Oh, Naughty Night!

by Leslie Kelly

  She nodded, stepping into one of the private changing booths. He walked in after her, pushing the full-length door shut behind him. The area was as big as a decent-size closet, with a mirrored wall and a plush bench seat. Very upscale. Very welcoming. It was as if the store wanted their customers’ boyfriends and husbands to follow them in here, as if they intended the place to be perfect for trysts and daring escapades.

  Well, that’s the way he looked at it, anyway.

  “Turn around,” he said.

  She did, waiting patiently as he unzipped her tight skirt. He let his hands slide it down slowly, his knuckles brushing against her rear as he leaned in and smelled her hair.

  Their eyes met in the mirror. She was unbuttoning her blouse, easing each tiny, satin-covered button free of its hole with calm, steady deliberation.

  She licked her lips. Her eyes were wide and dreamy, her breaths audible in the otherwise silent compartment.

  Chaz pushed the skirt off her hips, stepping back a tiny bit so it could drop to the carpeted floor. She finished unbuttoning her blouse, and pushed it off her shoulders, letting it join the skirt.

  “Jesus,” he said, realizing she must have already done some lingerie shopping before now. He had never seen her in the stunningly sexy getup she wore.

  Her black bra was lacy and was meant more to push her breasts up to dizzying, dangerous heights than to cover them. He could see a hint of her nipples peeking out the top, and he growled hungrily at the reflected sight.

  But that wasn’t all. He almost howled when he lowered his attention and saw the garter belt fastened around her slim waist. Four sexy, lacy seams dropped down to attach to silky stockings, but above the top hem of those stockings, she was utterly bare.

  “I think you forgot something when you went to work this morning,” he growled, dropping his mouth to the nape of her neck and nipping her.

  “I was a good girl. I wore my panties to work.”

  “Did you drop them somewhere? Should we check the lost-and-found?”

  She licked her lips, their stares locked in the mirror. “Maybe you should check your pocket.”

  Never looking away from her, he reached into the pocket of his jacket, his fingers meeting silky softness. Drawing the tiny clump of fabric out and seeing lacy black undergarments, he lifted them to his face and breathed deeply. “Yeah. They’re yours.”

  “Was there any doubt? Was some other woman dropping underwear into your pocket?”

  He dropped his mouth to the nape of her neck and kissed her, sucking lightly, realizing he’d leave a mark but not giving a damn. “No, but I’d know yours anyway. I’m addicted to your scent.”

  “Is that all you’re addicted to?” she asked, arching her back, tilting her bare bottom in invitation until it pressed against the front of his trousers.

  He slid his hands down her sides, cupping her hips, then reaching forward to stroke her creamy stomach. Pulling her tighter against him, he watched in the mirror as her eyes flared wide and her face flushed when she felt his rock-hard erection.

  God, he liked this, liked coming at her from behind, watching her reflection as he caressed her. She was unable to hide a single thought, a single reaction. She wore her pleasure on her face, and when he smoothed his hand up to cup her breast, she gasped and pushed even harder against his groin.

  His hand was big and dark against her pale skin. She looked vulnerable, utterly feminine. Working the front of her bra down, he watched her nipple pop free, and caught it between his fingers. She was so responsive, he knew she felt each tweak throughout her body, knew that him playing with her nipples made her wet.

  She leaned back, turning her head to gaze up at him. He bent to catch her mouth in a kiss, remaining behind her. One of her arms came up to encircle his neck, and with her other hand, she reached back for his crotch. When she struggled with his belt, he took over, undoing it, and then unfastening his pants and pushing them down, out of the way.

  Lulu lifted her head and looked at his reflection in the mirror again, her face dreamy, hungry.

  “Please,” she whispered, putting a hand on the glass to brace herself. She made her demands even more clear, bending farther, arching toward him, inviting him to take her from behind.

