Renaissance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 5)

by Rebecca Lynn

  Janie’s voice lilted into a sweet laugh. “I’m just saying that they don’t even touch each other. There’s, like, no spark there.”

  Todd arrived at that point, and Janie smiled as if they’d just been talking about the weather. “Excuse me guys. Off to fill glasses,” she said, lifting the opened wine bottle, then making her exit.

  “I’m proud of you,” Todd said from behind her. She turned from the kitchen island and smiled at him. “Your friends are great,” he said. “I’m glad you invited me tonight.” He touched her shoulder.

  “I’m glad you could come.”

  He moved into her space a bit more as if he might kiss her, and for the first time, she actually felt uncomfortable with it. She sidestepped him casually, then said, “I’m going to run to the bathroom real quick.”

  “Okay.” He gave her a hungry look then moved back to the rest of the group. She sighed quietly and walked to the back hall behind the kitchen where there was a powder room next to Jem’s woodshop. She went in and closed the door, letting the quiet and coolness seep into her bones. Putting her hands on the counter, she let her head hang.

  You need to tell him you’re not interested.

  She genuinely liked Todd, but for whatever reason, she didn’t want him to think that there was a possibility that something might happen. He deserved better than that, and even though she’d told him once, she felt like she needed to really spell it out for him this time.

  She was an affectionate person having grown up with a hot blooded Spaniard for a mom. So she knew that when Todd touched her, her discomfort wasn’t because she didn’t like to be touched; she just didn’t like to be touched by him.

  She sighed again and took her time in the bathroom, wetting her cheeks to alleviate the stain of heat that had been there ever since Drew had arrived. When she turned off the faucet, she heard voices in the hallway, then heard Drew’s name. She stopped to listen, wondering if she should wait or exit.

  Turning off the light, she opened the door slowly only to see Katrina kissing Drew on the cheek, then turning and walking away. The door creaked, causing Drew to look over.

  His look of surprise morphed quickly into a watchful gaze. He leaned against the wall and watched her walk out of the bathroom.

  “Hey, Tiff.”

  Chapter 7

  “Hey,” she said back, walking over to him. It was private in the back hall, the wall hiding them from view even though one could still hear the noise level in the other rooms. She made a point of looking in the direction where Katrina had gone. “Everything okay?”

  He nodded, still a glint in his eye and a semblance of a lazy smile playing on his lips. It was the first time she’d seen him look like a predator sizing up his prey.

  Her heart skipped a beat. It literally skipped a beat. Her hand went up to her throat for some stupid reason. Get a hold of yourself.

  “Well, good.” He was still staring at her from his position against the wall. She tried not to sound flustered when she said, “Okay, then.” She smiled brightly and went to walk past him.

  He pushed off of the wall with his hands in his pockets and moved sideways, blocking her in the hallway. She moved back a little, his body now angling and forcing her shoulder to bump into the wall. She raised an eyebrow at him.

  “How are things going with Todd?”

  Well, well, well. Where was this going?

  “Great.” She met his eyes directly. “Fantastic actually.”

  “Wow,” he said, looking impressed. “Fantastic, huh? So he’s finally made an impression, I guess.”

  How could she like this man and think he was an ass at the same time. She crossed her arms. “You know what, Doc? You’re the one who thought he never made an impression on me.”

  “Am I? Hm.” He looked up thoughtfully then back to meet her eyes, drilling into her gaze. “Well, he’s certainly trying to make an impression on you. He’s definitely handsy.”

  She barked out a surprised laugh, and thought of her previous thoughts and her recent conversation with Janie. “I didn’t realize his actions would be under such scrutiny. And just because you choose not to be handsy with Katrina, doesn’t mean others can’t be.”

  He cocked his head. “Looks like Todd’s not the only one whose actions are being scrutinized.” His feet shifted forward, invading her space more and forcing her to turn her back even more into the wall. He was now only a foot from her face. She kept her hands firmly crossed over her breasts. She swore she was going to remove her damned nipple rings if it was the last thing she did. They were a terrible distraction when she was in Drew’s presence. Hell, Drew was a distraction when she was in Drew’s presence. “How has he impressed you, Tiff?”

