Under His Control (For His Pleasure, Book 18) (4 page)

She wanted to say no, but couldn’t bear hurting his dignity any further. “Sure, that sounds nice,” she told him.

They went back to their separate apartments after a nice long hug, and then Kennedy closed her apartment door behind her and breathed a sigh of relief.

***

That night she had a startlingly vivid dream about Easton.

Actually, it started off being about Blake. Blake was knocking on her door over and over again, and she kept yelling at him to stop and go away. The loud pounding on the door seemed to go on for ever, and finally she’d gotten up and opened the door to yell at Blake and tell him she didn’t have any romantic feelings for him.

But then Blake had stalked off down the hallway, muttering about the right to a trial and harassment laws.

Just as Blake departed, Easton had come around the corner. He was wearing jeans and a button down shirt with the collar popped open, sweat glistening on his skin as if he’d just run miles and miles to get to her.

“Let me in,” he insisted, pushing past her into the apartment.

His body had knocked into hers as he went past.

And then Easton had slammed the door shut, grabbed her by the waist, and begun kissing her insistently on the mouth, neck, and top of her breasts.

Soon after that, they were naked on her hardwood floor, and Easton was entering her and she was screaming in ecstasy. Her hands clawed at his bulging pectorals, leaving red marks as she trailed down his skin.

Easton was pounding her, his huge cock pushing into her, going deep and deeper still, and she was letting him do it, letting him have her, giving way beneath him.

“Come in me,” she cried out. “Fuck me, Easton. Come inside me, please.

Please.”

“I’m going to come,” he told her. “And you’re going to come right with me.”

And then they were both coming at the same time, and it was the most amazing rush of heat and pleasure and she was so happy….

Just as she finished her orgasm, Kennedy woke up, sitting bolt upright in her bed, panting. “Jesus Christ, what is wrong with me?” she asked her empty room.

Sunlight was streaming through her bedroom window.

The dream had been so incredibly real and vibrant, and Kennedy almost couldn’t believe that it hadn’t actually occurred. She looked around her at the room, assuring herself that she was, in fact, waking up from a dream. Easton wasn’t out in the hallway.

She hadn’t asked him to come inside—not in any of the ways she’d done it in the dream.

But still, there was a lingering hangover, not at all unpleasant. Although she knew Easton didn’t want anything to do with her, Kennedy found that the dream had given her a strange confidence that Easton was still attracted to her as much as she was to him.

It was your dream, Kennedy. Yours and yours alone
.

But the ridiculous confidence remained, despite logical assertions to the contrary.

Kennedy got out of bed, showered, and then she noticed her cell phone. Someone had called and left a message from a foreign number.

Puzzled, she checked the voicemail.

The moment she heard Nicole Jameson’s voice coming through her cell phone, Kennedy shrieked, a high pitch squeal of disbelief.

Nicole Jameson had
called
. It was almost crazier than the dream about Easton, only this time the craziness had become reality.

“Hi Kennedy,” the calm, beautiful voice said into Kennedy’s ear as she replayed the message. “I was thinking that perhaps it was time you and I met and had a conversation, just the two of us. If you have a chance, please call me back and we’ll schedule something.” And then the message ended.

Kennedy felt a rush of fear, elation, hope desperation—all of it jumbled together and spilling into her bloodstream like a shot of methamphetamine.

And she was high now, no mistake about it. A meeting between her and Nicole, just the two of them—that was truly all she’d ever wanted. So much so, that she’d gone about getting it in a completely backwards, roundabout way that had nearly destroyed the opportunity entirely.

But the opportunity had come around despite Kennedy’s inept networking and strategizing. Nicole still wanted to talk to Kennedy. She wanted to meet. There was a chance to right the ship, to get back on course and rebuild the fledgling relationship.

Don’t get ahead of yourself
.
You have no idea what she even wants to talk about.

Trembling, Kennedy dialed Nicole’s number and awaited her answer.

“Hello,” Nicole said.

Kennedy’s voice was a croak. “Hi, Nicole, it’s…it’s…”

“Kennedy,” Nicole finished for her, embarrassingly. “So kind of you to return my call.”

