"You can't expect me to walk outside nude."
Javier glowered at her. "I expect you to come home with me. We can start this all over again without props."
"Not tonight. Not ever again. This was a one-night only event."
"I don't want this to end."
"End like this, you mean." She walked over to him and stuffed her panties into his mouth. "Congratulations on winning this time, Mr. Hernandez. It's been a pleasure." She walked out of the room without a second glance.
Chapter Four
Elisha sipped on the hot chocolate that the concierge handed her as she exited the elevator. It was six-fifteen on a frosty, windy Atlanta morning, and she was waiting for her car service to take her to JFK. Today she was unemployed and free from Javier.
Let me be a peaceable and respectable adult today. She repeated the mantra as she watched the traffic glide through the city streets. Let me forget what I, he, we did this weekend.
Forgetting wasn't an option. Every time she closed her eyes, scenes from that night scrolled like the coming attractions at the movie theater.
A snippet of her straddling him.
A flash of him tied down, straining against the restraints as she—
Elisha's eyelids popped open. She wasn't on top of him. She was standing in front of The Lucida on the Upper East Side and had thirty minutes before she was due in the office. But she would love to go on that ride again.
Not gonna happen, she cautioned her libidinous body that was erupting in a frenzy at the mere thought of seeing him, touching him, fucking him again. Not in this lifetime.
Her phone vibrated in the bowels of her purse. Like Pavlov's dog, her automatic response was to grab the phone after the first ring. Just last week, she might have been asked to fix something, do something for her company—a plant mishap, supplier delay, general HR madness. The something’s always had her former staff needing and wanting her attention. Now, she didn't have to worry about those issues. Those were the problems of one of Javier's minions. Something might have gone awry at the plant.
Elisha ignored the call and sipped from her cup, letting the warm drink give her a bit of warmth and fortitude on this cold day. Let her assistant, Nick, catch the call and tell them that she was off the grid for a few weeks. She was still wrapped up in the intoxicating memories of being with Javier. That night at The Buckhead Club had left her wanting, dazed by lust and adoration. She’d expected him to chase her, to come after her. He only chased what he wanted. And evidently she wasn't what he wanted.
He had awakened something in her. The need to be loved, caressed, comforted, excited, and yes, fucked and loved. She hadn't had a date in years, spending all her free time rebuilding the company, its image, its product line. She’d let most of her personal life evaporate into the mist. Now she was free to do whatever she wanted.
But what did she want? She hadn't craved anything tangible from life. She had wealth. But the intangibles always came tugging at her and her biological clock.
Love. Home. A partner. A nest.
She’d always brushed those off. Women in business didn't need those. Families made life more complicated. but she still wanted one. Elisha shook her head, freeing those random, family-oriented thoughts from the center of her mind. Figuring out how to juggle the time she could dedicate to her lover, kids, and her business was difficult. That's why she had pushed it out of her life and her mind. This wasn't the time nor the place for this future mapping of her life. One step at a time.
"Your car service is here," said the tall bellman, interrupting her thoughts. A black SUV navigated out of the crush of traffic, pulling into the open space in front of the hotel.
“Will I be sharing the car today?” Elisha warily glanced at the car. The last thing she wanted was to make small talk with another executive.
“I believe your assistant is in the car.” The bellman expertly took her bag and drink from her, opened the back door, and helped her inside. Getting into this lofty car was not easy and her skirt rode high up her thighs. She barely had time to pull her skirt down to a semi-respectable length and cross her legs before the bellman deposited her purse on the seat and her drink in her hands.
"Have a good day, Ms. Thurman."
The door closed, and the SUV eased into the flow of traffic. “Nick, I’m so glad you are here today." She leaned her head against the headrest. "Please let me stop thinking about that man today.”
An unexpected voice answered. "I take it that I am that man," Javier said, his silky, deep voice washing over her. "Good morning to you, Elisha."
Elisha whipped around to face her tormentor. “I wasn’t expecting you, Mr. Hernandez. What are you doing here? I thought we finished all of our business over the weekend."
