13

SHE HADN’T GOTTEN dressed. A good sign. And she was smiling. Yet another favorable omen. But she also had a strange glint to her eyes, as if there was something wicked going on inside that formidable brain of hers.

“How’d you sleep?” she asked.

“Great. Never better. How about you?”

“Good, good.”

He nodded, smiled. Not terribly sure what to say next, which wasn’t something he was used to.

She walked over to the couch, sat on the opposite end. Crossing her legs, she let the robe fall so that her thigh was exposed. He couldn’t tell if she had anything on beneath it.

“I can’t believe Owen,” she said. “He doesn’t give up easily, does he?”

“Nope. He seemed pretty anxious to talk to you.”

She frowned prettily. He liked her without makeup. It made him remember the feel of her skin.

“I’d better call him.” She lifted the hotel phone, put it in her lap, then dialed his room number.

As she listened to her boss, she swung her upper leg, and his gaze traveled down to her feet. He wasn’t exactly a foot man, although he knew at least one among his friends, but the way her toes looked with the red polish, the graceful curve of her arch sent some pretty interesting messages to the lower regions of his body.

He crossed his legs, regretting that he hadn’t put on a pair of jeans. He’d never really thought about how vulnerable it could be to be dressed only in boxers. Nice boxers, to be sure, silk, bought by his ex-girlfriend at Barney’s, but still, they didn’t leave a lot to the imagination.

“We’ll be there at two,” Jessica said, “and I’m sure that Theresa can fix everything. That’s why we hired her. Nothing will go wrong tonight, I promise.”

Dan moved his gaze from her feet to her ankles, trim and pale, up her well-shaped calf to the expanse of thigh. Somehow it was sexier than if she’d been completely undressed. Maybe not. The idea of her naked, sitting so casually on the couch, talking to that bastard of a boss, made his problem infinitely worse. He hoped she didn’t ask him for a pen, or water, because standing would be mighty awkward.

“Dan was only thinking of me,” she said. “He knows what a rough week this is, and how much I need my rest. I’m sure if your wife were here, she’d do the same.”

He looked up to see Jessica smiling at him, a conspiratorial grin that made him think she’d gotten over her fear from last night. Perhaps he was too optimistic, but he didn’t think so. It was an intangible something, along with the robe, the thigh. It added up.

Being the man of action that he was, he boldly scooted over on the couch. Not enough to actually touch her, but their hands could have met in the middle.

“I’ll call Theresa, and I’ll let you know if there’s a problem, okay? If not, I’ll see you at the Rainbow Room.”

She hung up the phone and put it back on the coffee table. “Sorry about that.”

“No sweat.”

“I wanted to talk to you about last night.” She paused, looked at her knee, then back at him. “I really had a great time.”

“Yeah. Me, too.”

“But I was a little frightened, too. I wasn’t expecting it. You. It’s been a long while since I…”

“I understand.”

“I hope so. Because I wouldn’t want you to think it was anything you’d done.”

“Thanks.”

“I’d like to buy you breakfast. What do you say?”

“Great. Where?”

She paused again, but this time she didn’t look away. “Here.”

“Oh.”

“I don’t have to be anywhere until two.”

“Great.”

Her smile turned up the heat about twenty degrees. “Maybe, after we eat, we can have dessert.”

He tried to respond with something witty, but his brain had stopped functioning. Dessert. Oh, yeah. Maybe he could convince her to have dessert now and eat later.

PLEASANTLY FULL on eggs, bacon and toast, Jessica watched Dan take his last bites of Belgian waffle, wondering what she was going to do next.

The meal had been secondary to the mating dance they’d started just after she’d ordered from room service. Every word had been rife with meaning, and she couldn’t help noticing that while Dan’s boxers were a wonderful dark blue silk, they didn’t do much to hide his enthusiasm. For that matter, her robe couldn’t disguise the state of her nipples, brought to her attention by Dan’s frequent stares.

The truth of the matter was that she was as excited as she could ever remember, her mind taking off in flights of erotic fantasy that grew more exotic as each minute passed. She was glad, however, that she’d insisted they eat. Not only was she fortified, but the tension had mounted and mounted. Now it was her turn. She giggled.

His eyebrows rose.

“Nothing,” she said. “Just random odd thoughts.”

“You don’t want to share?”

She got up from the table and walked around in back of him. “I do. But not my silly thoughts.”

Although he’d put on a bathrobe for the waiter, he’d taken it off as soon as the man had left, so he sat virtually naked. With so much wonderful flesh to explore, she wasn’t sure where to start. Deciding at last, she ran both hands down his chest as she leaned forward, her breasts just touching the back of his head as she closed her eyes and let her fingers do the walking.

His sharp intake of breath was her first clue that she’d done good, and his pebbled nipples her second. She’d be willing to bet that his shorts were quite tight as she circled his nubs. She’d noticed last night that he was very sensitive there, something she could completely relate to.

“Jessica, my God. What you’re doing to me.” Dan’s voice was hardly more than a growl as he stopped her torment by grasping her hands. He stood, turned around, put those same hands on either side of her face and came in for a long, slow, wet kiss.

He tasted of maple with a hint of coffee, and she felt sorry that she hadn’t eaten something more exotically sweet. He didn’t seem to mind.

With the satisfaction of her plan to bolster her courage, she opened her mouth freely to let him in, and in return she grew daring with her own ministrations.

He moved closer to her, rubbing against her, letting her feel what she was doing to him. It was amazing to know what was rubbing against her, to anticipate a rematch, this time with nothing to rein in her abandon.

Wanting Dan was a new experience, why exactly, she couldn’t say. A combination of things, she supposed. His looks were but a small part of it, a delightful benefit. Mostly, though, it was the man himself, his unique approach toward life, his strength, his passion.

As she thought the word, Dan moved his hands down to her belt and loosened it, letting her robe fall open.

It felt daring and wild to be naked like this. It wasn’t the bedroom, and it wasn’t at night, and his hands touched her breasts, cupping them gently, stealing her breath away.

“You’re amazing,” he whispered just before he nuzzled her ear. “So incredibly beautiful.”

“So are you,” she said, hardly aware of the words when her senses were under such sweet assault.

He kissed down her chest until he reached her right nipple, which he took between his teeth, not biting, just holding. Then his tongue flicked very fast, like a lizard’s, focusing on the incredibly sensitive flesh, and she arched her neck with pleasure.

Her hands went to his hair, raking her fingers in the soft strands, gripping him to hold herself steady as he moved to her left breast to repeat his torment.

Then, just when she thought she couldn’t stand another minute, he fell to his knees in front of her.

He kissed the flat of her tummy, then just below. His hands moved to her thighs, applying gentle pressure so she spread them. Knowing what he was about to do made her quiver with anticipation, but he was not to be rushed. He continued his slow descent, swirling his tongue on her bare skin, tasting her, nipping her with his teeth.