Page 37 of Taboo

“Hello. Why are you calling me?”

“You don’t remember the messages you left me?”

A feeling of dread settled in her chest.

“Uh, no.”

He sighed. “At least tell me you were in last night.”

“Yes. David and I were having one last party before he left.”

“Party?”

“Of two. Not with other people. What did I say in these messages?”

“You really don’t remember?” His deep voice rolled over the syllables, and it shot right between her legs. How did he do that? Just ask her a question and get her wet? It was like he had some kind of control over her sexual needs.

She cleared her throat. “No. We were by ourselves just living it up for one night before he went back to England.”

“I thought he was staying there with you.”

“Nicola had false contractions yesterday, so he’s going back to help her run things. I’m not doing anything important here, so I pushed him back onto the plane and sent him home.”

There was a beat of silence, and she wished she could see his face. Although, that was a bad idea because if he was there, she would want to kiss him. Then shag him. A lot.

“Is she okay?”

Her heart softened. A lot of men would ignore the news she had just given Alek.

“Yes. The doctor wants her to have bed rest, which is not good for anyone involved. Nicola is probably already going insane, so David is going to go help her.”

“Are you coming back here?”

“Not in the next week. I have some things I need to catch up on and some meetings to handle.”

“There in Oahu?”

“They’re virtual.”

“Hmm, okay.”

Then nothing. The silence stretched out and she didn’t know what to say or do.

“Is there anything else?”

She cringed the moment the words came out of her mouth. First, she gave in to the need to say something. Second, she had the prissy tone again.

His response was to chuckle, causing her to squeeze her legs together tighter.

“No. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Are you going to tell me what I said on the voicemail?”

“Nope. I’ve got a meeting. Stay safe, Jules.”

“Always.”

Then he ended the call. What the hell?

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