Club Prive Book V Read Free Page B

I gathered my strength and waited for the moment I was alone to finally succumb to the tears that had wanted to come since the moment I’d learned the truth.

Chapter 5
    I didn’t have any problem getting up before Krissy because I hadn’t really slept at all in the first place. I’d thought that maybe I could cry myself to sleep, let the toll of the last couple days take over. I’d had times in my past where emotional exhaustion had let me sleep when nothing else could. This time, however, I couldn’t get my brain to shut down enough to doze for more than a quarter of an hour or so at a time. Then I’d wake up, the same old thoughts repeating over and over in my head. Finally, when my clock said that it was five o’clock, I decided it wasn’t worth it to keep lying there, waiting for the five-thirty alarm.
    I got up and headed for the bathroom. I’d showered the night before, but ever since I’d heard Howard say that Gavin was grooming me, I hadn’t been able to shower enough. I felt like there was a film of filth covering my skin and, no matter how hard I scrubbed, I couldn’t get rid of it.
    I dressed for work, but in one of my old boring outfits. Since I’d started seeing Gavin, Krissy had been able to convince me to put a bit more color and sex appeal into my work attire, but I didn’t want that today. I wanted to go back to the way I’d been before I’d met him. So, a plain skirt that stopped just above my knees and a tailored, but not sexy, white blouse. I’d gotten rid of the pantyhose because Krissy had said there was no good reason to keep them, so thigh-high stockings were the only option I had other than bare legs. I pulled my hair back and pinned it into place. No make-up other than what I needed to cover the bags under my eyes. And, finally, sensible shoes. A modest heel that made me look professional but not enough of a heel to draw attention to my legs.
    I looked at myself in the mirror. The young woman I saw peering back at me was familiar, but not the person I’d been seeing over the past few weeks. She looked like the girl I had been before. Confident in the courtroom but timid in life. The girl who’d only talked to the handsome stranger because her friends had pressured her. The girl who’d enjoyed sex but had never really had a problem going without it.
    I knew I couldn’t be her again, but I wanted to. I wanted to go back to who I’d been, pretend that none of this had happened. Now that I’d been with Gavin, I knew I could never experience sex the way I had before. He’d played my body like a musician playing a fine instrument. He’d made me feel things I’d never felt before, want things that I hadn’t realized I’d wanted, and now that I knew these things, I couldn’t un-know them.
    I closed my eyes against the tears I could feel coming and took a deep breath. No crying. I’d done my crying the night before and I was done. I had a job to do, and it had nothing to do with Howard’s divorce case.
    I was going to take the bastard down.
    With that thought firmly in my head, I headed out to the living room... and saw Krissy waiting for me. She was seated at our kitchen table, still wearing her cute little bunny pajamas, feet pulled up on the seat and a mug of coffee in her hands. She looked half-asleep, but I knew the caffeine would change that fast.
    “Oh, hey.” I tried to keep my voice nonchalant. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
    She shook her head. “I was hoping we could have breakfast together and talk.”
    I tensed. Had she figured out that I’d been faking sick?
    Then she grinned and I knew it wasn’t about me. “I’ve been wanting to tell you about this insane weekend I had since you got home, but I wanted to let you rest last night.”
    I glanced at the clock. I could spare a few minutes. “I don’t have time for a full breakfast, but one cup of coffee won’t make me late. I just have to get some files from Mr. Weiss before work.” I went and poured