If You So Desire

by Yahrah St. John

  “Put it on my tab,” Quentin told the bartender. “Sure thing.”

  Sage smiled. She could always count on Quentin to take care of her, which was why she’d come tonight. “I actually do have an ulterior motive for coming this evening.”

  “I’m shocked.” Quentin touched his chest in mock pain. “You mean you didn’t come out of the kindness of your own heart?”

  Sage grinned. “I promise I’ll purchase a piece if you’ll agree to be my date for a work function I have on Saturday night.” She accepted the martini glass from the bartender and sipped. She didn’t expound that the work function was for Ian Lawrence. Quentin knew her too well. He’d already suspected that she might have more than a casual interest in the man and if she told him he was throwing the soiree, Quentin would surely give her grief.

  “Sure,” Quentin responded, tipping back his beer bottle and taking a swig. “Avery and I don’t have any special plans, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

  Sage placed her glass down. “Thanks, Q.” She gave him a quick hug. “You’re a lifesaver. Be at my place by four on Saturday.”

  On Saturday afternoon, Sage stared at her sexy reflection in the mirror. The halter dress was perfect. The champagne color suited her complexion and the laser-cut tiers emphasized her shapely figure. The moment she’d seen it on the hanger at Bergdorf, she’d had to have it. It was a splurge at a whopping five hundred dollars. She’d told herself that she should wear something out of her closet and not dress up for the occasion, but the other side of her, the womanly side, wanted Ian to want her even though she knew a relationship with Ian was completely out of the question.

  She’d gone to the beauty salon and her short hair was now a sexy mass of spikes. She finished the look with foundation, sparkly eye shadow and high-gloss lipstick.

  “Wow” was all Quentin could utter when Sage opened the door.

  “C’mon, it’s not that unusual for me to dress up,” Sage said when he walked into her apartment openmouthed.

  “Yes, it is,” Quentin replied, giving her the once-over. “Usually you’re coming from work to Sunday dinner, so you’re always in your work clothes.”

  Sage closed the door and thought about it for a moment. Quentin had a point. The last few times, she had come directly from the office.

  “Well, you look fantastic.” He kissed her cheek. “I’m sure several men will be lining up to get your number this evening.”

  There was only one man she was interested in impressing tonight, but Sage didn’t say that. Instead, she eyed her friend up and down and replied, “You don’t look too bad yourself.”

  Quentin was a handsome piece of sexy dark chocolate in a beige suit and crisp white shirt. Add the bald head with a diamond stud in one ear and the amazingly toned physique and Avery was one lucky woman.

  “Thank you, thank you.” He bowed. “Hopefully, I won’t embarrass you too much tonight.”

  “You could never do that.” Sage chuckled as they headed out the door. In fact, it was the opposite. She was hoping that having Quentin at her side would keep her from doing anything stupid that might jeopardize her career. The motto for the night was, Ian could look, but not touch.

  The taxi dropped them off in front of the harbor and they followed the signs a short distance to a private yacht in the harbor. The party was already in full swing when they arrived. Sage could hear music bellowing from the upper decks as the crew helped them aboard.

  “This should be fun,” Quentin said, taking her hand. “Thanks for inviting me.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  They climbed the stairs to the open-air deck where a large crowd had formed on the late sunny afternoon. Sage was glad she’d had the good sense to put on a little sunblock.

  While Quentin went to procure them some champagne, Sage glanced at the view of the Manhattan skyline. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t hear Ian approach until he was beside her.

  Her obliviousness to his presence gave Ian several seconds to peruse her unaware and he liked everything he saw. The dress was sensational and finally gave him a chance to see her shapely figure. He wanted to run his hands from her curvy bottom up to her small but pert breasts that he’d love to latch on to.

  Sage turned and her breath caught in her throat. Ian Lawrence was beside her and he was absolutely gorgeous. How was it that his peanut butter complexion looked even better in the elements? The linen blazer and trousers hugged his body in all the right places and tugged at her from deep inside.

  “Sage.” Ian smiled down at her.

  “Hello,” she managed to eke out.

