Ultimate Love (3 page)

"Where are you staying?" he asked.

"With my sister," Dinah replied and gave him the address as he made a note of it on his iPhone. She flashed him her most brilliant smile then turned and walked down the small alley back into the main street crowds. She could feel his eyes burning into her back and she began to anticipate with delicious longing the evening ahead with Jared Knight.

Sitting back in his office Jared scarcely noticed the view before him. His eyes were open, but were unseeing. He was trying to comprehend his strong reaction to Dinah Luxford, a reaction that none of the society beauties he dated and took to his bed had ever before created in him. Where had he lost his cool? Where did it go? He was so used to being in command and complete control of himself, but now he felt like a teenage boy full of hormones. He felt himself stiffen just thinking about her beautiful body underneath that grey dress.

After about half an hour contemplating his unusual reaction Jared determined there was only one way to get this woman out of his system. He would wine and dine her tonight, and then he would bed her. Once he had her then he could move on and his head would be clear again.

With satisfaction on a decision made he turned his mind to his upcoming business deal of the afternoon. He refused to acknowledge to himself that he was more than looking forward to enjoying the delights that Dinah Luxford's body would offer him, and if he had been honest with himself he would have realised that he was entering dangerous territory where this one woman was concerned.

Dinah's sister, Angela, was only mildly surprised but very happy when she turned up on her doorstep. Soon she was surrounded by her two nieces, Mia and Katie, both pulling at her skirt, both wanting to be picked up at once. Dinah gave in first to one then the other, burying her face in their sweet smelling curls and breathing deeply their innocent child smell. Her sister and brother-in-law certainly did produce beautiful children she thought, smiling, as she negotiated the chatter of her excitable nieces while trying to continue a conversation with her sister.

"It's so lovely to see you! Look girls! Aunty Dinah is staying with us tonight!" Angela said. The girls responded with rapturous excited squeals.

"So who is he?" Angela murmured to Dinah. Her sister knew her too well.

"What do you mean? Why do you expect there's a he?" Dinah retorted with a small flash of alarm. Was she that transparent?

"Only a man could make you stay away from your beloved Ultimate Cafe for a night! He must be gorgeous!" Angela said. She did love a good romance and she had been trying forever to get Dinah to find a man. Dinah was sorry to disappoint her.

"It's Jared Knight actually, and I'm having dinner to discuss my lease with him. He holds the lease on the whole block in Devon Bay's central shopping area. In fact he owns them."

"Okay, sure, if you say so. Discussing a lease is it?" Angela said. She was not fooled and Dinah suddenly wondered what she was getting herself into.

A man like Jared Knight, only probably THE most eligible bachelor in the city, asking her out? Was she mad? Surely she was not his type? He could have any woman he wanted, and she was sure he preferred more sophisticated and polished women, like the cool blonde secretary he had in his office, rather than someone unused to city ways and who barely dressed up or wore makeup!

With horror she suddenly realised that she had absolutely nothing with her to wear to the theatre or dinner. As soon as that thought intruded into her consciousness she stopped worrying. Angela was exactly the same size as she and would lend her anything she needed. Dinah relaxed.

"Actually he's asked me out to dinner and the theatre," Dinah informed Angela as Mia and Katie hung off her legs. Both wanted to be picked up at once and neither could wait. She looked down at a mass of golden curls and perfect skin over cherub cheeks.

At once her sister knew what she needed and bustled Dinah upstairs. "Girls, Aunty Dinah is going to have to dress up as a princess tonight because she's going out with a prince!" said Angela. The girls squealed with delight and the next hour was spent amidst laughter and love finding the perfect ensemble for Dinah's date.

Being surrounded by family soothed Dinah's nerves. After being thoroughly unsettled by her strong physical reaction to Jared Knight she needed the love of her family to bring her back down to reality. She hardly ever dated, having had only two boyfriends in her entire life, a fact she was conscious of and made her inexperienced. In Dinah's view it probably meant she would be a hopeless lover. To have a date with the most eligible bachelor in Auckland, even if it was because of business, meant Dinah would have been a complete bundle of nerves were it not for the calming presence of her sister and the love of her nieces.

