Turning up the Heat

by Erika Wilde

  Given the chance, that’s exactly where he wanted to be.

  He pushed all ten of his fingers through Kerri’s hair, wrapping his fingers around the silken strands and tipping her face up to his. “If we’re going to do this sexy city nights campaign, then let’s take it to the extreme and have fun with it and each other. Ride the crest and enjoy the affair for as long as it lasts. What do you say?”

  He’d obviously said the right words to sway her, because agreement sparked in her beautiful brown eyes, glittering with golden excitement. “I say yes.”

  He smiled and lowered his head, sealing their deal with a long, deep kiss that she returned with equal ardor and unfettered enthusiasm. His lips on hers stripped away any lingering inhibitions she might have had. Eventually, he softened the caress of his mouth against hers and murmured, “First official sexy city night date, this Saturday night.”

  She tugged gently at his bottom lip with her teeth, then soothed the love bite with the stroke of her tongue. “Okay,” she said agreeably.

  Another hot, drugging kiss, and then he pulled back, his gaze scanning her face, flushed with arousal. “I’ll pick the place.”

  “All right.” A seductive smile curved her mouth, and a wave of desire surged to his groin, making him impossibly thicker, harder—to the point that he felt as though he was about to bust the seam in the crotch of his slacks.

  He nuzzled her neck, tasting her with his tongue all the way up to the sensitive spot just below her ear. “Wear something slinky, sexy and accessible,” he whispered hotly.

  Groaning, she clasped his buttocks in her hands and stroked his erection against her mound. “Unlike these inaccessible shorts?” Frustration laced her voice.

  He chuckled, the sound low and strained. “Nothing is that inaccessible.”

  She squirmed to get even closer, and pouted when her attempts didn’t give her the satisfaction she obviously craved. “I beg to differ.”

  He lifted a brow. “Do I hear a challenge in your voice?”

  A brazen smile curved her swollen lips. “Yeah, I believe you do.”

  She wanted an orgasm. Here and now. He wasn’t sure if she was serious or teasing, and called her bluff. “We could get caught.”

  Her thighs clenched tighter around his hips, inviting the illicit, forbidden tryst. “I’m willing to take that risk,” she said huskily.

  He’d created a sexual monster, and she was all his. “Greedy witch.”

  Stroking her flattened hands up his spine, she aligned her body with his and rubbed her breasts against his chest. “It’s all your fault.”

  He accepted full blame and responsibility for her new-found sensuality, liking the fact that he’d been the one to introduce her to the pleasures of orgasms. The woman was an incredibly soft touch, so responsive, and he knew it would be so easy to give her what she wanted.

  And so he did. Here and now. His mouth closed over hers, pulling her into a tongue-tangling kiss that was nothing short of wicked. His hands coasted down her sides to her hips, tipping her pelvis up to better receive his slow, rhythmic thrusts in a simulated act of sex. She wrapped her arms around his neck, arched her back and raised her knees high around his waist for deeper penetration, more pressure, greater friction.

  Her breathing deepened, and she moved in sensual, tempting counterpoint to his long, slow strokes. Heat blazed through his bloodstream, and he gritted his teeth against the primal urge to let go of his restraint. Each caress became more frantic and needier, sweeping him up into the moment and leaving coherent thought behind. He imagined sinking into her tight, damp heat, feeling her swell around him and tremble with the first signs of her climax.

  And then she was trembling, and moaning, and clutching at him like a wild thing spinning out of control. He grasped her bottom, slid his large hands down to the back of her smooth, bare thighs and pumped harder, faster. He felt her shudder as she climaxed, and swallowed her soft cries with his mouth. This time, he couldn’t hold back. The pleasure was too intense and explosive. Tearing his lips from hers, he swore vividly and came right along with her in a mindless rush of molten heat and liquid fire.

  Heart beating furiously, and mortified at his lack of control when he’d never lost his restraint like that before, he lifted his head and found Kerri grinning at him, her expression sated and her gaze curious. “Ian?”

