Stripping It Down

by Alden, Jami

  His dark eyebrows raised in surprise, but he didn't budge from her bed.

  "I mean it. I have a deadline and I've already wasted enough time with you."

  "I had a really long flight and I'm just going to sleep. You won't even know I'm here."

  Ha! Like she could possibly relax enough to focus knowing that Mr. Universe and his wonderdick were sprawled out in her bedroom. "No way. Didn't your company book you in a hotel or something? I'm sure you'll be much more comfortable there." As she spoke she flung his pants, boxers, and shirt at him. He swore when she tossed his belt at him and the buckle caught him on the forehead.

  "I get the point," he grumbled, rising from the bed. Kit turned her back, knowing if she allowed her eyes to feast on his lean, naked body, she'd end up right back in that bed with him, and deadline be damned.

  Needing to get away, she waited for him in the living room, holding out his suit jacket when he emerged, blessedly, clothed.

  "You're sure I can't stay?"

  "Do you need cab fare?" She did her best to banish the slightly nauseating guilt at the hurt, angry look in his green eyes.

  But then the hurt was gone, as a self-sure, slightly amused smile teased at the corners of his full lips. Before she could react, he pulled her into his arms. Instead of the fierce kiss she expected, she felt the soft press of his mouth against her forehead, her cheek, and finally her mouth. "Good night, Kit," he whispered. "I'll call you."

  She stared blankly at the door for a good five minutes after he left. She felt completely discombobulated. On the surface, her life was exactly the same, but it seemed like it had been taken apart piece by piece and put back together slightly askew, until nothing looked or felt quite right.

  The e-mail program on her computer jarred her out of her daze.

  What was wrong with her? It was just sex. With Jake Donovan, little seventeen-year-old Kit whispered dreamily.

  Like that made a difference. He was just another man, albeit one with more skill in the bedroom than any other she'd ever encountered. Nothing for her to get all bent out of shape about. Still, it was probably best not to see him for the rest of the time he was in town.

  She went into the kitchen and made a fresh pot of coffee since she still had hours of work ahead of her. Good thing too since she doubted she'd get any sleep.

  But as she sat down at her keyboard, fully prepared to begin the next installment of how evil drug-discovery companies were willing to put patients' lives in danger to pump up the stock a few more points, she found herself instead clicking on her "Stripping It Down" folder.

  Inspired, she began to type.

  Girls, you'll never believe who showed up at my door, like a poor, pathetic puppy begging me for more...

  Chapter 6

  Two days later, and still no call.

  Kit wasn't surprised, or upset, she told herself firmly.

  Sure, that's why you check your home voice mail twenty times a day and have asked the IT manager if there's something wrong with the email server.

  Okay, maybe she was a little upset, but only because the sex with Jake was so beyond anything she'd ever experienced before, and she wanted more. It was that simple.

  Thankfully, writing her column for Bustout.com had helped her put her latest evening with Jake in proper perspective.

  The article she was working on blurred on her computer screen, and she rubbed her eyes. As a business reporter, she hated earning report time, listening in on endless shareholder calls, and attempting to put her own unique spin on why a particular company did or did not hit their revenue goal this quarter.

  Her stomach jumped as her cell phone buzzed on her desk, and she reminded herself that Jake didn't have that number.

  It was Tina, the editor in chief at Bustout.com. "Kit, have you seen your numbers this week?"

  "I've been so busy here I haven't even had time to go to the site." Bustout had a handy Web program that not only tracked how many people accessed the column but also showed how many times a reader emailed the article to a friend.

  Kit glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was lurking in her cube door before she logged into the site. "Holy crap!"

  "I know," Tina crowed. "Your last two columns have had fifty percent more readers. And check out your e-mail forwards."

  Kit's heart skipped a beat. Her past two columns had been forwarded to no less than five thousand readers.

  "You should see the feedback we're getting. Your stories about this guy from your past – readers totally love them."

  Kit clicked on a link and logged into her C. Teaser e-mail account, created especially for her column fans to e-mail their thoughts.

