by Leah Holden
I shrugged trying to appear nonchalant, “That depends on where we’re going.”
Please don’t say the lake again. A girl only has so much self-control.
“A little place I have mid-town. I think you’ll like it.”
“I’m not sure.”
“Come on, Shaniah. I’m not such a bad guy really. Have a little faith.”
“Yeah, it took a lot of faith to come here, trust me.”
“Touché,” he said. “If it will make you feel better, you can even drive your car again if you’re so unsure.”
“I got a taxi here; my car was making a weird noise.”
Heck, I had been making a weird noise the last time I’d got together with this dude!
In the end, I went with him. If he tried anything that I wasn’t ready for, I’d just have to knee him in the gonads and run for my life.
I forced back a giggle at the image I’d conjured up. I sat back and enjoyed someone else driving and was surprised when after a little while, the car veered into the parking lot of one of those highly desirable new office blocks that had sprung up in the mid-town area in recent years.
I looked suspiciously around the lot. There were other cars parked and I marveled that so many people could be working late.
I was not on board for whatever he had in mind. It was one thing to cheap out on a hotel room and opt for the front seat of your car on a first date, but no way was I going into his office building. This guy was laboring under the misconception that I was some easy female who was easily impressed by material possessions. Well, I had news for him. He could just turn the car right around and take me home. It was going to take dynamite to move me out of that car.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“This is an office building, what are we doing here?” I asked carefully as I folded my arms across my chest belligerently.
“Why are you looking so upset?” asked Jared.
I stared at him with barely concealed hostility.
“That’s why,” I said, waving my arm toward the office block as if it had just morphed from outer space.
“Ah,” he said and smiled at me. “Before you get too excited, this is a hybrid commercial and residential building. The lower floors are commercial and the upper floors offer a range of luxury condos.”
“Okay,” I said hesitantly feeling a bit foolish that I might have over-reacted before I had all the facts.
“The show home has recently been decommissioned even though it hasn’t been sold as yet,” Jared continued.
“And we’re here because?”
“Relax will you. This is one of our buildings and I’m currently staying in the unsold apartment.”
I eyed him dubiously. So far tonight he had referred to owning a restaurant in the same way that I’d refer to owning a pair of shoes. Now he was telling me that he, or at least his company, owned this entire building. Like, how? He didn’t look particularly rich. Yummy maybe, but not especially rich. But what did I know? How many millionaires had I met lately? Yeah, that would be a grand total of zero.
“You’ll like it,” Jared was saying, “We can hang out.”
Hang out?
What did he mean by ‘hang out?
Hang out was so benign; so open to interpretation. I stared at him because there was no lechery or hidden tone there—just his piercing gaze sizing me up.
I turned my attention to the rather impressive building. From the outside, at least, it was ticking all the boxes as somewhere I’d be happy to enter. It didn’t exactly look like some cockroach-infested dive, and although I was unsure about his millionaire status, Jared didn’t seem the type to inhabit a rat hole on the top floor.
But hey, he hadn’t seemed the type to disappear for weeks on end after our class-act encounter down by the lake either. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to follow him into what could very well be a den of iniquity, but it was either that or more memorable moments in the car.
I stepped out of the car and waited as he punched in some numbers to gain entry. He spoke briefly to the concierge at the front desk who seemed to be on easy terms with him. That put my mind at ease somewhat because suddenly, the whole scenario seemed more normal. Here was someone else who, at least, appeared to know him and could perhaps vouch for his identity.
I walked beside Jared as we entered the elevator and we looked at each other in the mirrored walls as the elevator moved smoothly upward.
The apartment was pleasant enough. Okay, so who was I kidding? It was gorgeous. The interior designer in me was totally impressed. Yep, it was beginning to look like little old Jared might not be such a loser after all.
“This is where you live?”
“Just temporarily, I’m currently in between homes.”
“A true nomad.”
“Something like that,” he said as he guided me towards a pale grey sofa. “I sold my house last year, but I have a lot of crap going on right now, so house hunting is not at the top of my to-do list.”
“Well, as far as crash-pads go, this isn’t half bad.”
“I’m managing,” he said, and winked at me and my knees wobbled.
I steadied myself and watched while he got rid of his car keys and went to the bar in the corner to pour some wine.
I duly took a sip from the glass he passed to me and watched as he poured one for himself.
I was fairly relaxed because at least I didn’t have to worry about date rape drugs. Judging from our last encounter, he was probably figuring that I was prepared to give it up anywhere, anytime with him. No need to dope up this baby, she’s all yours, or at least, she had been an almost willing candidate not so very long ago.
“How big is this place?” I asked, looking around the vast open space that only broken by a couple of corridors leading to what I presumed to be bathrooms and bedrooms.
“It’s well over two thousand square feet and I use the entire space for my personal needs.”
I sat on the edge of the sofa and watched him while he took a sip from his glass and came to join me.
