by BETH KERY
A prickle of apprehension went through Esa when the man in the truck suddenly stopped talking to Mr. Adonis and looked point-blank at Esa. Although his face remained mostly in shadow, she saw his chin make a subtle pointing gesture. The man she’d been checking out so shamelessly turned around and pinpointed her with his gaze. Even at a distance of twenty feet that stare lasered straight through Esa.
“We’re here. This is it. Go slow, Esa,” Carla ordered in obvious excitement as they neared the 63rd Street viaduct. She sat forward in the passenger seat and examined the thirty or so men working in the vicinity.
“All right, all right,” Esa muttered under her breath as she pressed on the brake. She suddenly felt self-conscious and silly, like she was in the seventh grade and at the roller rink passing a cute boy standing on the sidelines. A hysterical laugh tickled her throat at the thought.
She glanced over nervously at the two men, still feeling the one’s stare like a light caress on her neck and shoulder. “I don’t suppose Vito said he had blue eyes.”
“Oh my God, Esa, that’s him,” Carla said under her breath when she finally zeroed in on the Adonis standing next to the truck. “Heaven help me, I’m in love.”
Chapter Two
Esa experienced a flash of jealousy at Carla’s proclamation. She’d seen him first, after all. Her ridiculous proprietary attitude only grew when Carla gave a high wattage smile and waved. She glanced over in time to see Vito’s hand go up slowly in a return greeting. He said something quietly to the man in the truck. Esa saw a flash of white teeth when he grinned at something his friend said. Carla giggled in the seat next to her.
Cocky bastard, Esa decided irritably. She threw him a sour look before she glanced ahead.
“Carla, what the hell am I supposed to do now?” Esa hissed. “It’s clearing ahead of me. I can’t sit here and block traffic while you flirt.”
Carla ransacked her bag, never taking her eyes off Vito. She withdrew her cell phone and held it up for him to see. “It’s okay, Esa. You can drive. I’ve seen more than enough,” Carla conceded breathlessly.
“What are you doing?” Esa asked as she stomped on the accelerator, leaving Vito in her proverbial dust. That smirk on his face really bugged Esa for some reason.
“I gave Vito my cell phone number online. He’s going to call if he…you know…likes me.”
“Why does he get to be the one to decide?” Esa asked irritably. “What a conceited bast—”
But her tirade was cut off when Carla’s cell phone started beeping the tune to a popular rap song.
Esa stewed while Carla giggled and simpered, catching phrases like, “Gosh, you must get so tired after working so hard in the sun for almost twelve hours…Oh you poor thing…Are you going to be at One Life then?…What?…I can’t believe you lied about that. You are so bad…Seven-thirty? Sure, we’ll be there…” And then as Carla ducked her head and faced the passenger door, “Yeah, I really liked you too.”
Esa rolled her eyes as she changed lanes. So touching to be a witness to lust at first sight.
“How do you know he’s not setting up dates with every woman on that stupid flirting chat loop, not to mention every single female advertising for a man in Metro Sexy?” Esa accused the second after Carla hung up.
“Esa, you’re such a bore. We’re not planning on marriage and two point five children. It’s just for fun!”
“It’s just for sex,” Esa corrected.
Carla laughed. “And your point is? Sex is fun, Esa. It’s not my fault you’ve forgotten that.”
Esa simmered in the seconds that followed, unable to come up with a sufficiently acidic comeback. Besides…Carla was right. Wasn’t she always encouraging her older adult patients to continue to express their sexuality in a safe manner? Sex was a crucial aspect of human behavior after all.
Lately, however, Esa preached much better than she practiced. At what point had she become such a prude?
The question rankled.
She mentally schemed for a way of getting out of going to One Life with Carla but for some strange reason Vito’s grin kept popping behind her eyes like a cocky little dare.
She’d go all right…to protect Carla. Her friend was used to swimming with the sharks but Esa’s intuition hinted that this particular animal was downright dangerous.
* * * * *
Esa peered at her reflection in the mirror. For some asinine reason she’d actually listened to Carla and gone to the lounge at One Life to remove her glasses. She really only wore them when she drove anyway, but all that talk about how boring she was certainly caused her to make a point of checking her appearance.
