Tamara smiled.
"I'm not so bad. Go on, then."
She waited, looking as serene as she could manage, flipping through paperwork without actually taking in a word of it, until Georgina left.
She sat back and took her glasses off gratefully.
Oh God, it had been a strain to pretend she could hold it all together all day. She was so jumpy, so nervous. After that conversation with Felicity, she'd replayed everything that had happened over and over again, and this time, she'd seen Felicity's point.
Maybe her brain had short-circuited after all.
Either way, she needed to figure it out and make it right. That meant going to him. She needed to go to Dave and apologize to him.
That was all, really. She'd decided that she just needed things to be friendly and cordial between them again. She didn't need... anything more.
She wanted to see him just so she could make her apology in person, that was all. She would meet with him, say what she had to say, they would shake hands and part as friends. She wasn't looking for anything more, of course not. Her life had enough complications already. She didn't need a complicated man to top it all off.
There, she'd made up her mind, so she might as well get it done. She could go to his office. Or his home.
Tamara was just psyching herself up to actually get up and get it done when she heard her office door opening.
“I’m sorry, but we’re...”
The door opened, and in he walked, large as life, twice as real.
Well, it looked like she wouldn’t have to go and find him after all. Her eyes moved to his face and she nearly got out of her chair in shock. He looked so cold. This was nothing like the face she'd seen every time she’d closed her eyes, so tender, so gentle, so giving.
This was a stranger’s face.
“Dave.”
“Tamara. I believe we have unfinished business.”
“I... What do you mean?”
“We weren’t done with our night when we were so rudely interrupted, were we?”
His voice was silky, meant to remind her of how his lips had felt on hers. How his tongue had felt as he stroked it along her lips, just a heartbeat away from slipping inside her mouth and finding her own, stroking it until she was breathless for him.
Her pulse quickened. Her breath sharpened.
“Dave, I... I was going to call you.”
“Were you? Now you don’t have to. I’m here.”
“I... Yes, you are. You’re here. I wanted to apologize for how abruptly I ended our... our dinner.”
“Dinner? That’s not what I remember us having when you abruptly ended it.”
He moved closer to her. She didn’t know whether to back away or move to him. Either way, she didn’t think she could actually move so it didn’t matter.
“I... I didn’t... I mean...”
“You look flustered.”
“I’m...”
“And very beautiful, Tamara. I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind.”
“I...”
Tamara wet her lips. His eyes were on her lips as her tongue moistened them. She felt it like he’d touched her. He smiled, just one corner tilted up.
“Was it the night? Or was it you?”
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
“I think we should find out. What do you think, Tamara?”
She should tell him to leave. She should tell him that it had been a mistake, that it had been the magic of a beautiful night that they’d both needed. That it hadn’t actually had anything to do with the two of them.
But she couldn’t say it. She couldn’t say it because she needed to know too. She needed to know if it had just been the night, or if it had been... something more.
“Dave,” she whispered, knowing exactly what it would do to him.
“Say my name again, just like that, and I’ll kiss you.”
“Dave.”
Chapter 10
Dave moved so quickly that Tamara didn’t have time to catch her breath. He pulled her to him, crushed her against him and kissed her.
Tamara froze. The shock to her system was too much as pleasure rose in her, like something rising from deep within, where she’d kept it locked away for far too long. Her hands curled into the lapels of his jacket as if she needed to hold on as he dived in deep, his tongue sliding over her lips, stealing in between when they parted and stroking her tongue until she moaned and whimpered in his arms, her heart beating so hard against his, her body getting the point far sooner than her mind as it pressed against him with wanton need, her leg sliding between his to press against his male hardness.
When he lifted his head from her she gasped for breath but her fingers uncurled from his jacket and slid into his hair, pulling him down to her as she kissed him this time, her tongue insisting on his, her mouth taking his, her body curving into his until she didn’t know where one began and the other ended.
She kept her grip in his hair and kept his head down but he didn’t try to move away. He kissed her until she could barely breathe, until she would have given up breath itself if it meant that the fire he’d lit in her veins would never go out.
Never.
She would never give it up.
“Dave,” she whispered against his lips, the desire she’d kept locked away for so long finally unleashed and taking her over, everything that was prim and proper about her left behind as she tugged his jacket off and kissed him again. This time she didn’t need to use her hands to keep his mouth on hers. She didn’t think he could’ve torn them away if he’d tried.
She moaned against him as she realized that he was undressing her, that he was undoing the buttons of her blouse and pulling it off, cupping her breasts in her soft, satin bra until they felt heavy and swollen under his touch, begging for more, demanding more.
Her fingers were busy undoing the buttons of his shirt, impatient but deft. When she finally got to slide her hands inside, to touch the bare skin of his chest, she felt the heat on his skin and the pounding of his heart under the palms of her hands. And she knew that whatever she felt, so did he. Whatever she needed, so did he.
Here they were equals.
