by Serena Grey
“Get it girl!”
“I can’t wait for you to really meet him though. You will at my exhibition—properly this time.”
“I hope so.” I was looking forward to the exhibition of her pictures at a local gallery, mainly because she was so excited about it. I paused for a moment, schooling my voice to a lightness I didn’t feel. “Jason won’t be there to breathe down his neck?”
“Oh, he will. Jason wouldn’t miss my exhibition for the world,” she said carelessly. “It’s time for him to really meet Colin anyway since we might be together for a while, if all goes well.”
“Oh…good.” Somehow, I had hoped he wouldn’t be there. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see him again, I wanted to, too much, and that was the problem.
“So, you like him?”
I gave her a guarded look. “You mean Jason this time?”
“Yes.” She laughed, then bit her lip. “The thing with Jason is…well, he lives up to his name with women. He’s a bit wild.”
I laughed. “You don’t have to warn me off him, Amy. I’m not interested in your brother, not like that.”
She covered her face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. He just…has a way with women, and I like you too much to let my brother potentially fuck up our friendship.”
I tried not to imagine all the things related to the F word that I was finding myself perfectly willing to let him do to me. “Good thing I’m practically celibate,” I said wryly.
“Yeah, there’s that, and you’re nothing like the women who usually throw themselves at him. His type is manicured, made up, plastic, glam, superficial, and practically mentally incapacitated. Oh yeah, and the blonder the better.”
“So I’m not his type,” I said with a small laugh, though I didn’t feel like laughing at all.
“Well, you’re not mentally incapacitated.”
“Yeah,” I said, silently acknowledging that when I was around him, I probably was, just a little.
My days at JH Publishing, where I’d worked since I graduated college usually included a morning meeting then hours spent reading manuscripts. This was usually followed by a few more hours spent typing out notes about what I thought of each attempt at readable fiction then sending the notes to my senior editor before attacking the next pile of submissions.
Occasionally, I found something that gripped me, but those times were few and far between. I’d spent the morning slogging through a few chapters of a fantasy novel where the characters were practically indistinguishable, and the plot made no sense to me, and then I moved on to a story that was obviously Oliver Twist but if Oliver Twist was a girl. By noon, I was already burned out.
My cell rang just before lunch.
“Hello?”
“Hello.” The voice was deep, smooth, and familiar. “This is Jason Wild.”
A shiver ran down my spine and ended up as a warm tingle somewhere between my legs. I’d never wanted to sleep with someone as badly as I wanted to sleep with Jason Wild. The intensity of my desire for him both surprised and confused me.
“Hi, Jason,” I said, forcing my voice to come out smoothly.
“Before you ask,” he continued in that voice that was somehow even sexier on the phone. “Amy gave me your number.”
Why would she do that after she all but warned me off him? “She did?”
“Yeah…” He paused. “It’s the exhibition. She thought you might need a ride, and since I happen to be going there myself, I thought I’d take you.”
I’d take you.
I swallowed. Just…no. “I’m swamped with work, so I’m going to leave a little later than I planned. I wouldn’t want to delay you.”
He chuckled softly. “Daphne, just tell me when you’ll be free to leave.”
The gallery was across town, far enough that the thought of a ride was welcome, but that meant a long ride, alone, in a car with Jason. I didn’t trust myself not to tear his clothes off before we got there. What was it about him and why did I want him so badly? I wasn’t a nymphomaniac. I liked sex, but it wasn’t a crazy addiction I couldn’t do without. With Jason, though, it almost felt like that.
“Daphne,” Jason prompted, the velvety way he said my name pulling me out of my thoughts. “When will you be free?”
“I…um…I’ll be ready at seven.”
“Perfect,” he said. “See you then.”
See you then.
Since when did the most ordinary words have the power to make me soaking wet?
By seven, I was ready. I’d brushed my hair and reapplied my makeup, and I was wearing a simple beige top and dark pants. It had been nice enough when I chose it in the morning, but now, I wondered if I shouldn’t have taken more care with my appearance.
“You look nice.” Candace, one of the senior editors with whom I was very friendly, gave me a once-over as she walked past me on her way out of the building. “Big date?”
I shook my head. “I’m just going to an exhibition.”
“Mmmhm.” She stopped and gave me a doubtful look. “Must be some exhibition. I’ve never seen you looking so on point.”
“What do you mean?” I laughed. “I’m always on point.”
Just then, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Jason.
I’m parked on the curb, should I come in?
I imagined him walking into my office and giving everyone an eyeful of his hotness.
No, I replied quickly. I’ll be right out.
I reached the glass doors and pushed one side open, holding it for Candace while looking around for Jason. There was a black SUV parked right in front of the entrance and as I waited, the rear door opened and he stepped out.
Holy hell!
I heard a whistle behind me, but I didn’t even turn to spare Candace a glance. I was eye-fucking Jason Wild and I didn’t give a damn who saw.
He was wearing a suit—an exquisitely tailored suit. I loved well-manicured fingers, but suits were another matter entirely. A beautiful man in a suit made me weak in the knees. When that man was Jason Wild—well, I could barely stay upright.
