Seven Minutes In Heaven Read online

  How did she manage to not scream in absolute ecstasy? Heaven knew she wanted to. The sounds were in her throat and ready to burst. They threatened to alert the whole party that she was having way too much fun without her fiancé.

  Damn the old bastard! Claire wasn’t going to spare him a second thought as she rode this stranger’s dick and had one of the greatest thrills of her life!

  It didn’t help that every part of her enjoyed every part of him. Claire’s senses were in overdrive. Not only her sense of touch, which burned in joy to have this man fuck her in ways she didn’t realize were humanly possible. Her nose was treated to the sweetest scent of musk that became stronger the closer this man reached orgasm. The taste of his tongue in her mouth reminded her of the kind of sinful pleasures she treated herself to whenever she went off her diet of the month. Her eyes feasted upon the effortless way his muscles moved beneath his clothes and his darling brown eyes gazed back at her when he could pry his mouth off her throat. And her ears? Her sense of hearing had never loved witnessing a man fuck her more. Every grunt, every groan, and every meeting of their bodies had Claire rolling her eyes into the back of her head as she enjoyed the ride.

  The only thing she would attribute to this silly position against the wall was the advantage it gave Jake’s cock when it came to hitting Claire where it counted. Within a minute she reached climax, her back arching off the wall and her body refusing to let this man go.

  “Oh!” That was the only sound she allowed to escape her lips. Not that she wanted to hold back more. Far from it! Within her was a stockpile of vigorous sounds that threatened to tell Jake what a damn good lay he was. Imagine what he would be like in an actual bed! No, no, Claire couldn’t think about that. She needed to concentrate on the here and now. They were in a coat closet. A party raged outside the door. A war raged in her gut and in her heart. “Jake!” Okay, so she would allow another sound to come out.

  Apparently, it was the magic cry, for not two seconds later, Jake joined her. His fingers seized into her most malleable flesh, bruising her skin while his lips tore apart the delicate places around her throat. The full girth of his cock swelled within Claire before Jake unleashed everything he had inside of him.

  Claire was half dressed in an unheated closet, yet she had never felt so warm – both inside and out.

  You tore open my tights for this. Claire dug her fingers into his shoulders, her inner walls urging him to give her every drop he had. The fact he had stopped his thrusts to make sure he also enjoyed this fleeting moment told her everything she needed to know – namely, that Jake lived to be with her too.

  Her engagement party fling was more than likely one of the best she ever had. Feeling him pull out with that recognizable gasp of disbelief hurt almost more than her ass sliding down the wall because he was no longer there to support her.

  Jake braced himself against the other wall, his breaths caught in his chest. Claire wrapped her arms around herself and pretended everything was fine.

  Because they both felt it at the same time. That post-sex what the fuck have we done?

  Embarrassing enough that they hooked up like this, and all because Claire couldn’t keep her legs closed. Her drive to strike a balance between her and Arthur’s activities sounded great when she was aroused and on the prowl for a hot guy. Now? I let a total stranger come inside of me. At my party. My engagement party. Her cheeks flushed red. The part of her that wanted to kiss Jake in thanks for the fun waged war with the part that chastised her for being a dumbfuck slut.

  What had she done? What had he done?

  Jake cleared his throat and shot Claire a look that insinuated there was nothing they could do about it now. He fixed himself up, zipper and all, while Claire continued to stand there with her breasts out and her tights torn open. What the fuck do I do about these tights? She would have to go to the bathroom, anyway. Maybe if she took off the tights or rearranged her outfit in such a way that nobody noticed the torn material…

  “You’re really beautiful.”

  Claire looked up and met Jake’s wonderfully soft gaze. “Huh?”

  “I said you’re beautiful. Didn’t really have a chance to tell you before. Because… well, everything happened so fast, huh?”

