He kissed her cheek as he crossed the threshold. The chaste kiss shot directly to her pussy. Oh, Giada, what have you gotten yourself into?
He looked at her from her head down to her exposed cleavage, and then farther to her stocking-clad legs and four-inch heels. His eyes widened in what she hoped was male appreciation. She was glad that she’d chosen the little black dress over the trousers and blouse she’d tried on first.
“I made reservations at Bacchanalia. I hope that’s okay.” He looked around the condo as if he were searching for something.
“It’s the best restaurant in Atlanta, I think it will do.”
He turned and smiled at her sarcastic tone. “I thought eight o’clock would give us time to… I don’t know. Take our time, I guess.”
She watched his broad shoulders as he turned away again. She closed the door and followed him inside. “Are you looking for something?”
“Clues.”
She laughed. “What kind of clues?”
He shrugged those shoulders she’d just been admiring. “Clues that will tell me the kind of person you are.”
“Why don’t you just ask me?” She stood to his right, trying to figure out what he was seeing that would give him insights into her life.
He turned quickly and she found herself looking up into captivating blue eyes. She staggered back and his hands gripped her arms to steady her.
Their bodies were only an inch apart. It would have been so easy to lean in for the kiss she’d wanted since she was fifteen years old. She resisted once again.
“No one ever answers that question with the absolute truth. They may think they are, but people tend to be either too hard on themselves or they boast and exaggerate their attributes. If I look around your home, I can see photos of your parents, awards and the like.”
She made no attempt to pull away. “And what does my living room tell you about me?”
“You have an award for something. I saw it in the corner hiding behind that chair. I would guess that you have more than one award and most of them are packed away in a box somewhere. You’re proud of the accomplishment, whatever it was, but you don’t care for the attention. That’s why you keep it hidden. So you’re modest. You have a large picture of your parents on the mantel. They must have been very important to you since they’re front and center. No pictures of vacations or lovers. So either you don’t take many of either or you keep those squirrelled away in the bedroom.”
She was impressed that he had noted that much in such a quick look around. “What does all of that tell you about me?”
“Not much at first blush, but it’s a start. Do you have a lover, Giada?”
She smiled. “A slew of them. I keep them all locked in the bedroom.”
One hand came up and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. His mouth turned in amusement but his eyes remained intense. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since high school.”
“You have?”
“Yes.”
“So why didn’t you ever ask me out?”
“I didn’t think I was good enough for you. You were so sweet and you were my sister’s best friend.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Maybe you’ve put me a bit too high on a pedestal. I was just a girl, no different from any of the other girls you dated in school.”
His other hand skimmed along her arm, moving up and down and sending shock waves through her. “That’s just it, you are different. And I’m…”
His head dipped down a fraction of an inch.
“Are you going to kiss me, Isaac?”
“I’m trying my best to be a gentleman, but it’s not easy with those beautiful lips pouting up at me.” His head might have moved a fraction of an inch closer.
Her heart was beating so hard she thought he must be able to hear it. “Stop trying so hard.”
He dipped down and his lips grazed hers ever so slightly. The electricity produced by that light touch thrilled her to her toes. His mouth opened just enough to nibble her bottom lip.
She sighed with delight. Her tongue poked out for a taste of his mouth and was rewarded when he wrapped her in his arms and devoured her mouth. She merged her tongue with his. Her breath came hard and fast and her hands wound around his neck. She’d waited a lifetime to feel this man’s arms around her.
It ended too soon. Isaac pulled back and set her a few feet away. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why?”
He closed his eyes for a moment and then looked back at her. “Because you’re Giada and you should be wined and dined. Men should be sending you flowers and chocolates and begging for your attention, not stealing a kiss five minutes after walking into the house.”
She stared back at him. “What on earth are you talking about? I don’t think you stole anything. I was a willing participant.”
His jaw twitched as if he were holding back either words or actions. She couldn’t tell which.
He said, “Maybe we should just go to dinner.”
She was stunned. One moment, he was holding her in his arms and she thought things were going pretty well, and the next he looked at her as if she had the plague and kept her at arm’s length.
“Okay,” she said.
She took a jacket from the closet. Isaac helped her into it and then opened the front door for her to exit. She locked up and followed him to his black sports car.
“Nice car,” she said. He opened the door for her and she slid into the low seat.
“Thanks.” He closed her door, rounded the car and got in. “I hardly ever get to drive it.”
“Why is that?”
He turned the key and began the drive into downtown Atlanta. “I live in New Jersey and I take the ferry or train into the city every day. I work a lot and the car just sits in my garage most of the time.”
“What about on the weekend?”
He never took his eyes off the traffic, but she saw his frown. “Like I said, I work a lot.”
“All work and no play…”
“I know, I know, but I’m busy. It was nice making the drive down here. I really had the chance to see what this baby can do.”
She cringed. “Please don’t show me. I’m sure she’s very fast, but I’d like to get to the restaurant in one piece.”
