Authors: Elle Saint James
“No problem at all. It was my sincere pleasure. Want to go sit down? We’ve got a booth in the back of the restaurant. The law will likely want to talk to you again before you leave, but we can at least be comfortable until then, okay?”
Her lids lowered slightly, and Boyd swore he was mesmerized before she responded, “Yes. Thank you. That would be great.”
He led her to their secluded booth at the back of the restaurant. She slid into the half–circle, padded seat on one side. He followed behind her and scooted close. Her lure was magnetic.
“Where is Mr. Wilder?” she asked immediately.
“Well, unfortunately, he got called away on business. After we have a bite of dinner, I thought we could discuss another time for the three of us to get together and talk. How’d that be?” He looked deeply into her eyes and felt his cock stiffen in his pants as she unflinchingly stared back. Her interest in him seemed profound and powerful. Perhaps it was because he’d pulled that drunk off of her. She was probably just grateful, or coming off the adrenaline rush of the attack.
Her gaze intensified on his face. “Fine. I guess.” She kept staring. He kept letting her.
They were already seated very close together. Without taking her gaze from him, she scooted closer. They were now mere inches apart. Boyd wanted to taste her, but didn’t approach. If she wanted a kiss he wouldn’t stop her, but he wasn’t making the first move. He merely smiled, and she pushed her face close and kissed him right on the mouth in the center of the restaurant as if they were the only two people in the room.
She tasted so sweet that Boyd wanted to spend the rest of the night in this position. He didn’t even care if he ate dinner or not. She was enough. He kissed her back, but didn’t grab her. He didn’t quite trust himself.
Deacon would kill him if he scared her off by moving too fast, but at the moment, he couldn’t get past his own sudden and intense lust for her. Deacon was right, something about her had changed. She’d become irresistible.
* * * *
Jessica pressed her mouth against Boyd’s lips and then dared to take a lick. She dragged the tip of her tongue across the seam of his mouth. He wasn’t aggressive, but he seemed to like the contact as he then slowly tangled his tongue in her mouth with gentle urging. She didn’t resist. She wanted him. Just as she’d wanted Deacon earlier in the day.
The idea of having the same feelings for Boyd as she did for Deacon was an alien idea in her brain. What on earth would they think if she expressed it? They’d likely both leave her in the dust. She’d deserve it.
Damn
. If she could even resurrect any future with them, since she was supposed to be in a meeting for a job right now. Although it wasn’t so very professional to suck face with the interviewer.
Double damn
.
She broke the kiss, shook her head, and cleared her throat. She needed to calm herself down. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I promise I’m not usually so forward. And especially not during a business meeting.” Her cheeks heated at the idea this man would ever be her boss in any fashion.
He smiled. “You’re just coming off the fight-or-flight rush of being attacked by someone. I promise that I’m really happy to help you in any way I can.”
“Thanks.” It was like he almost read her mind. “I really don’t know what came over me.”
“Don’t worry, honey. It’s natural to feel a bit unbalanced after something like that. Let’s order a drink and get you calmed down, okay?”
Unable to speak anymore due to the emotion running through her veins, Jessica was supremely grateful when he ordered a glass of wine and some water for her. The man
could
read her mind.
Jessica took a deep breath and pushed it out. The waiter brought a glass of ice water promptly, with a promise to bring the wine right away. She drank down half of the glass in an effort not only to calm her rioting emotions, but to chill the extreme lust she was feeling for Boyd.
There was something to be said for having a man swoop in and save you when you were suddenly unable to save yourself. Her lust for him increased tenfold. If he’d asked her at the time, she probably would have fallen to the ground, spread her legs, and allowed him to fuck her in the vestibule of the restaurant, so grateful was she. Then again, the whole virgin problem cropped up to smack her in the face.
“Would you like to talk about the job we might have for you?”
Jessica nodded. “Sure. What questions do you have for me? It will take my mind off of things I shouldn’t be thinking of right now.” Little did he know she was wondering what a Brahma bull-sized cock looked like. The direction of her thoughts was currently on his cock, and not on her recent attack.
He nodded and smiled. Her panties got wet. “The first thing I want to make sure you understand is that we don’t have a current job available.”
“Well, I’m not exactly looking for a new career at this time anyway. I just like to keep my options open, and the truth is, information can be powerful.”
“Good attitude. Do you like the job you currently have?”
“Yes. Very much. I was recently given the promotion to the concierge desk on the day shift, and it’s everything I hoped it would be. I like helping people out. It can be very exciting. There is something new each and every day to learn and process. And the staff is pretty great, too. I’m lucky to have a good team.”
“What do you think is your strength in a work environment?”
“Well, I know I didn’t demonstrate it very well earlier, but usually I’m pretty good at thinking on my feet when a new concern or problem comes up. I pride myself on trying to come up with positive and constructive solutions to any issues that come my way.”
“Good. Where do you see yourself in five years?”
She cocked her head to one side. The immediate answer that came into her brain had to do with sex and also a naked Boyd. It wasn’t a proper answer to articulate out loud. “I guess I’ll have five years of experience in my current job, and I’d probably be looking at management positions.”
“Okay, are you ready for a unique question?” His expression spoke of mischievousness.
“I guess so. Shoot.”
“If we had a potluck dinner at work, what would you bring to the party?”