The sounds of a live reggae band filtered through the walls. Maybe it was the sensual beat of the music or maybe it was just all the reminders of how lame her life was that coaxed Esa to unfasten her blouse one button…then two.
She gave her reflection a shaky grin after she caught a glimpse of the shadowed valley between her breasts. Not sexy Kitten Ormond perhaps, but Esa still knew how to hold her own at a place like One Life.
The music immediately enveloped her once she left the ladies’ room and went in search of Carla, whom she’d left sipping a sidecar and casting anxious glances toward the entrance. Her step faltered when she saw the back of a tall man wearing jeans, leaning over and talking to her friend. She scowled when she noticed the burnished brownish-blond hair and tight buns.
Well, apparently Vito had arrived and was getting right down to the business of making time with Carla. Or Jess had, anyway. That was one of the many things that Carla had gushed on about after she’d hung up her cell phone earlier. Vito was really a Jess. Obviously Jess was a tad more concerned about meeting clunkers online than Carla and was protecting his identity. Why the gorgeous Jess needed to use a chat group in a singles’ magazine to land a date, Esa couldn’t fathom.
Probably dumber than the concrete he poured on the job.
Her good friend’s hoot of delighted laughter pierced through the music. Esa veered toward the bar, suddenly much in need of a stiff drink. Jess and Carla obviously weren’t going to miss her.
After she’d finished half a martini, Esa felt lightheaded. When was the last time she’d actually had one of these, anyway? Esa wondered as the band broke into Red, Red, Wine. Her body instinctively moved to the rhythm. She’d always loved the reggae classic.
Someone took her hand. Her mouth opened, the protest she’d been ready to utter melting like powdered sugar on her tongue when she looked up into the face of the man who held her fingers lightly.
Esa supposed the time period between when she stared into those arresting, amused blue eyes and when he spoke was only a few seconds but her brain stretched it surrealistically long. Her heart skipped erratically beneath her peek-a-boo cleavage when Mr. Adonis smiled—not cockily like she’d imagined from a distance. No, instead that slow grin was the equivalent of potent foreplay. Ever so briefly, his gaze flashed down to her chest…as if he were a magician and knew precisely what effect he was having on her.
“Would you like to dance?”
Esa nodded, thoughts of loyalty to her friend evaporated to vapor by the brilliance of his smile. Carla? Carla who?
He tugged teasingly on her hand and she followed him out onto the small dance floor in a mesmerized state. When he turned and released her hand they immediately began to dance to the earthy rhythm without saying a word.
Hadn’t she guessed as she watched him come out of the construction trailer that the man knew how to move? He did all right.
Did he ever.
Esa’s gaze drifted over a handsome face and an angled jaw slightly whiskered with dark blond stubble before lowering over a blue and white button-down shirt that set off his golden-hued tan. His collar-length hair was a blend of light brown, blond and platinum hues that mingled together in a tousled, sexy mess. He must have showered after work because he’d changed clothing and Esa could smell his soap and the subtle, spicy scent of his aftershave.
She looked down even further. The carnal rhythm of the music seemed to grant her permission.
Her hips moved with his in a tight, controlled roll to the sensual beat. A warm, tingly sensation of excitement swelled from her lower belly to her sex as her pelvis gyrated in perfect synchrony to his.
When Esa finally looked back up into his face again her breath caught in her throat. He no longer seemed slightly amused. Instead his face had gone rigid. His eyes had taken on an almost dangerous glint. Esa wondered what it would be like to have him pin her with that stare while his cock pinned her down to the bed. A muscle leapt in his tanned, lean cheek, and Esa had the strangest feeling that he was reading her mind.
Considering the fullness behind his fly when she’d been shamelessly staring just now as they rocked their hips in unison, it wasn’t too much of a stretch to suppose he was thinking exactly that.
He spread one hand on her hip in a possessive gesture, bringing her into contact with his body. She bit her lip to prevent a moan of excitement when she pressed against him. He was erect…deliciously full.
