by Fiona Roarke
He responded only with a low, dangerous-sounding rumble of amusement and a half shrug.
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll be forced to guess.”
“Give it your best shot.”
She said the first thing that came into her mind. “John Doe?”
He laughed. “No.” He grabbed her hand again and led her back to their table. Thankfully, Trey was nowhere in sight. She glanced at his name card. JD Macalister. What went with Macalister?
“Jury Duty Macalister?” she asked over one shoulder as he held her chair. She sat as he chuckled and seated himself beside her.
His smile seriously put her head in a different space altogether, the sexy place where clothing was optional and not preferred. “Not even close.”
“Hmm. I’ll have to give this challenge some more thought.”
He leaned closer. “I look forward to the idea of being on your mind until you solve this riddle.”
“Will you ever tell me?”
He shrugged. “I don’t divulge this secret to just anyone, you understand.”
His gaze fairly smoked her where she sat. “It’s not Judgment Day, is it? Like, I won’t find out until I’m standing before the pearly gates?”
He laughed and shook his head. “Very inventive guessing on your part, though. Keep it up.” The other two couples assigned to their table showed up. They sat and introduced themselves before she could think up any other possibilities.
Samantha noticed that JD had surreptitiously moved his chair nearer to hers, giving him better access to lean in close when they spoke. She loved it.
As the evening progressed, and each of the different courses were delivered, eaten and the dishes taken away, Samantha watched her date closely. When the groom’s cake was offered, they each took a piece of the chocolate confection. When it turned out there was a layer of raspberry jam in the center, he said, “This is pretty good, but I love chocolate with orange the best.”
“Me, too,” she said in surprise. “Did you read my mind?”
“No. We must have the same great taste in chocolate dessert flavors.” He winked.
JD seemed perfect. She looked for any resemblance to the man she was trying to avoid beyond their level of outward appeal and found nothing. JD wasn’t boastful or elitist or full of himself or any of the many things she didn’t like about Trey.
At first, she’d been grateful for the reprieve from the annoyance of her boss’s son hounding her. Now, she was taking in every aspect of this luscious man seated close by her side, and hoped he might be that certain someone special about to be a large part of her life.
She watched him furtively, taking note of all the things she liked so far. Dark hair with the tiniest bit of a curl that would stubbornly remain untamed, a chiseled jaw, a quick, engaging smile and those beautiful sage-green eyes that missed nothing were the initial draw. He was fairly tall, maybe a little over six feet, judging by her height added to her heels.
He was dressed very nicely, but not in an over-the-top way. Certainly not like Trey, who showed up at Robin’s wedding in a three-thousand-dollar suit he hadn’t bothered to launder or press because he’d likely been on a drinking and gambling bender the night before.
Trey didn’t care to look his best for Robin’s wedding because this was simply another opportunity to suck up to Samantha.
It would be different if she liked him, but she did not like Trey or what he represented. So she dodged him and hoped he’d get transferred to the Miami store and out of her hair.
It was too bad she had to pretend to Trey’s father whenever it came up—and only when he asked specifically—that she thought Trey put forth his own unique effort at the store. She suspected revealing her opinion that he was completely lazy and useless in any business way might get her fired. One day, Mr. Wakeman would retire and give his son the keys to the castle, whether he’d earned them or not.
The bride and groom shared their first dance. As they circled by Samantha and JD, Robin caught her eye and winked saucily, confirming the suspicion she’d deliberately seated them together. She grinned at her friend and nodded once as if in silent salute of her choice of blind date.
JD said, “She set us up, didn’t she?”
Samantha laughed. “Yes. I’m certain she did. Are you sorry?”
“Nope. I owe her big now.”
Next up was the father and daughter dance, coupled with the mother and son dance. Then other family members were invited to the dance floor. Once the family had danced for a bit, she expected the other guests would be invited up. Samantha couldn’t wait to dance with JD.
A hand landed on her shoulder directly after the dessert dishes had been carted away. Because it was from the opposite side of where JD sat, Samantha knew right away it wasn’t him.
“I want to dance with you, Sam,” Trey said in an overloud voice, tightening his grip on her shoulder as if being forceful and brutish would gain him what he wanted.
He didn’t even bother to ask, just demanded she do his bidding because he was rich, entitled and held some sway over her employment. Not much, but she always kept that in mind when dealing with his unwanted advances. It truly ticked her off that he couldn’t take a hint.
“No, thank you. And it’s Samantha, if you don’t mind.” She didn’t bother looking at him. If she turned around, she’d only see his anger and further frustration. First, because she’d corrected his shortening of her name, again, and second, because she’d turned him down, again.
He likely thought of himself as a catch, so naturally he expected everyone else to feel the same way. Samantha didn’t. He probably couldn’t figure out why she didn’t fall at his feet like so many other financially minded women did.
Trey had never overtly threatened her with dismissal or anything like that. Not that she wouldn’t put it past him. Besides being against the law, they both knew his father wouldn’t allow it.
