A chance meeting at a local pool hall causes the two to cross paths. Soon a simple game of billiards turns into a game of seduction and pursuit. And before long they’ll both learn that in the world of contracts and negotiations, all bets are off.
Thank you to the readers who allow me the pleasure of telling my tales. Without your turn of the page, I wouldn’t have the joy in my life, that writing brings me.
* * *
~ Nicole
1
Paul Hanson stepped off the stage and walked through the crowd. Sounds of their applause made him feel a sense of worth and accomplishment, knowing that the compliments were coming from his colleagues and peers.
This year’s Continuing Legal Education Conference marked the first time that he’d been invited as a guest speaker, making him the youngest to ever present at a CLE function in the state.
“Well done, Paul. You made us look good.”
He nodded his head in thanks to his senior partner, Hal Livingston. He’d been with Livingston and Levine, P.C. after completing his clerkship with them in his final year of law school. Immediately after graduation, they’d offered him a package complete with a corporate car and expense account. With his good grades and graduating in the top two percent of his class,
Paul knew he could have picked his path in any direction and gone onto many more prestigious or higher end corporate firms in New York or even Los Angeles. But, the partners at his firm had been good to him since day one. And that meant something to him.
“A very fine job.” Peter Levine added.
“Thank you, Sir.”
He raised his champagne glass and lifted it in salutation to the two men who signed his paychecks every two weeks.
At thirty-seven years old he felt like he finally felt like all his hard work was beginning to pay off. Like he was really carving out a path for himself. One that most men in corporate law took decades to achieve. It was a feeling that he could definitely get used to.
A few hours later, and long after his fellow attorneys had called it a night, Paul found himself feeling far too wired to simply go up to his hotel room and get some sleep.
He felt like he had energy to burn. And he needed to find a way to burn it.
There was a pool hall across the street from the hotel. One that looked more sketchy than high class. It was exactly the kind of place that his colleagues would never enter and exactly the kind of place that he wanted to be.
After ordering a beer and grabbing a table, he started to warm up. Racking up the balls, breaking them and watching nearly half all hit the far corners. Only to rack them up and do it all over again.
He’d spent the better part of his college days playing pool at the dive bar where he worked his way through the never-ending financial debt that he’d accumulated over those four years at Metro State.
They were some of his favorite and least favorite times, for varying reasons. Ones that he couldn’t quite ever place. It always felt like something was missing in his younger days. He’d been so focused on work and school, keeping up his grades to get into law school and earn top placement, that he’d rarely dated or done any of the usual college hijinks. But, even despite missing out on those memories, they were still some of the greatest days of his life.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
A soft and sweet voice interrupted him from his thoughts.
“I’m sorry?”
A woman with long blonde hair and round curvy hips which filled out her jeans like they were painted on stepped out of the smoky dimly lit shadows.
“You looked pretty deep in thought. I was just wondering why you seem so serious.”
He took a better look at her as she stepped into the neon lights of the bar. Her green eyes seemed to glisten as she spoke. And she smiled at him. A soft, sincere smile. The kind that he had long since forgotten how nice they were to see.
She wasn’t petite, far from it in fact. He pegged her at about five feet nine inches. Maybe even taller. Though it was hard to tell with the heeled boots she was wearing.
She was a voluptuous woman. Not a skinny rail like so many women were leaning toward these days. It was nice to see her as she stepped even closer. Her breasts filling out her t-shirt nicely and looking utterly delectable.
“Cat got your tongue?” she asked.
“Oh, sorry.” He held out his hand. “Paul. And you are?”
“Sienna.”
“Sienna? Like the crayon?”
She let out a laughter that was far too cute for him to ignore.
“What’s so funny?”
“I just… haven’t heard that one. Well,” she held out her hand to stop herself. “that’s not entirely true. I think I heard it once in the third grade.”
“Well, I’m a lot older than I look.” He winked.
“Honey, if you’re that young, then I shouldn’t be standing here trying to flirt with you.”
“Is that what you’re doing?”
“Am I not doing a good job at it?”
“I didn’t say that.”
They both stood there for a long moment. Neither of them speaking. The two of them sizing the other up, looking on as two dancers ready to tango.
“You think you can make that?” she asked, motioning her head toward the table.
“Oh, the eight ball?”
“Yeah. That’s not an easy shot.”
“I’ve made harder ones.”
“Harder, huh? How hard?”
“How hard do you like it?”
“Oh, I like extremely hard.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “The innuendos come easily to you I see.”
“Innuendos?” she shrugged. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Uh huh.” Smirking, he took a swig of his beer and walked around the table to be closer to her.
She raised her brows at him, issuing her challenge without saying a word.
“I’ll tell you what, I’m going my long stick to sink it in that hole. You just sit back and watch.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think you can do it.”
