The Private Serials Box Set (16 page)

 I’d never felt more cherished or taken care of. I was treated to breakfast in bed both days and many hours of the most incredible sex I’d ever experienced. Preston was a sensational lover. He was generous but needy, intense but soft, domineering yet giving. He was the yin and yang of sex and I reveled in every minute of it. I could never be completely sure which side of him I was going to get, but I wanted to experience them all, so I followed his lead and let him take me wherever he wanted to go.

 Part of me letting him take control was giving in to him when he insisted. He’d requested I not sleep at my house any longer and instead was to stay with him. I compromised by saying I’d only come over late at night after I was sure Derrek wouldn’t be coming back to the house. This compromise was accepted after I agreed to let Preston pick me up and be my escort.

 On Monday morning, Preston had me pressed against the tiles in his walk-in shower, gliding in and out of me at a ridiculously slow and leisurely pace, as if we had the rest of our lives to be with each other. The water was raining down on the wall next to us, its warmth cascading down the wall and flowing around me, keeping me warm even as Preston’s mouth moved over every inch of my skin.

 His finger found my clit and the slow pace at which he pumped in and out of me coupled with the fast flicks of his finger brought on a quick and powerful orgasm. My cries echoed throughout the shower, only to be joined by his groan as he followed me into climax.

 This had been my life for the last forty-eight hours – Preston finding any way he could to make me come, whether it be fast, slow, sweet, or dirty. He could do it all and he did it well. This time, though, his leisurely pace wasn’t a sexual maneuver, wasn’t a calculated move. He was literally trying to stretch our time together, trying to delay the inevitable. Trying to suspend reality and pause the day. Soon, he’d be driving me back to my house and we’d both have to work. Even though we’d found a new reality together, it didn’t change the reality that we both had jobs to get back to.

 Even as the Lotus pulled up to the curb a few houses down from mine, I felt his tension. He didn’t like dropping me off at the house I shared with Derrek and he hated the fact that he had to let me walk from this distance. But we both knew he couldn’t just pull up in my driveway. Not yet, at least.

 “I’ll be here tonight. Eleven.” His words sounded harsh, but I knew he was just unhappy with the situation. “If you hear from him, anything at all, I want to know about it.”

 I nodded, looking at him, watching his jaw muscle twitch. I leaned over and placed my hand against his cheek, trying to soothe him. I kissed his jaw tenderly, then moved to his lips, trying to tell him with a kiss that I was just as upset to walk away from him as he would be watching me walk away. I was grateful for the darkly tinted windows in that moment, knowing none of the neighbors could see our exchange. When I pulled away, he looked less tense, so I considered my tactics a success. I gave him a smile I hoped wasn’t too sad, then reached for the door handle. Before I got the door all the way open, his hand was on my arm, turning me toward him.

 “Lena, remember, trust me,” he said, his tone serious and worried.

 I nodded. “I trust you,” I replied, trying to convince him. Because, truly, I did.

 “I regret nothing about what’s happening between us,” he said, his sentiment catching me off guard.

 I thought about his comment for just a moment and then smiled – a real smile this time – and said, “Neither do I.” I got out of his car and walked to my house, wondering what anyone would think if they could see me in that moment.

 I was wearing Preston’s clothes even though they barely fit. His gray sweatpants and a t-shirt, no bra and no panties, and my flip flops. I’d put his clothes on that morning, wanting to take part of him with me. I held on to the waistband of the sweatpants to keep them from falling down and the neck of the t-shirt kept sliding off my shoulder, but the clothes smelled of Preston, so I was more than happy to wear them. I was anticipating getting into the house, where I could bunch the shirt up around my nose and take in his scent without embarrassing myself in front of him.

 As I pushed the front door closed behind me, I heard the unmistakable sound of his Lotus driving away. I frowned slightly before I could stop myself, but then pressed his shirt against my nose and inhaled, loving the spicy scent of him. I made my way up the stairs and walked into the bedroom, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror that hung on the wall near the closet.

