She imagined coming home from work and stretching out with a glass of wine, looking at this view and this perfect, clean apartment and knowing that all was right with the world. No wonder penthouses cost so much – he must feel like some kind of God, perched high in the clouds above his people.
She didn’t turn to look at him when she heard him come back into the room, but she told him what she was thinking.
“A god? Oh no, Lia, I’ve never once felt like a god. In fact, this view and my… other luxuries, all of it humbles me. I’m the luckiest man on earth.”
She turned at the sincerity in his voice, and noticed that he wasn’t looking out the window, but at her. “I must admit, though,’ he said, “That the view is lovely right now.”
She was so taken with how he looked that she almost didn’t catch the meaning behind his words. He was wearing black jeans and a tight white t-shirt, completely unlike his office attire. It looked odd on him, simply because she had never seen him looking less than perfectly business-like. Odd, but very, very good. The sexiest part of the whole picture was that he was barefoot, his toes sinking into the white carpet. She didn’t know why, exactly, but for some reason that sight made her breath catch.
And when she realized what he meant by his last words, she stared at him, speechless.
He grinned at her and went to a bar in the corner of the room, mixed to drinks, then came back and handed her one. “A screwdriver. They’re weak.”
She needed a strong one, but she wrapped her fingers around the glass. “Thanks. What did you want to talk about?”
He motioned toward the sofa. “Sit.”
She sat, then held her breath when he sat down beside her. She wanted to fan herself, and knew that he must feel the heat rolling off her body at his proximity. Maybe he would kiss her. Or take her hand and declare his undying love…
Or tell you that he’s worried about your mental health and have you commited.
She almost snorted at that.
“This may be forward, and if it offends you, please tell me, but I got the impression this morning that you didn’t like your job.”
She blinked. “Um, I don’t, actually. My bosses are underhanded weasels, and I don’t agree with their business practices at all.” Where was this going?
“My job hinges on having huge amounts of information available to me, so that I can make good decisions. I had the perfect secretary, but she retired.”
“Okaay…” She was seriously confused now. Or, actually, afraid to hope that he was saying what she thought he was saying.
“I would like to offer you the job, if you want it.”
That was all. He just sat there, looking at her.
“Well, um, thanks, first of all. What would I be doing?”
“Working closely with me. Helping me keep tabs on the business, offering input so that I can make the best decisions. See, I work better with someone who will bounce ideas back and forth with me. The job gets creative sometimes, when there is a thorny problem that needs to be fixed.”
It sounded perfect, especially the ‘closely with me’ part, but-. “How do you know I would be good at those things? I mean, you don’t really know anything about me.”
“I know the most important thing – that I can trust you. Right?”
She nodded, but he was still talking.
“I mean, Ian offered you a lot of money, I’m sure, and you didn’t take it. That tells me a lot.”
She froze and stared at him.
He looked away.
“How did you know his name was Ian?” she whispered, knowing the answer already. A lot of things fell into place. How he’d known her name, where she could be found, what her weakness would be…
“You checked up on me. Tried to trick me.”
The pride she had felt when she’d thought she was helping him deflated.
“No. I did not try to trick you.”
“You sent someone else to trick me, then. What if I had accepted his offer?”
He shrugged. “I would have paid you, but then not associated with you again.”
“I don’t want your money, especially under such false pretenses. Was the number even real?” It had looked real, and she remembered the elation that filled her when she thought that she had this special access to the wonderful, sexy, Joel Cortran. It had all been a lie.
“Yes. The number is absolutely real, and I do want you to have it.” He turned to look at her. “You are more special than I think you know, Lia, and you make me want to be your hero, somehow.”
She shook her head, still trying to straighten out her pinging thoughts. He took it as denial.
“You are. You’re sweet and obviously trustworthy, funny as hell, and so cute that I just want to kiss you.”
She blinked. “Kiss me?”
He smiled. “See what I mean? You don’t see yourself as anything special, but I do.”
He wants to kiss me?
That’s what he said.
Maybe I’m dreaming. Maybe I took that nap after all, and just dreamed all of this.
You have a fantastic imagination, then. You should be a novelist.
She looked up to see a desperate sort of sincerity in his eyes.
She wanted him to kiss her, too, but her thoughts were still stuck on the part where he had tricked her, tested her. Logically, she understood. Emotionally, she was pissed.
She jerked to her feet. “I have to go.”
“Wait! Why? I’m sorry. Do you at least want the job? I need you, Lia…”
She couldn’t answer. She ran.
In four steps, she was at his door and out, where the plush surroundings and his larger-than-life presence wasn’t crushing her. The elevator was still waiting, so she ran in and started punching the button for her floor. Repeatedly.
It finally began its slow descent, and she sank to the floor.
He had offered her a job. He had told her that he liked her.
He had wanted to kiss her.
He had tricked her.
The ups and downs of her emotions got the best of her, and before she had dropped five floors she was in tears.
The day had just been too much. She was going back to bed – to hide, to think, to nurse her hurt feelings.
