by Claire Adams
I could hear my boss' advice in my head – The way to a client's signature is through his stomach, or if you're feeling it, through his pants.
"The chef said something about mushroom cap appetizers. I'm hungry, are you?" I asked. I headed back to the main room and found the appetizers artfully arranged on a silver platter. I picked one out and held it up to Fenton's frown. "Here, taste this. Let's forget about business for awhile and enjoy ourselves."
He opened his mouth and accepted the savory bite. A shiver ran up my arm and tingled down my spine as his bottom lip brushed my fingers. "Delicious," he said and licked his lips.
The only way to break off from staring was to grab another appetizer. This time, it was a hard slice of cheese topped with a light dab of mustard and sprinkled with thyme. I held it out to him on a napkin, but Fenton stepped closer and opened his mouth again. The corners curled up as I gave in and fed him a second bite. I stood transfixed as he savored it slowly.
"My turn," he said. He selected another slice of cheese and brushed my hand away as I tried to take it from him. "Trust me, it tastes better this way."
I let him feed me the fragrant bite. My senses jumped as the perfect blend of flavors touched my palate and he brushed an extra flake of thyme from my bottom lip. I sunk to the sofa and took a long sip of my wine.
The chef cleared his throat. "Dinner is served."
"Excellent," Fenton said. He gathered up the silverware and both plates. "Smells great. Thanks. I think we can take it from here."
He left the chef holding out a chair for me and returned to the sofa. Fenton set the dinner plates down on the coffee table and picked up a mushroom cap appetizer to feed me. I opened my mouth to accept the taste, unable to deny my growing hunger. As I chewed, I caught the blond chef's eye and blushed. All I could do was nod. He packed up his cases and left before I could swallow.
"I hope I ordered the right thing," I said.
Fenton nodded and picked up a complicated remote. A few buttons later, the lights were dimmed, the fireplace flickered warmly, and a slow song drifted out of hidden speakers.
"I love steak," he said.
I gripped my knife hard enough to hide the tremble in my fingers and cut a small piece. Fenton accepted the bite, sliding closer to me on the couch to catch all the juices. My mouth watered as I watched him.
He closed his eyes. "So good," he sighed.
My lips tasted the peppered char of the steak as I leaned in and kissed him. Fenton's blue eyes flew open then closed on another delicious sigh. The heat of his lips warmed me from my toes to the tips of my ears and when he pulled back to look at me he laughed.
"Ms. Allen, are you blushing?" he asked.
"It's the fire," I lied. "It's a little too warm. How about we move back to the table?"
"And let you cross back over to business? I don't think so," he disagreed. "I think I'm starting to agree with my coach. He doesn't believe business and pleasure should be separate if they come together naturally. It’s like holding apart magnets, just a waste of energy standing in the way of something like that."
This time, he kissed me and it was a deep, plunging taste. The hunger in my core sharpened, but it was not for any of the delectable food set out in front of us.
"So you'll stay?" I asked.
Chapter Fourteen
Fenton
Her green eyes were so hopeful. Kya's lips curved in a smile more tantalizing than any of the food so far. I had to kiss her again. Underneath the pepper and cherry of the dark red wine, there was the addictive taste of her. As my tongue lapped deep in her delicious kiss, I pulled her onto my lap.
She came willingly. Her hands gripped my shoulders as she wriggled closer. I could not get enough of her. This was exactly what I needed. Her hunger for me, a long stretch of private hours, and her satin lips pressed against mine. Her fingers tangled in the hair at my neck and pulled me deeper into the kiss.
I swept my hands up and down her back. Gripping tightly at her waist, I pressed her to me. Then, my hands roved again from the soft material of her dress to the silk of her warm skin. Her legs were bare, and her high heels already kicked off onto the floor. I could run my hand up the length of her. I could brush aside the chaste hem of her dress. I could have Kya and finally get her out of my system.
Unless she's just doing this for the endorsement deal, I thought.
