by Maggie Cole
Heat rushed to my face when I saw his hand and remembered all the things it had done to me. I quickly grabbed it. He gave me a little squeeze, still full-on negotiator, which made my pussy pulse with more desire.
Flip, flip, flip went my stomach.
He introduced me to Charlie.
"Hi Charlie, we're excited to be working with you." I turned to shake Charlie's hand.
Charlie gave me a genuine smile. While he wasn't a starter for the Volts, he had a lot of playing time as a shooting guard, was about 6'7, and had brown hair and matching eyes. Charlie was from the Midwest with extremely good manners, and he seemed excited to meet us.
It appeared to me that he had a lot of respect for Collin and I could tell that Collin felt a sense of responsibility for him. Charlie was in his early twenties, and whenever we presented an idea, he would look at Collin for approval. Instead of giving it to him, Collin would take time to explain how things worked, teaching him instead of telling him, and then Collin would ask Charlie his opinion.
Somehow, Collin Corwin became sexier. I felt a twitch in my vagina. I grabbed my glass of water to cool myself off as Collin gazed at me briefly.
The meeting continued as usual, and I spent my time trying to only look at Collin professionally. I focused on Liv a lot, searching to see if she could tell anything was up, but she seemed like her typical boardroom self.
Collin, of course, was in full negotiator mode, having no problem acting like everything was normal.
How does he do that? It was impressive.
Toward the end of the meeting, Lilly came in to tell Liv that her next appointment was there. She left, and like the day before, I walked them to the lobby, only this time, Collin didn't ask to speak to me in my office. Both Charlie and he gave me a handshake and stepped on the elevator.
Feeling a little bummed, I walked back into the conference room to get my folders and saw Collin had left his phone. I grabbed it and told Lilly I had to give it to him.
The elevator opened. I saw him standing there, and a grin slowly formed over his face. "I'm glad it was you and not Lilly or Liv."
"You left it intentionally?"
"Go out the side entrance." He pointed. "My car will drive around and meet you so no one can see."
He walked out the front door before I could say anything. What is this all about?
After a few minutes, I walked out of the side entrance. As he promised, his black car was sitting there.
I stepped into the car. The blacked-out window between the driver and us was already closed. "Collin, what's this—"
He yanked me on his lap before I could finish. Collin's tongue found mine and urgently dodged in and out. I forgot about my sentence and kissed him back, as I ran my hands through his hair while his tongue wrestled with mine.
"That was torture," he breathed between kisses.
"Hmm…" I murmured, foggy from his kisses and wanting more.
He pulled back. "Sitting in that conference room with you..."
"Oh yeah," I purred softly. I grinned because he’d had a hard time, and it wasn't only on my end. My mouth went back for more.
Between kisses, he mumbled, "Dinner. Tonight. My place. Stay the night."
My stomach erupted in more butterflies.
Collin's body responded to mine, and I wanted to take him right there, but I had another appointment coming in soon. I kissed him and was going to say yes when I decided to have some fun. "What will you give me?"
The negotiator was back and with no hesitation, "Dessert."
"Done."
"My driver will pick you up at seven o'clock," he mumbled.
Giving him one last kiss, I made sure no one was around before getting out of the car and scurrying back into the building's side entrance.
I made it through the rest of my day, but in the back of my mind, I couldn't stop thinking about him.
7
Meg
The La Perla lingerie I put on was a chocolate brown color with a hint of gold in it and made of super delicate lace. I had been saving it for a special occasion. My red hair and green eyes were the perfect accessories.
I redid my hair, makeup, and perfume and threw on some skinny jeans, tall boots, and a purple oversized off-the-shoulder sweater. Then I packed an overnight bag.
I started rethinking my outfit and texted Collin, "Casual, right?"
Collin replied, "You don't have to wear anything if you don't want to."
I sent him back an eye-rolling emoji. Okay, staying with this outfit then.
Seven p.m. rolled up quickly, and Collin’s driver was right on time. Butterflies filled my stomach again. I realized I hadn’t felt them with anyone in a long time, and never after I had already had sex with someone.
It wasn’t long before I was on Collin’s doorstep, but I hesitated to ring the bell, feeling nervous and different from the confident woman who chased him several nights before. I finally pushed the button, and this time, he buzzed me in quickly.
Collin was once again waiting for me outside his door. He wore a pair of jeans and a plain white designer t-shirt. It had small ribbing and was super soft; showcasing his caramel skin.
He’s so delicious.
I thought about his naked body twisting in mine several nights before.
“You look beautiful as always,” Collin told me, snapping me out of my dirty thoughts and making me blush slightly, as I saw his smoldering look of approval.
I reached up and pulled his head down to me to kiss him. Grabbing my overnight bag, he pulled me into his apartment and locked the door behind us.
Sexy, slow music was playing. Several candles and the fireplace gave a soft glow to the room. The scent of sugar, amber, and vanilla filled the air.
He pulled out of our kiss. “Want some wine?”
“Sure.”
Collin moved to the kitchen, which opened up into the family room. My eyes wandered around his place. I hadn’t taken much in (other than him) the other night. His apartment was nothing to sneeze at. I could tell he recently remodeled it and it overlooked Manhattan.
