Finally (Mature Men, #3) (2 page)

Once there, although physically exhausted, I did what I'd done since our breakup, lie awake thinking about Sherlyn. Unfortunately, that was par for the course since our break up. Even with a willing woman sharing my bed, I longed for her and regretted the loss of her love and affection with an ache that seemed never ending.

* * *

S
herlyn Drake

Living for the moment. It has a sexy, daring feel to it. The idea behind it implied that if you tossed caution to the wind and fully embrace it, something wonderful could happen. Especially if you were being reckless with your fantasy lover. Yeah. Maybe for some lucky women such behavior could pay off. Unfortunately, it never had for me—at least not with Darkwater. While in the moment, I had to admit I was deliriously happy and content with him. Of course that made what came next hurt more.

For me, the worst part about living for the moment happened when the moment ended. That's when you figure out if it was worth it or not when you end up either hurt or happy. In my case, I ended up hurt again. And who was doing the hurting? The man I'd loved for half my life; Thomas fucking Darkwater.

Darkwater. Lord how I loved that man and how I hurt when our brief, sweet, wonderful moment ended. But end it did, leaving me emotionally battered, bruised, and heartbroken again because I finally had to accept that he would never love me as I loved him.

Just when my romantic future seemed bleak, I met Shane. The moment I saw him, I knew he was capable of helping me get over Darkwater. But my romantic life has never been easy and that wouldn't change even after I met Shane. In fact, my lust for him only added to my problems as it imperiled a cherished relationship with my longtime friend, Janine.

"Sher, that's him. The one in the dark blue suit near the other bank of elevators."

Standing in the crowded lobby of the office building where Janine and I both worked, I casually turned and glanced over to the other side of the huge lobby. I found myself looking straight into the dark, magnetic gaze of one of the sexiest men I'd ever seen in person. I say one of the sexiest because part of me still considered Thomas Darkwater, my best friend's older brother and my first love, to be the sexiest man I'd ever seen. But this guy looked perfectly capable of going toe to toe with Darkwater when it came to raw masculinity.

He was tall with wide shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs. I knew enough Native American men to suspect he might be one as well. His short dark brown hair with a tantalizing hint of silver at his temples looked like a haven for the fingers of some woman lucky enough to call him hers.

"Doesn't he look good in blue?" Janine asked in a whisper.

He would look good in anything. Or, like the damned Darkwater, even better in nothing at all.

With our gazes locked, a powerful rush of lustful fantasies centering on hot, raw sex assailed my senses and filled me with dismay and shame. I felt a stirring in my pussy and an ache in my heart. I quickly dismissed the ache. I was over Darkwater and my heart was mine to give to whomever I wanted. So was my pussy and with one look I knew I wanted to give it to the man commanding my attention.

I'm not sure what it said about me, but I had a habit of falling hard at first sight. I'd done it with Darkwater and with Don, my late fiancé, and now with this sexy stranger.

Almost as if he knew the content of my thoughts, the man's lips curved slightly upward and he arched a brow before turning away as the elevator opened behind him.

Only when he'd stepped inside, the doors closed and I inhaled quickly, did I realize I'd been holding my breath. My visceral reaction to a man Janine had set her sights on shook me.

"Well, doesn't he look good in blue?" She asked again.

I blinked and turned to face Janine as our elevator doors opened and we surged forward to begin our workday. I nodded, my mind still a chaotic sex-filled mess.

She nudged me in the ribs. "So? What do you think?"

I frowned. "He looks vaguely familiar."

"I know."

"Who is he?" I asked.

"I don't know. That's what you're going to find out for me," she said. "Then we'll both know."

Oh great.

"Will you do it?"

None of my previous attempts at playing cupid had resulted in any long-term romantic success for her. Each relationship I'd help engineer ended after a few months and frankly I was tired of playing matchmaker. But a promise was a promise. I nodded. "Yes."

"And you'll do it today?"

