A Stranger's Touch

by Beth D. Carter

  Her agreement to date worried her a little. Was she stupid? A masochist? Was she making a horrible decision since she wasn’t quite free of Morgan? The nagging questions ran through her brain, but the desire to be with Gordon outweighed them. Sighing, she rose and padded into the bathroom to start her day.

  Gordon had driven her home after calling Merryl, letting her know Aubrey was safe. She’d beat her friend home, given Gordon a good-night kiss that made her wish she could invite him inside. The only thing stopping her was the thought that Merryl probably wouldn’t feel comfortable with the Boss Mas having a sleepover.

  Aubrey flipped on the bathroom light and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Good lord, she was now glad Gordon hadn’t stayed over. Her eyeliner smeared around her eyes, giving her a bandit mask, and the hair spray had the red strands sticking in weird directions.

  Her reflection looked like a floozy after a gang-bang.

  “What are you doing?” she asked herself. “What are you thinking?”

  I’m thinking we need a shower.

  “I was talking about dating Gordon. This isn’t a Lifetime movie, you know. Dating your boss is a bad decision.”

  Then again, I’ve already banged him. Twice.

  “True,” she said, continuing the one-sided conversation. “And can you truly think of him as your boss when you’re only a temp?”

  Semantics. He signs my paycheck. Or will when I finally get a paycheck.

  “But he’s only going to be your boss for a short time.” She frowned at her reflection. “Let’s face facts. You’re arguing with yourself because of Morgan. Because he made you feel inadequate and you’re afraid he was right.”

  What does a man like Gordon see in me?

  “Well, the sex is amazing. Perhaps he wants more amazing sex.”

  I would like more amazing sex too. I never realized how good it could be.

  “Then why am I talking to myself?”

  Because it’s obvious I’m a mental case.

  She smiled. “Why can’t you just accept that you deserve a little fun? Just don’t … get attached.”

  The little voice she had been talking to went quiet. Could she really do a friends-with-benefit scenario? Some innocent, light dating? Having a one-night stand was one thing, but she’d be constantly seeing Gordon, talking to him and learning what makes him tick. What would the limits be and when would it be time to say good-bye? And the real question was when it was all said and done, could she simply walk away?

  “You could do it,” she said to her reflection. “Just remember this won’t be a rebound situation. There is no love, no happily-ever-after between you and Gordon. This is simply two people having sex and having fun.”

  She took a deep breath.

  I can do this.

  “Yes, I can.”

  ****

  “You’re doing what?” Merryl asked, eyebrows raised.

  After her back and forth Gollum talk with herself, Aubrey had showered quickly and then gone into the kitchen to get some coffee. Merryl had cooked blueberry pancakes and Aubrey’s belly rumbled.

  “I’m going out with Gordon.”

  “Out where?”

  “Dinner, I guess.”

  Merryl propped a hand on her hip. “You guess?”

  “Look, I know it’s risky dating the boss, but like he said, we knew each other before I became an employee, and well, I want to be with him.”

  “You want to be with him? You talk to Morgan on the phone and suddenly you’re ready to date again?”

  “I know how this sounds…”

  “Do you really, Aubrey?” She frowned. “It’s called rebounding, and I refuse to watch you get a second broken heart.”

  “I won’t get a broken heart, Merryl. That’s not what this is about.”

  Merryl crossed her arms over her chest and stared her down. “Then what is this about? Because from where I’m standing you’re replacing one man with another.”

  “Technically, I am, but not because I’m looking for something permanent. I mean, I’m rediscovering who I am, but…”

  “But?”

  “But why can’t I have some fun while I’m doing that?”

  Merryl studied her for a moment, until Aubrey nudged her shoulder. Her friend gave a crooked little smile. “Well, as long as you don’t fool yourself into thinking this is going to be forever, then I guess some nookie on the side is okay.”

  “Nookie?”

  Merryl shrugged. “I can’t use the ‘s’ word when it comes to Boss Man.”

