LavenderLaceTrilogy_Bundle

by Lynn LaFleur

  Marci opened her mouth to respond, but shut it before speaking. She felt as if she’d stepped through a door into another land. Peggy was usually the only one who could confuse her so completely. “I don’t wear thongs or garter belts.”

  “But you’d like to, wouldn’t you?”

  Yes, she’d like to. Marci loved sexy lingerie, and had always yearned to wear as little as possible beneath her clothes. She’d never worn anything as sexy as the royal blue set.

  “I can show you all types of bras and panties that would be the type you usually wear.” Ashlyn leaned a bit closer to Marci and lowered her voice. “Why not go for something different and daring?”

  Different and daring sounded really good. It wasn’t as if Keefe would see her lingerie. This would be a business dinner only. But how delicious to know she was wearing little bits of nothing beneath her dress.

  Her clit softly throbbed at the thought.

  Marci pointed at the mannequin. “I want that set in my size.”

  *

  Keefe glanced at his watch again. 7:06. Marci was only six minutes late, yet it bothered him. Surely she would’ve called if she’d decided having dinner with him wouldn’t be appropriate after all.

  He hoped that wasn’t the case. He wanted to get to know the lovely president better.

  Getting involved with another woman wasn’t anywhere in his plans. There were still tiny pieces of his heart scattered around inside his chest. At least, that’s how it felt when he thought about Jeania. Commitment would be impossible until his heart completely healed.

  That didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the company of a woman—having dinner with her, going to the movies, taking walks in the park. He liked waking up with a woman in his arms. All those things were important to him.

  She could’ve gotten stuck in traffic, or had a last-minute phone call, or any number of things that would make her late. A few minutes doesn’t mean she’s stood me up.

  Keefe glanced at his watch again. 7:08. He threw back the last of his bourbon and signaled to the bartender for another drink. He’d give her until 7:15 before he called her.

  I can’t call her. I don’t have her phone number. Shit!

  The bartender set a fresh bourbon on the rocks in front of Keefe. He lifted it to take a sip…and froze. A beautiful blonde stood in the doorway to the bar, her gaze slowly sweeping the room. He let his own gaze do some sweeping, admiring the way her dress clung to her curves. The square neckline gave a hint of the roundness of her breasts. The skirt flowed over her hips to expose her knees and sexy calves. She wore black high heels and carried a black clutch.

  Damn, he did like a woman in high heels.

  Her waterfall of hair swirled over her left shoulder to caress her breast. He imagined fisting his hands in it while he kissed her, over and over and over…

  She stopped looking around the room when their eyes met. With a small smile on her lips, she started toward him.

  My God! That’s Marci.

  He stood on legs that felt like rubber bands as she approached him. “Hi,” she said, her smile widening.

  Keefe swallowed. He hoped his tongue would work so he could talk. “Hi.”

  “I’m sorry I’m late.”

  “No problem.” He gave her body a lingering glance. “You look amazing.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Donegan, party of two,” the hostess said from the doorway.

  Keefe held out one arm, indicating for Marci to walk in front of him. “Shall we?”

  He placed his hand lightly on the small of her back as they followed the hostess to their table by the large windows. Keefe held Marci’s chair, giving him the opportunity to see inside the bodice of her dress. He was blessed with an enticing view of her breasts. They were the perfect size to fill his hands.

  He took a moment to admire the view and the flowery scent of her hair before he moved to his chair. “I’m glad you like this restaurant. The food is great.”

  “You’ve eaten here?”

  Keefe nodded. “My friends brought me here right after I moved to Seattle.”

  “You should’ve told me. We could’ve gone somewhere else.”

  “I told you to pick the restaurant and this is where you wanted to eat.”

  Their waiter, Aaron, arrived to take their drink order. After asking Marci what she wanted, Keefe ordered a bottle of Chardonnay. He watched her pick up her napkin and place it on her lap, her movements fluid and graceful. He’d be happy to watch her the rest of the evening.

