by Aimee Duffy
Calvin smiled. ‘The food is almost as good as spectacular sex.’ He laughed as her lips parted in shock. ‘Order whatever you want, on me.’
She frowned. ‘I can afford to halve the bill, you know.’
He wondered if she would argue if she knew how much the wine cost. ‘I invited you here, so it’s on me. If you want to treat me to breakfast in the morning, feel free.’
‘You’re inexorable.’
Calvin grinned. ‘I try.’
The waiter returned with a bottle and poured enough for a taste test. Calvin gestured to Shey. She took the glass between her perfectly plump lips. When the wine hit her tongue she moaned in a way Calvin wanted to hear again and again. His cock hardened, his heart sped, and shit, he wanted to drag her away just so the waiter wouldn’t get to see the unadulterated bliss on her face.
‘Wow,’ she said. Her dreamy gaze focused on him.
‘We’ll take it,’ he told the waiter, and when the man did nothing but stare at Shey, Calvin almost lost his cool. ‘That will be all.’
The waiter apologized, then disappeared. Calvin filled their glasses.
‘What do you want to know about me?’ He needed to get this part over quickly, like ripping a band-aid off a wound.
She smirked at him. ‘You were jealous.’
He couldn’t deny it. The tone he used on the waiter was the verbal equivalent of a slap. ‘No comment.’
‘I hope you’re not starting as you mean to go on.’ Shey picked up her menu and he did the same.
He raised a brow. ‘You don’t seem like the kind of woman who disregards territorial men.’
‘All that marking your territory stuff is the fastest way to make me bail on this arrangement.’
Ah, the perfect answer, so why did the word arrangement niggle at him? He didn’t want her to rely on his jealousy—it would mean she was expecting exclusive, and that wasn’t something he could offer. Monogamy on his part had left him high and dry, complete with a broken heart, an empty bank account and little in the way of possessions. He’d never make the same mistakes twice.
When they laid the menus on the table, the waiter returned to take their order, paying too much attention to Shey’s breasts. Calvin’s irritation breached dangerous levels. When the man left, Calvin prompted, ‘Well? You wanted to know more.’
‘You were married.’
‘That isn’t a question,’ he said, his tone too sharp, then regretted his shitty mood when she blanched.
‘Why don’t you just tell me what you feel comfortable telling me?’ she asked.
Scrubbing a hand down his face, he reached across the table for her free hand, but she pulled it away. He cursed. ‘I’m sorry. I’m not good at this.’
Shey didn’t comment, just stared at him expectantly.
‘Her name was Jane. We met when I was twenty and still worked for my father. We had an amazing couple of years together, but when my father died the reins of the company passed over to me and I had to spend a lot of time away from her.’
He took a deep breath, rubbed his eyes. It helped that she stayed silent, but he hated talking about his marriage, especially how it ended. ‘Back then, we only developed real estate and sold it on. When the economy crashed, I thought it was a safer bet to move into rentals and commercial spaces, like offices, so I bought a few buildings and apartment blocks with the capital in the business. Jane didn’t complain when the money started rolling in, but I was never around and that, among other things, pushed us apart.’
‘She just gave up on you, when you had all that on your plate?’ Shey’s frown was harsh. ‘That’s…’
Since she couldn’t find the words, he filled the gap, ‘Bitchy?’
Shey nodded. ‘Wait, you said other things?’
He met her gaze with a frown. ‘None of that is relevant to us. You wanted me to tell you what I feel comfortable discussing, and I have.’
She studied him with a frown of her own, but inclined her head like she agreed to drop it. Calvin breathed a sigh of relief.
***
Shey bit her tongue against the barrage of questions waiting to burst free. Calvin had said other things caused the break-up of his marriage, and she wanted to know if those things included infidelity. From what she knew of him he was a bit of a player, and marriages didn’t break apart because one half had to work day and night for a while. Couples made it through rough patches like that if they wanted the relationship to work.
