A Valentine Challenge (Challenge Series, #1)
Page 10
Her lips curved wider in a luscious smile. He fought the urge to taste her lips, tightening his grip on the railing instead. It was too soon. He didn’t want her skittering away in fright.
“You’re good then. I’m only in London for tonight. Tomorrow, I’m off to Abuja.”
“Oh. That’s a shame.” Was that disappointment in her voice? Did she feel this flaming hunger he felt too? “You won’t get to see much of London in just one day.”
“I guess not.” The urge to touch her skin drew him closer. “I’m Paul Arinze.”
He stopped at arm’s length and extended his hand. Without hesitation, she placed her hand in his and held his stare boldly. On connection, a warm tingle spread from his hand down his back. Her hand was soft and warm. Yet she her grip was firm and confident.
“I’m Ijay Amadi.” Her sultry voice brushed his skin in a featherlike caress.
The throbbing of his arousal increased. The heady mix of her timidity and trust made him want to crush her soft curves against his hardness. If she had this effect on him just holding his hand, what would it feel like on the rest of his body? He wanted to find out. Shame he only had tonight.
“So are you here as a guest?” Reluctantly, he released her hand, missing its heat already.
“No. I work for Havers & Child PR Agency. I organized the product launch event earlier and this party.”
Paul didn’t return to his original position. He stood close to Ijay. She didn’t move away. He took that as a good sign. “That’s great. Congratulations, you did a splendid job. If I ever want to plan a party, you’re the lady to know.”
“I sure am.” She laughed, dug in her purse, and handed him a business card. He took it and slipped it into his pocket. “And if you need to know the best places and people to have at your party, I’m the girl to know too.”
“I wonder, are you the girl to know if I need a personal guide to show me around the best spots in London tonight?”
His question hung in the air for a moment. She didn’t reply immediately. In the shadows of the balcony, he couldn’t read the expression on her face. He wondered if he’d pushed the boundaries too hard too quickly. There was something about this woman that soothed his edgy feeling. Somehow he knew she felt the combustible arc of desire between them.
“I could be.”
“But?”
“No buts. Give me ten minutes to make sure someone covers for me and I’ll be all yours.” The suggestive, sensual tone of her voice got his blood fizzing out of control.
Damn, he wanted her. He’d never thought himself the one-night-stand kind of man. Yet he was impatient with anticipation. The rush of blood southward, swelling his already aching shaft.
He nodded. “I can’t wait.”
She walked to the door, paused and looked at him. “I’ll hurry.” She beamed him another sexy smile and disappeared through the door.
***
“You’re doing what?” Sonia asked, her mouth opened and eyes widened with incredulity.
“I told you already.” Ijay shrugged. She’d expected a similar response from her colleague and best friend when she’d shared the news that she picked up a man at the party and was about to head off into the night with him.
“Yes, you did. But the idea sounded so crazy, so unlike you I thought I’d misheard you.” Sonia waved her hand in the air to emphasis her point before reapplying her lipstick in the mirror of the ladies room. “You don’t know him from Adam. He could be an axe murderer for all you know.”
“Perhaps. I doubt it though. He's Frederick’s friend.”
Though she hadn’t said it to him, she’d seen Paul earlier at the Product launch chatting with Frederick Conte whose firm was a client of Havers & Child. She’d watched him even closer when he’d arrived at the bar.
By default, she shouldn’t trust any friend of Frederick's.
Still, something about Paul had attracted her attention. It was partly the self-assured way he moved across the floor, the engaging way he spoke to people and perceptive way he surveyed his surroundings. The way the navy silk shirt clung to his chest and the charcoal trousers to his thighs, there was no hiding the power and lithe of the body beneath the fabrics.
And of course the richness and depth of his voice had been pure sinful decadence to listen to. It was as if he was strumming her body with their enticing eloquent cords.
“Oh, that makes it alright then.” Sonia rolled her eyes upwards in mock exasperation. “Seriously, I’ve heard about people doing crazy things on the rebound...this is taking the biscuit, Ijay. Come on. It’s not like you at all.”
“Perhaps that’s the problem. I need to do something unlike me. I’m tired of being treated like a foot mat. I played safe with Frederick yet now he’s engaged to Tamara; not me. I really am tired of moping around.”
“You’re not moping around.” Her friend grabbed her shoulders and hugged her. “It’s Frederick’s loss.”
It might be Frederick’s loss. Still, it didn’t feel that way from where Ijay was standing. After three years of dating Frederick on and off, all it had taken was for Tamara to show up and he’d had no problems proposing to her. They were all set for a spring wedding.
Ijay was the one who’d given him three years of her devotion. Where had that taken her? Nowhere. Except alone. She saw the way people looked at her with pity in their eyes and she hated it. They thought she couldn’t keep a man’s attention.
However, when Paul had looked at her, it’d been as if he’d really seen her. Not as rejected Ijay but as a sexy beautiful woman in her own right.
“Seriously, I just want to stop being the good, organized, reliable girl for an evening,” she said reflectively. “I want to be carefree and spontaneous for a change and enjoy some time with a man who actually seems to find me attractive. I’m not asking for anything else. Is that too much to ask for?”
Tears pooled in her eyes blurring her view of the mirror. She blinked a couple of times, stopping them from dropping.
“No, it’s not.” Her friend’s cheeks dimpled as she smiled cheerily. “Go. I’ll hold the fort for you.”
Ijay pulled out Paul’s business card and gave it to Sonia. “Here are his contact details just in case. I’ll see you back at the apartment. Don’t wait up.”
Ijay smiled, the words making her feel reckless. Staying out all night was never really her thing. It felt good to be doing something unlike her for a change. Ijay picked up her purse and jacket to leave.
“And you know what? Make his night unforgettable,” Sonia said giving her a big grin and a wink.
Ijay felt a smile spread on her face as she walked back to the balcony and the hunk of a man waiting there. It felt great to know someone was looking forward to her company. Even if it was just for one night.
Tonight she needed someone to take away the aching loneliness she felt inside. A few minutes with Paul on the balcony had dulled that ache. A whole night of his presence would act like a sedative ensuring when she eventually slept there would be no more tears.
For nights after the split with Frederick she’d cried, wondering what was wrong with her. Why she wasn’t the one happily engaged. Tonight there’d be none of that. Just the bliss of sleep.
To read the rest of the story visit: http://www.kirutaye.com/booklist/an-engagement-challenge
About Kiru Taye
A lover of books, as a teenager Kiru Taye used to read novels under the blanket during lights-outs in boarding school. These days, with a young family to take care of, she's still sacrificing sleep for the pleasures of a good book.
During the day though, she transforms her wildly vivid imagination into sensual, atmospheric romance stories with passionate characters.
When she’s not writing or reading, she'd hanging out with family and friends or travelling. Born in Nigeria, she currently lives in the UK with husband and children.
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