by Mia Sosa
Hearing the thump of the infectious bass beat playing on the dance floor, she rushed out of the restroom and slammed into a body.
“Fuck. I’m so—”
“Horny?”
“Daniel,” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
It was a rhetorical question, really. Seeing him brightened her mood in a way no spa treatment or booty-shaking song could. Now she knew her pissy attitude stemmed from his absence.
What a picture he made, too. He wore charcoal slacks and a dark blue shirt, a pair of onyx cufflinks and a stainless steel watch his only accessories. Had she once thought he was arrogant? Yes. Not anymore, though. He was confident, but he didn’t consider himself the center of the universe, and he treated the people around him with kindness and respect. She liked him as a person, and she liked him even more as her boyfriend.
He wrapped his hands around her waist and tugged her close. “Changed my mind.”
She peered up at him in the dim hall, enjoying the way their bodies melded together, the top of her head aligned with his broad chest. “Checking up on me?”
“Hardly. More like I just wanted to see you, and I knew exactly where you’d be.”
“Where’s Amar?” she asked.
“He’s out there somewhere, nursing his ex-girlfriend wounds with gin.”
“And you came to find me.”
“Of course.”
Standing on her toes, she reached up and pulled him down for a kiss. The soft meeting of their mouths quickly turned fiery, until he tugged on her lower lip and she moaned.
His mouth traveled across her cheek and landed on her ear, where he licked the outer shell. Grabbing her ass, he pulled her against his crotch. “I want to fuck you so badly right now.”
“I want to be fucked by you so badly right now.”
He scanned the area. “Go back in there and take off your underwear.”
Her mouth parted on a soft “oh.” The directive quickened her pulse and weakened her knees. She didn’t need an explanation or further instructions. Leaving him without another word, she rushed into a stall and pulled down her thong, stepping out of it with an awkward hop. When she emerged from the restroom, Daniel was leaning against the wall, his eyes heavy with arousal.
He held out his hand. “Give it to me.”
Mimi placed her thong in his hand and watched him slip it in his pants pocket. Then he pulled her down a narrow hall to their right.
“Look,” she said, her voice laced with excitement. “There’s an exit sign. That might be a stairwell.”
He tugged her toward the door.
She jerked herself out of his grasp. “Wait. What if an alarm sounds or something?”
He bridged the distance she’d created between them and pulled her flush against him. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take. In thirty seconds, I can slide into you and very quickly after that I can make you come hard. Really, really hard. Do you want that?”
She grasped his upper arms, spun him around, and gave him a gentle shove. “What are you waiting for then? Stop dragging your feet.”
He chuckled as he stumbled forward.
The stairwell was dimly lit, and she had no idea where it led.
Daniel kissed her forehead and held out his hand. “Let’s go up. We might have better luck there.”
They climbed the steps two at a time, her stilettos no match for her horniness. At the landing, he guided her to face the wall and lifted her dress to the waist. His arm snaked over her belly and his fingers zeroed in on her clit.
“Soaked. Christ, Mimi. I want that all over my cock.”
The clang of his belt buckle and a crinkling sound told her that his hands were busy ensuring that would happen soon.
“Bend over a little, baby,” he said in her ear.
Together, the command and the warmth of his breath against her skin made a direct hit on her clit, and the pulsing pleasure his words had evoked ran through her. She leaned over, turned her face to the side, and placed her cheek against the wall. If he didn’t enter her soon, she’d cry. Big fat ugly tears for the suppressed sex hormones raging through her body.
Another shift of his legs and she felt his cock thump against her ass. Seconds later, he drove into her, and her mouth hung open as his cock filled her to the hilt.
He slipped a hand under her hair and grasped the back of her neck for purchase. His big fingers massaged her neck and he ground into her. She met each of his thrusts by backing into him, tightening herself against him, feeling the veins of his cock sliding against her walls. The feel of him was delicious. So good, in fact, that if someone came upon them in the stairwell right then, Mimi wasn’t sure she’d want him to stop.
Their moans echoed in the cavernous space until the orgasm ripped into her and forced out a sharp cry.
Behind her, Daniel chanted as his body shook against her. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”
As she caught her breath, he nibbled on her neck, prolonging the fuzziness in her head. Too bad they couldn’t stay like this a little longer. “Back that wood up, Vargas.”
He chuckled as he pulled out of her and handed her his kerchief. “Damn, Mimi. I wish you could have seen my dick when I pulled it out of my briefs. It sprang out like a fucking jack-in-the-box. Hell, it almost scared me.”
She cackled as she wiped between her legs. “You are so made for me.”
The next thing she knew, he’d pressed her against the wall once more, his expression serious. “Damn right I am.”
Oh, this man. This man who knew how to push her buttons. This man who saw through her façade. This man who’d let her see through his. The same man who knew how to call her out on her shit when she wasn’t acting right. She didn’t just like him; she was falling in love with him. And she didn’t know how to process any of it.
They walked down the stairs hand in hand and separated when they reached the door. After she’d freshened up in the restroom, she stepped out into the hall. He again straightened from his position against the wall.
“All set?” he asked.