How many schools had Trey been thrown out of? Counting before and after college, it was double digits. Mr. Wakeman praised her work and had mentioned more than once that he thought of her as the daughter he’d never had, joking he would adopt her if he could.
Did Trey think she’d speak up for him more if he made nice with her? Well, she wasn’t interested in helping Trey out. He’d have to find another way. Maybe he could try actually working for a change.
“Why not?” Trey asked, not removing his hand from her shoulder. “I’d like to discuss a few work ideas I have.”
JD, who’d been conversing with the person on his other side, suddenly noticed her unwanted visitor. He stood up beside her chair, towering over her seated position and Trey’s lesser height, his gaze on where Trey’s hand still rested on her shoulder. Hoping to avoid a scene, Samantha also stood up, and in doing so broke contact with Trey’s hand. He reluctantly dropped his arm.
“Because this is a wedding reception not a business meeting, and she’s with me tonight,” JD said, slipping his arm around her shoulders. “All of her time and dances are already promised to me.”
Samantha leaned into his embrace. He pulled her closer into his clean masculine scent, the one she’d been inhaling wisps of all night hoping for a deeper sample. She turned toward JD and breathed in deeply, hoping not to be obvious about her intentions. He smelled fantastic, like the outdoors and soft linen.
“I don’t remember you mentioning you had a steady man in your life, Sam.” Trey looked like he’d swallowed something distasteful.
“Now you know,” she said. Trey’s bloodshot eyes widened, his mouth opened and closed a couple of times as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t think of anything to say in rebuttal. Soon enough he plastered a fake smile on his mouth, looking at JD once with a gaze that was not at all amused, before moving away.
Other guests were invited to join the happy couple as low music continued filtering through the nice speaker system. JD looked at the ceiling once before he sent that intense green-eyed gaze her direction. Wow.
“Please dance wit
h me, Samantha,” he said softly with an engaging smile, turning from a retreating Trey and taking her hand. She allowed him to draw her away from their table toward the dance floor in the middle of the reception hall.
“Thank you again,” she whispered once he’d taken her in his arms and expertly guided her to the far corner of the floor, as if they’d been practicing the dance move for months. “I didn’t want to dance with him. Or discuss his work-related ideas here at the reception.”
“That makes two of us. In fact, I don’t want you to dance with anyone but me for the rest of tonight. People will believe we’re together and all the single women here will stop staring at me. I mean, I’m scared to go to the bathroom alone.” He grinned and she knew he was joking.
Samantha had noticed two or three women stare over at him throughout the dinner, and then cast a wistful glance her way as if disappointed that he seemed to have a date.
“What do you think? We can be each other’s secret plus one.”
“Done deal,” she whispered, staring into his lush eyes, wanting him to be her certain someone special. If he was The One, she’d attained the biggest and best prize bonanza ever.
Chapter Four
JD spent the rest of the night in close proximity to Samantha, delighting in the fact that he not only protected her from a jerk, but also cultivated an already substantial attraction.
Not to mention he’d caught the attention of several other women in the room, until he initiated another chat with Samantha. He had no doubt he wouldn’t have remained alone for very long this evening without her at his side.
They’d already kissed once, even if it had been an accident and not nearly at the passionate level he truly wanted to deliver. He wished they’d come to the reception together. Then he could take her home and kiss her the way he wanted to at her doorstep.
Maybe he’d take her home anyway, or follow her or whatever it took to get her alone and away from a room full of people. He hoped she was as interested in him as he was in her.
When he and Samantha got to the dance floor, JD saw the man who’d been after her so single-mindedly leave the room. Good riddance. He wanted to shout, “And don’t come back!” but tucked away his gratitude at the reprieve and held her tighter in his arms.
Each moment he spent with her on the dance floor was revealing. And he was falling harder and harder for her with each swaying step. Their first dance came to an end far too soon, but she smiled at him as they left the floor in a way that warmed him all the way to his soul. He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back, gifting him with yet another warm grin.
They danced several times during the rest of the evening. Each time he held her closer until they were practically fused together as a single entity moving to the soulful soft music. They were gratefully uninterrupted by Mr. Rumpled Suit the rest of the evening. JD hoped he was long gone.
Between dances, and seated at their table, they chatted about their lives.
He told her about his business, how he knew Robin and that he was sorry not to have accepted any blind dates involving Samantha Duke. He learned about her life, what her job was at Wakeman’s and that she was also sorry to have refused any prior fixup Robin had tried to engineer between them. They had quite a bit in common and JD was honestly smitten for the first time in a long time.
They spent the rest of the evening in quiet conversation at their table. He pretended they were already out on their first date and wished the evening didn’t have to end.
Pulling her close for the final dance of the evening, JD said, “I’d like to see you again. Will you go to dinner with me Friday night?”
“I’d love to.”
“It’s a date then.” He tightened his hold, pressing his face to the side of her head, breathing in her unique and delicious scent, and wished Friday was sooner than almost a whole week away. He should have asked for tomorrow night or maybe even later tonight. Relax. She said yes. Be content.
