by Brenda Gayle
Hunter had one hand stroking her clit and the other playing with her nipple. In her ear he was paying her the most marvelous compliments—she only wished she could remember them. She was too caught up in the physical sensations for any coherent thought to be possible.
Her hips moved in time with his. The friction of his penis driving in and pulling out competed with the sensations created by his fingers. It was overwhelming and, amazingly, she felt on the verge of another climax. She could feel it building, straining for release. Then suddenly it erupted in a torrent, sending wave after wave of spasms through her body.
She heard Hunter cry out and join in the gyrations before he collapsed on top of her.
It was several moments before his breathing returned to normal. Neither of them moved. Then Hunter slowly stood, turned Nora over and stared down at her. He had a strange look on his face—predatory, but also concerned.
She didn’t know what to say. He had more than fulfilled his promise. What happened now? She’d never had sex without some sort of commitment before. Was she supposed to roll over and go to sleep? Should she ask him to stay? Or would he just return to his own suite now that it was done?
His expression cleared and his familiar, easy smile made her heart skip.
“Hungry?” he said.
“What?”
“Hungry?” he repeated, and nodded toward the platter sitting on the desk. “I brought fortifications.”
Nora realized she was very hungry. She sat up and tugged on the comforter to cover herself.
Hunter’s eyebrows rose in amusement, but he didn’t comment. He walked to the desk and retrieved the platter, putting it down in front of Nora. He lifted the lid with a flourish.
“Voilà. Red velvet cheesecake for two.” He picked up a piece of the gooey decadent dessert and held it in front of her mouth. “Eat, Nora. You’re going to need it to keep your energy up. The night’s still young.”
Chapter 16
“For someone with such great taste in underwear, you sure have lousy taste in clothes,” Hunter said, propping his head on his hand while he watched Nora dress. He smiled, remembering the pleasant surprise of discovering the unexpected assortment of sexy lace and satin lingerie when he’d rifled through her drawers before his grandmother’s party. She was full of surprises, and last night had been no exception.
“This is business-wear,” Nora said, tugging at the hem of the shitake-beige corduroy jacket. It was a little snug. “I suppose you think that after last night I’m going to run out and buy a pair of three-inch stilettos and a slinky black dress.”
“Honey, after last night I expect to see you walk into my restaurant in thigh-high black leather boots and a fishnet leotard.”
He fell back, easily catching the pillow she hurled at him. At least she was laughing. He’d only been half-joking.
“Come back to bed, Nora. It’s too early to get up.” Hunter stretched out, displaying his arousal. The thought of slowly removing the cherry-red lace bra and panties she was wearing was driving him to distraction.
Her eyes widened as she took in just how hard he had become, and she hesitated. Then she shook her head and turned away.
“I can’t,” she said. “I’m meeting Becca at eight-thirty, and we’ve got a lot to go over before we meet with the IT security people. I’m hoping they took a recent back-up.”
“Eight-thirty is obscene.”
“Maybe in your world, but you may be interested to know, Mr. Graham, that the majority of the working population doesn’t sleep in until noon.”
“That’s because the majority of the working population haven’t been kept up all night trying to satisfy the ravenous desires of a beautiful woman.” Hunter beamed as he saw color flood her face. “Call Becca and tell her you’ll be late.”
He could see from the emotions crossing her face that her practical side was at war with her newly-discovered fun side. He wondered which would win. He knew which one he was rooting for.
They both jumped as three sharp knocks rattled the door to the room.
“Expecting someone?” he asked.
“Room service. I ordered breakfast.”
“You can actually eat this early?” He sighed and headed to the bathroom. “Okay, I’ll make myself scarce while you answer the door.”
When he emerged he was both surprised and pleased to see that she had ordered breakfast for two. So she wasn’t worried about what the housekeeping staff thought.
Nora was sitting on the edge of the bed holding a large, rectangular box. It was wrapped in shiny silver paper with a red ribbon and bow. He pulled on his khakis and sat beside her.
“What’s this?” he asked.
She turned to him, her cheeks pink. “I thought you’d know.”
He shook his head. “Haven’t got a clue.”
“They said it was delivered early this morning. I don’t see a tag.”
“Well, open it up.” He could tell she wasn’t convinced that he hadn’t sent her the present, and that made him uncomfortable.
She carefully peeled off the tape and folded back the gift-wrap to reveal a white box with a picture of a laptop computer on it. Hunter handed her one of the knives from the breakfast tray, and she slit the tape securing the edges, and lifted the lid. It was exactly what the box purported to be—a laptop computer. Nora turned to Hunter, her eyes wide with surprise.
“Really, Nora, it’s not from me,” he said quickly. “Trust me, it would never occur to me to give a lady electronics as a gift. But judging from your response, I might have to reconsider that idea.”
“Well if it’s not from you, then who?” Nora frowned, then closed her eyes and groaned. “Karen.”
“That makes sense,” Hunter said, relieved.
“Oh, no.” Nora flopped back on the bed.
“What’s the problem?”
