A Friendly Engagement

by Christine Warner

  “How are the feet?” He had his back to her as he fidgeted with the remote and the player.

  Damn, even his back sent her over the edge. His muscles moved beneath his shirt, and when he lifted his arm the material grew tight over his shoulder blades. The pressure she’d been applying to her feet softened as she imagined running her hands down his bare back. His warm skin. Sinewy muscles.

  Get over it. Not happening tonight.

  She cleared her throat and smiled, hoping the gesture would carry over into her voice. “I spent all last weekend dancing in new shoes, and now tonight going barefoot in the sand and dancing like a gorilla has my tootsies screaming. My massage isn’t having the desired effect. I might have to seek out a professional.”

  She wanted to laugh but didn’t have it in her at the moment. He turned toward her. Damn that shirt. He might as well be bare-chested with all that muscle movement going on.

  Omar tossed the remote from hand to hand as he made his way toward her. He threw the remote onto the comforter and flexed his fingers, cracking his knuckles. “Let me. I’ve been told I have magic fingers.”

  I’ll bet. “Are you sure? I don’t want to put you out.” Butterflies filled her belly as anticipation built inside. To have his hands on her, even if it were only her feet, affected her breathing.

  “Like I said earlier, I’m at your service.”

  He kicked off his sandals, and Devi smiled. “Oh, and by the way. Remind me later to go over the proper way to wear sandals, O.”

  He looked down at his feet, wiggling his toes inside his socks. “What?”

  “Although your hotness lets you get away with wearing sandals and socks because most people won’t look below your knees, you’ve broken the major footwear code. Never wear socks with sandals. Totally taboo. Unless you’re over sixty and golfing.”

  “Whatever. I’m just living my life.” He winked, and then he sat on the bed, pulling his socks off, twirling them in his hands, and sailing them across the room.

  “Are you trying to impress me?”

  “Is it working?” He pulled her legs over his lap and rubbed his hands together. “Get ready for the best massage of your life.” His fingers worked the ball of her foot, between her toes, and then down the length of her sole.

  Her entire body relaxed. His large hands took control, and she didn’t mind giving it up. She heated, as if hot rocks from a salon spa comforted her skin.

  “Hmm. Whoever said you had magic hands didn’t lie.” Devi moaned and sank back against the pillow. She closed her eyes as they rolled back into her head.

  The movie played in the background, but she didn’t even care. His fingers sent a throbbing heat between her legs, and all she could think about was Omar. Naked. But she wouldn’t make the first move, just in case she came off looking like a fool. Just in case she read him wrong, like she had earlier.

  Or had she?

  She hated that her confidence disappeared. Her feelings for Omar had her at a disadvantage she wasn’t used to.

  “So, do you see kids in your future?”

  What kind of sexy talk was this? She opened one eye and met his implacable gaze. “I’m not opposed, but it’s nothing I want right away. At this point I have no plans to settle down. But maybe in ten or fifteen years I might decide to have a child on my own since marriage isn’t anything I’m planning on.” She shrugged. “We’ll see where life leads me.”

  “You sure have a way with them. They all seem to want to be with you.”

  “Well, it’s only because I had chocolate.” She chuckled softly.

  They sat in silence for a few minutes as he continued to work the kinks out of her foot and he spread the warmth by giving her calf a good rubdown, too. She could almost fall asleep, if not for the fact that her body was on fire.

  Devi cleared her throat. Even though she knew the answer, she had to ask to keep the conversation going. Because for some reason she needed to talk, and listen, so that she wouldn’t moan and groan in pleasure. “How about you, O?”

  “You already know the answer. Kids are okay if they belong to someone else. My life is centered on work. I don’t want any distractions.”

  For some reason, hearing him voice what she already knew stilled her heart. He had had a sad childhood—in her opinion—and she’d assumed he’d want to be a father to prove he could do it better. Because he could, he definitely could.

