by Donya Lynne
Toward the stage.
All eyes on her.
The spotlight warm.
This had to be how death row inmates felt on their final walk to the electric chair…or however they did that sort of thing now.
The walk took far too little time, and the next thing she knew she was in front of the DJ who was working the karaoke setup.
“What am I supposed to sing?” she said.
“What would you like?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea.” Her voice broke and sounded a little higher than usual. “I’ve never done this.”
“How about ‘Royals’ by Lorde?” he said. “It’s usually a good one for first-timers. Easy. Slow. Kinda one note.”
She knew that song. She had sung along to it on the radio a few times. “Okay.” Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.
“Just watch the monitor. The lyrics will come up for you a couple of seconds before you need to sing them.”
“Okay,” she said again. God, kill me now.
He smiled. “You’ll be fine. Just relax.” He winked and nodded toward the stage, indicating she should get ready.
Uh-huh. Relax. Learning how to breathe underwater would be easier. How had she let Mark talk her into this?
Her heart raced, her palms were sweaty, and her whole body trembled, but she managed to make her way to the microphone.
The music started. With the light shining in her eyes, she could barely see Mark all the way in the back, in the shadows, but could tell he was sitting with his arm over the back of the chair she had just vacated.
Her voice shook as she sang the first line, but at least she was on key.
She continued and fell a little off-key on the second line when it dipped into her lower register, but she was back on track when she sang the third line.
As she continued to sing, she began to relax. In the front of the crowd, by the stage, a couple of men watched her appreciatively, a glint in their eyes. Their suggestive gazes reminded her of Saturday night, the red dress, the way the men at the benefit had appraised her.
And then something wondrous began to happen. She began to enjoy herself. Maybe it was the adrenaline, or the spotlight, or the crowd swaying and singing along with her, or maybe it was the fact that her goddess alter ego—the one she discovered in Chicago and who relished the attention—was dancing and laughing inside her mind. Whatever the reason, with every line she sang, she fell a little bit more in love with being on stage.
She fed off the energy of the crowd, off the electricity of the room, off the intensity of her own adrenaline.
By the time she reached the final chorus, she was holding the audience in the palm of her hand and didn’t want to leave the stage.
They cheered for her. They whistled and cried for more. She covered her face with one hand, trying not to laugh, then set the microphone back on the stand and headed toward the steps.
The DJ high-fived her. “That kicked ass!”
Now she did laugh, pure elation singing from every cell in her body. Then she darted into the crowd, back to her table and into Mark’s arms as he scooped her up and hugged her.
“That was incredible,” he said, setting her down.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe I did that.” She clapped her hands on the sides of her face, too torqued up to sit. “That was so awesome! I’ve never done that before. Can I go back up there? Can we do it again? I want—”
His lips crashed down on hers, and her soul lit like a supernova as her rambling thoughts ceased, replaced by a whole lot of Mark. Every part of him invaded every part of her for what felt like a very long time. When he finally pulled away, they were seated, and she was in his lap, but she didn’t remember sitting down.
“Uhhh…” His eyes twinkled mischievously. “Sorry?” His apology lilted like a question as his gaze searched hers. He looked like he was barely suppressing his surprise at his own actions.
His arms held her tightly, his hands pressed securely against her back.
“Wow,” she said flatly, awestruck and numb. She touched her fingertips to her lips, which lifted slightly at the corners as she gazed into his eyes.
He stared at her mouth for what felt like a minute, his eyes dazzling with mischief. “That was nice.”
Nice? Try hot. Smoking. Sizzling.
He gently lifted her off his lap, and she managed to find her own chair again.
“That was out of line, wasn’t it?” He pursed his lips as if stifling a grin.
“Um…” Her heart raced, her mind leaped with a hundred torrid thoughts, and every fiber in her body vibrated. And yet she couldn’t speak.
He straightened his shirt and took a deep breath. “I promise to behave now.” He crossed the tip of his index finger over his heart. And were his cheeks flushed?
Karma turned her attention back to her drink and the stage, but his kiss continued to burn its way through her body, making her breathless and aroused. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. That’s when it hit her. She didn’t want him to behave. But did she really want him to misbehave? That could pose a problem now that they worked together.
With one kiss, Mark Strong had flummoxed her…and excited her.
And damn her, she wanted more.
Chapter 9
Don’t forget to love yourself.
-Soren Kierkegaard
Thursday night, Karma was cleaning up dinner dishes, still daydreaming about the night before…and the Saturday before that…and all the wonderful moments she’d spent with Mark so far. The way his lips had felt against hers. The way he looked at her. The way his hand had felt on the small of her back. The dusting of dark hair on the backs of his hands.
She wanted to slowly unbutton his shirt and run her hands over his chest and down his stomach…see if he had dark hair everywhere. What if he did? What would that feel like against her fingers? Would it be coarse or soft? Thick or, like on his hands, only a dusting? He probably had a nice stomach, too, ribbed with muscles. She already knew he had a nice chest. His pecs were firm, raised, and sexy. She was into chests. And arms. And hands.
God, she could not get that sexy man out of her mind, and now she was aroused. Again. The way she had been every night since Saturday.