  The question in her tone was unmistakable, and he felt his skin warm. “Don’t say a word,” he growled in embarrassment. “It’s bad enough that I’m going to have to walk out of here with my jacket folded strategically in front of my lap to insure I keep my dignity intact, I don’t need you making any sassy wisecracks, too.”

  She pressed her damp palm to his cheek. The gesture was so tender and gentle it made his heart turn over in his chest. “Actually, I think it’s kinda sweet, and very sexy.” She kissed him softly on the lips, then looked at him again. “Now I think I know the true meaning of a fully clothed orgasm.”

  And she’d obviously enjoyed herself. Immensely, if the satisfied look on her face was any indication. “Enough of being fully clothed. The next time I give you an orgasm, you’re going to be completely naked.”

  Her eyes widened in mock fear and she feigned a shiver. “Ooh, is that a threat?” she teased.

  He grinned wickedly. “Nope, it’s a promise I intend to keep.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Take these, put them in your purse, and use them in good health.”

  Kerri stared at the half-dozen or more small square packets Carly had pressed into her open palm. The eclectic assortment of prophylactics included colored, scented, lubricated, ribbed, extra-large and even flavored—orange, banana and cherry. While Kerri was grateful for Carly’s foresight, she found herself overwhelmed by the choices she held in her hand.

  With a wry grin canting her lips, she met her friend’s bright-eyed gaze. “You stopped by my apartment to give me condoms?”

  “Hey, what are friends for?” Carly shrugged impertinently as she sauntered past Kerri into her small living room, which connected to the kitchen and tiny breakfast alcove. “You’re the one with the hot date tonight with Ian, and I figured since I’m not getting any at the moment, you might as well.”

  Shaking her head in bemusement at Carly’s way of thinking, Kerri closed the door after her friend and glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall. She had a half hour before Ian arrived to pick her up for dinner at a restaurant he’d selected for their first official sexy city night “date.”

  “All I can say is that Dan must be worth the wait.”

  “Yeah, he is.” Carly’s expression softened with a mixture of adoration and satisfaction. “We’ve done everything short of actual intercourse, and I have to tell you, my love life has never been so hot!”

  “Mine, too,” Kerri admitted.

  Carly gasped, her eyes widening in astonishment. “You and Ian have already done the deed?”

  A rush of heat stained Kerri’s cheeks. Looking away, she opened the small black purse on her dinette table and stuffed the packets inside for safekeeping. “No, but like you and Dan, the foreplay has been great.” Verbal, mental and physical foreplay.

  It had been almost a week since she and Ian had agreed to do the sexy city nights campaign…a week of pure seduction and erotic mind sex as he continued to call in to the show and they debated provocative issues on the air. One night had even ended in lusty phone sex when Ian had called her after she’d arrived home from work and they’d launched into a private discussion about fulfilling fantasies. He’d verbally fulfilled her secret desires that night, and left her aching for more.

  Sighing at the pleasurable memory, she picked up her gold hoop earrings lying beside her purse and used the brass-framed mirror hanging next to the door to help guide them into her lobes. The air-conditioning unit situated below the decorative mirror was on medium, and the rush of cool air felt refreshing on her warm, bare skin, but also caused her nipples to pucker tight against the thin, stretch
silk of her dress.

  She wasn’t surprised. The littlest, most mundane things seemed to trigger a sensual, needy response from her lately. Even buying peaches, cherries and cucumbers at the store that afternoon had turned into an arousing experience for her! She constantly felt turned-on and sexual in a way that made her very conscious of her body, and all too aware of the fact that she and Ian had yet to consummate their affair.

  The last five days had passed in a whirlwind of activity that had left little time for her and Ian to spend alone, without interruptions or being surrounded by other people. While Ian’s day hours at work conflicted with her nighttime schedule, they’d managed to meet in between for the photo shoot Carly had set up to get the billboard ads done, which had started going up around the city and were already generating a very enthusiastic response. They’d even squeezed in two live appearances—one at a local bookstore, and another at a coffeehouse—to promote the campaign and WTLK. All in all, the advertising was proving to be a huge success.

