Strung Out Page 13

  “Speaking of relatives.” Selena latched onto the idea with enthusiasm. “Where are yours?”

  How many times had she been asked that question in a thousand different ways? In her younger years she’d tried making up different scenarios, trying on pasts like other people did costumes. But it always came back around to the same ugly truth. “My parents are gone, and I have no other relatives.”

  Erik’s arm tightened briefly where it rested near her shoulders on the back of the sofa. She knew he was acknowledging her painful past. But how could he possibly understand it?

  “Well at least that’s a bright spot on the horizon,” Selena muttered. “There’s nothing worse than the prospect of a hundred new relatives driving in from every backwoods town in Massachusetts to attend the wedding and drain the bar dry.”

  “Wow, Mother, you’ve done such a good job of raising Selena to be a typical Aasen snob. It’s a wonder no man has snapped her up yet.” Desiree’s voice dripped sarcasm, which her sister returned in the form of an acidic smile.

  “I don’t see any man sweeping you off your feet, Miss I Just Turned Thirty-five.” Annaline glanced at her watch and stood up. “Selena and I are going to be late for our tennis match. But I’ll have Jackie contact you tomorrow with open dates for the ceremony. We’ll have to get started immediately with the preparations in order to make the Christmas deadline.”

  Talia was getting whiplash. “Christmas?”

  “Yes, Christmas.” Annaline took two steps toward the veranda and picked up a designer tote bag and a tennis racket. “With that insane public airport proposal to live up to, a romantic Christmas ceremony is the only possible option. Besides, people are already happy at Christmas, so they’ll be less likely to focus on the bride’s social shortcomings.” She tossed the last bit of optimism over her shoulder as she followed Selena out the French doors into the late fall sunshine.

  As if on cue, Erik’s phone buzzed insistently in his pocket. He glanced at the screen and sighed. “I’ve got to take this call, Talia. Are you okay for just a minute?”

  He barely waited for her to acknowledge him, dropping a kiss on her forehead and ducking back out into the hallway. It was like being stripped naked in front of strangers. But Desiree didn’t seem put off by their situation in the least.

  “Our mother is just so warm and fuzzy. I don’t know how we can stand to be away from her.” Desiree made a face. “I’m Desiree, by the way. And I have been dying to meet you.”

  Talia was taken aback by the earnest tone in the other woman’s voice. “Why would you want to meet me?”

  “Because any woman who can make my brother throw away a billion-dollar merger is worth knowing.”

  * * *

  Erik snapped his phone shut and slipped it back into his pocket. Family bullshit, business bullshit—it was all just bullshit, and it was getting old. Keeping Talia was his decision. Why was everyone convinced they should have a say about it?

  He sighed and leaned against a window casing. The green lawn swept away from the house until it broke at the tree line. Remnants of this year’s leaves still clung tenaciously to the thick tangle of trees and brush that separated Aasen property from the neighboring estate.

  As children, he and Desiree had played in those woods. Hours upon hours had gone by while they’d imagined fantasy worlds of knights, princesses, and ferocious dragons. The two of them had always been much closer to each other than Selena. But Selena had been their mother’s shadow since she was old enough to play dress up in her closet. Things hadn’t changed much in their adult lives. Since their father’s death and Erik’s subsequent takeover of his business responsibilities, he had returned to the estate only rarely. And thoughts of his childhood came even less frequently.

  Feminine laughter drifted into the hallway, and he turned away from the window. Desiree supporting his decision to keep Talia was a relief. If he was lucky, she wouldn’t keep asking him why he’d done it.

  Chapter Fifteen

  If the rest of Erik’s friends were as welcoming as Desiree, Talia was going to be just fine. But she wasn’t naive enough to believe she could get that lucky, which was why her heart was hammering inside her chest when they pulled up in front of Boston’s priciest steakhouse.

  The Beacon Street address was on a prime corner location. The modernized wood-and-glass facade didn’t look as though it belonged to the warped brick sidewalk out front. Talia tried not to notice how perfectly the same contrast applied to her and Erik.

