Afternoon Delight Read online

  His pace was unhurried as they strolled along the hallway, but the tension in his grip suggested the same urgency she felt. Eventually they found an open door and slipped inside. The balcony was decorated in the original Victorian style but Rei barely noticed before she was lifted off her feet and into his arms.

  She folded her legs around his waist to keep her balance, but he easily held her so that they were face to face, revealing a strength that belied his lanky build. Below them, the music pounded from the speakers in a cacophony of sound. But up here an expectant quiet surrounded them. Even in the darkness, she could see the heat and need in his gaze and she heard it when he finally spoke.

  “I don’t know what I’m doing here. I lost my mind the minute I saw you.” His voice was deep and slow, with the slightest hint of the South in his accent. “You are by far the sexiest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever met and I want you. It’s that simple.”

  His words frightened her, thrilled her, challenged her to give in to what she was feeling. She caressed the flexed muscles of his biceps before sliding her arms over his broad shoulders. His words stimulated her as much as the feel of his hands on her naked thighs. The throbbing between her legs became a dull ache of need that she couldn’t satisfy, not yet.

  “I don’t even know your name.”

  “Chris—”

  She touched her fingers to his lips, stopping him before he could give his last name. She didn’t need to know, didn’t want to. Tonight she was living out the fantasy of seducing a handsome stranger and it needed to remain a fantasy.

  “Kiss me, Chris.”

  “Whatever the lady wants.” He grinned, a bright and boyish smile at odds with the very grown-up feeling of his hands on her ass, then leaned in close.

  His breath mingled with hers and her eyes drifted shut. She waited eagerly for the first touch of his lips and yet enjoying the prolonged anticipation. He brushed his mouth slowly, so slowly, over her lips and the sweet thrill of his touch overwhelmed her. The tip of his tongue traced her upper lip, then the lower, before slipping inside.

  She returned the kiss, deepened it, faintly tasting beer and peppermint when she explored his mouth. He tightened his grip and held her against the hard ridge of his penis. Her hips began to rock in an age-old motion as she rubbed against the placket of his jeans, seeking release.

  Rei moaned in protest when Chris broke off the kiss, but her moans became ones of pleasure as he trailed his lips down her neck and over her chest. He looked behind him and located a chair, then claimed her lips again. Still holding her, he sat down and spread his legs, forcing hers apart as well.

  He trailed kisses along her neck as his fingers worked the top eyehooks of the corset. Rei stiffened, suddenly worried about him seeing the scar, about ruining the atmosphere with the need to explain. But then she gasped and arched her back while he suckled her left nipple.

  Oh, God, what was she doing? She knew what he was doing—coaxing her to the heights of ecstasy. This was crazy. It was insane. And it felt so incredibly good.

  Chris pushed her hips back toward his knees without losing contact with her mouth. She tried to scoot forward until she felt him touch her inner thigh, his fingers probing the edge of her panties. The thick tip of his thumb delved between her damp curls before circling her clitoris in a way that made her groan aloud.

  Hot flames danced through her and she tilted her hips to give him better access. When he slid his thumb into her wet heat, she clenched her vaginal muscles around it and thrust her tongue deeper into his mouth to encourage him. Not that he needed any persuading. Chris both stroked and soothed, masturbating her with expert finesse to draw out the pleasure without bringing her to climax.

  She wiggled on his lap, silently begging him to make her come. He withdrew his thumb and quickly replaced it with two strong, rigid fingers that worked a seductive magic on her aching flesh. He increased the pressure and the pace until he brought her to a wild shuddering climax.

  Dazed, Rei slowly became aware of her surroundings, the harsh sound of their breathing and the wanton disarray of her clothing. She shook her head, trying to clear it. She’d just had an orgasm with a stranger. And a hell of an orgasm it had been. If Chris was this good at manual manipulation, actual sex with him would be phenomenal.

