‘Oh, please. The man doesn’t know the meaning of the word.’
But she did.
When Jake suddenly turned around, she found her nose practically squashed against his chest. Obvious – that would be leaning forwards to lick his rippling pecs. The devilish inclination made her flinch, but even that small tightening of her muscles hurt. She breathed through the pain and became entranced by his clean masculine scent. Was that a hint of musk she detected in his aftershave?
Ooh, musk.
Darn him.
That was why he’d taken so long to pester her after she’d arrived: he’d been showering. Great. That was just the picture she needed in her head when she was supposed to be sorting out his books. Jake with water sluicing down his body. Jake with his hands soaping his chest, his abs, his…
She jolted. He’d showered.
He’d showered because he had plans with Liz tonight.
The realisation hurt a little more than Roma could have imagined. Trying to act as casual and as mobile as possible, she backed away. She shuffled around the desk and headed for a tall stack of papers. ‘I really should get back to work.’
She reached up too quickly, though, and discomfort had her inhaling sharply.
‘Need some help with that?’
She hadn’t realised he’d followed so close behind her. She jumped at the sensation of his hot breath against the back of her neck and, voilà, mistake number three.
Her flailing arm hit the stack of paper. It quivered like Jell-O. For a split second, she thought it would regain its tremulous balance, but luck wasn’t on her side. In slow motion, the tower tilted.
Forgetting her aches and pains, she lunged for it. She wrapped both arms around the pile, but her momentum got the better of her. She felt herself and her precious cargo falling. Jake’s arms wrapped around her, but he, too, was caught off guard. Together, they all fell into the chair.
‘Don’t move!’ she yelped.
He paused for a brief second. ‘I wouldn’t if you paid me.’
Roma suddenly realised their position. She’d been concerned with the papers. Her arms were wrapped about them high and low, trying to contain them. Even her chin had been put to use. She had it ground into the top of the stack to keep it from disintegrating. Unfortunately, that was the least of her problems.
She was sitting in Jake’s lap!
Smack dab, plop in the middle. Her back was against his chest, her thighs were draped over his, and her bottom was settled on a bulge that was growing harder the longer she sat there.
She shifted her weight, wondering if it was possible to stand up and still keep control of the paperwork. Her thighs screamed in protest. Nope, not possible.
‘Don’t do that,’ he growled as she squirmed against him. ‘Just…just hold very still.’
‘This is the one pile of paper I’ve got organised,’ she whined. Out of all the thoughts and impressions racing through her head, that was the easiest one to deal with. ‘This wouldn’t happen if you had more than one filing cabinet in this place.’
‘OK, OK, relax. We’ll rescue it.’
She could feel the rumble of his chest against her back as he spoke. With his strong thighs underneath her and his arms wrapped around her, she felt surrounded. Temptation curled like a snake within her belly. ‘Well, hurry it up!’
‘Let me get this top part of the stack before your neck snaps,’ he said, laughing.
The vibration ran down Roma’s spine, and her thighs clenched tightly. Not good. This was not a good time to be feeling frisky.
He carefully removed about eight inches worth of paper from the top of the stack. She quickly got a better hold with her hands and rolled her neck to relieve the kinks. She went stock-still when his thumbs settled onto her shoulders. He began rubbing his thumbs in deep circles at the base of her neck, and she nearly whimpered in delight.
‘Better?’ he asked on a low note.
‘Mmm hmm. Yup. That’s pretty satisfactory.’ Her resistance was hanging on by a thread. Liz or not, five more seconds of that and the stack was hitting the floor. ‘Can we move on to the rest of this mess?’
‘Take it easy,’ he said with a chuckle. ‘We’ve got it under control now.’
Control? Was he nuts? She could feel her control slipping away from her fingertips as he spoke. He reached around her to remove more of the pile, and those strong arms brushed against the sides of her breasts. Control be damned!
‘I’ll just set these on the desk here,’ he said.
He reached back and got rid of the papers, but she still wasn’t able to move. Her hands clenched the remainder of her precious pile, but her head had found a convenient resting place on his shoulder.