  She was breathing heavier. The needle on her arousal meter had far surpassed its natural position, and she was now certain that something was happening between her and Drew that she didn’t quite understand yet. But she knew that whatever it was, it was currently causing her heart to beat faster and her head to go light.

  Take a breath, Tiff.

  “You want to know how he impresses me?” she repeated, trying to think of an answer.

  “Just curious what the man does for you.”

  “What he does for me?”

  “Yeah. Are you having a hard time with the question?”

  “Well, he, well,” she stammered, “He’s smart, and nice. And he’s got a good personality.” She mentally cringed.

  “Ah, that’s good.”

  He was totally making fun of her. The heat from his body was making her woozy, and his cologne was blitzing out her senses. Her eyes drifted to the opening at the top of his white shirt. She licked her lips, wondering what his chest looked like.

  “Tiff?”

  Her eyes bumped back up to his, his lips now taking on a sexy tilt.

  “What?” She sounded annoyed.

  “That’s all?”

  “That’s all, what?”

  “All he does to impress you? Smart, nice, and a good personality?”

  She let out a frustrated sound. Her skin felt hot. “Listen, you’re dating Katrina now,” she said stupidly. “You shouldn’t be asking me these questions. And let me tell you something else,” she began, already knowing she wouldn’t be able to stop her mouth from going. “You have no right to look at me, or get into my business about who I’m dating, or whether they’re handsy or not. And –”

  “I can’t look at you?” he whispered, his eyes smiling.

  Shut up, Tiff.

  “You know what I mean. With that look right now,” she said waving her hand around. She lowered her voice. “If Todd impresses me, then so be it. So, if I want to date him, I’ll date him. And if I want a man to be handsy, I’ll let him be handsy. And you don’t get to say anything about it, not now that you’re dating someone. So that’s just that. I don’t say anything about who you date, and you have Katrina now,” she harrumphed, “even though you’re not handsy with her, and maybe if you were single, and I was single, then maybe we would talk about how handsy you were with me on New Year’s Eve and what that kiss meant. I mean just because you know how to give mind blowing kisses doesn’t mean that another man can’t impress me, right? It was a great kiss because you obviously know how to kiss, so of course one would wonder, because you know it’s natural to think about what could’ve been...”

  STOP. TALKING. TIFFANY.

  “...you know, if you liked it or if I liked it, but it doesn’t matter,” she said quickly, shaking her head and trying to stop, flustered again and wiping those last words away with her nervous hand, “because you moved on and that’s okay, I don’t blame you for that, but that doesn’t give you the right to offer suggestions about who I date. He’s nice, and smart, and he’s nice,” she stuttered, “and sometimes it just takes a while to feel the chemistry. It doesn’t always happen overnight –”

  His body quickly and lightly pushed hers against the wall. Her breath caught in her throat and she stopped talking. Her arm
s went up just as his body went flush against hers. Her hands went to his chest where she felt every muscle, every hard part of his body, including the one between his legs.

  Oh my God. This is really happening.

  “You know what I’ve discovered?” He was so close, she could feel his breath on her cheek. He was a mere three inches from her face. His sensual heavy lidded gaze met her eyes. “If I let you talk long enough, I learn some very interesting and useful information,” he whispered.

  She blinked. Shitshitshit...

  His body pushed further into her, his hands still in his pockets. His mouth moved to her ear, tickling her hair at that spot behind it that made her go wet within a split second. “As of about three minutes ago, Katrina and I are no longer dating. But regardless of that fact this moment was inevitable so here’s what’s going to happen.”

  Tiffany’s brain registered the screeching of brakes. What the -?

  His mouth touched her ear, and a shudder trembled through her body.

