The Negotiation Read online

  “Wow. Your body puts every other woman’s body to shame.”

  “Uh. Thanks.” I reached for his belt and unbuckled it.

  He struggled with unclasping my bra and it was starting to get on my nerves, so I took his hands, put them on my hips, and unhooked it, tossing it to the floor. His mouth instantly roamed to my chest and his lips clamped around my hardened nipples.

  “Jesus, you have the best looking tits.”

  He reached his arm around my back and laid me down on the bed, letting his fingers travel up my inner thighs until they reached the edge of my panties. Then they stopped. I lay there waiting for him to dip a finger inside me, but he didn’t. He just cupped me with his hand and rubbed me through my panties. His mouth was all over my breasts, my collarbone, my neck, and then on my lips. His kisses were sloppy and I would have preferred he didn’t kiss me.

  Grabbing the sides of my panties, he pulled them down, stood up, and took off his pants. His cock was nothing spectacular. It wasn’t big, but it wasn’t overly small. It was enough to get the job done. He hovered over me and stuck his cock between my legs. I wasn’t expecting that so soon. I wanted foreplay and lots of it. But he seemed ready and raring to fuck me.

  “In my nightstand, I have condoms.”

  “Oh. Aren’t you on birth control?”

  “That is my birth control,” I lied.

  I was on the pill, but I didn’t know him or how many women he’d been with since his divorce and I wasn’t about to take any chances. I always made them wear a condom.

  “I see. Okay.” He climbed off of me, took a condom from the drawer, and slipped it on. “I normally don’t wear one.”

  “Well, you wouldn’t want to get me pregnant, would you?” I smirked.

  “No.” He leaned over and devoured my neck while he pushed into me.

  After a few saddening thrusts, which I could barely feel, he pulled out of me and looked at his dick.

  “I’m not really that hard anymore. It’s the condom; I’m not used to it and it makes it hard to feel anything.”

  I silently sighed as I sat up, grabbed hold of his cock, and began stroking it firmly. He threw his head back as several moans escaped him. When he was semi-hard again, he thrust inside and moved in and out of me rapidly. Still, I felt nothing. Wrapping my legs tightly around his waist, I made him deepen inside me.

  “Oh my God, you feel amazing, Emily.” He pushed in and out. “Are you going to come?”

  I wasn’t even close, but I wasn’t about to ruin his confidence, so I had to fake the noises, tighten my legs, and pretend that I came. His cock started to soften again, but he wouldn’t stop, and he finally came. He pushed deep inside me and halted as a loud groan escaped his chest.

  Climbing off of me, he disposed of the condom while I climbed under the covers and he climbed in next to me.

  “You were amazing.” He softly stroked my arm. “Sorry about the problems. I was really nervous.”

  “It happens,” I lied with a smile.

  He lay there on his side, his hand propped up against his head as he stared at me. The look on his face and in his eyes frightened me. He was falling and falling hard. Shit.

  “I really like you, Emily, and I think tonight just confirmed it even more for me. The next time we have sex, I promise it will be better.”

  “You’re a great guy, Cliff, but I told you I wasn’t looking for anything.”

  “I know and neither was I. But you can’t deny the incredible attraction we have to each other.”

  The hell I can deny it.

  “I think you should go now. It’s late and I have to get up really early and be at the shop.”

  “You don’t want me to spend the night?” His fingers traced my breast. “We can have round two first thing in the morning.”

  “I’m really tired and I sleep better alone. But thank you for a wonderful dinner.”

  “Sure. Okay. You’re welcome.” He climbed out of bed and slipped into his clothes.

  I climbed out, put on my robe, and walked him to the door.

  “How about dinner tomorrow night?” he asked as he placed his hands firmly on my hips.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t. I have a thing with Katie I have to go to. I’ll call you when I’m free.”

  “Don’t make it too long, I want to see you again.” He went for my lips and I quickly turned and gave him my cheek.

  “Have a nice night, Cliff.”

