Masters for Hire

by Ginger Voight

  “Yeah, sorry I didn’t prepare you better,” I mumbled as I grabbed my glass of champagne, which was still full. At least for the full ten seconds it took me to drain it.

  “What else was I going to do on a Saturday night?” he smirked. Then, “Are you okay?”

  I nodded, but my hand still trembled as I placed the empty glass back on the desk. “It was painful and awkward, but necessary. Years overdue, really.”

  He ran a hand across my bare shoulder, trailing a finger all the way down my arm until he could take my hand into his. “I’m sure there are quite a few things that are overdue,” he murmured as his eyes captured mine. I felt my legs literally shake, and Devlin wasn’t done being wonderful. “Regardless of what they said, you really do look beautiful. I hope you know that.”

  My eyes met his. He had been lying so easily all evening, it was hard to believe anything he said. But I wanted to. I really wanted to. I decided to lie too, so I nodded in response.

  Those amazing eyes bored into mine. “So who is Oliver?”

  I exhaled long and hard as I perched on the desk next to him. “Bachelor #1,” I answered. “Hand-picked for yours truly. He’s the current VP of Cabot’s. Ivy League education. Family from old money. French,” I added with roll of my eyes.

  “And absolutely boring,” he filled in. God, he was smart. Or intuitive. Or psychic. Or magic…

  #DefinitelyMagic

  “Not boring, just not exciting.” Loyalty insisted that I add, “He’s a nice guy. He’s smart, upstanding, and dependable. Ambitious. But…,” I trailed off.

  Devlin wrapped his large hand around mine. “Absolutely, positively, undeniably boring.”

  I chuckled. “Yeah.”

  “I tell you what,” he said as he stood to his feet. “Let’s blow this popsicle stand.” As he pulled me to my feet, I couldn’t help but calculate how much time we had left of our four-hour date. His hands were warm. His chest was solid. His eyes were compelling. And little did he know that by standing up to Father, he had already done more for me than Oliver ever had or ever will.

  “Okay,” I found myself responding. Suddenly sex with a stranger, particularly one I paid, didn’t seem all that seedy at all.

  It was time I learned exactly who CC Cabot really was. Which reminded me… “By the way, no one calls me Coralie, except Father when he’s chastising me. All my friends call me CC. I probably should have told you that before.”

  He grinned down at me and caressed the side of my face with one large hand. “Thanks for the tip. Coralie,’” he drawled with that hint of an accent that made my panties practically fly right off.

  I squeezed his hand with mine. “Let’s go.”

  Fortunately Father and Sylvia were both MIA when we finally emerged from the study. The same could not be said for Oliver Lavoie, who had arrived at the soiree a little late for my startling debut. Aunt Margot stood right next to him, so I was sure she was giving him the rundown. His flinty eyes sparked with anger as he stared at me from across the room.

  Devlin’s gaze followed mine as he assessed the competition. He brought my hand to his lips and let a kiss linger as he stared at Oliver with a barely concealed smirk. Devlin grabbed a bottle of champagne from one of the sterling silver ice buckets before leading me from the room.

  And he didn’t stop until we reached the front door of Petit Paradis. The minute he pushed open the door, however, we knew we were not alone. We could both hear Lucy sobbing from the foyer. I offered him a regretful smile as I turned the corner to go to my friend.

  She had practically soaked Gus’s fine tux, but he didn’t seem to care. He brushed her hair and crooned to her softly. “Shh,” he said. “It’s okay. We don’t have to get married if you don’t want to.”

  “I do want to be married,” she wailed. “I just don’t want the wedding. Why is that so hard for her to understand?”

  I eased onto the sofa next to them. “Give her some time, Lucy. You really dropped a bombshell on her tonight. She’s going to need some time to digest everything.”

  Lucy shook her head. “She doesn’t care, Ceece. She chased me down to guilt me into keeping the plans exactly as they are. Everyone’s bought their bridesmaids gowns. People are flying in from all over the country. The caterers have already been booked, as well as the cathedral. And it’s too late for Daddy to get back his deposits. So it’s either this or nothing.”

