Tender Kisses (6 page)

He chuckled and followed her out. As they rode down in the elevator, he asked, “Are you still seeing that guy from the fund-raiser?”

His question reminded her that Justin had never responded to her text. Had he got it, or was he purposely ignoring her? She felt bad about canceling, but it couldn't be helped. “I saw him a couple of times. It's no big thing.”

“If you say so. I'm telling you now, if he pulls the same crap as Arthur, we're kicking his ass. We backed off because you asked us to last time, but we won't stand for someone hurting you again.”

“Since I don't plan to start seeing him exclusively, you have nothing to worry about.”

They exited the elevator in the underground garage, and he walked Siobhan to her car. Bending slightly, he placed a kiss on her temple. “Just be careful.”

“I will. Tell Khalil I'll try to get in there one evening next week, if he's going to be there.”

“I can come work out with you, if he's busy. Just let me know.”

“I will. See you later.” Siobhan got in the car, started it and backed out of the lot. She shook her head. It had taken days of pleading and threatening to tell their parents to keep her three brothers from killing Arthur. They could be an intimidating group. But somehow, Justin didn't strike her as the type who would scare easily.

She dismissed the wayward thought immediately. She needed to focus on work only. No more dates—and definitely no more kisses.

* * *

Siobhan sat at her kitchen table late Saturday afternoon working on the press release and tweaking the ads that would be sent to various magazines and newspapers in the coming week. After reading and reworking the release three times, she was finally satisfied with the finished product. Just as she hit the print button, her doorbell rang. She figured it was one of her brothers. Anytime a man showed interest in her or Morgan, the guys each paid a visit to interrogate their sisters. She made her way to the front door and snatched it open without looking through the peephole.

“Look, I don't...” Her eyes widened and her sentence trailed off. “Justin. What...what are you doing here?” She had forgotten she'd given him her address.

“Can I come in?”

She hesitated for a split second before backing up and waving him in. She closed the door and leaned against it. His gaze burned a slow path down her body and back up, and Siobhan felt a sudden need to cover herself.

“Nice outfit.”

Since she didn't have plans to leave the house, she'd put on a tank top and an old pair of cutoff jean shorts that revealed more than they covered. “I wasn't expecting company, so... Anyway, you never answered my question.”

“You canceled our date...by
text
,” Justin said, as if that explained it all. “Why?”

If anything, she had expected him to call in response to her text, not show up at her house. “I told you—I have a lot of work I have to finish.”

“It's Saturday, Siobhan.” He closed the distance between them, braced one hand on the door above her head and brought his face within six inches of hers. “You're going to have to do better than that, baby.”

Siobhan's breath caught, and her pulse spiked.

“Did I say or do something wrong?”

She shook her head.

“I thought we had a good time both times at the coffee shop.”

“Yes, but—”

“But what? When two people enjoy each other's company, it seems logical that they'd want to spend more time together.”

“Justin, I think you're a really nice guy, but I don't want to lead you on or give you the impression I want anything from you other than friendship.”

A slow grin tilted the corners of his mouth. “And you think by us going to dinner and a movie, I'll think you want more than friendship.”

Siobhan nodded.

“What if I promise I won't assume you want anything other than a good time? Then will you go out with me?”

“What about you? What do you want?”

“All I want is to spend the evening with a beautiful woman.” Justin eased close enough for their breaths to mingle. “So, Ms. Hunter, will you go out with me?”

With his lips so near and his eyes locked on hers, Siobhan could barely form a coherent thought, let alone answer him. Everything inside her screamed
no
, but she heard herself answer, “Yes,” just before his mouth came crashing down on hers. Unlike the previous kisses they had shared, this one was more urgent and demanding. She felt her control slipping and pulled back.

“I made reservations for six thirty,” he whispered against her lips. “That way we'll have plenty of time to see one of the later showings at the theater.”

Still trying to get her heart rate under control, she said, “I need to change my clothes.”

He moved back.

“You can wait in here.” She led him to the family room. “Can I get you something to drink?”

