His Favorite Mistake

Chapter 12

FREDERICK

The morning air outside the hotel was cool and crisp.

Clara stepped out ahead of me, still laughing at a joke I had made in the elevator. Her hair had that messy, effortless look, and the soft scent of her perfume lingered on my shirt. I walked behind her toward the car, placing one hand lightly on the small of her back. To anyone watching, I looked like a man who had just enjoyed a very good night and was in no rush for it to end.

I unlocked the doors. She slid gracefully into the passenger seat, and I walked around to the driver’s side. Before starting the engine, I pulled out my phone.

A text from Sienna was waiting on the screen.

Sienna: Mr. Vance… I wasn’t expecting that kind of reply last night. I almost dropped my phone.

A slow smile touched my lips as I typed back.

Frederick: That’s just who I am. You’ve never seen this side of me before. Don’t let your respect for me hide the real thing.

Her reply popped up almost immediately.

Sienna: I don’t even know what to say to that! Anyway, I’m coming to pick up some documents today. My managing director asked me to.

I locked the screen and tossed the phone into the cup holder. Clara was watching me with a curious little smile.

“What’s making you smile like that?” she asked, leaning in closer.

“Nothing,” I said, keeping my tone completely casual. “Just a funny post.”

“Can I have a look?”

“Sure!”

I unlocked the phone again, quickly swiped past my chat with Sienna, and opened a random meme from a group chat. I tilted the screen toward her. She gave a bright, soft laugh, then leaned back comfortably into her seat.

I turned the key, and the engine purred to life.

“Alright, we’re done here,” I said, pulling out of the hotel parking lot. “Let me drop you off so I can start my day. It’s already past eight.”

Clara turned her head toward me, her smile shifting into something sly.

“Are you going to work… or are you going back to your wife?”

The easy mood in my chest instantly tightened.

Two lives lived differently, one happily, the other I wished it never existed.

“Clara.” My voice came out flatter than I intended. “Why do you always have to ruin the mood? You know I don’t like it when you bring that up.”

She just laughed, completely unbothered, and tapped my chest twice with her fingers.

“Relax,” she said with a soft chuckle. “I’m only asking.”

I sighed and shook my head, though a small smile teased the corner of my lips anyway.

“You really love testing my patience, don’t you?”

She kept smiling, clearly pleased with herself. Just like that, my annoyance melted away. That was the magic of Clara. She always knew exactly how far to push me and when to pull back with a laugh.

We drove in comfortable silence for a few minutes. The city was waking up, traffic building up on the main road as people rushed to their offices. I glanced at her briefly before fixing my eyes on the road again.

“Next time you make me wait like that,” I said, dropping my voice to a low murmur, “I’m going to take my time with you until you can barely walk.”

Clara burst out laughing.

“Is that a threat or a promise?”

“Both.”

“It wasn’t even my fault!” she insisted, still chuckling. “You make it sound like I kept you waiting for hours.”

“You did,” I said with a sly look. “I waited over three hours for you.”

“Three hours? Are you crazy?” She shot me a wide-eyed look. “When you called me, it hadn’t even been two hours, and I was already on my way!”

“Don’t lie to me,” I teased.

“I know I kept you waiting, but it wasn’t three hours! Don’t lie about me before I pinch you…”

I shifted slightly in my seat, adjusting my trousers to make myself more comfortable. Her eyes flicked downward, catching the movement instantly.

“Go ahead and grab it,” I said, smirking. “It’s yours, baby.”

Clara didn’t hesitate. While I kept one hand firm on the steering wheel, her right hand reached across the console. Her fingers squeezed firmly over my trousers. A sudden pulse of heat shot straight down my spine. I throbbed instantly under her touch, the tight friction through the fabric making it hard to concentrate on the road. My grip on the wheel tightened, and my breathing turned heavy.

She felt it right away. A slow, knowing grin spread across her face.

“Should we turn back to the hotel for one last round?” I asked, my voice turning rough.

Clara laughed and pulled her hand away.

“Can you really not go five minutes without putting your c**k in my p***y?”

I looked over at her, fully hard and not even trying to hide it.

“Maybe I can’t.”

She laughed even harder. I shook my head, feeling a reluctant smile pull at my own lips.

“What’s so funny? Am I a comedian to you now? What am I, Kevin Hart?”

“You’re just hilarious,” she said, wiping a tear of laughter from her eye. “It’s the serious face you make when you say it.”

By now, we were almost at her apartment. Her building came into view just around the next turn. Clara sat up straighter, checking her reflection in the mirror and smoothing down her hair.

“Let’s save it for another day,” she said. “We’re already at my place, and my body needs some real rest before I start my day.”

I slowed the car down and pulled up right in front of her building entrance.

“So you’re really just going to step out of my car without giving me one last round?”

She looked at me, her eyes bright with pure amusement.

“Engine off? No. Absolutely not. That is exactly what I’m doing. Now stop being dramatic.”

We both laughed. She opened the door and stepped out into the fresh morning breeze, then leaned down so her face was level with the open window.

“This is where we go back to our separate lives,” she said lightly.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

“Are you trying to make me angry?”

“No, baby. I’m just being real.” She rested her forearm on the window frame. “I have my life, and you have yours.”

“There is no good life without you in it, Clara,” I said, cutting her off softly.

She laughed, a warm, sweet sound in the crisp morning air. Still leaning against the car, she held out her hand. I reached over and wrapped my fingers around hers. They were soft and warm. I pulled her hand closer and pressed a slow, firm kiss against her skin.

She gave me one last beautiful smile, pulled her hand back gently, and turned away.

I stayed there, watching her walk through the glass doors of her building, before I finally shifted th

e car into drive and pulled out into the morning traffic. It's been almost forty-eight hours, and I've not been to the house.