  “Not necessarily,” Devlin said as he sat in one of the matching chairs opposite the couch. “At the end of the day, you’re the one that has to walk down that aisle. If you’re not there, there’s no wedding. You have a lot more power than you know.”

  Gus nodded. “Just because it doesn’t happen on June 26th doesn’t mean it won’t happen. We can take the time to get it right, a whole other year if you want.”

  She shook her head and dissolved into fresh tears. “It’ll never feel right now. Either I’ll be a bitter, passive aggressive automaton going through the motions, or she will. It’ll be a battle to the very end. I certainly don’t want to drag that out any longer than I have to.”

  “Fine, we’ll elope,” Gus bartered. “I’ll fly us to the Bahamas next weekend.”

  “Yeah, right. Elope,” Lucy muttered.

  “Honestly, you could be married tomorrow if you wanted,” Devlin suggested. “Vegas is less than an hour away by plane. No waiting period for the marriage license. Wedding chapels line the Strip, with your choice entirely how you tie the knot. Then, if you really want to throw your mother a bone, you could go through with her spectacle anyway. Everyone wins.”

  Lucy mulled that over for a minute. She finally turned to Gus. “What do you think?”

  He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “I always told you it didn’t matter when or where. As long as I get to marry you, that’s my dream come true. If we do it twice, even better.”

  Lucy glanced at me. “What about you? What do you think?”

  I grabbed her hand in mine and squeezed hard. “Anytime, anywhere. I just want you to be happy.”

  She disentangled herself from Gus to throw her arms around me. “Thank you so much, Ceece. I couldn’t do this without you.” Her eyes traveled to Devlin, who sat silently watching the whole exchange. “And thanks, Devlin. It meant a lot that you stood up with us back there.”

  He smiled wide. “What are old friends for?”

  She laughed. “Right,” she said, keeping up the charade. Then she glanced down at her watch. “I guess we should get out of your hair,” she said to me with a coy grin.

  “Only if you’re okay,” I said. No matter how good looking or charming, or drop dead sexy, Devlin Masters was, it was sisters before misters all the way.

  She took Gus’s hand in hers. “Okay? I’m the luckiest girl in the world.” She leaned over to kiss my cheek. “I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know what we decide. Whether it’s Vegas, the Bahamas or Timbuktu, I’m not getting married without my maid of honor.”

  “You better not,” I growled playfully before hugging her tight.

  Devlin shadowed me as I walked Gus and Lucy to the door. I stood waving after them long after they disappeared down the pathway and into the darkness beyond. Devlin finally reached around me to close the front door with one hand, which ultimately pinned me between the solid, hard wood of the door and the solid, hard wall of his chest. He leaned forward, towering above me, so close that I could feel the heat from his incredible body. His gaze swept over me, as if peeling away every inch of my clothes with nothing more than a look, before it finally settled on my face.

  My eyes met his. This was where it got complicated, I knew. We could spend the rest of our night ‘talking’, but I hadn’t paid to talk. I could have had that with Oliver without paying one thin dime. I had wanted something more than that, and had for a long, long time. I knew it, and I suspected that Devlin knew it, too. He was, after all, a professional.

  So what now? Did I take a green light for granted here, or what? Did I simply
ask for sex? Or did wait for him to make a move? Did we talk about it, or just go at it like a couple of people might on a “real” date? The clock was ticking and I had absolutely no idea what to do next.

  He answered my silent questions with a slow, confident smirk as he locked the door behind us with a resounding click. He leaned forward, his mouth so near to my skin I could feel his breath against me. My knees nearly gave way when he said, “Alone at last.”

  I nodded, gulped hard and licked my lips. He chuckled a bit before he turned back to the living room, tugging my hand in his so that I would follow. “You should get us some glasses, Coralie,” he murmured as he reached for the bottle of champagne to uncork it.

