Project Date (22 page)

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Authors: Kate Perry

BOOK: Project Date
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I don’t know why I found the thought sexy.
“How much clarification?” he repeated with another flick of his tongue.
Clearing my throat, I said, “The terms need to be completely outlined.”
“Okay.”
I narrowed my eyes at how easily he agreed. “Okay?”
His grin was pure mischief. “I have no problem outlining the terms.”
“You don—oh!” I gasped as he ran the tip of his tongue along the outside of my lips. I moaned and tried to capture his tongue in my mouth.
“Agree first,” he panted, withdrawing from me.
At least he was as affected by our game as I was. I pressed my leg against his cup, which had started shifting. “You drive a hard bargain.”
“Phil.”
I swallowed. This was it. No turning back. I had to be sure this was what I wanted. Gazing into his eyes, I read all the need—sexual and more—and I knew.
I let go of the leverage and wrapped my arms around his head. “I agree.”
He stared at me, as if making sure I was on the same page as he. It took him all of two seconds to see this meant exactly the same thing to me as it did to him.
But just in case he didn’t
really
get it, I said it out loud. I needed to say it out loud. “I love you.”
He ran a finger down my cheek. “Phil,” he murmured like it was the most beautiful word in the English language. “I love you too.”
And then his lips lowered.
Chapter Seventeen
Best Kisses I’ve Ever Had: The Top Three
3) Brian Anderson, kindergarten, on the playground
2) My dad, when I caught an Indra Swallowtail butterfly for his collection
1) Rio—at least I think it will be if it ever happens
Finally I was going to know what his kiss was like, if it was worth abandoning my plan to get Barry back and make my parents happy in the future. I let my muscles ease and puckered my lips invitingly.
A door slammed down the hall. Both our heads jerked up. Someone was coming. Rio quickly rolled us to sitting and grabbed his shirt.
Damn it.
We’d both just gotten off the floor when Barry poked his head into the studio. “I’ll see you Wednesday, Rio.”
“How’s your face?”
I looked at Rio, impressed. By his calm question you’d never have suspected a moment before he’d been flirting with ecstasy. I, on the other hand, probably looked thoroughly despoiled. I glanced in one of the mirrors. Yep. Totally.
Barry shifted uncomfortably, like he could sense the undercurrent flowing back and forth between me and Rio. “Mena, do you need a ride home?”
A week ago I would have jumped at the chance to be alone with Barry. The better to convince him to get back together. Now ... I gazed at Rio and shook my head. We had unfinished business to take care of. “No, thanks.”
“Uh, okay.” Barry gave us an odd look. “I guess I’ll just go then.”
“Okay,” I said with an impatient smile.
He started to leave and then turned around again. “By the way, Cindy wants to get together again. All four of us. Maybe Friday?”
He didn’t sound enthusiastic. And by the look on his face, the prospect seemed to rank right up there with going to the dentist. But I didn’t care. I wanted Rio alone—
now
—and it seemed expedient to agree. “Sure. Great.”
“I’ll tell Cindy then.” He edged out of the room again.
I waited to see if he’d come back, but he stayed gone so I turned to Rio.
“I’m sorry,” he said before I could utter a word.
“What for?”
“For earlier.” He ran a hand over his short hair. “I shouldn’t have lost control like that.”
I frowned. “Yes, you should have.”
“Anyone could have walked in.”
“I know.” Shiver.
He eyed me sharply. “Are you turned on by that?”
I pursed my lips. “Would that be bad?”
He gaped at me. Then a glorious, sexy smile spread across his face. “No. I guess it wouldn’t.”
“Good,” I said, returning his smile.
“Come on.” He grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the studio.
“Where are we going?”
“My place.”
Finally, some action. I let him hustle me past the receptionist, who looked intrigued by the determined way Rio rushed by. There’d be gossip about it tomorrow, but I didn’t care. One, I didn’t work out there. Two, it was kind of nice having a man want you this bad.
As he propelled me toward his car, I hesitated. “But I drove.”
