by Mari Carr
Monica stood, so he rose as well. “I had a good time tonight, Jason.”
He’d really shortchanged Monica, getting so wrapped up in finding Kristen a nice guy he’d failed to appreciate how cool his date was. “You’re sweet to lie about it and I know I haven’t given you much incentive to say yes to this, but maybe we could go out again? Just you and me?”
Monica didn’t respond immediately, and then she nodded. “Sure. That would be great.” She gave him her phone number and they chatted as he walked her to her car.
Jason waved as she drove away, then headed to his Audi. He sat in the parking lot for five full minutes, torn between going home or driving by Kristen’s house to check on her.
The intelligent part of his brain knew Kristen would eviscerate him if he showed up at her townhouse and interrupted whatever was happening—God, please don’t let anything be happening—between her and Matthew.
However, an idiot lived inside him too and that guy was telling him to storm over to Kristen’s place and kick Matthew’s ass.
“Get a grip.” He released a long breath, put the car in drive and took a left onto the street that would lead him to his house. Monica was right. Kristen wasn’t some young, innocent virgin. She could take care of herself. Tomorrow, they’d simply regroup, then he’d find her another guy—a nice one who wouldn’t put the moves on her. Surely there had to be some man out there like that. Maybe.
And failing that, there was always the back-up plan. Suddenly, he didn’t think that scheme was quite so silly. In some ways, it even made sense.
Kristen smiled as Matthew’s soft kiss ended. They said good night once more, and then she shut the door. Turning, she leaned against the wood and sighed. The night had been a success. Matthew was a great guy—easy to talk to and passionate about his work. She’d invited him in for coffee and they’d continued to discuss their jobs, their families, and all those usual get-to-know-you first-date kind of things. It had been wonderful.
Then he’d stood to leave and offered the kiss on her doorstep. The mustache tickled, but she didn’t mind. He was a very attractive man. He reminded her of someone, but she couldn’t figure out who. Even so, he was charming and intelligent and kind.
Everything Jason had not been at dinner. She wasn’t sure what the hell had gotten in to him tonight, but she fully intended to give him a piece of her mind. Monica was a very sweet woman and Jason had ignored her all night. She’d never seen him treat someone so rudely and if this was as seriously as he intended to take her set-ups, then he’d just gotten his last bit of help from her.
Her cell rang and she glanced at her watch. It was nearly midnight. Who would call so late?
She walked to the coffee table and picked her phone up.
Speak of the devil.
She clicked to answer. “Jason. What the hell was your problem tonight?”
Her greeting seemed to catch him off-guard as he paused, not responding immediately.
“Is Matthew gone?”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course he is. Unlike you, I don’t fuck on first dates.”
It almost sounded like he released a sigh of relief.
“What is wrong with you?” she asked again.
“I don’t know. I just—”
Again with the awkward pause. “Are you feeling okay, J?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry about tonight. I had a lot on my mind and I’m afraid I didn’t do a very good job of hiding it.”
“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to. Poor Monica was working overtime to keep the conversation flowing between you two and I don’t think you heard a single word she—”
“I told her I was sorry. We talked after you and Matthew left. She’s really cool, Kris. It was a good set-up. Thanks.”
The idea that he’d made amends after her departure soothed Kristen’s temper. “Oh, well. I’m glad to hear that. Matthew is pretty awesome too.”
“Actually, I have another friend I’d like you to meet. He’s a vet and he—”
“That’s okay,” Kristen cut him off. “I really like Matthew. We’re going to see a movie tomorrow night.”
“Yeah, but he’s only the second guy on my list. Don’t you want to meet a few of the others instead of just settling for the first one?”
She laughed. “The first one was Rod and that would have been settling. Matthew is fun and I appreciate you introducing us. I’d like to get to know him better. If it works out, terrific. If not, we’ll return to your list. Okay?”
Again, she heard the long sigh on the other end of the line before he finally said, “Sure.”
“Maybe you should head to bed, J. You sound kind of tired.”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll probably feel better after a decent night’s sleep. Can I ask you one question first?”
“Of course.”
“Were those stockings you were wearing under that skirt?”
She chuckled, strangely relieved by his inappropriate question. She’d been worried about him tonight—accustomed to his wit and ability to drive any conversation and make things fun. It had been unnerving to see him so withdrawn and quiet.
“Jason—”
“Just a simple yes or no.”
“If I say yes, are you going to imagine me naked again?”
“I’m already imagining that.”
“Ugh. You’re a horny bastard and I’m not about to feed your sick, kinky fantasies.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
She laughed. “Go to bed, you jackass.”
“Night, Kris. Sweet dreams.”
“Good night.”
She clicked off the phone and giggled as she climbed the stairs, wondering how Jason had known she was wearing the garter belt. Had he really looked at her that closely or did he just have a pervert’s nose for anything he deemed even remotely sexual?
She tended to believe it was the latter, but that didn’t help her when her own sexual desires heated up. She wanted to think it was Matthew’s kiss that had fired her libido.
But as she reached into her nightstand drawer to pull out a vibrator, it was Jason’s face she dreamed of…as he slipped his hands beneath her skirt and unfastened her garter with skilled fingers.
