Stark Naked

by Desiree Holt

  Now she pushed harder at him, enough to roll out from beneath him and get to her feet.

  “I don’t know how this happened,” she groaned.

  He chuckled. “Darlin’, I know exactly how it happened. Didn’t you take biology in school?”

  “This was a big mistake.” She pointed at the door. “Out. Now. Go.”

  Matt rolled to his side and leaned on his elbow. “Has anyone ever told you that you look cute naked?”

  “Naked?” Reenie looked down at herself. “Ohmigod. You saw me naked.” She could feel the red heat of embarrassment creep up all the way from her toes.

  He had the nerve to laugh. “Well, now, that just makes us even, right? Reenie, people are usually naked when they have sex.”

  “Shit, shit. Shit.” She opened a drawer, yanked out an oversized Live Green T-shirt and pulled it over her head. There. Covering her body helped restore some of her dignity. “You have to leave right now. Now. Go.”

  Matt moved lithely to his feet, placed a kiss on her nose as he passed her and headed for the bathroom to dispose of the condom. When he walked back into the bedroom Reenie was standing by the bedroom door, arms folded across her chest. This was just a disaster. She didn’t do things like this. Especially with a man who probably believed it was his duty and responsibility to service the entire single female population of the state. Been there, done that, had the scars to prove it.

  I am an intelligent woman. I have a brain. I will find it and sue it and get this man out of here. And out of my life.

  Matt dressed deliberately, tucking in his shirt and tugging on his custom boots. Then he shoved his hands in his pockets and stood watching her, a quizzical look on his face.

  “I’m leaving,” he said, “but before I go I want some answers.”

  “No answers,” she said stubbornly. “Just out.”

  “First.” He held up one finger. “I think this has been a long time coming. Something simmered between us all those years ago but we were younger and each of us in a different place.”

  “Matt,” she began.

  He added another finger to the first. “Second, Reenie, I wasn’t the only enthusiastic participant in what we just did. I’m no novice at this and I’m pretty sure you were into it as much as I was. And it wasn’t just an exercise to work off steam. So what’s the problem?”

  “It was a mistake,” she insisted. “A big mistake. You aren’t my type at all.”

  She wanted to brain him when he burst out laughing. What was so funny anyway?

  “Your type?” He shook his head. “Darlin’, I don’t think your type means shit right now. We’ve got something here that’s worth pursuing. I’d hoped we could spend the afternoon together. See where it goes.”

  “Nowhere. It’s going nowhere.” Because you’ll destroy me if I let you, just like Double A.

  “Reenie, I’m not asking you to marry me. Just see if we have a good time together.” He lowered his voice. “You can’t deny you’re as hot for me as I am for you. Come on. Loosen up.”

  Reenie exhaled slowly. “Matt, you’re definitely a charmer. But see that’s what I mean. What can you say about a man who flashes his sister’s friends? Who gets mobbed by a string of lovers while he’s eating lunch? No matter how I might feel, your whole life apparently is one good time. I’m not going to be just another name to add to your list. And marry you? Not on the best day in the world. If I were you, I’d leave before I had something else to apologize for.”

  His eyes narrowed and the smile nearly disappeared. For a moment he looked as if he was going to argue more with her. Finally he shrugged. “Okay, if that’s what you want then I’m gone. But only for today, Reenie. Only for today. I’m going to find out what’s wrong and fix it, I promise you.”

  She locked the front door after him, leaned against it and banged her head once. What had she been thinking here? Maybe the shock of him showing up at all had frozen her brain cells. All she could think of was, Holy hell! It’s Asshole Aaron all over again. But somehow, deep inside her, she knew she was wrong. The Double A had never, ever given her the ride Matt Stark had. Or touched something deep inside her. And that scared her more than anything.

  Chapter Four

  “You have to tell me what happened.”

  Reenie squeezed the telephone handset and tried to ignore the demanding tone in Amy’s voice.

