Chapter Four
“You have to tell me what happened.”
Reenie squeezed the telephone handset and tried to ignore the demanding tone in Amy’s voice.
“Nothing happened,” she insisted. “He came to apologize, took me to lunch and left.” No way was she about to get into any of the details. Not even where they’d eaten.
“Reenie.” Amy’s voice was insistent. “I know my brother and I know that’s not the whole story. He’s acting like a horse with a stone in its hoof and you hardly return my calls.”
“I’m sorry.” Reenie instantly felt contrite. None of this was Amy’s fault. “I’ve been busy at work. Really. Truly. I promise to do better.”
“Lunch tomorrow then,” Amy demanded. “I’ll drive into the city and we can eat on the Riverwalk.”
“No!” Reenie almost shouted the word then lowered her voice. “Not the Riverwalk.”
“No?” Silence hummed along the connection. “But the Riverwalk’s the place in San Antonio. What’s wrong with going there?”
“I, um, am really snowed under with a new website I’m designing and it will just take too long. Listen, there’s a pretty good restaurant on the first floor of this building. And there’s a parking garage right next door. How about if I meet you in the restaurant tomorrow at one. That work for you?”
“All right.” Amy’s sigh was audible over the connection. “I’ll see you then. But I’m still going to get you to the Riverwalk. You aren’t officially in Texas until you eat there.”
Reenie disconnected the call, leaned back in her chair and sighed. Had she fled from one disastrous situation only to fall knee deep into another? A week had passed since that Saturday and Matt had called with frustrating regularity. She’d screened calls at home and let the machine pick up. At work she told Misty she was having problems with an old boyfriend harassing her.
“Please don’t put any calls through,” she told the receptionist. “Just take messages and say I’ll call them back.”
If only Matt Stark hadn’t given her the sexual ride of her life. If only just the thought of him didn’t make her nipples peak and her panties soak through. She went to bed each night with an incredibly unfulfilled feeling, an ache that speared through her p-ssy and spread to every part of her body. And none of her toys could seem to satisfy her. Not even the extra-large dildo with four vibrating speeds. She refused to admit that part of the reason—a big part—was the fact he’d touched other parts of her body too. Like her heart.
I am in such a bad way. I need help. Psychiatric help.
Sighing, she turned back to her computer and the website she was currently putting together. One of the things Orion did was offer temporary websites for major events that people could access for information. This one was for a fiftieth birthday party and she was having a lot of fun with it. When the intercom buzzed she pressed the button impatiently, irritated that she’d been disturbed.
“Hey, Reenie?”
Why did Misty always have to sound so perky? On the other hand, what did she expect from someone named Misty?
“I’m here. What is it?”
“Jay wants you in his office right now. Double time he said.” Was that a giggle in her voice.
Reenie frowned. Jay Sanborn was Orion’s CEO. Sometimes he stopped by her tiny office space to chat with her about projects, and they always interacted during staff meetings. But she didn’t remember ever being summoned to his office this way.
“Reenie?” Misty prodded. “He said right now.”
“All right, all right. I don’t suppose he said what he wanted?”
“Uh uh. Just to get you there in a hurry. New client asking for you.”
Reenie’s eyebrows lifted to her hairline. “Are you serious? I haven’t been here long enough for a client to request me.”
She could almost see Reenie lifting a T-shirt-clad shoulder. “Not my business. But if you don’t get hopping it will be and I’ll get fired.”
Reenie laughed. “Fat chance. But okay, buzz him and tell him I’m on my way.”
She took a moment to run a brush through her hair and swipe some gloss over her lips. For a moment she wished she was wearing something besides jeans and a casual top, but that was the usual office dress here. Oh, well. If the client had sought them out then he knew they were a far-from-formal organization.
Orion’s offices took up two floors in the building, connected by a spiral staircase that rose from the wide lobby. Jay’s office was at the top of the stairs. Reenie waved at Misty as she hurried up the stairs and knocked on the oak door.
“Come in,” she heard Jay call from inside.
Wiping her hand on her jeans, she turned the knob and pushed the door open, pasting her professional smile on her face.
