One Night Stand (New Yorker III) (4 page)

Catalella
rested her hands on his chest. Rich smiled at the genuine shock and
appreciation he saw in her eyes as she felt him up. His heart beat thunderously
faster and he prayed that she didn’t notice. She had turned her body towards
his and, as someone squeezed in behind her, her breast pressed against his
chest, her arms winding up on his back to grip onto his shirt. He looked down
at her and her eyes rose to meet his. He smiled at her. The Ice Queen had
thawed out and all it took was for him to play hero. He shifted her body away
from his growing erection.

“What
do you want to drink?” he asked in a low tone, praying she couldn’t hear the
desire dripping from it.

“She
likes red wine,” Michael called out and handed Catalella a glass.

But
before Catalella could take it, Rich had the glass in his hands. “May I?”

“Umm…sure.”
She smiled. He never thought he
would see her so…not guarded.

“I
appreciate you buying my
little orchid
a drink but this isn’t good enough for
her.” He grinned at Michael then drummed his fingers on the bar. The bartender
lifted his head and headed for them.

“I’ve
been trying to do that for almost twenty minutes,” she said, shocked.

Rich
smiled at her but didn’t say anything else. He pushed away the glass of red
wine Michael had bought for Catalella and lifted three fingers.

“Sign
language,” Catalella teased.

“You
could say that.” He grinned back at her.

A few
minutes later the bartender came back with three glasses and two bottles of red
wine. He opened one bottle in front of them, then poured into a glass for the
lady and handed the bottle to Rich for him to approve. Rich nodded and handed
the bottle back.

* * *
*

“How do
you get them to serve you so fast?” Catalella asked.

“It’s
called a hundred dollar bill, sweetheart.” Michael’s voice rang behind her.

She
cringed. The cockroach was still here. “That wine is superb.”

“I’m
glad you like it.” Rich handed her a full glass. He then pushed another towards
Michael and gave him the bottle that was already half full. “I think you should
keep that. I have a feeling that you are a half-empty kind of guy.”

Catalella
chuckled. The offended look on Michael’s face was enough to make her night.

“Do you
want to dance?” Rich asked.

“She
doesn’t dance,” Michael offered.

“Maybe
she didn’t have the right partner.”

“I
would love to dance,” Catalella said.
“But what about our
drinks?”

Rich
knocked on the bar once again and the bartender seemed to run to his aid. “Put
this away for us.”

“How do
you do that?” Catalella asked, impressed.

“It’s a
secret. If you dance with me I might tell you.”

He
winked at her and Catalella felt her pulse race and pulled him onto the dance
floor. She was lost as to what she should do, but breathed easy when he took
control. Soon they were moving to the music, their bodies rubbing against each
other. Catalella chanced a glance at Michael and saw him scowl. He watched as
they danced for ten minutes. When her body began reacting in a way that wasn’t
normal and left her feeling wanton, Catalella stepped away.

“We
should get our drinks,” she said, her voice nothing more than a whisper.

“Don’t
worry about that.” Rich lifted his hand at a waiter and he rushed towards them.
“Get our drinks. We’ll sit at a table at the back.”

“He
doesn’t know where our drinks are,” she protested.

“Trust
me,” he said with a grin.

Catalella
was relieved. The music wasn’t so loud at the back. She could hear herself
think and she didn’t have to shout. Plus the headache that was coming on was at
bay. It helped that Michael wasn’t there with them. Although her present
company made her a bit unsure of herself, she liked being with Rich.

“This
party seems a bit too packed to be a private party,” Catalella pointed out as
she looked out into the crowds—anything to avoid meeting his gaze.

“How
did you get in?” Rich asked.

“My
friend and her puppies.”
Catalella’s hands gestured towards her breasts. She heard him laugh and all she
wanted to do was soak in his laughter. “So how did you get in? I didn’t think
they would let any riff raff in here. You aren’t exactly dressed for a private
party.” She looked at what he was clad in—a black long-sleeve T-shirt that was
pushed back to his elbows, faded blue jeans, and white sneakers.