  Other parts of his anatomy wouldn’t be happy, but he didn’t let anything below his belt rule him. Influence him, yes, but not rule him.

  She raised her head and met his gaze. “You’re staring at me.”

  “Yes, I am. The view is very nice from here.”

  Her lips twitched, her eyes crinkled at the corners. “You can look out the window and see Puget Sound. It’s more majestic than I am.”

  “That’s debatable.”

  “Keefe, this is a business dinner, remember?”

  “What’s wrong with mixing business and pleasure?”

  “Because I don’t believe in mixing them.” The amusement faded from her expression. “You said strictly business. I’m holding you to that.”

  “I’ll be a perfect gentleman.” Keefe opened his menu. “I had the grilled salmon last time. What do you recommend?”

  “I haven’t had anything yet that wasn’t delicious. The lobster bisque is incredible. I love the shrimp scampi. The steaks are tender enough to cut with a spoon.”

  “You’re making it harder for me to choose.”

  The waiter came back with their wine. After pouring a bit into Keefe’s glass and getting approval, he splashed the cold liquid into both their glasses. Keefe waited until Aaron left before lifting his glass toward Marci.

  “To Marshall Media’s success, and to our success as a team.”

  Marci touched her glass to his. “I’ll drink to that.”

  He watched her while she sipped her wine. He would be a perfect gentleman during dinner, exactly as he had promised her. He’d ask her about the company, learn more about his duties at Marshall Media.

  After dinner…

  If things progressed from business to pleasure, he had no problem with that. He’d do everything in his power to make sure Marci experienced pleasure as intense as possible.

  Chapter Four

  Marci sat with her fork in her hand, her dinner forgotten, while she listened to Keefe talking about his last time on a movie set. Her mouth had dropped open in surprise a couple of times during his story. She couldn’t believe some of the antics on the set by two famous stars. “Are you telling me the truth?”

  “Absolutely.” Keefe held up one hand, his fingers in the traditional “Scout’s Honor” gesture. “I saw it with my own eyes. Right there in the open. Anyone walking by could see them.”

  “They were making love outside in the middle of the day? Wow.” She laid her fork on her plate. “Nothing like that has happened on any of my movie sets. At least, not that I know about.”

  “This was the first time it happened while I was on a set. Pretty intense.”

  “And of course you turned and walked away as soon as you saw them.”

  “I didn’t stand there any longer than thirty seconds. Forty-five, tops.”

  His eyes shone with laughter as he grinned. Marci laughed. “You’re bad.”

  “Well, hell, I had my own personal porn show. I couldn’t pass that up.”

  It took Marci several seconds to bring her laughter back under control so she could take another bite of her dinner. Keefe was bright, intelligent, witty, and completely charming. Marci had fallen under his spell by the time she’d finished her lobster bisque. She’d be in lust with him by dessert if she wasn’t careful.

  “Would you have watched?” Keefe asked.

  She looked into those devilish blue eyes and knew he teased her. “Of course not.”

  One corner
of his mouth tilted up in a rakish grin. “You’re a lousy liar.”

  She returned his grin. “It’s not nice to call your boss a liar.”

  Keefe chuckled, then dug into his prime rib again. “Speaking of movie sets, you mentioned in our meeting that travel would be involved. How often and where would I go?”

  Marci chewed and swallowed her bite of shrimp before she answered. “Both depend on the project. My former Logistics VP rarely traveled. He preferred to do everything by phone or email. I don’t agree with that, which is part of the reason he’s no longer with Marshall Media. I think a personal meeting is important.”

  “I agree.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.” She laid her fork on her plate. “Have you read In the Mountain’s Shadow by Tyler Wilson?”

  “No.”

  “I have an extra copy at the office. I’ll give it to you Monday. Read it. It’s amazing. The author lives out in the boonies in British Columbia and likes his solitude. I’ve talked to him on the phone and we’ve exchanged a few emails. I almost have him convinced to let Marshall Media produce a movie based on that book.”

  “Almost?”

