voice weakened her knees and his words cut through her anxiety.
He was sweet and that surprised her. Men who were too attractive for their own good didn’t need to be kind to seduce a woman. But she was getting ahead of herself. Buying her an expensive glass of wine didn’t mean he wanted to sleep with her. Her worries about pursuing a man and remembering what to do and say melted away with every word he spoke. Something clicked into place and she felt a thrill she’d been missing for years. A simple conversation had awakened a long-slumbering part of her libido.
“My birthday is today,” she said, feeling like she needed to explain why she was in a bar. What if he thought she routinely came here trolling for men? She re-questioned her approach and wished she had thought this through. What else could she talk about now that she had his attention? If she didn’t keep the conversation going, he would walk away. Red Miniskirt had been a good example of the other options available to him. On the heels of those thoughts, she wondered why it was so important to her to keep his attention. The bar was filled with other men yet it was this man who’d captivated her.
“Happy birthday, Sarah,” Barr said. He smiled, his teeth flawlessly white and his lips full.
“I’m not here alone.”
“I noticed you were with your friends,” he said.
Had he been assessing her the way she’d been assessing him? “They told me to talk to you,” she said.
“Why’s that?” he asked, not unkindly.
She wouldn’t slam the truth down on him. Her drug-abuser ex and her divorce were among the least sexy topics of conversation she could think of. “It’s my birthday and I wanted to meet someone new.”
Barr smiled. “Would you like to invite your friends over? I’ve been traveling all day and haven’t eaten yet. The restaurant is preparing a private table for us to enjoy a late meal.”
Sarah looked at him and then his friends. They were quiet. Why hadn’t they said anything? They were looking around the bar, but if they wanted to give their friend pseudo-privacy to speak with her, why not take a few steps away?
She made the decision that she would invite her friends. It wasn’t safe to leave the bar—even to move to a table—without letting her friends know her plans. “I’ll ask them. Please give me a few minutes.”
“Of course.”
Sarah hurried back to her friends, her neck and back hot imagining him watching her leave.
“That man at the far end of the bar invited us to eat with him. His name is Barr and he has an accent.” She half expected he would disappear in the time she’d taken to return to her friends.
Molly looked over at him and smiled. “Nice. You need us to be wingwomen to the friends?”
Sarah hadn’t thought about that. “The friends are strangely silent.”
“They’re probably trying to stay out of the way if you two are making nice,” Krista said.
Perhaps. Sarah still felt she was missing something about the three men. “Does he look familiar?”
Both Molly and Krista craned their necks to look at Barr at the same time.
Sarah blushed. “Not so obvious, please.”
“He knows we’re talking about him,” Molly said and rolled her eyes. “The one right next to him is cute. Did you get a name?”
“Nope. I forgot to ask,” Sarah said. It wasn’t like her to forget basic social graces, but once she had started talking to Barr, she had fixated on him and the rest of the world had seemed to disappear. Was that what having a crush was like? It had been so long, she couldn’t recall.
“We’ll join you, enjoy and provide backup if anything gets weird. We’re your excuse if you need to leave,” Krista said.
Even if Barr was perfectly charming, Sarah didn’t know how ready she was to spend the evening with a man she found attractive in a situation that had the potential of leading somewhere, like a bedroom. Putting on an air of confidence at work was easy. Talking to him had been more pleasurable that she’d imagined. Was she ready to take it to another level?
Sarah drummed up some extra courage. Sharing a drink and a meal with a man was a good first step. A simple step. But if it was so simple, why did she feel light-headed?
* * *
Sarah felt daring as she and Barr walked across the street and entered the golden doors of the most expensive hotel in D.C. She hadn’t wanted to return home when the restaurant closed. She’d accepted Barr’s invitation to his hotel because she’d wanted the night to last as long as it could.
His gaze lingered on her like a promise of more to come. More that she wanted and more that she craved.
His friends followed behind them and Sarah knew Molly would be disappointed. She and Adham had seemed to have some chemistry, but he’d cut the evening short when Barr had mentioned they were leaving.
Excitement shot down Sarah’s spine as the elevator doors closed. Her knees went weak when Barr hit the button for the penthouse suite. Barr was traveling in style. He didn’t just have a hotel room. He had the top-level hotel floor complete with a view of the White House. Everything about the night since she’d met him felt surreal and magical. Even if it was only a fleeting fantasy, she would enjoy it.
One night with Barr wouldn’t turn into a lifelong romance and she didn’t expect it to. He’d mentioned he was from the Middle East traveling on business with his associates, and while he didn’t elaborate, Sarah figured the specifics didn’t matter. She was entering into a brief fling with no future, but she needed to lose herself in a man’s arms. Tonight, she needed to feel wanted and cherished and decided to play along with the fantasy.
Tomorrow, she returned to her life as it was and to the responsibilities and problems and loneliness that awaited her.
Barr ushered her inside and closed the door behind him. His associates didn’t follow him inside and she was grateful for the privacy.
“Can I offer you a drink?” he asked.
No small talk. She might lose her nerve if this didn’t happen quickly. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, long and hot and hard.
It took him a millisecond to respond. Barr was masterful with his mouth. His lips were firm and soft and hot. Very hot. His hands slid from her shoulders, down her back and to her hips. He held her tight enough for her to feel desired and loose enough to move and sway.
The sense of rightness and the depth of the connection shook her. Her heart tripped and her pulse sped up to keep pace. She found herself confronting a fantasy. Mysterious foreigner, luxury hotel suite and one romantic evening she would dream about for years.
She tugged at his tie, struggling to remove it and tossed it to the floor. Then his jacket. With his arms more free, he banded them around her. Clutching his biceps, she felt the muscles flex and she held back a giggle of delight.
This was what she needed. Two strangers, no complicated history and no judgment.
She