“When
you own the place they will let you dress however you want to.” He grinned at
her.

Catalella
could feel the shame crawling into her. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s
okay. I only dress like riff raff on the weekends. And the private party was
over an hour ago. This is just a party.”

The
waiter came with their drinks and Rich pressed a bill into his palm.

“That’s
why they serve you so fast. They don’t want to get fired.”

“I’m
not that kind of boss,” Rich said. “So your name is Catalella, spelled with a
double ‘l’ that is pronounced as a ‘y’.”

“I
figured you knew that when you started calling me
my little orchid
.'” She sipped her drink. “You must know some
Spanish.”

“I’ve
been dipped in culture,” Rich said.

“Anyway,
I’m a lawyer. I work at Ross and Kent Advocates. If you ever find yourself in a
bind,
come
look for me,” she said.

“Now I
get the beige suit,” he teased. “I never pegged you for a night club kind of
person.”

“First
of all it’s a restaurant that happens to be hosting a party,” she corrected.
“Secondly, it might be the only time I’ll get a chance to go out. I’m trying to
land a whale for my firm and become a senior partner.”

“Who’s
the whale?”

“Some
guy called McCrery. But I’ll be talking to his representatives.”

“Why
not to him directly?”

“Apparently
people say he has no time for his business. He fired his last representatives
on a whim. Rumor has it he has more women than Solomon and all he does is
party.”

“What
do you think?” he asked.

“I
think he’s a lost boy. He lived his life for one goal: to please his father.
Now that his father is dead he doesn’t know who he should be working for. His
business gives him profit but his father being proud of him gave him
satisfaction.” She sipped her wine then went on. “There is no one left to be proud
of him, so he doesn’t bother.”

“What
do you think he should do?”

“Work
to make himself proud of what he’s done to continue his father’s legacy. He
needs to find satisfaction in himself and not the people around him.”

“So, in
other words, he should work to make himself proud of his own accomplishments.”
Rich tied it up.

“You
get me.” Catalella chortled. “Sometimes the only people we can depend on are
ourselves.”

Rich
looked towards the crowd and saw Michael approaching. He couldn’t help but
guess that last comment was meant for her in relation to Michael. “Who was the
douche bag?”

“My
ex-husband,” Catalella said in an almost-whisper. Rich already knew about
Michael—not everything but the basic details.

“Well
your ex-husband is headed this way. Do you want to dance?” he asked and his
eyebrow rose in a questioning glance.

Should
she risk it? Catalella had noticed how his body made hers feel. She had been
devoid of human contact for the past four years. Having his body grind against
hers made her feel like she was about to erupt. She wanted to have that feeling
again, even if it was only for a few minutes.

“Sure,
but what about our drinks?” she asked, almost choking on her wine.

“They
are fine here. Plus I don’t think we need to go into that crowd over there.”
Rich stood up and took her hand. He waited for her to stand before taking a
step back. “We could dance right here.”

Rich
lifted her arms over his shoulders and his own went around her waist. He pulled
her close, their bodies molding into each other. Catalella was glad she had her
high heels on. If she didn’t have them, Rich’s towering height would be too
difficult to hold. She watched as Michael
stopped,
his
jaw slack as he watched them. But, when he caught her eye, he winked at her and
took a seat at their table.

Catalella
ignored him and stared back at the blue eyes gazing at her. She examined his
lips…they were thick and seemed hard, but she was sure that when they kissed
they were gentle and as soft as a feather. She cupped her palm on his jaw and
the delicate, intimate way she was holding him surprised them both. Rich turned
his head a fraction so that he could press a kiss in her palm. Her breath
hitched when his hands rubbed up and down her back. She could feel them go low
and stop just above her ass, but she could feel how he wanted to hold her
there, needed to.

She
pressed her body closer to his a bit more and gasped as his desire pressed into
her stomach. Her throat closed and her stomach ground at that moment. She
wanted him, but she didn’t trust herself to make the decision.

