Any extra coverage for Heat Waves or WTLK was something Erica couldn't argue with. And both Dan and Carly knew that.
A spontaneous, gregarious grin brightened Carly's expression. "We've even looked into having bus and billboard ads done up with the picture of the two of you together with the slogan And You Thought The Heat Ended With The Fire emblazoned across the top of the ad." She looked pleased with her creative, catchy phrase. "What do you think?"
Stunned by just how far Carly planned to take this campaign of hers, Erica shook her head incredulously. "We can't afford to do billboard ads!"
"We can't afford not to," Dan said, speaking strictly from a marketing angle. "I worked out a budget, and if this draws in the big-name advertisers the way we project it will, it'll put us in a better position for the sale of the station.
Erica's mind whirled and her chest tightened with resentment. She felt ambushed and cornered by the two people she trusted. She knew Dan and Carly truly had her best interests at heart, and the show's ratings in mind, but that success came with a price – one that was connected directly to Ian and felt very personal.
"Would you mind if Erica and I discussed this alone for a few minutes?"
Ian's deep voice startled her. She'd been so caught up in her own anxiety and jumbled thoughts, and he'd been so quiet during her discussion with Carly and Dan that she'd nearly forgotten that he was in the room. Now it seemed he wanted to state his opinion on Carly's idea – privately.
"Take all the time you need," Dan said as he came around his desk and gently but firmly grasped Carly by the arm. "We'll be in the lunchroom when you're done." He ushered Carly out of his office, shutting the door behind them.
A huge sigh unraveled out of Erica, and she smoothed her hair behind both of her ears before glancing Ian's way. He sat there in that patient way of his, his eyes a strange mixture of kindness, caring and sensuality. "How do you really feel about all this?"
An adorable smile creased his mouth. A mouth capable of giving her such wondrous pleasure. A mouth she ached to feel on hers again … and other places, too. She was becoming a shameless hussy when it came to Ian.
He stretched his arm across the back of their chairs, letting his fingertips slip through the ends of her hair and feather along her neck. "You honestly have to ask that question after Friday night's date?"
Her sensual reaction to his touch spoke for Ian, and herself. She trembled from the inside out, wanting him with a fierceness that was foreign to her, but was becoming increasingly familiar when it came to him. "No, I guess not," she conceded.
Confused by all that had happened in such a short span of time, she stood and walked to the windows overlooking the street below and the evening traffic wending its way through the city. "This whole thing with you and me and the show is getting so out of hand," she muttered.
"What is your biggest objection, Erica?"
He might as well have asked her "What is your biggest fear?" The two went hand in hand and stirred so many levels of emotions in her. Resistance to change. Desire for Ian. Panic that she wouldn't be able to separate this deep craving she'd developed for Ian from the aspirations she'd clung to for the past three years.
She wrapped her arms around her middle and wondered how everything had become so complicated when her life and ambitions had seemed so stable and clear cut two months ago. Before Ian had entered her life and made her feel things she'd managed to do without for all of her adult years. He made her want him – sexually and emotionally – and the combination was one she had no idea how to handle.
What was her biggest objection? He deserved an answer. Turning back around, she faced him, and her insecurities. She'd learned from an early age to confront her weaknesses head-on and not to give in to them, and this situation with Ian would be no different. "Everything with the show is starting to revolve around me and you."
He regarded her through eyes that were at once serious and bemused. "And that's a bad thing?"
Personally, no. Professionally, yes. "The hype, the interest … it's something I never anticipated," she said, compelled to be straightforward and honest with him. "Not this quickly, anyway. I've spent the past three years struggling to make my own mark as a DJ here in Chicago, and because of you I've become an overnight success and a household name."
His smile held a wealth of understanding. "You wanted to make it on your own."
