by Eve Black
Margie blinked, stared, and then a slow grin spread across her face. Bitch.
She shook her head. “Not at all, Mr. Brenner. Borrow her for as long as you need,” she replied before turning to give the barista her coffee order, clearly dismissing them.
Ruffled, Diana planted her hands on her hips.
“You didn’t even bother asking me if you could borrow me,” she ground out, her temper rising to push back against the lust boiling in her gut. “Besides that, I have to be back in my office in an hour.”
David smirked. “It won’t take long, I promise.”
What won’t take long? What could he possibly want to talk with her about that would take longer than five minutes?
She bit back a curse, suddenly aware that they were collecting attentive, curious glances.
Aw, hell.
“Fine,” she breathed, dropping her hands from her hips but pulling them up into fists at her sides. “We can sit over there.” She pointed to a two-seater table near the windows, with clusters of coffee breakers on either side. No privacy, but that was exactly what she needed—
“No,” he bit out, the muscle in his jaw twitching. “What we have to discuss requires some privacy.”
Shit. She watched as he strode closer, his scent moving in before he did, hitting her square in her olfactory sensors. He smelled of cedar and mint, two of her favorite scents. Why couldn’t he smell like sweaty socks and puberty? And what did he want to talk about that needed the absence of curious ears.
Does he know about the baby? And if he does, what will he say?
There was only one way to find out, and it required that she put on her big girl panties and have a conversation with the man.
Letting out a sound of exasperation, she nodded. “Alright.”
His eyes narrowed for a split second, that muscle in his cheek twitching again, before he reached out and wrapped a hand around her waist, his long fingers sliding over the small of her back. A shudder rose up, catching her breath.
Diana glanced over her shoulder at Margie who was grinning at her like a fool, and Diana glared at her, telling her without words that she was going to pay for not having her back.
Without a word, David led her from the café, out onto the bustling sidewalk, and to the Escalade she was beginning to dread.
He opened the door and indicated she should get in before him.
In there be dragons… She inwardly shook her head at her own nonsense. He was just a man who wanted to have a private conversation. She was a professional who was capable of handling anything he could throw at her.
Forget that she’d had sex with him and that she was carrying his unborn child. She could be practical, logical, and totally unemotional about whatever it was he wanted to discuss.
Pulling her shoulders back, she neared the door, lifting her leg and sliding across the butter-soft seats. Once she was inside—and all the way over by the other door, David slid in behind her, closing the door and offering her a devastating smile. Flashing his straight, white teeth at her through those pouty, sexy, too talented lips of his.
“Rodney, around the block, please,” he called to the driver who immediately hit the turn signal so he could merge into traffic. His attention on the driver, Diana took a moment to look at him. His dark hair was stylishly tousled, his face was clean-shaven allowing his Greek god cheek bones and jaw to draw the eye. His clothes were dark, his suit coat and slacks were dark gray, his shirt was white and since his suit coat was unbuttoned, she could see the way the shirt pulled taut across his chest. His tie was light blue, which only brought out the striking steeliness of his eyes. Mentally, she was caressing every ruggedly beautiful inch of his face and body, her memory of him, naked beneath her searching hands, made her pussy thrum with want. She pressed her thighs together, hoping to throttle down the high gear driving up her desire.
Helplessly, she sat and stared as he hit the button to raise the darkly tinted partition between them and their chaperone. David was effectively cutting her off from her only bit of safety. Back there, in the quiet heaviness of the Escalade, she and David were utterly alone.
What did you expect when he asked to speak with you privately? Hell, she had no idea what she was doing, and it didn’t help that she couldn’t stop looking at him.
He turned, catching her staring at him, and he grinned wickedly. A blast of heat jolted her, making her heart pound. How was it that this man could reduce her to carnality with a single look?
“Now, Diana, why are you all the way over there?” He patted the seat next to him, his grin still there. “I promise I won’t bite.” Yet. She heard what he didn’t say, which made the blood near the surface of her skin heat to combustion.
