Between The Sheets - Complete Collection (2 page)

“Agreed,” Paul said, seeming more than a little transfixed by Brandi.

That she did not appreciate his attention, her luminous eyes devoid of warmth, appeased him.  While he held the architect in high regard, Geoffrey wondered how the man could not see.  Ignoring Paul, Brandi agreed, albeit with some reluctance, before perusing the menu.

His selection made, Geoffrey waited until both of his lunch companions closed their menus.  “Why not take this time to get to know one another better until our waiter returns?”

“Sounds like a great idea,” agreed Paul, not bothering to hide his eagerness toward her.

Brandi narrowed her gaze at Geoffrey, but he only smiled and said, “Would you care to go first, Brandi?  What do you enjoy doing when you are not working?”

She let him see the anger in her eyes before she veiled them.  When she lifted her lids, she turned her attention to Paul.  “I have varied interests.”

Which told them nothing.  Trying unsuccessfully to hide a smile, Geoffrey pressed, “Movies?  Theater?  Do you like going to sporting events?”

“Do you?” she countered, arching an eyebrow.

“As a matter of fact, I do.  Movies, theater and sporting events.  I enjoy them all.”

She turned her head to meet Paul’s gaze.  “What about you, Paul?”

“Golfing is my passion.  It consumes all my free time if I don’t take care.  Good thing I don’t have a family to neglect.  Are you married, Brandi?”

“No, I’m not.” Voice sharp, she did not elaborate.

Inside, Geoffrey grinned.  Ah, there was the fire.  He’d known it was there, but she kept it hampered down.  The fire was the key to getting next to Ms. Brandi Rafferty, fanning the flames until they burned through the walls enclosing her and she let go.

___

Geoffrey rubbed the back of his neck with one hand as he emerged from his leased SUV.  The work-day had run long and he was hungry.  But he wanted nothing from the five-star restaurant that was a part of the luxurious condo-hotel that his company secured for his stay in America.  After consulting Breams, the concierge, Geoffrey decided to try the Kyoto Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse just five or six miles from downtown.

As he stepped inside the restaurant, the casual, inviting atmosphere relaxed him.  The work-induced tension seeped out of him as he followed the hostess to a large teppanyaki table that could accommodate up to twelve diners.  Several others were already seated discussing the menu.  To his utter delight and satisfaction, Brandi was one of them.  She had yet to see him, involved as she was in her conversation with the other ladies grouped with her.

Geoffrey spoke low as he gave the waitress his beverage request, not wanting Brandi to hear and notice him.  Inviting him to sit where he pleased, she left him with a menu.  Rather than peruse the menu, he took advantage of the opportunity afforded him to study Brandi in this social environment.

The reserve normally a part of how she conducted herself each time they met was absent.  With a pointed chin and sharp cheekbones that could have made her appear angular, the gentle curves of her oval-shaped face softened while the steel gray eyes, startlingly clear, made him feel she could see into his soul, into the man he was at his most basic level.

Tall and slender, she reached his shoulders.  Narrow at the shoulders and hips, she had full breasts, the swells of which showed above the V-necked tee shirt she now wore.  He had to fight the urge to pull her into his arms and press her tight against him.

Brandi must have become aware of his focused because she casually glanced his way.  Her eyes widened, mouth dropping open.

Geoffrey grinned.  “Good evening, Brandi.  How fortunate to meet you here tonight.  Are you going to introduce me to your friends?”

Again, he felt a taste of her fire in the heated glare she sent him.

“Yes, do introduce us,” said one of her friends that was staring at him with undisguised curiosity and an easy grin.

Brandi, however, did not share her amusement.  She flattened her lips and for one moment he thought she might not answer.  Watching her closely, he saw the moment she realized there was no polite way to avoid it.

Voice cool, she said, “Diamond Theroux, Lisa Ba’Yne, and Renee Jinn, meet Geoffrey Rasmussen.  He’s the representative from my newest client.”