“Does that mean you won’t be getting on the back of my Harley when I get it running?”
Giada’s body actually tingled at the idea of sitting behind Isaac on that bike, her thighs pressed tight to his and her breasts pressed against his back. It was a fantasy she’d relived a thousand times as a teenager. Her pussy throbbed at the notion. “I would ride with you.”
It came out as a whisper and she was thankful that it was dark and he was driving or he would have noticed her blush.
He didn’t say anything as they stopped at a red light. He turned toward her, but she looked straight ahead. If she turned, she was sure he would see how badly she wanted to have her legs wrapped around him either on that bike or just about anywhere else.
His fingers touching her cheek forced her to turn toward him. His eyes bore into her with an intensity that almost made her turn away. “I would like that more than you can possibly know.”
Her breath caught. The light turned green and the car behind them honked, breaking the spell.
Isaac smiled and returned his attention to the traffic.
* * * * *
Bacchanalia was perfect. The food, the atmosphere, everything was meant to impress. They were halfway through the entrée when he asked, “Why aren’t you married?”
Her stomach clutched. “I was. I got divorced three years ago.”
“He must be crazy.”
The way he said the words, almost to himself, made her smile.
She shrugged. “Thanks. What about you? Sadie tells me that you never married.”
Something dark crossed his eyes. The change was so complete she wanted to retract her words immediately. He poked at his steak for a moment. When
he looked up, the sorrow in his eyes nearly made her cry. She stuffed the emotion and waited for him to speak.
“A few years ago I proposed to a wonderful woman. We had big plans for the future. A week after that, she was killed in a car accident.”
Her chest tightened and she felt her eyes moisten. Through a nearly closed throat, she said, “My God, Isaac. I’m so sorry. Sadie never said anything about it.”
He didn’t respond for a long time. He kept his eyes downcast and carefully placed his fork on his plate before he looked up. “Sadie doesn’t know. I hadn’t told my family about Leslie. I was planning a big surprise for Thanksgiving. Then she died and I just never told them anything. I made an excuse not to come home that holiday.”
She reached across the table and rested her hand over his. “I’m so sorry.” She didn’t know what else to say to comfort him. She wished they could go back to the moment before she’d opened her big mouth and asked the awkward question, but there was no going back.
His hand turned over and he took hers, caressing the palm with his thumb. “Can we talk about something else?”
She took a deep breath. “Anything.”
His smile did wicked things to her heart. “You choose the subject.”
She thought a moment. She knew she might be opening up another uncomfortable subject, but her curiosity overpowered good sense. “Explain to me what you meant when you said that you weren’t good enough for me in high school?”
His thumb continued to trace a path on her palm, sending jolts of need down to her pussy and making her wish they were back at her condo rather than in a crowded restaurant. “I always saw you as a nice girl, my sister’s good friend, who was off-limits to a guy like me.”
Pulling her hand away before she embarrassed herself by moaning out loud, she said, “That’s the part I don’t understand. What do you mean by, ‘a guy like you’? You were always nice to me.”
He pushed his plate away and sipped the red wine with a tiny smile playing on his lips. “I was nice to you because you were my fantasy. Do you want dessert?”
The fact that he’d said the words “fantasy” and “dessert” in the same breath left her unable to speak. She squeezed her legs together to try to relieve some of the pressure building between them. It was crazy but just the sound of his voice turned her on. “What do you mean?”
“Something sweet to finish off the meal.”
“You’re being funny, right?” Her cheeks were on fire but she was all in at this point. If she was ever going to have Isaac Backman, this was her chance. She’d waited half her life for this night.
That smile again. He leaned forward. “I’ve had several very steamy fantasies about you, Giada. Do you want me to tell you about them?”
She was nodding before she had time to stop herself. Once again, she was struck by the fact that they were in a public place. “But maybe not here.”
Something changed in his eyes and she didn’t know if she liked it or if she was afraid. What she did know was that when he called for the check an instant later, her heart pounded and her breath accelerated.
His hand was at the small of her back as they waited for the valet to retrieve his car. He leaned down until his mouth feathered a breath on her sensitive lobe. “The minute you change your mind, Giada, you have to tell me.”
“What makes you think I want to change my mind?”
“I don’t think you know what you’re getting into.”
She looked up at him, holding back the anger that simmered just below the surface. “I’m not a child, Isaac. I’ve been married and divorced. I’ve had lovers, not many, but a few. What makes you think you’re so special that I can’t handle whatever you’ve planned?”
His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open for a moment. She didn’t know what had surprised him, that she’d had lovers or that she’d made the speech with the valet standing a foot away.
Isaac took the keys and handed the young man a tip. He held the door open for her. He rounded the car and slid inside. “I don’t want to make you angry. I guess I have an idea about you that is…”
“What?”
“Sacred ground.”
She laughed. “What on earth do you mean? You think that I’m sacred ground? Like a religious artifact?”
