by Lexie Davis
He cut off a piece with his fork and held it across the table for her. He waited, eyebrows arched before she finally accepted it.
“Mmm…” Ali moaned, chewing. “That is delicious.”
He smiled. “That’s why I ordered it.”
He cut a piece for himself and ate it. She was right. The creamy chocolate melted in his mouth. He should have offered to buy her a dessert again, but instead, he cut off a piece with his fork and offered it to her.
Her lips parted, soft and sensual, accepting the dessert. She closed her eyes and slid her lips along the fork, moaning as she pulled back to chew. He nearly came in his pants. Her eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes, and nothing but lust shone back. This was too damn erotic to carry on in a restaurant.
“What?” she said in a breathless whisper.
He swallowed hard. He needed to change the subject, or it’d be pretty embarrassing to walk out of the restaurant in his current state. He wanted to man up and tell her he wanted her. But he didn’t want to scare her away. He forked off another bite and replied, “Nothing.”
They chatted lightly until he called for the bill. Sean pulled out his wallet and paid, leaving a very generous tip for the waitress. They left the restaurant and decided to walk the beach together. He wasn’t really surprised by her quietness. For the most part, the date had gone well. He’d like for the night to end with her in his arms and his cock buried deep inside her body.
“What are you thinking?”
Her question surprised him. “I’m thinking about our goodnight kiss.” He glanced her way. “Tongue? No tongue?”
She didn’t laugh, but gave him a sexy little grin instead. “Tongue. Definitely tongue.”
Sean smiled and pulled her to him. After fantasizing about her all day, he couldn’t wait to taste her. He leaned in, and nothing prepared him for the surge of heat that coursed through him when their lips touched. His hand rested at the small of her back, and he wanted nothing more than to pull her against him and feel her soft curves. Sean cupped her cheek with his other hand. She opened to him, parting her warm lips slightly to accept his tongue.
Her body was so soft against his, her mouth eager and accepting. His body temperature spiked up a few degrees.
Ali pulled away first. Her breaths came short and harsh as she stared into his eyes. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Expecting what?” He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. “You said tongue.”
She laughed. “You know what I mean.”
She linked her fingers with his. They chose to walk down the beach toward their houses. Ali, at some point, took her flip-flops off to carry as she chatted about what she planned on doing all week.
“I really suck at this, you know?” She stopped and stared at the ocean. “I really don’t know how to relax and enjoy being alone.”
“Why is that?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. My life has always been work, work, work. Work hard in high school to get into college. Work hard in college to get into med school. Work hard in med school to get the top residency.” She sighed. “You get the idea.”
“So.” Sean rubbed her arms. “Play now.”
She smiled, a sad tilt to her lips, that Sean felt she forced a bit too much. Her skin chilled from the cool ocean breeze causing goose bumps, and he took his suit coat off to wrap around her arms. The passion they’d had moments ago went out the window. Sean didn’t know why or how, but it did.
They stopped behind Nina’s house and stared at each other. “I’m only working half a day tomorrow. You want to do something together?”
Ali hesitated. “I don’t know.”
Sean leaned in and kissed her lips. “I promise we’ll have a great time.”
She pushed him away. “Maybe. We’ll see. Can I have your number? I’ll call you.”
He frowned. “Sure.” He pulled out a pen from his jacket pocket and wrote his number on her hand. “You okay?”
“I’m just tired.” She handed him his jacket. “I think all this fresh air is going to my head. Thanks for dinner. I had a great time. I’ll see you around.”
She turned and couldn’t run fast enough to the beach house. Sean stood with his jacket in hand. What the hell just happened?
Chapter Three
“Did you fuck him yet?”
Ali sat on the sofa. After running off from her extremely sexy escort for the night, she came in and called her best friend.
“No.” She closed her eyes and laid her head against the back of the couch. “I chickened out.”
“Please tell me this has nothing to do with you-know-who.”