Chapter Four
In Arizona, any person living in a household containing more than two vibrators can be subject to criminal prosecution.
Jason walked into Kristen’s office and closed the door. It was nearly seven o’clock and their secretary had gone home two hours earlier. They’d hired two interns yesterday who would report to work at the beginning of next week, but until they started, he and Kristen continued to work longer hours.
April was winding down. Unfortunately, Kristen’s relationship with Matthew appeared to be blooming just like the fucking dandelions in his yard. She constantly flitted around the office with a smile on her face and this morning, he’d heard her humming at the copy machine. Humming!
He’d always given her credit for being an intelligent woman, but it was clear she was blind when it came to Matthew and his dating manipulation. If he weren’t trying to be a supportive friend, Jason would have told her weeks ago to stay away from the man. But every time he opened his mouth to advise her to break things off, she’d mention some romantic, sweet thing Matthew had done and he’d shut up once more.
However, today, she’d pushed him over the limit. “What are you wearing?”
Kristen glanced up, her brow creased. He’d clearly interrupted her when she was deep in thought. She’d been working hard preparing for a medical malpractice suit. He almost felt guilty for distracting her. Almost.
“What?”
He crossed the room to her, walking around her desk. She pushed her chair back and swiveled to face him.
“What are you wearing?”
She looked down, perplexed. “A skirt?”
He rubbed his forehead as too many sleepless nights caught up with him all at once. She was driving him crazy these days. Wearing her hair down, smiling, si
nging, laughing at all his dirty jokes. Lately he’d gotten in the habit of calling her every night before he went to bed just because he wanted to hear her voice one more time before he closed his eyes.
Then sleep would elude him as he saw her face and heard her chastising him for drinking too much or not eating a healthy dinner or chasing the wrong kind of women. God. All she had to do was take that tone with him and his cock was rock hard for an hour afterwards. He’d jacked off so many times in the past few weeks he was getting callouses on his palm.
He gritted his teeth, then forced himself to say, “Under the skirt?”
She narrowed her eyes in her typical grow up way and his dick twitched. Shit. Here we go again.
“Seriously? You came in here to ask me that? Go home, J. Or better yet, call Monica. For some insane reason, she’s really into you. Maybe she can take your mind off this unhealthy obsession you have with my stockings.”
“So you are wearing stockings.”
“That’s all you heard me say, isn’t it?”
He shrugged, perfectly aware he was standing over her, looking and acting like king of the Neanderthals. He didn’t care. She was poking the bear. Every freaking day.
Then he caught a whiff of flowers. “When did you start wearing perfume?”
She shook her head, apparently unbothered by his odd change of subject. “When I was fifteen. Are you feeling okay? You’ve been walking around here for weeks like a tiger with a thorn in his paw. What’s going on?”
He wished to God he knew. Because maybe if he did, he wouldn’t do what he was about to do next. Unfortunately, intelligent Jason had abandoned ship when Kristen walked into work this morning in her short skirt and stockings. The only person still in residence was the idiot.
He bent down, caging Kristen in her chair, and kissed her. Put his lips against hers and pressed close.
She struggled for only a minute. He barely registered her hands on his shoulders, shoving against him. Then her fingers stopped pushing and started gripping.
Jason released his white-knuckle clench on the arms of her chair once he realized she was kissing him back. Their lips parted at the same time, their tongues meeting halfway as he grasped her face in his palms, stroking her soft skin.
She made a quiet whimper when he knelt between her legs, but she didn’t hesitate to part her thighs, to make room for him between. Neither of them came up for air, as if breaking the union of their lips would somehow crush the magic. Instead, they dove headfirst into the kiss, allowing it to go on and on.
Kristen’s hands loosened from his shirt, moving along his shoulders, then back to his tie. She released the knot and tugged the silk from the collar. When she started to tackle the buttons of his shirt, Jason gave up whatever semblance of control had remained.
He lowered his hands to her legs, caressing her thighs before gathering enough courage to dive beneath her skirt. His fingers had only traveled a few inches before he found the clasps of her garter.
Kristen gasped, a strong burst of air that almost pushed their lips apart. They recovered quickly, however, and resumed kissing, tasting. Jason relished every soft cry, every delicate sound of pure bliss she made.
He’d kissed hundreds of women in his life, but none of them compared to this. They didn’t even come close.
Jason deepened the kiss when his fingers found the bare skin above her stockings. Kristen spread her legs wider and he moved closer, but her tugging his shirt open distracted him. When had she unfastened the buttons? She stroked his chest, toyed with the light smattering of hair there, pressed her thumbs against his small brown nipples. There wasn’t an ounce of shyness in her exploration. Nothing, but sure, assertive hands. He shouldn’t have been surprised. Kristen was a powerhouse in the courtroom, confident, strong. It was apparent those attributes carried over to the physical realm as well.
His erection thickened even more, causing an almost lightheaded effect. The edges of his vision went fuzzy. What the hell was he doing? This was Kris.
His Kris.