"Of course I did, and I still do. And that's part of the reason why I'm so hesitant about jumping into this sexy city night campaign with you." Moving across the room, she settled her bottom on the edge of the desk a few feet from Ian. She sat in front of one of the oscillating fans and caught an intermittent breeze that fluttered through her hair and along her warm skin. "When I left California, I had certain aspirations in mind and I've worked hard to achieve them. I'm single, independent, and I don't have to answer to anyone but myself. But one of my biggest goals when I arrived in Chicago was to succeed in this dog-eat-dog world of broadcasting. On my own."
"I think you were on your way to being successful, even before I started calling in," he assured her. Tipping his head, he scrutinized her deeper than she would have liked. "Do you mind my asking what made you leave California?"
She'd effectively dodged that question when they'd gone to dinner Friday night, but she wasn't going to evade it now when she was spilling so many truths. And if it gave him a clearer understanding of her, then all the better.
"I grew up in California. My mother and sister still live there." Her dysfunctional family was a whole other issue, and one she had no desire to delve into. "I was dating a guy named Paul, and things turned serious between us fairly quickly and I ended up moving in with him because he insisted it made things easier for both of us. Everything was fine for a while, and then he gradually changed. He didn't like what I did for a living, the late nights and working with male DJs. He started limiting what I could and couldn't do, what friends I could see, and for a while I went along with his demands because I was so lost in the relationship I couldn't see how much he was controlling my life and even my decisions."
Ian absently rubbed his thumb along his jaw as he listened attentively. "Something obviously made you see the light."
She nodded, curling her fingers around the square edge of the desk. "A new guy at the station who didn't know I was in a serious relationship made a pass at me. Paul found out about the incident from one of his friends who worked at the station and he went berserk. He demanded that I quit my job, and I almost did because that's what he wanted,"
But on the drive to terminate her employment, she'd realized if she followed through on Paul's orders she'd be succumbing to her mother's greatest weakness … she'd be giving a man power and influence over her life and emotions, as she'd sworn she'd never do.
She shuddered at how close she'd come to getting sucked into that same vicious cycle. "I knew if Paul got his way, it would be as good as me handing over my independence and freedom to him on a silver platter. So, I refused to turn in my resignation, and Paul countered by issuing me an ultimatum. Him or my job."
She laughed, but the sound held no humor. "That ultimatum was a huge wake-up call for me and made me see just how controlling Paul was, and that the relationship was heading toward something far more destructive if I didn't get out of it then and there. A few days later I did quit my job, but I did it for myself. And then I packed my belongings, picked a city where I felt there would be ample opportunities for me to pursue a career as a DJ, and drove to Chicago."
She stretched her legs out in front of her, and the cool material of his trousers brushed her bare calf. There had been absolutely nothing sexual about the accidental caress, yet she couldn't stop the slow, building awareness strumming through her.
"It's important that I make it on my own merit, Ian," she continued, needing him to accept those aspirations. "For so many reasons. And especially now that the station is on the market. If WTLK doesn't sell, or someone decides to change the progr
am or bring in their own personalities, I want to be able to audition at another station and get a job without everyone asking about you or expecting you to be part of the package. Can you understand that?"
"Yeah, I can." He leaned forward in his chair and braced his arms on his thighs, his gaze never leaving hers. "So, where does this leave us and the sexy city nights campaign?"
"I don't know." She had no ready answers, just doubts and uncertainties that kept rearing their ugly heads. "You've been a part of my show for the past month as a call-in listener, and even I can't deny that you've made Heat Waves hotter and sexier and more exciting, but where and how will all this end?"
Something flickered in his eyes, that persistence of his clashing with a deeper hesitation. "Do you want it to end here and now?"
He was leaving the decision up to her. Offering her the opportunity to end their on-the-air relationship with one simple word from her. Yes. A huge knot formed in her chest at his selfless act, so unlike anything she'd ever known from any man. Ian was willing to give her back her nights as a solo DJ and step out of her spotlight. But being put in the position of giving him up or sharing her nights with him – both on the air and dating – she knew she wasn't ready to let him go. She wasn't ready to relinquish the chance to experience everything he had to offer. The passion. The seduction. The best orgasms her body had ever had the pleasure of receiving.
