Good Karma (20 page)

He broke away, but held her close. “Since we
haven’t had sex, yet, I choose here.” He patted the couch. “And as
for what I would do to you here, I would make you stand in front of
me, where I would slip my hands up your skirt and pull off your
panties. I would invite you onto my lap and whisper how sexy you
are…” He bent around and kissed her earlobe. “You’re
very
sexy.”

A shiver raced down her spine.

His lips skimmed down her jaw to her chin. “I
would kiss your neck.” And he did, letting his tongue sneak out to
lick a fiery trail from one side to the other.

Karma felt like she was in a vicious state of
sensory overload. She was practically panting.

“And I wouldn’t stop making love to you until
you came.” His breath washed over the skin of her neck, and his
lips closed over her shoulder as he licked her. “Your first orgasm
with a man inside you,” he said a moment later when he met her gaze
again.

As badly as she needed oxygen, she could
hardly breathe.

“Oh,” she whispered breathlessly. Apparently
she could barely speak, too.

His gaze dropped to her mouth, and a
heartbeat later, their lips meshed again, this time with more
force. A quiet groan broke from deep in his chest.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and
shoulders. No way was she letting this moment go. All night, they
had talked about sex. Visions of him in various states of undress
had taunted her throughout their game, and she had felt his
magnificence against the sole of her foot for at least ten minutes.
They had fallen under the very spell the game was designed to cast,
because they were unraveling into lust faster than a stripper takes
off her clothes.

“Bite my lip,” he muttered against her mouth.
“Let yourself go.”

She thought she
had been
letting go,
but clearly he knew her better than she knew herself, because the
moment he told her to let go, she found a fifth gear she hadn’t
thought possible. Her tongue danced with his, and he groaned low
and loud, and when she did as he asked and took his bottom lip
between her teeth, he practically growled, and his fingers curled
into claws on her back, pulling her closer.

“That’s my girl,” he said when she released
his lip. Then he assaulted her mouth again, nipping her lip as if
to show her the pleasure she had just given him. And it
was
pleasurable. Being bitten, even if only lightly, knocked her good
side clear out of the picture, leaving only the vixen she had
discovered in Chicago.

Passion rose in her blood, turning her into
someone else. She was no longer sweet, shy, good Karma. She was
lusty, sultry, bad Karma. A woman lost to her desires, driven by
erotic need, who wanted to experience pleasure only a man could
give. That only
Mark
could give.

He pulled away, and she opened her eyes to
find him grinning at her, his gaze hooded.

“What?” she said, breathless.

His left eyebrow twitched. “You’re pulling my
hair.”

She glanced up and found that her hands had
curled into fists, and tufts of his dark brown hair poked out
between her fingers. She quickly opened her hands and let go.

Of course, this made Mark laugh. “I wasn’t
complaining. Remember, I like when a woman pulls my hair.”

“Uh, yes…” She sheepishly looked away. “I got
a bit carried away.”

He pulled her down so that her forehead
rested against his. “I know. And I liked it. A lot.”

For a long moment, nothing was said as Mark
ran his palms slowly up and down her back. “I want to be the first
man to show you what you’ve been missing, Karma,” he said softly.
“I want to succeed where others have failed.”

Her bashful side made a subtle reappearance,
and she curled in on herself. “Why?”

He caressed her cheek. “For one, I think you
deserve to know what a really good orgasm feels like, don’t
you?”

When he put it that way, how could she say
no?

His fingertips brushed back her hair. “Second
of all, I’m a man. And, like most men, I’m proud and have a big
ego. I’m not afraid to admit it. And when I make a woman feel
good…when I give her such intense pleasure that she screams my name
as she’s falling into the most unbelievable orgasm she’s ever had,
I take great pride in that.” He hesitated and narrowed his eyes.
“Especially when I know she’s never felt anything like that
before.” He paused to let his words sink in.

Karma’s entire body heated. They had most
definitely sunk in.

Who says egomania is a bad thing?

