The Rebound Guy (19 page)

In the lobby of the hotel, his parents both hugged Asia as if they had known her all her life. Dexter explained that he may not be able to get away from the “office” before they left, so he gave them farewell hugs and wished them a good time on their trip. After a five-minute goodbye in the lobby, he and Asia were finally able to leave the hotel.

Dexter turned onto Lexington Avenue from 42nd Street, heading back downtown toward Asia’s apartment. Twenty minutes later, he pulled into the parking garage across from her building and parked her car back into her slot.

“Why do you keep this car if you don’t drive it?” Dexter asked as they got out.

“I use it mainly for driving to Camden to visit my mom, but I just like knowing that it’s there in case I need it.”

“It’s a nice ride. I’d never see the subway or the inside of a cab if I had this car.”

“A couple of hours stuck in the morning rush hour would change your mind.”

They crossed the street, which was deserted in this less-crowded part of the city. The traffic noise was muffled here, and they heard an owl hoot as it hunted for its dinner in the rich spread of back alley garbage cans. They stopped on the sidewalk, just outside the entrance to her building, but out of the glare of the light over the door.

“Thanks again for helping me out with my parents,” Dexter said.

“I told you thanks is unnecessary. It was fun.”

“You really need to get out more, Asia.”

Her light, airy laugh made his stomach clench with a sudden yearning that was almost too much to bear. Dexter knew he needed to leave before he did something that would be unwise, but that he damn sure wouldn’t regret.

“So what time are we leaving for Connecticut on Saturday?” he asked.

“I was thinking eight, if that’s not too early. Lizzie has a welcome brunch scheduled for eleven. It should take about two hours to get there, so we’d have just enough time to check in and get settled.”

“Eight is fine,” Dexter said.

She looked past his shoulder, up the street. Dex pivoted. The only person he saw out and about was the doorman to the boutique hotel at the end of the block, having a cigarette. He turned his attention back to Asia.

“Well,” she said with a small smile and a slight wave. She turned toward the door, then turned back. In a rushed breath, she asked, “Would you like to come up for a while?”

It took some effort to swallow past the lump that instantly formed in his throat. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse with desire. “Are we finally going to have that wine tasting?”

Asia stared at him and slowly nodded. “We can do that, too.”

Dex pulled in a ragged breath and grabbed her hand, hastening her into the building. Asia said a quick hello to the doorman sitting behind the desk as they whizzed by him on their dash through the lobby.

The elevator doors opened as soon as he pressed the “up” arrow, as if he had a guardian angel watching over him who knew how close he was to taking Asia right here, right now. When the elevator doors closed, Dexter gave her a quiet warning, “You have the two minutes it’ll take to get into your place to change your mind.”

“I’m not changing my mind,” she said.

His eyes closed briefly. “Thank God.”

When they arrived at her door, Asia had her keys ready. The clank of the deadbolt unlatching rang through the quiet hallway. As soon as the door was unlocked, Dexter shepherded her inside and kicked it closed behind them. He quickly peeled off his sports jacket and pulled the hem of his shirt from his pants.

Asia slid the dimmer switch on the kitchen lights halfway, bathing the space in a soft glow.

Dex caught her by the waist before she could take another step into the apartment. He turned her around and crushed his lips to hers, his hands going for the hem of the knee-length cocktail dress that had been driving him crazy all night. He tried to pull it over her head, but she stopped him.

“No. You have to unzip it,” she said against his lips.

He reached behind her, fingering the zipper and pulling it down her back without his lips ever leaving hers. The zipper ended at the base of her spine, just above the curve of her ass.

Dexter shoved his hands inside the dress, filling his palms with her firm backside. He hauled her closer to him, fitting her against the erection that was straining to break free behind the fly of his khakis.

Asia stepped back and peeled the dress from her shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. Dex groaned at the sight of her in matching panties and bra—dark blue satiny silk, not frilly pink.