  “Nothing happened,” she insisted. “He came to apologize, took me to lunch and left.” No way was she about to get into any of the details. Not even where they’d eaten.

  “Reenie.” Amy’s voice was insistent. “I know my brother and I know that’s not the whole story. He’s acting like a horse with a stone in its hoof and you hardly return my calls.”

  “I’m sorry.” Reenie instantly felt contrite. None of this was Amy’s fault. “I’ve been busy at work. Really. Truly. I promise to do better.”

  “Lunch tomorrow then,” Amy demanded. “I’ll drive into the city and we can eat on the Riverwalk.”

  “No!” Reenie almost shouted the word then lowered her voice. “Not the Riverwalk.”

  “No?” Silence hummed along the connection. “But the Riverwalk’s the place in San Antonio. What’s wrong with going there?”

  “I, um, am really snowed under with a new website I’m designing and it will just take too long. Listen, there’s a pretty good restaurant on the first floor of this building. And there’s a parking garage right next door. How about if I meet you in the restaurant tomorrow at one. That work for you?”

  “All right.” Amy’s sigh was audible over the connection. “I’ll see you then. But I’m still going to get you to the Riverwalk. You aren’t officially in Texas until you eat there.”

  Reenie disconnected the call, leaned back in her chair and sighed. Had she fled from one disastrous situation only to fall knee deep into another? A week had passed since that Saturday and Matt had called with frustrating regularity. She’d screened calls at home and let the machine pick up. At work she told Misty she was having problems with an old boyfriend harassing her.

  “Please don’t put any calls through,” she told the receptionist. “Just take messages and say I’ll call them back.”

  If only Matt Stark hadn’t given her the sexual ride of her life. If only just the thought of him didn’t make her nipples peak and her panties soak through. She went to bed each night with an incredibly unfulfilled feeling, an ache that speared through her pussy and spread to every part of her body. And none of her toys could seem to satisfy her. Not even the extra-large dildo with four vibrating speeds. She refused to admit that part of the reason—a big part—was the fact he’d touched other parts of her body too. Like her heart.

  I am in such a bad way. I need help. Psychiatric help.

  Sighing, she turned back to her computer and the website she was currently putting together. One of the things Orion did was offer temporary websites for major events that people could access for information. This one was for a fiftieth birthday party and she was having a lot of fun with it. When the intercom buzzed she pressed the button impatiently, irritated that she’d been disturbed.

  “Hey, Reenie?”

  Why did Misty always have to sound so perky? On the other hand, what did she expect from someone named Misty?

  “I’m here. What is it?”

  “Jay wants you in his office right now. Double time he said.” Was that a giggle in her voice.

  Reenie frowned. Jay Sanborn was Orion’s CEO. Sometimes he stopped by her tiny office space to chat with her about projects, and they always interacted during staff meetings. But she didn’t remember ever being summoned to his office this way.

  “Reenie?” Misty prodded. “He said right now.”

  “All right, all right. I don’t suppose he said what he wanted?”

  “Uh uh. Just to get you there in a hurry. New client asking for you.”

  Reenie’s eyebrows lifted to her hairline. “Are you serious? I haven’t been here long enough for a
client to request me.”

  She could almost see Reenie lifting a T-shirt-clad shoulder. “Not my business. But if you don’t get hopping it will be and I’ll get fired.”

  Reenie laughed. “Fat chance. But okay, buzz him and tell him I’m on my way.”

  She took a moment to run a brush through her hair and swipe some gloss over her lips. For a moment she wished she was wearing something besides jeans and a casual top, but that was the usual office dress here. Oh, well. If the client had sought them out then he knew they were a far-from-formal organization.

  Orion’s offices took up two floors in the building, connected by a spiral staircase that rose from the wide lobby. Jay’s office was at the top of the stairs. Reenie waved at Misty as she hurried up the stairs and knocked on the oak door.

  “Come in,” she heard Jay call from inside.

  Wiping her hand on her jeans, she turned the knob and pushed the door open, pasting her professional smile on her face.

