What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 3)

by Lauren Hawkeye

  Our hostess sat us at a small table in a quiet corner by the window. There were only two chairs at the square table, and they were next to each other so that we could both look out the window at the gorgeous view of the sun setting behind the mountains.

  Nick ordered mahi-mahi and I opted for the salmon, and Nick chose a bottle of white wine from the menu. The sommelier poured a small amount of wine into a glass, and Nick tasted it and nodded curtly at the waiter. His control of the situation was sexy, and a brief flash of me being tied up in his bed ran through my mind. Suddenly I felt dampness between my legs just thinking about Nick and his bed.

  After Nick toasted me (“To my lovely Julianne”), we sipped our wine and chatted while we waited for our food.

  “Usually on a first date with a woman, I don’t know much about the woman,” Nick said. “I like that I already know a lot about you from working with you for the past year.”

  “You probably learned more about me from happy hours than from work.”

  “You’d be surprised what I have learned about people just from observing them work.”

  “Oh? What have you learned about me?”

  “Like you chew your bottom lip when you’re concentrating. You tap the eraser of your pencil on your notebook when you’re thinking. You suck on your pen cap when you’re checking your email, and God, that drives me insane. In a good way. You’re organized almost to a fault, you’re the most creative person on the team, and you’re one of the greatest collaborators I’ve ever worked with.”

  I blushed. “I suck on my pen caps?”

  “Yes.” He laughed, and then he leaned into me and lowered his voice. “And it’s fucking hot, watching those lips wrapped around that cap.”

  My blush deepened. When he said things like that… well. Goodness. “So let’s pretend like this is a first date and we don’t know each other very well.”

  “Alright. Let’s do it.”

  “So, Nicholas, is it? Tell me about yourself.”

  “You can call me Nick. I am thirty-two, and I own my own company.”

  “You’re thirty-two?”

  He nodded.

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “But you knew I owned my own company?”

  “Ha, ha. Obviously you don’t since you work at McMillan with me.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Twenty-six.”

  “I’ve always liked younger women.”

  “Pervert.”

  He shrugged and raised his hands in the air, as if to say, “Well, what can I say?”

  “So what do you do for a living, Nick?”

  “I’m a marketing exec. I’ve worked in marketing for ten years.”

  “I also work in marketing.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  I nodded. “I’m an account consultant. I have a sexy boss.”

  “Interesting. And have you acted on your feelings for your boss?”

  “No. He will never notice me.” I looked down at my place setting. “I’ve had the hugest crush on him for a year, and he doesn’t even know I’m alive.”

  “A beautiful girl like you? I bet he noticed you the first time he saw you walk into the conference room late. I bet he saw your cute blush and was immediately enamored with you.”

  I looked back up at him, and his gorgeous hazel eyes gazed back at me with genuine sincerity.

  “You think so?”

  He nodded. “I’m sure of it. I would venture to guess that he couldn’t take his eyes off of you that entire meeting, and for the first year he worked there, he tried to find a way out of the stupid agreement he signed about not dating people in his department. I would even wager that he invented reasons to see you, to be near you, to accidentally brush his arm against yours to feel your warmth.”

  I pondered that. “Did you?”

  He gazed into my eyes, warmth and lust and authenticity staring at me for a long, quiet moment.

  “Julianne, it’s only been you since the day I met you.”

  My heart started beating erratically in my chest as I felt breathless at his words. For me, it had only been him, too. I told him that.

  “We wasted so much time,” he said, running his knuckle down my cheek and then leaning over to kiss the trail his knuckle left, trailing a kiss down to the sensitive flesh behind my ear and setting my skin on fire with his touch.

  “What made you finally act on it?” I murmured.

  He leaned back. “Honestly?”

  I nodded.

  “Word sort of got back to me that you were interested.”

  “Who told?”

  “I’d rather not say.”

  “Tell me!”

  He grinned. “Jake.”

  “Jake, huh? Well, someday I’ll have to thank Jake.”

  Just then, our waiter arrived with our food. Our “first date” conversation continued, though.

  “Tell me about your family, Nicholas.”

  “Nick.”

  “Right. Sorry, Nick.”

  “I have a younger brother, Josh, who you have yet to meet. He’s one of my best friends, but he’s not as cool as me. My mother and stepfather live in California. My dad died when I was seven.”

  I touched his hand. “I’m so sorry.” This was something else I didn’t know about him.

  “Thank you. I was close to my dad, but I was a little boy. I often wonder what sort of relationship we would have had if he was still alive today.”

  He seemed comfortable talking about it, so I asked. “Can I ask how he died?”

  “Car accident. We lived in Denver at the time, and it was a winter night. He was coming home from work and his car slid on the ice into oncoming traffic. It was instant.”

  “God, how horrible.”

  “It was awful. I miss him every day, even though it happened almost twenty-five years ago.”

  “Tell me about your mom.”

  He paused. “I see my mother about twice a year; Christmas and my birthday. She forces Josh and me to go to California for Christmas every year, and she and her husband come to Phoenix in June for Josh’s and my birthdays.” His tone turned bitter, and I was afraid I had hit on a nerve. “She is very much into appearances. She married a very wealthy man within the year after my dad’s death, and she wasn’t really there for Josh and me when we were grieving. Probably because she was a newlywed. She divorced him and took all of his money and married the guy she’s married to now. Tell me about your family.”