  His firm fingers kneaded her flesh, working their way down from her knee then over her calf until they resumed their pressure on the bottom of her foot, specifically her arches.

  “You have gorgeous feet, Devi Boss.”

  His comment made her smile. “Thanks. I have a bit of a foot fetish with my own feet. I love slippers, nail polish, pedicures. Anything to spoil the tootsies.”

  “Your high arches are probably why your feet ache so much. What do you wear, size six, seven?”

  “Six. My grandma tells me all the time I have princess feet, but not a princess life.” She grinned when he chuckled. “I blame her for starting my foot fetish.”

  “I have a secret.”

  “Do share.” She sighed as his fingers hit a sore spot by her pinky toe.

  “I have a foot fetish, too.”

  Her head jerked up from the pillow and she met his delicious smile. His head was bent slightly as he worked her foot; a lock of hair fell over his forehead, giving him a mischievous air. “You have a foot fetish?” She bit her lip to hide her smile. You learn something new every day.

  He laughed. The husky, sensual sound curled her toes. Good thing he’d probably think it was because of his awesome massage techniques.

  “Don’t you think everyone has some type of fetish? Even me?”

  “I guess I never considered you.” She held out her palms to quiet his instant comeback. “I don’t mean that in a bad way. Just that you are always so… I don’t know—well thought out. Planned. Organized.”

  “And you can’t have a fetish if you’re orderly?” His fingers stopped, his thumbs pressed deep into her arch.

  She shrugged, wiggling her toes, hoping her movement would remind him he’d been in the middle of the most amazing massage of her life. If he could heighten her awareness by rubbing her feet, imagine what would happen if he had access to her entire body.

  She shivered. In a very good way. “I just don’t think of you and fetish in the same sentence. Something so sexual…”

  “You don’t think I’m sexual?”

  “You’re my boss. My friend. I guess I don’t think of you that way,” she lied. Until lately.

  His brows shot up. “Really? My hands on you now don’t faze you in the least? That day on the sidewalk, when I took you in my arms, you thought nothing of that?”

  “Come on, are you going to tell me you think of me sexually?” she teased. Of course they thought of each other sexually, but she needed to hear it. His answer would be a total aphrodisiac.

  “You want me to be honest?”

  “Of course.” She swallowed hard. Her heart filled her throat, and she felt like her entire future rested on his answer.

  “I do. Lately I’ve had so many fantasies starring you, I’m about to have myself committed,” Omar growled seductively.

  His words lit her on fire, and she scooted higher against her pillow to study him. Her heart pounded so hard she pressed her palm over her chest. Her friendly engagement ring twinkled in the light from the television. Heat roared across her face. Hell, across every inch of her. This was the best news she’d heard all week. “Really?” she squeaked.

  He nodded and lifted her other leg to hone his massage techniques on new skin. All of a sudden she felt all feminine and take-me-in-your-arms-and-ravage-me. She tried to concentrate on how awesome her feet felt, and the movie, as his words sank in.

  “Tell me your fantasy.” And then I want you to throw me back on the bed and do everything I’ve been imagining and more.

  He lifted her foot to his mouth. His lips moved like a w
hisper across the arch of her foot. His eyebrow lifted as he gauged her reaction from over her big toe.

  Her eyes widened, and her breath seized, but she refused to break eye contact. Her fingers gripped the comforter, and she twisted the material into her fist as he nipped the side of her foot.

  Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Is this happening?

  Who’d have thought Omar kissing her foot would feel so…so… She had no words.

  A rush of heat burrowed through her body. She burned from the inside out, starting at her feet and spreading up her legs. The fire coursed through her calves, brushed her thighs, then burned a trail to the cleft between her legs where it lingered and grew in force. Her nipples tightened and peaked.

  Devi blinked when he ran his tongue on the inside of her arch again, pressing his fingers into the center of her foot until she moaned.

  She shifted her position again as her abdomen clenched. A spasm shook her core until her sex tingled with anticipation. If his tongue could have her writhing with desire by teasing her foot, she wasn’t sure she’d survive anything more.

