But one thing at a time. Her thoughts had become a fast-paced incoherent jumble since that last drink.
When Marcus let her out of the booth, she swayed in an attempt to gain her bearings. Getting drunk sitting down was one thing. Getting to the bathroom drunk was a whole new issue. She told them about her dilemma then stumbled a little, grabbing the corner of the booth for stability.
That induced uproarious laughter among the Markovs. Did Russians never get drunk? For half a second, annoyance infused her cheeks with prickles of resentment. Then she decided she didn’t care. She threw them a grin over her shoulder. “Next time, gentlemen, not so much vodka.”
Mr. Markov tossed his head back and howled with laughter. Even on a good day, with all her faculties, she didn’t consider herself particularly funny. But whatever, if she made them laugh—and they didn’t hold her unintended intoxication against her—then it was fine by her.
Head swimming, she eventually navigated to the ladies room while the floor continued to shift inconveniently beneath her high heels. She managed to use the facilities then splashed cold water on her cheeks. After grabbing a towel and blotting her face, she rummaged through her purse to reapply her lip gloss. She found a tissue to blot her lips and emerged to find Isaac leaning against the wall.
She waved at him. “How are you doing?”
“Fine, sweetheart. How are you?”
“Oh, great.” She took a step and her ankle gave out in her high heel, sending her into his chest. “Geez, sorry about that. I’m a little tipsy.”
“I noticed.” A low laugh came from his chest. “If it’s any consolation, they think you’re adorable.”
“So glad I can amuse for everyone,” she snorted, resting her palm against his chest.
The smile faded from his handsome face. “Marcus wants to meet you for a lunch date tomorrow. You should say yes.”
“Wh-hat? He does? Why?”
“Because he’s into you,” Isaac said dryly.
“But I’m not into him.”
The tension at the corners of his eyes tightened. “Doesn’t matter. You need to go.”
Confused and disheartened and a still a little drunk, she asked, “What if the tables were turned? If a client flirted with you, and she made it obvious she wanted something more than a business connection, would you go on a lunch date with her anyway?”
He hesitated. “Yes.”
She pulled away from him. “Well, congratulations. From here on out, you can go meet any woman you want and I’ll never complain. But if that’s the way it is, then there can never be anything between us. Satisfied?”
“Mindy, stop.”
“The only man I want to go on a date with is you.”
He turned toward her with a hopeful yet remorseful look in his eyes. “I appreciate that. But this is a business issue. Sometimes you have to walk a fine line to clinch the deal.”
Emotions knotted in her chest. “Then, the deal is more important than our feelings for each other?”
“No.” He expelled a breath and ran his hands through his hair. “It’s not that simple, but it is that straightforward.”
Cool collectedness iced over her former inebriated state. Suddenly, she was as sober as a heart attack. “I think I get it. You’re fine with me meeting a client and letting him take me out, flirt with me, touch me, make sexual insinuations with me, and you’re okay with it as long as you make the sale.”
His eyes hardened. “No, it’s not okay, but—”
“That’s exactly what you’re saying.” Accusation coated her tone. “It’s okay to give a complete stranger false hope. I’m supposed to lead him on and let him think I might sleep with him if he signs a contract. That’s lovely, Isaac. And here I thought you had principles. You talked about balance. If this is the balance you want, then I’m not interested.”
He grabbed her arm and spun her toward him. “Mindy—”
Anger and hurt erupted inside her. “How am I supposed to trust you enough to have a relationship with you, if every time I see you with an attractive female prospect I’m left wondering how much you’re going to flirt with her? Or how far you’ll take that innuendo until it crosses some invisible line you’ve drawn to ease your conscience?” Two tears tracked down her face, and she quickly swiped them away. “Well, I’m not a saleswoman. I’m not a girl who’s going to compromise my feelings to assuage your conscience. I won’t live in constant doubt, no matter how much I want to be with you.”
“Mindy, you’re blowing this all out of proportion—”
“I don’t think so.” She jerked out of his grasp. Her heels made hard strikes on the wood floor as she headed back to the booth.
Hell, maybe she was right.
She was tipsy, maybe even drunk, but no amount of alcohol could lessen the sting of betrayal. Even if he hadn’t committed any relationship sin, by telling her to go out with Marcus, he’d condoned it.
Once they returned to the booth, Isaac almost lunged across the table twice as he suffered watching Mindy flirt with Marcus openly. Damn it, he’d given her too perfect advice, and she’d followed it.
Their date was taking place tomorrow at noon. That’s how they left things when Isaac parted company with them and ushered Mindy out the restaurant and into their car.
Tomorrow, Marcus might take her out to a romantic place Isaac hadn’t thought of, or he’d make a pass at her because Isaac wasn’t there, or she’d accidentally entice Marcus to kiss her when she hadn’t meant to…
She was really good at making men fall for her, even when she didn’t know she was doing it. God, he’d fallen a little in love with her the moment he met her.
He helped her into bed, turned off the light and folded her in his embrace. She shoved at him and muttered something he couldn’t understand.
“I know you’re angry with me, and I’m sorry,” he murmured. At his words, she relaxed in his arms. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
A tear splashed onto his bicep.
