Close to Perfect

by Tina Donahue

  His expression changed. “It hasn’t happened yet, all right?”

  “It will,” she said. “We always knew it would end.”

  Josh tossed the tabloid on his desk and went to her. “Everything ends, but this isn’t over yet, which means you’ll still be accompanying me to that formal dinner. The plans have been made and you will attend, is that understood?”

  That’s all he cared about, that stupid dinner? She frowned. “You couldn’t have made it any clearer, Mr. Wyatt.”

  Josh lowered his head and breathed hard. “Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you.” He lifted his gaze. “Please go with me, okay?”

  Tess told herself to say no; she ordered herself to just get the hell out of here so she could be alone and cry.

  “Tess?”

  At last, she nodded; she had no choice. That dinner would be the last time she would see him. Alan was so right. In a few days Josh’s need of a bodyguard and a public girlfriend would all be over. The moments they shared would be quickly forgotten by him. He would go back to his regular life.

  All she had left was that coming night.

  It was a reality that remained with Tess the rest of that day and the ones that followed, right up to the evening of the dinner.

  As she got dressed, Tess knew she had to make these final moments ones Josh wouldn’t soon forget.

  Smoothing her gown, she looked at her room’s reflection in the cheval mirror.

  She would miss it. Never had Tess felt more at home than she had here.

  Her gaze lingered on the bed, then moved to the gentle rapping on the door. A moment later, Josh opened it and came inside, not bothering to ask if she was decent. What did it matter when he had seen nearly all of her at Kiki’s?

  Tess smiled at that memory and how awesome he looked now.

  The bad boy had been momentarily tamed in a black dinner jacket and trousers that complemented his white shirt and pearl gray tie.

  How beautiful he was. How she would miss him. Not that Tess could tell him that, so she teased, repeating her father’s words. “You don’t look so bad dressed. You should plan on doing it all the time.”

  Josh’s expression was playful, his voice deep and soft. “You really want that?”

  “Ask me after the dinner.”

  He started to nod, then stopped. His gaze lifted from her gown. “What’s after the dinner?”

  “No more ground rules.”

  Josh’s eyes widened, then closed as Tess worked her fingers through his hair, guiding his head to hers, his mouth to hers, keeping it there as she kissed him longer than the law allowed.

  There was no reason to hold back anymore.

  She wanted to taste him, to rub her scent on him and to take his in return.

  She wanted to make him hers tonight, their last night together.

  When Josh was finally breathless, Tess pressed her cheek to his. It was smooth, hot, and scented with aftershave that reminded her of tobacco and leather. She whispered, “Let’s go.”

  Before she could ease away, Josh pulled her right back into himself, wrapping his arm around her waist. “We don’t have to. We could stay here. We could take a swim in the pool and then—”

  “No.” She pulled away. “Then it would be over. I don’t want it to go fast.”

  Fast? Was she kidding? Josh wanted to tell her they could make love from this moment clear to the end of tomorrow, then take a rest and start all over again, but was afraid to push too hard. If he pissed her off, she might just change her mind. So, like a good boy, Josh simply went with the flow as Tess got her purse, took his hand, then led him out of the house to the car.

  “I almost forgot.” She tossed him the keys.

  “You sure you want me to drive?”

  “You are licensed, aren’t you?”

  “What would it matter when Vic’s not going to like this? He’s going to tell you this is no way for a bodyguard to act.”

  “Things change.”

  That they did, and Josh was afraid to ask what she meant by that. Ever since Alan made those stupid comments in the office Tess hadn’t been her usual cocky self. Dammit, Josh wanted that woman back.

  “Sometimes for the better,” he said.

  She regarded the house and the grounds for a moment more before meeting his gaze. Her eyes sparkled in the moonlight. “We should go.”

  Josh didn’t want to, and once they were there, he couldn’t wait to leave.

  No more ground rules, she had said back at the house and obviously meant that to include here.

  As the man across their table said something, Josh nodded agreeably even though he hadn’t a clue what was being discussed, because his attention was still on Tess.

  The moment they were seated, she had wrapped her leg behind his, then leaned toward him so that he couldn’t miss her powdery fragrance or the way her gown gapped in front, showing him quite a bit of her right breast.

  For the next twenty minutes, Josh endured that sweet torture until the event’s speaker said something that had everyone turning in their chairs and looking at him.

  At just that moment, Tess ran her fingers down the inside of Josh’s right thigh.

  Holy shit.

  He lowered his head, breathed hard, then slid his gaze to her.

  Her attention, like the others, was still on the speaker. Her fingers, however, were creeping back up his thigh. Just as she stroked his groin, Josh wrapped his fingers around her wrist.

  Although Tess’s gaze remained on the speaker, she did lift her brows.

  Leaning close, Josh whispered, “No more ground rules?”

  She turned her face to his and whispered, “None.”

  “Starting when?”

  She gave him a wicked smile, then whispered, “Let go of me and you’ll see.”

  “Uh-uh,” he whispered. “When are we leaving this stupid thing?”

  “In a little while.”

  “And then?”

  “I’ll tell you when you let go of me.”

  He finally did. “What happens after this?”

