“That’s very nice of you, but you don’t have to explain anything to me. By the way, does being friendly include having sex with her?” She held her breath.
“I’m not having sex with her,” he said evenly.
She didn’t let on how much his response thrilled her. “Will wonders never cease? You can actually exercise restraint,” she said from the corner of her mouth.
They spoke in low tones so Ryan and Shawna, preoccupied with each other and Ryker, couldn’t hear.
He leaned closer, and his warm breath brushed her ear when he spoke. “Why are you so mean, hmm? Am I going to have to put you over my knee and spank that cute little ass of yours again, pequeña?”
Talia drew in a sharp, silent breath and closed her eyes briefly.
The vivid memory of how he’d paddled her bare bottom with his hand, each blow stinging and arousing at the same time, came back with brutal force. She’d experienced an incredible orgasm—her first from that kind of contact. Then when he’d finished he put her on the bed and soothed her throbbing skin with moist kisses. She’d thought he’d stop there, but then he’d pushed her thighs apart and licked at the moisture between her legs, using one hand in the middle of her back to hold her face down until his tongue had wrenched another orgasm from her.
She moistened her lips, acutely aware of how his words alone had affected her body. Thanks to him, she now throbbed and ached at a most inopportune time.
“Shawna, I’m leaving,” she said loudly.
“Oh.” Disappointment filled Shawna’s voice. “You sure? There’s plenty of food.”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Talia grabbed for her keys on the marble countertop but accidentally knocked them to the floor. Tomas picked them up.
“Here you go.”
Instead of dropping them into her hand, he placed them in her palm and purposely raked his calloused fingers across her skin, extending contact between them longer than necessary and reminding her of how his rough hands had caressed her entire body with commendable single-mindedness. Tingles darted across her skin, and from the laughter in his eyes, he knew exactly the effect he was having on her.
She clamped her hand around the keys and fixed Tomas with the dirtiest look she could muster. “See you guys later.”
She hurried out of the house, raced down the steps to her car, and sped out of the subdivision with the swiftness of a drag racer. Berating herself, she insisted she was every kind of fool for wanting a man so obviously callous in his relationships. But no amount of self-rebuke could hide the truth—how difficult it would be to ignore him when he’d made such an indelible mark on her mind and body.
Not when her heart was thudding. Her blood pounding. And her panties wet.
Chapter Thirteen
Call him.
No!
Talia twirled in her office chair. The same argument rewound in her head all day. Since she’d left Tomas’s house, she hadn’t been able to find her Prada sunglasses, and she wanted to call and ask if he’d found them, but knowing him he’d think she’d purposely left them there as an excuse to get back in touch.
Groaning, she buried her head in her hands. Enough already!
She had work to do and had skipped lunch to prepare for a meeting with Jay and others on the executive team but hadn’t made much headway. If she grabbed a snack from the vending machine, she could appease her empty stomach and spend the next thirty minutes or so preparing for the meeting.
She rose from the chair and walked across her office, running through the checklist of items she had to complete before the end of the day. She opened the door but pulled up short when she saw Tomas standing on the other side, smiling and talking to her secretary at her desk. Their cozy little tête-à-tête fueled her anger at him.
“What are you doing here?”
Lillian jumped guiltily to her feet. “I was about to call and let you know you have a visitor.”
Talia’s lips tightened and she folded her arms over her chest. “I said, what are you doing here?”
She shot daggers at Tomas and knew she was being a bitch, but damn him for looking so delicious without even trying, with a rough ponytail, wearing a pair of distressed jeans and another T-shirt that he knew good and well was too small when he bought it. No other man she knew managed to look so good with such little effort.
“I came to talk to you, if it’s not too much to ask,” he said.
She wanted to slap the smirk off his face.
“About what?”
“Would you like me to discuss it in front of Lillian?”
The way he said her secretary’s name sounded intimate, as if they’d known each other for a long time. Her gaze bounced between them, noting Lillian’s flushed cheeks and how she couldn’t meet her gaze.
“Hold my calls.”
Talia stalked back into her office and expected him to follow, but of course he did so on his own time. She could hear him outside talking to Lillian in a low voice and they laughed again, infuriating her more. He finally came in, shut the door, and walked over to her desk like he had nowhere to go and nothing to do and expected the same of her.
“So this is where you work.” He surveyed the room.
“Make it fast. I have a lot of work to do.” She sat down and crossed her legs.
He reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. Her sunglasses. Holding them up, he asked, “Look familiar?”
She straightened in the chair. “Where did you find them?”
“Where you put them, under the table in the kitchen.”
“I did not put them there. They must have fallen out of my purse when I put it on the table.”
He smirked. “Come on, Talia.”
She sighed in defeat. He thought exactly what she’d imagined. “What’s the point? Believe whatever you want.”
He set down the glasses and walked around the desk to perch his firm backside right in front of her. The arrogance! Who else would do such a thing? Who else would have the audacity to sit on the edge of her desk as if it was his office? Not to mention sitting there brought him too close for comfort. He didn’t comprehend the concept of personal space and the etiquette of boundaries.