She had the kind of figure that drove him mad with want: long, shapely legs, perfectly proportioned breasts, and a slim waist that flared into gently rounded hips he could sink his fingers into.

So. Damn. Sexy.

She started for the stairs leading to the living room, but Dex stopped her before she could climb the first step. He twisted around and sat on the third step, pulling her on top of him and spreading her thighs so that she straddled his lap. He wrapped a hand behind her head and drew her mouth to his.

Levering himself up so he could yank his wallet from his back pocket, he kept his lips firmly connected to Asia’s as he retrieved one of the two condoms he had with him.

Shit! Only two!

Dex knew he needed to slow things down. It would be a crime to waste a condom on what would likely be two minutes of rushed sex. He should put the brakes on, take his time. That way, he could get the most miles out of both condoms.

Asia rocked her pelvis against his groin and Dex knew there was no way in hell he could slow things down. He snaked a hand between them, unzipped his pants, and pulled himself out.

He managed to release Asia’s mouth long enough to breathe, “One second,” against her lips before tearing open the condom package and tossing the wrapper onto the step. He quickly rolled the latex down his stiff erection, as Asia stood and tugged her panties down her legs.

For a brief moment, Dex was face to face with the glistening thatch of curls at the apex of her thighs, and he nearly lost all control. When she straddled his hips and sank onto his straining cock, that thinly held control snapped in two. He clasped the sides of her waist and moved her body up and down, guiding her strokes. He used his teeth to tug the satin cup away from her left breast.

Asia’s head pitched back as a deep, pleasure-rich moan pour out of her. She locked her wrists behind his neck as she continued to ride his lap, her breasts bouncing against his face. He captured the nipple of the exposed one between his lips and sucked, wrenching another moan from her.

“Don’t stop,” she cried, her hips pumping faster.

Her internal muscles squeezed him, milking him as he drove higher and deeper inside of her. With every thrust, Dex moved closer and closer to the edge. He felt Asia shatter in his arms and it sent him completely over. He came in powerful, violent spurts, his body shaking with the ferocity of his climax.

They both collapsed onto the stairs, straining for air.

Dex dropped his head back onto the top step, staring at the high ceiling, waiting for regret to take hold of him. He knew it was fast approaching, just waiting to pummel him with guilt over what had just transpired.

What they’d just done had had nothing to do with healing old wounds or moving past old hurts. There had been nothing medicinal about the way he’d pushed his body deep into hers. It had been about pleasure, about satisfying his insane craving for the woman draped over him.

What he’d just done went against his self-imposed rules. It undermined everything he was trying to do to turn his work into a legitimate business. He should be drowning in shame and remorse.

He wasn’t.

The only thing he felt was the aftershocks of the orgasm still strumming through his bloodstream.

Maybe the regret would come tomorrow. Right now, he would enjoy every second he had with Asia. Maybe this time, he could control himself long enough to get her fully horizontal.

Chapter Twelve

“I think I may be jealous,” Asia said as she pulled Dexter’s arm more securely around her midsection. The couch afforded them very little room to maneuver, but making it up the second set of steep stairs to the bed had seemed like more effort than it was worth. It was just fine with her. Over the past hour, she had discovered that there was just enough room on her sofa to do all kinds of delicious things. Her body shivered just at the thought of what Dexter could do on a bed.

He moved his hand up her belly until his palm met her breast. “Jealous of what?” he whispered against her neck.

Asia bit her lip, pausing for a second before finally admitting, “Your other clients.”

He moved her hair to the side and placed a kiss against her neck. “Did you and Cortland ever have sex?”

Asia looked over her shoulder. “Of course we did. We were together for four years.”

“So, should I be jealous of him?”

She frowned. “It’s not the same.”

“Would it be any different if they weren’t clients and just random women that I’ve slept with?”

He turned her to face him as he twisted them both on the sofa, so that he was now lying on his back and she was stretched out on top of him. It felt way too good, as if she belonged here.

“Don’t think about my past or future clients,” Dexter said. “This is all about you.”