  He seemed to have the same idea as he cupped her hips and pulled her onto his erection. His voice was husky with desire. “That was just the appetizer. Would you like to go next door to the hotel and finish what we started?”

  Yes, she did. No man had ever made her feel this sexy and daring and desirable. More than anything she wanted to feel the hard length of him inside her, to give him the same level of pleasure he’d just given her. But it wasn’t to be. Tonight had been an amazing experience, one to cross off the List. Tomorrow, though, she’d return to her reality.

  She cradled his cheek in her hand with genuine regret. “I’ll bet you make an incredible meal, Chris. But I can’t.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re not still hungry.” He glanced down at her hardened nipples peeking out of the corset. “I won’t believe you.”

  Rei laughed softly and continued with the food analogy. “I’m tempted, really tempted, to order room service. I’m sure it would be delicious. But tonight was an anomaly. I don’t usually indulge my appetites like this. I’m sorry.”

  Chris dropped his head with a groan, touching his forehead to hers. Then he sighed and didn’t try to stop her when she climbed off his lap. He watched her refasten the corset with an expression of lust and disappointment. “At least tell me your name so I’ll know who broke my heart.”

  She smiled mischievously and glanced at the bulge in his pants. “I don’t think it’s your heart that’s giving you trouble right now.”

  “Okay, then tell me so I’ll know who’s going to be starring in my erotic dreams and keeping me awake all night.”

  She laughed again. This guy was smooth, definitely a player. And he wasn’t being difficult, making her feel cheap or demanding his own satisfaction as she’d expected. However, to maintain the fantasy, she chose to give him a fantasy name.

  “I’m Jade.”

  “It’s been a pleasure, Jade. Hopefully one of many.” He stood up and reached around for his wallet. “Here’s where you can contact me the next time you get hungry.”

  She took the plain white card and squinted to read it in the dim light. ‘Chris London. 415-555-4681.’ Now she knew his last name and one of the illusions she wanted to keep vaporized. Real men with real names had real lives and reminded her that she did, too.

  Rei tucked the card into her corset and arched her index finger toward the balcony door. “Are you coming?”

  “Not tonight, apparently.” He grinned to show he was teasing then explained, “You go on. I need a minute to, uh, calm down.”

  She nodded, not meeting his gaze. “Goodbye, Chris.”

  His soft fingers lightly grazed her cheek, as if memorizing the contours. “See you, Jade. I really hope we meet again.”

  She kissed him one last time, then turned and walked out, knowing they wouldn’t.

  PajamaPartyGirl is now online

  PajamaPartyGirl is instant messaging you

  PajamaPartyGirl: I cannot believe you bailed on me.

  JadeBlossom: I didn’t bail, P.J., I just left early.

  PajamaPartyGirl: Well if you wanted to go, you didn’t have to cab it, Rei. I would have driven you home.

  JadeBlossom: I know you would have, but I didn’t want you to have to leave just because I was.

  PajamaPartyGirl: I’m sorry you didn’t have a good time. You can pick the place for our next Break Away Night.

  JadeBlossom: I did have a good time, honest.

  PajamaPartyGirl: Uh huh. Whenever people have to tell you they’re being honest, they aren’t. Did that hot blond you were dancing with do something to upset you? Is that why you left early?

  REI GRINNED at the computer screen. Oh, the hot blond had done something
, all right, but he hadn’t upset her.

  If she possessed an ounce of sense, she’d be embarrassed and ashamed over making out with a stranger in a club. But the truth was, she’d enjoyed those moments of wild abandonment. Chris had joked about losing sleep but she’d been the one plagued by erotic dreams. Even after she awoke, her imagination had been running on overdrive, stirring up all kinds of sexual urges and wrecking her concentration.

  JadeBlossom: No, I had a great time, the best. It just didn’t work out.

  PajamaPartyGirl: Oh, too bad. That explains why you seem a little short today.

  JadeBlossom: I’m tired this morning and I have quite a few adoptions to approve this afternoon.

