by Marni Mann
She wouldn’t have to wait for long.
SEVEN.
FRANKIE
I CLIMBED INTO Derek’s SUV and wrapped the seatbelt around me. I’d been in here at the beginning of the evening, with a very different feeling running through me. Whatever tension I had felt earlier had been relieved, my body satiated in a way I’d never quite experienced before. My smell was still on his fingers; I could still taste him in my mouth. I no longer had to close my eyes to imagine what his touch would feel like. It was a memory I would never forget.
“Is your car at your office?” he asked, starting the engine.
“No.”
His eyes slid toward me. “Can I take you home, then?” I was fully dressed, my jeans buttoned, my jacket belted around me. But I had never felt more naked than I did at that moment. Derek Block—my client—knew I was fully waxed, how my lips moved when I kissed, what my face looked like when I had an orgasm. He’d felt me from the inside.
Was that okay? Or had I made the biggest mistake of my life?
It was all I could do to nod. “That would be great. Thanks. Do you need my address?”
“I will in a minute.” He shifted into reverse and put his arm over the back of my seat, turning to face me as his eyes aimed through the rear window. The nearness of him sent me another whiff of his scent: cedar and woods, with a hint of musk, aromas that were becoming achingly familiar. “You look like you want me inside your pussy again.”
I didn’t answer him. I just blinked, realizing I was gazing at him as intently as he was staring at me. He was right: I did want him again. But I wanted more of him this time—for him to be as exposed and naked and vulnerable as me. And I wanted to know what he was thinking. As much control as he’d exerted over the situation, I knew his thoughts couldn’t have been as jumbled and scattered as mine.
We pulled out of the parking spot and were now on the street, blocking in a row of parked cars to the side of us and holding up the line of traffic behind us. Someone honked, but Derek stayed where he was and turned on his turn signal. “Don’t let your head go there, Frankie.” I had no idea what he was talking about. He reached for my cheek, his hand holding my skin tighter than I was used to. “What played out in that office last night happened the way it was supposed to.”
“And what about tonight?”
“Tonight was fucking perfect. You know that.” He ran his thumb across my lips. “The only way it could have been better is if I had been able to use my tongue on you, too.”
He had so much control over my mind, and had from the moment we’d met. It made me uneasy. I would never have agreed to a dinner meeting, only to have an outcome like this—so far from professional. And I certainly wouldn’t have taken a risk that could be so detrimental to my future. It may have been a long time since I’d held any control in my personal life, but I’d always been able to steer professionally…or I had, at least until I’d met Derek. If I ruined this deal because an orgasm with him became more important than his contract, I wouldn’t just be disappointed in myself, but it would also ruin my father’s faith in me.
There was only one way I would feel better about this: I needed Derek’s assurance about where we were headed. At this point, I had nothing to lose by asking for it. “I’ll breathe a lot easier if you tell me that whatever happens between us won’t affect our business together.”
“That’s what you’re worried about, gorgeous?”
I could already feel things shifting, in the way he referred to me if nothing else. “Timber Towers means a lot to me and my company. I want to be the one who represents your building, Derek. No one else can give it what I can.” I was interrupted by the honking cars behind us, but his expression encouraged me to ignore them and keep going. “But you haven’t signed the contract yet, and now that we’ve…” I stopped short of saying crossed the line. I had no idea what our boundaries would be now, anyway.
He leaned forward and covered my mouth with his, pulled my bottom lip between his teeth. His tongue followed, circling mine several times before he broke free. “It’s all yours. I promise. Nothing will change that.”
I smiled, though it was from more than just his promise. “Thank you. I feel much better.”
“I can tell.” His thumb stretched my lips back into a smile. “What I’m going to do to that fucking mouth…”
The headlights from the passing cars illuminated his face, his beard, and flashed the intensity of his electric blue stare. He was a foot away, but I could still feel his whiskers on my skin. “Then do it,” I said, realizing we were still holding up traffic, but that was a detail I no longer cared about. “I’m not stopping you.” His thumb released my lip, the tip finding its way into my mouth. I licked around his nail. Then I kissed it.
“You’d better give me that address now.”
I smiled. “I live two blocks west of Timber Towers.”
He flipped on his turn signal, shifted into drive, and moved along with the traffic. “Two blocks west,” he repeated. “I didn’t know you lived in the Back Bay.”
“It’s my favorite part of Boston.”
“Really…”
“In a city that constantly screams, the Back Bay is a calming inhale and a reassuring exhale. It’s the gloss that makes Boston shine.”
He glanced at me when we hit the red light. His eyes were impossible to read. “I couldn’t agree more.”
“Did you ever question whether you were building Timber Towers in the right location?”
He shrugged. “When we scout, it’s mostly based on financials. It has to be. But I have to get a feeling from the location to know it’s the right place to build. That spot haunted me from the minute I saw it. Shit, it still does. It feels nothing like home, but it’s a place that can really handle my vision.”
“And where is home, exactly?”