“You wanted me?” she began, walking into the room. Then, spotting the person in one of the client chairs, she came to a dead stop. Her heart kicked into overdrive and her palms began to sweat in earnest.
“I think you know our guest.”
Jay’s voice was like a distant buzzing. All she could focus on was the man sitting in front of her.
“Hey, Reenie.” Matt Stark, wearing a broad grin, rose to his feet. “Nice to see you again.” Today he was dressed in grey slacks, a western-cut blazer with a white-on-white shirt open at the neck and a pair of grey hand-tooled boots. The obligatory Stetson rested on the corner of Jay’s desk.
“I see you’re wearing clothes for a change.” The words popped out before her brain connected and she slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh, shit,” she whispered.
Despite the fact that his face reddened, he kept the grin in place. “I can take them off if you like.”
“Reenie?” Jay’s voice startled her. “Is there something going on here I should know about?”
“Just Reenie’s weird sense of humor,” Matt joked.
She pulled in a deep breath, let it out slowly and shook her head. “Matt, what are you doing here?”
He winked. “I’m a client. I want to hire Orion.”
She stared from him to Jay and back again. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“I wouldn’t like to think so.” Jay Sanborn’s voice was uninflected, his face impassive, but Reenie saw the anger flickering in his eyes. Orion was a laidback place to work but Jay was all business. If he thought she was doing something to damage that, playing some kind of game, she’d be history. And if Matt was putting her in a position to screw up her job she’d kill him. Slowly and painfully.
She planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. “You want to hire us? For what?”
Matt shrugged. “You promote. I want you to handle a promotion for me.” He grinned again. “And a website.”
“Matt…” She looked at Jay, anger and helplessness warring within her.
“It’s a legitimate business deal,” he insisted. “I’ve already given Jay a rough outline of what I’m looking for. Maybe you should sit down and we can all talk about it.”
“Yes, Reenie.” Jay’s voice was firm. “Sit down. Mr. Stark is prepared to drop a bundle here and I wouldn’t want him to feel he has to take his business someplace else.”
Because of you. He didn’t say it, but it was implied.
Matt waited for her to sit gingerly on the edge of the other client chair before taking his own seat again.
“Now,” Jay continued, leaning back in his own chair, “why don’t you hear what Mr. Stark has to say.”
“Oh, by all means.” Reenie had her hands clasped so tightly in her lap her fingers cramped. Please just let me get out of here without embarrassing myself. “So, tell me about your, um, project, Mr. Stark. And how I can be of assistance.”
If she hadn’t been looking right at him she wouldn’t have seen the flare of heat in his onyx-black eyes or the tiny tilt of his mouth at one corner.
Okay, Mr. Smartass. Let’s see how good you are at playing this game. But screw with my job and you’re dead meat.
“Matt tells me they have an annual barbecue and fundraiser every year at Stark Ranch,” Jay put in when no one said anything. “It’s part of the scholarship program run by the Cattlemen’s Association.”
“A very noble cause.” Please don’t let me sound so sarcastic and piss Jay off. “How can we help you?”
“My sister heads the committee that pulls in all the items for both the silent auction and the live one,” he told her. “Usually she makes all the other arrangements but I thought this year I’d give her a break. I checked into what y’all do and figured you could take care of all that.” He paused. “Since you and Amy are such good friends I figured you’d jump at the chance to work with her. It would be a natural fit.”
Natural fit my ass.
“Sounds good to me.” Jay rocked back in his desk chair. “You just need to give us a general idea of what you want, how many people you expect and we can take it from there. You also said something about a website?”
“Yup. When Reenie and I had lunch the other day she told me y’all create them for events so people can go there and get information. I figured it could also be set up as a place where people can register to attend. That’s a big part of what you do, right, Reenie?”
There was that damn wicked grin.
“We can do it all,” Jay assured him. “And I know Reenie will be happy to do that for you.”
Matt slid his glance at her. “I was kind of hoping she could be in charge of the whole thing. You know, since we’re such good friends and all.”
Reenie thought she might faint. “Matt, I don’t…that is, I…”
“We have people who specialize in those areas,” Jay told him. “I can assure you they’ll do an excellent job.”
