Curvaceous Heart (6 page)

“The giving orders I can promise, the growling -- well, all I can do there is try.”

Sue took a deep breath and turned to face him. His full, sensual lips curved into a smile as he leaned closer. Her skin tingled, nipples crinkling into fine points beneath her blouse. No, she had to keep this under control. Letting him see how she was affected by him would be a mistake.

“Are you saying you have a slight temper issue?”

“Only on matters I feel passionately about.” His breath caressed her face. “And I’m afraid when it comes to matters of business, I, I’m very passionate indeed.”

Oh, I bet you are
.

“Fair enough.”

“So, you’ll stay and give me a second chance?” He stood there, his hand still resting lightly on her shoulder, each slight twitch of his fingers triggering a new wave of heat through her body.

“For now, at least.”
She didn’t want to move, to step away from his touch, but if they were going to get any work done then there was no other choice. “So, did you want me to sit back down or were we planning on holding the rest of our discussion standing by the door?”

“Well, I hope you will give me a chance to apologize for my behavior, say, over dinner tonight?”

Dinner?

Her?
Him?
Them?

Sue opened her mouth to reply only to clamp her lips tightly shut. How could she possibly go out with him?

Except it was just an apology, wasn’t it?
And maybe a chance to go over some of the details about the
blogger
ring?
And it wasn’t exactly as if he was asking her out on a date. No, that would have been silly; a man like him could have any woman he wanted, so the last person he’d be interested in was a woman like her.

“Well, do I have to beg for you to join me tonight?”

She glanced over at Barb, searching for some clue as to what she should do, but all her friend did was smile.

“All right, I’ll join you for dinner then.”

“Good, then I’ll need your address and phone number, and I believe I’ll be able to pick you up around eight…unless you have any other plans?”

Pick her up?

“She’ll be ready on time, don’t worry about that.”

Sue shot Barb a quick look.

“Right now I’m not even sure she’ll join me for dinner. Perhaps I’ve scared your friend off.”

Oh no, he had not just gone there! “Eight will be just fine.”

“Good, now we’ve got that part of it settled perhaps we can go back to discussing the issues raised by this
blogger
ring?”

“That sounds like the best idea you’ve had all day.”

“So you stumbled across this -- no, I’m not trying to find out how, by the way -- and you decided to come to me with it because?”

“The other companies listed were ones I couldn’t be sure about. I thought I had the abbreviations worked out but yours was the only one I could confirm.” Sue took a long, slow breath and met his gaze head on. Damn, why did he have to be so bloody good looking?

“We have looked into this, but with the meeting being so soon we didn’t think it would be wise to delay bringing this to your attention,” Barb explained.

Alan glanced over towards the other woman in the room, blinking for a moment. Had he forgotten Barb was there?

“I see, and just what do you think is behind the posts?” He turned his attention fully back on Sue.

“I think, at first, it was
a way of making themselves feel
like better men, getting back at women who didn’t like what they saw. Or just a couple of guys being
jerks
over things. Then it grew into something more. I’m not entirely sure who started off the office secrets side of things, we didn’t have time to dig that far into the background of the ring, but it’s been going around six months.” She was missing something here, a piece of the puzzle that should have been obvious, but her brain refused to hand it over. “
Real Man
is the one making the posts about our building, the one in yours uses the name
Dangerous Liaisons
.”

“Pranks that went too far?”

“I think so.”
Damnit
, why hadn’t she dug into matters a little more before bringing it to him? There could have been a dozen other clues in the posts on that hateful ring if she’d only taken the time to research it. “But I can give you the web address of the ring, to look into matters further.”

He frowned slightly, the lines across his brow furrowing. “You’re not afraid that I’ll be able to work out how you tracked this ring?”

“No, I’m not. I will ask you to take things slowly though. The men behind this have done enough damage as it is.”

“Oh, I’m a master at taking things slowly when the need calls for it, and picking up the pace when it will get the best results for all parties involved.” He grinned and looked her slowly up and down. The rest of the office fell away in that moment. Her inner walls tightened, rippled, only to tighten once more. Her legs felt like Jell-O.

What was it about this man that a single look could have her wondering if he would taste good with chocolate smeared over his chest?

“I bet you are,” she murmured then clamped her lips shut.

“Well, now, I believe if you let me know the address, then, by the time we have dinner tonight I might have an idea on what we need to do next.”

Yes, chocolate, all over his chest, long, dark lines of sweet, sensual delight tempting her tongue down towards his cock until she could wrap her lips about it and…

“Sue? Are you all right? You just look a little distracted.”

“Yes, I’m fine. Tonight it is, then.” She reached into a pocked in the side of her skirt, trying to force the images of Alan splayed out over his desk begging her to lick him clean, out of her mind. Maybe she’d been reading too many of those dark, erotic novels?

“You’ll need this.”

“Thank you.” Alan reached out, stroking his fingers over hers as he claimed the paper. “And I look forward to tonight.”

She shivered, her breath threatening to catch in the back of her throat as she found her gaze held and locked by a set of impossibly dark eyes.
“As am I.”

Yes, chocolate, whipped cream, with Alan naked and chained to a bed all eager, hungry for her touch. God, what was she thinking!

That he was the best looking man she’d seen in a long time, and even though she knew that the flirting, the soft touches, and that oh-so-wicked smile he kept flashing her way were nothing more than a game it didn’t stop her from enjoying it whilst she still could.

Chapter Six

Alan stared at the door after the two women had left. Had he really just asked her out? From the moment she’d walked into the room he’d had to struggle to keep things on at least a semiprofessional level. Her walk, her smile, the confidence that had shone from her eyes, and yet something else, a hint of wariness when she thought he wasn’t looking.

Had she been caught off guard by his invitation?

