Daniel Rohan was mentally sorting a dozen priorities as he ended the phone call and stepped back into the living room. Moving to this part of the country had never been part of his plans but it was necessary. But his job came first and he had to. And besides his friend Frank had assured him that the place was okay. Daniel and Frank had met in college too. But they hardly saw each other since they lived in different states. They had just kept in touch with each other and hung out when they could once in a while.
A young woman stood inside chatting up Frank...Or Karen. He didn't know which and to be honest he really didn't care. She was beautiful. The fabric of her singlet pressed against her modest chest, her long brunette hair was twisted into a bun and rested on top of her head. A few tendrils had excaped from the bun and were all over her face. Long curls fell in disarray past her shoulders. He wondered what it would feel like to reach out and tuck them behind her ears. The look was wildly seductive, as if she had just left her bed. She wore no makeup, not that she needed any. That buttermilk skin would light up any room—most specifically a darkened bedroom.
A compulsive this one's for me resounded in him. He had grown out of picking up women, especially young, free-spirited ones. From his midtwenties on, he'd preferred the convenience of longer-term arrangements with women in his social circle. Now that he was hitting thirty, however, even those comfortable situations came with expectations of a more serious future. His own mother badgered him ceaselessly to marry and give her grandchildren.
Perhaps his interest in this pretty young woman was reflexive pushback against his mother's latest efforts because he found himself mentally rearranging his priorities again, now allowing for a shared dinner sometime —with plenty of time allotted for other potential entertainments to develop.
"Hi" he said as he moved towards her.
The woman turned to look at him and stilled as though transfixed. He thought of artwork that depicted angels of grace and goddesses of fertility, none of which had ever caused such a brilliant thrust of heat to swell in him. Oh, yes, this one was definitely his.
"Oh hello" she replied.
She had some wicked curves. She wasn't a tall stick figure like half the women he usually met. Instead she was petite, very rounded with the kind of full curves, generous hips and lush breasts revealed in the tight singlet she was wearing. She wasn't putting on anything fashionable but still his heart pick up its pace and his recently dormant cock came awake in his pants. The woman was sexy in a way that women didn't seem to allow themselves to be sexy anymore. Her looks, however, merely started the fire in his gut. Her untouchable, out-of-place demeanor stoked it until it almost engulfed him.
He glanced down, probably not even aware he was doing it. The glance was quick, not offensive, probably almost reflex considering the need to check out a woman's breasts seemed inbred into male genes. His gaze rose to her face, but not so quickly that she didn't see the way his jaw flexed and his eyes narrowed, shining with dark intensity and appreciation, all traces of any easygoing good humor disappearing. Hers disappeared, as well. Not to be replaced by anger but by pure physical awareness. The roam of his stare over her body affected her just as thoroughly as a real touch from anyone else would have.
He smiled inwardly. He liked what he saw. It had been a while since a woman had attracted his attention that way. Maybe moving here hadn't been a bad idea after all. Suddenly she seemed in a hurry to leave. He found himself wishing she had invited him to share that bottle of vodka with her. He really needed it.
But at least he knew she lived in the apartment next to Frank's. They had all the time in the world.
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It was Monday morning. Another stressful week filled with work about to begin. Emma sighed as she got out of bed. Not that she was complaining She loved her job. It took alot of her time and she worked really hard. The pay was good and Emma believed in putting her best into everything she did. She took a quick shower and drove to her office. She had a feeling that it was going to be a long day and she was right. Immediately she got to the office she was met a lot of paper work on her desk. The financial statements for the last month were out and she had to go through every single transaction so as to check for errors and discrepancies. Everything had to be done carefully.
Before 2:00pm she was already very tired. She had a feeling her fatigue was not just because work. It was also because she hadn't been getting enough sleep since she met Daniel. Okay she had met attractive guys, but none had had such an effect on her. Here she was, days later thinking about him. Damn he was hot. She kept having really dirty thoughts about him. He had the sexiest lips she had seen on any guy. She wondered how it would feel to have those sexy lips on hers. She wondered how it would feel if he kissed her all over her neck.
God.. She wanted him to hold her and touch her and kiss her everywhere. Her mind kept wandering.
Lying in the deep tub in her bathroom that evening when she got home from work, Emma tried to empty her mind. She slowly sipped from a glass of wine and let the water ease away her cares and worries, hoping one of her greatest pleasures would distract her from the thoughts running rampant through her head.