It gave her power she hadn’t known she needed as she pulled his shirt off, as she fought with the buckle of his belt and then the button, the zip, to push his pants down over his hips, to cup his hard shaft with her hand between them, to stroke him until he whispered her name too.
“Tamara.”
It sent shockwaves of pleasure through her, nearly making her knees buckle. But he held her up and she knew she was safe. She knew she could let go, she could let everything go if she wanted to.
“Take me. Now. I need you to take me,” she demanded, and he cupped her bottom and pulled her up. She wrapped her legs around him and realized that he’d taken her skirt off at some point. She only wore her bra and panties now.
He kicked his shoes off, his pants off, and looked around.
“The window,” he said urgently as she kissed his neck, her mouth open, her tongue trailing a hot, wet path down to his shoulder, back up to his ear. She licked his ear, sucked it into her mouth and made him cry out, his fingers digging into her back as he tried to hold back and rein in his own need for her.
Nobody had needed her like this before.
Not like this.
“Take me,” she said again, and felt him get harder against her.
He kissed her again, lowered her onto the soft cushions of the seat and moved over her, his long, lean body pressing against her as he kissed her, his hand in her hair, his other hand stroking down the length of her body.
“Tamara,” he whispered again, and she shook as she heard the need in his voice again. He undid the front clasp of her bra and flicked it open. Her breasts were exposed to him, her nipples hard and inviting his fingers and his mouth. He teased them with his fingertips before pulling his mouth away from hers reluctantly, to latch on to her nipple and suck at it until her back a
rched and she pulled his head down closer to her chest.
“That’s... Dave, that’s... Don’t stop, please!”
He pulled away, making her groan in protest, but it was only to lavish the same intense attention on her other breast until she sobbed with the pleasure of it, as he used his teeth on it lightly, just enough to make her gasp. He licked away the jolt of pain with his tongue, making her long for it again, and again, and yet again.
Her legs fell open as she invited him to touch, and tease, and explore the most intimate part of her. She was wet for him, more than ready for him.
His fingers bunched in her panties and he tugged, ripping them easily, shocking her again with the heady thrill of it.
“Touch me.”
“Look at me when I touch you,” demanded Dave, and she looked into the blue depths of his eyes as he touched her, as he stroked her lips, as he slid his finger between them and found where she ached to be touch the most. He stroked her, slowly at first, until her hips moved faster, rocking with his hand as he stroked her again, and again.
“Don’t stop. Don’t stop touching me.”
He kept his eyes on hers as he slid two fingers deep inside her, making her gasp, her mouth falling open as she accepted the pleasure that had her hips moving towards him.
“Please. Please, I want you.”
“More.”
“I need you. I need you, Dave, please.”
He groaned as she cupped his face, kissed her deeply as he moved away just long enough to pull his boxers off quickly before moving over her again, spreading her legs as he settled between them and kissed her again, and again.
Tamara wrapped her legs around him, her heels pulling him in to her, greedy for him.
“Please.”
“Yes,” he whispered as he moved inside her, his hips rocking gently as he entered her slowly, steadily, until she whimpered under him, until she held on to him and whispered his name over and over again, just like he’d wanted.
She moved with him as he made love to her, as he showed her how much he needed her, bodies joined as they sought pleasure together, beyond reason, beyond logic.
“Don’t stop.”
“You feel so good, Tamara.”
“Please. Please, faster. Faster, I need... Please, Dave.”
He moved in and out of her, faster as her hips moved with him, as she pulled him deeper inside her with every thrust. He took her, his hands under her thighs as he thrust deep into her over and over again. She clung to him as if she would never let him go, as if everything she'd kept locked inside of her had been unleashed. Her mouth moved over his neck, his shoulders, as she kissed him again, and again, as if she might never get enough of him.
“Don’t... stop...”
She reached for her pleasure, the ecstasy of it, let it coil deep inside her, and she let go, crying out as she grabbed it greedily and let herself shudder from it, and then took more.
Dave’s eyes were on her as if he would absorb her pleasure with her, holding still as she shuddered under him, as her tight, wet muscles squeezed his shaft until he could hardly think.
“Tamara!”
He gasped her name when he finally took what he needed from her, plunging into her again and again, as if he couldn’t stop, not until he'd found it too.
What he’d needed from the first time he’d touched her.
He took it, emptying himself deep inside her, and collapsed onto her, shifting his weight slightly so he wouldn’t crush her, holding her close to him as if he wouldn’t let her go.
Tamara sighed as her heart pounded, as it slowly started settling into something passing for normal, and she curled into him, a gesture of intimacy that had him freezing for just a second before he held her close, his arms wrapped around her.
“Hey,” whispered Tamara, and smiled at him.
But she saw the shadows in his eyes.
Still, he smiled.
“Hey.”
***
“I’ll follow you home.”
Tamara eyed Dave.
“Really?”
“Unless you have a reason for not wanting me to go home with you.”
“No, it’s just... I’m...”