“We had a big fight. Well, actually, I started it. I said some terrible things to her. But knowing Karen, she probably feels responsible, and this is her way of trying to make up.”
Hunter couldn’t think of anything to say. He didn’t understand Nora’s relationship with her sister. Sure, he knew they hadn’t grown up together, but they were blood. You may not always agree with them—or even like them—but family was there for each other. Nora seemed intent on doing her best to distance herself from her sister.
“I’ll call her later.” She sighed and stood. “I think I’ll get going.”
“What about breakfast?”
“I’ve lost my appetite.”
Hunter watched her shrug into her coat, and tuck the new laptop into her satchel. “Nora, do you still have the keycard to my suite?” he asked just before she got to the door.
She stopped and turned, looking embarrassed. “Oh, I’m sorry, of course.” She dug into the satchel looking for it.
“No,” he said. “I want you to keep it. As nice as this room is, I think we’ll be much more comfortable upstairs. Have a nice day. I’ll see you later tonight.”
****
Nora felt light and happy despite her frustration with Karen. Her body ached with fatigue, but pleasantly so. She had wondered if she would regret her actions in the morning—after all, having sex with someone she wasn’t committed to was a big change in character—but she didn’t. Hunter was fun and generous and...
She flushed with the memory of the things he had done with her last night. And he wanted to see her again.
She checked her watch. It was a good thing she had a lot to do today, otherwise she’d be counting the seconds until she could see him tonight.
Nora looked around the coffee shop and was disappointed to not find Gary. She would have liked to have seen him this morning. There was something about him that she found comforting—spiritual almost. She thanked Sue for the coffee, settled into a table in the corner, and began exploring the features of her new laptop.
“Okay,” Becca said, dropping a pile of files on the table. “Here’s the sitch.”
“Sitch?”
“Situation. You’ve already spoken to the cops, so you know all about that, but I’ve—”
“Wait a second,” Nora interrupted her. “I haven’t spoken to the police since Friday.”
“Oh.” Becca looked confused. “Sorry. It’s just that Officer Simmons bit my head off when I contacted him about the status of the office. Said he’d already given that information and could we please coordinate ourselves. I just figured it was you.”
“No, it wasn’t me.”
“Oh, maybe it was the insurance company. Anyway, he was really pissy about it.”
“What did he say?” Nora smiled at Becca’s outfit. The young woman had dyed a red stripe into her jet-black hair and it matched perfectly the red leather jacket she wore. Nora glanced down at Becca’s feet—three-inch heels, but she couldn’t tell how high the boots went up because they disappeared under a pair of black midcalf-length Capris.
Hunter would like those boots. Maybe she should ask Becca where she got them. No, better not. That would be far too embarrassing to try to explain to her assistant.
“We can get back into the office this afternoon”—Becca said, thankfully oblivious to the heat Nora felt creeping down her abdomen—“and your apartment likely by Wednesday.” She opened a notebook and flipped through several pages before finding the one she was looking for.
“I’ve contacted Sylvia and all the board members, and we’ve pushed back the board meeting until next week.” Becca looked up from her notes. “You’ll be meeting at her highness’s office in Albuquerque, as usual. I was able to convince the forensics guys to let me back in the office so I could get hardcopies of the must-do’s, and I’ve made a list of the priority computer files the IT security team needs to restore first.”
Nora stared at Becca, impressed. She’d always thought the young woman was a reliable assistant, but Becca was showing real initiative and resourcefulness now. With Nora’s new approach to life, and her determination to have more nonwork-related fun, she’d need to hand off some of her responsibilities at CAN. Becca was definitely worth considering.
The forensics team did clear out of the office that afternoon, and Nora and Becca began the process of putting things back in order. Over the next few days, Nora worked longer hours than usual, trying to restore or recreate her files while keeping up with the day-to-day requirements of the association.
Although she could have returned to her apartment by mid-week, Hunter had convinced her to delay until a state-of-the-art security system could be installed. She had argued that it was overkill, but he wouldn’t be swayed.
She kept her room in the Roundtree Hotel, working there each evening until eleven or so when she went up to Hunter’s suite to spend the night with him.
After they made love, he would often hold her while they talked about what had happened that day. And soon, their conversation expanded beyond the mundane, and she found herself telling him things she had never told anyone.
Nora talked about her need to escape the cloying over-protectiveness of her parents, and how she had gone to Washington as soon as she’d finished high school to work as an aide to a U.S. senator. With his endorsement, she had returned to New Mexico to pursue child advocacy, a cause close to both their hearts.
Despite how she felt about her parents, Nora knew she had been better off than many children who couldn’t count on receiving the barest physical necessities of life. But children need both food and affection, and so she structured CAN to try to address both those issues.
Hunter, in turn, talked about his family and the guilt he felt for not yet telling them that he didn’t intend to return to run the ranch. He was deeply troubled by the uncertainty he was creating for Anna, but couldn’t bring himself to have the discussion that he feared might sever his ties with his family.
He also told her about how his mother’s premature death by a drunk driver had been the catalyst to convince him he needed to follow his own dreams, and how the same event had resulted in an unspoken agreement with his father to abstain from alcohol, the only thing they’d been able to share since.