But what did it matter anyway? She wasn’t going to be with him forever, and besides, it might not have been Calvin who played away from home. Still, all she needed was to get to know the man enough to feel like he wasn’t a stranger, and she couldn’t expect him to tell her things that made him uncomfortable.
‘So what’s your story, Shey?’ he asked, screwing the lid tighter on the marriage topic. ‘Any family, friends, ex-husbands…?’
‘No ex-husband, and I stay with my two best friends, who’re more like sisters than roomies.’
One brow raised, and she suspected he knew she was avoiding the family part of his question like she avoided shopping in Walmart. Shey sighed.
‘My mother…’ What the hell could she say about Felicity? My mom wished I hadn’t been born. She so wasn’t going there. ‘Isn’t around. She’s the only family I have. Anyway, enough about me, I want to know more about you.’
Calvin grinned in a way that made her think she’d missed something stupid. ‘You can’t expect to get all that info from me for nothing.’
‘You want to know stuff about me?’ she asked, and if her tone sounded incredulous she couldn’t help it.
After a sip of his wine, he said, ‘That’s the price.’
Shit. She hadn’t expected him to care about who he was sleeping with, unless he was only asking to make the uncomfortable questions stop. In which case, Shey would play along.
‘Okay, I’ll tell you one thing about me, and you have to tell me something about you in a different context.’
His brows pulled together, but he nodded.
Keeping the perfect poker face, she prompted, ‘When you’re ready.’
Calvin leaned across the table, those green eyes darkening, and she had to resist the urge to squirm in her seat. ‘You don’t play fair, Lopez.’
‘Neither do you, Jones. The clock’s ticking.’
Shaking his head, he leaned back. ‘I’ve told you what I do for a living, that I was married and then divorced. You’ve told me two things. You owe me one more first.’
Shey pouted. ‘Married and divorced counts as two.’
He drummed his fingers on the table, not saying a word. Heat licked her stomach, remembering exactly what those hands could do to her. Calvin watched her carefully, a smile teasing the corner of his lips. The guy knew what he was doing, trying to distract her, and it was working.
But two could play that game. ‘Okay, you win.’
Feeling mischievous, Shey took a long sip from her glass, let the berry-flavored wine swirl around on her tongue, and groaned like she’d just had the best orgasm of her life. His jaw clenched and his eyes lingered on her lips. She licked the bottom one slowly, making sure she had him thinking of something other than the conversation.
‘I’m great at deep-throating guys,’ she informed him in as blasé a way as she could with her insides screaming to be filled by him. ‘Your turn.’
Calvin’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. ‘Jesus, Shey.’
She shrugged. ‘You wanted to make it even, so I told you something. Now I want to know something about you, and, remember, it can’t be sexual.’ She was turned-on enough for the both of them.
He cleared his throat. Twice. ‘I don’t know how I can top that.’
The waiter arrived with their order. Shey had been so nervous all day she’d skipped lunch. Probably not a good move, considering she was aiming for sexy and ordering half a cow to devour in front of him wasn’t, but she was way too hungry to care.
The second t
he plate was in front of her, she tucked in. The knife cut through the meat so easily she knew it would be heaven, and when she popped a chunk in her mouth she proved herself right. God, the steak was so tender, it just melted. She was halfway through her meal when she noticed Calvin wasn’t paying attention to what was on his plate.
After swallowing down a mouthful, she asked, ‘What’s up?’
‘Do you know how sexy it is to see a woman eat proper food? My cock’s so hard it’s leaking.’
Holy shit. He wasn’t the only one getting wet in the nether regions. ‘I…’ She inhaled. Tried again. ‘Isn’t your pasta any good?’ Her face heated as she considered all the ways to burn off the joint carbs.
‘It’s not food I’m hungry for.’
His gaze was so hot she was going to get burned. And yeah, her appetite had vanished. Let’s bounce was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t do it. She’d hoped to get to know more about him, and she could hardly blame him for the detour in the conversation. She’d been the one to kick up the sexy.
‘Stop thinking,’ he demanded in that oh-so-persuasive voice.
‘What?’