The jagged thought cut a pause in our kiss. I took a swig of wine to cover it up. When I caught her lips against mine again, I let a dribble of wine escape. I moaned when she lapped it up. Is she seducing me or is it the other way around?
If I wanted to be free and clear of Kya, I had to make sure I had the upper hand. I pulled away from the lips and tasted the slope of her neck. I licked the point where her pulse jumped and had to swallow another moan. It took all I had not to devour her. Instead, I nibbled the sensitive spot underneath her earlobe. Then, I brushed a hot breathy kiss over the curve of her ear. She shuddered with pleasure.
She tipped her head back, exposing more of her neck, and I licked my lips to comply. All Kya had to do was submit to my hot kisses and hungry tastes. Her little gasps of pleasure were all the seduction I needed. I wanted her with every electric throb of my body. If this was her plan to soften me up, it was working. All my rational thoughts dripped away to pool at her feet.
"Dinner getting cold," I said.
"I'm just hungry for you," she said.
I twisted on the couch, laying her down. She reached up and pulled me to her. Our lips met again, tangled, and tasted. My head spun as I shifted to press my length against her. Kya's back arched up to meet me and every inch of friction between us gave off incredible heat. Her legs slipped open underneath me, cradling me closer. I gritted my teeth and allowed myself one rocking thrust against her. Through the stiff barrier of my pants, I still felt the warm softness of her.
"No. I can't. We can't." I pushed back off the couch and stumbled back a few steps. The edge of the coffee table knocked against the back of my calf, and I held out my hand to steady myself.
Kya grabbed my hand and pulled. "Don't worry about it. It’s just pleasure, no business. Please."
Her emerald green eyes were heavy with passion. I could not tear my eyes off her lips, pink and swollen from our kisses.
"It’s neither," I said, scrambling to leave. "I can't explain. I've got to go."
I knocked my forehead against the elevator wall. It's neither? Somehow, kissing Kya, feeling her body pressed against mine, was more than pleasure. And, I knew if it was business to her, it would kill me.
"Lose big time, buddy?" the cab driver asked. "You got the look of one down on his luck."
"I don't believe in luck," I said.
"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. Things'll come around. Don't worry," the cabbie said. "How much you lose?"
"I don't know. I wasn't playing with money."
"Oh, man, I underestimated your problem." The man eyed me in the rear view mirror. "Rolling the dice on a love affair, eh?"
"Exactly," I agreed. I straightened up in the seat. "How am I supposed to know if she's just using me to get a good business deal or if she really wants me?"
"Buddy, if she's as good as all that, who cares?"
I looked into the mirror and caught the lipstick smudges around my mouth. My shirt was unbuttoned, my collar half scrunched up. I smoothed down the hair at my neck where Kya had tangled her fingers. The sensory memory made my blood pound again and I cranked open the window.
"Oh, man, you lost it all. I can tell. I've seen that look before." The cab driver chuckled to himself and turned up the radio.
I opened my mouth to ask him how many couples he had driven to the little white chapel. What was I thinking? I had my chance to sleep with Kya and get her out of my head. Instead of taking it, here I was letting her spin my thoughts out of control.
"I don't lose," I said. I paid the cabbie and wished I could believe it.
It was not as simple as having se
x with Kya and moving on. I knew now that one taste of her lips was not enough. I was afraid nothing would be enough. I wanted more from Kya, and the realization was all consuming.
I did not realize the lights in the gym were off, even though it was open until midnight. Where the place had been busy with off-shift workouts the night before, now it was silent. I took three more steps inside the main entrance and ducked on instinct.
A heavy fist sang past my head, followed by a thick shoulder. I twisted away and crouched into a low position to take on my attacker.
My shadowy assailant came back at me with heavy feet. I planted a heavy uppercut into his midsection only to discover he was a thick man with a wide layer of belly fat. I changed tactics and swiveled away before he hammered me with a mallet-like fist. If he was just a common brawler, I could keep moving until he was worn out. Something told me he was not alone; so it was better I took care of him quickly.
