He turned back looking like he was about to say something, but she beat him to it. She wasn’t about to lose this round to some other woman.
“You know, you keep saying I’m not allowed to see anyone until after your ‘findings’.”
“I think that makes sense, don’t you?”
She shrugged. “Like I said earlier, I want to keep my options open.”
He nodded, his jaw clenching. “Well, I guess that means I can keep my options open, too.” He gave her a pointed look and turned completely so he was facing her, as if allowing her to look her fill.
She glared at him. She didn’t like where this was going. “Not tonight, though. If I can’t call on anyone tonight, neither can you. And besides, between the two of us, I should be able to date a few more people to get a good idea of who I’ll want. You’ve already dated enough to last you a lifetime.” She frowned.
“Have I?” he asked quietly.
“Yes, you have. So. I propose that I can date if the opportunity arises before Christmas. You can’t.”
He snorted and shook his head. “You’re something else, you know that? How is that remotely fair? A guy has needs too, Janie.” He punctuated that last statement with a lick of his lips.
“Yeah, well, you’ll have to find some more creative ways to get off for the next couple of weeks. Until I introduce you to your queen of hearts.” She crossed her arms. She was absolutely being unreasonable and she didn’t care one bit.
“So let me get this straight. You get to date others up until Christmas, but I can’t.”
She nodded and smiled.
He smirked then shrugged. “Fine. With two conditions.”
She swallowed. “And they would be?”
“If you’re planning on going out with any men before Christmas, I want to know ahead of time.”
She pressed her lips in annoyance. “And two?”
“And two, you can’t have sex with them.” Now he crossed his own arms over his chest. His look challenged her to disagree.
She inwardly smiled. This could work. She didn’t need sex for the next two weeks. She’d survived two years without it, so she could certainly handle a couple more weeks. Isn’t that why she’d bought a vibrator? If it meant she could have Luke at the end of those two weeks, she could take whatever condition he threw at her.
She shrugged. “Deal.”
He cocked his head. “Do you have any current dates on the books I need to know about?”
“Nope, but after tomorrow’s party I may. Or after Miguel Gastaldi gets in touch with me.” She licked her lips.
He pointed his finger at her. “No sex, and I want to know ahead of time if you’re going out with anyone. Can you handle that for two weeks?”
“I told you it was a deal. As long as you can promise me some hot sex after the two weeks, then I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m going to find you a man that’s going to keep you satisfied for a very long time.”
She took in a shaky breath. “And remember, no dating for you. That means no sex either. I don’t want you throwing that little bit of semantics at me later. The question really is can you handle that for two weeks?”
“As long as you can promise me some hot sex after the two weeks, then I’ll be fine,” he said with a smirk, repeating her words back to her.
“I promise you this. The woman I find you will give you the hottest sex you’ve ever had.”
“Hm,” he said with a raised eyebrow. “Then I can definitely wait two weeks for that. It shouldn’t be a problem. I’m very good at control.” He gave her a heated look. “I can’t wait to meet her. I’ll just have to use my imagination in the meantime. You’re not the only one with a good one, you know. Time for me to go put out that fire.”
She took slow calming breaths like she’d learned in Yoga, but her heart was galloping at full speed. She let her eyes skitter down his body to his very impressive package pushing at his jeans.
Then he smiled confidently. “And I know exactly what I’ll be thinking about to get me there.” He gave her one last look. “See you tomorrow night.” Then he was gone.
……
At two o’clock the next day, Janie arrived to the venue, dress and shoes in a hanging bag with her toiletries and accessories in a side pocket. While entering into the kitchen, she thought about her morning. She’d slept like a baby, with her dreams causing her to wake drenched in sweat, an orgasm hovering close to the surface. She’d dreamt of Luke’s face over her, his words making soft demands, his skilled fingers bringing her to the brink over and over. She’d moaned and buried her face into her pillow.