  He had never gotten a better invitation. Nudging her legs farther apart, groaning at the feel of those soft, silky stockings against his skin, he reached down and parted her cheeks. She bent over even more, until he could see the tempting pink flesh between her legs, all slick and wet, just waiting for him. Lulu was utterly aroused; maybe she had been since she’d snuck away to slip her panties off and drop them into his pocket. God knows he would have been hard all night if he’d reached in, felt them there, and realized she was naked beneath her skirt.

  “Take me,” she ordered, staring into the mirror, watching him eye her lustfully.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, easing his cock into her, watching himself disappear between her welcoming folds.

  Wet heat enveloped him; he sank into utter perfection, savoring every bit of her he could take.

  When he moved too slowly, she pushed back, taking more, greedy and impatient.

  Her impatience snapped the last of his control. He gripped her hips, digging his fingers into her flesh, and slammed into her, plunging so hard his balls slapped her ass.

  “Oh, yes!” she groaned. She quickly bit her lip, cutting off her cries of ecstasy.

  It was a little late to think about who else might be around. He honestly didn’t give a damn if anybody heard them. It would take a gun to his head to make him stop what he was doing.

  He thrust again and again, gripping her hips and pulling her back toward him with every forward thrust. He slammed into her with every ounce of himself and her energetic movements and satisfied sighs told him how much she loved it.

  It was insane, risky, wild. Like on Halloween night, they were both past caring about niceties, or witnesses, or danger. They were lost to everything but each other.

  Only, this time, neither of them were playing games. There was no question of stopping, no possibility of running away.

  He had her, she was his to do with what he would.

  And he was hers.

  11

  LULA HAD FEARED things were going too well to last.

  Two days later, when she and Chaz were getting on the Metro to go home, they bumped into his reporter friend, Tonia, the blonde who’d monopolized his attention at the kickball game several weeks ago. He’d told Lulu the other woman was just a colleague, which was fine. But, when pressed, he had also admitted they’d maybe been a little more to each other, at least briefly. That wasn’t so fine.

  Lulu hadn’t even been in the picture when he and Tonia had their affair, but she was still jealous of anyone who’d ever had what she considered hers—namely, his body and his sexual attention. She’d staked her claim on Chaz, whether publicly or not. She thought of him as her own, and didn’t even want to consider any of the women he’d had before she’d come back into his life. Especially not the pretty, sexy, smart ones. Like Tonia.

  Maybe she was being stupid, maybe she had no right. He’d certainly never told her he loved her, never made plans, never talked about any kind of a future. But she had to believe he was thinking along those lines, as was she. She couldn’t bear to imagine she’d fallen hopelessly in love with him and he didn’t feel the same.

  He does. This is real. It’s not just the sex.

  She mattered to him.

  “Chaz, I’m so glad I ran into you!” the reporter said. “I never see you anymore since they moved me to the northern Virginia office.”

  “How are you doing, Tonia?” His smile seemed forced. Perhaps he, too, was disappointed that he and Lulu wouldn’t be able to silently flirt with each other from opposite seats on the Metro train.<
br />
  “I’m great. And so, obviously, are you,” she said, casting an appreciative eye over him.

  She was right. Chaz had always been hot, but lately he’d had that well-done look that a man wore when he was getting laid a lot. Something about that look attracted other women. It was as if they could smell sex on a satisfied man.

  Lulu cleared her throat to announce her presence, wanting the female reporter to know who’d put that look on Chaz’s handsome face.

  Tonia turned around and glanced down at her, feigning surprise, although Lulu was sure she’d spotted her the moment she boarded the train. “And you’re Lulu, right?” the woman said. “Isn’t this a happy reunion?”

  “Yes. Nice to see you again.” Gee, that had almost sounded sincere.

  “Chaz, you are just the man I wanted to meet,” the woman said, swinging around and plopping down on the edge of Chaz’s seat, blocking him from Lulu’s view. She glanced over her shoulder. “You don’t mind, Lulu, do you? It’s shop talk.”

