Intensity (7 page)

Georgie’s accent sounded French. Her streaked hair, white with two-inch pink strips all around and cut on an angle toward her chin, looked stylish on her. The most striking part—she wore a fuchsia halter dress with zippers at strategic spots, offering sneak peeks along her breasts, hips, thighs, and if she bent at a certain angle, a flash of her ass, and between her legs. Clients would salivate for sure.

Oldies rock made the prep time go by fast as we shimmied to the beat. We sang and screwed up the lyrics. Mylaynee’s purposeful blurting of incorrect verses didn’t help, but we had a blast.

While cleaning the last table, giant hands wrapped around my mid-section, hugging me. Linc kissed me on the ear, murmuring in it, “Did you get everything settled with Monique?”

“Yes.” I discarded the rag and cleaner and turned around, so I could see him to express my gratitude. “She had a lot of great ideas.”

Before I could tell him thank you, he spun me in a graceful half-circle like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers and back into his arms. The abrupt move had my breath rushing out and my poor heart constricting—again. His hands on my hips tightened as he pressed me against every well-defined ridge, fusing us chest to thigh. “Good. Don’t forget, when you’re done, come to my place.” He mouthed the request across my cheek and ended in the crook of my neck.

“O-okay.” Lost in some mystical fog, I uttered a nonsensical reply, “Do you want me to bring anything?”

He looked at me with a creased brow. “What do you mean?”

I lifted my shoulder and mumbled, “Uh, I-I don’t know,” and dropped my gaze to the floor. Why did I act like an idiot around this man?

His lips pressed to my ear again and in a sinful voice he said, “You, beautiful, bring you.”

Could a person self-combust?

At my exposed shoulder, he nipped and tasted. As he did, I stretched and rubbed along him like a cat in heat.

Surely that wasn’t me purring too?

He stepped back, his eyes sparkling with blatant mischief, a wicked smile pulling the right side of his mouth up. He squeezed my side, and in one swift move, turned and strolled to his office.

The view from behind couldn’t be more spectacular. Without a suit jacket on, his well-fit dress pants displayed an underwear-model-butt, burning my retinas, but I couldn’t look away. As he closed the door blocking the sight, my brain jolted into gear. After a shuddering sigh and a shake of my head, I got back to work.

When I approached the bar, three sets of eyes fixated on me. Mylaynee’s amused, Georgie’s curious, and Tanya’s sneering.

“What the hell was that,” Tanya snapped, crossing her tattooed arms.

My body jerked at her unexpected attack. Not knowing this chick, I decided to proceed with caution and sat on the edge of the stool next to Mylaynee. “What do you mean?”

Tanya leaned toward me. “Don’t play stupid with me, girl.”

Mylaynee rose from her seat and pushed Tanya’s shoulder. “What the hell
is your problem?”

Tanya pierced Mylaynee with a scowl. “She’s the problem.” She pointed to me and gripped the edge of the bar. Her knuckles whitening as if she had to hold herself back.

“Girl, you better check it. Linc finds out you’re talkin’ to her that way, you’ll be out on your ass faster than you can breathe,” Mylaynee announced before I could think of an appropriate response.

What the heck was going on?
Stunned, I couldn’t think of a comeback. Funny how your brain freezes in high-pressure situations.

Tanya crossed her arms, brown eyes ablaze. “I’m not the new one around here. Linc would never get rid of me. I bring in lotsa business. Not everyone does what I do.”

Not sure how to respond to that, my posture remained stiff and poised for any strike on her part. Regardless of the fact she looked like a biker, I wasn’t going to let someone best me. I kept my eyes on her while trying to figure out a way to defuse this situation.

Mylaynee beat me to it. She stretched her body closer to Tanya. “This
new
girl is exclusive. She isn’t going anywhere. Your ass can be replaced.” She snapped her fingers and in her graceful manner sat back down with total confidence.

It was so cool she had my back. I tried to send her a telepathic thanks, but she remained fixed on the target taking shots at me.

Tanya leaned so close I could smell her foul breath. “Exclusive? No way.”