  Kit's grin grew wider as she scrolled down the list of messages with headings like "You're Hilarious" and "You are my Idol." Her grin wobbled a bit as she reached the end of the page. "You're a Ball Busting Bitch," she read aloud.

  "Okay, not everyone loves it," Tina conceded, "but it's provoking a strong reaction, which is just as good."

  "Kit, aren't you supposed to be covering the Smith and Downing conference?" her boss snapped irritably.

  Kit fumbled for her mouse and closed the Bustout.com window before Tom could see. It was a given that most of the staff writers for the Tribune moonlighted and freelanced, but nothing could get you in hot water with Tom faster than if he thought you were writing for someone else on his time. Checking the clock she realized she did indeed have to get a move on if she wanted to make it to the conference in time for the keynote.

  She pasted on an enthusiastic smile and gave Tom a thumbs-up as she started gathering her things. "I have to go," she muttered to Tina.

  "Day job, I know. We're all waiting eagerly for the next installment of C. Teaser's blast from the past. Keep writing the way you are, and pretty soon you'll be able to leave the high-tech geeks and investment bankers behind."

  Kit powered down her laptop, tucked it into her briefcase, and slung the case over her shoulder. Grabbing her purse, she did a quick check around her desk to make sure she hadn't left anything. She was meeting Elizabeth and Michael, the ecstatic bride-and groom-to-be, near the hotel where the conference was being held, and she didn't want to have to come back to the office. She scooted around Tom, taking care not to brush up against his pot belly as he partially blocked the exit from her cube.

  He didn't like her, never had. And she knew exactly why. Because she didn't care about this job, not really. To her it was a means of paying the bills so she could write things she was really interested in. Yet she was talented enough to fulfill her reporter duties with relatively minimal effort and she never made noise about getting promoted to a byline or columnist slot at the paper. So Tom put up with her less than enthusiastic attitude in order to retain a reliable workhorse.

  She glanced up just as she was squeezing by him and caught him looking down the front of her tailored button-front shirt. She nonchalantly held her briefcase up to her front so that when he casually tried to lean in he hit leather instead of her breasts.

  Tom didn't like her attitude, but it didn't stop him from perving out on her.

  She mulled over Tina's news as she walked to the conference.

  Readers were going crazy over "Stripping It Down." The thought made her giddy.

  But what was she supposed to do now that her source of inspiration didn't seem inclined to come sniffing around anymore?

  Was she going to have to admit to her readers that she, C. Teaser, man-eater extraordinaire, had experienced the all-too-common hump and dump?

  It was either that or chase Jake down herself – something, as a rule, she never did.

  The mere thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. In her world, men were dogs, and she was the cat, and they chased her.

  You're Hilarious. You're my Idol. Her readers' e-mails scrolled through her mind. Somehow she had to get Jake back in her bed.

  Kit was deathly afraid that this once – purely for the sake of her career – she would have to break her own
rules.

  ***

  Jake fought the urge to toss Kit over his shoulder like a caveman as she walked into the Redwood Room. It had been two days since he'd seen her, and he'd barely resisted the nearly overwhelming impulse to call her or drop by her apartment unannounced. It was pure, dumb luck that Michael had e-mailed today to check in. When Michael found out that Jake was in town, he'd immediately invited Jake to join him and his fiancée, Elizabeth, for drinks with Kit.

  Now he had the perfect, innocent excuse to see her, all without having to make a call. He'd planned on giving it one more day, instinctively knowing that if he came on too strong, too fast, she would turn tail and run, just like she had in Mexico. Kit had been freaked out the other night, even though she'd tried to hide it behind her tough chick bravado. He recognized her fear because he felt it himself.

  Hell, the fact that he'd actually convinced the partners at his firm that he should work out of the San Francisco office for the next month made him break out into a cold sweat. Sure, he had legitimate business out here, but nothing he couldn't get done back in Boston.

  He wondered what Kit would do if he admitted he was here on his own dime, that his only goal in visiting San Francisco was to prove to her that what they'd started in Mexico was real.