  “I’m glad you could make it.”

  Sage took a deep breath and found her voice. “Did I have much choice?”

  Ian laughed and when he did, it was such a rich laugh that Sage felt it deep inside her womb. What was this man doing to her and why was he having this kind of effect on her? Where was Quentin when she needed him?

  “Of course, you did,” Ian replied. “And…” He moved so she could see her bosses, Mr. Greenberg, Mr. Hanson and Mr. Waggoner, standing several feet away. “As you can see, your presence is completely for your own benefit as I invited all of the senior partners.”

  “Thank you,” Sage replied. “Associates rarely get the opportunity to schmooze with the senior partners.”

  “Then I did a good thing?” Ian raised a brow.

  Sage smiled and, for the first time, she tried to relax. “Yes.”

  “Good, how about…” Ian was about to suggest they go someplace more private when a six-foot, bald gentleman walked toward them with two champagne flutes.

  “Sage.” Quentin handed her a flute and eyed Ian up and down. He was very protective of Sage and as he approached, he could tell the man’s obvious interest in her, especially in the sexy dress she was wearing.

  “Thank you.” Sage accepted the flute. She smiled inwardly at the obvious jealousy spread across Ian’s face. He in no way sought to hide his displeasure at the interruption. “Quentin, this is my client Ian Lawrence. Ian, this is Quentin Davis.”

  Quentin glanced at Sage questioningly several seconds before extending his hand. He’d been had. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Reluctantly, Ian shook his hand. “You as well, though your name does sound familiar to me.”

  “Q’s a renowned photographer.” Sage squeezed Quentin’s arm. “You’ve probably seen his photos in several magazines.”

  “Of course, Quentin Davis.” Ian nodded in acknowledgment. “You do great work. You really have a way with the camera.”

  “Thank you.” Quentin accepted the praise, but that still didn’t mean he liked the guy. There was something authoritative about him that rubbed him the wrong way.

  Sage was happy Quentin had come when he did, otherwise she’d be batting her eyelashes at Ian like some silly schoolgirl instead of behaving like a seasoned attorney. “Well, if you’ll excuse us, I really should mingle with the partners.” Sage grabbed Quentin’s hand and led him away.

  Ian was livid as he watched Sage walk away with another man. He’d wanted her all to himself tonight. This was definitely not how he envisioned the evening going. He would have to get rid of his competition and quick.

  “What was that all about?” Quentin asked when he and Sage were no longer within earshot of Ian.

  Sage played coy. “What do you mean?”

  “Did you bring me here to make Ian Lawrence jealous?”

  Sage’s forehead wrinkled into a frown. “Of course not.”

  “That’s not what it looks like to me. He wants you, Sage. And he was not pleased you brought me here tonight.”

  “I don’t care what Ian wants.” Sage turned to face the water just as the engines roared and the yacht pulled away from the dock. “He’s my client, Q. You know it would be career suicide for me to get involved with him.”

  “That means absolutely nothing if you’re as attracted to him as he is to you.” Quentin grabbed Sage’s arm and turned h
er around to face him so he could look her dead in the eye.

  Sage lowered her head. She couldn’t fool Quentin. “I can’t act on those feelings. I brought you here tonight as backup so I wouldn’t do anything stupid.”

  “And the dress?”

  Sage colored.

  “You’re playing with fire,” Quentin warned. “Even I know about Lawrence’s reputation with women.”

  “I know, I know,” Sage said. “I won’t be foolish enough to put my heart out there for a playboy like Ian to stomp on. I remember all too well what happened with James.”

  “I could kill that bastard for hurting you.” When Sage had told him James had cheated on her, Quentin wanted to beat him to a pulp.

  “What’s done is done. I will nip things in the bud with Ian before it gets started. I promise.”

  “I sure hope so, kid.” Quentin pulled Sage toward him and embraced her.

  Chapter 5

  From across the deck, Ian fumed. He stormed across the floor to the bar and ordered a scotch on the rocks. As soon as the bartender slid him the glass, Ian downed the fiery liquid in one gulp.

