Dirk's Love (2 page)

“
Thanks, Ansley.”

Roxie closed the laptop. “Now that you all know, I guess this meeting’s over.” She turned to Dirk. “Don’t you have another one to get to soon, Mr. Boss?”

He smiled. “I do. I’m meeting Ryann for lunch in about twenty minutes.”

“
Then what are you waiting for? Get going.”

More than relieved to have this part of his day over with, Dirk nodded, then turned and walked out of the room. He headed for the front door, thinking he’d have plenty of time to get to the restaurant ahead of Ryann. He wanted to be there before she arrived, to organize his thoughts on how he wanted their first meeting in person to go.

It wasn’t too far of a drive from Roxie and Beowulf’s place. It also was a nice and bright San Francisco day. Dirk slipped on a pair of sunglasses and took the top down on his gray metallic BMW 335is convertible. He actually looked forward to seeing Ryann. They’d talked so much over the phone since he’d hired her two weeks before he felt as if he’d known her for a lot longer than that. They also worked well together. And with her background, Ryann was just the kind of person he needed to help out with the service.

He pulled into the lot of the Japanese restaurant he’d chosen and parked the car. Dirk had become hooked on sushi about six months ago and couldn’t get enough of the stuff. He found himself coming to this place at least once a week to feed his new addiction.

After getting out of his car, Dirk walked to the entrance of the restaurant and stepped inside the vestibule, then pulled open the glass door that led to the main section. The place had a definite Asian flare to it. As usual, already quite a few people were there, eating. He’d learned early on to make sure he had a reservation.

Greeted by the hostess, he gave his name, saying he would have another person joining him shortly. The woman led him to a booth and left two menus on the table. Dirk’s stomach growled as he looked one over, promptly deciding what he’d order first. The thing he loved about this sushi place was that it was all-you-can-eat. Each menu item had a number, which had to be filled out on a form with the amount desired on a small slip of paper. The wait staff—whoever happened to see it first—picked it up, and shortly after that, the freshly prepared food arrived at the table. Someone could order as much and as many things as they wanted, so long as they finished everything before ordering more. Not that Dirk had any problem in that regard.

Dirk pulled in a deep breath, his mouth watering at the smell of raw fish, rice and other items the restaurant served. Being a werewolf, he liked any kind of meat practically uncooked, so raw fish was right up his alley.

As Dirk tried to think through what he wanted to say to Ryann, he drew in another breath, then one more quickly after that. His whole body stiffened—along with his cock—when he detected a new scent added to the mix of others around him. Dirk’s fingers held the menu tighter as the one thing he’d longed to feel surged through him, roaring to life—his mating urge.

He looked up to find a woman standing at the side of the table, smiling at him. Dirk latched his gaze onto hers, unable to do anything but stare. She was gorgeous, with long, black hair that fell over her shoulders. Friendly looking light blue eyes gazed back at him. He filled his lungs again with her scent, reveling in the fact that she was to be the one meant for him. His mating urge rode his ass hard, making it almost impossible to think beyond the need to claim her as his.

She stuck out her hand. “You must be Dirk. I’m Ryann.”

Dirk stood and wrapped his much larger one around hers and shook it. He had to fight with himself not to yank her forward and devour her with his mouth. His cock throbbed in time with his rapidly beating heart, pushing against the zipper of his jeans.

“
Nice to finally meet you, Ryann,” he said in a voice that had gone husky as he forced himself to let go.

“
And it’s nice to finally put a face to the voice. Just to start off, I have to apologize. My sitter bailed on me at the last minute. I hope you don’t mind that I had to bring my son, Tyler, along.”

Dirk’s gaze dropped to the small boy who stood next to Ryann, clutching her hand. The first thing that popped into his mind was: oh, shit. His mate was already married.