Now, how had she known that that little curve would feel so comfy?
His hands settled on the balls of her shoulders and started massaging the tight muscles. And tight they were. She felt like a coiled spring. She shifted in discomfort, and he hesitated. Cocking his head, he looked down over her shoulder at her.
‘Are you sore, Roma?’
Busted.
There was no hiding it. He moved his hands down to the backs of her arms and found muscles as hard as rock – but not in a good way. He dug his thumbs into the tightness, and she groaned aloud.
‘Ah, Goldie. Why didn’t you say something?’
What was she supposed to have said? Jake, I’m so sore even my hair hurts? It was embarrassing to be so out of shape. ‘It’s not that bad.’
‘Liar.’ He quickly relieved her of the rest of the papers, but instead of letting her go, he kept her on his lap. ‘Lean forwards so I can get your back.’
Oh, well now. That sounded like an interesting position. ‘Um…I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.’
‘Lean forwards.’
Jake didn’t like that she was in pain, but getting his hands on her was a definite plus. He’d been waiting for an opportunity like this, and it had literally been dropped in his lap. No pun intended. He’d been battling his ethics for weeks now, but what was he supposed to do when things like this insisted on happening to them? Even an ethical guy had his limits.
Besides, he’d already rationalised away any reasons why they couldn’t get involved. Technically, she wasn’t an employee or a client. He wasn’t paying her and she wasn’t paying him – not that he wanted to get into the nasty aspects of money. It just made him a little more comfortable about the way he felt about her and what he intended to do about it. They were colleagues. Friends even. Friends could easily turn into much more.
Especially when touching her felt so good.
He laid his hands on her and began stroking. The muscles in her back were in the same condition as those in her arms – tense and screaming for attention. He started at her shoulders and moved down. Everywhere he touched, he found knots. She had to be miserable.
‘Goldie,’ he said with a sigh.
He concentrated on giving her some relief. She groaned when he hit a particularly sensitive spot, and he made the mistake of looking up. She was bent nearly double with her elbows on her knees, and her backside was pressed firmly against his crotch. The position was so overtly erotic, his already alert cock jumped.
‘Oh!’
She’d felt that. How could she not with the way she was plastered against him? Her muscles triggered as if to move, but he dug his fingers more firmly into her tense lower back.
‘Oooh, that’s…that’s…’
His hands drifted lower to work on her gluteus muscles, and her head snapped up.
‘That’s good,’ she said, lurching upright. ‘Thanks. I’m feeling much better now.’
‘Get back down here,’ he said. She started to hop off his lap, but he simply wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her close. Her breathing went ragged at the close contact and he smiled.
He liked knowing that he got to her as much as she got to him.
‘Have you been skipping your stretches?’ he asked, his lips close
to her ear.
‘Maybe,’ she admitted.
Her hands settled on his forearms. She shifted on his lap, and they both groaned.
‘Why?’ he asked. Unable to avoid the temptation, he traced the delicate shell of her ear with his nose.
She tilted her head away as if it tickled and shuddered when he began nuzzling her neck. ‘It’s the one thing I do well. I figured I didn’t need the practice.’
He moved his hands to her thighs. One squeeze had her arching against him. ‘Practice has nothing to do with it,’ he murmured. ‘Those stretches get the lactic acid out of your muscles. They help keep you from getting sore.’
‘But it’s tax time,’ she protested. ‘I’m swamped. I’m trying to keep up with my business, your messy books and my workouts. I don’t have time to stretch.’
‘Make time.’ He found an especially tight spot that had her inhaling sharply. Carefully, he applied pressure.
‘Oh, please, Jake. Stop!’
His touch eased, but he didn’t remove it. If she didn’t get these muscles loosened up, she’d be out of action for days. That wouldn’t work well with her short reunion time schedule. He pressed his thumbs into her inner thighs, and she came right out of his lap. Her neck arched against his shoulder, and her hips swivelled upwards. He stroked steadily until the muscle gave up the fight and relaxed.