A smile quirked his lips, relaxing the hard planes of his face. Part of Elisha melted, puddling into a gooey mess between her legs. You're pathetic, Thurman. This man had that lightning effect on her. One small smile, and she was wet.
"We can drop the formalities since we didn't use them on Saturday. You used me, Elisha."
"Javier, we used each other,” she said, wariness creeping into her voice.
“Are you always this thorny, Elisha? You must be hell on your employees and your men in the morning."
Elisha bit at the bait he tossed. "My men have no complaints."
"You shouldn't have left me like that on Saturday."
"You got what you wanted."
"I always want more, Elisha." The emotion edging his words made her pause. More of what, she wanted to ask. But fear deflated her voice and confidence. If the answer wasn't what she wanted or needed to hear, she would crumble.
Elisha regarded him. He looked the same on the surface. The classically tailored suit, the Hermes tie that was the color of the water off the Seychelles Islands. The financial and sports sections of the New York Times were folded on the seat next to him. He looked the part of the mega-millionaire and ruthless corporate raider. But his eyes spoke a different story. Elisha met his penetrating gaze and was confronted with the same longing and desire that had finally exploded earlier but hadn't been eased. He still wanted her. And she wanted the same.
That was terrifying.
And liberating, she admitted. Elisha shifted, pressing her legs tighter to ease the lust and arousal flooding at the apex of her thighs. His eyes fixed on her legs, following the patterns of the tights. Teasing him, she slid her hand down her leg, and his gaze followed.
"You like?" she asked innocently.
"You know damn well I do. I thought I proved that to you Saturday." His voice was a rasp, taking on an edge that she’d only heard once from him after he came. "I've been thinking about that since you left me tied to that chair."
Her eyes raked across him, knowing that he was coming undone by her. "It's Monday. Leave the past in the past."
"Is it the past?"
Elisha reached for the newspaper next to him. He was speaking in koans like a Buddhist master. "It is the past. We are even. I don't want or need anything from you."
"Don't lie to me, Elisha."
“I hate your guts,” she said.
“I can’t stop thinking about you."
"Keep dreaming, buddy. I don't think about you like that." Elisha crossed her legs. Her wetness contradicted her words. "It was okay. You get a gold star for effort."
He laughed. "I want to haul you onto my lap and show you what isn't just okay."
"You wouldn't dare."
In a flash, he swooped in for a kiss and pulled her flush into him. Her legs draped over his, and she was straddled on his lap, her back to his chest. She aligned perfectly with his thick, hard dick. His hands found their way up her skirt and hooked into the seat of her pantyhose. One hand tore into her stockings, daring to trail the outer lips and then dipping inside of her and stroking her labia.
"Don't ever dare me, Elisha. I will respond." Javier removed his hand from her pussy. A large Cheshire cat grin cracked his face when he saw the
wet evidence of her arousal on his fingertips.
"Are you satisfied?" she asked, sulking that her body betrayed her.
"No, not at all," he muttered, licking the dew from his fingers. "With you, I'm never satisfied. You do something to me, mi amante.”
“Stop speaking in riddles. Just say what you mean.” Elisha calculated the time in her head and checked the landscape whizzing past. "Where are we? Didn't we pass the exit for the domestic flights?"
Javier's lips lingered on the curve of her neck, his hands busy fondling the curve of her ass. "Did we? I was occupied," he whispered close to her ear.
Elisha scooted off of him. "Yes, we did. I’m going to be late for my flight." She scrambled off his lap and hastily rearranged her mangled clothes. "Driver," she said, rapping on the dark partition. "You are going the wrong way. I am going to the-"
"The driver is going to the correct destination," Javier said in a calm, even voice, cutting her off before she could finish her sentence. "We are going to the airport. Our plane to Puerto Plata leaves in two hours."
"I am doing no such thing. That's in the opposite direction of where I need to go."
Javier stilled her hands, which were tugging off her stockings. "Let me," he said, rolling the destroyed garments off her legs. "I owe you a pair of these stockings. Do you always go without panties when you wear these?" he asked.
Focus, Elisha thought. Sex in a car was not what they should be doing. Elisha snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Excuse me. This is inappropriate. People are waiting for me. I have to worry about my reputation."
