by Erika Wilde
And that’s all she needed to tantalize her listeners.
* * *
“Good evening, Chicago. This is Kerri McCree and you’re listening to WTLK. With this heat we’ve been experiencing lately, can you imagine how residents felt during the Great Chicago Fire back in 1871? I’m burning up, how about you?” She released a long, slow breath that traveled over the airwaves like a sultry breeze. “Be sure to stick around for tonight’s show, because I’m betting things are going to get a whole lot hotter.”
At the sound of Kerri’s opening intro to her show, Ian stopped from grabbing the file folder with the contract he needed to review before attending a morning meeting, immediately transfixed by the woman who’d occupied his thoughts for the better part of the evening. He didn’t realize until that very moment that her familiar, feathery voice was exactly what he’d needed to hear after spending the past two and a half hours fending off the not-so-subtle advances of a female client who’d insisted on talking about her portfolio over dinner.
Jill Grayson’s request wasn’t an unusual one, and hooking up with her in the evening suited his own busy schedule just fine. He’d accepted her invitation thinking about the stocks, bonds and IRAs that he’d invested in with her recent divorce settlement. However, it hadn’t taken him long to realize that she was more interested in getting lucky with him than hearing about the status of her investment accounts.
Ian shook his head in disbelief. While he’d been discussing the decline in her high-risk stocks over appetizers, she’d been rubbing her bare foot up his pant leg and making an “mmm-mmm good” production of appreciating her oysters in the half shell. During dinner she’d insisted that he taste the different selections on her plate and fed him with her fork. She’d then slipped the utensil in her own mouth and licked her lips for good measure. After dessert and coffee, when he’d shown her a projected growth chart for her investments, she’d leaned close in the pretense of getting a better look, pressed her hand on his upper thigh and squeezed affectionately, then let her fingers brush the fly of his slacks. When his body didn’t so much as stir from the intimate caress, he’d gently removed her hand from under the table before she grew more brazen.
All the signals for a night of no-strings-attached sex had been evident. But none of Jill’s antics, not even her blatant “why don’t we finish this at my place” come-on could entice the enthusiasm Ian needed to follow through on a night of slaking her apparent lust. There was a time when he might have taken her up on her casual, one-night-stand offer and indulged in a mindless, unemotional release himself, but he’d taken one glance at his watch, noted the time of 9:30 p.m., and knew he had a hotter date waiting for him—one he refused to miss. Not even for uncomplicated sex, which suddenly held little appeal to him.
Much to Jill’s disappointment he’d turned down her overture and called it a night, claiming work as an excuse. It was a half-truth, though she clearly didn’t believe him. He did have a contract to review for a morning meeting, which had brought him back to his office to pick up the paperwork. Knowing he’d never make it back to his penthouse in time for Kerri’s show, he’d turned on the stereo on his credenza and decided to mix business with pleasure. He’d review the contract during commercials, and enjoy Kerri when she was on the air.
“Last night we talked about what men find sexy about women,” she said, recounting the details of her previous show. “What catches his interest, what turns him on, and what ultimately keeps him coming back for more. Tonight I thought we’d continue on that same topic, but take it one step further than the initial spark that usually leads to asking a woman out on a date.”
Intrigued as always about where her discussion was heading, Ian shrugged out of his suit coat, then sat down and settled into his soft leather executive chair. He loosened the knot of his tie to give himself extra breathing room, and let himself unwind and relax after the trying evening he’d had.
“I’ve often wondered, what should a guy expect at the end of a first date? A kiss? Sex? And what defines what will happen once the evening is over?” She let her questions linger seductively, giving her listeners time to formulate an answer of their own. “Guys, I’d love to get your take on this question. And women, how do you feel about putting out at the end of a date? What do you expect? The phone lines are open, so give me a call and tell me what you think.”
Kerri’s monologue segued into a reel of commercials. Taking advantage of the break, Ian opened the folder on his desk to peruse the paperwork, but his attempt to concentrate on the legal jargon in front of him proved futile. Instead, his mind swirled with other tempting thoughts…the most prominent of which was what it would be like to spend the evening with Kerri. On a date. Talking in person. Laughing with her and seeing her brown eyes sparkle with pleasure. Touching her and experiencing the flash of mutual desire between them without any barriers.
And where would all that sizzling chemistry lead? To a sweet kiss? A deeper embrace? Or a hot tumble in bed? Ian had his own ideas of what he’d want out of a first date with Kerri, and wondered if she’d be pleased or disappointed with the slow, provocative approach filtering through his mind. “This is Heat Waves on WTLK, and we’re back on the air with Rodney,” Kerri said, interrupting Ian’s private musings with her low, throaty voice. “What do you expect at the end of a date?”
“I’m a go-with-the-flow kind of guy,” he replied confidently. “A kiss is great, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that sex at the end of a date is better. If she’s giving out all the right sexual signals and being touchy-feely, then I’m definitely going to go for it.”
“That’s understandable,” Kerri agreed. “Would sex on the first date change the way you think about her?”
