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“You’ll see.” She caught the bartender’s attention, nodded, then slipped off the bar stool. She picked up her purse and coat from beside her, then turned to him. Her lashes lowered, shyly, then she opened her eyes and met his gaze. The invitation in her gaze told him most of what he needed to know.
He stood, then went for his wallet.
“It’s taken care of,” she said.
“Wait a minute—”
“Don’t worry about it. Tonight’s on me. I invited you, remember?”
“I don’t—”
She put one finger on his lips. “We can talk about money for as long as you like. Or we can go upstairs.”
He took her wrist in his hand, then headed for the elevators, pulling her along after him. Forcing himself not to run.
He was in. Committed. To whatever was going to happen.
Charley would be shocked out of his mind. Jane would understand completely.
This wasn’t his normal modus operandi. When he dated, which wasn’t that often anymore, he always did the right thing. Maybe a kiss on the first date. Flowers. Three, maybe four dates later, if it ever got that far, there would be sex. Safe sex. And not just because he used a condom. It was safe in every way. He never truly let go, too afraid to upset the very nice women he found himself with. Sometimes, they’d get a little wild, like sex in the shower, or on the kitchen table.
But the sex, even when it was very good, had never been enough. Not that the women he’d met weren’t great. They were to a one. But none of them had been right. One was too flighty, one too prissy. Kathy had been close, but the woman hadn’t read a book since high school. Allison never shut up. Kim, no, Kerry, she’d been fine in the bedroom but awful in public. Her laugh had been loud, garish…
Tonight, none of that mattered. Tonight, he wasn’t Dr. David Levinson. He was a stranger. Meeting a stranger. Who could be anyone.
The ideas tumbled inside him, one more enticing than the next. He was already hard, and they were still in the lobby. He’d have to slow himself down if he wanted tonight to be everything it promised. He said a silent prayer to whoever was listening. Please.
Susan clutched her coat, each step making her more and more aware of what she was about to do. In very short order she was going to be in a room, which was primarily a bed, with a man she hardly knew. A man whose touch made all sorts of unpredictable things happen inside her.
They were across the lobby in no time, then he pushed the button for the elevator. He hadn’t let her go, and she became terribly aware of his hand circling her wrist. He was long and lean, a runner or a swimmer she’d guess, and strong. She felt his banked energy in the way he held her so carefully. As if he could break her.
Her gaze met his, and her own curiosity was echoed in his eyes.
“Sue,” he said softly, trying her name out.
Unfortunately, she hated being called Sue. It rankled each time she heard it, which wasn’t in the game plan for the night. “Susan.”
He nodded slowly. “Better.”
The elevator arrived, and he led her inside. They were alone, they could have talked, but they didn’t. The only thing that happened was that David rubbed the inside of her wrist with his thumb. No biggie. Just a slight caress. But the ripples it set off were very big, indeed. Straight up her arm to her chest to her tummy to her thighs and every place in between. A tightness, an electricity, a chemical reaction that made it difficult to breathe.
The tension broke as the door opened on the fifteenth floor. It was her turn to lead. They went all the way to the end of the hall. He let her go so she could get the card key from her purse. Her fingers shook as she slipped the card in, and she almost laughed. She’d thought the tension in the elevator had been bad.
He pushed open the door and as soon as she walked inside, he followed, closed the door and locked it. Susan’s gaze went straight to the bedroom.
It was a beautiful suite, an eclectic mix of oriental and European sensibilities with stunning modern art that somehow made the whole thing work. The space was large, for Manhattan, with a nice sitting room, a wet bar, and, of course, the bedroom. She could see the bed from there. Unique for a hotel because of the wrought iron head and baseboards, it was also a California king, big enough for three. Not that she’d ever know that firsthand. Oh, God. Maybe this was a mistake. A colossal error in judgment. There was still time to back out.
She turned to David, and his excitement fairly vibrated. Which made sense. It was exciting. And dangerous. And wicked as all get-out. Well, if she was going to go down in flames, she wanted to do it with this man. He was extraordinarily beautiful, in a completely masculine way. Granted, his jaw was too square, his nose too big, but that added to his attractiveness. If she’d been a painter, she would have done canvas after canvas of his face, from every angle possible. Something told her it would be time well spent.