Justin took a seat on her recliner. “No, thank you. This is really nice. Did you decorate it yourself?”

“With a little help from my sister.” She had chosen neutral beiges and tans with splashes of coral to complement the stone fireplace. “I'll be right back.”

In her bedroom, Siobhan paced and rubbed her temples. “What are you doing, Siobhan?” she mumbled. “All it took was a stupid kiss, and you're going back on your word.” But damn, the man could kiss.

She stopped pacing and went to her closet. He said he didn't expect anything but some fun and an enjoyable evening. She could do this...as long as he kept his lips to himself.

Chapter 6

“N
ow, wasn't this better than the coffee shop?” Justin asked, leaning back in his chair after they finished their meal.

Siobhan scanned the upscale steak house with its elegant furnishings and intimate atmosphere. Several couples sat across from each other holding hands and sharing smiles. There wasn't an empty table in the place. “It's very nice, but how did you get reservations on such short notice?”

He took a sip of his wine. “I made reservations two days ago.”

She angled her head. “You kept the original reservation, even after I canceled?”

“Yes.”

“A little presumptuous, don't you think? And why didn't you respond to my message?”

“Not at all.” Justin leaned forward and reached for her hand. “As far as not responding, I had hoped that by coming to your house, I could convince you to reconsider. I can't tell you how glad I am that you changed your mind, Siobhan.”

The timbre of his voice, the way he said her name and the way he touched her had Siobhan's heart racing a mile a minute. Not wanting him to know how much he affected her, she eased her hand away and took a sip of her wine. “Like I told you before, you're persistent, if nothing else.”

Justin chuckled. “Only when necessary.”

They shared a smile, both remembering that particular conversation.

“Do you ever let go and just do something spontaneous? Maybe that one thing you always wanted to do, but haven't.”

“No,” she answered immediately. “With my schedule, I don't have room for
spontaneity
.”

“Then what do you do for fun?”

If she could recall the last time she did something fun, she might have been able to answer his question. “I hang out with my family and best friends.” Outside of the monthly family dinners and weekly lunches with her two friends, she couldn't come up with anything else that would qualify. Once she had handled that mess with Arthur, Siobhan had completely shut down her personal life. Not wanting to talk about her life anymore, she shifted the conversation. “You said your parents live outside of Las Vegas. Is that where you grew up?”

Justin smiled knowingly. “No. I grew up right here in Los Angeles. They moved there two years ago when the environmental consulting firm my father works for relocated. He said he was too close to retirement to start over. My mother is a librarian, and she said as long as they had books, she'd be fine.”

Siobhan laughed. “I know you mentioned one of your sisters worked in forensics and the other one was in college. Are they here?”

“Yep. Yvonne works in the Long Beach Police Department crime lab, and Jocelyn is at UCLA. As a matter of fact, they paid me a surprise visit on Thursday. So, what were you doing in Las Vegas?”

Usually Siobhan had no problems directing the attention away from her, but Justin wasn't so easily put off. He kept finding a way to turn the conversation back to her personal life. “My two friends and I went to celebrate after graduating from college several years ago.”

“That had to be a blast.”

“Well, it would've been if Kendra hadn't got food poisoning. We ended up coming back home after a day and a half, and didn't get to explore the shops or see any shows.”

“That's a shame. A lot has changed since then.”

“I know. That's why I want to go back someday.”

“Making that happen would require you to take some time off for
fun
, you know,” Justin said with amusement.

She leveled him with a glare that was known to silence and send grown men scurrying, but it seemingly had no effect on him.

“It could be an entirely different city by the time you go back. I'm just saying,” he added with a laugh when she narrowed her eyes. He glanced down at his watch. “We'd better get going if we want to catch a movie.” He signaled the waiter and settled the bill, then stood.

“What are we going to see?”

“I have no idea,” he said, helping Siobhan to her feet and guiding her to the exit. “I thought we'd decide once we got there. I'm not even sure what's playing right now.”

“I guess I'm not the only one who hasn't been out in a while,” she mumbled.

Justin laughed heartily. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “You got me on that one.”