  The time she and Ian had spent together during the week had been fun and relaxing, and the sexual tension and chemistry between them was as sizzling hot as ever. Any private time they’d managed to grab Ian had used to his advantage, weaving an alluring, seductive spell with his insatiable kisses and slow, breathless caresses that built the waves of anticipation toward a more physical, carnal joining. After enduring so much of Ian’s arousing foreplay—on and off the air—she was as primed as a woman could be, and tonight she planned to be the one to end the torment for both of them and take their relationship to its logical conclusion.

  Carly slid into one of the two chairs at the table and sent her a chastising look. “From that naughty look on your face, it appears you’ve been holding out on me with Ian.”

  Kerri laughed and shook herself from her intimate thoughts. “Actually, Ian’s the one holding out on me,” she said meaningfully. Retrieving her new cinnamon-flavored lip gloss from her purse, she applied a coat of the shimmery red glaze to her lips. “I swear we’ve yet to do the wild thing, but like you, I can’t really complain.” She felt thoroughly romanced and pursued, and it was truly a wonderful, unique feeling. One she planned to enjoy while it lasted.

  Carly grinned. “With a little persuasion on your part, you’ll get lucky tonight…if that’s what you want.”

  Oh, yeah, she wanted Ian, very badly. But she couldn’t deny that along with the anticipation and excitement of taking that giant leap to sleeping with him came a huge dose of anxiety.

  “I’m nervous,” she confessed, meeting Carly’s gaze in the mirror. “It’s been a long time since I…well, since I’ve been with anyone that way.” Since she’d allowed a man so intimately close. And for all her sexy talk on Heat Waves, she didn’t want Ian to be disappointed if she wasn’t everything he expected her to be in bed.

  Carly dismissed her concerns with a wave of her hand. “Sweetie, considering how the two of you literally sizzle when you’re together with your clothes on, I’m betting you set the sheets on fire when you get naked. And trust me when I say that going without sex for a long time tends to add kerosene to the flame once it’s ignited. Your biggest worry should be that you both don’t incinerate.”

  Kerri laughed at her friend’s outrageous comment, which helped to ease some of the tension and insecurities swarming within her. “Okay, I’ll take your word for it.”

  Carly’s gaze skimmed down the length of her, taking in her outfit. “By the way, that’s a fabulous dress. One that screams ‘take me.’”

  “That’s certainly reassuring.” Kerri tucked her lip gloss into her purse and glanced back at the mirror. She was far enough away to get a full-length view of herself. Per Ian’s request, she was wearing something slinky, sexy and accessible, and she was hopeful that he’d like what he saw. The little black dress she’d bought was held up by thin straps and made of a stretch silk fabric that contoured to her slender figure, from her braless breasts down to just above the knee where her legs, encased in smoky hued thigh-high stockings, extended. She wore strappy high heels that completed the ensemble and boosted her height a few inches.

  All in all, she was very accessible.

  Carly scrutinized her a bit longer. “I hope you’re wearing something sexy beneath that dress.”

  Kerri fluffed her hair one more time, giving it a soft, tousled kind of look. “That’s for me to know, and Ian to find out.”

  “Let’s hope he does.” Grinning, Carly stood. “Well, I’ve done my duty by delivering those condoms, it’s up to you to put them to good use.”

  Recalling the variety Carly had given her, she smirked in return. “The hard part is going to be choosing which one to use first.”

  Carly sashayed toward the door. “The strawberry ones smell great, and the ribbed ones are kinda fun—” She opened the door, gasped, and spun back around with a hand pressed to her heart. “Ohmigod, your Prince Charming is here and he’s picking you up in a limo! This guy is definitely a keeper, Kerri.”