“How long have you lived here?”
“About two years.”
Oh yeah, I had forgotten that he was recently divorced.
You’re the rebound girl.
He came around the counter and handed me a glass of wine.
“Did you remodel it?”
“Yes, right before I moved in.”
I searched for any sign of emotion, but he had none. It was the typical Collin Corwin negotiator face.
“It’s nice,” I continued surveying his apartment.
The oven buzzer rang.
“Are you cooking?” I guess I had assumed he would be ordering delivery of some sort.
“Yep, hope you’re hungry.”
“It smells fantastic. What is it?”
“Sea bass, spinach, and sweet potato puree,” He stood with an oven glove on, pulling the food out.
Collin Corwin can cook? And he cooks food that isn’t just mac and cheese?
Ok, that was super sexy. Somehow, the impossible happened, and Collin once again became even more desirable.
“What?” His brow furrowed.
I walked closer. “You just got even sexier.”
Collin gave me a cocky stare. “Well, what do you want to do about that?”
“Oh, I have some ideas, but I wouldn’t want to ruin the dinner you slaved over.”
Collin just smiled and winked at me.
"You did good keeping our secret today." He gave me an appreciative glance as I sipped on my wine.
I smiled, thinking of our meeting in the conference room. "I take promises seriously."
"That's a good trait, Meg," he said quietly.
I stared at him. "Hey, I thought that was cool what you did with Charlie today."
Confusion filled his face. "What was that?"
"The way you were teaching him and explaining things; guiding him instead of just making decisions for him.
"
He shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal. "Charlie is a smart kid with a good future in front of him. I want him to feel empowered to make decisions on his own."
I sat down on the barstool. "You know, you're the first agent who I've ever seen do that?"
He raised his eyes and nodded his head slightly, like he wasn’t surprised but without one ounce of arrogance.
I stared at him some more while he fixed two plates of food. He walked over to the candlelit table, put them down, then came over to refill my wine glass.
His modest behavior made me realize that the cockiness I had seen had always been related to sex and that it wasn’t who he was. I was used to dating cocky and egotistical men, and it turned me on that someone who was skilled in so many things was actually not full of arrogance. While I would be lying to say those traits didn’t turn me on, the fact that he could be cocky in the bedroom and humble in who he was caught me off guard.
I wasn’t used to it, and I didn’t want him devaluing what made him different. I stood up, put my arms around him, so my hands were on his ass, and looked up at him. “You did a really good thing, Collin.”
He stared at me humbly, was about to say something, and stopped. Instead, he gave me a quick kiss. "Come on." He led me to my chair and pulled it out for me.
We ate for a bit in silence. I realized I didn’t know much about Collin, and I genuinely wanted to know more. He had intrigued me before tonight, but he had quickly become more interesting.
“How did you get into your career?”
He paused as if he was remembering. “I was in my second contract with the Volts, and when it came time to renew, I realized I wasn’t going to play anymore. My degree was going to be in business, and I wanted to stay in the sports world. I had an old professor I still kept in contact with who encouraged me to go back and finish out my degree so I could become an agent.”
“You returned to college after playing pro?” I couldn’t hide my shock.
“Yes. It wasn’t fun, but I needed to do it, so I did. I had the connections with the players, so once I graduated, I was able to get their business. The other agents only cared about their paycheck. The guys who came with me knew that I cared about their negotiations and their business ventures,” Collin was talking and had passion in his voice. I knew that his career was more than just the money to him.
His sexiness level rose some more.
Damn, I was already super horny and had only been there thirty minutes.
“What about you? How did you start in PR?”
I had to chuckle a bit at the memory. “I ran into Liv in a coffee shop. The owner was talking about how they were losing business, and I started giving them ideas on how they could turn things around. She followed me out and offered me a job. I had a job in PR working for the paper, and frankly, I hated it. Liv had just started her firm and couldn’t offer me much but promised if I helped her get it off the ground that I would be rewarded—which she delivered on. We were only twenty-four, and we didn’t know any different, so we weren’t going to let anything stop us.”
I smiled, thinking of Liv and myself, twenty-four again, and what we went through together over the last eight years.
Collin put his hand over mine, his fingers stroked my skin. “Now look who got sexier.”
I blushed.
“You know, you’re amazing at what you do,” Collin told me. “And I’m not just saying that you really are. You and Liv both. You two...it’s like you know what the other person is going to say sometimes.”
I grinned. “We do. It’s strange, but yes, we do.”
Collin’s face turned serious. “Hey, Meg.”
I raised my eyebrows in question.
“I’m really sorry about what I did to you the first night I had you meet Sam.” His eyes were all apologies.
“Why did you do that?” I asked him in a curious but non-accusing tone.
He sighed. “Deep down, I wanted to see you again. I thought that I was doing you a favor, getting you an opportunity for another big account. I wasn’t thinking clearly, and I swear to you that I never, ever thought about you sleeping with Sam.”
Collin’s face was super vulnerable, and I was surprised that the negotiator was opening up this way to me.