“It is my pleasure, ladies.  Do you mind if I join your little group?”

“Of course, you can,” the woman who’d spoken earlier, Diamond, said.

Geoffrey rose and resettled himself next to Brandi.

Brandi tensed as his scent wafted to her, spicy and warm, his essential male scent making her mouth water for more than food.  Her pulse quickened, the heat of his body warming her, turning her insides to liquid.  She turned her face away from him, rejecting the appeal of the man with her mind, in spite of her body’s reactions to him.

A long time ago, Nick had been just like Geoffrey, determined in his pursuit of her.  He’d rammed against her boundary walls with his persistent flattery and gifts until she lowered her defenses.  She let him in, let him take her over. Then what did he do?  He took her love, ground it under his heel and threw it into rotting garbage like that was all she was fit for.

Neither Geoffrey, nor any other man, would get the opportunity to do that to her again.

Brandi chanced another glance at him, woman enough to appreciate his male attributes in a purely aesthetic way.  His tall, lean, muscular frame, white-blond hair and brilliant blue eyes put him right up there with Hollywood types, his easy grin making him approachable.  Did he make everything female within her flare to life at his nearness, at one glance from those beautiful blue eyes?  Yes.  No need to delude herself about it.

Sorry, Mr. Rasmussen. I refuse to go down that path again.

She could not afford to.

Taking a deep breath, Brandi consciously released the tension.  The acknowledgement of her attraction to him, and subsequent decision to choose not to follow through on it, freed her somehow.  She could relax, to a point, and enjoy dinner with her friends and the attractive man who was nothing more than a business acquaintance.

“So what do you ladies do?” Geoffrey was asking as she tuned back into the conversation.  “Except Brandi, of course.”

His gaze met hers.  She searched the luminous depths of his eyes, seeing the banked fire there, also kindness.

No.  I thought Nick was a gentle soul and look what it cost me.

Bottom line, she couldn’t trust her own judgment where her personal life was concerned.

“I’m an accountant,” replied Diamond, drawing his gaze, her dark chocolate eyes twinkling.  “I know what you’re thinking, Geoffrey, but I really do enjoy working with numbers more than people.”

“I think I can understand why,” he said without hesitation, surprising them all as they exchanged glances and waited for him to explain.  “Numbers are facts, plain and simple, while people are complex, emotions are messy.  It’s not always so easy to understand any one person completely.”

Diamond’s brows rose almost to her hairline.  Brandi understood the feeling.  No one had ever summed up her friend like that.

“Oh, my gosh, you, a virtual stranger, get me. Wow, Brandi, this one’s a keeper.”

Brandi’s lips tightened as she glared at her friend.  Not that it mattered.  Diamond just grinned.

Geoffrey turned to Renee.  “And you, Renee, what is it you do?”

“I’m a licensed realtor, both for residential and commercial real estate.”  As was her way, Renee spoke in a soft tone.

“Really?  Then it is fortunate that we have met.  One never knows when one may have need of a realtor.  Do you have a card?”

Renee reached into her purse and withdrew her business card, handing it to him.

“Thank you.”

Lisa reached across Brandi and touched his arm.  “And I’m a high school guidance teacher at a private academy.”

Now it was Geoffrey’s turn to be surprised.  “You have the most important job of us all.”  There was no doubting the sincerity in every word.

Lisa blushed under his admiring gaze.

Diamond’s eyes almost bugged out.  “I cannot believe it!  I would have never thought you had it in you to blush at anything.”

Lisa gritted her teeth.  “Are you finished?”

Diamond shrugged her shoulders.  “For now.”

Several more people joined their table.  The waitress took the beverage orders then turned to Brandi and her group for their dinner selections. She went to put in their orders and returned, another waitress following, their arms filled with a bowl of soup and salad for all at their table.  Conversation dwindled as the teppanyaki chef arrived to cook each of their meals while showcasing his skill with knives.  Even after he cleaned the table and left, the positive remarks on the food and show continued.

