What a Girl Wants (16 page)

He grinned. “Good to know where you stand on shopping.”

“I’d rather be hit in the head with a wrench.” She got up. “I’ve got to get back to work. We’ll talk.”

He walked around the corner to pick up Ariana, not sure he was surprised to see Esme standing in front of the building, staring up at Ariana’s window. She wore layers of scarves, like she always seemed to, making her look like a psychic out of central casting.

She turned around and speared him with a direct look that stopped him in his tracks. Her gray eyes had a pale glow, and they bored into him.

In a breath, all the intensity drained from her, and her shoulders wilted. She shook her head sadly and started down the stairs. As she passed him, she frowned at him and said, “I can’t do everything, you know.”

“I do know.” He managed not to smile, which was probably a lifesaving decision on his part.

Esme narrowed her gaze. “Humph,” she huffed as she stomped away.

What was that about? Shaking his head, he buzzed Ariana.

When she came down, she didn’t look any happier than Esme, but he decided not to take it personally.

They took a car downtown to meet the personal shopper he’d arranged at Saks Fifth Avenue. It became apparent that Ariana wasn’t interested in making small talk, so after a couple minutes of stilted silence, he decided to just hold her hand.

Sebastian waited for her to pull away. She looked down at it, but then she exhaled, squeezed his hand, and looked out the window, her expression more relaxed.

He was going to take that as a win.

The car let them off right in front of Saks. He let go of her hand so she could get out and immediately regretted the decision.

“I hate shopping centers,” Ariana mumbled as they walked inside. “They always smell artificial.”

“This isn’t a shopping center,” he pointed out. He couldn’t argue about the smell—it was like someone hit him over the head with a perfumed club. It covered Ariana’s subtle peppermint scent, which was a travesty.

“Same difference.” She took a deep breath. “Lead me away.”

He took her arm. “You’re making me feel like I’m taking you to be executed.”

“If the ax fits,” she muttered as she stepped onto the escalator.

They walked by the lingerie section on their way to the third floor. He could too easily see Ariana wearing the filmy thing on the mannequin. “My cousins tell me that most women are either into lingerie or shoes,” he said as he guided her up the next set of escalators. “Which are you into?”

“I’m equal opportunity.” She glanced at him. “Do you like lingerie?”

“Yes, but I have a hard time finding my size,” he replied.

She smiled, amused and a little more relaxed.

It made him feel like a god, that he made her smile.

But her smile faded the moment the personal shopper came into view.

He could tell she was the one they were supposed to meet. She wore a suit, had a leather portfolio in her hand, and tapped her feet impatiently as she checked her phone repeatedly.

Sebastian walked up to her. “Kimberley?”

“Yes.” She held out her hand. “You must be Sebastian.”

“Yes.” He took Ariana’s arm and tugged her forward. “This is Ariana Warren.”

“Hmm.” Kimberley looked over Ariana from head to toe. Then she shook her head. “We’re getting her ready for a TV spot?”

“She’s appearing on
The Hadley James Show
,” he replied.

“Hmm.” The woman opened her portfolio and took out a pen. “She’s going to need to see a stylist for her hair.”

“
She
is right in front of you,” Ariana muttered.

He coughed to cover up his laugh. Kimberley just kept making notes in her notepad.

“I’ll book an appointment with someone for her,” the woman said. “I have a great stylist who’s also amazing with color. Shall we get started with clothes in the meantime?”

“Let’s,” Ariana said, clapping her hands together in mock enthusiasm.

It was lost on Kimberley. The woman guided them to a private changing area that had a plush chair for him and a three-way mirror. She excused herself, leaving them alone.

Ariana walked to the mirror and looked at herself from all angles. “Ever feel like you’ve been judged and found wanting?”

“She should be so lucky having such a beautiful canvas to work with,” he said, sitting on the chair.

She turned around, hands on her hips, studying him. “You mean that?”

He smiled. “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t.”

Her brow furrowed. She appeared so delightfully confused that he wanted to hop up and kiss her.

Hell—he wanted to kiss her no matter how she looked.

Kimberley chose right then to come back with an armload of clothing. “Let’s start here.”

Ariana sighed but let the woman corral her into the fitting room.

With each change of clothes, she looked more and more unhappy. He couldn’t blame her—none of them looked right.

Finally, she came out in a black dress that fit really nicely. It was everything a little black dress should be: elegant and classy.

Kimberley stood to the side, a plastic smile on her face. “This dress is lovely. Black is always a great choice for TV. It’s slimming, and you know how TV adds weight to a person. What do we think?”

Sebastian tuned out the woman and looked at Ariana, who stared at herself in the mirror. She didn’t look any happier than she had when he’d picked her up. Mostly, she just looked resigned.

Then she turned around and said, “This dress is fine.”

“Are you sure?” he asked, not convinced.

“Yes.” She shrugged. “It looks nice, right?”

It did, but something was off about it. It flattered her figure, but it was completely wrong on her. “Do you like it, though?”

Kimberley cleared her throat, stepping forward. “It’s the perfect dress. It’s timeless, so she can wear it over the years, and it doesn’t require any altering. We won’t get better than this.”

Ariana nodded glumly. “I’ll take it.”

Kimberley’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Excellent. I’ll find a pair of shoes to match.”

“Because black is so hard to match,” Ariana muttered as the woman bustled off. She turned to him. “Unzip me out of this thing.”

“Turn around.”

She gave him her back.

He looked at the pale line of her neck, so lovely with her hair piled on her head. Taking the zipper, he drew it down, baring her back.

He couldn’t help himself—he touched her skin, trailing his finger from her nape all the way down over each delicate bump of her spine.