Siobhan tried hard not to smile, but failed. Her smile was still in place as they drove to the movie theater.

“I guess everybody else had the same idea,” he said as he drove around the lot searching for a parking place. He maneuvered into a recently vacated spot, hopped out and came around to Siobhan's side. He gently pulled her to her feet, entwined their hands and headed for the ticket booth. “Let's hope they have something good showing.”

After staring at the selections for ten minutes, they finally settled on a show. They stopped short when they entered.

“Wow,” Siobhan said.

“Yeah, wow. When did all this happen? I guess it has been a long time since I've been to the movies.”

Siobhan chuckled. “For real.” The lobby held a full bar, booths and an area for patrons to wait until their movie was called. Inside the theater, she was amazed once more at the large leather reclining seats—all reserved seating—and in-movie dining service. When the movie started, the suspense thriller had Siobhan nearly jumping out of her seat almost instantly.

Justin slung an arm around her shoulders and whispered, “If you don't like it, we can choose something else.”

She shook her head and turned to reply at the same time he moved, and their lips brushed across each other, the brief contact sending sparks of pleasure through her. Siobhan waited for him to take full advantage, but he sat unmoving, then backed away.

“What were you going to say?”

It took her a second to get her scattered thoughts together. “I...I was going to say, it's okay—I'm fine. We don't have to leave.”

He nodded. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

“All right.” Their gazes locked for several heated moments before she tore hers away and focused on the screen.

Throughout the movie, each time she jumped or made a sound, Justin tightened his arm around her. He lifted the armrest between them, and by the time the ending credits rolled, she was sitting halfway on his lap. It should have bothered her, especially since she wanted to keep the boundaries of friendship intact. But it didn't. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't dismiss the fact that she liked the feeling of his strong arm surrounding her. And it unnerved her.

* * *

Justin kept stealing glances at Siobhan as he drove her home. She sat quietly and stared out the window. He couldn't figure her out. One moment she seemed relaxed and open, and in the next she'd retreated behind that impenetrable wall again. He knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her—her eyes and her kiss told him—but every time he made a little progress in getting to know her, she shut him down cold. Like the other two times they had gone out, whenever he asked her a personal question, she skirted around it and kept the attention on him.

Justin had never had to work this hard to gain a woman's interest, and maybe it was time he pulled back. It sounded like a logical step in theory; however, there was one flaw with his thinking—kissing her had been the only thing on his mind since their lips had accidentally touched. And he didn't see himself leaving without satisfying his craving. His groin stirred, and he gripped the steering wheel tighter. Needing a distraction, he turned up the music. Smooth R & B music flowed from his satellite radio station. “Is the music too loud? I can change the station if you don't like this one.”

“Please. I love R & B. My parents love music, so we listened to R & B, jazz, gospel and even some classical. They have tons of albums and records.”

“That's something else we have in common. My parents still listen to their albums on one of those old console stereos, static and all. Sometimes they have to turn the switch on and off a couple of times for it to work, but I can't get them to buy another one.”

Siobhan laughed. “We bought our parents an updated stereo system about three years ago. Otherwise they would still have theirs.”

Justin stroked his chin. “Maybe I need to do the same. Their anniversary is coming up in a few months.”

“Ooh, I love this song,” Siobhan said, tapping her fingers to the beat of “You Rock My World.”

Justin smiled. “You're a Michael Jackson fan, huh?”

“Who isn't? He's one of the best entertainers
ever
. We used to listen to him and The Jackson 5 all the time growing up.”

“You aren't old enough to know anything about The Jackson 5.”

“Like I said, my parents have all their music—
The Jackson 5
,
The Jacksons
and Michael's solo albums—and I've probably downloaded most of his songs. I just wish I'd had a chance to see him in concert.”

“My parents went to see The Jacksons on their Triumph Tour in 1981, and my mother still has her T-shirt. She said it was one of the best concerts she'd ever seen.” They continued discussing their favorite music artists and concerts until he arrived at her house. He helped her out of the car, escorted her up the walkway and waited while she unlocked the door.

