Some time later, he withdrew his mouth from hers again and whispered. “You never said these were off limits.”
Just as she was about to ask what “these” he was referring to, he tugged her knit top off her shoulders. And before she could pull in a quick intake of breath he had the front catch of her bra undone and the mounds of her breasts poured out.
And then his mouth was there, latching one in his mouth with a quickness that astounded her. She let out a deep moan. Not of pain but of pleasure. Her hardened nipples became a sensuous feast to his mouth and she murmured incoherently, words she didn’t know the meaning, didn’t much care for a definition. The only thing she was fully aware of beside the fact that her panties were wet, literally soaked, was that his mouth was lethal. It should be classified as utterly dangerous.
He released one nipple and immediately sought out the other and she let out a stifled cry, unable to ignore just how he was making her feel; relentlessly bringing it to the forefront of her mind that it had been fourteen months, three days and twelve hours since she’d gotten laid. Hell yes she was counting and was wondering how much longer she could last.
And then he lifted his head and took her mouth again in a gentler fashion this time but no less thorough. Moments later when he released her mouth it took all her control to just stand there and say nothing while he straightened back her clothes - snapping her bra back and pulling her top back up in place to cover her shoulders. When that was completed he leaned down and placed a kiss right there in her chest, in the V-neckline of her top.
He stood staring at her and she wondered what he was thinking. She watched as he shoved a hand through his hair while blowing out a deep breath. And then he said, his gaze locked with hers. “I want you even more now than before. But like I said, you will be the one who’ll ask for it and when you do, I’ll be more than eager to give you what you want. What we both want.
“It’s not going to happen, Mike.”
He gave her a smile that set butterflies off in her already stirred stomach. He took a step back and then crossed the room to get his jacket. When he returned he reached out and with the back of his hand caressed her cheek and said softly. “Thank you for such an explosive kiss. Good night.”
Moments later, after the door had closed behind him, she was still standing there motionless, practically in a trance, waiting for the earth to stop spinning so she could get her bearings, and recollect her common sense.
The battle was on and she had no intention of losing.
* * *
“Would you take a look at this report for a minute?”
Sonya glanced up from the papers she had spread on her desk into the face of Theo Crosby, the office’s wanna-be-lover-boy. She inwardly groaned. Lately, he would use any excuse to seek her out and say some flirty remark to her.
For some reason he seemed determined to get into her panties – like someone else she knew. But in her opinion, Mike had a better chance than Theo and the chances Mike had were slim to none. That said very little for Theo. What she saw as the man’s prime problem was that he thought too much of himself. But then so did Mike, she reminded herself. So what was the difference? Why did Mike have the ability to push her buttons when Theo totally turned her off? If she was going strictly by race then Theo should have an advantage since he was a brother. And he wasn’t bad looking and always dressed nice.
But she knew without thinking a lot about it just what was missing. Sexual chemistry. It was something she and Mike had an overabundance of.
“I’ll look at it later, Theo. I’m sort of busy right now,” she finally said, glancing back down at her own report.
He threw the folder down on her desk anyway, right in the middle of her papers and then leaned forward, flattened his palms down on her desk and got right in her face and said. “Come on baby-doll, loosen up. It’s almost lunchtime. You need to take a break.”
“I agree and that’s why I’m here.”
Sonya recognized that deep, husky voice. However, just to make sure she wasn’t imagining things she shifted in her chair to glance over Theo’s shoulder. Mike stood in her doorway bigger than life and looking sexy as ever. The sight of him almost made her breathless. She hadn’t seen him since Saturday night, and that was a day short of being a week ago . . . not that she was keeping up with it or anything.
She somehow found her voice. “Mike,” she greeted, coming to her feet and wondering why he was there. For Theo’s sake she tried not sounding too surprised since she didn’t want him to think Mike’s visit was unexpected.
Mike cut his gaze from Theo to her. “Your secretary said it was okay for me to come on back.” He then looked back at Theo, although his next comment was meant for her. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything important, but I’m here to take you to lunch.”
She lifted a brow. The only other time Mike had ever dropped by the office to take her to lunch was when the two of them were pretending to have an affair for Jesse and Carla’s sake. And even then they had met downstairs in the lobby. She could just imagine the speculation that will start around the office with him showing up like this to take her to lunch.
“No, you’re not interrupting anything. I just need to grab my purse,” she said. She stood and glanced at Theo, ignoring the scowl on his face and decided to introduce the two men. “Theo, this is Mike, a friend of mine. Mike, this is Theo, a co-worker.”
She could tell from the way Theo glared at her that he didn’t like the way the introductions had been made. And to prove he hadn’t liked it, he didn’t bother moving away from her desk to shake the hand Mike offered him. Instead his gaze went to her. “What about my report?”
There was an edge to his voice that she really didn’t appreciate. “You can leave your report here and I’ll take a look at it later like I said I would.”
Evidently deciding he didn’t want her to review his report after all, he came around her desk to gather up his papers. “So that’s the way it is with you?” he said in a low but sharp voice for her ears only.
She knew just what he was asking. Some brothers had a problem with seeing a sistah date outside her race. But then it was vice versa when it came to some sistahs when they saw a brother do it. Personally, she tried minding her own business and had never given interracial dating a thought . . . until she’d met Mike. But regardless, she didn’t owe Theo, or anyone else for that matter, an explanation on her choice of a date and she didn’t like being put into the position that she did.
Sonya met Theo’s hard gaze with one of her own. “The way it is for me, Theo, is whatever way I decide to call it.”
“You’ve never gone out with me,” he accused in a low voice that almost sounded like a childish pout.
She leaned closer to him and whispered. “Maybe you ought to wonder why.”
She then straightened and glanced over his shoulder. Mike seemed rather annoyed and the look he was giving her could probably melt stone. There was no reason for him to be upset and she couldn’t help wondering just what his problem was. He was the one who had dropped by out of the clear blue sky after ignoring her for nearly a week.
Theo stalked out of her office. And she meant stalked, like a little kid who couldn’t have things his way. He was a thirty-four-year old man but was acting like he was a four-year-old little boy. He really needed to grow up.
She glanced over at Mike after putting her purse straps across her shoulder. “I’m ready.”
“Sorry if I caused a stir between you and that guy?”
She tilted her head when she came to stand in front of him. There was not one regretful look in his eyes. “No, you’re not sorry.”
“Okay, I’m not.”
She was a little surprised by his admittance. “Why?”
“We’ll talk about it over lunch.”
She looked directly into his blue eyes. “And speaking of lunch . . . why are you here?”
“I thought you and I could go somewhere to eat while you fill me in on how the plans for the party are going.”
“Why didn’t you call?”
A smile flashed across his lips. “Because I got it from a very reliable source that you like surprises.”
* * *
“You didn’t have to invite me to lunch to get an update on Jesse and Carla’s party,” Sonya said, a short while later after they had finished lunch and the waiter had cleared their table.
Mike glanced over at her. He had suggested a restaurant across town that was known for their Thai selections. They had discovered a while back that they both enjoyed Asian foods. He took a sip of his drink and then said. “I know but I wanted to. Besides, we haven’t talked in a while.”
“You saw me last weekend.”
He nodded. “Yes, but before I left your place Saturday night, talking was the last thing on my mind.”
He decided not to mention anything about the cold shower he’d taken that night, which really hadn’t helped. He had awakened in the middle of the night and prowled around his condo, naked as a jay bird and horny as hell. He had convinced himself he could go a week without calling her, without seeking her out, or looking into her face. But this morning when he’d gotten out of bed, he’d been like a man addicted. He had wanted to see her. He had needed to see her.