by Sabrina York
“Are you Sally Austens?” he called out, stopping her in her tracks.
It can’t be. There’s no way he knows my name, unless he’s my date.
Her rapidly beating heart slowed as she turned around. Her date’s name was Dean, which meant he couldn’t be Mark Martin. Madame Eve had done an amazing job of finding a man who resembled him.
Please don’t let this be a mistake. “Yes, does that mean you’re Dean Martorino?”
“Yes, nice to meet you.” He strode over and held his hand out.
Still a bit hesitant, she waited a few seconds before offering him hers in return. “Likewise.”
The moment his skin made contact with hers, a zap of energy coursed through her, setting her ablaze.
“What do you say we take this back into our room.” A mischievous grin creased his face.
Even though she wanted to turn and run, she nodded instead. Life rarely presented second chances, and she might never get another opportunity to be with such a handsome man.
Without letting go of her hand, he led her back into the suite. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open as she struggled to take in the opulence of the room. Her less confident part mocked she had no right being there. For once, she ignored her negative thoughts and reveled in the beauty.
“It’s amazing.”
“What is?” he asked.
“The room. Don’t you think so?”
“It’s not the most lavish I’ve seen, but it’s nice.”
“Nice! Oh my, are you kidding me? This…” She dropped her purse on the table and spun around, her arms out, pointing at everything. “Is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. Not to mention spacious. My whole apartment could fit in this one room.”
His shrug frustrated the heck out of her. Nothing bugged her more than people who didn’t voice their opinions.
“Well, Dean, what do you do that makes the grandiosity of this place run of the mill for you?”
“I didn’t say it was run of the mill,” he retorted. His odd expression made her think he might not be telling the truth. “Just it isn’t the most lavish I’ve seen.”
“Fine.” They were getting nowhere, and she didn’t want to spend the evening arguing.
Before she could come up with something else to say, Dean spoke. “Why don’t we order some dinner and get to know one another a little.”
“Okay.” She would let it ride for now, but he’d piqued her curiosity. Why was he avoiding her question?
After they perused the room service menu, he placed their order then poured them each a glass of wine. Not a drinker, she accepted anyway. A little alcohol might take the edge off her nerves.
“So, Sally what do you do when you’re not having one-night stands with strangers?”
“Uh, uh, ah.” She waved her finger at him. “You ignored me when I asked you the exact same thing.”
He cocked his head to the side and gave her a heart-stopping smile. Such a simple facial expression and in an instant, her new panties were soaked.
“Okay then,” he said. “Why don’t we start with something easier? Why is a stunning creature such as yourself not happily married to Mr. Right?”
Ha. Simple, my ass.
He couldn’t have asked a more personal question. “Thank you for the compliment, but I don’t think we should start the evening—” A knock interrupted her.
“Hold that thought, beautiful.”
His graceful, muscled form riveted her attention as he sauntered to the door. She delighted in the chance to be with such a spectacular vision of manhood and made a mental reminder to send Madame Eve a thank you note for fulfilling her fantasy.
After the room service attendant set the food on the table and left the room, Dean helped her into her seat then took his own. Saliva pooled in her mouth from the delicious smells wafting from the table. “Dig in,” he said shoveling in the first mouthful of his stir-fry.
Not wanting to look like a pig, she’d requested a Caesar salad but seeing his food, she wished she ordered something else.
“So, seeing as jobs and reasons for our one-night stands are off limits for now, how about we start with the basics like age and where you are from?”
“Okay, I think I can agree to those terms. I’m thirty-one years old, born and raised in Greenville, North Carolina. How about you?”
“I live in Los Angeles at the moment, but I was grew up in Buffalo, New York.”
“Wow,” she exclaimed. “I never would have picked you for a Buffalo boy. I so pegged you as a European transplant.”
A hearty chuckle fell from his lips, stoking her raging desire. “I can see how you’d make that mistake. My father is Italian but my mother is a New Yorker. They met when mom was vacationing in Europe. Dad followed her to the US, and they’ve been married for forty years.”
Awww.
“So romantic. I always hoped for my life to be like a romance novel. Reality turned out to be something else entirely.” She glanced at Dean and saw a scowl on his face. Damn! Me and my big mouth. He probably thinks I’m some fat loser.
You are, the little devil sitting on her shoulder whispered.
Annoyed at revealing too much so soon, she tried to backtrack. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that.” She looked down at her plate and took another mouthful of food.
“It’s all right,” he replied “I kind of like the insight it gave me.”
She glanced up, surprised to see a giant smile on his face, no revulsion whatsoever. She returned it. “You haven’t bolted from the room. So, it must have been a good insight.”
He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times.
“Sorry I interrupted,” she said. “You were going to tell me how old you are?”
“I might have been.” His eyebrows knitted together, “How old do you think I am?”
“Oh, I’m terrible at this.” She perused his assets. He certainly resembled Mark Martin. “I’d say about twenty-seven.”
Dean laughed again, which irked her. He seemed to find everything funny. “Thank you very much for the nice compliment, but I’m thirty-five.”