He stopped. “Would you feel better if you had your car with you?”
“Yes.” If he bombed in the sack (ha!), then I’d have an out.
Seriously, what if all the hype didn’t live up to the actual act? What if the fireworks turned out to be duds? Best if I could make a quiet getaway.
Rio didn’t question my decision. He just nodded. “Follow me.”
Like I’d lose him now.
Five minutes later we pulled in front of an old warehouse. I frowned. The building itself wasn’t so bad—like a huge brick box with lots of big windows—but the neighborhood left a little to be desired.
I locked my car and joined Rio. “Is my car going to be safe here?”
“Yeah.” He unlocked a side door and held it open for me. “I have a deal with the local thugs.”
I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not, so I let it pass and entered. He led me to an industrial-sized elevator. He yanked the outer doors shut, rolled down the inside gate, and flipped the switch and got it moving.
“Ever played out any Fatal Attraction scenarios in here?” I asked idly.
“Not yet.” He glanced at me. “But the first time I kiss you, it’s not going to be in an old freight elevator.”
I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms. “So you’re going to kiss me?”
“I’m going to kiss you all over.” The elevator jerked to a stop. “Very soon.”
He opened the doors and walked out into darkness. He reached along a wall and a bank of soft lights came on behind him.
“Oh, wow.” I’d been so focused on what we’d do when we got here, I didn’t think about what “here” would be like.
I stepped out and did a slow turn to take it all in. The room was huge and looked simple but expensive. I wondered if he saved his money until he could buy what he wanted instead of settling for cheap stuff. The kitchen was off to one side.
But the most impressive feature was the view. The bank of windows overlooked the river and downtown Portland. At night, like now, it looked like Disneyland. “You live here?”
“Not what you expected?” He moved up behind me and circled his hands around my waist.
I shook my head, partly in wonder, partly because he was numbing my mind by nuzzling on my neck.
He turned me around to face him. “We need to talk.”
Forget talking. I wanted sex. I leaned into him. “We need to get undressed.”
His eyes glinted in the low light. “Okay.” He picked me up, fireman style, and hauled me off.
“That was easy,” I said, smacking his ass.
“I seem to be easy where you’re concerned.”
“Thank God for small favors.” I held out his waistband to get a peek inside.
He smacked my hand aside. “Behave.”
Pout. “That’s not what you were telling me a minute ago.”
“We’re almost there,” he reassured me as we went behind a partition I didn’t realize was there. It’d looked like a wall from the living room. He turned a knob and soft lighting lit the room.
“Wow,” I said again, trying to see around him.
It was his bedroom. Along the wall was another view of the city, which was incredible, but what really attracted me was the raised platform in front of it with the low, big bed on it.
The bed was
really
big. If we got in on opposite sides, it would have taken days before we met in the middle. And it had a cushy white comforter on it with fluffy pillows.
“Nice bed. I didn’t know they made them that big.”
Rio tossed me in the middle and stripped off his shirt. “I like space.”
“Seems like there’s plenty here.” I spread my arms out and rubbed them over the cool cover, like I wasn’t swooning over my first uninhibited gander of his chest, which, by the way, was
excellent
.
“I like how high the ceilings are too.” I’m sure the effect was spoiled because I didn’t bother to look up to see exactly how high they were. In my defense, the eighth wonder of the modern world was standing before me. “Makes the room seem even bigger than it is. Though it’s got to be, what? Five hundred square feet?”
“Phil, are you sure you want to discuss architecture now?” He tugged at the drawstring on his shorts.
My mouth went dry. “Um. No.”
“Do you need help?” He knelt at the foot of the bed and leaned over me to undo my gi pants.
“Maybe I should take a shower first.” I gave him my sultry look. “You could take one with me.”
He shook his head and pulled my pants off. His hands trailed down my legs. “I can’t wait. We’ll shower after. I promise.”
Thank God I shaved today. “Uh, but I’m kind of sweaty.”
“You smell fantastic,” he said, running his face along my calf.
