item on the menu, she was amused to note. Go for it , Caitlin told
herself. “Sounds good.”
Alex gave their order
and sipped the wine, an expression of pleasure crossing his face. He seemed
utterly at ease, which somehow surprised her. She wouldn’t have thought of an
elegant, high-end restaurant as Alex’s habitat.
Well, okay. He was at
the top of the food chain and he carried that impression wherever he went. He
would probably be equally at ease and dominant in a low-life dive or a royal
palace. Nature had equipped him with the tools to prevail no matter what. She
tried to think of him at a loss—and failed. Alex was the kind of man who knew
what to do and how to do it in any kind of situation.
In bed, he probably—
Whoa! Don’t even go there.
Too late. She’d already
gone. Whoosh—in an instant, straight into forbidden territory.
Totally unbidden,
completely unwelcome images arose in her mind, full-blown, complete, like
watching a movie. Alex’s dark face above her, eyes narrowed, intent gaze on
hers, broad shoulders blocking out the light. Heavy body on hers, that
amazingly large and thick penis she’d felt through his clothes, inside her,
thrusting heavily…
Oh God.
She was exciting herself
just thinking about it. One part of her was going haywire and the other
part—the part that remained a scholar, a student of human nature—observed
herself, partly amused, partly appalled.
She remembered every
second of his kisses, how his five o’clock shadow had scraped deliciously
across her cheeks as he angled his head this way and that to deepen the kisses.
Kiss, actually. One. One kiss that never ended, that melted her bones, that lit
up every cell in her body with heat and desire.
Amazing. Though her
neurons had sputtered, she’d been aware every second that it had been entirely
new territory for her, that her body had never had those sensations before and
quite possibly never would again.
Immense heat prickling
through her system, pooling in her breasts and between her legs. Skin so
sensitive she could feel the air like a weight, his hands leaving electric
sparks of pleasure wherever he touched. The world simply falling away,
completely gone, as she concentrated on his mouth and hands on her.
The world falling away
was not good. The world was big and bad and bit women who forgot the rules and
lost their heads.
Caitlin squirmed for a
second in her seat. The images of Alex’s kiss had come with sensory input and
she could actually feel the swelling of the lips of her sex. It was like a
small sun blossoming between her legs, so brightly she was surprised it didn’t
generate light.
But just as her head
could tell her body to forget about tiredness and hunger and lack of sleep, her
head now told her body to wipe out those delicious sensations and allowed her
to morph back into her serious, professional persona.
It took more effort than
she liked.
The food arrived. The
waitress had received the message loud and clear that Alex wasn’t on the
market, and placed the plates in front of them with an impersonal smile,
angling now for a generous tip rather than Alex’s body.
The smells coming off
the plates were delicious, perfect. A million miles away from her usual crap
fare. Lately, lack of time had been added to her chronic lack of money and
she’d subsisted on yogurt and sandwiches these past few weeks.
Ah, her life was
changing in so many ways, all of them good. She resolved to enjoy this evening
and keep a tight rein on her reactions to the extremely powerful and extremely
sexy man sitting next to her.
“Eat,” he said, “and
I’ll tell you how the mayor got his nickname, The Lizard.”
She looked at him, amused.
How wonderful to get inside gossip. “Not because he has that leathery salon
tan?”
“No, it involves a
truck, a mistress and a hundred thousand dollars.”
“One of those things you
can’t make up?”
“Absolutely.”
It was a shaggy dog
story, long, convoluted,
herself. “Sounds good.”
Alex gave their order
and sipped the wine, an expression of pleasure crossing his face. He seemed
utterly at ease, which somehow surprised her. She wouldn’t have thought of an
elegant, high-end restaurant as Alex’s habitat.
Well, okay. He was at
the top of the food chain and he carried that impression wherever he went. He
would probably be equally at ease and dominant in a low-life dive or a royal
palace. Nature had equipped him with the tools to prevail no matter what. She
tried to think of him at a loss—and failed. Alex was the kind of man who knew
what to do and how to do it in any kind of situation.
In bed, he probably—
Whoa! Don’t even go there.
Too late. She’d already
gone. Whoosh—in an instant, straight into forbidden territory.
Totally unbidden,
completely unwelcome images arose in her mind, full-blown, complete, like
watching a movie. Alex’s dark face above her, eyes narrowed, intent gaze on
hers, broad shoulders blocking out the light. Heavy body on hers, that
amazingly large and thick penis she’d felt through his clothes, inside her,
thrusting heavily…
Oh God.
She was exciting herself
just thinking about it. One part of her was going haywire and the other
part—the part that remained a scholar, a student of human nature—observed
herself, partly amused, partly appalled.
She remembered every
second of his kisses, how his five o’clock shadow had scraped deliciously
across her cheeks as he angled his head this way and that to deepen the kisses.
Kiss, actually. One. One kiss that never ended, that melted her bones, that lit
up every cell in her body with heat and desire.
Amazing. Though her
neurons had sputtered, she’d been aware every second that it had been entirely
new territory for her, that her body had never had those sensations before and
quite possibly never would again.
Immense heat prickling
through her system, pooling in her breasts and between her legs. Skin so
sensitive she could feel the air like a weight, his hands leaving electric
sparks of pleasure wherever he touched. The world simply falling away,
completely gone, as she concentrated on his mouth and hands on her.
The world falling away
was not good. The world was big and bad and bit women who forgot the rules and
lost their heads.
Caitlin squirmed for a
second in her seat. The images of Alex’s kiss had come with sensory input and
she could actually feel the swelling of the lips of her sex. It was like a
small sun blossoming between her legs, so brightly she was surprised it didn’t
generate light.
But just as her head
could tell her body to forget about tiredness and hunger and lack of sleep, her
head now told her body to wipe out those delicious sensations and allowed her
to morph back into her serious, professional persona.
It took more effort than
she liked.
The food arrived. The
waitress had received the message loud and clear that Alex wasn’t on the
market, and placed the plates in front of them with an impersonal smile,
angling now for a generous tip rather than Alex’s body.
The smells coming off
the plates were delicious, perfect. A million miles away from her usual crap
fare. Lately, lack of time had been added to her chronic lack of money and
she’d subsisted on yogurt and sandwiches these past few weeks.
Ah, her life was
changing in so many ways, all of them good. She resolved to enjoy this evening
and keep a tight rein on her reactions to the extremely powerful and extremely
sexy man sitting next to her.
“Eat,” he said, “and
I’ll tell you how the mayor got his nickname, The Lizard.”
She looked at him, amused.
How wonderful to get inside gossip. “Not because he has that leathery salon
tan?”
“No, it involves a
truck, a mistress and a hundred thousand dollars.”
“One of those things you
can’t make up?”
“Absolutely.”
It was a shaggy dog
story, long, convoluted,
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