Remembrance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 4) (31 page)

She buzzed him in, immediately touching her hair, inspecting her clothes.  His knock came moments later and she slid open the door.

He looked good.  When did he not look good?  Casually dressed in jeans, a sweatshirt, bomber jacket and sneaks, all she wanted to do was put her mouth on him.  Instead she leaned back against the doorjamb.

“Were you waiting outside for me to get home from my date, Luke Daniels?”

He walked past her, then turned to give her an expressionless look.

“You were, weren’t you?”  Janie started cracking up.  “You’re unbelievable.”  She had never been so happy in her life.  Luke was
jealous
.  She slid the door shut.

“You think that’s funny?”

“I think it’s
hilarious
.  What did you think he was going to do to me?”  She walked to him and playfully stared up into his eyes, giving him a sultry smile.

“Did he kiss you?  What am I saying?  Of course the fucker kissed you,” Luke mumbled.  His eyes pierced into hers while he waited for her response.  She took her time giving it, just smiling at him.  “Did he?” he asked again.

Her grin got wider and she licked her lips then nodded.  Slowly.

His tongue swirled over his teeth, his eyes taking on that heavy-lidded stare.  “What else did he do?”

She cocked her head.  “I told you I wouldn’t have sex.  I didn’t have sex.”

“What. Else. Did. He. Do?” he bit out.

She put her hands on her hips, thoroughly enjoying this moment.  “You said I was a lady, and a lady doesn’t –”

“Don’t say it, Janie.”

“– kiss and tell.”

He moved slowly toward her to crowd her space.  Grabbing a curl, he twirled it around his finger and pulled so she had to step closer to him, causing her to stumble slightly into him, gasping.  Her hands landed on his chest to steady herself. 

“What does a lady do then, Janie?  If she doesn’t kiss and tell, what
does
she do?” he whispered.  He looked dangerous and hot as hell.  “You’re not going to tell?  How about kiss then?”  His mouth had a teasing tilt to it and he leaned down quickly as if to nip at her lip.  She tried to nip back, but he held her head still and backed away.  His grip tightened on her curl and he moved even closer.  Shifting his body, he landed his leg between her skirted thighs, then leaned toward her ear.

“Who were you thinking of when he kissed you?” he whispered in a cocky tone.

She smiled and didn’t answer right away.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite hear you.  A little louder, please,” he said smugly.  His hand now engulfed the back of her skull still holding her curl between his fingers.  He pulled back to look down into her eyes.

She couldn’t help but roll them at him.  “Hm.  Let me think.  Weston was a pretty good kisser, so it was kind of hard to think of anyone else, but I guess you did pop into my head afterwards.  You know, when I was comparing,” she said softly with a light smile to her lips. 

He rolled his tongue in his mouth.  “And when he touched you?  Did you let him touch you?” he continued whispering, pulling at her hair and shifting his body some more so he was rubbing his thigh against the core of her womanhood which was screaming for him to take her.  Did he know what he was doing to her?

“He didn’t touch me,” she said huskily, trying to remain focused in the sexual haze Luke was creating.

“But he wanted to, didn’t he?”  He pulled her head back further and looked down at her.  “Didn’t he?”

She nodded as best she could, watching his eyes darken even more.  “He told me he wanted to fuck me.”  She looked him dead in the eye when she said it. 

He stilled, his blue eyes taking on a dangerous glint.  “Did he now?”  His voice got lower, softer, more controlled.  “And what did you say to that?”

She let a smile play on her lips.  His response was to grip her hair tighter. 

“He said he could make me feel really good,
Lukey
,” she whispered.  “I gotta tell ya, if he wasn’t such a player and we didn’t have this agreement going on, I may have let him ravish me.”

He continued watching her, his tongue now darting out to the corner of his mouth. “Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah.”  She licked her own lips.

“Apparently he did some things that convinced you he was a player.”

She was caught in the snare of his look.  Given their position, it wasn’t the easiest conversation to have.  His grip loosened in her hair and his eyes looked a little concerned.

“Did he do anything to,” he paused.  “He didn’t hurt you, or –?”

“No.  He was just very persistent,” she took a deep breath, “but eventually he accepted my ‘no’.  It took a while though,” she muttered.

“
Cabròn
,” he swore.  “Did he manhandle you or anything like that?”

She thought that funny considering where Luke’s own hands were and his attitude at the moment.  She laughed and ended with a soft smile, saying wryly, “Not as much as you do.”

His eyes blinked and he seemed to snap out of whatever it was that had taken hold of him in the last few minutes.  He stepped back and released her.  “Sorry.”

“I wasn’t complaining.”

He swiped his hand down his face.  He seemed to be trying to get control of himself.  She loved watching it play out, but wished he still had his hands on her.  She also wished he didn’t feel like he had to fight this potential attraction to her so much.

“So, how’s the search going?” she asked trying to hide her smile.

He turned to look at her.  “Huh?”

“The search.  For my man?”

He clenched his jaw, then nodded.  “Moving strong.  There’s only one more thing I need to do before he’s ready to be presented to you.”

She thought that was interesting.  “Good.”  She took a cleansing breath.  “So, I have another date tomorrow.”

He stopped, then, “What the fuck, Janie?  You’re actually going out with him again?”

“No, not with Eric.”  She seriously couldn’t stop the giggles. 

He muttered a swear in Spanish.  “What, you’re just going out with men left and right now?”

“Apparently, I’m a hot commodity.  It’s that sparkle thing and all that.”

He put his hands on his hips.  “Who?”

“Miguel Gastaldi.”

He was silent a moment, then nodded.  “When?”