  After he left, I shut the door, went to the kitchen, poured a glass of wine, and took it to my bedroom. Reaching in my drawer, I grabbed my vibrator, climbed under the covers, and satisfied myself. What a waste of a night.

  Chapter 3

  When Katie walked into the shop, her eyes were swollen and she looked tired.

  “Good morning. Rough night?” I asked as I unpacked the new box of clothes that had arrived.

  “Really rough night.” She walked around the counter and placed her purse underneath. “Alex and I got into a fight and we were up all night arguing.”

  “About what?”

  “The TV.”

  “Okay. Care to elaborate on that?”

  “He went out with his friends last night and didn’t come to my place until one a.m. He was supposed to be there by ten so we could watch a movie we both had been dying to see.”

  “And why was he with his friends so late?”

  “He lost track of time. They were playing cards and drinking and he forgot about our movie date. It didn’t help that I sent him twenty text messages between ten and twelve thirty and he didn’t respond to any of them. He said his phone was on silent. So when he finally did text me back and told me he was on his way over, I told him to forget it and leave me alone. He showed up anyway and we got into a huge fight.”

  “I’m sorry, Katie.”

  What I really wanted to say was “I told you so.”

  “He said that he can’t spend every second with me and he needs his friend time. I told him that I understood that and I would never keep him from seeing his friends, but we also had a date, and he promised that he would be over at ten.”

  “How did he respond?”

  “He was sorry and I was being unreasonable. We argued until three a.m. and then he left. I haven’t heard from him since.”

  I walked over and clasped her shoulders.

  “I’m sure he’ll call you later, but until then, do not, and I repeat, do not let him destroy your emotional state. If he promised to be over at ten and failed to do so, that’s his problem. He was in the wrong, Katie, not you. You have done nothing wrong but to call him out on his broken promise. Don’t let him make you think you were in the wrong. Now do you understand why I avoid relationships at all costs?”

  She rolled her eyes and sighed. Picking up her phone, she checked it, and I immediately snatched it from her hands.

  “No checking to see if he texted you. You will survive until he comes to his senses.”

  “Fine,” she huffed. “How did your date go with Cliff? Did you sleep with him?”

  “Dinner was great. The sex was awful. He couldn’t stay hard.”

  A soft laugh escaped her lips. “Why? What did you do to him?”

  “He blamed it on the condom and then he said he was really nervous. We won’t be seeing each other again.”

  “Why? Because he sucked in bed?” She smirked.

  “That’s one reason, but the other is because he said that he had feelings for me and last night confirmed them. He also said that there’s no denying the attraction between us.”

  “Poor sucker.” She laughed.

  “I’m going to go into the back and grab another box of clothes for us to put out. I’ll be right back. Try to hold it together while I’m gone.”

  “Very funny.”

  Grabbing a box of clothes from the back, I carried it up to the front and set it on the floor next to the sales counter. The soft ring of the bell that hung above the front door made me look up and take notice of the incredibly
sexy man that walked into the store.

  “Hi, welcome to Emily’s Edge. Can I help you with something?” Katie’s face lit up as she practically ran over to him.

  “I’m just looking right now. Thank you,” he spoke.

  “OH MY GOD!” she mouthed as she turned and looked at me.

  Rolling my eyes, I noticed her phone, which was sitting on the counter, went off.

  “Your phone went off,” I spoke as I held it up.

  Sprinting over to the counter, she grabbed it from my hands and became giddy with excitement as she saw she had a text message from Alex.

  “Go in the back and take care of your relationship.” I smiled at her.

  Taking the box cutter from the counter, I began to slice open the box and my finger somehow got in the way.

  “SHIT!” I yelled.

  The sexy man, who was looking at the dresses, turned and looked at me as I wrapped my other hand around my wounded finger.

  “Are you okay?” he asked in a low but husky voice.

  “Yes. I’m fine. Just a little cut,” I spoke as I grabbed some tissues from underneath the counter.

