On the Prowl (5 page)

Now he’d have to wait until dessert was served to go over and talk to her. That was fine. He’d already decided that before the night was over, he would know her name and anything else she chose to share.

* * * * *

“Here I am eating a delicious dinner in a swanky, first-class mingling establishment, and I’m sitting here talking to myself,” Delaine grumbled under her breath, hacking her asparagus into itty bitty pieces with her steak knife.

*
But you are not speaking with yourself. You are speaking, or rather arguing, with me
,* Sapa whispered sarcastically into her head.

‘I am NOT going over there to talk to that man!’ Delaine growled back along their bond, stabbing her knife into a steak fillet so tender she could have cut it with a fork. The lioness was trying to get her to talk to the gorgeous redhead eyeballing her from across the room. But the cat was clearly crazy.

*
You know you want to meet him, Suta
.*

‘Who the hell cares whether I want to or not? There’s no way I’m making a fool of myself. I did that for eighteen years, and I am SO done,’ Delaine fumed at her spirit guide.

*
Pride versus opportunity, Suta Winyan. Choose one. He’s interested. And quite tasty looking.
*

‘Puh-lease! A man as fine as that, interested in me? Riiiiiight.’ It was times like this Delaine wished her spirit guide would go on vacation or something, but no such luck. The attractive man had caught the big cat’s eye.

*
A possible mate, yes?
*

‘NO!’ Delaine wailed in her head.

More than confident at her job, Delaine just wasn’t that bold when it came to trying to develop a love life. She’d been with the same man since her nineteenth birthday. At thirty-seven, she had no clue how to play dating games, and there was no way between here and hell she was putting herself out there with a total stranger. Besides, if the father of her children didn’t want her, then who would?

*
You admit the puny Gary person you were married to was right?
* the lioness asked on a sly purr.

Delaine bit the inside of her cheek to keep her mouth from falling open. What an ah-ha moment. Sapa was right. What the hell was she thinking, allowing that bastard Gary to make her feel unworthy and unwanted? She’d been more than good enough for him. He was the first man she’d ever dated, ever made love to, and unfortunately, settled for. But she would never settle for a mealy-mouthed, untrustworthy, spineless, selfish asshole again.

Mr. Handsome-As-Sin with the piercing eyes didn’t look like he fell into the mealy- mouthed category. He was stunning. He must be intelligent or he wouldn’t be in this group. She would never know if he fit the rest of the bill if she didn’t take a chance.

‘Okay, Sapa, let’s do this,’ she said, and took a deep breath as Sapa appeared behind her eyes, ready to give any aid Delaine might need.

Delaine squared her shoulders and pushed to her feet. The butterflies in her stomach grew kite-sized wings the moment she locked eyes with him. He didn’t look away. If anything, he stared harder. The man had no shame. The expression in his eyes was primal, like he had an unsatisfied craving for something. So that’s what lust looks like? Her knees felt peculiarly weak, but she kept right on walking.

She told herself to relax, painting on a calm facade. He stood and waited for her as she made her way over to his table. Lord, he was so tall and powerfully built. Forcing her eyes not to widen like a startled owl’s, she took in the length of his legs. He had to be at least six-foot-five to her five-foot-seven inches. His gray fine-gauged sweater accentuated the width of his shoulders. A pair of jet-black, tailored trousers showed off a trim waist, flat stomach and super long legs.

Sapa purred in her head as Delaine entertained thoughts of sliding her hands over the well-developed deltoids and thick biceps that bulged through the material of his sweater. His wavy, dark red hair was tastefully cut, with the sides and back cut shorter to fade into a neat line at the nape of his neck. His eyes were the most vivid, breathtaking blue. Like perfectly cut Caribbean Sea gemstones. Jeweled topaz blue. Damn, she’d always been a sucker for blue stones.

With a slight bow, he held out his elbow to her. As soon as her fingers touched his arm, she felt a peculiar zing dive-bomb straight between her legs. Woo, goodness! Delaine gasped silently. Her painted-on smile faltered a bit from the intensity of the unfamiliar sensation, and Sapa purred and panted as though she was in heat.

Delaine lowered her lashes, sent a mental “cut it out” to the big black cat and then looked up at the tall, ruggedly handsome man. Lord, he was fine. What had she been thinking, walking over here like this? Her stomach churned and her thighs burned. Oh please, please, please let her steak and veggies stay down. Water. Maybe a sip of water would unclog the lump in her throat. Then he smiled and Delaine felt her barely-in-place facade melt completely.

The two women sitting at his table glared daggers at her while the man glared daggers at the two women.

“Time to go,” the attractive hunk said in a voice so smooth, it made her think of Luther Vandross on a rainy night, sprawled out on a plush fur rug in front of a fireplace. Delaine prayed harder for her veggies when his eyes twinkled mischievously. He winked, and steered her toward an empty table in a corner of the room.

He pulled out a chair and motioned her into it. “Good evening, gorgeous. I’m Justin.” His chest tightened with what could only be described as pure male satisfaction when her dimpled cheeks turned a sweet shade of caramelized pink. “Glass of wine?”

He ordered a glass of rare white merlot for himself and nodded in appreciation of good taste as Delaine ordered a small glass of their best dessert wine…Sandeman’s Twenty-Year Tawny Port. When she also ordered an apple tart for them to share, he tilted his head to the side and embraced her with his eyes. Skip the apple tart— he looked like he’d rather just eat her.

“So, what brings such a beautiful woman here tonight?” Justin asked charmingly.

“I, well, um,” she stammered, but caught herself quickly. She forced her breathing to slow so she could answer the damn question. Whew, he was just too good looking for words. And Sapa ran around in circles in her head like a fool. Looking down into her glass, she respectfully asked the great lioness to quiet down and lend her some of her quiet, royal strength. Sapa immediately quieted and sent a flood of calm confidence through their bond.