  I was glad he ended by asking about my family, because I didn’t know how to respond to his revelations about his own family. I felt blessed that I was as close to my family as I was. “I’m close with my parents. I have an older sister, Jamie. She and her husband, Brandon, have a baby boy, Brady, and another kid on the way. And Brady is the sweetest little boy in the world.”

  Nick smiled. “How old is he?”

  “Three. Want to see a picture?”

  “Sure,” he said, and I pulled out my phone and pulled up a picture of me holding Brady next to the Christmas tree.

  “Adorable. The kid’s cute, too.”

  I laughed and mock smacked him in the arm.

  “They have a dog, too.”

  “Is it a Golden named Charlie?”

  “You remembered that?”

  “What do you mean? This is our first date, remember? Lucky guess.”

  I chuckled.

  “When is your sister due?”

  “Next month. February 4.”

  “Boy or girl?”

  “They decided to wait to find out. I hate that.”

  “Can I tell you a secret?” he leaned in to me conspiratorially. I nodded. “I hate that, too. It’ll be a surprise regardless of when you find out, so why not just know for the convenience of knowing?”

  “Right? That’s exactly what I said to Jamie. They waited with Brady, too, and then they had to scramble to find boy stuff after he was born because they got all gender-neutral stuff at her shower.”

  He
shrugged. “To each his own.”

  “Do you want kids?”

  “Sure, someday. I always pictured myself in the future with a pretty little lady and two or three little ones.”

  “Me too. Except for the lady part,” I giggled.

  “The lady parts are my favorite.”

  “Pervert.”

  “That’s twice you’ve called me that, and on a first date, too. That might be a new record.”

  I laughed. “Well, if the shoe fits.”

  As we ate, it hit me how perfect we were for each other. Our conversation came easily, and there were no quiet, awkward pauses as I had encountered so many times on dates. We played on each other’s stories and felt very comfortable with one another. Nick paid for our meal and we headed to the car. He started it up and headed in the opposite direction of his house. As he drove, I stared out at the gorgeous mountain views surrounding our car and pondered our conversation. I actually had learned a lot about Nick from our pretend first date scenario. I learned that his dad had passed away when he was seven and that he wasn’t close to his mom. I wondered what sort of long-term effects that had on a little boy.

  We pulled into a wine bar named Vino a few minutes later. He led me inside, and the place had a unique ambiance that made me feel elegant and at home at the same time. A piano played slow melodies, and a few couples were swaying to the music, clinging to one another. Nick led me to the bar, and we each ordered a glass of wine. Then he led me to the dance floor, and I couldn’t help but think that this was just a super classy nightclub; a place for drinking and dancing. We set our wine down on a table nearby, and he pulled me into his arms, his hands hitting that bare spot on my back and driving me crazy with desire for him.

  After a bottle between us at the restaurant and another glass of wine at Vino, I was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol. I held onto Nick as he swayed gently in time to the music. I had never been treated to such a classy date; typically the guys I dated wanted to take me out for beer and hot wings. That was fun, but I was enjoying being romanced. No man had ever put in the effort to make me feel so special and elegant before. Nick treated me right, and it was a welcome change.

  We both finished our wine and ordered a second glass, and we alternated between sitting at a table, sipping our wine, and holding each other on the dance floor. The dancing was only serving to heighten the sexual tension between us, so sitting at the table between songs was a good cool down for us both.

  We arrived back at Nick’s house a little after midnight, and he led me up to his bedroom. He lavished me with his attention, kissing me thoroughly and completely as his strong, expert hands worked my body. He made love to me until my body and his were both exhausted and sated. I had never been happier in my life.

  I awoke on Sunday morning with a sad feeling. The work week would be starting again in less than twenty-four hours, and that meant that we had to pretend like we weren’t starting the greatest love affair of all time. Going through the motions at work had been tough the week before, and that was before Nick and I had had sex. Now I didn’t know how I was going to be able to fake that I wasn’t in a relationship with him. I was giddy when I was around him, and I knew that I wore my feelings for him on my sleeve. I knew that there was love in my eyes when I looked at him. But that was okay; everyone knew I had a crush on him. The bigger problem was that now I saw the same feelings reflected back at me in his eyes, and no one knew – or could know – about his feelings for me. And even though we hadn’t used the “L” word yet, it was only a matter of time. I think I loved him from the moment I first saw him in the conference room. And by all accounts from him, the feeling was mutual.

  I watched him sleep. He was peaceful, and he looked innocent in his sleep. His hair was a mess, sticking out in every direction, and it was totally sexy. Maybe because I knew it was my fault that it looked like that after my hands had been all over him the night before. He was breathing evenly, and I took my breaths in time with his. I glanced over his head at the alarm clock and saw that it was already almost noon. We had slept half the day away, but, I reminded myself, we had spent the better part of the night and well into the early hours of the morning making love. And what a night it had been.