  “Is everything okay over here?” Jeffrey asked. He’d seen the dangerous look in Ian’s eyes before and it wasn’t a good sign.

  “No.” Ian turned back around so he could leer at the couple. “I want you to find out everything you can about Quentin Davis. He’s over there manhandling Sage.”

  Jeffrey glanced at the couple. He didn’t see any manhandling, but he wasn’t going to correct Ian when the man was in a foul mood. “I think I still have the file on Sage in my briefcase. I believe the investigator mentioned him.”

  “Find it. I want to know all there is to know about my competition.”

  “Sure thing, boss.” Jeffrey departed. He’d better get back quickly before Ian ripped the guy’s head off.

  When Jeffrey went to find his briefcase in one of the cabins downstairs, Ian turned back to the bartender for another drink and found Lisa standing next to him.

  Her usual long weave was in a sleek, sophisticated updo and she was wearing a blue-and-yellow sequined strapless dress that with her long legs barely reached her knees. She looked ravishing. He could take Lisa downstairs right now and end the permanent hard-on Sage had given him since he’d met her. But as easy as that would be, he didn’t want Lisa. He wanted Sage.

  “Lisa, how the hell did you get on this yacht? You weren’t invited.”

  “Ian, darling.” Lisa leaned forward so that he could get a view of her cleavage. “You know I have my ways.”

  “I’ll be sure to speak with the crew about that later.”

  “Now that I’m here, whatever are we going to do?” Lisa cooed. She remembered a time when Ian Lawrence couldn’t get enough of her and a party such as this would send them both scurrying off to the nearest cabin and having sex like rabbits. “We are not going to do anything.” Ian searched the deck for a sign of Sage, but she had disappeared.

  “Oh, c’mon, Ian, how long are you going to be angry with me?” She’d returned from Paris in hope that absence would have made his heart grow fonder. It hadn’t. She’d been angry the other day when she’d walked out of his hotel room, but she’d had time to think and realized that she wanted Ian at all costs.

  Ian turned to Lisa and found she was much closer than he’d like and rubbing her hand sensuously up and down his arm. He was about to dismiss her when Sage came back into his line of vision.

  Sage shook her head in disgust. She knew she’d been right about Ian Lawrence. He was nothing but a scoundrel and a womanizer. No sooner than he’d left her side, Ian was talking to another woman, Lisa Randall, a supermodel to be exact. Sage guessed she shouldn’t be surprised. Celebrities and models were Ian’s M.O. Lucas had mentioned that Ian liked pretty things.

  “Are you enjoying the party?” Sage asked Quentin, ignoring Ian. She’d had the opportunity to introduce him to her bosses and they’d all been impressed that Sage was friends with an artist of Quentin’s stature.

  “I am,” Quentin said. The jazz band Ian had hired was wonderful. “But I doubt you are.” He inclined his head toward Ian, who was whispering something into a leggy woman’s ear.

  “Who Ian Lawrence spends his time with is of no consequence to me.”

  “Sure, Sage.” Quentin didn’t buy for one minute that she wasn’t the least bit bothered by Ian cavorting with another woman right in front of her.

  When the band started playing the strains of Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable,” Sage grabbed Quentin by the arm. “Let’s dance.” She couldn’t stomach the way the woman was draped all over Ian.

  Quentin obliged and they walked onto the dance floor that had begun filling with several other couples. They danced together as they’d done in their youth, when Quentin had taught her how to waltz for a school dance.

  “Have I ever told you how much I appreciate you?” she asked, looking up at Quentin.

  Quentin smiled. “Hmm, not recently, but feel free to sing my praises now.”

  “You’re the best big brother a girl could ever have,” Sage replied. “You’ve always been there to support me and I don’t know if I thank you nearly enough. Without you and Malik and Dante, I would have never made it at the orphanage.”

  “You’re welcome, kiddo.” Quentin bent down and kissed her forehead.

  Ian watched Sage look up adoringly at Quentin and it made him ill. He was unsuccessfully trying to ditch Lisa. Luckily, Jeffrey joined them.

  “Lisa.” He nodded at the model and gave Ian a questioning look. “I have that paperwork we discussed.” He held up the file.

