City of Sin (10 page)

Bee

Part of me wanted to tell him to go screw himself. But a
bigger part of me knew that what he said was true. Was I really that
transparent? I had made a life for myself here. I had an apartment that I
called home and new friends that I considered family. But I was struggling.
Just the other day I had said I was ready to move back to Wilmington. I thought
I could leave a small town and never look back. I was so wrong. And I was
indecisive. Which is why I felt stuck. I just wanted to be back in my
apartment, alone. The Bachelor was on tonight, and that's all I really needed.

"Dinner is served," Franco said as he walked up to
our table with two plates in his hands. Franco smiled at me as he set down our
entrees.

The only people that were actually nice in New York were the
ones that were trying to get a good tip.

"Is there anything else I can get for you?" Franco
asked.

"I think we have everything we need," Mason said.
"Thank you, Franco."

I looked down at my dinner. I wasn't even hungry anymore. And
I couldn't afford to be eating at a place like this. I lifted up my purse and
pulled out a few twenty dollar bills. I wasn't sure that was enough to cover my
half, but it's all I had. I set it on the table.

"I said I'd pay," Mason said.

"I'm actually not feeling very well. I'm just going to
go."

"I didn't mean..."

"You did mean it. And you were right about me. I don't
belong here. We're wasting each other's time, Mason. I'm not the type of girl
you're looking for." He had me all figured out. And I was embarrassed of
who I had become. I was confident while I was in college. I thought I could do
anything I set my mind to. Being an adult sucked. I was completely lost. And I
needed to work on finding myself again. Alone. Not with Mason Caldwell.

"You're exactly the type of girl I'm looking for."
His words made me cold.

"I don't do one night stands."

Mason frowned. "I never said that's what this is."

"Isn't it, though? You said sex was your hobby. It's not
a hobby for me. It's more than that. I don't know, I'm just..." I let my
voice trail off. "I'm sorry about the other night. I don't know what I was
thinking. Actually, I wasn't thinking."

He just stared at me. His silence was unnerving.

"I gave you the wrong impression of me."

"When I made you come in the bathroom? Or when you
sucked my dick in the alley?"

"Both." I still couldn't believe I had done those
things. "I'm just going to go, okay?" I stood up.

"Don't."

"What's the point, Mason?"

"You didn't let me finish before, Bee. I want to give
you a reason to stay in New York. I want to be the reason why you stay."

The way he was looking at me made me tremble. He was starting
to get a 5 o'clock shadow along his chiseled jaw line. His brown eyes seemed to
pierce into my soul. He may not be as bad as Patrick made him out to be, but he
still wasn't a good guy. Why was he saying these things to me? Just so he could
fuck me? He couldn't possibly be serious.

"I can't stop thinking about you," he said.
"Please just sit back down. We can do this your way, okay? Let's just take
things slow."

Mason

What the fuck did I just say?
I downed the rest of my
wine.

"You want to take things slow?"

No, I want to fuck you on this table.
"Yes."

She puckered her lips slightly as she thought about what I
had just said. I wanted to stand up and kiss her. I needed to taste her lips
again. I was completely out of my element here. Why the hell had I just agreed
to take things slow? I never took things slow. I always took what I wanted. And
I wanted her badly. It was just in my head. I wanted what I couldn't have. It
was stupid and immature, but it was there. A primal want. She was teasing me. I
wasn't sure if she was doing it on purpose. But when I finally did have her, I
was going to punish her for it. I couldn't wait to spank her bare ass again. I
could feel myself starting to get an erection.
Fuck.

She sat back down across from me. "I'm not sure I believe
you."

"You sat back down."

"That's because I'm indecisive and soft."

"Trust me, baby, I'm hard enough for both of us."

She laughed and then stared at me with her big brown eyes.

Her laugh was enticing. I tried to shake away the thought.
Taking it slow was just a means to an end. The goal was still getting her to
scream my name with my cock deep inside of her. It was just going to take more
time than I originally thought. And I wasn't one to back away from a challenge.
Especially when a girl like Bee was the prize.

"I'm bad at reading people," she finally said.

"I can tell. You dated Patrick."