She stared at the wall behind him.
“Why are you so upset?” he asked.
“I’m not,” she said coldly.
“Yes, you are. If you didn’t leave them behind on purpose, you should be happy I found your overpriced sunglasses.”
She made the grave mistake of looking up at him, intending to inform him her sunglasses were not overpriced and quality was worth the cost, but the words lodged in her throat. He was watching her legs, covered in sheer black stockings. Well, he could look all he wanted, because he’d never get another chance to—
He licked his lips, and her breath stuttered. His gaze now rested on the rise and fall of her chest. The acute interest made her realize how labored her breathing had become, and her traitorous nipples swelled in anticipation.
“Are you upset because of Bianca?” he asked.
“I don’t care about you and your little escapades,” she said with a flippant wave of her hand.
“Are you sure? Because you’re pretty mad for someone who doesn’t care.” His voice sounded low and as smooth as silk.
“You need to get out of my office.”
“Tell the truth, you don’t want me to go.”
She rose from the chair. “I’ll escort you out.”
Before she could get around him, he caught her by the waist and twirled her around, pulling her between his open legs. She brought up her hands to resist being crushed against his hard chest.
“I admit it,” he said in a low voice. “You win.”
“What are you talking about?” she whispered, already breathless.
“I was glad when I found the planted sunglasses because I wanted to see you again.” He brushed his lips to her chin. The barely there touch was deliciously erotic.
“I didn’t…
plant them,” she panted, silently cheering that he’d wanted to see her. She could barely concentrate while he nibbled on her neck. Her swollen nipples became hard nubs and wet heat flooded the apex of her thighs.
“No?” He licked the spot where her shoulder and neck met.
“No,” she insisted, leaning into his tongue. His big hands palmed her bottom and pulled her snug into his body.
“Do you still want me to leave?”
“Yes. No. I…”
“Me gusta como hueles,” he whispered. “What scent is that?”
“It’s…um…I think it’s…”
Her mind went blank when he squeezed her bottom. These same hands had restrained her passionate responses and soothingly caressed her damp skin after their marathon session in his bed almost put her in an orgasm-induced coma. She simply couldn’t concentrate.
His mouth fused to hers, prying her lips apart for an intimate tangling of tongues. He plundered the deep recesses of her mouth, and the kiss deepened, becoming almost violent. Her nails dug into his tight shoulders, and the next thing she knew, he’d lifted her from the floor and deposited her on the desk. His hand slid up to the apex of her thighs, and one long finger stroked her clit through her panties.
“Te desiro ahora. Aqui,” he groaned.
She almost agreed. Right here, right now—anything to quench the thirst for him she couldn’t shake. But when he eased her backward, the prod of a stapler in her lower spine caused common sense to return.
“No, no, wait.” She pushed at his chest. “We can’t. This is where I work.”
Heavy breaths fanned her face as he wrestled to regain control. Reluctantly she pushed his hand from between her legs and wiggled to a sitting position.
“You’re right, this isn’t a good idea,” he said tersely, running his hand over his hair. “If it was after hours and we were here alone, maybe, but we both know you can be very…vocal.”
“Excuse me?”
“That means loud. It means—”
“I know what it means,” Talia said hotly, her cheeks burning.
A muscle in his jaw worked and his eyes devoured her as if he planned to rip the clothes right off her body and to hell with where they were. “When?”
“You want me to pick a time?”
“Yes.”
He was serious, and she couldn’t believe she was doing this. She shouldn’t. “I don’t know. Maybe later tonight, or—”
He moved closer, within inches until the heat from him warmed her already hot skin. “Let’s go somewhere now.”
Tempting offer—oh, so tempting. The impatience in his voice stoked the flames of her own desire. “If you’re suggesting I leave work, I can’t.”
He was about to speak when a knock sounded on the door. She pushed him away and jumped off the desk right as Jay poked his head in. “Hi there, I didn’t know if you were in or not. Lillian’s not at her desk.”
He came in, followed by Carter. Tomas stiffened, and Carter didn’t look pleased to see him, either.
“Can I help you with something?” Talia asked, happy her voice sounded cool and professional instead of the breathless and needy quality from a few moments ago. She smoothed a hand down either side of her skirt.
When she noticed Jay’s curious eyes land on Tomas, she introduced the men to each other. Tomas greeted Jay, but Carter stuffed his hands in his pockets and ignored Tomas.
Jay silently observed the dynamics in the room before he proceeded. “The meeting’s been moved up because I need to leave early. I’ll see you in fifteen minutes?”
Nowhere near ready, she’d have to throw something together. “Sure, that would be fine.”
“Nice to meet you, Tomas.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” As soon as the two men left, Tomas turned to her. “Fifteen minutes doesn’t give us much time.”
Talia’s eyes widened in disbelief at his insistence. “No way.”
“Why not?”
“Because I have work to do.” She pointed at the door. “You have to leave.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
He stared at her, as if he could wear her down through telepathy. Finally he seemed to get the message and ran his hand over his face with a heavy sigh. “This isn’t over.” He walked toward the door.
