Lost in Time (Forever and Always #20) Read online

  “Sure. But then what will we talk about?” She shrugged. “I thought it would be nice to have a decent conversation before we start acting like sharks.” She leaned back in her chair, her posture perfect.

  Was I being an ass? Or was she making me an ass? “Very well.”

  “What do you do for fun?” she repeated.

  “Not much,” I said honestly. “When I’m not at work, I’m usually with my wife. And if I’m not with her, I’m usually with my friends. We drink, play ball, hit the gym together, just normal and boring things.”

  “How did you meet your wife?”

  “In college.”

  “Wow.” Her eyes were wide. “So you’ve known her a long time?”

  “About ten years.”

  “Impressive. That’s a long time to be with the same person.” She kept her eyes glued to mine.

  “We were friends for that ten years. She and I have only been lovers for about a year and a half.”

  “I see. What took you so long?”

  I shrugged. “I was an ass, to be honest.”

  She gave me a smile. “I can’t see you being anything but sweet.”

  That made me uncomfortable “Are you married?”

  “No.”

  “Boyfriend?”

  “No. I have a few casual lovers, but nothing serious.”

  That was too much information. She could have just left it at no. I didn’t have a response because I was too awkward. Only my family could tell me something like that.

  The waiter broke the silence and took our order. Thank god. After he took the menus, he walked away.

  “Some of my lovers are married men.” She said it plainly, like it was something she’d said a hundred times.

  Okay…

  She leaned over the table and placed her chin on her hand, giving me a playful look. “And I’ve kept their secrets. Their wives have no idea and everyone wins.”

  I slept with a lot of girls in my youth, but never once did I sleep with a married woman. Actually, other than my brother’s girlfriend, I hadn’t even slept with a girl who had a boyfriend. Not my style. I thought it was immoral and wrong. I may never have wanted to get married, but that didn’t mean I didn’t respect the institution. The fact she was okay with that lifestyle made me dislike her. But I wasn’t here to judge her on a personal level. She had something I wanted for my company, and insulting her would get me nowhere.

  When I didn’t say anything she pressed forward. “I know we just met, but I can already tell I like you…” She reached her hand out and placed it on mine. Suddenly, her words made sense to me. She wanted to have an affair. I pulled my hand away quickly. The first thing I wanted to do was call her a whore then storm out, but I had to control myself. She was a very important client. “I’m married—happily married.”

  She smirked. “Marriage is a despicable practice. I can guarantee that people would never commit to another person for the rest of their lives if it weren’t expected in our society. The divorce rate has never been higher. It’s a waste of time.”

  “You have the right to your own opinion, but I respectfully disagree. I’ve never been happier in my life. I never want another woman as long as I live. If soul mates exist, she’s mine.”

  She gave me a sympathetic smile. “It’s obvious you’re a newlywed.”

  It was getting harder and harder not to snap. She said she appreciated the fact that I didn’t harass her, but yet, she was doing the exact same thing to me. “I’m not interested in other women. Can we get down to business?”

  She sighed. “I suppose.”

  “I’ll meet your demand for full exclusivity. I think your asking price is too high, but I’ll compromise.”

  “If you thought it was too high, you wouldn’t agree at all.” A condescending smile was on her face. “But I’ve changed my mind about it. Actually, my father has.”

  This was bullshit.

  “The same asking price, but we want a thirty percent royalty on all your sales.”

  Thirty percent? You’ve got to be fucking kidding. “With overhead, employees, and taxes, that would leave me with two percent—that’s not a fair asking price.”

  She sat back in her chair and shrugged. “You either want the operating system or you don’t.” Judging the look in her eyes, she wasn’t bluffing.

  The waiter placed the food in front of us then walked away. I wasn’t hungry at all. This woman offered to have an affair with me then changed the terms of our deal. A more unethical woman I’d never known. She may be beautiful, but she was hideous deep down inside.

  She ate quietly, picking at her food.

  I had nothing to say so I concentrated on my meal.

  “I’ve given you five minutes to think about it. What say you?”

  “No.” I didn’t need five minutes to think about it. “It makes no sense for me to sell something with no profit. I may as well utilize what I have and hope I can compete with the competition.”

  “But you never will.”

  “Be that as it may.” I opened my wallet and through down ample cash to pay the tab. “It was nice meeting you.” Not really. “Good luck.” I stood up and pushed my chair in.

  “Wait.” She sat up, panicked.

  “What?” My patience was waning. “I don’t negotiate with someone so unethical. Once we agree on a new price, you’ll change your mind. That’s not a type of business partner I wish to have dealings with.”

  “That order came from my father, not me.”

  “I really don’t care where it came from.”

  “Sit down,” she commanded.

  Only one woman bossed me around and got away with it. I stayed on my feet.

  “I’ll offer you something else instead.”

  I sat down, interested to hear her deal.

  “I can convince my father to change his mind. But you need to do something for me…”

  I didn’t like the sound of that.

  “I want you to make love to me like you do your wife. Then I’ll persuade him.”

  “You’re blackmailing me?”

  “No, I’m offering you a deal. We both get what we want.”

  “Are you always this unethical?” I snapped.

