by J. H. Croix
When her tongue darted out to glide against mine, I groaned into her mouth, diving into her warm sweetness and taking our kiss deeper. I lost my mind when she arched against me and let out a breathy moan. My hands slid through her silky locks and down her spine to cup her bottom and pull her against me. She gasped.
The sound of a car door slamming on the street filtered through the fuzz of lust in my mind. I scrambled for control and tore my mouth away, pressing hot open-mouthed kisses along her jaw before dipping my head and breathing her in.
This was plain crazy. There I’d been, judging the guy who took her to a BDSM club on a first date, and now I was kissing her senseless on her porch. Maybe I could talk myself into thinking it was sensible because I’d known her before, but it wasn’t. Not really.
I did not want to leave, but I would. Grasping onto my control, I slowly lifted my head and stepped back reluctantly. Eva stared at me, her cheeks pink under the soft light cast from above her door. Her lips were swollen, and I wanted to see her undone.
“Dinner next Friday.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
Chapter 3
Eva
“He took you where?” Sarah asked, her eyes wide.
“Club Temptation, a BDSM club. Which I have no issue with,” I said with a shrug. “But it was a first date, so he had no way of knowing if that was okay with me. Plus, he was an asshole.”
Sarah, the very friend who’d persuaded me to check out the dating app, popped the lid on her coffee and reached for another packet of sugar. As she tore it open and added it to her coffee, she replied, “Wow. I wanted you to get out of your comfort zone, but not with a jerk.”
I leaned back in my desk chair, spinning to check my email on my laptop when I heard the distinct ping sound. It was nothing I needed to deal with at the moment, so I closed my computer and spun back to face Sarah. “I wouldn’t have liked him even if he hadn’t taken me there. He was too cocky for me. You’re not gonna believe this, though.”
She took a swallow of her coffee before lowering it and eyeing me. “What?”
“I ran into Zane Maddox there. He insisted on giving me a ride home.”
She’d just taken another sip of her coffee and sputtered before setting it down and reaching for a tissue from the box on the corner of my desk. “You are freaking kidding me.”
Sarah had also been an intern at Zane’s company. Our journey as friends had started as roommates in college. We became besties through our shared love of gaming, and we were blessed to be able to work together. Sarah had zero interest (her words) in running a company, so she had chosen to come work with me even though she had other offers. Our working relationship was made even better because I trusted her completely, and she didn’t mind disagreeing with me.
“Not kidding.” My cheeks flushed. “He also invited me to dinner.”
I couldn’t bring myself to tell her about the kiss. Somehow, it felt too private. I didn’t feel right gossiping about how insanely hot and intimate it had been. That happened on Friday night. It was now Monday morning, and I must’ve replayed that kiss a hundred times in my mind. Mathematically, it couldn’t have lasted more than sixty seconds, yet it was burned into me.
“You said yes, right? You better have agreed to dinner,” Sarah demanded.
“Of course, I did.” The moment I spoke, all my insecurities started clamoring inside. “I don’t know what I was thinking, though. Zane is way out of my league.”
“He is not out of your league. You run a company too. You won an award just this year for women’s entrepreneurship in Seattle. You’re a fucking badass,” Sarah said, being the good friend she was.
I drummed my fingertips on my desk. “I don’t know. I’ll see if I have the nerve to go to dinner with him by the time Friday rolls around. Funny side note: he’s an investor in that dating app. He was none too happy to realize that Chad took me to the club for a first date without telling me where we were going.”
“Forget Chad. I think it was meant to be,” Sarah said, her blue eyes wide. “I mean, you ran into Zane there, and now, you’re having dinner with him.” She held her palm over her chest as she spoke in a breathy voice.
Sarah was a total romantic. She’d been casting her net far and wide to find her forever after. Lately, she’d been trying to rope me into her project because I hadn’t gone on a date in three years. It was for a good reason. I’d been busy building my business.
“Oh, for crying out loud. It wasn’t meant to be. Zane just happened to be there, and I just happened to dump my date right in front of him.”
Sarah cocked her head to the side, her blue eyes twinkling. She was the kind of pretty that would be annoying if she wasn’t so freaking awesome. She was truly the blond-haired, blue-eyed kind of cute I used to avoid. As friends, that was. We ended up paired together for a research project in a coding class and then became roommates. Behind her beauty, I discovered the heart of a brilliant brain and a bubbly soul. I adored her.
She wrinkled her nose. “But he asked you out to dinner, didn’t he?” she teased in a sing-song voice.
My cheeks were getting hotter by the second. Needing a distraction, I rolled my eyes and flipped my laptop open again. “We’ll see if I go. Meanwhile, I need to work. We’ve got a slew of applications to go through. You’re going to sit with me for the interviews, right?” We were interviewing for a new assistant position for one of our projects.
Sarah stood from the chair where she was sitting on the other side of my desk, smoothing her hands down her jeans. “In case I need to remind you, you’re my boss. If you want me to sit in on the interviews, then I’ll be there. I’d like to because we’re both going to be working on this project.”