Checking the clock, she saw she had just enough time before the game started to slip in to her bedroom, lie back on her bed, and imagine Mark Strong pulling her against him the way he had when they’d danced. She imagined what might have happened in his hotel room. He would have undressed her, taken off his shirt, slipped his hands up her thighs. Would he have licked her? There. Right between her legs. She had never experienced that before, but she wanted to. Would Mark have given her that?
As she imagined all that Mark could do to her, her arousal grew. She was wet and slick, and she fantasized that her finger was his tongue. Just the thought was enough to send her over, and she gasped and shuddered into the fantasy.
Sex with herself was safe for sure, but she was growing bored with safe sex.
She wanted something dangerous. Something hot. Something purely Mark Strong. On the conference room table. Or in the chair.
Now that was something to think about!
Gathering herself, she straightened her clothes and returned to the kitchen, her body warm and tingly, a smile on her face.
She’d just finished popping a bowl of popcorn and was on her way to the living room when her phone rang.
She dashed to answer it. The caller ID showed her dad’s name.
“Hi, Dad.” She flopped onto the couch and crossed her legs under her, resting the bowl of popcorn in her lap.
“Hi, sweetie. What are you up to?”
“Just sitting down to watch the game.” Telling her dad about her oh-so-naughty thoughts of the dapper Mr. Strong was so not going to happen.
“It should be a good one tonight. Game seven.” Like her, Dad was a huge sports fan, and the Pacers were playing tonight. Daddy-o was over the moon they had made the playoffs.
They talked basketball for a few minutes then her dad said, “You up for a fishing trip Saturday?”
“Sure.” Karma was horrible at fishing. She couldn’t even tie a knot in the line. But she enjoyed driving down to Peterman Lake with her dad two to three times a summer. They spent the day on the water, catching mostly nothing and a sunburn. But the real enjoyment wasn’t in hooking fish. It was the time they spent together, not even talking, eating ham and cheese sandwiches on Wonder Bread and sipping iced tea from Ball jars.
“Good. I’ll pull out your rod and tackle box. Looks like it’s going to be a great weekend.”
Despite their differing opinions of the world and of her path in life, she was super close to her dad. He was her hero. Her rock. The most important man in her life, who had taught her how to ride a bicycle without ever putting on training wheels, who had taught her how to plant and tend a garden, fly a kite, change a tire, and gap a spark plug. He had also taught her the principle of work first, play later.
Only, all Karma ever seemed to do was work. She thought of Mark. Maybe it was time to play a little.
“So, how’s everything else?” her dad asked.
“Good. Nothing new.” Aside from Mark and all the excitement he’d brought with him, the rest of her life remained pretty boring.
“When is some nice boy going to snag you up?” Her dad still teased her mercilessly about “boys.”
She laughed. “When are you going to start referring to them as men?” Skirting the question was better than telling him she had met a man. A very virile man she was still uncertain about, but a man nonetheless, who rocked her world without even trying.
“When one grows a pair and asks you out.” Her dad was incorrigible, but that was one of his most endearing qualities.
“You know, most fathers are more worried about keeping their daughters safe from boys,” she said. “If you were normal, you’d think of my singledom as a good thing instead of trying to marry me off.”
“Is that how it works?”
“For most dads, yes.”
“Good thing I’m not normal, huh?”
“That’s true. No one can ever blame you for being normal, but that’s what I love about you.” She and her dad were likethis. Tight. Two fingers crossed. Still, she didn’t tell him everything. In some cases, it was better that way.
Case in point, she would keep Mark to herself for a while.
“Okay, honey,” her dad said, “the game’s getting ready to start, so I’ll let you go. I just wanted to line things up for this weekend.”
“I’ll see you Saturday.”
“I’ll bring the iced tea.”
“And I’ll bring the sandwiches.”
“Love you,” Dad said.
“Love you, too.”
She hung up, increased the volume on the TV, and settled in for the end of the pregame, trying not to remember that tomorrow was the day Mark was taking her to dinner. If she thought about that fact too much, she wouldn’t get any sleep tonight.
Chapter 10
You don’t need to take revenge. Just sit back and wait, because karma will get hold of those that hurt you and, if you are lucky, God will let you watch.
-Author Unknown
On Friday, around four o’clock, with her nerves creeping in over tonight’s dinner, Karma snuck a peek into the conference room. Mark was bent over his laptop, chin resting on his fist. The sleeve of his light-blue dress shirt stretched against his biceps, and his short, dark hair appeared slightly tousled. Karma had noticed earlier in the week that he had a habit of raking his fingers through his hair when he was on the phone or deep in thought.
“Hi, Karma!” Jolene startled her as she bounced up to the desk and slapped her hands on the counter as if she were trying to draw as much attention to herself as possible.
“Jo?” This was a surprise.
“Is he busy?” Jo’s gaze darted toward the conference room.
Ah, so there it was. The real reason for Jo’s visit.
“Um…” Karma looked toward the conference room, searching for any reason to turn Jo away. Not that Karma had any right to keep her away from Mark, but… Okay fine. She was jealous. All week, she’d had Mark to herself, and now here came Jolene. Beautiful, busty, little Miss Hot Body, in her barely there blouse and up-to-there skirt.