  “You wanted me?” she began, walking into the room. Then, spotting the person in one of the client chairs, she came to a dead stop. Her heart kicked into overdrive and her palms began to sweat in earnest.

  “I think you know our guest.”

  Jay’s voice was like a distant buzzing. All she could focus on was the man sitting in front of her.

  “Hey, Reenie.” Matt Stark, wearing a broad grin, rose to his feet. “Nice to see you again.” Today he was dressed in grey slacks, a western-cut blazer with a white-on-white shirt open at the neck and a pair of grey hand-tooled boots. The obligatory Stetson rested on the corner of Jay’s desk.

  “I see you’re wearing clothes for a change.” The words popped out before her brain connected and she slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh, shit,” she whispered.

  Despite the fact that his face reddened, he kept the grin in place. “I can take them off if you like.”

  “Reenie?” Jay’s voice startled her. “Is there something going on here I should know about?”

  “Just Reenie’s weird sense of humor,” Matt joked.

  She pulled in a deep breath, let it out slowly and shook her head. “Matt, what are you doing here?”

  He winked. “I’m a client. I want to hire Orion.”

  She stared from him to Jay and back again. “Is this some kind of joke?”

  “I wouldn’t like to think so.” Jay Sanborn’s voice was uninflected, his face impassive, but Reenie saw the anger flickering in his eyes. Orion was a laidback place to work but Jay was all business. If he thought she was doing something to damage that, playing some kind of game, she’d be history. And if Matt was putting her in a position to screw up her job she’d kill him. Slowly and painfully.

  She planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. “You want to hire us? For what?”

  Matt shrugged. “You promote. I want you to handle a promotion for me.” He grinned again. “And a website.”

  “Matt…” She looked at Jay, anger and helplessness warring within her.

  “It’s a legitimate business deal,” he insisted. “I’ve already given Jay a rough outline of what I’m looking for. Maybe you should sit down and we can all talk about it.”

  “Yes, Reenie.” Jay’s voice was firm. “Sit down. Mr. Stark is prepared to drop a bundle here and I wouldn’t want him to feel he has to take his business someplace else.”

  Because of you. He didn’t say it, but it was implied.

  Matt waited for her to sit gingerly on the edge of the other client chair before taking his own seat again.

  “Now,” Jay continued, leaning back in his own chair, “why don’t you hear what Mr. Stark has to say.”

  “Oh, by all means.” Reenie had her hands clasped so tightly in her lap her fingers cramped. Please just let me get out of here without embarrassing myself. “So, tell me about your, um, project, Mr. Stark. And how I can be of assistance.”

  If she hadn’t been looking right at him she wouldn’t have seen the flare of heat in his onyx-black eyes or the tiny tilt of his mouth at one corner.

  Okay, Mr. Smartass. Let’s see how good you are at playing this game. But screw with my job and you’re dead meat.

  “Matt tells me they have an annual barbecue and fundraiser every year at Stark Ranch,” Jay put in when no one said anything. “It’s part of the scholarship program run by the Cattlemen’s Association.”

  “A very noble cause.” Please don’t let me sound so sarcastic and piss Jay off. “How can we help you?”

  “My sister heads the committee that pulls in all the items for both the silent auction and the live one,” he told her. “Usually she makes all the other arrangements but I thought this year I’d give her a break. I checked into what y’all do and figured you could take care of all that.” He paused. “Since you and Amy are such good friends I figured you’d jump at the chance to work with her. It would be a natural fit.”

  Natural fit my ass.

  “Sounds good to me.” Jay rocked back in his desk chair. “You just need to give us a general idea of what you want, how many people you expect and we can take it from there. You also said something about a website?”

  “Yup. When Reenie and I had lunch the other day she told me y’all create them for events so people can go there and get information. I figured it could also be set up as a place where people can register to attend. That’s a big part of what you do, right, Reenie?”

  There was that damn wicked grin.

  “We can do it all,” Jay assured him. “And I know Reenie will be happy to do that for you.”

