Now, Please (5 page)

“Okay. Then you just…” Bruce pointed out the route with his finger. “Just follow that route.”

I took a glance around to make sure I had it, and then gave him a relieved smile. “Lifesaver! I’m supposed to be getting ready for dinner.”

“Back into uniform, huh?” Bruce stepped away with a smile. The businessman was still glowering at me.

“Yup. Gotta play dress-up. Okay, then. See ya. And thanks!” I gave him a salute and stomped on the gas. I probably shouldn’t have kept speeding but…well, it was fun.

At least I had met Bruce. That was a win. Assuming he didn’t think I was a lunatic.

A
knock sounded
at the outer door to my room.

Crap!
I finished fastening my necklace and hurried to open it, glancing at the closed inner door as I passed. The comment about Hunter and I using each other had popped into my head. Knowing that it was mostly him doing the using, I’d huffed and closed that inner door. It was an extremely passive-aggressive approach to the issue, but it had made me feel better.

I swung open the outer door to a waiting Hunter in stylish jeans and a dress shirt accenting his delicious torso. He’d styled his hair in that contained messiness that celebrities did so well, and cleared the stubble from his strong jaw. My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as the blackness of my mood turned into sparkles and unicorns.

“Hi,” I breathed.

“Are you ready?” His gaze drifted down my body.

I stalled in the doorway. I wanted to invite him in and strip off all his clothes. Then I wanted to lick one end to the other, savoring—

“Olivia?”

“Right! Earrings.” I shook myself out of my horny stupor and dashed back into the room. I grabbed the diamond earrings he’d given me. He had the necklace in a safe somewhere, which was good, because it was way too expensive to be hanging around my apartment, but the earrings he’d left. He didn’t seem to think they had much value.

They were the most expensive things I owned.

“Okay,” I said, fastening the last earring in place. “I’m as good as I’ll ever be.”

“Shoes?”

“What?” I looked down. My bare toes stared back up.
Stupid!

I raced back in a second time. Where was my head?

I slipped into cute red heels that would cut into my feet and make me hate life. But they really did match the dress perfectly. Some things had to be borne.

“Okay. This time I’m really ready.”

“You’re perfect.” He stopped me in the doorway, stepping in a bit and leaning down to run his lips along my neck. My simmering sex flared to life. I clutched his shoulders and leaned my head back, giving him more access. The
using each other
grievance vanished like smoke.

His hand traced up my inner thigh, tickling. I widened my stance, moaning when those tricky digits reached my panty-covered sex.

“Hmmm, Hunter.” His lips traced my jaw. His fingers dipped into my panty line. I sucked in a breath as he entered my body.

“The door is open,” I said in a breathy exhale.

“I need you.” He stepped forward, making me step back quickly. The door closed with a
thunk
as he pushed me against the wall.

I worked at his jeans, ripping open the fly and pushing them out of the way. His hand wrapped around the inside of my knee and hiked my leg up around his hip. He sucked in a breath as I took his large manhood into my hand. His hips swung forward, letting me guide his tip to my opening. Once there, he thrust.

“Ohhhh
God.”
My eyes fluttered closed as he filled me. I lifted my other leg, wrapping it around him. Letting him take my weight. Sparks of pleasure erupted through my body.

“I’ve thought about doing this all afternoon.” He thrust again. Harder. “It always feels better than I remember.”

I turned my head as he came in close. My lips glanced off his. A thrill went through me as Hunter gave a low moan. My body wound up, so tight. His sex, filling me over and over, had bursts of ecstasy exploding through me.

“Yes,” I groaned, swinging my hips to him. Our bodies hit off each other. Everything tightened harder. Almost unbearable.

“Oh
G—
”
I squeezed my eyes closed as pure bliss sizzled through me. I vibrated with the climax. Hunter shook under me, moaning again. Pings of delight burst and then ran my length, fizzing.

“Holy moly.” I sighed as I came down. “That felt good.”

Hunter lowered me to the ground. He straightened my panties and dress before tucking himself back into his pants. His chest rose and fell with fatigue. Before he turned away, he looked at me for a long moment. His hand braced against my jaw. He kissed my forehead.

He gave me one last glance, then looked at himself, before opening the door. “Ready?”

I was speechless. He hadn’t shut off. Even right now, as he waited for me to exit the room, his eyes were soft and fully engaged. He wasn’t struggling to let business cover physical intimacy.