Dinah settled into being fussed over and pampered, enjoying the hugs and play from the two little girls. Even though she worked very hard and had little time for socialising, her family was vitally important to her and she made sure she visited them often. When she could not visit they would speak on the phone several times a week. Angela always offered a calm and sane sounding board for Dinah's business ideas, and tonight Dinah needed to absorb some of Angela's calmness for the evening ahead!

Jared arrived promptly at 7.30 p.m. Dinah expected no less, knowing that with a brilliant reputation in business he was sure to be on time. The man did not negotiate multimillion dollar property deals if he wasn't organised.

He looked absolutely gorgeous in a dark casual shirt and slim fitting pants. Angela opened the door as Mia and Katie tumbled about her feet, eager to see the man who was taking their one and only favorite Aunt out. They had spent a good part of the afternoon dressing Dinah and they wanted to see how her prince would be dressed. When they saw him they immediately shrank back into their mother's skirts, suddenly shy in the face of this impossibly tall and good-looking stranger.

At that moment Dinah appeared at the top of the stairs and they all turned as one to look up at her.

Dinah was wearing a cream wrap dress, cut just below her knees. The silky fabric draped softly about her body and the skirt flared out from her hips to accentuate her small waist while the V of the neckline revealed the swell of her breast. She had matched it with sling-back heels to achieve a classic chic look. Her makeup was minimal, but Angela had helped her skillfully apply it and had finished it off with a sweet fruity lip-gloss that gave her lips a full kissable look. The whole process had taken over an hour, but Mia and Katie had enjoyed every moment of it and Dinah had not wanted to deny them the pleasure of dressing their favorite Aunt.

She felt ready and confident, but the moment she saw Jared standing at the foot of the stairs looking up at her she felt again those same heady butterflies in her stomach that she had felt on first meeting him. Her throat suddenly felt tense and she had to consciously relax and breathe. He had an instant effect on her and not for the first time she wondered what she was doing. He was so good looking Dinah's eyes quickly scanned his broad shoulders underneath the taut fabric of his dark shirt and she realised with a small start that she was conjuring up a picture of her hands running across his smooth chest and arms, down his rib cage and over his stomach muscles…. She really needed to keep her mind on him with his clothes on or she would quickly lose the ability to have a coherent conversation with him. The last thing she wanted was for Jared Knight, multimillionaire property developer, to think she was an airhead!

Dinah put her chin up and walked down the stairs. Proud of the efforts of her beautiful nieces and her adored sister she projected an air of grace and confidence. She had learned that the best way to be confident was to act confident.

It was the older of the two little girls, Mia, who broke the spell and with a loud voice declared that her Aunty Dinah was The Most Beautiful Princess in the world, and with all the tact of a three year old demanded that Jared agreed with her.

It seemed that Mia had quickly overcome her initial shyness.

With another of his slow sexy smiles aimed straight at Dinah, Jared agreed. "She certainly is very beautiful. She makes a lovely princess," he said.

Dinah's stomach turned somersaults, and she felt a sudden weakness in her legs. The look Jared had given her was heavy with smoldering desire and promise, and she felt a corresponding almost involuntary response from her body. The sexual chemistry between them was strong, it was undeniable, and at that moment Dinah did not care where he took her as long as she spent the evening by his side, and preferably with less clothes and more privacy!

"You've been kissing a princess!" Mia shouted, pointing at Jared. "He's changed from a frog so he's been kissing other princesses Aunty Dinah! You're not supposed to kiss other princesses, you're supposed to kiss my Aunty Dinah!" Mia exclaimed. She was clearly putting Jared in his place, but Angela, Dinah and Jared could not help but laugh. For Dinah that was the light relief she needed to break her mind away from Jared Knight's amazingly honed and perfect body for long enough to kiss her nieces good night and assure Angela that she would enjoy herself.