That’s all it is, you know – hurt feelings.
He checked up on me. He didn’t just…trust me.
He’s a powerful man, and powerful men have to be careful. You’re being stupid.
I know, but it still sucks.
The sexiest man on earth is interested. In you. Think about that.
She wanted to, she really did. But Ian Orson’s face kept surfacing instead, offering her money. She knew that Joel was just doing what he needed to do in order to protect himself. She understood completely. It still hurt.
She stomped her foot on the carpeted floor of the elevator. “Hurry up,” she grumbled.
When she finally got to her floor, the doors slid silently open.
Joel was standing there.
Her mouth dropped open. “How did you-. What? You can fly, too?”
He shrugged. “Express elevator. For deliveries. I need to talk to you.”
“No. Wait - you even get a better elevator that everyone else?”
He sighed and placed both hands on her shoulders. “Everyone uses it. The main elevator sucks. Calm down, please, Lia? Will you let me in, so that we can talk?”
He looked so sincere and sorrowful that she felt all of the angry energy leave her body. Slumping, she gave up. “Sure.”
Relieved, he gave her shoulders a final squeeze and let go so that she could unlock her door.
***
It had never occurred to Joel that she would be angry, and he still wasn’t sure he understood this reaction, but she seemed to be a bit calmer as she let him into her apartment.
The place was tidy and elegant, but darker than his own without the vast wall of windows to light it. Still, it was definitely her – the prints on the wall were
bright and colorful, as were the furnishings. That aroma of peaches filled the space.
She turned on him just inside the door and crossed her arms, then tilted her chin up to look at him. He watched her hair slip over one shoulder. “What do you want?” she asked.
You.
Shut up, dude.
He gave her a hopeful smile. She didn’t seem quite as angry, at least. “I want you.”
She blinked, and the fear in her eyes pulled at him.
“To work for you?”
“Yes, that. Also, I want to get to know you. I feel…something.”
“Something?” She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“Something…good.” He didn’t know how to express this attraction to her. Hell, he couldn’t even explain it to himself. “I like you, Lia. A lot.”
His hands itched to touch her skin, be closer to her. He stepped forward and put his fingertips on her crossed arms.
She jumped at the electricity between them, just as she had in the elevator this morning. He smiled at the way her beautiful blue eyes widened. “Will you go out with me?”
The parade of emotions that crossed her face was fascinating to watch. First surprise, then fear, which melted into suspicion, uncertainty, and then hope – he could read her mind, just by watching her expression. He relaxed a little when her lips curved into a small smile.
She took a deep breath. “I like you too, Joel. A lot.”
“Good – I was hoping you’d say that.”
Her eyes flicked up to meet his. “But should we mix business with pleasure? Isn’t that a no-no?”
“Oh. Maybe. I just happen to know that you’ll be needing a job soon. I’m jst trying to help us both, as far as that’s concerned.”
“How do you know that? I didn’t even decide to ask for a raise until this morning – how could you possibly know?” She peered at him now as if he was some sort of magician.
“What? Oh, no – I didn’t know that.”
She relaxed a little.
“I just happen to know that Bailey & Blake are being investigated by a few regulations agencies. They’ll be shut down soon, because of their lousy business practices.”
“Wow. Really? I hate to say it, but I’m glad. They are terrible men.”
He felt the air between them diffuse a little, and felt better, more like they were friends talking instead of enemies squaring off.
She looked worried again. “So I’m losing my job soon, regardless of what I do.”
“Come to work for me. Please?”
“Why? I really don’t understand how you can hire me based on one answer to one question.”
“That’s all I need. Call it instincts.” He lowered his voice. “Please, Lia? I want to take care of you.”
“Take care of me?”
“Remember the number that Ian wrote on his hand?”
“Yes.” He actually saw her gulp.
“If you come to work for me, that will be you’re starting salary.”
“Oh…”
“Unless that’s not enough. I could…”
She was waving a hand. “No. Heavens, no. That’s plenty. Really. I just…wow.”
She looked so surprised, so terrified, and so happy all at once that he couldn’t help it – he stepped forward to wrap her in his arms.
***
Lia froze, then relaxed into his embrace. Her mind was blessedly silent, for once, and she dropped her cheek onto his chest, reveling in the feel of him – just like she had imagined. For the first time in her life, she had everything she ever wanted.
It won’t last.
Shut up.
This was unbelievable, but it was happening. She felt the softness of his t-shirt, smelled his mouth-watering aftershave, and smiled into his chest. The weight of his arms grounded her in some peaceful place, and she felt her body melt easily into his.
After a long time, he asked quietly, “What about the other? Will you go out with me, Lia?”
She laughed softly and looked up at him. “Um… Yeah, I think. That would be good.”
He bent his head and placed his lips perfectly on her own, pressing them gently. She followed his movement with her own lips, exploring the softness of his mouth with the tip of her tongue.
He groaned and deepened their embrace, crushing her to his body.
She felt the hard contours of his muscles and let her arms come up to twine around his neck.
