Authors: Yvette Hines
“Besides the toothbrush and candy there are a few other travel-size things that should get you through the night and morning.” His gaze perused her body, then returned to her face. The twinkle had diminished some by the admiring tilt of his head. “I picked up a nightgown too, nothing fancy. I figured you needed something to sleep in, but I’m sorry to say I misjudged the size by a lot.”
She was a curvy girl, so she took his words as a compliment. “I’m sure it’s fine.”
“Remember that when you see it.” Those steel blue eyes held hers.
Smiling, she nodded. “Thanks again.” She gripped the door handle.
There was a long pause between them; nothing more needed to be said.
Drake turned and started away, then stopped. He faced her again. “Can I buy you a drink?” He held his hand up. “It can be coffee or tea, before you think I’m trying to get you drunk.”
Laughing, she folded her arms under her breasts. “What I think is that you’re trying to make sure I don’t make a complaint.”
“Do what you feel you need to, I don’t have a thought on that one way or the other. However, I figured maybe with the night still being early you might have a little free time in a strange city.”
Squeezing the door handle, she concentrated on the cool metal in her grip instead of the sexy man before her. This was where she always found herself in trouble. Hardworking, everyday men always caused her insides to go to mush. And good-looking ones to boot. True, this man wasn’t a starving artist like most of the men she dated, but she was sure there would turn out to be something lacking in him—financial or in character. There always was for the men she ended up with.
“What do you say?”
“I probably shouldn’t. I don’t do so well in Chicago cold.” She stared down at his black scuffed work boots, trying to keep her gaze off the defined lines of his face and his fit body barely concealed beneath his uniform.
“You don’t even have to leave the hotel. They have a great restaurant downstairs. I’m sure there wasn’t much in the way of food offered to you on the plane. And the terminal your flight was located in is at the end of a long concourse and there are no restaurants or even kiosks down there. I know.”
The sureness of his voice drew her eyes back to his face.
If those sexy gray eyes could be pleading, they were at that moment.
She smiled, but was still convinced she should just hole up in her room instead of giving in. However, her stomach chose that moment to remind her that the half sandwich she’d eaten on the plane from Charlotte at eleven with her glass of wine that afternoon was long gone.
Hearing the loud rumble, Drake tilted his head back and chuckled.
Damn, how could a man’s throat muscles turn me on?
But she couldn’t pull her gaze away. She wanted to lick along the side of the tendons and veins. Inhaling, she tried to get her hormones under control.
“Well, I have your stomach’s vote, now how about you?”
“Fine.” Why fight it? It was just dinner and a drink in the safety of a public place. She could afford to spend an hour with a nice guy and then return to her hotel room alone. One-night stands were not her thing, so she wasn’t worried that she wanted to drag him back upstairs and jump his bones.
Her sex pulsed with the beat of her heart. It had been way too long since she had something hard working between her thighs besides her vibrator. Which was in her suitcase at the Salt Lake City airport. But, she’d just have to deal with the present ache by not dealing with it.
“Whenever you’re ready.”
She realized she’d just been standing there staring at him. “Give me a few minutes.”
He nodded.
Closing the door, she tossed the bag on the bed and looked into the mirror over the desk where her laptop case sat, still not opened. She looked tired and a little washed out, but not a fright. Getting her purse from the bed she dug out some lip gloss and refreshed the faded color, then took out her compact and swiped at the shine of oil around her nose and forehead. Unlike her mother, she didn’t wear heavy amounts of makeup, but she still believed there was nothing wrong with a little enhancement for a woman. Fingering her tight coils, making sure they had not flattened out too bad from her travels, she considered her reflection.
If she had been home, she would have slipped on a cute dress and heels. But, having to settle for her only outfit besides the mystery pajamas in the bag, she removed her blazer and decided to go with a casual look, especially since they were not headed outside. Her teal shell complimented her complexion and black slacks fine. She hoped the restaurant wasn’t too chilly.
With nothing else to do, she unplugged her cell phone, then placed it in her purse and walked to the door, to her not-a-date dinner companion.