  I nodded dutifully and scurried around the corner to the kitchen, returning with a couple of cobalt blue champagne flutes. He shrugged out of his jacket as I perched on the sofa to pour us our wine. It was a wonder I didn’t spill it everywhere. I couldn’t wrench my gaze away from his body if I tried. Those broad shoulders… that solid chest…the promise of that bulge in those slim-fitting pants…and for the next couple of hours or so it was all mine, bought and paid for.

  #NNNff…

  My pulse raced as he sat next to me, so close that I became intoxicated on the spicy, woodsy scent of his cologne. I was sure he could see my hand tremble when I handed him his glass.

  Those sultry eyes rendered me mute as he stared at me. Finally he raised his glass. “To old friends and new beginnings,” he said in a voice so soft, it felt like an actual caress.

  I nodded as I clinked our glasses together. I couldn’t tear my eyes from his supple mouth as he drank. Again, I drained another glass. I reached for the bottle, but Devlin leaned forward to grab my hand. “You’re not going to need that,” he murmured in a low voice that sent a shock wave to my core.

  “I’m–I’m not?” I stammered.

  He shook his head. My head was floating as high as a cloud as he took the glass from my hand and set it on the coffee table in front of me. He eased back against the couch, capturing my face with his hand. His thumb brushed rhythmically over my cheek as he stared down into my face. “I think I know what you want, Coralie. I definitely know what you need. The question is… do you trust me to give it to you?”

  My eyes widened as I stared up at him. Slowly I nodded. I stared at his mouth as it descended towards mine, closing over my lips finally in a soft, sensual kiss. My insides went up just like kindling as his broad tongue parted my lips and darted inside. He tasted like champagne. It only made me feel drunker.

  And I blame the alcohol for the wanton way I threw my arms around his neck and kissed this enticing stranger back. I mean, I was only human for crying out loud. This man looked like he just stepped off the cover of a magazine, and here he was kissing me. He was kissing me. Me! His lips on mine, his hands on my body, his tongue penetrating my mouth with all the passion I’d only read about in romance novels. His fingers tangled in my hair as he deeply explored my mouth with that skilled tongue, and I felt my whole body come to life as a response.

  I wanted more, and I was in the very unique position to take it, no questions asked.

  He held me close, with one broad hand sliding up my side to cup the full curve of my breast. I gasped into his mouth as he thumbed my nipple through the fabric. He pulled away to stare down into my face. “You spent all your life taking care of everyone else, but no one has taken care of you, have they?”

  I couldn’t even speak. I just shook my head.

  “I’m going to change that,” he promised as he reached for another kiss. “I’m going to change everything.”

  I trembled against him when I felt his hand along my back, grasping the zipper and easing it down, exposing more bare flesh and leaving a trail of goose bumps in its wake.

  He pulled the dress from my shoulders, revealing the black corset underneath. It prompted another groan from his lips. “You’re fucking magnificent,” he said as he inhaled me with his eyes. “Take off your dress,” he commanded. “I need to look at you.”

  I shuddered again. It was such a sexy command, one that vaulted me right out of my comfort zone. I was a lights-out, under-the-covers kind of girl, at least up until that moment. No one had ever asked me to strip, just so they could relish every imperfection people like Oliver and my Father had always encouraged me to hide.

  But there was no point in denying the request. There was no variable to consider. That light wasn’t just green. It was all systems go. There was no second-guessing or changing his mind. We’d rounded third base and were heading for home. There was no period of uncertainty, of will-we, won’t-we. We knew exactly what we were there for, and there was a lot of freedom in that. It was all about the moment, which we could make it into whatever we wanted if we just had the nerve.

  If I just had the nerve.

  I was both liberated and terrified as I slid from the sofa. My hands shook as I reached around to finish unzipping the dress. He cozied himself in the corner of my sofa as he watched. I trembled all over as he inhaled me with that hooded gaze, drinking in every inch as I exposed it. Finally I stepped out of the dress and kicked it free.

  “Come here,” he said in a soft, low voice that made my stomach drop. It occurred to me that those were about the sexiest words he could have uttered. How could he have known that I had been waiting my whole life to hear them?

