Bet Me Something (Something Series Book 3) (27 page)

A whimper fell
from my lips in response. My eyes clenched shut as his mouth sucked on my clit
and white heat coursed through my entire body while my hands threaded in his
hair, pushing him into me. I could feel his fingers work their magic in tempo
with his expert tongue. As the orgasm consumed me, I threw my head back in
pleasure, incoherent words involuntarily coming from my mouth.

He continued to
devour me without any pause until I came hard against his face with such
ferocity my knees nearly buckled, and I barely registered being carried to my
bed.

“Someone is
pretty good with their apologies,” I murmured, still trembling with the
aftershocks.

 He trailed
kisses up the length of my thoroughly sated body until his face was close to
mine. “It’s strategic, really.”

My brow lifted.
“Do tell.”

“I figure it’s
incentive to have you look forward to me messing up again. I may never be great
at relationship stuff, but I think I can nail the apologies.”

“Impressive
tactic.” I smiled, running my thumb over his bottom lip.

“Mm, more
impressive was the fact that I think your last orgasm took under a minute.”

“Did not.” Did
it?

“Why would it
bother you if it did?”

“Maybe I don’t
want to make it too easy. And it was three minutes, at least.”

He smirked.
“Wanna bet?”

“On what?”

“We can see if
the next one is under a minute.”

I giggled.
“You’re timing it?”

“Of course, and
winner chooses the toy from Pleasure Palace.”

“Oh, you’re on.”

He reached over,
grabbing my phone to set the timer while I resolved to win the bet. Unfortunately,
as soon as he flashed the PDG, I knew I was in trouble.

***

The next morning
I prepared to head to the hospital for another round of Elsa and friends
singing. It was such a hit with the children that I couldn’t wait to do it
again.

Colby had departed
for work but had certainly left me with a smile on my face and plenty of
memories regarding how I’d happily lost the bet last night. It’s as though he
was going for a record or something, and who was I to deny a man his goal?

We made plans to
meet for lunch, so we could see one another before he had to fly out for London
this evening. My management company finally returned my call and, while their
lack of speedy service annoyed me, it did give me a chance to give notice I was
moving out in a month. My plan for this week was to start the job hunt. Maybe I
could ask someone at the hospital if they had any paid work.

As I was
braiding my hair, I heard my phone ring and smiled at the name flashing up.
“Hi, Will.” I hadn’t talked to him since New York.

“Hiya, Kenzie,
how you going?”

I loved the way
Australians greeted people. “Good, thanks. How about you?”

“Great. I’m in
LA and wondered if you wanted to get together.”

“Would love to.
Matter of fact, what are you doing in an hour?”

***

Not only was
Will available to come to the hospital, but he’d managed to recruit two girls
who were in town for the same modelling gig. Turns out he made a stunning
Prince Charming, and the two women happily donned Cinderella and Snow White
garb. Thank goodness for the hospital coordinator who had all of the costumes
ready and was thrilled to have more people join us.

“Thanks for
inviting us,” Will said, looking excited.

“Thank you for
coming. I’m so happy you didn’t have plans and brought friends.” The two women
who’d come were gorgeous and genuinely seemed to be happy about spending time
with the kids.

“We’re not
shooting until this afternoon, so it worked out. You want to join us tonight? We’re
checking out a nightclub downtown.”

With Colby
flying to London this evening and my foot finally out of a boot, I didn’t
hesitate in saying yes. It would be fun to go out dancing. “Sounds great.”

“How are things
with the youngest Singer brother, by the way?” he whispered while we waited for
everyone to file in.

I smiled.
“Better than before. I’ll fill you in later.” Or should I? Will had a
friendship with Haylee, who was married to Colby’s brother. But he also seemed
to be able to keep a confidence.

Two hours later,
after we’d finished with singing and making the rounds with the kids, I could
tell by Will’s expression he was struggling. “You okay?”

He nodded, his
blue eyes looking heavy. “I’m blown away with the strength of these kids but
it’s still incredibly sad.”

I knew the
feeling, especially after the first time. “It is, but for these couple hours,
you helped place smiles on their faces. Puts things in perspective, doesn’t
it?”

“It definitely
does. It looks like someone is waiting to talk with you.”

A man I’d never
seen before was standing a few feet away. He appeared to be in his fifties and
was wearing a suit and tie. When he caught my gaze, he stepped forward. “Do you
have a moment, miss?”

“Sure.” I
excused myself from Will, promising to meet him later tonight at the club.

***

I was a half
hour early when I walked into Colby’s office building. I’d meant to stop home
before coming, but I couldn’t contain my news a minute longer and had driven
straight over from the hospital. Thankfully, the volunteer coordinator had
noticed I was leaving in Elsa attire as I’d been so distracted I’d forgotten to
change. Otherwise, I’d have been in full Disney princess regalia.

This time the
receptionist didn’t hesitate when I said I was there for Mr. Singer. She called
up Rhonda straightaway.

“Hi, my dear,”
she greeted me with a smile.

“Sorry I’m a bit
early for our lunch.”

She waved me
off. “It’s okay. Mr. Singer told me anytime you stop by to bring you back. He’s
finishing up an internal meeting any minute, but I’ll order up lunch now and
then you can go right in.”

 Hearing he’d
taken the time to say this to his assistant made me smile. “Sounds good. Can
you point me to the ladies’ room in the meantime?”

Once there, I
took my hair out of the braid, running my hands through it. I kind of had a
beach-tousled look going on. Elsa’s eye makeup, complete with sparkles, made
for quite the funny contrast with my jean skirt and sleeveless blouse.