  Matt slid his glance at her. “I was kind of hoping she could be in charge of the whole thing. You know, since we’re such good friends and all.”

  Reenie thought she might faint. “Matt, I don’t…that is, I…”

  “We have people who specialize in those areas,” Jay told him. “I can assure you they’ll do an excellent job.”

  “Well, then. They can probably be a big help to Reenie.” He pulled a slim checkbook from the inside pocket of his jacket. “I’m prepared to give you a substantial retainer, but I want Reenie in charge of the details. Website and all.”

  Reenie looked at her boss, frustrated. “Jay? You know I—”

  “That’ll be fine,” Jay interrupted her. “We’ll make sure she has everyone’s full support. Let’s get the contract signed. After that, Reenie, I think you and our client should spend some time in the conference room putting an outline together so you can get started.”

  Reenie was so mad she was sure the top of her head would come off, but she stood and forced a smile. “I’ll get set up while you gentlemen finish your business. Mr. Stark, the conference room is right next door.”

  She made her exit with her head high and her jaw clenched, her insides boiling with irritation and unwanted lust. Hell. Just the sight of that man and she was ready to hop into bed with him again.

  No, no, no, no, no.

  She made sure the Keurig coffee machine was stocked with a variety of flavors and set out two clean Orion cups next to it. From one of the cupboards she pulled a variety of event folders, a yellow-line pad and a handful of pencils. She had Misty bring up her laptop and she had just set it to the slide show of Orion websites when the door opened and Matt walked in, still wearing a cocky grin.

  “I should just kill you and get it over with,” she told him in a low voice.

  “Now, darlin’.” He tossed his hat onto the table and bent over her. “That’s no way to talk to a friend, is it? Especially one who’s a new client.”

  “Why are you doing this?” she asked in a low voice.

  “It’s actually a legitimate contract, Reenie, but I also had to do something when you wouldn’t take my calls.” He was so close to her now she could feel his warm breath on her skin. “Not afraid of me, are you, sugar?”

  Before she could stop him or even realize what he was doing, he’d placed his mouth on hers and licked her lips in that sensuous motion that inflamed the lust already blooming i
nside her and sent a rush of liquid arousal into her panties. She tried to reach for sanity but his tongue just kept licking the outline of her mouth and playing across the seam.

  “Open,” he breathed.

  As if it had a mind of its own, her mouth opened obediently and his tongue slipped inside, a liquid torch. Heat burned her inside and out, a pulse began to beat heavily in her womb and her breath seemed trapped in her throat. When he lifted his head she sat there, dazed.

  “Just making sure I remembered correctly the way that felt. I wasn’t wrong.” His eyes bored into hers like twin lasers. “We have something here, Reenie. Stop lying to yourself about it.”

  She shook herself mentally. “You have something with half the women in Texas, Matt. I’m just another challenge to you. And it’s dirty pool to use my job to get to me. If you leave right now we can just pretend nothing happened.”

  “Nothing?” He lifted an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t say last Saturday or even that kiss just now were nothing.”

  “Matt!” She ground her teeth in frustration. “This is absurd.”

  “Actually, I think it’s a great arrangement. I have an event I need handled. You take care of events. See how nicely that works?”

  She saw that arguing with him would get her nowhere, so she pulled on her business face and used it as a barrier between them. Filling the coffee mugs, showing him brochures, asking questions helped her pull herself together. Somehow she managed to keep focused while they discussed the details of what he wanted and he looked over her materials. When she had everything she needed to get started she handed him a plastic jewel case with a DVD in it.

  “This is a copy of the slide show you just saw with different websites on it. Take it home. Look it over. Get some ideas from it of what you want and then call the office. We’ll get to work on it.”

  “Uh uh uh. Remember?” He ran his finger along the edge of her jaw. “You’re my project leader. That means we have to work very closely together.”

  “Matt, let’s be reasonable here. First of all, I’m not an event coordinator, I do web designs. There are other people here much more experienced than I am at the other details.”