Damn it. Stop that. Not everyone thinks the S in your name is a dollar sign.
Yeah, right.
Besides, she’s…different from all the others.
Go ahead, dumbass. Tell yourself that.
And what the hell did it say about him that he was having an argument with himself?
It shows caution and don’t forget it.
Okay, he’d let her play her games. Whatever they were.
“Your place is fine.”
“But don’t expect a fancy home-cooked meal,” she laughed. “I have a great Italian restaurant that delivers.”
“That works, too. What time?”
“Seven?”
“Good. I’ll bring wine.” He hesitated just a moment. “And the humble pie.”
She was laughing again when he hung up, a soft musical sound. Vanessa Bowen was certainly a complex puzzle. If she was trying to reel him in she was sending a lot of mixed signals. Or maybe it was just that she was so different from his usual flavor of the month. He guessed tonight would give him more clues.
* * * * *
When she left the office shortly after five Ness deliberately ignored Carolyn’s teasing, “Hot date again?”
“See you in the morning,” she tossed over her shoulder as she clunked out to the elevator, cutting off further conversation.
Why on earth she thought it was a good idea to have this dinner at her condo was beyond her. Someplace neutral where she met him would be the optimum idea. Just as she’d originally planned. Except Josh McMann seemed to toss all her brain cells into a mixer and scatter them.
She was still wrestling with all the reasons why tonight was a mistake but she was determined to show this man she had manners, could be gracious and appreciated the things he’d done for her. Then she could send him on his way. Before he dumped her. Which of course he would. Eventually. Like they all did, these high-profile alpha males. Ness wished she could figure out what it was about her that gave men the idea she was nothing more than a way station on their journey through life.
Sighing, she showered and slathered lotion on her body that matched the scent of her perfume (might as well leave him with a tantalizing remnant of herself). Then nearly gave herself a headache trying to figure out what to wear. Not too casual. Not sloppy.
Damn! Get your act together, Ness.
Finally she settled on a pair of embroidered jeans that she’d stitched a slit into for her cast and a silk blouse. She slipped her undamaged foot into a ballet flat and brushed her hair into submission. The lasagna from Franconi’s was warming in the oven along with the garlic bread and the salad was crisp and fresh in the bowl in the fridge. The table was set in the kitchen rather than the dining room. Informality would be the key tonight. Why on earth she was so nervous was a mystery to her. Okay, so he’d taken care of her two nights in a row. Not that she’d actually asked him to. And they’d had fantabulous, off the charts sex after he took her to the restaurant from dream heaven.
Now she wondered what came next. Josh McCann wasn’t exactly like every other bozo she’d dated. She didn’t know if that was bad or good. Just as she was beginning to wonder if her mind had turned into dithering mush the doorbell rang. And when she opened the door her mouth watered at the sight of him.
He, too, had opted for jeans, hugging his long legs and hips. With them he wore a cashmere sweater the exact blue of his eyes, the vee exposing just enough tanned skin and dark chest hair to remind her what he looked like naked. In one hand he balanced the pie box and in the other he held a bag with what was obviously a bottle of wine.
“Can I come in?” he teased. “Or do you want to stand here and look some more?”
Ness’ face heated and she backed away quickly, allowing him to enter. God, why did she always have to act like such an idiot with him? She was a high-powered executive, for god’s sake. A woman with her shit together.
Only apparently not with this man.
He moved into her condo, completely at ease.
“I’ll put the pie in the kitchen.” He winked at her. “I’m really looking forward to dessert.”
“I’ll bet.” She drew in a breath and let it out slowly. “I’m really sorry about this morning. I just—“
He put both the pie and the wine on the counter and held up his hand. “Later.” He nodded at the bottle. “Maybe after a lot of this. Where’s the corkscrew?”
“The bar in the living room. I’ll get it.”
“No, I will.” He nudged her into a chair. “Sit. I’ll pour the wine.”
She watched his capable hands as he uncorked the wine, poured it into the two goblets she’d left on the counter and turned to hand her one.