“I am fine right where I am,” she replied, her voice, thankfully, controlled. “Why don’t you tell me what it is you wanted to discuss.” Get it over with, get back to my office, spend several long minutes taking long, deep breaths.
He tipped his head, his gaze lingering on hers until it dipped to her mouth.
“Never let it be said that I don’t give a little,” he murmured before sliding across the seat until his muscled thigh touched hers. Once again, his scent engulfed her, as did his nearness. All pulsing masculinity, moving from him in heavy waves that struck at all her soft, feminine bits.
She tried to move away, but the armrest on the door pressed against her back. Trapped. In a car. With David Brenner. She swallowed, knowing full well that it wasn’t fear driving her, but rather her desire for a man she shouldn’t want.
“Now that you are uncomfortably close, Mr. Brenner, what was it you wanted to discuss with me? Is it pertaining to your case with Ayers?” Please, please let it be about business!
You sad hussy, you know you want him to ravish you again.
Nope. Nope. Nope. No ravishment.
He didn’t speak at first, instead he stared at her, peeling away the layers of her that were her only protection against him. As she watched, he bit his plump bottom lip and she nearly groaned. She wanted to do that, to feel the flesh of his mouth give beneath her teeth. She knew he’d groan, just as he’d done that night when she’d finally let go, allowing herself to give in to her hunger for him.
Nope! You can’t do that again! You have a baby to think about now.
Mentally counting to ten, she began again. “Mr. Brenner—”
“David,” he interjected, raising his hand to lift a strand of her hair. He gazed at it as he rubbed it between his fingers. “Surely, we’ve passed the point of all that formality.” He dropped the strand of hair and reached out, his finger sliding along her cheek.
She trembled beneath his simple yet devastating touch, the urge to close her eyes and just feel was like a wave crashing over her.
“Mr. Brenner,” she tried again, her voice a husky mess. She needed this to remain professional—no talk of that night at the Incantata. Diana wouldn’t survive otherwise.
His slid his finger to her jaw then down her neck before resting it at the pulse point beside her collarbone. Entranced by his movements and the caress of his flesh against her own, she couldn’t stop herself from leaning into him. With his other hand he cupped her face, his thumb rubbing her cheek as he leaned in, his breath dancing over her mouth.
“David,” she murmured, pleading—but for what?
“Diana,” he groaned before his mouth crashed to hers, slamming the door to her mind closed, and opening up the floodgates of her hunger.
Unable to think past that moment, that sensation of his mouth against hers, his tongue sliding over her lips, she moaned, incoherent, as he thrust his tongue inside, snapping the last string holding her thoughts together.
She was a goddamn goner.
Chapter 13
God, she tasted as good as he remembered; sweet, with a silky tongue, hot mouth, and unquenchable thirst for what he could give her. Only him. If she wanted him, she could have him—he wasn’t known for his generosity, except for in the bedroom, and that
was exactly where he wanted Diana. In his bed, beneath his mouth, crying out his name as she came all over his face.
Bloody hell. If he didn’t get a hold of himself, he’d fuck her right there in the Escalade. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d had sex in the back of a car but, for some reason, it seemed too unworthy for the experience he wanted to have with Diana. No. He wanted Diana’s screams of pleasure for his ears only. He wanted to be able to lay her down, peel the pantsuit from her body, kiss every inch of her, and then he’d make her ride him. Hard. Their bodies slapping together until she came all over his cock as he spilled every last drop of his come inside her, letting her milk him for every last rope of his seed.
Wait a tick— Since when did he ever consider coming inside a woman? It was unheard of. Ridiculous. Bloody mad. He never fucked a woman raw, and it wasn’t the fear of pregnancy, either. He knew where he’d been, but he never knew where his partner had been. Better safe than sorry. But…with Diana…there was something about her that made him want to claim her. Perhaps an innocence. In the way she blushed, how her breath would catch when he’d smile at her, and in the way her body had seemed to come alive beneath him when he’d taken her. It was as though she’d never known such things before.