  He respectfully looked away while Claire took care of her wrinkled dress. When she shifted her hips to wiggle back into her dress straps, half of what Jake had offered her during his orgasm attempted to burst from her body. Oh. My. God. What the fuck do I do? “Thanks.” Claire blushed so hard that she worried she would pass out. Her body wanted so badly to relax in sexual afterglow, and she forbade it from enjoying such a simple pleasure like sex. I’m a monster to myself. We all know that already, huh? “You’re pretty hot too.”

  “Aw, I’m not beautiful?”

  Sarcasm? At a time like this? Better than awkward, stilted conversation, Claire supposed. “I thought guys preferred to be called sexy or handsome.”

  “Maybe some guys wanna be beautiful, too.”

  Claire hated how boyishly cute he looked. It was the kind of cute she should appreciate over a candlelit dinner, or while riding in the back of a luxury vehicle, en route to a sunny movie set while the paparazzi salivated to steal a picture of them. Just think, Mr. Jake. You and I could be one of the most envious couples in Hollywood. The young hotshot producer and the bombshell about to land the first of many big roles. The kind of power couple that made people marvel over their equal prestige and potential. Prestige for the legacy they would one day leave behind in Hollywood. Potential to be one of the oldest couples around. One day. When books were written and biographical movies optioned.

  Claire’s heart fluttered at the thought. She wanted so badly to live that kind of life. What princess didn’t?

  Didn’t every princess want Prince Charming to slay the dragon?

  “Yeah,” she said, forcing a laugh. “You’re pretty gorgeous, Jake.”

  “Oh, gorgeous. I’ll take that one.”

  He so effortlessly bantered with her, even though he regretted this? Better than the alternative, Claire supposed. Better than having this man treat her like shit because he couldn’t stand what he did. You stole another man’s woman, didn’t you? That was the thought process running through Jake’s beautiful head.

  “Well…” Jake put his hand on the door handle. “I really hope you don’t think me a total cad, but we should get out of here, Claire. I think you have a party to get back to, yeah?”

  She nodded. “I need to go to the bathroom.”

  Jake cleared his throat again. “Of course. I’ll see you around.” He hesitated before leaning in and pecking her on the cheek.

  He acted as if he wanted to say something else to her. I wish you would. Claire had gone from lusty to guilty to crushing so quickly that she gave herself whiplash. It didn’t help that Jake was so damn good looking that it was like pining after him all over again when he slipped out of the closet and allowed Claire a few minutes to herself. Besides, it wouldn’t look good if they were seen together again. She needed to mingle into the crowd on her way to the bathroom.

  When she finally had the fortitude, she strutted into her engagement party as if she had nothing to hide. In truth, she didn’t think she did.

  Chapter 4

  Any guilt she felt abated over the next twenty-four hours. It helped that Arthur openly flirted with women on his cell phone and outright offered his business card and a wink to an actress from Hong Kong, who shyly smiled back at him, knowing exactly what he implied. Claire had steeled herself for this reality. Now that she knew it was real, she further numbed herself and decided to broach the subject of having extramarital lovers later. She needed to take some time to decide how to best bring it up without offending his hypocritical ass.

  I’ll definitely have to have sex with him regularly. She groaned to think of it, but what other bartering chips did she have? There was no way Arthur would allow her to have another boyfriend if he wasn’t getting any with her. Perhaps th
at was the price she had to pay. In the end, it always came down to what she could barter with her body.

  She sat in the salon overlooking the courtyard of Arthur’s home. It will be my home, soon. Expansive. Lovely. Sunny. Away from the terrible crowds of LA, but a close enough drive to shopping, nightlife, and studios. Now the home of my first big affair. Every time Claire walked by that closet, she stopped and remembered how exhilarated she was to have Jake make love to her like that.

  Ha! Make love. That was a good one.

  “I don’t know what the hell is taking him so long.” Arthur sat down across from his fiancée at the little bistro table. A third place setting nestled between them for lunch. “He’s texted me twice to say he’s hung up in traffic. What traffic? Google Maps says everything is pretty clear between here and downtown.”

  “You mean your son?”

  “Of course I mean Jacob. Who else could I be talking about?”