  “You see my world. Excuse me.”

  My world? Excuse me? What was she talking about? Where was she going?

  Josh left his chair, then watched as she crossed the room to a balcony. When he finally reached it, Tess was facing the railing.

  Her hair and gown fluttered in the breeze that brought the faint strains of music from another party and the rustling of the ocean below.

  He joined her at the railing. “What are you doing?”

  She lifted her face to the night sky, the nearly full moon. “Just getting some air.”

  Josh ran his hand up her bare arm. “We could get even more back at my place.”

  Tess turned until her back was to the railing, her hands on each side. The breeze lifted the edge of her gown away from her legs. “That’s your world.”

  Josh looked at her nipples pressing against that silky fabric. “And you want me to see yours?”

  “You’re going to.” She moved her knee up the inside of his thigh to his stiffened cock.

  He looked down at that. “When you were a cop?”

  “I wasn’t always a cop.”

  Josh had no idea what she was talking about, but his voice was thick with excitement. “Okay. So, what were you?”

  “I’ll show you. In time,” she added, then pushed away from the railing and went back into the ballroom.

  She had just reached a group of empty tables near the servers’ entrance when she stopped and looked over her shoulder.

  Josh was still in the doorway of the balcony.

  She asked, “You coming?”

  Like a good boy he went to her, then slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her out of the crowd’s sight and into his stiffened cock. “Just try to stop me.”

  Tess rested her fingers on his tie. “Bad boy.”

  “Just wait until I get you alone.”

  “In time.” She eased away.

 
“Not so fast.” Josh caught her wrist, gently holding it. “Where are you going now?”

  “The table.”

  He kept his voice lowered. “We eat and then we cut out. No arguments. That’s final.”

  “Only if you want to rush it.”

  He laughed. “Rush what?”

  “You’ll see.”

  He pulled her back into himself, showing her his strength and determination. “I want to know now.”

  “I want to surprise you.” Tess lifted her face to his. Her gaze was as soft as her voice, “Let me surprise you... please.”

  She was already doing that as she eased away and returned to their table. There, she engaged in conversation with the others, again charming the men.

  No more ground rules, she had said. None.

  Josh kept hearing that promise in his head as they ate and Tess played the perfect dinner companion. A little too perfect for his taste. She delicately touched the back of his hand or gently rested her fingers on his jacket sleeve, when she damn well knew that wasn’t enough to satisfy a monk, much less him.

  Josh needed her hands on his cock; he wanted her mouth on each part of him, but only after he had tasted her.

  He imagined drawing her nipples into his mouth, suckling that precious flesh until it couldn’t get any tighter; then lifting her gown to remove her thong so that he could see her dark triangle of hair that pointed to pleasure; her swollen lips; that womanly moisture sparkling on those delicate curls and her clit.

  He needed to lick that, to taste it, to become a part of her so that he no longer knew where he ended and she began.

  Only not now; not yet. As the band started to play a slow ballad, an older man pushed to his feet. “May I have this dance, Tess?” Before she could respond, he looked at Josh. “You don’t mind, do you?”

  Fucking A he did. He wanted to leave now.

  Tess, on the other hand, wasn’t in such a rush. “Of course Josh doesn’t mind.” She looked at him. “In all the time we’ve known each other, Josh has never once asked me to dance.”

  “Well, don’t start now,” the old guy joked.

  Tess smiled. “He won’t. Will you, Josh?”

  You are so going to pay for this. “Guess not.”

  “In that case, the next one’s mine.”

  Josh looked at the man who had said that. He was in his late thirties and couldn’t take his eyes off her gown.

  “Then it’s my turn,” another said.

  “I’m looking forward to dancing with all of you,” Tess said. She took her partner’s arm, allowing him to lead her to the dance floor.

  Josh leaned over the left arm of his chair so he could watch her, while she looked past that man’s shoulder to look at him.

  The guy in his late thirties asked, “How long have you and Tess been dating?”

  “Not long enough.”

  “If I were you, I’d learn how to dance.”

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

  I want to surprise you, she had said. Let me surprise you.

  By the time Tess was dancing with that third guy, while also keeping her gaze on him, Josh had decided on a surprise for her.

  All it would take was one call.

  As he left the table and pulled out his cell, Tess immediately stopped dancing.

  “Oh, sorry,” her partner said, “did I step on your foot?”

  She looked at him, then back at Josh. He had left the table to take a call? He was conducting business, now?

  “Tess, did I hurt you?”

  She looked at her partner and shook her head. Josh was going to hurt her, but not tonight. By God, she was going to have that.

  Tess was about to leave the dance floor when she remembered her partner. He stood there with his arms out, waiting for her.

  “Sorry,” she said, then danced with him as she kept her gaze on Josh.

  During the entire number he talked on his cell. At last, the music ended. As he went back to the table, so did Tess.

  “Why, dear,” one of the older women said, “you must be exhausted.”

  More like pissed and depressed. “I’m fine.”

  “I’m afraid I’m not,” Josh said. “I have a long night ahead of me; we’re going to have to leave.”

  Her heart fell. “You have business to conduct?”