  “You mean … sex?”

  “Stop!” Merryl put her fingers in her ears. “I don’t want to hear that word!”

  “Okay,” Aubrey snickered. “No more sex. Nookie it is.”

  Merryl pulled her fingers out of her ears. “You are a cruel woman.”

  “Hey, you didn’t happen to find my shoes, did you?”

  “Your shoes?”

  “I kinda lost them at Zanzibar while dancing.”

  Merryl crossed her arms over her chest. “How does one kinda lose shoes?”

  “When one has a nice buzz going and doesn’t care how dirty her feet get.”

  “That is so gross. I can’t even think about how gross that is.”

  “Well then, I won’t tell you that my gross dirty feet were pressed against the backseat in Gordon’s SUV.”

  Merryl cocked her head. “Why were your feet … oh my God! I’ll never be able to look at his vehicle again, you perverted dirty feet woman you!”

  Aubrey laughed until her side ached.

  Chapter Ten

  “Do you like steak?”

  “Yes,” Aubrey replied.

  Gordon held open the passenger side door to his SUV for her to get in. Aubrey glanced quickly in the backseat, remembering the last time she’d been in the vehicle.

  “Good. I know this wonderful steak house.”

  He shut the door and then went around to slide in behind the wheel.

  “What if I said I was vegetarian?”

  “Then I had a backup plan for a great bistro that boasts about their tofu cheesecake.”

  “Tofu and cheesecake should never be in the same sentence together.”

  “I agree,” he said. “But I was willing to try for you.”

  His response surprised her, mainly because Morgan had never offered any such concession. She’d always had to do whatever he’d wanted to do, eat what he wanted to eat. Now, being so far removed from that situation, Aubrey couldn’t believe how she had changed for one man.

  Finding the woman she’d once been was scary, yet thrilling. Rediscovering a life she’d almost forgotten about, like shaking off a cloak that had been slowly suffocating her. The most important issue was now she didn’t have to pretend anymore, nor did she have to lie to herself, trying hard to convince her psyche that she was happy and content.

  Gordon drove to Beverly Hills and valeted at a small restaurant tucked charmingly off Sunset Boulevard near Rodeo. It was a section of Los Angeles that Aubrey knew well, simply because Morgan liked to live expensively and would often take her shopping. Not to buy her anything, of course, but because he said his clientele expected to see him in a hundred-dollar shirt or a thousand-dollar watch. Whenever the credit card came due, she’d have to scramble to find ways to pay the bill, even though the bills had consistently climbed higher. Even as Morgan’s paycheck got bigger, it became her duty to find ways to pay the bills on the very small amount he left in the checking account. Where the rest of the money went she didn’t know, but she never questioned because he’d always tell her that he made the money and it belonged to him.

  “You okay?”

  Gordon’s question snapped her out of her memory and she silently cursed herself for getting stuck in the past. Smiling brightly, she nodded and he placed his hand in the curve of her lower back to escort her inside. He gave his name to the hostess and she seated them immediately at an outside table tucked into a corner. Tall, neatly trimmed potted
plants stringed with small white light kept them partially shielded from other patrons. Aubrey propped her elbow on the tabletop so she could rest her chin in her hand.

  “Do you drink wine?” he asked.

  “Yes. Although I’ll admit I’m not very knowledgeable about different brands.”

  “It can be confusing,” he agreed. “Do you like dry wine?”

  “No, not really. Feels like sandpaper on my tongue.”

  “Curious description. Do you actually know how sandpaper feels on your tongue?”

  “It feels like drinking dry wine.”

  He chuckled. “I do enjoy your wit. Do you have a sweet tooth?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Doesn’t everybody?”

  “Touché.”

  Their waiter showed up, smiling, wearing a long black apron. Aubrey sat up straight as she listened to him.

  “Good evening, my name is Thomas. I’ll be waiting on you this evening. May I start you out with a drink?”