Like a woman starved for ultimate fulfillment, she craved more. She wanted Ian Carlisle. And she knew the desire was mutual. Her listeners were eager to share in the sensual relationship blossoming between her and Ian, so why not enjoy the wild ride until all their hot sexual chemistry fizzled out? And if their weekly dates helped boost her ratings, all the better.
Pushing aside deeper emotional fears, she made her decision based purely on the arousing, feminine needs this man kindled in the deepest part of her. "No, I don't want us to end. Not yet."
Relief eased the tension bunching across Ian's shoulders and set his heart to racing. He'd been prepared to accept her answer, even if it meant putting an end to their on-the-air association. Thank God she'd agreed to give them more time.
Feeling as though she'd granted him silent permission to touch her in the way he'd been aching to since first seeing her walk in that door, he stood up and closed the scant distance that had been separating them. After listening to her bare a part of her soul to him, he decided to take a different approach with Erica and focus on something less threatening, something she felt as though she had rules and boundaries for. Their attraction. An affair.
With his knee he nudged her slender legs apart, stretching them wide as he moved in between and pinned her against his lean hips and taut thighs. Their position was inherently sexual, a classic erotic fantasy of making love on a desk. Despite her shorts and his slacks separating them, he instantly grew hard. The soft gasp that escaped her throat told him she felt his erection. Her hands settled on his waist, and the subtle, instinctive rocking of her hips and the way her lashes fell half-mast let him know that she'd welcome his thickening shaft deep inside of her, given the chance.
Given the chance, that's exactly where he wanted to be.
He pushed all ten of his fingers through Erica's hair, wrapping his fingers around the silken strands and tipping her face up to his. "If we're going to do this sexy city nights campaign, then let's take it to the extreme and have fun with it and each other. Ride the crest and enjoy the affair for as long as it lasts. What do you say?"
He'd obviously said the right words to sway her, because agreement sparked in her beautiful brown eyes, glittering with golden excitement. "I say yes."
He smiled and lowered his head, sealing their deal with a long, deep kiss that she returned with equal ardor and unfettered enthusiasm. His lips on hers stripped away any lingering inhibitions she might have had. Eventually, he softened the caress of his mouth against hers and murmured, "First official sexy city night date, this Saturday night."
She tugged gently at his bottom lip with her teeth, then soothed the love bite with the stroke of her tongue. "Okay," she said agreeably.
Another hot, drugging kiss, and then he pulled back, his gaze scanning her face, flushed with arousal. "I'll pick the place."
"All right." A seductive smile curved her mouth, and a wave of desire surged to his groin, making him impossibly thicker, harder – to the point that he felt as though he was about to bust the seam in the crotch of his slacks.
He nuzzled her neck, tasting her with his tongue all the way up to the sensitive spot just below her ear. "Wear something sexy, slinky and accessible," he whispered hotly.
Groaning, she clasped his buttocks in her hands and stroked his erection against her mound. "Unlike these inaccessible shorts?" Frustration laced her voice.
He chuckled, the sound low and strained. "Nothing is that inaccessible."
She squirmed to get even closer, and pouted when her attempts didn't give her the satisfaction she obviously craved. "I beg to differ."
He lifted a brow. "Do I hear a challenge in your voice?"
A brazen smile curved her swollen lips. "Yeah, I believe you do."
She wanted an orgasm. Here and now. He wasn't sure if she was serious or teasing, and called her bluff. "We could get caught."
Her thighs clenched tighter around his hips, inviting the illicit, forbidden tryst. "I'm willing to take that risk," she said huskily.
He'd created a sexual monster, and she was all his. "Greedy witch."
Stroking her flattened hands up his spine, she aligned her body with his and rubbed her breasts against his chest. "It's all your fault."