  “May I take a look?” He walked his designer-suit self over to me.

  As he approached closer, I couldn’t help but focus on his incredible sinfully beautiful chocolate brown eyes. Not the light chocolate kind, but the dark.

  “Are you a doctor?” I gulped.

  “No. Just a concerned customer who flinched when the sales associate shouted ‘shit’ in the middle of the store.”

  “Sorry about that. Instant reaction. Anyway, thank you for your concern, but I’m fine.”

  “If you’re fine, let me see.” He smirked.

  I sighed as I removed the bloody tissue from my finger and it was still bleeding.

  “It’s still bleeding,” he spoke.

  “It hasn’t clotted yet. I’m a slow clotter.”

  “That actually sounds gross, but I’ll take your word for it. If the bleeding doesn’t stop soon, you may need stitches.”

  “I thought you weren’t a doctor.” I smirked.

  “I’m not, but my sister is, and I’ve been around her long enough to know some medical stuff.”

  “Ah. Okay then. Are you sure you don’t need any help?” I asked.

  “Actually,” he looked at his watch, “I’m very limited on time. My sister, the doctor, was in here the other day and she saw a dress she liked. She said it was cream-colored, knee-length, spaghetti straps, and had a light pink flower that was attached to the waist.”

  “Oh, I know which one you’re talking about.” I walked over to the rack that had all of Evelyn’s designs and pulled it out. “This is the one she’s talking about. It’s a one-of-a-kind design.”

  His eyes raked over the dress and then met mine, staring at me for what seemed like eternity before speaking.

  “Nice. Do you have it in a small?”

  The one I was holding up was a large, so I put it back on the rack and looked through the other two next to it.

  “I do. I have one left.” I smiled.

  “Great. I’ll take it.” He took the dress from me. “Do you think that the other girl who is working here could ring and wrap it up? I would hate for you to get your blood all over my sister’s dress. I’m not sure I could explain that one.”

  “Shit.” I looked at my finger as blood was running down it through the tissue.

  Running back to the counter, I grabbed another tissue and wrapped it around my finger as I called for Katie.

  “Sorry about that,” she spoke with happiness all over her face. “Oh no, what did you do?”

  “Box cutter. I’ll be fine. Can you ring this gentleman up, please?”

  “Oh, of course.” Her smile brightened as she took the dress from him.

  “Do you always buy your sister dresses?” I asked sarcastically.

  “It’s for her birthday, if you must know. She pretty much told me that I can buy it for her.” He smiled.

  He paid in cash and fixated his eyes on me while Katie folded up the dress, wrapped it in tissue, and placed it in the bag. The way he stared at me made me feel a little uncomfortable. Not in a scary way, but in a sexual way. He was the type of looking man that you just knew was more than a god in the bedroom. The way he carried himself with such composure and confidence spoke volumes. His tousled light sandy brown hair, masculine jawline, perfectly chiseled cheekbones, and the five o’clock shadow that graced his face were beyond intoxicating. Snapping back into reality as Katie handed him the bag, I told him to have a nice day.

  “You better go have that finger looked at. You need stitches.” A cunning smirk crossed his face as he walked his six foot one perfect body out of my shop.

  “Umm. Can I die now?” Katie looked at me with seriousness.

  “He was pretty cute.” I replaced the Kleenex on my finger with a new one.

  “Pretty cute? Are you serious, Emily? He was drop dead gorgeous!”

  “Don’t you have a boyfriend?” I smiled as I threw my purse over my shoulder and began to walk away.

  “Yes, and where are you going?”

  “To get some stitches. Hold down the fort while I’m gone.”

  “Good luck!”

  Chapter 4

  After getting three stitches put in my finger, I headed back to the shop, and when I walked in, Evelyn came running over to me.

  “Finger first. How are you?” she asked.

  “Fine. Three stitches. Not too bad.”

  “Good. Now, me and you are going out tonight.”