“Do you
want to?” Rich asked, the baritone in his voice rolling through her, making
every single nerve in her body aware and wanting.

She
cast a cheeky look at him then winked. She rose on her tiptoes and whispered
her address in his ear. “Just in case you get lost or can’t keep up.” Catalella
took a step back to the table and grabbed the unopened bottle of red wine.

“Where
are you going?” Michael asked as he stood up. “I wanted to talk to you.”

It was
as if she couldn’t hear him. Her desire beat so loudly that she could hear the
blood rushing through her veins. She turned back to Rich. “Do you think you can
keep up?”

Rich
groaned, then chuckled, his fingers combing through his short blond hair. “I’m
right behind you.”

Chapter Three

Rich
couldn’t stop thanking Michael, the ex-husband, for walking into his restaurant
that night. Because of him, he was going to get lucky. But something about
Catalella said forever, and that scared the hell out of him. Rich pulled into
the road from his private parking spot in the alley in time to see Catalella
get into her white BMW. She turned around and at first looked surprised—his red
Maserati had that effect on people. Catalella winked at him. Rich wanted to
beat her to her apartment, to show her how capable he was at keeping up and
give her a hint of the horse power she was going to have to handle. But
Catalella pulled out of the driveway with her door still not closed, leaving
the valet having to chase after her.

He was
in hot pursuit but slowed down as the traffic light began to change. He
expected her to do the same, but Catalella sped past the intersection a second
before the light went red. His grip on the steering wheel tightened. He expected
to hear a crash and see her BMW wrecked but…nothing. He sighed in relief. But
soon anticipation and anxiety gripped him. Rich realized that he would be the
one catching up. He weaved through traffic as a grin claimed his lips. Ice
Queen no more, his little orchid was going to set him on fire.

Rich
was glad her building had a valet parking service. He wasn’t sure the bulge in
his pants could handle the nuisance of trying to find a parking spot. He headed
to the elevator, running past the doorman and his questions. The elevator doors
closed and he found himself staring at the buttons. Giving himself a chance to
take a few breaths and allowing some blood to return to the head above his
shoulders, he tried to remember the floor number.

“Thirty—”
Rich chewed on his lower lip as he cursed himself. He tried to picture himself
back at the club with Catalella. But the thought of her delicate, luscious lips
brushing against his ear as her warm breath feathered across his throat got him
even harder, painfully so. Just then he pushed the button to the third floor,
telling himself he would remember the last number when he got there.

When
the elevator door opened he whispered a silent prayer of thanks. This woman was
going to eat him up. Right before him were bread crumbs leading him to the
sweetest treasure he was sure he would ever taste. He picked up one of her
shoes, walked around the corner and found the other. He walked a few paces and
there in front of the door was the dress that she had worn at the club. The
sexy red number stared at him, mocking him, inviting him. The door was slightly
ajar as he looked at the apartment number—
306.
He vowed never to forget those three lovely numbers. They would hold a
whole new meaning to him now. He picked up the red dress and rubbed it against
his cheek. The fabric was soft, and soon he would be feeling Catalella’s smooth
skin against his and her velvety center around him.

He
pushed the door open and there in the dimly lit room stood the most beautiful
sight he had ever seen.

* * *
*

Catalella
was hyperventilating. Her sister, Lisette, and Darcy, her assistant, had told
her that sex was like riding a bike. You never forget the skill you possess.
But she didn’t have the experience. She hadn’t had sex for the last two years
she was married to Michael. He couldn’t bear touching her—her skin was rubbery
and there was this foul odor emanating from her. All the chemicals that were
being fed into her were making her body undesirable. Then, four years after
Michael, she had never brought a man to her bed. She didn’t want anyone to see
her naked, to see the disapproving glare in their eyes that made her feel ugly.
But here she was in her black lace underwear, waiting for a stranger to approve
of her, to accept her.

She
hadn’t thought about changing her mind. This was her chance to grab the bull by
its horns—although in this instance she was going for a different part of the
bull. Catalella grabbed the bottle of red wine and opened it. She poured it
into two
glass
and picked them up as she moved beside
the door to lean against the wall. Catalella took a couple of deep breaths and,
when she heard his footsteps come closer to her door, she held it.