  Claire furrowed her eyes at the way Arthur talked to her. She crossed her legs and continued to gaze out the window, remembering a man named Jake.

  They were meeting Jacob Carter for lunch today, the first formal introductions between Claire and her future stepson. I’d rather not think of him that way. She was also sure this grown man didn’t want to think of her as his step-anything. Not even his stepsister. Perhaps that was more palpable, but still sketch as all hell.

  Relationships were always weird when a young woman married some man forty-five years older than anyone in her generation. Here Claire was, trying not to feel guilty over what happened the day before, and her fiancé bragged about “saddling the filly” and texted other young women for booty calls.

  I’m gonna think about you for the rest of my life, Jake. He was a turning point in her life. The day Claire stopped giving a single fuck about the repercussions of this arranged marriage. Money and connections. That’s all it was. Women had been marrying dumb old men for their own survival for thousands of years.

  “He’s here, Mr. Carter,” said a maid from the salon doorway. “Jacob should be up here shortly.”

  “Thank you, Marie.” Arthur pocketed his phone and regarded his fiancée with a serene countenance. “I think you’ll like Jacob, sweetheart,” he said. “He’s a good kid. Couldn’t be prouder if I had named him after myself.”

  Claire forced a smile. “I only hope that he can tolerate me.”

  “Why do you say that? You two will get along swimmingly. If nothing else, you’ll be able to talk about making movies all day. I raised him in the business, and I get tired of hearing him talk about it.” The way Arthur bellowed in laughter said it was a good problem to have.

  “I am his age and about to be his stepmother. I’d think any man would be uncomfortable by that fact.”

  “Please, Claire-Bear. It’s 2017 in Hollywood. We’re hardly the only huge age difference in our pocket of America.”

  What difference did that make? Just because it was “normal,” didn’t mean it was right.

  A shadow lingered outside the doorway. It briefly caught Claire’s attention before she looked out the window again. That must be him. Honestly, she was curious to meet Jacob, if he didn’t end up resenting her. Yet her thoughts were so plagued by recent events – and her uncertain future – that she couldn’t bring herself to get excited by this lunch with her stepson.

  “Would you get in here, Jacob?” Arthur stood up with a grin on his wrinkled visage. “Come meet the woman who’s changing our lives!”

  The man entered. Claire glanced in his direction before looking out the window again, struggling to muster up the courage to face this situation. She needed to orient her trains of thought before facing Jacob…

  No.

  Jake.

  Every breath left Claire’s body when she recognized Jake. He nodded to her in only the briefest of acknowledgements, but Claire gripped the table so hard that her knuckles whitened and the blood drained from her face.

  Jake… Jacob. How the fuck had she not realized it sooner?

  “Hi.” Jake held his hand out. “Seriously, I prefer Jake. Only this guy calls me Jacob.”

  Arthur was oblivious to the tension between Claire and Jake. “Meet my handsome boy, darling. Best thing his mother ever did was give me this strapping son.” He clamped his hand on Jake’s shoulder. “Looks more like me, though. Except for the eyes. He’s got his mother’s eyes.”

  Jake pursed his lips. “Actually, I met Claire yesterday at the engagement party.”

  “Oh, really? You were there that long?” Arthur then explained to his fiancée, “This guy told me he couldn’t make it to my engagement party because he had to go to a filming location to settle some dispute between a director and an egotistic actor. I do not miss those days.”

  Claire uneasily laughed. “Yes, we did meet yesterday.” She shot Jake a burning look. “But he didn’t tell me that he was your son.”

  “I honestly thought you already knew.’

  Oh my God. He fucked me even though… It all made sense now! The things he said, the way he acted both before and after… he was afraid to upset Arthur because he was his father and Claire was supposed to be his stepmother!

  “You okay, Claire?” Arthur patted her cheek. “Someone get this woman some ice water. She looks like she’s seen a ghost.”

  He personally got up to check on the refreshments now that his son was here. Jake sat in the seat between his father and Claire, but now that they were alone, all Claire could think about was throwing up.