  Lulu shrugged, but she glared daggers at the back of the woman’s head when she turned to face Chaz and drag him into quiet conversation. Lulu barely paid attention to the subject until she heard Tonia say, “I have a source who’s going to give me all the dirt on that shady Hands Across The Waters organization.”

  Her jaw falling open, she looked over Tonia’s head into Chaz’s face. His expression was strained; he actually winced in reaction. “Tonia, I really don’t think...”

  “No, seriously. And I know how much you love to expose fraud and shysters. I’ve sensed for months that there was something going on with that place—those founders are just too squeaky clean to be true. I’m going to bring them down, and I want you to help me.”

  “Excuse me,” Lulu said, “what, exactly, are you talking about?”

  Tonia glanced over, gave her a dismissive shrug, and said, “Oh, just a story I’m doing that Chaz helped me with.”

  “He did, huh?”

  “It was a while ago,” Chaz said, his tone pointed, his expression begging her not to jump to conclusions.

  She was jumping, of course. Lulu was just the jumping sort. And Tonia made jumping so very easy.

  “Oh, don’t sell yourself short. You’re a genius at this stuff.”

  “Tonia and I bounced some ideas around,” he explained. “I gave her some suggestions about researching the story.”

  Lulu bared her teeth. “Was that before or after you found out that I worked for Hands Across The Waters?”

  His reporter friend shot up from her seat. “Oh, God, seriously?”

  “Yeah. Seriously.”

  “I had no idea!” She gaped at Chaz. “Did I just ruin this? Is that why you’re with her? Were you helping me out, trying to get an in for me?”

  “He’s been getting in, honey, but it has absolutely nothing to do with you,” Lulu snapped, fury making her reckless and crude. But oh, it had been satisfying, especially when the other woman flinched. Chaz, meanwhile, looked like he couldn’t decide between laughter and shock.

  Tonia’s mouth got smaller and tighter. “Thank you for being so...blunt. But that’s really none of my business.”

  “Oh, sorry, I thought you were already prying into something that wasn’t any of your business. Isn’t that what you reporter types do?”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  Lulu cut her off. “Well, it sounds like that’s what you’re doing to my employers. But let me tell you, Jenna and Felix Bernardo are the most honest, open, generous people I’ve ever met.” She laughed, without humor. “Good luck finding dirt on them, because, frankly, it doesn’t exist. You’re going on a snipe hunt.”

  The other woman, who appeared thoroughly jaded, gave her a pitying smile. “Look, you haven’t been around the world like Chaz and I have. Nobody’s that honest, open and generous. When you’re a little older, maybe you’ll realize people just aren’t that good and decent, not unless something’s in it for them.”

  She could have taken a shot at the woman for the age crack, pointing out that Tonia was obviously several years older than she. But that was almost too easy. So she instead said, “Wow, you’re really bitter, aren’t you? I feel sorry for you if that’s your take on life.”

  “Are you willing to talk to me about your experiences there? Maybe between us we can find out the truth. Wouldn’t you like that? I could protect you as a source, keep you anonymous.”

  “Are you high?”

  One of the woman’s perfectly plucked eyebrows shot up and she stiffened, more offended than ever. “Look, I’m just doing my job.”

  “Well, your job sucks.”

  Tonia glanced at Chaz. “She doesn’t have a very high opinion of us, does she?”

  Her dismissal of Lulu was deliberate and noticeable. Chaz was stiff-jawed, and his angry expression should have sent a warning to Tonia.

  She didn’t notice it. “This is my stop. I’ll talk to you about this later, Chaz, all right?” Her smile was a little too intimate. “Maybe we can meet up before the holiday break at that place we like so much.”

  She cast a triumphant glance at Lulu. If it hadn’t been clear that Chaz had slept with the woman in the past, Tonia’s expression would certainly have cemented the fact.

  Before the other woman turned away, Chaz said, “Write your own damn story, Tonia. I am not at all interested.”