The notion was so ridiculous that she continued to laugh. He joined her amusement. “I know it’s silly, but I have terrible guilt over my boyhood fantasies involving you.”
She didn’t know what to say. It was too silly to respond to. She’d been a good girl in high school, it was true, but that was a long time ago. Frankly, if Isaac had wanted to have sex with her back then, she would have given up her virginity a lot sooner. She’d been saving herself for him and then, when it was obvious he wasn’t coming back to Atlanta and she’d gone to Washington, D.C. for college, she’d given up on her dream of Isaac Backman.
They made small talk for the rest of the drive back to her condo development. He walked her to the door, and she was certain he was about to thank her for going to dinner with him and walk away.
With the key still in the deadbolt, she took his hand and looked up into those amazing blue eyes. He looked stunned when she turned the knob and gently tugged him inside. Her hands shook slightly and she had to make an effort not to let him see how nervous she was. He pulled the key from where she’d forgotten it in the lock and handed it to her.
“Thanks,” she mumbled.
“What are you doing, Giada?”
She pushed the door closed and turned to him in the small foyer. One step forward brought her chest to his. Her legs quaked, either with terror or desire, perhaps both. She wrapped a hand round his neck. His soft curls tickled her fingers. “I’m changing everything you think about me, Isaac. At least, I hope I am.”
He ran one hand up and down her arm in a touch that was half-caress, half-tickle. “Not everything.”
“No?”
“Some things you can’t change.”
She leaned in until her center pressed against his cock. She could feel his hardness and was rewarded with a groan that bubbled up from his chest. “What things?”
His fingers slid up over her shoulder, to her neck and traced a path along her cheek. “You’re sweet.”
“How can you be so sure? You barely know me.”
He leaned down until his lips grazed her earlobe. “I’ve known you all my life, Giada. You were a sweet little girl and then one day you were beautiful and sexy too. That was the day I swore I would never touch you.”
“You did what?” She stepped back so she could look at his face. Had she heard him correctly?
He laughed. “In my defense I was seventeen years old and already playing the field pretty seriously. I thought I was doing a noble thing. You were sixteen, my sister’s friend and the little girl who’d played at our house for years. Suddenly, everything about you made me hard.” He advanced until she was forced to back up against the wall. Then he pressed forward showing her that she still had the same effect on him.
“And are you still planning on keeping that vow?”
His lips pressed against her temple. “Your call. I’m pretty sure you’re old enough to make your own decisions now. I can’t imagine why you would want me, but I’m not saying no.”
She tipped her face up so that her mouth was only an inch from his. “You really have no idea how beautiful you are, do you?”
He shrugged.
She touched her lips to his in a feather of a kiss. “I’ve wanted you most of my life, Isaac Backman. I thought you were too popular to even look at me. You always ignored me when I was at the house.”
“Self-preservation.” His tongue traced a path along the seam of her lips.
Her heart thrummed harder and she found herself holding her breath. It was now or never. In a few days or weeks he would go back to his life up north and probably never think of her again. At least she could have this one night. “If I ask you to come to my bedroom now, will that de
stroy your image of me?”
He stopped moving. She was sure that he was going to pull away in spite of the fact that he obviously wanted her sexually. His lips had been trailing kisses along her neck. Now he stood up and locked eyes with her. “Giada.”
Her name came out as if it were a prayer. “If you’re about to tell me that I’m too good for you, don’t you dare say it. If you don’t want me, then go and I’ll understand, Isaac. Any other reason is unacceptable.”
When his eyes closed, she was sure he was about to walk out of her house and she would never see Isaac again. Her heart ached from the idea. Strange, she hadn’t seen him in years, yet she was already mourning the loss. Even to the point where she was wondering how she would hide those emotions from Sadie. She watched as the muscle in his jaw twitched. Unable to stop herself, she reached up and cupped his cheek.
His eyes snapped open, his hand covered hers and he turned his lips into her palm. The effects of the kiss traveled through her arm and directly to her clit. But it was his eyes that had her mesmerized.
“Are you certain?”
She almost laughed at the absurdity of the question. Was she certain? She’d wanted this man since she was a girl and had no idea what might come after a ride on the back of his motorcycle. If she were honest with herself, she still didn’t know much beyond the next few hours.
He still had her hand. She closed her fingers around his and tugged him lightly toward the bedroom. He didn’t resist and followed her down the hall. Once inside, her legs shook and her palms got sweaty. She dropped his hand and turned to look at him.
“I’m afraid that I lack seduction skills, Isaac.”
Chapter Four
That was the one thing she was wrong about. Just the sight of her was seduction to Isaac. “You’re doing a good job of it so far.”
He saw her smile in the dim light filtering in from the hallway. She was probably blushing, though in the darkened bedroom, he couldn’t actually see the color in her cheeks. He made his way to the nightstand and turned on the lamp. It lit the room enough so that he could see she’d followed him with her eyes.
Revving Up the Holidays Page 3