Romancing the Fashionista: The Flirty Fashionistas, Book 1

by K. M. Jackson

  Going for his belt, it was her turn to take charge.

  When his pants came off Mel thought she would all but pass out at the sheer size of him. The hands and feet didn’t lie in this case. But when she looked back up, Nolan was staring at her with a look that was so deep, it was like he was seeing all the thoughts she didn’t want him to see. And in that moment asking for a part of her she knew she wasn’t ever going to give.

  Mel went to her fallback and took control, pushing Nolan back on to the bed then going to unhook her bra. She got a special satisfaction out of watching his breath quicken and his already hardened cock jump as he caught sight of her breasts. She went for her panties next, easing them down and kicking them away before crawling her way up his long body. It was quite the climb, and one she happily made, kissing and licking at his hot skin along the way. “You’re driving me crazy, Mellie.”

  She grinned. “That’s what I plan to do,” she said, reaching for his hardness as she readied to taste him. But he stilled her with his hand and pulled her up his body, quickly flipping her over so that he was now on top.

  “No, what you plan to do is control this situation.”

  When she opened her mouth to protest he silenced her with a kiss. “Don’t argue with me, woman. I got this. Now relax and let me take care of you.”

  Mel watched as his shaved head lowered first to her neck and décolleté, then down to her breasts where he started out gently stroking and kissing her already hardened nipples causing them to harden even more, almost to the point of delicious pain, as his attention grew more urgent when he took each nipple between his lips and sucked. The insistent sexual thrill, a tightly pulled coil, expanding and contrasting between her breasts and her sexual center, Mel fought for control by tightening her thighs together.

  “Don’t fight the feeling, Melinda,” Nolan said as he continued his descent lower down her body, kissing the top of her V and letting out a breathy sigh. It was as if he was a magician saying abracadabra the way her thighs opened up for him with the whisper of her full name. And magic was what she’d call it if she were telling the story of the way his tongue played over her most intimate of spots. The man was amazing. Switching from first slow and languid, his tongue doing a dance that at just the right moment turned and dipped before he flipped around and turned up the tempo playing on her hardened pearl at a fast and steady pace until stars burst behind her eyes.

  Mel reached for the sheets, trying her best to keep control, but when he blew on her already sensitive tip and suckled her in between his lips, her back arched and her hands flew to his muscular shoulders, going to that sexy head of his as she broke apart into a thousand pieces.

  Then suddenly he was above her. Looking down at her with that smile that made her at first shy but still unable to do anything but goofily smile back.

  “You are the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in such a long time.”

  Mel sighed as his words took her orgasm and somehow spread it from her body to her mind and beyond.

  “You could be dangerous, Mr. Parker,” Mel said as she fought back surprising tears of joy.

  Nolan smiled wider as he reached for a condom he had nearby and quickly opened it, pulling it down over his hardened erection. “Ms. Mitchell, you’re about to find out just how dangerous.”

  Nolan quickly flipped her over and it was ass in the air. The last coherent thought Mel had in her head before he entered her and took her breath away in one swift motion was that Lexi would so get a kick out of knowing this position.

  Chapter Eleven

  Mel’s eyes flew open as the first rays of dawn slid their way through the tiny sliver of the hotel’s blackout curtains. Holy crap, she’d done it. Well, not she alone, but they’d done it and it had been fan-freaking-tastic. So much so she had about ten different emotional freak-outs, and that was over the first three orgasms alone. But really, if she was honest with herself and shit, she was coming to learn she hated being honest with herself, the freak-outs were not only over the orgasms. She’d had good orgasms before, plenty as a matter of fact both alone and with partners. The freak-outs were over the intense personal connection she felt towards Nolan both before, during, and after the orgasms.

  That she wasn’t prepared for.

