Caramel Kisses (7 page)

Charli
stuck him with a pin. “Okay, okay! More information than I needed to know, damn it!” she interrupted with a loud hearty laugh. “Now get your butt back up on the block so I can finish these pants and go take a cold shower.”

Drew rubbed his thigh where she’d poked him, then hopped back up on the tailoring block.

“So where are you two going for your first dinner date?”
Charli
inquired.

“The Blue Ginger.”

“Oooh, smart man.
Nothing like Japanese gourmet to charm my sister.”

“Then we’ll take a little walk in the arboretum under the moonlight. Hell, I’ve even checked the weather to make sure it’ll be clear skies. And this time I managed to talk her into letting me pick her up.”

“Why?”
Charli
wondered aloud.

“Because then I’ll have to take her home. She’ll either kiss me at the door or let me in to play.”

They shared conspiratorial grins when
Charli
said, “You are a bad boy, Drew, and you don’t play fair.”

“Yeah I am, and no I don’t.”

Chapter Six

She’d been running on simmer since Drew picked her up this evening. The ambience of the restaurant he’d chosen would have been perfect if not for the butterflies that accompanied her main course. As
Sydni
enjoyed a traditional
donburi
pot, her stomach danced all over the place. And she almost lost a chopstick when Drew grinned up at her while he poured her another glass of wine. The man was dressed in a classy and elegant pair of navy blue trousers with a black long sleeved summer knit sweater. His dark hair was freshly cut and
Sydni
found herself wishing he’d left a bit more on the sides for her to run her fingers through. After all, she’d already agreed that they were in the “getting to know you” stage and Drew would kiss her later.

She wondered aloud at the golden hue of his skin. He answered without hesitation.

“My family is Sicilian on my father’s side. My mother’s family is from Spain. So we’ve all got the dark features.
Hair, eyes, skin, the works.”

And
Sydni
thought he was damn fine. She still couldn’t believe she was sitting here with a man like Drew when she really should be at home working. Then the thought morphed into another one – working for what? Sure, she enjoyed her job, but it wasn’t like she got brownie points for working herself to the bone. Hell, most folks didn’t even know she spent most of her weekends pouring over numbers and putting together deals and proposals.

The truth of it?
She was tired of dating men who thought it was normal to fuck her with their dress socks on—to stuffy to lay it on her the way she liked it. So full of themselves yet threatened by her, though she was a caring and giving person who could care less what they did for a living. They had no ambition, no drive. Were simply satisfied with the mediocre, yet tired of her quickly when they learned she’d risen higher in the ranks and made more money than they did. Or when they came over to dinner and acted like they couldn’t touch anything because she lived in a better neighborhood than they did.
Sydni
was tired of landing idiots who felt they had to compete with her in order to love her. Or jackasses who felt they had to leave her for someone younger, women who were still making their way. So her solution had been to stop being bothered with them at all.

But Drew knew all these things about her and still wanted her? And speaking of age, their latest movie trivia question hit it dead on.
The question—name
the sixty-five year old actor who just had a child by his thirty-five-year-old wife. It made her teeth grate.

“Movie stars seem to do it all the time. I could name five actors off the top of my head that are dating or married to women twenty years their junior, or more,”
Sydni
said as she looked up from her
donburi
pot. Her gaze went immediately to the working of Drew’s throat as he took a sip of golden plum wine. She wasn’t sure what was more potent, the drink or the man.

“You have something against younger lovers? I sense a story there,” Drew said with a lazy, coaxing smile.

“Hmm, let me see,” she snorted, one finger tapping her chin while her gaze rolled up to the ceiling.
The perfect sarcastic pose.
“My ex left me for a little pixie
faced,
barely blonde, loud mouthed
chicklet
almost fifteen years younger than me because I wasn’t gullible and easily controlled. Well, he can have it. As for me, I don’t date kids.”

“Well, what do you consider a kid?”