My body sprang to life with a rush of desire. A deep longing I’d been fighting since I’d first seen him in the restaurant forced my nipples to attention. My heart thumped wildly in my chest and then danced in rhythm to the heat that spread through me.
I was ready for the kiss. I had been ready for it since I’d first laid eyes on him earlier in the evening and certainly since he’d dropped that little kiss on my lips. I’d been kissed before. But I hadn’t responded to being kissed like this in a long while—maybe never.
I opened my mouth widely as his tongue drew a response from me that I wasn’t even sure I wanted to give but that I couldn’t control. I felt a tightening in my pelvic area.
Yeah—so this was it—time to check out my level of self-control. The tightening continued as I caught my breath in anticipation.
Jared must have read my response as a signal because he leaned even closer if that were possible and moved his hand skillfully to caress my shoulders. I leaned into the caress. This always felt so good with him—so right. Or maybe it always felt so right because I had so little action going on elsewhere in the romance department.
He lowered his head and kissed my breast through the fabric of my dress. I leaned forward to kiss him tenderly on his forehead as he raised his head to look at me.
When he lowered his lips and claimed mine in a new triumphant kiss I knew I had to make a decision.
It was now or never. But was I ready?
I longed to be free of the confines of my clothing, to feel his hands, his lips on my naked skin; to luxuriate in making love to this gorgeous mysterious man.
He eased the dress down my shoulders to reveal the two mounds of my breasts and kissed each in turn before kissing me again.
I grinned and pulled my lips free.
Yeah—déjà vu. Memories of our little session down by the lake came flooding back. No way was I ready to go there with him tonight.
“Steady on, cowboy,�
�� I said.
“Still worrying?” he asked as he pulled me closer.
“Should I be worried?”
“Well, right now I want to make love to you so badly that maybe I should be the one to worry.”
Smooth—real smooth.
I responded like any women who enjoyed being flattered would and pretty much simpered. However, an unexpected little sense of self-preservation kicked in and I said, “Look, Jared, I think we should get to know each other a little bit before we hit the sheets.”
He was so still for a moment that I wondered if I should fish my mirror out of my purse and check to see if he was breathing.
“What’s wrong with hitting the sheets?”
I flattened my lips because I knew he was joking. I wasn’t.
“Nothing, it’s just that I don’t think the time’s right.”
Jared contemplated me for a moment and I licked my lips nervously.
Maybe he was only looking for a quick sex hook-up in which case, it would be better if he asked me to leave his apartment now.
“I’ve got something to show you,” he said reaching out to take my hand.
My imagination sprang to life and took off in a number of directions. A strange excitement took hold of my breathing and I felt on the verge of hyperventilation. It really was becoming harder to think rationally.
A loud guffaw from Jared snapped me back to reality.
“Oh, Shaniah, you are a treasure. I should take a picture of your face.”
I eased up on the hyperventilation and grinned at him sheepishly, “Sorry,” I said, “I think I might have been reading too many smutty novels.”
He was still grinning when I placed my hand in his and his cool fingers closed over them. I followed him up a short flight of stairs, intrigued.
“Wow!”
I had not been expecting the three hundred and sixty degree view that the loft space offered.
“A secret observatory,” he said, nodding at the telescope to one side of the huge window.
“Either that or it’s a perverts delight,” I said dryly.
“Oh, ye of little faith. Come and check it out.”
I was duly impressed even though I wasn’t sure what stars I could have been observing but it wasn’t relevant. The interior designing part of my brain appreciated this amazing aspect of the apartment. Even the undeveloped real estate agent in me could see the benefits of this as a huge selling point.
“This is amazing,” I said. “Josh would love it. If we lived here, we’d probably never get any sleep. We’d spend all our time star-gazing.”
“I’m inclined to agree with you,” he said. “If you lived here, I’d probably get very little sleep either.”
I giggled, “You promised to behave and I think we’ve already established that I have an over developed imagination.”
“A most desirable quality in a woman,” grinned Jared. “Anyway, unfortunately, I have a potential sale for this apartment so I might be on the move in the next few weeks.”
“That sucks.”
“Somewhat. However, if you make your money from investments, including property, you can’t afford to be sentimental. I’m usually only one deal away from the next amazing investment.”
“Well, if you put it like that.”
I wasn’t totally convinced about his perspective on property. I hadn’t moved house since before Josh was born. Jared was living like a nomad.
Nevertheless, we spent a fair amount of time just enjoying the view. When I eventually followed him back down the stairs, I realized that I’d been given a rare glimpse into his lifestyle.
It was worth taking these new facts into the equation. It was one thing to look for a baby-daddy or a new love interest, but it would be useful for that person to have a degree of stability. Despite his show of apparent affluence, I just wasn’t getting that feeling of permanence or even stability with Jared.
“Come on,” he whispered as he nuzzled my ear, “I’ll take you home.”
It sounded like a good idea because I needed to get my thoughts together. I needed to figure out what I wanted. I leaned against him for a moment, enjoying the feel of his breath caressing my neck. I turned and kissed him gently.
