Club Prive Book 2 (Volume 2) (6 page)

“Now, Carrie, I have to say, you look ravishing.” Howard angled his body towards me as if I captured all of his attention.

I tried to smile at the compliment, but I thought it was a bit much. I deflected. “I’m flattered, Mr. Wei – Howard, but it’s all thanks to Prada and diamonds.” I laughed, the sound fake to my ears.

He apparently didn’t notice. “Well, diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” he said. “But I think it’s a little more than that.” The look he gave me was right on the border of friendly and heading toward something more.

I tried not to squirm. It wasn’t anything personal, I knew. He was like this with all women. After all, look at how many he had hanging all over him. I knew they didn’t do that just because he had money. He was charming in his own way, but I didn’t trust him. There was just something about him that made my skin crawl.

“I must say,” he continued, “I now have a very good reason to continue to work with Ms. Styles.”

Seriously? I was here as Gavin’s date and he was pushing the boundaries of what constituted polite conversation.

“How do you like working for Mimi?” he asked.

I relaxed slightly. That was better. Work talk was fine. The last thing I needed was Gavin’s employer, whom my boss had a crush on, hitting on me for some unknown reason.

“I enjoy it,” I said. “She’s an amazing attorney, and I’ve learned so much from her.”

“She is good,” he said. “You know, I’ve been looking to hire some people to help my general counsel. I think you’d be a great fit at my company.”

My eyes widened. He was offering me a job?

“You’d be quite an asset to have on hand,” Howard said. “I can think of a million different ways I could use you.”

Okay, maybe I was reading too much into things, but that sure sounded like an innuendo. I glanced at Gavin to see if he shared my opinion, but he was involved in what looked like a deep and meaningful conversation with the blond whose name was probably Candi or Sunshine. She was sitting in such a way that I knew their legs were touching. The brunette on the other side was leaning against him, her barely covered breasts pushing against his arm. A stab of jealousy went through me.

I couldn’t take Howard flirting with me while Gavin just chatted up some bottle blond. I needed a minute.

“Excuse me, Howard,” I stood. “I need to visit the powder room.”

“Of course.” He smiled at me.

I wasn’t sure I liked that smile.

I started to walk away from the table, not looking back to see if Gavin had even noticed I was gone. He seemed rather busy at the moment.

Chapter 8

As I walked back towards the discreet restroom signs, I told myself that I was being stupid. If I got jealous every time some woman flirted with Gavin, I’d spend our entire relationship being that way. He was smart, confident, strong, sexy as hell, and rich. Just one of those things would be enough to attract plenty of female attention. Put them all together and they were a lethal combination. If Gavin and I had any chance of making anything out of what we had, I had to learn to accept that women were going to hit on him.

Still, I countered, that didn’t mean he had to flirt back. And even if he wasn’t flirting back, shouldn’t he at least let the women know he was taken? Why hadn’t he? And why hadn’t he said something to Howard about the seats or about how Howard was flirting with me? Was it just because Howard was his boss or was it something else? He’d said he couldn’t quit thinking about me and that he wanted me. He’d never said that he was looking for a long-term relationship. Was that it? Was I reading too much into his attention?

“Carrie.”

His voice made me stop just outside the door to the women’s bathroom. I didn’t turn, though. I still wasn’t sure if I was hurt, pissed, or indifferent, though I was leaning towards the second one.

“I’m sorry.” The words were soft, contrite.

I turned. He was standing just a foot away, near enough that I could’ve reached out and touched him.

“I shouldn’t have let Howard separate us,” he said. “He can be... difficult to deal with at times, but I shouldn’t have let that stop me. I should have insisted on sitting next to you.”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I told myself that no matter what, I wouldn’t turn into one of those angsty heroines who whine and cry. Those women always pissed me off. Grow a backbone already. Your man acts like an ass? Kick him to the curb and get on with your life.

He reached out and took my hands in his. “But I’m even more sorry for letting Delilah and Ellie flirt with me like that.”

I raised an eyebrow. He knew their names?