Startled by that singular thought, David nearly stopped what he was doing. But he couldn’t stop now, not when he finally had Diana right where he wanted her. In his arms, her mouth a slave to his, her body melting into him as if she couldn’t get enough of him.
Just as he couldn’t get enough of her.
She’d run from him. He hunted her down. And now he would enjoy the devouring.
David broke their kiss but only so he could nip at the flesh of her neck. He licked her where he bit her, making shudders rise along with a rush of goosebumps. He chuckled. She was so much more responsive than anyone he’d ever been with, her noise, her physical responses, the way her eyes darkened and yet brightened, her desire as easy to read as her need.
She needed him.
And it seemed as though he needed her, too.
His mouth busy dropping kisses over her neck, he ached to feel her beneath his hands. Maneuvering to face her completely, he wrapped his hands around her waist, making sure his thumbs brushed the undersides of her lush breasts. God, they were perfect.
She hummed deep in her throat, and he took that as a sign that she wanted more. Hell—he wanted more. So much more. Cupping her breasts, he rubbed her hard nipples through the soft fabric of her conservative blouse. If she’d been wearing a shirt like the one she wore the day they met, he’d already have his hands on her naked flesh. And his mouth. Lord, his mouth watered to take her nipples between his lips and suck, bite, bring her to orgasm with that alone.
She arched her back, thrusting her aching breast into his greedy hands. He pinched her nipple, just hard enough to elicit a sensation of pain but that quickly gave way to a wave of pleasure. Diana groaned. Her response to him was electric. Powerful. He’d never felt such intensity before.
Realizing where this was headed, he did what he really didn’t want to do…
Trembling, Diana watched with hooded eyes as David removed his desperate hands from her body. He immediately felt the loss of her heat.
He wanted her to come like their first night together—screaming his name and flooding the room with the scent of peaches and pleasure, but the next time he made her come it would be when they were both naked and he had all the time in the world to make her cry out his name.
Not in an Escalade.
Fuck, he was hard, his cock like an iron pipe in his trousers. In that moment, he would have given anything to be back in their room at the Incantata, where he could find his release. Perhaps he’d let her suck him off, her beautiful lips wrapped around him. Or, he’d take her up against the door the minute they walked through it. It was a toss-up. Either way, he’d get his, and then he’d give her another. As he said, he was generous.
He nearly came just watching her come undone from his touch alone, his low moans of delight vibrating the air between them until her breath caught. She gasped, pushing away from him, probably to find some solidity on the seat beside him. Though several inches separated them, it still felt as though he were inside her, teasing her, her presence overcoming him, her desire feeding his own.
“Come to dinner with me Friday night,” he demanded, his voice deep, the words rumbling from his chest without thought. But once he’d said them, he knew that’s what he wanted—but just the first part. They’d have dinner, he’d ask her about her connection to Ayers and the Incantata, and once she’d admitted she had planned to entice him for her own gain, he’d let her do it all over again. This time, though, he would be the one enticing her for his own gain. His aching hard cock in her tight hot pussy—he’d certainly gain a few orgasms that way.
“Dinner?” she repeated, her golden eyebrows shooting up her forehead.
“Dinner.” He tipped his head, looking at her from a new angle. What was she thinking? Why were her eyes so guarded? The usual bright green was darkened by shadows. Ah, she had to be wondering if he was on to her plan. He hid a smile as he turned to peer out the window.
“You want to go to dinner with me?” she said slowly as if measuring each word.
He turned back to her, scanning her expression. She stiffened under his examination.
“Come now, Diana. I know there is something you aren’t telling me, and I have never been one to stand idly by and let something like that go.” She gasped, her eyes widening. He reached out and traced the O of her mouth. “We’ll have dinner, we’ll talk, then…” He shrugged one shoulder, leaning the other one into Diana. He could feel her shuddering as she breathed. “We will see how the evening progresses.” His tone spoke of promises; he wanted her to know what she was walking into because he didn’t want the coy Diana at dinner, he wanted the Diana who nearly came apart in his lap.
