by Erika Wilde
Kerri did as Carly requested, though Carly’s version of “cool” had to be in the mid-seventies. The fans in the room were on high, recycling the air and offering a modicum of relief from the more stagnant climate in the hallway. But as soon as the door clicked shut behind Kerri, she suddenly felt stifled and trapped, as if she were being set up. And she didn’t like the sensation one bit.
Kerri’s shock at seeing Ian ebbed to caution. Suspecting that Carly had some kind of elaborate scheme up her sleeve that involved her and the gorgeous man in front of her, she pinned her friend with a mildly accusing look. “Obviously this isn’t a staff meeting,” she said dryly.
Carly blinked with feigned innocence. “I never said it was.”
Of course she hadn’t, banking on the hope that Kerri would make that assumption. And she had. “A very clever ploy on your part,” she muttered beneath her breath. If Carly had gone to such lengths to keep her real reasons for the meeting with Ian a secret, Kerri was willing to bet she wasn’t going to like what her friend had concocted on her behalf.
“Kerri…” Dan began in a placating tone, seemingly sensing her agitation. “We thought it best if you heard our idea in person and not over the phone.”
“Well, I’m here,” she said, resignation in her voice as she settled herself into the chair next to Ian’s. “Let’s hear what you have to say.”
Carly grabbed a glossy women’s magazine from a stack of papers in front of Dan and rounded the desk, her face wreathed with the same excitement Kerri had heard on the phone. Carly perched herself on the desk in front of Kerri and Ian, though Carly’s attention was mainly directed at Kerri.
“Do you remember the discussion we had at dinner Friday night, about Chicago being a sexy city?” Carly asked.
Kerri thought back to that evening, recalling how Ian believed the city held lots of sex appeal, depending on who he was spending his nights with. Uncertain where Carly was headed with her line of questioning, she answered in a very careful tone. “Yes, I remember.”
Her friend grinned, her eyes flaring with a giddy light. “Well, I was thumbing through this magazine over the weekend and came across an article about sexy city nights in Chicago. How appropriate is that? You have got to check this out!” Carly opened the periodical to an earmarked page, then thrust it toward her to take a look at it.
Very tentatively, Kerri accepted the popular magazine geared toward today’s modern woman and perused the feature titled “Sexy City Nights in Fiery Chicago.” Along with the article was a two-page spread of color photographs taken of couples near and around city landmarks—some poses fun and playful, others undeniably inspiring and provocative.
Intrigued despite her best efforts to remain disinterested, Kerri took in a picture of a man and woman in a heated embrace near the Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park at night, backlit by the spectacular light display with water spraying a fine mist around them. On the opposite page, lovers shared a hot dog at Wrigley Field, with the caption below them referring to a “home run.” Another photo featured a couple out on a yacht anchored in Chicago harbor with a view of the city and skylines. Their bodies were shadowed, but the pale shimmer from the full moon reflected off of smooth, bare skin, and rippling muscles along a very masculine posterior.
Kerri swallowed to ease the sudden dryness in her throat, her gaze shifting to yet another sultry image, this one in the darkened back seat of a limo with a scantily clad woman doing something very erotic on the man’s lap. Both of them appeared to be in the throes of passion and enjoying the illicit, private moment. The kind of illicit, private moment she and Ian had shared in the stairwell.
A throbbing started low and deep, matching the unsteady rhythm of her heart. Her and Ian’s tryst would have fit in perfectly with the collection of photos, the two of them depicting another sexy city night in fiery Chicago. The mere thought caused a pleasurable ripple to cascade down her spine and gather between her damp thighs.
Ian leaned close to her chair, his arm brushing hers as he reached out and pointed to a snapshot of a couple in a cart at the very top of the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier. “Hmm, that one looks like fun, wouldn’t you say?” he murmured near her ear.
With the lights of the harbor twinkling in the background and the pair shrouded in the darkness of night, they were creating their own version of the mile-high club. The woman’s parted, glossy lips were making their way down the man’s bare torso, while her fingers worked the snap of his jeans to release the burgeoning erection straining against denim. There was no mistaking what she intended to do, and there was no denying he wanted it just as much.
