by Terri Pray
It didn’t settle her nerves.
Find an image that would help, that’s all she had to do. And one came back to her all too easily. She squirmed on the chair, her thighs pressed tightly together as she tried not to let the wicked thoughts take control of her mind.
Just the thought of him with those trails of dark, sweet, sticky chocolate smeared across his body triggered a wave of heat through her core. Would he ask her to lick it off, or keep her at arm’s length until she -- no, he’d beg for her touch. After all, it was her dream and she could set it in any way she wanted.
“Do you think he likes chocolate?”
“What?” Barb shot her a hard look.
“Oh, nothing. Just some silly thoughts I kept having earlier today, whilst we were in his office.” Silly, delicious thoughts that had warmed her heart -- and other parts of her anatomy -- but Sue was all too well aware that sometimes a fantasy needed to stay as just that.
“Share. Come on, we don’t keep secrets from each other. I’m not about to let you start now.”
Heat flashed across her face as she shifted on the chair. “You’ll laugh at me.”
“Maybe I’ll laugh with you?”
There was always that possibility. “I kept thinking about him sprawled over his desk, his chest covered in chocolate as he begged me to touch him.”
“Oh God, you didn’t go there! Sue!”
Sue felt her cheeks turn scarlet instantly. “Well, yes. But only in my thoughts. It’s not as if I actually said something to him about that.”
“Now I thought I was being bad. I kept having images of him on his knees licking his way up my legs.”
“Barb!”
“Well, he is cute.”
She couldn’t argue with that one. “Do you think he has a girlfriend?”
“No, if he did then he wouldn’t have asked you out.”
Sue glanced up at the clock. “I don’t know if he’s really going to turn up. What if this is all part of some nasty joke, or he’s a member of the blogger ring and this is a way of smearing my name all over that nasty circle?”
Barb shook her head. “No, that doesn’t make sense and you know it. If he was a part of that ring then he’d stay well away from you. They really don’t have any time for women with any form of strength and that turned him on. Big time. The men on that ring are obnoxious control freaks who wouldn’t know what to do with a strong woman if their lives depended on it.”
It didn’t silence the doubts though.
“He’ll be here soon.”
“I know.” If he ever turned up at all. I mean, no matter what Barb says, he’s still a young, handsome, rich guy who doesn’t need a woman like me in his life.
A loud chime drew her attention away from the mirror.
Barb hurried away to the window. “He’s here. Nice car too. BMW, I think; can’t really tell from up here.”
“I can’t do this.”
“Yes, you can.” Barb hurried out into the living room, towards the front door.
Sue swallowed hard and tried to force her stomach into some semblance of normal behavior. This wasn’t a good idea. She’d make a fool of herself. He’d try to force her into a situation she wouldn’t be able to handle…
Did she have time to back out of this?
No, it was already far too late for that.
“Is Sue ready?” Alan’s voice carried back into the bedroom. “I don’t think I’m too early.”
“Yes, she is. Please, sit down. I’ll let her know you’re here.”
Sue glanced back around the room; pity there wasn’t somewhere she could hide.
“Sue?” Barb peeked around the corner. “Come on, it’s time. He’s ready for you.”
A date, a real date after all those years of waiting for someone to take notice of her. Wasn’t this what she had been waiting for? So why did she feel as though she was heading out for an execution?
Still, he had come to pick her up, and he was real, and good looking, so it wasn’t as though she’d been lied to about that. This wasn’t a bad blind date set up out of pity by someone else. She’d been through more than one of those, and had no intention of being dragged into any more.
“Are you going to keep him waiting?”
“No, I guess not.” Better to get it over and done with. Sue pushed to her feet and almost sat back down again instantly as her legs threatened to give out from beneath her. The butterflies in her stomach turned into snakes that wrapped themselves around each other and threatened to turn her guts inside out. “Oh, God. I just can’t do this.”
“Don’t be silly. He’s waiting out there for you right now.” Barb folded her arms beneath her breasts, her voice little more than a whisper. “Now either get out there or I’ll drag you out.”
“You wouldn’t!”
“Do you really want to try me on that?”
No, she didn’t. Sue took a deep breath, wrestled the snakes under control, and stood up. “All right then, let’s get this over and done with.”
“Stop trying to look at this as if you’re being sent to your own funeral. It really isn’t that bad.”
There spoke a woman who had never been through the agony of a date that had gone wrong from start to finish.
Barb pushed open the door and led the way back out into the living room.
A low wolf whistle made her look up.
“Damn, you look good.” Alan murmured. “I knew I was lucky when you agreed to go out with me earlier today, but I didn’t realize just how far that run of good luck went.”
Sue opened her mouth to speak then shut it again quickly. Was he joking? Pulling a fast one on her? She fixed a hard look on him, searching for some sign, a hint that this was nothing more than a cruel joke.
