Exquisite (9 page)

She tilted her head to him and
smirked. “Really? You’re going to ask me about work?”

He shrugged then tried a different question,
“Okay, how do you like the weather tonight?”

The last thing he expected was for
her to bust out with a huge peal of laughter. He felt his mouth twitch at her
hilarity and took a sip of his beer. “Are you done laughing at me?”

“Oh come on. That was the worst
opening line ever.”

“Well it isn’t like this is our
first date and I need to impress you.”

She ran her tongue across her top
teeth and nodded, “No that’s right. You threw me out of our first date
Langley.”

He nodded with a serious look and
replied, “Well you were being mean to me.”

She was still smiling at him, which
he now knew was a huge accomplishment on his part, so he continued playing with
her, “You hurt my feelings.”

“Did I?”

He nodded, “I think you should make
it up to me.”

Her left eyebrow arched up in a way
that was now becoming familiar. “I’m almost afraid to ask how, but ok you win,
how?”

He looked over toward the band then
back at her. She followed his gaze then turned to him shaking her head. “No.”

“Yes.” he replied standing and signaling
the bartender. When a young blond girl stopped in front of him he gestured to
his coat. “Do you stow the coats for us so we can dance?”

As the bartender nodded and took
his he heard Lena protesting through gritted teeth.

“No! Mason.”

He reached over past her and
grabbed her coat giving it to the bartender as well just as Liam walked by. “Oh
stop giving the boy a hard time Maggie and go dance with him.”

Mason stopped and pivoted slowly
towards her, “Maggie?” he asked slowly.

Narrowing her eyes at him she
stood, “Don’t even think about it Langley.” and with that she stormed off
toward the band leaving him to follow.

Great!
She thought as she
marched toward the dance floor as though it was her execution. Just what she
needed,
him closer to her
. Wasn’t it bad enough he knew she thought he
was attractive? Now she had to press up against him for,
how long was a song
anyway
, around three minutes? Fantastic. As she reached the edge of the
dance floor she noticed other couples swaying to the slow beat that was now
pulsing through the pub. The women with their arms wrapped around the men,
their legs tangling as they moved about the floor. It all looked so intimate
and it made Lena want to run. She was just about to turn and bolt for the
nearest exit when she felt two big hands gently rest on her upper arms. She
could feel the warmth of him seep through her blouse and skirt to stroke her
skin and all she wanted to do was lean back into him. Instead she stiffened and
felt him tighten his grip as he leaned down to her. “Not this time. This time
you don’t get to leave until we’re done.”

The threat shivered down her spine
and he moved in front of her released one hand while grasping the other and
tugging her into the crowd. She moved in close and let him guide her palm to
his shoulder. When it was there he looked down at her other hand.

“What do you plan to do with that
hand?”

Lena grinned. “Smack you with it?”
she watched as a smile tugged the left side of his mouth up.

“Kinky. Maybe later but not in
public the first time.”

Rolling her eyes she did the
logical thing and lifted her other hand up to rest on his shoulder. She felt
him reach down, around her small waist, and tug her forward so she was pressed
chest to chest and hip to hip with him. She gasped softly and took a deep
breath noticing one other appeal Mason Langley had, he smelled
amazing
.
Whatever cologne he had on made him so damn appealing she almost gave into the
urge to run her tongue up his neck. She gripped his shoulders a little tighter
trying to keep herself upright incase her knees gave out.

“So why’d the old man call you
Maggie?”

She swayed with him as the music
throbbed around them then turned her face up to look at him. His eyes twinkled
down at her and she was finding it very hard to remember that she did
not
want to do this with
him
.

“My full name is Magdalena
O’Donnell, the owner of this pub Liam, is one of my dad’s longest and dearest
friends.”

“Ah I see. So you’re Irish?”

Losing herself in the joy of the
moment she smiled and answered, “I am.”

“So it seems I really
didn’t
know your name that first night.” he murmured more to himself than to her. The
band stopped and Lena went to take a step back when over the speakers came Dave
Matthews Band singing “Crash”. Lena looked up at him when he started to sing
the lyrics.

