All Bottled Up (19 page)

This was the moment she’d been aiming for with her little wish in the first place. She should be thrilled that she’d won him over so quickly. The old Bill would have simply demanded she write up her report in between calls. God, this was easier than she’d thought. Another quick glance at Jerod though, and she knew he wasn’t concerned with Bill’s behavior. A part of her wanted to make him jealous, elicit a reaction that maybe gave her a hint of his feelings toward her. Or at the very least, punish him for sticking his nose in where she didn’t want it.

Time to kick things up a notch.

“The report will be quite
extensive
.” She made sure to emphasize the last word, casting a quick glance at Jeord. “An oral report could take some time. Will you have time today to hear it all?”

“Really, I’d love to hear about this place,” Jerod piped up.

Viola shot him a warning look. Bill took advantage of the lull, and cleared his throat to bring the attention back to himself. “Why don’t we take our time reviewing the material? I’m sure you have some pictures of the building for me to see. How about supper tonight after your shift?” He grinned a little too brightly at her.

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If someone had told her a month ago that Bill would finally ask her out, she’d have laughed at them. If they’d continued to tell her that she wouldn’t be nervous, and hardly gave her off-handed answer of “I’d love to” half a thought, she’d have called them insane.

Fact of the matter was, she’d been so focused on what Jerod was doing, and annoyed that he’d shown up this morning with the intention of rattling her cage, she hadn’t really thought about it. Her attention was on her genie and how she was going to kick his ass when they got home tonight.

“Oooh, dinner and a report,” Jerod said and actually tugged her arm. “I think that sounds like a wonderful way to spend an evening.” What the hell was he doing
now
?

“Then it’s really too bad that you’re not the one going,” she said through clenched teeth. “And I’d love to, Bill.

Bill was oblivious to the interchange between her and his new analyst.

“Wonderful. I can’t wait to hear all about your adventures.” He winked at her and made a small grunt of approval as he gave her another perusal.

Viola clasped her hands behind her back to give him a better look. “I’ll be off at six.”

“Excellent.”

He nodded as he checked out her chest for a final time before heading down the aisle to his office. He shut his door and she didn’t see him for the rest of the morning.

“He’s going in there to masturbate to his
Maxim
magazines.” Viola spun around to glare at Jerod.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she managed to say through the smile that was now beginning to hurt her face. He better have a damn good explanation or she was going to wish for him to spend the next hundred years cleaning out toilets.

“I heard there was a job opening.” He shrugged. “Since you’re not letting me get on with my wish-fulfillment vocation, I had to do something.”

“And when did you pull this little stunt off?” He rolled his eyes. “Yesterday, while you lazed about. I didn’t think you’d mind.” 174

Viola bent and set her computer status to “in a meeting”, tossed her headphones back on her desk and pointed at one of the meeting rooms not too far from her cube.

“Go.”

“Is that any way to talk to your quality analyst?”

“Now.”

She didn’t wait to see if he was behind her, but marched as quickly as she could in her three-inch heels. She held the door open and waited for him to saunter in before she clicked it gently shut. She didn’t even attempt to hide her annoyance when she turned around, back pressed to the door, and faced him.

“Are you trying to ruin everything?”

He chuckled for a moment before he got himself under control and looked at her very seriously. “You’re the one who wanted me along to make sure everything went the way you wanted it to.”

“Yes, here as in my home so I could talk to you and ask you questions. Not here as in my work and have you underfoot all day long.” Jerod sauntered over to her and placed his hands on either side of her head against the door. Being trapped between his arms should have been arousing, would have been, if she weren’t so pissed off at him right now. She sucked in a deep breath to yell, but was overcome by his masculine scent. It somehow softened her anger toward him and turned her yell into a growl.

“Someone will see us. Are you trying to get me fired now too?” She swallowed hard.

He brought his body closer to hers, his face so close she could pucker her lips and touch his. She was panting, trying to control her anger and her desire all at the same time.

When he licked her bottom lip, she felt her body quiver.

“If anyone looks in the window, they will simply see us sitting at the table talking.” His easy smile spread across his face. “Magic, remember.” Heat between her legs began to pool and spread throughout her loins, her chest, her breasts. The air was heated, smelled like him and his arousal. She watched emotion swirl in his eyes, making them look darker than normal. He lowered his lids, his gaze roaming 175

her face, tracing an invisible line down her cheek and neck.