How the hell was I going to casually waltz up to him and get him to ask Janine out without making a fool of myself by drooling once I was close enough to speak to him? From a distance, he forced thoughts of my brief sexual liaison with Darkwater to the surface. Up close, all the angst of the memories of our brief, ill-fated affair might overwhelm me. And I just might find myself spending more sleepless nights longing for what I could never have—a happy ever after with Darkwater. I could not go back to loving him. I couldn't because it hurt too much and I was tired of being hurt by him.

"Sher? Will you?" Janine asked.

"If I see him," I hedged.

"If you go to lunch at one, you will. If he isn't eating at Charlie's he'll be reading a paper at one of the tables in the food court."

I arched a brow.

"Don't look at me like I've been stalking him."

"Have you? You seem to have a handle on his movements already."

"No, I haven't, but I can look down from my office and see him. You will help me with him. Won't you?"

I nodded and then sighed inwardly. Why had I just agreed to do something for her that I didn't want to do? I'm the only child of elderly deceased parents with no close relatives in Philly. My friends are everything to me. Janine was a close friend, second only to Amber-Hunt Darkwater. Amber and I had seen Janine through several rounds of surgeries that had changed her from a full-figured, very average looking woman to a size five woman so stunning, sometimes it was hard to remember she was still the friend with whom I'd grown up.

For her part, she and Amber had sat with, comforted, and sobbed their hearts out with me when a sudden massive heart attack killed Don Jordan, two months before our wedding. Years before Don, she had taken her turn crying with me when the damned Darkwater had been oblivious to my existence.

So even though she now looked more like a supermodel than the friend I'd grown up with, mentally she was still like me; shy, full-figured, and only a breath away from being plain. She had my back and I had hers. I would keep my word but I promised myself this was the last time I'd play matchmaker for her.

My thoughts turned towards those brief but electric moments when I'd felt as if Janine's crush was staring not only into my eyes but peeling the protective layers I'd built around my heart back, exposing my deepest and most lustful thoughts and aching needs; needs that distressingly still seem to center around Darkwater.

At least until now. For the first time since my brief fling with Darkwater had ended as abruptly as it had started, I could imagine wanting to be intimate with another man. But why oh why did the man have to be Janine's crush?

Such nonsensical thinking made getting any work done a challenge that morning. However, I needed to concentrate and do my best work as there were rumors that layoffs were coming. Accordingly, I struggled to keep my mind on work.

S
herlyn

Before I knew it, Janine was on my cell screaming into my ear that she was at her window and could see him sitting in the food court.

Despite my reservations, I made a quick run to the ladies' room to make sure my hair was in place and my nose wasn't shiny. Then I took a deep breath and left the office.

I was nonplused to find Janine waiting when I stepped off the elevator into the lobby. "Janine, what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean what am I doing here? I'm going into the food court."

"Why?" I asked.

"How else are you going to point me out to him, Sher?"

"Oh. Right."

She frowned. "You look a little uncertain. Are you ready?"

Hell no, I wasn't ready but I nodded. We walked into the food court together. She sat at a table on the other side facing him while I moistened my lips and walked toward his table.

Almost as if he'd sensed my approach, he suddenly looked up from his paper and right at me.

I froze, my heart pounding so hard I imagined he must surely hear it beating.

He placed the paper on the table and arched his brow.

Keep moving. He's just a man like any other. You can do this.
My face felt hot as I forced myself to cover the remaining distance between us with his dark gaze locked on me. Why did he keep looking at me as if he were staring at my stark naked body and trying to decide if he liked what he saw? After a moment of indecision, I decided there was no reason why he shouldn't like what he saw. Don and Darkwater had.

When I reached his table, he immediately rose and gestured to the seat opposite his.

I looked into his dark gaze and all I could think of was sex. My throat muscles felt frozen and my legs weak with longing for sexual intimacy.

He waited until I sat down before he resumed his seat. Then he sat watching me in silence.

After what felt like an eternity, I realized he wasn't going to say anything.
You can do this. You will do this for Janine. One last time.
I moistened my lips. "I'm sorry to intrude on your time but I thought you might like some company."