“Here’s hoping this is your last accident for a while.” His face was serious but mischief lit his eyes.
“Ohmigod, I certainly hope so. My insurance company is far from happy with me.”
He leaned his hips against the counter, completely relaxed. Ness almost had the feeling she was visiting him.
Needing movement, she pushed herself up from the chair and pulled the tray of antipasto from the fridge.
“Let’s take this into the living room.” As she turned, her cast bumped into a chair and the platter jiggled in her hand.
“Got it.” Josh eased it from her and somehow managed to take the food, his wine and hers into the living room and make it seem so easy.
She settled herself on the couch, sitting so she could prop up her injured leg, and took a healthy swallow of wine. Josh sat on the other end of the couch, watching her carefully.
“So,” he said, “want to tell me what that was all about this morning? Whose sins am I paying for exactly?”
Ness stared into her glass. “I really want to apologize to you for that. It was a kneejerk reaction and completely uncalled for.” She grinned. “And I expect to eat the entire humble pie.”
“Uh huh. That was a cute touch, by the way.” He was still studying her. “But that doesn’t answer my question. What the hell was it all about? I don’t think I did anything to bring that on.”
Ness picked up a tiny snack from the plate and nibbled on it to give herself time to choose her words. No way was she going to lay out her history of why men treated her so casually. Left her the way she’d thought he was doing this morning. That would be just too embarrassing. And she still didn’t understand whether it was something in her that prompted it or she just kept picking the wrong kind of man.
“Ness?” he prompted.
She ran her finger around the rim of her goblet. “I, um, just thought you were trying to sneak out while I was sleeping.” Like Jackson. And Clay. And a list far too long. “Not that it wouldn’t be okay,” she added hastily. God, she certainly didn’t need him to think she was the clingy type.
“Obviously it wasn’t.” He set his glass on the table and leaned toward her. “I was only heading toward the bathroom. I can’t imagine what I’ve done to make you think I’m that kind of guy. So what’s really going on here, Ness?”
She sighed, realizing she’d done this whole thing all wrong. She’d expected the worst and was sure that was what she was getting. “Can’t you just accept my apology and let’s put it to rest?”
For a moment she thought he was going to push it. But then he scooted closer to her on the couch. He removed her goblet from her fingers and placed it next to his, his mouth tilted up in a crooked smile.
“How about if we just kiss and make up,” he suggested, his voice a low, sexy rumble.
He leaned toward her, his hands on either side of her head, caging her. She had told herself sternly there’d be no sex tonight. Just dinner and conversation. A final thank you. Then goodbye. But when he got this close to her every good intention disappeared. He smelled so magnificent, something woodsy and eminently male. She saw his firm lips moving closer, caught the stormy blue of his eyes. Felt the heat of his body surrounding her. She opened her mouth and met him halfway.
Yup. Making a big mistake h
ere.
* * * * *
Josh had made up his mind that no matter how delectable Ness Bowen was he wasn’t going to drag her off to bed again. Dinner. More conversation. A chance to see what she was really all about. If she was real or just a better actress than the other women who wandered in and out of his life. He’d been badly fooled once before and even after the passage of time the wounds still ached. He loved her and she loved his wallet. The argument over the ridiculously expensive house she wanted to buy had escalated into a bitter breakup. Since then he’d been more than on his guard.
This was supposed to be a “watch and learn” evening. Watch Vanessa Bowen. Listen to her. Learn more about her. See if she was a different breed of cat than the other women in his life. But holy shit! The chemistry between them was strong enough to blow a hole in a mountain. Now it seemed the minute he was within inches of her his cock began sending him urgent messages and the rest of his body begged to follow. Common sense disappeared like smoke. He wanted her, no question about it. Maybe it was just that good old-fashioned pull of sex. That would be best. For him.
She was different tonight, somehow. The chip on her shoulder had somehow been dislodged or at least reduced. But it was more than that. There was something…something floating between them and he had a feeling it wasn’t all juts sexual tension. Although he’d be a dog-dare liar if he said the sex was anything less than of the fireworks caliber.
