Thinking of Eva for the hundredth time that hour, he picked up his cell phone and found the number to the security company Stella had used. He called and spoke to the receptionist at Coby and Associates, making an appointment for a consultation on Friday, wondering if he should set up some private investigation of Orion Industries, as well.
There had to be someone who knew something. A company didn’t just come out of thin air and make a multi-billion dollar deal.
After lunch, his thoughts returned once more to Eva. He imagined her going about her daily business without underwear.
He could picture how sexy she would look in that sheer blouse, the tight pencil skirt, and those heels. His cock thickened as he imagined her getting all worked up during the day, turning so hot and bothered that by the time she returned to his home, she could barely control herself. She’d shut the door, fall onto his couch, and run her hands between her legs, as she’d done that morning.
Fuck, she had looked so seductively innocent when he caught her touching her pussy, so sweet and yet so naughty as she moaned and writhed on the sheets. To think she’d done that before, picturing him, made his dick even harder.
It was that image that made him nix his plans to work late. He told himself that it wasn’t right to let Eva see herself in, and that he should be there to make sure she had everything she needed. His head said it was only hospitable, but his other head had something more wicked in mind.
At the end of the day he managed to sneak out, this time without any of his associates noticing. When he reached the West Village and took the elevator to the penthouse, he breathed in sharply, thinking of the way she’d cried out his name as she’d come, bucking against her own hand, the smell of her arousal filling the air. He needed only one thing right now—to surround himself in that scent, in Eva.
He was so eager to touch her that he actually groaned aloud when he stepped out of the elevator and saw who was waiting in the hallway outside his door instead.
Lucy.
Fuck, hadn’t he told the doorman to keep her out? All Jack needed was for Lucy to run into Eva. She would probably rip Eva to shreds with that caustic tongue of hers. Lucy knew how to play nasty, something she’d managed to hide from him while they were dating.
They’d dated for—what? Two months? It couldn’t have been more than that. Two months was his limit. After that, things got dangerous. Women got clingy, expecting declarations of love and commitment, and all the other things that Jack wasn’t into.
He’d dropped all the usual lines with Lucy—it’s not you, it’s me; you’re a lovely girl, a fascinating person, but this isn’t working; we’re just in different places.
Most of his exes eventually got the hint, but not Lucy.
In the beginning she’d been so breathtaking and so fun. She was a hand and foot model, and the rest of her wasn’t lacking in the looks department, either. With her gym-toned body and long, platinum blonde hair, the woman was a stunner. She knew how to take care of herself and was wild and adventurous, with a ravenous sexual appetite that Jack hadn’t been able to resist.
It was only after their relationship went sour that she started to reveal her true colors. What lay beneath the killer looks and vibrant personality was a healthy dose of crazy.
“Did you get my gift?” Lucy asked as he reluctantly moved to meet her in the hallway in front of his apartment.
He kept his head down as he searched his jacket pockets for the spare key the front desk had given him. “Which one?”
The fact was, he’d gotten all of them. Lucy had them delivered to his office, something he’d told her months ago needed to stop. Not that she had listened.
“The tickets? To Cabo? For Memorial Day?” She grinned. “I know you’ve always wanted to go.”
He frowned. Had he ever said that? At the tail end of their relationship, she’d started to remember things he’d said that he was certain had never escaped his mouth. Like wanting to go to Cabo with her. He’d never said that, but she certainly seemed to believe it.
“I have to work over the holiday, Lucy,” he muttered.
He didn’t expect this would deter her. Nothing did. He had told her point blank it was over. More than once. But yet, here she was.
“Oh well. I can always shift that date around. Change fees aren’t a big deal.” She laughed as she reached into her bag, pulling out a bottle of pinot noir. “At least we’re together now.” She wiggled the wine back and forth. “I thought we could order Thai and catch up?”
“Now isn’t a good time,” he said, glancing at the door to his apartment and wondering if Eva was already in there, waiting for him.
“Come on, Jack,” she said, lips pushing into a pout. “You haven’t responded to any of my texts. How am I supposed to keep up with all your news?”
She’d sent him at least a dozen texts this week, and more the week before. He’d been steadily deleting them. “I’m sorry, Lucy I have plans.”
She smiled seductively at him. “Break them.”
He gritted his teeth. “Can’t.” He wouldn’t, couldn’t open the door to his place until he’d gotten rid of her. If he did, she would weasel her way inside and never leave. “Can I call you a cab?”
She held her ground. “You know you want to break your plans,” she murmured, reaching into her bag and pulling out a small leather box. “Look, I brought a new toy for us to christen.”
She lifted the lid and pulled out a chain of anal beads. He watched her hold them out, not particularly surprised, but not in the least bit interested, either. Lucy was all about new sex toys. During their first few nights together, Jack had been thrilled to find a woman with a sexual appetite as ravenous as his. But she suffered from ADD in the bedroom, constantly pushing the envelope, wanting new, different, exciting…more.