He charged again, planning to flatten me with his truck-like momentum. I stepped aside and kicked hard at his knee. It was enough to send him off balance. The big man toppled over in the dark, taking out a shelf of free weights in his fall. I waited until he sat up and used his own movement to increase the impact of my fist as I jabbed downwards. We met hard in the middle.
The large man slumped onto the floor and everything went quiet. Now that the fight had cleared my head, I knew there were two more people in the darkened gym. I waited until someone flicked on the overhead lights. The big cage lights warmed up slowly and two men appeared near the boxing ring.
One man wore a dark gray suit, too shiny for my taste. His companion wore dark black pants and a black t-shirt. The tight shirt did nothing to conceal the gun he had strapped under his arm. Both men applauded my performance. I glanced at their defeated friend – a military man long retired from the look of his dog tags and generous girth.
"They have classes here, demonstrations, if that's what you're interested in," I said.
"You haven't fallen so far as that. Just a few fights away from the MMA title, if you can keep it together," the man in the suit said.
"Thanks for the advice. I'll keep it together," I said.
"We can help with that. Might be a little easier to keep things running smooth if you had a little extra cash." He rubbed his fingers against his thumb when he mentioned money.
"Sorry, I'm not signing any endorsements or any other deals. I'm fighting for myself all the way up to the title." I tried to walk past them, but the man in the black pants blocked my way.
"You'll like this deal, I promise," the man in the suit said. "You lose your next fight and you make a tidy little sum."
"And, what if I win?" I asked. I saw movement near the side door and hoped it was my manager. I had never wished to see Kev Casey, but his smarmy face would have been the most welcomed sight. If anyone could send off a couple of slime ball fight fixers, it was my slime ball manager.
Instead, the gym owner strode in and froze. His eyes darted over the pile of free weights and the unconscious man. Then he glanced over the man in the suit and his friend in the dark pants. He did not meet my eyes. He pursed his lips tight and looked back at the man in the suit. The wild hope that he would kick the men out died when he gave the man in the suit a small nod. He recognized them and said nothing.
"You closed up early, went to take your lady out for dinner," the man in the suit said.
The gym owner gave another small nod and turned on his heel. He was out the door. We all watched his shadow dart across the parking lot and heard the slam of his car door. The engine fired up seconds later, and his tires tore out of the parking lot. I shook my head, certain he was not calling the police from the safety of his locked car.
"If he closed up early, then I better get going," I said, trying to sound casual. "Wouldn't want to be trespassing after hours."
"No need to hurry. We go way back with the owner. He won't mind if we finish our business discussion."
"We don't have business together, and there is nothing more to discuss," I told him.
The man in the suit took a few steps closer to me. His eyes were narrowed and his smile sharp. "Like I said, you'll like this deal. However you want to lose is up to you. Just know when you do, there will be a nice fat wad waiting in your locker here."
"And what happens if I win the next fight?" I asked again.
"If you lose, we'll pay you. If you win you'll pay," the man said with his same sharp smile.
"I'll pay? Who's going to make me? I think you saw what I did to your friend." I crossed my arms over my chest.
"Why make things hard for yourself or your friends? Not everyone can face Tony with such aplomb."
"I'll take the compliment, but not the deal," I said.
"Make no mistake, Mr. Morris. Unless you lose we'll find a way to make you pay," he said.
"You don't know much about me, do you?" I asked. "I don't have friends, and I don't much care what happens to me. I like to fight. I like to win. I don't need your deal."
The big man called Tony groaned and heaved himself to his feet. He rubbed his jaw and checked his teeth before glaring at me. "He understand yet?"
"He will," the boss man said. "For God's sake, go get some ice. We're taking care of this."
"All you're doing is getting out of my way," I said. "You don't have any leverage over me and I'm not taking your rotten deal. I fight to win and I'm not bending for anyone."