  Kerri didn’t want to think about the fact that she wouldn’t be keeping Ian for her very own. Not permanently, anyway. She swallowed the unexpected lump of discontent that rose in her throat and peered over her friend’s shoulder to get a glimpse for herself. Sure enough, an elegant black stretch limousine was parked at the curb—all the better for her to seduce him in, a little voice in her mind whispered.

  Ian was making his way up the sidewalk to her apartment, dressed in black slacks and a long-sleeved black-and-gray printed shirt. Despite the heat and humidity that was still evident at six-thirty in the evening, he looked refreshed and energetic, and sophisticated and wealthy enough to clash with her modest neighborhood. It was a contrast she didn’t want to analyze too closely, but it wasn’t the first time she’d wondered about his lifestyle, especially when hers seemed so meager in comparison.

  He saw her and smiled, and that’s all it took for her pulse to leap with thrilling excitement, and every other thought in her head to take flight and disappear. The man was sinfully gorgeous, breathtakingly sexy, and for now, tonight especially, he was all hers and she wouldn’t have to share him with anyone.

  * * *

  “Wow, the view up here is incredible!”

  Ian sat back in his chair in the private dining area at Everest, one Chicago’s finest French restaurants. He smiled at Kerri’s genuine enthusiasm as she gazed in awe at the cityscape from the posh dining room located on the fortieth floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange.

  She was the one who was incredible, he thought, taking in her natural, fair beauty backdropped by the sun setting in the distance and the simple but elegant decor of the restaurant. Her lips were parted in admiration of the scenery, and he caught the faint shimmer of red still evident on her bottom lip. He’d kissed off most of the candied gloss on the limousine ride over—a sweet “hello” kiss that had intensified into a seductive “I want you” kiss that had ended much too soon for either of them. She’d tasted like cinnamon and fire, and the hot flavor, coupled with her uninhibited response to him, had started a slow burn of desire that still flowed through his veins.

  And then there was that sexy black dress she was wearing, which revealed a whole lot of bare skin for him to touch and caress, which he’d taken advantage of during their kiss. He’d discovered that she wasn’t wearing a bra when his hand had wandered to her breast, and knowing she was half-naked beneath that clingy outfit kept him in a state of semi-arousal.

  Oh, yeah, she was incredible, and gorgeous, and sensually exciting. Yet her outward strength and confidence was underscored with a vulnerability he’d glimpsed when she’d shared her past relationship with him last week. There were so many facets to Kerri’s personality, more than he ever could have anticipated, and each layer fascinated him like no other woman ever had.

  Shifting in his seat, he took another drink of his champagne just as their tuxedo-clad waiter delivered the first course of hors d’oeuvres.

  Once the server left their table, K
erri dipped her spoon into her cauliflower fondant and took her first taste. She closed her eyes and moaned in ecstasy as she savored the rich taste. “Oh, Ian,” she sighed as her lashes drifted open again and she smiled with unabashed pleasure. “This is absolutely heavenly.”

  He smoothed his linen napkin on his lap and sampled his own appetizer, and found it just as delicious as Kerri claimed hers to be. “I wasn’t sure if you liked French cuisine, so I took a chance.”

  “I’ll admit, when it comes to French cuisine my taste buds are limited to French fries, French toast, and French apple pie,” she joked, and ate another spoonful of her fondant. “I think you’ve spoiled me for the real thing.”

  He chuckled, amused and completely beguiled by her and her appreciation of fine food. He’d wanted to take her someplace memorable, special and quiet, where they wouldn’t be mobbed by people who recognized their faces as the radio personalities on the billboard ads around the city. “Anytime you have a hankering for French cuisine you just let me know.”

  She slanted him a curious look as she dabbed her napkin across her mouth. “Which brings me around to a question I’ve been dying to ask since I realized we’d be eating dinner at one of Chicago’s finest and most elegant restaurants. How were you able to get reservations here so last-minute, and a window seat in the private dining area, no less?”

  “It pays to know the right people.” He winked at her.

  She set her spoon on her bowl and quirked a blond brow his way. “And just who do you know that has that much clout?”