“I’m really glad you want to meet,” Kennedy said. She was trembling even more now.

“What days are good for you?”

“Now that I have no job, my days are all really free,” Kennedy said, instantly feeling stupider for saying it.

There was an awkward pause as Nicole seemed to take in her strange comment.

“Are you free this afternoon? I’ve got a sitter lined up for Riley and I could come into the city.”

“Absolutely! Yes, I would…I would love that.”

“Okay, then,” Nicole said. “How about we meet for coffee at Norma’s—it’s in the Parker Meridien Hotel on West Fifty Sixth.”

“That sounds lovely, Nicole.”

“Does one o’clock sound good for you?”

“Sure. Like I said, I have no plans at all.” Kennedy closed her eyes and smacked her own forehead.

“All right, then,” Nicole replied, her voice sounding a little confused and uncertain. “I’ll see you then.”

The call ended and Kennedy just sat and shook her head slowly. She needed to really calm down and try not to screw this up. It was as though she could do nothing right when she got around Nicole.

Get a hold of yourself
.
You’re going to ruin everything yet again.

She did manage to get hold of herself, at least for the moment—enough to go into her closet and select an appropriate outfit. Slacks, a blouse, tasteful heels, a purse that was more understated. She needed to reverse Nicole’s low opinion of her, which stemmed from the fact that Nicole had mostly seen her half naked and misbehaving.

Now she looked more like what she really was—a conservative person without all that much sex appeal.

As Kennedy thought that, however, she immediately wondered just what made her believe it was true at all?

Easton thinks I’m sexy. So does Blake.

Even Nicole thinks it—that’s why she thought I was some slutty woman who
wanted to sleep with her husband.

I am sexy, and I’m not really that conservative, either. That was just something
my adopted parents tried to instill in me due to their own hang-ups.

Still, Kennedy kept the low-profile outfit on. She really wanted—she needed this meeting to be a success. So much of her coming to New York hinged on being accepted by Nicole, on becoming sisters, becoming whole.

She did the best she could to keep busy in the apartment, cleaning, reorganizing, doing anything to keep her mind off the coming rendezvous. It was too nerve wracking to allow herself to dwell on it for long, but her mind continued to wander back to it, like a dog sniffing out its favorite bone.

Eventually, the time passed and Kennedy realized she might be late if she didn’t head out immediately.

She’d never even been to the Parker Meridien and wasn’t quite sure where the restaurant was, but she found it without much trouble.

Arriving just on time, she saw Nicole waiting for her in the lobby, and surprisingly she was with a stroller.

She’d brought her daughter Riley!

The moment Kennedy saw the baby, she began to smile. This was real. This was exactly how she’d imagined it in her warmest daydreams.

But Nicole’s smile was decidedly icier, formal and perfunctory, as Kennedy approached. “My sitter fell through at the last second, I hope you don’t mind,” she told Kennedy.

“Are you kidding? I’m so happy to see the little munchkin.” She bent down and waved at Riley, who giggled and cooed.

“Momma,” Riley said, pointing.

“That’s her word of the day,” Nicole replied, drily. She looked at Kennedy without a trace of a smile now. “Our table’s waiting. Should we go?”

“Absolutely.” Kennedy’s smile faltered now. The coolness and the restraint from her sister were giving Kennedy a decidedly less happy feeling than she’d been hoping to have.

They were led to their table by a tall, model-like woman with a face that Kennedy swore she’d seen on the cover of Vogue.

Once they were seated, Nicole slowly pushed the stroller back and forth, leaning in to check on Riley, who just cooed happily and pointed at Kennedy.

“She likes you,” Nicole said, as if surprised.

“I like her too,” Kennedy replied.

“How nice.” Nicole, wearing a beautifully chic jacket and scarf sat back and looked at Kennedy appraisingly.

“You really hate me, don’t you?” Kennedy asked.

“I don’t even know you. Please don’t be so dramatic.” Nicole loosened her scarf as she spoke.

Just at that moment, a waiter approached and took their drink order. “Coffee and water please,” Nicole said.

“I’ll have the same,” Kennedy added.

The waiter nodded and left briskly.

Nicole’s eyes narrowed. “So…I couldn’t help but confront my father about this assertion you’ve made,” she began.