I flipped my hand on top of his. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I assumed that.”
“I see why you did,” he admitted.
Standing up, I walked over to him and sat on his lap. “How old are you?”
He laughed. “Probably older than you.”
“I’m thirty-two. You?”
“Thirty-eight.”
“How long were you married?” I don’t know why I asked him so soon, but I wanted to know.
His face grew slightly dark. “Eight years, two of which we were getting divorced.”
There was pain in that darkness, I saw it in his eyes, and it made me want to save him from it. I wasn't sure what I could do, but I saw that his divorce had hurt him. Collin hid it during dinner at Tom and Liv's, but he was showing it to me now.
I kissed him, and he pulled back. "Have you ever been married?"
I shook my head. "I was engaged once. We lived together for a few years. I left him a few months before the wedding." I shrugged my shoulders like it was no big deal.
He whistled. “That took a lot of guts.”
I just shrugged my shoulders again.
“I knew I shouldn’t marry Stacey, and I still did. I was walking down the aisle, and I knew it was a mistake.” Collin shook his head in disgust.
I stroked his cheek and stayed quiet.
“What made you decide not to go through with your wedding?” His eyes scanned mine.
I shifted uncomfortably on Collin’s lap. “He wasn’t a very nice guy." I turned my face away. The last thing I wanted to do was to relive that nightmare.
I think he sensed I didn’t want to go further than that and didn’t press me.
I turned back toward him. “How did you know your marriage was a mistake?”
Collin laughed cooly. “Where should I start? Let’s see… She hated that I couldn’t play ball anymore. I knew she would cheat on me—which she did—we just weren’t compatible…”
Whoa. Someone cheated on Collin Corwin? What woman in their right mind would go looking for something somewhere else when she had this hot stud in her bed?
Collin tried to act like it didn’t hurt, but I could see that it still did.
So I started kissing him—hard. I moved my leg over and straddled him in his dining room chair and put my body on top of his while kissing him with all my passion and desire for him. I put my hands through his hair and pulled him as close to me as I could.
“You deserve better,” I whispered to him.
His body hardened underneath mine. As he wrapped his arms around me, I pressed into him further. I saw his pain in his eyes, his ache for me, and his hope that I was different.
Tiny ripples swam up my spine as his hands flew under my shirt and stroked my naked back.
His erection got harder, and I shifted on his lap and dug into it as he groaned.
I found his mouth again and bit his lip hungrily. Drilling my eyes into his, I announced, “I’m ready for dessert, Collin.”
In one swift movement, he grabbed my butt cheeks, stood up, and his lips met mine in hunger. My body was still wrapped around him, and as I pressed against his erection through our clothes, I moved my hips closer and felt him get more aroused.
I arched my back and tried to grind into him harder. His one hand moved up to my back, and he pulled me closer as he carried me to his bedroom. The fireplace gave the room a soft glow. Collin gently laid me on the bed. He stared at me intensely, stroked my cheek, and whispered, “You really are beautiful.”
My heart skipped a beat, I blushed, and my butterflies flew all over.
He saw my blush, continued to stroke my cheek, and a small smile formed on his lips.
I grabbed his shirt and
pulled it over his head. My mouth made its way around his shoulders, arms, and chest as I lazily ran my nails over his back, felt his heartbeat, and listened to his breath. I teased his nipple with my tongue before sucking on it. And a thrill shot through me as I heard his slight delicious groan.
He removed my sweater and pants, revealing my La Perla lingerie.
“Wow,” he sat back in appreciation, and softly grazed his fingers down my legs, back up, then outlined my panties everywhere, first, the band closest to my stomach and then around my groin. Electric shocks sizzled on my skin underneath his fingertips.
The lingerie was delicate and super light—barely-there. His mouth found my breasts and pushed the translucent lace down so he could run his tongue lightly over my areola. Another wave of pleasure passed through my body, and between the look, he was giving me and the attention he gave my breasts, I shuddered.
I grabbed his head and pushed him closer to me so that I could suck on his neck. I moved my hands down to his belt and tried to get his pants off.
I wanted him naked, and I wanted all of him.
Collin pushed my hands away and growled, “I want you first."
I took a deep breath as my pulse quickened.
He quickly removed my bra, then continued moving down my body; kissing my stomach, licking my belly button, frolicking all around my womanhood. As his mouth gently kissed and sucked on my inner thighs, I laid there drenched, ready for him and panting in anticipation.
"You're all I've thought about, Meg," he mumbled quietly to me, with his lips on my hot skin.
My butterflies did another happy dance, and I bit my lip, feeling a bit shy. "Really?"
Lazily making his way up, Collin glanced at me, a desire in his eyes different from the night before—confident yet admiring—as he lost himself in my body. His lips moved into the curve of my neck. "Yes. You've been driving me crazy."
A burst of adrenaline shot through me.
"You're driving me crazy, too," I whispered to him.
"Yeah?" He breathed against my jawline.
I pulled his lips to mine and murmured. "One-hundred-percent crazy."
His body full of muscle carefully laid on top of mine, and his arms went underneath me and pulled me closer as his lips and tongue claimed mine.