As if sensing my question, he continued, “They’re two of Howard’s regular... entourage. Anyone who’s worked with Howard for more than a couple weeks ends up meeting them.”

Well, that at least explained why he felt so comfortable around them.

He released my hands and took a step forward. He cupped my face, raising it so that our eyes met. I knew I could drown in those eyes.

“You’re the only one I want to be with, Carrie. The only one on my mind.”

A small exhalation escaped my lips, and then his mouth was on mine. It started soft and gentle, his apology in physical form. Then he drew back for a moment and I read something darker on his face and it twisted things low inside me. All of my previous arousal came flooding back.

“Carrie.” He breathed my name as he dropped his hands from my face and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me tight against him.

This time, his kiss was hungry. His tongue plundered my mouth, exploring every inch of it as I clung to him, my knees weak. He spun us around, and my befuddled brain didn’t even register that he was taking us into the bathroom until I heard the faint squeak of the door. Not that I cared. As long as his arms stayed around me and his mouth kept moving with mine, I didn’t care where we were. I slid my hand up his chest and neck so that I could bury my fingers in the soft hair at the base of his skull.

He made a noise in the back of his throat and I felt him grow harder against my hip. Fuck. I wanted him. My previous fantasies danced around the edges of my mind. Krissy had always told me that I needed to stop repressing myself. This seemed like as good a time as any. I walked backwards towards the last stall, the big one. There’d be plenty of room in there.

The idea of letting Gavin take me in the hotel bathroom made me wetter than I’d wanted to admit. Still, I turned so that his back was going to push open the door. Once we were inside, we’d see where...

A scream tore Gavin and me apart.

A heavyset elderly woman was sitting on the toilet, looking equal parts mortified and furious. Heat flooded my face and I saw Gavin’s cheeks turn red.

“I am so sorry,” I gasped.

“Get out!” she shrieked. “Get out!”

I wanted to but I was rooted to the spot, unable to move. Gavin grabbed my hand and yanked me after him. I stumbled, but managed to keep my feet underneath me as I let him pull me from the restroom. We darted around the corner, still hearing the woman shouting after us. He pushed open the door to a stairwell and we ducked inside, breathing heavily from everything that had just happened.

As I leaned forward, trying to catch my breath, the lunacy of the situation struck me and I began to laugh. Gavin gave me a puzzled look, then, after a moment, joined in. Our laughter echoed in the stairwell, but no one came to investigate, so I figured we were alone.

“You know,” I said when I’d regained my ability to speak. “Whenever people in the movies or on TV go into a bathroom to fool around, they never burst in on someone who forgot to lock the stall door.”

“That’s very true,” Gavin said. He straightened and grinned down at me. Beneath his amusement his desire still burned, and my body tightened in response. He looked up the stairs, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Come on.” He grabbed my hand and led me up the stairs.

“Where are we going?” I asked as I silently cursed maneuvering in this dress and shoes.

He didn’t answer as he opened the door at the top of the flight of stairs. We entered a hallway and saw a sign on the wall to our right. Conference rooms A-F. Now I was really puzzled, but I followed him. He tried the first door and it was locked. When he tried the second door and found it locked too, I realized that he’d brought me here for us to be alone.

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I’d fantasized about having sex with him in some daring place, and I’d been willing to go as far as he’d wanted in the bathroom, but now that I’d had a moment to cool down and think about it, my nerves were kicking in. This wasn’t just a quickie in the restroom. If we got into one of these conference rooms...

I didn’t have the chance to finish the thought, because he found a door that was unlocked and pulled me through the doorway, releasing my hand once we were inside. He flipped on the lights to reveal a conference room easily the size of the one at Webster and Steinberg. The table in the center of the room had to be at least sixty feet long and ten feet wide, able to seat over fifty people.

I heard a click behind me and turned to see Gavin locking the door. Part of me knew that should freak me out, him locking us into an empty room on what appeared to be an empty floor. The only anxiety I felt, however, had nothing to do with what I thought Gavin could do to me.