He hugged her tighter. “Mindy, I promise I will never betray your trust. No sale is worth losing you.”
*
Startled by sunlight, Mindy shot upright in bed. She glanced to her left, the place where the entire left side of her body had been warm and welcomed.
Isaac rolled onto his side, propped his chin on his hand and faced her. Concern shadowed his features. “How are you feeling this morning?”
She didn’t want his interest or his kindness. She wanted one thing—relief from her screaming headache. “Advil?”
“Sure, here.”
He gave her two tablets and a blessedly cold glass of water to wash them down. “What happened last night?”
“You, um, required some help last night.” His lips held a trace of smile, redeemed by his expression of concern.
The complete blank in her memory disturbed her. “Why don’t I remember getting up to our room?”
“Because I carried you.”
“What?” Oh, good Lord. Her shoulders sank. “I’ll bet that was fun.”
“Then you threw up in the bathroom,” he said, filling her in on things she wished she didn’t know.
She buried her face in her hands. “So classy.”
A soft chuckle drifted to her. “All things considered, you held up pretty well. You brushed your teeth on your own, as long as I held you steady over the sink. You even remembered to take your birth control pill.”
She peeked through her fingers at him. “Seriously?”
“Then you started stripping down, and—”
She dropped her hands to her lap. “Isaac, did we…?”
To his credit, his lip curled with abhorrence. “Hell, no. I’d never take advantage of you like that.”
“Thank you,” she mumbled, but he had no idea how much that meant to her.
“I made you drink two glasses of water before bed, hoping to give you an edge over a hangover.”
Dismayed, she shook her head at herself. “I’m sorry I w
as such a disaster. Again.”
“I’d say more of a hot mess,” he said with a wink. “Emphasis on hot.”
“Oh, please.” She groaned, furious she’d drunk too much and he’d had to babysit her.
God, he looked gorgeous. Sleep-rumpled and lounging in bed like a model after a photo shoot. She was so crazy about him.
Sober now, she also realized that last night she’d overreacted. He’d been clear-minded and extremely professional in his response to Marcus’s request to take her out to lunch. And totally right. She’d come on this trip in the hopes of inciting a personal relationship with Isaac, but her main focus had to stay on the desired outcome. Isaac had his own career goals to achieve, and she needed to make sure she came across with the same professional courtesy he maintained so well. She couldn’t shut off her emotions, but she’d never let them negatively impact his career.
At the same time, she respected that Isaac lived and breathed the salesman persona. Asking him not to do his job, regardless of her discomfort, would be like telling him to stop breathing. Not a happy situation for either of them. Certainly not for the long haul, if it ever got that far. Which it probably wouldn’t, after last night.
“Sorry I overreacted last night. You were right. It’s just business. All about the sale.”
Quickly she scooted out of bed, grabbed the beautiful pink and black dress from the closet and stepped into the bathroom to prepare for lunch with Marcus. After showering and blow drying her hair, she stepped into the dress and zipped it up the side. She slid her palms over her figure beneath the luxurious fabric. How she wished she and Isaac were going on a date. She loved how she looked and felt in this dress, and she wanted to feel this way beside Isaac, not Marcus.
With a heavy sigh, she shoved those useless thoughts away and applied her makeup. Then she stepped into her high heels and walked out of the bathroom.
Isaac sat on the edge of the bed tugging a hand through his hair, until he looked up at her and froze. His jaw went slack, just as it had in the dressing room when she’d first tried on this dress. Once again her heart did a somersault in her chest.
But she had a job to do, right?
She grabbed her purse and headed for the door. “I guess I’ll see you in a few hours.”
Suddenly, he leaped off the bed. His arm shot out in front of her while his body heat seeped through her dress. His palm flattened on the door, clicking the latch closed. “If you don’t want to go, then don’t.”
Surprised by his reaction, she stared up into his dark eyes filled with conflicted emotions she couldn’t separate. “But I thought this is what I was supposed to do—”
“Don’t go to him.” The torment twisting his features wrung her heart. “Stay with me. Let me make love to you.”
Chapter 8
Isaac’s pride burned at the thought of her going out with another man. She looked too beautiful to let her out of his sight or his arms. She was his, damn it.
No spoiled Russian playboy would take her away from him. Even if his actions right now went against everything he’d been taught and believed. Last night, she made him question all his staunch beliefs about sales and salesmanship. Why the hell should she have to compromise her ideals to land a sale? And why had he?
Hauling her against him, he crushed her lips with his.
No more compromise. She was his—and he wasn’t going to let her walk out that door. Right now he didn’t care what it cost him. Her eager tongue curling against his offered all the reason he needed to change his doctrine, rethink his expectations.
Hell, he’d give up everything for her.
He broke their kiss and held her face, feeling her sweet minty breath against his lips. “I want you,” he growled. “I’ve wanted you since the day I saw you. Nothing will change that. Not Marcus. Not the sale. Nothing. I want you to belong to me.”
“I do,” she breathed.
God, he couldn’t ask for a better invitation. He answered with his whole heart and soul.