He took her coat from her arm. “Would you like me to order drinks?”
She nodded. “Champagne?”
“Good. Anything else?”
“Not unless you’re hungry.”
His lips curved into a sort of grin.
“What?”
“This is a most unusual night.”
She grinned back. “I would have to agree.”
“What are your thoughts about actually moving into the room?”
“We’ve come this far,” she said, liking him more by the second. “We might as well go all the way.”
His left brow rose and she realized her double entendre. “Go call room service.”
“I will in a moment,” he said. “But first, there’s something I need to do.” He took her coat and laid it over one of the wing chairs. His own coat followed. Then his suit jacket.
Her eyes widened at the contrast between his shoulders and his hips. And when he turned she got a nice long look at his behind, which was as stunning as anything she’d seen in ages. She wanted to touch it. Run her hand along the curve.
He turned, walked up to her, lifted her chin with the side of his finger until she met his gaze. Then, slowly, he bent and kissed her.
Her eyes fluttered shut as she felt the tenderness of his lips. It was a soft kiss, a brush, barely touching. Puff of breath, and she could taste him, breathe him in, and she leaned in, wanting more.
He obliged, but in his own time. “Susan,” he whispered against her lips. Then a soft, cool kiss that lingered, deepened as the seconds ticked by. As the night changed from question to promise.
Pressing harder, he used his lips to open hers, then his tongue flicked once, twice against the soft inner flesh under her top lip. Her gasp gave him full entrance, and he took advantage of the situation. Now he explored her more fully, not rushing, languid, as if he needed to learn every taste, every nuance.
She put her hand on his neck as she did her own exploration. Teasing heat and a flavor that was completely new. Completely David. Her fingers moved up into his hair, and she could hardly believe how soft, how smooth. She moaned as his arm went around her waist and he pulled her tight against him, and when he shifted his hips, she felt his hard length press her lower belly.
She shivered at the contact, at the heat. He thrust into her mouth, and she captured his tongue, sucking hard. It was his turn to moan.
His arm stayed around her waist, although he loosened his hold. His eyes were half closed, lazy with desire. She could see herself with him, in the bed, naked and touching and doing everything that pleasure would allow.
But that wasn’t her plan. If she didn’t do something about it now, she would be lost. This was her party, and she was going to keep it that way.
As he moved to take her mouth once more, she leaned back and shook her head. “Champagne,” she whispered.
He looked into her eyes, letting her know he wasn’t through.
He let go of her waist and walked to the phone by the couch. The thick outline of his cock pushed against the fine wool of his pants. As he spoke to room service, he turned away, and she felt a flush on her cheeks as she realized he’d watched her checking him out.
Luckily, her desire wasn’t so obvious. It was the only thing that made her plan workable. If he had any idea what he did to her…
She grabbed her purse and made a dash for the bathroom. Locking the door behind her, she leaned against the cold wood and exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d held.
This was unbelievable. Completely outside of her experience. She’d been with a few other men. Men she wasn’t in love with. A long time ago she’d come to terms with her sexuality. She liked it hard, fast, uncomplicated. But this…
This was thrilling. Seductive. Erotic as all get-out.
Pushing herself off the door, she went to the sink, where she fixed her makeup and brushed her teeth, using the time to calm her racing heart. Although she wasn’t very successful at that, she was able to map out the next few steps.
The champagne would arrive, they’d talk. Not touch. She needed him pliant, obedient. After seeing his erection, she was pretty sure that wouldn’t be a problem.
Then she would begin. She’d make it an evening neither of them would forget.
When she went back into the sitting room, David stood by the window, looking down at the traffic below. He’d loosened his tie, but hadn’t taken it off.
Slowly, he turned from the window, his face pensive, questioning.
“What’s that look?” she asked.
“Just thinking.”
“About?”
“Us.”
“Go on.”
“I don’t feel any hesitation about this. Which is odd. I mean, we’re strangers. We don’t even know each others’ names. You could be—”
“Anyone. I know.”
“But not really. We can only be who we are.”
She walked across the room until she was very close to him. “Ah, but that begs the question, who are we, really? Are we the same person with the lights out? With a stranger on the fifteenth floor?”