  Any doubt about hitting the sheets with Omar blew out the window. The last thread of common sense from her brain was overcome by flames.

  “Is lavishing my foot with your tongue one of your fantasies?”

  “No. That just came to me in the moment. What I really want is your lips. Those full, lush lips that tease me every time you speak. I want to taste your mouth, your tongue as it thrusts into the warmth of mine. I want to kiss and lick and nip the skin at your throat, your pulse, the tender flesh at the base of your neck.” His gaze slid down her body and lingered on her breasts. As if obeying his silent command, her nipples tightened more, and his eyes darkened. His gaze traveled farther south, and he licked his lips. She could feel herself growing wet. Did he have any idea of his effect?

  “Do you want more details?” He wiggled his eyebrows playfully as their eyes locked.

  “I like the sound of all of that.” Her voice came out barely a whisper. She sat poised, waiting for something to happen. Hoping.

  Okay, you so did not misread him earlier. He’s as turned on as you.

  “I’m glad you approve. How about you? Fantasies?”

  At the moment her fantasy was stripping down naked and letting him have his way with her. Damn, if he didn’t make a move soon, she might take the reins and have her way with him. Screw not making the first move. She’d push him back against the mattress and climb aboard. Being on top definitely had advantages. Goose bumps erupted on her flesh at the thought. She wanted him, but she didn’t realize the intensity until now.

  From over his shoulder the television caught her eye. Her favorite part in the movie filled the screen. “I do have a fantasy. Kind of a silly one.”

  “Now you have to share.”

  “Mine involves a superhero. He’d hang upside down from the building, I’d remove his mask just enough to reveal his lips, and we’d kiss—of course all of this would happen after he came to my rescue.”

  “Would you tell him he’s amazing?”

  She felt her face heat, again. “Of course.”

  “And that’s all? I would bet money you’d fantasize about more than a kiss.”

  A bubble of laughter escaped. “You got me. Afterward he’d carry me to a romantic oasis by the water, he’d give me the most incredible foot massage, and we’d make passionate love on a bed littered with rose petals—in assorted colors.”

  “Rose petals?”

  “Oh yeah. I’m sure I’m not the only one with this fantasy. If you’re going to do it, you might as well enjoy it with a superhero. Plus, this is my fantasy. I get it the way I want.”

  “Nice to know about your superhero, but I revealed a fantasy about you. I thought you’d reciprocate.” The teasing quality left his voice, and his eyes darkened as they circled the obvious peaks of her nipples through her bathing suit cover-up.

  She swallowed. How the hell could he turn her on with just a few words, or looks? “Who said I don’t think of you as my superhero? After all, you rescued me from painful feet and carried me upstairs…”

  …

  “To an oasis by the water, complete with massage.” Omar wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her. Instead he looked at his feet, uncertainty taking control. What if she rejected him? What if crossing the line in their relationship was something she didn’t want?

  Then why the hell are you two talking the way you are? Every word between them had a sexual undercurrent. Had his lust for her turned him into a bumbling idiot?

  Damn. He never lacked confidence, and he wouldn’t start now.

  He bit the inside of her arch, and she moaned deep in the back of her throat. The sound ignited his senses, and he shifted to accommodate his hardening cock. He rubbed his hands up her legs. Soft. Silky. Like he’d known they’d feel.

  Enough playing.

  He dropped her foot and yanked her off the bed until they stood toe to toe, chest to chest.

  “I’m a superhero who always goes for what he wants.” He slid his fingers through the thick mass of her hair and then tugged slightly so that she revealed her neck to him.

  Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips, and his groin ached with anticipation.

  “I like a man who goes after what he wants.”

  His laugh slipped out, and he leaned in so close that their lips tingled from the nearness. “You know where this is going to lead, don’t you?”

  “Don’t make me beg,” she whispered. Her breath touched his face. Sweet. Hot. Moist.