Kennedy took a breath and nodded. “Okay.” She waited for the story to continue.

“It’s true. My father admitted it. He had a child with another woman.”

“He…he admitted it? Did your mother not know?”

Nicole shook her head once, slowly. “No, she did not. And she does not. I think the reasons for that are obvious enough.”

Kennedy put a hand over her mouth as a wave of dizziness passed through her body. “Oh my God, Nicole. I am so sorry. Really.”

“Please, spare me your pity,” Nicole said. “You knew what you were doing.”

“How could I have known? It never even occurred to me that your mother wasn’t aware…I suppose it should have, but it didn’t.”

The corner of Nicole’s mouth twitched. “Perhaps we should just look at our menus,” she said, by way of changing the subject. “Everything here’s delicious.”

Kennedy’s eyes widened at the prices, however.

Nicole took note. “Don’t worry, I’m paying.”

“Oh, no, Nicole. I really can’t allow you to do that.”

“Why not? It’s the least I can do for
my
little sister
.” Somehow, the way she said the words, it hurt as much as if she’d denied their familial bonds entirely.

Kennedy let out a shaky breath and looked instead to Riley. Riley grinned toothlessly back at her, as if to say that she loved her no matter what.

Riley squealed loudly.

Nicole bent down and tried to give Riley her pacifier, but the little girl batted it away with an annoyed whine.

“She’s so fussy this morning,” Nicole said.

Kennedy glanced back at her menu, deciding on the stuffed French toast.

The waiter arrived soon after that with their coffee, and then asked if they were both ready to order. They both assured him they were.

Nicole said, “I’ll have the French toast, please.”

Kennedy sighed and shook her head, looking back to the menu now.

“Do you need a moment, ma’am?” the waiter asked.

Nicole’s eyebrows rose. “I thought you were ready to order.”

“I was.”

“So order. I told you, I’m paying. As long as you don’t get the caviar for a thousand dollars, we’re fine.” She smiled, but just barely.

The waiter was staring attentively at Kennedy, hovering, anxious.

Everyone was anxious, especially Kennedy.

“I’ll have the stuffed French toast,” she said, blurting it out as quickly as possible and then handing him her menu.

When she turned back to Nicole, the other woman was scowling. “Really, Kennedy. You’re not proving anything with these gimmicks of yours.”

“Do you think that I’m copying your order?” Kennedy said, stiffening.

“It’s pretty obvious what you’re doing.”

“I wanted that French toast, and I’m not going to order something else just to make it look like I’m
not
copying you.”

Nicole smirked. “Have it your way.”

“Nicole, do you really think this is how I want things to be between us?”

“Honestly? Yes, this is exactly how I think you want things to be between us.”

“That makes no sense,” Kennedy said.

Nicole slowly began pouring cream in her coffee. “It doesn’t make sense to me, either,” Nicole said, setting the cream down between them. “But you’re the one who chose to begin our relationship under false pretenses.”

“I know I screwed up,” Kennedy said. She took the cream and then realized Nicole might think she was trying to copy her again, and set it down. Instead she grabbed a few packets of Splenda and shook them into her cup.

Nicole sipped her coffee. “I didn’t come here to get an apology or beat you up over the whole thing.”

“So why did you come here?”

“I came here to set things straight between us,” Nicole said evenly.

“Uh oh.”

“Listen, I’m not going to pretend that I’m happy about this. Knowing I have a sister that I was unaware of my whole life—it’s been awful for me. It means my father had an affair, and kept secrets, and it’s a very destructive piece of knowledge that I’ve acquired. Of course, that’s not completely your fault.”

“How comforting that it’s not
completely
my fault.”

Nicole gave her a steely look. “Don’t be sarcastic with me.”

“All you’ve been is sarcastic with me—how am I supposed to react?”

“Fine, react how you want,” Nicole replied.

“I’m sorry. Go on with what you were saying.”

Nicole toyed with her coffee cup. “I don’t blame you for the fact that my father kept such an awful secret. I blame you for the way you tried to ingratiate yourself with my husband, worm your way into his company, into
my
life—that was a very destructive and untrustworthy act.”