Page 9 of Carnal Desire (Sapphic Billionaire Club #1)

Sadie

T here must have been something in the wine -- or maybe Ariel had put me under a spell somehow – because I was not a person who made out in public.

And I certainly didn’t dry hump them on a busy dance floor.

But as soon as I’d started dancing with the woman who was technically my boss, I’d lost all sense of propriety.

I wrapped my leg around her calf, unable to stand even a hint of space between us, and kissed Ariel like my life depended on it. She tasted like wine and tomato sauce and something uniquely Ariel, and I couldn’t get enough of it.

In the background I was vaguely aware that the song had changed again, the volume turning loud, but even though people were jumping and gyrating around us, Ariel and I stood still, wrapped in each other’s arms and kissing like we were alone and had all night to learn the secrets of each other’s mouths.

Someone bumped into us, and we broke apart, gasping for breath.

“Hey, you girls, why don’t you get a room?” a deep voice asked in a teasing tone. “Or use one of the many rooms you have upstairs? That kiss was hot as hell, but it’s bordering on inappropriate for general company, you dirty girls.”

It took me a second to comprehend that it was Theo who’d interrupted our kiss. He was dancing next to us with his husband Archie, both of them sending us amused smiles. Theo gave me an exaggerated wink.

My face flamed as I realized how intimate Ariel and I had been. How out of control. I’d literally been about two minutes away from throwing Ariel to the floor and fucking her leg like a dog in heat. Or licking her pussy, I wasn’t fussy. I’d never felt so wanton in my life.

All I knew was that I needed more. More Ariel. More kissing. More of these feelings that made the last six years of drama fade away until all I could feel was desire.

“Are you ready to go home?” Ariel asked. She seemed completely unflustered by what had just happened.

I nodded, suddenly feeling shy. What would happen once we were alone? Would we continue that kiss? Do more? I hoped so, but then again, everything was happening so fast… I vacillated between hoping that we’d continue what we started and wanting to slow things down a bit. I was so confused.

Ariel took my hand and led me to the private elevators at the back of the building.

As we passed the VIP area she lifted a hand to wave goodbye to her friends, several of whom were hooting and hollering at us.

I kept my eyes down, too embarrassed at how I’d acted in front of a bunch of people I’d just met.

God, they probably thought I was a slut or something.

Ariel and I were both quiet in the elevator, standing side by side and facing forward. When we got back inside the condo, Ariel gave my hand a squeeze.

“That got intense kind of fast,” she said.

My face fell. Was she regretting kissing me? Had I been too forward?

“I’m sorry, I should have --.”

As usual, Ariel seemed to be able to read my mind.

“That kiss was hot as fuck and I want nothing more than to tie you to my bed and make you come so many times you black out,” she said.

My jaw dropped at the visual. A rush of arousal flooded my already soaked panties.

“But we should probably slow down a bit,” she continued. “I don’t want to do anything that you’ll regret later.”

I found it interesting that she thought I’d be the one to regret if anything happened.

Ariel was rich, beautiful, and successful.

I had no doubt she could have her pick of any lesbian, bisexual, or bi-curious woman in the greater Chicagoland area.

The fact that she wanted me was almost unbelievable.

Then again, so was the idea of me staying in this fancy condo with the perfect view of the city.

“How about this?” Ariel continued, oblivious to my inner turmoil. “Let’s get our pajamas on and watch a mindless sitcom. Do you like My Name is Earl ?”

“ My Name is Earl?” I asked in confusion. “I’ve never even heard of that, although I’ve never been a big TV watcher.”

We hadn’t been able to afford cable or streaming services when I was growing up, so I’d never really gotten into TV show culture. Video games had always been my favorite way to pass the time.

“Do you like weird, quirky shows?”

“Usually,” I responded.

“Oh well, you’re in for a treat then,” Ariel assured me. “Put on your jammies and I’ll meet you back here in five.”

I went back to my room, changing into the same sweatpants and tee shirt I’d found in the guest room dresser last night.

After washing my face and brushing my teeth I went out into the living room.

Ariel was wearing her pajamas, settled right in the middle of the overstuffed couch, a remote control in her hand.

“Come on,” she said, patting the cushion next to her. “You’re about to learn about Earl’s special brand of karma.”

