Falling Into Drew (5 page)

“Yes. No. I don’t know.”  His thumb gently moving back and forth over the top of her hand woke up parts of her that had been asleep for a long time. She closed her eyes and imagined what it would it be like to have his hands on her body. Her face flushed and her eyes flew open. She would not allow her mind to go there. She released a frustrated breath. “We need to talk about the book before we even consider anything else, okay?”

“Sure, whatever you want.”

“So?”

Drew lifted his hand from hers and leaned back. It was impossible for him to think when he was touching her. “I’m not doing it.”

She cocked her head to the side and frowned. “Why not? I thought you were excited about this. It could be a best seller.”

Drew shifted his chair until his face was inches from hers. “You’re asking me why after what I said to you, what I told you? Jesus Christ, woman, isn’t it obvious? If we work together, there’s zero chance to explore what we’re feeling for each other, to see where it will go. You said so yourself and for me, that’s a deal breaker.”

“What makes you think I’d have sex with you even if you don’t do the book?

“You said you wanted me.”

“I want to be able to eat a lot of chocolate and not gain weight. I want to have toned muscles without working out. I want a million dollars so I can fly to a tropical island any time snow is predicted here. I do want you, Drew, but I can deal with not having you in the same way I manage not getting any one of the things I mentioned. It’s something called reality.”

“It sounds more like defeatism,” he grumbled and then his lips twitched as he thought of something.

“What?” She was confused. Drew was either the most complicated man she’d ever met or the most determined to get what he wanted.  Of course he was determined. To have achieved all he had, he would have to be.

He blew out a frustrated breath. “Do you realize that I’m the one thing on your list of wants that you can actually have right now?” His lips began to form a smile, then his expression changed and he was once again serious. “Look, I wish you would stop making something natural so complicated and just go with your feelings.”

Clearly exasperated, he stood and started to pace. “Shit, it’s hot in here,” he muttered, then pulled his cashmere sweater over his head and tossed it on top of his jacket. A snug white t-shirt clung to his shoulders and outlined his broad chest and flat abs. Kate watched his biceps flex when he tucked his hands into the front pockets of his tight jeans. “Maybe we should just call it a night.”

“That might be best,” Kate conceded and pushed her chair away from the table. “I’m sorry for sending mixed signals. Damn it, Drew, I’m as fucking confused as you are, but I don’t jump into bed just because I want someone. I may regret it, but that’s who I am.”

He squatted in front of her, grasped her hands and brought them to his lips. “Never apologize for who you are. I don’t want you to do something that you’ll feel bad about, but if you actually think we can work together and keep things platonic, you’re wrong.”

“I didn’t say that.” Kate’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I want to find a way to make this work so that you can do the book and we can…well, I guess so we can do what we both want. I’m not the only editor in our company after all.”

“Make up your mind, Kate. You’ve spent the past half hour fucking with my head and that’s the last thing I need.” He picked up his half finished beer and drained it. “Let’s go. I’ll take you home,” he said and began to put his discarded clothes back on before heading out into the winter night.

CHAPTER 9

Drew held the town car’s door open for Kate and she slid across the seat to put as much distance between them as the car allowed. With nothing more to say, they rode in silence until the driver announced that they were just a few streets away from Drew’s apartment. He wanted to know if Drew wanted to be dropped off first. Before Drew could answer, Kate said that would be fine with her.

“I’ll trust you to make sure the lady is safely inside her building before you leave,” Drew instructed the driver. “All right?”

“Of course, Mr. O’Connor,” the man answered.

Minutes later, the car stopped outside a high rise. When the building’s uniformed doorman approached the car, Drew waved him away and turned toward Kate. “I can be an ass sometimes and I suspect tonight was one of those times, so I’ll apologize again. My only excuse is that you make me crazy.”

“You don’t do such a bad job of that yourself.” When she saw the confusion on his face she added, “You make me crazy too.” She released a sigh when she realized that there was only one way to regain her sanity. Her seat belt clicked loudly when she released it and slid closer to him. She waited until his eyes met hers. “Kiss me,” she murmured.

“What?” He stared at her, stunned that she would ask him to do that after everything that had been said at the bar.

“Kiss me. Either it’s going to be the kind of kiss that scorches the earth or it’ll be one we can walk away from. Maybe we’ve been building this whole attraction thing up out of proportion. One kiss will answer that question.”

Drew looked at her as if she were a puzzle he had no chance of ever solving.

She moved closer until her lips were almost on his and whispered, “Kiss me, Drew.”

