The One Nighter (4 page)

She couldn’t help but wonder if he was just talking about work.

Did his words have a double entendre?

Biting the inside of her lip, she answered him. “I take my job very seriously. All I want is what’s best for the company.”

Her noncommittal answer made his eyes glitter with amusement. “That makes two of us,” he agreed. “So, since we’re going to be working together so closely, maybe we can clear the air a little bit.”

Lifting her fork, she opened her mouth to take a bite.

“Why did you lie to me?”

She nearly choked. “What?”

“A year ago, when we met, why didn’t you tell me who you were? I mean, I don’t see a wedding ring.”

Dabbing at her mouth with the napkin, she tried to still her racing pulse. “Maybe we should just forget that night ever happened,” she suggested, knowing that they couldn’t, knowing that the time had come for answers.

“Was it really that bad?” he prodded.

Her gaze met his. “No…I mean…”

He tilted his head to the side as he waited for her to a
n
swer.

She took a deep breath.

She had known that this day would come.

She just hadn’t been prepared for it to happen so soon.

“The truth is I don’t know. I mean, I’ve never done a
n
ything like that before. I guess I just kind of got…” She trailed off, unable to describe the torrent of passion that swept over her that night.

“Caught up in it?” he provided.

She nodded.

“I know,” he replied. “So Jill is?”

She licked her lips, noticing how his gaze followed the movement. “Jill is a friend of mine. She works in the o
f
fice,” she answered.

One eyebrow arched. “So, there’s no boyfriend?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No,” she replied softly.

He nodded. “That’s good to know.”

Her eyebrows drew together. “Why?” she inquired.

He shrugged his shoulders. “I just always wondered,” he confessed.

Her surprise was evident. “You wondered about me?”

His eyes met hers, and she felt her nipples tighten e
m
barrassingly.

“More than once,” he admitted.

Drawing in a deep breath, she tried to steady herself. The thought that Connor Mason thought about her made her weak in the knees.

Which was dangerous.

The last thing she wanted to do was start an affair.

Especially with the boss.

Even if she had known him before, it wouldn’t matter.

Everyone else in the office would see it as her sleeping her way to the top. She had worked too hard to get to where she was for rumors like that to start up now. All of her life, she had watched other women take shortcuts. She prided herself on being a woman of integrity, one who got by on skill rather than sexual persuasion.

“No matter what happened between us a year ago, I don’t want people to get the wrong idea about us right now,” she explained.

He took a drink of his wine. “And what would that be?” he asked.

She shifted uneasily in her seat. “That something is going on,” she elaborated.

“Going on?” he repeated, his eyebrows arching.

She let out a heavy sigh. “You know what I mean,” she answered.

He sighed heavily. “I guess I do. So, we should prob
a
bly get to business. Why don’t you fill me in on the
McCready
account? I want to be prepared for the dinner meeting tomorrow.”

Melanie tried to keep her mind on business as she b
e
gan to tell him the history of the account, but she couldn’t help but wonder.

Could they keep things strictly professional?

Could they really pretend that nothing happened a year ago?

Chapter 6

Melanie sat across the table from Connor, a slight smile tickling her lips. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she was impressed. For the last hour, as they had dinner with the
McCreadys
, she had watched him ease their fears. The thing that surprised her most was how effortless he made it all seem. By the time they left, she could tell that any wo
r
ries they might have had about staying with the firm had been effectively squelched.

But it wasn’t just that.

Maybe it was the wine, but the more time she spent with him, the harder it was to pretend she wasn’t attracted to him. A part of her wanted to forget all of the reasons she shouldn’t indulge herself. If only she had given into that d
e
sire with someone, anyone in the last year, maybe she wouldn’t find him so irresistible. That had to be why she found the dimple in his cheek when he smiled so adorable.

But her career was too important to risk.

Wasn’t it?

“What?” he asked, one eyebrow arched.

“What?” she
returned,
the picture of innocence.

He leaned in, his eyes sparkling. “You’ve been staring at me with that same smile for the past ten minutes,” he o
b
served.

Shifting in her chair, she answered, “I’m impressed.”

His eyebrows drew together.
“With what?”

“Well, it’s obvious that they’re going to re-sign with us. You’re good at what you do,” she said.

A grin slashed across his face. “I try,” he replied.

She lifted her glass in mock tribute. “You succeed.”

They both took a sip of their wine before he pinned her with a serious stare. “Not always,” he admitted.

Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?” she i
n
quired.

“I mean, I don’t always get what I want.”

“Oh, really.
Why do I find that hard to believe?” she challenged.

He tilted his head to the side. “You shouldn’t. You’re living proof.”

His statement made her heart beat faster. For a m
o
ment, time seemed to stand still between them. The pred
a
tory look in his eyes made her nipples tighten.

“I’m sure I was nothing more than a passing fascin
a
tion,” she teased, trying to lighten the mood.

One side of his mouth curled up. “Then, why am I still fascinated?”