  She didn’t think she would see Jake again so soon, and certainly not in her future home. Not as a… family… member…

  “I honestly had no idea,” she hissed.

  “I honestly thought you knew.”

  “If I knew who you were… do you think I would have… are you nuts?”

  “I was pretty nuts yesterday, yeah.” Jake leaned against the table, his furrowed brows meeting the sunlight coming through the wide windows of the salon. “I propose we don’t think about it. What happened, happened.” He folded his hands together. “Now that I know you didn’t know who I was… it’ll be easier to forget.”

  Claire tilted her head. “Really? I’m gonna be your stepmother!”

  “I admit, ‘Woman Fucks Stepson’ is quite the salacious headline, but it could also be a legitimate porn category.”

  “Don’t even go there.”

  Jake snorted. “I’m sorry that you’re so shocked, but if it makes you feel better…” He met her disturbed gaze. “I’m not sorry about what happened.”

  Claire let out her pent-up breath. “This whole time I was worried that my new stepson would resent me for being a gold-digging trophy wife. Turns out I’m just a slut.”

  “You are a gold-digging trophy wife, yes?” He said it so candidly! “There’s no way you love my father like that. I was never under that delusion, and I doubt he is, either. My father is a Class A philanderer. You know that, though. You may not know how many women, or how often, but trust me, my mother’s not the only one who knows the real him. So do you and I.”

  “Of course I know. Why do you think I was so shameless about… what happened?”

  “I admit, I was shocked. That you would so brazenly go after someone, and that it would be me. I thought that was part of some game you played. Stayed up half the night wondering how today would play out. A part of me was excited. Mostly, I was a nervous wreck.”

  “You still came, though.”

  “I figured if nothing else, this would be a helluva movie script for me to write.”

  “Let me guess.” Claire steepled her fingers beneath her nose. “You would cast me as the lead actress.”

  “Was thinking more of Jennifer Lawrence for the sheer star power, but I guess you could work as well.”

  “If you’re going to make a movie about my biggest shame, you might as well cast me as the star. Nobody will play it better than me.”

  Jake snorted through his flaring nostrils. His father does the same thin
g. God, they really are biologically related, aren’t they? Because noooo, Jake couldn’t have been the product of Carmen’s affair in the early ‘90s. He had to go and add an extra layer of deplorable disgust to this already shit situation.

  “Biggest shame, huh? Thanks.”

  “Aren’t you ashamed by what happened?”

  “Not nearly as much as you are, apparently.”

  Typical. Here Claire had assumed Arthur’s son would be mortified to know they might “share” the same woman. In the biblical sense, no less! Hollywood elite really are depraved, aren’t they? To think, Claire had lived her whole life among Hollywood types and had yet to discover the sheer lows they encountered. A young screenwriter and producer fucking his future stepmom was right up there.

  “We’re never talking about this again,” Claire said with finality. “Don’t ever bring it up, and I won’t either.”

  Jake mimicked zipping his lips shut.

  “Good.” Claire let out more breaths. “I think he’s coming back. I swear to God, Jake…”

  “My two favorite people already getting to know each other!” Arthur burst back into the salon, cell phone returned to his pocket. A maid trailed behind him. “You’ll have to forgive my son, Claire-Bear.” He sat across from his fiancée. “He gets his mother’s talents for gabbing and gossip. Could never get either of them to shut up when he was a kid.”

  Jake revealed a wan smile for his father’s benefit. “Rather talk too much than endure an awkward silence, Dad. You know, those things you’re infamous for.”

  “Why fill the air with meaningless conversation?”

  “You mean like we are right now?”

  “Exactly!” Laughing, Arthur jabbed a finger in Claire’s direction. “So, let’s talk about something we can mutually enjoy. Like how beautiful your future stepmother is.”

  Claire almost blushed herself out of the salon. Jake, on the other hand, said, “C’mon, Dad. Let’s not embarrass her. I’m older than her, for fuck’s sake.”