 The first thing I noticed was that I looked a mess. My hair was wild and crazy and there were dark circles under my eyes. When I moved closer to the mirror to inspect my reflection, I saw that although I looked tired, I looked sated. My eyes were clear, my cheeks rosy, and my lips full and swollen. I looked exactly like someone who had spent the weekend in bed having sex.

 Even though I’d taken a shower with Preston that morning, my hair was obviously enraged and it needed a do-over, so I went into the bathroom to turn on the shower. I peeled off Preston’s shirt, smelling it one more time, and then folded it, along with his sweatpants, and laid them neatly in my pajama drawer.

 I stepped into the shower and let the water run over me as my mind wandered to the fantastic weekend I’d spent with him. So many images flashed through my mind – some of them sexy, some of them sweet, and some of them downright filthy. Each one made me smile and as I lathered up the shampoo in my hair, I thought of ways I could repay him for such a wonderful weekend.

 “Lena?” I heard Derrek’s voice and stilled instantly. I hadn’t heard him come into the house or into the bedroom and was completely caught off guard. There was no hiding from him though; he knew I was here.

 “Yes?” I called out.

 “Are you almost done? I need to shower before work.”

 “Uh, yes. Just give me a moment.” I put my head back under the water to rinse the shampoo out. Suddenly, the shower curtain was thrown aside and Derrek stepped into the stall behind me, completely naked. My hands went immediately to cover myself, my mouth gaping open at him. “What are you doing?” I shrieked, eyes narrowing.

 “Come on, Lena. It’s not like we haven’t showered together a million times before.”

 “Derrek, you know it’s different now,” I said. I went to step out of the shower but felt him grip my upper arm, keeping me where I stood. He pressed me up against the wall of the shower and the chills ran down my spine, fear coursing through my veins. This was the exact opposite of how I felt when Preston had done the same thing not an hour before. “Let me go,” I said, with as much conviction as I could manage, but even I could hear the fear making my voice shake.

 “Where did you go when you left the gala?”

 “I wasn’t feeling well, so I left.”

 “Yes, but where did you go?” His hand squeezed tighter around my arm and I tried to wiggle free from his grasp.

 “Derrek, you’re hurting me.”

 “I checked the records from the alarm system. It shows someone came home that night and deactivated the alarm, set it again when they left, but then no one came home again all weekend.” His eyes were wild and looking straight into mine. “Where were you?”

 “I went to Samantha’s house,” I cried, finding the lie came to me quickly.

 “All weekend?”

 “I was sick and she didn’t want me alone. She knew
you
wouldn’t be here.” His grip tightened on my arm and his body pressed into mine. I cringed, looking away, trying not to let my body shiver in revulsion caused by his skin touching mine.

 “You should have told me, Lena. I would have come home to take care of you.” His voice dropped low, and in years past it would have turned me on instantly. A month ago, even, had Derrek joined me in the shower, pressing his naked body against mine, I would have welcomed him and a chance to save our marriage, but now it was a lost cause. It took all my strength not to yell and scream at him that I knew the truth, I knew he was cheating and I had moved on as well. I bit my lip to keep the admission inside, but holding Preston’s name inside me hurt almost worse than the grip Derrek had on my arm.

 “Where were
you
all weekend, Derrek? Surely you couldn’t have been at work this whole time?”

 “Of course I was. I have spent the last seven years building this life for you, for us, and you couldn’t be more ungrateful.”

 “I didn’t want this life. I wanted you. I wanted the man I married, the man I fell in love with. But somewhere along the line he went away, abandoned me. So, excuse me if you’re not the first person I call when I need someone.”

 “Who is the first person you call then, Lena?”

 “Sam.” My answer was quick, but I knew my eyes were darting back and forth between both of his. I was never a good liar and I was sure he didn’t believe me.

 “I wonder what Sam would say if I called her and asked her how she’d spent her weekend.”

 My heart rate sped up at his words. He couldn’t get to Sam before I had a chance to talk to her. “She’d tell you exactly what I have. Now, please, let go of me so I can go to work.” I wrenched my arm away from him and held in a sigh of relief when he let me go. I dashed out of the shower, grabbed my towel, and proceeded to get ready for work the fastest anyone ever had in the history of man. I was dressed and heading for the door before Derrek had even left the shower.