I wanted to run my hands through his wavy hair, drown in his beautiful eyes, kiss those sensual lips, tear his clothes off his body…
“Hello, Daphne.” He grinned teasingly, like he knew what I was thinking. He took two steps toward me, sparing a glance at the doors behind me that led into my workplace. “So, this is where you work.”
“Yeah…” I nodded. “I… You look good,” I said, somehow unable to stop myself from saying the only thing running through my mind. He looked like sex on strong, muscular legs, and I desperately wanted a bite.
His eyes twinkled. “I’m cute, and I look good—I should spend a lot more time around you, Daphne. Your compliments are good for my self-confidence.”
I snorted. “You don’t look like you need any help with your self-confidence.”
His arm went around me, and I melted into the exquisite smell of his cologne as he led me to the car. I had to get a hold of myself. He was making a mess of my hormones, and my hormones were making a mess of me.
With his hand on my back, I climbed into the car. He waited till I was seated. “What if,” he said softly, “I don’t need any help with my self-confidence, but I just want to spend a lot more time around you?”
“Do car trips to art galleries count?”
“Depends.” His eyes dropped to my lips. “Is anything interesting going to happen during the ride?”
I bit my lower lip. “What would you call interesting?”
“I can think of a few things.”
“Like…scintillating conversation?” I raised a brow.
He chuckled. “Try again.”
I raised my shoulders in a small shrug. I was enjoying flirting with him, but it was dancing dangerously close to a line I didn’t want to cross for many reasons. “Maybe you should get in the car. We’re going to be late for your sister’s exhibition.”
He laughed softly but closed the door and wa
lked over to the other side, and I took the opportunity to take a few deep breaths to get my body back under control. By the time he joined me in the back, I felt less breathless and hot, and a little more composed.
“Nice car,” I said, slipping in the compliment to stave off any further flirting. I wasn’t sure my self-control could withstand any more of it.
“Thanks.” He motioned toward the driver. “This is Leonard. Leonard, this is Daphne.”
Leonard turned long enough to nod and smile, and I did a small wave. “Hi, Leonard.”
“Hi.”
Jason was looking at me. “So how was work? Did you discover the next J. K. Rowling?”
I laughed, glad he was talking about my work instead of trying to mesmerize me with his eyes. “That only happens once or twice in a lifetime.”
“Has it happened yet for you?” He was peering over at me, seemingly very interested in my career while I was preoccupied with mentally undressing him.
I shook my head slowly. “No, not yet. We haven’t ever published a big hit, just a few small successes, being a small press and all.”
He nodded. “At least you have that to look forward to—finding your once-in-a-lifetime big hit.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “How about you—what do you do all day in such a lovely suit?”
He grinned boyishly. “I’m an investor. What I do is mostly identifying promising ventures, supporting them, and hopefully reaping rewards a few months or years down the road.”
“You make it sound easy.”
He laughed. “I suppose it’s a different kind of hard from slogging through piles of manuscripts every day.”
“I guess.” I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t get to make the final decisions though, so I don’t feel as bad about rejecting people’s work.”
He chuckled. In the silence that followed, I snuck a glance at him. He was leaning back in his seat, his face turned at a slight angle toward the window. I found myself admiring his features again, the thick waves of his hair, the sculpted lines of his face, the slight curve of his lips.
I’d checked the distance to our destination on my maps app and knew exactly how long it would take, almost an hour with no traffic. It would be nearly an hour spent in close proximity with this man who made me want to toss caution to the wind and let him screw my brains out.
“Now what are you thinking with an expression like that?”
He’d turned in my direction and caught me staring, and I flushed, sure he knew exactly what was going through my mind.
“An expression like what?” I asked innocently.
“Fierce.”
Fierce lust, I qualified silently. “Nothing,” I lied softly. “I’m not thinking anything at all.”
Chapter Three
The event was already underway when we arrived. It was a shared exhibition in a trendy new gallery with two other artists also showing their work. The turnout was impressive, and Amy was bursting with excitement.
“You guys are here!” she exclaimed over the soft classical music when she saw Jason and me. She was practically bouncing up and down. “Come, come, this is so surreal.”
She led us through a crowd of people to where a tall man with short sandy hair was waiting in front of one of her portraits. He turned as we approached and his face lit up in a lopsided smile. I heard Amy catch her breath beside me.
“Guys, you’ve met Colin. Colin, you remember my brother and my roommate.”
“Jason and Daphne,” he said in a smooth British accent. He took my hand then Jason’s. “Though I wouldn’t exactly say we met.”
Amy was glowing, and Jason looked from her to Colin, his eyebrows raised. “Yeah, it seemed my sister was in a bit of a rush the other night.”
“With good reason,” Amy said, making a face at him.
Colin looked puzzled. I shrugged. “Sibling squabbles,” I said with a small smile. “I hear they’re healthy, though I wouldn’t know.”
“I’m also an only child,” Colin said. “I used to wish dearly for a sibling.”
“Aren’t you lucky your wishes didn’t come true,” Jason said. “Amy has been nothing but trouble since my dad made me hold her at the hospital and she smiled her toothless baby smile at me.”
“You love me,” Amy said.
“I do.”