The women gathered as Robin got ready to toss her bouquet over her shoulder. Samantha caught it. She looked at JD with an exuberant smile, which he captured on video, as he’d been filming the moment on his phone—not something he usually did, but he was grateful to have that perfect picture. Perhaps he’d blow it up to poster size and mount it on his bedroom wall. Was that creepy? Likely. Maybe he’d make it the new background on his phone. Was that still too creepy, considering they’d just met? Yup.
Even though they’d only spent this evening together, he felt connected to her, like they’d known each other for years instead of hours.
Samantha returned to their table with her floral catch. “You’re not afraid, are you?” she asked, brandishing it at him.
“No. Not even a little.” It was the truth. “In fact, I recorded the moment for future reference.” He showed her the short video, which she was thrilled to see and not creeped out by at all. She even gave him her number so he could send it to her.
Even their careers were aligned, as he moved things and she inventoried things. They laughed that the person who stored things had set them up tonight, making the logistics circle complete.
Outside, they watched the newlyweds drive away in their decked-out car with Just Married etched in the back window, then JD walked Samantha to her car. He took her keys, unlocked the driver’s door and foolishly wished he could follow her home.
Samantha accepted her keys with a smile, slung her arm around his neck and kissed him exactly like he’d wanted to kiss her all night—passionately, thoroughly, deeply. Her sweet tongue licked a tentative path between his lips and he growled in appreciation like a satisfied beast.
Before long he’d wrapped both arms around her, pressed her against the side of her car for better leverage, and ratcheted the carnality up a few more levels. They were fused together from shoulders to knees, connecting in the second most satisfying way two people could in a public parking lot with clothes in place.
He’d lost track of time when she eventually broke away, breathing hard. Her swollen lips called to him on some primal level. In this moment there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her, or with her. He wanted to follow her home and continue in a more private venue.
“Follow me home,” she said. Had she heard his thoughts?
“I’d love to.” He kissed her hard once more. The fabric of his slacks had tightened not to a completely uncomfortable level, but close. “Where do you live?”
She recited her address between several more sweet lip-locks and he memorized it amongst the most seductive kisses he’d ever shared.
After finally tucking her into her car seven or eight kisses later, JD raced to his own vehicle to follow her out of the parking lot. He knew exactly where she lived, which he noted was only a few miles from his business address.
She had a converted loft apartment in what he knew was a century-old building in the industrial area of town. She parked in front of a well-lit spot and exited her vehicle, waving at him to take the slot right next to hers.
He exited his car, locking it with a familiar double beep, but kept his eyes on Samantha as she waited for him on the short sidewalk in front of her place.
She entered a code in the panel by the door and led him into a vestibule. To the right was an over-sized freight elevator. Inside, she pushed the button for the fourth floor and turned to him with a mischievous smile. The elevator, while not a century old, wasn’t very fast either.
As they moved very slowly upward, Samantha stepped toe to toe with him. She lifted her face and pressed her mouth to his in a sweet kiss. JD wrapped his arms around her, pushed her against the elevator wall and licked his tongue between her lips, wanting to go back to the place they were before the necessary interruption to drive here. She responded with equal fervor and by the time they finally made it to her floor, they were practically pulling each other’s clothes off.
A bell sounded on the panel and the doors opened, briefly jarring their mouths apart. They were both breathing unsteadily.
<
br /> Samantha cleared her throat in between deep breaths. “We’re here.”
Arm in arm and half pressed together, she led them out of the elevator to a door only a few steps away.
She fumbled with her key before getting the lock open, which he thought was completely adorable. JD mentally tapped his foot on the brakes of his ardor. He wasn’t someone who slept around indiscriminately and he also didn’t typically hook up after only knowing someone for a single evening.
While he viewed this as more than a first date, or a first blind date, since Robin knew them both and had put them together, JD wasn’t going to let things get too far. It wouldn’t be right.
He registered tall ceilings, lots of brick, a large open space and groupings of furniture in a standard apartment layout. There was a living room to the left, a kitchen to the right. The wall opposite the front door was brick and had three tall arched windows across the width. In the far left corner he saw a six-foot-tall accordion room divider partly hiding a bed.
That’s as much as he noticed before Samantha locked the door behind him and leapt into his arms. She put her mouth on his and resumed their frenetic kiss as if they’d never left the elevator. JD’s resolve weakened.
As they kissed and kissed and kissed, JD felt her moving them toward the far corner with the bed. He broke the fervent kiss. “Where are you taking me?”
“Someplace more comfortable,” she said with a laugh.
“The living room sofa?”
“No. Someplace even more comfortable than that.”
“Wait.” He stopped them from moving any further. JD took a deep breath and let it out, hugging her tight. “Let’s sit on the sofa first.”
She sighed. “Are we going too fast?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I thought perhaps we should chat for a bit before anything else happens in the moment. We don’t need to rush anything, okay?” He would deny her nothing, but he didn’t want to take things to a place she’d regret in the morning.
She smiled. “Okay. Good idea.” She also inhaled deeply and released it. “I will mention, though, that you are intoxicating and hard to resist.”