Wait! After just three days? No way in hell.
If it was, he’d worry about it later. Because right now he wanted to taste her more than he wanted to breathe. He brushed his lips against hers, lightly, back and forth, feeling their sensuous ripeness before pressing more firmly. He kept waiting for her to move, to push him away. Get angry, maybe. But she just sat there, letting him make love to her mouth, her warm breath like a soft breeze on his skin.
He traced the seam of her lips in a gliding motion before slipping his tongue inside the hot well of her mouth. She answered him with her own tongue, welcoming him, dancing with him. Sizzling heat surged through his body and headed straight to his cock and his balls. He moved his hands to cup her head, tilting it first this way then that to give him a better angle, and deepened the kiss even more.
Her hands came up and her fingers wrapped around his wrists. At first he thought she was going to push him away but instead she tightened her grip on him and gave him back as good as she got. Sliding one hand slowly down the slender line of her neck and past her collarbone he palmed one breast, feeling its warmth and the pebbled tip through the thin silk of her blouse and whatever fabric her bra was made of. He pinched the nipple lightly between thumb and forefinger and she moaned into his mouth.
With his lips still fused to hers, he slowly undid each of the buttons and tugged her blouse loose from her jeans. Her bare skin when he touched it was warm, and soft as satin. God, he could spend forever touching her. He broke the kiss and slid his mouth in a trail along the line of her jaw to the hollow of her throat where her pulse beat frantically.
“I think we need a more comfortable setting for what I have in mind,” he murmured, his breathing uneven.
Moving easily to his feet, he lifted her in his arms and carried her along the short hallway to the bedroom.
“Dinner,” she reminded him.
“Hungry, but not for food,” he pointed out, nudging the bedroom door open with his foot and flicking the switch with his elbow.
“Oven. Burn.”
“I’m burning all right, darlin’. But I’ll get it.” He placed her gently on the bed. “Be right back.”
He jogged to the kitchen, turned the oven off and headed back to the bedroom, pulling his sweater over his head. Ness was sitting up on the edge of the bed, her blouse and her bra in a puddle of fabric on the floor. Jesus, he just wanted to get his hands on those luscious breasts.
Ness sat there naked from the waist up, running her tongue over her plump lower lip and reaching out her hands.
“Come here.” Her voice was throaty and edged with blatant desire.
Hoping his control would last he stood directly in front of her, sucking in a breath when she ran her hands over his chest, scraping his nipples with her nails then unfastening his jeans and shoving them down his legs with his boxers. His cock sprang free, hard and thick and long. And demanding.
Ness wrapped her slim fingers around him, leaned forward and licked the drop of fluid from the head with a slow swipe of her tongue. The feel of her tongue was like a velvet caress. A shudder raced over his skin and he had to grit his teeth not to come that instant. When she slipped one graceful hand between his thighs and opened her lips to take him fully into her mouth he had to clench his fists to keep some semblance of control.
Her lips were soft, her mouth hot, her tongue educated as well as her fingers. She massaged his balls rhythmically with the cadence that matched her lips moving up and down his shaft. Oh, god, if this was heaven let him stay here forever. He felt her warm breath dusting over the hair on his groin and her teeth now and then scraping the swollen thickness of his cock.
When he felt his climax threatening he tried to pull back but Ness was having none of it. She moved her hands to grip his thighs, digging her nails into the skin to hold him in place while she sucked and pulled and drove him wild. When he spurted onto her tongue and he could see the muscles of her throat flexing while she swallowed, it nearly undid him.
At last he pulled free of her, still dragging in air, and gently nudged her backward until she was lying full out on the bed.
Ness looked up at Josh, filled with feminine satisfaction at the flushed look on his face, the heat in his eyes, his choppy breathing. Putting her mouth on him was the realization of the fantasy that disturbed her dreams since the night they met. She couldn’t understand why she obsessed about it with him when with other men she could take it or leave it. But she’d enjoyed it every bit as much as he did.
