by Jayci Lee
“I asked what you’re doing here,” she said with the slightest catch in her voice and lifted her eyes to meet his. “I don’t believe we have any urgent business at the moment.”
“Oh, you’re wrong about that,” he growled. “I have very urgent business with you.”
Her pink lips parted on a gasp before she stood up straighter. “And what business is that?”
He lowered his head, gaze darting over her lovely face, until her eyes fluttered shut. But rather than claiming her mouth, as he was badly tempted to do, he brought his lips close to her ear and whispered, “Come with me.”
Before she could answer, he leaned back and took her hand in his own. When he walked toward the door with single-minded determination, Jihae came willingly until she stopped short. Colin’s stomach dropped to his feet. He didn’t know if he could handle her rejection tonight.
“Wait,” she said softly. “I need to get my purse and lock up for the night.”
He nodded jerkily, both relieved and impatient. He freed her hand so she could lock the door, but placed his hand possessively on her lower back. Once she was finished, he reclaimed her hand. He couldn’t bear not touching her for even a moment.
“Where are we going?” she asked when he settled into the driver’s seat beside her.
“My place.” He was amazed that he could still get words out. His heart was hammering against his chest and his hands trembled as he backed out of the parking space.
“Your place?”
He gave a curt nod and kept his eyes on the road. Jihae didn’t voice any objections and settled into her seat, turning her attention out the window. Her face was carefully expressionless, so he couldn’t guess what she was thinking, but Colin was grateful that she was coming with him.
By the time they arrived at his condo, his hands were shaking so badly that he had trouble unlocking his door. This was a bad idea, but he was all out of willpower.
“Would you like a drink?” he asked as casually as he could once they were inside.
“What have you got?”
Jihae reached down to remove her heels, bracing a hand on the wall. He couldn’t help noticing how shapely her calves were. He had groveling to do before he could let his thoughts go anywhere near there. He snapped his eyes back to her face, but it wasn’t much help because it was also distractingly beautiful.
“Everything,” Colin said with a wry grin. “My cousin is an amateur mixologist and insisted I needed a full bar for when she visits.”
“Is she good?”
“She’s an amazing cook but her cocktails taste like fruit-infused diesel fuel.”
Laughter trilled out of Jihae as he led her toward his wet bar. To his surprise, she removed her suit jacket and handed it to him, and began rolling up the sleeves of her silk shirt.
“You don’t seem like a harsh critic at all,” Jihae said with a mischievous smile. An odd ache came and went in the recesses of his heart at her playfulness. He liked this side of her so much. “Well, no matter. I do love a challenge.”
“You’re an amateur mixologist, too?”
“Actually, I’m a professional.” She laughed at the shock on his face. “I took a crash course in bartending and have a certificate to prove it. I actually have a shoebox full of cooking, baking, flower-arrangement, you-name-it certificates. I snuck in bartending as my little rebellion against my parents’ will to domesticate me before my wed—”
Before her wedding. The thought of her having almost married Garrett made his jaws clench. But not wanting her to feel flustered, he quickly redirected their conversation. “So are you planning to wow me with your skills?”
“Depends. Can I raid your fridge?” she said, her relief evident in her smile.
“Be my guest. I have to warn you, though. There isn’t much in there.”
He followed her into his kitchen and leaned against the island as Jihae searched for ingredients.
“Aha,” she said, straightening up with a basket of blueberries and a serrano chili pepper.
“You’re using those blueberries?” he asked with his forehead furrowed in consternation. “Are they still good?”
“A little dry, but perfectly edible. They’ll do fine for my needs. But...” Her eyes darted around the kitchen counter.
“Do you need something else?”
“You don’t happen to have any basil, do you?”
He actually had a miniature herb garden. Another gift from Adelaide. She claimed that even if he couldn’t cook worth a damn, adding some fresh herbs into premade sauces did wonders.
“Um...this way, please.”
Colin showed her to the little alcove where his garden of basil, Italian parsley and thyme flourished under artificial sunlight.
“You have an herb garden?” she said with an incredulous smile.
He scratched the back of his head and shrugged. “It’s here to help me with my abysmal cooking skills.”
“Aww, I think that’s rather sweet.” She reached out and gently grazed the herbs with her fingers.
“Really?” he said, breaking into a wide grin. “I’ll take that.”
Once they were back at the wet bar, Jihae got to work. With quick twists of her wrist and fast-moving hands, she muddled the basil with some blueberries and a splash of simple syrup, then poured the mixture into the shaker. Then she added measures of fragrant gin and elderflower liquor into it, and topped it off with ice before she shook the shaker with easy efficiency.
A glint of mischief entered her eyes, then she bumped the shaker from elbow to elbow before throwing it and catching it behind her back. It was an exciting finale. Simple and elegant. Especially when done with her intoxicating half smile. She added a slice serrano chili into two martini glasses and poured the concoction into them.
It was hot. She was hot. Damn.
She pushed a glass toward him and raised hers in the air. “Gun-bae.”