  “Let’s cut the crap, Mr. Preston. Don’t act like you don’t want to be with me. Only a gay man wouldn’t.”

  I laughed. “Wow. You’re really full of yourself.”

  Her eyes burned in offense.

  “My company could be on the threshold of going under without this deal and I still wouldn’t take your offer. My wife is everything to me. I could lose everything; my job, my house, my family and I still would be happy as long as I had her. I don’t want you and never will.” I stood up and adjusted my tie. “The meeting is over. I’m not interested in anything you have to sell, Ms. Augustine.” I stormed out, not looking back at the whore who couldn’t catch my attention if she tried.

  I stayed at work a little later than usual. I was pissed at how my day went. I really needed that operating system, but it wasn’t worth it if I had to deal with that slut. My dad said the new technology would help the company and Cortland agreed, but I couldn’t sacrifice my marriage to attain it. They would both understand. And even if she didn’t ask me to whore myself out, the other deal was ridiculous. We’d figure out some other way.

  Scarlet texted me. Are you still at the office?

  I stared at the screen for a moment before I responded. Yes.

  Are you coming home soon?

  Yeah. Leaving in 5.

  Good. I miss you.

  My heart pained in longing at her words. I miss you too.

  Drive safe.

  Always.

  I put my phone down and sighed. Should I tell her what happened? She knew that the company was trying to acquire new software but she didn’t know the details. I didn’t talk about work when I was at home. I just concentrated on her.

  But then I remembered what she said. She didn’t care if women hit on me, and it
didn’t make her jealous. She trusted me so there was no reason to be suspicious or doubtful. So why should I even bother? Was it even worth mentioning? No, I guess not.

  When I came home, she greeted me at the door, giving me a hard kiss. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you too.” My hand moved into her hair while I held her close to me. Her breasts were pressed against my chest and I felt her baby bump. I was hot for her the moment I felt her. It disgusted me that Aris had no respect for marriage. Maybe other people married for the wrong reason, and maybe they were unhappy with their partners, but that wasn’t the case for me. I had the most amazing woman in the world. I loved her with my whole heart and never wanted anyone else for as long as I lived. That skinny French bitch had nothing on my wife. “I want to make love to you.”

  Scarlet gave me a playful look. “You always say that.”

  “This time, I need to.”

  Chapter 4

  Cortland

  Monnique got rid of her apartment then moved her stuff to mine. When we were living together again, we were doing it like animals. It was like neither one of us ever had sex before.

  She lay on top of me, my wrists tied to the post with her panties, and she was riding me hard and fast. “Mmm…I could do this all day.”

  I rocked into her from below, loving the feel of her bare pussy. It was the best thing on this planet.

  She dug her nails into my skin then moaned loudly, practically screaming. Her breasts shook while she took me in deep and far. “Oh yeah…” She leaned her head back, looking like a goddess. I like knowing my body was giving her so much pleasure. The panties restrained my wrists, but let’s be honest, I wasn’t putting up much of a fight. I liked it when she fucked me like this.

  She slowed down for a second, catching her breath as she came down from her high. “God, he feels good.”

  I moaned in response, wanting to come inside her pussy.

  She leaned over me then kissed me, moving her lips slowly. I writhed under her, somehow even more turned on by the feel of her mouth against mine. I rocked my hips, trying to move inside her, but she wouldn’t let me. She kept kissing me, building me up.

  She finally broke our kiss then moved from her knees to her feet.

  I knew I was in for a treat.

  Balancing on the balls of her feet, she took me slowly.

  I clenched my jaw and breathed because it felt so good. I was so close to reaching my threshold.

  Monnique did it again then sped up.

  That was all I needed. I came hard and long, filling her for a few seconds. I loved coming inside her. It was pure heaven. I lay back when I was finished, catching my breath. She leaned over me and gave me a gentle kiss before she removed my flimsy restraints.

  My free hand moved through her hair and pulled her to the bed next to me, wanting to snuggle with her all night. Forget dinner. Lying in bed with her was better.

  “Cortland?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Don’t you think we’ve waited long enough?”

  I knew what she referred to. “You want to tell them?”

  “Want to tell them?” She smirked at me. “I’m dying to tell them.”

  “I don’t want to keep my fiancé waiting.”

  She extended her hand. “Make it official.”

  I opened my nightstand drawer then looked at the box. It’d been sitting there for almost a year. In the back of my mind, I held onto it because I hoped I’d be able to give it to her. Even after all the hardship we had, I still kept it, hoping she’d wear it someday. That ring represented a lot more than just love. It represented the hard work we both put into this relationship, saving it even when there was no reason to. I grabbed it then turned back to her, popping the lid.

  She stared at the simple ring embedded with diamonds. The rock in the center was a little big, catching the eye of anyone who saw it, but I saw Monnique’s face the second I lay eyes on it. I knew it would complement her perfectly. I spent a fortune on it because I didn’t believe in upgrading. This was the ring I wanted her to wear for the rest of our lives. It was the ring I wanted her to be buried with.

  Her eyes watered. “It’s beautiful, Cortland.”