“If she’s hot to trot from the beginning of the evening, then yeah, it might make me wonder if she puts out for all the guys she dates,” Rodney admitted. “It might sound like a cliché, but I might label her as being easy.”
“And would that stop you from asking her out again?”
“Not if I was looking for a good time without strings.”
Kerri laughed, the husky sound warming Ian deep inside. “Your point has been duly noted, Rodney, though I think your ideals might be a bit dated. Women like sex just as much as men and shouldn’t be penalized for that. Thanks for your opinion.” She paused, connecting another caller. “Hello, Bruce. How do you feel about this issue?”
“Depends on the woman and the circumstance. I don’t go into the date with sex in mind, but no healthy red-blooded guy is going to refuse getting it on with a hot babe if it’s clear that’s where the date is heading.”
Ian exhaled a breath, thinking about his own evening and where it could have led—right into Jill Grayson’s bed. He had a healthy libido, that much was evident in the way Kerri aroused him with her breathy voice, and how she tempted and tantalized him when they were on the air together. Not to mention the mornings he woke up hard and aching from erotic dreams of fucking her.
He liked sex and enjoyed being with a woman, yet he’d just refused Jill’s very open invitation for a night of uncomplicated sex. He recognized that something within him had changed. After too many years of casual relationships that didn’t demand anything emotional from him, he was beginning to crave more. And it had all started with Kerri…but where would it end?
The answer to that question remained frustratingly elusive. He didn’t make a habit of obsessing over women, and he sure didn’t want Kerri to think of him as an overzealous fan, but there was something between them and he was certain she knew it and felt it, too.
He had no idea what would come of his time with Kerri. While he looked forward to their evenings together and their sexy banter, more and more he found himself wanting to take that leap to another level. A face-to-face meeting that would either dispel all the sensual fantasies filling his head, or lend credence to the heat and awareness rippling between them.
Maybe it was time he took that chance.
P
utting aside the contract he needed to review, he let that appealing thought take hold and flourish as he continued to listen to her show.
“Well, we’ve heard from the men out there and what they expect at the end of a first date. The general consensus seems to be that there are naughty girls that guys sleep with, and good girls that you date and end the evening with a chaste kiss. We have Rachel on the line with us tonight. How do you feel about women being stereotyped?”
“It’s chauvinistic,” Rachel replied bluntly, clearly annoyed. “From what I’m hearing from your callers so far, a woman can’t have sex with a guy on a first date without getting a bad rap and being classified as easy, but a man can sleep around and be considered a stud.”
“Unfortunately, despite how far women have come in today’s society, it sounds like that old double standard is still alive and well in AmKerri.” Kerri sighed and connected the next caller. “What do you expect at the end of a first date, Adam?”
“I might be in the minority,” he began cautiously, “but the more I like a girl, the more I want to play it cool and give the relationship time to build. It’s all about respect.”
“That’s great to hear, Adam,” Kerri said, complimenting the man’s values. “Your viewpoint gives a lot of women hope that there are more guys like you out there who are willing to wait for just the right moment to take the relationship into the bedroom.”
Ian latched onto Kerri’s comment, catching the underlying note of wistfulness in her voice. Her longing was slight, but undeniably there, and it made him smile. She came across as sexually uninhibited on the air, but there was something about her he couldn’t quite put his finger on that led him to believe she was a woman who liked to be courted and slowly, gradually seduced. So many fascinating contradictions he wanted to explore and unravel.
“The time is ten-forty-five,” she said, wrapping up the first segment of her show. “We’ll be back with more Heat Waves after these messages.”
A musical score blended into an advertisement for a local dry cleaners. Turning down the radio behind him, Ian hit a button on the speakerphone on his desk, then punched in the station’s number. He received a busy signal on the first two tries, and made it through on the third.
“WTLK talk radio,” a familiar, upbeat feminine voice greeted Ian, her lilting tone drifting through the speaker on his phone. “Do you have a comment for tonight’s show?”
“Don’t I always, Carly?” he drawled, having long ago dispensed with formalities with her.
“You’re one hell of a punctual guy, Ian. We could set our clock to your call.”
Leaning back in his chair, he propped his shoes up on the corner of his desk. “I hope being prompt isn’t a bad thing.”
“Depends on what we’re referring to,” she said slyly. “Hang on for a few seconds and I’ll put you on the air with Kerri.”
She put him on hold, and as he waited for Kerri’s return to the airwaves, he glanced out the plate-glass windows in his office that overlooked the Board of Trade building and Willis Tower. The office building his mentor had bequeathed to him was a prime piece of real estate, the corner office he’d taken over a few years ago as CEO an executive’s dream—spacious, luxurious, with the best panoramic view on the entire floor.
David Winslow had given him so much, when there had been so many days when Ian felt as though he didn’t deserve any of the older man’s generosity and loyalty. David had trusted him with his daughter first and foremost, even before he’d handed over the reins of the investment firm to Ian, and he’d let the older man down in a way that had forever changed all of their lives. Yet despite the tragic event that had cut Audrey’s life short and had consumed Ian with guilt for so many years, the Winslow family still embraced him as one of their own, and Ian would always be grateful for their unconditional warmth and support.