“Ready.”
“How do you want to play this? Tell them you ran into me?”
She nodded. “Sure, that sounds good.” But it didn’t feel good. He deserved better than to be her dirty secret. She deserved better than a quickie in the stairwell. Actually, if they dated in the open, she’d still want that quickie, so she set aside that issue. They were dating, and she wanted to share that with her friends.
They wove their way through the crowded dance floor and found the table where her friends were sitting. Butterflies tickled her stomach as she considered the group. Ethan was nuzzling Gracie’s neck. They’d become the quintessential “get a room” couple, especially now that Gracie was expecting. Karen, for her part, sat on Mark’s lap, sipping a drink and bobbing her head to the song playing through the club’s speakers. Her boyfriend drummed his fingers on the table, a nervous glint in his eyes.
Nina tapped at her phone.
Karen was the first to notice them. “Did you fall into the toilet?”
“Um, no. I ran into Daniel.”
Nina looked up and set her phone on the cocktail table. “Whoa,” she said with a smirk. “You’re flushed. Again. You sure you’re okay?”
Mimi went for quick and virtually painless, hoping it would be like ripping off a Band-Aid. “I’m fine. And if you’d guessed that Daniel and I just had sex in the stairwell, you would be right.”
Every head at the table whipped in her direction. Then Nina slammed her hand on the cocktail table as she fell over in laughter. Daniel dropped his head and covered his face.
Mimi gave them jazz hands. “Surprise. Daniel and I are dating.”
* * *
After Mimi’s announcement, the women formed a circle around her, banishing the men to the perimeter.
Ethan slapped his shoulder. “Welcome to my world, Daniel. Get used to it.”
He liked the sound of that. Liked the idea of being Mimi’s plus o
ne.
Ethan peered at him. “So you and Mimi, huh?”
“That’s right. She’s incredible.”
“And a spitfire.”
He chuckled. “Believe me, I know.”
Ethan stared at Mark and waved a hand in front of his face. “You with us, man?”
Mark rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I’m here. Just got something on my mind.”
Ethan surveyed Mark’s face, turned in Karen’s direction, and grinned. “You’re going to ask her to marry you tonight, am I right?”
Mark gave him a relieved smile. “You’re right.”
Before Daniel could think better of it, he asked, “Why here?”
Ethan answered for him. “They met here.”
Daniel nodded. “Ah. Good luck then.”
Mark took a big gulp of his beer, strode to Karen, and pulled her out of the circle. He whispered something in her ear that made her smile. Seconds later, they were gone.
Mimi sidled up to him and whispered in his ear. “Are you mad at me?”
He drew back and scrunched his eyebrows. “Why would I be mad at you?”
“I didn’t warn you about the big reveal.”
“Mimi, you come with a perpetual warning. Nothing you say or do could surprise me.”
He and Mimi chatted with Ethan for a few minutes until a loud squeal made him jerk. He shoved Mimi behind him before he realized that the commotion had been caused by Gracie and Karen, who were jumping and hugging each other, while Mark watched the celebration.
Mimi ran to the women and joined the circle, after which another round of cheers erupted.
Amar joined him and clinked his beer bottle against Daniel’s. “What did I miss?”
He nodded his head in Karen’s direction. “That’s Gracie’s sister, Karen, she’s dating that guy over there, Mark. I think he just proposed. Something about them meeting here.”
“Nice.”
“I’ll introduce you when everyone settles down.” He scrubbed his face. “And Mimi just told them we’re dating.”
Amar chuckled. “Not surprised.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow. “You’re not?”
“Not at all,” Amar said after taking a swig of beer. “Who spends ten thousand dollars to pull a joke on someone? Maybe someone out there does, but that person is not you, my friend. So, yeah, I had my suspicions.” Amar’s gaze traveled over Mimi’s body. “That’s how she dresses outside work, huh?”
Daniel clenched his jaw and hands simultaneously. “If you value your teeth, let that be the last question you ask about her appearance.”
Amar held up a hand. “Relax, D, or this is going to get real awkward real fast. Have you thought about that?”
“It’ll be fine so long as no one gets out of line.”
“Look, this isn’t a surprise to me, but I can’t say the same for Jason and Spencer. She’s our publicist.”
“She’s a public relations rep.”
“Too hard to say. And you know what the hell I mean, so stop focusing on the shit that doesn’t matter. Figure out how you’re going to explain to the guys that we hired the woman you’re dating. And more importantly than that, figure out how to convince them it isn’t going to pose a problem for our business.”
All along he’d been focused on convincing Mimi that they should date. He hadn’t given a single thought to whether the guys would have their own concerns about the relationship. Once again, he couldn’t see the forest for his dick. But now he had to answer for it.
* * *
The partners of the Cambridge Group always met on Tuesdays, because meeting on a Monday, their least favorite day of the week, would end with a brawl.
Daniel opened with the most pressing topic on his mind. “So I wanted to talk to you guys about Mimi.”
Jason’s head whipped up, his attention on his newspaper diverted by her name. He narrowed his eyes. “What about her?”
“I’m just going to say this. We’re together.”
