“But, surely you have a home. A place to return to when this is all done.”
“Certainly, I’m not a nomad. More a gypsy. I have an office, which you know about. And a few of the condos in my developments I’ve set aside as home bases. I do the homing pigeon thing. Go back, decide what to do next. Then I’m off. Hence, no family, no pets, and no houseplants.” He took a sip of the beer he’d ordered. “And you? What’s your story?”
“I’ve been in Miami since college. I work for Sinclair. I live on the beach, not far from here. But not ocean front. Someday I hope that will change.”
“Any pets, houseplants … boyfriends?” He gazed at her over the rim of his glass.
That unsettled feeling returned. A sensation of standing on the edge of a cliff, with open space all around, and she had a choice—to step back from the precipice or take a leap.
“No. Yes. No,” she said, hoping for a slow descent.
“I’m glad on all accounts. I’ve got an allergy to items one and three.” He grinned at her just as his hand moved over hers. He caressed the top of her knuckles with his fingertips.
The brakes sounded all too loud in her head. “Uhh, I don’t think it’s a good idea to cross boundaries. Not with all the work we need to get done.” She couldn’t keep looking at him and hope to sound convincing. “I get the traveling thing and enjoying the new experience. I’m just not up for being a novelty to you or anyone.”
“Marissa, don’t lie. You want the same thing I do. Why not enjoy it? Crossing boundaries as you say isn’t always doomed to failure. Take a chance in life and in business. You might be surprised. I don’t see you as some clingy woman who needs anything from me. If I did darling, you’d be the last woman I’d want to hook up with.” Wyatt stared at her. He finished with, “Stunning or not.”
“You’re not playing fair. I can’t risk my career.”
He squeezed her fingers between his fingertips, and then lifted her hand. He brushed his lips along the tops of her knuckles. His breath warmed her skin. “Hey, don’t think just because I know Sinclair that I speak about my intimate life. Whatever you may think, I don’t kiss and tell. On any level.”
Marissa bit the inside of her cheek. “And you make this assertion based upon the past? Other experiences?”
A low rasp of a chuckle fell from his lips. His warm breath spread across her hand, wrist, and arm. He took possession of her arm by walking his fingers up the inside, along her sensitive skin. A spring wound tighter and tighter, excuses came and went. Except he was perfect. She wanted him.
There was no lie there, no shame in finding him more than alluring. He rubbed his jaw on the inside of her wrist, pressing the stubble from his face into her skin. She crossed her legs to keep the pulsations between her legs from driving her to the brink. Never mind leaping—she wanted to dive into his arms.
She touched his face, grazing her fingers along his lips. He captured one of her fingers with his warm, wet mouth and bit down lightly on the tip below her nail. The texture of his face under her hand and his hot tongue teasing her finger prompted rippling spasms to unravel between her legs regardless of how tight she clamped her knees together. It didn’t help that she kept imagining other places he might use that part of his mouth.
If she didn’t stop him, she’d be lost in a stream of desire. A current roiled through her body, pushing aside rational ideas, sane expectations, until all she could do was inhale the scent of him. He released her finger and clasped her by the arm. The raw intensity of his gaze tossed aside her excuses. The rhythm of her breathing quickened.
“Your place or mine?” That’s all he said before he looked away, catching the waiter’s attention.
Her heartbeat hammered along with a growing exquisite pleasure filling her. Wyatt stood, pulling her with him. “Let’s go, darling.” He rubbed his hand down her arm. His body was an inferno, blazing powerfully over and into her. She fought both sides of mental skirmish between her brain and body.
Wyatt slapped cash across the waiter’s hand. “This should take care of our check. Keep the change. Right?”
“Yes, Sir. Thanks.”
He was looking at her in a way that threatened to make her knees buckle. “Christ, I don’t think I can take much more. But damn. You sorely tempt my self-control.” He swore in a voice that crawled up her spine.