She soaked for a half hour, adding hot water when it became lukewarm, nursing the glass so she wouldn't have to step out too early. Her mind, however, wasn't cooperating. Instead it kept going over the attractive man she had met days before.
She didn't want to be attracted to him. She didn't even know the guy. Hell she wasn't attracted to him, she told herself. The way he had stared at her didn't mean anything. The way she felt didn't mean anything.
"Liar" she murmured, sinking deeper, watching the way the slick water caressed the curves of her breasts, making her skin shimmer and gleam in the candlelight. It did mean something. She wanted him. Probably because she hadn't been with a guy for a while.
Emma wasn't used to men looking at her the way he had. But while she'd never admit it out loud, she had almost enjoyed it.
"Almost ?" she whispered. "When did you become such a liar"
Blowing at a bubble on the puckered tip of her breast, she reached up and lightly brushed it away, acknowledging, at least here in the privacy of her bathroom, how much she wanted the hand on her body to be Daniel's. Her fingers were slender and soft, smooth and easy as they slid down, beneath the water, gliding across her wet skin. His were big and strong and would feel deliciously rough.
"Especially here", she whispered, closing her eyes as she touched herself even more intimately. In her mind, though, the touch was all his. And within moments, the possibilities playing in her mind had her thrusting against her own fingers, longing to be filled but taking the only form of pleasure she could manage at the moment. Emma sighed, gasped, stroked the lips of her sex and the hard nub of flesh at the top of it, wondering how on earth she'd gone for so long without a man's hands on her.
Not just any man's hands, she reminded herself. There was only one pair of hands she wanted. One mouth. One body. One person she visualized as she spiraled toward a climax.
Emma shook her head and tried to focus her thoughts on other things. She wasn't successful tho.
She took a deep breath. He wanted her too. She knew that. That was lust she saw when he'd looked at her. Pure and undisguised, unhidden by social demands or proper breeding that insisted it wasn't polite to visibly covet a woman. He was coveting. She was being coveted. They were both caught in the tension of it.
There was no point thinking about him this way. She told herself. Yeah he was hot and attractive and all that. But guys like him were bad news. She didn't need anyone to tell her that. Though her mind knew better, her body couldn't help responding. Her skin puckered, tiny goose bumps rising on the deep of her cleavage, her nipples tightening.
It was a bad idea. She knew that. And maybe should could think about him and fantasize about him. But she wasn't gonna act on it. For her own peace of mind.
Maybe Karen was right. She needed to get laid. Maybe that was all she needed so she could focus on completely on her job.
"Jerk" Karen yelled as she stormed into Emma's apartment. Emma looked up from the book she was reading. "Well hello to you too Karen, please come in" she said sarcastically. "What's the matter?. You look like you're about to punch someone" "It's nothing. Just Frank and I had a little disagreement" "Oh just that" said Emma "What do you mean just that?" "Please. We both know you're gonna go back there or he's gonna come over here in like two minutes and you guys are gonna make up" "Yeah kinda" Karen said smiling "You guys are so lucky. Having some thing that beautiful" Emma dropped the book she was reading. "And speaking of beautiful things. I wanted to ask you something about that guy I met at Frank's place the other day. A week ago. I think his name was Daniel" One of Karen's devilish smiles appeared on her face. The kinda smile she usually had on her face when she had one of her annoying ideas. "You think? You THINK his name was Daniel?" she asked while sitting up. "Can you
How cliché, but damn, how true.Because every instinct in him growled to capture, cover, take…bite. He wanted her. Wanted her to be his. As the strength and certainty of the thought echoed inside him, he neared her. Close enough to glimpse the delicate line of her jaw and the vulnerable nape of her neck. To inhale the heady, sensual musk that contained notes of roses, and warmer hints of cedarwood and amber…or maybe almond. Tonight's mission would be to discover which one. For yet another time this evening, he murmured, "Excuse me." But in this instance, he wasn't trying to escape someone. No, he wanted to snare her. Keep her. At least for the next few hours. Look at me. Turn around and look at me. The plea rebounded off his skull, and the seconds seemed to slow as she shifted, lifting her head and meeting his gaze. His gut clenched, desire slamming into him so hard he braced himself against the impact. But it still left him reeling. Left his body tense, hard.