“You like Dave Matthews Band?”

Mason nodded. “I’m a big fan. You?”

She dipped her head down hating
that he’d zeroed in on something they did have in common. “Yes. I like them
very much.”

He moved them back around the floor
until the were out from under the bright lights overhead. She watched him
closely as he gracefully pulled her around in a slow spin.

“Tell me something Lena. If you’d
walked into my restaurant that night and we’d never met, would you have gone
out with me?”

She looked up at him and answered
honestly. “Not on a date.”

He stopped dancing abruptly then
moved them a little to the left effectively cornering her in the shadows with a
wall to her back.

“Why’d you stop?” she asked,
suddenly realizing he’d lost his easy going sway and was now holding himself
tense while his blue eyes burned as they looked down at her.

“You say not on a date. What do you
mean by that?”

She looked around to see everyone
still swaying and not paying any attention to the man looming over her in a way
that was about to get her in all kinds of trouble.

“I didn’t mean anything.” she
denied quickly.

He moved a step closer. “Yes you
did.” he licked his bottom lip and god help her but Lena wanted to do that for
him and maybe bite it to. “What did you mean?”

Sighing knowing she’d never get out
of this without confessing she spoke quickly and softly. “I would’ve just gone
home with you and then never seen you again.”

It felt like time stopped and she
was frozen to the spot, because she certainly didn’t make any kind of move, as
she watched Mason raise his palms and rest them on either side of her head. He
leaned his body in close and there was no mistaking his intention to crowd her
this time. She was glued to the wall and he was glued to her. She was mesmerized
as he leaned down close and when he was a whisper away from her mouth she
blurted out, “It’s not as though I’m really your type.” 

She watched his lips as they pulled
into a wicked smile and he rubbed his hips up against her proving how very
wrong she was. She was sure she was about to find the fortitude to push him off
of her sex starved body when he whispered.

“Shh Lena. This is my favorite part
of the song.” and then he proceeded to sing the famously dirty lyrics, “Hike up
your skirt a little more and show your world to me.” right before her leaned
down and nipped her bottom lip with his teeth.

Mason couldn’t believe he had the
prickly doctor up against a wall staring at him like she really would show him
the world. When he’d gone into this dance he’d just wanted to get his hands on
her, but the more they swayed and the more she talked, her scent of vanilla had
gotten under his skin and he wanted to taste. She hadn’t pushed him away yet
and he was as close as he could get with his clothes still on. Her eyes had
widened, when he’d leaned in and nipped her bottom lip with his teeth, but she
hadn’t moved. When he tilted his head back a fraction she licked the spot he’d
bitten then floored him with what came out of her mouth.

“Was that a statement or a
request?”

He grinned at her audacity, “Which
way will get me what I want?”

She looked down at their bodies
pressed intimately together then brought her gaze back to him. “And what do you
want Langley?”

He thought his answer to that would
be quick. He thought he’d be smooth and lean down and kiss her brains out then
proceed to hike her skirt up around her hips and make her scream. What he
didn’t expect, was to find himself straightening up and taking a step back. He
watched her raise that familiar eyebrow at him and then
he
floored her.

“A second date.”

Lena stormed into her house at 11pm
and kicked her shoes off. She flung her purse down on the counter and walked
into the kitchen reaching for the wine.
She was going to kill him
, she decided
as she took a gulp. She was going to strangle him with her bare hands. How dare
he get her all fired up and then just flip a switch and say,
nope I want a
second date.
Fuming she stormed down the hall into the bathroom. She
twisted the taps on her bath and watched as the water started to steam up
around the room. She turned, placed the glass on the counter, and unzipped her
skirt. As it fell down her hips she reached up and unbuttoned the blouse
letting it fall to the ground. She couldn’t push away the imprint of his body
as it had pushed into hers all hard and warm as he backed her into the wall and
that
pissed her off further. Infuriating man,
who says no to a sure
thing?
Since when does he, Mr. I’ve dated thirty three women, say no!
Flinging her underwear over into the hamper she tied her hair up in a messy bun
grabbed the wine and dipped her big toe in the bubbles, she sighed as the water
engulfed her and she leaned back against the porcelain. She was well on her way
to fantasy mode, since reality was apparently out of her reach, when her phone
shrilled loudly through the air. Figuring it was Shelly for an update she put
the wine down and picked it up.

