Wicked Ways: Pearl's Passion (Part 2)

 “Jillian sounded happy. I guess she took the news pretty well.” Opal, Pearl’s older sister, stood in the doorway. Her brilliant red hair, tied back into a low ponytail, suited her basic black business suit and pumps.

Pearl always felt a bit scattered next to Opal’s perfection. Her own matching red hair tended to escape any style and form loose tendrils around her face. She favored brilliant colors as opposed to the basic navy and black that Opal wore.

“Jillian liked the plan I laid out to her.”

“Speaking of ‘laid’, when was the last time you got laid?” Ruby, their youngest sister scooted around Opal and collapsed into the plush recliner in the corner of the room. Unlike Opal, Ruby didn’t even attempt to look classy. She wore tight jeans, a top that showed off her flat stomach and her hair was a disarray of curls. She didn’t try to be professional and didn’t apologize for who she was. Pearl envied her.

“Ruby, that is none of your business.” Pearl frowned at her younger sister, but they both knew she couldn’t stay angry for long.

“I don’t like you speaking like that,” Opal said.

“What’s so fucking wrong with the way I talk?” Ruby grinned, knowing the word infuriated her sister.

“Stop it you two.” Pearl rubbed her fingers along her temples, feeling the beginnings of a headache.

“Are you getting one of your headaches?” Ruby asked.

“Feels like it. It’s always hard to tell another woman what a jerk her husband, lover, or fiancé is—just once I’d like to find a man who doesn’t cheat.”

“He doesn’t exist.” Ruby bit at her pinky nail, spitting the bitten nail across the room.

“Lovely, Ruby. You are just such a lady.”

“Kiss my ass, Opal. You are a prude. One day you are going to have hot, wild, steamy sex and then maybe you’ll loosen up a little.”

“And maybe one day you’ll grow up and realize you aren’t the only person in the world with wants and desires,” Opal said.

“Enough.” Pearl suspected that Ruby had sex a little too often and that Opal had it too seldom. But she was too tired to get into the argument at the moment. What she really needed was to go home, take a hot bath, and get some rest.

“Go home, Pearl,” Ruby said. “Pick up a hot stud along the way.”

“Shut-up, Ruby.” Opal glared at her.

Pearl sighed. She loved her sisters but there were days when she wondered if going into business together was such a good idea. They’d all three become so jaded that the chances of their ever trusting another man was slim to none. As if one cheating husband wasn’t enough, Pearl had worked with over fifty women and every time the man had been discovered cheating. Not once had the man been innocent.

“Perhaps I will go home…” and try to figure out how I’m going to live the next sixty years without having sex.

“Excuse me?” The familiar, deep, raspy voice skittered over Pearl’s nerve endings.

“Devon.” She felt the warmth drain from her face and drip out of her toes. What the hell was he doing here? She didn’t want to see him or be near him. Lying, cheating bastard. They’d been separated for three years, divorced for two, and it would have been longer if he hadn’t resisted signing the papers. What right did he think he had to show his face around here?

“Jerk, what brings you to our version of heaven and your version of hell?” Ruby jumped to her feet and stood toe to toe with Devon.

Pearl bit back her laughter. Ruby hated Devon almost as much as she did. It would serve him right if her sister ran him off before he got out a single word.

“What do you want, Devon?” His black hair now sprinkled with salt and pepper at the temples, even though he was only thirty-five. The crinkles at the corners of his eyes hadn’t increased, but the small frown lines around his mouth had. She wondered for a moment if he’d been unhappy since they’d parted, and in the next heartbeat, she hoped he had.

“I was hoping we could talk.” There was a time when his chocolate brown eyes made her feel as warm and gooey as the inside of a freshly baked, chocolate chip cookie. Now, she just wanted to scratch them out. Although she had to admit he still had an amazing body. His shirt stretched across taut muscles and his tight jeans outlined his strong thighs. She swallowed and then chanced a glance at his crotch. Obviously, he hadn’t lost any size there either. Ruby was right. She needed to get laid, if she was desperate enough to even consider Devon as a potential bedmate.

“We have nothing to talk about.” Pearl reached behind the desk and grabbed her purse. Three years without sex was a long time and all she could think about was the feel of Devon beside her, inside her. Stop it! She wouldn’t allow herself to be sucked back in by his seductive charms.

“Ten minutes. That’s all I ask. I’ll go down in the elevator with you. Or give you a ride to wherever you’re going.”

Devon was always good for a hard ride. She took a deep, if somewhat shaky, breath. “I’m going home.”

His eyes grew warm as his gaze traveled up and down her body. Why had she told him she was going home? Apparently, he’d also noticed her assessment of his body because now he returned the favor.

“I’ll take you.”

“You aren’t taking her anywhere.”

“Butt out, Ruby. You’ve caused enough trouble.” Devon glared at her and Pearl was surprised to see her sister blush and look away.

Ruby never backed down from a challenge, so why was she now? It was extremely odd.

“I have to agree with Ruby for a change,” Opal said as she crossed her arms. “You need to get lost.”

“I can handle this. Devon, I’ll speak to you on the way down the elevator and then your time is up.” Pearl walked out the door without looking to see if Devon was following. She knew he was from the tendrils of desire curling along her backside.

She punched the elevator button with more force than necessary, trying to shove away visions of their last time in an elevator. It had been the afternoon before she’d discovered he was having an affair with Cheryl, his secretary. They’d hit the stop button as he’d felt under her skirt—

She whirled to face him, “Maybe you should tell me right now what it is you want.”

He placed one arm beside her head and leaned in close. “Scared you won’t be able to control yourself? Remember the last time we rode in an elevator?”

His breath whispered across her lips. Pearl swallowed. This wasn’t fair. She hated him. That should have destroyed any desire she had left for his body, but it hadn’t. Of course, men used women all the time for a quick romp—for satiation. Why shouldn’t she do the same? She leaned back toward him, noting the surprise in his deep, dark eyes. This wasn’t the same pliable Pearl he’d once known. She was a different woman since their divorce. Just because she hadn’t had casual sex, didn’t mean she wasn’t capable of doing so.

“Tell me, Devon, do you have any idea what it feels like to be used?”

“I never used you, Pearl. You were my wife. I loved you.”

“Oh, yes. I’d forgotten how much you loved me.” He’d loved her so much that he’d fucked his secretary right under her nose. But maybe it was time that she satisfied her urges and then cast him aside as he’d done with her. That would be her revenge and release at the same time...tbf....