A soft smile graced his lips, a warmth danced within his eyes. He hadn’t taken a seat but stood close to the door dressed in a black shirt, pants, and jacket with a scarlet tie. He’d put a tie on for her? Had he worn one in the office as well? Not that she could recall. Damn, he’d pushed out all the stops for her and for what? So he could embarrass her in some way? No, Barb was right, that didn’t make any sense at all.
“So, are you ready to join me for dinner, Sue?” He gave a low, swooping bow, an elegant gesture of a bygone age, and offered her his left hand.
She glanced over at Barb, who nodded quickly, jerking her head towards the door. All right already, she got the hint. Even if it had taken her most of the day to accept that her best friend was right.
“Yes, I think I am.”
“Then shall we?”
Chapter Eight
“So, what made you agree to come out with me?” Alan leaned back in the chair and cupped a glass of wine in one hand. “I saw the look in your eyes when I first asked you out. You didn’t think I was serious.”
Sue waited for a moment as a waiter came and cleared away her now empty plate. For once she hadn’t felt as if every mouthful had been judged. Instead, Alan had done the exact opposite, he’d steered the conversation to light, easy topics, ranging from music to current affairs. The past two hours had been calm and relaxing until the last of her inner doubts had finally crawled back under their rock and left her to enjoy the evening with him.
“I’m not sure why I said yes.”
“Yet you did anyway. That shows a lot of courage. Especially after reading through some of the entries on that blogger ring. I believe I managed to identify which blogger refers to some of the women in the company. And if that man, Real Man, I believe that was his online name, is one you have to deal with on a daily basis then I admire your courage. I’ve already started to look into that ring, but I’m afraid we might have to seek help from the police before we will be able to take it very far.”
Courage? If she had been so courageous then why had she spent all that time shaking like a leaf, trying to find a reason, any reason, not to join him for dinner? And bringing the police in on the entire blogger ring opened up another potential problem for Ann, or rath
er her brother. That was something she’d need to discuss with the woman as soon as possible.
Or at least first thing in the morning.
“So why did you ask me out then? There must be a dozen women you see on a daily basis who would love to share an evening with you.”
“Maybe there are, but part of a date is being able to enjoy the time with that person and I -- well, I like you.” Alan shifted in his seat, twin points of color touching his cheeks. “I know that you think I must be the sort of man who goes out with -- well, I’m not sure what you think of me. But I knew when you walked into my office that there was something special about you. The way you stood up to me, no one’s ever done that to me before, not at work at least. Even Dad gives into me on most things.”
Now that did surprise her. Mr. Martin Senior was well known to be a strong-willed and determined man who had brought the company up from almost nothing at all. “I bet you still manage to go head to head at times.”
“On rare occasions, but he’s pretty much taken a step back from things recently. Especially with some of the deals we currently have on the table. So to find someone willing to damn near shout me down in my own office caught me off guard. In a pleasant way, of course.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t have us kicked out of your office. I would have lost my temper and had you removed if the roles had been reversed.”
Alan set the glass down and leaned forward, reaching out across the table to stroke his fingers over her hand. “Now why would I do that when all I wanted to do in that moment was pull you over the edge of my desk and explore every inch of your body with my tongue?”
It took a moment before she realized what he’d said. Heat flushed across her cheeks, her breath caught in the back of her throat as she fought to keep control and to prevent her sudden urge to crawl under the table to hide.
“Ah, not the sort of thing you were expecting to hear?” Alan’s full lips twitched in a flicker of disappointment before a smooth smile returned to mask his emotions. “Perhaps I’m not the sort of man you’d find attractive. I can understand that; I did come across as a complete and utter arrogant asshole.”
“No, it’s not that.” Not find him attractive? Was he nuts? He had to be one of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen.
“Then?”
“I wasn’t expecting to hear that from you.” Nor from any man, if she was going to be brutally honest. Not unless it was part of a cruel practical joke, and she’d been the brunt of those for far too many years.
“Why not? You’re attractive, strong willed, intelligent, with more than a hint of courage. You’re the sort of woman that any man in their right mind would give their soul to spend time with.”
“Most people don’t think that way about women like me.” She looked away from him, trying to force her thoughts into some semblance of order. “I mean I’m not exactly a size 5 here. And I’m past my sell by date.”
“And why would that matter?”
Sue turned back to look at him. “Well, don’t most men want something slim and young?”
“Funny, you look like you have all your teeth to me, and honestly speaking, if I wanted a stick insect that would break the first time we tried to play then I’d spend my time hanging around models. Sorry, but that type really doesn’t appeal to me. Most of the ones I’ve met in the past couple of years have been me, me, me, and oh, yeah, me.”
He hadn’t moved his hand and as he spoke he stroked her fingers gently with his own. Each light touch sent a wave of shivering delight through her body. Heat rippled through her inner walls, a need throbbed along her labia into her clit until she was left wondering just what he would feel like buried deep within her vulva.
“Are they all like that?”
