Cooper’s greeting, and his eyes burned into me.
I said the first thing I thought of. “No Sara?” I took my champagne in my shaky hand and polished it off. Blake sighed as he sat down. I turned to Cooper in order to keep my mind from wandering. I was thanking Cooper for being such a good friend; he deserved my full attention.
Cooper grabbed a bottle of champagne and refilled my glass.
“Are you trying to get me drunk, MR Henderson?” I teased before taking a large sip again.
“Maybe I am,” he teased in return as he sat back in his chair and placed one arm on the back of my shoulders.
I raised my eyebrows to him, to which he replied with a smile and a wink.
I heard Blake clear his throat, but as much as my neck was trying to control my every movement, I refused to turn and give into him. The champagne was now definitely helping to make him see what he was missing, and I was enjoying doing it.
I heard Sara approach before I saw her. The loud clicking of her heels seemed to echo around the restaurant. Champagne in hand, she pulled out the chair next to Blake and dropped her bag onto the table with a thud. “Where were you? I waited for you to come pick me up,” I heard her whisper harshly to Blake.
He didn’t reply. Instead he let out a long, hard breath. I could see from the corner of my eye he was still watching me.
I turned to Sara. “Trouble in paradise?” I asked, forcing a smile.
“Jo, I didn’t know you were back. When did you … um … Blake, did you know Jo was back?” She turned to Blake, looking nervous.
Blake took a sip of champagne before replying simply, “Yes. I did.”
“I got back late last night,” I stated. “Blake was at my apartment. Weren’t you, Blake?” He nodded. “Mind you, seems he didn’t actually know that I had gone, for a while, did you Blake?”
Before giving either of them any time to respond, I turned back to Cooper, who was watching me intently.
“What are you doing?” he asked, quietly leaning in so as only I could hear.
“Nothing,” I smiled innocently. “I’ll be right back; I need the bathroom,” I said.
“You only went like five minutes ago,” Cooper replied, confused.
“It’s the champagne,” I lied. The truth was I needed a breather. It was killing me seeing them both sitting so close to each other knowing that he had lay naked above her or below her as she rode him over and over, while he filled her insides with his dick. He had kissed her skin, caressed her. The more I thought about it, the more my skin crawled with hate for her, the more I wanted to smash her perfect teeth out of her lying, vile mouth. But the more I thought about it, the more I found myself wanting Blake, the more I wanted to be the one lying underneath him while he rocked into me, the more I wanted to taste him, hold him, and breathe in his scent. Yes, I needed a breather.
I hurried to the bathroom, this time locking the door behind me. I rushed over to the sink, turned the taps on full, and splashed the water against my face. I began to sweat. I was shaking as my heart pounded hard against my chest. I was about to experience my first panic attack since arriving in New York. My breathing become shallower with each breath; each gasp was a struggle to control. Forcing myself to focus in the mirror, I repeated to myself, “Stop it, stop this now, calm down. Come on, Jo, calm down, breathe … Just breathe …” I finally managed to calm myself. My breathing returned to normal, and my heartbeat finally steadied.
“Just breathe,” I whispered one last time before deciding to head back to the table.
I opened the door to find Blake leaning against the wall opposite. He was waiting for me.
“Blake, you startled me,” I gasped.
He pushed away from the wall. “Can we talk?” he pleaded as he closed the distance between us.
I looked up at him. He was standing so close that it was hard to concentrate on anything other than Blake.
“There’s nothing
Vannetta Chapman
Jonas Bengtsson
William W. Johnstone
Abby Blake
Mary Balogh
Mary Maxwell
Linus Locke
Synthia St. Claire
Raymara Barwil
Kieran Shields