“Hello, Ian,” Kerri greeted. Her sweet voice echoed through his speakerphone, pulling him from his darker thoughts. “Welcome to the show. Inquiring minds out there are dying to know, what do you expect at the end of a first date? A kiss? Sex? Or something in between?”
He clasped his hands behind his head, formulating his answer with her specifically in mind. “I like to take things slow, especially if it’s with a woman I really like. Don’t get me wrong, sex can be great, even on a first date, but once you cross that boundary it shifts the focus of everything to a physical relationship.” And he would know, considering he’d spent the past eight years doing just that.
“And that’s a bad thing?” she questioned, making it sound as though jumping right to sex was her personal preference, which he didn’t believe for a second.
“No,” he replied, mulling over the rest of his answer. “Gratuitous sex is easy and all about satiating physical needs, which is all good and fine if that’s what you’re after. But if your first date ends up in bed, before you really get to know the other person, it’s hard to backtrack to romance and seduction, which can be the best and most exciting part of dating.”
“Definite food for thought,” she murmured, her breathing a bit deeper than before. “So, how would you end the evening if you were on a date with a woman you really liked?”
Again, visions of her danced in his head, with her brilliant, golden-brown eyes and soft, parted lips. Lips he wanted to taste. A mouth he ached to devour. “I’d probably end the night with a kiss.”
“So, you’re a traditional kind of guy, then?”
Her tone was light and teasing, yet he suddenly felt very serious. Inspired by honesty and a deep-rooted longing he’d locked away when Audrey had died, he told the truth. “Yeah, I guess I am one of those traditional kind of guys.” He’d grown up without security and stability, and as an adult found himself holding tight to integrity and the kind of values that had gained him respect with colleagues and friends. He’d like to think women, Kerri specifically, found those traits appealing, as well.
He went on. “I like romance and the excitement of flirting, and I like to get to know a woman mentally before making that physical leap.”
He wanted to get to know her better. Her likes and dislikes. And what really turned her on. It had been way too long since a woman had been anything more than an evening or two of company, and he saw tonight’s discussion as an opportunity to take his interest in Kerri one level higher…but only if she was ready and willing to take that step, too.
He’d never know if he didn’t take that chance.
And he would, soon. Very soon.
He returned his attention to seducing her mind. “Holding back can really heat things up between a couple. And besides, kisses are the best kind of foreplay to actual sex. Especially since kisses aren’t limited to a woman’s mouth.”
A few extra heartbeats passed before she spoke. “What if there’s an explosive chemistry between you and your date on your first night out together and you want each other really bad?” she countered, raising the situational stakes. “Would you make an exception and go for it?”
He smiled and absently rubbed his thumb along his jaw and chin. “If I’m considering another date with her, then probably not. All the more reason to let things simmer and build. There’s a whole lot to be said for anticipation, you know.”
“Hmm. So, you’d still end the night with a kiss, even if the woman you were with made it clear she’d have sex with you?” Her question was infused with incredulity, more for her listeners’ benefit and stirring up controversy than any real disbelief on her part, he guessed.
“There are varying degrees of kisses, Kerri, and some can be just as good as having sex,” he said, his voice lowering to a husky pitch. “A chaste kiss on the cheek works if the date was just okay and there’s no chance of a second one. But if that chemistry is there—” like it is between us “—and the woman is willing—” like I imagine you would be “—I’d most definitely indulge in a hotter, deeper kiss. The kind that is intense and passionate and gets all your juices flowing. The kind that will make you res
tless with wanting and keeps you coming back for more.
“Where do you fall in the scheme of tonight’s topic, Kerri?” Ian asked curiously, turning the tables on her before she had a chance to respond to his comment or redirect the conversation. “Are you naughty or nice on a first date?”
“How about somewhere in between,” she murmured silkily.
He chuckled, her evasive answer not surprising him in the least. “So you’re a nice girl with bad-girl tendencies?”
“Yeah.” He detected a grin in her voice, and something much more personal. “Then again, it all depends on the guy and that chemistry we’ve been talking about.”
She was flirting with him. Just as he’d done with her moments earlier. Both of them fanning the flames of their attraction in a very public forum, and now he burned for her.
“Like our chemistry?” he dared, taking a huge risk in elevating their debate to a bold and intimate plateau. “How do you think an evening between you and me together would end? With a kiss or sex?”
He heard a swift intake of breath, which gave him a small measure of satisfaction. He had shocked the unshockable Ms. McCree.
“I…well…” She paused, obviously giving herself time to gather her composure. “That’s hard to say. We might hit it off well on the air, but there’s no telling what the chemistry would be like between us on a real-live date.”
He sat forward in his chair, recognizing her hedging for the diversion it was. And he was feeling spontaneous and wicked enough to issue her a challenge she wouldn’t be able to refuse very easily in front of her faithful listeners.
“You’ve got a valid point,” he acknowledged. “So why don’t you and I go out on a real date and find out how it would end?”
Instead of the sassy reply he’d expected, she put him on hold and made a not-so-smooth transition into a commercial for antacids.