  “The email I was reading when you came to my office yesterday? It was from Mr. Wilson. He said he’s still considering my offer, but isn’t ready to give me a definite yes. A face-to-face meeting with him is essential.”

  “So I’ll be heading to B.C. soon?”

  “We’ll be heading to B.C. soon. I don’t sit at my desk and give orders. I get involved with every project.” Marci picked up her fork and speared another bite of shrimp. “Do you have a problem with that?”

  “Not at all. I like that you’re a hands-on boss.”

  They’d talked over dinner about Marshall Media, the Seattle area, his former job. With that simple comment from Keefe, Marci forgot about business and thought about pleasure. His words caused an image to pop into her head, one of her hands caressing his body. She imagined tunneling her fingers into that thick mane of hair, running them over his shoulders, down his chest. She’d wrap them around his hard cock as she took it in her mouth…

  “Shall I take over the negotiations with Mr. Wilson, or would you prefer to do them?”

  Keefe’s question shattered her fantasy. Warmth crept into Marci’s cheeks. She silently thanked the low lighting in the restaurant so he wouldn’t see her blush. “I want you to take over, but keep me informed. If he’s agreeable to a meeting, I’ll make plane and lodging arrangements for us.”

  “I’ll contact him Monday and introduce myself.”

  Marci liked that he was ready to jump right in and go to work. She’d always relied on her instincts. They’d never failed her. Those instincts told her Keefe would do his job, and do it very well. “He didn’t say it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if another studio has approached him and that’s why he’s hesitating to sign with us.”

  “I’ll find out Monday.”

  Aaron arrived to take away their empty plates. Marci bit her bottom lip when he asked if they wanted to see the dessert tray. She loved their strawberry cheesecake, but had eaten every bite of her dinner and doubted if she had room for dessert.

  “You don’t have to count calories,” Keefe said. “We’re here to enjoy ourselves.”

  “I’m not worried about the calories. I don’t know if I can eat anything else.”

  “We could split one.”

  That would work. If she ordered a whole slice for herself, she’d eat every bite and be miserable. “Do you like cheesecake?”

  “I do.”

  “I love their strawberry cheesecake. It isn’t plain cheesecake with strawberries on top, but strawberry flavored. Absolutely delicious.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll have. Do you want coffee with it?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “You heard the lady,” Keefe said to the waiter.

  “Yes sir,” Aaron said with a smile. “Strawberry cheesecake and coffee coming right up.”

  Keefe leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table. “I think you’re the only woman I’ve ever known who said she isn’t worried about calories.”

  Marci laughed. “I don’t worry about them when it comes to my favorite dessert. After all this food tonight, I may never fit in this dress again.”

  “You fit in it perfectly.” His gaze dipped to her breasts a moment. “You’re a very lovely woman, Marci.”

  “Thank you,” she said softly.

  The space between them seemed to crackle with electricity. Anything to do with business disappeared with his compliment. They were no longer employer and employee, but a woman and man.

  Marci felt the fluttering low in her belly…that delicious buildup of desire. Keefe’s eyes flared with heat, as if he could sense her body’s reaction to him.

  Aaron’s arrival with their dessert and coffee broke the spell. She focused on the waiter’s hand while he poured her coffee. She didn’t look at Keefe, but knew he watched her.

  As soon as Aaron left, Marci picked up her dessert fork and scooped up a bite of cheesecake. Keefe’s fork came into her line of vision as he, too, cut off a piece of the creamy dessert.

  “I agree with you,” he said.

  She braved a look at his face. “About what?”

  “You can’t worry about calories when something is this good.”

  His joke dissolved the tension between them. Marci relaxed and smiled at him. “That’s why it’s a special treat. If I ate it every day, the way I’d love to, I wouldn’t be able to fit through the front door.”

  Keefe forked up another bite. “There are a lot of ways to work off calories.”

  Just like that, the electricity crackled again. It had been an innocent sentence, yet it sent images through Marci’s head of all the ways she and Keefe could work off calories…in bed, bent over a desk, on the loveseat in her office.