Jolene leaned in and whispered, “Does he have a girlfriend? I heard he doesn’t. Do you know?”
Cold dread and defeat sank like lead inside Karma’s stomach. Jo was the kind of girl men didn’t say no to. If she had her sights set on Mark, the game was already over.
“I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I…I don’t think so.”
Why fight it? Jolene was everything Karma wasn’t. Jo had never had to work for attention her entire life. She walked in a bar and men lined up to buy her drinks. She got sick, and men fought to hold back her luxurious blond hair.
Jo giggled quietly. “He’s so slammin’ hot.”
“I hadn’t noticed.”
Jo was already quick stepping away from Karma’s desk, aimed like a laser toward the conference room.
Karma’s shoulders sagged. Well, having Mark to herself had been fun while it lasted. Her stomach sank as she watched Jo stop a few paces from the doorway, fluff her hair, and then move in for the kill. Jo was the kind of girl Karma imagined Mark would normally date. She was Barbie. He was Ken, except Ken had never been that sexy. Ken only alluded at sexy. Mark was the real thing.
Jolene knocked on the door. “Excuse me, Mark?”
Mark turned, briefly caught Karma’s eye, then looked at Jolene. “Yes?”
“Hi. I’m Jolene. We haven’t met, yet.” Jolene fell into her patented come-hither pose. Breasts high, shoulders back, chin down so she could bat her lashes at him. She tilted her head so that her long, blond hair fell to the side.
“Mark.” He stood and shook her hand.
Jolene let hers linger a couple of extra seconds in his then let go.
“You’re the sales admin, right?” Mark said.
“Yes.” Jo brightened as if the fact that he knew what position she held meant he had been checking her out, too. “If you ever need anything…sales reports, sales data…anything at all, I’m your girl.”
If Jo even knew how to pull a sales report, it would be a miracle. Karma was the one who pulled those reports and manipulated the data for the sales staff, not Jolene. In truth, Jo should have been fired a long time ago. The only reason she was still around was because her boss drooled after her, and she flirted incessantly to keep him wrapped around her little finger.
Mark smiled politely. “Well, I’ve got all the help I need, but thank you.” He gestured toward Karma. “Karma takes excellent care of me.”
Karma’s face heated at the compliment, and she sat a little higher. Jolene shot her an icy look.
“Well, of course,” Jo said. “Karma’s such an eager beaver.” She laughed drily then turned back to Mark and fell into her come-hither pose again, undeterred. “But hey, a few of us are going for drinks after work. Would you like to join us?” Her tone suggested more than just drinks.
Karma held her breath. He already had plans with her, but he could easily change his mind and go with Jo.
“I’m sorry, but I already have plans,” Mark said. “Maybe another time.”
Karma breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. There was something satisfying about seeing Jolene get turned down, especially by Mark. And the fact that Mark was honoring his plans with her when he could have bailed and had drinks with Jo made Karma respect him that much more.
“Oh.” Jolene sounded despondent. This had to be the first time a man hadn’t fallen for her charms. “Okay. Another time then.”
“Perhaps. Nice to meet you, Jolene.”
Karma glanced at Mark out of the corner of her eye just as he glanced toward her. “Karma, do you have a minute?”
She hopped up with a bit more pep in her step. “Sure.” She grabbed her notebook and headed toward the conference room.
Jo turned, scowled, then slinked off, dejected.
Mark waited until Jo was gone, then said quietly, “That was interesting.”
Karma clutched her notebook against her belly and bit the inside of her bottom lip. “Jo thinks you’re the bee’s knees.”
Mark laughed. “The ‘bee’s knees’?”
“Well, I’m paraphrasing. That’s not exactly how she phrased it. I think her exact words were ‘he’s smokin’ hot.’”
“I see.”
She glanced at her shoes. “I can’t believe you told her no.”
“I already have plans with you.”
“You could have cancelled.”
Mark didn’t respond until Karma met his gaze again. Then he glanced past her as if to ensure they were still alone, leaned forward, and said, “I don’t cancel on someone unless I have good reason to. And drinks with Jolene isn’t good reason.”
“Most men would disagree with you.”
Mark frowned, looked out the door again, and shrugged with a subtle shake of his head. “She does nothing for me.”
Karma opened her mouth then flapped it shut like a fish breathing out of water. Had Mark really just said Jo did nothing for him?
“She’s an open book.” He rocked back in his chair, his gaze boring into hers. “I prefer women who aren’t so…obvious.”
Karma fidgeted and scratched the toe of her shoe on the back of her ankle. “It’s just that I’ve known Jolene a long time, and men always look twice at her.”
Mark studied her for a moment then sat forward. “Let them. But I happen to think there’s only one woman at Solar who’s worth looking at more than once.”
If her heart could have stopped without killing her, it would have. “Oh? Who?” She could barely speak, her words wisping out on a breath.
With a grin, Mark leaned back once more. “I’m looking at her.”
“Oh,” was all she could say.
“By the way,” he said, “I’ve been meaning to tell you that you look very nice today. That’s a pretty color on you.”