Mylaynee transformed to a cat that caught the canary. “Ha! Believe it,” she shouted, slapping the glass top, a ricocheting thump that caused Georgie and me to flinch.

At that, I turned my head toward her, bewildered at this woman’s continued defense on my behalf. Yeah, this girl could take my back any time. Awesome.

Tanya glared. “
You’re
exclusive with Linc?”

I nodded and glimpsed between Tanya and Mylaynee, trying to figure out if this discussion had come to an end or if I should prepare for a bigger problem.

Tanya barked, “You got to be shittin’ me.” She shook her head. “Wait till B.B. finds out.”

I guess Tanya wasn’t ready to shut up yet. Just as I gathered my thoughts, the door to the office opened and slammed shut. Linc strolled toward us and asked, “Everything set for the night, ladies?”

In unison, we bobbed our heads.

He reached up and tugged on my hair before placing a few strands around my ear. Slow and purposeful, he inched closer and blazed a fire-scorching kiss on my lips.

Tall and imposing, he delivered a stare at Tanya that could melt the paint off walls, flicked a glance at Georgie and Mylaynee, and winked at me. “Have a good night, ladies.” He exited the stunned quiet lounge, leaving a silence behind that continued long after his departure.

I’d already knocked twice, but Linc didn’t answer. As I turned to leave, the door opened, and he scooped me up and tossed me over his shoulder. “Hey, put me down,” I tried to yell, but the wind had been knocked out of me on impact, making my attempt more of a garbled groan.

Instead of complying with my request he chuckled all the way into the bedroom, and catapulted us onto the feather-soft bed, my stomach leaping and bouncing with our bodies. “How was your night, beautiful?”

I took several gulps of air before replying. “Busy, it flew by.” My senses primed, I inspected his stretched and relaxed state. Impossible to believe, but casual wear fit him better than the custom-made suits he wore. His T-shirt had the arms cut off and a tiny slit at the top exposed the little hairs I first saw in his office. Faded black shorts displayed fabulous toned thighs that could no doubt crush a soda can in one squeeze.

Reminiscent of Hercules, his bountiful hair and sculpted frame taunted—
touch me, I dare you
.

Eager to do just that, he beat me to it by sucking on my shoulder. He slid his tongue across it, glossing over the invisible marks he outlined earlier and drawing a line along a thrumming vein on my neck. In a swift roll, he aligned me on top. My head spinning from the sensual sneak attack and his woodsy-fruity cologne, I grasped the sheets, and in the process latched on to a hunk of his free-flowing hair—both silky and soft.

“You need anything for your place?”

Obviously, his mind wasn’t in the gutter like mine. I tried to ignore the hard body beneath me and downplay the effect by propping my chin in my hand, and taking my time to produce a sane response. “It’s nice…and quiet. Thank you by the way for Monique.” I couldn’t wait to see how our combined designs turned out. Gram and I had lived on a tight budget. Our small home contained a lot of second-hand furnishings, but had been well loved. Even so, I couldn’t help feel a little giddy about the thought of new and designer.

He gripped my neck and rubbed his thumb along it in tiny circles. It didn’t help my concentration one bit. “Let me know if you need help with anything, okay?”

“I’m good. I told her how much I liked the couch in your office. She said she’d try to find one. If it’s anything like yours I’ll end up falling asleep when I’m reading.”

He squinted. “You like to read?”

“
Yeah
.”

“What kind?”

Uh oh.
I blushed, glancing at the wall as I mumbled, “Uh…romance novels.”

His firm grip clasped my chin, redirecting it. “Don’t. You can tell me anything. Don’t be embarrassed or afraid.”

I didn’t know what to expect of someone who owned this type of business. At first, I pictured an icky Hugh Hefner, instead got luscious Linc. His drool-worthy appearance captivated me, but so did his generosity and thoughtfulness. It made me think no matter what I revealed, he wouldn’t judge. He wasn’t that type of man.

“I’m addicted to them. I know it sounds like I’m living in a fantasy, but the stories, even the erotic ones are great.”

