Entice (11 page)

He let out a strangled groan and looked down at her. “The request was for you to
suck
it, I believe.”

Nodding in acknowledgment, Shelly whispered against his vulnerable flesh, “I believe you are correct.”

Then, she opened her lips and took him deep inside her mouth.

***

The woman is a fucking sex goddess
, Josh had decided. She was from some other planet where sexy women were created to go around and torture helpless men. As she knelt at his feet, sucking his cock deep down her throat, all he could think about was possessing her—
forever
.

He really needed to stop thinking like that, but damn it was hard when she was sucking him like a pro and moaning as though she loved it. He refused to mess up her hair, out of fear she’d never let him touch her again, so instead, he kept his hands clenched by his sides.

He’d let his head fall back and was now thrusting his hips toward her to get his cock as deep as she could take it. Josh groaned when he heard her whimper. He wondered why there was some sick part of him totally getting off on the fact that this woman—this beautiful, smart, highly educated professional woman—was currently down on her knees sucking his cock.
Fuck if that doesn’t turn me on.

Finally past his breaking point, he let go and reached up, gripping the side of her head, not caring anymore what happened after this immediate moment in time. He felt her moan around him, and the vibrations from her throat reverberated up his stiff shaft, sending shockwaves of pleasure up his spine, which then caused him to thrust harder.

She raised a hand and cupped his balls, squeezing gently, and that was all it took. Josh groaned loudly and thrust deep, spilling himself into her mouth. Then, he watched as the sexy siren swallowed every last drop.

***

Shelly sat back on her heels on her office floor and stared up at the disheveled man above her.
What the hell is going on?
This man makes me lose my ever-loving mind!

She was so worked up right now that she wanted to strip out of her scrubs and beg him to take her. His breathing was labored as he looked down at her. With his jeans open and his erection right there, barely deflated at all, Shelly thought he was the sexiest man she’d ever seen in her life.

“Wow, Shel,” he said with a smug smile. He reached down, rearranging himself, and pulled his jeans back together, zipping up.

Shelly blinked and tried to gather her wits about her.

“That sure was something else.” He ran his hands up through his sexy hair, and then looked down at her where she was still sitting at his feet on the floor.

He held out a hand for her, and Shelly gripped it, letting him pull her to her feet. Once she was there, she was about to tell him
no problem
and send him on his way, but he nodded once and turned, walking to the door.

She watched as he unlatched it and reached for the handle. Before he walked out, he turned to look at her, sitting with her butt against the desk to hold herself up, and winked.

“Thanks again, Doc. Now, I feel great.”

With that, he left before Shelly could say one damn thing.

Chapter Eight

Seven o’clock rolled around, and Shelly found herself outside of Roger McKinney’s office. She knocked twice and waited until he called her inside. Entering, she noticed he’d changed out of his scrubs and put on a black buttoned-up shirt and some black slacks. While it was obvious he wasn’t in the same category as Josh and Mason, she found herself taking a second look at the older doctor.

She supposed for a well-educated man, Roger McKinney was exactly the way he should be. He was extremely smart, slightly stuffy, and according to Lena, arrogant, and obnoxious. All of these qualities were what made him an excellent doctor and director, and a man her father would be extremely impressed to call his son-in-law.

The only problem with that scenario was Joshua Daniels, who kept flashing through her mind with his unzipped jeans and his sexy, satisfied grin.

“Shelly. You ready to get going?”

Smiling over at the man currently moving around his desk, she looped her arm through his when he offered.

“I sure am.” Pausing, she looked him over, and then commented, “You scrub up pretty good, McKinney.”

He shot her a slightly embarrassed grin, which was in direct contrast to his usual cocky attitude in work situations, and replied, “Thanks. You look absolutely stunning as usual.”

Smiling sweetly at him, Shelly squeezed his arm tight against her side. “Come on. Let’s go eat.”