“I’m supposed to be winning Bill over.” The words hurt as she said them because, without a doubt, she knew Bill wasn’t the man she wanted any longer. Her mouth had become dry and she wet her lips with her tongue.

“I’m giving you a last-minute cramming session.” Jerod crushed his mouth to hers in a searing kiss. It wasn’t like his lazy, gentle kisses before. He was demanding as his tongue fenced with hers. His hands hooked the back of her knee and brought her leg up so he could grind his erection against the hot, wet apex between her legs. Her pussy pulsed with wanton need.

“Jerod,” she said his name on a sigh.

He trailed his kisses down her neck and nipped the sensitive skin of her shoulder.

Viola sucked in a breath and sighed. God, she wanted him. His hand was under her shirt, tweaking her nipples through her black lace bra.

“Will Bill do this for you?”

Jerod dropped to his knees in front of her, hooking her leg over his shoulder. Her skirt was now pushed all the way up, giving him easy access to her. He pushed her panties aside, exposing her damp, engorged clit.

“You’re so beautiful,” he breathed the words against her so softly she wasn’t sure she’d heard him.

Not that she was able to think any longer about it. When his tongue licked a long, slow stroke over her swollen clit, Viola thought she would come undone. He teased her by licking circles around her hood, touching everywhere but the one spot that would give her relief.

“Jerod,” she begged and pushed her hips into his face.

“You want this?”

His slipped a single finger into her body. She ground against him and moaned, all thoughts of anything but his hands and his tongue gone from her mind.

Jerod slipped a second finger inside her. “I think this might be more to your liking.” He began to pump his hand into her and she could smell her own arousal now, filling 176

the small room. Viola bit down on her bottom lip so she wouldn’t cry out, drawing attention to them and what they were doing in the room. Instead, she buried her hands in his soft black hair and pushed his face closer.

“You want more.” She felt him say the words against her skin.

“Yes.”

Her entire body began to quiver. She was close to the brink of orgasm and he knew it. But he wasn’t willing to give her what she wanted yet. Viola saw a change come over him. His normally calm demeanor was gone, his body tense, shaking like he was struggling to hold on. Viola responded, her body getting hotter, wetter, barely able to wait to see where his desire was going to take them.

“Beg.”

The single word floated to her and she groaned.

“Please,” she managed.

He pulled back and moved his fingers to the entrance of her body. “Say my name.

Beg me like you mean it.”

She looked down at his handsome face and wanted to cry. Why couldn’t he be real?

“Jerod, please. I need you.”

A primal growl escaped him and he dove back between her legs. He sucked her entire clit into his mouth, the pressure all she needed to push her over the edge. She bit down hard on her lip to stifle her cry of pleasure, her eyes jammed shut hard. Waves of pleasure ripped through her body, forcing her hands to clutch his head, shaking under the strain. He continued to lap at her juices with his tongue, thrusting his fingers into her repeatedly until he squeezed every last drop of pleasure from her body.

Her leg buckled beneath her and she slowly sunk to the floor. Jerod pulled her to him and locked her in a fierce hug. She cried. The tears came from nowhere and rolled down her face, streaking her makeup.

“Viola? Sweetheart?” he said with tenderness and concern.

“Don’t.”

She dropped her head to his shoulder, but he pulled back so he could look her in the 177

eyes.

“Did I hurt you?”

Yes, because you made me fall in love with you and you can’t stay with me!

“No. It’s just there’s so much going on. I’m tired.” He kissed her again, but this time there was no anger. She tried to show him how much she cared about him when she kissed him back. She kissed with her heart, her soul and every ounce of love she had for him.

Viola ran her hand down his chest to the bulge between his legs. She squeezed his shaft as he moaned into their kiss.

“So, Mr. Quality Analyst, how high a quality rating will I get if I do this?” She slipped her hand down the waistband of his pants and brushed the tip of his cock with her fingers. He sucked in a breath, but kept his body still.

“Oh, not too bad. But there’s definitely room for improvement.”

“Well, I want to make sure I get an excellent review.” She undid his button and zipper and pulled out his glistening head. “I think I could reach a stellar rating if I did this.”

Viola shifted her body and dropped her head to his lap. She breathed in his musky scent before wrapping her lips around the tip. Her tongue swirled around, tasting him, teasing him to the state of bliss he had her at only a few minutes ago. Jerod groaned as he rubbed the back of her neck with his thumb.