“Olivia?”

“Sorry! Yup.” I jumped to a start and hustled out of the room in case he fell back into his own ways with my delay.

“That’s twice you were zoning out tonight. What’s on your mind?”

You!
“Nothing. Just trying to remember everything I need to do while we’re here.”

“Don’t stress. Brenda is on call. She’s monitoring everything. You just need to work on Donnelley.”

“Well, then, I’m throwing aces. I saw him twice today.”

Hunter opened the building door and put his hand on the small of my back to guide me through. “He said. Apparently you tested the limit of the golf cart…”

“Oh. Uh…” My face went hot. “I got lost. And was hurrying. So…”

Hunter escorted me to the golf cart and deposited me on the passenger side.

A little disappointed, I climbed in.

“Men drive on dates.”

My stomach fluttered. “I thought this was business.”

He started the golf cart and smoothly started forward. “A business date, then. An excuse to take out a beautiful woman. Whatever you want to call it.”

“Very unprofessional.” I laughed.

“Did you get everything done this afternoon?” Hunter asked after a moment of silence. He parked near the line of golf carts beside the main building.

“Yup. And don’t you dare ask if I looked at those new emails you sent—I did, and they make no sense. I’ll deal with them when I get back.”

“Fair enough,” he said, holding the hotel door open.

“So you talked to Bruce, then?” I said as I entered. “You didn’t need me after all.”

I felt Hunter’s guiding touch on the small of my back. Without thinking, I veered closer to him, feeling his heat line my side and soak through my skin. His hand slid, just a little, to the side, nearing my waist to pull me closer. Warmth turned to fire.

“He approached me. Said you were a smart young woman.” Hunter directed us around a corner. The hallway widened until it ended at the entrance of a steakhouse.

“Oh, did you see him in one of your lectures?”

“Briefly. He took a seat closer to my father. You loosened him up, but he thinks my father will protect his hard work. He’s fallen victim to my father’s charms.”

“What charms? I just don’t see it.”

“You haven’t been around him long enough.”

“I’ve been around him plenty,” I said in a dry voice as we approached the hostess waiting behind a lectern.

“Carlisle. Hunter.” Hunter stared at the woman.

“Oh, yes, of course.” Her face colored. She smiled bashfully at his smoldering stare. “Please, right this way.”

“Do you hate it when women see you as a piece of meat, or do you love being a sexpot?” I shot him a grin over my shoulder. He ignored my jest.

Dim light and the smell of searing steaks greeted us. I had no doubt the food would be decent and prices absurd, like many chain restaurants in places like this. Still, it was better than fast food.

We sat in the corner at a table for four. The hostess, shooting furtive glances at Hunter and ignoring me completely, dropped the menus on the table. “Your server will be right with you.”

Hunter held my chair out before sitting opposite me. He glanced around the restaurant before letting his gaze settle on me. “You don’t look as casual as I thought you might…”

“I’m at dinner.” I gave him a faux-scathing look. “I can’t look like a street urchin at dinner. I’m not
that
bad.”

“What were you wearing today?”

“Hoodie. Jeans. Hair in a ponytail. You know, my street uniform.”

He gave me a single nod before glancing at his menu. I followed suit, though I knew I’d be getting filet mignon. No way was I passing up the opportunity for an excellent cut of meat—why not go big when the boss was paying? Finding what I wanted, I set the menu aside.

“Do you own anything but dress shirts?” I asked, glancing out at the restaurant. Patrons filled most of the space, many also wearing dress shirts, a few in ties, and only a couple completely dressed down in T-shirts and jeans. Those few stuck out a little—possibly not here for the convention and wondering why the place was inundated with businessman.

Hunter looked down at his chest. A crease worked between his eyebrows. “I rarely have need for anything but dress shirts.”

“And now that you do, what are you? Too dressed up, that’s what.”

Hunter glanced at my red dress and sparkling jewelry. His mouth tweaked, hinting at a smile. “I match my company.”

Not even remotely.
I saw the waitress approaching. Still, she only had eyes for Hunter. And once again, he didn’t even notice that she practically had to wipe drool off her chin while he was ordering. The whole situation was becoming comical.

“Just wait. If we ever get a male waiter, I’m going to dazzle him to the point of distraction. I might even bat my eyelashes. Then you’ll see how annoying it is to be completely irrelevant.” I smiled as the wine came, waiting while Hunter tasted the wine and gave his approval.

