Page 51 of Seduction
Penina Ross
Ihad so much anxiety that I didn’t know what to do with myself. I’d never been away from the hospital for that long, so I didn’t know if my angst was from that or being so curious to find out what was in that box. I had to do something and get moving. But I didn’t want to run the risk of running into someone I knew by going back to my apartment and getting my workout clothes. I was pretty sure the luxury building had a phenomenal gym. I needed to take a one hour walk on a treadmill or something. Then I remembered that I suspected Jake’s friend might be a woman since I’d seen dresses in the closet, and she had to have other clothes in some of the drawers, including workout gear.
I searched through a credenza with a beautiful wood pattern in the front and scored. Yoga pants, a T-shirt, and a few bikinis were inside.
I was pretty sure Jake wouldn’t mind if I wore them. We both knew how important even the lowest-impact exercise was for the body. Plus, he had encouraged me to make myself at home more than once.
If I were at home and twiddling my thumbs on an afternoon when my brain was used to being in surgery or consults or troubleshooting the best way to get at a clot or a tumor, I would go to Bellies to see who I could run into and strike up a conversation. But I couldn’t do that because I was supposed to be monitoring myself for symptoms of the flu. Another thing I would do was read what was new inNeuro Journal Today, which usually took me away for hours at a time. But I was too excited about the dress box and my tryst with Dr. Jake Sparrow to concentrate on reading. Therefore, I chose to exercise.
I put on the woman’s clothes, which fit me a little snugly. The person they belonged to had to be at least fifteen to twenty pounds lighter than me. Next, I called the front desk to ask on which floor I would find the gym. They told me to take the elevator down two floors and put my finger on the door pad, and I should be granted entrance. I followed the directions precisely, and soon I was on the treadmill at the beginning of a brisk walk.
The gym was empty, which was sort of a letdown. It would’ve been nice to start a conversation with someone who lived in the building and figure out if they knew anything about the owners of the penthouse. Regardless, I was thirty minutes into my exercise, and my breathing was good, and my legs were strong. At the one-hour mark, I’d walked over three and a half miles. My feet were hurting because I had on the wrong shoes, but my lungs felt reinvigorated.
I took my shoes off and hobbled all the way back to the elevator, thinking that I’d messed up. Jake wanted to take me out that night. I would never be able to comfortably wear a pair of heels.
“Heels!” I gasped as I entered the elevator to return to the penthouse. I had no shoes to wear with that dress.
But then I calmed myself again. I was certain Jake had all the bases covered.
* * *
I took a long bath post-workout.That time, as I soaked in the warm water, I had no thoughts weighing me down. Also, my feet felt a lot better. I promised to never exercise in the wrong shoes again. But the walk had worked. I was in a total restful state when the doorbell rang.
“Damn it,” I whispered, head still resting on the lip of the tub without moving an inch. I was considering waiting it out until they went away.
“Dr. Ross, we’re here to prepare you for the evening,” a woman said through the PA.
Excitement made me get out of the tub as fast as I could. I had to be careful, though. Water was dangerous. One slip, and whatever Jake had planned for us would be over.
I dried myself with a bath towel, slid on a robe and slippers, and shuffled to the door.
* * *
The teamwho arrived at my door proved just how much of a fashionista or glamour girl I wasn’t. I liked my face to look dewy and fresh whenever I dressed up to go out and have a good time. That meant a little red, plum, or pink lipstick, mascara, light eyeliner, and a sweep of blush over translucent power. It always seemed to get the job done. However, two makeup artists, a hairdresser, and a stylist made me look unrecognizable within two hours.
I studied my reflection in the standing mirror. My dress was a long silver slip gown that caressed my curves like an erotic kiss. According to Desiree, the stylist, the straps of my dress were made of pure diamonds, and so were the stones on my strappy sandals. Vivian, the hairdresser, had managed to whip my usually wayward hair into an array of big and loose cascading ringlets. I wore an exquisite cat mask, which covered half my face. It was ornately encrusted with gold, pearls, and diamonds. The thing must’ve cost more money than I could fathom ever making in a lifetime. Purchasing the penthouse for a friend then having so much disposable cash to woo me in a major way, Jake must’ve had a huge bank account.
After all the loose ends were tied, the crew bowed out of the apartment and said they would send someone back the next day to collect the goods. When I took it all off, I was to lay each item carefully across the chair in Jake’s room. I said goodbye to them, and just like that, I was alone in the apartment, dressed like a wealthy, sexy, and pampered cat.
“What next?” I muttered.
Right on cue, the house phone rang, and I carefully padded over to answer it.
“Take the elevator to P-1. I’m waiting for you,” Jake said then hung up before I could ask him where we were going.
What was happening was so far out of the ordinary that I had to take a moment to keep myself from panicking. “One step at a time, Pen,” I whispered.
My heart raced a mile a minute when I stepped into the elevator. Nerves made me light-headed as I pressed the P-1 button.
On the way down, I studied myself in the gold-paneled walls. I looked as if I belonged in one of those commercials for a chichi hotel in Las Vegas, suggesting I was on my way out to indulge in an activity that was naughty, furtive, and out of this world.
The doors slid open, and a few steps away sat a sleek black limousine with tinted windows. The back door opened, and Jake stepped out of the back seat. My eyes grew wide, and I inhaled sharply. He wore a black suit that made him look like a sexy James Bond and a soft black cotton shirt beneath the jacket. He also had on a golden mask encrusted with onyx and diamonds and fashioned in the shape of a wolf. His appearance was just as expensive as mine was.
Finally, we were face-to-face. After trailing the back of his fingers down the side of my face, Jake curled an arm around my waist and drew me against his hard body.
“There are no words to describe how you look.” His voice was fueled by passion.
Jake ran his hands down my bare shoulders as his lips gently pressed against mine. Our tongues connected, brushing delicately. The way we were making out sent my head floating to the sky.