Every now and then, I forgot I was actually her boss. I’d started this company by myself after I made a single game that took off by chance. A simple word scramble game that was “crazy addictive with a waterfall flow of words on the screen.” Or at least, that was how the online gaming site review described it. The steady sales from that game had given me the capital to expand and make more gaming apps.
“Right,” I said with a nod. “Yes, I’d like you to sit in on them. I’ll send over a batch of these resumes, and we can sort through them together.”
Sarah started to walk out with her coffee in hand. “Don’t forget your lid,” I added, pointing at where she’d left her coffee lid on my desk when she was cleaning up her sputter, along with a piece of tissue. She snatched them up quickly and turned away again. Stopping in my doorway, she gave me a sly smile. “Don’t you dare cancel the dinner date with Zane. If you do, I’ll make you regret it.”
Rolling my eyes, I waved her out of my office. The second she was gone, the memory of Zane’s lips on mine burned like a flare in my thoughts.
Chapter 4
Zane
“I want him deleted,” I said flatly.
My assistant, Brian, looked at me from over the top of his glasses. “I think that’s a bit much. If you interfere like that, we’re going to get questions about it. What am I supposed to say?” Brian glanced down and brushed an invisible crumb off his shoulder.
Brian was gorgeous and often had women drooling over him. Too bad for them because he was happily married to his high school boyfriend. I paid him good money to stay on as my assistant because he was one of the few people who didn’t mind questioning me. I needed that.
“Do tell me why you’re asking for this guy to be deleted,” Brian added with a pointed and knowing look. Brian was also one of the few people who could pry the truth out of me.
“I was at the club the other night—” I began.
Brian immediately cut in, “Club Temptation, again?”
“Yes. Do you have a problem with that?”
“Not a problem but an observation. You go there when you’re bored. I have no problem with that, the lifestyle, or the club. I just think you push the limits by going there because you’re afraid of a relationship.”
&
nbsp; Putting my hand on my chest, I let out a mock sigh. “Wow. That’s kind of harsh.”
“And precisely accurate,” he returned swiftly.
Dropping my hand, I drummed my fingertips on the glass surface of my desk. “Can I finish explaining?”
“Please do,” he said, circling his hand in the air.
“So, I was at the club, and I ran into Eva Slater. Do you recall her?”
“Yes. She was an intern here, and you did your damnedest to ignore just how cute she was. She’s started that company that took off. I’d say her coding days here paid off. She’s on the potential companies list I drew up for you to partner with for new ventures. Everybody loves her. She was born and raised in Seattle, her dad was a fisherman, and her mom grew up on a farm. She’s got a great backstory, and she’s committed everything to Seattle. She just won some women’s business award.”
“She did?”
Brian nodded, a glint in his eyes. “Wow. I knew something you didn’t. But I wouldn’t expect you to pay attention to women’s entrepreneurship awards. You’re not eligible by virtue of your gender.”
“I care about women doing well in business. I have equal pay policies voluntarily, I might add.”
Brian smirked. “I know you like credit for everything, but I happen to be one of those people who doesn’t think we should get a pat on the back for doing the decent thing.”
I chuckled. “Fair enough. Anyway, back to the other night. Eva was there. The asshole I want deleted brought her there on a first date without telling her where they were going. She met him through that app. Because I’m a member there, I also know he had to lie to get her in the club.”
“Did you come to her rescue?” he teased.
“It wasn’t necessary. She dumped him right in front of me, which is how I knew what happened. I did give her a ride home.”
“Aaaa-nd?”
“I invited her to dinner Friday.”
“Did she say yes?”
“Reluctantly,” I admitted.
Brian threw his head back with a laugh. When he sobered, he leveled his gaze with mine again. “Good. You need someone who’s not going to just fall at your feet. Eva doesn’t need you for anything, not even your connections.”
“I know,” I grumbled, annoyed with myself for being annoyed.
“You’re seriously interested in her,” Brian observed.
When I met his gaze, I almost winced. Brian knew me too well—sometimes better than I knew myself. “I guess I am.”
“Are you going to take her back to the club?”
“No. I mean, not unless she wants to go.”
Brian gave me an assessing look. “Eva doesn’t strike me as anybody who would care one way or another, but she’s pretty private.”
What I didn’t say out loud was how possessive I felt about her. I might like pushing boundaries, but with her, I would want that experience to stay between us.
Brian’s phone vibrated, and he slipped it out of his shirt pocket to glance at the screen. “I need to take this. It’s Harold from accounting.” He stood from his chair and eyed me. “You’d better treat Eva well. Or I’ll personally kick your ass.”
Chapter 5
Eva
“I don’t even have his phone number,” I muttered.
George, my slender orange swirl cat, blinked his round blue eyes at me, offering no comment on this.
How was I supposed to text him a lame excuse when I didn’t have his number?
Maybe I wasn’t supposed to chicken out. If I let myself think, which I did all the freaking time, I knew it was because that kiss intimidated me. His money, or his stature, or how crazy sexy and handsome he was didn’t bother me. No, it was just a kiss that lasted less than sixty seconds of my time.