“You’re too good at this.”

She chuckled, her mouth still wrapped around him. He stiffened and she felt his balls tighten in her hands.

“That felt nice,” he said in a harsh whisper.

Viola made a few more moaning sounds in the back of her throat as she continued to devour him. She felt his muscles shake, his whole body vibrating underneath her.

“I’m not going to last, sweetheart.”

His endearment pulled at her heart. She closed her eyes, increasing the tempo of her hands and her tongue. Jerod pushed up hard into her mouth and she felt the burst of liquid 178

fill her. Greedily, she swallowed everything, reveling in his taste, making sure she’d never forget it. After a few heart-pounding moments, Jerod pulled her up into his arms and the two of them lay panting together on the floor.

A knock at the door almost ripped a scream from Viola, but Jerod had his hand over her mouth in a flash.

“Yes?”

“We have this room booked now.”

“Sorry. We’ll be out in one moment.”

Jerod smiled as he looked down at her. “Well, that was good timing.” She pulled his hand away from her mouth and tried to get up. “I’m half naked and they are waiting. They’ll know.”

“Still don’t have any faith in me?”

Jerod snapped his fingers and they were sitting prim and properly at the conference table as if nothing had happened. He stood and extended his hand to her as the conference room door opened.

“Thank you, Ms. White. I see we’ll have an excellent working relationship.”

“You’re welcome.” She was about to say his last name and realized that she didn’t know it. So she snapped her mouth shut and got up from the table.

One of the women waiting for them to leave fanned herself once Jerod walked past.

Viola felt an instant flare of annoyance at the woman and had to fight back the urge to make a nasty remark. Jerod
was
hot, but that didn’t mean she wanted every woman there panting after him.

Then it hit her that, even though she was his mistress, he didn’t belong to her.

179

Bill’s car smelled of cheap cologne and pine air freshener. She knew he wanted to show off his car, his pride and joy, but it would be the last time she’d ever set foot in here. At least he’d opened the passenger door for her. She pulled at the edge of her skirt and tried to cover her knees. It didn’t seem to help curtail his ogling. She watched Bill walk in front of the car and climb into the driver’s seat. He turned to look her up and down once more.

“Viola, Viola, Viola. Where have you been hiding all these years?”

“In cube 2493-B,” she said and flashed him the smile she’d practiced in the mirror for the past three years.

She should have been doing an internal happy dance when he laughed at her witty comment. Before her trip, she would have done anything for that deep, smooth-as-chocolate laugh to be directed at her. Now, she found herself comparing his laugh to Jerod’s. And it wasn’t as fulfilling.

The fact that Bill had moved so quickly was still a shock. He must have been on the phone for most of the day in order to get reservations at Murphy’s Steak House. That place was booked so far in advance, it would have given Toronto’s posh restaurants a run for their money. She’d figured it would have taken a week, maybe two before she’d have her date with him. Plenty of time to choose the right outfit and figure out exactly what to do. Nope, instead he’d asked her out on the first day, and not for the simple business supper she’d had in mind. The only good thing was the fact her lessons were still fresh in her mind.

Bill leaned over and whispered, “I’ve always liked you.” He didn’t wait to see the look of shock on her face and instead he thrust the stick shift into reverse, and backed out of his parking spot.

180

Almost running over Jerod.

She jumped when she saw Jerod’s reflection in the side door mirror, standing off to the side. He raised his hand in a solitary wave, a mischievous smile on his face.

“Damn idiot should watch where he’s walking,” Bill muttered.

“Where
did
you find our new QA analyst?” she asked, trying to keep her tone light and crush the sudden flare of annoyance. She didn’t even know who it was directed toward anymore. Probably herself, after everything that had happened today.

“He was a dream come true. Walked in off the street yesterday with a resume so padded, I figured it was make-believe until I called his references.”

“Interesting.”

She had to give Jerod credit for being creative. The last thing she’d expected was for him to show up at work today. And for his part, he played the role very well. He even took the time to get to know the reps who would be his responsibility. Of course, he probably hadn’t considered what would happen when he up and disappeared after she made her final wish. He’d spoil them and disappear from their lives forever.