I smelled like Ron, the guy I’d worked out with this evening, but the way Rio was rubbing his face against my skin reduced my mind to mush, so I didn’t have it in me to argue.
He moved up between my legs and flicked my cup with a finger. “We need to get this off.”
I grinned as I pushed the waistband down. “It doesn’t turn you on?”
“To be honest, no.” He fingered the lacy panties I wore underneath. “These are more my style.”
“Good to know. I’ll remember that at Christmas.” I almost moaned when his finger slipped under the leg of my underwear and ran along the outer lip of my private red-light area. I thought he was going to slip in and take me where no man had in forever (I hoped, I hoped) but instead, he pulled the panties out of my crotch and settled them the way they were supposed to be.
Rio forestalled my question. “I just want to see what it looks like before I take it off.”
Okay. I could deal with that. While he was admiring my underwear, I decided to take off my gi top. And then I needed to take the bra off—it wasn’t exactly sexy.
After I tossed it aside and settled back onto the bed, I noticed he’d sat back on his haunches and was studying me. I grinned. “Irresistible, aren’t I?”
“You don’t even know,” he said reverently. His shorts, cup, and whatever else he had on came off in one smooth movement and he lunged to cover my body with his before he flipped us over so I was on top.
I automatically put my arms around his neck and arched my hips into his impressive-feeling package. “Happy to see me, huh?”
He loosened my hair from my ponytail and ran his fingers through it. “More than you can imagine.”
I sobered at his serious tone. Looking into his eyes as his thumb rubbed my jaw, I lost my breath.
“Are you ready, Phil?” he whispered huskily.
This was it. This time I knew without a doubt he was going to kiss me.
“Um.” I panicked for a split second. What if he had a flabby kiss? What if he slobbered? I
so
didn’t want that.
By this time my lips were practically against his, so close I felt him smile. “Do you trust me?” he asked in his dark bedroom voice.
“Yes,” I answered without thought.
“Good.” His hand tightened in my hair and he drew me down the next few millimeters to meet him.
Our mouths glanced, once, twice. His teeth nipped my lip and my eyes flew wide open at the electric shock that coursed through me. I opened my mouth, intending to say “Whoa” but he swooped in for the attack. He skillfully teased me with small flicks, making me want more but not giving it.
We rolled again so he was on top. His hand went to my ribcage, just below my right breast.
I moaned as I tried to capture his tongue, and I shimmied at the same time to get his hand to move up to where it’d do more good. He resisted, luring and teasing until I thought I was going to explode out of my skin.
“Enough,” I declared. I grabbed his head with both hands and brought his mouth down for a full-on kiss.
Mistake. Big mistake. Not because it was terrible, but because it was so glorious I thought my heart was going to explode into a million pieces. Of course, at that same second he moved his hand to my breast.
I screamed—or I would have if he’d let go of my lips. But he clung to them, sucking and licking until I could feel it in regions down below.
I came up for air. “Take my goddamn underwear off.”
His grin was wolfish. “Are you sure?”
“Yes!” I grabbed his ears, pulled his face down, and glared. “And you better have condoms or you’re going to be in serious trouble.”
“I love a woman who knows what she wants.”
I don’t know how he did it, but he had my panties off, a condom on, and was back between my legs in one movement.
“I always thought you were talented.” I gasped as the tip of his hard-on slipped just inside me.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” he said with some trouble as he pulled out of me.
Nice to know he was as affected as I was. I moaned as he rubbed himself up and down before he slipped into me again.
I pouted, at least as well as I could under the circumstances. “I can’t decide.”
“What.” It was more a grunt than a question.
“Whether I should be pissed that you haven’t touched me more—” gasp as he pushed higher into me “—or die of intense pleasure now.”
He nipped my lip. “Why settle?”
Without warning, he slid out of me, turned me over, and slipped his arm under my waist to pull me to my knees. Holding me against him, I felt him position himself from behind and slowly—painfully so—glide into me. The stretch was both painful and erotic, and I didn’t know whether I screamed because I hurt or because I was in ecstasy.

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