  Determined to steer the conversation back to something neutral, Marci straightened in her chair. “We have a full workout area at Marshall Media. Any employee can use it at any time. I’ll probably use it tomorrow to work off this cheesecake.”

  “You don’t have to worry about working off anything.” His gaze dipped to her breasts again. “You have an incredible body.”

  So much for a neutral conversation. She looked into Keefe’s eyes and clearly saw heat flare again. “Keefe—“

  “Why don’t you date employees?”

  That question she could answer without hesitation. “Because it isn’t professional.”

  “You’ve never dated an employee?”

  Now Marci hesitated. She didn’t want to lie to Keefe, but also didn’t want to talk about Ben. “I have, in the past.”

  Keefe forked up another bite of cheesecake. “What happened?”

  She watched his tongue lap up the creamy confection from the tines of his fork and slide it into his mouth. She would swear she could feel the caress of his tongue between her thighs.

  She wished that caress was real. It had been so long since a man had licked her pussy, she almost forgot how it felt.

  Marci cleared her throat. “Things didn’t work out.”

  “Just because one relationship with an employee didn’t work out doesn’t mean another would be bad.”

  “I know that. But I feel very strongly that as president, I have to maintain a professional image for my employees.”

  “You’re a woman first, Marci, then a president.”

  Sometimes that was hard for her to remember. “I’m also older than a lot of my male employees.”

  “You don’t look your age.”

  “I appreciate that, but it doesn’t change the facts. I don’t think I could ever become seriously involved with a younger man.”

  He stared at her, his eyebrows lowered, his nostrils flared. Marci waited for him to continue the argument. Instead, he picked up his cup and sipped his coffee. “That last bite of cheesecake is yours.”

  The look in his eyes told her he’d backed down from saying more,
even though he hadn’t wanted to. She scooped up the cheesecake as Aaron arrived with their check. Marci picked up the wallet as soon as the waiter set it on the table.

  Keefe frowned. “What are you doing?”

  “This is a business dinner. The company is paying for it.”

  “I invited…” He stopped. “Okay. Thanks.”

  It surprised her that he gave in so quickly. Most men she’d dated were usually so macho about paying the bill. She dug her company credit card from her purse and placed it inside the wallet. Aaron came by their table and picked up the wallet, along with the empty dessert plate.

  “Will I meet the rest of your vice presidents Monday at your meeting?” Keefe asked.

  Marci nodded. “I have a long agenda this time, so expect the meeting to run two to three hours. We order in lunch if it runs past noon. There will be coffee, tea, pastries, donuts, all the goodies to give you a nice sugar high.”

  His lips twitched. “Perfect for a Monday morning.”

  Marci opened the wallet Aaron had quietly left on the table again and scrawled her name on the receipt. She picked up her credit card and receipt copy and slipped them back in her purse. She’d enjoyed her time with Keefe, much more than she thought she would.

  She hated to see the evening end.

  “Are you ready to go?” he asked.

  Marci nodded. She waited until Keefe rounded the table and pulled back her chair to stand. Her tummy fluttered again when he placed his hand on the small of her back. How easy it would be to step closer to him, let him slip his arm around her waist. She missed the closeness, the passion a man and woman could share.

  Dessert was over, and she was definitely in lust with him.

  Keefe collected her coat and held it while she slipped her arms in the sleeves. She started to pull her hair from beneath the collar, but he beat her to it. His fingers brushed her nape as he gathered her hair in both hands and gently pulled it from inside her coat. Goose bumps scattered over her skin.

  She turned to face him. “Thank you.”

  He nodded. “May I walk you to your car?”

  “I’d like that.”

  She waited until he’d donned his own jacket before stepping outside. The night was cool and clear, the stars shining brightly over Puget Sound. Marci turned in the direction of the restaurant’s parking lot. Keefe stepped to the outside, placing himself between her and the street. She smiled to herself at the old-fashioned sign of courtesy.