  “Have I told you how sexy you look tonight?”

  A grin appeared despite her nerves. “I don’t remember if you said it, but I think your actions were loud and clear.”

  “I’ll admit it. I have a problem. The way that dress is hugging your curves makes my hands jealous.”

  She rolled her eyes. “That has got to be the cheesiest line ever.”

  “Is it working?”

  A laugh bubbled out before she could swallow it back. “Yes. It is.”

  A valet approached the driver’s door, and Erik grimaced. “We’ll finish this later. For now, it’s time to make the rounds.”

  Talia picked a piece of imaginary lint from the snug skirt of her borrowed black dress. The stretchy spandex stuff hugged the good and the bad parts of her body, and the neckline skated low over the tops of her breasts. Acutely aware that her dress was held up more by sheer will than design, Talia exited the car with extra care once the valet opened her door.

  Erik tucked her arm into his. “Let’s get you inside before I change my mind and order something to go.”

  A brisk wind chilled her bare legs, and she pulled the borrowed black wrap closer around her shoulders. The heat of his skin warmed her through his jacket, and she bit back a request to take him up on his offer to order out.

  A smiling hostess in black-and-white opened the front door, and mouthwatering smells wafted out of the restaurant. The only thing Talia knew about the place was that the menu was beyond expensive. She and Leslie had once spent a few minutes having a laugh about people who paid top dollar for everyday cuisine just to prove they could.

  The low murmur of dinner conversation served as an audio background to the upscale restaurant’s soft taupe walls, white accents, and antiques scattered about. Overhead the chandeliers had been encased in large rust-colored shades. The effect was a fascinating cluster of halos connected by swooping baroque-style shadows.

  “Good evening, Mr. Aasen. Your party is waiting.” A hostess took Talia’s wrap and handed it off before leading them toward an arched opening in one wall.

  Talia felt like the country mouse come to town. All around them, smiling waiters in black with white aprons that hung nearly to their shins served plates of artfully arranged food. The restaurant was tightly packed, and yet the staff whirled about in a complex dance that managed to be both efficient and unobtrusive at the same time.

  Their hostess beckoned them on past the diners, through a service area, and down into a narrow brick stairwell. It had the slightly musty scent of one of Boston’s historical sites, and a chill danced down Talia’s spine. Their trip down the cool brick steps was surprisingly short. A large room opened up before them, and she realized they were in the restaurant’s wine cellar.

  Soft lighting covered the low ceiling, casting eclectic shadows on walls full of dark cubbyholes housing bottles of wine laid on their sides. A table intimately set for nine was placed center stage, and several guests were already present and chatting amicably among themselves.

  “Erik!” A massive man stood up and waved them over. “It’s great to see the two of you again.”

  They drew closer, and Talia got a better view of the guests. The man standing at the table was Joshua Breckenridge, the golden-haired Adonis from the engagement party. It’d been a handful of days since that party, and yet it seemed like a lifetime. Despite the nervous bubbles in her belly, she couldn’t help but return Joshua’s infectious smile.

  It was obvious from the way Er
ik took Joshua’s hand that he was truly glad to see the other man. It was almost as if Erik was just as relieved to see a friendly face as Talia. “Good to see you again, Josh.”

  “And Talia.” Joshua’s large hand enveloped hers, and he brought it to his lips. The sparkle in his blue eyes told her the chivalry was more to poke at Erik than anything else, but she appreciated the warm welcome all the same. “That scene on the balcony the other evening makes a little more sense now. But then Erik has always been a lucky son of a bitch.”

  A snort farther down the table drew her attention to the other familiar giant from the balcony scene. She made a face at the dark-haired man with the whiskey eyes she recognized as Seth Overton. “Regardless of what he thinks, Joshua, I appreciate the compliments. I think he could learn something from your manners.”

  Joshua rubbed his hands together like a comedic villain. “Erik, I can’t wait to watch this one turn you around in circles.”