Dinner over, the women each paid their bill, declining Geoffrey’s offer to cover their meals.  Outside, they paused on the sidewalk to say their goodnights.  Brandi found the tension creeping back over her.  She felt a similar tension emanating from the man beside her.

“Ladies, may I offer a ride in my leased SUV?” Geoffrey asked, looking to each of them.

“Which way are you going?” Diamond asked.

“I am staying at a hotel uptown, but I do not mind if I must drive in the opposite direction to ensure you ladies get home safely.”

“Thank you, but, no,” answered Diamond with a shake of her head.  “Renee, Lisa, and I live outside the city.  But Brandi lives uptown.”

Instead of responding to that, Geoffrey turned toward the street and raised his arm.  Almost at once, a taxi pulled up at the curb and he opened the door with a flourish, sweeping his arm wide and bowing low.  “After you, ladies.”

Brandi watched her friends desert her with a wink and a smile, while she experienced a sinking sensation low in her abdomen.  She was alone.  With Geoffrey.

Not a good idea on so many levels.

Geoffrey shoved his hands in his pockets, saying nothing, which only made her more nervous.  “Would you rather catch a taxi?”

He was leaving it up to her.  Well, she was no coward.  She could do this.

Squaring her shoulders, Brandi pasted on a smile and met his gaze.  “If it’s really no trouble, I’ll take you up on your offer.”

Geoffrey smiled like he’d won the lottery, like her answer both pleased and satisfied him.

Brandi stepped back, frowning.  “This doesn’t change anything, Geoffrey.  I’m not at a point in my life where I have the time or the inclination for a relationship.”

“Even a friendship?”

She had to close her eyes and turn away from the hope shining in his, even as she questioned his motives.  Brandi sighed.  “Fine, but that is all we can be.  Can you accept that?”

“Is there any other choice?”

“No, there isn’t.”

“Then friendship it is.”

Geoffrey stepped up and linked her arm through his, steering her around the side of the building to a full-sized SUV.  He opened the door and assisted her up onto the seat, without the flourish he’d shown her friends.  Brandi ignored the slight disappointment she felt and watched as he went around to the driver’s side.

Once they merged into traffic, she asked, “Why do you have a vehicle when you live uptown and work midtown?”

He flashed a grin at her.  “Tit for tat, as the expression goes.  One for one.  For every question of yours that I answer, you answer one from me.”

Brandi pursed her lips as she pondered that.  Well, she mentally shrugged, if there was one she didn’t feel comfortable answering, she wouldn’t and have to accept his non-answer, too.

“Fine.”

Geoffrey took one hand off the steering wheel and offered it to her.  “Shake on it?”

She blew out hard and slowly extended her hand until his engulfed hers.  A shockwave ran up her arm like electric zings until he released her.  Swallowing a gasp, she managed to feign a calm she didn’t feel.

“You first,” Geoffrey offered with a sideways glance.

Brandi licked her suddenly dry lips.  “Are you, or have you ever, married?”

“No, not once.”

“Have you ever been in a long-term relationship that involved living together?”

Geoffrey didn’t hesitate.  “Yes.  About five years ago, but nothing came of it.  You?”

“Yes.  It ended a year ago.”
“Difficult breakup, I take it?”

Brandi didn’t even question how he surmised that.  “Very.”

He glanced over at her.  “Ready for some music?”

She leaned her head back and nodded.  The rest of the ride was accomplished in silence but for her directions to her condominium.

___

Their many projects were going well, producing expected results for the agency’s clients.  Her market researchers had produced viable information that she and her ad execs utilized in designing online and traditional advertising for the greatest result.  Everything was going well.

She should be happy.  Instead, she felt restless.  She hadn’t run into Geoffrey since last week at the Japanese steakhouse.

Drat the man!  He did this to me, with his luminous blue eyes, full lips, muscular build, the intense way he watches me.  I can’t even lie to myself.  I want him.