He inclined his head.

Damn he was going to make this harder than it needed to be. Seated so close to him, I could smell his cologne and see just how handsome he was. And he seemed even more familiar. It wasn't because he reminded me of Darkwater. Although they were both big, attractive men, they didn't look anything alike. He was actually better looking than Darkwater though not quite as tall or as broad shouldered. And maybe not quite as sexy.

Stop. You have to stop comparing every man you meet to Darkwater.

He smiled suddenly.

Damn he was handsome. A rush of raw emotion made marshalling my thoughts difficult and speech momentarily impossible. We sat staring at each other in silence until I finally got a grip on myself and extended my hand. "Sherlyn."

"Sheryl Lynn?"

"No. My name is spelled S-h-e-r-l-y-n and pronounced  Cher Lynn, but it's one word."

"Ahh. I'm Shane," he spoke in a warm baritone that danced along my senses, inflaming them before he took my hand in his. Then I felt a surge of emotion so strong, I had to struggle not to shiver.

"I guess you're wondering why I'm here," I said.

He shook his head, still holding my hand. "I assumed you'd come to ask me out."

Apparently, he was used to women coming onto him. "I did."

"I'm flattered," he said. "And I accept."

"You are? You do?" I hadn't expected him to be such an easy sell. Relieved, I glanced over my shoulder and nodded at Janine. I saw her smile before I turned back to him.

"I am and I do," he said. "When would you like to take me out?"

"When would I..." That's when I realized he thought I was asking him out for myself. For several delicious seconds I allowed myself to savor the thought that this handsome, sexy man had just agreed to go out with me.
Take that Darkwater.

"And where are you taking me?" he asked. "I have to warn you that I'm not going to be a cheap date."

"Where am I taking you?" The return to reality was abrupt and unwelcomed. "Oh. No!" I pulled my hand from his and shook my head. "I'm not taking you anywhere."

"No? Oh. I see." He arched a brow and smiled. "So you want to skip the wining and dining and head straight for bed? It's not my usual style, but I'd be happy to make an exception in your case. I'm free tonight. Your place or mine?"

I stared at him, briefly losing myself in the fantasy of tumbling naked into bed with him and feeling his hard cock pushing into my pussy. Noting his gaze locked on my breasts, I thought of Darkwater, who had obsessed on my breasts.
Darkwater yet again? No, dammit! You can't keep going there.
I swallowed hard and tore my thoughts away from sex and Darkwater. "That's not what I meant at all," I said quickly, looking away from his intense gaze.

"Then what did you mean?"

"I meant I wasn't asking you out for myself."

"I'm crushed. Why not?"

"I didn't ask for me." But Lord I wished I had. This attractive man was just what the doctor ordered to get me over the lingering remnants of my fling with Darkwater. And if I were honest, I needed a fuck rather badly.

"Then who are you asking me out for?"

"My friend, Janine."

"Janine?" He frowned. "You have a friend named Janine?"

I nodded, turning my gaze back to his. "Do you know her?"

He seemed to hesitate slightly before finally shaking his head. "No, but tell me. Why would I want to go out with a woman who has to send her friends to do her dirty work?"

"She's shy."

"But you're not?"

I shook my head. "Actually I am. I would never have had the nerve to approach you for myself."

"Although I flatter myself that I'm very approachable, I assure you I'm not the kind of man interested in dating a woman too shy to reach out and take what she wants."

"Reach out and take?"

He nodded. "Grab, actually."

"Is that what you like in a woman?"

He shrugged. "I'm open to most things with the right woman."

Why did I want to feel as if he were implying I might be the right woman?
Stay on target and stop allowing your imagination to run wild.
"She's shy but she's very pretty."

"Who is?"

"My friend Janine is."

"Oh. Her."

"Yes. Her. She's very pretty."

"Is she?"

I nodded, eager to keep Janine as the focus of the conversation. "She's seated at the table near the burger joint. She's the one in the pretty white dress."

He looked past me.

"Do you see her?" I asked.