“Well, then. They can probably be a big help to Reenie.” He pulled a slim checkbook from the inside pocket of his jacket. “I’m prepared to give you a substantial retainer, but I want Reenie in charge of the details. Website and all.”
Reenie looked at her boss, frustrated. “Jay? You know I—”
“That’ll be fine,” Jay interrupted her. “We’ll make sure she has everyone’s full support. Let’s get the contract signed. After that, Reenie, I think you and our client should spend some time in the conference room putting an outline together so you can get started.”
Reenie was so mad she was sure the top of her head would come off, but she stood and forced a smile. “I’ll get set up while you gentlemen finish your business. Mr. Stark, the conference room is right next door.”
She made her exit with her head high and her jaw clenched, her insides boiling with irritation and unwanted lust. Hell. Just the sight of that man and she was ready to hop into bed with him again.
No, no, no, no, no.
She made sure the Keurig coffee machine was stocked with a variety of flavors and set out two clean Orion cups next to it. From one of the cupboards she pulled a variety of event folders, a yellow-line pad and a handful of pencils. She had Misty bring up her laptop and she had just set it to the slide show of Orion websites when the door opened and Matt walked in, still wearing a cocky grin.
“I should just kill you and get it over with,” she told him in a low voice.
“Now, darlin’.” He tossed his hat onto the table and bent over her. “That’s no way to talk to a friend, is it? Especially one who’s a new client.”
“Why are you doing this?” she asked in a low voice.
“It’s actually a legitimate contract, Reenie, but I also had to do something when you wouldn’t take my calls.” He was so close to her now she could feel his warm breath on her skin. “Not afraid of me, are you, sugar?”
Before she could stop him or even realize what he was doing, he’d placed his mouth on hers and licked her lips in that sensuous motion that inflamed the lust already blooming inside her and sent a rush of liquid arousal into her panties. She tried to reach for sanity but his tongue just kept licking the outline of her mouth and playing across the seam.
“Open,” he breathed.
As if it had a mind of its own, her mouth opened obediently and his tongue slipped inside, a liquid torch. Heat burned her inside and out, a pulse began to beat heavily in her womb and her breath seemed trapped in her throat. When he lifted his head she sat there, dazed.
“Just making sure I remembered correctly the way that felt. I wasn’t wrong.” His eyes bored into hers like twin lasers. “We have something here, Reenie. Stop lying to yourself about it.”
She shook herself mentally. “You have something with half the women in Texas, Matt. I’m just another challenge to you. And it’s dirty pool to use my job to get to me. If you leave right now we can just pretend nothing happened.”
“Nothing?” He lifted an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t say last Saturday or even that kiss just now were nothing.”
“Matt!” She ground her teeth in frustration. “This is absurd.”
“Actually, I think it’s a great arrangement. I have an event I need handled. You take care of events. See how nicely that works?”
She saw that arguing with him would get her nowhere, so she pulled on her business face and used it as a barrier between them. Filling the coffee mugs, showing him brochures, asking questions helped her pull herself together. Somehow she managed to keep focused while they discussed the details of what he wanted and he looked over her materials. When she had everything she needed to get started she handed him a plastic jewel case with a DVD in it.
“This is a copy of the slide show you just saw with different websites on it. Take it home. Look it over. Get some ideas from it of what you want and then call the office. We’ll get to work on it.”
“Uh uh uh. Remember?” He ran his finger along the edge of her jaw. “You’re my project leader. That means we have to work very closely together.”
“Matt, let’s be reasonable here. First of all, I’m not an event coordinator, I do web designs. There are other people here much more experienced than I am at the other details.”
“Jay said you could have all the help you needed,” he reminded her.
“Secondly,” she went on as if he hadn’t spoken, “you can have your pick of any woman in Texas. Why can’t you just cross me off the list and move on to the next one?”
His laugh was low and hit her like smoke curling in her belly. “Maybe I don’t want anyone else, Reenie.” He reached out and stroked her cheek. “Maybe I want the fire I see and feel in you. We connected. We’re good together. Don’t deny it.”
“You see me as a challenge,” she told him. “That’s all. Forget me and move along to the next name on your list. If Saturday was any indication, that list is endless.”