God, she had to make that wish and let him go. She wouldn’t be able to survive another day like today. Her body tingled at the memory of his touch. She’d barely been able to concentrate for the rest of the day, each call she took blended in with the others. It didn’t help that Jerod took every opportunity to question her about processes and procedures. Or that he wasn’t shy about using his invisible touch to tease her. The funny thing was he’d looked as surprised as she was when Bill asked her out on a date. That only seemed to egg him on more.

They were going to have a serious talk once she got home from supper. It was about time she put her genie in his place.

“I have to swing by the gas station. Hope you don’t mind?” Bill said, his breath coming out in cold puffs in the small space.

“Not at all,” she said and smiled at his profile. Any chance to pull herself together could only make things go smoother. She needed this to work.

They pulled into a full service station and waited for the attendant to come out.

181

When nothing happened immediately, Bill laid on his horn. Bill’s loud honking was almost to the point of annoyance when finally the attendant, bundled up in a toque and puffy gloves, came jogging across the dimly lit parking lot to the car.

“Sorry, too friggin’ cold to sit out here tonight.” Viola’s head snapped around at the sound of Jerod’s rich Mediterranean accent. He was wearing an attendant’s winter coat and the toque had the station’s logo embroidered on the front. His crystal blue eyes were damn near sparkling. What the hell was he
doing
?

Bill couldn’t see that the person offering to pump gas into his sedan was his new analyst. Either it was because of Jerod’s magic, or he really needed to pay more attention to the world around him. She somehow suspected the latter was probably closer to the truth.

“Took you long enough. Fill it up. Supreme.”

“You know, sir, with your type of car, the regular fuel will work just as well—”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion,” Bill huffed.

“Yes, sir.”

Jerod quickly jogged around to Viola’s side of the car to where the gas tank was. She watched him with morbid fascination as he snapped his fingers and the gas nozzle floated in the air over to the car and stuck itself into the gas tank. Jerod then began to whistle a tune that sounded vaguely like “When You Wish Upon a Star”. At that point, she braced her elbow on the side of the door and lowered her head to her hand. He was so dead.

“You feeling okay?”

“Yup. Think I’m still suffering a bit of jet lag.” Bill tapped an annoying beat out on the steering wheel. “You need to try to stay up all night, work the next day, then collapse in your bed tomorrow night around nine.

You’ll be back on track before you know it.”

She raised her head high enough to look at him.
Is he for real?

“Thanks, Bill. I might try that.”

Not
.

“No problemo, Vi.”

182

Vi
? No one called her Vi, not even her parents. She loathed that nickname. Her head dropped back down to her hand.

A light tapping at her window made her look up. Jerod was standing there. His gaze flicked between her and Bill for only a fraction of a second before Bill pushed the button that rolled her window down.

“That’s forty-three, sir,” he said in an overly cheery voice.

“Debit.” Bill stuck his arm out and almost bopped Viola on the nose.

“Sorry, sir, our debit isn’t working out here. Too friggin’ cold, if you know what I mean. You’ll have to go in to the store.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Bill muttered before snapping his hand back. “I’ll be right back.

Then we can hit the restaurant.”

As he got out of the car and slammed the door, she heard him swearing, something about crappy equipment, before turning around and shouting at Jerod, “Clean the windows buddy.”

“Yes, sir.” Jerod gave him a half-hearted two-finger salute.

When she was sure Bill was out of earshot, Viola turned around and practically stuck her head out the window.

“What the hell are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be back in your bottle?

Waiting
?”

Jerod grabbed the squeegee from the stale window wash bucket, gave it a good, hard shake and slathered the fluid over the windshield.

“I’m cleaning your window.”

“Jerod.” She used the same tone as when William had an accident on the rug.

“I was bored. Thought I might take a part-time job to occupy myself since you will be out on the town tonight.”

This was not going the way she wanted it to.

“You can stay home and look after my dog. He’s lonely.” Jerod stopped cleaning the window and bent around so he was only an inch from her face.

183

“I love your dog, but he’s not much for conversation. Besides,
you
should be home looking after your dog.”

Annoyance was fast trumping any pleasure she’d taken from seeing him.

“I’m busy making my first wish come true. You’re not helping.” Making a good show of cleaning the windows, Jerod took out a cloth from his pocket and scrubbed a stubborn frozen streak off the window.

“I’m certainly helping. I’m cleaning the window so Bill can see where he’s going and you won’t end up in a ditch somewhere.”

Hard to argue with that one. Before she could think of a snappy comeback, Jerod straightened and somehow managed to toss the squeegee from the front of the car to land in the bucket.