Wow, he’s older than me. She never would have guessed that in a million years. She wanted to ask how he managed to stay so youthful, but admired his perfection instead.
“You keep staring at me like you want me to devour you and this evening is going to be over before it starts,” he said.
Sally flushed from her chest all the way up to the tips of her ears. “Sorry.” Yet another humiliating display.
“Oh, don’t you dare be sorry. You have no idea how much I want to do what your expression is asking me to.” His words kicked her arousal up yet another notch, increasing the wetness between her thighs. “But I’m not in the habit of sleeping with people I don’t know. So, please, how about you tell me a little bit more about yourself?”
“Fine, as long as you do the same.” He nodded. “As I said, I’m from North Carolina, a high school teacher, I like to read romance novels, and…there isn’t much else to know.”
His lips curved up in a crooked grin “Damn, glad you weren’t my teacher in high school. I’d never have been able to pay attention to my classes.”
“Don’t be silly,” she giggled, avoiding his eyes. “Teenage boys want to be with super models, not frumpy, old-maid English teachers.”
She didn’t realize Dean had moved to stand next to her until he placed his finger under chin, lifting her head. “You are neither frumpy or an old-maid,” he growled, grabbing her hand and placing it over the very prominent bulge in his pants. “And I plan on showing you how sexy you are.”
She wanted so much for him to follow through on his promise, but not until she found out what he was hiding. Removing her hand from his crotch, she said, “As delicious as that sounds, I’d love to know what you do out there in L.A. first.”
Sally didn’t know what to make of his frown, but she got the feeling whatever he wanted to say, she wasn’t going to like.
&n
bsp; Chapter Three
Dean didn’t know whether to lie to the beauty in front of him or tell her the truth. Will she freak out and turn into a stalker? He needed to be sure before he took the risk.
God I hope she’s not some bunny boiler.
“I work in television.” Perhaps a half-truth would suffice.
“Really?” She mocked, her voice increasing in pitch. “What do you do in television?”
“I act?” He didn’t mean for his answer to sound like a question.
“You act?” She smirked and cocked an eyebrow at him. “You know being a celebrity look-alike is nothing to be ashamed of.”
“What on earth makes you think I’m a celebrity look-alike?”
She giggled. “Come on, you have to know you’re a dead ringer for Mark Martin from Love My Family. I never expected Madame Eve would find such a mirror image.”
His blood pounded through his veins; his hands clenched into fists at his sides. “You asked Madame Eve to find you Mark Martin?” He tried to keep his anger in check.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I asked for a kind and caring man who didn’t object to being with a girl with plenty of curves. When I said if he resembled the actor, it would be an added bonus, I was joking. Why would a famous soap star who can be with any of a dozen starlets want to be with me?”
Because you’re more sexy, intelligent, and caring, than all of them put together.
The tension drained from his body. He needed to tell her the whole truth. “What if I were to tell you I am Mark Martin?”
She gaped at him as if he’d lost his mind. “No, you’re not. You’re Dean Martorino.”
“You’re right, I am.”
Sally smiled and tilted her head to the side a little.
God I hope the truth doesn’t shock her too much. “I was born Dean Marcello Martorino. When I first started modeling, an agent pulled me aside and told me if I wanted to make it big, I needed a name that was easier to remember and less European. That’s when I created my stage name, Mark being a shortened version of Marcello and Martin being a more western version of Martorino.”
Her smile vanished. Her eyes opened so wide her eyebrows almost disappeared into her hairline. “But…. No, you can’t be.” She rose and paced back and forth, muttering words too low for him to make out.
All of a sudden she stopped moving, grabbed her purse from the table, and headed for the door. “I’m sorry there appears to have been some huge mistake. Sorry to waste your time.”
What the hell? I can’t let her leave, I just found her.
“Wait!” he yelled. Sally froze, standing ramrod straight facing the door. “Don’t you want to hear what kind of woman I requested Madame Eve to find me?” Though she shook her head, she didn’t leave so he took that as a sign to continue. “I asked her to find me someone who wasn’t famous, who was kind and loving, with a plus-size figure.”
She spun around. “But…why would you want some fat nobody when you can have a beautiful starlet?”
Dean strode to her, intent on making sure she stayed. “First, I don’t ever want to hear you call yourself fat again. You are nothing of the sort. And second, I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with a woman who has no brains and cares more about her appearance than anything else.”
Dropping her gaze to the floor, she gasped when his feet appeared right in front of her.
God, can I really have sex with a TV star?
She found it hard to think rationally with him in such close proximity. When he leaned in and whispered in her ear, it became nigh on impossible. “Ever since I was a teenage boy, I’ve dreamed of being with a woman as sexy and voluptuous as you.” Her nipples hardened and goose bumps covered her skin, her body responding as though he caressed her. “I can’t wait to get you out of these clothes and fuck you ’til you can’t see straight.”
Every argument against going ahead with the evening vanished. A shameless whimper slipped from her lips and her walls of resistance tumbled down. He closed the small distance between them, setting her on fire.