This wasn’t necessarily a tit for tat but she felt at least she’d given him back some of the pure pleasure he’d given to her so unselfishly that first night. Not that she hadn’t enjoyed every minute of what she’d just done. Oh, to the contrary. Taking his cock in her mouth and bringing him to climax had only ramped up her own level of hunger.
And such a great cock it was. Long and thick, the silky skin covering a shaft as hard as steel. And his balls, so warm in her hand. A delicious shiver raced over her body as she licked her lips, tasting his musk.
His face now was taut with barely leashed desire as he eased her jeans down over her legs, taking care with the cast. The panties were next, leaving her naked to his onslaught. He tasted and nibbled, stroked and caressed his way down her body. His tongue drew faint lines down her neck, pausing at the hollow of her throat then moving to her breasts. Each nipple in turn was tugged into his mouth, teeth lightly scraping the pebbled tip.
His breath was soft and warm against her stomach as he moved his lips over her skin, so slowly she wanted to scream at him to hurry, hurry, hurry. When he moved his lips back to her nipples she tried to push his head lower. But he grabbed her wrists with one hand and held them in place over her head.
The feel of his hard body against hers, the roughness of the hair on his legs against her smooth ones, the pressure of his hardening shaft against her thigh fed the hunger inside her. She inhaled his scent, so spicy and male. Little cries drifted on the air and she realized they were hers.
More, more, more.
When he finally closed his mouth over her clit her body quaked in response, the muscles of her pussy trembling. He sucked and pulled until she was nearly out of her mind with need. When he slid two fingers inside her she clamped down on them hard, squeezing with her internal muscles. He moaned against her flesh, the sound vibrating through her body.
“Inside me,” she urged. “Please.”
But he simply added a third finger to the other two, sliding them in and out while he continued to tease and torment her swollen nub of flesh. Lust swirl
ed inside her, coiling like a band of steel low in her tummy, tightening and sending jolts of fire through every nerve.
When he slipped his fingers from her and lifted his head she whimpered in protest. His laugh was low and husky, sending shivers through her.
“Impatient?” He moved off the bed. “Good. Hold on just one second.”
Foil crinkled. Ness opened her eyes to see him suiting up with practiced haste then kneeling between her thighs again.
“Oh, now,” she breathed. “Please.”
Finding the best position for them, he pressed the head of his cock to her opening and with a smooth roll of his hips drove into her.
Ohgodohgodohgod!
He filled every inch of her and then some, bumping up against the mouth of her womb.
“Look at me, Ness.” The same husky voice, edged thick with passion.
She looked into his eyes, now a dark navy blue, bottomless. Eyes she could sink into.
And then he began to move, slowly at first then faster and faster. He inched one hand between them to find her slit and massaged it in cadence with his rhythm. Ness lifted her uninjured leg and locked it around his waist, digging her heel in the small of his back as she tried to get even closer. Pull him deeper.
He pounded into her again and again, each thrust pushing her closer to that exciting edge. The orgasm bloomed within her, like a flower just dipped in water. A surge more than an explosion, expanding into every nerve and muscle. In that instant she felt Josh’s release pouring into the latex, his cock pulsing inside her, and they tumbled into erotic space together.
In the aftermath he cradled her against him as they both lay there shuddering, dragging air into their lungs, hearts thundering.
It was a long time before they ate the warmed-over lasagna.
Chapter Six
Josh took a sip of his bourbon on the rocks and looked around at the people filling Alex’s living room and spilling out onto the patio. He hated these business parties and was thankful Alex was comfortable hosting them. All he and Tyler had to do was show up and be pleasant for a couple of hours. Tonight they were celebrating a contract with Waverly Enterprises to build a large, mixed-use development, the biggest project McMann Development had undertaken to date. It would definitely put them on the A-list of developers and builders. He watched as Alex effortlessly introduced Chuck Waverly and his wife to the different people sipping high-ticket drinks and nibbling on fancy hors d’oevres.
Erected (Erector Set, Book One) Page 8