As it turned out, I loved My Name is Earl. The characters reminded me of people I’d grown up with, and I found myself laughing along at their antics. At some point, Ariel put her arm around my shoulder, and I moved closer, snuggling against her side. It was nice.

We watched four episodes of the show before we decided to call it a night. Ariel walked me to my bedroom, then gently pushed me against the wall and kissed me until I was dizzy with lust. When she pulled back and wished me good night I almost cried out in frustration.

I was so on edge I would have willingly gone to her bed.

Then again, Ariel was right. We probably needed to slow down.

Not that my throbbing clit cared about common sense.

I was tempted to take a bath and spend some quality time with the detachable showerhead, but somehow that seemed disrespectful so instead I just headed to bed.

When I got up the next morning Ariel was at the dining room table working on her computer, just like the day before. I wondered if she ever took a full day off. I guessed she hadn’t conquered Chicago’s commercial real estate market by sleeping in and neglecting work

“Good morning,” I mumbled.

I’d slept hard again, my dreams filled with visions of Ariel and woken up groggy. Once again I’d slept late I realized as I glanced at the clock. It was already nine-thirty.

“There’s coffee there,” she said, pointing towards the kitchen. “And there’s a breakfast casserole in the oven. Help yourself. I left the toaster out if you want toast with it.”

I slipped a piece of bread into the toaster, then served myself some casserole. I wasn’t sure what was in it, but it looked delicious. After buttering my toast and pouring a cup of coffee, I returned to the dining room. As soon as I sat down, Aiel closed her laptop.

“How’d you sleep?” she asked.

“Good. Really good. You?”

She shrugged. “I was a little restless.”

I was tempted to ask if I was the cause of it but didn’t. No sense in looking like I was fishing for compliments or something.

I took a few bites of the savory casserole, my eyes closing in pleasure. It was a mixture of eggs, potatoes, vegetables, cheese, and some sort of sausage. Everything was flavorful and perfectly seasoned.

When I opened my eyes, Ariel was staring at me with an intense look on her face. I pressed my thighs together and sternly told myself to behave. Determined to not act so desperate and wanton today, I broke her stare and glanced around the room as I took another bite of my breakfast.

“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to a stack of boxes and bags leaned up against the side of the couch. They hadn’t been there last night.

“Theo brought you some shoes. And some other stuff,” she said with what felt like forced casualness.

I sent her a curious look, then walked over and glanced through the bags, finding a variety of panties and bras, all in my exact size. I’d never had matching bra and panty sets in my life, but there were at least ten here, all with tags from what looked like high end stores.

“How did Theo know my bra size?” I asked curiously as I stroked a red lace bra that was particularly sexy.

She shrugged. “He’s a gay man, they’re good at that stuff.”

Then I opened one of the half dozen shoeboxes.

Pulling out a pair of very cute sandals, I looked at the bottom, unsurprised to find there wasn’t even a speck of dirt on the soles.

My desire to have fancy shoes warred with my innate independence.

I couldn’t pretend that this wasn’t charity, especially when I remembered a conversation Theo initiated last night about people’s shoe size.

My eyes narrowed. “Everything here looks brand new.”

“I’m not sure where he got that stuff.”

Ariel’s eyes darted away from me, raising my suspicions about yesterday’s clothes too. Nothing in those bags looked like they’d ever been worn. I’d known the clothes were new when I saw them, but I convinced myself that they were just gently used.

“That’s not what I asked you,” I said, dropping the adorable sandals and marching over to the table. “Look Ariel, I appreciate you letting me stay here, but I don’t want to be your charity case. I can buy my own shoes.”

“I wanted to buy you something nice,” she said. “Just accept the gift. It’s not a big deal.”

“It is to me!” I slammed my fists on my hips, glaring.

“You have holes in your shoes, Sadie!” she said in a frustrated tone.

“What?”

“The shoes you wore on the boat yesterday, they had holes on the bottom,” she explained. “It made me sad.”

“I’m sorry my shoes make you sad,” I said sarcastically, even while my cheeks burned with shame. I’d noticed the soles were wearing thin, but I hadn’t even realized there were holes now.

Ariel rose from her chair and pressed her palm against my red cheek. I couldn’t help but lean in against it. She gave me a look that was surprisingly tender.

“Sadie. I have so much money, more than I could ever use, let me spoil you a little bit. Please, baby. You deserve to be spoiled. Let me do this for you.”