Liquid heat flooded her. Her nipples tightened against her bra. Even the smooth, silky slide of her blouse seemed to abrade and excite the sensitized crests. She longed to press them against his chest to alleviate the ache and leaned forward to do so…
But the music ended.
“We gotta couple here who really knows how to move together,” said a voice that was flavored with the accent of the islands. “If dey smoked on that one, they’re gonna burn a hole in the floor wid dis one…”
The sound of the lead singer’s voice broke through Esa’s bespelled state. She blinked, realizing she was pressed tightly against a very attractive, aroused male animal.
A sexy, aroused male who was also a complete stranger, not to mention her best friend’s date.
“Excuse me,” Esa mumbled.
She staggered into the women’s room. The reflection that peered back at her from the mirror only vaguely resembled the one that had been there on her previous visit. Her cheeks and lips were flushed. Her russet-colored eyes sparkled like she’d just swallowed a shot of potent liquor. Her wanton dancing had opened her neckline further and the ivory lace of her bra peeked out from the edge of the silk.
She looked thoroughly debauched.
Esa took a deep, unsteady inhalation and turned on the cold water tap. God, she’d never been flipped so effortlessly into the sexual “drive” position in her life. Just the thought of the hot look in Vito’s—no, Jess’—eyes when she’d gyrated against his erection made heat flood her all over again.
She sighed dispiritedly and splashed some cool water onto her hot cheeks. Why did Carla end up with all the luck?
Esa gasped when she exited the women’s room a half a minute later and found herself sandwiched between a hard, yummy-smelling man and the wall.
“Don’t you know it’s rude to entice a man like that and then just disappear?” he asked in a low, slightly raspy voice that caused goose bumps to rise along the back of her neck.
“Sorry,” Esa whispered as she looked up at him. His smile told her that he’d been teasing. Light angled across the upper portion of his otherwise shadowed face, making his eyes seem to glow with heat as he examined her intently. Maybe he hadn’t been kidding after all…
“I got sort of…hot, dancing,” Esa muttered, not even sure what she was saying.
His mouth tilted further with humor. Esa watched, mesmerized, as that sexy smile descended. He growled softly before he covered her mouth with his.
He plucked with firm, persuasive lips once, then twice, seeming to assure himself that he had her agreement. It was Esa herself who opened and craned up for him, requiring no coaxing.
His taste inundated her with a tidal wave of lust. His agile tongue stroked lazily, explored her thoroughly. Within ten seconds they were kissing with a wild, hot abandon. The amount of suction he applied was perfect, creating explosions of sensation in her body that were far, far from her mouth, making it imperative that she rub up against him.
He was warm and hard…everywhere. When she fully registered the impressive outline of what strained behind his fly she moaned in mixed arousal and misery and broke his kiss. She grasped for a measure of sanity but it was difficult to think with his long body pressed against her and his male scent filling her nose. Her hands rose of their own accord and explored his muscular back with hungry fingertips.
“You taste so good,” he murmured, sounding genuinely amazed. He nuzzled her ear and then lightly bit her earlobe, making Esa press her pelvis tighter to his, desperate to alleviate the ache that grew there with alarming speed. His hands cradled her waist and squeezed ever-so-slightly, as though he were taking her measure. When he gave a groan of satisfaction Esa was left with the definite impression that he liked the way she fit him.
She turned her head, blindly seeking out his mouth again. She moaned in excitement as she bathed once again in his intoxicating taste and their tongues dueled, teased and probed. Sexual chemistry at its finest, Esa thought dazedly.
“Let’s get out of here,” he mumbled against her hungry, nibbling lips a moment later. It gratified her to hear that he sounded as breathless as she was. “I don’t live far away.”
Esa’s eyes widened in surprise at his bold proposal, not to mention the fact that she was actually considering it.
“Wh…what about Carla?” Esa asked, amazed at her sheer wantonness as she craned up to slide their mouths together and nip at his lower lip.
“What about me?”
She peered over Mr. Yummy’s arm to see her friend standing in the corridor, her blue eyes wide with wonder. Esa straightened and pushed at her seducer’s chest but he refused to move.