  “Lisa, if you don’t mind, Jeffrey and I have some business to discuss.”

  “Of course. I’ll go grab a bite to eat.” She smiled and headed for the buffet table. She was used to Ian dismissing her, yet she had a feeling it had more to do with the piece he couldn’t keep his eyes off on the dance floor.

  “So? What do you have?” Ian asked, turning to his friend.

  “It’s as I suspected.”

  “Well? Spit it out. Is Davis her lover?”

  “Not from what that report says. Quentin Davis is engaged to Avery Roberts, an art buyer in Soho. He appears to be nothing more than a big brother to Sage, like the other two men she grew up with, Malik Williams and Dante Moore.”

  “So her carrying on with him right now—” he inclined his head to the dance floor “—is completely for my benefit?”

  “I would say yes,” Jeffrey replied. “And you bought it, hook, line and sinker.”

  “Not anymore.” Ian stalked across the floor like a lion ready to strike. Several guests tried to speak with him, but he had one purpose and one purpose only and that was to have Sage.

  “May I cut in?” Ian asked. He didn’t wait for a response and Quentin had to quickly step out of his way before he was knocked over.

  Quentin was about to say something, but Sage shook her head, so he stepped aside.

  Her almond-shaped eyes narrowed. “That wasn’t very nice.”

  “He’ll get it over it.” Ian slid his hand in hers. “It’s not like he’s your man or anything. Isn’t that right, Sage?” He pulled her firmly to him.

  “Excuse me?”

  “No excuses necessary.” Ian’s smoldering dark eyes were focused on hers, so much so that Sage had to look down. There was something dangerous and forbidden in them that Sage wasn’t sure she liked.

  “I should go.” She tried to leave, but Ian kept his arms firmly around her waist so that there was no place she could move.

  “Don’t leave now,” Ian replied. “Things are finally getting interesting.” He spun Sage around and dipped her.

  Sage swallowed hard. She felt the same tingling in her belly as she’d felt the first time they’d danced, except this time, it was much stronger. She needed to get away from Ian. When he brought her back into his embrace, Sage said again more firmly, “Let me go.”

  “Oh, you can go,” Ian whispered in her ear, so
that only she could hear him. “But you won’t be alone.” He bowed in front of the crowd and then lightly grasped her elbow and led her off the dance floor. Sage glanced around for Quentin to help, but couldn’t find him in the crowd.

  At the buffet table, Lisa slammed down her plate and folded her arms across her chest. There was no mistaking the look of hunger in Ian’s eyes as he’d spun that wisp of a woman on the dance floor. She knew the look because she’d seen it in his eyes a hundred times before. It was clear someone new had taken her place.

  Sage had to nearly trot to keep up with Ian as he stormed down the stairs; she was in three-inch sandals after all. “Where are we going?”

  He didn’t answer. Instead, he led her down another flight of stairs into what appeared to be his private quarters. He opened the door, swung her inside and closed it behind him.

  Although the room was dimly lit, Sage could make out Ian’s looming presence and immediately stepped back. “Why did you bring me here?”

  “Isn’t that obvious?” Ian asked, flicking on the switch and flooding the room with light.

  Sage glanced around and realized it was Ian’s cabin. There was a large queen-size bed in the middle of the room.

  “I don’t know what you think is going to happen,” Sage said. “But I’m leaving.” She started for the door, but Ian blocked her path.

  “Why leave?” He yanked off his linen jacket and tossed it aside. “You have my attention now.” His dark eyes smoldered with fire.

  “What do you mean?” Fear was knotting inside her at the same time as the ferocity of passion. She focused her attention elsewhere by looking at his broad shoulders and massive chest.

  He laughed as if sincerely amused by her confusion. “The sexy dress—” he motioned to her halter dress “—and Quentin.”

  “What about him?”

  “Oh, c’mon, Sage,” Ian returned, taking a seat on the bed. “It’s just the two of us now. Just admit that you wore that dress and brought him here to make me jealous. And the display on the dance floor with you looking up adoringly at him was priceless.”