Emily's Affair (8 page)

"Lick it," Jake ordered quietly.

Lee watched Jake's expression while she lapped at the ice cream. She rolled her tongue around the berry and barely managed not to take it into her mouth. His eyes flared, then narrowed and glazed over.

Jake nodded once and she wrapped her lips around the berry. His breathing grew ragged and his attention centered on her mouth. Lee sucked on the strawberry and tasted a tang of bitterness, not enough to deter her exploration, but enough to confuse and stimulate her senses.

"Bite it."

"Gently," Nick added roughly.

Lee sank her teeth into the strawberry and experienced a rush of sensations. Her eyes drifted shut and she wallowed in pleasure. This strawberry-vanilla experience was—she hypothesized—to her what hot fudge brownies and vanilla ice cream were to Marilyn. Absolute heaven. Sinfully delicious. Addicting.

Lee forced her eyes to open and register on Jake sitting in front of her. "I am no longer without vice."

The corners of his mouth kicked up. "Again?"

A chorus of yeses erupted around the bar.

Jake hauled her chair closer, until her knees brush the insides of his thighs. He prepared the remaining half of the strawberry and held it out for her. "Come and get it."

Lee planted her hands on either of his thighs, lifted herself off her chair, and eagerly began the ritual anew. His thighs were hard and hot through the soft, faded denim. The excitement her mouth was enduring paled in comparison to the warm, liquid sensations stirring in the center of her body. It felt like a heavy wine had settled on her stomach, then slowly—inch by mesmerizing inch—spread into her bloodstream.

"Finish it," Jake rasped.

Lee took the rest of the strawberry into her mouth and nipped at the tips of his fingers.

"Tease."

Lee swallowed and licked her lips appreciatively. "Delicious. Want a taste?" She knew she was being wanton, but she really didn't care. For today, her motto was carpe diem—correction—carpe Jakem,
seize Jake
. She squeezed his thighs suggestively.

A chorus of yeses erupted around the bar, begging for a taste.

"Horny bastards." Jake caught her chin and pulled her closer. "You, sweetheart, are an exhibitionist."

"Yeah, but you love it."

Jake grinned unrepentantly. "You know it, babe. Give me a taste and make it good. We've got an audience to please."

Lee flicked her tongue along his bottom lip. "Lee's first rule of life… please yourself, then worry about the horny bastards." She didn't give him a chance to respond, but dove in and explored a whole new area of sensations.

His silent groan reverberated on her lips as his hand cupped the back of her head and pulled her closer.

Grumbles of frustration echoed around the room.

"Nicki, go and fetch the hose. I can't stand much more of this."

"I've got a better idea," Nick said. "Give him the night off."

"If it were any other night but Saturday, I'd kick him the hell out of here. Give me a glass of water or something."

"We need to hire another bartender."

Jake lessened the kiss and let her drift back to her chair. "Excellent strawberries, Nicki."

Lee was more than ready to leap onto his lap and share the rest of the strawberries with him. "Addictive, aren't they?"

His thumb rubbed across her lips. "Extremely."

She nipped playfully at pad of his thumb. "It might be kind of fun if they go and get the hose."

"Sweetheart, Alex was thinking of himself first." His eyes flickered down to her white cotton shirt. "He possesses a one track mind."

"Don't we all," she whispered. Under any other circumstances, Emily Katherine Stafford would be shocked at her shameless, hussy-like behavior. But after last night and the erotic dreams she had been forced to endure in her big bed—alone and miserable—she didn't care.

Jake had left her on her doorstep with a good night kiss which had been carnal and wet and deep and… the list was too long and arousing to think about. And—of all the nasty, horrible things for him to do to her overworked senses—he'd left her wanting and aching on the threshold of her condo with one word which he repeated right now.

"Patience," he replied in a breath of a whisper.

Alex leaned across the bar and interrupted the intimate moment. "I hate to intrude, but I have a suggestion."

"What?"

Alex turned to Lee. "How would you like to be honorary bartender for the night? You don't have to do anything, but keep Lover Boy here behind the bar and on hand to help me."

"Uh, Alex—"

"Sounds like fun," Lee said, interrupting Jake.

Alex squeezed her shoulder and slid back to his side of the bar. "She's a keeper, Jake." He turned and went back to his task of inventorying and restocking the coolers.

Jake touched her cheek and drew her attention back to him. "Are you sure you want to stick around tonight? It's bound to get pretty hectic."

"I want to. It sure beats the heck out of joining Marilyn and Booker for pizza and beer. It's Marilyn's week to pick a movie and nine times out of ten she picks a Gerard Butler flick and then proceeds to corrupt my innocent soul by rambling on in explicit detail what she would do if stranded on a deserted island with him."

