Page 21 of Seduction
“Ha,” I scoffed. “Me? What about you? I haven’t seen any studs coming in and out of your apartment either.”
“That’s because he lives in DC,” she whispered.
“Why are you whispering?” I whispered.
“Because he’s in the bathroom.”
I momentarily froze. “You’re not having an affair, are you?”
“Hell no. I’m a girl’s girl. You know that.”
I liked the firmness in her voice. I had known it. “Then why all the secrecy?”
“Because this is the first time we had sex. It was so… oh my God, Pen, I’m in love. He doesn’t know it, but I’m in love.”
“Well, Zara—”
“Got to go. See you one day soon.”
“But I wanted—”
The call ended.
I thought she needed to hear that sex wasn’t love, and that she should probably make sure her love wasn’t born of oxytocin. Then I remembered that I might need to take my own advice at some point.
I yawned just as a buzz filled the air.
“Room service!” a woman’s voice said, projecting through a speaker system.
I leapt to my feet and trotted over to answer the door. A pretty girl with long braids rolled in the food. When I told her I wanted to get my purse so that I could tip her, she raised a hand to stop me.
She remained smiling. “No tips from this room. It’s all taken care of.”
Then she wished me a good evening and walked out of the penthouse.
None of it would last. Good things never lasted. I would more than likely have sex with Dr. Hottie. We would fuck each other’s brains out—that was for sure. Then we would talk and set the boundaries. He would have me out of his system, which meant we could perform surgeries together when the need arose. Perhaps we could be cordial with each other in social settings. We could definitely say good morning and good night. But we would never be able to be friends. He was too Jekyll and Hyde, good-cop-bad-cop, and angel-devil for that. Such a paradox, the man was.
I hummed as I took another bite of my salad. Each swallow made me increasingly tired. I wanted to stay up and wait for Dr. Hottie to come home, but earlier, I’d read the board and saw that he had four procedures scheduled. That meant he would be home late, and I didn’t have the stamina to stay awake that long, especially after that bath.
Finally, I turned off my computer and carried it into the bedroom. First, I closed the curtains, then I set my computer on the dresser. I crawled into bed, yawned again, and not long after, fell asleep.
* * *
“Blue Butterfly”by Righteous Pearl blared through my phone. I sat up straight quickly, like a bolt of electricity had shot through me. After letting the song play while I scrubbed my face with my hands, I turned it off.
“My goodness,” I muttered.
No daylight shone through the cracks in the curtains, and my bedroom door was closed. I hadn’t done that.Did Sparrow return home at some point during the night without waking me up?
I flung my legs over the side of the bed and let my feet drop to the floor. The fuzziness cleared out of my head a bit more, and I forced myself to stand. That was one comfortable bed, and I was sure I had slept in it for the last time. My body yearned for its comfort, and because of it, it was taking me longer than usual to get into the mindset of going to work.
Is he here?
A surge of energy made me hop to my feet. Then I walked through the condo, poking my head in and out of rooms, seeing no sign of Sparrow. However, in the kitchen, another continental breakfast was set up, and that time, one long-stemmed red rose in a shimmering crystal vase sat next to the fruit platter.