Ryann waited to see what Dirk’s reaction would be after she told him about Tyler. When it came, she hadn’t expected to see his face turn slightly white as he stared down at her son.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable, she waited for Dirk to say something first. She also used the opportunity to study him closer. He was so good-looking she wouldn’t have been surprised to find herself drooling over him. He had the looks that would put a model to shame. And his body.
Damn.
His muscles filled out the form-fitting black t-shirt and blue jeans he wore quite nicely. He also was tall, really tall. Ryann guessed him to be around six-foot-six. At five-foot-eight, there weren’t too many men who could make her feel short, but Dirk did. And throw in his long—past his shoulders—dark brown hair with blond highlights and dark green eyes, and it was all she could do not to stare at him with her tongue hanging out.

Finally, Dirk brought his gaze back up to her face. His eyes were filled with such longing she felt her knees start to weaken. But then, he blinked and it was gone. He motioned for her to take the banquet seat across from him.

“
That’s okay,” he said in a deep voice. Once they were all seated, he added, “I didn’t realize you had a son. Or that you were married.”

Ryann made sure Tyler couldn’t get at anything on the table that he could make a mess with before she turned her attention back to Dirk. “Well, that wasn’t one of the questions you asked when I applied for the job. And I’m not, by the way.”

“
You’re not what?”

“
Married. Tyler’s father and I’ve been divorced for two years. My ex decided he wanted out when Tyler was a year old. I guess that’s what I get for wanting the whole marriage thing at twenty-one.”

“
How long were you married?”

“
Three years.” Ryann couldn’t help noticing as she told Dirk about her ex that he appeared less pale. If anything, he seemed to be more comfortable being around her and Tyler.

“
Sorry to hear that.”

She chuckled. “Don’t be. It’s worked out for the best, believe me. We have shared custody of Tyler, with Mack getting him for the entire weekend every other one, but my ex is good for getting out of it when he has other plans.”

“
It must be hard on you, raising your son basically alone.”

She shrugged. “I’m not going to lie and say it’s all a cake walk.” Ryann quickly snagged the bottle of soya sauce Tyler had managed to grab off the table before he dumped it everywhere. “Having a three-year-old to chase after can be tiring. That’s why I’m really happy to work for you. I can spend more time with Tyler and not feel as though half my wages are going for a sitter.”

“
Good save on the bottle,” Dirk said with a smile. “You were the best candidate for the position.” He glanced at Tyler. “Will he like anything here? We could have rescheduled for a better day. ”

“
Thanks, and he’ll eat fried rice and noodles. No, it’s fine. You have no idea how much I’ve looked forward to this. I don’t get out to do a lot of adult things, so I don’t let the opportunity slip through my fingers when it comes along. I know, pretty pathetic, huh?”

Dirk chuckled. “Actually, no. I’ve been looking forward to this meeting as well. I feel as if I’ve known you for a long time through our phone conversations. And now that we’ve met, I also look forward to getting to know you even better.”

Ryann forgot to breathe as Dirk stared at her as if she were a piece of sushi on the menu. Her body instantly went up in flames, her pussy clenching, aching to be filled. It had been so long since she’d been intimate with a man. The last one she’d slept with had been her ex-husband. And having a guy like Dirk actually showing interest in her was waking her sex-starved body from its extended hibernation.

Her lungs protesting the lack of oxygen, Ryann let out her breath and yanked her gaze from Dirk’s. She focused on the menu in front of her. “So, do you see something that’s turning your crank more than others?” She realized what she’d just asked could be taken in another context, and quickly added, “I mean the food.”

“
I know what you’re asking. Yes, there is.” Dirk paused. “And I don’t mean the food.”

Ryann jerked her head up to find Dirk giving her a sexy grin. Oh, shit. Was he hitting on her? Because if he were, she was so out of practice it wasn’t even funny. She racked her brain to think of something to say in return when Tyler reminded her she didn’t just have herself to think about.

“
Mommy,” he whined. “I’m hungry.”

“
I know, buddy,” she said. “I’ll order something for you in a minute.”

Dirk shifted his gaze to her son and held out his hand, palm up to him. “I never did say a proper hello to you, Tyler. I’m Dirk.”

