Page 18 of Wicked Desire (Sapphic Billionaire Club #2)

Grace

I was going to kill Theo. Sure, Ariel would miss her right hand man, but there was no way he could live after he’d grabbed me and literally shoved me into a conference room, locking me in with the woman who broke my heart.

I’d replayed her horrified “of course not” response to her mother’s question about us being together a million times. I wasn’t good enough for Nicole. Wasn’t good enough for my parents. At least I still had Ariel and Maeve. My true family.

Nicole stood up and walked around the table, stopping before she reached me.

“It’s nice to see you, Grace,” she said, giving me a searching look.

“Is it?” I asked sarcastically.

“Yeah, it is. I tried to contact you to explain about what happened that day, to apologize about how I treated you, but you never responded.”

“I deleted all your messages. Funny thing about me,” I said icily. “Screw me over once and I’m done. What are you doing here anyway?”

She took a shuddering breath, her eyes turning shiny before she got control.

“I’m here to meet with Theo and Maeve about a job.”

“What job?” I asked suspiciously.

“The Clark Street property.”

“There’s no residential there,” I replied. “It’s not a project for Lowenthal.”

“I’m not in residential development anymore,” she said. “I quit my job at Lowenthal Properties.”

That was a shock. Her parents must have had a coronary.

“Please Grace, can we talk? Just give me ten minutes and I’ll leave you alone when we get out of here, I promise.”

“Fine.” Hopefully, someone would let us out before Theo got back.

I dropped into a chair on one side of the table, slouching like an angry teen. Nicole sat at the end, facing me.

“A lot of things have changed with me recently,” she began, her eyes searching my face.

“I left the company so I could start my own architecture firm. I also put my townhouse on the market and moved to an apartment over my new company. And I came out to my parents and told them that I’m a lesbian, then I told them that they need to stop controlling my life. ”

When I didn’t answer she added, “It’s all because of you, Grace. You gave me the courage to make the big changes. Being with you made me a better woman, even if it took me a little while to figure it out.”

Her face was so earnest and hopeful I could feel the ice melting around my heart. A recent conversation with my therapist flashed through my mind:

“The thing about holding yourself to such impossible standards is that sometimes it also means that you hold others to those same standards. You’re going to mess up sometimes Grace. You’re going to fail. And so are the people you love. You need to learn how to forgive them as well as yourself.”

“What do you want, Nicole?”

“Can we try again?” she asked. “Let’s start over. Totally in the open this time, with no secrets between us, and without the pressure of that stupid Grant Park College project that neither of us really wanted anyway. Please?”

I sighed deeply, feeling my resistance fading.

“You really hurt me,” I whispered.

She nodded. “I can’t promise I won’t hurt you again, I can only promise it won’t be on purpose.”

She slid out of her chair and kneeled down next to me, taking my hand in hers.

“I love you Grace. I know I never said it, but I’ve loved you for a long time. And more than that, I like you. You’re probably the best friend I’ve ever had.”

“That’s a sad statement on your life,” I said dryly as I felt the ice around my heart crack right open.

We both started laughing, and then I was on the floor too, taking her face in my hand and kissing her. All the tension in my body melted as our lips touched.

“Nicole,” I gasped as we broke apart. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too.”

We pressed closer to each other, kissing and touching each other like we hadn’t seen each other in years.

“Ah I see our plan worked.”

We both jumped apart as Theo’s amused voice rang out from the doorway. He looked incredibly pleased with himself.

“Will you be leaving for the day, Grace?”

I pushed to my feet, bringing Nicole with me, and dragged her towards the door.

“Yes, and in the future, you nosy assholes need to stay out of my personal business.” I strove to make my voice stern even though I was smiling from ear to ear.

“You’re welcome,” Theo said. “Now get out of here.”

Nicole and I went up the private elevator to my floor, racing into my condo and straight for the bedroom.

“Take off all your clothes,” I ordered as I practically ripped off my blouse.

Nicole complied immediately, baring her curves to me. I could see that she’d lost some weight in the weeks we’d been apart, but then again, so had I. It was hard to eat when your life was in shambles.

I stalked forward, pulling her body into mine so that we were pressed together from knee to shoulders.

I moved one hand behind her head, my thumb underneath the line of her jaw so I could tilt her head to the perfect angle.

Then I shoved my tongue into her mouth, giving her a long and claiming kiss.

“I should edge you for hours as punishment,” I said, walking her back towards the bed. “But I don’t think I can make it that long.”

“How about if I give you a few orgasms instead?” she asked saucily. “To make it up to you?”

“Sounds great.”

We fell on the bed, rolling around, our hands and mouths everywhere. I couldn’t get enough of her soft body. Touching her was like going outside on the first warm day after a long winter – energizing, mood lifting, life affirming.

Nicole rolled me onto my back, shoving her leg between mine and grinding her thigh against my clitoris while she kissed me. The pressure amped up my already heightened arousal.

“I’m close,” I gasped.

She shifted, moving her hand downward to slide her fingers up and down my channel a few times before sticking first one finger then a second, inside my opening.

As she pumped in and out she caught one of my nipples between her lips, sucking and teasing until it hardened into a stiff, almost painful peak.

Then her thumb found the swollen bud at my apex, and I lost all control.

I bucked beneath Nicole, almost throwing her off me as I chased the waves of my pleasure.

“Nicole!”

She lowered her head into the juncture of my neck and bit down, adding suction. The tiny bite of pain prolonged my orgasm, and I gripped Nicole’s hips with my fingers, needing something to keep me grounded.

“Oh my God.”

It was lame, but the only words I could come up with right now.

Nicole rolled off me but quickly snuggled in, her head on my shoulder and one leg thrown over both of mine while I stared at the ceiling, struggling to catch my breath. Would it always be like this with us? I wondered. I couldn’t wait to find out.

“Nicole.”

She slid up a little until we were face to face, then pressed a quick kiss on my lips. “Yeah?”

“You’re mine now, you got it? No other women, only me.”

“I’ll be sure to tell all the women lining up outside my door hoping to date me,” she teased.

I rolled over so we were face to face.

“You’re it for me, you get that right? I love you. I’ll never love anyone else. I want you to move in with me and when you’re ready, I want us to get married.”

“I can’t.”

Disappointment hit me so hard I couldn’t breathe. I thought things would be good now.

“Not right away, I mean.”

“You can’t date me?” I clarified.

“Yes.” But she shook her head, which confused me even more.

“Um, what are you saying?”

She gave me a little laugh. “Sorry. What I’m trying to say is that yes I will date you.

But I’m not moving in with you, not yet.

I’m finally living on my own away from my parents for the first time in thirty-five years.

I need to prove to myself that I can be independent, that I don’t need my mother popping over with leftovers or my dad doing maintenance on my house. ”

When I didn’t respond she added, “When we get married – and we will get married – I want to come to you as the best version of myself. Independent. Capable. Happy in my own skin.”

“How long do you think that will take?” I asked.

She shrugged. “A year?”

“We can still have sleepovers and stuff, right?”

“Of course.”

“Okay, I’ll give you a year before we talk about it again, as long as I can tell everyone that you’re my girlfriend.”

“We can get a billboard if you want, as long as we’re together.”