His back straightened; his fingers grinded against the steering wheel. It appeared that business questions came much easier than personal ones. I could relate. “Portsmouth.”
Portsmouth was a coastal town in New Hampshire, an hour outside of Boston. “You’re driving all the way back there tonight?”
“No.” He glanced in his rearview mirror. “I have a place here, too.”
“In the Back Bay?”
“Not far from it.”
I waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. Maybe discussing where he lived was too intrusive. That seemed a bit ridiculous considering his fingers had been inside me; I didn’t think things could get more intrusive than that. Regardless, he wasn’t willing to discuss it, and I had to respect that.
“Take a right here,” I said. “We’ll go in the back way to avoid the light.” He turned the corner, and I pointed to a narrow path up ahead. “Follow that until you reach the front. You can pull up right outside the lobby.” He followed the thin driveway as I had instructed and headed toward the double doors.
When he began to slow down, I unclasped my seatbelt and grabbed my bag. The doorman met us and reached for the passenger-side handle. I held up my finger, signaling him to give me a minute. I wasn’t sure what the protocol was when it came to a physical relationship, or how things were supposed to work between us, but I knew I wasn’t ready to say goodnight to Derek.
“So…are you going to come up?”
A warm smile spread over his lips, which made me bite mine. His beard was tempting me. I’d felt the roughness of it on my skin for the first time tonight, and I wanted more of it. In fact, I wanted to feel it on the rest of my body…and his hands, his mouth. I was so aroused thinking about it, and getting even wetter under his gaze.
A buzzing broke his focus. He grabbed his phone as the screen lit up with a text message. I watched his face while he read it. “Something’s come up,” he said, dropping the phone into the console. “But I’ll take you up on that offer soon.”
Whatever he’d seen had changed the path of our evening from a possible continuation to a definite good-bye. All because of a text message.
It could have been business, or it could have been personal…I would never know either way. So why did the abrupt halt bother me so much? I had no claim over Derek, no commitment to him. But after what had happened in that restaurant and alley, I was filled with a desire to feel more.
And I didn’t want him to go.
I nodded. “Sure.” I popped the handle and felt his fingers on my shoulder. I turned around to face him.
“Good night, Frankie.”
“Thanks for dinner…or drinks rather.” My gaze wouldn’t leave his mouth. “And for everything else.”
“We’ll do it again. Real soon.”
He didn’t lean in, or pull me toward him. He’d controlled the entire evening, he had even defined how much of his body I could touch. If he wanted to kiss me, he would have done it already.
So I said, “Good night, Derek,” and I signaled for the doorman. He helped me out of the SUV and shut the door behind me. Then I thanked him for his assistance and walked with him toward the lobby, where he opened a second door for me.
Once I was inside my condo, I draped my purse and jacket across the back of the couch and poured myself a glass of wine. I weaved around the furniture and stopped at the wall of windows, sipping my drink as I looked down at the street. The only lights on were the pendants that hung in the kitchen, allowing for the city lights to naturally brighten the living space. What I saw out my window was the calm, refreshing breath of the Back Bay that I’d described to Derek. But what I felt was a steady moan coming from within me. I’d done something tonight that I hadn’t done since before my relationship with Reed. I didn’t feel regret, or shame. Not like I had when Reed walked in on us at the gala. It was impossible to feel that when I was still filled with so much pleasure.
Pleasure in every part of my body.
And I felt sexier in my own skin than I ever had.
All of that could change in the morning—the regret, the shame trickling in and making me wish I hadn’t conceded to Derek’s demands. But for now, in this moment, I wanted to enjoy what was spreading through me.
My phone buzzed from the other side of the room. I hadn’t checked it all evening. I walked quickly to the couch where it sat inside my purse, hoping it was Derek calling to tell me he’d changed his mind.
It was a text from Brea:
If you’re still with him, go into the bathroom and call me. I need details.
When I had uninvited her to dinner, she believed Derek wanted us to be alone so something could happen. She would never have judged me for my decision to just go with it; she’d cheer about it instead. She was my wild side, the one who tried to get me to step outside the box and break free from my father’s conservative shadow. Still, I wasn’t ready to admit to her that something had happened or to share those details just yet. I wanted to keep them to myself for as long as I could.
Me: I’m home.
Brea: I’m calling you…
Me: I’m getting into the bath. I’ll call you when I get out.
Brea: Feeling dirty?
Me: Oh God.
Brea: So you HAVE been dirty. I LOVE it!
Me: *Eye roll*
Brea: Mmmhmm. Talk to ya soon, naughty girl.
EIGHT.
DEREK
“ALL OF HER TERMS are defined exactly the way you wanted,” Will said, placing a folder on my desk. I opened it and found Frankie’s contract inside. “The attorney wanted two weeks to review it. I told him he had seventy-two hours.”
“And he listened?”
He sat in the chair across from me. “I offered to pay him double. He was more than happy to oblige.”
“Smart move.”
