Twist of Fate (2 page)

“Well, that would be my luck.” I finish off my drink and reach in my wallet to pay for my drink. Seeing he has his phone to his ear, I feel a twinge of jealousy, thinking he is probably talking to his girlfriend to tell her he will be late. I grit my teeth until I hear part of the conversation.

“Yes, and you only have one available? Okay, that will have to do, thank you.” Finishing his whiskey, he turns his attention back to me. “Sorry about that. I figured I would call the nearest hotel before everyone beat me to it. I tried to book us two rooms so we have somewhere to sleep tonight and don’t have to wait.”

“Oh, that’s great. I didn’t even think they would be booked so quickly, thank you. Huh, sexy and smart,” I reply with a look of surprise.

“Before you thank me, they only had one room left. It’s a suite, so it does have a couch in it. I can take the couch and you can have the bed. That is, if you want to share a room. If not, I can stay here. I’ve slept in worse places before. But, seeing as you think I’m sexy and all...” He trails off with a grin on his face. It suddenly dawns on me that I didn’t say that last part in my head like I thought. Damn alcohol. Even though I’m totally embarrassed, I don’t want to sleep in an airport tonight.

“You can stay with me, or I would be staying with you, seeing as it’s your room. You know what I mean,” cutting myself off, realizing I’m rambling, my eyes avert to the floor. I tend to do that when I get nervous.

We take a cab to the hotel and get settled in our room before heading down to the bar for some dinner and more drinks. The conversation is flowing so easily, and I find myself really enjoying Silas’s company. Somewhere along the line, I stopped looking at his life as a story to write, and found myself really interested in getting to know him. There is something about him that I can’t quite put my finger on that makes him mysterious to me. It’s weird, because he’s been nothing but an open book since he started talking. After dinner, we head back up to our room. I’m laughing at something Silas said as he opens the door and we stumble through. Upon shutting the door, I put my purse down, stretching my back. Noticing it seems a little warm in the room, I make my way to the thermostat. Turning around, I’m frozen in place as Silas takes off the top part of his uniform, revealing his sculpted arms peeking out from his t-shirt. His arms are decorated with colorful tattoos, and I fight the urge to reach out and trace the beautiful designs on his body. I kick my shoes off and fall back onto the bed, with Silas following. Our laughter stops and I turn to face him, only to see him staring at me intently. His gaze is boring into me, making me blush. I turn my head away. I feel a finger touch the bottom of my jaw and my head slowly turns back to face him.

“You have a beautiful smile, don’t hide it from me,” he says, as he licks his lips in anticipation.

My eyes stare at his full lips and then glance back into his eyes. My heart is beating against my chest so rapidly that I think it might explode. It has been so long since I’ve been with a man and I don’t know if I’m reading into this wrong. My mind isn’t exactly in the clearest state, but the throbbing I feel between my legs is starting to ache.

“Lilly,” his voice is a whisper, “I would really like to kiss you.”

If it wasn’t so quiet in the room, I might have actually missed what he said. But I definitely heard him. He wants to kiss me. Without thinking, I lean forward and press my lips against his. He’s still for only a second before he rolls me onto my back, straddling me and taking control over the kiss. I can taste the whiskey on his tongue and I suck on it, earning me a groan of approval from him. I place my hands on his perfectly sculpted chest and push him away before things can go any further. I can’t believe I’m doing this. This is so not like me. Silas could be nothing but trouble, but my mind is telling me he’s the kind of trouble I want to get into right now. I’m not the kind of girl who goes around having one-night-stands and I need to make that known. Silas lifts his body from mine at the break of contact.

“Is everything okay? I thought you wanted--”

Before he can continue, I place a finger on his lips stopping him. “I do, believe me I do. This just isn’t something I normally do. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had a one-night-stand.”

Silas lets out a small laugh, pulling me into his chest. “I’ve never done this in my life either. There’s a first for everything, right?” His finger trails its way down my breasts, causing me to shiver.

“I just haven’t been in a relationship in a long time, and I’m not really sure what you’re expecting out of all this. You know, after it’s all said and done.”

“There are no rules to it; if you want, we can part ways and never see each other again after this.”

