Open In Private (2 page)

She didn't dress provocatively or attempt to use her sexuality as part of her client relations. Quite the opposite. She always appeared impeccably groomed and dressed for business while conducting herself in a professional manner, but that didn't prevent him from noticing the tempting curves beneath her clothes.

"Everything looks so good. I think I'll have the shrimp salad." Carli closed her menu and set it on the table.

Everything looks good to me, too, and I don't mean the food.
"I'm going to have the chicken carbonara…and a glass of wine with my lunch. Would you join me?"

"Well, I usually don't drink during business meetings, but yes," she extended a sparkling smile, "I'd like that. A chardonnay."

He placed their lunch order with the waiter, then returned his attention to her. "We've had a very nice business relationship for five years. You obviously know a lot about me from doing my shopping, but I don't really know that much about you personally, other than you have great taste, are very intelligent, and have a good sense of humor."

The waiter arrived with the bottle of wine Parker had ordered. After opening the bottle, he poured each of them a glass, put the bottle in the ice bucket, and left.

Parker raised his glass toward Carli in a toast. "Here's to another successful Christmas holiday season." He tilted his head and raised a questioning eyebrow. "And perhaps to an even closer working relationship?"
Maybe something hot and naked in a big bed?

"I'd like that, too."

Sincerity surrounded her soft words. A touch of crimson flushed her cheeks in a moment of embarrassment, along with a hint of something, perhaps uncertainty, that darted through her eyes as she raised her glass to his. He was very pleased with her answer even if it came with a few unspoken reservations. He felt confident time would handle that.

He had just gotten out of a bad relationship and wasn't looking to replace it with another commitment. Regardless of how exciting he had always found Carli, he could not allow himself to become emotionally involved. That was definitely not on his agenda. But did sex really need to be an emotional situation? An involvement beyond being friends? Friends with benefits? He tried to clear his thoughts. Maybe he was projecting a problem where one didn't exist. Carli might not be interested in anything more serious than hot sex with a friend, either.

He didn’t like the unsettled feeling swirling around his reality. He had always been a man who knew what direction he was headed and how to get where he was going. He tried to shove the sudden bout of indecision aside, but without much success.

They each took a sip of wine to seal the toast. He toyed with his glass for a moment, then made eye contact with her. "There are so many things I don't know about you. For instance, I just found out today that you've been divorced the entire time we've been working together. Do you have any children?"

"No." She paused, as if trying to collect her thoughts or formulate an answer. A slight frown wrinkled across her forehead. "A man I thought I knew turned out to be a stranger. After a couple of years of marriage, I didn't think it would really work and that's not a situation where you introduce children into the relationship. After three more years of trying to make it work, it became obvious there was nothing left to save. Divorce was the only answer."

"As I said…very intelligent and also perceptive."

Their lunch arrived, putting a momentary halt to their conversation. After they finished eating, they lingered over the rest of their wine. Conversation flowed easily between them, the atmosphere relaxed, as if they were longtime friends catching up on recent events.

They left the bistro and walked back to his office. "I apologize, Carli. It seems we didn't handle any of our business. I have a couple of meetings this afternoon, but if your schedule is free, could we take a stab at discussing it this evening?"

He wasn’t at all sure where he was headed or exactly what he intended. He absolutely did know one thing. After what had quickly moved from business to a social lunch and what he had learned about her, he wanted to know so much more. To
intimately
know every inch of her. "Perhaps over dinner?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Dinner? This evening?"

"I know this is very last minute, but if you're available…" In the seven months since his divorce, he hadn't really dated anyone. Not due to lack of opportunity, but rather to not knowing any single women he found interesting enough to put forth the effort, especially since he didn't have any desire to jump into another relationship. Sex during the last seven months had been pretty much with his choice of women, but it had been a very casual no-strings-attached understanding, many of the encounters only one-night stands with no thought of pursuing more than that. Physically satisfying for the moment, but of no interest otherwise. Recreational sex—fucking for the sake of fucking and nothing more. Not even personal enough to be considered in the
friends with benefits
category.

Charlene Vance, however, presented a different story—certainly a woman worthy of more than a quick fuck or even a one-night stand. And she had been right there in front of him for five years. He had definitely noticed her and had even entertained thoughts of the two of them engaged in numerous erotic activities, but he'd been married and cheating on his wife violated his ethical standards. But those thoughts of them engaged in hours of hot sex told him just how tempting he found her and that little bit of knowledge made him very nervous.

"This is so unexpected. I…uh…I don't know what to say—"

"That's an easy one." He flashed a confident smile. "All you have to do is say yes."

"Yes." She returned his smile. "You're right…that was easy."

Parker reached out and gave her hand an intimate squeeze. "Terrific. I'll pick you up at your house. Is seven o'clock good for you?"

"Seven is fine, but—"

He placed his finger against her lips. "No buts. You already said yes. It's too late to suddenly remember you have a
previous commitment
." He tried to suppress the teasing grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Or worse yet, you just realized that you need to wash your hair."

Carli's laugh immediately settled Parker's nerves. He could not deny that her closeness definitely rattled his senses. His nerves had tightened that morning as the time drew closer to their eleven o'clock appointment. Lunch had been his intention all along, from the moment she called to set up their annual Christmas shopping meeting.

"I'm not changing my mind. However, if you've been eating most of your meals in restaurants since your divorce or making do by popping something into the microwave, I thought you might enjoy a home cooked meal. So, dinner at my house? That will also allow us to discuss our business without feeling as if the restaurant wants us out of there so they can seat waiting customers."

"Dinner at your house will be my pleasure." What a surprising turn of events. A warm sensation flowed through his veins, agreeing with his words. A quiet setting where they could continue their conversation from lunch rather than a noisy restaurant. "I'll bring the champagne."

