Unleash Me, Vol. 2 (Unleash Me, Annihilate Me Series) (12 page)

But for me, it wasn
’
t
enough.
 
I missed my boyfriend.
 
I missed his presence, I missed his
face, I missed his quiet strength, I missed being near him, I missed making
love to him
—
and
yet I still needed to wait another week for him to return home.

A week ago, when Blackwell and I had our night out at the Peacock Alley
Bar, she gave me some sage advice.
 

“
I know you
miss him,
”
she
said.
 
“
We all do, really, but not like you.
 
So here
’
s what you
’
re
going to find out this week when you work on your book with Iris.
 
Our work saves us.
 
It always does.
 
Remember that
—
our work saves us.
 
You
’
ll see.
 
Work is what got me through my divorce from Charles.
 
If I didn
’
t have the insanity of Jennifer to deal with when I was
going through that divorce, I would have gone mad.
 
Seriously
—
that girl put me through my paces as much as I
put her through hers.
 
If you bury
yourself in your work
—
which
Iris is going to make you do anyway
—
the
time will pass faster.
”
 
Then, she
’
d lifted her martini and held it up to me.
 
“
Now,
cheers to your success, my dear.
 
And well done on the movie option.
 
It
’
s well
earned.
”

As usual, Blackwell was right
—
the
sheer attention I had to place on my book kept me distracted all day and left
me so tired in the evening that I collapsed into my bed each night.
 
Iris Masterson was indeed a workhorse,
but since I also was, we got along famously.
 
Each morning after I spoke with Tank,
Iris and I would riff on whatever set of chapters I was working on.
 
Then, I was set free to have at those
chapters for the rest of the day.
 

And what a difference Iris had made to my book.
 
Her observations and suggestions were
spot-on.
 
With each rewritten
chapter I delivered to her, I could feel her excitement growing along with
mine.
 
With her help, my book was
getting better.
 
She was exactly the
right person to edit my work, not only because she understood what I was trying
to accomplish by turning the genre on its side, but also because she identified
its weaknesses and walked me through them.
 
I knew for certain that once we were finished
—
which would be in just a matter of days at the
rate we were going
—
that
I
’
d have a book that
I would be proud of.
 

And so now, after every rotten thing that had brought me to Iris, I
could easily say today that the lot of it had been worth it.

*
 
*
 
*

Later that night, when the evening was deep and my eyes were weary from
staring at my computer screen, I started to fade.
 

Tank and I had talked earlier.
 
Things seemed to be going well in Singapore for Jennifer and Alex.
 
But God, I missed him as much as he said
he missed me.
 
When we got off the
phone, I was so depressed that I just wanted to go to bed and recharge myself
for the next day.
 
But there still
was work to be done.
 
Iris expected
a fresh chapter by morning, and I hadn
’
t
finished it, so I decided to give myself another hour or so of editing and
rewriting before going to bed.
 

I was thinking about how to change a section of the book that Iris had
identified as perhaps the novel
’
s
most problematic scene
—
and
I agreed
—
when I
heard a click coming from somewhere in the penthouse.

Or at least what sounded like a click.

I stopped for a moment, turned toward my open bedroom door, and listened
into the stillness, which was interrupted only by the dim sound of traffic
moving far below me on Fifth.
 

Had I imagined something?
 
It
sounded as if the front door had clicked shut, but that was impossible.
 
Cutter was downstairs keeping watch over
me, as he and his men had for over a week.
 
And then there was the key card needed to access the apartment.
 
If you didn
’
t have it, this place was so secure that nobody could
get in.

So I shook the thought and went back to work, only to hear the
unmistakable sound of a footstep a moment later.
 
It was enough to make my heart
quicken.
 
Immediately my mind
flashed to Kevin, whom I had described in detail to Cutter and his men several
days ago, so that they were then able to use my description along with the
photo Katie had sent to create an accurate composite of him.

What if Cutter took a bathroom break?
 

The doorman is there.
 
Nobody would get past him.

But what if he was preoccupied?

Doesn
’
t
matter.
 
There
’
s no getting inside this
apartment without a key.

But I could sense a presence.
 
I was certain of it.
 
Something had happened.
 
Something had gone wrong.
 
For whatever reason, I wasn
’
t
alone
—
I could
feel it in my gut
—
and
it sent a jolt of terror through me.

As quietly as I could, I stood up, grabbed a pair of scissors off my
desk, and moved to the center of the room.
 
My bed was to my right.
 
My
desk was to my left.
 
I stood there
listening for a moment, and then said,
“
Who
’
s out there?
”

“
Lisa?
”

Oh, my God!

