by Erika Wilde
She pushed the button for her water, and the plastic bottle dropped to the bottom slot. She picked it up, turned around and found herself surrounded by two hundred solid pounds of pure male testosterone. Ian casually lifted a broad hand and braced his palm on the vending machine behind her, holding her hostage between firm muscle that was just as strong and unyielding as the metal behind her. And damned if she didn’t have the unbridled urge to rip his shirt off and test the resilience of his taut flesh with her fingers, taste the salt on his skin with her tongue, and experience the heady sensation of his bare chest rubbing against her breasts.
He leaned close, his warm breath wafting across her cheek. “You know, if you’re as hot as I am, there’s more than one way to extinguish the fire.” His voice was a husky purr, and as intimate as a lover’s caress.
She felt that amorous stroke all the way down her spine and whispering across her thighs—or was that the brush of his legs against hers causing all that wild static electricity? Whatever the cause, the arousing sensation elicited a very female response deep within her.
She shored her sensual defenses against this man, which wasn’t an easy task. “Water will do for now.”
He grinned wickedly, and her stomach dipped again. “Let me know if you change your mind.”
The hint of accepting another date with him was evident in his tone, but just like in the car, he didn’t pressure her for a reply and she was grateful. Her hormones were clamoring inside her, screaming at her to tell him yes. But despite her body’s restless response to Ian, deeper insecurities kept her firmly grounded.
Before she took that giant step with Ian, before she turned one date into two and allowed things between them to become any more intimate than they already had, she had to be certain that she could handle a fun, sexy, uncommitted affair with him. Mind sex. Carnal sex. Any way she looked at it, it would no doubt be great sex.
She swallowed hard at the tantalizing thought. In all honesty, she wasn’t certain she had the ability to separate physical pleasure from emotional need with Ian, and that’s what worried her. He only had to look at her and she melted inside. Her heart rate increased at the sound of his seductive voice. And she ached for him like she’d never ached for another man.
All warning signals she knew she’d be smart to heed.
She’d moved to Chicago to escape a dominating relationship and to start out fresh and new. To make better choices than her mother and sister had. To build her career as a DJ without her goals being sidetracked by a man—especially a gorgeous, virile man like Ian.
She was feeling torn, her desire for Ian clashing with the insecurities she thought she’d left behind in California. The weakness of wanting a man. The fear of getting so caught up in a relationship that it led to dependency and personal destruction.
The big question remained: could she enjoy the time with Ian and walk away in the end still independent and successful with her woman’s heart unscathed? She had no reassuring answer.
Inhaling a deep breath and ready to get down to the business end of their date, she slipped around Ian and opened the door that led into the radio station. He followed, and they were greeted with more humid warmth, which brought her mind back to Ian’s initial remark about the oppressive temperature in the building.
“I’m really sorry about the heat in here, but there’s not a lot we can do about it other than putting extra fans in the outer offices,” she said, thinking if she was lucky the heat would cut Ian’s visit to the station short and he’d be on his way before she launched into tonight’s actual topic of discussion. “The air-conditioning unit is old and temperamental, and after running all day it’s usually out of oomph by early evening.”
He glanced around at his surroundings as she led him to the back studios. “Is there a reason why it hasn’t been fixed or replaced?”
“Money, mostly. And approval from the owner. Can’t do it without either.”
He frowned, taking in the outdated office furnishings, the gray, dingy walls, and the linoleum floors that were cracked and peeling in places. “Why doesn’t the owner make sure his employees have a comfortable working environment?”
“Because she doesn’t want to have anything to do with the radio station and refuses to spend a penny on renovations.” Stopping at a small closet, she put her personal belongings on a shelf. “Marvin, the owner, passed away a few months ago and his widow inherited the station. Suffice to say that the employees’ comfort isn’t a high priority for Virginia.”
His dark brows furrowed in confusion. “Then why is she holding on to the station?”
“She isn’t. Not by choice, anyway. She’s eager to unload the business and recently put the station on the market,” she told him, and took a drink of her water. “Virginia would love to make a mint from the sale, so most of us are wondering if anyone will pay the inflated price she’s asking, or if WTLK is facing eventual bankruptcy from her sucking the business dry because no one’s interested in purchasing a run-down station.”
He braced his hands on his hips as his critical gaze scoured the area. “I don’t know, I see lots of potential.”
She smiled at his optimism. “Sure, if you’re willing to dump a good amount of money into repairs and upgrades.”
He tipped his head. “Is the station in that bad of shape?”
It was, in comparison to other local stations that had the kind of money to back up huge promotions and advertising. WTLK wasn’t the most luxurious station she’d ever worked for, but the atmosphere was casual and fun, and her co-workers were like family. She hated the thought of all of them going their separate ways.
“WTLK is holding its own, and we’ve had a few good hits with advertisers lately, which helps.” She wasn’t about to enlighten Ian to the fact that he was partially responsible for the increase in their on-air advertising. “But there’s no telling how the sale of the station will affect our jobs. If it even sells.”