* * * *
Damn
. That was all Drake could repeat to himself from the moment she opened the door, and even now after they both had ordered and were sitting in the semi-crowded restaurant.
The deep-sienna beauty across from him was breathtaking. Not because of any fancy clothes, even though he could tell what she wore was of high quality, but there was something about her. She had a great sense of humor and a smile that could knock a man back on his heels. He couldn’t even begin to start on her shape. He loved a woman with a healthy amount of curves. And Kiera had the perfect hourglass shape.
Now, that he’d seen her, he felt foolish about the balloon nightgown he’d picked up for her. It would be huge. He wished he’d chosen something a little sexier instead of conservative. Tonight, he’d like to head home and imagine what she would look like in a lacy number that conformed to her large breasts and full hips.
She met his gaze across the table. Her eyes were hazel with more green than brown. Twenty minutes ago when she’d cracked the door open and a single eye had stared at him, assessing, he wanted to shove at the door just to see the other one. However, he was pretty sure that would have freaked her out and she’d have slammed the door and probably called the police.
He liked the fact she was smart and cautious. He had expected any moment for her to have asked him to slide his identification beneath the door. A woman could not be too careful.
“Tell me about yourself.” He wanted to hear that sultry voice of hers again.
“There’s not much to tell.” She dragged her glass of water closer to her but didn’t drink from it.
“I’m sure that’s not the truth.” He watched her lift one shoulder and let it down slowly. “Why are you headed to Salt Lake City?”
She glanced off in the distance before returning her gaze to him. “I’ve been trying to arrange a meeting with the CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of America. Even though the headquarters is in Atlanta, just three hours from me, he spends a lot of his time traveling around the country. He offered me time on his schedule while he was in Utah. I took it. Now…” Her voice drifted away.
“So, you’re still not going to make it when you get in tomorrow.”
“If there are no more delays and now that I’ve switched airlines. Uh…no offense.”
He raised a hand to halt her apology. “None taken, believe me. I think you made the right choice if another company can get you there on time.”
Lifting her water, she sipped. “I’m crossing my fingers and toes. I’d do my eyes too but I need to be able to get where I’m going.”
“Very true.” He smiled. “May I ask why you want to meet with him? Charity, volunteer work, or something?”
“No. I run a community center.”
“You do? Impressive.”
“Be more impressed because I started it from scratch.” She tilted her head, a saucy smile on her lips.
“Wow. I wouldn’t have pegged you for a community center worker.”
She frowned. “I’m not sure if I should be offended or not.”
The waiter chose that moment to arrive with their meals and wine. The man set tilapia and rice pilaf with a side of asparagus before Kiera.
“Be careful, sir, your plate is hot.” He placed a sizzling oval-shaped cast-iron skillet down with a steak topped with mushrooms and a side of asparagus and a sweet potato. After pouring red wine for him and white for her, the waiter left them to their meal.
With his fork, Drake pointed at her plate. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been around another person that enjoys asparagus. Not over other vegetables like broccoli.”
“No? Well, it is my favorite, especially if slightly al dente.” She speared one and bit into it; it crunched.
He smiled. “It sounds like it is cooked to perfection.”
“Mmm,” she moaned. “It is and very buttery.”
He cut into his steak and enjoyed his first bite of the tender, succulent meat. “I told you the restaurant was good.”
“Should I be concerned that you track down female passengers often and drag them out of their room for dinner?”
Chuckling, he shook his head. “No. This was a unique situation for me. Just doing my friend a favor. However, it is close and sometimes when a few of us get off, we swing in here to unwind and get a good meal.”
They ate in silence for a moment, then she asked, “Why did you say you didn’t take me for someone connected to a youth center?”
The serious tone of her voice didn’t escape him. She may be attempting to pretend that her question was light, but he wasn’t fooled. The captivating eyes of hers were shadowed, filled with curiosity.
“Well, your clothes for one. I’m not a shopper but it’s not hard to recognize they are expensive.”