“Oh yeah? Care to put your money where your mouth is?”
“What’d you have in mind?”
“A friendly wager.”
“Friendly, huh?”
“Yeah. You interested?”
“Maybe.”
“Alright then, what if you’re wrong and I can make it?”
“I don’t know. What are the stakes?”
Without taking his eyes off of her he pointed toward the far-right pocket and predicted his shot. “Eight ball, corner pocket.”
“You still haven’t told me what I get when I win.” She replied.
“Are you sure you don’t mean… I haven’t told you what I get, when I win.”
“Okay then. What do you want?”
He didn’t answer. He merely leaned over the table, lining up his shot and glancing back at her before hitting the cue ball.
He watched her eyes, wide and aware of the movement on the green felt as she watched the number eight fall right into the pocket that he had predicted.
He came around the pool table and leaned the stick against the wall. Her stare met his with a glint of challenge in them as she licked her lower lip.
“What do you want? A beer?” she asked.
“No, darling.”
“Hungry?”
“Oh, I’m hungry.”
“Is that so?”
“Starving.”
The air between them was filled with energy. Invisible sparks ignited the small space between their bodies, offering little comfort for the ache that was churning inside of him.
“What would you like to eat?”
The gleam in her eye proved that she may be playing coy but, she was nothing of the sort. She was testing him, seeing how far she could press her luck before he finally called her bluff.
“You’re a mischievous one, aren’t you?”
“Oh,” she shook her head wi
th a grin. “You have no idea.”
“Do you do this often?”
“What’s that?”
“You know, approach men in a bar, flirt with them relentlessly and tease them until the bulge in their pants becomes painful.”
“Oh no.”
She attempted a sympathetic frown but, failed miserably. Not only did she seem far from innocent, her quick wit and dimpled smile only added to her mystique.
“Something tells me I could get into a lot of trouble with you.”
“What? Sweet little innocent me? Trouble?”
“Darling, I have no trouble believing that you are sweet. But, innocent… I think that’s a pretty big stretch.”
“Well then, do you care to put your money where your mouth is?”
“What’d you have in mind?”
She motioned her head toward the table. “One game. Double or nothing. Winner takes all.”
“All?”
“All.”
“And just what exactly does all mean?”
She smirked. “Everything. Anything. All of the things.”
He grinned. “You’re on.”
2
Sienna stepped into the elevator and pressed the number eleven button. The doors closed a moment later, and the car jolted as it kicked into gear.
It had been years since she’d allowed herself the freedom to be so flirtatious with a man. She just couldn’t seem to help herself. From the moment she saw him walk in the bar she began watching him, admiring his look, the sensual way he drank his beer or worked the table like a maestro leading an orchestra. Everything he did had looked methodical, skillful, and so fucking sexy she couldn’t stand it.
She had acted brazenly.
She’d been bold.
Throwing caution to the wind, she’d met every challenge Paul sent her way as they played their one round of Eight Ball for a prize that was unspoken, yet still very clear.
She could feel his eyes on her. Pinning her down like a predator ready to take its prey, she glanced up at him.
Once their eyes locked she knew there was no turning back.
This was it.
This was what she’d instigated, what she pursued and what she’d secretly hoped for.
The excitement building in her was part anticipation and part nerves.
She wasn’t the type to make a play for a man. Though, she envied the women who always could.
She’d always been the opposite. The shy woman who would sit quietly, not uttering a word to a man once they’d caught her eye.
Yet here she was.
On an elevator with a complete stranger.
A stranger who she was taking to her hotel room.
A stranger that she had every intention of rocking his metaphoric world.
3
Sienna winced when her back slammed against the hard and unforgiving wall but, she didn’t let go of her hold on Paul. She’d quickly jumped into his embrace the moment they’d stepped inside her hotel room. Without a word, he’d crushed his mouth against hers, lifting her body and trailing his tongue down her neck.
She was relieved there had been no talking. She wasn’t sure she would be able to find the words that were consuming her.
Overwhelmed.
Hot.
Horny.
And ready for anything.
That was her state of mind.
Paul lifted her body more, pressing her body against his as he moved through her hotel room until he found the bed.
He then set her down on the soft mattress and loomed over her. It was a site that made him look larger than life.
Dim lights sliced through the curtains showing the city lights on the street beneath them.
In the pool hall, she’d caught glimpses of the muscles that lay beneath his shirt. She wanted desperately to tear off his clothes and see if her imagination had done him justice.
He looked down at her, piercing her with his dark and greedy eyes. There was an intense hunger in them, beckoning her to submit to whatever he desires.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked.
“Don’t stop,” she replied.
Paul gave her a pleased smile and traced down her cleavage. The spark she felt did more than warm her skin, it set her soul on fire.