  When he first entered her and filled her with the behind the back flip, Mel was both filled and fulfilled. But when he turned her back around and they were then face to face, that’s when things got overwhelming. When he rocked her as he looked into her eyes, daring her not to look away as he breathed in every breath she let out. Well, hell that was just too much. And then when he came repeating her name plus the name he used for her, his own special one with a kind of almost reverence, “Melinda, Melinda, My-linda,” it took all she had to blink back the tears that threatened to fall.

  Mel frowned at the thought and blinked rapidly as the tears welled up again, and her heart sped up with yet another emotional freak-out on the horizon. Shit. It was morning and she had to get away. This wasn’t what she bargained for and she suspected a bawling woman was not what Nolan wanted the morning after either. She had to get herself together. Had to get back on solid footing.

  Mel slipped out of the bed and from under the weight of Nolan’s solid thigh and strong arm as she slid to the floor. She then gathered her clothes and bag to her chest in a completely, she knew, undignified crouched position, and made her way to the door that adjoined hers and prayed a silent prayer that Lexi came through and unlocked their side. Thankfully she had, and as quiet as she could Mel made her way naked into the adjoining room where she locked the door behind her.

  Nolan opened his eyes when he heard the door click. He knew Mel was awake and that she had been for a long time. He also knew she was freaking out. She had been on edge so many times throughout their lovemaking but he’d thought he’d successfully pulled her back from the brink with his attentions. Thinking it over now, that’s what it was to him, lovemaking. Her scent, her feel, her kisses, even her every breath, he loved it all. And he suspected her feelings were strong too, despite her crawling out of the room on all fours like a cat burglar.

  Nolan turned over and let out a groan, instantly hard again thinking of how amazing it was being with her. More than he ever could have imagined. The woman was who he wanted and now he knew all he needed for life.

  But she needed time, and he could see that. Her emotions were new and raw. So he let her go. But it wouldn’t be for long. It was early yet, and they had a breakfast farewell meeting to attend. He planned on knocking on the women’s door early to escort them and make it clear to Mel he wanted to see more of her when he got to New York.

  Yeah, Nolan thought as he closed his eyes to get in another hour or two of rest, this won’t be my last encounter with the deliciously bossy Melinda Mitchell, not by a long shot.

  * * * * *

  “Wake up,” Mel whispered loudly in Lexi’s ear, trying once again to rouse the woman sleeping like the dead. This time she added a not-so-friendly poke to her side.

  “Ow! What the hell, Mel? If this hotel is not on fire I’m kicking your ass!”

  “Shh, we’ve got to go. And quick. I’ve packed your things.” Mel pulled back the covers.

  Lexi looked at the panic in her friend’s face and bolted up. “Is it Bailey? Has she been hurt? Okay, I’m moving.”

  Mel suddenly felt awful for giving her friend that type of scare. “No, no she’s fine. We just have to go. I can’t stay here any longer.” She looked back towards the connecting door and blinked back tears again.

  Shit. Since when did I get so fucking emotional?

  Lexi stared at her frowning. “Did that shithead hurt you? Pull some crazy kinky shit you didn’t like? It’s always the good-looking ones, I tell you. Because I’m ready to kick some ass if necessary. Say the word and we go over there. Call the authorities after.”

  Mel smiled a wobbly smile. I
t was good to have a friend she could count on but she shook her head again and swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. “No, he was absolutely perfect.”

  Lexi pulled back and got a sympathetic look. She shook her head and pulled Mel into a hug. “What a fucking bastard. Come on, let’s go. But you’re buying me waffles on the road. It’s the least you can do for getting me up this early.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “You tell her assistant the answer is still no. There will be no one allowed in that is not a contributor to the foundation and that’s that. They all want something from me, be it a spot on my upcoming ‘It’ list, one of our advertising spots, or a chance to walk our red carpet. Well, none of that comes without a contribution to our literacy campaign.” Mel tapped her fingers as she listened to the woman on the other end of the phone go on for a moment more before her patience ran out. “Quote me? Of course you can quote me. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll quote myself. You can check for it on our website later today.” She hung up, not waiting for a response from the woman on the other end.