She still couldn’t believe she’d actually climaxed, touched herself, in front of Luke the night before. It was the hottest thing she’d ever experienced, but this morning she’d been second guessing her actions. What did he think of her? Did she appear a woman in charge, or an inexperienced needy ‘baby girl’? She couldn’t tell. Her reaction had certainly proven to him he was a master at this stuff. She only hoped that by playing it off the night before, she appeared more worldly than she really was.
She’d looked up the phrase he’d said to her after the foot massage. Apparently he’d told her she was ‘fucking beautiful’. That had made her feel a hundred times better. So she chose to bask in the glow of this new relationship with him. Tiffany had been right. Things had shifted and it was obvious he wasn’t looking at her as a little sister anymore. Right? Unless he was playing with her? No, he wasn’t a player. Was he trying to teach her a lesson? Was he really turned on last night, or did she just imagine his erection? Did he go home to ‘put out the flames’? And if he did, who was he thinking of while putting them out? Her? Another woman? Vanessa? And who knew a woman could be brought to orgasm from a foot rub? Google had educated her greatly on that topic.
She just wanted to shut off her brain.
She’d crawled out of bed earlier that morning, her skin hypersensitive, and had climbed into the shower. The water pounded on her muscles, dripped onto her nipples, and made her want a good hard fuck.
And she wanted it with Luke. While she’d showered and washed her hair, she’d begun devising her plan for the evening. If he was going to see her home tonight, then she was going to pull out the arsenal and use every weapon she had. She could handle no sex for two weeks, but she was planning on going out on a date or two, if for no other reason than to flaunt it in front of the clueless man.
As she stood in the venue’s kitchen elbows deep into food prep, she was able to distract herself from thoughts of him, and when he arrived in five hours, she would be ready.
……
“We need more sirloin at the carving station,” said one of the runners as he entered the kitchen.
“There’s a platter waiting under the lamps. Ready to go,” Ayanna directed him. “How’s everything else lookin’?”
“Great. Lots of good comments I’m hearing,” he said to Ayanna with a smile. “Everything looks and tastes fantastic, ladies.”
“Nice,” Janie breathed. She was feeling fantastic. A little anxious, but definitely fantastic. They’d made it through the brunt of the evening. Desserts were just about to be laid out and then she’d be off to change.
“How about you?” Ayanna asked as she walked over and hip checked her. “You ready to go?”
Janie let out a huge cleansing breath. “Yeah. A little nervous if I’m going to be honest,” she murmured. After much angst, she’d decided not to tell Ayanna about what had happened the night before. For some reason, it had felt like it was too private to share.
“You’re gonna do great. You’re gonna be smokin’ hot, give Luke a massive hard on, and then gain 100 new customers. It’s all good, girl.” Ayanna gave her cheek a loud smacking kiss and sauntered away. “I can’t wait to see his face when you walk out in that man-eater dress.”
“He’s already seen me in it.”
“Uh, huh. And I’m sure he’s gonna like seeing you i
n it again. And out of it maybe, too.” She gave a little wolf whistle.
Janie chuckled and rolled her eyes. “My desserts are ready,” she said as she arranged the last of the soufflés. “How are we doing with the others?” She looked behind her to the girls…
…and saw Luke enter the kitchen.
It was the first she’d seen of him that night. He looked delicious in his navy blue tux, light pink shirt, and blue and green plaid silk tie, like he’d just stepped off the runway of a Michael Bastion photo shoot. She turned back around quickly and took a calming breath.
“Well, ladies, I believe The Local Yokel has hit this one out of the park,” Luke said with pride in his voice behind her. “Everything is absolutely incredible, as I knew it would be.” Janie finally turned to smile at him just as cheers went up around them in the kitchen from the rest of the staff.
He was on the other side of the counter to stay out of everyone’s way, but gave her a warm smile. “Are you ready to - what did you want to do again? ‘Charm the socks offa some guy’? And network, I might add,” he said with a droll tone, but his eyes glittered.