He smiled, leaned closer. ‘You get this cute little crease between your eyebrows when you overthink things. Stop it. Just let this happen. We have all night to talk, and tomorrow morning. In fact, the whole day if you don’t have plans.’
For once she decided to listen to him. All along she’d expected him to have his wicked way with her, then kick her out, and she didn’t want to feel like a free hooker. But Calvin planned to spend time with her, non-fucking—unless he was some kind of machine. The rest of her doubts dissolved. Shey looked down at her plate and decided she was done eating.
‘Okay, no more thinking.’ Smiling at him, she added, ‘Will we get the bill?’
He flashed a brilliant smile and she got a little dizzy. ‘I’m down with that, gorgeous.’
‘Recycling lines?’ she asked when he waved to catch the waiter’s attention.
Calvin shook his head. ‘Just stating the obvious.’
Chapter Five
As Calvin paid for the meal and they rose to leave, Shey’s thighs quivered and her sex clenched. She didn’t think she’d ever been so desperate to jump into a guy’s bed. The whole week had felt like foreplay. She wanted this hard, fast, and out of control. Then they could get to the other stuff, and do it all over again.
Calvin linked his fingers with hers and she had to hide her surprise. This didn’t feel like they were a couple of single people about to fuck. He said they had all night, maybe even tomorrow too. And what was the point in putting a limit on their time together if his bedroom skills were a huge disappointment? Better to know first, then set the rules.
Okay, so she already knew his skills weren’t up for debate. More importantly, maybe a week wouldn’t be long enough. Shey could wait until after the first round to decide which angle to hit that discussion from.
They almost made it to the exit when a couple strolled into the restaurant. The guy gaped at her like he’d seen a ghost, so she didn’t notice the woman on his arm at first. He wasn’t much older than Shey, but with nowhere near the sex appeal Calvin oozed. In fact, he looked a bit dull in a drab gray suit with mousy brown hair.
‘Shey, my darling cousin, it’s been so long.’
She was amazed she even recognized the woman’s voice since it had been almost two years since she spoke to Felicity. The last time she’d run into her mother Shey had played the role of a sister. Obviously Felicity didn’t want her to be that close since she had a new toy-boy accessory, but they resembled each other too much to ignore a family connection.
A part of her wanted to play dumb and give the game away, but she didn’t have time for this. She couldn’t get Calvin back to his place and strip him naked fast enough.
‘It has. We have to shoot, but we should do lunch sometime.’ Like that would ever happen.
Calvin squeezed her hand, maybe admonishing her for being rude and not introducing him. Or maybe he was as impatient to ditch her mother as she was. Felicity’s gaze took her in from head to toe, and when her mother met her eyes again, it was with barely concealed condemnation.
‘I didn’t know you were pregnant. When are you expecting?’ Felicity’s voice was tight, restrained.
Oh hell no. ‘I’m not.’ Her cheeks flamed with anger, but mortification wasn’t far behind.
Felicity made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat, while her junior date looked uncomfortable, like he’d been caught up past his bedtime and was trying to think up a good excuse to get away with it.
‘I don’t care if you are Shey’s family,’ Calvin said in an icy tone she’d never heard him use before, ‘But if you ever bitch at her again, you’ll regret it.’
Teen-lover looked like he was about to step in to defend Felicity’s honor, but mommy dearest cut him off. ‘I apologize for offending you both.’ She turned to Shey. ‘I’ve just never seen you so…’
The fat went unsaid.
Calvin’s hand almost crushed hers. When she looked at him, she had to make an effort to keep her mouth from gaping. He was livid. There was no other way to describe his harsh scowl, or the anger in his eyes.
‘Wanna get out of here?’ she asked him.
He looked down at her, his expression softening. Shey gave him a reassuring smile, but the truth was all the lust had been sucked out of her along with whatever confidence she had. She felt more like a sack of potatoes than a seductress. Felicity had hit her mark, once again.
He nodded, then turned back to Felicity and her plaything. ‘I truly hope I never have the displeasure of meeting you again.’
