Tom came out of nowhere and stuck his hand in my face. I pulled myself back to reality and smiled, standing up to shake his hand.
"Schmoozing again?"
"I met a woman I think we might be able to work with."
I nodded, rubbing my hands together. "I knew you would have something for us to work with. I can always count on you."
"That's what partners are for."
I glanced toward the seat where she'd been sitting. It was empty. I looked around, searching, but she'd disappeared.
"Who are you looking for?"
I shook my head and looked back at Tom.
"I thought I saw someone I knew." Liar. "How's your daughter?" I didn't ask for a name because I kept forgetting what he called her. How old was she now...? I didn't know that either. I was a poor friend if I couldn't keep track of his life, but then again, we were business partners first and foremost.
"She's good, thank you. Traveling up tomorrow. She got her MBA now."
I nodded absently, trying not to look like I wasn't searching the crowd. Yes, I was being juvenile. Yes, I could have anyone I wanted and it didn't matter who the woman was if it was just a body to get off. And by extension, yes that made me sound like an asshole. But this one was different. I didn't know if it was that she looked like more than just an ass or a pair of tits, or if it was because for the first time since my divorce a woman had made me feel worth more than just a cock with a lot of cash, but I wanted her. Specifically.
"Oh, that's Sonya Schiffer. We have to show face," Tom said. I looked in the direction he was pointing, didn't register anything, and shook my head.
"I think I'm going to go grab something to eat."
Tom frowned. "You never eat at these things."
I raised my hand to my head. "I forgot to eat earlier and my blood sugar is dipping. You don't want me stealing the show by passing out in front of everyone, do you?" I nudged him and grinned. He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. Maybe he didn't think I was funny. Maybe he wasn't buying it. I didn't care.
"I'll catch up with you later. I just need to get something in the system."
I patted my stomach but when I said 'something' I didn't really mean food. Tom passed me to make nice with Sonya Someone and I made my way to the buffet. If she wasn't here she would be at the champagne buffet. If she wasn't there... I didn't know.
I spotted her at the champagne buffet just as I was running out of options. The dress she wore was royal blue. Golden jewelry. Fitting. She defined the word Goddess. I walked up to her.
"Are you enjoying the show?" I asked.
She smiled at me, her eyes dark and drowning deep, and nodded.
"You know, I own the model company that."
She raised her eyebrows. "Really. So you're in the body business."
I chuckled and scratched the back of my head. "Yeah, something like that."
She nodded and looked around. "Looks like business is good."
I looked her up and down. Curves. Hips drew my eyes to her secrets. Breasts that made my mouth water. And she knew it. When she noticed I was looking she shifted her weight from one leg to the other, turned her body to me. She wanted me to look.
"You should be on the ramp." Of course, there was nothing about her that would qualify her as a model. She wasn't sickly skinny or taller than I was. But that wasn't the point.
"Oh, I can't do that."
I frowned. Was she going to be modest and say she wasn't pretty? "I think you could pull off modeling."
She shrugged. "Maybe, but if I joined your company you would be my boss. There's no sleeping with the boss."
I blinked at her, at a loss for words. Had she just said that? Straight up? She looked at me with an open face, an innocent smile, and eyes that told me I would be a fool if I believed at all that she wasn't capable of dirty things.
Chapter 3: Megan
He was eating from the palm of my hand. If you show your body to a man he's like putty in your hands. There are very few men that can look away from a pair of breasts staring them in the face and say no, anyway. That was honorable. I wasn't looking for honor tonight.
It was sweet that he was trying to throw compliments about being a model my way. We both knew that would never happen, but he was trying. That counted for something, at least.
I had to admit I did feel like a million dollars standing there. A million dollars playing with fire. Brian was around forty now if he was anywhere near my dad's age, and my dad was around here something. He didn't know I was, though, so he wouldn't just recognize me. I'd come up a day earlier than I was supposed to. My dad was a man and he wouldn't be looking for my face in the crowd.
"How long is this night still going to be?" I asked. I wanted to go home. I wanted to go home with Brian.