“Easy. Cookies. I make some especially good oatmeal chocolate chip ones that everyone always wants the recipe for.”
“Good answer.”
“Is it? What’s a bad answer?”
“Seriously, I had a guy tell me once that he’d probably bring canned asparagus because it was his favorite veggie.”
“Did you hire him anyway?”
“Oh, yeah. He was a good guy in all other respects, but we made sure to assign him to bring plates, plastic utensils, and napkins to any potluck dinners.”
She laughed and realized Boyd was very good at making her feel better.
The rest of the meal progressed as expected. They chatted about nothing else too serious, and after the dinner plates were pulled away the maitre d’ came by with a card to call the sheriff’s station regarding her statement.
She would phone later and make a statement, but didn’t want to press charges. Apparently, the man was already being charged with being drunk and disorderly in public. Any further action on her part was a hassle she didn’t currently need.
“He’s a tourist from back east. He’ll be gone before you know it,” the maitre d’ said.
Before Jessica knew it, the night was over.
Together, they walked outside into the lovely crisp night. The scent of woodsmoke tinged the air as the door shut behind them.
“Thank you so much for dinner, and for saving me from that drunken man.”
“You’re welcome. Thanks for understanding about Deacon not being here. I know he’ll still want to talk to you. Would you like to set up a date to meet again? I can pass along a message to him.”
“Oh.” She paused and tried to figure out how to ask him to her place to deflower her at a later date of his choosing. After spending the evening with him, she’d pretty much decided that Boyd was the one. He’d saved her. He’d be the perfect man to rescue her from her virginity. “Well, I wonder if you’d like to come over to my apartment. I could make cookies just for you. I feel like I should do something special to say thank you for what you did for me.”
He looked surprised. “That’s so very kind of you, but you’ve already thanked me. I don’t want you to feel like you owe me a thing.”
She shrugged and gave him her most convincing smile. “I’d still like to have you over. I feel like it’s the least I could do for you.”
And also I’d like to lure you into my bed
.
“You know what? That would be great. I’d very much like to come. The truth is, I can’t resist cookies.” He seemed a bit uncomfortable in his decision, but she figured she’d change his mind once she had him on her own turf. She’d given this special and auspicious night a lot of thought for the past several weeks. How she would do it. Where she would be. She liked the idea of being on familiar territory in her own place.
“How about tomorrow night? It’s the only night I have off where I’m not on call for the hotel.”
“That would be fine. Thank you.”
Jessica reached into her purse for a personal card which also listed her address and phone numbers. “Shall we say eight o’clock?”
He took the card and seemed to make a point to brush her fingers with his hand in doing so. She boldly stepped forward, leaned up, and kissed his cheek. He smelled of subtle yet masculine aftershave and homey, warm starch. Did he starch his shirts? She brushed his stiff, creased sleeve. Likely he did. She found that even more endearing.
“Until tomorrow night.”
“Right.”
Jessica walked, or maybe floated, back across the road to the hotel, and somehow ended up in her apartment several minutes later.
She had to work tomorrow, but would spend her lunch hour crafting and readying her apartment for a night of love. Her only resistance was the regret over her failure to speak with Deacon in the same evening. She felt she could have certainly been persuaded to give him a try. If he’d been in the restaurant, she had no doubt that he also would have come to her rescue just as fervently as Boyd had done.
Was she making a mistake launching her seductive plan with Boyd in mind? The memory of grabbing him after she’d been attacked drifted into her mind. He hadn’t gone ballistic. He hadn’t given the man any more damage other than removing his vile drunk presence from her and immediately seeing to her comfort. And he’d let her hug him tight around his neck without clenching her too close, which was exactly what she’d needed at the time. He’d simply patted her back gently and soothed her.
Boyd was a good choice as a first lover. Deacon, she had no doubt, would also be a great choice, but fate had thrown her Boyd. Who was she to argue with fate? She’d decided to base her decision on tonight’s dinner with the two of them.
The conversation earlier in the day with Deacon still gave her a moment’s pause because he’d been so intensely sexy. She wasn’t sure why she was so taken with him in one conversation. Perhaps it was her own self-confidence in making the decision to take destiny into her own hands. The letter had provided a motivation, but it was only what she’d been wanting anyway.
She hated to seem so wanton, but also didn’t want to sleep with one man only ever in her life. She’d waited long enough. Not because she wanted to
save herself
for marriage. She didn’t even know if she’d ever marry, and certainly not right now. But she’d wanted her first time to be special, and not some casual romp with a guy she’d never see again. Or one she’d have to fend off because he wouldn’t take no for an answer afterward.
She wanted her first time to be with a good man who would take his time and not roll over and start snoring the minute he was finished. She’d heard lots of horror stories over the years from a multitude of girlfriends.
Today’s conversation between the two women wasn’t the first she’d ever heard, either. There were other rumors, especially about Deacon, that stated he was amazingly giving in bed and very satisfying. That was exactly what she wanted. Amazing and satisfying.
* * * *
Deacon kicked himself fifty different ways for missing dinner with Jessica. If Mr. Mercer wasn’t his oldest and biggest client, he would have postponed the meeting until later. But as a noted workaholic, Deacon didn’t often do anything before business. Not even spontaneously court a pretty girl who had caught his eye.