"You're with me,” he said, steel and possession threading his words. "I will protect you and your reputation, Elisha."
Her conscience nudged her. And look where that gets you. Legs open, breathless and stupid.
Javier cut the silence. "We have unfinished business.”
“What unfinished business? Everything is cleared up.” Crystals of bitterness formed on her words. "You got me for one night. I don't have anything else to offer."
Javier pulled a sheaf of papers from his briefcase. "You do have something else. I have a revised contract for you to sign. New stipulations based on what I learned Saturday."
What had he learned Saturday? That I like giving and getting oral sex? That I like playing the dominant? Elisha exhaled and crossed her arms over her chest, rejecting the file he thrust at her. "We don't have a deal."
"Damn it, Elisha.” Javier dropped the papers in her lap. “Read the document."
Elisha tapped the paperwork against her palm and studied the clip attaching them. “What did you learn about me on Saturday?”
“We complement each other very well. We have something between us.”
Elisha counted off those things on her fingers. “We like sex. We find each other attractive.”
“We both are passionate. We’re givers. We want pleasure for ourselves and the one we are with. You tie excellent knots.”
Elisha blushed, averting her eyes away from his gorgeous face. If only this could be real. She opened the document and sifted through the papers. Her eyes scanned, looking for key words and terms embedded in the legalese and stipulations. "This isn’t the same one you gave me before." Her voice drifted off and her eyes widened as she continued reading. This was a contract, but not for a merger or acquisition of a business. No, this was a contract asking for someone’s heart, body, and soul in exchange for their own. "Are you the Devil?"
Javier shook his head, the lines around his eyes crinkling and his mouth grinning. "I've been called the Devil many times, but I am not him."
"Then what is this? Who is this for?" she asked, swinging her gaze over to him.
“That is for you.”
A shiver raced down her spine. Dumbstruck, Elisha stared at Javier. “You wrote this contract specifically for me?” She thrust the contract back at him. "You give this to the woman you love after you get engaged. Not to the women you screw as you take their companies.”
Javier laughed, pushing the contract back to her. He held out a pen. “I want you in my bedroom and in my boardroom."
She shook her head as she took the pen. “You never paid any attention to me. Until Saturday.”
"You are incredible. I think I’ve loved you since…" Javier trailed off.
"Since Saturday."
He turned her face to him. "Since I started the takeover. Saturday sealed the deal."
"It was the sex. And sex won't keep you."
"It's more than the sex. Do I have to prove myself to you again? We make a good team, Elisha."
Elisha bit her lip. "We do. It's premature to ask me to marry you when we haven't learned more about each other."
"That's why we're going to the Dominican Republic. I want you to see my country, meet my family."
This was moving too fast and too soon. "You don't understand the word slow do you."
"Not when I know what I want. And I want you." Javier folded the contract and tucked the pen and contract away. "However, I am willing to wait until you feel more comfortable." Javier trailed his fingers lazily along the length of her legs, teasing and taunting her. "You know I will want an answer soon, though."
Elisha moaned, shifting to give him greater access to what he really wanted, and he took advantage of her compliance, sliding his hands up her thighs and searching for her clit. "You don't play fair," she said, letting the spirals and sensations of pleasure roll through her.
"You can break me of that nasty habit." Javier shrugged off his jacket and unwinding the tie from his neck. "I'm sure of it," he said, dropping the tie into her hand. Elisha looked down at the tie and back to him. She could break him of a few habits over the next few decades. What better time to start than the present?
*THE END*
About The Author
Once upon a time, Tiana Johnson was just a cubicle dweller with a dream. Still a cubicle dweller, Tiana is now living out her dream of writing romances of all stripes. In her free time, she is a cupcake evangelist, Zumba enthusiast, dog walker, and very bad knitter.
Drop her a line at @TianaJohnson90 on
Twitter or friend her on Facebook.
You can find her blogging at http://authortianajohnson.wordpress.com/
Other Books by Tiana
After Hours
Secret Cravings Publishing
www.secretcravingspublishing.com
Tryst Page 3