He accepted full blame and responsibility for her newfound sensuality, liking the fact that he'd been the one to introduce her to the pleasures of orgasms. The woman was an incredibly soft touch, so responsive, and he knew it would be so easy to give her what she wanted.
And so he did. Here and now. His mouth closed over hers, pulling her into a tongue-tangling kiss that was nothing short of wicked. His hands coasted down her sides to her hips, tipping her pelvis up to better receive his slow, rhythmic thrusts in a simulated act of sex. She wrapped her arms around his neck, arched her back and raised her knees high around his waist for deeper penetration, more pressure, greater friction.
Her breathing deepened, and she moved in sensual, tempting counterpoint to his long, slow strokes. Heat blazed through his bloodstream, and he gritted his teeth against the primal urge to let go of his restraint. Each caress became more frantic, more needy, sweeping him up into the moment and leaving coherent thought behind. He imagined sinking into her tight, damp heat, feeling her swell around him and tremble with the first signs of her climax.
And then she was trembling, and moaning, and clutching at him like a wild thing spinning out of control. He grasped her bottom, slid his large hands down to the back of her smooth, bare thighs and pumped harder, faster. He felt her shudder as she climaxed, and swallowed her soft cries with his mouth. This time, he couldn't hold back. The pleasure was too intense and explosive. Tearing his lips from hers, he swore vividly and came right along with her in a mindless rush of molten heat and liquid fire.
Heart beating furiously, and mortified at his lack of control when he'd never lost his restraint like that before, he lifted his head and found Erica grinning at him, her expression sated and her gaze curious. "Ian?"
The question in her tone was unmistakable, and he felt his skin warm. "Don't say a word," he growled in embarrassment. "It's bad enough that I'm going to have to walk out of here with my jacket folded strategically in front of my lap to insure I keep my dignity intact, I don't need you making any sassy wisecracks, too."
She pressed her damp palm to his cheek. The gesture was so tender and gentle it made his heart turn over in his chest. "Actually, I think it's kinda sweet, and very sexy." She kissed him softly on the lips, then looked at him again. "Now I think I know the true meaning of a fully clothed orgasm."
And she'd obviously enjoyed
herself. Immensely, if the satisfied look on her face was any indication. "Enough of being fully clothed. The next time I give you an orgasm, you're going to be completely naked."
Her eyes widened in mock fear and she feigned a shiver. "Ooh, is that a threat?" she teased.
He grinned wickedly. "Nope, it's a promise I intend to keep."
~ 7 ~
"TAKE THESE, PUT THEM IN your purse, and use them in good health."
Erica stared at the half-dozen or more small square packets Carly had pressed into her open palm. The eclectic assortment of prophylactics included colored, scented, lubricated, ribbed, extra-large and even flavored – orange, banana and cherry. While Erica was grateful for Carly's foresight, she found herself overwhelmed by the choices she held in her hand.
With a wry grin canting her lips, she met her friend's bright-eyed gaze. "You stopped by my apartment to give me condoms?"
"Hey, what are friends for?" Carly shrugged impertinently as she sauntered past Erica into her small living room, which connected to the kitchen and tiny breakfast alcove. "You're the one with the hot date tonight with Ian, and I figured since I'm not getting any at the moment, you might as well."
Shaking her head in bemusement at Carly's way of thinking, Erica closed the door after her friend and glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall. She had a half hour before Ian arrived to pick her up for dinner at a restaurant he'd selected for their first official sexy city night "date."
"All I can say is that Dan must be worth the wait."
"Yeah, he is." Carly's expression softened with a mixture of adoration and satisfaction. "We've done everything short of actual intercourse, and I have to tell you, my love life has never been so hot!"
"Mine, too," Erica admitted.
Carly gasped, her eyes widening in astonishment. "You and Ian have already done the deed?"
A rush of heat stained Erica's cheeks. Looking away, she opened the small black purse on her dinette table and stuffed the packets inside for safekeeping. "No, but like you and Dan, the foreplay has been great." Verbal, mental and physical foreplay.
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