The Proposition (Hush Hush Duet #2.5)

Chapter 1

One

I gaze down at the black cursive font in the center of the drink menu. Nostalgia fills me when I get to the bottom and read Manhattan . A smile plays at the corners of my lips when I think of that fun-filled night with my best friend.

Back in college, Natalie and I had a themed party for our twenty-first birthdays since there was only a month that separated us. We went with The Roaring Twenties and had to dress, drink, and eat the part. Luckily anything goes in New York City, and people didn't bat an eye when they saw us dolled up. I wore a black sequins and silver-fringed dress with a rope of pearls that reached my stocking-covered knees. We changed our names for the night and even adopted an accent. I was Betty, she was Mary—sisters visiting the Big Apple for the first time all the way from Texas. Our daddy was in the oil business. A stranger overheard us talking at the swanky bar and suggested we order a Manhattan since it was our first night in town. He insisted the timeless cocktail was just what we needed to experience the concrete jungle. I never had one again after that night.

A waiter appears at the edge of our table to take our order. I peer up at him, ready to request a Manhattan for old time’s sake, when James orders two cognacs then tells him to keep them coming.

Confused, I shift my gaze to him. “Are we celebrating something?” I ask playfully.

“I wouldn’t say celebrating. It’s more so a proposal."

“A proposal? To whom?” I pull my brows together.

“To you,” he states. James pauses. “I wasn’t sure how to broach this topic, but it’s something I thought you might be open to.” He’s not blinking his baby blues. “We should wait for the drinks to get here,” he suggests.

I bob my head in understanding as my stomach backflips. Waiting for drinks means he’s unsure about something and needs a buffer to take the edge off. I lower the menu, fold it closed, and place it on the dinner table. Appetizers can wait. I don’t tell him I was going to order a Manhattan. His pressing tone causes a flicker of apprehension to trickle down my spine. Whatever he wants to say feels serious.

“Is everything okay?” I say under my breath.

“More than okay.”

I sit back, stumped. My eyes bounce from table to table as I contemplate what kind of proposal he has for me. A match strikes, and my gaze snaps to a tealight candle being lit at the table next to us. A thought flashes through my mind. The other night I tried to take a bath, but the water was ice cold. I walked downstairs to talk to James as it warmed when I overheard him say my name to someone on the phone. Normally I wouldn’t think twice, but it was how he said it that caused me to stop and listen.

“I can’t ask Aubrey to do that,” he’d said.

Can’t ask me to do what?

He’d paused and laughed. “You take her first if she does.”

I didn’t want James to think I was eavesdropping. I pretended to not have heard and strolled into his home office, after which he hung up quickly.

This proposal could be about that. Or maybe worse.

After all, we met while he was married.

The waiter strides up to our table holding a black tray with two drinks. He places them down then quietly turns away.

“If this proposal has anything to do with you leaving me or something stupid like sleeping in our own rooms, need I remind you that you took a vow and made a promise to be mine forever. That includes sleeping in my bed every night. Even when hospice is called when you’re old and decrepit, you’re still going to be in my bed. Does this have to do with my smothering you at night?”

My lips pout playfully. His eyes soften.

“I know you get extra hot,” I continue. “But I want to be next to you always. I’ll try to stay on my side of the bed, but you’re so warm and cuddly. We can lower the air conditioning. Also, Natalie would kill you if you tried to leave me. She’s partial to me as her stepmother. She would disown you if you left me.”

Under the low-lit room, the glow of his smile spreads across his handsome face. A year into marriage, and he still manages to fluster me with a simple look. James lets out a genuine laugh, and I shy under his gaze.

“Is that what you think I want?” he asks.

I lift a brow. “When was the last time you had a proposal for me? I’m not a colleague at your law firm, James. Look at the circumstances we met under.”

James reaches across the small, round table and turns his palms up. Instinctively, I place my hand in his, and he gives me a loving squeeze. I was a high-end escort working at Sanctuary Cove, a private members-only club in Manhattan when I—using Valentina as my alias—was matched with James for a blind date. He was plagued by his dark desires, and I was there so he could explore them freely. Despite the rules, I fell for him. Our attraction was instant. The chemistry sparking between us couldn’t be denied.

I catch the black ink peeking out on the inside of his wrist and smile sweetly. James has an intricate design that spirals up his arm and leads to a tattoo he got once we were married to show his devotion to me and us. I’ve traced over the design many times with my tongue.

Like his other arm, there is a map of moments in time inked with the very finest tip of a needle. Only, the tattoo doesn’t appear like a map. There are drawings with places we’ve visited, like a skyline of snow-capped mountains for Aspen when we stayed in his cabin. Another is of tall, dense pine trees with a psychedelic background dotted with stars for when we saw the Northern Lights together, something I’d always wanted to do. There is also one of a woman—me—with the long maxi dress he loved so much to mark our first encounter in Bryant Park. He used an infinity symbol to mark our marriage and the date when I finally said yes to his proposal.