The whole time I had my stupid crush on him when I was an intern, I’d told myself he could never live up to the hype in my mind. Now, Zane had gone and given me a masterful, panty-melting, knee-weakening, turn-a-girl-into-a-needy-bundle kind of kiss.
I couldn’t imagine that kiss was as mind-blowing for him as it was for me. I mean, my God, the guy was a member of that club. He was probably accustomed to women who were well-versed in the sexual arts. While I was no naïve prude, my sexual experience was limited. I simply didn’t make time for romance or dating. During college, my focus had been on graduating at the top of my class. The same went for my master’s program. That didn’t leave much time for dating. I’d only had two actual boyfriends—one in high school and one in college—and then a scorching, hot as hell single kiss with Zane.
I stroked my hand over George’s back, and he emitted an appreciative purr. My mind started doing laps again on how to reach Zane and cancel our dinner date. I supposed I could call his office. It was late, approaching midnight actually, and I was still working. Knowing that I couldn’t solve this small problem tonight, I slipped my laptop closer to me on the couch and tapped on the screen, surprised to see a new email appear with a friendly ping.
The email came from onehotkissonyourporch at maddox dot com.
The second I saw his last name, my pulse skyrocketed, and I felt hot all over. Jesus. It was near midnight, and I was sitting alone on the couch with my freaking cat. I took a deep breath.
Calm the fuck down. I talked to myself sometimes, more than I preferred. I took a deep breath and tapped to open his email.
Zane: I have your phone number, but I didn’t want to be rude and use it without confirming it was okay with you. I’d like to pick you up at 7pm on Friday. How does Thai food sound?
This was followed by his official email signature.
And then, p.s. I can’t wait to taste you again.
I felt a throb between my thighs at his comment. He wanted to taste me?
My hands trembled as they hovered over the keyboard. I told myself I should tell him I couldn’t go to dinner.
Instead, I typed, I love Thai food. 7 sounds great.
My finger hit send before I could make it stop. The moment I heard that little whooshing sound, like a cartoon plane taking off, I muttered, “Oh, my God. I’m such an idiot.”
Within seconds, my email pinged again. My head whipped up to see his reply already waiting in my inbox. Practically frantic, I tapped the button to open it.
Zane: Did you miss the last part of my email?
How the hell was I supposed to reply to that?
Eva: Of course not. That kiss was nice.
Oh, my God. I’d just described his kiss as nice.
Nice? was his only reply.
Pushing to my feet abruptly, I paced in a tiny circle in my living room.
That kiss was so much more than nice, but I wasn’t used to this kind of dialogue. After several breathing attempts, I sat down and decided just to be honest.
Eva: It was way more than nice.
My shaky hands hit the send key. George eyed me quizzically. I didn’t blame him for being confused because I was acting like an idiot. I was usually confident, yet between my disaster of a first date and then Zane’s kiss, I felt unsettled in a way I hadn’t before.
I prided myself on feeling confident. It’s just my confidence extended solely to my professional life. I was relieved Sarah didn’t happen to be here. She would know me well enough to make an observation about my antsy state of being.
“George, he’s not replying,” I said to my cat, who merely eyed me curiously and licked his crotch.
I sat back down on the couch, letting my breath out in a gust. Idly stroking my knuckles under George’s chin, I looked at him before moving to stroke his back. My relationship with my cat was far less complicated than trying to date. Especially trying to date a man like Zane.
My laptop pinged again, and I practically pulled a muscle in my neck when I turned to look. Zane’s private email popped up again.
I reached over with my left hand and quickly tapped to open his email.
Zane: It was definitely way more than nice.
My belly swooped, and heat r
aced over my skin.
Chapter 6
Zane
It was almost midnight. I was sitting on my couch with my cat, George, perched on my knees. George, an ancient smoky gray cat I’d inherited from my grandmother when she passed away, looked at me curiously.
“For a cat who’s almost blind, you sure look like you have an opinion,” I observed as I stared back at him.
George blinked his foggy eyes and began purring. He did that, just purred out of nowhere, all the time. He dipped his head down and rubbed his ear against my thigh as I looked back at my laptop screen.
That was how bad I had it for Eva. I created an entirely secure, private email at my office so that I could email her. I was sitting here like a teenage boy waiting for a girl to return a text. I did have her number. I’d actually gotten it by digging through HR’s online files from when she did her internship.
Yet I hadn’t felt quite right about texting her directly, so I’d resorted to this.
Several long minutes passed after my last email where I had mostly parroted what she said. She finally replied.
Eva: Define nice.
I felt my lips tugging into a smile. I tapped the email open and began typing my reply.
Zane: Nice is coffee that’s a little weak but decent. Nice is something that meets my expectations and doesn’t bother me. Nice is a reliable car that I’m not in love with.
Perhaps it would be better if I tell you what’s not nice. Because nice isn’t memorable, not usually. Nice doesn’t sear itself into your memory. Nice is not a kiss that sets you on fire.
I tapped the send button. When I leaned back into the couch cushions, I became aware of the rapid pounding of my heart and the way my entire body was tight. My balls were tightening, and my cock was swelling.