“You’re right. I should get back and relieve my babysitter.”
As I turned and headed towards the elevator, I wondered if I’d just passed up a golden opportunity with the most intriguing man I’d met for some time.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Over the next few days, I worked hard to move my business forward.
Maybe I’d been inspired by seeing Jared’s success. It made me think that you could probably do whatever you wanted to in life with just a bit of focus. Maybe my motivation had something to do with my memory of how good it had felt just to be in Jared’s presence. Whatever—I was in the mood to make progress.
It had now been almost two weeks since my second and what I had now determined would be my last encounter with Jared. He’d gone again and I kept thinking that there was no fool like an old fool. I’d tried phoning him, but each time I’d been diverted to his voicemail.
What kind of professional didn’t clear his voice messages? I was losing faith in the whole dating process. What made things so bad, as far as Jared was concerned, was that we’d had a degree of physical contact and although our activities couldn’t be classified as wild, I just wasn’t the type to jump all over unsuspecting men easily. Jared had caught me at a weak moment that first time.
Our last date had been like starting over with not too much of the physicals. Still, I had expected some improvement in his communication skills.
I was so engrossed in the task at hand that I scarcely wanted to register the interruption of the phone ringing. I was determined not to answer it. The caller was pretty persistent though, so I got tired of the noise and reached out to check the screen.
Jared!
I pressed the talk icon
“Hi, Shaniah.”
Part of me—mostly the part below my waist —was delighted to hear the deep sexy voice and I was totally disgusted with the sudden rush of need that caused my womb to tighten.
The rest of my body, which was controlled by the more functional, self-preserving part of my brain, and totally not connected to any deep character flaw, refused to be impressed.
“Hello, Jared.”
“How have you been?”
Pissed off?
How the hell did he think I’d been? Heck, I wasn’t sure I wanted to speak to him. How long had it been? Didn’t he realize that I’d moved on—that he was no longer on my radar?
I tried to shake off the memory of him looking into my eyes, kissing me, caressing me, telling me how good it would be between us, total strangers…
You did nothing wrong, Shaniah—people get up close and personal with men they pick up online all the time—really, by normal standards you’re a real prude—a real tight ass.
I ignored the thought. There was really no excuse.
I was confused. Why was he showing up unannounced in my life at this precise moment? Had he just woken up and thought I need to get laid, so let me call Shaniah?
Where had he been all this time? He was too elusive for me to even begin to think there could ever be anything meaningful between us. And as for the baby plans—let’s just say that I was slowly coming around to Shellie’s and Ria’s point of view. Making babies was perhaps not a good idea without a reliable guy around. A baby deserved to know its father, if at all possible.
In the meantime, I had news for Jared—I was off the menu today.
“Look, I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch,” he was saying. “I just got back from Europe, plus I had some major personal stuff to deal with.”
I was struggling to speak. First of all, whatever explanation he was about to provide was way overdue. Secondly, what was with the going away crap? Didn’t he have a phone? Had he broken his dialing finger? Didn’t they have internet connectivity wherever it was that h
e’d gone to? Maybe his phone plan only allowed him to make calls once every two weeks. Maybe he’d been on a trip to Mars or maybe he’d been doing jail time!
“Come on, Shaniah.”
I conquered my need to be vindictive and to just hang up the phone.
“You really don’t owe me an explanation, you know. You’re a free agent, free to go and come as you choose.”
“Well, I know that, but I would like to explain to you. Meet me for dinner?”
More free food—yummy yum!
“I’d better not.”
“Why not?”
“We had a good time—a couple of good times. Besides, you said you were going to explain the last time and we never got around to it. Maybe that was a sign that we should perhaps just leave it that.”
“What if I don’t want to leave it at that?”
I was starting to get annoyed. Did this guy just see me as some convenient call-girl he could summon when he was bored? Did he think I had nothing better to do so I would always be available just waiting for him to deliver me from the apparent drudgery of my life?
“Look, Jared, I appreciate you remembering my name and all that good stuff, but I have to go. Take care.”
“Wait—please—I mean, I’d love to see you.”
I was wavering. I could feel that need rising again and I knew I had to fight it.
“Okay,” he finally said, “I’ll give you some time to think about it. I’m sure you’ll change your mind once you’ve had a chance to calm down.”
Well, that attitude wasn’t going to help me to achieve calm, I was pretty sure about that!
“I’ll think about it,” I said. I just wanted to pacify him, to get away, to get back to what I had been doing before he’d reminded me of how tempted I was each time I got near him. It would be so easy to give in, to surrender to temptation, to satisfy a burning desire.
“Okay, I’ll call you later.”
I disconnected the call.
“You’re in danger of cutting off your nose to spite your face,” said Shellie when I told her about the call some hours later.
I stared at her in amusement. Who actually spoke like that in this day and age?
“I’ll tell you what I’d really like to cut off,” I said, still vexed.