Sydni
suddenly felt like she was being backed into a corner, but for the life of her she couldn’t stop her mouth from running.

“I think a man who goes for a woman fifteen years his junior is a damn lecher,” she swore resolutely.

“Well, I’m in luck.” At her tilted expression of confusion, Drew chuckled and said, “I’m only eight years younger than you, so that takes me firmly out of the kid category, and removes you from the lecher group.”

Huh? Wait a minute. He hadn’t been talking about male etiquette in dating younger women, but
her
stance on dating younger men? Holy shit! Smooth was the only word for him. But smooth didn’t mean serious.

“Are you kidding me?
You?
And me?”

“Why not?” he replied, reaching across the table to take her by the hand.
His index finger traced along her knuckles. Her gaze followed the manicured tips across her skin, imagined him traipsing those fingers along…Aw hell.

Back the hell up and focus, woman.

Forcing the sensual haze from her mind,
Sydni
left her hand in his but finally managed to pry her eyes away from his long, strong fingers. She met his gaze and the breath caught in her esophagus. The man’s eyes pinned her with a predatory stare that made his beautiful gray eyes look like chipped ice. Not cold, but unyielding.

“But why me, Drew?
I mean, look at you. You’re brilliant,
way
manly gorgeous. And you even seem to have a pretty cool personality. What the hell could you possibly want with me?”

Drew scooted out of the booth, helped her up and led her toward the exit.

“
Wait,
the bill…”

“Already taken care of, beautiful.
Come with me.”

“To where,” she gasped, making her high heels move faster as he towed her out the door.

“For a walk so I can answer your question in some semblance of privacy.”

“What question?” Oh god, she was approaching delirious if she couldn’t even remember what she’d asked him not three minutes ago.

“You asked why you. And I’m going to answer you.
Thoroughly.”

Oh. My.
God.
The man sucked all the air out of the sky and all the strength out of her typically stubborn resolve.

Next thing
Sydni
knew they were walking through the arboretum across the street from the restaurant. She knew this place intimately and the particular path he drew her down led to the middle of some lovely Japanese gardens with a bridge that stretched over a slow moving stream that reflected the glow of a full moon.

Oh-ho-ho the man was good and had no doubt planned this romantic interlude. And she’d stepped right into it and sank feet first.

“I’ve
been wanting
to meet you since
Charli’s
big grand opening bash to christen her new designer tailor shop. I told you that before.”

Crowding her against the railing, he planted a hand on either side of her hips, holding onto the metal and effectively caging her in.

But strangely,
Sydni
didn’t feel trapped. She felt damn horny.

“Y-yes.
I remember you saying that?”

He leaned closer.

“But I hadn’t mentioned that I’ve been somewhat fascinated with you since the first time I saw you, and every time since then. Including every college function you accompanied
Charli
to.
Every award ceremony.
Her graduation.
The celebration of her passing the bar exam.”

So, uh, why hadn’t she noticed him at any of those things? The answer—
Charli
had been the focus of her world.
Charli
and building her career.
But now
Charli
was doing just fine and her career? Well, it was just fine too.

“But why?
Why have you wanted to meet me?” She just had to know.

“Other than the fact that you’re a beautiful woman, I want you for the same reasons you find me attractive,
Sydni
. You’re classy.
Solid and steadfast.
Strong but feminine.
In a word, perfect.”

Then his lips were moving over hers. And god, could the man kiss. No guy this young should have such skill with his mouth. It made her wonder what else he was good at.

Her barely audible gasp must have been encouraging, because Drew had the nerve—god, she loved nerves—to deepen the kiss and press his body flush with hers. Oooh! The light bulb went on in her head. No wonder his perfectly fit trousers never showed evidence of what kind of package he carried. The man wore a cup! And whatever hid underneath it was dying to get out.

Did she really want to find out? Her body screamed “Yes!” but her common sense was having a problem. She’d just turned forty-two years old. What the hell was she doing out on a date with a man eight years younger?