Kerri’s stomach dipped, and her face heated when she imagined doing those lusty things with Ian. Maintaining her composure, she sent him a sassy look. “I hope for the guy’s sake there aren’t any jarring stops on the ride.”
Ian winced at her implication, but he was grinning rakishly, tempting her with his bedroom eyes, making her restless for something equally as forbidden as what the photos portrayed.
“Isn’t that a fabulous feature?” Carly asked, clearly expecting Kerri to be just as thrilled as she was with her find.
Kerri fanned the magazine shut and tossed it onto the surface of the desk, wishing she could dismiss those scintillating pictures from her mind just as easily. “And this article concerns us how?” she prompted, not certain she really wanted to know.
Carly exchanged a quick, encouraging look with Dan, who gave her a nod to continue. “When I first read the article and saw the pictures, I told Dan we ought to try out all those sexy places ourselves, and that’s when it dawned on me what a great campaign this would be for you and Ian.”
“Campaign?” Her and Ian? Kerri frowned, feeling the beginning of a headache coming on. “What do you mean?”
Carly’s entire body seemed to hum with energy and exuberance. “After the success of your Friday night date with Ian, and with your listeners clamoring for more of the two of you, I thought you could do your own version of sexy city nights in Chicago and make it a weekly part of your show. The two of you could hit one of these night spots, then report back on the air like you did for your last date. We’ve already filled Ian in on the details, and he’s agreed to do the series of dates—”
“No.” Her response was an automatic defense mechanism. It was one thing having Ian as a nightly call-in guest and tantalizing her listeners with their one date, and another thing entirely to make him such an integral part of her show. “That’s not what Heat Waves is about.”
“Heat Waves is about anything sexy, hip or provocative,” Carly refuted. “This would be all three.”
And it would mean going out with Ian. Every week. Which wouldn’t be such a bad thing if their date didn’t have anything to do with the success of her show. And therein lay her biggest complaint, that her show and Ian were becoming much too intertwined for her peace of mind.
Dan added his opinion to the matter. “Friday night’s show created such a huge buzz and this is just another way to capitalize on the hype. It’s all about marketing your show and the station and taking advantage of whatever press and publicity we can.”
Any extra coverage for Heat Waves or WTLK was something Kerri couldn’t argue with. And both Dan and Carly knew that.
A spontaneous, gregarious grin brightened Carly’s expression. “We’ve even looked into having bus and billboard ads done up with the picture of the two of you together with the slogan And You Thought The Heat Ended With The Fire emblazoned across the top of the ad.” She looked pleased with her creative, catchy phrase. “What do you think?”
Stunned by just how far Carly planned to take this campaign of hers, Kerri shook her head incredulously. “We can’t afford to do billboard ads!”
“We can’t afford not to,” Dan said, speaking strictly from a marketing angle. “I worked out a budget, and if this draws in the big-name advertisers the way we project it will, it’ll put us in a better position for the sale of the station.”
&nb
sp; Kerri’s mind whirled and her chest tightened with resentment. She felt ambushed and cornered by the two people she trusted. She knew Dan and Carly truly had her best interests at heart, and the show’s ratings in mind, but that success came with a price—one that was connected directly to Ian and felt very personal.
“Would you mind if Kerri and I discussed this alone for a few minutes?”
Ian’s deep voice startled her. She’d been so caught up in her own anxiety and jumbled thoughts, and he’d been so quiet during her discussion with Carly and Dan that she’d nearly forgotten he was in the room. Now it seemed he wanted to state his opinion on Carly’s idea—privately.
“Take all the time you need,” Dan said as he came around his desk and gently but firmly grasped Carly by the arm. “We’ll be in the lunchroom when you’re done.” He ushered Carly out of his office, shutting the door behind them.