He gently cupped her face and tentatively settled his mouth on hers. Kate stroked his lips with her tongue then caught his bottom lip between her teeth and sucked on it. Drew groaned low in his throat and pulled her against his body as the kiss deepened, going on and on until they were each breathless. He opened his eyes and saw that hers were glazed with desire, her lips still parted. “Did that answer your question?” he whispered.

“What was the question again? I can’t remember.”

Drew nuzzled her neck, inhaling the same cinnamon scent he’d noticed when he’d first held her. “Now what?”

Kate glanced from him to the driver, then back to him and, finally, toward his apartment building. Drew watched, uncertain about what was going on in her head. “We’ve kept Charles’ driver out late enough. The decent thing would be to let him go home, don’t you think?”

Drew wanted to be sure he understood what she was saying. “So you don’t want him to take you home? You want to stay here? With me?”

“I should have asked if you’re okay with that.”

He leaned his forehead against hers. “More than okay, but are you sure?” They’d been on an emotional seesaw all night so he held his breath waiting for her answer.

She pressed her lips to his again. “More than I have been about anything in a very long time.”

He raised her hand to his lips. “Thank God.”

After passing Charles’ grinning driver a hefty tip before sending him home, they walked hand in hand through the building’s white marble lobby and into a waiting elevator. Once inside, Drew kept his heated gaze on her while he unzipped his jacket before moving closer to unbutton her coat. With one layer of clothing eliminated, he pulled her against his body and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Drew,” she whispered on an exhale just before his mouth crashed into hers in an out of control, bruising kiss.

Their lust-filled trance was interrupted when the elevator’s computerized voice announced their floor. “Come on,” Drew said. She grasped his hand and they sprinted down the long hallway to his corner apartment. Once inside, he turned the lock and pressed Kate’s back against the door. She’d left the top two buttons on her silk blouse undone when she’d dressed that morning, and that glimpse of creamy skin had taunted him since the moment he saw it hours ago at her office. Now, his trembling fingertips traced a trail from the base of her neck down her chest to where the blouse closed. He raised his eyes to hers, watching her face as he slowly undid the rest of the buttons one by one. The slippery fabric slid off her shoulders and she shivered when his hot mouth met her skin and left a wet path to the swell of her breasts where they rose above pink lace cups. “Drew,” she moaned, releasing her hold on his waist to unhook her bra.

“No. Let me,” he said, covering her hands with his. “It’s like Christmas morning and I want to unwrap the gift I’ve been wishing for.” Kate’s blouse slithered to her waist, anchored only by her skirt. One flick of Drew’s expert fingers released her breasts from their lacy cage and he took a step back to admire the present he’d unwrapped.

Kate’s hands instinctively moved to cover her body, but, trembling inside, she lowered them to her sides. “So beautiful,” Drew murmured as he cupped her breasts and rubbed his thumbs over her hardened, rosy nipples until she couldn’t stand the intense tingle his touch created.

“Take me to bed now, Drew. Please,” she said, breathlessly. His blue eyes darkened and he scooped her into his arms, never moving his mouth from hers as he carried her to his room and laid her on the bed. She looked at him through half-closed eyes. “You’re wearing too many clothes. Now I get to open my present.”

“Anything you want, baby, anything.” He stood beside the bed, his eyes following her movements. He drew in a breath when she rose to her knees, her breasts within reach, but he managed to remain still while she undressed him.

Her hands skimmed his body as she slid his t-shirt and sweater over his head, her eyes feasting on the beauty of his muscular chest covered by just the right amount of silky dark hair. She used a fingernail to trace the small green shamrock tattoo at the side of his ribs, then pressed her lips to it and inhaled his intoxicating scent. Drew closed his eyes and threw his head back, muscles quivering, when she dragged her tongue and teeth over one nipple, then the other. “Kate,” he moaned and brought her against his body, unable to tolerate the space between them.

Their mouths met and stayed fused together while he quickly undid his jeans and kicked them off along with his boots before tugging down Kate’s skirt until all she wore were ribbon-trimmed, pink lace panties.

“Wow,” he exclaimed as he grasped her ass and pulled her body under his. “You’re so warm, so soft…like heaven.”

Kate’s eyes flew open. “Soft? As in fat?”

“Oh God, no,” he said, planting feather light kisses all over her face before lifting his so that she would have no doubts about his sincerity. “You’re perfect, not like the bony models or hard as rocks athletes I’ve been with. I love your body. Can’t you tell?”

Drew rolled his hips against her stomach and hard evidence backed up his words, quieting Kate’s fear that she somehow wouldn’t measure up to his more experienced lovers. When he slid down her body and took a nipple into his mouth, his tongue and teeth emptied her mind of any thoughts besides pleasure.