She frowned. "I'm talking about you. The first time we
met, you stole a taxi from me. But I gave you the benefit of the doubt. And
then we did all those...things." She blushed. "You even admitted to
knowing all about those disgusting underground clubs. But then the flowers, and
saying you want to take things slow?" She stared into my eyes. "I
don't understand. What do you want from me?"

"I just want to get to know you."

"Okay."

"So, Bee, what is it exactly that you wanted to talk
about?"

"This really is amazing," she said after taking a
bite of her food. She was ignoring me on purpose. She had to be intentionally
driving me crazy.

I tried the gnocchi. It was okay. "It is really
good." I had never been to this restaurant before. I was just using what
Vargas had found out to win her over. She wanted to ask me something, but she
looked embarrassed. "I can tell you have a question for me. So spill
it."

"How many women have you slept with?"

"I don't know," I shrugged.
She did not want the
answer to that question.

"Well, I mean, you must have a guess."

Oh God.
"Dozens?" I tried to say vaguely.

"Dozens with an s? So like 24?"

"I'd say several dozen."

She scrunched up her face. "That's...dirty."

"Well you're the one with the dirty mind."

"Me?" She laughed. "Yeah right."

"You're asking about my number. So you must be picturing
yourself beneath me, or maybe you prefer to be on top. Are you like a sex
addict or something?"

She laughed. "You think
I'm
a sex addict?"

"You accosted me in a bathroom and an alley."

"Okay, hold on. It was the woman's bathroom, which you
shouldn't have been in. And you literally carried me into that alley."

"Minor details." I winked at her.

She responded by rolling her eyes.

"You know, I'm clean, if that's what you're worried
about." I gestured toward my lap.

"No, I'm not." She bit her lip. "But that is
good to know."

"And what about you, Miss Sex Addict?"

"I'm not going to respond to that name. I'm not a sex
addict."

"Right, you're actually a serial monogamist. Of course
you're clean."

She shrugged. "At least I'm not a whore."

"Did you just call me a whore?"

 "It depends. How many of the dozens of women that you
slept with were your girlfriends?"

"I don't really do the whole girlfriend thing."

"I knew it. Just one night stands."

"I didn't say that either. I date. But I'm not one to
settle down."

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

"Not in a long time."

"You're being impossible."

"Impossible?" I smiled at her.

"Your answers are so vague. How on earth am I supposed
to get to know you?"

"You're the one that's being impossible."

"I'm not."

"And stubborn."

"I..." she scowled. "I'll answer whatever
questions you have."

"Why are you really still here?"

"Because I want to prove everyone wrong. I do have what
it takes to be in advertising. I have great ideas, I just need to make people
listen. I refuse to move back to Delaware just because my fiancé cheated on me.
It would just be a copout. I need to be here. I need to do this for
myself."

"That's very inspirational, Bee. But I don't mean in New
York. Everyone comes here to prove that they have what it takes. I mean why are
you with me, right now? Why didn't you walk out a minute ago?"

"I'm attracted to you."

"That's good to know." I leaned forward slightly.
"I think you're sexy as hell, Bee."

"I've never really felt so..." her voice trailed
off. "I like the way you look at me. Like I'm the only girl in the room.
No one's ever made me feel desired like that before. I know we don't have that
much in common. But I can't stop thinking about you either."

I have you right where I want you.
"It's called
sexual chemistry, baby."

She shifted in her seat as she crossed her legs together. It
was obvious that she wanted me. But tonight I was going to play the game like
she wanted me to. I wasn't going to touch her at all. Not even a kiss
goodnight. She'd be begging me in no time at all. I'd have to add the taking it
slow route to my playbook.

"I just have to ask. That thing you do for your father's
employees. What is it exactly?"

"It's nothing important. I'm trying to start my own ad
agency. So I need the extra money. It's not a big deal."

"That's ambitious."

"Does that surprise you?"

"Not at all, actually. And I get it. I could use some
extra money myself."

"Would you rather this be an audition?"

She gulped. "An audition for what?"

"Well, I could always use someone like you on my
roster."

"What?"

"Bee...I'm joking." Men would pay a lot for her.
But I wanted her for myself.

"Oh," she laughed.

"Now I have to ask. What exactly did Patrick tell
you?"