Not wanting to launch into a discussion about her possible unemployment, she motioned him farther down the hall, to a four-by-four plate-glass window that looked into the small studio where Jay, their early evening DJ, was wrapping up his segment. The other man sent her a wink and a smile.
She waved back. “This booth is where we broadcast all the shows.”
Ian nodded, seemingly surprised by what he saw. “I have to admit, it’s not quite what I expected. It’s very…small.”
She shrugged, having long ago grown used to the confined space in which she worked. “I like to think of it as cozy.” However, with Ian about to enter the room with her, she was certain cozy would quickly turn to cramped.
Carly sauntered out of an office behind them, swiping a smudge of lipstick from the corner of her mouth, then giving the hem of her racy red dress a quick tug back into place. Dan followed behind, a satisfied smile on his face.
Carly grinned when she caught sight of them. “Nice of the two of you to show up. I was beginning to think I was going to have to go on the air and tell your audience that you hadn’t returned from your date yet and let them all wonder a bit longer how the evening ended.”
Kerri rolled her eyes at her friend’s exaggeration. “They’ll find out soon enough, and it looks like you were too busy with your own date to worry about us.”
Carly fluffed her fingers through her mussed hair and cast a sly glance at her beau. “Just giving Dan a little incentive to wait up for me tonight, if you know what I mean.”
Dan’s face actually flushed. Kerri laughed while Ian followed their conversation with amusement. Minutes later, Jay came out of the booth as a reel of commercials that would segue into Kerri’s show played.
“It’s all yours, Kerri,” the other man said, then shook Ian’s hand. “It’s nice to meet the man behind the voice. You two behave in there.”
“Now, what fun is there in that?” Carly quipped. “We want you to spill all the naughty details, and then some.” Grabbing Ian’s arm, she ushered him into the studio. “
Come on, let’s get you settled and ready to go.”
By the time Carly made room for Ian next to Kerri’s side so they could share the microphone, she was feeling very unsettled. They were sitting so close she could feel the searing heat they generated together, could inhale the arousing, masculine scent of him. She was also in direct line with his smoldering, sensual stare, and was near enough for him to reach out and slide his fingers from her knee, to her thigh, to her hip, and up to her breasts, which had been full and taut and achy since their tryst in the car.
That easily, he was sharing her personal space. That effortlessly, he’d invaded her professional haven. She felt physically shaken up, even though he’d hadn’t touched her.
In fact, for the next hour as they laughed and joked and discussed their date on the air, he was a consummate gentleman—charming, sociable, and just flirtatious enough to keep their banter balanced with the kind of provocative teasing her listeners expected between them. She assured her audience that Ian was just as sexy as his voice, and Ian told them that their on-air chemistry was indeed just as hot in person. They both admitted that their evening had ended with a mutually pleasurable kiss. When pressured for more details, Ian swore he wasn’t the kind of guy who would kiss and tell, and Kerri appreciated that bit of chivalry.
The question that was posed over and over again by callers was the same one Kerri had yet to answer—would there be a second date? She kept her response vague, noncommittal and ended the segment with the promise that her listeners would be the first to know what transpired between her and Ian, and to tune in the following week to see what happened next.
Ian removed his headset once they were off the air and slanted her a lazy, knowing grin. “That was a shameless hook for your listeners.”
She shrugged unapologetically, and her hair fluttered against her neck, damp from the heat and humidity. “There’s nothing like a little anticipation to keep listeners on the edge of their seats. It keeps ’em coming back for more.” And leaving her relationship with him dangling kept her from committing to anything between them until she sorted things through in her mind.
He braced his hands on his thighs and stared at her for a long moment. “What about keeping me coming back for more?” he asked, his gaze a deep, intense shade of green. “Don’t you think I need some kind of incentive to keep spending my nights with you, Kerri?”
He wanted an incentive. He could have been referring to anything from a second date, to another kiss, to illicit sex. Her mouth went dry at that last thought, and she lifted her water to her lips only to discover the bottle was empty. Damn. She stood, wanting to get a cup of ice from the machine down the hall before it was airtime again and she began her next segment of the show. And maybe, if Ian followed her, he’d go ahead and call it a night and catch the elevator from there.
“You know, I didn’t say no to another date.” As far as incentives went, even she had to admit it was a pitiful one.
“You didn’t exactly say yes, either,” he said wryly.
She headed out of the studio with a plastic cup in hand, and he was right behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, affecting a coy, teasing look. “Maybe I’m the type to play hard to get.”
He lifted a brow, a dangerous, challenging glimmer reflecting in his striking eyes. “Lucky for you, I’m the type to play along when it’s something I want really bad.”
And he wanted her. That much he’d made abundantly, physically clear with that delicious kiss he’d planted on her in the car. Which she craved more of. Reaching the machine, she scooped a cupful of ice and popped a cube into her mouth to suck on and cool her feverish desires.