Asia forced a smile, but then she turned, resting her cheek on his chest. She didn’t want him to see what his mention of
future
clients did to her, because she knew it showed on her face.

The sharp pain that pierce her was acute, despondency suddenly clouding her vision. It took effort just to force a breath past the heaviness in her lungs. Imagining past clients enjoying the amazing things he’d done to her was disheartening enough; she had not allowed her mind to think about the women who would come after her. Just the fact that there
would
be women after her shot an arrow of hurt through her heart.

How could he make love to her with such excitement, such passion, and then do the same with another woman next month? The ache in her chest sharpened, the miserable sensation like nothing she’d felt in quite some time.

Asia prayed her voice would not betray her when she spoke again. Pulling in a deep breath, she asked, “What was it you did before you started this...relationship consulting? You said you worked on Wall Street, right?”

“I was in risk assessment at a hedge fund.”

She looked up at him, resting her chin on his chest. “Why did you leave?”

“I didn’t. They kicked my ass out,” he said with a dry laugh. “There’s a difference.”

“What happened?” Asia asked, hearing the discomfort in his voice.

“I made a risky move that turned out to be too risky.” He shut his eyes and leaned his head back against the sofa’s armrest. “To make a long and painfully boring story short, I ignored the data we had on a specific client’s investment and decided to go with my gut. My gut was wrong. The client lost a lot. The company lost a lot. I gambled, and it cost not only me, but my entire department, our jobs.” He shook his head. “It was bad.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Asia whispered.

“So am I,” he said. “But I’m sorrier for everyone else that was affected. It was my mistake, but the entire department took the fall.”

“A clean slate,” Asia said.

“Yep. All six of us, gone.”

She looked up at him, hesitating only a moment before saying, “You’ll probably hate me for this, but I understand why they did it. If I had been working for your hedge fund, it’s what I would have recommended. If the mistake was as severe as I gather it was from your tone, they really had no choice.”

“They had no choice but to put five other people out of a job because of one person’s mistake?”

“Stakeholders would not have looked at it as Dexter Bryant being the guy who messed up. They saw the risk-assessment division. In such circumstances, the company has to move quickly. It has to appear to the stakeholders as if it is taking bold, decisive actions so that something similar never happens again. I’ll bet you all were fired less than a week after everything erupted.”

“Three days,” he said.

Asia nodded against his chest, hoping her sympathy shone through her eyes. “That’s how these things work,” she said. “In this situation, I would have been the bad guy, because I would have recommended immediate termination, too. Sorry.”

His mouth quirked up in a sad smile, but he didn’t comment.

“Do you miss it?” she asked.

His deep sigh lifted his chest. “I could lie and say that I don’t.” He shook his head. “I don’t miss the rat race; those long work days and weekend-long strategy sessions? It had started to take its toll after just two years.” He peered down at her. “But I don’t have to tell you about that, do I?”

She shook her head, her chin rubbing against his solid chest. “I know all too well about weekend-long strategy sessions.”

“I was willing to put up with the crazy hours every now and then,” Dexter said. “But what I really miss about the work I used to do is helping people realize their dreams. Do you know that cupcake place with the pink and purple logo, Sassy’s Cupcakes?”

She nodded. “They just opened a location a block from my office. I figure it’s God’s way of testing my willpower.”

He grinned. “Don’t fight it. Support their business. They’re good people.”

“You know them?”

“I helped them put together their game plan. They were only a small operation working out of a store front in Jersey City. I helped to build their portfolio and came up with a plan to help them ‘grow’ their business, as we called it.

“I just checked out their Website the other day. They’ve got eight locations in the five boroughs and Jersey, with another two opening soon.” He released a strained sigh. “That’s what I miss. I miss those clients coming back to me with stories of how their futures are now secure because of something I helped them develop.”

“In a way, you still have that with the work you’re doing now, don’t you?” she said. “Do you have clients who come back to you, letting you know how much the time they spent with you helped them?”