"It's still a long event, I'm afraid. I can call you a cab if you would like, though."
My heart sank with the ugly weight of disappointment. He was so eager to ship me off. Was it because I was too young? Or because he knew who I was?
"Of course, it will be a pity to see you leave before the real fun starts."
I shivered when he said that. His words weren't that special but the way he looked at me when he said 'the real fun' made me think we weren't talking about the after parties that usually happened after the fashion shows were over.
"You think it will be worth my while to stay?"
He nodded immediately without giving it any thought.
"Absolutely."
He smiled at me. I smiled at him. In those two smiles, something passed between us that came dangerously close to the point of no return.
"Will you escort me to the party when it's time?" What I really wanted was to be alone with him. Brian looked at his watch. It was a golden Rolex, screaming out how much money he had. Of course, that wasn't what it was about for me, but the fact that he wasn't just an older guy but a loaded older guy made it all the more exciting. I grew up with enough money in my life but my father had never spoilt me.
Maybe he'd thought it would make a difference. Judging by what I was planning on doing before the end of the night it really hadn't made that much of a difference.
"Of course. It's still some time before the party starts - the guests need to leave and then the rest of us need to mingle. We're looking at an hour."
I looked around. "And the rest of you hang around here drinking champagne for an hour?"
He shook his head. "Some of us have a look at the view from the terrace."
"Some of us?"
He grinned, looking sheepish. "It's not really open to anyone. But the view is spectacular from there."
This was where I needed to make my move. I wrapped a hand around his arm.
"Will you show me?"
He hesitated. If it wasn't open to anyone I would be alone with him. The thought made me shiver again.
"Okay."
Score. I left my hand right where it was on his arm and he led me through the crowd and then away. The chatter and the music faded to a dim background sound and the silence of the night took over. Brian led me around a wall that jutted out into the middle of nowhere in a presumptuous pose of design and then we were completely alone. The terrace was a wooden deck that jutted out over a cliff and the city lay stretched ahead at our feet, lights twinkling, the world sleeping.
"This really is beautiful," I said. I hadn't expected it to be so breathtaking. Brian was looking at me when I turned my face to him. He moved my hair to the side, his fingers touching my skin and leaving a trail of fire behind. I trembled. Now or never. If I didn't make a move I was going to chicken out and regret it for the rest of my life. I stepped into Brian and pushed my lips against his. He froze against me and I was scared for a moment that he would push me away. But he'd brought me here and I was sure he'd picked up what I'd been putting down.
It took only a moment before he started kissing me back. He grabbed my arms with his hands and pulled me against him. His lips moved against mine and then his tongue was in my mouth. He didn't taste like alcohol at all - only peppermint and himself. Hadn't he been drinking? I was the only one with sufficient alcohol in my system. He was doing all of this completely sober. I felt the stubble on his lips, his fingers digging into my skin and his erection in his pants.
It awoke something inside of me that overpowered the nerves of the inexperienced. My body knew what it wanted, what was happening. Heat flooded my body and pooled between my legs. I moaned into Brian's mouth.
His hands left my arms and found my breasts and there was no going back. I wanted him. More now than ever. Brian marched me backward until my back hit the wall we'd rounded to find the terrace in the first place. Some sort of creeper plant hung around my head and tickled my shoulders. I ignored it.
Brian slid his hands down my body, over my hips, and onto my bare leg. His body was pressed up against mine, grinding his hunger against my hipbone.
A hand found its way under my dress, pushing it up as he moved up to where I wanted him to be. When his fingers pressed against my panties I gasped. I pulled them to the side and pushed them into me. I moaned, trying to keep quiet. I'd done all of this. I'd done everything besides sex. I'd wanted to save my virginity for someone that was worth that special part of me.
I was willing to give it to Brian.
He removed his fingers for a moment and pushed his hips away from me, fumbling with his belt and then his zipper. He freed himself from the confines of his pants and I stared. Hard. Veined. Eager. There was nothing middle-aged about his manhood. The tip glistened with lust and I was right on board with that.