“What? I told you we’re not friends
anymore.”

“Now that’s a shame. We’d come so
far.”

Gasping Lena sat up, sloshing the
water around her, watching as a bit of it went over the tub’s edge.

“Oh shit!” she yelped as she
reached for a towel and threw it over the puddle. She looked down at her naked
body then realized,
hello idiot he’s on the phone he can’t see you,
so
with that thought she lay back down and pressed the phone to her ear. “What do
you want Langley?”

“What was that noise?” he asked
instead of answering her. “It sounds like water.”

Sighing Lena spoke over him. “I
didn’t give you my number so you could harass me.”

“No. You gave me your number so I’d
go away, but now I want answers.” he replied smoothly.

Closing her eyes she asked again,
“What do you want?”

Hearing a ruffling noise she asked
automatically, “Where are you?” she heard his laugh deep and smooth through the
phone and ordered herself to keep her hands visible.

“Now if I answer
that
you
have to answer my question.”

Looking around her bathroom she
picked up her glass of wine and took a gulp for courage,
what could it hurt?
“Fine. Now answer.”

“I’m laying on my bed.”

She’d known that was going to be
the answer so she took another gulp and put the glass back on the bathroom
counter.

“Lena?” he asked in a sing song
voice. “Lena it’s your turn.”

The man even managed to irritate
her when he wasn’t in the room. “I forgot your question.”

Tsking her like he didn’t believe
her he asked again, “What was that noise earlier?”

Knowing it would irritate him she
answered vaguely. “Water.”

“Lena you don’t play by the rules.”
he said softly. His voice seemed to reach through the phone and stroke her.

“Oh? I didn’t know there were
rules.”

He must have moved again because
she heard the rustling of his sheets. “The rules are honesty. Always.” he
paused, “Now where are you Dr O’Donnell?”

She reached out and took the glass
off the side again and finished it then answered, “In the bath.”

Dead silence. One heart beat, two
heart beat, then. “Damn I’m an idiot.” she heard him mutter.

Smiling she answered. “I’m sure I
was just thinking that earlier.”

“When I had you pressed up against
the wall?”

“Oh no. That was the smartest thing
you did.” she paused, “I meant when you let a sure thing walk away.”

“Hmmm. Well maybe I don’t want a
sure thing. Maybe I want to work for it.”

Enjoying flirting for the first
time in a long while she whispered. “Maybe the offer wont be there next time.”

She waited and almost moaned when
his voice dropped down even lower, “It’s nice to know you’re anticipating a
next time.” pausing he sighed and it sounded like he was rubbing his hand
across his face because it came out muffled. “I don’t know why Lena but you’ve
done something to me. I can’t get you out off my mind.”

Lena shook her head slowly, even
though he couldn’t see her, and whispered softly, “I’m truly sorry for that.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
So softly, she almost missed it he whispered. “Let me in Magdalena O’Donnell. I
want to know all of you.”

Feeling her heart beat rapidly
inside her naked chest she’d never felt more vulnerable.

“Lets start with that second date.”

T
hree days had come and gone by the time Mason had
a chance to even think about what’d happened Friday night. His weekend had been
jam packed with two twelve hour shifts that resulted in a full house at his
restaurant on both Saturday and Sunday and he had to admit he was glad that
he’d made the executive decision that they were closed on Mondays. He was
sitting out in the dining room when Wendy came in carrying a small box and
headed straight for him. She sat down on the opposite side of the table and
flipped open the lid pulling out a powdered donut and munching down on it.