One good thing to come out of this: Shey took a lot of satisfaction in seeing her mother’s jaw drop.
The chilly autumn breeze outside cleared her head and helped her purge some of Felicity’s poison. All around people were going about their normal evening routines, walking hand in hand with their loved ones, while she was having a rapid-fire shift in emotions. She’d forgotten how catty Felicity could be. Forgotten how much her mom could still hurt her.
But at the same time, Calvin had backed her up, and all those emotions she’d thought she could keep contained came tumbling back. What she needed was to get home, talk this through with the girls over copious measures of hard liquor and chocolate. Lots of chocolate.
Which was probably why she was all hips and ass in the first place.
Instead of hailing a cab, Calvin pulled her into his arms. His rock-hard erection pressed into her stomach and her brain short-circuited a little. Maybe rampant sex would help her sort through everything, but then again, he was part of the problem.
‘Don’t you dare listen to that cousin of yours, Shey.’ His hands slid up her hips, around to her back, down her spine, then cupped her ass.
‘This,’ He squeezed the flesh in his palms. ‘Makes me so fucking hot for you, I can’t think straight.’ Touching his forehead to hers, he blew out a breath. ‘You’re so gorgeous I knew from the first second I saw you, once would never be enough. Then you blew my mind when you rejected me, and again when you stood me up. You’re the first woman I’ve wanted so badly that I actually agreed to… date you.’
Shey couldn’t breathe right. Her heart was jumping, her mind clouding over, and her hips ground against his. ‘My mother, not cousin.’
His confession about craving her so badly made her want to open up, or maybe it was the huge erection prodding into her stomach. ‘Felicity Lopez is my mother.’
The anger in those hazel eyes seemed to turn them greener, and his grip on her ass tightened. ‘Your fucking mother?’
Nodding, she decided she preferred the cocky Calvin. This version in front of her, all possessive and defending, made Shey want more than just his body. She’d never appreciated anyone standing up for her—she could do that herself, thank you very much—but watching Calvin get angry on her behalf was… a head-fuck really. But nice. Definitely something she c
ould get used to.
But shouldn’t.
‘Shh. I don’t want to talk about her.’
With his arousal for her neon-sign obvious, she was back on board with their original plan. Felicity wasn’t going to ruin this night for her. No doubt the second they left, her mother had forgotten all about them.
He stared at her for the longest moment, then shook his head. ‘Still want to buy me breakfast?’ The smile he offered seemed genuine, but the hard lines around his eyes hadn’t smoothed out.
‘Depends … ’ Shey grabbed his open collar, stepped up on her tiptoes and flattened her breasts against his chest. Hmm, maybe open collars were as sexy as ties. ‘Whether you make it worth my while.’
She pulled him down to close the distance between their mouths. The second their lips met, the whole world fell away, until she couldn’t focus on anything except him touching her. Calvin growled deep in his throat as she continued her assault, pushing her tongue into his mouth then backing off to suck on his lips.
His hold on her ass tightened, and he ground that hard cock against her at exactly the right place, hitting her clit better than any vibrator she’d used. Bolts of heat flared through her, sparking her desire hotter and making her languid. Sliding her arms behind his neck, she pulled herself closer, tighter, and worked her own hips against him. Her breathing was ragged and his Eau de Pheromone made her utterly crazy. She wanted her hands on the hot, heavy length of him, wanted it inside her.
Shey moved one arm from behind his neck and slid it down his chest. He caught her wrist just before she reached his belt and abruptly broke the kiss, leaving them both panting. Then reality set in again. They were on the street, with an audience, and she’d been on the verge of orgasm even fully dressed.
‘I think we should keep that for when we’re alone.’ Calvin’s voice had serious gravel.
Shey hid her flushed face in his shoulder. ‘Oh, God, I can’t believe I almost did that here.’
His laugh rumbled through her as his arms wrapped around her waist. It was so unlike what she’d expect from a sex partner, yet it felt so right.
‘We need to grab a ride. Now.’ Instead of waiting for her answer, he pulled her to the side of the road and waved down a yellow cab.