Pacing himself, he forced himself to slow down. He wanted to make love to her the way he’d promised in the tower. So he probed her mouth gently with his tongue, coaxing her, drawing her into him. She came so willingly, his chest hurt with the passion he barely contained.
“I’m going to make love to you, Mindy. If you want me to stop, tell me now.”
She shook her head. “I want this, too.”
The urgent request nearly undid him. Their lips met again and he swept his tongue deep into her mouth, seeking her essence.
When her head fell back into his palm and she relaxed in his arms, he realized how completely he wanted her, needed her. He’d never felt this way about a woman. She was it. She was his. For eternity—even if she didn’t know it yet.
Sweeping her up in his arms, he carried her to the bed. At the edge, he set her down and looked into her eyes. The crystal blue depths held heat and longing and a touch of innocence he found intoxicating.
Slowly he lowered his head and claimed her mouth yet again. The urge to be inside her now nearly brought him to his knees. But they’d only have one first time, and he wanted to do this right. Take it slow. Learn what she liked and what turned her on.
Explore every inch of her.
Thoroughly.
Staring with her mouth.
He parted her lips and stroked her tongue with his. Gentle, deep caresses. She shivered and his arms went around her, holding her tight. He absorbed the way she molded herself to him, her petite figure soft and pliant beneath his searching hands. She made him throb everywhere.
The caveman part of his brain loved how small and delicate she was in his arms, how dominant and powerful he felt holding her, possessing her.
The rush of endorphins lit his veins on fire. His hands slid down to cup her rounded bottom, pulling her tight against his hard length. Her palms glided over his chest, her touch eager yet uncertain. He knew someday he would take her out in this fantastic dress. But right now it would look way better on the floor.
As if she’d read his mind, she reached for the side zipper.
He caught her wrist. “Let me.”
Nodding, she licked her lips. He pictured her pink tongue darting across the head of his shaft and he swallowed a groan.
As he lowered the zipper, he admired the path it took down her hourglass figure, the swell of her breasts, the indentation of her waist, the gentle flare of her hips. Tiny and curvy and mouthwatering, she was the perfect gift made for him to unwrap. He could hardly tell the difference between the silky fabric and the soft texture of her skin when he smoothed the straps from her shoulders. He glided his palms down her arms and the outer curves of her breasts.
The dress slithered to the floor. She stood before him in a black lace bra and matching panties.
Possessiveness spiked his desire. He couldn’t believe he’d almost let her leave. His heart pounded against his ribs and he dragged her against him.
All his noble intentions for slow seduction burned to ash in the fire of need consuming him. Then she tucked her arms around his waist. Using one finger, she circled the waistband of his underwear from back to front, grazing his hip bone.
Holy hell. He throbbed so hard, a spot of moisture appeared on the navy blue fabric.
Determined to know if he affected her that way, he kissed her neck as his hand slid from her breast to cup her mound. Dampness soaked her panties and he moaned, running his middle finger along her covered crease.
Picking her up, he easily positioned them at the center of the bed. He craved her taste and wouldn’t be satisfied until he sank his tongue into her. But her pink nipples poking through the black lace of her bra called to him first.
Settling his hips between her thighs, he unclipped her bra and captured those luscious peaks one at a time. The hard beads contrasted with her silky soft breasts. She fit perfectly in his hands. Like she’d been made for him. Her skin smelled like lavender. The light touch of her perfume made him picture laying her down
in a field of clover. He soaked her in with all his senses, awed by her feminine softness and beauty.
When she arched and gasped as his mouth explored her spectacular breasts, his hips rocked against her. He felt her dampness through two layers of cloth and decided he needed her naked and under him. Now.
Kissing a trail from her cleavage down the subtle arcs of her ribs and the scoop of her stomach, he paused to nibble her hip bones. Her knees fell open to accommodate the width of his shoulders.
Mindy marveled at the feel of Isaac’s arms around her thighs, strong corded arms that felt like thick ropes. His biceps flexed, drawing her juncture closer to his mouth. Heaven help me.
She refused to allow a stab of guilt for ditching Marcus to distract her from the moment. Finally, she lay in the arms of the man she’d fallen half in love with, and she would fall for him completely if she let herself.
Her abdomen fluttered as his hands drifted over her belly. His tanned skin contrasted with her paleness. He radiated vitality, his eyes heavy-lidded, so rich and dark she could drown in their depths.
When the bristle of his jaw scraped her inner thighs, blood rushed through her veins. The very tip of his tongue glided over her seam, making her calves clench and her knees tremble.
“Relax, baby.” His husky murmur drifted over her skin. “Let me taste you.”
Hesitantly, she eased her legs wider, supported by his flexed arms. He started over, drawing the point of his tongue across her a second time. Then he parted her with his thumbs and repeated the motion.
As if she wasn’t wet enough, a surge of moisture trickled from her entrance. She opened her eyes and looked down at him, silently begging for more. His chiseled cheeks curved with a smile.
Highly sensitized, she breathed continuous moans as he bathed her with warm, moist caresses. All concentration centered on where he stroked her with long slow laps. God, he was really good at this.
Bedded by Her Bodyguard (Billionaire Bodyguard Series) Page 9