A huge sigh unraveled out of Kerri, and she smoothed her hair behind both of her ears before glancing Ian’s way. He sat there in that patient way of his, his eyes a strange mixture of kindness, caring and sensuality. “How do you really feel about all this?”
An adorable smile creased his mouth. A mouth capable of giving her such wondrous pleasure. A mouth she ached to feel on hers again…and other places, too. She was becoming a shameless hussy when it came to Ian.
He stretched his arm across the back of their chairs, letting his fingertips slip through the ends of her hair and feather along her neck. “You honestly have to ask that question after Friday night’s date?”
Her sensual reaction to his touch spoke for Ian, and herself. She trembled from the inside out, wanting him with a fierceness that was foreign to her, but was becoming increasingly familiar when it came to him. “No, I guess not,” she conceded.
Confused by all that had happened in such a short span of time, she stood and walked to the windows overlooking the street below and the evening traffic wending its way through the city. “This whole thing with you and me and the show is getting so out of hand,” she muttered.
“What is your biggest objection, Kerri?”
He might as well have asked her “What is your biggest fear?” The two went hand in hand and stirred so many levels of emotions in her. Resistance to change. Desire for Ian. Panic that she wouldn’t be able to separate this deep craving she’d developed for Ian from the aspirations she’d clung to for the past three years.
She wrapped her arms around her middle and wondered how everything had become so complicated when her life and ambitions had seemed so stable and clear cut two months ago. Before Ian had entered her life and made her feel things she’d managed to do without for all of her adult years. He made her want him—sexually and emotionally—and the combination was one she had no idea how to handle.
What was her biggest objection? He deserved an answer. Turning back around, she faced him, and her insecurities. She’d learned from an early age to confront her weaknesses head-on and not to give in to them, and this situation with Ian would be no different. “Everything with the show is starting to revolve around me and you.”
He regarded her through eyes that were at once serious and bemused. “And that’s a bad thing?”
Personally, no. Professionally, yes. “The hype, the interest…it’s something I never anticipated,” she said, compelled to be straightforward and honest with him. “Not this quickly, anyway. I’ve spent the past three years struggling to make my own mark as a DJ here in Chicago, and because of you I’ve become an overnight success and a household name.”
His smile held a wealth of understanding. “You wanted to make it on your own.”
“Of course I did, and I still do. And that’s part of the reason why I’m so hesitant about jumping into this sexy city night campaign with you.” Moving across the room, she settled her bottom on the edge of the desk a few feet from Ian. She sat in front of one of the oscillating fans and caught an intermittent breeze that fluttered through her hair and along her warm skin. “When I left California, I had certain aspirations in mind and I’ve worked hard to achieve them. I’m single, independent, and I don’t have to answer to anyone but myself. But one of my biggest goals when I arrived in Chicago was to succeed in this dog-eat-dog world of broadcasting. On my own.”
“I think you were on your way to being successful, even before I started calling in,” he assured her. Tipping his head, he scrutinized her deeper than she would have liked. “Do you mind my asking what made you leave California?”
She’d effectively dodged that question when they’d gone to dinner Friday night, but she wasn’t going to evade it now when she was spilling so many truths. And if it gave him a clearer understanding of her, then all the better.
“I grew up in California. My mother and sister still live there.” Her dysfunctional family was a whole other issue, and one she had no desire to delve into. “I was dating a guy named Paul, and things turned serious between us fairly quickly and I ended up moving in with him because he insisted it made things easier for both of us. Everything was fine for a while, and then he gradually changed. He didn’t like what I did for a living, the late nights and working with male DJs. He started limiting what I could and couldn’t do, what friends I could see, and for a while I went along with his demands because I was so lost in the relationship I couldn’t see how much he was controlling my life and even my decisions.”
Ian absently rubbed his thumb along his jaw as he listened attentively. “Something obviously made you see the light.”
She nodded, curling her fingers around the square edge of the desk. “A new guy at the station who didn’t know I was in a serious relationship made a pass at me. Paul found out about the incident from one of his friends who worked at the station and he went berserk. He demanded that I quit my job, and I almost did because that’s what he wanted.”