“You would be okay with that?”
Would I be okay with that?

“I’m okay with whatever you’re okay with. This doesn’t have to happen if you don’t want it to. No pressure. Like I said, I will happily take the couch. I’m hoping you don’t make me take the couch though, because there is something about you that makes me want to know all of you, Lilly. I want to explore every inch of your body and see what makes you quiver.” His finger continues to explore lightly over my body. My body trembles under his simple touch and becomes flushed. The sensation flowing through me is too much right now; I can’t even form a coherent thought in my head.

With nothing left to be said, I pull him back down on top of me and let myself live a little for this one night.

***

The next morning, I’m awakened by an alarm going off. I reach for my phone to silence it, only it doesn’t turn off and the noise keeps going off. I roll back over and collide into a hard chest. Silas is passed out and I reach over him, silencing his phone. I use this moment to take in all of him. His black hair has a messy look, no thanks to me running my hands through it all night, but it looks sexy as sin on him. I allow my eyes to roam his body since the sheet is absent from it, and my eyes land on his v-cut. I felt such a deep connection with him, one I never felt before with anyone. Our bodies moved in perfect sync, like we’ve done this everyday for the last five years. The way my body ignited with every single touch of his made it feel like our souls were connecting. I want to lean over and give him a proper wakening after last night, but I refrain, reminding myself that even though I had the best sex of my life last night, we agreed on a one-night-stand.

I slip out of bed and shower quickly so I don’t miss my flight today. By the time I come out, Silas is awake and has ordered breakfast. I thank him and he says he’s going to go take a quick shower, so I decide to wait for him to eat. When he emerges from the bathroom, I shamelessly stare at his naked body before me. I figure, why not? I’ve seen everything he has to offer already, and it’s a damn shame to not look. I pop a piece of toast in my mouth as he puts his boxers on and is smirking at me.

“Like what you see?”

“Mmhmm.” My mouth is suddenly dry, causing me a problem with swallowing the toast. “It’s too bad you have to cover all that up.”

Silas puts his uniform on and comes over to the table where breakfast is. Before he sits, he leans over and places a kiss on my cheek. What the hell was that? Maybe I shouldn’t have been so forward with him. Is he expecting more from me? I mean, sure, I can face him this morning because I never have to see him again, but a kiss on the cheek? That feels kind of intimate. I sit frozen in my spot for a moment, and Silas immediately picks up on the change in my body language.

“What’s wrong?”

“What was that?”

“What was what?” His eyebrows draw in. It’s clear he’s confused so I explain.

“The kiss, on the cheek, I thought it was a one-time thing last night?”

Silas lets out a laugh. “Relax, sweetheart. I remember the terms of our one-night-stand. No commitment, no getting to know each other, just sex.”

“So, why the kiss?” I ask, still confused if he knows what last night was.

He shrugs his shoulders, “Why not? I didn’t really think about it, I just did it. Maybe it was just a natural response on my body’s part.”

I don’t press it any further and we eat in silence. It’s not an uncomfortable one though, which makes me realize I’m in a little over my head.

We check out of our hotel room and take a cab to the airport. I’m grateful for his company as he talks with me as if nothing happened. I try not to dwell on the kiss that has been in the back of my mind and enjoy the last few minutes I have with him. I’m a little nervous as we approach the airport. I don’t want to have that awkward goodbye, and it would have been pointless to take two cabs when we are going to the same place. Once we arrive at my gate, he hands me my luggage.

“Thank you for last night.” My face reddens, totally embarrassed that I just thanked him for a one-night-stand. God, what is wrong with me?

“You’re welcome, I guess this is where we part ways. Have a safe flight, Lilly.” He leans in to give me a hug.

“You, too.” My voice breaks as I watch the best sex I’ve ever had walk out of my life.

Chapter 1

Lilly

3 Years Later

“Ezra, can you come here please,” I yell at my rambunctious son, across our home. Trying to get ready for work with a toddler underfoot is no easy task. Packing a bag for him is something I normally do the night before, but I got sucked into the chapter I was writing last night. Which left me blowing off my normal routine, running around the house like a chicken with its head cut off. With Ezra nowhere in sight, I’m left with no option but to stop packing his lunch and go find him.