“She’s ready,” Ayanna answered for her. She turned to Janie and shooed her away. “All the desserts are done. Go get ready.” She turned to Luke. “Get lost, Daniels. We’ll text you when she’s all sexy and shit.” Ayanna turned to Janie and said so he could hear. “I hope you find some guy that’ll want to tear that dress right off your body.” Then she turned back to Luke and smiled. “Find her a nice hot guy, would ya?”
He shot a dry look Ayanna’s way then turned to glare at Janie as if she was the one who’d said it. He gave her one last look and left.
Ayanna rubbed her hands with glee. “Go! It’s already 10 o’clock. Yell if you need help with anything.”
Janie took a deep breath, took off the apron and hugged Ayanna and Catherine. “Thanks so much for giving me the time to do this.”
“Please, this is a great business opportunity. Enjoy. And make the man sweat a little, too,” Ayanna chuckled. “Although I don’t think you’ll need to do anything to make that happen. I think it’s happening already. Now, go.”
Janie ran to the room with the bathroom off the kitchen where all of her things were laid out. She washed her face and reapplied her makeup, spending a little more time on her eyes. She threw more deodorant on then she let her hair out of its knot, leaving it down and curly. She just needed to wet it a little to reset some of the waves. She yelled out the door for Ayanna to help her with the zipper on her dress and when Ayanna walked in, she stopped.
“Shit, girl. You look amazing.” She beamed. “Let’s get this party started. Whoop, whoop!” she yelled with a laugh.
Janie was starting to feel giddy, Ayanna’s excitement propelling her into remembering her plan for the evening: Seduce Luke Daniels.
Five minutes later, dress zipped, shoes on, hair fluffed in a sexy curly tumble and eyes smoked to a sultry gleam, she emerged from the bathroom ready to make her way through the venue on the arm of her dream man.
Rather than text him, she decided to take the bull by the horns and go out there and find him. Besides, she needed a drink before talking to him after last night. She thanked the girls and the rest of the kitchen staff one last time, said goodbye, and walked out into the enormous multi-tiered room with its multiple food and drink stations. It had a sophisticated club-like feel and the atmosphere showed that the party was still in full swing.
She grabbed a flute of champagne, and while she sipped it she looked for Luke. It didn’t take long to find him, as he was only about twenty feet away talking to some people, Vanessa included. As if magnetically pulled to her, Luke continually looked in the direction of the kitchen waiting for her. It made her happy to know he was anticipating her arrival. Since she was now by the champagne, she was out of his direct line of vision and decided to watch him for a while as Frank Sinatra finished up his song about having a merry little Christmas and Alicia Keys took over singing about New York.
“As part of the security team at this party, I make it a priority to know all those who are dressed to kill.”
Janie turned to look up into a pair of dark hazel eyes. A handsome charming man stood before her shooting a sex filled smile her way. Russet hair, dressed impeccably in black tie garb at the height of fashion, he looked like he was ready to eat her up. And he definitely wasn’t security.
“Especially the gorgeous women,” he continued. “I’m afraid I must have your name, young lady,” he said in mock authority like a police officer.
“Janie Callahan,” she said with an amused look, putting out her hand to shake his.
Without missing a beat, he took her hand and held it gently but firmly then brought his other hand to meet his first so both of his were holding hers. “Well, Janie Callahan. I’m Eric Weston.” His hands turned hers over and stroked at her palm. “I’m afraid I’ll need to find us a quiet corner where I can interrogate you.”
Janie smirked. “I assure you, it’s not my intention to kill anyone tonight.”
“I disagree. You could definitely do some serious damage in that dress.” He gave her an appreciative and blatant once over with his eyes, which were shining when they reached hers again. “And even more out of it, I imagine.”
“Well, you just get right to it, don’t you, Eric Weston?” she smiled while sipping her champagne.
His smile got even bigger and he stepped a little closer. “I don’t waste time. Not when there’s a woman who looks like a goddess standing here all by herself. Either you’re here alone or your date is the stupidest man alive for leaving you standing here unattended.”
She was flattered. Although she didn’t have years of experience with it like Ayanna, she knew how to banter charmingly. She glanced over at Luke, noticing he was looking down at his phone in concentration only to then look up again and begin searching the room with his eyes.