Everything should've been fine. Emma thought as she walked to the kitchen. Everything would have been fine—if not for one Daniel Rohan. Hot, attractive Daniel Rohan.It was funny and annoying at the same time, how he had just walked into her life and suddenly occupied so much of her thoughts. Funny how she thought she had control over her feelings and found herself at loss for words when she was around him. And what was all that about. She asked herself. Losing her temper with him like that. She didn't know she cared so much about the rights of the waitstaff. She might as well admit it to herself now. She was jealous. The thought of him flirting with some other girl pissed her off. And he probably did it a lot. Judging from the way he was so good at it. He obviously knew how to make a woman feel wanted. And damn.. She wanted him.Smoky desire coiled in her belly. She set the almost empty tray on one of the stations and pressed a fist to h
Daniel didn't say a word to her. He just sat there at the head of the conference table while he studied her face. He was wearing a gorgeous silver-gray suit that made him look better than any man had a right to look. And she wanted to kill him."Great". She said under her breath. "It's the guy from the ballroom from hell". The longer she stayed there, the more she felt like a butterfly about to get stuck with pins. She'd known he was a CEO. And she'd known Kay Corp had replaced Rainy as president. It just hadn't occurred to her that it was this company. It meant she'd have to work with him sometimes. He'd known too. Judging by the way he was looking at her so calmly. He wasn't surprised to see her.Jim gestured to a seat at the conference table. Emma put her briefcase down, then opened it and took out the presentation folders, wondering what would happen if she just reached across the table and slapped Daniel with them.Jim said
Emma groaned. Her phone ringing this early morning was so not what she needed. And it better not be a work call. The last thing she needed now was to have to go to work on a Saturday. Besides after getting that account for Reddings plc. They should have let her get some days off.She picked up her phone and checked the caller ID. It was her mom."Hi mom. Good morning" she said"Hi honey" her mom said. "You sound grumpy. Did I wake you?."Yes you did mom. But it's okay. How are you? ""I'm fine honey. How's work?. Did you get that account you told me about?." Oh yes mom. I did " Emma replied remembering the annoyingly irresistible guy the account came with."I knew you would get it. You were always such a smart young lady"Emma smiled. No one believed in her like her mom did. "How's Uncle Ken and Aunt Jen?""They are fine. I'm glad
Evening came and before Emma was ready Karen, Monica and Tom were already at her apartment.Tom also worked at Reddings."You are not ready?" Karen asked Emma. "You better not be changing your mind dear because we are not leaving here without you""relax" Emma said. "I haven't changed my mind. I know how important this kinda stuff is to you. Where are we going by the way?""A bar""Great... Of course you would choose a place with noise and smoke and lots of people" Emma said in a voice laced with sarcasm."Be sarcastic all you want" Karen said. "You are coming with us""I know I have no choice...Anyone else coming to this thing?" Emma asked"Nah" replied Karen. "Just us."Emma turned to Monica and Tom .. "So you guys aren't bringing any dates or something?" she asked them"Nope" Tom replied. "I intend to just get th
Large hands looped around her waist and urged her to fit closely to the cradle of his lean hips. Long fingers spanned the swell of her hips and dipped low to the base of her spine.Automatically, her hands found his forearms. Hair roughened flesh warmed her fingertips. She tilted her head back to look up at his tanned face. His eyes gleamed down at her as his fingers etched a heated trail up her backbone. One big hand slid beneath her long, tumbled curls to encircle her slender neck. A callused thumb rested momentarily on the throbbing pulse in her throat."Hello beautiful" he said softly. "Here we are.. Again"She smiled. "Here we are" acutely aware of the heat of his body. Somewhere her brain questioned the audacity of her lips and her vanishing inhibitions as her palms sought and found the width of his shoulders.He guided her into an intricate dance routine. When she followed him easily, he said, "I was right. Y
It was Tuesday. By the end of the day, Emma felt like she had walked high voltage lines. She was tired. All she could look forward to was a cool refreshing bath when she got home.Catherine Martin, her secretary knocked on her office door."Come on in" Emma called from within.Catherine walked in. "Mr Barrett called. Said he wants you, Tom and the rest of the crew at Kay Corp. Apparently Mr Rohan wants to meet the whole crew. He's already there."Emma groaned. "But he already met me.. Why do I have to go?"Catherine laughed. "That's what Mr Barrett said. Are you done?... I could finish up for you""No I don't need any help" Emma replied. "You can go home if you are done"She cleared up the papers scattered on her desk. Picked up hand bag and drove away from the office. The thought of seeing Daniel brought back memories of Saturday night. Memories she had been doing