“I’m nothing if not patient and persistent.” He leaned against the wall and casually crossed his arms over his chest. While his stance was nonchalant, his body radiated strength and the determination he spoke of. “You should know that about me by now.”
She did know those traits about him. She was proof that he was a man who set his sights on something and pursued it to the end. Not only as a loyal listener, but as a man interested in a woman on a sensual level. She had to admit it was a heady, thrilling sensation being the center of this man’s attention and desires, just so long as their attraction didn’t escalate beyond what she could control.
Carly stuck her head out the door and glanced down the hall toward them. “Three minutes to orgasms,” she announced blithely, then disappeared back inside.
Kerri cringed at her friend’s impertinence, knowing she’d made that particular announcement solely for Ian’s benefit. At the rate Carly was going with all the antics she’d pulled that evening, her friend was going to be lucky to live another day.
She glanced back at Ian. A comical look crossed his features, matching the grin pulling at the corners of his mouth.
“Her orgasms or yours?” he asked humorously.
She crunched into the piece of ice. The cold chill bursting in her mouth was a direct, welcoming contrast to the heat pulsing through her body. “She’s referring to tonight’s topic.”
“Sounds…stimulating,” he murmured.
Her nipples peaked at his choice of word, which went hand in hand with orgasms. He stood there, waiting quietly, patiently, for an invitation to join her for the next segment of the show. To join her for an in-person debate. She thought about discussing such an intimate, erotic subject face-to-face with him. Without pretenses. Without barriers. Without anything but their honest desire for each other laid out in the open between them.
Knowing how potent and sexually irresistible he was, did she even stand a chance against him? Yes, if she didn’t let him grasp the upper hand during their debate. It was all about keeping him unbalanced, she realized. And that meant taking a few calculated personal risks. Letting him share her comfort zone, yet still remaining in control of the situation.
She exhaled a deep, unraveling breath. She needed to do this, to prove to herself that her mother’s weakness wasn’t her own. That she could enjoy this man—and quite possibly a hot, sexy affair—without the threat of losing her identity and everything she’d worked so hard for since coming to Chicago. That she could handle Ian and the pleasure he promised without getting emotionally lost in the process. And what better way to discover if she possessed the ability to hold tight to the reins of control between them than to let him stay for the next segment?
“So, how do you feel about orgasms?” she asked before she lost her nerve or changed her mind.
A downright sinful grin curved his full lips. “I’ve always thought of them as one of life’s little pleasures.”
“Care to debate that on the air?” she asked impudently.
His eyes blazed with a charged excitement. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“Tonight I thought we’d step outside the boundaries and talk about something forbidden and fun…breathless, mind-blowing orgasms.”
Ian sat quietly beside Kerri in the booth once again, listening as she tempted and tantalized her audience—as she tempted and tantalized him—with her sultry voice and the intriguing intro into tonight’s topic.
She glanced his way, a slow, secret smile curving her lips as she paused to let her listeners absorb the impact of her opening statement before she continued. “Ian has graciously decided to stay for tonight’s show, so everything you hear this evening between us will be live and uncensored. And after our date earlier, there’s no telling what might happen between us. The temperature is sure to rise, among other things.”
Judging by the way her gaze dropped briefly to his lap before sweeping upward again, there was no doubt in Ian’s mind what “other things” she was referring to. Naughty girl.
He quirked a brow at her sudden brazen display after she’d spent the better part of the evening keeping things between them reserved and low-key, not to mention leaving him dangling on a second date. Something had changed since their conversation out in the hallway. She’d gone from nearly ushering him out o
f the building after discussing their date on the air to inviting him to debate a very provocative subject on the air. There was a confidence and seductive quality about her that hadn’t been evident earlier. And it wasn’t just for her listeners’ benefit, but for his, he was certain. She was openly flirting and testing her feminine wiles on him.
Not that he minded being the recipient of all that sexy innuendo and attention. Not at all. He found himself fascinated with Kerri’s sudden metamorphosis, as well as the reasons behind the transformation from cautious woman to a bewitching vixen. For all her outward bravado, there was a bold determination glowing in the depth of her eyes that gave more credence to her sudden change in personality.
She moistened her bottom lip with her tongue, and picked up where she’d left off. “Oral and manual stimulation are no doubt the best ways to climax, but let’s go beyond that to specifics, to the very core of the pleasure that accompanies an orgasm.” While her words were spoken into the microphone, she addressed him, her gaze locked on his. “What builds you to that breathtaking, explosive release? What do you do for your partner that makes him or her come apart for you? What are your best techniques, and what do you expect in return? The phone lines are open, so let’s have fun.”
He grinned at Kerri, letting her know with that wholly masculine gesture that he most definitely planned to have fun—with the subject matter she’d introduced, and with her. If she was going to be so daring and shameless, then he’d follow her lead and let her take this on-the-air seduction as far as she wanted it to go. Of course they had to behave to some extent considering they weren’t completely alone, but there were countless ways to entice without any physical contact at all.