***

Josh heard her the minute she walked in. He hadn’t meant to be at the restaurant when she arrived. He knew Monday nights were the Langley family dinner, and he’d been working like a dog all afternoon, trying to get the heck out of there before
she
turned up. However, luck was not with him, and maybe it was his own fault. After all, he had taken two hours off this afternoon for
extracurricular
activities, and now, it was coming back to bite him in the ass.

Standing in the building adjoining Exquisite, he listened carefully as she seemed to make her way through the restaurant. He couldn’t see her. But he could hear her talking, and occasionally, that sexy laugh of hers would echo through the air. Josh could swear he felt it stroke right down his arm, causing the hair at the back of his neck to stand up.

He was about to call it a day and leave without going next door when he heard a deeper voice fill the silent space. Moving closer to the connecting walls, Josh crept past the sawhorse and stood still as a statue.

“Dr. McKinney! It’s so good to see you again.” Josh heard his friend Mason say,

Listening carefully, Josh heard who he assumed was Dr. McKinney.

“Thanks, Mason. You, too. I was thrilled when Shelly told me we were coming here tonight.”

Now,
that
got Josh’s attention. Standing straight up and inching backward, he accidentally stepped into the wooden sawhorse, sending it falling over with a loud crash.
Shit!
Looking around for a quick exit, Josh made a beeline for the door. He almost made it.

“Josh?” He heard from behind him.

Shit, shit, shit!
Turning slowly, he saw Lena standing in the makeshift door.

“Yep. Hi, Lena. Sorry about the noise. I was just leaving.”

Please leave it at that and let me leave,
Josh thought as he inched his way toward the main door.

He did
not
want to spend the next two hours sitting at a dinner table across from a woman who had been on her knees in front of him several hours ago and who was now entertaining her rich, smart Dr. Date.

But no, luck was definitely not on his side because Mason chose that moment to stick his head through the door.

“Josh! Come eat with us, man!”

Josh groaned, seeing no other way out, and made his way over to his friends.
Shit.

***

Shelly watched in horror as Josh Daniels stepped through the makeshift door where Lena and Mason were now standing. He was dressed as he had been earlier, but now, he had a tool belt—
oh god
—wrapped around those amazing hips.

Lena must have noticed it, too.

Let’s face it. Who wouldn’t look at his crotch when that damn belt was designed to display it?

“You were leaving with your tool belt on?” Lena pointed out with a small laugh.

Shelly noticed Josh’s eyes glance over to her quickly, and then they moved directly to Roger where they zeroed in with an assessing gaze before returning back to Lena.

“Ah, yeah. I was on my way out and was going to put it in the back of my truck.”

Mason clapped him on the shoulder. “What’d you do? Trip over in the dark?”

Josh glared at his friend, and then nodded slightly. “Shut the hell up.”

Laughing, Mason moved to go back into the kitchen. Shelly kept her eyes on Josh as he moved around Lena. He then started to unbuckle his tool belt as he and Lena both walked over to a table across the room.

Shelly felt Roger nudge her arm. Moving her eyes to his, he asked, “Who’s Bob the Builder?”

Shelly almost winced at Roger’s condescending question. Then, she thought to herself,
Am I just like that?

Dismayed at herself and feeling almost protective of Josh for some inexplicable reason, she answered softly but firmly, “That’s Josh Daniels. He’s one of Mason’s longest friends and his Best Man. He’s renovating next door.”

“Ahh, I see,” Roger answered, nodding. “I’ve never really understood the need to build things. Don’t really have the patience for it.”

Or the muscle,
popped into Shelly’s head.

She smiled and answered, “Yes, it seems like hard work.”

Turning in the direction Josh had gone, Shelly looked across to where Lena stood chatting with him. She found herself making excuses, moving away from Roger, and headed toward her friend and DD.

***

Did this woman ever look anything but perfectly put together?
Josh thought as he saw Shelly walking toward them.

The minute he’d come through the door he’d felt her eyes land on him. He’d made a conscious effort not to look in her direction until it was absolutely necessary, and even then, he’d made sure he’d kept his cool and not given anything away.