"What's that saying? Some proverb or something about bending. If you don't bend, you break," the man said with a curled lip that made his smile a snarl.
His companion in the dark pants and shirt stepped forward and flashed his gun. "Lose if you want to stay lucky."
"I don't believe in luck," I said.
The men laughed and left, leaving a hollow silence behind them.
Chapter Fifteen
Kya
I showed up at the boxing gym early the next morning. I knew it was pushing too hard, but I hoped the coffee and donuts would soften my ambush. If previous mornings were a good indication, Fenton should have still been asleep in the back room.
"Left me a note, rented a private gym. Sorry, miss, that's all I can tell you," the owner of the gym said.
I drummed my fingers on the notched wooden bar he used as a check in desk. "A private gym? Are there a lot of those in Vegas? Which one?"
"It wouldn't be very private if I knew, now would it?"
There was something strange about the way the gym owner's eyes shifted over my head and swept along the front windows. He seemed nervous, as if he expected a bolt of lightning to strike him, even though the sun was shining.
"Why did Mr. Morris switch gyms? Did something happen?" I asked.
"No, nothing happened. Fighters are like that. Maybe he thought there was bad mojo here or something," the nervous man said.
If that was Fenton's reason, I was starting to agree with him. The gym owner made me nervous and I left quickly. Maybe the man just did not want to talk to me because I was the reason Fenton was acting erratic. I had not exactly been calm and predictable myself.
The only constant was my terrible attempts to sign him to the endorsement deal. No matter what I did, I could not separate the inevitable pleasure of his company with the contract I wanted, no, needed him to sign. My behavior was unfair to him as a client and as a date. Date? No, Fenton was more than a casual date. Those were not casual kisses we had exchanged on the couch.
I blushed, thinking about how easily I had thrown aside our business, the entire point of the evening, and let myself get carried away by how he made me feel. Melting and open, electric and consumed, Fenton's mouth on mine had kindled a response from my body that I could not control.
He must have felt as overwhelmed as I did because he was the one that suddenly broke away. His face was a storm cloud, all the friction between us charging him up, despite the fact he had refused my offer. He did not have to refuse. He could have stayed. That confused expression as he left made my
heart soar; there had to be more between us.
Maybe that was why out of all the casinos in Vegas, he chose the Tropicana. I got out of the cab to hear a commotion in the main lobby. Fenton was leading a massive entourage through the casino to one of the bars. Did he hope that I would see him, join him?
I pushed my way into the throng and felt a thrill when his laser blue eyes caught sight of me. He turned away and continued berating a reporter and trash talking Mario Peretti.
"Like I said, it was a lucky punch. I hear he wasn't so lucky at his fight last night. No consistency," Fenton said.
"And, you'd say you're a consistent fighter?" the reporter asked.
"Yes. One misstep doesn't change my record." Fenton glanced over me again and then threw his arm around a ripe redhead. "Maybe you should go and do a little research before asking any more questions. I don't have time for you to try out headlines on me without any real substance." He used his free hand to shove the reporter away and strutted off with the redhead plastered against his side.
I ignored the desire to storm away and sulk. Instead, I followed the crowd into the bar and pushed my way to the tight circle around Fenton again.
"You really are a glutton for punishment, eh?" Kev Casey said. Fenton's manager snaked an arm around my waist.
I did not struggle even as my stomach clenched. Kev was repellant, but he guided me right next to Fenton. I went so far as to put my hand over Kev's shoulder and delighted in Fenton's immediate frown.
"Now, don't look like that, Fenton," Kev said. "We need her. Now that you've gone full diva on me and rented a private gym, it might be time for you to consider Ms. Allen's deal a little more seriously."
Fenton released the redhead though she clung to his arm. "Ms. Allen has never managed to fully articulate her pitch."
"We can go over the contract any time you like," I said. "You know where my suite is when you're ready."
"I'm ready," Kev said. "How about we head up to her suite and make it a private party?"