“You are not completely irrelevant, Olivia, and yes, that would be annoying.”

We sipped our wine in silence until I asked, “What’s in store for tomorrow?”

“You have the afternoon free again. Do you want to get up with me for breakfast, or order it in your room?”

My eyebrows rose as an excited smile drifted up my face. “I’ve never had room service! I think I’ll do that.”

“You’ll find that the food isn’t as fresh and hot as you might like,” Hunter said in distaste.

“Don’t care. It’s the idea of the thing.”

“Here we are.” The waitress appeared with a tray and a stand. She set one on the other before serving our meals. The delicious aroma of seared meat made my mouth water. I picked up my knife and fork while Hunter received his plate and wasted no time taking a bite.

“Hunter.”

Hearing the voice, we glanced up as Bruce strolled up still wearing the jeans and shirt I had seen him in earlier. He had a book in his hand. “I won’t disturb your meal—”

Hunter wiped his mouth and half stood. “Join us.”

“No, no. I’ve just finished. I wanted to say I’ll be in the bar, if you and Livy want to stop by for a drink.”

“Of course.” Hunter remained standing. “Which bar?”

“There’s more than one?” Bruce’s mouth turned down in a funny-looking frown, but his eyes glittered. He looked at me. “I think they assume businessmen are alcoholics.”

“They might be right,” I said.

His booming laugh drew eyes around us. He didn’t seem to notice as he refocused on Hunter. “The one just off the lobby. That’s the only one I knew about.”

“There is another, less trafficked bar toward the back of the building. It’s quieter, and it’s closer to our transportation. If you don’t mind, I’d rather not make Livy walk more than she has to. She’s trying to break in new shoes, and the effect on her heels is never pretty.”

“Of course!” Bruce looked at me in seriousness before glancing under the table. “Oh yeah, those’ll wear a hole in your feet for sure! My wife does nothing but complain when she wears a new pair of heels. Why you women put yourselves through it, I’ll never know.”

“I never used to, but sneakers don’t look great with a dress,” I said in a light tone.

“Well, that’s just an opinion.” Bruce leaned down and rubbed my shoulder in jest. “Okay, sure, I’ll meet you there. Great catching you—I’m interested in hearing more of your ideas.”

“Ask him for a flow chart—he probably has one.” I laughed.

“Right, right.” Bruce gave a thumbs-up. “Now sit, sit. Enjoy your dinner. The steak is pretty good.” He turned, then flinched as a bustling waitress nearly mowed him down. He apologized and continued on.

“Clever, using me as a scapegoat to get more intimate with him,” I said as Hunter retook his seat.

“Intimate doesn’t matter—my father will be there, no matter where
there
is.” Hunter’s eyes hit mine in complete seriousness. “Less walking would be more comfortable for you. I knew Bruce would understand.”

I looked down at my food, touched by his concern. To cover the moment, in case he tried to absolve his guilt with another warning about breaking my heart, I said, “Is your father as good at business as you are? You know, the planning and long-term goals and all that?”

“I surpassed the teacher while I was still in school. He’s shortsighted and vain. I focus less on short-term gain. It takes longer for my plans to come to fruition, but once they do, I turn heads.”

“And you’re turning heads now?”

“Yes. Mostly. But I’m not as popular with some of the board members. They want immediate results. It’s stunted some things.”

“Sounds like an uphill battle.”

Hunter reached for his glass with a ghost of a smile. “Yes.”

We fell into silence for a moment before I said, “So what’s the deal with not smiling? You don’t like my jokes?”

A glimmer of sorrow haunted Hunter’s gaze. “I fell out of practice, I guess.”

“Life can do that. Kick you in the balls.”

“Yes,” Hunter said again. It was his turn to look down at his food. “It can.”

I waited, hoping he’d say a little more. I wanted him to confide in me, to offload some of the pain from his past. I wanted to help him heal. But his gaze stayed downturned as he reached for his glass and took a sip. It was going to fester a while longer.

We finished dinner and paid the check. Hunter was clearly eager to get to Bruce, but he didn’t rush me. He waited for my decision on dessert, then asked if I was sure I wanted to turn down the chocolate. I really didn’t, but I was doing the right thing. I was getting paid for this trip and I should be putting business before chocolate. It was one of life’s cruel jokes.

When everything was squared away, we made our way to the bar.

“Your father might not have found him yet,” I said in a supportive tone.