Did that just come out of my blabbing mouth? My face heated and must be scarlet red from the way my cheeks burned.

A wicked grin spread across his mouth. “Erotica huh? What turns you on, beautiful?”

My gaze dashed to the wall, the windows, and the floor. I dropped my face in my hands, burying them in his chest.

Ugh, he drove me crazy.

Any other woman would’ve performed a thousand erotic acts with this man lying beneath her. But no, what was I doing? Hiding my freaking face!
Stupid, Serena. All these years you could’ve had experience.
It stunk being a virgin at this moment.

He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed. “When you’re ready and feel more comfortable, I want you to tell me, okay?” He kissed the top of my head.

That action seemed even more humiliating, and I sank my cheek further into his chest. He wasn’t trying to embarrass me, just curious I suppose.

“Let’s go to bed. You sleeping in tomorrow?”

His bulging chest felt pillow soft, making me drowsy. I could stay here all night. Right in this spot.
Did he ask me a question?

“Roll off, let’s get undressed.”

My head popped up.

In one swift move, he rolled us both over, and without dropping me, propped me on my feet.

A bead of sweat trickled from my nape, down my spine, and into my panties. Yeah, like I needed more moisture there.

He took hold of both of my hands and set them on his chest.

“I want you to undress me.”

Oh. My. God.

“Huh?” I squeaked.

Wake the heck up, girl. Man wants naked. Shake a leg!

He slid my hands downward at a snail’s pace, resting them at the bottom of his shirt.

“Take it off,” his raspy voice instructed.

Oh Lordy.

My brain engaged—happy dance commencing.

As I pulled the jersey higher, I skimmed my knuckles over each ripple on his ribs. His arms rose and gave me a full-on, front-row view of tight, ridged abs. The shirt slipped through my fingers and melted to the floor.

Damn. Double Damn. This man needed his own freaking calendar.

When you died, was it possible to go to heaven and hell?

My eyes didn’t know what to examine first, but I tried to focus. The path I chose started with his broad shoulders—large enough to support you, yet soft enough to cuddle. A well-honed, wide chest with curly black hair sprinkled across it must have taken hours of weight training to sculpt into perfection. Arms pulled taut at his side, the veins curved downward at an angle and spread across his sturdy hands. The pièce de résistance and mentioned in erotica novels time and again, I called it “The trail to nirvana,” and he had it dipping past the band of his shorts.

Oh yeah, girl, you needed to wake the heck up and live more. Real life was so much better.

“Now my pants, Serena,” he said in a low, soft voice.

My gaze tracked the line of dark curls up to his face. The green flecks in his eyes more prominent than before, as the blue shimmered on the outer rim.

My smile wavered, and I reined it in. Lips parted, I drew in a huge gulp of air. Blood rushed to my head, making me a little lightheaded since I’d held my breath for too long.

I cleared my throat and set my hands at the top of his shorts, shocked by the bit of confidence I seemed to find. Then I dropped to my knees and looked up.

“Serena,” he choked out on a gruff reply. Eyes closed, he sucked in a ragged breath. His hands clutched my shoulders and squeezed.

The view from down here and this close—spectacular. I wanted to nuzzle my nose in that spot right—there—his fine-haired belly button and then—

“Take them off.”

When I glanced up, a gasp rushed out of me. His eyes—lust? No, it couldn’t be. Before I had more time to think about it, his hands gripped mine and pushed. Elastic-banded shorts didn’t take much force, and they pooled at his feet.

I stared at the carpet and almost laughed, because the picture of what I must look like seated, head bowed at the feet of a gorgeous man brought to mind—a concubine. My sex-starved body and brain liked taking me on this crazy journey.

“Look at me, Serena.”

As if my body responded to orders given only by him, I lifted my head.

And descended to hell for sure.

Sprung free, his shaft stuck out like a divining rod, pulling every drop of saliva out of my mouth. Virgin or not, his manly goods deserved a label—IMPRESSIVE. I guess the saying had been true…big feet…big…