then she opened her trench coat to reveal what she was wearing underneath.
Precisely nothing.
* * *
As soon as Louise Jensen opened her trench coat she knew she’d made a mistake. A huge one, because Jaiven Rodriguez looked appalled.
Damn, damn, damn. What the hell had she been thinking, cabbing it to the Bronx in nothing but a coat and six-inch heels? Was she really that stupid?
Apparently, yes. Because Jaiven’s comment about sexual fantasies had lit a spark inside of her, and four days of celibacy—hardly unusual, yet now seemingly unendurable—had fanned it into raging flame.
She’d told herself she could use a little fantasy sex, the no-strings fling Jaiven had promised. She’d made a compelling argument inside her head that it would actually be good for her, that it would help her move on to a real relationship. This was the bridge between loneliness and hope, between marriage to Jack and a relationship with some stable, safe, boring man she might meet one day.
And she’d realized she’d always had a secret fantasy about showing up to a man’s place in nothing but a coat and heels. Being that sassy and confident and bold.
What an idiotic fantasy that was.
“So maybe not,” she said, choking on the words as she hastened to close her coat. Her hands were shaking and she couldn’t get the buttons and buckles fastened. Stupid coat. Stupid buckles. Stupid her.
“I love it,” Jaiven told her quickly, his voice low, “but my mother is here.” He sounded caught between amusement and alarm, and Louise let out a horrified laugh.
“Your mother? You have got to be kidding me.”
“I wish I was.”
He sounded so regretful that Louise laughed again, albeit shakily.
“Who is that, Jaiven?”
Louise’s mouth dropped open and she took a stumbling step away from the door. “Oh no—”
“Oh, yes.” Jaiven rolled his eyes heavenward as his mother, a small, round woman in a cherry-red dress and matching heels came bustling toward them.
Louise smiled, or tried to, but she seemed to have lost control of her facial muscles. And her coat still wasn’t buttoned up properly.
She’d thought she’d been embarrassed before, but she’d had no idea what that even felt like. If embarrassment were a video game, she was the world champion, her initials on every glowing screen. Beat this score. Not.
“Who are you?” his mother asked, not precisely rudely, but close. She eyed Louise’s coat with suspicion, and who could blame her? The important bits were thankfully covered, but she was showing a lot of leg.
Louise tightened her belt, tried to close her coat a little more. It gaped at the throat and with her other hand she snatched at the lapels. His mother probably thought she was a streaker. Or maybe a prostitute.
“Umm…”
“Louise is a friend, Mama,” Jaiven said calmly. He looked weary and weirdly resigned, yet when he caught her eye he gave her a tiny quirk of a smile. “She just stopped by for a drink.”
“A drink?” His mother looked even more suspicious. Maybe in her world respectable women did not stop by men’s apartments for drinks. They certainly didn’t turn up nearly naked.
“That’s right,” she managed, still clutching at her coat. “But I didn’t realize he was with you. So I’ll just…”
“Stay,” Jaiven interjected. He tugged at her hand, which had her coat gaping open again. Now she was showing leg and cleavage. Perfect.
She tried to give him a covert glare. “No, really—”
“I’d like you to stay. We were just sitting down to dinner. You can eat with us.” He turned to his mother with an appealing smile, his hand still clasped around Louise’s like a vise. “Can’t she, Mama?”
His mother sniffed. “I suppose I made enough.” She turned back to the house and Louise leaned closer to Jaiven.
“What the hell are you doing?” she hissed.
“Keeping you here, of course,” he answered, as if that were a no-brainer. “You are going to drive me out of my mind all evening, you know that?”
“And I’m supposed to wear—what?” Louise demanded.
“Just keep your coat on.”
She let out a disbelieving huff of laughter. “Jaiven, that’s going to look a little weird.”
“Have some confidence, Louise.” He gave her a wicked smile. “Be bold. Isn’t that what you coming here is about?”
She stared at him, once more unsettled by how well he read her. He knew exactly what this fantasy was about. And how better to own it than to see it all the way through?
And yet this situation was also very awkward. Potentially totally humiliating. And she did not do humiliation.
“Come on, Louise,” Jaiven said softly. He tugged her into the house, his eyes glinting with amusement and yet also hot with desire. “Drive me wild.”
And with a small, answering smile curving her mouth, she knew she did want to drive him wild. Tempt and taunt him all evening. But she was going to tighten the belt on her coat first.
She followed Jaiven upstairs to the main living area, the dining area open to the kitchen. His mother was already seated at the table. “So sorry to interrupt,” she told Jaiven’s mother. “Jaiven didn’t know I was coming. What’s your name?”
“Rosa.” The woman eyed her beadily as Jaiven pulled out a chair and Louise sank into it, making sure her coat stayed closed.
“So nice to meet you, Rosa,” she said, trying for a smile, and the woman just folded her arms.
Jaiven placed his hands on her shoulders and asked, “May I take your coat?”
A bubble of surprised laughter burst from her lips and quickly she shook her head. “Thanks, but I’m good.”
“Sure?” Jaiven murmured, and she tilted her head up to meet his glinting gaze, tried to convey with her sternest teacher’s glare that he should not push it quite that much.
He just smiled back.
All right, fine. She could do this. Jaiven thought she could do this. Taking a deep breath, she gave him a smile back. “But if I get a little hot, Jaiven, I’ll let you know.” She trailed her fingertips along her cleavage, saw Jaiven’s pupils flare, heard his mother snort.
Okay, whatever. She didn’t care what this woman thought of her. She wasn’t going to cringe or cower or apologize. So she’d showed up to a man’s house in a trench coat. Her choice. And she’d see it through.
Jaiven went to the kitchen area to fetch her a plate and Louise sat in silence across from his mother, who had folded her arms across her impressive bust and was giving Louise a narrowed, very shrewd look.
“Your coat,” she finally said after nearly a minute of taut silence. “It needs to be buttoned.”
Louise glanced down and saw that her improperly buttoned coat was gaping so much at the front that Jaiven’s mother could nearly see her nipple. She bit her lip to keep from laughing out of sheer nerves and rebuttoned it.
“Oops,” she said.
Rosa made a huffing sound, her arms still folded. “You know my son well?”
Hmm, tricky question. What was she supposed to say? No, we’re just acquaintances really, but I showed up to his house naked. “We’re friends.”
“I just met Louise last week,” Jaiven said