She didn’t have a bra on.

He tried not to think about her breasts being so accessible, or that all he had to do was push the dress off her shoulders to bare them.

Ariana shivered, glancing at him over her shoulder as she held her dress in place. Her eyes were wide, but he could see his own desire mirrored there.

He kissed her shoulder. When he kissed her, she gasped in his mouth. He could tell her need was just as sharp as his.

They heard Kimberley’s voice outside the dressing area. Ariana looked at the door and then back at him. “Maybe we can continue this discussion later. At my apartment.”

His body surged with a resounding
Yes!
He somehow managed to nod calmly. “I’d be fully amenable to that.”

“I have shoes,” Kimberley said, not noticing Ariana’s flushed cheeks or the obvious evidence of his desire. Sebastian sat back down, crossing his legs, and waiting impatiently for this errand to be done.

‡

T
hey couldn’t get out of Saks fast enough for her. Although Ariana was sure that Kimberley was possibly more impatient to get rid of them.

Sebastian took her hand as soon as they stepped outside. The car he’d requested showed up. “Fillmore and Greenwich,” he told the driver as soon as they climbed in.

After that kiss, there’d been no doubt about what was going to happen next. She angled herself toward him. “Is this a good idea?”

He lifted her hand to his lips. “Nothing is a better idea.”

It seemed like it took forever to get from downtown to the Marina. They both eagerly jumped out of the car and ran up to her apartment.

At the door, he stopped her by tugging her to face him. She bumped into the packages in his other hand, the pointy shoebox jabbing into her shin. Damn shoes.

“Before we step inside,” Sebastian said, “I just want to check on one thing.”

“Oh crap!” She put a hand to her mouth. “I have no condoms.”

“You’re cute.” He cupped her face. “I’ve got the condoms covered. I was wondering about your underwear.”

She glanced down at her body. “What about it?”

Clearing his throat, he said, “Are you still without a bra?”

She blinked, surprised by the question. She studied him, even more surprised by how earnest he looked about the question.

To answer him, she took a step back and handed him the bags and her jacket. Then she pulled her tank top and sweater over her head at the same time.

His gaze burned a trail down to her chest. “I think your nipples like me.”

“Other parts of me do, too.”

“Inside.”

His tone brooked no argument. She opened the door and let them in.

Sebastian kicked the door closed and dropped her new outfit on the floor.

She backed into the living room, until her legs hit the futon. “We probably shouldn’t leave my new, expensive clothes on the floor like that.”

“Probably not,” he said, taking off his jacket and dropping it, too, as he stalked toward her. He pulled his shirt out and began to unbutton it.

Well, then. She eased onto the futon and undid her jeans, shoving them down her legs, her panties going along for the ride.

He stopped and stared at her. She felt her pulse speed up with the hungry look in his eyes.

Slowly he took his shirt off. She thought he’d take all his clothes off, but he surprised her by coming to kneel in front of her, his pants and shoes still on.

He ran a finger down her body, all the way to the center of her. “Pretty,” he murmured, and then he slid his finger inside her as he lowered his mouth to her.

The moment his lips touched her, she gasped, startled by the sharp pleasure and the expectation of even more. But then his tongue flicked out, and the pleasure magnified, until all coherent thought was driven from her mind.

Crying out, she gripped his head.

“Okay?” he asked.

She heard his delicious voice and felt his words against her flesh and just about shot off like a rocket. “Yes. No.
Please
.”

“What?” He licked her slowly, sucking her into his mouth at the end.

“Just
please
.” She gripped the futon, afraid she was going to explode.

“Tell me what you want,” he ordered, never lifting his mouth, his finger torturing her as it slid in and out.

“You,” she said, panting. “Just you.”

He lifted his head. “Do you mean it?” he said, his voice like molten chocolate.

She held her arms open.

A condom magically appeared in his hand as he unzipped his pants and freed his erection.

“Whoa,” she said, staring.

“I want you,” he said as he sheathed himself.

She wasn’t sure his size had anything to do with her, but she wasn’t going to argue the point.

He licked her nipples as he crawled his way up her body. He guided his hardness into her with his hand.

She arched up, wanting him in her, her arms around his back.

He kissed his way up her neck, to her jaw and then her mouth, as he thrust slowly into her, letting her get used to him. “I’ve thought about this since the first time I saw you. When you asked me to lie down for the facial, I wanted to pull you on top of me.”

She shivered, turned on just as much by his words as she was by the feel of him drawing in and out of her. “And then what would you have done?”

“I’d have slipped my hand up your top,” he said without needing to think about it. He slid his hand to cup her breast, his fingers plucking the hard tip. “Now I wonder if you were wearing a bra or if there was only silky skin underneath. Next time you wear a tank top I’ll see what I find.”

She moaned, arching into his hand.

“You like this, don’t you?” he whispered in her ear. His other hand eased under her, angling her up into him so he rubbed her in the right spot. “You can’t wait to come. Do you want me?”

“Yes.” She moaned, holding him tight. “Please, Sebastian.”

“Please what?”

“Come with me,” she ordered, opening her eyes and looking straight in his.

He touched her face, his gaze never wavering from hers. Everything else faded away—the past weeks, the new clothes forgotten by the door, all the San Francisco sounds outside. All she knew was in his eyes.

“Come with me,” he said, kissing her. Against her mouth, he said, “Yes, love, come now.”

Her body responded almost on its own. She heard herself cry out, bucking against him, distantly hearing his cry as he joined her.

At some point, he dropped limp on top of her. In that moment, that was the world. Nothing else existed—not yesterday and not tomorrow.

She wound her arms around him, holding him close, liking the feel of his heart beating in time with hers.