“I just moved here,” Delaine finally answered as calmly as she was able. “A friend of mine suggested this group was a good way to meet other professionals. I’m a bit too old for the meat market, wham bam, dance club scene.” Whoa! Had she actually said something so blunt to this man? Perhaps Sapa had given her too much gumption? Oh, he was definitely turned off now. Good. Better to get it over with so she could go home and throw up then kick herself in the butt for being such a babbling idiot.

Her annoyance with herself quickly became surprise and then utter amazement when he reached across the table and dipped his finger into the whipped cream of her apple tart.

“I like a bold woman.” His grin could only be described as sensuously wicked. And way he locked eyes with her as he licked the frothy whip off his fingertip? Oh lord!

She watched his tongue swirl around the cream on the tip of his finger before his lips wrapped around it and sucked the rest of the whip away. Okay, the upset stomach was a thing of the past. Her heart beat so fast she figured she’d just pass out and wouldn’t have to worry about throwing up after all.

“So what kind of work do you do?” he asked, still eating the whipped cream from his fingers. She kept telling herself to stop looking at that long index finger as it disappeared into his mouth but her eyes wouldn’t listen.

*
Stop looking! You cannot have a decent conversation if you are drooling, Suta Winyan
.*

Delaine mentally nodded, thanking Sapa for intervening in her major duh moment, and took a fortifying gulp of rich, sweet port. The potent wine tingled as it slipped down her throat and calmed her churning tummy. Justin wiped his fingers on a linen napkin. Good, no tan lines on his ring finger. She looked up to his face and her gaze settled on his mouth. She’d never seen a white guy with lips like this except on television. This man had full, Steven Tyler lips. Firm, kissable lips. Oh lord, she had to get a hold of herself. Must be the wine. Sapa snapped her out of her examination of his mouth.

*
He asked what kind of work it is you do, remember? Of course, you cannot tell him
.*

‘I know, Sapa. Geez, I’m not that far gone.’ Delaine thought she heard a sarcastic snort resonate along the psychic bond as she answered the man’s question. “I’m a technical consultant,” she finally answered.

“Technical, as in…?” he queried.

“Technical, as in pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturing hierarchy development.”

* * * * *

Justin lifted his eyebrows with a perfected dumb-as-a-rock, need-more-information-please look. He knew it had the intended affect when Delaine chuckled.

“I work for a company that specializes in providing analytical solutions to pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturers. We help them map out their production processes in a hierarchical manner. Then they can retrieve data from multiple databases for any part of their process. It enables them to do analysis just like that,” she explained with a quiet snap of her fingers. “My job is to work with my customer’s business community and scientific process engineers. I help them determine how they plan to use their data for analysis then we can build the graphical representation of the process, or hierarchy, appropriately. Make sense?”

Justin nodded. He knew exactly what she was talking about, but he kept his expression neutral. This woman was alluring, sexy as hell, and he was instantly attracted to her. But she’d just confirmed that she was definitely involved in what he was investigating at Astin Pharma. When he’d sighted her in The Vault, it hadn’t been an interesting coincidence after all. Damn.

“So, Justin, what do you do?” Delaine asked. Mimicking his behavior, she dipped her own finger into the whipped cream on their dessert then licked it off with a mischievous grin.

Justin’s eyes zeroed in on the pucker of her mouth as her dark cherry lips curled around her finger. He couldn’t decide if he should choke on his wine or swallow his tongue. So he did both.

Out of her seat in a flash, Delaine circled around the table and starting thumping him right in the middle of his back. Damn, the woman has a strong hand, he thought, wondering if he would have bruises where she whacked him in her effort to clear his windpipe.

“Are you all right? Oh goodness, my first outing in this town and I’ve already half killed a man!” Delaine growled, and kept right on beating the hell out of him. Justin’s hacking cough turned into a raspy chuckle. She’d sounded so sincere, he couldn’t help laughing.

“I’m fine, Delaine, really,” he wheezed around a final hack. He held up his hands to ward her off in hopes that she wouldn’t pound him again. Well, the physique he’d glimpsed when he’d watched her disappear down the tunnel in The Vault obviously hadn’t been a play of the dim lighting. He smiled big and shook his head in delight. The woman was a treat. The smile vanished when, all on its own, his mind filled with thoughts of his tongue sliding along her smooth cocoa skin to discover what this rich treat tasted like. His cock filled right along with his mind. Hungrily he watched her pretty almond-shaped eyes turn all soft and feminine, then widen as he reached out and took one of her hands. He leaned forward and spoke quietly, his fingers a feather-light caress over the back of her hand.

“Thank you for saving my life, beautiful.”

Delaine settled back into her chair, her face on fire with a fierce blush. She’d totally overreacted to his little bout of choking, but here he was thanking her. And looking at her like she was the most beautiful female on the planet. His gaze slammed into her and those damned butterflies stirred once more.

She could only nod. His expression was so lusty she couldn’t look into his eyes another second. It did funny things to her belly, made her want to pull him across the table and jump his bones on top of the remainder of her apple tart.

“Delaine, I know a little jazz club not far from here. You game?” he asked, not bothering to hide the huskiness in his voice. He watched her body language closely and her eyes flashed such a wide range of emotions so quickly he couldn’t catch them all. His eyes followed her tongue from one side of her inviting mouth to the other as she licked her lips nervously. For a moment, he thought she might turn him down. Relief stilled an uneasy flutter in his gut he hadn’t noticed was there until she nodded and allowed him a glimpse of her dimples once more.