His expression was thoughtful as he studied her face. "How have you made it this long without corrupting that innocent soul of yours?"

Lee bit her lip. She wasn't sure if she was ready for him to know exactly how innocent she was. In her experience, she'd come to realize that some men were attracted by the label of virgin. She doubted Jake was one of those men, but just to be safe she'd wait. "I, um, have a tendency to block out everything, but what I'm focusing on at the moment. I spent the last eleven years focusing on getting off the streets and building my business. Corruptive, um, things never entered into the picture. If they did, I ignored them or didn't notice."

His brows drew together in concern. "Getting off the streets?"

Her gaze dropped to her knees. "Yes." This was not a subject she wanted to delve into either. Lee hadn't meant to mention that aspect of her life. She had done many things in her life which she would rather not discuss, even though she regretted none of her decisions.

"Emily?"

She shook her head. "It happened a long time ago, Jake."

He cursed under his breath, then covered her hands with his own. "It's obviously an uncomfortable subject for you and I'll respect your privacy."

Her head shot up.

"For now."

Lee slowly smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you." She cocked her head to the side. "I just realized something."

"What's that?"

"I know hardly anything about you."

Jake picked up his drink and took a swallow. "What do you want to know?"

"What do you want me to know?"

Jake set his glass down and his eyes crinkled with mischief. "What do I want you to know?" He pretended to ponder his answer carefully. "I sleep naked."

"How interesting," she murmured.

"Your turn. What do you sleep in?"

"Usually, a shirt and underwear."

"Usually," he prompted for an explanation.

Lee felt the heat creep into her face. "There are times when… I prefer to feel the cool sheets against my skin. Last night was one of those times."

"Last night was… an exercise in restraint." Jake cleared his throat. "We had best change the subject. I'm not sure my willpower has recovered from," he swallowed visibly, "last night." He downed half of his drink. "What kind of business did you build?"

"Stafford & Co.," Lee answered with a healthy dose of pride.

"The clothing store?"

Lee nodded.

Jake leaned back and regarded her with an unreadable gaze. "You built it yourself?"

"I had help."

"Marilyn and Booker?"

"Yes." Lee paused. "Marilyn and Booker were my first investors. I couldn't have gotten the company off the ground without their support."

A slow smile lit Jake's gray eyes. "Hey, Alex?"

"Yeah," Alex answered. His head and attention was inside a cooler.

"Do you recall that article that was in the business section of last week's newspaper? The one you got so worked up about?"

Alex raised his head and looked at Jake. "The one about Lee-The Barracuda-Stafford?" Jake nodded, his eyes remained on Lee, and Alex continued, "What about it?"

Lee arched a brow. "
Worked up about
?"

Jake set his drink on the bar and started to say something, but Alex interrupted him. "Yeah. Whoever wrote that article had a bone to pick with the mastermind behind Stafford & Co.. Not only that, but it was written with a blatant disregard to the simple rules of grammar."

Lee bit her lip to keep from smiling. Alex's outrage sounded genuine. "I thought the piece rather amusing."

"Amusing," Alex scoffed. "I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Lee Stafford read that article. I bet you that Mr. Stafford had a few choice words to share with the author of that… pathetic excuse for journalism."

Jake coughed and it sounded suspiciously like laughter.

"You are quite right, Alex," Lee said. "
Ms.
Stafford did have a few choice words to say about that uninformed attempt to ruin an upstanding member of the business community."

"
Miss Stafford
?"

Lee drew in a deep breath and turned to Alex. "Yes. Miss Emma-
Lee
-The Barracuda-Stafford."

Alex's jaw dropped.

"First of all, the article had my sex wrong. Second, the dates they listed for the birth of my company were incorrect. Third, the social icon who assisted my rise to fame was not Mister Abergheny, but his lovely wife." Lee hesitated, then added, "Oh and the rumor that I am contemplating a merger with an unnamed and well-known catalog company is false. It was a hostile take over and I fully expect my stocks to realize a gain by the end of the fiscal year."

Alex's mouth closed, then opened again, only to snap shut.

Jake laughed. "Sweetheart, Alex is a big fan of yours."

Alex pointed at her. "She's…?"

She extended her hand to Alex. "Lee Stafford, CEO and President of Stafford & Co.. So nice to meet you."

Alex's expression was incredulous and dazed as he shook her hand. "Damn, Jake, if you aren't the luckiest man alive." He cleared his throat. "Emily, I've got to tell you. You have one helluva head for business."

Lee smiled. "Thank you, Alex. It took a lot of hard work, but I finally got it right."