“Reenie, Reenie, Reenie.” He shook his head. “You wound me. I think we just got off to a bad start here. My fault,” he admitted as she opened her mouth. “But we’ve got something going here. Don’t you want to see where it takes us?”
“I know where it will take me,” she told him. “In the discard pile. And I have no intention of putting myself in that position.”
He leaned close to her. “I think you’re afraid.” His voice was low and smoky. “I think you know how good we could be together and it scares the pants off you.”
She slid her chair back, needing space. The moment he got this near to her body her sanity fled and her body started screaming for him. “Not even close. I’m just being sensible. There’s nothing between us at all.”
Liar.
“Prove it.” He pushed out of his chair and settled his Stetson on his head. “Come out to the ranch Sunday.”
Reenie shook her head. “Not a good idea.”
“You need to have a good look at where the fundraiser’s being held, right? Otherwise how will you know what kind of pictures to use on the website or what kind of arrangements to make?” He touched her lips with the tip of one finger. “Scared of me, Reenie? Or yourself?”
Both. Yes. No. Damn it.
“Neither. I can always just picture you naked and passed out on the floor.”
“Oh, darlin’.” He gave her that lethal wink. “I’d love for you to see me naked all the time. And vice versa.” He walked to the door, opened it. “One o’clock. I’ll give you the special tour.”
Before she could say another word he was gone.
Well, hell.
She tossed her pencil on the table and shut down her laptop just as Jay walked into the room.
“Get everything settled?” he asked.
“No problem.” She gathered her things together, piling them on top of the laptop.
He studied her face carefully. “I was under the impression you and Stark are friends. Is there some problem I need to know about?”
Yes. No.
“Not at all. Actually it’s his sister I’m close to. Things are fine. Good. Wonderful.”
And I can’t afford to lose this job after I dumped my old life to start over again here.
“Good. That’s good. Because he gave us a big fat retainer and we’ll not only get a huge fee out of this but a lot of referrals if the event goes well.” He paused. “Make sure it goes well, Reenie.”
She swallowed. “I will. Of course.”
“Good. Put everything together in an outline. The event is four months away. I’ll call a staff meeting next week so you can present the project. I’ll make sure everyone knows who’s running the show.”
Great. Just f*cking great.
She had never been so glad to have a day end. Staying calm with Matt Stark’s electric presence so close to her took all the willpower she had and then some. What was it with her that she kept falling for men who were poison to her?
Wait a minute, falling for him? Not in this lifetime.
Liar, liar, pants on fire.
How had this happened anyway? Dealing with men like Matt and good old Double A took more energy than she wanted to expend. The sex was always great, but damn, they just insisted on spreading it around. Hadn’t any of them ever heard of monogamy? Were the only faithful men the boring ones? She just couldn’t go through the same kind of garbage again like she’d experienced with A*shole Aaron. She’d believed in him. In them. And it had all blown apart when she found him with not one, but two other women in their bed, of all places. On a weekend she was supposed to be away.
And of course, to top it all off, he’d been banging their boss on the side and managed to sabotage her projects at the agency.
Well, okay, she was done with that. She’d button on her professional armor, get through this fiasco with Matt and then insist Amy come to San Antonio if she wanted to see her.
She probably should have eaten, but food held no appeal for her. A hot bath worked out the knots of tension the day had created, helped along with two very nice glasses of a special chardonnay she’d been saving. Finally, soothed and relaxed, she fell into bed.
“Reenie? Reenie, wake up.”
It was Matt’s voice, deep and warm like melted butter.
“Hmm? What?”
She opened her eyes to see him leaning over her, his naked, hair-roughened chest gleaming in the soft light from the bedside lamp.
“Matt?”
“Uh huh. You don’t want to sleep through this, do you?”
His mouth brushed against her, soft as the kiss of a butterfly. Just the way he’d kissed her before. His scent surrounded her, something outdoorsy and very masculine. Heat seeped through her, warming her blood and making her toes curl. She wriggled against him, loving the feel of his big, hard-muscled body against her, the pressure of his thigh against her leg. And most of all the hard thickness of his swollen cock.