  “We are? Where are we going?” I asked as I set my purse down.

  “We are going speed dating!” She grinned.

  “Why?” I twisted my face.

  “Why not? I’m single, you’re single, it’s on my bucket list, and I’ve always wanted to try it. It’ll be fun! Two hours, five to six minutes with each guy, a check by yes or no, and we’re out of there.”

  “Fine. But just so you know, I’m checking no for each guy.”

  “Ugh. Whatever. Do what you want, but we’re going to have a great time. Anyway, I brought my sketchbook with my new designs. Tell me what you think. By the way, Katie told me that some drop dead gorgeous man bought one of my dresses this morning for his sister.”

  “And he was totally checking her out,” Katie shouted from the pants rack.

  “He was not, and,” I shrugged my shoulders, “he was cute.”

  “Date worthy?” Evelyn asked.

  “Maybe. But I’m sure I’ll never see him again, so no big deal.”

  I left the shop at five to go home and get ready for my night out with Evelyn. As I was applying my makeup, a text message came through from Cliff.

  “Hi. I missed you today. Like, I really missed you. I know you said you weren’t ready for a relationship, but I could totally see us together. We can take it really slow. I’m willing to wait for as long as it takes.”

  I sighed as I set down my makeup brush, picked up my phone, and began to text him back. After thinking about it, I decided not to respond, as it would probably lead to blowing up my phone all night. So, I would respond to him tomorrow. Tonight was a girls’ night out, not a man-drama night.

  ****

  As we stepped into the Martini bar, we signed in at the long rectangular table by the door and were told to grab a drink and relax before the event started.

  “What can I get you, miss?” the bartender asked.

  “I’ll have a neat martini with three olives, please.”

  “And for you?” He glanced at Evelyn as he wiped down the counter.

  “Dry martini with a twist.” She smiled.

  Leaning against the edge of the bar, I took note of all the girls that were there in hopes of finding their Prince Charming tonight.

  “Where are the guys? Is this a lesbian speed dating? Because if it is, Evelyn, I’m killing you.”

  She laughed. “No. It’s not a lesbian speed dating. The guys are put in another room so n
o one can interact with each other before it starts.”

  “Oh.” The bartender handed me my martini.

  As I sipped it, I counted the small square and round tables that had number signs in the middle of them. There were twenty tables total. The host of the event got on the speaker and announced it was time to start. We were told to line up in a single line and whatever number we were in line, was the number of which table we would start at first. I was third in line, so I had to make sure I started with table three. We women were told to close our eyes until the men took their seats at the table. I was a little offended and found it a bit sexist that we couldn’t sit at the tables first and have the men come to us. That was what I would do if I hosted one of these things.

  As soon as the bell rang, we all scattered out of line and headed to our designated tables. I took a seat across from the guy at table three.

  “Hi, I’m Mark.” He smiled.

  “I’m Emily. So what do you do for work?” I bluntly asked.

  “I’m an architect. And you?”

  “I own a boutique called Emily’s Edge.”

  He was cute in his black wavy hair way.

  “How do you feel about relationships?” I asked as I leaned over the table and narrowed my eye at him.

  “Um. I like relationships? I think it’s important to have someone special to share your life with.”

  “What do you think about cheaters?”

  He leaned back in his chair and the look of fear fell into his eyes, which led me to believe he was a cheater.

  “I think they’re wrong, but you never know the circumstances as to why they cheated. There’s two sides to every story.”

  The bell rang and it was time to get up and go to the next table.

  “Hi, I’m Brad.” His perfectly over-whitened teeth blinded me.

  “Emily. Nice to meet you.”

  Before I could attack him with my question, he asked his first.

  “You’re hot. What do you think about sex on the first date?”

  “As long as there’s a mutual attraction, I think it’s okay.”

  “Is there a mutual attraction here?” he asked with his blinding smile.

  I sat there for a few moments and studied him. He was a player and all he was there for was to snatch up some poor unsuspecting girl to have sex with.