“Of course not. Who does that?”
I lean back in my chair, holding the phone to my shoulder and flexing my wrists. They’ve grown stiff.
“How do you know I’m not at the apartment?”
“Mmmm, I can’t say, but you’ll see as soon as you get there.”
I sit up straight, my heart doing a somersault. Is he at my apartment? Maybe he decided to return earlier.
“I’ve got to go.” He ends our conversation on that mysterious note.
I’m out of the office in a few minutes.
Once inside my building, I look for Sebastian in the small lobby, but he isn’t there. Since this is a complex of serviced apartments, quite a few people have keys to my place. Oh, God, did he convince them to let him inside my room? My heart hammers against my rib cage as I step into the elevator and then continue down the corridor leading to my apartment.
With trembling hands, I unlock the door and push it open. The lights are out.
“Sebastian?”
No answer. Disappointment washes over me as I switch on the light. I notice the package on my bed. It’s a rectangular box tied with a ribbon and a note.
Thought it’d be best if this wasn’t delivered at the office.
Sebastian
So that’s why I didn’t get a gift today. Smiling, I sink on the bed and open the gift, careful not to damage the box, because it’s so pretty. I cover my mouth with my hand. Inside the box is the most luxurious nightgown I’ve ever had the pleasure to see. Silk and lace.
I call him immediately.
“Sebastian.”
“Aha, I know that accusing tone. It means you got home and saw your present.”
“What did I tell you about expensive gifts?”
“You told me not to buy you rubies,” he says coolly.
“No, I’m pretty sure I told you expensive gifts.”
“Don’t you like it?”
“Of course I do. It’s perfect, but that’s not the point.”
“Consider it a gift for me.”
“What?”
“I want to imagine you wearing it.” A pause follows, then a whisper. “Touching yourself.”
I dissolve in a puddle of need, and almost do as he says. I get a grip on myself. “Sebastian Bennett, I won’t have phone sex with you. I want our first time to be the real deal.”
He laughs softly, but when he speaks, his voice is husky. “Oh, Ava, it’ll be so real you’ll ache for days.”
Chapter Eighteen
Ava
Sexual frustration threatens to suffocate me the next morning, but I don’t give in to it. Also, I suspect that masturbation, far from satisfying me, would only increase my hunger for him. I contemplate trying out the age-old cure for horniness: a cold shower. Said and done.