He followed her inside, and Siobhan turned to face him. “I had a good time tonight, although I'm probably going to have nightmares about somebody chasing me after seeing that movie,” she added with a chuckle. “Next time, I think I'll stick to romances or something a little less creepy.”

He smiled inwardly. She'd said
next time
. “Hey, there was a happy ending and some romance. He saved her from the bad guys, and don't you remember the part where the hero made love to the heroine on the beach beneath the stars? I thought that was quite romantic.” Justin moved closer. “Black velvet night, millions of stars in the sky...a warm breeze...” He reached out, drew her into his embrace and let his hands roam slowly down her back and over the curve of her hips. “The play of the moonlight on your beautiful body,” he continued while gifting her with kisses on the shell of her ear, along her jaw and column of her neck. “The sound of waves crashing against the shore...” She trembled against him and gasped softly. Justin took full advantage and slid his tongue between her parted lips. Their tongues twined and tangled, and he angled his head to deepen the kiss.

“Justin,” Siobhan whispered against his lips.

Instead of replying, he swept her into his arms, strode across the living room and sat on the nearest sofa with Siobhan cradled in his lap. He continued to kiss her greedily, feeding from the sweetness of her mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss with equal passion, surprising him and forcing a low growl from his throat. She rocked her bottom against him, and he grew harder with each movement. His erection throbbed, and fire shot through his veins. Justin felt his control slipping and tried to slow down.

Siobhan's response to him confirmed what he already knew. At some point, they would end up sleeping together—the chemistry between them was too strong to deny—and when it happened, he didn't want her to have any regrets. Somehow he found the strength to end the kiss. He eased back, and they shared a smile. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he let his head drop back against the sofa, closed his eyes and waited for his galloping heart to slow.

At length, he sat up. “I'd better get going.” When she lifted her head, he couldn't resist one more kiss.

She scooted off his lap and stood.

He came to his feet and took her hand. “Walk me to the door.” Once there, he gathered her in his embrace once more. “I'll call you.”

“Okay.”

He placed a gentle kiss on her lips and released her. “Sleep well, baby.” He opened the door and, without waiting for a response from her, sauntered down the walkway to his car.

The crisp night air did nothing to cool his insides, and neither did the thirty-minute drive to his house. What he needed was a good run, but no one went running in LA after midnight. Instead, he showered and headed for his office. Justin sat staring at the computer screen and thinking about Siobhan. Normally, he wouldn't waste time on any woman who sent out as many conflicting signals as Siobhan did, but everything about her fascinated him. And now that he'd tasted the fire beneath her icy exterior, walking away was the furthest thing from his mind.

Without thinking, Justin picked up his cell and typed:
Are u asleep?
The minutes ticked off while he waited for a response. When none came, he assumed Siobhan had been able to sleep after all, so he turned his attention to the list of codes on his screen. His cell buzzed, and his fingers froze on the keyboard. He unlocked the screen and read Siobhan's reply:
No, can't sleep.

Why not?

Thinking about that movie...thanks to u.

Me? U agreed. But if ur afraid, I'd be more than happy to come over and protect u.

That won't be necessary. I'm a big girl & I can take care of myself.

So, when are we going out again? I'll let u pick the movie.

I don't know if that's a good idea.

Not a date, just two people having a good time. No commitments.

There was a slight delay, and then Siobhan replied:
I'll let you know. Good night.

Good night.

He tossed the cell on the desk. Justin wasn't looking for a long-term relationship any more than Siobhan, but a short affair? That he could handle.

* * *

Siobhan powered off her cell, plugged it into the charger and climbed into bed. She reached up to turn off the lamp and pulled the sheet over her body. She should have ignored his text and let him think she had gone to bed. She was wide-awake, but not for the reason she'd told him. True, she had never been a big fan of thrillers, but that movie hadn't come close to stirring up the raw emotions Justin had in her. Even though he had left her house more than two hours ago, she could still feel his hands all over her body. And every time he kissed her, she lost more and more of her willpower. She shook her head. Being around Justin was dangerous to her well-being.