“Well, it is great to finally meet you Jason,” Colin said, taking advantage of the momentary truce. “Amy thinks the world of you.”
Amy wrinkled her nose. “No, I don’t.”
“Too late.” Jason grinned. “It’ll be a while before you can pretend you think I’m gross again.”
“You are gross.”
“I’m not. Even Daphne thinks I’m cute.”
He was looking at me with a teasing smile. I opened my mouth. “I don’t…”
“You think I’m cute and you think I look good in a suit.” He turned to Amy. “Your roommate has really good taste.”
Just then, the manager of the gallery came over to speak to Amy. He wanted to introduce her to a buyer, so she left with him. A waiter passed by with drinks and we each took one.
“So how did you and Amy meet?” Jason asked Colin.
“Starbucks—I was about to leave with her coffee order.”
“On purpose?”
“No.” Colin laughed. “Actually, I was in such a hurry and I didn’t even look at the name, just assumed it was mine, but…” His eyes wandered toward where Amy was standing across the room and he smiled. “It was the best mistake I’ve ever made.”
Wow, I thought, suddenly wishing I had that kind of connection to anyone.
I glanced at Jason and found him looking at me. I wondered what he was thinking. The connection I felt with him surely didn’t count. It was just lust, an intense sexual attraction made more intense by how long I’d gone without any kind of physical intimacy. Was he the kind of man a girl could get really close to, the kind whose eyes would shine when he talked about her? I doubted it.
Even so, I wondered how it would feel to have him look at me the way Colin looked at Amy, for his eyes to find me across the room and shine with…love?
Jesus! I was really getting ahead of myself. I didn’t even want love, not with Jason, not with anyone—at least I never had before. What was happening to me?
“I had no idea how powerful photography could be before I first saw Amy’s work,” I said, tearing my eyes from Jason’s. She mainly photographed moments and people on the street, but each photo was more powerful than the last.
Colin nodded enthusiastically. “They are spectacular. She brings something out in her subjects—it’s almost impossible to put a finger on it.”
“Yeah,” Jason said in agreement. “She sees people.” He stopped a waiter walking by with snacks on a tray. “You must be hungry.” He was looking at me.
He really has the sexiest lips, I thought, my eyes fixed on his face. “Yeah, a little.”
He motioned toward the waiter and the tray, and I reluctantly tore my eyes from his mouth, busying myself with helping myself to some food. After a few moments, Amy came back and offered to be our guide on a tour of all the art on display.
She and Colin walked on ahead, and as I started to follow, I felt Jason’s hand on the small of my back. It was such a slight touch and yet my whole body keyed into it. As Amy gave us detailed commentary on each photo, my whole consciousness stayed focused on Jason’s touch. I imagined the hand on my back moving lower and cupping the curve of my butt. I imagined his touch all over my body. I couldn’t hear a single world Amy was saying, caught in the haze of the lust I was feeling.
“Daphne?”
I snapped out of my thoughts. “What?”
“I asked if you want another drink.” Jason was peering at me curiously, but there was something in his eyes that made me suspect he knew exactly where my thoughts had been.
My wine glass was almost empty. I drained it and thrust it at him. “No, I’m fine,” I said. “I’m just going to go to the ladies
’ room.”
Being out of Jason’s immediate vicinity helped to dispel some of the effects of being around him. Inside the restroom, I stared at myself in the mirror. My cheeks were flushed, my skin felt heated, and I looked almost feverish. I knew what arousal looked like, especially on myself, but I’d never felt it to this degree.
I took several deep breaths before going back to join the others. A couple more hours, I told myself, and I’ll be at home, in my bed, alone. Then I could tell myself anything I wanted about Jason Wild being just another guy, one I could easily forget.
I entered the room and my eyes found him immediately. His tall frame, his perfection, the way he carried himself—it all made him stand out from everybody else. I blew a slow breath out through my lips. I ought to leave. Another ride in his car, alone with him, and I’d probably end up giving his driver a live-action sex show.
I decided to explore the gallery. I moved in the opposite direction from where Jason was standing, looking at all the displayed pieces. I was glad to see that most of Amy’s pictures had sold. She was talented, and she deserved the success.
“What do you think about it?”
The guy who had addressed me was about my height, with curly hair and a freckled face. He was standing beside me, looking at a picture of a solitary duck on a muddy pond. The attention to detail was fascinating, the sharp ripples in the water, the colors of the feathers, the grey clouds in the sky that reminded me of Jason’s eyes.
“I like it,” I said frankly. “It’s a very interesting image.”
“It’s one of mine,” he said. “I’m Mark, Mark Cutter.”
“Oh,” I said, matching his name to some of the works I’d seen throughout the night. “Daphne Bird.”
He nodded.
“You’re very talented,” I added after a pause.
“I’m glad you think so.” He smiled, and all I could think was, He isn’t Jason. The potent sexiness wasn’t there, but it was a relief to talk to a guy who didn’t make me want to rip my panties off and bend over the nearest piece of furniture.
“So, you’re here with…”
The question jolted me from my dirty thoughts about Jason. Jeez. I really needed help. “Amy Wild. She’s my roommate.”