by Susanna Carr
He refused to speculate anymore. Julie’s role-playing was getting more brazen at the same rate his restraint was weakening. But he had to see her or he’d imagine all kinds of aliases throughout the day. Once he saw her, he had to keep his distance and not make contact.
He wanted to get this over quickly. Eric wrenched open the door, stepped across the threshold and glanced in Julie’s direction. He froze as his gut squeezed hard.
Almost Bare Julie. The label wafted through his sluggish brain. That’s what he would call it.
He slowly blinked, unable to tear his gaze away from her. Julie wore a flirty, loose, one-shoulder dress. It kind of reminded him of a toga. A short, navy-blue toga that exposed a lot of bare leg. Her shoes were delicate strappy things. If he chased her, she wouldn’t get far.
Damn. Why did have to think about that? He should have locked himself in the office.
What was it about the dress? His gaze focused sharply on Julie as his body hardened. It didn’t accentuate her figure, but it looked as if it could fall off at any minute. It made him think of rumpled sheets. Like she just got out of bed and gathered a sheet around her. One sharp pull and the dress would fall.
Julie tilted her head back and laughed, her hair cascading down in waves. Eric shifted his attention to the man at her side. His shaven head and muscular build indicated that he was one of the security guards on the payroll.
Eric caught the man’s salacious grin and wanted to knock it off his face. He glared at the man, noticing his macho stance and the puffed-up chest.
He couldn’t tell if Julie noticed it, too. She was chatting away as she handed the man a folded uniform.
The man rested his hand against the wall behind Julie and leaned in. He was about to make a move on her.
Eric made a step to intervene but stopped when he watched Julie laugh and blush. She said something he couldn’t catch but it made the security guard smile. She patted the guy’s muscular arm and smoothly sidestepped his maneuver.
Interesting. Eric watched Julie walk away from the security guard with a friendly wave. He was surprised that she didn’t get flustered. That she handled the guy with aplomb.
But then, Julie could twist him into knots without any effort. Eric’s breath lodged in his chest as he stared at her long, bare legs. Julie walked with confidence, as if she knew she had everyone’s attention.
And she was now walking toward him. He flexed his hands as he struggled to remain still. If she knew he couldn’t stop looking at her, that he was powerless to her feminine charms, nothing would stop her.
Eric kept his stony expression as desire licked through his veins. She graced him with a sunny smile and strode past him.
He was at her side before he even realized it.
“Was that guy bothering you?” he asked, looking over his shoulder and glaring at the security guard who was still watching her ass.
“Who, Snake? No, not at all.”
“Snake?” Eric raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “The guy’s name is Snake?”
“It’s a nickname because of his tattoo.”
“Sure it is,” he muttered. “I didn’t see a tattoo.”
“He just offered to show it to me, but I declined.”
Eric placed a proprietary hand on Julie’s back. He knew he shouldn’t feel territorial. Julie was not his, but he didn’t want any other guy where he couldn’t go.
“Anyway, he didn’t recognize me in this alias,” she said with a chuckle. “He asked what happened to the old uniform girl.”
“The outfits you’re wearing are not appropriate.” Great. Now he sounded like an old, conservative man.
“I know,” Julie said with a nod, surprising him. “Perry understands that we are crunched for time and I’m using office hours to try on different aliases. He doesn’t mind.”
I mind. “I meant it wasn’t appropriate for decoying.”
That made her stop. She looked at Eric as if he’d said something crazy, and glanced down at her dress. “I disagree. It’s perfect.”
The dress was perfect for Julie. As if it had been made especially for her. She exuded an innate sensuality that made heads turn. “Think of it from a security point of view,” he suggested. “How are you going to protect yourself? Your hair can be used against you.”
She rolled her eyes. “You also said that when I had my hair back in a ponytail. I’m not cutting my hair.”
Good. He didn’t want that, either. He liked the feel of her hair in his hands. Enjoyed tangling it between his fingers. “And your legs are completely bare,” he added gruffly.
“That’s the idea.”
“You should wear jeans for protection.” His eyes drifted to her light pink toenails. Her feet looked soft and delicate. “And I forbid you to wear those shoes.”
“Forbid?” She drew the word out, shook her head and started walking.
He was right at her side. “If you have to defend yourself, you can’t use them as a weapon. Kick a guy and you’ll break your toes.”
“Eric,” she said with a long-suffering sigh. “When I put together this alias, I wasn’t thinking about defensive maneuvers. I was thinking about sex.”
His entire body clenched. “So is everyone else,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Like I said, the dress is perfect.”
“I would say reckless.” Which was why it suited Julie so well. “You’re not taking the potential threats seriously.”
“Oh, I think you’re taking it seriously enough for the both of us.”
* * *
ERIC CIRCLED HIS HAND around her upper arm and pulled her out of the hallway. He quickly escorted her through a doorway into a dark room.
Julie felt the door close behind her. She inhaled the scent of paper and knew she was in the supply closet before he flipped on the light switch. The light revealed a cramped storage room filled with shelves and boxes.