Jared was the perfect gentleman. He opened the car's door for her and ensured her skirt was tucked inside the car before closing the door with the soft click of a well-designed machine. Dinah breathed in subtle scents of leather and Jared's cologne. As Jared started the engine soft music filled the comfortable interior of the car, and the feeling of intimacy increased as he turned to give her a brief but appraising look.

"I meant it, you know," he said.

"Oh, what was that?" she said.

"You are a beautiful woman Dinah Luxford and I'm a lucky man to have the pleasure of your company for the evening."

Dinah was only briefly surprised. She knew she was an excellent businesswoman and an even better chef, but she did not normally give much thought to her looks. It seemed that she
was
Jared Knight's type after all, or at least he did find her attractive! The thought gave her so much pleasure and confidence, she was able to return Jared's smile with her own subtly seductive look.

"Thank you. So, where are we going for dinner? I'm starving!"

Jared's laughter filled the car. "That's what I like! A woman not afraid to eat! There's nothing as sensual as watching a beautiful woman enjoy good food. The restaurant I have chosen for us is one of the best."

During the drive to the restaurant they enjoyed a comfortable silence, and each time their glances met they shared a smile. Dinah was surprised at how easy he was to just be with. She rarely felt this comfortable this quickly with new people, and she did not know how long it was since she had been on a date. It must be at least over a year she thought ruefully. Jared Knight was easily by far the best-looking man she had ever shared a meal with. She could not help but notice how the fabric of his trousers stretched over his muscular thighs, and she enjoyed watching his movements out of the corner of her eye, cautious to not be caught staring openly at him.

The air inside the car seemed to be thickening with energy and Dinah wondered if her desire for this man was almost a palpable thing. Could that be possible? Could her overwhelming sexual need for this man beside her be affecting the air around them? Dinah settled back into the warm comfort of the soft leather seat and briefly closed her eyes and allowed her mind to wander over thoughts of Jared Knight without his shirt on, Jared Knight holding her close and burying his face in her hair.
"Well, here we are," Jared exclaimed as he expertly swung the expensive car up in front of the restaurant. The valet stepped up to open her door, and Dinah found herself swept along and inside the warm and beautiful atmosphere of one of Auckland's best restaurants. She had read about it in Cuisine magazine. She always followed the restaurant scene in the media and as a chef, first and foremost, she wanted to know who was running what restaurant, and what their menus specialised in. With a glow of satisfaction she stepped out of the car into the balmy evening, looking forward to great food and great company.

Jared's hand was on the small of her back as they entered and she could feel the warmth of him burning through the silky fabric of her dress. His touch firmly guided her before him to the best table in the house with a spectacular view of the harbor before them. The maître-d knew Jared by name and Dinah wondered how often he dined here. The staff seemed to know him as a regular customer and he was spoken to with the most polite and gracious respect.

Their waiter opened linen napkins over their laps, and with a flourish presented their menus and left the wine list open for Jared on the table. Jared looked over at Dinah and smiled at her. With that one look Dinah felt her body react as warmth spread between her legs. She felt her insides melt into jelly as the sheer masculine appeal of his gaze swept over her.

Dinah bought herself back with a start. She must remember why she was here! She needed to keep her beloved Devon Bay in the forefront of her mind and not let the considerable charms of Jared Knight cloud her thoughts.

She let her lashes float down to screen her eyes while she tried to bring her body under control. Ever since the moment Jared had picked her up at her sister's house she had been letting her mind relax and her body react to his close presence. If she was to make the most of this opportunity to change his mind about his development she needed to keep her senses in check! And that meant no more imagining what he would look like without his shirt on and no more imagining how his hands would feel smoothly running over her heated and sensitised skin. With a will power she did not know she possessed she brought the heat in her abdomen under some semblance of control. Jared Knight was a potent virile hunk of masculinity, but that didn't mean her business sense had to desert her entirely.

"I'm interested in how your company usually manages its developments, particularly how you manage the local community's involvement. Are you involved with the local community?" she asked.