I tossed the scissors onto the desk, and with a thrill that came from
recognizing that thundering voice of his, I dashed into the foyer to find Tank
standing just inside the door.
 
Beneath his overcoat, he was wearing a black suit and a blue tie, and he
had a clutch of red roses in one hand.
 
There was a moment when we just looked at each other.
 
Then, I ran toward him and leaped.
 
He laughed out loud and dropped the
roses to the floor as he caught me.
 
I hooked my arms around his neck and wrapped my legs around his back,
and he held me firmly in his grip while I covered his face and lips with a hive
of kisses.

“
What are you
doing here?
”
I said
when I pulled away.
 
“
I can
’
t believe this.
 
I
’
m so happy.
 
We spoke earlier.
 
You
’
re supposed to be in
Singapore.
”

He grinned at me.
 
“
They closed the deal
early, so we left yesterday.
 
Jennifer lent me her key so I could surprise you tonight.
 
She
’
s staying with Alex.
”

“
I thought I
had an intruder on my hands.
”

His face fell.
 
“
That
’
s not at all what I
intended.
 
Lisa, I
’
m sorry.
 
I thought for sure that, at this hour,
you
’
d be asleep.
 
My plan was to use my cell to call you
from the foyer and wake you up, and then ask you to meet me outside your
bedroom door.
 
I couldn
’
t wait until tomorrow to
see you.
  
We just landed about
an hour ago, and I didn
’
t
want to go home without seeing you first.
 
But now I
’
ve
frightened you.
 
I apologize.
”

“
Are you
serious?
 
I
’
m fine.
 
OK,
I
’
ll fess up.
 
A moment ago, I was sporting a pair of
scissors and was about to either pee myself or do some serious damage to
someone.
 
But now I
’
m in your arms.
 
I can
’
t believe this.
 
You
’
re
here!
 
It feels like a month since
you
’
ve been gone, but
it
’
s been just over a
week.
 
You have no idea how much I
’
ve missed you.
”

“
If it
’
s even close to how much I
’
ve missed you, I do have a
feeling.
”

I cupped his face in my hands and kissed him with everything I had
within me.
 
He returned my kiss with
a ferocity that he
’
d
never shown me before.
 
He was still
holding me in his arms when he led me to the bedroom and laid me down on the
bed.

“
What are you
up to?
”
I asked.

“
What do you
think?
”

“
But I should
be in something pretty.
 
Shorts and
a T-shirt don
’
t quite
cut it.
”

He stood at the edge of the bed and looked down at me with a raised
eyebrow.
 
“
I don
’
t
care what you
’
re
wearing
—
you
’
re beautiful to me.
 
Get out of your clothes.
”

“
That sounds
like an order.
”

“
It is.
”

“
Are you
ordering me around?
”

“
You know I
am.
”

“
Nobody orders
me around.
”

“
I do, baby.
”

“
Like hell you
do.
 
Why don
’
t you get out of
your
clothes?
”

“
Maybe I will.
”

“
Maybe we
’
ll do this shit together.
”

He couldn
’
t
help but grin at that, but he quickly checked himself and stayed in
character.
 
“
Why don
’
t
we see what happens?
”

“
You
’
re on.
”

 
I pulled my T-shirt over the
top over my head, flung it across the room, and then dimmed the lights to a
soft glow.
 
“
Your turn, but you have more clothes on than I do, so
let me help you out of them.
”

I walked over to him wearing just my bra and shorts, and tugged at his
tie.
 
I slid it off his neck and
dropped it to the floor.
 
I then
took his jacket from him, and as the air stirred in the movement of fabric, I
smelled his musky cologne.
 
There
was just a hint of it, but it was all around me now, enveloping me in that
intoxicating scent that always reminded me of him.

I put my hands on his chest and felt the warm fabric of his starched
white shirt, and then I ran my fingers down the length of his chorded abs until
I felt myself start to grow wet with anticipation.
 
I dipped my hands down farther, felt the
full length of his erection throb against my palm, and then stroked him for a
moment before I unfastened the top button of his shirt.

He kissed me gently on the mouth, and then harder until I could barely
breathe.
 
I felt the stubble on his
chin, which nearly made me wild with passion.
 
His stubble was rough against my cheek
and then against my neck as he probed lower.
 

“
How long is
this going to take?
”
he
asked impatiently.

I unbuttoned the next button.
 
And the next.
 
“
Are you in a hurry?
”

“
I think you
know I am.
”

“
I
’
m just letting this
build.
 
I
’
ve waited a week for this.
”
 

I unbuttoned the last button while he unfastened his cuffs.
 
When his shirt came off, it revealed a
white T-shirt that I quickly pulled off him.