  PajamaPartyGirl: Um, I forgot to remind you last night.

  JadeBlossom: Of what?

  PajamaPartyGirl: You said you’d come with me to look at this company I want to invest in.

  JadeBlossom: Oh yeah. When is that?

  PajamaPartyGirl: Monday. I set it up for your lunch hour but this place has food and I promise to feed you. Since you and Derek are over, this might work out really well.

  JadeBlossom: WHAT might work out? Where are we going?

  PajamaPartyGirl: To check out a dating service.

  JadeBlossom: Great, Peej. Thanks.

  PajamaPartyGirl: Well, it might be great for both of us. Give it a chance.

  JadeBlossom: You’re lucky we’re best friends.

  CHRIS HADN’T REALLY expected Jade to call. But he’d hoped she would. He’d lain awake most of the night, waiting for the phone to ring like some teenaged boy with his first crush. What an idiot. Finally he’d dozed off, only to dream about her. Dreams so hot that he’d ended up taking matters into his own hand, so to speak.

  He loved women. He had learned from his mom and his sisters to respect women’s intelligence, strength, endurance and ambition. He admired their optimism, willingness to share and their emotional depth. He had never been one to objectify women, and yet he couldn’t stop imagining Jade naked.

  Her body would be a perfect combination of lean muscle and soft curves. She’d smile at him as she lay back onto his bed and held out her arms. Her golden skin would be like hot silk beneath his hands. She’d gasp with pleasure when he settled between her thighs. “Chris.” He could almost hear her whispering his name.

  “Chris?”

  He startled, realizing his next client was trying to get his attention. “Hey, Eric, sorry.”

  Eric Antoine slouched into the office, the picture of dejection and he flopped onto the guest chair. “I got shot down again. Why do I even bother with this? I’m never going to meet a woman who wants to spend the rest of her life with me.”

  “Come on, Eric. We’ve talked about this.” He rested one hip on the edge of his desk. “If you want positive things in your life, be it love, a better job, whatever, you have to have a—”

  “Positive outlook, I know, Chris. But I kept thinking about how beautiful she was and how smart, and then I got nervous because I wanted to ask her to go out with me again but I knew that she wouldn’t.”

  He sure knew that feeling. He was dying to see Jade again but knew he’d better resign himself to never hearing from her. She would end up being a fond memory of a phenomenal night and nothing more. Too bad, but it wasn’t like he was looking for a relationship anyway. On the other hand, though, his client was.

  Eric was a tall, thin, African American man with big ears, a big heart and an even bigger smile when he bothered to use it. He was a nice guy with a good job but he had zero self-esteem. Chris studied his poor posture and downcast eyes.

  “Is this how you talked to Michelle?”

  Eric finally looked at him. “What do you mean?”

  “Women are verbal communicators, men are physical. Everything about your body language right now says, ‘I don’t want to be here.’ You can’t connect with a woman if you don’t make eye contact. You can’t let her know you’re open to a relationship if your attitude is closed. Come over here.”

  He grabbed Eric by the shoulder and pushed him toward the triple mirror in the corner. “Look at us. What’s different?”

  Eric’s dark-brown eyes showed a spark of humor as he took in Chris’s paler, blonder reflection. “You mean besides the obvious?”

  “Yeah, besides that.” He smiled.

  “You’re bigger than me, and better dressed.”

  Chris shook his head. “I might look bigger, but I’m not. We’re about the same build. Now, stand up straight. Hold your head up and put your shoulders back. See?”

  In the mirror, all three of Eric appeared larger and more self-assured. His expression revealed that he saw it, too.

  “Now watch this, watch what I’m doing while I’m talking to you.” Chris hunched his shoulders and let his eyes shift from Eric’s mouth to his hair to a point beyond his shoulder. “My lack of focus tells you what? That I don’t care about you, about who you might be beneath the surface and that I’m looking to see if there’s someone better to talk to.”