She went with him without a peep as he smoothly entwined his fingers with hers.
They walked beyond the outdoor seating. Wyatt combed a hand through his hair as he looked up and down the street. “Come this way.”
“But our cars are that way.” He strode for a few steps, stopped and brought her against him. Before she could respond, he swung her backwards, cradling her head, but setting her firmly against the wall of the restaurant.
“I wasn’t looking for a ride.”
“Wyatt—”
“Hush.” He pressed one finger across her lips, sealing away any of her qualms. And then he was on her, cupping her face with his hands. Brushing back tendrils of her hair, he bent his head, and then kissed the corner of her mouth. “I’ve wanted to do this since the moment we met.”
She capitulated when he sucked a point on her neck. Digging her hands into his arms, she took hold of forged steel. He slid his mouth up to her ear while his hands moved down from her shoulders. The sensation of his lips on her throat nearly sent her over the edge. She reached forward, taking hold of his shirt. He pushed her back against the wall, making her entire body clench.
“Wyatt,” she groaned softly, pleading with him to free her from decision.
He pulled back slightly, far enough to look into her eyes. “Stop looking at me like that or I swear I’ll find an alley and take you here and now.”
There was no use denying him. Wyatt’s power and arrogance were playing tricks with her—tricks she liked very much. “I want you. But, I don’t know what to tell you.”
“Sure you do.” He moved his hands down her shoulders, pushing up snug against her.
Oh, no. She thought he’d changed tactics. He now lightly trailed his fingertips up her neck, his eyes pinning to the wall. “What does your body want? Yes or no?” His words had her wishing to break free, shivering from his touch, melting and pooling.
The way he crowded over her had her spinning out of control. Her body, every atom, was aroused with a force demanding fulfillment unlike anything she’d ever imagined. Wyatt’s mouth and tongue had the capacity to possess of her, unlocking exquisite undercurrents. The demanding feel of his hands down to his fingertips lashed against her willpower.
Right now, she was about to wipe out instead of riding this aching wave. If left unchecked, she had no doubt their sexual tension would build into a tsunami.
He had posed a question. She had no answer for him or herself.
“I’m not free to act out my fantasies. I live here—work here.” She inhaled unevenly, staring up into his eyes.
“This isn’t about anything other than you and me and what we want. Just tell me what you feel. How about we go someplace where we can get to know each other better?”
She pulled back even though she continued to grip his rock-hard arms. She fought the urge to give in entirely, fearing she’d drown. “You’re confusing me. I thought I made myself clear. Earlier.”
“I’m only hearing what your body is telling me. Baby, you’re speaking loud and clear.”
She’d better strike while she still could. She inhaled, and then glared up at him. “What I want is to broker a deal as a professional. What I want is to have a client who respects me. What I want is to wake up tomorrow and not think I’d sacrificed my ethics. Is this why Sinclair picked me to handle your sale?”
She noticed with each verse exclaimed, his body had eased back from her until the heat from him lessened.
“No. You’re way off base with that assumption.” Then he stepped away, giving space for air to move between them. Cooling, calming air.
Her body revolted. Deep inside
, she didn’t want cool or calm. She wanted fiery heat. A mind-searing burn to crumple and tear down the walls that kept her fantasy captive.
She crossed her arms in front of her chest, fighting the urge to give into lust. Lust. That’s all this was: physical need. Without his body up against her, thinking came easier. Quietly, firmly she said, “I don’t think so. I think I’ve brought up a valid point.”
His beautiful lips thinned. He appeared to gather himself, and looked away from her, then back again just as two patrons dressed in short skirts and high heels exited from the restaurant.
He ignored them. “Darling, don’t shut down on me. You’re harder to read than a manifesto written in invisible ink.”
She smoothed her skirt and jacket. She refused to be the object of his unrelenting study. He continued to contemplate her as though he might unearth a piece of useful information to aid his case.
“What are you thinking?” he asked in a husky voice that swam across her skin.