Just the two of them at her house…some dinner, some champagne, and hopefully lots of sex. Maybe his erotic fantasies about her naked and beckoning to him would soon be reality.

"Champagne?" A teasing grin spread across her face.

It took all his will power to keep from taking control of her mouth, a delicious looking mouth that truly needed to be kissed long, hard, and often.

"I think I'll need to upgrade dinner from hamburgers to something more suitable for champagne. Although I need to warn you, it will probably be more leftovers than anything else." She glanced at her watch, then flashed a charming smile. "I have a busy schedule this afternoon. I don't think I'll have time to go grocery shopping."

****

Parker carried a champagne glass into the living room and made himself comfortable on the sofa. "That was a delicious meal, certainly a lot more than
leftovers
." He surveyed the room, taking in everything anew even though he had seen it on previous occasions. This time he assessed her home on a personal level.

"I really like this cottage. I wasn't aware this area even existed before the first time I stopped by to pick up a purchase you made for me—a bluff overlooking the ocean, trees, seclusion yet close to all the amenities the city offers. If it had a thatched roof, I'd say it had been transported directly from the English countryside. Perhaps a village in the Cotswolds."

Carli sat on the sofa, keeping one seating space between them. All through dinner, he had been a perfect gentleman and a perfect dinner guest, but the underlying current of sexual tension reached out and grabbed her as nothing else ever had. At least for her it resonated as a very strong lure. She didn't want to appear as if she was suggesting anything by sitting right next to him, but neither did she want to appear standoffish by sitting in a chair on the other side of the coffee table.

"You mentioned the Cotswolds. I've always wanted to go to England. The excitement of London, the rolling hills of the countryside, the quaint little villages. I want to experience all of it."

He scooted a little closer as he warmed to one of his favorite subjects. "I love to travel, seeing new places and revisiting ones I enjoyed. Have you done much traveling?"

"Just here in the U.S. and a little bit of Western Canada."

"International travel would certainly allow you some terrific shopping opportunities for your clients. You could buy generic items that you can't find here without having a specific person in mind, then save them for the right opportunity."

"Funny," a soft chuckle escaped her throat, "I shop for a living, but when buying something for myself, I go to the store knowing exactly what I want so I can get in and out as quickly as possible."

He took the last swallow of his champagne, then set the empty glass on the coffee table.

She picked up the glass as she rose to her feet. "I'll get you a refill."

He grabbed her hand to stop her. "Maybe later."

He pulled her down onto the sofa, their bodies almost touching. A tremor of anticipation rippled through her reality and settled in her pussy. Was he making a move on her? If not, then why not? Did she dare become the aggressor?

The spontaneous thought shocked her. Was she really that horny or was it specifically Parker Simmons who had her blood pulsing? Sexual tension had been leaping between them all evening. She had caught him staring at her on a couple of occasions in a very non-platonic way. Reality or only her wishful thinking?

Then all speculation came to a screeching halt when he leaned closer. The moment his mouth touched her lips, hot sexual energy surged through her body, replacing the speculation and anticipation. Her pussy tingled. A shortness of breath caught in her lungs. The magnitude of his mesmerizing presence enveloped her like a sensual cloak…a sensual cloak plugged into an electrical outlet.

A searing arc of excitement sizzled between them, followed by a sexual intensity that told her, client or not, she wanted him in a way so much more intimate than she had ever wanted another man. She wanted him in every way possible. And she wanted him now.

A thought worked its way into her consciousness, one saying she would willingly accept it as a permanent situation. But as soon as the notion invaded, it frightened her. True, her attitude had come around to the place where a committed relationship once again appealed to her. With time, she had moved beyond that post-divorce
never again
mindset. And also true, she believed Parker Simmons to be the type of man any woman would want to call her own. But that didn't tell her what Parker wanted.

His kiss quickly moved from tender to all-consuming, literally taking her breath away. He wrapped her in his embrace at the same time as her arms encircled his neck. He pulled her body tightly against his, sending a rush of need through her.

Carli's mouth, her taste…it was everything Parker knew it would be. Even though his advance was more spontaneous than planned, her enthusiastic response whetted his appetite for more…much more. His cock twitched until he achieved full erection. He didn't have a specific plan in mind for the evening, hadn't thought out how much or precisely what he wanted or how far he could take it. But he knew he needed to be careful. She was the type of woman who could turn a man's thoughts toward home and family. And that was the last thing he wanted.

He aggressively thrust his tongue between her lips, seeking out her tongue, meshing with her texture and taste. She twined her tongue with his, letting him know she welcomed whatever came next. His hard cock shoved against the confining fabric of his briefs, demanding its freedom. His chest heaved with his ragged breathing.

Parker broke the kiss just long enough to force out a few words. "I want you."

"My bedroom is down the hall on the right."

Her breathless words were the sweetest sound he had ever heard. No silly games. No coy maneuvers. Nothing but straightforward honesty.
What a refreshing change from my experience since the divorce.
Then another thought hit him.
A refreshing change from the year before my divorce, too.
He quickly dismissed the anger accompanying the second thought. That was history. He much preferred to concentrate on the here and now.

She led him down the hall, neither of them saying anything, the air alive with expectation and heightened arousal.

He quickly took in the nuances of her bedroom. As with the rest of her house, the decoration and style were in excellent taste, the room appropriately feminine without being girly-frilly. His focus shifted from his surroundings to the very desirable woman in his arms.

Once again, his mouth claimed hers, taking in her taste and the heat of her passion. He ran his hand down her back to the perfect curve of her ass, then pulled her body tightly against his. A soft moan escaped her throat, at least he thought it came from her. It could just as easily have come from him.