  “You have one week to end this, whatever you want to call it with your nice, smart architect and his good personality. Because you and I both know that our relationships with other people were just a stop gap until this moment. So.” He shifted his mouth again, dropping his voice even lower. “One week. You have ‘til the fundraiser.” He brushed his lips to that spot behind her ear and she let out a whimper. “Then I’m coming after you.” He inhaled her scent then backed away. “And if you should end it before then, you know my number.” His look was hot, knowing, and intense. He looked at her lips then back up to her eyes, then he turned to leave.

  “There you are,” Janie said to Tiffany, skidding to a halt just in the nick of time, and taking in the scene before her. “Uh, hey guys.”

  “Hey, Janie. The food tonight was great, by the way,” Drew said with a nonchalant smile and walked into the kitchen out of sight.

  Tiffany watched his back disappear around the wall, then she leaned down and put her hands on her knees, taking in huge gulps of air.

  “What the hell just happened?” Janie squealed quietly, running over to her friend. “Deep breaths, deep breaths.”

  “He’s not seeing Katrina anymore,” she stuttered, catching her breath. “He’s not seeing Katrina anymore. Why isn’t he seeing Katrina anymore?”

  “Okay, okay. He’s not seeing her anymore. Holy shit. Okay.”

  “He’s coming after me. He said he’s coming after me,” she said, looking up at Janie. Then after a beat of silence Janie pulled Tiffany up and shook her lightly. She was beaming from ear to ear and hopping from one foot to the other.

  “He said he was coming after you?” she laughed quietly while she hugged her quickly.

  Tiffany nodded, feeling terror and arousal like she’d never felt before.

  “Holy shit, that’s hot,” Janie said, fanning herself. “Okay,” she took Tiffany’s hands. “Breathe.” They took deep breaths as if they were in a Lamaze class. “Todd is very nice, but let’s face it, Tiff. The doctor is now single. So, let’s go. We’re going out there, and you’re going to put your game face on. You ready?”

  “I’m ready. I’m ready.”

  Janie clapped her hands excitedly, then they both took a second before leaving the hallway. They walked calmly into the kitchen where Ayanna and Ryann were cleaning. Just beyond them in the living room, Tiffany could see Drew and Katrina getting ready to leave.

  Ryann and Ayanna glanced up and their eyes met Janie and Tiffany’s. Knowing looks passed between all of them. Ryann said quietly, “What happened? Drew just came through and said he and Katrina were going to say their goodbyes.”

  “They’re not dating anymore,” Janie said, her smile so big it looked like she was going to burst.

  “Who’s not dating anymore?” Ryann asked.

  “Drew and Katrina. They’re not dating anymore,” Janie whispered.

  All of the girls except for Tiffany did a quiet version of a scream, then quickly calmed down and schooled their features. Tiffany shook them off because they were making her so nervous and walked into the living room, a calm and confident look on her face. Katrina came over to her.

  “I’m sorry we have to run, Tiffany, but it was great to see you again. It was nice to finally meet all of these friends Drew’s been talking about for ages.”

  “Thanks for coming tonight, Katrina.”

  Katrina smiled somewhat sadly at her, as if she knew that Tiffany was aware of the change in her relationship with Drew. What on earth made them break up in the back hall five minutes ago? She was dying to know. Oddly, they hugged like they were girlfriends. It was weird. Had the circumstances been different, Tiffany might have been friends with this woman.

  “I’ll be keeping your mom in my thoughts and prayers.”

  “Thanks, and I really do wish you all the best with the foundation. It’s a great thing you’re doing.”

  “Thank you,” Tiffany said, knowing this would probably be the last time she’d see her.

  Katrina turned to say goodbye to Emily and Mike, and Todd finally slipped over to her.

  “Everything okay? You were gone for a while.”

  “Yeah, sorry. I got waylaid,” Tiffany said, then Drew suddenly appeared in front of them.

  “See you at the fundraiser, Todd,” he said, calm as can be when only moments before he had her against a wall.

  “Yeah, see you next week,” Todd said, shaking his hand.

  Drew turned from Todd and gave Tiffany a look that only she and Drew recognized for what it was. “See you soon.”