“Uh…I’m…you’re… Jeez, Carla, I’m really sorry about this,” Esa said breathlessly, the full impact of what she was doing hitting her like a ton of bricks had just landed on her chest.
“Why?” the man and Carla asked in unison.
“Why?”
“Yeah, why? It does my heart good to see you making out with a gorgeous hunk.” Carla winked saucily at the man pressing her to the wall. “You two were practically doing it standing up out there on the dance floor. From the looks of things you better go somewhere a little more private or risk being thrown in jail.”
A low, sexy laugh rumbled in the man’s chest.
“You’re not mad that I stole Jess from you?” Esa asked Carla incredulously.
“Jess?” She pointed at Mr. Yummy. “He’s not Jess. Jess’s over there.” She shifted her finger behind her to the table where she’d been sitting. “He’s Jess’ big brother Finn.” Carla’s eyes twinkled with mirth. “Ain’t I sweet? I brought a Madigan male for you too, Ms. Ormand.”
Finn leaned down and brushed her cheek with his warm lips. He spoke so softly that Esa doubted Carla could hear him where she stood six feet away.
“‘She had nothing to do with it. I was raring to come and meet you ever since I saw you in that red convertible and you threw me such a dirty look. Even your scowl turns me on. So what do you say, Kitten? My offer still stands. ‘Course, if your place is closer than mine, I’m all for that.”
Esa’s brain whipped and whirled like an out of control carnival ride. Why had he called her Kitten? Then Rachel’s license plates flashed in her mind’s eye. Oh…so he thought she owned that racy car. He thought she was the type to eye construction workers like they were walking slabs of luscious male flesh just waiting to be consumed by a carnivorous female.
He assumed she was the type to spend a night of lusty, raw sex with a complete stranger.
Excitement burned in her lower belly as she met his steady stare. Wasn’t that precisely the kind of thing she needed to break her out of her boring rut? Let him think she was a carefree, carnal sex kitten. Maybe she was the type to steam up the night with a complete stranger.
As long as the complete stranger was Finn Madigan, anyway.
Chap
ter Three
Esa couldn’t believe she was actually doing this. She was leaving a bar with a man she’d just met and she had every intention of spending a night of hot, sweaty, meaningless sex with him.
She paused in the lobby to put on her coat but Finn was instantly behind her to assist. Nice manners for a blue-collar worker, Esa thought as he released her shoulder-length auburn hair from the confines of her coat and spread it across her back, his fingers delving through the length appreciatively before he let go.
“Your hair is beautiful.”
Esa glanced over her shoulder and stared. Finn Madigan was really one breathtaking sample of manhood. She’d never seen eyes so blue in her life. Her mouth strained upward, seemingly of its own will.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“You’re welcome,” he muttered before he seized her lips again. They couldn’t seem to get enough of the taste and sensation of each other. Esa had never experienced anything remotely like it in her life—as if she chugged pure, distilled craving.
And she realized something else. She’d never been kissed before tonight. Not like this. Finn made kissing the main event of sex instead of foreplay. He fisted her hair, bringing her closer and consuming her in hot, tempting ravishment. His other hand spread across her stomach and pushed her bottom against the fly of his jeans. He moved her against him with a tight, circular movement.
The bouncer sitting fifteen feet away wolf-whistled.
Esa broke the kiss and stared up at her tall, lean, thoroughly edible would-be lover with bemusement.
“We’d better get going.” He grabbed her hand. The forbidding frown he threw at the bouncer as they passed instantly dampened the man’s expression of lascivious amusement.
“Where’s your car?” Esa asked as she hurried to keep up with his long-legged pace. If she had to guess she’d say that Finn was as anxious to do the horizontal tango with her as she was with him.
“I have a truck.”
Why did he give her that sharp, knowing look when he said that, Esa wondered, like he suspected she was thinking—oh, of course a truck, big dumb construction worker that he was. Which she hadn’t been thinking at all, or at least not the part about him being dumb. Something about Finn’s incising gaze called to mind the polar opposite of stupidity.