Mark shifted against the couch, and she felt
his erection press against her. “To know that I awakened that part
of a woman gives me tremendous satisfaction, Karma. It’s the best
ego boost in the world.” His gaze danced back and forth between her
eyes. “So, the most direct answer to your question is that I want
to feel you fall apart and come undone under my touch.” He took a
shaky breath and closed his palm over her cheek. “My God, but just
the thought of that…to see you, head thrown back, that heart-shaped
mouth open as you cry out…” He rubbed his thumb over her bottom
lip. “Let’s just say the idea turns me on very much.”

The idea turned her on, too, as in way
on.

“There’s something undeniably sexy about you,
Karma,” he said. “You intrigue me, and I want the pleasure of
discovering you, and of helping you discover yourself if you’ll let
me. Will you? Let me?”

As the air in the room froze and her heart
beat in a wild rhythm, hope and anxious anticipation broke over
Mark’s expression. His intense stare never wavered.

The most lascivious aspect of their pending
affair pressed solidly against the apex of her body, and she had to
force herself not to rotate her hips. How would he feel inside her?
What would it feel like to finally have an orgasm—a
real
orgasm—during intercourse? Mark promised to answer all those
questions and more.

What he was offering was more than she ever
could have imagined. He was handsome, charming, intelligent, and
confident in his abilities. He was the kind of man women dream of.
And he wanted to be with her.
Her!

If you want to change some things in your
life, you need to change some things in your life.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, I’ll let
you.”

She bit her lip and a shudder danced up her
spine as he smiled.

Mark had to be a magician, because only a
magician could have made her behave the way she had tonight.

This was going to be good. So very, very
good. She didn’t regret her decision to wear that gold brooch to
work today one bit. Not one damn bit.

Chapter 19

Talking to
your best friend is sometimes all the therapy you need.

-Author Unknown

On Wednesday, Mark flew with Don to Pennsylvania to
meet with a couple of leasing companies about warehouse space. At
lunchtime, Lisa cornered Karma, and there had been no way she could
keep all the wonderful, sexy details of the night before to
herself.

“Oh girl, I am so jealous,” Lisa said over
their bowls of lobster bisque. “You are going to have so much fun,
and when he’s through with you,” Lisa snapped her fingers, “you
will be a whole new woman. I just know it.”

“We’ll see.” Karma couldn’t deny that Mark
made her feel things she had never felt and do things she’d never
done. But would that really translate to a whole new her? Or would
she fall back into her old ways once Mark was gone?

“This isn’t a permanent relationship, you
know.”

“What do you mean?” Lisa scraped the last
bite of soup from her bowl.

“Well, when his work here is done and he goes
back to Chicago, that’s it. No more relationship.”

“He told you that?”

“He said he’s not a long-term kind of guy.”
She raised her shoulders in a small, quick motion as she dipped a
chunk of bread in her bowl. “But,” she held up an index finger, “he
said that while we’re together, there won’t be anyone else. Even
though he’s not into long-term relationships, he’s very committed.
He won’t see anyone else and doesn’t want me to, either.”

“Well, that’s good,” Lisa said. “At least you
know he won’t screw you over.”

“Exactly.” Karma liked that everything was
laid out up-front. There was no pressure to behave a certain way so
she didn’t chase him away. No wondering whether or not he was
seeing someone on the side, no fear of being hurt. She knew what
this was and what it wasn’t, which alleviated a lot of oppressive
mental weight.

She pushed her empty bowl aside.

“So, the two of you will have a good time
while he’s here.” Lisa sipped her drink. “You’ll have a good time,
he’ll show you what you’ve been missing…” A mischievous smile
played over her mouth. “And he’ll give you the best four to six
sexual months of your
life
.”

“Lisa! Sshh!” Karma gasped and quickly looked
around to make sure no one had overheard.

Lisa giggled. “Oh, hush. Nobody heard me.”
She leaned over the table and whispered excitedly, “But, oh my God,
Karma! Mark is
the
hottest guy
ever
, and he wants
you
. And not only does he
want
you, but he wants to
make you feel things you’ve never
felt
before.” She giggled
again. “This is so freaking
awesome
!”