  She smiled her normal smile and nodded, watching him and his now ex-girlfriend walk to the foyer with Jeremy.

  “How late do you want to stay tonight?” Todd asked.

  She tore her gaze from Drew, and turned to the man beside her. “I hadn’t thought about it. Why? Do you need to get going?”

  “I just wanted to talk to you about something and I was hoping we could have some privacy. Maybe go to your place. Do you mind?”

  She glanced at the funky clock in the living room. 9:30. She knew she needed to talk to Todd too, so she said, “Okay. I’d like to thank everyone and say goodbye for a bit, then we can head out. Does that work?”

  “Of course.”

  They started making the rounds and the girls all gave her extra squeezes with raised eyebrows thrown in. In between hugs, most of them told her to call them.

  Twenty minutes later, Jeremy offered his driver to take Tiffany and Todd back to her place, and on the car ride over, the atmosphere in the car was peaceful. Todd enjoyed getting to know everyone, commenting on all of their personalities and interests. Once they’d pulled up in front of her apartment building, Tiffany thanked Manny, Jem’s driver, and she and Todd went up to her place.

  They entered and put their stuff down by the door.

  “Do you want something to drink or anything?” Tiffany wasn’t looking forward to the coming conversation and figured alcohol might make it go down easier.

  “No.” He walked with determination to her and cupped her face. “You’ve been very honest with me since the beginning of this experiment we’ve had going on here, so I only have one request.”

  He knew. She was sure of it. She knew she hadn’t done a very good job of hiding her discomfort at times throughout the evening.

  She covered his hand with hers. “What is it?”

  “Let me kiss you.”

  “Todd, listen,” she started to say.

  “One kiss.” Without really waiting for her response, he leaned forward and gently captured her lips with his. He slowly and expertly moved his mouth on hers, taking small licks and bites. His lips were soft but firm, he didn’t overpower her, and proved to her that he knew his way around a woman’s mouth. And even though he was no Drew, she knew if she hadn’t already had feelings for the doctor, Tiffany might have been able to see this sweet man differently. His hand slid back into her hair and just as he began to deepen the kiss, she pulled away.

/>   He rested his forehead on hers.

  “I’m sorry,” she said softly.

  He sighed. “Nothing, huh? I’m still in Category three?”

  She laughed lightly and they finally pulled apart. “There’s nothing wrong with Category three.”

  “You’re right. Except for when you want to be in Category one,” he said wryly. “You’ve always been honest with me, and I appreciate that most of all. And,” he took a breath, “you still have feelings for Drew.”

  She hesitated, then said, “What makes you say that?”

  He just smiled knowingly. “And if I’ve read the man correctly, I’m fairly certain he has feelings for you too.”

  She sighed. “I am sorry, Todd.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry about. Feelings are what they are, you know? I’m glad you’re my friend.” He pulled her in for a hug. “I’ll see you next weekend, okay?”

  “Definitely.”

  “I’m gonna get out of here,” he said with self-effacing charm. “Have a good week.”

  “You too.”

  She walked him to the door where he said a sweet goodbye, then left. Once the door was locked, she went to her bedroom and dropped on the bed. She was glad she had Todd as a friend too. He was a good man. But now that she had a moment to think about the evening with no other distractions, a happy glow began to emanate from her.

  Drew and Katrina aren’t dating any more. Drew, the man you’ve been fantasizing about for months is now available...and he wants you, Tiff. He’s coming after you.

  She bit her lip. Feeling the confidence of a woman who knew the desire of a man, she picked up her phone and toyed with it, wanting to send him a text. She thought for a moment, wondering why she found this arrogant version of the doctor so damned attractive. I mean, who did he think he was demanding that she end things with Todd? It was ridiculously conceited of him to dictate to her how she should change her life.

  I mean, seriously. If he was going to come after her, then so be it. But he was so confident that she’d end things with Todd. He demanded it.

  She started typing out a text to the man, just to make a point.