A slow smile curved Gavin’s lips as he started to walk towards me. My heart began to pound. I wanted him, but I didn’t know if I could do it like this. Before, it had been in the heat of the moment. If I did this, it would be deliberate. I couldn’t say I’d been caught up in what we’d been doing. I was thinking clearly – or at least as clearly as I could when Gavin was involved.

“Come on, Carrie. Where’s your sense of adventure?” His voice was practically dripping sex and it coated my skin like heated liquid.

Adventure. I almost laughed. I’d always thought of adventure as being something like rock-climbing, or hiking through a rainforest. Krissy was the sexually adventurous one. Not me. That had never been me.

Or, the thought hit me, maybe it was me, and I had always just been too scared to admit it.

I crossed to Gavin and grabbed the back of his neck with one hand, pulling his head down until our mouths met. I felt his surprise at my impulsiveness and slid my other hand down his chest. If I was going to do this, I might as well go all the way. I pushed my tongue past Gavin’s lips, tasting the champagne he’d drunk. The hand on his stomach moved lower until it was back where it had been earlier in the evening.

Gavin practically growled as he wrapped his arms around my waist and picked me up. He carried me, our mouths still pressed together, to the table. He placed me on the edge and pushed my skirt up enough that the slit gave me the space to part my legs. He stood between them, his hands running up and down my thighs. As his palms moved from skin to cloth and back again, I pushed his jacket off his shoulders, my hands lingering on his broad shoulders. A moment later, my fingers found the buttons of his shirt and started to work them open. I wanted to feel his skin.

His hands moved up over my hips to my waist as I slipped my hands inside his shirt. He moaned as I explored his muscled torso, feeling every ridge and dip. When his fingers brushed the undersides of my breasts, I teased his nipples between my fingers.

“Shit,” he swore as he pulled his mouth away from mine. His eyes blazed and he raised his hands to the straps of my dress. He kept our gazes locked as he hooked his index fingers under each strap. Slowly, he lowered them until they were hanging halfway to my elbows. The front of the dress sagged, the material clingy enough to keep the low-cut neckline from falling completely. Still, I knew I couldn’t move or breathe too deeply. The fabric was precariously balanced just above my nipples, exposing the rest of my breasts.

Gavin bent over, his lips starting at my jaw. I tipped my head and my back arched, the movement just enough to free the rest of the dress. My top pooled around my waist and the cool air caressed my bare skin. His hands stayed on my arms as his mouth descended, lips and teeth worrying at my skin until I feared he was leaving marks. Not that I was going to stop him. My entire body was on fire, a new flame igniting each place his mouth touched. He moved across my collarbone and then down to my breasts. Only after his lips pressed against my soft flesh did he let his hands touch me.

Any patience he’d had fell away as he began to run his tongue over my breasts and around my nipples. I moaned as he teased at the sensitive flesh with teeth and lips on one side, fingers on the other. He switched back and forth, scraping and tugging until my nipples were hard and extended, my body writhing against his. I made a frustrated sound as he pulled back, and he chuckled, the sound sending a shiver of pleasure through me.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m going to get you there.”

He reached beneath my dress and took the waistband of my panties. I automatically raised my hips, letting him pull my underwear off. He dropped them on the floor even as he went down on his knees. Oh fuck. He was going to do
that
here?

He spread my legs further apart and gripped my hips in his hands. I kept myself propped up on my hands, wanting to watch. I whimpered as he buried his face between my legs. My muscles started shaking before he’d even completed his first pass, his tongue dancing between my folds as if it knew every nook and cranny to touch to start driving me towards an orgasm. It dipped inside me, caressing every inch of silken skin that it could reach.

I was panting, my breasts heaving as my body hovered on the edge of release. When he moved up to my clit, I gave a little cry, my hips jerking. He held me in place as he took that little bundle of nerves between his lips and began to suck. This was no gentle suckling. He was pulling on it, the suction almost too much. My head snapped back and my arms gave out. I slumped back on the table, twisting and turning as I came. Wave after wave crashed over me, each one stronger than the last, built by every pull of Gavin’s mouth. Only after I cried out his name did he stop and stand.