‘Holy cow,’ she said, sinking back down. ‘You really know how to make a girl feel special.’
‘Whiner. You brought this on yourself.’
‘You’re the one who made me do all those squats.’
Because she’d looked so fine doing them! He ran his hands from her knees to her hips, loving the feel of her. ‘Don’t you like what they’ve done for your legs and your butt?’
She paused. ‘Well, yes.’
‘Me, too. Damn, I love this dress.’
She was wearing a long-sleeved sweater dress with a leather belt cinched tight around her waist. The soft material clung to her shape like charged plastic wrap. It was cream coloured and softer than anything he’d ever felt – other than her skin. He couldn’t stop touching it. She felt warm, cuddly, and sexy as all get out. Those 1940s sweater girls had nothing on her.
His Roma was stacked.
‘You’re shaping up like dynamite,’ he whispered into her ear.
She ran her tongue across her lips. ‘But I feel like I’m eighty years old.’
‘You just need a full body massage to put you right.’ Experimentally, he stroked up from her knees and under her dress. He’d been right; her skin was unbelievable. ‘I’d be happy to oblige.’
She began squirming like a whirligig. ‘That’s probably not a good idea.’
His hands ventured higher, hitching the skirt up on her thighs. ‘It’s a fantastic idea.’
Her hands clamped down on top of his. ‘But you’re easily distracted.’
‘So are you.’ He had her skirt up to nearly her hips, and his curiosity couldn’t be contained. ‘What colour are they today?’
Her head snapped towards his. ‘What?’
‘Your panties.’
‘Jake!’
She lurched when he peeled the material back to take a peek, but the movement only helped him lift her skirt right up to her waist. His cock twitched almost painfully as he looked down at her. ‘Yellow,’ he choked out.
Like sunshine. Like her.
She went very still in his lap. Reaching out, he fingered the soft cotton material. Everything about her was soft. Tactile. Touchable. With a groan, he slid his hand between her legs and cupped her. Her hips rolled, and her heat radiated into his hand.
‘Oh. Oh, my!’ she gasped.
‘Goldie,’ he said, his voice like gravel. ‘You feel amazing.’
He cupped her tighter, and she undulated against him. ‘Jake, I –’
The phone rang, and they both jumped.
‘Ignore it.’ He began exploring with his fingers, running them up and down the thin cotton panel. Her body was hot and pliable. He wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of this. ‘Roma, let me in.’
‘I…I…Oh, damn.’ Her thighs quivered, but then slowly splayed open wide. She leant more heavily against him, and neither heard the persistent phone as it rang and rang and rang.
Jake couldn’t remember ever being so turned on in his life – and she was still fully dressed. He’d probably have a coronary if he ever got her naked.
That was a risk he was willing to take.
Watching closely, he spread his hand wide on her lower abdomen. Her belly trembled and her lungs began working hard. Holding her as if she were the most precious thing in the world, he sent his hand back down. They both watched as his fingertips disappeared under the pale-yellow cotton.
Roma’s hand suddenly wrapped around his wrist. ‘I think my heart rate’s above the aerobic zone.’
‘Been there. Done that.’ His heart was pounding like a freight train.
Her curls were soft and springy. He threaded his fingers through them and searched deeper.
She arched like a bow. ‘Uh…light-headed now.’
‘You’ve had me dizzy for weeks.’
‘I…Oh, damn.’
She was hot and she was slick. He rubbed her, and she nearly purred like a cat. She was so sensual. He wrapped his other arm around her and took advantage of the low-scooped neckline of that killer dress. He caught her breast, and her nipple poked right through her matching yellow bra into his palm.
‘That’s my girl,’ he said as sweat broke out on his brow.
He stroked her more intimately, and her hips rolled. It made her bottom grind hard against his cock, and he gritted his teeth.
Patience. Just a few more minutes. He had to make sure she was ready. Carefully, he pushed a finger into her.
‘Ooooh,’ she crooned.
‘Roma. Christ.’