She looked for reasons to tell him not to go home with her, but she came up with none, especially because she really wanted to take him home with her.
“Look, it... We should just... I mean...”
“What is it?”
Tamara sighed.
“This would be terrible for Meg. You see that, don’t you? Her dad and her therapist suddenly getting together? It would make it very weird, don’t you think?”
Dave paused, straightening his jacket.
It had been very interesting to watch him get dressed. Interesting and intimate, because there had been so many lazy kisses in between items of clothing.
“Well, you’re the therapist. If you say so.”
“Surely it doesn’t take a therapist to see why that would be a bad idea!”
He grinned.
“I was kidding. You’re right, of course. We should ease her into it gently.”
“I... Yes, we should. We shouldn’t hurry. About anything.”
Dave hesitated.
“Sounds like you’re talking about more than just Meg.”
“I’m... Well, I am... This is... Unexpected.”
“Really? After the night we spent together?”
“I...”
“Background check, remember? I know that you aren’t with anybody now. Unless you’re waiting for your ex to come back to you. Are you?”
“No! No, I’m not waiting for Terry. That’s absurd.”
“Is it?”
“I... I mean... I just don’t know... Look, this is all very...”
Tamara stopped.
This was absurd.
She took a deep breath.
“I need some time, Dave. I need some time to figure out what I want. And what’s happening. That’s not unreasonable.”
“Isn’t it?”
“No. It’s not. Now, you’re welcome to have dinner with me, but I should warn you that I’m a terrible cook. I can’t actually cook anything. The last time I suggested that I make something for my mother, she laughed so much that I wasn’t sure she wouldn’t need a trip to the emergency room.”
“Can you do box mac and cheese?”
“Of course I can,” said Tamara, drawing herself up haughtily.
“And a salad,” she added.
“With cut up bits of sausage in it?”
“In the mac and cheese or in the salad?”
He paused.
“Whichever, actually. I was thinking mac and cheese, though.”
“Sure, I think that’s within my culinary abilities.”
“Then dinner it is,” declared Dave.
He grinned at her and her doubts melted away.
Just that evening. She could take that, couldn’t she?
She wanted to. So she would.
“All right.”
She felt giddy like a teenager as she locked up and went outside.
Only to run into Terry.
***
“There you are, Tammy! I was hoping I’d run into you.”
Tamara looked at her ex-husband, her mind going blank. Dave stood beside her and she felt him beginning to withdraw from her.
“Terry?”
“Good thing, too. I might have caused a little bit of trouble. Let’s get inside and talk. Alone.”
Tamara turned to Dave.
“I... This might take me a few minutes.”
“Longer than that, Tammy. I’m Terrence Burke, her husband. Who are you?”
Tamara frowned as Terry bristled at Dave.
Dave held himself aloof.
“This is Dave, and you’re my ex-husband, Terry, not my husband. What’s wrong? What’s happened?”
“Inside, Tammy.”
Tamara frowned.
“I have plans.”
Terry leered at
Dave, and she wished she could just sink through the ground.
“I can see that, but you see, Dave, with our Tammy, family comes first. Family always comes first. That’s why she’s going to send you home and come with me.”
Tamara tried to hold on to her temper. She didn't lose it, she reminded herself.
“I’m not.”
“It’s about Tricia.”
Tamara pressed her hand to her forehead.
“Daddy?”
“And your mama, too.”
“I’m sorry, Dave. I’ll have to take a rain check on this.”
Dave nodded, his face closed and inscrutable.
“I’ll call you,” she added, knowing that it might not be enough. Knowing that he might not forgive her for this a second time. Who could blame him?
But it was about family. He had to understand.
Dave walked away, and Tamara wondered if he was walking out of her life. She had to believe that she could convince him to walk back into it, because she had to take care of her family now.
***
“I didn’t mean to upset her,” said Tricia, wringing her hands, looking innocent.
It wasn’t an act. Tricia truly hadn’t meant to upset Leticia, Tamara could see that.
“Mama, if you don’t snap out of this swoon now, I’m going to take you to the hospital and get you hooked up on an IV.”
That roused Leticia a little.
“My own husband! How cruel must my own husband be to bring his mistress home to his wife like this?”
“Come, Lettie, we've been divorced for a long time. I thought maybe you might even be happy for me.”
Tamara bit back a retort.
As if.
“Dad, I told you this was a bad idea. I told you that. I... Tricia, I’m so sorry, but can I call you a cab? I’m afraid this isn't going to get better. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t you apologize to that shameless hussy!” shrieked Leticia, heaving herself out of her chair, suddenly not faint anymore.
“Mama, stop this.”
“Don’t you tell me to stop! A disappointment, my child has always been a disappointment to me. We worked ourselves to the bone to send you to medical school and you become a head shrink. A head shrink! As if we need anything of the sort. Now you side with your father’s hussy instead of with your own mother!”
Over 40 And Head Over Heels: BWWM, Over 40's, Billionaire Romance (BWWM Romance Book 1) Page 11