“How about after work?” Talia blurted. She bit her lip.
He paused with his hand on the door and assessed her in silence. “I’ll come by your place,” he offered. “Six-thirty?”
“All right.”
They made the arrangement like two people getting together to hang out. But already her hands became clammy as she looked forward to the prospect of seeing him later. She gave him the address, the entire time thinking she must have lost her mind. After he left, she sank into her chair. They weren’t supposed to see each other again, but she’d just made an appointment to have sex. Yes, she was definitely losing her mind.
“Okay, what do I need to mention in the update?” Time to focus on work. On the top sheet of the legal pad on her desk, she wrote “JBC meeting” on the first line. She wrote a few words about the magazine ads, the color schemes, and the feedback she’d received from the Johnsons, every now and again tapping the pen against her mouth.
A few minutes later, the telephone on her desk rang, disturbing her concentration.
“Hello?”
“I couldn’t wait.” It was Tomas.
She held her breath and almost melted into the chair. “How’d you get my direct line?”
“Lillian was helpful earlier. Did you hear what I said?”
“Yes, I heard you, but what do you mean you couldn’t wait?”
“I want you now.”
She couldn’t do this. Wouldn’t. “I told you, I can’t. I have to work.”
“Meet me in the stairwell two floors below you.”
She closed her eyes, fighting the temptation to give in. The grip on the pen in her hand tightened. “Tomas, the stairwell is just as inappropriate as my office.”
“When you come, make sure you’re not wearing any panties.”
Her breathing fractured. “I’m not coming,” she insisted, her voice smaller and less convincing.
“You have five minutes, and then I’m leaving.”
“I have a meeting in ten minutes,” she said.
“Don’t be late.” He wasn’t even listening to her. Or he chose to ignore every word she said.
“If you think—” The line went dead.
Talia slammed down the phone. He was going to feel very foolish waiting down there when she didn’t show up.
“Okay, where was I?” She twirled the pen in the corner of her mouth.
The second hand of the clock on her desk moved. A minute had passed.
She shifted in her seat and gnawed on the pen cap, concentration focused on the sheet in front of her. An idea came to her for the JBC campaign and she scribbled it down.
From the corner of her eye, she saw another minute pass.
She crossed one leg over the other and bounced her foot.
Another minute.
Exasperated, Talia turned the clock face away from her. She didn’t need to see every single minute go by. The movement distracted her from the important task she had to complete.
Taking a deep breath, she drew a circle around an important point and wrote a few words in the corner, but right after, she dropped the pen on the desk and placed her head in her hands.
This was madness.
Before she changed her mind, she reached under her skirt and wriggled out of her thong. Dropping it into the bottom drawer, she gave herself a scolding for what she considered doing.
Shawna’s words from the day of the picnic came back to haunt her. He gets women to do all kinds of crazy things. They simply forget who they are.
Pushing away the thought, she twisted the clock around. Five minutes had passed since he called, and he’d given her five to get down there. She sprang from the chair and r
ushed out the door to the exit at the end of the hallway. Gripping the handrail, she raced down the first flight of stairs, her high heels echoing loudly in the cavernous space. Heart racing, she hurried down the second set. Her ankle twisted and she lost a shoe but kept moving in a graceless hobble, hoping she hadn’t missed him, wishing she hadn’t been so stubborn in the first place when she wanted what he did.
Almost to the bottom step she came to an abrupt halt. He stood off to the right on the landing below, back to the wall, thumbs hooked in the loops of his jeans. One corner of his mouth lifted and his eyes crinkled in the corners. He knew she’d come.
“Ven acá, pequeña.”
She tried to gather some semblance of resistance, but her pride took a back seat to desire. She slipped off the other shoe and walked on the cold floor until she stopped right in front of him as he’d instructed.
“You’re late,” he said.
“I don’t know why I’m here. I don’t even like you,” she said.
His lips twisted into a sexy, panty-wetting smile. “You don’t have to like me to enjoy this.”
He put his hand to the back of her neck and dragged her to him.
Chapter Fourteen
Tomas slid his hand up Talia’s skirt. “Dios,” he hissed. She had really removed her panties. His brain ceased to function and his penis started calling the shots.
Dragging the skirt past her hips, he exposed the black lace-edged garter on her silky thighs. In one controlled movement he lifted her from the floor and turned her against the wall.
One of her arms wound around his neck while the other reached between them. His stomach clenched at the scent of rosemary and mint in her hair. Night after night he’d jacked off to the same smell, tortured until he’d had to change the sheets.
She was the most frustrating woman he had ever met, and he couldn’t get her out of his mind. He had no problem admitting the attraction between them, but even though she wanted him just as much, she chose to fight the fire between them.
He’d see about that.
His lips found her neck, and he applied his teeth and tongue to her skin, growing more excited with each breathless moan she made. She stroked him, and he lengthened and hardened with body-aching quickness until his jeans stretched uncomfortably over his groin.
The Wrong Man (Love Unexpected) Page 9