“I don’t know. I still have no idea what went on between you and Addison.”
Yeah, she was definitely asking Betsy about us, and now I know Betsy knows little to nothing. I throw a credit card on top of the bill. “Nice try. Still not going there.”
The server arrives and grabs the bill and credit card. “Can I get you anything, Mr. Black?”
“Yes, a Wild Turkey, one ice cube, and a menu please. Ms. Manning and I will be dining.”
“You want to eat here?” she asks.
“Why not?”
“It’s not exactly fine dining.”
“So? You seem to forget I come from South Boston. I grew up on beans and stew.”
“Boston baked beans?” she asks, smiling.
“One and the same.”
“No chains like this when I was growing up, but we had some great little mom-and-pop restaurants in the nearby small towns. Not fine dining, but delicious food where everyone knew everyone else. We had this amazing Mexican restaurant run by a couple who’d emigrated twenty years previously. The best Mexican food ever. The stuff here can’t compare.”
“Esteban’s is yuppy Mexican food,” I say. “But it’s still decent.”
“True.”
The server returns with the menus. She glances over hers.
“Eat hearty, Skye,” I say. “You’re going to burn a lot of calories tonight.”
Chapter Forty-Four
As soon as we enter my penthouse, I attack her next to the elevator, kissing her hard and deep.
Then my phone buzzes.
Fuck.
Probably Dimitri, which means I’m going to New York. Fuck.
I break the kiss.
“Ignore it,” she whispers.
So tempting.
“I can’t. I’m sorry. I’m expecting an important call.”
“At nine thirty?”
I don’t answer, just pull my phone out. “Black,” I say, walking toward the living room.
Skye follows me, but a few seconds later, I walk away from her and into my office, closing the door. I don’t need her distracting me right now.
“So…?”
“No dice,” Dimitri says. “I did my best. I answered every fucking question he had with as much knowledge as anyone could possibly possess, but he’s one of those sticklers who thinks his shit don’t stink. He won’t talk to anyone but the big boss.”
“It’s okay, Dimitri. Thanks for trying.”
“If it’s any consolation, everyone else is good with going through me. Foster McCain’s the only problem.”
“Don’t worry about it. This is the first time McCain’s even agreed to a meeting. I should have stayed in New York.”
The truth of my own words hits me like an anvil to the head.
I should have stayed in New York. I knew how important this meeting was, and I also knew McCain might be a problem.
But I let my personal life interfere with business.
I made the wrong choice, though I can’t quite bring myself to regret it.
“Sorry,” Dimitri says. “Here I’ve been buzzing in your ear for more responsibility, and you give me what I want, but I can’t get this deal done.”
“It’s okay. You deserve the responsibility, Dimitri. Don’t worry about McCain. I’ll be at the meeting tomorrow.”
“It’s at eight a.m.,” he says.
“I know. I’ll be there.”
Now, to tell Skye. I shove the phone into my pants pocket and leave the office but then make a detour to my bedroom. I head to the mahogany wardrobe, open it, and then pull open one of the drawers.
I grab a silver chain and smile.
I’m getting hard just thinking about what this will do to Skye. I adjust my groin and then walk back out to the living area where I find Skye sitting on the sofa.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I have to fly back to New York.”
“Right now?”
“Yeah. I shouldn’t have left early. My bad.”
“Oh.” She frowns, and for a moment, I imagine giving my entire fortune never to see her looking sad again.
God, I need to get a grip.
I stalk toward her. “I seem to make questionable decisions because of you, Skye.”
She says nothing. Just shivers.
“I want you to think about something while I’m gone.”
She shivers. “What?”
I push the silver chain into her hands. “About wearing this to the gala on Saturday.”
She wraps it around her neck and secures it like a lariat necklace. “All right. It will go nicely with the black dress.”
I laugh. One of those serious laughs that just erupts before I can stop it.
She smiles. “What’s so funny?”
“It’s not a necklace.”
She reddens and then removes it from her neck and holds it out to me. “What is it, then?”
“Those things on each end are nipple clamps, Skye.”
Her jaw drops as she examines the baubles on each end. They resemble tiny clothespins with a screw-on device like old-fashioned clip-on earrings.
I’ve been imagining Skye in nipple clamps since I first noticed her amazing tits.
“I control how tight the clamp is,” I say. “And when I give the chain between them a good yank… Well, you can imagine.”
She hands the chain back to me and clears her throat. “I’ll…think about it.”
I lower my eyelids slightly, my whole body heating. “Think about it a lot, Skye.”
She nods.
“I’m sorry about tonight. Christopher will drive you home.”
“When will you be back?”
“Saturday afternoon, as originally planned. I’ll pick you up at your place for the gala at six p.m. sharp. I’ll bring the chain and put it on for you.”
She nods. “Braden?”
“Yes?”
“I… I’ll miss you.”
Her words warm me and go straight to my cock. I smile. “I’ll miss you, too, Skye. More than you know.”