Before she could respond, he signaled the waiter over to pay the bill.

What was wrong with her?

Why was she so shamelessly flirting with him?

Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure she could stop. All night she had been thinking about what it would be like to feel his hands on her body, his lips on hers.
When he turned back to face her, his elbows resting on the table, that desire became almost unbearable.

“So, where are you off to tonight?” he asked.

“Probably just home.”

“Why don’t you come out with me for a drink to cel
e
brate?” he suggested.

She knew she should say no. That it was the safe thing to do. But in all her life, she had never wanted to live da
n
gerously more than she did right now.

“Okay,” she heard herself say.

The answer seemed to shock him as much as it shocked her.

He helped her up, guiding her out of the restaurant with his hand on her lower back. She could feel the heat from his hand through her shirt. As she walked out to the car, one thought was clear.

She had just accepted a date with the devil.

And that wasn’t the worst part.

The worst part was that she wanted to sin.

* * * *

She had made a big mistake.

That was clear.

She knew it as soon as she got into the car. The wine had done its job. It had loosened her up and, in the process, lowered her defenses to a dangerous level. As they walked into the small corner bar, she noticed that there were only a couple of people there. Because it was still early in the evening, they almost had the place to themselves, as only a few regulars sat at the bar nursing their drinks.

Connor led her to a corner of the bar, preferring to stand instead of taking a seat. Before she could order, he beat her to it.

“What did you just order?” she inquired.

He turned to face her, a sly grin gracing his full lips. “It’s called a blue-eyed blonde.”

She watched as the bartender placed two long, skinny glasses filled with
a turquoise
blue liquor in front of them. A cherry sat on top of the ice, the stem dangling over the side.
Taking a sip, she let the sweet liquid slide down her throat.

“So, what’s the symbolism behind the cherry?” she asked.

He leaned over to grab the stem of the cherry, holding it up in front of her mouth. One eyebrow arched expe
c
tantly as he waited to see if she would take the bait.

“Well, if you eat it, you’ve…” He trailed off as he watched her mouth open, her tongue coming out to guide the cherry into her mouth.

He let out a breath as her lips closed around the red fruit. After she swallowed, she met his gaze, a mischievous twinkle lighting her blue eyes.

“Let me guess, you’ve popped her cherry?” she pr
o
vided with a smile.

He grinned sheepishly at her astute assessment. “Well, no one ever said that drinks were politically correct,” he admitted.

She took another drink, her eyes meeting his over the rim of the glass. When she put it back on the bar, she no
d
ded.

“That’s true. Drinks are meant to tease, to entice, not to make political statements,” she replied.

She grabbed the stem of the cherry holding it up in front of him. “So?”

He leaned in, his tongue circling the cherry before pulling it into his mouth.

“Did it work? Does it entice you?” she baited.

He tilted his head to the side, his gaze sliding over her body provocatively. “Not as much as other things,” he an
s
wered.

One of her eyebrows arched up playfully.
“Like?” she prodded.

He leaned in so that his body was so close to hers that they were almost touching. “I think you know,” he said, his voice lowering to a sexy rumble.

Her nipples tightened. She shouldn’t be flirting with him, but she didn’t have the strength to stop. She had been fighting this thing between them and it had only gotten worse. Maybe if she gave in, she could finally get him out of her system?

“What do you plan to do about it?”

He took a step forward, letting his body brush against hers. His eyes darkened. She leaned back against the wall, her body softening. When her eyes met his, she knew she was lost. Maybe she had been from the moment she’d a
c
cepted his invitation tonight? All she knew was that right now she wanted to feel his body against hers. She wanted to taste his mouth on hers.

And when he leaned in, his gaze focused on her lips, she couldn’t think of one single reason why she should stop him.

His lips pressed against hers tentatively, then with more force. His hands smoothed over her waist before pul
l
ing her against him more fully. She could feel the length of his erection against her middle, and her clit swelled in r
e
sponse. Her hands slid over the muscles of his arms to circle around his neck. His tongue delved between the
barrier
of her lips, sweeping through her mouth to taste her.

She could feel the moisture between her legs as her tongue tangled with his in a sensual dance. Unable to stop herself, she rubbed her breasts against his chest, thrilling at the sweet friction they created. His low groan was muffled inside her mouth.

Dear God, she wanted him.

So, when he led her to the bathrooms at the end of the hall, she didn’t even think about stopping him. Luckily, the bathroom was only equipped to service one person at a time.

Once inside, he shut the door and flipped the lock. He backed her up against the counter, his mouth never leaving hers. His hand slid up her ribcage to cup her breast, his thumb grazing the hard nipple. She moaned into his mouth.

But still, it wasn’t enough.

She wanted more.

Her fingers deftly undid the buttons of his shirt, letting her greedy hands roam over the hard planes of his chest. His head fell back, his eyes closing as she rubbed her thumbs over his nipples. When her hands moved lower to his st
o
mach, he hissed in a shaky breath.