According to the attorney’s notes, Frankie’s contract was pretty standard, as were the terms she had requested. I would award her closing bonuses depending on how quickly she sold the units. Those figures weren’t listed on the contract; they would come as a surprise…like my fingers slipping inside her last night. Her pussy was the only thing I had thought about since. Even while I’d been at Hayden’s, listening as she pressed on about befriending one of Randy’s foremen, it was the only thing on my mind. The warmth of that tight hole, the way it had curved and clutched my finger, how fucking wet she had gotten. If Hayden hadn’t sent that text, asking me to come over seconds after Frankie had invited me up, I probably would have gone to Frankie’s…and I would have touched her pussy again. And once I got her naked, I wouldn’t have been able to stop from putting my dick in her, too. Then my whole plan would have gone to shit. But the longer I waited, the more I wanted her.
She was turning out to be more than just a distraction.
I glanced at the contract and read the attorney’s final notes. “Did you get a chance to look it over?” I asked Will.
“I did. Looks good to me.”
“Yeah, me too.” I grabbed a pen and initialed the bottom of each page, then signed and printed my name on the last sheet and placed it all back in the folder. “Have a messenger bring these to Frankie’s office. I want her to be the one who signs for them.”
“Got it. I’ll check in with Brea.” He walked to the doorway and turned around. “What about the item you had me pick up this morning?”
“Have it delivered with the contract, but in a separate box. Make sure this note is included.” I found a pad on my desk and wrote a few words across the middle of the page, ripped it off, and handed it to him.
He read the note, a smile spreading across his face. “I really need to step up my game. You’d think after all these years I’ve been working for you, I would have learned something about women by now.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re a good man.”
He stuck the note in the folder. “I’ve got to give it to you, I didn’t see that one coming.”
I glanced at my computer screen, thinking about the email I had to send. “Frankie surprised me, too.”
“Does Hayden know?”
“Shit, no.” I could only imagine my sister’s expression if I told her I was going to fuck my realtor. She’d been burned pretty hard, and now she hated one night stands, and hated even more that her brother didn’t engage in anything but. She needed to feel loved and comforted by the men she slept with. But I knew what happened when I gave someone my heart, and I would never let myself feel that kind of pain again. “And Hayden isn’t going to find out about it, either.”
He put his hands in the air and laughed. “She’s not going to hear it from me.”
“Never thought she would. Now go make Frankie smile for me.”
He walked out, and I pulled up a blank email and started typing:
FROM: Block, Derek
TO: Jordan, Frankie
SENT: April 22, 11:51am
SUBJECT: My fingers…
I can still smell you.
I scrolled through my inbox and found several emails from Julia Hayes. I’d purposely taken a cab home from the party in case she had tried to blow me in the limo. I hadn’t spoken to her since.
She’d be hearing about my partnership with Frankie very soon. Once Jordan International processed the contract, they would send out a press release to announce our collaboration. I wanted Julia to hear the news from my team before she read it.
“Will,” I said into my intercom.
“I’m here. What’s up?”
“Can you have one of the assistants send Julia a bouquet with a handwritten note to let her know the choice has been made?”
“No problem. I’ll make sure the rejection doesn’t gain us an enemy.”
I laughed. “Good man.”
I glanced back at my screen. Frankie had replied.
FROM: Jordan, Frankie
TO: Block, Derek
SENT: April 22, 11:55am
SUBJECT: Handwashing…
I wish I could say the same.
FROM: Block, Derek
TO: Jordan, Frankie
SENT: April 22, 11:56am
SUBJECT: Soon, baby.
I’ll make sure you’re covered in me.
FROM: Jordan, Frankie
TO: Block, Derek
SENT: April 22, 11:57am
SUBJECT: Covered?
You’re turning me into quite the student, Mr. Block. New experiences every day.
“Hey, Derek,” Will said through my intercom. “Frankie’s in the office. I’ll make sure the package is delivered in the next hour.”
I smiled as I looked at my screen. “Thanks for letting me know.”
FROM: Block, Derek
TO: Jordan, Frankie
SENT: April 22, 11:58am
SUBJECT: Yes. Covered.
Keep calling me Mr. Block, and I’ll come to your office right now and lick your pussy from underneath your desk. We’ll see then how well the student can keep it together in front of all her peers.
FROM: Jordan, Frankie
TO: Block, Derek
SENT: April 22, 11:59am
SUBJECT: Your tongue.
How do you know I’m at my desk?
FROM: Block, Derek
TO: Jordan, Frankie
SENT: April 22, 12:01pm
SUBJECT: Yes. My tongue.
I’m a good guesser.
NINE.
FRANKIE
I WAS STARING at Derek’s email when Brea walked into my office, accompanied by a messenger with a box in his hands. I didn’t know how long I’d been staring at those words, but I was far more turned on than I should have been. There were so many things I needed to do today, starting with planning the broker’s open and chatting with my stager and checking the status on my other clients. But all I could do was think about Derek. His eyes, his mouth, his body…his fingers.