Having fun, is what you’re doing.

“Oh shut up,” she muttered.

“Excuse me?”

“Not you, Drew. I’m talking to my damn conscience.”

“Why? Is it telling you to drop your guard just a little bit and allow me a chance to make you happy?” He dropped a kiss into the hollow of her throat. “If it is, you should listen to it.”

Strong teeth nipped the tendon between neck and shoulder,
then
sucked lightly on what happened to be a sweet spot.
Sydni
yelped then sighed, her arms slipping up and around his neck. His warm breath felt so good against her skin.
His lips, even better.

“
Mmm
…”

“So, is that a yes, beautiful?” he whispered against her ear, taking advantage of the tilt of her head.

Oh god, yes. At her barely perceptible nod, he said, “Trust me,
Syd
, you won’t regret it,” then backed off just a little.
Sydni
was sure he’d meant to be reassuring by putting a bit of space between their bodies, but the mischief in his eyes belied the easy grace with which he moved. Boy, she was in so much trouble.

He held out a strong hand and waited for her to wrap her fingers around his. Then, hand in hand they continued across the bridge and along the boardwalk into god-knows-what.

* * * * *

After a car trip filled with lively music and even livelier conversation about the remakes of her favorite songs, Drew and
Sydni
strolled to her front door. And
Sydni’s
feet were suddenly as cold at the Arctic Circle. She put her key in the lock but couldn’t bring herself to turn around and face her new lover…whom she had yet to make love with.

There was no denying the serious chemistry between them. Well, she could deny it but that wouldn’t make it go away. But out of control was never a feeling
Sydni
enjoyed, so it was time to grab the reins and pull this horse to a stop. Only, she couldn’t quite face the man that she wanted to ride into oblivion.

Drew’s scent wafted to her on the breeze, and it was all him. No funky cologne, no
froo
froo
fragrance.
Just Drew.
Manly, musky and just-a-bit spicy Drew.

“Well, good night,” she muttered with her face practically wedged against the door jamb.

“
Sydni
?” he said softly. “Turn around, beautiful.”

No way! If she faced him right now, she’d lose all her good sense and invite him inside to bump
uglies
all night. She’d never had sex on a first date. And hell, if she really thought about it, she’d hardly had what she’d call sex after entering a relationship, either.

Drew’s hard body pressed in behind her. Strong hands eased up and down the goose flesh on her arms, skillfully kneading the muscles of her biceps and shoulders.
Warm and sure, yet gentle.

“
Sydni
, look at me,” he insisted, turning her with a gentle nudge.

Taking her chin firmly in hand Drew moved in for a kiss so soul stirring and deep it reached clear to the tips of her freshly
pedicured
toes and made them curl against the inside of her kitten heeled sandals. Moving his mouth over hers, the man plundered, took, pushed passed the natural barrier of her lips and tangled his tongue with hers. There was no gentle coaxing, nothing of what she expected. This was a claiming of territory, a branding of the senses. It was impossible not to respond.

No man had ever jumped in with both feet like Drew.
Had ever kissed the wind out of her sails as if he had a right to her.
And damn, it was sexy.

Next thing she knew, her fingers were busy wrinkling the front of his sweater as she tipped her head back to give him better access to that spot near her shoulder that made her squirm. The second her head tilted, he bit down.

“
Aaah
.
God,” she sighed. So he did it again.
And again.

The pouty lips of her sex ached, plump and swollen with need.
And
Sydni’s
favorite underwear
were
certainly good for nothing now, given how the wet fabric was plastered against the flesh of her trimmed pussy.

Drew’s biceps and forearms flexed like steel rope coiled underneath his skin as one arm held
Sydni
tight and the other eased down her body to play along her ribs. His breathy groan brought her back to reality long enough to realize they were standing on her porch underneath a bright-as-hell light triggered by motion detectors. And there was definitely enough motion between them to make the stupid thing come on.