Rich
pushed the door open and Catalella watched as he walked in with her clothes in
his hands. She guessed that leaving her clothes in the corridors was a good
idea after all. She waited until he stepped deeper into the room, before
pushing the door closed with her behind.

“Hi,”
she said mastering her sexiest voice yet. “I was wondering if you got lost on
the way.”

Rich
turned around and stared at her. His eyes
widened,
wild and dark with desire. He tossed her clothes to the floor and took a step
towards her. He laid his palms against the door behind her, trapping her
between his arms. He leaned in for a kiss and Catalella used her lips to tease
his. She thought she would feel claustrophobic with him in her space but she
wanted him to get closer.

“I
actually did get lost,” he mumbled as his lips caressed her neck and kissed
behind her ear. “But your trail of bread crumbs led me here.”

“I’m
glad.” She held the drinks up to him.

“The
only thing I want to drink is you,” he groaned.

“Hold
them for me.” She gasped as he took her ear between his teeth and gently bit
down.

Rich
stood back and gave her a curious gaze. He looked as disappointed as she felt
having his body away from hers. But she needed her hands free so that she could
feel him. “I need your hands occupied so that I can do this.” She skimmed her
hands under his shirt and onto his well-packed abs, her fingers kneading into
his muscled flesh and smoothing up his back. “I want to take my feel before you
maul me.”

He
growled at her and that commanded her body to shiver in response. “Maybe we
should get rid of the drinks.” She took the glasses from him and walked across
the room to her dining table.

* * *
*

Rich
swallowed hard and he watched her ass twitch as she walked away from him. Her
underwear clung to her butt, caressing the fleshy body part. All he wanted to
do was to reach out and grab her. Her strapless bra supported her full breasts.
The dark color of the lace complemented her toffee-colored skin. She had a sexy
figure and all he wanted to feel were her full thighs around his waist, holding
him tightly in place.

 
Catalella sat on the dining table and
crossed her legs, enjoying how his eyes darkened as he watched her. With her
finger she signaled Rich to come towards her.

Rich
bit back a curse as Catalella bit her finger. She had this innocent little look
on her face but her eyes told the treachery she was planning. Her body called
out to him, but when she held out her hand to stop him, he whimpered in
disappointment.

“I
don’t think it’s fair that you have all you clothes on and I’m down to my
unmentionables.” She chuckled.

“What
you’re wearing is something to be mentioned.”

“Or
maybe I should put my dress back on?”

Rich
had fantasized about peeling that dress off her lovely body. But, having her in
front of him almost naked and ready, he couldn’t bear the thought of her
covered up. “You do that and I will spank you.”

“Ow.”
She bit her lower lip. “I might like that.”

Rich
pulled his shirt over his head and Catalella watched in awe as his muscles
bunched and rippled with his every movement. He bent and pulled his sneakers
and socks off. Her eyebrows rose in wonder as he unbuttoned his jeans and let
them hang around his waist.

Catalella
hissed as she bit back an oath. Rich’s body seemed to have been sculpted. His
full-muscled shoulders carried thick, well-toned arms. His chest was taut and
strong and, although he didn’t have a six pack, his belly was tight. She wanted
to reach out and touch him. And, as if he had heard her thoughts, Rich was
standing in front of her, between her legs.

He
pulled her closer to him, wrapping her legs around his waist. Rich pressed a
kiss on her throat, gently pushing her back to lie down on the table. Catalella
felt a shiver of anticipation and a hint of her climax rush through her as his
erection pushed against her center. She could feel how hard for her he was and
yet he did nothing to quench his hunger.

Catalella
got fed up with waiting. In strained, breathy sounds she asked. “What are you
waiting for? Don’t tease me.”