She was wet and tight as a fist. He pressed his finger as deep as it would go and then began thrusting. He might as well have set off a firecracker. Her body started shaking and she began panting for air. He worked in a second finger, and she let out a yelp.
‘Jake! I…Oh, damn!’
Her muscles began to flutter about his fingers and, next thing he knew, she was coming. Desire racked him from the inside out, but he couldn’t help but smile.
Oh, yeah. Getting involved with Roma Hanson was going to be fun.
When she came, she did it like she did everything else. Full bore, one hundred per cent. He pumped her straining body until it went limp. When she finally relaxed against him, she laid her head trustingly on his shoulder.
‘Damn,’ she said in wonder.
‘Seems to be the word of the day.’ He strummed his thumb across her clit, and she gasped. ‘Want to go for it again? With me?’
A devilish smile spread across her face. ‘A girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do.’
The fact that she could make him laugh when his cock was ready to poke through three layers of material didn’t surprise him.
She blinked and looked at him cautiously. ‘Did I say that out loud?’
‘You can’t take it back now.’ His need took on an urgency, and he slid her forward on his lap. His hands shook as he attacked the drawstring of his pants. ‘Just give me a second.’
She stretched luxuriously. ‘Take your time. I’m good.’
He jerked down his clothes. ‘I’m not.’
She glanced over her shoulder to his lap, and her eyes rounded. ‘Mmm, that’s a big problem you’ve got there.’
He caught her by the waist and began working her panties down her legs. ‘So get back here and help me with it.’
An unexpected knock on the door made them both jerk.
‘Fuck,’ Jake said, breathing hard. ‘Who is it?’
‘It’s Tito,’ came a tentative voice.
Roma threw a frantic look at the door, saw it wasn’t locked, and shot off his lap like a rocket. Jake reached for her, but she was already yanking up her panti
es and shoving down her dress. The pulse at his temple began to throb painfully.
That coronary might be closer than he thought.
‘This better be good, kid,’ he snapped.
There came the sound of shuffling feet. ‘Uh, Liz is on the phone. She’s at the swimsuit shop and she’s wondering where you are. She said you were supposed to help her pick one out.’
Liz. Shit. He’d forgotten about that. He dropped his head back against the chair and fought for air. Talk about terrible timing.
‘She sounded kind of pissed.’
Roma let out a choked sound. Jake’s head jerked up, but before he could see the look on her face, she spun away. With her arms wrapped about her waist, she began tapping the toe of her sexy high-heeled boot against the floor.
Uh-oh.
‘She’s a client,’ he said quickly.
‘You’re picking out a swimsuit for a client?’ The toe tapped more furiously.
He grimaced. Brilliant move there, Logan. He began pulling on his clothes. ‘Roma, let me explain.’
‘Jake?’ Tito called cautiously. ‘What should I tell Liz?’
‘Tell her he’ll be there as soon as he can,’ Roma called, her voice strong and feisty.
‘Uh, OK. Sorry to interrupt.’
‘No big deal.’
Jake came right out of his chair. Moving fast, he caught Roma by the waist and spun her around. ‘Don’t be mad, Goldie. Let me explain.’
Eyes flaring, she batted his hands away. ‘What’s to explain? You’re a two-timer!’
‘It’s not like that. You don’t understand.’
‘You’re supposed to be with her, but yet you’re here with me.’ She gestured wildly at the chair. ‘That was two-timing – what with all the falling, the catching, and the vo-di-o-do!’
‘Listen.’ He caught her firmly by the shoulders. ‘Liz is a high-end client going to the Midwest Fitness Show. She needs help picking out a competition suit. It’s important that she choose the right one for judging purposes. That’s it.’
Roma shook her head as if she didn’t want to hear any excuses, but the words still hung in the air. She couldn’t help but listen. First her brow furrowed. Her eyes widened next, and then her mouth dropped open in surprise. ‘The Fitness Show?’ she said dumbly. ‘She’s…Liz is the client who’s competing there?’
High School Reunion Page 9