 I nearly ran to the garage door, hopped in my car, and peeled out of the driveway before he could catch me or make me stop. When I was a mile or two away, I pulled into a parking lot and found a spot, parked my car, and let out a loud breath.

 Then I had a breakdown.

 My heart was pounding, hands shaking, breaths coming faster and faster. I grabbed my phone and called Sam.

 “Hello?” she answered.

 “Have you heard from Derrek?” I asked.

 “Lena? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

 My terrified voice had given me away. “Did Derrek call you?”

 “No. What’s going on? Where are you?”

 “I’m on my way to work. I was at home and Derrek showed up asking me where I had been all weekend.” I took in a staggering breath, trying to get all the words in my brain to make their way out of my mouth. “I told him I was with you all weekend. Please, Sam,
please
, if he calls you I need you to tell him I was with you. Tell him I came over Friday night, and stayed until this morning.”

 “Of course. Whatever you need. I’ll do anything, but you have to tell me what’s going on.”

 “I can’t right now. But I will. I promise. But remember, if Derrek calls you, please tell him what I told you.”

 “You’re scaring me, Lena.”

 “I’m fine,” I lied. “I’ll be okay.” I sighed and wiped a tear that had escaped. “Can I call you later? I need to get to work.”

 “Of course. Any time. Be safe, okay?”

 “I will, and thank you for everything.”

 We hung up and I put my car in drive, continuing my drive to work.

 A few hours later, after countless sideways glances at my appearance and a few comments from concerned co-workers, I took my lunch break in a private conference room and called Preston.

 “Sweetheart,” he said in greeting. It sounded as if just saying that word was a relief to him, as if it was a release.

 “Preston,” I countered, suddenly very close to tears. “I don’t think I can wait until eleven to see you.” Perhaps I sounded needy and insecure, but that was exactly what I was feeling at the moment so it was useless to hide it.

 “What happened?”

 “Derrek came home this morning while I was getting ready for work.”

 “Shit.”

 I didn’t really know what else to say, but just speaking those words to him was already making me feel better.

 “Did he touch you?” Preston’s voice was hard and deep. He felt very far away and I knew if I told him the truth about what had happened he would snap. I didn’t want him turning into a loose cannon if I could help it.

 “No,” I lied.

 “Don’t lie to me, Lena. Don’t you fucking cover for him.”

 “Preston,” I whispered. I shouldn’t have called him. “I’m sorry, I have to go.”

 “So you’re choosing to protect him?”

 “I’m not protecting him. I’m trying to protect you. I can hear how mad you are and I don’t want you doing anything crazy. I can’t win here, Preston. Either I tell you what happened and you fuck everything up with your temper, or I keep it all inside and Derrek wins again. I can’t take this anymore.”

 “I’m coming to your work.”

 “Please don’t. Everyone here already thinks I’m crazy with the way I showed up this morning. I just wanted to hear your voice. I thought maybe it would calm me down.”

 He was quiet for a moment and all I could hear were his rapid breaths, but with each passing moment, they slowed. Then, finally, he asked calmly, “Can I pick you up when you’re off?”

 I sighed in relief at his voice, soothing and warm. This was the Preston I’d wanted to hear from, the man I thought could make me feel better about the terrible morning I’d endured.

 “I’d love that,” I whispered.

 Later I received a text message from Sam.

**That fucker called me at work this morning asking how I’d spent my weekend.**

**What did you say?**

**I told him to go fuck off.**

 I laughed, a real, loud, therapeutic laugh. I felt more tension lift from my shoulders and smiled, looking down at my phone.

**You just made my day.**

**Are you ready to tell me what happened between you two?**

 I sighed, because I really wasn’t. I wanted to tell her, eventually, but I’d just managed to calm down and focus on my work.

**Can we meet for lunch tomorrow? I just need a day to let my mind wrap around everything.**

**Sounds great. But call me if you need anything before then. I know you’re going through a lot right now. I just want to make sure you don’t push me out of your life.**

 Her words made me frown. I was going through a lot and perhaps I needed a little space to figure everything out, but Sam was my best friend and I couldn’t imagine going through life without her.