He drew his thumbs along the inside of her thighs, inching them closer to the heat he could feel between her legs. He was a breath away from touching the fire, from shoving aside the material of her panties and jumping straight into those flames, when Kristen pushed away.
Her sudden movement caught him unaware. She rolled her chair back until she slammed against the wall behind her, the loud crash jerking him to his senses. The distance that separated them couldn’t have been more than a few feet, but it felt like miles. Both of them were gasping. Her face was flushed, her eyes heavy-lidded, her lips red and slightly puffy from his rough kisses. She reached up to touch them.
The silence that surrounded them was deafening as he sought for some way to clean up the mess he’d just made.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t convince himself what they’d done was wrong. In fact, he wanted to drag her back, pull her to the floor and finish what they’d started. All night long.
Kristen spoke before he could enact that plan. “That didn’t happen.”
He frowned. “It sure as fuck did.”
She shook her head, tugging her skirt down as far as the material would allow. It didn’t help. He knew what was underneath and he wanted it more than he wanted food or water or air.
“Jason. We have to be practical about this. Both of us are struggling with the big four-oh. It’s got us doing things that are out of character. But this too shall pass. We have to use our brains here—think before we act. We’re partners in this business. We can’t fuck that up with meaningless sex.”
Her adjective was wrong. Sex with her would mean the world to him. But knowing she didn’t feel the same way gave him pause. “Kris, listen—”
“No. I need you to listen to me and really hear the words I’m saying. This can’t happen. I won’t let it. You remember the list I gave you, describing your ideal woman?”
He nodded.
“I’m not her. Think about that and you’ll realize I’m right.”
“If this has to do with my past—” He stopped talking when she laughed.
“Yeah. You know what? It does. Let’s face it. I know too much about you.”
He released a frustrated sigh, then forced himself to stand. There was a very long history between them and he wanted to argue, but it was hard to defend himself when he had nearly two decades of bad behavior working against him.
“So you don’t believe people can change?”
“Of course I do, but not overnight. Just last October, you were bragging about the amazing sex you’d had with a gymnast. Telling me how limber she was. Then by the next month, you moved on to having some quickie in the ER with the physician’s assistant while getting a tetanus shot after falling and cutting your hand in the parking lot. Alcohol was involved as I recall.”
“It was a bachelor party. And you make it sound like I’m a drunk and a womanizer, for God’s sake. That was just two nights in six months. You’re not mentioning the other hundred and seventy-eight nights when I was home. Alone.”
“That was just the last six months, though I’ll give you credit. You are slowing down in your old age.”
He rolled his eyes at her joke. “Careful with that, sunshine. You’re only two months behind me on the birthday wagon.”
She stood up and walked toward him. He was assaulted by the scent of her perfume once more. Then, she picked up a cube of Post-it Notes, grinning as she waved it under his nose. “Of course, there’s still the issue of this.”
“You’re rejecting me because of the Post-it Notes. Jesus Christ, Kris. Hello ancient history. That was four years ago. I was a different man back then. And you lost the right to throw that in my face because you already paid me back for that mistake.”
She laughed, the sound so infectious he couldn’t help but join her. “Oh, Jason. I’m not complaining about any of this. It’s all just a part of who you are. Hell, I’ve spent the last decade living vicariously through you and your cra
zy antics. I know it seems like they make me nuts and irritate me, but the truth is you always make me laugh.”
It was the closest Kristen had ever come to admitting she actually liked him. The compliment left him feeling warm, happy.
“But, just to be clear, J, I don’t think that sticky note prank was in exchange for my silence on the subject. I never intend to let you live that down.”
He grinned ruefully. He’d made an impulsive, stupid purchase from the hot office supply lady while flirting with her. He thought he’d bought thirty packs of Post-it Notes, when he’d actually ordered thirty cases. Kristen walked into his office to ream him out for the mistake and caught him in flagrante with that same woman on his desk.
As revenge, she’d completely covered his Audi using an entire case of the damn pink sticky notes. As far as pranks went, he had to hand it to her. That one had been pretty funny. And annoying. It had taken him over an hour to clean his car off so he could drive home.
She lifted one shoulder, giving him a regretful look. “Are you mad at me for stopping?”
He shook his head. “Are you pissed at me for starting?”
Kristen smiled sweetly. “Not at all.” She reached up and cupped his face gently, but the gesture killed him because he knew what was coming. “We’ve spent years building this firm together. Blood, sweat, tears. You name it, we’ve invested it. Yes, I believe you when you say you want to settle down, that you want a committed relationship. You deserve that. But it can’t be with me. The risk is just too great. You understand that, right?”
He wanted to shake off her caring touch, to rail at the gods, to tear this office apart with his bare hands.
He did none of that.
Instead, he nodded.
“Good. I think I’m calling it a night and heading home.”
She started to step away from him, but he caught her hand and held fast despite the scowl in her expression. “Do me a favor?”
“Sure,” she offered.
“Don’t wear the stockings again.”
She held his gaze and he watched a myriad of emotions fill her pretty blue eyes. Confusion, fear, desire. Then he saw just a hint of a dare. She was going to challenge him, even though she knew she shouldn’t.