  Gordon looked at her. “Do you mind if I surprise you?”

  “Oh, please,” she replied, flattered he asked her first.

  Gordon nodded and turned back to address to Thomas. “Riesling, please.”

  “Very good,” Thomas replied. He ran through the chef’s special before walking quickly away to bring their wine.

  “So,” Gordon said as he took her hand. “Tell me about Aubrey Magill.”

  “You mean, more than just in the biblical sense?”

  He grinned. “Yes.”

  “Well, I’m thirty-two, a natural redhead, a lover of animals, and a nonsmoker.”

  “I think I already knew the majority of those revelations.”

  “You didn’t know my age,” she pointed out.

  “You said you’d been with your ex for ten years. I extrapolated the fact that you might have been in college when you met him and came up with the determination that you had to be in your early thirties.”

  She pursed her lips. “You’re downright sexy when you go all Sherlock Holmes.”

  “Which version? Benedict or Robert Downey?”

  “I was going to say Johnny Lee Miller, without the British accent of course.”

  “Okay. I’ll take it. As long as it wasn’t Basil Rathbone.”

  “Hey, I liked Basil as Sherlock,” she said. “I used to watch a lot of late-night Turner Classic Movies. But please, continue on with your deductive reasoning.”

  “Where was I? Oh yes, it was biblical knowledge that let me know the curtains matched the carpet.”

  Aubrey giggled. “That’s absolutely awful.”

  He chuckled. “I know. Completely tacky.”

  He rubbed his thumb across the top of her hand. Her laughter died away, but the ease she felt around him only intensified, and she couldn’t put her finger on what it was about him that induced that sense of calmness. Whatever it was, it made her want to share everything with him.

  “Eventually, I want to finish my degree in fine arts,” she admitted softly. “I love art. I find fascinating worlds in each masterpiece, and one day I’d like to add my own. You know, when I first walked into your studio, the photos grabbed my attention. I loved the lines, the history coming through the picture. You’re a very talented architect.”

  “People go to Italy to study the great Italian masters,” he murmured. “My mother had an advantage. She grew up in a little town outside Rome, surrounded by beauty every day, and she passed that passion onto me. When I was growing up, it was mostly her and I since my father was an asshole, and I spent a lot of years with that side of my family.”

  The waiter returned with the wine, interrupting them for a moment, and they placed their orders. Gordon ordered one of the specials and Aubrey went for the steak and lobster. Once they were alone again, he held up his glass. She did the same.

  “To our first date,” he said.

  She toasted. The wine was sweet, cool, and refreshing.

  “Oh, I like this,” she replied, impressed.

  He winked. “I, too, have a sweet tooth.”

  “So your childhood … is that why you go after a lot of historical preservation bids?”

  “Yes,” he said, setting his glass back down. “Obviously, the States don’t have the historical background like Rome has, but that doesn’t diminish the value of the buildings. At least not to me.”

  “I find that noble.”

  “Not noble, but I believe if we lose our past we lose our identities.”

  That statement struck her hard and she took another sip of wine to fortify herself. “My parents died in a car accident when I was twenty-one and Morgan Lennox came around six months later. It doesn’t take a genius to realize I latched onto him in an effort to find some type of new identity after my loss. I had wanted love, wanted a family. You know, the deep connection I lost when they died.”

  “Have you had therapy?”

  She snorted. “Yeah, ten years of living with a narcissistic asshole. He was more than happy to give me advice and tell me who I was. I probably should have gone to a therapist instead but Morgan wouldn’t have any of that. It didn’t fit into the image he was trying to cultivate in his career. The jackhole.”

  He smiled at that

  “But really, even though I didn’t want to acknowledge it, in the back of my mind I knew I had lost myself,” she continued. “But I hadn’t realized I had grabbed onto on ideal and superimposed it over him. Now that the grief-colored glasses are gone, I’m using this opportunity to rediscover the dreams I once had. The woman I was supposed to be.”