Given how little sleep she was getting, Nora was amazed by how invigorated she felt each day. Still, it felt wonderful to sleep in when Saturday morning arrived. She rolled over, hoping Hunter would still be there, but she was alone.
Figures, she sighed. He had a lot of nerve criticizing her for getting up early each weekday morning when he got up before dawn on the day the rest of the world slept in.
She wrapped his robe around her, breathing in his wonderful scent, and smiling to herself, she padded into the kitchen in search of coffee.
Propped up beside the coffee maker was his credit card.
Oh yeah, shopping.
She’d been taken aback when he’d asked her to accompany him to a fundraiser for the Graham Foundation, and he’d been amused by her reaction.
“Why would you think I wouldn’t want to be seen with you?” he’d asked. “Do you think my plan is to keep you locked up in my suite as some sort of sex slave?”
When he put it that way it did sound ridiculous. He had the unique ability to flatter and irritate her at the same time.
Nora stared at the card. She hadn’t wanted to take his money, but he pointed out that the reception he was taking her to was a black-tie affair and she’d need a dress to match—a dress she may never have an occasion to wear again—and since she was buying it for him, he should pay for it. She could consider it an early birthday present, if it really bothered her.
He’d been less tactful when he’d ordered her to take someone with her to help pick it out.
Only two people came to mind—Karen and Becca. And while she’d much prefer Becca’s company, she knew Karen was the better choice. Her sister was used to going to fundraisers and would know what Nora should wear—after all, she had chosen the flattering jumpsuit, hadn’t she?
Nora braced herself for the call. All week she’d told herself that she would call Karen to thank her for the laptop, and to apologize for her outburst. Somehow she’d never found the time. A simple “I’m sorry” didn’t seem enough. Hopefully, asking for Karen’s help in choosing an outfit would be.
Nora wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or relieved when Karen’s housekeeper informed her that Mrs. Pearce had returned to Albuquerque for an extended visit, and she wasn’t expected back any time soon. Nora resisted the urge to ask when she’d left, fearful that her outburst had driven Karen out of Santa Fe.
Okay, Becca it is.
Once again, Becca surprised her. While Nora questioned the woman’s own style choices, Becca seemed to have a knack for knowing exactly what would look good on Nora. After several hours, and an indeterminate number of gowns, they settled on a strapless sea-green dress that brought out the caramel glow of Nora’s skin. Tight at the bust, the silky fabric dropped from her waist, stopping just above her ankle. A large slit down one side, which stopped mid-thigh, provided enough give for her to move comfortably.
Becca had chosen several shoes she thought would work with the dress, and appeared stunned when Nora rejected them all in favor of a pair of metallic-colored strappy sandals with three-inch heels.
As they prepared to leave, the woman in the store had asked Nora if she had jewelry to go with the gown. When Nora admitted she hadn’t, she brought out a large tray of appropriate samples. Nora gasped at the prices. After a lot of prompting from Becca, the saleswoman, and several customers—the dress needs something—she settled on the least expensive item, a polished sea-glass pendant strung on a heavy sterling silver chain. If the saleswoman was surprised to see her use a different credit card—her own—for the purchase she kept it to herself.
“I’m not sure I want to take you out after all,” Hunter said as his gaze raked up and down her.
He looked wonderful in his black tux and crisp white shirt. He held a cowboy hat in his hand and—she glanced at his feet—he had polished his favorite cowboy boots to a high sheen.
“We could stay in,” she said. She was feeling nervous about accompanying him to the fundraiser. It was his mother’s charity and he was bound to be the center of attention. Of course, with his good looks, money, and reputation, he usually was the room’s focal point.
“We could,” he agreed, reaching for her and pulling her to him, “but Anna would kill me.” He nuzzled her neck. “It might be worth it, though. You know, I like you taller. It’s like being with a whole new woman.”
Nora stepped back and slugged him playfully on the shoulder. “Don’t get used to it. I’m not sure how long I can wear these heels. My back is already killing me.”
“Don’t worry, honey, I’ll make sure you’re out of them before long.”
She shivered in anticipation. He said the most outrageous things.
He took her arm and led her out of her room, down the hallway and across the lobby toward Prime, which the Foundation had taken over for the evening.
She could hear the buzz from the party long before they got to the entrance. There were several media people waiting in the lobby, obviously barred from the actual fundraising event. They scurried to snap pictures of Santa Fe’s privileged as they arrived.
“Wonderful, you’re here.” Anna hurried toward them as soon as they entered the restaurant. “Nora you look amazing. There are some people here I’d like you to meet. They’re strong supporters of ours and they have deep pockets, so I think you might be able to persuade them to donate to some of your projects, too.”
“Anna, we just got here. Let me at least get the lady a drink,” Hunter said, not hiding his irritation.
“No, really, it’s okay.” Nora looked up at Hunter, hoping he’d understand. This was an opportunity too good to pass up. Her association was always looking for additional funds. Anna was presenting her with the prospect of targeting a whole new group of potential donors. “I’d love to meet them, Anna.”