Her ex. Blah. “No. I…I guess it’s just new to me. The rich guy wining and dining me instead of the other way around. I half expected him to run up the bill and make me pay for it, but he didn’t.”
“And he wouldn’t. Sean is a good guy. I’ve had many conversations with him. He’s intelligent and hard-working.”
Ali groaned. “That’s the problem. He’s good. If I sleep with him and use him to get my rocks off, I’ll be bad. I’m not supposed to be bad.”
Nina laughed. “He’s twenty-eight. Not three. I’m sure with ground rules, he’ll be just fine.”
“He’s twenty-eight?”
Nina’s side of the line went quiet for a moment before she spoke. “I thought you knew that.”
“No!” Ali groaned. “Oh, my God. I was twelve when he was born.”
“So?”
“So, I’m practically a grandma to him.”
Nina snorted. “You are hardly a grandma to anyone.”
“Tell that to Chad.”
“I knew this was about him.” Nina groaned. “Chad is a dick. Plain and simple. He’s a womanizer and a million other things I don’t have time to list. Because he left you for that bimbo he knocked up only proves that. It’s him, not you. No matter what he says.”
Ali knew she should have felt better, but she didn’t. “I think I’m going to turn in. I’d like to take a shower and wash the sunscreen off my skin.”
“Stop hiding. I let you use my place for relaxation, but I didn’t say you couldn’t have fun. Go fuck his brains out. He’s obviously into you. Quit being uptight and go for what you really want.”
Ali hung up moments later. Nina’s words lingered in her mind. She didn’t know what to do. She’d been hot and needy before he’d come over, and had he initiated it then, she wouldn’t have said no. She hadn’t really wanted to put on the brakes on the beach, but she had. And it didn’t help now that she knew he was twenty-eight.
She stood and opened the patio doors. The night was beautiful. With the moonlight, the waves looked silver as they rolled into the shore. Taking a seat in one of the chairs, she lay back, staring at Sean’s house. He was everything Chad wasn’t. It really wasn’t fair for her to compare the two. Ali sighed and focused on the movement inside his house.
His form filled the small window. She sucked in a breath as he moved slightly, revealing his full body, naked, as he poured himself a glass of whiskey. Ali leaned forward, helplessly staring at the hot display of man before her. He stood in front of the window, oblivious to her watching.
His back was to her, turned just enough for her to see his impressive package. Ali swallowed hard. She had to be completely nuts to turn down a night with him when she could have that between her legs, driving her to bliss this very second. Her pussy gushed with moisture.
What the hell was she so scared of? She probably wouldn’t see him after this week. And wasn’t an older woman, younger man romance practically forbidden? The idea turned her on. She’d always been the type that went for older men. Sophisticated men. Mature men. She struck out every time because she picked the losers. The posers. The guys society deemed her “type.”
Sean wasn’t any of that.
He turned toward her. The glass of whiskey came to his lips as he downed the last of it. His large hand wrapped around his thick erection and started a slow str
oke. Ali stayed in the shadows, watching as his head dropped back and his movements quickened.
It crossed her mind to pick up the phone and call him. To tell him she saw him and wished it was her hand or her lips bringing him pleasure. Ali’s hand slipped between her thighs and felt the warm moisture between them. God, she hadn’t been this turned on in a long time, and the man had yet to touch her.
He came, lips parted, body tense. Ali moaned, watching as he finished, wishing she hadn’t run from him. She stood to retrieve the phone and shut the patio doors behind her. Looking at the ink scrolled on her hand, she dialed the digits and waited for him to answer.
“Hello?”
“I’ve been thinking,” she said, moving toward the bedroom. “I definitely want to do something tomorrow if you won’t hold my slight fear and running away from you against me.”
His side of the line was silent. Ali swallowed and felt sweat break out across her forehead. Maybe he thought she was psycho.
“Why where you scared?” he finally asked.
Ali sat on the side of the bed. “Because I just got out of a humiliating relationship, and I’m not quite ready to jump back on the horse again.”