  The sheets were wrapped around his waist, and I glanced down at his shirtless chest. God, he was just amazing. I couldn’t help myself; I had the sudden urge to taste his skin. I shifted down the bed and kissed his chest. I kissed my way down to the top of the sheet, and I saw him stir, still asleep. I peeled the sheet back. He was wearing boxers, and I saw the beginning of an erection starting to form through his shorts. I continued kissing down his stomach and saw that his tight muscles flexed even in his sleep. I licked each muscle in his six pack, and I continued my leisurely journey southward, licking the sexy trail leading from his stomach down past his hips. I kissed his hipbone, jutting out tantalizingly, on my way down, and I saw the outline in his shorts growing harder. I kissed his hardness through his boxers and reached in, stroking him with my hand. I pulled him out further and kneeled between his legs. I had the sudden urge to taste him.

  I started by licking the tip, and I heard him moan. I cupped his balls in my hand as I inserted the head in my mouth and sucked. I sheathed my teeth with my lips and sucked my way down, until I had him as far in my mouth as I could take him.

  “Oh, fuck,” I heard him moan. His soft grunts only spurred me on, and then his hand was in my hair as I bobbed up and down, tasting his most intimate body part.

  “I’m going to come,” he said in warning. I sucked harder and took in as much of him as I could. He grabbed me by the armpit and hauled me up. “I don’t want to come in your mouth. I want to come inside of you.” He pressed his mouth to mine, and I was lost to the world as he pulled my tiny tank top off of me and then ripped my short shorts from my body. He rolled on a condom and then pulled me up on top of him. I eased down onto him, already plenty wet from my morning exploring adventure, and he held me under my ass as he guided me up and down. The feeling of him inside of me was totally right, and it wasn’t long before those delicious muscles deep inside of me started clenching in satisfaction. He pushed up hard into me just as an orgasm ripped through me, and we both yelled out together.

  I collapsed on top of him, and he stayed inside of me for a moment. Then he pulled out slowly, and it immediately felt like something was missing. I wanted him, needed him inside of me. He pulled me up next to him, guiding me to my side so that he could spoon me, and he held me and it was utter bliss.

  “You’re really good at that,” he whispered.

  “You are, too. Have you had a lot of practice?” I don’t know why I asked. Morbid curiosity, I guess.

  “My fair share. But you’re really top notch.”

  “What’s a fair share?”

  “You want, like, a number?”

  I considered his question. Did I really want to know? And did I want to reciprocate and tell him my number? I turned and looked at him, lying on my stomach with my chin on his chest as I looked up into his eyes. “Do you have a big number?”

  “Isn’t it a little early for this conversation?” he asked gently.

  “It’s past noon, so I’d say no.” I wasn’t sure why I was pressing, but suddenly I was curious.

  He chuckled.

  “Well?”

  “What would you consider a big number?”

  “More than fifty.”

  “Jesus. It’s not that big.”

  “More than thirty.”

  “If you say thirty is big, then my number isn’t big.”

  “More than twenty?”

  He shook his head.

  “More than ten?”

  “Okay, maybe big. You?”

  “Oh, no, mister. You’re confessing all your dirty little secrets before you get mine.”

  “Alright, alright. You are lucky number seventeen.”

  “That’s not that bad. Especially for someone as hot as you. You could have any girl you w
ant.”

  “The one girl I want is in my bed right now. So I guess you’re right.”

  “For just confessing that you’ve slept with sixteen other women, you’re pretty good at smoothing things over. You know that?”

  “So I’ve been told. But let me just get one thing clear. Not one of those other women has anything on you.”

  “That’s sweet, Nick.”

  “It’s true. It’s not just a line. I was a little wild in my early twenties, and to be truthful, seven of those girls were one-night-stands the summer before my senior year of college. But they all pale in comparison to you.”

  “Geez, Nick. Seven?”

  “Yeah. If I could change that part of my life, I would. But there’s no sense in living with regrets. You can’t change it, so you move on. I know that I was lucky and I could’ve ended up with a disease or whatever, and I am thankful that I escaped from that summer healthy.”

  “Why were you so… wild?”

  “It’s definitely too early for that story. Let’s save it for a rainy day. Now tell me your number.”

  “Guess.”

  “One. Just me.”

  “Ha. You wish.”

  “I do. You know, I haven’t had sex in over a year?”

  “I would never have guessed. You’re so good at it that it seems like you just did it yesterday.”

  “I did just do it yesterday,” he deadpanned.

  I giggled. “You know what I mean. Why haven’t you had sex in a year?”

  He took in a deep breath before he responded. “Honestly?” he asked. I nodded. “You,” he whispered.

  “Stop it,” I said, giggling.

  “I’m serious, Julianne. I told you, it’s only been you since the day I met you. I went on a few dates, but I couldn’t stop comparing other women to you. My heart just wasn’t in it, and I kept waiting to meet someone that would get you off of my mind, but no one ever did.”

  “Seriously?” My voice squeaked out higher than I expected.

  He grinned and then nodded. “So how many before me?”

  “Guess.”

  “Two.”

  I shook my head. “Three?”

  “You’re number five.”