“No, there are some good ones out there. Just, well they don’t appeal to me. Not as lovers, or anything more than friends. I’d break them if I tried to do anything with them. I mean I’m not a weak man. I work out most days, and if I tried to thrust into a woman who barely weighed more than my office bag on a good day, I’d leave them bruised or with broken bones. That’s not what I call attractive.”
“You have to have seen the pictures, the news reports, those skinny models walking up and down the catwalk. That’s what men find attractive, not women like me.”
“Did you know that up until around the turn of the nineteenth century women who were that thin were looked on as being sick? Just look at the artwork of the time period. The women there, the nudes, are Rubenesque. They didn’t paint thin women; they didn’t find them attractive. The women in those paintings had hips, curves, and breasts. They had the figure of a woman, with all the wonderful, soft skin and padding in between.”
“So maybe I was born in the wrong era?” Sue almost smiled.
“Or men, and the fashion industry need to remember just why we need women with a little meat on their bones. You’ve no idea how badly I wanted to strip you down in the middle of my office and explore you. I thought you’d turn me down about dinner and now, sitting here, sharing dinner with you, I’ve kept wondering what you look like under that wonderful dress. I want a real woman, not a woman with the body of a boy whose bones are going to jab into me at precisely the wrong moment.”
A soft giggle threatened to gain life and Sue swallowed hard, forcing it back into submission. “I hadn’t really looked at it that way before. I just thought men like that type of woman.”
“Don’t get me wrong, some do. But they’re not for me.” He traced the tips of his fingers along the back of her hand, leaving shivering circular patterns across her flesh. “So I have to ask, would you consider more than just a single dinner date with me?”
“You mean a second date?”
“And a third, fourth, fifth, however many you’d be willing to enjoy with me”
“And if I wanted more than just dinner with you? Say something a little more intimate? Perhaps involving chocolate?” God, where had that come from! She wasn’t like this normally.
Alan’s lips parted softly, the tip of his tongue snaking out from between them. A merry light shone within his eyes as a devilish smile triggered a set of dimples in his cheeks.
“I’m sorry, shit, I don’t know why I -- I didn’t mean to say that. Please ignore…”
“Sue, nothing would please me more than to spend that time with you.” He reached out with his free hand and cupped her chin, lifting it up until she had no choice but to look him directly in the eyes. “I don’t want to push you into anything though. Yes, I want you, more than I should considering we only just met, but unfortunately my body doesn’t particularly care about time. However, my mind, my heart, they both want you to be happy and ready to make that step with me.”
Was she dreaming?
Men like this didn’t really exist. They just wanted sex, there and then and to hell with what a woman wanted. Her jaw tightened as she watched his face.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No, it’s just that I’m not used to a man acting the way you do. I barely know what to think. First you tell me that I’m the body type you prefer, now when I offer you the chance to get laid you tell me you’re willing to wait until I’m certain it’s the right step for me? Do you know how rare that is?”
“I’ve got a fair idea, yes.” Alan nodded and leaned back in the chair, bringing his hands to rest on the table. “I’ve been around enough men my age who focus on getting laid with as many women as they can. That blogger reminded me just how many men out there treat women as little more than playthings, but I’m not like that and never have been.”
Sue took a long hard look back at Alan. The shape of his jaw, the way the muscles played beneath his shirt. Even the soft curl of black hair that now teased into the middle of his forehead.
He really wanted her.
No joke, no hidden agenda, no harsh words. He was just a man who looked at her with an undeniable heat in his gaze and a hunger in his smile.
“And if I don
’t want to wait?”
“I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I didn’t let the lady set the pace, would I? And I was raised to be every inch the gentleman when it came to such matters.”
And if I don’t want you to be a gentleman? If I want you to strip me off, kiss every part of my body, and then make me scream your name, what then?
She sucked in her bottom lip. No. She couldn’t say that to him either. Even if she wanted to. But she had to say something to him; leaving him hanging wouldn’t do either of them any good and she needed him. No, wanted him. If she was going to be that honest about the situation it was a want, a sweet, delicious want, but not a need.
He wasn’t the type of man who would force her. He’d stop if she wanted him to, so she was safe with him.
“Then, if you’re serious, I believe I’d like to extend our evening together.”
* * * * *
“So who is it that has you so nervous around me?” Alan glanced over at her as he slipped the key into the ignition. “I wasn’t aware that I’d done anything to spook you.”
“I -- I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Yes, you are, Sue.” He leaned back in the seat and twisted just enough to meet her gaze fully. “I can see it in your eyes. I know you want this and that you want to be out with me, to go home with me if only for a couple of hours, but I can also see something else in you. A slight flinch, the way you listen very carefully to anything I say as if you’re looking for the hidden knife in the words. It’s not an ex-boyfriend thing, either. So who it is?”
Sue chewed slowly on the inside of her lip, twisting her hands in her lap.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I’d really like to know.” Did she think he would use the information against her? Well, depending on what sort of men she’d spent time with then yes, she might well believe that. “You’re a strong woman, Sue. Whoever it is only has power over you if you let them have it. I think you know that.”