But on the drive to terminate her employment, she’d realized if she followed through on Paul’s orders she’d be succumbing to her mother’s greatest weakness…she’d be giving a man power and influence over her life and emotions, as she’d sworn she’d never do.
She shuddered at how close she’d come to getting sucked into that same vicious cycle. “I knew if Paul got his way, it would be as good as me handing over my independence and freedom to him on a silver platter. So, I refused to turn in my resignation, and Paul countered by issuing me an ultimatum. Him or my job.”
She laughed, but the sound held no humor. “That ultimatum was a huge wake-up call for me and made me see just how controlling Paul was, and that the relationship was heading toward something far more destructive if I didn’t get out of it then and there. A few days later I did quit my job, but I did it for myself. And then I packed my belongings, picked a city where I felt there would be ample opportunities for me to pursue a career as a DJ, and drove to Chicago.”
She stretched her legs out in front of her, and the cool material of his trousers brushed her bare calf. There had been absolutely nothing sexual about the accidental caress, yet she couldn’t stop the slow, building awareness strumming through her.
“It’s important that I make it on my own merit, Ian,” she continued, needing him to accept those aspirations. “For so many reasons. And especially now that the station is on the market. If WTLK doesn’t sell, or someone decides to change the program or bring in their own personalities, I want to be able to audition at another station and get a job without everyone asking about you or expecting you to be part of the package. Can you understand that?”
“Yeah, I can.” He leaned forward in his chair and braced his arms on his thighs, his gaze never leaving hers. “So, where does this leave us and the sexy city nights campaign?”
“I don’t know.” She had no ready answers, just doubts and uncertainties that kept rearing their ugly heads. “You’ve been a part of my show for the past month as a call-in listener, and even I can’t deny that you’ve made Heat Waves hotter and sexier and more exciting, but where and how will all this end?”
<
br /> Something flickered in his eyes, that persistence of his clashing with a deeper hesitation. “Do you want it to end here and now?”
He was leaving the decision up to her. Offering her the opportunity to end their on-the-air relationship with one simple word from her. Yes. A huge knot formed in her chest at his selfless act, so unlike anything she’d ever known from any man. Ian was willing to give her back her nights as a solo DJ and step out of her spotlight. But being put in the position of giving him up or sharing her nights with him—both on the air and dating—she knew she wasn’t ready to let him go. She wasn’t ready to relinquish the chance to experience everything he had to offer. The passion. The seduction. The best orgasms her body had ever had the pleasure of receiving.
Like a woman starved for ultimate fulfillment, she craved more. She wanted Ian Carlisle. And she knew the desire was mutual. Her listeners were eager to share in the sensual relationship blossoming between her and Ian, so why not enjoy the wild ride until all their hot sexual chemistry fizzled out? And if their weekly dates helped boost her ratings, all the better.
Pushing aside deeper emotional fears, she made her decision based purely on the arousing, feminine needs this man kindled in the deepest part of her. “No, I don’t want us to end. Not yet.”
Relief eased the tension bunching across Ian’s shoulders and set his heart to racing. He’d been prepared to accept her answer, even if it meant putting an end to their on-the-air association. Thank God she’d agreed to give them more time.
Feeling as though she’d granted him silent permission to touch her in the way he’d been aching to since first seeing her walk in that door, he stood up and closed the scant distance that had been separating them. After listening to her bare a part of her soul to him, he decided to take a different approach with Kerri and focus on something less threatening, something she felt as though she had rules and boundaries for. Their attraction. An affair.
With his knee he nudged her slender legs apart, stretching them wide as he moved in between and pinned her against his lean hips and taut thighs. Their position was inherently sexual, a classic erotic fantasy of being fucked on a desk. Despite her shorts and his slacks separating them, he instantly grew hard. The soft gasp that escaped her throat told him she felt his erection. Her hands settled on his waist, and the subtle, instinctive rocking of her hips and the way her lashes fell to half-mast let him know that she’d welcome his thickening shaft deep inside her, given the chance.