Tyler smiled and slapped Dirk’s hand. “You’re a lot bigger than my daddy.”

Ryann groaned to herself. Tyler didn’t have a lot of interaction with the male gender, except for his father and grandfather, her father. So he tended to compare other men to his dad. If Dirk were interested in her, he didn’t need the constant reminder that she’d been married before. Some guys didn’t like the baggage an ex-husband entailed, especially one she’d had a child with. Not that she’d even dated a man since divorcing Mack. Raising Tyler had become her number one priority.

Dirk grinned at her son. “I am, am I?”

Tyler nodded. “Uh-huh. You’re super tall. I want to be really tall like you when I grow up.”

“
Well, then you’d better make sure you eat lots of lunch to help make you grow.”

Tyler turned to Ryann. “Mommy, order me lots, so I’ll get bigger like Dirk.”

She laughed. “All right.”

Dirk filled out the slip of paper as she told him what she and Tyler wanted. Once a waitress grabbed it, silence reigned, except for the sound of Tyler playing with his toy car on top of the table, after she’d fished it out of her purse to keep him entertained.

“
So—” she started.

“
What—” Dirk said at the same time.

They both laughed. “You can go first,” she said.

“
I just wanted to know what you would be up to tomorrow afternoon.”

“
Nothing much. Why?” Ryann’s heart beat a little faster. Was this Dirk’s way of asking her out on a date? The idea that he might be sent a little thrill rushing through her. But then, he answered her and she felt a bit letdown, not that she let it show.

“
I’ve decided you need to have a better computer. The one you said you have really isn’t up-to-date enough for the type of work you’ll be doing for me. At least, it won’t be fast enough. So I’ve decided that a new desktop comes with your job, at my expense. If you’ll be around tomorrow, I’ll buy one and bring it over. I’ll even set it up for you.”

“
Really? You want to buy me a new computer?”

“
Yes. I was thinking of an all-in-one with a twenty-three inch touch screen. I recently bought myself one and I love it. It’s nice not having a tower and a ton of cables to deal with.”

“
I guess I can’t turn down one of those. And if for some unforeseeable reason I have to leave my position, I’ll be sure to give it back.”

Dirk shook his head. “No, it’s yours to keep.” His gaze met hers again, and Ryann felt as if she were falling into it. “Though I really can’t ever see letting you go.”

She stared back at Dirk, feeling as if his gaze were eating her up again. An ache throbbed deep inside her pussy. God, he turned her on with just one look. If they weren’t in the middle of a restaurant, and she didn’t have Tyler with her, Ryann would be so tempted to throw herself at him. Professionalism be damned. She wanted him. Wanted to have some hot, dirty sex with him, something she’d been sorely missing in her life. Sometimes she wanted to feel like a sexy woman, instead of a mommy. And she had a feeling Dirk would be more than willing to give her exactly what she longed for.

The first plates of their food arrived, and the spell that had taken her over, broke. While they ate, the conversation centered more on Dirk’s online dating service, which the whole lunch meeting had been originally planned for. Ryann kept an eye on Tyler, thankful the mess he made with his food wasn’t hers to clean up. And she had to hand it to Dirk—he didn’t bat an eye when some of Tyler’s rice ended up flung to his side of the table.

Even though Ryann considered herself a big eater, Dirk put her to shame. She had reached her limit long before he did. The last two rolls he’d ordered had just been placed on the table. He picked one piece up with his chopsticks and popped it into his mouth, sighing with pleasure. It sent of shiver of desire down her back. She wondered if he’d make the same sound in bed. She quickly pulled her thoughts from that topic before they got out of hand.

Dirk swallowed before he asked, “Are you sure you’ve had enough?”

She shook her head. “Definitely. I eat another bite and I’ll blow up, but you go ahead.”

He plucked up another piece. “Oh, I will. I’m addicted to this stuff. When I come here, I make sure I get more than my money’s worth.”

She laughed. “I bet you do. And I bet they’re happy to see you go.”