  She'd run so fast she'd leave skid marks. Which was exactly why he'd gone dark for the last two days, to give her time to calm down, give her fear a chance to turn to irritation as she wondered why he hadn't called yet.

  As a rule, he despised playing games with women. Jake prided himself on being straight with the women he dated. If he said he was going to call, he did. If he didn't think there was any potential, he said so, as tactfully as possible.

  But he knew if he was straight with Kit and actually admitted that he thought she – Christ, it sounded disgustingly sappy in his own head – was "the one," she'd reinforce that wall she'd built around her to the point he'd never get through.

  Served him right, he supposed, since he was the one who'd broken her heart by clumsily taking her virginity and never calling again. The fact that he'd wounded her so that even now, years later, the scar hadn't completely healed was evidence that she'd cared deeply about him. Ironically her fear offered the only evidence that he wasn't completely insane in his quest to win her heart.

  Kit was scanning the room for their party, and Jake took the opportunity to watch her unobserved. Today she was wearing a suit, and she looked like the prototypical businesswoman fantasy come to life. Though the brown fabric was cut conservatively, the fitted jacket skimmed her curves, and her white button-front shirt was open at the neck, barely hinting at a perfectly tasteful amount of cleavage. Her skirt ended just above the knee and showed off the long line of her nicely toned calves. His mouth watered as he remembered skimming his lips up the smoothly muscled length as it rested on his shoulder.

  She spotted them where they occupied a leather sofa in the back of the bar. He watched her wide gray-blue eyes register recognition, surprise at his presence, and finally pleasure that she couldn't quite disguise at seeing him there. He didn't even realize he'd been anxious until he saw that little smile. Even in his anticipation, he'd been worried that she'd still be too freaked out to let him get close again.

  He took pure, animal pleasure in watching her as she walked toward them with an easy, unhurried stride. Elizabeth, seated in the middle of the two men, pointedly shoved over closer to Michael so Kit would have no choice but to sit pressed up against Jake. Jake slid toward the end of the couch, giving Kit just enough room to slide her hips in. As she sat her scent filled his nostrils, a fresh mix of perfume and shampoo that made him want to release her thick brown hair from its clip and bury his face in the curve of her neck.

  "Fancy meeting you here," she said as she sat. The feel of her warm weight settling against him was enough to bring his cock to instant, aching attention. The way her tits bounced as she shimmied out of her jacket didn't help. Kit sat back, caught him watching, and raised a knowing eyebrow.

  "Hope you don't mind that I invited Jake along," Michael said as he motioned the waitress over.

  Kit ran her tongue deliberately over the plump, glossy curve of her lips. "I don't mind at all."

  Jake grinned back and stretched his arm along the back of the couch, lust pounding through his veins when he felt her casually rest her palm on his thigh.

  Patience. Pretty soon he would have Kit right where he wanted her.

  ***

  I've got him right where I want him. Kit couldn't believe her good luck. Saved from having to chase Jake down in the interest of good column fodder! If it wouldn't have earned her a slap from Elizabeth, she'd lean over and kiss Michael in gratitude.

  She'd been a little worried when she'd seen him, unable to completely suppress the insecure teenager who still lurked inside. What if he really had no interest in seeing her again? Men were easy enough, and she was confident that she'd be able to get him to sleep with her again at the very least. But the idea of having to work at it didn't sit right with her.

  But given the way Jake was eyeing her the way a lion eyes a steak, she had nothing to worry about.

  And, Kit admitted, she was equally eager to have him drag her off and pin her against the closest flat surface.

  The next hour seemed interminable as they sipped their drinks and talked about Elizabeth and Michael's upcoming nuptials. A month and a half away, the wedding had Elizabeth wired so tight it was a wonder she didn't spontaneously combust. No wonder she was pounding the wine like it was water.

  "Kit, you're one of my besht – best friends," Elizabeth slurred. "I really love you, you know?"

  Oh no. Elizabeth had crossed the line from happily tipsy to "I love you, man" drunk.