  “Ah, man. That’s probably what Michelle thought, when really I was just nervous. No wonder she blew me off.”

  Chris clapped him on the shoulder. “Now that you know, be aware of it. If you don’t get anything else out of these sessions, get this—confidence is sexy. It’s all about knowing who you are inside and out. Nothing will impress a woman more.”

  He worked with Eric for another forty-five minutes, mostly trying to convince him that eventually he would find the right woman. Four more individual sessions with male clients followed, effectively keeping him from thinking about Jade. Sort of. Several times, she crept into his thoughts and he had to remind himself to focus on the job. It was a lot of extra work when he could have just let the computer program handle the matchmaking. But Chris felt it was worth the time and effort.

  Just because he’d never fallen in love didn’t mean he couldn’t make it happen for someone else.

  Not long after he opened Lunch Meetings, Chris had realized that too many of his early applicants just wanted to get in, get off and get out. Even those men who wanted to fall in love were more likely to screw up a budding relationship than the female clients. Either they made mistakes at the beginning or they weren’t willing to put in the effort to keep it going and they walked out when things got too complicated.

  Like his father.

  So Chris began quietly offering courtship counseling to the men who seemed genuinely interested but totally clueless. Using his own experiences and education, he helped his clients reform their self-image and destructive behaviors. Sure, it was manipulative. But it worked and that’s what mattered.

  At least it worked for other people. He’d seen it happen, helped make it happen, but in that hollow void inside him he didn’t believe it would happen for him. He was much better at fixing other people’s lives than finding lasting happiness in his own.

  THE AFTERNOON DOCKET cleared quickly and the day ended on a high note, as Rei approved the adoption of a seventeen-year-old girl. A special hearing had been set so that Katie could be a legal member of the Kaufmans before she aged out of the system. After granting the petition, Rei had her picture taken with the tearfully happy Kaufman clan—Katie, two bighearted parents and their six other adopted children.

  Rei was still smiling as she packed her belongings for the weekend. At least until she remembered that she was going home to an empty house. Something that usually didn’t bother her. But, focusing on the briefcase full of files and petitions, suddenly the old caution about all work and no play came to mind.

  Rei walked out of the courthouse and down into the parking garage. The idea of playing naturally segued into thoughts of Chris. She hadn’t allowed thoughts of him to distract her on the bench, but he’d definitely been on her mind all day long.

  And each time she recalled the image of his handsome face and roguish grin, her heart beat a little faster. Her nipples got a little harder. Her thighs got a little damper. Despite the expl
icitness of what they’d shared last night, she shouldn’t care who he spent time with. But she couldn’t help wondering what he was doing tonight.

  And with whom…

  As she slid into the driver’s seat of her Lexus, she heard a faint buzzing noise from her handbag. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her cell phone to answer the call. “Hello?”

  “Rei. It’s Maggie Solís.”

  Her heart clenched in her chest. Something about the oncologist’s compassionate tone of voice had her gripping the phone tighter, anxiety building inside her like layers of fog on the Bay. “Dr. Solís. What—? I mean everything was fine when I left your office.”

  “I know, Rei, I’m sorry. You’ve been asymptomatic and I only ordered the blood work as part of your routine exam. But I got the results back from the lab today and…I’m sorry.”

  Rei’s pulse fluttered erratically and her hands began to shake as she listened to the medical jargon about glycoprotein markers. Apprehension swirled in her gut, making her voice quaver when she was finally able to speak. “Are you sure?”

  “No, not for certain. That’s why I’d like you to have a mammogram and MRI first thing Monday morning. Just call my secretary and let her know when you’re done so we can expedite the findings.”

  Hot tears streamed down her cheeks as Rei dully agreed and thanked Dr. Solís for her concern. But as the phone dropped from her numb fingers into her lap, raw grief assailed her. She lifted a trembling hand to her mouth, inhaling deeply through her nose, hoping not to throw up, fighting the urge to scream.