Deep masculine laughter swirled with soft feminine laughter above the low flow of Common’s I Want You in Josh's vehicle as we drove into my apartment complex. It was Thursday, and after a long day of booze, aggressively salty air and raunchy humor, Josh and I managed to slip away from an all-white yacht party thrown by Marco Levy, some multimillionaire acquaintance of his. Of course, Josh's attire was the exception; he wore his usual black.He continued to keep me in the dark about his line of work. The minute someone tried drawing him into a conversation about work, he'd cut them off, letting them know this was his ‘down time’ and ‘shop talk’ wasn’t allowed. I wasn’t sure why he was hiding something as simple as his occupation from me.Josh had invited me out every other evening since we shared pizza at the rooftop restaurant. He was funny, overly intelligent and sometimes sweet—when he wasn't fuming about trivialities. He pledged to earn my trust, and evidently thought dragging me

"Return them to the sender."The tall, red-haired delivery guy standing outside my door stared blankly at me with obsidian eyes. It was noon the next day, and I was extremely peevish and moody.The delivery guy compressed his lips and held up his hand to halt the other two guys who were dutifully unloading rolls of fabric from a white truck with the logo, 'Reel O' Roll', on the side. The materials were lovely, a variation of bright rainbow colors. My palms itched with the need to peel away the plastic and run my hands over the bright yellow roll the man before me held upright. I loved them. Ideas were already bouncing around in my head of the pieces I could create from them. But I knew without a doubt who sent them, so I wouldn’t accept them."Ma'am, I would—" the delivery guy began, trying patience."I said return them," I snapped. "I didn't order them. I don't know who sent them and I don't want them."Pressing his lips tighter together—possibly swallowing a curse—he gave a curt sp

Josh opened the passenger door of his vehicle and stood aside for me to enter. Such a gentleman when he wanted to be. I loved that, as wealthy as he was, he didn’t have anyone driving us around and opening our doors. Proved just how much he craved control. He wanted to open all my doors and maneuver me in every way. And I wanted him to.When he rounded the car and got in, he glanced over at me. "That dress is...hell, it's...damn. Who's the designer? I want to buy you a dozen more like it.""Dalia.”I was wearing an ankle-length, navy blue, off-the-shoulder, velvet dress. The smooth velvet material clung to me like a second skin, accentuating my ample hips, and a mid-thigh split showed off the length of my left leg.He shot me a doubtful glance. "You made that dress?" I didn’t answer. I’d let my silence tell him I’d taken offense.But in truth, my silence was a way of hindering him from initiating a conversation. I wasn’t really able to speak just yet. I was still in vertigo from that

Elevator doors slid open and I was led directly into a cold, high-ceilinged, glass walled penthouse. Not my preferred style of living."Can I get you a drink?" Josh asked as I glanced around. "Merlot." His footsteps drifted across the wooden floor, away from me, while my eyes idly drifted around his penthouse, taking in the open-floor-plan massiveness. What wasn't glass was either black or white. Black furniture. White walls. Black and white paintings.I glanced over to the kitchen where Josh stood pouring a glass of wine. Stainless steel, gourmet style. I caught sight of a bubble chair hanging from the ceiling and went to have a seat in it. A huge, fluffy, white pelt laid beneath it. I pushed back and forth in the bubble chair as I heard Josh’s footfalls approaching. "You don't want to look around?" He handed me the glass of wine."No." I'd like to look down your pants."You comfortable in this thing?" He sunk to his knees in front of me on the pelt."Yes." And I'd be even more

Someone was watching me. I fought against the darkness and woke up to Josh sitting on the edge of the bed in black slacks and a T-shirt, watching me."Thought you'd never wake up."I stretched. "What time is it?""Noon," he answered. "You’ve slept for fourteen hours." "And I still feel like I haven’t slept at all. I felt so off and weird when I woke earlier.And I had this dream that felt so real…”"What was this dream about?""That’s the thing, I can’t remember it. Yet my mind won’t let it go."He took my hand in his and shifted his gaze out to the balcony. "Who's Nelly?""What?""You kept murmuring the name 'Nelly' in your sleep. This someone I need to know about?" His gaze remained out to the balcony, eyes narrowed, expression distraught."I was dreaming, Josh. And I honestly don’t remember what about. The hell do I know who’s ‘Nelly’?"Silence ensued as he circled his thumb in my lifeline.Abruptly, my head felt as if it’d been hit with a brick as a severe headache smacked me.J