“Please!” she begged, not sure what she needed.
Dean did. He slid her zipper down and let the dress fall to a pile at her feet, leaving her standing before him in nothing but heels and lingerie.
“Fuck. You’re stunning.” He examined every inch of her.
She wanted nothing more than to reciprocate but the words refused to come out. Instead, she stood there praying to whoever would listen he’d get naked sometime soon.
As if in answer to her prayer, Dean unbuttoned his shirt revealing inch after glorious inch of tanned olive skin. Kicking his shoes off, he made quick work of his belt buckle followed by the zip. Taking a deep breath, she waited, gaze fixed below his waist. He pushed his pants to the floor leaving him in nothing but boxers.
She’d seen pictures of Mark in his underwear before. Hell, he’d started his career as a Calvin Klein model. Mind-blowing. Try as she might to take the whole lot in, her gaze kept returning to the impressive bulge in his boxer briefs.
Fuck me! Lord, whatever I did to deserve this? Thank you so much.
Itching to touch the sculptured plains of his torso, she slowly reached out until the tips of her fingers made contact. So soft, so hard!
Moving her open palms over his pecs, down over his abs toward the top of his underwear, fear welled up inside. What do I do next? Her experience with the male sex organ was limited to one hand-job more than a decade prior. After Josh had informed her that her skills were more than lacking, she’d not tried again. She didn’t want to scare Dean away by hurting him, or worse, failing to please him.
Dean rested his hand on hers, pushing downward until they cupped his erection.
“Oh fuck!” he groaned, as he moved them up and down in a hard and fast motion.
Just as she got the hang of it, he made her stop. She glanced to him for an explanation.
“Oh, baby, don’t look so sad. You didn’t do anything wrong. Matter of fact, you were so good I was about to come in my pants.”
Joy surged through her. He enjoyed it.
“Besides,” he added. “I’ve waited long enough for my turn.”
He entwined their fingers and led her into to the bedroom. Stopping at the foot of the biggest bed she’d ever seen, Dean drew her into a tight embrace, his lips crashing against hers in a passion-filled kiss. Every nerve ending tingled with excitement. If he could elicit such a strong reaction with a kiss, what might he do with other parts of him?
Lost in the euphoria coursing through her, it caught her off guard when her bra disappeared from between them. He pulled away, ogling her bare breasts. Like a man possessed, he removed her panties and his boxers.
Oh, my God! I’m naked with a man.
Torn about what to do in the unfamiliar situation, her less confident side wanted to run and hide under the covers. Her inner sex kitten, however, wanted to bring the sexy man close until his body touched hers and then rub up against him.
She shocked herself, when she went with option two. Every spot their bodies connected burned as if branded.
“You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He wrapped his arms around her stroking the heated flesh of her back.
So fucking sexy!
“Why, thank you.” He snickered. “I wholeheartedly agree.”
Sally waited for the flush of embarrassment, but it never came. Whether she spoke them aloud or not, the words were the truth.
“I want to feast on you. Let me please you.”
She tensed, unsure how to inform him she’d only had sex once before. Like he’s going to want you then. Her inner devil tried to overwhelm her with insecurity, but Dean’s eyes held caring and adoration. She’d be safe with him. Still, she had no idea what to do.
He cupped her cheek, holding her gaze. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, per se.” How do I explain this? “I need you to know that though I’m not technically a virgin, I might as well be. So,
I need you to take the lead.”
Chapter Four
Did she just tell me she’s gone most of her adult life without sex?
The idea made Dean furious yet grateful at the same time. More than ever, he wanted to show her the joys of sex, while maybe living out one or two of his own fantasies.
“I’d be honored to take the lead.”
A million ideas streamed through his mind, but one stood out from the bunch.
He swept her off her feet laying her in the middle of the bed. He paused for a minute admiring the beauty sprawled out before him. Joining her on the bed, he held his hand out to her. “Come here?”
After a moment, she shuffled closer to him. The way she bowed to his commands made him giddy with power.
“I have a fantasy.” Anticipation coursed through his veins, kicking his arousal into high gear. “One I’m hoping we can fulfill right now.” Though she flashed him a bright smile, her silence worried him. “I’m going to lie down on my back and I want you to straddle my face.”
She shook her head biting down on her lip. “I can’t. I’ll suffocate you.”
Oh, what a way to go. “Believe me, darling, you won’t. Besides, I was hoping you might want to do some exploring of your own.”
Sally frowned. He opened his mouth to explain how everything worked but closed it again, deciding actions spoke louder than words.
Gripping her around the waist, he manhandled her into kneeling across his chest, facing his feet. She was stiff as a board.
Attempting to relax her a little, he passed a finger over her slit. Instead of her sinking back toward him as he expected, she shrieked and tried to scramble away.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he growled, grabbing her hips.
“Please, let me go…I can’t. I don’t want to hurt you.” Her defeated tone made him even more determined to show her she wouldn’t hurt him.
“Baby, I wouldn’t be so excited to try it if I thought I’d get hurt.”