He continued to evade a direct answer. He hadn’t refuted her and maybe that was her answer.
“Nothing. It’s getting late. Don’t you agree?” Having spotted her car at the end of the block, she turned in the opposite direction along the sidewalk and considered just sauntering away. Oh, to be able to see out the back of her head and observe his expression. This was business, so there wasn’t any gliding away. Besides, she wasn’t going to let him unhinge the last vestige of her professional ability. She rifled through the portfolio, ready to hand it over to Wyatt, and tell him, Adios Muchacho.
“You’re correct. It is getting late.” His voice swathed her from behind.
She clung to the portfolio, a ridiculous shield of sorts. The heat poured off his body. Before he said a word, before he touched her, she absorbed his presence in back of her. She peered over her shoulder into his fierce expression.
She swung around to meet him face-to-face if he had something to say to her. “Now, please don’t start to preach a loss of time.”
He exhaled and shortened the distance between them. “Why? I’ve wasted precious time when all along we could be doing this.” He took hold of her and nearly dragged her against him. Wyatt ran his hands down her arms, enfolding her body to him.
“Wyatt. No. I won’t be another somebody you met during your project in South Florida. Don’t lecture me and stop pushing me. How about just answering the question? All this pot calling the kettle black isn’t getting us closer to a sale. We’re moving in the wrong direction.”
“Oh hell, you’re not hiding in back of that file folder again.” He stared down at her, and then released her slightly before he leaned against the building and pulled her until she was cradled in his arms. The sidewalk outside the restaurant was beginning to get busy, and he apparently had blocked the people passing in front of them as he traced the side of her arm with his thumb before he reluctantly released her arm.
“Then show me some respect.” The feel of his arm against the side of her body made her painfully aware that he was right. She wanted him. Terribly.
“Look, I’m sorry. Sure, I meet women when I travel. Not always, but I’m not going to lie just to get into your pants. If I wanted a workout in bed, I’d have requested a hookup for a date. Not a straight shooter. Don’t you think I know there are other realtors who would do anything to close a deal? Like the fast-talking realtor in your office. Sinclair told me about her, but I wanted you. Truthfully, I demanded a professional. I thought I made that clear. What we’ve got going on isn’t some ploy between college friends to broker a deal and a taste of southern comfort in bed. Give me some credit. Okay?”
“You have a strange way of maintaining a business relationship. Wouldn’t you agree?”
He inhaled, shoving his hands into his pockets, and shaking his head. “I didn’t plan on this attraction happening. But I’m not wrong about what we both feel. I appreciate you not wanting to compromise this deal. I don’t agree, but I do understand. No pressure. We’ll work out the details and let’s just get the sale over and done.”
She nodded. Their gazes met, holding steady. For an instant, she felt as though he touched a part of her deep inside. She hugged the folder even closer.
He tunneled his fingers through his hair and even plastered on his lopsided smile. “I guess I should take that file now. At least there’s something you’re willing to give to me.”
“I hope you’re only kidding. Of course, there are things I’m willing to share with you. For one, we still need to do a site visit on the other property. Are you game or do you want to go alone?” Desperate for his touch or not, she still needed to gain control of this situation or else she’d lose more than the deal.
“I thought you’d never ask.” He pushed off the wall. “Tell you what, we can drive together or is that against your business rules?” His lips quirked, pinching her overacting arousal.
She rolled her eyes. “Can I trust you?”
“For a sharp realtor you have a tendency to get off topic. Stop dawdling and let’s move.”
“Funny.” She smiled back at him.
He was a smart-ass, but in such a sexy way, forgiving was all too easy. He accepted her refusal with more grace than she’d imagined for a man with a reputation for getting everything he desired.
He stared at her without smiling. “Regardless of what you say. Clearly there’s unfinished business still standing between us. I sense there’s wiggle room. I don’t think it’s my imagination.”