Viola rolled her eyes. “Show off.”

He looked down at her and for half a second frowned. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. Do you need anything? Mace perhaps?”

“Will you stop!”

“There you go, sir. All clean.”

Viola was surprised when Bill climbed back into the car. She hadn’t even seen him coming, she’d been so preoccupied with Jerod. In typical genie fashion, he was playing his own game. Probably wanting her to feel guilty for leaving him behind. Well, if that was his plan, it wasn’t going to work. The reason she was even sitting in this car was because of the wish he’d granted her. How dare he try to screw things up now. Viola crossed her arm across her chest and refused to look at him further. Of course he was hard to miss in the side mirror when he blew her a kiss.

Of all the nerve.

For his part, Bill seemed completely oblivious to her change in mood.

“Now we’re on our way. I hope you’re in the mood for steak.”

“I sure am. Extra rare.”

Bill wisely didn’t say anything else until they pulled into the parking lot.

If the lot was any indication, the restaurant was packed. There wasn’t a free space 184

anywhere close and they were forced to pull into a spot near the back. When she went to open her door, Bill started tsking.

“Now, I thought we’d agreed that I’d be opening all the doors for you tonight.”
We did?
“Sorry. Habit.”

“Well, you can if you want. I just didn’t realize you were that type of woman.” Before she had time to question him further, or get offended for that matter, he’d gotten out of the car, slammed the door and stood waiting for her in front of the hood.

When she didn’t move to get out right away, Bill tapped his watch.

“Oh, buddy, don’t pull this tonight,” she muttered.

It took two deep breaths to get her anger under control, before she could get out of the car and actually smile.

“I’ve heard about this place. It’s really hard to get in here isn’t it?” Bill seemed to puff up at her remark. “It is, actually. But I know the owner and can always get a table. You’ll find I have a lot of connections all over Halifax.” Viola’s smile twitched from the strain. “I’ve always known you were a very prominent man, Bill.”

“Well, I’ll show you just how prominent over dinner.” He took her hand and placed it in the crook of his arm. Viola looked down at the contact, seeing how her hand rested against him. It felt wrong. There wasn’t the easy comfort she’d grown accustomed to when she’d gone for walks with Jerod. Bill was all about show and, for the moment, she was the thing he wanted to display. Like a watch.

She was so preoccupied, she’d forgotten the lessons Jerod had given her in Mexico.

So she didn’t notice when Bill leaned in and kissed her cheek. His lips felt wet from too much saliva. The kiss clung to her cheek like one her neighbor’s five-year-old daughter had given her once. It took every fiber of strength in her body not to reach up and wipe it off.

“What was that for?” Probably completely the wrong thing to ask, but she was curious to see the answer he’d give.

Bill pulled back an inch, but kept his poise. “I can’t help it. When I’m near such a 185

pretty woman, it brings out the romantic in me.” The urge to gag was strong. Instead, she gave him a small smile as they walked across the street.

As she’d suspected, the restaurant was packed. She peeked around the crowd, but so far there wasn’t any sign of Jerod. Despite Bill’s warm welcome by the hostess, they still had to wait fifteen minutes while a table was cleared for them. As they stood by the door, Viola inspected every man who walked through the door, just in case Jerod tried to sneak in or, more probably, sneak up on her. If Bill suspected she was looking for someone else, he never let on. He was too busy talking to notice anyway.

“Matt and I went to university together. Did our MBA. He went into restaurants and I went into call centers. I think I have the better hours.” He chuckled and she made an attempt to find something he said amusing. She was about to ask him some inane question about school, when she heard a rich chuckle behind her. Viola spun around, about to lay her deadliest glare on Jerod, when she came face to face with a young man in his early twenties. The blond hair should have been a dead giveaway that it wasn’t Jerod. But it was his eyes. They were brown.

Not crystal blue. He wasn’t going to bother her any more tonight. The little incident at the gas station had apparently been enough for him and she hoped he was back at her place, petting William. Not wanting to admit it to herself, deep down she was disappointed that he’d given up so easily.

Viola sighed thankfully when the hostess finally told them their table was ready. Her feet were screaming as she walked the short distance across the tiled floor to the small table set up near the kitchen. There was little chance they’d have much in the way of privacy sitting here. A loud clang from the kitchen made her cringe. At least she had an interesting view of the doorway and not the kitchen.