  I pulled it out of the box then slipped it on her finger. “Just like you.”

  She stared at her hand for a long time, watching the diamonds reflect the limited light in the bedroom. Her eyes showed her fondness for the ring. “I love it.”

  “I can tell.”

  She cupped my face and kissed me. “I’ll never take it off.”

  “Good. That’s what I was hoping for.”

  “Let’s get married,” she said impatiently. “I’m tired of waiting.”

  I smiled. “Are you sure you don’t want to have a big wedding? We can do whatever you want.”

  She shook her head. “Weddings are overrated, expensive, and cliché. Cortland, I just want you to be my husband. I want our closest friends and family to be there, but that’s it. Then I want to start our lives together.”

  “That’s exactly what I want.”

  She hopped up and down. “Let’s invite everyone to dinner and tell them the news.”

  “Like, now?”

  “Yes, now.” She gave me a firm look. “I want to show this off.”

  I smirked. “It makes Scarlet and Cassandra’s rings look tiny.”

  “It’s not the size I love,” she said. “It’s the fact you picked it out for me.”

  That warmed my heart. “I knew it was the right one the moment I saw it.”

  She got out of bed then looked through her closet. “God, what am I going to wear?”

  “How about we invite everyone first?” I said with a laugh.

  She threw a shirt at me. “Then call them.”

  “Okay, I’m on it.” I texted everyone and told them to meet us in the city for dinner. Luckily, everyone could make it. But it wasn’t that surprising. If we weren’t hanging out together, they obviously weren’t doing anything. Very few of us had friends outside the group. “Everyone can make it.”

  “Yay.” She walked out of the closet wearing a black dress and nude pumps. Her hair was pulled back slightly and there was no back to the dress. She looked sexy as hell. “Get ready,” she hissed at me.

  “Nah.” I pulled her back to bed then lifted up her dress. “I want another round before we go.”

  “Cortland, we—”

  I thrust inside her and that shut her up.

  Even though it was our party, we showed up late. Everyone was already sitting at a table, laughing while downing their drinks. It was nice to hang out with my friends and not be the only single one in the group. It was a nice change.

  “Dude, you’re an hour late.” Ryan’s arm was over the back of Janice’s chair.

  “I had to take care of something,” I lied.

  As my best friend, he could read my mood better than anyone. “You were fucking Monnique, weren’t you? Next time, invite us when you’re done, not between sessions.” He swallowed his whiskey and put the empty glass on the table.

  “Don’t mind him,” Janice said. “He’s already drunk.”

  “Drunk on you.” He leaned toward her, his lips near hers.

  She waved away his breath. “He reeks of scotch and brandy.”

  “Monnique and I will steer clear.” I pulled out the chair for her and allowed her to sit down. As soon as she rested her hands on the table, all the girls gasped and their eyes widened.

  Monnique smiled then held up her hand. “We’re engaged.”

  “Oh my god!” Janice jumped out of her chair first then hopped in place.

  Ryan stared at me like a bolt of lightning struck him—twice.

  Scarlet stood up then came over to Monnique’s side of the table to hug her.

  Cassandra tried to get up, but her stomach made it difficult. She sighed in annoyance then Mike helped her up.

  The girls huddled around her and looked at the ring.

  “It’s beautif
ul,” Scarlet said.

  “That sucker is huge,” Janice said. “Man, I went for the wrong one.”

  “I can hear you,” Ryan snapped from his seat.

  Janice smiled then ignored him.

  I moved to the guys, who were happy but calm.

  “Congrats, man.” Mike gave me a high five.

  “Thanks.”

  Flynn winked at me. “I guess I was wrong about before.”

  I never told anyone his assumption. That was between us. “I’m glad you finally believe me.”

  “Only a man desperately in love could go through that roller coaster,” Flynn said.

  “You’re one to talk,” Sean said. “You guys had your share of drama.”

  “Don’t remind me,” Flynn said sadly. “At least I got a lot of make up sex and pancakes out of it.”

  “Pancakes?” Mike cocked an eyebrow.

  “It’s a long story,” Flynn said with a shrug.

  Ryan was the only one who didn’t look exactly thrilled.

  “What’s your problem?” Sean asked.

  “I don’t have a problem,” Ryan snapped.

  We all looked at him incredulously, not believing him.

  Ryan finally connected his gaze with mine. “I’m just surprised you didn’t tell me…”

  I didn’t think he would care. “Well, it was spontaneous. I didn’t even know I was going to ask her. It just came out.”

  “How?” Sean asked.

  “At Mike’s wedding.”

  “What?” Mike looked at me like I was crazy. “You proposed to her on my wedding day?”

  “Yeah. We were on the beach…doing you know what…and it just happened.” I shrugged, not ashamed. “We didn’t tell anyone because we didn’t want to ruin your wedding or your honeymoon. So now we’re making it official.”

  Ryan relaxed at the revelation. “Oh. That’s cool then.”

  “You’re such a girl,” Sean jabbed.

  “Me?” Ryan asked with a laugh. “You’re the one that’s always crying.”

  “I don’t cry,” Sean snapped.

  “Come on,” Mike said. “You’re the crier of the group.”