“Tomorrow for lunch.”

He clenched his jaw, but seemed to relax a bit.  “You better get all of these men out of your system, baby girl.  The man I choose isn’t going to take kindly to you dating around after Christmas.”

“Well of course not.  I only have one more week then I’m all yours.  For the man you choose, I mean,” she said pointedly.

He glared at her. 

“Don’t look at me like that.  You’ve had your chance at dating around.  I haven’t.  First there was my weight, then there was school, then I had to set up the business.  These last few months are the first time I’ve actually had to do the dating thing.  And I can’t help it if someone asks me out.” 

He continued glaring, waited a beat, and then shrugged letting go of a sigh.  “Okay, then.”  He slowly turned and made his way to the door. 

And just like that, he was leaving.

When he turned back to her, he nailed her with a look, his mouth kicking up.  “Enjoy your date tomorrow.  Just don’t forget your date with
me
on Wednesday.  I know it might be hard to remember in the middle of all of your other suitors.”  He threw her a dry look.  “And lock the door.”

“Night, Luke,” she said with a bright smile.

He shook his head and smirked, then turned away and left.

She stared at the shut door
, threw the lock, and sighed.  She went to bed, shaking her head with disbelief over the day, and dreaming about Wednesday.

Tuesday morning was a beautiful winter day in lower Manhattan; crisp, crystal clear with the trees glistening from light snow and icicles.  Janie got up to exercise then texted both Luke and Tiffany a happy birthday message, each one separately.  To Tiffany, she’d sent a generic one.  To Luke, she’d put in a little more thought.

JC: 
Happy bday, Mr. Daniels. I’m sorry u have to work tonight on ur special day.  My bday present will hopefully make up for it.

She smiled and hit send, making a food list for shopping.  Her text went off.

LD: 
I’m intrigued.  Any hints?

She thought for a moment then smiled again.

JC: 
U can put it in ur mouth.

LD: 
Who knew u were such a dirty girl, Janie Callahan?

JC: 
Maybe u just have a dirty mind, Luke Daniels.

LD: 
I do. Which is good b/c I hear that’s pretty high up there on women’s lists.  Well, at least one woman’s.

JC:
  Do u have a lot of mtngs today on ur big day?

LD:
I actually have a mtng w/ loverboy Weston later.  I’m looking forward to seeing him, if for no other reason than to discourage him from any more amorous pursuits.

JC: 
Don’t u dare say anything to him in ur meeting.  We’re not in high school.  It’ll embarrass me if u say something.

LD: 
Oh well.

JC: 
I mean it, Luke.  Promise me u won’t say anything.

LD: 
I’ll only say something if he says something first, and I’ll be on my best behavior and won’t embarrass u
.

She could almost hear his snicker and see his eye roll. 

JC: 
Pain in the ass.  Have a great rest of ur day.  Sell lots of clothes or whatever it is u do.

LD: 
I see I’ll need to tutor u on my job description as well.  I’ll add it to the discussion list for tom, which I’m very much looking forward to.

She felt a wave of heat pass through her. 

JC: 
Ur just looking forward to putting my present in ur mouth, dirty boy
.

LD:
U know it.  Enjoy ur lunch w/ Gastaldi.  Remember, no sex.

JC: 
I know, I know. And think of u when he’s kissing me.  Got it.

She chuckled and waited for his response.

LD: 
Sorry to disappoint u, but he won’t be kissing u.  I’m fairly certain he’s not the kind of guy to kiss on the first date.  Plus, he’s not a player like Weston.  He would’ve been a good contender, but don’t forget.  Small feet.

She barked out a laugh.

JC: 
What size are urs again?

LD: 
Què boca.  Ttyl.

She hugged herself like an idiot.  She was so friggin’ in love with Luke Daniels.

The rest of the morning she talked to the girls in one way, shape, or form.  The picture of the kiss from the party was now circulating and they all had something to say about it, mainly to comment on how she’d neglected to share how heated the kiss really was.  She let them know about her date with Eric and how things were progressing.  Then she’d told them about her lunch date.  They all couldn’t believe how much had happened in the last couple of days.

Her mother had texted her too, obviously having seen the picture.  Janie took a moment away from making Luke’s homemade chocolate c
hip cookies and called her.

“You better start talkin’, sweetheart,” her mother guffawed as soon as she answered the phone.  “There are things you’re not telling me!” 

Janie laughed.  “It was just a kiss under the mistletoe.”

“Honey, if you think that was just a kiss under the mistletoe,
then you need your brain examined.”

“What on earth did you think when you saw it?”  Janie giggled.  “And
how
did you see it?”

“Maria saw it, then called me!” her mother yelled with humor, referring to Luke and Tiffany’s mother.

Janie groaned.  “She’s seen it?”

“Yes.  So talk.”

“Was she upset?”

“Are you kidding me?  No, baby, she wasn’t upset.  In fact, she called me to find out if I knew anything, then proceeded to tell me she’d always hoped the two of you would get together,” her mother said.  Janie could hear her smile.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.  What’s going on?  Are you two seeing each other?  Talk to me!” she practically screamed.

Janie took a huge cleansing breath, collapsed onto the sofa, then took the next fifteen minutes explaining the kiss, her feelings, and the fact that she and Luke were ‘looking’ for the perfect partners for each other.  She spared her the rest of the details.

“I always knew you’d had a crush,” her mom said quietly.  “And I also knew that recently something changed between you two.  Especially on Labor Day when we were at Jem’s.  I don’t know if you knew that we could hear the two of you arguing when you were in the back hall.  Your dad and I kept shooting each other looks.”  Her mother chuckled.