Lying there, she waited anxiously as he brushed his hands up along her outer thighs before pulling the zipper to her jeans down and reaching his hand underneath her panties and slipping a finger past her wetness.
“White lace.” He whispered. “So… sexy.”
His voice was hypnotic. Soft, seductive and full of intensity.
She could easily get lost in his words, melting into the comfort that he provided.
The cool air of the air-conditioned hotel room gave little relief to her heated skin while his mouth showered kisses along the column of her neck.
The little pecks were nothing but a tease, a mere prelude to what she was sure he was capable of doing to her.
She was desperate for more. Wanting to feel his tongue, that same tongue that had felt so good inside her mouth just moments.
“Paul... please.” she whimpered.
He stopped for a moment to look at her. Then offered her another one of his sexy grins.
He then turned his attention to her t-shirt, lifting it up and over her head, exposing her white bra and aching breasts.
Her chest rose rapidly with every breath that she took as her arousal showed through in the form of her hard nipples poking at the thin material of her bra.
Leaning over her, he pulled at the white cups and pushed them down until her tits were exposed. Dipping his head down, he licked around each one with a tease. Getting painfully close to a tiny flick of his tongue against her nipples but, never actually giving her the pleasure.
The anticipation was killing her.
Her body ached.
She trembled with a fire that was melting her into a puddle of need for him.
“I wonder…” he whispered. “do you like this?”
He flicked his tongue against of her nipples causing her to scream out in agony.
“Hmm… you do like that.”
She would have agreed, but when he flicked along her another nipple, his actions stole her words.
With their bodies pressed so close together, her body was eager for more. The friction and heat were intensifying, causing her body to begin writhing beneath his touch.
Paul didn’t say a word when he got off the bed and reached his hand out to her. She took it willingly, holding onto that electric charge she felt with every one of his touches.
She was standing before him. Her breasts hanging swollen and at attention with her bra tugged down below them.
He reached around her chest and unhooked the clasp. Slowly, and almost painfully, he gently pulled at the straps sitting on her shoulders and pulled them down her arms.
She bit her lower lip as he looked on with an intense stare. She’d never felt so exposed or nervous with a man. And she couldn’t help but wonder what it was about this man that made it different.
“You’re beautiful.”
She reached her hand out to touch his chest, needing to feel whether the muscles that she’d imagined were truly there.
The feeling beneath her fingertips did not disappoint. Hard, curvy and strong muscles tingled through the fabric, teasing her skin.
“Do you want to take it off, Jennifer?” He asked the question while sliding his thumb over an already sensitized nipple.
She grabbed the hem of his shirt and began pulling it up to his shoulders and tugging it over his head.
The view she’d been granted was much sexier than she’d imagined.
Taut, tanned and completely delicious, he stood there before her, snapping her willpower like a rubber band being pulled to its limits.
She leaned into him, closing the distance between their bodies while darting her tongue out to lick along the path of his pecs.
No longer slow or showing a
ny signs of grace, she moved feverishly, frantically reaching between them in an effort to unbutton and remove his jeans.
She wasn’t just craving him.
It wasn’t a mere hunger.
She was ravenous.
Starving.
Completely unabashed and ready to take in everything that he had to offer.
He offered no complaints while she tried to undress him. Only the sound of a primal moan escaped from him as he joined in the frenzy, working in unison with her as they both worked desperately to unclothe the other.
Moments later she stood before him.
Naked.
Exposed.
And completely aware of every inch of her aching body while he stared at her with an intensity she wasn’t sure she’d ever experienced before now.
She leaned over slightly, placing her fingers in the waistband of her panties. Pulling them down until they dropped to the floor and she was able to step out of them.
Without warning, Paul came toward her, his moves so swift that she didn’t have a chance to respond.
His kiss stole her breath. Surprising her with his greedy tongue as it swept into her mouth, teasing her once again.
Damn, he is a great kisser!
She lifted her leg, draping it over his hip. Desperate to feel of his body against hers.
He reached down, dipping his long finger past her lips and inside.
“Mmm…” she pushed herself against his hand, relishing in the feel of his finger pushing inside of her.
“Fuck!” He stopped suddenly, moving away from her and grabbing at his jeans.
She stared on in shock as he quickly pulled on his jeans and rushed toward the door.
“What… where?”
He held out his hand. “Just give me a minute.”
She didn’t have much of a choice when the door shut behind him only seconds later.
Stunned and confused didn’t begin to cover her emotions.
She didn’t proclaim to be the sexiest woman in the world but, she found it hard to believe that she was so hideous that a man would run away from her in the heat of the moment.
Still in disbelief over what happened, she picked up her robe that sat on the edge of the bed. She was just pulling it on before she sensed she wasn’t alone in the room.
Seduction in a Suit: An Office Romance Collection Page 64