  “Shelby! Get me Alyce so she can update something on the site!” she yelled, though her assistant was already on the way in anticipation. She pulled herself up short. “Sorry for the screech.”

  Shelby rolled her eyes overdramatically while rubbing at her ear. “I was going to ask you about that. You’ve been a beast since your reunion weekend. I told you no good comes of dredging up old friends. It took me forever to get that horrible picture talk to die down, and now there are pics surfacing of you and some hunk. We need to make a statement. Is that what you want Alyce for?”

  Mel put her elbows on her desk and rolled her temples between her fingers. It was a disaster, and one she didn’t want to address. She looked up and clicked on her email then clicked over to Facebook. When she came back home she immediately made her account private, took off tagging capabilities and unfriended most of her new old friends, but for some reason, she couldn’t let go of Nolan Parker. Though the fact he had messaged her numerous times and she had answered none of them made her feel like a coward. His last message said it all:

  I guess the weekend was what it was. A weekend. Thank you for making it the most special one of my life. I hope we do meet again.

  Nolan

  It was best this way.

  At least, that’s what Mel told herself—what she kept telling herself and would keep telling herself until it stuck. Let the past stay in the past and the future be what it should be. Ordered and the way she planned it. And right now she had a gala to plan, and that needed to go off without a hitch. She looked at Shelby. “No, I’m not making a statement about that. It will die down. Eventually. Call up Aston’s people and see if he’s free to go with me to the gala. I’m sure he will make himself free if he’s not. Once the photographers get a look at him, those photos will be old news.” Mel ignored the knot in her gut and told herself she was doing the right thing.

  Shelby gave her a raised brow but nodded. “Okay boss, I’m on it. Oh and Remy Costa requested to have her party moved to tables 7 and 8.”

  It was Mel’s turn to roll her eyes. Remy Costa was a first-class pain in the ass. A former model turned trophy wife turned socialite with the taste for the flavor of the moment. She always turned up at the party with her new young ingénue and threw money at whatever venture they were peddling. It would be sad if Remy wasn’t in on the joke. She coined herself a special kind of lender. And she loved making a spectacle of herself. She and Mel had crossed paths quite a few times, and their last encounter had not ended well when Remy decided her next “project” should be Mel’s current boy of the moment. It wasn’t that Mel cared much for the guy, he was nothing more than a passing thing. The fact that Remy chose to be caught blowing him in a public bathroom at one of Mel’s events—now that was unforgivable.

  To make matters worse Remy, thanks to her ex, the late Earl of whatever, had pockets deeper than deep and she bought not one but two tables at Mel’s charity gala at 100 grand a table. The charity couldn’t afford to not have her there.

  Mel let out a sigh. “Move her to 12 and 13 so she’s more central, but not too central. I wonder what she’s into now.”

  “Not what, but who,” Shelby said. “But does it even matter? Whomever it is, Remy will make him, her or it press-worthy.”

  Mel shook her head. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

  Shelby left and Mel stood looking out her office window with her East River view. The day was crisp and clear and Mel turned right and took in the Brooklyn Bridge and beyond the tiny image of the Statue of Liberty. It brought Bailey to mind, and she remembered she needed to make time to visit the Statue with her daughter. It had been a penciled-in date on her calendar for so long, but she’d never made it happen. Her trip back to Timber showed her just how fleeting time was. Suddenly a vision of her and Bailey on the ferry jumped into her mind, but they were not alone. They were laughing as a happy threesome with Nolan sharing in their experience.

  She shook her head and turned away from the view. Something had to give. She had to get these feelings for Nolan Parker out of her head once and for all. Sure, she and Nolan had a fun weekend in Timber Falls. Emotions were high and they were amazing together in bed but feelings didn’t make a relationship. It didn’t make a life. Besides, what she wanted, what she felt, didn’t matter here. What mattered was what she needed and that was to keep pace with her business and, most importantly, the calm peace of the steady life she’d built for her mom and Bailey. The safe world that she could control. She couldn’t bring a man into the mix and possibly ruin everything. She had to stay focused. She was no longer in Timber Falls. She was home now.