His pants still too tight, he sucked in a breath and finally leaned back, patiently waiting for her to come to the conclusion that she had no choice but to give in to him.
“Fine,” she breathed, “I’ll go.” David dismissed the rush of victory that hit him and grinned at her, making sure to keep the wolfish triumph from his expression.
“Good. Good.” He nodded, hoping she wouldn’t notice the actual happiness in his voice. God, he was a fool, practically slavering after her, but now wasn’t the time to ponder why. Now was the time for making plans. “Friday night. I’ll pick you up from Ayers’s building at five sharp.”
She pinched her lips together, obviously displeased by his demand for her punctuality on his terms. Instead of raking him over the coals—as he somewhat wished she would (he loved a good row between lovers)—she simply nodded.
Their date was Friday, which meant that he would have her for the night and, if he got his way—which he knew he would—he would have her all Saturday. Maybe Sunday, too, just to make sure he was well and truly filled to the brim with his taste for Diana. He’d get his fill, she’d have all the orgasms she could handle, and they would part ways. Oh, and he would tell her that, under no circumstances would her plan to scheme for his money ever work.
Too birds, one stone. God, he loved it when a plan came together.
By the time the car returned to the sidewalk outside of the café, the tension within the car had dissipated to the point that Diana was no longer wringing her hands in her lap. When the car stopped, David opened the door and slid out, and as Diana made to do the same, he stopped her, bending down to put his mouth right against her ear.
“Wear something short and tight. I don’t want any barriers between me and what I want.”
She gasped, pulling away, but not before he caught a glimpse of the lust blazing through her emerald eyes.
He chuckled as she slipped from the car and raced inside the café.
Run away, little girl, run away. The Big Bad Wolf is going to eat you up…
The next day, his morning went to shit, and no
t because he was running behind or was forgetting something or even because he hadn’t had any coffee—because he had. It was because he was so fucking hard, his trousers kept rubbing against his erection, the sensitive tip of his shaft throbbing every time he moved. It was pure fucking torture.
Grunting, he threw the Financial Times on the kitchen island and closed his eyes, reaching down to grasp his cock and squeeze. He couldn’t get a tight hold on it through his pants, but he took hold of what he could, pumping through the fabric. Shit. He should have rubbed one out in the shower that morning, but he’d thought he could wait, that the tension building in his body could be abated through sheer will. Fuck that. Pinching the head of his cock through his pants only sharpened his need, though he’d hoped to alleviate some of the pressure. It only made it a thousand times worse. He was harder than he had ever been in his life, and all it had taken was memories of that one night with Diana, those stolen kisses in the back of the Escalade, and the insatiable hunger for more. So much more.
What the fuck was he going to do about it?
Tonight. He would have Diana, and she could alleviate it for him. With her beautiful mouth wrapped around him, sucking him down her throat until he came. Then, he’d slide his still hard cock inside her hot, silky channel, and he’d pound into her, fucking her, hard, until the headboard shattered.
Goddamn his fantasies weren’t helping him any. Thumping his fist against the counter, he nearly moaned in relief when his mobile rang.
The caller ID told him it was the call he had been waiting for. He answered.
“Brenner,” the voice on the line drawled.
“Astor,” David practically barked, his body still thrumming with need for one plump peach.
“She had an appointment this morning,” Astor reported, his tone clipped and all business. “A Dr. Green on Corcoran and Roberts. I am sending you some pictures for verification.”
David’s mobile beeped, indicating the photos had come through.
“Hold,” he intoned before thumbing through the screen to the email attachment. His breath caught on the first photo. It was Diana Bluth, wearing a pair of ass-hugging slacks and a soft, Kelly green sweater. Her golden hair was loose about her shoulders, and a pair of sunglasses obscured her eyes. He swallowed, refusing to acknowledge the fist of sensation opening its fingers in his belly.