  Her smile faded. She flounced toward the front of the car, having to grab a security bar to avoid falling on her ass and ruining her exit. The train reached the station, and she pushed her way through the oncoming crowd to exit.

  As the train filled with weekday commuters, everyone was jostled, and Lulu couldn’t maintain her footing. Despite being furious, she tumbled into the empty seat beside Chaz.

  “Lulu, I didn’t set out to do anything behind your back.”

  “Oh, really? Because it sounds to me like you knew that woman was trying to find something bad to report about my employers, people I really respect, and you never said a word to me.”

  “She mentioned it,” he said, “but honestly, I’d forgotten all about it. I haven’t seen Tonia in a couple of weeks. I’ve been focusing on preparing for my next overseas assignment.”

  If he noticed her shock about that little nugget, he didn’t let on.

  “Tonia’s got this obsession, but I don’t share it. Between the time I’ve been spending with you, the series of articles from my Pakistan trip, the interest from Time magazine, and my research to prepare for an investigative trip to Syria after the first of the year, I just haven’t thought about her since I saw her last.”

  Lulu had no idea where to begin. Her head was reeling.

  He’d helped another reporter with an exposé on an organization that she knew was doing wonderful work? Time magazine? Freaking Syria? Would he again take side trips into war zones and would she be the one who didn’t get the call when he was injured since he didn’t want to “worry” anyone?

  And he had never even mentioned any of this to her?

  It suddenly hit her. She’d fallen wildly in love with someone, assuring herself he felt the same way, when the truth was they shared nothing. Absolutely nothing except sex. Amazing sex. Astounding sex. The best sex of her life, hands down.

  But nothing else.

  He didn’t trust her with his ambitions or his dreams. He hadn’t even bothered to tell her he was going into yet another danger zone after the first of the year. Come to think of it, she didn’t even know where his office was, which damn stop he got off at, who he went to lunch with.

  They had sex, and when they didn’t have sex, they talked and thought about having sex. Oh, yeah, and they’d shopped once, finishing the shopping trip by, surprise, having amazing sex in a public place.

  That was all she was to him, all their relationshi
p was. A wild but secret sexual affair. One he could walk away from without a second glance and nobody would ever be the wiser.

  She’d agreed to those terms in the beginning. Now, though, when she realized just how much of his life he’d excluded her from, she felt small and unimportant. She was fulfilling a need for him—often—but he wasn’t giving her a single thought when he wasn’t in bed with her or trying to get into bed with her. He’d warned her he didn’t trust people, and for some reason she’d assumed she’d be different. But she wasn’t. He didn’t trust her or care about her any more than he had Tonia. She was just a distraction from his real love, journalism.

  She had to be alone. Her chest was tight, her breaths came hard from her lungs. She was dizzy and could barely think, wanting to get off this moving train, away from this crush of people, and far away from him.

  “Lulu, talk to me,” he said, trying to take her hand.

  She pulled it away and rose to her feet. Mumbling apologies to the people crowding around, she grabbed a bar and lurched away, moving toward the front of the train.

  He got up to follow. She glanced back and snapped, “Don’t. Just don’t. I need to be away from you right now.”

  His eyes widened with surprise, and maybe hurt.

  Jesus, how could he be surprised that she would react like this? Did he not see her as a person at all? Was she just a sperm receptacle for him?

  She knew that wasn’t fair. Chaz was a kind person, he always had been. She knew he’d never have set out to hurt her.

  No, this hadn’t been intentional. He’d just done exactly what they’d both decided to do: have a fling. Keep it secret. Not let it mean anything.

  She was the one who’d broken the rules. She was the one who’d wanted something that wasn’t there, who’d let herself begin to believe it wasn’t the simple, sexual affair it was. She’d seen her own love reflected back from his eyes, but he’d never offered her any such thing.

  She was the one hurting so badly she wanted to curl up in a ball and sob.

  So she was the one who had to get away from him now, before she broke down in tears and admitted the unthinkable: that she’d fallen in love with Chaz Browning. And that her heart was utterly broken.