But he didn’t. I remembered enough to remember that.

I’d taken him into my mouth again, savoring the taste of him… the sheer heat and size of him, fully intending to drive him to a climax just as powerful as the one he had given me. We had been in a clear glass room, sliding out of the sky and back down into the city. And it had moved slowly. Slowly enough to enjoy the view, more than slowly enough to give him what he was clearly aching for. He’d been huge and hard and ready from the moment I’d touched him…

But that one last taste was all I’d gotten. Enough to quicken both our appetites, but nowhere close to satisfying them. He’d groaned and pulled me up beside him, zipping his jeans with difficulty. He’d been utterly enormous.

But that had been Sunday. And today was Friday, with only one day left before the Sutton job. And I hadn’t heard from Chase since he’d brought me home that night. We’d driven mostly in silence, and his kiss at the door had been humiliatingly chaste. Then I’d crept up the staircase alone in the dark. Gran must have been asleep…. she hadn’t said anything to me in the morning. Nothing at all.

And so I’d thrown myself into preparations for the party. A dozen calls between me and Sutton had resulted in a much clearer idea of just what the evening had in store. And I’d started to wonder if I should have taken Chase’s warnings more seriously. The atmosphere he seemed intent on creating would have made a citizen of ancient Rome blush…

In any case, I was grateful to be busy. Run off my feet, actually. All of us had been working long, exhausting hours and by the end of the day, there was nothing left but to fall into bed and hope for sleep so sound my thoughts wouldn’t wander… It was bad enough to have gotten tipsy in front of him, knowing full well I couldn’t handle the scotch I’d ordered, but to have unzipped him…

And had him refuse me. It was that memory, more than anything, that was still painful. I’d acted cheap and wanton. How could I be surprised that he hadn’t wanted to see me again?

I spread the last layer of thinned white chocolate onto the cake sculpture, smoothing it to the texture of glass. When it was dry, I would begin the airbrushing, creating highlights and shadows… visual texture. Without a doubt, it was the most incredible effort we’d ever achieved. I sighed and stood back, leaning my chin to one side, making mental notes. It was so large that the transport would be the biggest challenge. That’s why we’d created it in two large pieces. I’d need at least thirty minutes to assemble it on site…

I wiped off my hands and rummaged for my phone. Punching in Sutton’s number, I leaned back and put my feet up for a blessed minute of relief. I listened to the ring, and the click as he picked up.

“So, how’s my sweetheart?” he asked. I smiled, used to his casual flirtatiousness by now. “Is my Bacchus ready for his bacchanal?”

“I think you’ll be pleased,” I replied confidently. “Just keep in mind, he’s not all in one piece, not yet. I can send photos by the end of the day.”

“I’ll be waiting,” he said, his voice deep and teasing. “So what is it you need, right at this moment? What’s your pleasure…?”

I ignored his tone. “I know we scheduled to begin set up at four. Is it alright if we come half an hour earlier?”

“You can come as early and as often as you want,” he replied smoothly. I pressed my lips together, glad he couldn’t see the expression on my face. Then I heard a voice in the background. It wasn’t Chase, but it was male and it sounded urgent.

“She’s threatening to go to the press,” the man said. “Apparently half a million wasn’t enough.”

I heard a loud shuffling against my ear, as if Sutton was trying to cover the receiver with his hand. I had to strain to make out his muffled reply…

“Then offer her more. Or buy her a fucking car. I don’t give a shit. They all have a price… Just find hers… and shut her up…

I sat blinking for a second as he came back on the line. “Sorry, sweetheart. I’ve had something come up. Can I give you a call back?” He sounded casual, but not without effort.

“Of course… no rush…,” I answered as the line went dead. I put the phone down and sat for a few moments longer, letting my aching feet rest just a little longer… and wondered…

“You never introduced me to your young man,” Gran complained as I tucked her covers in for the night. It was late for both of us, and she was irritable. I was utterly exhausted. “It sends a poor message… He’ll think you don’t come from a decent family.”

“I know, and I’m sorry,” I apologized, sitting down beside her. “He never picked me up here like we’d planned. At the last minute, we ended up meeting at his sister’s house and having dinner with her.” I looked away, remembering the rest of the evening, grateful for the dim light of her bedroom. “It wasn’t really like a date…”

She made a soft clicking sound and I looked up to see her smiling. It was the first time in a very long time and she looked suddenly very different. Softer, younger… more like the kinder woman she had been in my childhood.

“Well,” she said, looking at me and nodding. “He sounds like a gentleman,” she said approvingly. “His family clearly matters to him, and he made sure you were properly chaperoned.”

I had to smile too then, at her old-world ideas as well as the irony. If she only knew how very improper we had been...

“He is a gentleman,” I said, as she took my hand and stroked the back with the pad of her thumb. “And his sister, Amelia, is just a lovely person… She’s going through a hard time right now and he wanted to be there for her.”

She nodded again and leaned forward to drop a dry kiss on my cheek. She smelled like lavender and baby powder, and the gesture nearly brought me to tears. It had been a long time since she’d made such a display of affection.

“Well, just remember, I still expect an introduction the next time he calls for you,” she said. “Don’t forget. Since you’ve already met his family, we certainly want to make a good impression… And nice young men don’t come along every day.”

I poured her water, and dropped her pill into her papery thin palm. All I gave in response was a smile, and a soft goodnight as I closed her door. I didn’t have the heart to tell her there might not be another chance. That I might have ruined my chance, my one chance, with the kindest and most exciting man I had ever met.

I climbed into bed and pulled up my own covers, a thousand questions racing through my mind. About the party tomorrow, and if Reese and I would be able to manage it on our own. What it would be like...and what might happen… at the most exclusive and decadent party the city had ever seen. It was frightening, but it was exciting too. The idea of being somewhere, even for just one night, where there weren’t any rules… I couldn’t sleep as my imagination ran wild.

I wondered if Chase would be there. What would it mean if he wasn’t?

And what it might mean if he was…