“I don’t know the answer to that.”
“I don’t either. It’s going to be interesting to find out.”
He studied her face intently, looking at everything—her forehead, her cheeks, her chin. “I think we all have many natures. Some much darker than we’d care to admit.”
Her hand went to his face and she traced a line down his jaw. His skin felt warm and smooth. He must have shaved recently. Her exploration was good, but it wasn’t enough. She found herself wanting to taste him, to lap his face like a grooming cat.
“Why did that make you smile?”
“A rogue thought,” she answered. “Actually, I think it’s true. We do have our darker selves. I don’t mean evil, although I suppose that’s part of it, too. I mean wicked. Desires we’d never admit to another soul for fear they would run away in horror. Or at the very least never invite us to another cocktail party.”
His grin changed his face. Made him all the more accessible, but a moment later, his face grew solemn again. “What if you could tell someone those thoughts? What if you knew, completely and without reservation, that there would be no bad consequences. You wouldn’t be shunned, or made to feel guilty, or wicked. What if it was all okay?”
She took in another deep breath, then let it out slowly. “It might be very exciting.”
He nodded.
“And very fulfilling.”
He nodded again.
“But scary, too.”
His brows arched slyly. “That’s the point, isn’t it?”
Her response was cut off by a knock. She gave him a “stay put” look and headed for the door, trying to walk as if her whole body wasn’t trembling. The waiter was mercifully efficient, and in short order she was alone with David, each of them holding a crystal glass filled with a very good vintage of Dom Perignon.
“To desire,” David said, touching his glass to hers.
“To desire.” And then she sipped the chilled bubbly, savoring the taste and the moment. It was, as they say on Broadway, show time.
THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY THING about the moment, David realized, was that he was more aroused than any other time in his thirty-two years, and yet he was still able to hold a glass. Smile. Speak in complete sentences.
But his luck wasn’t going to hold out forever. Everything in him wanted to take charge, to make her his. But he also knew she didn’t want that. Not yet, at least. In this tango, she was leading, and that alone had him hot and bothered. He’d never been with a woman quite like Susan. More than ever, he was confident that his first impression of her had been accurate. She came from strength, from wealth. Her confidence was sexy, and the way her eyes fairly danced with possibilities nearly drove him over the edge.
He couldn’t wait to see what she would do. Undress him? Top him? Damn, he’d never done that before. A lot of his clients were into being dominated. The more successful, the more likely they were to want the release of someone else taking control, at least in the bedroom. He’d heard stories, knew the lingo, had had himself a fantasy or two.
There was no doubt if she was into domination, she’d be damn good at it. He pictured her in black leather. With all that blond hair, it was almost too good. Then his fantasy lifted and he saw her as she was. Goddamn, she was gorgeous. Her hair was up in another clip, and his fingers itched to let it loose. Her dress showed off her curves, her legs. He especially loved the high heels.
She slipped the champagne glass from his hand and put it down on the coffee table, then led him to the bedroom. He liked it. The size, the headboard. Oh, yeah.
“Lie down,” she whispered.
He went for his tie, but she stopped him.
“Just as you are.”
He didn’t think to question her. Hell, at this point if she asked him to stand on the bed and recite the National Anthem, he would have.
He chose the side farthest from the bathroom. Women liked being closer. As she clicked off the overhead light, he climbed on the bed, on his back, his hands underneath his neck.
The only illumination was from a lamp on the far side of the room. It was enough. He could see her clearly, read the anticipation in her eyes. Next time, they’d do it his way. With the lights on. But tonight, shades of gray seemed appropriate.
She walked to the foot of the bed and removed his shoes, putting them neatly on the dresser. His penis twitched, wanting very much to be released. The constriction had just gone from slight discomfort to acute distress.
She moved to the other side of the bed, but she didn’t sit down. She didn’t do anything more than look at him for what felt like minutes, but might have been seconds. “Move to the middle of the bed,” she said, finally.
“The middle?”
She nodded. And waited.
He obeyed, positioning himself in the center of the exceptionally large mattress.
She seemed satisfied. Yet she still didn’t make a move to take off her clothes, or his. “Do you know the real story of Scheherazade?” she asked him, her voice as seductive as any siren.
