Page 18 of Whatever Lola Wants (Odyssey #2)

She sighed and pushed out of bed, stooping to gather the robe from the floor.

She dragged it on and padded out of the bedroom, heading for the half bath off the kitchen.

No longer in the mood for a morning romp in the shower, she took care of business, then went into the kitchen to start the coffee.

She was debating whether to make him breakfast—was it making breakfast if she just put the bagel in the toaster, or did she have to actually put cream cheese on it for it to count?—when her doorbell rang.

She frowned, glancing at the clock. It was just past six, and the only people that would ring her bell at that hour would’ve known to call first.

She wasn’t fit for company until after at least one cup of coffee.

She checked the peephole and was blinking in surprise as she opened the door. “ Peter .”

“Morning, Lo .” Her across-the-hall neighbor flashed her a charming grin, a suitcase at his feet. “ Have you had your coffee yet?”

She tightened the sash on her robe. “ No , but I’ll try to be nice. What’s up?”

“Just wanted to let you know I’m headed out of town for a while. I’m going to be working in London for a few months.”

“Nice.” An engineer, work often took Peter to distant shores. Last year he’d spent four months in South America working on bridges. That he’d only gotten arrested twice meant he’d actually spent the time working on bridges.

He nodded, his long blond curls flopping with the movement. “ I wanted to let you know I’m going to have a house sitter this time.”

Lola leaned against the doorway and stifled a yawn. “ Yeah ? You hire a service?”

“Nah. I’ve got a cousin in Ohio who’s thinking about moving here, wants to get the lay of the land before she commits. So , she gets a place to stay while she explores, and I get a house sitter.”

“That’s nice. Is she going to be looking for a job here?”

“If she decides to move, yeah. But she’s a teacher—summers off—so it’s not a problem yet.”

“Well, tell her to stop by and say hi when she gets in,” she offered. “ Anna and I can take her out on the town.”

“I was hoping you’d say that. She’s pretty na?ve—never been outside her hometown. I’d feel better if she had someone looking out for her until she gets settled in.”

“Yeah, sure. Give her my number.” She smiled at him, though she could hear the popping and hissing as her coffee maker finished brewing its first pot. She really needed coffee. “ Do you need me to hold a key for her?”

“No, I made arrangements with building management.”

“Okay.” She yawned. “ What’s her name?”

“Ginger. She’s got blonde hair, blue eyes. Sweet girl.” He winced. “ Absolutely no street smarts at all.”

“She’ll be fine,” she assured him. “ Anna and I will give her the City Living 101 crash course.”

He flashed her a relieved smile and grabbed the handle of his suitcase. “ Thanks .”

“No problem. Have fun in London . Try not to get arrested this time.”

The smile turned wicked. “ I make no promises.”

She shut the door on a laugh. He probably would get arrested, she mused, but he’d probably get out of it. Nothing seemed to stick to Peter .

“Who was that?”

She let out a shriek and whirled. Simon stood in her kitchen, hair damp from his shower, dressed in the t-shirt and shorts from last night. “ You scared me,” she accused as he helped himself to a cup of coffee.

“Sorry.” He dumped a teaspoon of sugar into the cup and stirred. “ Thought you heard me.”

She pushed off the door. Since he’d taken the cup she’d gotten down for herself, she snagged another from the cupboard above the coffeemaker. “ No problem.”

He set the spoon aside. “ Who was at the door?”

“My neighbor,” she replied, inhaling the heavenly scent rising in a cloud of steam from her cup. “ He’s going out of town, wanted me to know he’s got a house sitter coming in.”

One eyebrow quirked up. “ He always tell you his travel plans?”

She frowned at his tone. Not quite accusing, but not… not accusing. “ Yes , actually. He travels a lot for work, and he feels better if someone is keeping an eye on the place while he’s gone.”

His expression didn’t change. “ Isn’t that what a house sitter is for?”

“Yeah. And in this case, the house sitter is his small-town cousin, and he wanted me to keep an eye on her. What’s with the third degree?”

He winced, a faint twitch of facial muscles before his expression smoothed out. If she hadn’t been watching him so closely, she might’ve missed it. “ Sorry ,” he said briefly. “ You looked friendly.”

She frowned. “ We are friendly.”

He was watching her so closely. “ More than friendly. I don’t like the idea that I might’ve been poaching.”

Oh, for crying out loud. “ We’re friends, Simon . I realize you don’t know me very well, so I’ll clue you in. I don’t cheat, and I don’t lie. And if I were with him, I wouldn’t have been with you. All right?”

“All right.”

She reached for the bagels, though her appetite had disappeared. “ Do you want a bagel?”

“I’m sorry. I jumped to the wrong conclusion.”

She studied him for a moment, then shoved away the hurt and nodded. “ Okay .”