  Beside her, Erik pulled out a chair and placed a gentle hand in the small of her back to indicate that she should sit. “Nothing worth having comes easy.”

  Seth chuckled and picked up his wineglass. “Well, shit, if that’s your trouble, maybe Joshua and I can help you out after all. Everything comes easy for us.”

  A ripple of laughter went around the table, and Talia pressed her hand to her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Shifting in his chair beside her, Erik rested his hand on her thigh. The point of contact burned, sending heat through the thin black fabric of her dress and reminding her there was no shortage of coming in their relationship.

  The conversation around the table resumed, but Erik’s hand on her leg made it difficult to concentrate. His fingers pressed into her bare skin, slipping like silk across the warmth of her inner thigh. The promise of his touch dampened her pussy. Scant inches more and he could bury his fingers in her slit. And the mere thought of his soft fingertips skating across her swollen labia was enough to make the walls of her womb contract with longing. The contact, the circumstances, and the constant desire between them were an aphrodisiac she would never get enough of.

  Heat bloomed beneath her skin, and she wondered if anyone could see her blush. She glanced up reflexively, looking once around the table before she met the dark gaze of a woman sitting directly across from her. Seated as she was between Seth and Joshua, Talia was reminded of Erik’s comments the night of the party about the two of them. Had Erik actually meant the two sexy jokesters shared women? The body language was there. Both men were leaning imperceptibly toward the woman between them as though all three of them were sides of the same triangle.

  Blood pounded through her veins, pooling in her sex and creating an achy heat that made her squirm in her chair. But even as much as the idea fascinated her on a visceral level, Talia could not imagine indulging in such a fantasy.

  Her gaze slipped sideways, taking in the man who had become so familiar in such a short period of time. His lean, muscular frame was canted in her direction. Beneath the custom-tailored clothing was a body she knew more intimately than she did her own. She’d touched, licked, and loved over every inch of his warm skin. And despite their doubtful beginning and their even shakier present, she was beginning to put her trust in him. It wasn’t something she took lightly, and the idea of dealing with two men at once was unfathomable.

  Talia offered a smile to the dark-eyed woman between Seth and Joshua. It wasn’t returned. A quick glance around showed she wasn’t the only one having unfriendly thoughts. The ratio of men to women at the table was oddly unbalanced to begin with. Besides herself and the dark-haired woman, there was only one other. A strawberry blonde with the pale complexion of a true redhead, she was seated beside a man with black hair, blue eyes, and a rather spare physique. Had the two been standing, Talia was almost certain the strawberry blonde would’ve been taller than her date.

  The urge to fidget was strong. The two women glanced at each other and then continued their frank appraisal of Talia. She wondered if she ought to introduce herself to dispel some of the hostility she sensed building behind their glares. But no one else had gone through the motions of introduction, and she didn’t want to seem as if she were desperate for Erik to introduce her to his friends as more than just his latest piece of tail.

  She sighed and smiled up at a waiter who filled her water glass. A decent-looking guy in his midtwenties, the waiter returned her grin, though he seemed surprised she’d bothered to notice him at all. When she murmured her thanks, the dark-eyed woman snickered and shot a conspiratorial smile at the blonde.

  Feeling more and more uncomfortable by the second, Talia reached for her water glass and took a sip. She wasn’t exactly thirsty, but at least it was something to do with her hands. Already on edge, her hand shook and spilled a trickle of water droplets down the front of her dress.

  Talia didn’t need to see the smug smiles from the other women. She could feel them. Standing up, she picked up the tiny beaded black handbag she’d borrowed from Desiree along with the dress. “Excuse me for a moment.”

  Involved in a deep conversation with Seth, it was difficult to tell if Erik had heard her or not. Talia didn’t care. The underground wine cellar that had seemed unusually roomy at first had taken on the quality of a tomb. She needed to find a place to breathe and regroup. Stumbling away from the table, she headed back toward the narrow stairwell and freedom.

