I wake with the taste of him still lingering in my mouth.
Growling, I try to wriggle closer to the sexy beast that rocked my world last night. My whole body is still aching from the hours of pounding that Kaden put me through and I’m eager take another ride. I have never felt closer to anyone when our naked bodies are pressed intimately together. I love the feeling of emotional closeness that we have – I never knew two people could experience such wonder together.
It’s not until my hand reaches the edge of the bed that I fully wake up.
I’m alone.
Again.
Kaden has been leaving for work earlier and earlier. I ask him to wake me before he goes but he never does.
“You look so peaceful when you’re sleeping,” he always says. “I can’t bear to disturb you.”
I know I shouldn’t let it annoy me, but I can’t help it. We see each other so rarely - is it too much to ask for a few minutes of his time before he goes to work?
I stretch and sigh, feeling the annoyance draining out of me. After two years together I should be used to his constant absences. Even when we were first together and he couldn’t keep his hands off me, he was always between meetings or running late for something.
Two years.
Two years since that first incredible meeting in his office when he’d agreed to fund my app in exchange for a partnership in the venture. Right from the start our chemistry had been sizzling, but it was never just sexual attraction - I saw in him a fellow independent spirit. As a self-made billionaire he understood my need to make my own way in the world, to carve out my own place. And he admired it.
Even now, when I think about that first night in his arms and in his bed my whole body tingles with heat and excitement. If I have the pleasure of growing old and forgetting everything, I hope that night is the last thing I forget.
Kaden has made me feel things I’d never thought possible, at least not for me. And though his constant need for control can get annoying in the daylight hours, behind his closed door, between his expensive silk sheets, I belonged to him and he never let me forget it.
I slip out of bed and step into my slippers so my feet won’t get cold on the hardwood floor. I’m not even sure why I’m getting out of bed - I have nothing to do. I remember when I was a teenager, I always thought it would be so glamorous to be a rich man’s wife or a lady of leisure.
But in truth, it is actually kind of boring. I don’t like tennis or horseback riding and daytime television doesn’t interest me.
Two years ago, I was a driven woman. I wanted to be successful. I went to this unknown handsome billionaire and begged for money to fund the new app I developed. Kaden agreed to be my business partner, but we also landed in bed together.
I was able to identify the gap in the market, and with Kaden’s guidance, I programmed and designed the app to meet the market needs.
The app took off the second it was released. We broke all sorts of sales records in the first few weeks and the excitement was dizzying. I knew the app would be a hit but I never expected it to move so fast.
In the first year, I made more money than I had ever even dreamed of and just over six months ago, we’d negotiated a deal to sell the app for an insane seven-figure sum.
I am now a very wealthy woman in my own right.
I have everything I’ve ever wanted and the days of worrying about where the next month’s rent was coming from or whether I would eat are a blur now.
Still, sometimes I miss those days of having nothing but noodles in the cupboard for a whole week. My old roommate and best friend, Olivia, and I would talk it up like we were eating caviar, giving the noodles funny suave-sounding names like ‘oriental angel strands’. No matter how dire our finances were or how hungry we felt, we always found things to laugh about.
Yawning, I make my way down the stairs and through the huge foyer into the kitchen. Long gone are the days when I found Kaden’s mansion intimidating and labyrinthine. Even before he asked me to move in six months ago, I’d been able to easily make my way around even in the dark.
I squint at the antique grandfather clock as I pass and have to stop and look closer.
It’s almost 10:30!
There was a time when I couldn’t excuse sleeping in past 7:00 on a weekday unless I was on vacation. I tell myself that there’s no need to feel guilty since I have nowhere to be – I am a lady of leisure. I worked hard and created something the people loved, and now I’m living off the profits...
Lois greets me with a bright smile when I walk into the kitchen.
She’s already pouring me coffee and I can smell the spicy aroma of my favorite cinnamon toast. I have no idea how she always manages to have breakfast ready just as I walk into the kitchen. I know she’d been a housekeeper for many years with another wealthy family before Kaden discovered her, so I guess she’s just that good.
Still, I argue when she slides the toast my way.
“Lois, you don’t have to make me breakfast. I’m perfectly capable of...” I take a bite and my argument is forgotten. I moan in pleasure. “This is incredible.”
She smiles. “It’s my pleasure, Miss Snow.”
I flip through the paper while Lois busily wipes over the benches. Once I’ve swallowed the last of the coffee and popped the last morsel of spicy-sweet toast in my mouth, Lois clears her throat and I look up with a smile.
“Am I in the way?” I ask.
“Of course not, Miss,” she replies waving a hand. “I wanted to ask, would you mind if I took the afternoon off? It’s not urgent, just my niece’s school play.”
I remember Kaden saying that he probably wouldn’t be back tonight and would get dinner at the office, so I smile and nod.
“Of course, yes!” I reply. “What’s the play?”
For the next half hour, Lois tells me about her niece and family.
I learn more about her in that chat than in the two years I’ve been dating her boss. Her niece reminds me a lot of a young Olivia and I show Lois a picture in the latest gossip mag of Olivia with some big-name actor she’s supposed to be dating.
I can’t help feeling guilty when Lois gets back to work and I wonder off to find something to do. I should have taken the time to get to know her better.
It’s not like I’ve had much else to do…