she’d been sitting across the hall from Candy since coming to work for Pinnacle two years ago, Courtney had known little more than the woman’s name, that her lively personality made her a superior public relations specialist, and that she had more men at her beck and call than Courtney had met in her entire life.
Witnessing the intense gleam of satisfaction those men left in Candy’s eyes on a daily basis had been one of the many reasons Courtney finally said to hell with her upbringing-induced reservations. That gleam was the precise reason she sought out Candy’s help in getting in touch with her inner vixen. They still didn’t hang out much beyond working hours, but now she knew Candy had a delightfully warped sense of humor and a fierce loyalty to those lucky enough to call her friend.
Courtney kicked a heel against the gray Berber carpet, sending her chair spinning around until she faced Candy’s cubicle. Her smile came as quickly and naughtily now as it had when Blaine intuited she should drop by his house tonight for sex. There’d been a second there where she thought she’d read his invitation wrong, that he wasn’t as attracted to her new look as she’d been attracted to him from the day they met. The impatient way he eyed her up when he suggested she stop by his office instead of waiting until tonight trumped any misgivings.
He wanted her.
If it weren’t for needing to wrap up that proposal and her planned date with another man, she would spend the hour after lunch and then several hours after work tonight showing him exactly how much she wanted him.
There would be another chance. Soon, if the hungry ache he stirred in her pussy had a say. “I’m still getting used to the whole feminine power thing.”
A knowing smile curved Candy’s lips and edged into her brown eyes. “Who is he?”
“Blaine,” she said loudly enough to be heard but not overheard.
“Hate to break it to you, doll, but you could have had him long ago, even without working the feminine power angle.”
Candy’s assured tone pricked a hole in Courtney’s bliss bubble. She knew about Blaine’s reputation for getting around, but she thought he was at least as discerning about the women he slept with as she was with the men she did. “He’s that easy?”
“No. But he has always had a thing for you.”
Always? As in, even back when she’d been wearing her conservative clothing and living in fear of speaking her mind beyond from a professional standpoint? “Yeah, right.”
Candy placed a hand over her heart, covering almost more of her left breast than her turquoise silk halter top did. “Swear to God. He checks out your ass every opportunity he gets.”
“He’s been doing this since I started working here?”
“Yep.”
Not possible. Not having seen the women on Blaine’s arm at various company events. Not one of them had looked average. They were all stunning. All confident. All every bit the sex diva Courtney had become. “Are you trying to boost my confidence?”
“Hell, no. You’re doing a rocking job working the assertive, hot-bodied hoochie angle all on your own. Next time you’re around Blaine, give him an opening to look at your ass and I guarantee he’ll take it without a single bit of encouragement.”
The kitchen door swished inward behind him, and Blaine cursed under his breath. Throwing a spur-of-the-moment party, a day after returning home from an extended leave, had been a stupid-ass move. Not only did he have to spend two hours after work shopping for food and drinks, but he was still suffering from jet lag. It was barely after eight and he was exhausted.
With his back to the door, he leaned his elbows against the edge of the sink and stared out the window at the guests milling about his treed-in, half-acre backyard. The short end of an L-shaped, black and gray marble-topped counter separated him from whoever was behind him. Between the partial blockage and his stance, hopefully the person would take a hint and leave him to his alone time.
“Blaine.” Courtney’s voice came out a mix of surprise and delight.
Just like that he wasn’t tired anymore. Just like that he was anxious as hell to entertain.
“Courtney. It’s good to see you.” He spoke as he turned around, and then realized how big of an understatement the words were.
Standing a foot inside the doorway, she wore the sheer thigh-high stockings with the sexy black pinstripe she’d had on at the office. The green, off-the-shoulder top and black skirt were gone. Chain-link silver earrings dangled from her ears to nearly brush her bare shoulders, and a hot pink, spaghetti strap sheath dress clung to the swell of her breasts, the material coasting down her trim sides and shapely hips to end an inch before her stockings began. His fingers tingled with the prospect of touching the tanned skin revealed there.
“I’ve been here a while.” The surprise was gone from her voice, the delight now paired with the raw sensuality he felt calling to him this morning.
Blaine traveled his attention back up her body to find her gaze as assessing as his own. He hadn’t had time to change out of the blue jeans and casual off-white shirt he’d worn to work, before guests started arriving at his house. The heat sizzling in Courtney’s eyes and tipping her hot pink lips up at the corners suggested she approved of his appearance all the same.
She lifted the red plastic glass in her hand. “I didn’t realize the kitchen was off limits. My drink got warm while I was visiting, so I was trying to track down some ice.”
He smiled over the irony. Ice had been his excuse for retreating to the sanctity of his kitchen. More specifically, refilling the ice bucket from the snack table in the living room for the exact purpose that had brought her here.
Crossing to the counter, he grabbed the steel ice bucket and went to the refrigerator. “It’s not off limits,” he assured her as he pulled open the freezer-side door. Frosty air rushed out to greet him. With the way his internal temperature shot up at the sight of Courtney in that barely legal dress, the chilly blast was welcome.
“So you weren’t trying to escape by hiding out in here?”
He glanced over at her as he filled the ice bucket. He didn’t know a lot about her, outside of the fact that she was damned good at her job, but that question had sounded incredibly astute. “Know a thing or two about escape?”
Hesitation passed through her eyes for an instant. Then she gave him a smile that was pure feline. “You know as well as I do some people don’t get the concept of no strings.”
Blaine’s body forgot all about the freezer’s calming effect with the sexual intimation. His cock stirred against his zipper. He definitely knew all about strings and he knew right now he wanted to tug down the two thin ones keeping her dress in place.
Shutting the freezer door, he crossed to where she stood. His first thought at seeing her this morning was that she looked just like Candy, minus the hairstyle. Within touching distance, he could see the differences went well beyond their hair. Courtney’s legs were longer and her breasts, while still plentiful, smaller. Her face was smaller, as well. Her mouth wider and her eyes more round. The combination of her facial features managed to make her look both sweet and sinful at once.
And had him damned anxious to take advantage of proximity.