He was looking for her, she was sure. When his eyes collided with Janie’s, he frowned, completely ignored the person who’d been talking to him and began walking toward her.
This ought to be fun. She smiled back up at Eric. “My apologies, Mr. Weston, but –”
He didn’t let her finish, and murmured, now playing with her fingers, “No apologies, please. If you’re apologizing, that means you’re thinking of saying no. Don’t say no, Janie Callahan. Let’s just find a quiet corner and get to know each other better. I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.” He gave her a lazy smile that said his best behavior was certain to include shameless flirting and not taking no for an answer.
This man had potential to help her make Luke squirm.
“Somehow I doubt that,” she said dryly.
“You caught me.” He covered his heart with his hand as if wounded. “I’ll admit I don’t like being on my best behavior.” He sent her a heated look. “I’m actually much more enjoyable when I’m misbehaving.”
As much as she would’ve enjoyed the attention, her mind was on another man at the moment. Luke’s imminent approach caused her arousal to come swift and hot.
Eric stepped forward, directing his next comment toward her ear. “I can tell just by looking at you that you would be a tiger, Janie Callahan.” He dropped his voice. “But I’m sure if you were stroked just right you’d purr like a kitten.”
She didn’t need to turn to know Luke was almost there since Eric’s miffed gaze over her shoulder said it all.
“Eric,” she heard Luke say with a mixture of authority and annoyance. Luke’s hand smoothed down Janie’s back and moved to her waist. “I see you’ve met our chef for the evening.”
Eric was still holding Janie’s hand and raised his eyebrows while still looking into her eyes. “Chef?”
“Janie’s catering company did our food tonight. She’s been in the kitchen all day so now she’s going to kick back and relax,” Luke said.
“Then this is perfect timing,” Eric said quietly in appreciation, his eyes skimming her face and neck,
moving briefly to her chest. “The food is outstanding. Congratulations on a successful evening,” he said nodding to her.
“Thank you,” she smiled. She finally turned back to Luke and looked up into his eyes. There was a flash of warning in his, a more intense one than the one he’d given her when Miguel Gastaldi had been talking to her. She licked her lips and decided to play a little. “Eric and I were thinking about sitting down to chat for a bit,” she said, finishing off her champagne but still holding the glass. Her eyes challenged his.
Luke nodded with mock disappointment, “Sorry, that’s not possible at the moment.” His eyes pierced into hers, darkening with an edge of danger. He looked at Eric. “I need to steal her away, Eric. I have some people that I need her to meet.” He effortlessly disengaged her hand from Eric’s and put it in his.
“Well, don’t keep her too long, Luke. The poor woman’s been on her feet all day,” he said then turned to smile down at Janie. “When he’s done talking business, I’ll take you to that quiet corner I promised so you can enjoy the rest of your evening.”
“I’m afraid she’ll be with me for the rest of it. Sorry to ruin your plans,” he said, obviously not sorry one bit. Although he was calm, he sounded jealous to her ears. Score one point for Janie.
“My plans aren’t ruined at all.” He moved his eyes from Luke back to Janie. “We can get to know each other another night. I’m sure you have a card?”
Although Janie was thoroughly enjoying their pissing contest, she cleared her throat and handed her empty glass to Luke so she could pull out her clutch to retrieve her business card. “Eric, it was really nice to meet you,” she said with a smile for him, card in hand.
Eric returned her smile and let his hand encircle her wrist gently, rubbing his thumb on it until he rubbed it down to her hand to take the card. “Have dinner with me this week. I’ll call you and we’ll set up a time.”
She could feel Luke’s hand tighten on her hip. Cojones. Mr. Weston had big ones for sure. Luke apparently had had enough of Eric’s shenanigans and snickered at the man’s efforts.
“We’ll see you around, Weston.” Luke reached down and took Janie’s hand, leading her away, dropping off her empty glass to a passing waiter who smiled at Janie.
Remembrance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 4) Page 16