Rich
chuckled in between kisses, his warm breath caressing her hot neck. “It’s not
my intention to tease you. Besides, I want to get you so needy that when I
finally take you, you’ll shatter in my arms.” He bit on her earlobe and her
body arched off the table as his hands caressed her body. “I want to memorize
every inch of your body.”

Catalella
pushed him off and got into a sitting position. She wrapped her legs around
him, trapping him in place. She giggled at the shocked reaction on his face,
but his eyes still held the burning desire. She felt him getting harder and
bigger and decided to take over the seduction. She realized Rich was one to
take his time, but Catalella wanted…no, desperately needed…a sprint to the
finish just this once.

“You
have the whole night to commit my body to memory. Right now—” She tugged at his
fly and pulled the band of his underwear as her hands slipped into his shorts.
Her fingers curled around his hard flesh as a gasp escaped her lips and a groan
hissed through his. “This is what I want.”

Mercilessly,
she got a hard grip around him and tugged him even closer. He hissed once more,
whether in pain or satisfaction she didn’t know. Part of her didn’t care, as
long as the
thing
didn’t break off.
She nibbled on his chin, watching the emotions play out on his face while his
eyes closed. Her palms and fingers massaged his shaft, taking in his true
length as he kept on getting even harder. His was huge…blessed was the right
word. She didn’t think she would be able to fit all of him inside her.

A hiss
and his fingers digging into her thighs brought Catalella’s eyes back to his
face. He whimpered and she laughed. As soon as the sound left her lips she
regretted it. Rich’s eyes flew open and there was no amusement in them. The
baby blues darkened. She didn’t have time to figure out what his stern gaze
meant. Rich pulled her hand out of his shorts. She heard him push his jeans and
shorts down before he grabbed her once more.

Rich
pulled her to him. Catalella let out a cry as her body fell back on the table.
Without any warning Rich had shoved his aching member inside her to the hilt.
He didn’t take the time to let her body accommodate his. Her games had left him
aching to the point of pain. His hands trembled as he tried his best to hold
onto her fleshy thighs. He could feel his whole body tremble as sweat streaked
down his face. He forced himself to restrain the urge to pull out and pump into
her until he was wrung out and she was begging for more or for mercy. It wasn’t
until he saw her body tremble that he realized that she had come.

Catalella’s
eyes flew open. Rich and her climax had taken her by surprise. The aftershocks
of her orgasm left her body trembling. With her legs she pulled him closer,
urging him on. Her body rose and fell as his moved within her. She hadn’t ever
had such a powerful orgasm and all she wanted was to feel another one crash
into her. She watched…his jaw clenched, his muscles tight, and sweat glistened
on his rock hard chest. She wanted to feel his weight on top of her, but there
would be time for that later.

When
his eyes shut tight Catalella sat up, making sure that he didn’t slip out of
her. The overwhelming need to hold him when they both climaxed together came
over her. She could feel his orgasm coming on and it was calling to hers. She
held him tight as he lifted her off the table, his hands shifting from her hips
to hold on to her ass. Pumping harder and faster, he threw his head back as he
moaned out his climax, and Catalella bit into his shoulder to stifle her own
cry.

* * *
*

Rich
didn’t think he had the strength to move from where he stood. He held Catalella
tight in his arms and he thought of where to set her down. He looked over at
the table. It was wet with sweat.

“I have
a feeling that dinner will never be the same again.” He chuckled as she pushed
back her hair.

“I
don’t use it.” Catalella breathed out her response. “I should probably get
down.”

“No, I
like holding you like this. You feel so tiny in my arms.” He pressed a kiss on
her temple. “I have to find the strength to get us from here to the sofa over
there.”

“We
could sit on the floor. I won’t mind. Besides, you’re trembling.” She gave him
a worried look and he couldn’t help but laugh. “What’s so funny?”

“My
body is just trying to recuperate. I should have heeded your warning back at
the club.” The confused look on her face told him she didn’t understand. “When
you asked if I could keep up?”

Catalella
laughed. “I was terrified. That was definitely not me. I knew you would swallow
me whole but I was determined to put in my share.” She leaned back and looked
at him.