  * * *

  Seth and Josh’s date, Sara, exited the wine cellar with Mark’s fiancée, Naomi. Seth gave Sara’s ass an appreciative glance until it disappeared from sight. “What is it about women that makes them unable to go to the bathroom alone?”

  “It does seem like false advertising,” Josh remarked.

  Mark Jenson cocked his head and downed the contents of his wineglass. “How so?”

  Josh grinned. “Haven’t you ever noticed the only thing they don’t do in pairs is fuck?”

  Mark refilled his glass. “Maybe if you two idiots would quit bringing so much cock to the activity, they’d be more willing to consider the idea.”

  A loud round of guffaws punctuated Mark’s sarcastic observation. Though Erik only casually knew the man through business dealings, he’d always found him to be entertaining. And culturally speaking, there was no bigger cliché than the age-old idea that every man wanted a shot at the fabled ménage. But for the first time Erik found himself uninspired by the concept.

  Two women, two strangers most likely, or casual acquaintances you would likely never want to run into again after a night spent exposing yourself in such spectacular style. How could any of that compare to a night spent with Talia?

  His cock stirred beneath the table, roused by the memory of satin skin and soft curves. Every detail was etched into his brain—the sweet scent of her cream, the slick heat as he spread her legs and pressed into her tight cunt, and the sound of her cries as she climaxed in his arms.

  “Aasen!”

  “Fuck having two chicks at once; I want a piece of what he’s got. The man’s away from her pussy for five minutes and look at him.”

  “Billion-dollar pussy would have to be that good and better.”

  Fury overpowered the lust in his blood, and Erik fought the urge to crawl over the table to strangle Mark Jenson and Todd Elliot. Instead he managed to remain civilized. “The next man who suggests Talia is nothing more than an expensive piece of ass is going to find out why I specialize in hostile takeovers.”

  Seth and Josh exchanged a look before Joshua cleared his throat to speak. “You can’t have expected any less, Erik.”

  “They don’t know you outside the boardroom, they don’t know her at all, and they haven’t seen the two of you argue like we have,” Seth continued.

  “What the hell does arguing have to do with it?”

  Seth grinned. “We’re divorce lawyers, man. We deal with bitchy couples all the time. Most of them can’t stand each other. But sometimes they just don’t know how to deal with their emotions.”

&nb
sp; “And you think I fall into the second category?” Erik managed not to laugh out loud at the idea that he was a victim of emotional turmoil.

  “You’re the one acting like a jealous lunatic,” Josh pointed out. “You tell us.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  The ladies room was cramped but quiet. Someone had taken great pains to cram as much luxury as possible into the tiny space. Soft music played in the background, and the light was gentle and pleasant. Somewhere an air freshener pumped out sweetly scented jasmine fragrance. But it was still just a bathroom.

  The oval-shaped gilt mirror showed a woman Talia barely recognized. She’d tried so hard to be someone that would fit into Erik’s world. Desiree had brushed, twisted, and damn near ripped out her hair trying to twirl it into an elegant updo for the occasion. Then there had been the round of facial treatments and cosmetics applied in layers to accentuate her eyes while downplaying her full cheeks.

  She took a step back to gain a better view of the dress. Desiree’s dress, purchased at some sale and never worn. There it had hung in the back of a massive walk-in closet the size of Talia’s whole apartment until Desiree had dug it out while trying to find something to disguise Talia’s shortcomings.

  Thirteen hundred dollars. That had been the amount on the price tag she’d seen Desiree casually clip off the dress. Had she ever imagined she’d wear a thirteen-hundred-dollar dress?

  Tears stung her eyes, and she grabbed one of the neatly folded little hand towels from a basket on the counter. Using one corner, she dabbed at the thick eye makeup. Her motions grew more frantic, rubbing away at the cosmetics, dampening the little towel and scrubbing some more. Until finally a face she recognized peered out of the mirror, its haunted, red-rimmed blue eyes and apple-round cheeks looking like a slightly more polished version of the insecure orphan who’d snuck into a music room during lunch hour to practice the violin.