“Really,” he said.

“It’s fine.” She worked up a smile. “ Really .”

He studied her silently for moment, then nodded. “ Okay .”

“Bagel?” she repeated, determined to be polite for as long as this awkward morning after lasted.

He shook his head. “ Thanks , but I have to get back to my place and get changed.”

“Well, then.” She worked up an easy smile. “ I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah.” He set his coffee aside, untouched. “ Will you be at the club this weekend?”

“Maybe. My work load is picking up a bit, so I’ll have to see.” Her work load was exactly the same as it had been last week, but he didn’t need to know that. Guess I do lie, after all.

“I hope you’re able to make it.” He smiled. “ You do liven up the place.”

She chuckled and tried not to stiffen as he bent to brush his lips over her cheek. “ See you later,” he said, then he was out the door and gone.

“Fuck,” she muttered and poured his coffee down the sink.

* * *

“What’s with you, man?”

Simon glanced up from his desk with a frown. “ What ?”

“I said, what’s with you?” Grant slouched in the chair across from the desk. “ You’ve been a crab ass all week.”

“I have not been a ‘crab ass’,” Simon said, annoyed. “ I’ve been busy. We’ve got four new accounts to assess.”

“And they’re being assessed,” Grant countered. He leaned forward to brace his elbows on his knees. “ Does this have anything to do with Lola ?”

Simon stilled. “ What do you mean?”

Grant shot him a let’s-get-real look. “ C’mon . The vibe when you two were at our place the other night was so steamy, I thought you were going to strip down and go at it on my patio. Did you take her home?”

Simon tossed his pen down, giving up the pretense of working. “ Yes .”

“And?”

“And I spent the night.”

Grant frowned. “ What , was the sex shitty?”

Simon huffed out a laugh. “ No , the sex wasn’t shitty.”

His tone must’ve conveyed exactly how not shitty it had been, and Grant’s grin flashed again. “ So , what’s the problem?”

Simon’s fingers tapped on the desk. “ It was a mistake.”

“Why?”

“She’s a switch, Grant .” Simon looked his friend square in the face. “ A switch who, by her own admission, doesn’t submit. She bottoms.”

“Okay,” Grant said slowly. “ She bottoms in a way you can’t work with?”

“Oh, I can work with it,” he replied, the memory of just how much he enjoyed working with it roughening his voice.

“Then I’ll ask again, what’s the problem?”

“I’m a Dom ,” Simon said. “ I want a submissive. Someone who wants my control. Someone who needs me. What am I going to do with a switch?”

Grant frowned. “ You’re leaping ahead here, aren’t you? You spent one night together.”

Simon shook his head. “ I need to find someone whose needs are more compatible with mine.”

Grant shrugged. “ If you’re not a good fit, then you’re not a good fit. I have to say, though, I thought you fit pretty well.”

Simon shook his head. “ Sex isn’t everything.”

“Brother, it’s a helluva lot,” Grant said with a laugh. “ But I get you. You can’t fuck all the time, right?”

“Right.” Simon worked up a smile. “ Are you and Anna going to the club this weekend?”

Grant shook his head. “ Anna’s hip deep in wedding stuff, and she’s got three new clients. She’s been working hard to get up to speed on their accounts so she can spend today and tomorrow looking for a dress.”

Simon’s lips quirked into a smile. “ She give you a to-do list?”

Grant scowled. “ Who’d have thought getting married was such a hassle? You find a minister, say I do, and eat cake.”

Simon laughed out loud. “ What’d she say when you told her that?”

Grant winced and rubbed the side of his head. “ She threw a bridal magazine at me.”

“At least it wasn’t an apple,” Simon quipped.

“I’m never going to live that down, am I ?”

“Getting hit in the balls with an apple by your woman?” Simon shook his head. “ Never .”

“At least she threw it at my head,” Grant grumbled, then he grinned. “ Can’t complain though, since I got to beat her ass for it.”

Simon snorted. “ Can she sit down yet?”

Grant sighed. “ Yeah . I must be mellowing.”

“You lucked out there,” Simon said, envy at his friend’s happiness an ugly little cramp in his gut.

Grant slapped his hands on his thighs as he stood. “ You’ll find someone, buddy. Going hunting this weekend?”

Simon nodded. “ Yeah , I think I will.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Simon watched Grant leave, then picked up his pen again.

He twirled it through his fingers, trying to drum up some enthusiasm for going to Odyssey this weekend.

He conjured up an image of the perfect submissive—head bowed, long hair hanging forward as she knelt at his feet, naked but for his collar.

That was what he wanted. So why did the image keep shifting to a tiny woman with wild platinum hair in a red catsuit with a defiant gleam in her eye?

Goddammit.

* * *