  #DefinitelyMagic

  His hands landed on my hips as I approached, and he lifted me easily onto his lap, where I straddled him. If I wondered how much of this routine was an act, his hardened body certainly provided evidence supporting he was into it. It made me feel sexier. He reached behind me to pull the satin ribbons from the back of the corset, binding it together. Finally I felt the garment give way.

  “Show me,” he said softly.

  I peeled the corset from my body, revealing myself at last. My boobs had always been huge, more of a hindrance really. But he stared at them like they were rare, precious jewels. His large hands covered each one, palming them, cupping them… worshipping them.

  “Fuck, you’re beautiful,” he breathed before he dove in to capture one of my nipples in his mouth.

  I cried out as he latched on, sucking me into his mouth, nipping at me with his teeth. I felt my hair tickle my back as my head tipped back and I arched myself against him. He responded to my ardor by switching to the other breast. My insides clenched and I bit my lip to hold back another cry.

  His hand slid up around my neck, bringing me down for another scorching kiss. “I want you,” he breathed against my mouth. “I’ve wanted you since I first saw you.”

  I knew it was likely bullshit, but it sure was nice to hear. “You should definitely take what you want, then,” I murmured back.

  He chuckled low in his throat as his hand snaked up my back and around my neck, which his strong fingers circled with authority to hold me in place… or guide me at will. “That’s what you’ve been waiting for, isn’t it, Coralie?”

  I hesitated only a moment as I stared into those incredible eyes. Finally I nodded. Apparently that was all the agreement he needed. He lifted me up off of the couch, easily carrying me in his strong, powerful arms as he figured out his way to my bedroom. This wasn’t that easy to do considering I had closed my legs around his hips and kissed him deep and hard as I rubbed my bare tits against him. I didn’t need a bed at that point. I just needed him. And I needed him worse than I had ever needed anyone… so bad I physically ached to feel him inside of me. I felt like a lock that finally found the right key.

  It was insanity, given we had just met, and given I had never done anything remotely as uninhibited. But the launch sequence had been initiated. There was nothing I could do but hold on and see where he took me. Best part of all, I didn’t have to fight it, no matter how weird or how crazy it was. There was no judgment here. I really didn’t even have to think about it. I could give in to it simply because I wanted to.

  That was liberating, too.

  Final
ly we slammed through my bedroom door. Several flameless candles were already illuminating the room, set on timers to give me the illusion of candlelight without all the fuss of actually lighting and looking after candles. He tossed me onto my mauve velvet and satin comforter, which matched the fleur de lys design on the dark wallpaper around the room. Across from my bed was a fireplace, with tiny ceramic tiles in black, gray and various colors of purple, from plum to mauve. Inside the fireplace were deep violet crystals, which created quite a stunning display when lit, setting quite the romantic mood if we chose to use it.

  We, however, didn’t have time for all of that. We were still on the clock, after all, and there was a lot we could do in ninety minutes.

  #TickTock goes the clock, and all I want is Devlin’s–

  I watched as he peeled away his shirt from that unbelievable chest. There was a hint of a tattoo on his lower abdomen on the right side, barely visible above the waistband of his pants. His eyes watched my face as he eased the zipper down, revealing more of his sculpted body and more of that tattoo.

  Bad boys have tattoos, I realized with a quiver.

  The tribal scorpion appeared to be inching along the sharply defined V-shaped muscles of his lower body, towards the waistband of his underwear, where I could see the defined contour of his growing erection. The scorpion tattoo wanted to go where I wanted to go, but Devlin grinned as he stopped just short of showing me. “Not yet, you naughty girl,” he said with a smile as he leaned forward and ripped away my matching panties. “I’m going to take care of you first.”

  A half-naked bad boy was in my bedroom, promising to take care of me? I practically came right on the spot.

  He traveled down my body, worshipping each inch with his mouth as he dragged it along my skin, blazing a trail of fire between my breasts, across my tummy and down between my thighs. I thought I’d be self-conscious when a complete stranger disappeared between my legs, but my need for him was bigger than that. When his magical mouth latched onto my sensitive core, I went up in flames myself, no fireplace necessary.