Spencer laughed. “You sly dog. I knew it.”
Amar joined in Spencer’s laughter.
Jason, however, pinched his brows and pursed his lips. “Am I the only one who didn’t get the memo?”
Spencer cocked his head. “Memo? All you had to do was look at those two and see that they were seconds away from going at it.”
Daniel gritted his teeth. “Shut up, Spence.”
“No disrespect, D. Just telling you what I saw. Anyway, is that all?”
Jason pushed back his chair. “Is that all? Doesn’t anyone see there’s a potential conflict of interest here?”
Amar tossed his pen on the table. “All right. Let’s discuss.”
Jason stood, his lips pressed together in a firm line. Taking an audible breath, he grabbed the back of his neck and paced. “She’s going to be distracted by you. We won’t feel comfortable complaining about her performance. And what if it doesn’t work out between you two? Then she doesn’t want to work with us, and we’re out a publicist.”
Daniel cracked a knuckle before he responded to Jason’s concerns. “One, she’s a professional. We’re not going to make out in front of you guys, if that’s what you’re worried about. The relationship happens outside this office. Two, she’s asked me to treat her no differently than I would any other professional we work with. I’d expect the same of you. And three, my relationship with Mimi will work, so your last concern is neither here nor there.”
Spencer made a hissing sound. “Damn. You’re a cocky son of a bitch.”
“No. Just confident in our relationship.” He turned to Jason. “Look, I get it. You have concerns. I hear you. But keep an open mind. If it’s not working, we’ll revisit, okay?”
“Fine with me,” Spencer said.
Amar drummed the table. “Same here.”
Jason’s nostrils flared. “Fine.”
Daniel relaxed for the first time since the meeting had started. “Great. It’ll work. You’ll see.”
His confidence stemmed more from his wishful thinking than his conviction. It had to work. There was no other option, because if it didn’t, he’d be faced with an impossible choice: to put either Mimi or his business with the guys first.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The more time he spent with Mimi, the more Daniel resolved never to choose between her and his work. She was adorable in every way, with or without her social filter, and he couldn’t get enough of her.
Looking at her now, with her hair in sexy disarray as she stared at the mess they’d made on the floor, he could imagine spending many nights like this one with her, years from now. The scary question was: Could she?
Mimi huffed. “Tell me again why we’re doing this?”
Daniel held his laughter in check. Mimi sat on the floor beside him with several hundred Lego pieces scattered around her. And she wore nothing but one of his T-shirts, which dwarfed her frame. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “You’re dating an architect. The minute you said you hated Legos, it became my personal mission to make you love them.”
“I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with Legos. They’ve just never been my thing.”
“Well, they’re my thing, okay? So just give it a shot.”
“But did you have to get a kit with a million pieces? One of these is going to find its way up my ass. In fact, I think I’m sitting on one now.”
“This is a basic kit, Mimi. I spared you the one with a thousand pieces.”
“How considerate of you. What are we making anyway?”
“A replica of the Eiffel Tower. Give me the ones you just put behind you.”
“Is that supposed to be a substitute for the real thing in Paris, because if it is, I have to say, it’s a poor one.” She sorted the pieces, throwing a few behind her as though she’d deemed them unnecessary.
“You’ve ever been?”
“No, but I’d love to go one day.”
“Amar and I visited Paris our first summer after starting grad
school. Kind of a required trip for an architectural student.” Behind her, the pile of discarded pieces grew. “Give me the pieces you keep throwing back there.”
She feigned innocence. “What? What pieces?”
“I’m looking right at them.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He lunged for her, tickling her until she toppled over and curled into a ball.
Shielding her face, she shrieked with laughter. “Ow, ow, ow. Is this some twisted game, Daniel? These things hurt.”
He stood and pulled her out of the pile. “I can see I’m not going to be able to make you love Legos tonight. So why I don’t just make love to you instead?”
She cuddled into him. “Well, that’s the best idea you’ve had all day.”
“Have I told you lately that I like you?”
“You have. And for the record, I like you, too.”
He stepped back and pinned her with his gaze. “A lot, Mimi. I like you a lot.”
She gave him a shy smile. “I like you a lot, too.”
And that was enough for him—for now.
* * *
Later, they lay in bed, Mimi’s head resting on his chest. He enjoyed the silence and the warmth of her body. This, just this, gave him a sense of peace he hadn’t experienced in a long time. She absently trailed a finger along his chest as he toyed with a lock of her hair.
She took a long breath and blew out. “I want to ask you something, and you should really feel free to say no.”
He grinned. “And you make your living pitching people?” Of course she wouldn’t let that comment go without a response, but he hadn’t expected a physical one. “Ow. Dammit, Mimi. Plucking my chest hair is low even for you.”
She raised her head and gave him a fire-breathing dragon stare. “Even for me?”
He pushed her head back onto his chest. “Kidding. Please continue.”
“I’m wondering if…if you’d be willing join me for the awards dinner for my father. In Austin. I mean, my plan is to spend a few days with my mother, but maybe you could join me the evening of the dinner and then we could return together. I just thought it might be nice to have a friend there.”