“Gun-bae.” While the salutation meant “bottoms up” in Korean, Colin took a much more careful sip of the drink. His eyes widened and he gawked at Jihae. “Why aren’t you out there selling this stuff? How about if I buy the recipe from you for my clubs?”
“Is that what I’m doing here? Having another business meeting?” She took out the sting in her words with a teasing smile.
“Dammit. Sorry. No.”
“Relax, Song. My claws are officially withdrawn,” she said, raising her curled fingers toward him like little paws. “Besides, I just made the drink up on the spot, so there is no recipe. I’d probably forget it in like two minutes.”
Colin gave her a pained look. He didn’t want to sound like a haggling businessman tonight, but it would be a travesty for the rest of the world to never try her cocktail. He didn’t know what to do, so he bit his lip and stayed quiet.
Jihae’s laughter filled his living room as she took him out of his misery. “Give me a pen and paper. I’ll jot down what I remember.”
He patted his pants for a piece of paper and found a receipt, then grabbed a pen. “Here.”
She turned over the receipt and bit the end of the pen. Then she wrote out the recipe for him. She paused, worrying her bottom lip, then smiled as she scribbled something on top. She handed him the receipt with a look of anticipation in her eyes.
“Once in a Blue Moon,” he read, and looked up to smile at her. “Clever.”
“I figured I won’t be coming to your condo to create brilliant cocktail recipes very often—”
“No,” he blurted, cutting her off in the middle of the sentence.
She cocked her head in question. “No what?”
“No, I want you to come to my condo often—very often—and mix as many amazing drinks as you’d like.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Be with me, Jihae.”
Nine
“Colin, I...” Jihae couldn’t continue because he pressed his index finger against her lips.
Slowly withdrawing his finger, he came around the bar and clasped her hand, then tugged her toward his couch. She couldn’t breathe. What was he doing? Well, she had a vague idea he hadn’t brought her to his condo to talk business, but she wasn’t sure what exactly he wanted.
“I want you, Jihae.”
With gentle pressure on her shoulders, he settled her on the couch then he kneeled in front of her, spreading her legs to get as close to her as possible.
“But...” She didn’t know what she meant to say as the heat in his eyes sucked the air out the room. All she could recall was that she’d told him he would need to get on his knees if he wanted to touch her again. And here he was. On his knees. She was going to have a heart attack.
“May I kiss you?”
“I don’t know. Why now? What’s changed?”
Colin blinked rapidly as though her question had touched a nerve. Before she could wrap her mind around it, he replied, “Me. I’ve changed. I want you, and I can’t hold back anymore.”
He wanted her and he was finally admitting it. Sweet victory. A triumphant smile rose to the surface, and she wet her already tingling lips. “So...you want to kiss me?”
“Very much.”
She had no patience left to gloat because she wanted to kiss him very much, too. Jihae wrapped her arms around his neck and lowered her face toward his. She dropped a chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Like this?”
“More,” he growled, his hands spanning her waist.
With a whisper of contact, she moved her mouth from one corner to the other. “Like this?”
“More.” His fingers tensed around her waist.
“Show me,” she commanded into his ear.
He moved so fast that she gasped against his lips as they crushed against hers. His kiss wasn’t gentle or teasing. It was Colin’s desire bared raw. Their teeth clacked as his tongue danced with hers, demanding that she match his passion. She had zero problem with that. His hands traveled to her hair and made quick work of undoing her bun. When her hair was free, he tangled his fingers into the long strands and tilted her head to expose the column of her neck.
His hot breath and wet lips drew a line down to her collarbone and the hollow at her throat. He licked and blew into the sensitive spot, and she moaned helplessly.
“Colin.”
He hastily captured her lips again as though to swallow her small sounds of pleasure, his name on her lips. She scooted farther back into the sofa and lay down, pulling Colin on top of her. When all of him covered all of her, he groaned his approval.
She wanted him naked. She wanted him to fill her. She whimpered and writhed under him when his thumb brushed the tip of her aching breast. He pushed up her shirt and her bra, exposing the hard tip, and sucked it into his mouth. She nearly screamed and knew she was close to losing all control.
“Wait,” Jihae gasped, pushing against his shoulders.
“Wait?” Colin immediately raised his head and looked her in the eyes with heavily hooded lids. Gah. Sexiest bedroom eyes ever. She almost pulled him back against her breasts, but she took a deep breath instead. Or at least she tried.
“Yes, wait. Please,” she said, barely managing to get the words out.
She was so turned on, and so was he. Colin sat up on the couch and pulled her onto his lap as though he couldn’t quite break contact with her. He smoothed her hair out of her face and said, “Tell me. What is it?”
“You and I... We’re both doing this against our better judgment. True?”
“True,” he replied with a bemused curl of his lips. Then he kissed her temple with such tenderness she wanted to melt against him. “Continue.”
“To ensure we don’t regret this, I think we should set some ground rules.” When Colin nodded for her to continue, Jihae placed a kiss on his jaw. “Rule One, this—us... We have to be discreet. I don’t want this to affect our professional reputation in any way. And I absolutely don’t want my father to find out. This has to stay between us, and us alone. Okay?”