Julie leaned against the closed door. She wanted to appear nonchalant, but if Eric looked closely, he would see the pulse point at the base of her neck was jumping wildly. She had longed to be alone with him, but Eric had kept a safe distance.
Until now. And she wasn’t going to waste this opportunity.
“Is this going to be another self-defense class?” she asked, adding in a small yawn and stretch.
“You need it.” He placed his hands on the door, effectively trapping her.
Did he realize what he was doing? She bit her lip to prevent a smile. Didn’t he know that she had no urge to escape?
“You can’t rely solely on your colleagues,” he said. “I just pulled you aside and no one noticed.”
“Don’t worry about them.” She tilted her head up and her face was close to his, almost touching. “They’ll watch like hawks when I’m a decoy.”
“Don’t be too sure about that,” he said quietly.
Julie held his gaze. “And you wouldn’t let anything happen to me,” she said softly.
“Things go wrong,” he insisted, his voice low and gritty. “What if your target figures out he’s being set up? He corners you. What do you do?”
She wasn’t going to wait for him to make the next move. It was time to stop fantasizing and go for it. She curled her arms over Eric’s strong shoulders and linked her hands behind his head. “I cling against him and move him closer.”
She saw the desire. “Julie…”
“Eric…”
He reached for her hands and raised them above her head. The position placed her at a disadvantage, but it also brought Eric closer.
“What if I pin you to the door?” he asked roughly. “You’re powerless.”
“Not quite.” She felt alive. Sensual. Slightly out-of-control. Julie arched her spine and pressed her breasts against his hard chest before ro
cking her hips against him.
His fingers squeezed against her wrists. The telltale movement excited her. “Defenseless,” he said roughly as he leaned into her.
She lifted her foot out of her sandal and grazed her foot against his leg.
Eric squeezed his eyes shut. She knew he was at the breaking point.
“Julie, I warned you about trying these aliases on me. Stop it now or there will be consequences.”
Julie flicked her tongue along his mouth. Her breath hitched in her throat when she saw the hungry gleam in his eyes. Dark excitement curled in the pit of her stomach.
Eric’s mouth came down on hers. It was a clash of lips, teeth and tongues. It was aggression and pure need. This was what she longed for, Julie thought wildly as desire coiled low in her pelvis. She didn’t want Eric to treat her as a princess. She wanted him to treat her like a woman.
Eric let go of her wrists and she took immediate advantage of her release by grabbing his shirt. She yanked it out of his pants, pulling at his buttons with wild abandon as she kissed him hungrily.
She pushed his shirt past his shoulders, her movements hurried and desperate. She needed to see him and feel his muscles clench under her touch. She wanted to taste his hot skin and listen to him moan.
Julie felt his big, masculine hand on her shoulder. She felt him push down her shoulder strap. One fierce tug and her dress slid to her waist, pooling at her hips. Her breasts were naked, her nipples tight with anticipation.
Eric’s forceful kisses bruised her mouth and he claimed her breasts with his hands. His skin was rough against her flesh, the friction heightening her arousal. Julie groaned and pulled him closer. She wanted his hands all over her.
He tore his mouth from her lips, his breath harsh and uneven to her ears. Eric rested his forehead against hers and she felt him trying to hold back and gather the last of his self-control. That was the last thing she wanted. She needed his mouth on her breasts. She wanted him to lick her. Bite. Tease. She pushed at his shoulders.
Eric bent down and captured her nipple with his mouth. She shivered with delight. Julie closed her eyes as he teased her with his tongue and the sharp edge of his teeth. Her skin felt tight and tingly. He drew her nipple in his mouth and she felt the pull all the way to her core.
Eric grabbed her dress from her waist and pulled it past her hips. She only wore a pair of black lace panties. The fragile lace felt heavy and constricting. She had to get them off right now.
Julie hooked her thumbs in the waistband and shucked them off. She stepped out of them and impatiently kicked her clothes to the side. She stood before him only in a pair of shoes as Eric cupped her.
Julie spread her legs wide as he stroked the folds of her sex. She rocked her head from side to side as he dipped one finger, then two, inside her. When he teased her clit with his thumb, her mind slowly shut down.
He pressed down hard and lust blazed through her as the all-consuming pleasure overtook her. Eric covered his mouth with hers before she let out a cry.
The sensations were still rippling through her when Eric grabbed her hips and turned her around. The sudden move was disorienting and Julie automatically flattened her palms on the wood door to maintain her balance.
This wasn’t what she had planned. She wanted to wrap her legs around Eric’s lean waist and hold on tight as he drove deep in her. This way she had no control over him. The loss of power was as startling as it was thrilling.
Her heart pounded against her chest when she heard the rustle of his jeans and the metallic sound of his zipper. Eric seized her hips again. Placing his leg between hers, she spread her feet so she had a wider stance, offering a naughty, sinful invitation.
Julie trembled when she felt the rounded tip of his thick cock pressing against her flesh. When Eric filled her completely, a low guttural groan escaped her throat.
She laid her head against the door as the conflicting, incredible sensations overpowered her. She closed her eyes, inhaling Eric’s aroused scent as he placed his hands over hers, reassuring her.