“What happened?”
She lay back against the pillows. “He is the Chief of Surgery. I didn’t think it’d be that bad to date someone I worked with as long as he wasn’t in my department. It lasted a few years, up until a few months ago when he announced his girlfriend was pregnant with his child. Obviously that girlfriend wasn’t me.”
“Ah,” he said in obvious understanding. “Sounds like a prick.”
Ali agreed but didn’t comment. “The girlfriend was twenty years old. Blonde hair, fake boobs, and air for brains. A total cliché, and he rubbed it in my face every chance he got.”
“I’m sorry he hurt you.” The sincerity in his voice touched her. “I had a great time tonight, though, if it’s any consolation.”
She smiled. “Me too. Do you still want to hang out with the boring doctor next door?”
“You’re not boring, and I did promise to show you some fun. I’m a man of my word.”
She smiled at that. She believed him. “Okay.”
“And tomorrow night, I promise to give you more than dinner and a show.” His voice lowered huskily. “You’ll get to participate, as well.”
Ali’s cheeks heated. He’d seen her watching him.
* * * *
Sean smiled when he woke the next morning. He’d dreamed of Ali. As he got ready for work, he planned their date. He normally spent his days off, out on the waves. Hopefully, he could convince Ali to come with him.
At work, he could barely focus. What was it about this woman that made him completely lose his mind? He’d watched her last night, obviously intrigued by him standing in the window. It was almost laughable considering her age, but when he’d turned, she’d tried to hide. He’d known she was there and decided to put on a show for her, which had prompted her to call him.
“Mr. Graham?” his assistant asked.
“Yeah?”
“You have a phone call, line one.”
He thanked her and picked up the phone. “Sean Graham.”
“Seanie!” An excited voice sounded in his ear. “How’s it hanging?”
Sean pinched the bridge of his nose. “Everything’s fine, Trevor. What can I do for you?”
“Right to the chase as always. Fine. That’s okay.” His friend paused. “I need you to come to LA in about a week or two. We’ve got that new production we’re working on, and it’s already been through beta testers. I need your approval before we put it out for mass production.”
Trevor Dalton was a longtime friend from childhood. Growing up, they’d planned on creating their own gaming company, but when Trevor’s wife left him and took everything he had, he’d become more of a business risk than asset to the company. Sean sighed. But Trevor was still his friend, and even though he’d started his own production company, he still depended on Sean to help him out. A lot.
“What’s my cut of the deal?” Sean only half-heartedly asked but nevertheless wanted to hear what his friend would come up with.
“What do you want?”
“Twenty percent revenue.”
Trevor’s side of the line grew quiet. Just as Sean suspected, his friend wanted to bank off Sean’s expertise. That was the problem with friendships and business. Everyone always threw the friendship card when the going got rough. It wasn’t fair, and even though they were friends, Sean didn’t want to be expected to allow himself to be used.
“I’ll have to talk to my business partner about that,” Trevor finally said. “He’s in control of the finances.”
Of course he was. “Fine. Find out and get back to me.”
“Sean, regardless, I really need your help on this. This is probably the final straw. We’ve been open for two years now and everything we’ve produced has tanked. I’m begging you to help me out.”
Sean sighed. “I’ll see if I can work it into my schedule. I’m pretty busy right now.”
“I’ll take whatever you can do.”
After Sean hung up, he glanced at the clock on the wall. It was lunchtime. After gathering his things, he told his secretary to close up early. He planned on surfing some, maybe teaching Ali, and then taking her back to his place for some wining and dining.
He drove home and parked in his drive. Ali sat on the front porch with her novel in hand, feet propped up on the railing. She lifted her gaze and smiled when she saw him walk across the short distance between their houses.
“I was thinking about hitting some waves. You up for it?” Sean climbed the steps, then leaned against the railing.
She set her book aside. “I don’t know. Aren’t there sharks out there?”