These are designs only we are meant to know and understand. On the anniversary of my grammy’s passing, he revealed angel wings in her honor. That one made me bawl my eyes out. They are all connected by a long green vine of various flowers from the islands we’ve visited, like the frangipani flowers—the first tattoo he started with.

“Neither one of us are going anywhere. We’re stuck with each other until our last days. Let’s just get that out of the way now.” His eyelids lower into a sultry stare. “You and I, we’re different than other people. We’re not spending our evenings playing scrabble and drinking tea. You’re not just my wife; you’re also my mistress.”

I laugh. He’s not wrong. We are different. And I love that about us. The smile causes the lines around his eyes to crease. The mini white candle between us flickers. I love the way the shadows of light cross his face. His thumbs rub the tops of my hands.

“I want to take you somewhere for New Year’s Eve.”

I perk up. “Where do you want to go?”

“Belize.”

Excitement courses through me. We haven’t been there yet. I’m so over the cold and miss the sun on my skin.

“Of course I’d love to.” I pause to frown. “Is that the proposal?”

James looks over my shoulder, and that answers my question. His gaze is far away, like he’s trying to gather his thoughts. He exhales a breath, and I brace myself, knowing more is coming.

“I want my wife to come with me to Belize, but I want Valentina to join us for one night.” Then he shocks me. “I’m open to bartering to have Val there.”

My jaw drops and my brows shoot up. I’m puzzled. He’s open to bartering? Am I missing something? James hasn’t propositioned Valentina like this since the days when we first met. Whatever he wants, he’s desperate for it.

Suddenly the memories come rushing back. The dates he paid me to go on with him, the late nights we sipped cognac, our forbidden affair that almost ruined multiple relationships, the heated words we exchanged, the once-in-a-lifetime kind of love we shared, and all the ugly lies we told. They all flip together like a complicated kaleidoscope.

James can have Valentina. He knows that. What more does he want? Dread fills my stomach. I try to sit back and take my hands with me, but James has a firm grip and doesn’t allow me to move. Every time I try to pull away, he pulls me back.

“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he says, low and only for me to hear.

“That I’m not enough for you.”

The strangled words slip out before I can stop myself. Emotions consume me, and my eyes fill with tears. James tightens his grip. My hands feel cold in his warm ones. I swallow thickly, trying to take the tears with me. I thought the honeymoon phase would last longer, but maybe I was wrong.

“You think you’re not enough for me?” Color begins to drain from his cheeks.

My lips form a thin flat line. Our hands separate this time when the waiter appears and asks if we’re ready to order. James can’t tear his gaze away from mine and tells our server to give us another moment.

“Sweetheart,” James begins before a chuckle falls from his lips.

His jolly expression only causes me to heat in annoyance. The love I have for this man is nothing to laugh at. He owns my heart in ways I can’t explain. I want to be more than enough and everything he’s ever wanted. My eyes lower, and so does his voice.

“Of all the ways I saw this conversation going, this wasn’t one of them. When have I given you the impression that you’re not enough for me?”

“When have you ever requested Valentina like this?” I rebut.

James reaches for his drink and ushers for me to take mine. I swallow a huge gulp and feel the bitter burn go down my throat. Valentina doesn’t come out to play often. She’s more so reserved for special occasions, like after a fundraiser I hosted seven months ago for children in need. The night started with Aubrey and ended with Valentina. My body comes alive like a sweet symphony. I’d needed the confidence Valentina possesses in the beginning, and James took her in the end, satiating both our cravings. He consumed my entire being to reward the embodied goddess I’d become that night.

I know I’m panicking, but I can’t help it. The way he eyes me over the rim of his crystal glass has me squirming in my seat.

“You’re more than enough for me,” he says as he places his drink down. “You’re everything I could have ever dreamed of. I’m the luckiest guy in the world. You’re it for me, Aubrey. I’ve never known love like ours.”

“You promise? You swear?”

“Yes. I can’t believe you’re asking me this.” Disbelief is written all over his face.

“Then do you just want to order me around sexually? Be your little pet?”

“That’s exactly what I want. For what I have in mind, I’d prefer you be Val. But we can compromise.”

I can’t say I don’t like the idea. James exercises the beast inside him when I’m Valentina. He’s more aggressive with his kisses, his touch is firmer. He can command my body with so few words and easily overpower me when I’m being rebellious. We’re a good balance. Giving James power over my body and mind is what I love the most when I’m her. I never know what he’s going to do, because when I’m Val, nothing is off-limits. I trust him. When we experiment under his control and guidance, I’m desired and wanted, a deeply sexy woman who pleases her man. Sex is how I connect. He pushes my body when I don’t think I can go any further. When James takes what he needs from me, I win too.

I have another sip. My mind is running a mile a minute with theories. “Why don’t you just say what you want, and then we can discuss?”

His mouth twitches. “I want to watch Reece fuck you again. I prefer he fuck Val.”

I sputter on my drink. The bitterness of the liquor burns the inside of my nostrils, and I almost choke when it doesn’t go down the right way. I reach for the cloth napkin and dab my mouth. I cough like I’m breathing fire.

“You want to share me?”

Reece is a curve ball I hadn’t seen coming.