She gritted her teeth, holding a groan of frustration at bay. A colossal part of her wished to acquiesce to his offer—the wild part of her that she’d kept locked up. This yearning simmered within her. She might let go, once their business was complete. A ludicrous longing—or was it? Just one night and she’d have an opportunity to explore every sensation that threatened to tear her apart with a man who was on a plane to another continent. Another world.
Only this fantasy also risked unleashing a secret that came with the potential to destroy her life. She sighed. Yes, Wyatt uncovering her secret was more than just an inconsequential technicality. She clutched her purse, holding his enticing gaze, the crash of each heartbeat echoing inside her thoughts. On any level, could she survive one night with this man?
This line of thinking was no help. She huffed, taking a step and teetered next to him. “Do you want to drive or shall I?”
“Come, I think the least I can do is to drive. Is dinner still a possibility. or did I blow that?”
“No—” she replied, about to say more.
“Shoot, I might as well go out with a bang.” Lightning fast, he ate up the space between them. He feathered his fingers along her jaw. The man clearly refused to take “no” for an answer. “I should have done this the moment you handed me your damn resume.”
Wyatt didn’t simply pull her against him; his mouth slammed down overs hers, intense, fierce, commanding. And for all that she wanted to resist, she couldn’t. She reeled in the scent of his cologne and hardness of his mouth and body. He pushed her back against the wall, not stopping until his tongue thrust past her lips, fiery and demanding. She tilted her head up, opening her mouth to him as he sensually sucked her bottom lip, licked across her mouth, and incited her to return his kiss.
The crash of his mouth had unhinged her resistance. He didn’t simply kiss her. He possessed her. All thoughts dissolved. Every plan she’d had paled in significance.
Her skin tingled under from his touch as she longed for him to do more. Much, much more; for a moment, she considered the million what ifs. She rocked against him, aching for him to overpower her refusal, and bend her to his will.
A woman exited the front of the restaurant, waving a manila envelope. “Excuse me, Mr. Herndon? Wyatt Herndon?”
He arched a brow at her, and then moved apart with a labored exhalation. He clasped his hand at her waist, squeezing with a silent promise to return to the current subject.
“Yes. How may I help you?”
“Elite Courier. Your office sent these over expressly for you, sir. Sign here.” The woman held out a digital clipboard with a stylus.
He pressed his lips together, signed the screen, and returned the board to the messenger. He took the envelope and half-heartedly muttered, “If only I’d bet something besides my damn ego.”
“I’m more than impressed. Not many people command such an efficient staff.”
“More importantly, I hope this proves I keep my word.” He held out the envelope. “I believe these are for you. And that’s only the beginning in our lesson on establishing your trust in me. Come, you’ve more to learn.”
Chapter Six
Wyatt walked alongside her, muted by lust, and fought the urge to haul her against him, convince her that the idea of letting him fuck her was brilliant. There was something almost tangibly tantalizing about Marissa. Irresistible. From the moment he’d seen her bio online to meeting her in person, he had known—he had to possess her.
Damn, he wanted to disappear with her. But no, he had to give her the damned architectural drawings to review. He’d basically sent her in the wrong direction from his bedroom. Instead of piling on more work for Marissa, he should have phoned Sinclair, and had him take over the sale. To free her up so they might explore more compelling terrain. Say, her naked body.
Hell, what he should be doing was persuading Marissa to toss aside whatever kept her tied to a set of moral precepts that were woefully wrong. Now, him between her legs, well that was alright, all the way.
Her lush body called out to him, galvanizing his cock into an iron pipe. Another close encounter with her and he’d bust apart at every seam. He wanted Marissa with a greedy hunger that bordered on madness.
Inside his car, her fragrance swam around him. She pulled the seat belt across her chest, giving him a view of one creamy breast. He coughed and forcibly cranked the shifter, throwing his vehicle into first gear. He released the clutch. The image of her naked flashed into his mind. He pulled away from curb consumed by his imagination.
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