Sean laughed and stepped forward to press a kiss against her lips. “Yes. Go get your suit on. Surfing is going to be us having fun.”
She wrinkled her nose, but he ignored it. He motioned for her to get up and followed her inside, waiting in the living room while she changed. In comparison to his house, Nina’s was extremely small. His three-bedroom, two-bath house, seemed huge compared to Nina’s one-bedroom, one-bath. He sat on the couch and picked up the book Ali had tossed on the coffee table.
Wicked. A saucy vixen is kidnapped and dumped in the Amazon Rainforest, and her rival is the only man who can save her.
Sean snorted. Do people really read this stuff? Or better yet, why was Ali reading that book? He opened it to the page she’d marked and began reading.
His large hand slipped between her thighs and felt her slick wetness. Gemma moaned, lifting her hips for deeper penetration as his finger slipped between her folds. Cody was her fantasy. Her temptation. She wanted his body, his attention, if for just one night.
“Okay, I’m ready.” Ali stopped and Sean glanced up to look at her. “You’re reading my romance novel?”
He shrugged and replaced her bookmark. “I was curious as to what entertains you all day long. Now I know.” He grinned at her and stood. “I need to get my board at my place.”
“That book was bought on a whim. I didn’t know what it was about at the airport gift shop.”
Sean’s grin widened. “Sure you didn’t.”
He led her to his house and unlocked the front door. He wasn’t home long enough to dirty the place up because if he wasn’t surfing or working, he was sleeping. He shrugged out of his suit coat and tossed it over the back of the sofa. He worked on his tie next.
“Are you hungry?”
Ali smirked. “I had some yogurt right before you came over.”
He pulled the tie off and tossed it before working on the buttons of his shirt. Sean stopped and glanced up at her, meeting her eyes. “I should probably finish undressing in my bedroom, huh?”
She smiled. “Don’t stop on my account.”
He came to her, cupped her cheeks, and kissed her. Her soft lips parted, accepting his tongue, and Sean was lost. Her arms came around
him, bringing her soft body against his. Surfing was long forgotten as his hands roamed down her sides. She was hot, and his cock stood stiff in his pants.
Sean pulled back long enough to lift her into his arms. She gave a shriek, then a light protest that he silenced with his mouth. He carried her to his bedroom and laid her in the middle of the bed. She looked so beautiful staring at him. Growing impatient, she fisted her fingers in his shirt and pulled him toward her.
“Please tell me you have some protection.” She pushed his shirt from his shoulders and kissed his chest.
“A box or two.” He lowered his mouth and kissed her. “Is that enough?”
She grinned. “For now.”
His hand slipped up her body to cup her breast. “That book must have you really worked up.”
“Not the book.” She grabbed his hand and pulled it away from her breast. She met his eyes and pushed his hand between her legs. “You, Sean.”
He rubbed her pussy through the thin layer of her bathing suit. She was soaked. Shifting slightly, he undid the strings at the sides and touched her. “You want me that bad, huh?”
He kissed her belly, feeling the slight tremble as his lips inched downward. His finger slid along her slit, finding her needy little clit and stroking it. She arched her back off the mattress in a silent gasp. He focused on his task and lowered his lips to plant a kiss at the top of her thighs. Sean moved between her legs, pulling the triangle cups of her top aside. Her breasts were perfect, making his mouth water every time he saw her. The dress she’d worn to dinner had damn near killed him with the V-cut neckline. He lowered his mouth and took one nipple between his lips while his hands continued to stimulate her.
“Sean.” His name was a whisper, a plea.
His tongue swirled around the pink tips, making them even harder. Her pussy clenched around his fingers with each swipe. Her seeking hands reached out to cup his groin and Sean jerked away. They stared at each other, panting.
“Shit,” Sean swore. He bit his lip.
“You okay?”
He nodded his head with a jerky movement. He’d nearly come in his pants when her fingers wrapped around his cock. How the hell would he ever last inside her?