  “I like this woman,” he replied.

  “Me too.”

  Dinner arrived, breaking through their talk, and Aubrey savored every bite. After the meal, Gordon paid for their check and escorted them back to his car, which the valet delivered quickly.

  “Where would you like to go now?” he asked as they cruised down Sunset Boulevard.

  She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. “Let’s go to your place.”

  His knuckles tightened on the wheel. “If I bring you to my place, you’re not leaving till morning.”

  “That’s fine with me,” she murmured.

  As soon as the light turned green, Gordon floored the gas pedal and he didn’t stop until twenty minutes later when he pulled into his driveway. His house was located up in the Hollywood Hills, the winding road narrow and frightening in places, but he navigated them expertly. He parked and exited the car, hurrying around to her side to help her out. Linking their fingers, he escorted her inside, and as soon as the door locked behind him, he pulled her into his arms.

  Their lips met, the kiss deepening to touch her soul. The message was clear—he wanted her and she wanted him. The first time they had sex it had been about the rush, the naughtiness of two strangers coming together, but now she knew how good it could be, and need flooded her body. Her pussy grew slick, her breasts became tender, and she ached to have him inside her.

  He slid his hands down to cup her butt, then lifted her up. His muscles bulged as he held her and surprise had her wrap her legs around his waist to help keep her steady. He carried her back to his bedroom and he didn’t stop until they were at his bed. She didn’t see how his home was decorated, then again, she really didn’t care at that point.

  Gordon tumbled her onto the mattress before coming down on top of her, kissing her mouth, her neck, sucking on her earlobe and leaving hickeys on her neck. As he moved down her body, he rearranged her clothes, trying to get to her skin, and she did the same. They ended up in a tug-of-war with each racing to get the other naked. Aubrey needed to feel his skin against hers, needed to feel her own softness pressed against his hardness.

  Clothes lay scattered around them as he rose up over her. Their eyes met and locked, and the sliver of moonlight trickling through the window gave illumination so she could see desire blazing in his eyes. An answering call rose within her and as he leaned down to kiss her again, she reached upward. Fingertips trailed over h
er skin until they encountered her breasts, and he pinched the peaks. The slight bite of pain only fanned the flame, and Aubrey arched her back to thrust more into his hands as his thumb flicked over her nipples.

  “I didn’t realize your nipples were so sensitive,” he murmured.

  “Neither did I,” she replied, panting a little. “Do it again.”

  He eased back to pinch her nipple again, and the feeling shot straight to her pussy. “Oh, wow. I like that. I like that a lot.”

  “Let me see if you like this even more.”

  Warmth engulfed her right breast when he leaned over and latched onto the nipple. Gently he bit, and she moaned. He bit a little harder and she moaned a little louder. There was pain, yes, but the pain somehow enhanced the pleasure shooting through her body. This was a side of her sexuality she’d never known about.

  Gordon moved down her body and pried her legs apart, his fingers sliding up her thighs to find her dripping pussy. One finger pushed through her slit, into her core, and from then she existed only on pure sensation. Coherent thought fled. It was all about action and reaction. One finger pumped in and out between her plump pussy lips, then he sucked her sensitive clit into his mouth. Aubrey cried out as she sank her fingers into his hair. The orgasm stayed just out of reach, however, until he reached up and pinched her nipple. Hard. Aubrey screamed as she instantly came, splintering apart. He sucked it up, licking her until she gave a little shudder and went limp.

  “What the hell just happened?” she asked breathlessly.

  “I found your sweet spot.”

  “Holy crap. I thought the sweet spot was my G-spot.”

  “You, my dear, have an amazing trigger.”

  “Do you have a trigger?”

  “I’m a man. Everything is a trigger. You just have to blow on me and I’m hard.”

  “Speaking of blowing.” She pushed his shoulders until he fell back onto the bed, onto his back, with his cock standing straight up.