Stepping back
out to the waiting area, I saw his office door open with a number of people
filing out, including Judy. Her face was priceless when Colby, who was walking
them out, lit up with a grin upon seeing me.

“Hey,” he
rasped.

“Hi,” I
returned, realizing we were being observed. “I’m a little early as I came
straight from the hospital.”

“I can see that.
How are the kids?” He led me into his office and shut the door behind me. In
the next second he had me pressed up against it, kissing me breathless.

When he finally
pulled away, I blissfully sighed already missing his lips. “They were good. And
that’s quite the greeting.”

“You were quite
the sight with your princess makeup, sexy hair, and this skirt. You came
straight from the hospital—everything okay?”

I smiled.
“Better than that. After the performance this morning, a man approached asking
if he could speak with me. Turns out his nephew is there going through treatment
and the uncle works for a record label. They’re looking for a backup singer for
a major headliner. He can’t say who, but he wants me to audition.”

His excitement
matched mine. “That’s amazing. When’s the try out?”

“He has my
contact information, and said most likely in the next three to four weeks. I’m
still in shock.” The opportunity had been hard to believe at first, but this
could very well be fate. The only problem was it didn’t solve my issue of stage
fright.

“I’m not. I’ve
heard you sing, and it’s no wonder that someone in the industry who heard you
would be interested. I wish I could take you out tonight to celebrate.”

Right, celebrate
the fact I may not be able to actually audition. Putting that thought aside, I
smiled. “Me, too, but I got to share my news with you first and I do have plans
tonight. Will called this morning, and he’s in town which worked out well
because he and two of the girls he models with came this morning to the
hospital to help volunteer. He was quite the hit dressed as Prince Charming.
Anyhow, he invited me out with a group of them tonight to a nightclub.”

His jaw
clenched. “So you’re going?”

“Yeah, I thought
it might be fun.” Now his eyes had darkened as his muscles tensed. “What’s
going on with you right now?”

He swallowed
hard. “Nothing I won’t learn to get over.”

Did he still
think Will was a threat? “You know we’re only friends right? Although when he
asked about you, I wasn’t sure what to say.”

“So what did you
tell him?”

“Well, back in
New York when we went out for doughnuts…”

“Yeah?”

“I kind of told
him that I had feelings for you. I may have even asked him for advice. I
realize he’s a friend of Haylee’s—and therefore Josh’s. But I do trust he
wouldn’t have said anything. So when he inquired this morning how things were
going, I deferred to telling him tonight because you and I had agreed not to
say anything.”

He fought a
smile, his entire body relaxing with my words. “You told him you were into me
when we were in New York?”

“In my defense,
I only brought it up because he noticed your reaction to me leaving with him
that night.”

This time he
smirked.

I shook my head.
“I’m so confused.”

“That your
boyfriend wouldn’t be happy his girlfriend has made it clear to another guy
that she’s into me?”

“More like you
wouldn’t care about his connection to your brother.”

“Right.” He
seemed to finally get the point I was trying to make but was still grinning
over the first part. “I suppose it would be best not to confirm we’re together,
but I quite enjoy the idea of him knowing you have feelings for me.”

Now I got it.
“Ah. You want me to tell him I’m into you, effectively making me off-limits,
but not outing the relationship entirely. How annoyingly clever.”

“I don’t think
you even have to. It’ll be obvious that you’re still into me when you say my
name on a sigh while missing me tonight.”

My eyes rolled
of their own volition. “Just when I thought I’d tamed that ego of yours. So was
that jealousy before? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that look on your face.”

“Yeah, well I
don’t think I’ve ever felt it before.” His admission surprised me.

As a knock
sounded at the door, we broke apart reluctantly. Rhonda came in with lunch,
setting it down on the table next to the couch.

We both thanked
her and, after she shut the door, Colby crossed to lock it. “Are you super
hungry, or could you wait a few more minutes?” he asked huskily.

I tried to keep
a straight face. “Depends. What’s for lunch?”

He laughed
before pulling me back into his embrace. “God I love your smart mouth.” He
kissed me softly. “Does it make me sound completely whipped to say the thought
of the next three nights away from you makes me crazy?”

“No, because
I’ll miss you, too.”

He looked happy
with my answer. “I return Thursday and have a movie premiere that evening in
Hollywood. Would you like to be my date?”

My stomach
fluttered with the thought, and I ran my hands over his backside. “Would I get
to grab your butt?”

He chuckled.
“Afraid not.”

“Mm, hold your
hand?” Mine threaded with his.

“Probably not.”

I pretended to
mull it over. “See you naked afterwards?”

“Absolutely. In
fact, I’ll get a hotel room nearby. Might be a good night to collect on my
wager from last night.”

I smirked. “In
that case, I’d love to be your date.”

He nuzzled my
neck. “Now then, I have you to myself for the next hour, and I intend spending
very little of it eating lunch. However, being aware of how much you enjoy your
food, I’ll reveal there are turkey clubs in the bag and let you choose.”

He backed me up
towards his desk, lifting me up on it and standing between my legs.

“Hmm, I really
love turkey clubs, but I think the fact I’m picking this instead should tell
you how much more I feel about you.”

His lips parted
in surprise, and I realized I’d inadvertently phrased that I loved him more
than turkey clubs. Shit.

The good news
was instead of being freaked; he seemed pleased and showed me over the next
hour how much I didn’t regret my choice to wait on lunch.

***

“What kind of
dress do you wear to a movie premiere?” I posed the question to Will as we sat
in the twenty-four hour diner after clubbing it earlier with a group of other
models. We’d been the only ones opting to leave at one o’clock in the morning
in search of food.