
    ***
     
    It's Tuesday. For most people that means they're inching closer to the weekend. For me, it means another day that has passed since Clive spoke to me. I've been telling myself that I haven't heard anything from him because the man runs a corporation that employs more than a thousand people worldwide. I've also been convincing myself that what is happening between us is simple and uncomplicated and I need to