“Okay.”
His eyes had turned watchful at the mention of her father, and she cringed in embarrassment. Bringing up her father while warm and horny in Colin’s arms was not the sexiest of maneuvers.
“Rule Two, no matter where this leads, I want us to finish our project together. I won’t sacrifice Best Placed Bets for anything.”
“Agreed.”
“Rule Three, no promises. I want us to take this one day at a time. Let’s just be two adults, enjoying each other.”
Jihae knew herself. What she felt for Colin wasn’t commonplace. Not for her. If she slept with him, she might give too much of herself to him. She couldn’t allow that to happen. She wasn’t even in the States permanently. Once their project was finished and her father summoned her home, she would have no choice but to return to Korea. To return to her family and her duties.
“No promises,” Colin said solemnly while he quietly searched her face. Afraid of revealing her vulnerabilities to him—and how much she wanted promises—she buried her face against his neck. “May I add something?”
Surprised, she pulled away to look at him again. “Of course.”
“While we take this day by day, I want all of you for every day we have together. I don’t like to share.”
She sucked in a sharp breath at the possessive note in his voice and nodded rapidly. “Okay. And same goes for you.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. You will have my complete and undivided attention while we’re together. There won’t be room for anyone or anything else.”
Hot damn. She wanted to fan herself. He said “complete and undivided attention” with such intensity, she could only imagine what making love to him would be like. But ironing out the rules made things suddenly seem so real that Jihae was overcome with shyness.
“So, um, what should we do now?” she asked. She wanted to palm herself in the forehead. It sounded like “should we shag now?” She truly wasn’t trying to be suggestive.
“I have an idea or two,” he said in a low voice that sent shivers down her spine.
All shyness forgotten, she took his face in both of her hands and kissed him until they were both out of breath but hungry for more. Desperate to be closer to him, Jihae straddled his lap and pushed herself against him, delighting in the pressure of his hard chest against her aching nipples.
It wasn’t enough. She shifted back just enough to get her hands between them and began unbuttoning her blouse. Making a noise of frustration, Colin pushed away her fumbling fingers and undressed her himself. Once the blouse was pushed down her shoulders, he reached around her and unclasped her bra. After he’d thrown that on the floor, he immediately took a hard, sensitive peak in his mouth. Moaning with exquisite pleasure, she instinctively ground her hips against his hardness.
“God, Jihae,” he said as he freed one nipple and moved on to the other. “You’re killing me.”
“Perfect,” she replied in a small puff of breath, giddy with relief and joy.
“Oh, is it?” He pulled back to grin wickedly at her, and she squirmed in her seat so he could go back to what he was doing so beautifully. “I’m going to get you back for that.”
“What—”
Before she knew it, Jihae was lying on her back on the sofa with Colin kneeling at her feet. “I’m going to make you come so hard, you’ll scream.”
Jihae wasn’t sure if she was excited or a little alarmed. Probably both. She was already so wet and aching, she didn’t know if she could take any more. When he parted her thighs, nestling his head between her knees, her hands fisted in his hair.
The first lick and hot breath had her whimpering, “Please.”
Other than a low, rumbling chuckle, Colin didn’t
stop to respond. He licked her center with slow, sensual attention until she was a mass of desire. When he added a finger, then another, she ground against his hand and tongue without self-consciousness. Only want. She was so close that she could see white sparks beginning to go off behind her lids. Somehow sensing she was about to fall off the edge, he pulled her into his mouth and gently sucked.
“Colin.” His name left her lips in a sharp scream and her hips lifted off the sofa.
He pushed her hips firmly against the cushions and brought her down torturously slow, his palm lightly massaging her sensitized core. Once she could see straight again, Colin rewarded her by removing his shirt and pants in swift succession. When he was gloriously naked, he took a foil packet from his wallet, tore it open with his teeth and sheathed himself.
His eyes looked out of focus and heavy-lidded with need as he smoothed the hair out of her eyes. “You okay?”
“Yes, I just need you inside of me,” she said, biting her bottom lip. “Please.”
His gaze not leaving hers, he plunged inside her, deep and heavy. She felt herself stretching to accommodate him.
“God. You feel so good,” he said.
“So do you.” But it wasn’t enough. She swerved her hips to get used to the feel of him.
“Wait. Don’t do that,” he groaned. “I’m close to losing it just being inside you. I want to take it slowly.”
“Colin, I’ve been wanting this from the moment I saw you,” she said, shifting in the other direction, and was rewarded with his hips jerking involuntarily against her. “Screw taking it slowly.”
With a helpless groan, Colin pulled himself out and buried himself to the hilt inside her. Then out again and deeper still. She matched him thrust for thrust until all semblance of a smooth rhythm broke down and they jerked wildly against each other, each seeking a climax so close within reach.
“Yes. God, yes.” She fell apart, with him close behind, pumping wildly into her before shouting his own release.
Colin collapsed on top of her, but shifted slightly to the side on his elbow so he wouldn’t crush her. Her limp legs hung over his back and one of her arms hung loosely off the side of the couch.