  “You know I do.” Josh took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. “We discussed it before we came here, remember?”

  Ah, so she hadn’t lost him to regular business, after all.

  Tess gently squeezed his fingers. “Yes, I do. You’re right, it’s time to leave.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  No more ground rules... none.

  It had been too much to hope for and Josh couldn’t wait any longer. As they reached his car in the parking structure, he saw that they were alone. There was no public, no paparazzi, only a man who craved a woman and wanted her to need him in return.

  He met her gaze. “Come here.”

  A smile played across Tess’s lips as she moved into him, her hands sliding over his shoulders.

  It wasn’t enough. Pulling Tess close, Josh tightened his arm around her waist. The back of her head was cradled in his free hand as he kissed her savagely, not allowing her so much as a whimper. His tongue silenced that. His hips ground into hers so that she felt every inch of his erection.

  That only fueled her passion and made her wild, taking exactly what she wanted until they were both temporarily sated.

  Breathing hard, Josh rested his forehead against hers. “You know, I should be pissed.”

  Tess swallowed. “Because I kissed you back?”

  He laughed. “No. You’ve made me wait too damned long for tonight.”

  She rolled her forehead over his. “It hasn’t even started.” Slipping her hand beneath his jacket, she stroked his left pec. “And you made me wait, too.”

  “I didn’t dance with every man in that place.”

  “Did I thank you for that?”

  Josh laughed again, until she worked her other hand into his trouser pocket. “What are you doing?”

  “Looking.”

  “Yeah, I know. For what?”

  Her answer was to stroke his erection through that pocket.

  Josh inhaled sharply.

  “Now, be nice,” she said, then continued to stroke his rod.

  “Aw, shit. Tess!”

  “Relax. I’m just looking for your keys.”

  Josh lifted his face and breathed hard as she checked the other pocket, stroking him through that, before finally pulling out her hand.

  “Got ’em.” She slipped her free hand beneath his chin. “And from the looks of it, not a minute too soon.”

  Josh swallowed, then frowned. “Now, you’re driving?”

  “You’ll get your turn later. Take off your tie.”

  “What?”

  “That’s okay,” she said, “I’ll take it off for you.”

  Before Josh could ask why she was doing this, Tess was already unknotting and pulling the tie from his collar, then stuffing it in his trouser pocket.

  When her fingers again searched for his cock, Josh’s shoulders bunched. “Damn, you’re mean.”

  Tess gave him an innocent look. “You think this is mean?”

  “Yeah. One more stroke out here where I can’t do anything about it and you’re going to kill me.”

  “Sorry.” She pulled her hand out, then eased away. “Take off your jacket.”

  Josh continued to catch his breath as he glanced around the deserted lot. “Are my trousers going to be next?”

  “Only if you want to be cited for indecent exposure and spend the night in jail instead of with me.”

  He looked at her. “You’re stripping me and it’s got nothing to do with your no more ground rules stuff?”

  “Those are my conditions. You break state law and you’re on your own.”

  He pulled off his jacket and tossed it to her. “Now, it’s your turn.” He planted his hands on h
is lean hips. “What are you going to take off?”

  “Nothing... yet. Unbutton your collar and roll up your sleeves.”

  He arched one brow.

  She ran her fingertips over his cheek. “Please.”

  Hell. He did as he was told. “What now?”

  Tess moved into him; she kissed and licked the hollow of his throat before easing back. “In the car. No arguments.”

  At the moment Josh could barely breathe.

  “Please?” she added.

  “Whatever you want.”

  After tossing his jacket into the backseat, she also got in, and took off.

  Josh looked at the scenery whizzing by—all those bed-and-breakfasts, hotels, and motels she kept passing. “Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “Not if you keep driving so fast.” He looked at the speedometer. “You’re going to get a ticket. You might even get this sucker impounded.”

  Tess stopped at a red light. Turning in her seat, she ran her fingertips over his upper lip, then gently traced the contours of his mouth. “I’m an ex-cop, I don’t get tickets.”

  It was a moment before Josh could concentrate on anything other than that stroking. He felt it clear through the back of his mouth. At last, he asked, “By the way, where’s your weapon?”

  Tess traced his left ear with her fingertip. “Let’s just say it’s more concealed than yours.” She lowered her hand to his fly, then drew lazy circles over his thickened shaft.

  Josh moaned.

  “Oh, sorry,” Tess said, pulling back her hand. “I’m being mean again.”

  He opened his eyes and continued to breathe hard. “Are you kidding? We’re in the car now. Why’d you stop?”

  “Had to.” She pointed. “Light’s changed.”

  She zipped away from it, driving them down one darkened street after another, taking turns here, there, everywhere, until she finally reached a building that looked like a warehouse, but was surrounded by late model cars.

  As the pulsing sounds of Latin music washed over them, Josh looked at her. “Your world,” he said. “Dancing.”

  “Foreplay,” she corrected. Her eyes were bright, her expression a promise of what was to come. “If you’re up to it.”

  “Would you like to check?”

  She giggled. “Later. Right now I should teach you the moves you’ll need in there. We can use that area to the left.” She pointed to a darkened part of the lot. “Or that one over to the—”