  "I love you too," Kit said gently, returning her friend's sloppy hug and pulling a face at Michael over her shoulder.

  "But I worry about you," Elizabeth continued, grabbing her wineglass and not seeming to notice when she missed her mouth completely and spilled down her chin. She looked at the napkins Kit handed her as

  though she was not sure what to do with them.

  Jake chuckled behind her, and Kit shot him a glare over her shoulder.

  "I don't know why you would worry about me," Kit said to Elizabeth.

  "Becaushe you need to find love, Kit. Everyone needs love."

  Oh God, here we go. "There is nothing wrong with my love life," she said, though she recognized the futility of arguing with a woman who'd eaten nothing but lettuce all day in an effort to fit into her designer wedding dress and then consumed an entire bottle of chardonnay.

  "You have all these men, Kit, like that Max, Mort""

  "Matt?" Kit supplied.

  "Yeah, that one with all the tattoos?" Elizabeth scowled at the memory. "Dint like 'im." She belched a little, and Kit could feel Jake shaking with suppressed laughter. "Stupid tortured writer type."

  Kit sighed but couldn't deny Elizabeth's assessment of poor maligned Matt.

  "Shee, you have these men, Kit, but you don't have love. Don't you want to find someone to love, someone you can get sherious about""

  "Okay little matchmaker," Michael broke in, "let's get you home."

  He pulled Elizabeth to her feet and mouthed, "Sorry," silently to Kit over her head. Kit waved his apology away. The poor woman was planning a ridiculously lavish wedding for nearly four hundred people while running her own interior design business. It was enough to drive any woman to drink.

  "Like my Mikey," Elizabeth said dreamily as Michael got her to her feet, supporting her with one arm wrapped around her waist. "Don't you want a man just like my Mikey?"

  Frankly, no, Kit thought as she took in Mike's dirty blond, slightly thinning hair; his medium frame with shoulders that were showing the first signs of corporate slump, and a midsection that hadn't revealed an ab muscle in a decade. But Elizabeth adored him and he treated her like a queen, so maybe there was something to that.

  "So tell me more about these men Eliz
abeth mentioned," Jake said as they sat back down and watched Michael guide his inebriated fiancée to the door. "I didn't know I was among legions."

  Though he tried to keep his tone light, the derisive edge was unmistakable. "Typical sexist response," she said, pinning him with a look of disgust. "Not that it's any of your business, but you're not ‘one among legions,' as you so charmingly put it." The way he said it conjured up an image of her lying naked and spread-eagled on her bed, pushing a guy off her even as she yelled, "Next."

  Is that what he thought of her? So what if he did. She didn't give a crap.

  "How many?" he said tightly, taking a big gulp of his vodka tonic as though bracing himself.

  "Total? Or just this week?" A frisson of unease trickled through her veins as she met his icy green glare. His question didn't deserve an answer, yet she heard herself say, "More than can be counted on one hand, but fewer than can be counted on both." She took a hearty sip of cabernet and waited for his reaction.

  "Total, or just this week?" he mocked.

  "What about you?" she shot back. "Big stud like you, I'm sure you've had your share of tail. If I recall correctly, all four of you

  The Donovan boys were notorious along the north shore." Their little town was right outside Lake Tahoe, near some of the best skiing and mountain sports in the country. As such, there was always a steady inflow of tourists, and Kit could feel her smile harden as she remembered all the stories she'd heard about Jake and some ski bunny or other.

  A dark flush stained his cheekbones, evident even in the dim light of the bar.

  "Yeah, that's what I thought," she said, telling herself she couldn't care less about Jake's lovers that came before or after her. So why did the thought of him with another woman cause the wine to curdle in her gut?

  Chalking it up to drinking on an empty stomach, Kit firmly reminded herself of her purpose. Taunting Jake about his sexual past and luring him into a combative conversation about sexual double standards was not going to help her write her columns.

  Luckily he seemed equally eager to change the conversation's course. But not in the direction she would have liked. "So do you want to find love, Kit?"