“You’re so soft,” he murmured, nibbling at her earlobe.
She shivered when his tongue traced the inner shell of her ear.
Her hands came up to thread through the thick black silk of his hair, gripping his head as he moved his mouth slowly along her jaw line, down her throat to the hollow where her pulse beat fiercely. He pressed his tongue to the pulse then trailed it down between her breasts until he reached one swollen nipple. He circled it carefully with his tongue, round and round, while her breasts grew heavy and full.
Reenie tried to hold his head in place but he laughed softly against her skin and moved his mouth to the other nipple, giving it the same meticulous treatment. When he nipped at her with his teeth, electricity crackled through her, sparking along her skin and firing every nerve in her throbbing cunt.
“More,” she whispered. “Please.”
“Not so fast.” His voice vibrated against her. “I want to go slow this time.”
And despite her pleading, that was exactly what he did. He paid careful attention to every inch of her skin, the mounds of her breasts, the line of her ribs. The indentation of her navel which he traced over and over with the tip of his tongue.
When he moved his mouth down her tummy she arched up to him, silently pleading with him to go lower, lower.
He laughed softly. “Slow, remember? God, your skin is like the softest satin. I could spend hours every day just licking you all over.”
His words as much as his actions were arousing her, drawing erotic images in her brain. She moved her hands over his powerful shoulders and down his back, loving the play of muscle beneath taut skin. As he moved down her body she felt the slide of his erection, now pressing against her leg like a burning rod.
His hands were everywhere now, his mouth following their path along the crease of her hip, the length of her thighs, down one leg and up the other. Hungry, needy, she cupped her own breasts and pinched her nipples, desperate to ease the ache there. If only he could touch her everywhere at once.
His hands slid beneath her ass, cupping the cheeks, spreading them slightly so his fingers slid into the crevice between them. Fingertips teased at the tight ring of sphincter muscle, driving the lust uncurling low in her belly upward with the force of a cyclone. A hoarse cry ripped from her throat as he gently probed and pushed.
“Feel good, darlin’? You feel good to me, I’ll tell you that.”
She let her legs fall wide, welcoming his attention, and he didn’t disappoint. His mouth fastened on the lips of her p-ssy like a heat-seeking missile, sucking the tender flesh and pulling it into his mouth. When he feasted on every inch of her labia he thrust his tongue inside her wet channel, gathering the cream she could feel there waiting for him before returning his attention to her *.
One large hand slipped around to allow him to thrust his fingers inside her while his mouth returned to her *, his tongue tracing heated circles around it over and over. He found just the right rhythm for her between his tongue and his fingers, slow and steady when she wanted him to rush, to hurry. Go faster, faster. But he wouldn’t be hurried, instead slowing down before increasing the pace again.
She could feel the orgasm building inside her, rising like a curling wave in the ocean until her entire body began to shake with the force of it. When she finally exploded he rode her through it, murmuring to her, his wickedly clever mouth and fingers knowing just where to touch and stroke.
She had barely caught her breath before he began driving her up the spiral again, touching her in all the right places, whispering erotic things to her. But this time when she climbed to the crest he was there, ready, and pushed his hot length inside her.
Ohgodohgodohgod.
Her entire body shuddered. She threw her legs around him, pulling him deep inside her body, pushing her hips up to him. Deeper, deeper, she wanted to shout.
But then his body tensed as hers did and they fell into space together. Tumbling, whirling, shaking with the force of the shared climax. He shouted her name as his cock flexed inside her again and again. Reenie clung to him, seeking an anchor in the erotic, sensual storm.
“Matt!” she cried. “Matt! Matt!”
“Matt!”
Reenie sat upright, eyes wide open, heart thundering, body covered with a fine sheen of perspiration. What the hell had just happened here? She felt sore everywhere—her breasts, between her thighs, even her ass. And she realized instantly what had happened. She’d just had the erotic dream of her life and it left her totally shaken.
When she could breathe evenly, she swung her legs out of bed and hurried into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She leaned against the tile wall, letting the hot stream of water beat down on her, but nothing could wash away the memory of that dream now burned into her memory.
Ohmygod! I am in such big trouble.