This could be a mistake.
Shut up.
Well, it could.
Shut up. What if he’s just playing? He could break your heart.
Shut. Up.
Reluctantly, she broke their kiss, then tugged at his arm until he followed her in the direction of the bedroom. Once there, she began to peel off her shirt, but he whispered, “Let me do it.”
His fingers brushed her belly as he reached under to grasp the hem, making her gasp as her insides fluttered. He pulled it up an inch, and then kissed the bit of belly he’d uncovered before moving on to the next inch, and the next. Ribs, breasts, cleavage, he worked his way back toward her face. By the time her shirt was off he was kissing both cheeks, her eyelids, the tip of her nose.
Lia was breathless. No one had ever taken such care with her, or touched her with such fascination. He was intent on exploring every square centimeter of her body, it seemed. When he pulled away and finished removing her shirt, he immediately hooked his thumbs into the elastic of her pants.
She stopped him. “Wait,” she said. If he got to play, then so did she. Following his lead, she tugged his shirt up, tasting his skin along the way. He smelled like sandalwood soap and his aftershave, and her mouth watered as she licked up the center of those perfect abs, making him groan. She smiled into his skin, then licked first one hard nipple and then the other. His hands grasped at her.
“God, hurry,” he breathed. “You’re driving me crazy.”
She found that his throat, and then his earlobe, tasted as good as the rest of him, and sucked gently.
With that, he said, “Enough,” and picked her up. She squealed, but he only walked with her as far as the bed and then laid her gently on her back. When he straightened and looked down at her, she felt like the sexiest woman in the world. Almost purring with happiness, she reached for the waist of his jeans and pulled him down with her.
As he reached for her pants again, she felt a momentary twinge. What if he decided that she was ugly after all? Or too fat? Or…?
He interrupted her thoughts when he kissed the tops of her thighs, then moved over her to suck her nipple into his mouth. Then she couldn’t think at all.
She arched toward him and felt one of his arms slide underneath to support her back and draw her closer. Her hands found his hair and tangled there in its warmth for a moment before sliding down to his shoulders and back. She loved the way he felt, the way he pulled her to him, and the way he was making her body spark over and over with desire.
She gasped when he moved to the other nipple, leaving the first one to the cool air of the room, and when he abandoned both to kiss his way back down her belly, she cried out. The heat in her body had raged into an inferno, and she writhed on the sheets below.
When he found the soft mound of hair that he was looking for a swirled the soft hair with his tongue, she lost her breath completely. Then he moved lower, teasing her throbbing, secret button with insistent flicks of his tongue. She groaned. Her body bucked upward, offering itself to him.
He accepted the offer, exploring her dampening folds with his fingers while his tongue kept up its torture. Her legs fell apart, and she pressed her head back into the mattress, whimpering with pleasure.
“Oh, Joel,” she whispered as he scooped his free hand under her rear to lift her higher. She was fully exposed to him now, and she could feel the pressure swirl along her spine to settle in her lower belly.
She was so close, almost there, but then he pulled away. A slow sexy smile teased her as he lifted himself off
the bed to push his jeans down over his hips. The body that she had imagined was standing before her now, as graceful and masculine as she had imagined, and she reached for him, her fingers itching to touch.
He climbed back onto the bed, bracing himself over her, and then stopped.
When she looked at him, he was simply letting his eyes roam over her body. She tensed for a moment, then saw the way he was looking at her – hungrily. She relaxed and reached up to slide her hands over his chest.
When his gaze made its way back to her face he said, “You are absolutely beautiful. Do you know that?”
She didn’t answer. She couldn’t. No one had ever said this to her, and she certainly didn’t feel that way – until now, at least. He made her feel beautiful.
“Love me,” she said finally, twining her arms around his back and pulling him down onto her. Their bodies fit together like pieces of the most perfect puzzle, and when he slid into her, carefully at first, she saw starbursts behind her eyelids and gave up breathing altogether.
He groaned, feeling it too. She moved under him, urging him on, and he obliged. As his body moved against hers, his muscles rippled under her touch and she was sure that this was better than any fantasy she could conjure.
He moved again, plunging deeper and faster, climbing toward ecstasy and taking her with him. Her own body responded, squeezed, climbed until finally they reached the summit and clung to one another, riding the fireworks of their climax.
It rolled through them over and over, finally dropping them, spent, back to earth.
After a while their breathing subsided a little, and Joel pushed up onto one elbow and looked down at her. “My, God, woman,” he whispered, smiling, then dipped his head to kiss her lips. “I think you might just be the death of me.”
She was too star-struck, too awed by what had just happened to talk, but she knew what he meant. This…thing…between them, it was intense. Instead, she nodded and retuned his kiss.
He slid over a little, making himself more comfortable, and they lay together in the gathering darkness, not speaking again for a while. She didn’t try to think about this, didn’t dare hope; she just soaked in the feeling of his arms around her and his body curled against her back. Right now, this was enough.
Star-Crossed Curves: BBW Erotic Romance Boxed Set Page 9