Lisa sounded almost as excited as Karma felt.
“I know. Maybe you should pinch me to make sure I’m not actually
dreaming.”

“Oh, you’re not dreaming, sister. But you’d better
make sure you don’t forget your best friend here. I expect all the
juicy details, so don’t even think about holding out on me.” She
hunched against the table and snickered.

After spilling the rest of the details of her
Tuesday night, she and Lisa returned to the office. To the bleak
dreariness that was her world with Mark out of town.

Thursday wasn’t much better. Uneventful, if
not slightly torturous. She had gotten used to Mark’s presence, and
the space felt a little empty without him there.

After returning on a late flight Thursday, he
was back in the office on Friday morning.

As she worked on Don’s expense report, she
glanced toward the closed conference room. Mark was in another
meeting. This time with Don and the director of sales. But then,
that came with his job. He had a lot of meetings and sat in on a
lot of conference calls.

“How’s your boyfriend today?”

Karma’s head snapped around, and a cold chill
swept down her spine as Jolene slinked up to her desk.
“W-what?”

“Your
boyfriend
? Mark?” Jo sneered and
gestured toward the closed conference room.

For a second, Karma thought Jolene had found
out about her and Mark, and that sinking feeling of pure terror—the
one you get after watching the original
Amityville Horror
and hear a noise like footsteps but it’s really your heart beating
in fear—doused her gut.

Then she saw the snarky, cat-claw look in
Jolene’s eyes. Ever since Mark had shunned Jolene last Friday when
she invited him for drinks, Jo had become downright mean. Not only
had she begun making snide comments to her in passing, but she also
stopped by Karma’s desk and snapped about one sales report or
another on a regular basis.

Same ol’ Jo. Just like in school, only
older.

The best thing Karma could do was play Jo
off, even though her bullying was mentally exhausting. “Ha ha,” she
said flatly. “Funny, Jo.”

“You know you like him.” Jo’s perfectly
shaped eyebrow spiked over her eye, as if she was daring her to
deny her feelings.

“No, I don’t.” Karma didn’t like lying and
instantly cringed on the inside. It felt like Jo could see right
through her, just like back in junior high.

“Sure you don’t. But you
are
his
little coffee fetcher.” Jo’s taunting knew no bounds. She leaned
forward and rested her arms on Karma’s counter. The gesture mashed
her boobs together and showed off cleavage ample enough to make a
Kardashian jealous. It was as if Jolene was purposely flaunting her
impressive bust in a show of supremacy over Karma’s smaller one. As
if bust size translated to seniority. “I see how you get his coffee
every morning. You’re trying to get his attention, aren’t you?” Her
words uncoiled like a scorpion’s tail, full of sting.

Karma shriveled under the onslaught. “No, I’m
not. I’m just—”

“Don’t waste your time.” Jo’s crystal blue gaze
snaked over her. “He would never be interested in someone like you,
anyway. You’re too…plain.” She smiled sweetly as if what she’d said
was meant to be a compliment instead of a slap in the face.
“Someone like Troy is more your speed. You should set your sights
on him. I hear he’s available.”

Troy worked in IT and wore what looked like
seventies retro plaid button downs every day, and his hair always
looked like it needed to be washed. He was a nice guy, but
awkwardly quiet and not at all attractive. Jolene’s comments were
meant to be cruel—to both her
and
Troy—and Karma felt bad
for him.

“That’s not nice, Jo,” Karma said meekly,
looking away.

“Whatever.” Jolene pushed off the counter,
tossed her hair off her shoulders, and crossed both arms over her
chest. She huffed and turned up her nose. “I really don’t care.”
She waved her manicured hand dismissively. “But that’s not why I’m
here.”

That’s exactly why you’re here.

“I need the reports from last quarter.” She
refolded her arms and tapped her index finger impatiently against
her skinny biceps. No “please.” No “when you have a minute.” Just,
“I need them.” As if she expected Karma to stop everything this
instant and get them.

“Right now?” Karma said, glancing toward the
conference room. “I was right in the middle of—”