Julie rocked her hips against him, urging him to unleash his strength and power. She wanted to experience his unbridled passion.
Eric gave a warning growl and reached under her arms to squeeze her breasts. She arched her spine, thrusting her breasts farther into his hands, enjoying how the sting heightened her pleasure.
Julie bit her lip as her desire intensified. Eric might think he was in the dominant position, but she wasn’t going to yield to his every command. She clenched her inner muscles, smiling wickedly when she heard his sharp intake of breath. She loved the tremor in his fingers as he trailed his hand down her stomach.
Her smile slipped when Eric captured her swollen clit. A groan escaped her throat as he teased her nipple and clit as he gave a shallow thrust.
“More,” she pleaded.
He let go of her breast and dragged the heavy curtain of her hair over her shoulder to expose her neck.
“Are you sure?” Eric asked, his warm breath wafting over her sweat-slickened skin.
“Please.” She hated how quickly she surrendered, but she was desperate for the satisfaction that only Eric could give. No one had made her feel like this and no one ever would. “Please, Eric.”
He pinched her nipple in response. She was very close to climaxing.
His hands clenched her hips, his fingers pressing into her skin, as he slowly withdrew. Julie’s whimper dissolved in her chest as he drove his cock deep in her core. She rolled her hips again, silently encouraging him.
Eric pumped into her, slowly building momentum. Her legs shook and her hands slipped down the door as she met each thrust with the rock of her hips. Her heart raced, her throat ached with every breath, but her body was greedy. She was insatiable.
She capitulated to his primal rhythm as the white-hot pleasure rushed through her body. Julie sagged against the door as Eric pressed his face into her neck and muffled his cry of release.
Julie rested against the cool wood, breathing heavily as her body pulsated. She was still, but she felt different. Strong and beautiful.
So, this was what she had been missing. She had longed for this quick, wild coupling, but no man understood her desire. No man but Eric.
She felt his sigh of regret. “Crap,” he muttered before he pulled away.
Julie winced. That wasn’t very flattering. She had hoped they could do it again and again and again. He may have rocked her world, but Eric wasn’t interested in repeating the experience.
“That’s not what any woman wants to hear right after sex,” Julie said in a brittle voice. She took a deep breath, put on a brave face and turned around. Her heart gave a funny flip at the sight of Eric. He was disheveled, half-naked and gloriously male.
He shoved his fingers in his hair. Something close to horror flickered in his eyes. “That shouldn’t have happened.”
Oh, great. It was going to be one of those postcoital talks. She should have known. She didn’t want to hear it. Julie searched for her dress and quickly picked it up. “Well, it did and I don’t regret it for one moment.”
“How can you say that?” His gaze focused on the swell of her hips. His eyes darkened as he hissed with regret. “I should have stopped and…I want to apologize.”
“I don’t want to hear an apology. If I had wanted to stop, I would have said so.” She tossed her dress over her head and slid it down her body, which still ached for his touch. Her movements were awkward and slow, but she had to get the hell out of here before he said anything else.
“We had unprotected sex.” He shook his head at his lapse of judgment. “I would never intentionally put you at risk.”
“It’s okay.” She bent down, snatched her panties and balled them up in her hands. She wanted to make a run for it and find a place where she could regain her c
omposure. “I’m healthy and I’m on the Pill. I’m fully capable of protecting myself from an unexpected pregnancy.”
“Julie…I—”
“If I didn’t want this, I wouldn’t have allowed you to touch me.” She opened the door. “If it makes you feel any better, let’s not talk about this ever again.” She stepped out of the supply room and shut the door before he could say another word.
6
“I AM FINALLY DOING THIS!” Julie tried to contain her smile as she walked on the sky bridge that led to a popular nightclub in the center of Bellevue. A small group of women walked past her, a blur of chatter and perfume. She glanced out the window but the restaurants, spas and luxury boutiques were also a blur. The window displays and street lights were smears of color in the night. She barely saw the BMWs and Porsches competing for space on the busy street below her. All she heard was the beat of her heart mingling with the clacking of her heels on the cement. “Watch out, world, here I come!”
“Stay focused.” Asia’s voice was faint in the earpiece Julie wore.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t contain my enthusiasm,” Julie replied, noticing yet another handsome man in a designer suit leaning against a wall, obviously waiting for someone. He glanced up from his cell phone and checked her out. “I’m finally a Charlie’s Angel.”
“But better-dressed. Now stop talking to yourself or people will start staring.”
“Ah, that would explain it.” The man’s attention returned to his phone. “I thought I was turning heads because of my general awesomeness.”
“Let’s transfer that awesomeness into the role.”
“Done.” She was going to act as if she were meant for the spotlight. She had no clue how to navigate a nightclub like this, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her. She wasn’t going to pause or hesitate. No nervously biting her lip or hugging the wall.
The nightclub was trendy, which she kind of expected since it was in the epicenter of Bellevue. The rich, the powerful and the spoiled lived around here. They were easily bored and difficult to please. She could act like that.