“How can you be so sure?” She scooped up rice but didn’t lift it to her mouth.
“Your shoes, those red bottoms are a dead giveaway. Even though they are flat.”
Holding a forkful of rice in one hand and her wine in the other, she gave him a questioning glance—single eyebrow arched high. “I thought you said you didn’t know fashion.”
Waving his hands, he quickly corrected the knowledge he offered. “Antwan’s wife. She drove him crazy last year making sure he bought her a pair for her birthday. Trying to be a good friend I went with him to several high-end stores that carried them looking for her size.”
“Ah, I understand now.” After eating two forkfuls of rice, she prompted, “So, what else did you notice about me?”
“When we got to the restaurant you stood beside your chair without touching it, waiting for me to pull it out. Then as soon as we were settled you laid your cloth napkin in your lap and set your silverware up. Knife and spoon on one side, fork on the other.”
She leaned back in her chair. “You are very perceptive, Drake.”
He shrugged. “As a mechanic you have to constantly pay attention to details. Know when something doesn’t look right or looks different.”
“So, do I not look right or just different?”
“You look beautiful.”
Shit, why did I say that?
He could have punched himself. “I’m not trying to hit on you. Just an observation.”
Biting the side of her bottom lip, she met his gaze. “Thanks.” She brought her wine to her mouth and drank more than half of it. “You’re right. I was not raised in the same area as the youth who come to my center. My parents are rich. They raised my brother and me in an upper class neighborhood and environment, but after college we had to learn to live on our own.”
“Was that hard for you? Not depending on your parents financially.” He finished his meal.
“Not for me, but my brother struggled with it a lot. Let’s just say he is resourceful.” She forked off a piece of the flaky fish.
He waited until after she ate and swallowed the mouthful as he signaled the waiter over for more wine. “Out of all the things you could have done, why the center?”
Her eyes lit up; he could clearly see the joy and pride there. “I’ve always enjoyed being around kids. I’m not the teacher-type in the usual sense of the word. My degree is in management with a minor in early-childhood counseling. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it. Then one day I got off the wrong exit and was driving through this neighborhood, not a rough part of town or anything, but low income. I noticed the kids just hanging around the park. Sitting on front porches or standing around stores. I went into one store and asked the owner why so many of the youth were just doing nothing. He said there wasn’t any place for them besides school. During the summer if they didn’t go to a sports camp there was nothing for them. The owner explained to me that he had the same issue of what to do with his own son that was ten. I had an epiphany and started looking for a building. Queen City Youth Center was born. That was three years ago.”
“You are truly something. Most people would try to figure out if there was some charity they could donate to or worse, ignore the problem. But not you, Kiera.” Pleasure filled him, causing warmth to radiate from his gut and up around his heart simply because he had a chance to meet this woman and spend time with her. He knew nice people, but none who were genuinely kind as her.
“Your turn. Have you always been good tinkering with things or did you just happen into being a mechanic?” She thanked the waiter as he refilled her wine too, then he took their plates and walked away.
Drake took two sips of his wine and wished it were an ice-cold beer. In some ways he was trying to impress this lady because he wasn’t a wine person at all. However, when around class, his mother always said, you emulate class. He returned the glass to the table. “I’ve always been good with my hands. Even as a kid my mother said if one of my toys got broken I would just sit in the middle of the room and fiddle with it until I figured out how to make it work again.”
“My turn to be wowed.” She winked at him. “I’m not a patient enough person to work at a problem. If I can’t figure out a solution from the onset then I just move on.” She rested her forearms flat on the table and leaned forward. “How did planes become your thing?”
“Just kinda fell into that.” He shrugged. “I went to college for my auto mechanics certification. I was already working at a shop. The paper was just going to get me out of the apprentice position. I never thought about planes, that was my older brother’s deal. Vance worked his way through college to become a pilot. My brother got Antwan, my friend, a job at the airport. When Antwan heard that they were looking for plane engineers and the airline was offering training he let me know. It interested me. I got into the program and here I am.” He held his arms wide.