However, right at this moment, while Lena was facing her friend, Josh let his eyes roam all over her as she made her way toward them. She must’ve changed at work because she was now wearing a navy dress with white polka dots all over it. The sleeves hit her arm just above the elbow, and the pencil skirt of the dress landed an inch or so under her knee. The modest dress hid her body in the most sophisticated way, but to Josh, the fact that he couldn’t see anything just made it that much sexier.
Damn, damn, damn!

Finally, she stopped in front of them and her eyes boldly latched onto his as she asked, “Playing with your tool so late at night, Josh?”

Feeling his mouth curve into a wicked grin, he was about to reply, but then Lena snapped at her.

“Shelly!”

Lena turned to face him quickly with apologetic eyes, and he saw Shelly behind her, giving him a thorough once over.

The woman is insane.How am I supposed to just stand here, letting her drive me crazy, and keep everything a secret?
Hell, who knew,
maybe she gets off on the thrill of being caught.

“Don’t worry, Lena. It’s okay,” Josh told her.

Looking back at Shelly, he returned her smug smile and replied, “I was cleaning up for the evening actually. I played with my tool a little earlier today.”

Lena shook her head and muttered, “You two are both idiots. Can we go and eat? Or are we going to start talking about secret gardens next like we don’t know that we’re alluding to a...” she trailed off, not brave enough to say it.

Shelly looked at her friend and asked sweetly, “Alluding to what, Lena? I don’t have a garden. Mine’s just a nice bare patch. What about you? Does Mason prune your garden?”

Josh choked on a strangled groan as Shelly looked at him with an evil smile full of pure mischief. That was when Lena threw her hands up and groaned, turning to stomp away. Josh looked at the sassy woman in front of him as she glanced quickly behind her to see that Mason had come out and was now talking to her Dr. Date.

“Did you do that on purpose?” he asked.

Josh watched Shelly’s eyes stray down to his mouth, and then come back up to meet his own.

“Do what? Embarrass Lena? She’ll be fine,” Shelly reassured.

“No. Run her away?”

She bit her bottom lip, and it immediately brought to mind other activities her mouth had been involved in earlier.

“Now, why would I do that?” she asked a little too innocently.

Leaning over a little closer so he could smell her—
hmm, apples again
—he said in a low voice, “So, you could be alone with me.”

Turning her head just an inch, he watched the corners of her mouth tilt up.

“And why would I want to do that?”

Josh stood back slowly and said in a soft whisper, “Because I owe you.”

He watched with complete satisfaction as her eyes clouded over.

She reached out to grab the back of a chair. “Do you?”

He moved around the table and was about to brush past her when she stepped in front of him. Looking down, he noticed her head tilted back, her eyes locking on his.

What kind of game is she playing with me?

She had a date here, and now, she was looking at him like she wanted to take him out the back and show him what was underneath her skirt.

Suddenly, Josh realized he didn’t like this deal anymore.

Leaning down slightly, he whispered, “New rule to our deal. You’ll get what I owe you, but first, you have to tell me something about yourself.”

He watched as her mouth fell open a little, and then she responded with a soft whisper, “That causes strings, Josh. I said no strings.”

He shrugged. “Then, I say I don’t owe you a thing.”

And, for the second time today, he walked away from her.

***

Shelly had just taken her seat next to Roger when Mason came in, carrying a huge bowl of pasta and a basket of garlic bread. He handed it to Lena who dished out her own, and then he sat down at the head of the table and started to pass the food around. The meal smelled absolutely amazing. The only problem, as far as Shelly could tell, was the immediate company.

To her left sat Roger, who was now chatting with Wendy and her husband, who’d arrived around fifteen minutes ago. Directly across from her was Lena, who was seated beside Josh, who was currently watching every single move Shelly made.

Oh, he’s being subtle
, but she could feel his eyes tracking her like a predator tracking his prey.
He needs to back off, or he’s going to get a punch in the gut—by me.

“Hey, everyone! Sorry I got held up,” Rachel said as she moved in behind Lena and Josh, taking the vacant seat beside him.