pulled away. Walter brought the bill over and I reached for my credit card.
Eric grabbed my hand. ‘No, I’ll get that.’
‘This was a job interview. Close Encounters pays.’ I grabbed my coat and umbrella and leaned over to give him a quick kiss on the lips. ‘My instincts tell me you’re no lousy lover. Blame it on bad timing.’
We both stood up. He helped me with my coat, kissed my bare neck. ‘When do I see you again?’
I kissed him again on the lips. I would have liked to stay with him, enjoy him and his body, but I wanted Thorne. ‘Who knows?’ I said and left.
As soon as the cab-driver braked in front of my building, an arm reached down and opened the door for me. I looked up. The bouncer type from the morning looked down at me. This time he was empty-handed. He stood guard by the kerb while I paid the fare and got out. As soon as the cab drove away, the man lifted his chin toward the other side of the street where a sleek silver car was parked. My heart did a little jump. Was it Thorne’s? I looked away quickly in case he was sitting in the car.
‘Goodnight, whatever your name is,’ I said to the man and started walking to the front door. He stepped in front of me.
‘Mister Thorne call me Boris. Mister Thorne is waiting.’
‘And I’m going home now, Boris.’ I made the mistake of flashing my keys at him to make my point. He grabbed them.
‘Hey, give those back!’
‘Mister Thorne waits.’
‘Mister Thorne can wait until he drops dead.’ I was shouting, hoping Thorne could hear me. ‘Give me back my keys!’ I kicked him in the shin and stubbed my toe. Boris pocketed the keys, picked me up and carried me across the street. I went limp instead of kicking or screaming. Boris was built like a tank and the only person on the street was Larry, the local drunk, sleeping it off, who couldn’t have cared less what happened to me. I was furious, but part of me was also curious, even thrilled.
The back door opened. Boris slipped me inside and shut the door. He turned to face the street and stood guard, his wide body covering the back-seat window completely. I heard the click of the doors being locked. I was stuck in a dark car with Archer Thorne, a man I wanted and hated at the same time. A tremor ran through my body. A tremor of excitement, maybe fear. Definitely desire.
‘I thought we had a date,’ I said.
Thorne leaned across the seat and kissed me lightly. Too lightly. I instantly wanted to grab his neck and pull him to me, suck his lips. I breathed in the smell of his intoxicating aftershave instead.
‘You did. With another man.’
‘You came to the bar?’ Why didn’t I see him? I’d kept my eyes peeled on that entrance the whole time.
‘Walter spared me the trouble. I had let him know that I wanted our evening to be very special.’
‘Are you trying to make me feel bad?’
‘I want to make you feel good. Always when you’re with me.’ His hand reached up to my hair and took the clasp out. ‘I’m glad to know you didn’t let him see you wearing my present.’
‘I’m not wearing it.’
He smoothed my hair down over my shoulders. ‘You are wearing it. That was the whole point of your game tonight. I was going to walk into the bar and see you sitting with another man in this tight dress.’ His hand was now skimming over my hip, the length of my thigh. He was barely touching me and I had to stop my body lifting up to meet his hand. ‘A dress clinging to your firm ass, your big hard nipples, resting on your bush. You knew I was going to go crazy at the thought that another man was going to have you.’ He slipped his hand under my dress and squeezed my sex. I let out a cry of pure want.
‘I should spread your legs open and possess you right now. That’s the punishment you deserve.’
Yes, do. Possess me. Now. Fuck me every way you can think of.
That thought was like a slap in the face. What was happening to me? I pushed his hand away and slid as far away from him as the back seat allowed. No man had ever made me want him so much.
‘I want to go home, Thorne.’
‘I want to come with you. Take you upstairs and make love to you, over and over again, then fall asleep holding you, start over again as soon as the cock crows, pun intended.’
Why was I falling for this baloney? ‘Make love to you’ instead of ‘fuck you’? He was getting romantic on me and I was liking it. ‘Sorry, Thorne, I kick my cocks out. I sleep alone.’ I wanted him to court my sex, not my heart. I wasn’t about to give that organ away.
‘You’ll miss out in the morning. That’s my best time.’
‘In the morning I have bad breath.’ I jiggled the handle. ‘Let me go. It’s way past my bedtime.’ The clock on the dashboard said 10.35. I usually got a second wind around that time. Some of my best designs have popped out of my head in the middle of the night. Now I was going to go home, take a cold shower and then hit the drawing board and start designing my next year’s bags. All thoughts of Thorne, sexy or angry ones, were going into the garbage. ‘Come on, Thorne. If I must I’ll even say please.’
‘That’s the magic word along with “sorry”.’ He clicked the doors open.
‘Who is sorry?’ I tried to push the door open against Boris’s back.
‘I am. For the other night. For kidnapping you for too short a time. For letting you go now. Sorriest for you wanting to go.’
The door didn’t budge, but that wasn’t what stopped me. Damn him, he sounded like he meant it. Maybe I should stay. We’d have a great time in bed and then I’d send him on his way.
Before I could make up my mind Thorne barked out an order to Boris in what had to be Russian. Boris snapped to attention, turned around and opened the door.
‘I would walk you to your door,’ Thorne said, ‘but I don’t trust myself to let you go. Boris will see you home.’
I wasn’t ready to be walked anywhere by anyone. Not across the street, not across town. I’d just remembered something. ‘Did you recommend my handbags to the Bergdorf Goodman buyer?’
‘I just mentioned to the CEO how much I’d liked what I saw at your presentation. We’ve done business together in the past. The WWD article on your bags is coming out next week. Front page.’
‘Your doing again?’ It was great news, but I hated owing Thorne anything.
‘No, yours.’
‘Why did you do it? You think I’ll be forever grateful and let you play with me whenever you want?’
‘When I see talent, I like to let other people know about it, people who can move that talent along. That’s what I do. I look for small companies that have potential, I buy into them or buy them outright and help them grow. You’ve got a lot of talent and I happen to know a few people in