  “I won’t be upside down when I kiss you, but we can work on that for another time in the future.”

  “Quit stalling. Make our fantasies a reality before I explode, will ya?”

  With her neck still bared to him, her lips slightly parted and moist, and her eyes worshipping him through dark lashes, he grabbed a rose out of the vase and quickly plucked a few petals as best he could with one hand and tossed them on the bed.

  Her sexy laughter fueled the fire. The second his lips touched hers, she moaned. The sound filled his mouth and set him on fire. He nipped the edges of her lips, concentrating on that cute mole. Then he worked his way along her jaw, traveling across her cheekbone. When he reached her ear, he flicked his tongue inside the shell. She shivered against him, and he ran his hand down her back, molding their bodies.

  She circled her arms around his neck and lifted up on her toes until she found his mouth again. The moment her lips touched his, she whimpered. The sounds she made at the back of her throat turned him on. He pulled back, and this time the little moan she released sounded forlorn, but he wouldn’t be gone long. He trailed his mouth down her chin, her neck, until he found the heavy beat of her pulse at the base of her throat. She tasted of the ocean and sun. So soft. So warm. He tangled his fingers into her hair, tugging until she groaned. The sound forced him back up to her mouth, and he crushed his lips to hers. She opened for him, and he delved his tongue deep inside, taking what he wanted, what she offered, as her body shook against his.

  They stumbled backward onto the bed. He landed on top of her, and she purred hungrily, squirming, wrapping her long legs around his middle.

  “Omar,” she whispered into his throat. “You have no idea what you do to me.”

  “If it’s anything like what you do to me, we’re both in trouble.”

  Her hips pushed up, grinding into his until he wanted to burst. She rubbed her hands along his back, pulled his shirt from the waistband. Shivers bolted across his skin as she slid her fingertips along the length of his spine, then dug her nails into the flesh between his shoulder blades as she ground her hips against him again.

  “You’re driving me insane, woman,” he growled.

  “I’m not done yet.” She moved her hips against his, her lips parted, her eyes half mast, her breaths coming in short gasps.

  He ran his hands down her sides, and she arched to meet his touch wherever they moved. All her reactions an
d movements hinted at things to come. A rush of pleasure, heat, and anticipation poured through him.

  Oh God. She feels so perfect.

  His hands shook as he ran them up and over the material covering her flat belly. He stalled to cup her breast, his muscles tightening when he brushed his thumb over her tight nipple. She bucked against his hand, the mewl from deep in her throat shooting another dose of need through him.

  Shit, he wanted her naked. He wanted to touch every inch of her.

  Chapter Ten

  Omar’s muscles tightened as Devi kneaded his lower back, rubbing her center against his.

  She ran the back of her hand along his spine, and the cut of the diamond from their fake engagement ring sensitized his flesh.

  Her scant clothing became a barrier he no longer had time for. They needed to be naked. Hell, he wanted to be inside her, but at the same time he savored the buildup. The pleasure they shared was more than he’d imagined. He felt lost beneath the touch of her hands on his body. He wanted her to feel the same.

  “I want to feel your skin. Your chest, your muscles.” Her voice shook as she voiced his thoughts. Her lips nipped and licked the skin at his throat.

  “Your wish is my command.” His voice came out harsh and raw.

  He lifted away slightly and fought his way out of his shirt. She anxiously tugged the material over his head and tossed it to the side. A rush of cool air hit his flesh, and he shook, not sure if it was because he was cold or because Devi was so damn close and hot. He could hardly breathe as they sat on the cusp of what he’d been thinking about nonstop.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him down to her, moving her heels up his back, warming his flesh with her calves. She lifted her head at the same time she pulled his down, and their mouths crashed together. Energy pulsed between them, turning into ravaging waves as his tongue plunged inside her warmth and tangled with her own. He cradled her head in his palm, splaying his fingers in the thick mass of her hair.