When he turned, Falon wished the other man would have warned him. He struggled not to choke on his tongue, which felt suddenly too large for his mouth. If he thought the dress he forced Sarah to wear the other night was sexy, it didn’t hold a candle to the number she had on tonight. Cream lace hugged her curves from mid-thigh to breasts. Her shoulders were left bare by the strapless dress causing his once dry mouth to flood. Any minute now he was bound to do a passable impression of that randy cartoon wolf, bugging eyes and all.

“Holy hell,” he said.

“You can say that again.” Frank sounded almost as awestruck as Falon was sure he did.

Forcing his eyes from all that lace and creamy skin he could see why. Marcy went all out for the evening as well in a midnight blue dress so tight he wasn’t sure how she was going to manage to sit. Not distracted for long, his eyes focused back on Sarah and the halo of red curls that framed her gingersnap bedroom eyes. Male pride rumbled through him when he realized he had put that look there. She wanted him. Now if only he could control himself long enough to give them both what they wanted. And Lord, how he wanted.

“Gentlemen,” Marcy greeted them. “Please, don’t get up.”

The wicked look she gave Frank said it all. She knew it would be rather embarrassing for them if they managed to get to their feet.

“Have we kept you waiting long?” she asked as she slid into the seat next to Frank.

“Didn’t notice,” Frank answered, not taking his eyes off of the brunette bombshell to his left.

Falon felt Sarah take her place next to him like a physical caress. His body drew to attention making him shift in his seat to find some relief. He had until the end of dinner to get himself under control. Another cold shower just wasn’t going to do the trick tonight. Not with Sarah wrapped so deliciously in that innocent-looking lace.

Someone clearing their throat pulled him from the wicked plans he had for her. “I’m sorry what?”

“What would you like to drink, sir?” their rather annoyed looking waiter asked.

“Whisky. On the rocks.” He had been so lost in his thoughts he hadn’t noticed the man’s approach or the others ordering. “Better make that a double.” He was going to need it.

***

Sarah was going worship the ground Marcy walked on if tonight went as planned. She hadn’t been sure about the dress, but she had assured her that it was just the thing to get Falon’s tongue wagging. She had been right. Sarah had practically seen it roll out of the man’s mouth when he spotted them across the restaurant.

Sliding into the seat next to his, she felt the awareness arc between them like a living thing. It was a needy beast demanding they fulfill it.

“So do you think you can turn the agency around?” Frank’s question drew her attention away from the many, many ways she planned on being fulfilled in the next few hours.

“Absolutely,” Falon answered after swallowing half his drink. “You have a solid, if not small, client base. Now that I have all the behind-the-scenes details handled I’ll be moving on to creating a new face for the agency. Something to carry it into the future.”

She listened as he outlined the new marketing strategy and media campaign he had in the works for Maxwell, Williams, and Blake. He truly did have some wonderful ideas. Not that she was surprised, he didn’t get where he was today without being good at what he did. But studying him she could tell there was a difference between being good at something and having a passion for it. She wasn’t sure he had a passion for anything.

“What do you say about going dancing?” Marcy asked the table.

Sarah nearly snickered when Falon’s firm jaw ticked. He must be remembering the last time they all had gone out dancing.

“I’m in,” she piped up just as the waiter was delivering their entrees. She saw the night ending in a very different way from the last.

The men shared a long-suffering look like they were being asked to sit in on a quilting circle before they both agreed to Marcy’s plan. Catching Sarah’s eye, the other woman winked. Everything was going according to plan.

***

After dinner, they walked to the club just around the corner that Marcy swore was one of the best in the city. It was considerably lower-key than the last place Sarah was dragged. She had to give her credit for that. And for picking a place close by. She wasn’t sure she would have survived being confined to Falon’s car alone with him for any period of time.

“Let’s dance,” Marcy shouted over the house music as soon as they were in the door.

Sarah looked to Falon before shaking her head. “I think we’ll sit this one out.”

She shooed Marcy and Frank away while Falon searched for an open place to sit. Apparently finding one, he led her by a firm grip on her elbow to a pair of tall stools tucked close to a small round table. Signaling one of the scantily clad waitresses—perhaps not that low-key after all—he ordered them both a drink before turning to study her.

“Not much for dancing?” he asked after letting the silence stretch.

She shrugged. “I guess not.”

“Then why come?”

“I thought it would be fun. Marcy thinks I should get out more. Experience life.”

“You haven’t been? Experiencing life?”

She was silent for a moment. She wanted him to understand her, but she was afraid of opening up too much to him. He had the potential to shatter her.

“I suppose I haven’t.”

He just looked at her, silently demanding she continue.

“After the accident. And losing my family, I sort of started playing it safe. I stopped taking risks I wouldn’t have balked at before their plane went down. I stopped going out. Focused on my schoolwork and afterward the agency. Everything sort of filled the places reserved for those spontaneous moments in life.”

He was silent for a moment and a part of her felt he understood. What did he lose to make him so reserved?

“There was no one in your life to share that with?”

“What like a boyfriend? No, not really.” Unsure again how much she should share she hesitated.

“Not really?”

“There was … someone, but he barely knew I existed let alone wanted to hear about what a sob-story my life had turned into.”

“When was this? In college?” She could only nod. Shit, had she given too much away?

“It was a long time ago. I haven’t dated since the crash. Can we leave it at that?”

It was the truth. What happened that night couldn’t be construed as a date in anyone’s book. Sarah had been feeling the loneliness of the loss of her family and had gone looking for Jim, her RA. He had told her that if she ever needed to talk he was always available.

She hadn’t known Falon was the only one in the room when she quietly slipped inside. Apparently he had just gotten in from a party down the hall and had a little too much to drink. She thought he was asleep until he called her name from across the gloom of the room. It was the first time she had ever heard it on his lips and her young heart skipped a beat at the idea of the man she thought herself in love with calling out to her in the night.

Decision made, she crossed the room to his bed, his name a whisper on her lips. When she sat on the edge of the bed, he sighed and reached for her. What happened next was the most exciting, erotic experience of her young life. It wasn’t until the next day when she woke before dawn and slipped back to her room she began to second-guess her choice. The following weeks sealed her regrets.

“Dance with me,” Falon whispered close to her ear. When he pulled back, she saw the concern turning beneath the icy topaz of his eyes. How long had she been lost in the past?