Crossing the dining room to the hallway, I reach his bedroom first. Nope, not in here. Hearing a noise come from his toy room, I head there next. Opening the door, I sigh and shake my head at the sight in front of me. Ezra has stripped off all of his clothes and his toys are scattered everywhere as he plays with his cars.

“Ezra, honey, why did you get undressed? Mommy needs to go to work and I need to drop you off at Miss Megan’s.” Ezra ignores my question as I’m sorting through the mess of toys, looking for his clothes. After finding them, I walk over to Ezra, who is lost in the world of cars. Deciding to make a game of it, I pretend to try and put his shirt on myself. “Oh boy, this just won’t do. Hey, buddy, can you help me get this shirt on?” This usually helps speed along the getting dressed process.

“Mommy, you’re silly! Those are my clothes.” Falling right into my trap, he takes his pants from me. Score one for mom. I get him dressed, grab his bag, and am finally able to leave the house for work.

Every day it’s the same routine: get Ezra ready, drop him off at my best friend, Megan’s, and then off to work at the ad agency. After two years of being there, I decided to stay. At first, I was a little disappointed that my job had nothing to do with creative writing, but after having Ezra, it ended up being perfect for me. I’m an assistant to my brother-in-law, Joe, who owns the company, and the hours are convenient. He even cut back on my traveling since I had my son, and I must say, I’m more than grateful for that. Waiting for my computer to turn on, I take the phones off the answering service and look at the schedule for the day. I’m both relieved and ecstatic that our day isn’t booked. After my chaotic morning, I could use some downtime and that means free time to write. I’ve been trying to stick to a deadline for my recent story and have fallen far too behind for my liking.

“Morning, Lilly.” Joe places a kiss on my cheek, handing me a cup of coffee. He does this every morning. At first, when I started working here, he would bust my balls and say I should be bringing him coffee. But every time I offered, he would politely decline and tell me to repay him by bringing Ezra by for the weekend. Joe and my sister, Laura, have tried for years to get pregnant, unsuccessfully at that, and so they spend as much time with Ezra as they can. Although it’s nice having a quiet house to write in, I still miss him when he is gone.

Closing my eyes and breathing in the coffee, I take a sip, welcoming the warm liquid down my throat. “Morning, Joe. How did the meeting go last night? Were you able to close the account?” I take another sip of my coffee.

“Yeah, I almost said, ‘fuck it,’ at one point though. The guy had no idea what he wanted and it was hard for me to give him what he wanted when I have nothing to go off of. After hours of running ideas left and right at him, he finally said he liked something. Then it was easy sailing from there. I didn’t end up getting home until eleven.”

“I wish I could have stayed and helped, but Megan had some things she needed to get done and couldn’t watch Ezra.”

“Don’t worry about it. Besides, now that that’s out of the way, I will have more time to spend with my favorite nephew this weekend. You still need us to watch him, right?”

“Yes, but only if it’s not too much of a hassle,” I say to Joe.

He waves his hand, dismissing my answer. “So what’s on the schedule for today?”

“Not much. In fact, there isn’t much on it for the next two days. Looks like you will be able to catch up on some other projects in the meantime.”

“And you can get in some writing time,” he says, pointing to my computer.

“Have I ever told you how awesome of a boss you are? I really lucked out with you.” I shoot him a wink.

“Yes, but you have to say that. I’m your brother-in-law. Besides, your writing really is amazing and I am the lucky one to have you still employed with me. You could have up and quit your job and just continued to write, but you’re still here.”

“It’s the free coffee,” I joke, holding up my almost empty cup in the air.

Joe heads off into his office, and I start my day by making sure I get all the appointments confirmed and other office obligations done; the less distractions, the better. If someone told me years ago I was going to be a mother and a bestselling author, I would have laughed in their face. I couldn’t even get a job in creative writing after I graduated. Now, I have three best sellers in a series and am working on the fourth. As for the mom part, I’ve always wanted kids, there was no question about that. I just envisioned myself married first and children later. Life doesn’t always work out the way you expect it to, and I am grateful for that. Ever since having Ezra, I couldn’t even begin to imagine a world without him in it.