Well, if she hadn’t been, he had. The words had sprung to life before he’d even had the chance to think the idea through clearly.

Just as well, if I’d thought about it then I’d have never asked her out. Shit, I’m almost ready to call her and beg out. What if she laughs at me tonight? Or backs out
on her own
?

Damnit
, he’d asked dozens of women out before, so why did this date, this one date, leave him feeling like a schoolboy facing his very first date all over again?

Because I want it to work out
.

Sue. He’d never met a woman like her before now.

Just the thought of her curves, the way her smile lit up her face, the glint in her deep blue eyes when she’d stood up to him, as if she was prepared to leave him and the office if he tried to force the situation any further.

Strong.

Beautiful.

A woman, a goddess.

One capable of driving him to his knees if he let her get too close.

All right, maybe the goddess part was going a little too far, but it didn’t stop his cock from throbbing at the very thought of her.

The phone rang on his desk without the yellow light that said it had come through via reception. He frowned as he reached for the receiver. Only a handful of people had the direct number.

“Hello, Alan Martin.”

“Alan, it’s your dad.”

“Hey, there.”
Tension eased from his shoulders as he perched on the edge of the desk. “What’s up?”

“You’re not going to believe this, but I had a near hysterical call from
Victoria
early this morning. Did something happen between the two of you? She swears that you’re gay. And she’s threatening to cause problems at the next social event she attends with your mother.”

Alan almost slipped off the edge of the desk. “Shit, I never thought she’d go that far.”

“You knew about this?”

“She’s trying to get some measure of revenge, Dad. I’m not gay. In fact, I’ve got a date tonight with a very attractive woman.
Victoria
’s just pissed at me.”

“Revenge for what? Did you two get into a fight? She’s a strong-willed woman, Alan. I would have thought you’d have learned that much about her in the time you two have been going out.”

“Dad, I wouldn’t call the occasional coffee and
Victoria
calling me three times a day our ‘going out’.”

“So are you going to tell me just what has her so upset?”

Great, why couldn’t his dad focus on the good side of the conversation, like the date? “She’s upset because I wouldn’t have sex with her.”

“Because you -- hold on. Did you just say you had a date for tonight?”

“Yes.” Good, now he was catching on. Just as well. For one terrible moment he’d thought he might have to go back over the entire situation with
Victoria
. “I have a date tonight with a lovely woman I met today. I’m picking her up around eight. If everything works out I’d like to bring her to the party on Friday.”

Would she go with him? Maybe not, but at least he could ask, if it all worked out between them.

“Is she someone I know?”

“No, Dad. No one you know. At least I don’t think she is. Oh, something did come up as well; we have a lead on the people who might be behind the problems we’ve been dealing with of late. I’m going to look into it further, but I think we might be on to something here.”

“All right, I leave that in your capable hands. But tell me how the date goes, please? I’m not trying to
interfere,
I just want to see you happy.”

“Sure, Dad.
Catch up with you later. I have a few things I need to take care of before I head out tonight.”

“Okay, just let me know how it goes tomorrow morning.”

Alan smiled and settled the receiver back down on the cradle. At least his day had ended with some good news. Now if only he could find out a little more about that damn
blogger
ring before things grew completely out of hand.

He glanced back at the work that had piled up on his desk before he reached for the phone a second time. He had a meeting to reschedule, a warning to send down to the main desk in case
Victoria
decided to try a new stunt, and a dinner date to arrange.

When was the last time he’d actually been out on a date, a real one? Not one pushed onto him by his father?

That was something he’d never understand. His dad, a man who backed down to his mother all the time, then pushed and shoved his way into his son’s life. Was he trying to regain some level of control?

Alan sat there, the phone in one hand, his mind racing. What if his parents had the type of relationship he’d started to look for himself? One where his mum was in charge? The thought should have left him feeling uncomfortable, but the more he mused over the idea, the more it made sense. He’d not seen any overt signs of it, growing up. No whips, chains, or paddles, but there had always been that odd power dynamic between them. The way his mum only had to look at his dad to end a conversation…

He’d always known she was a strong woman, but just how far did it go?

Did they take it into the bedroom?

Alan shuddered. No matter how open minded he was
,
the one thing he didn’t need to think about was just what his parents got up to behind closed doors.

* * * * *

“Mr. Martin?”
Steph
pushed open the door to the office and peered around the edge. “Charlie needs to talk with you before you call it a night.”

Charlie. He didn’t need to deal with the man again today. “Does he know what time it is?”

“Yes, Mr. Martin. But he’s quite insistent.” She glanced behind her then shot a quick look at Alan, rolling her eyes as she gave a subtle jerk of her head. Okay, so Charlie was in hearing range, making it harder for
Steph
to blow him off, or give Alan a real heads up as to what was going on.

“Fine, let him in, but make sure he understands I only have about ten minutes before I need to leave for the day.” He could have pushed it a little further, but he wanted plenty of time to prepare for his date with Sue. He’d already managed to get everything in place for the meeting the following morning, and only those attending the meeting now knew about the change of time and location.

“Thank you, Alan. Appreciate this.”

His jaw clenched as Charlie spoke. “What can I do for you?”

“It’s about the report. I need the new password to access some of the files. You changed it and…”

“And if you had everything in place you’d already have that information. Charlie, I’m growing very tired of this. Apart from that, everything you need should be in your memos and files on your own computer, unless you’re claiming you never saved it, or backed up your work, which is a part of your contract if you recall?” Alan kept his voice calm as he leaned back in his chair.

Charlie paled. “No, I have everything backed up. It’s just it would be easier if I could…”

“No. I changed the password for a reason, and only key members of staff will be granted access. We’ve had far too many leaks in the past few weeks and I’m putting a stop to it.”