  The boss was back in town.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Mel took one last look around the grand ballroom and declared it perfect. The head caterer and designer both let out relieved sighs and nervous laughs.

  “Come on, am I really that tough?” Mel asked.

  “Oh no!” Jacques, the head chef and caterer, said clearly afraid he had offended her. “You have an exacting eye and palette. So for you to say something is perfect, it is the highest compliment, and indeed it must be perfect.”

  Mel paused for a moment and remembered the last time she’d thought something was perfect. It was the weekend, more specifically the night she’d spent in Nolan’s arms.

  It was then Mel realized that she’d been a fool running away from him. Running away from her own happiness, as if she somehow didn’t deserve joy. What type of person did that? Maybe she should have seen a shrink so she could have gotten to this point faster. It was as if all these years she’d been needlessly punishing herself for a mistake with the professor that wasn’t a mistake in the first place.

  She smiled reassuringly at the expectant faces looking her way. “I know this is work, but do try and enjoy yourselves tonight. I can’t thank you all enough.”

  As she left the ballroom through the back door, Shelby was there, with her dress looking understated but fabulous in a female-cut tuxedo that said she was there to work but was also all about the fashion. Back in the staging area was Mel’s hair and makeup team in an adjoining room along with her date for the evening. He was a supermodel turned actor with only one name—Aston. From the UK, he had deep mahogany skin and was drop-dead gorgeous. She and Aston had a mild flirtation when he did a shoot for them back in the spring, but when he came in for a kiss, Mel smoothly turned her head, going all business to let him know clearly the direction the night would be taking.

  Aston took the hint like a pro giving her an easy grin. “It’s good to see you again, Mel. I can’t thank you enough for the invitation.”

  Mel let out a relieved sigh, glad there would be no tension with him for the evening. “You too, Aston. I’m so happy for you with the way your career has taken off. I hear they are tapping you as the next action superstar.”

  She cou
ld tell he was blushing, and all the women and one man in the room just about swooned. “Aw, cut it, Mel. I just want to do my mum proud. You know how that goes.”

  Mel nodded. “That I do. Listen, grab a drink. I won’t be too long getting ready then we’ll head out into the lion’s den. You know, do the old red-carpet thing.”

  Mel settled in, getting her hair and makeup quickly done. She’d love to have Lexi there to style her but she made her friend a guest for the night so she’d see her later at her table. She was thinking of Nolan and now that her mind was settling in, she couldn’t wait to talk with Lexi about her decision. Have her help come up with a plan to reconnect with him. Lexi would be happy to do that but more than that, happy to say I told you so, which she had been not so subtly doing for the past few weeks.

  Even though she was a guest, ever the stylist, Lex had sent over the perfect dress for the evening— an elegant vintage gown in black satin with onyx hand-sewn jewels that went up its high front slit and down its low back to show off her up-do, and make a dramatic statement as she made her appearance on the red carpet, both coming and going. She added stretch black satin three-quarter length gloves, small canary diamond earrings and a large canary diamond ring as her only jewels on loan.

  Heading out with a black-tied Aston, she knew they made a striking couple, but couldn’t help but wish she were on Nolan’s arm. “Okay, let’s knock ‘em dead,” Aston said with that easy charm and disarming accent of his. Mel knew he would go far in Hollywood.

  They exited from the back door of the landmark library and club now used primarily for social functions and into the open door of a stretch Maybach, which did a circle around to the front of the venue in line with all the other waiting limousines. Mel took out her cell and snapped a picture of the pandemonium in front of the venue to send to Bailey at home. She knew her daughter would get a kick out of it. Bailey couldn’t wait until she was old enough to attend these glitzy events with Mel and never missed an opportunity to tell her so. But so far Mel had successfully shielded her from most of the limelight, preferring to let her enjoy her childhood.