She tangled her fingers in his hair and tried to tug him back to her mouth, but Drew had other ideas. He snagged the top of her panties with one hand and quickly slid them off, then settled between her legs and ran a finger through her slickness. “So pretty. So wet,” he murmured before plunging his tongue between her folds to lick, nip and suck her to an orgasm so intense that he had to grip her thighs so that he could maintain a much softer, gentler touch to help bring her down.

Kate hadn’t quite caught her breath when he rested his body on hers, a condom already in place. His lips met hers in a scorching kiss. She tasted herself on him and felt his cock nudge her entrance. Frustrated, she lifted her hips to urge him to move and sighed with pleasure when he buried himself in her with one determined thrust.

“So good,” Drew murmured. His words drove her arousal to a point where heat radiated throughout her body. She wrapped her legs around his and tugged his ass closer to draw him even deeper. “You’re killing me,” he gasped, thrusting harder and faster. He reached between their bodies and his fingers sent her flying over the edge again and while her walls pulsed around him, Drew’s sweaty body shook and he came with a roar.

He leaned his forehead against hers until they’d both stopped panting, then he cradled her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly before rolling to his side. Neither said a word and Drew’s soft breathing made it seem that he’d dozed off.

Kate snuck a glance at him and was relieved that she would be able to leisurely study the man who’d given her the best sex of her life. His hair was tousled, his face soft and relaxed, his lips curved in a slight smile. His upper body was muscular, but not bulked up, and his chest rose and fell with his breath. His abs had a defined six-pack, of course, and even at rest, the reason his penis had filled her so well was obvious. Although she was embarrassed to be checking him out, her greedy eyes moved on. The man still had the powerful thighs of a ski racer. She looked at his face again and her heart skipped a beat when a smug grin and twinkling blue eyes stared back at her. “Like what you see?”

Mortified, Kate pulled a pillow over her face so that he couldn’t see her cheeks redden into a violent blush. Then she remembered that she was on her back, totally naked, giving him the kind of voyeuristic opportunity she’d just taken advantage of. She began to giggle and then howled with laughter, unable to stop.

Drew leaned on an elbow and pulled the pillow off her face. “What’s so funny?”

Kate held up one finger, signaling him to wait while she tried to compose herself. “I just realized something.”

He frowned then raised his brows. “Are you going to share? I’m feeling a little insecure here since your hysterics followed your examination of my naked body.”

“Your body’s magnificent. I was laughing about something my friend Liz made me promise to do.”

“And?”

“I can’t tell you while you’re looking at me. It’s too embarrassing.”

He slid a strand of hair off her forehead, then closed his eyes. “I can’t see you now, so spill.”

“Liz always teases me about how much I spend on underwear. When I told her that I’d stumbled into you in church that day, she dared me to show you my panties when and if we ever saw each other again.” She nibbled her bottom lip, suddenly shy. “It was a silly challenge that I’ll blame on vodka. I never meant to actually do it. ”

Drew flopped back on the pillow, smiling. “I’m glad you did. Selfish bastard that I am, I didn’t even admire your fancy underthings before pulling them off you. I may not have noticed your panties, but I definitely like what was inside.” He leaned over her body and stretched one arm toward the floor to pick up the delicate wisp of lace that was the subject of the dare. He glanced at it and then back at her. “Do men often check out the lacy things you hide under your clothes?”

His question was met by a scowl and narrowed eyes. “I don’t think that’s any of your business, Drew O’Connor. I wear nice lingerie because it’s beautiful. I don’t care if anyone ever sees it.”

“I wasn’t implying that you flashed your undies at random guys. If that’s what it sounded like, I’m sorry.” He turned toward her and stroked her face. “I don’t understand it, but the thought of other men’s eyes on you and especially on your underwear makes me uncomfortable, maybe even jealous. That’s a strange feeling for me.”

“Then we’re both confused by this,” she said waving her arms at them and the bed. “I’ve never had sex with a man I just met. I’m not a slut.”

“That’s the last word I would ever associate with you.” Drew wrapped the comforter around both of them like a cocoon. “We have this incredible chemistry. I felt it in St. Patrick’s and when I saw you again today it hit me so hard I wasn’t able to think clearly. All I could imagine was what it would be like to have you, here, like this.”

She didn’t say anything and he tightened his hold. “It’s late and freezing outside. Stay.” Then he added, “Please.”

The thought of getting dressed to go out into the snowy night made the choice easy. She was warm, content, comfy and in the arms of a man she wanted to know better. “Okay.”

“Okay?” His eyes widened in disbelief.  “Really?”

“Really.” A soft smile lit her face as she raised her mouth to his.