"He made it seem like you were kind of...I don't know,
like a pimp."

Fitting.
"Do I look like a pimp to you? Am I
wearing a purple fur coat with a cane?"

"No."

"There you go."

Bee

Tonight had been much more like a first date than our actual
first date. I couldn't help but be a little suspicious of his complete 180.
Every now and then he would say something entirely inappropriate. And I
couldn't deny that I liked when he did. I liked both sides of him. I almost
wished he was being a little more like he had been on our first date. I crossed
my legs under the table.

"I should probably get you home," he said.

"Yes, you probably should." There was no invitation
back to his place. Or any suggestion that he wanted tonight to continue. I bit
my lip. I wanted him more now than I had the first night, now that he wasn't
offering. I didn't want his hands on me to become a distant memory.

Our check had come and he had paid for the whole meal despite
my protests. And now he was just staring at me. Did he want me to make the
first move? I was so out of my element. I had only ever really dated Patrick.
My experience was close to zero. I swallowed hard. "Unless you want to do
something else?"

A small smile crossed his handsome face. "Not tonight. I
have an early morning tomorrow."

"Right, me too."

"Okay then." He pulled on his wool jacket and stood
up.

I didn't want him to put on more clothes, I wanted him to be
taking them off. I stood up and grabbed my jacket off the back of my chair.

"Allow me." He grabbed my jacket and held it up for
me.

He was a gentleman. Despite what he had said on our first
date, he seemed to be the most respectful man I had ever met. And un-respectful
at the same time. I slid my arms into my jacket as he pulled it up onto my
shoulders. His fingers brushed across the back of my neck as he pushed my hair
over the collar of my jacket. My skin tingled where he had touched me. It was
the first time he had touched me since we had started our dinner. I quickly
turned around and looked up at him. His face was just a few inches from mine. I
saw his Adam's apple rise and fall as he stared down at me.

But he quickly turned away from me, placing his hand on the
small of my back for a second, directing me toward the exit.

He said we could do things my way. But I wasn't sure taking
things slowly was my way. I had fallen for Patrick so quickly. And Mason
Caldwell was more captivating than Patrick. I was in way over my head. Maybe
Mason knew that. Maybe that was why he had said we could take things slowly.
Because he was respectful.
No. He's not respectful.
I had never been so
confused in my life.

He opened up the door for me and I walked out into the cold
night. It was well past 8 o'clock and now that The Bachelor was over, I really
had nothing to do back at my apartment. I wanted him to come with me. Maybe he
would make it feel warm and full of life again.

I watched him hail down a taxi. I thought he might grab my
hand again or drape his arm across my shoulders with an excuse to keep me warm.
But he didn't touch me at all.

A taxi stopped right in front of him and he opened up the
door for me. I walked up to him and placed my hand on his forearm. I could feel
his muscles beneath his wool coat and suit jacket. "Thank you for a
wonderful evening. I'm sorry that I thought you...well, that I suggested that
you were..."

He pulled out his wallet, ignoring me. "I believe you
said you wanted my number." He handed me his business card.

I looked down at the card. His cell phone number was listed
at the bottom. "I didn't actually, but thank you." I leaned forward
slightly. His cologne was making me slightly dizzy. I wanted him to kiss me
goodnight.

He smiled down at me. "Get in the taxi, Bee."

I looked up at him.
Why isn't he kissing me?
I batted
my eyelashes in what I hoped was a seductive way.

"You do realize how hard you're making it for me to take
things slow?" he asked.

"Maybe I don't want you to take things slow with
me."

"Trust me, baby, you do."

His words made me cold. "Goodnight, Mason."

"Goodnight, Bee."

I was sure my facial expression didn't hide my
disappointment. I guess I needed to step up my game. Hopefully Kendra could
give me a few dating tips. I climbed into the taxi and Mason closed the door
behind me.

He tapped on the front passenger's window and the cabbie
rolled the window down. "West 96th Street," Mason said as he slipped
the taxi driver some money.

How does he know my address?

I turned to look at him as the taxi sped off. He was standing
on the sidewalk staring at me. He waved before shoving his hands into his
pockets. He had a smug grin on his face.

Is he stalking me?