"Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm a big chicken when it comes to relationships. I put on a good, confident air, but the truth is, I'm a coward. Especially with men I find interesting."
I walked toward her, knowing full well that I wasn't going to be able to stop whatever happened once I got close enough to touch her.
"If you're an example of a coward then . . ." I took hold of her face and lowered my mouth over hers. I could have devoured her right there in my office, in front of the windows, but I held back. It had taken me more than a few weeks to accept the reality that I'd never see her again, and I wasn't going to be careless this time. I wasn't going to allow myself to fall for it again. A certain amount of unpredictability was fun, but Raini took it to a whole new level. I wasn't going to be caught with my pants down again. At least not metaphorically. Literally was another thing altogether. My cock was already pressing urgently at my fly, asking for another taste of what had turned out to be the sweetest pussy ever. Just like she had mentioned after our first time together, about setting the bar high for the future, she had set the bar so high for me, I hadn't fallen into bed with anyone else since that weekend.
I lifted my mouth from hers. She peered up at me with a dreamy look that I could almost have believed meant she'd been waiting for my kiss. But I knew that was just wishful thinking.
"I left my address on a sticky note on your desk. If you're not busy, why don't you come by tonight. I'll make some spaghetti from a jar. We could pick up where we left off at the ranch."
I didn't answer at first.
"You don't have to say yes or no right now. Just think about it." She lifted up to her toes and kissed me once more.
I lowered my arms and had to ball my fists to keep from reaching for her again as she slipped out of my embrace.
She glanced over at the items spread out on my desk. "And bring one of those boxes with you. I like to stay involved with the family business." Her long, tanned legs were in perfect contrast to the pastel green of her sundress.
As she headed to the door, I noticed a new koala bear tattoo on her shoulder blade. Who was I kidding? I was going to see her tonight. No matter how much the reasonable side of my brain said stay away, the other side, the side that seemed to have total control of my physical needs, said go. But this time, the game would be on my turf.
"Wait." I walked over to my desk and picked up the sticky notepad. I pulled off her address and wrote mine down on the next piece. I walked over to her and pressed the sticky end of the note right over her breast, taking the time to rub my thumb over it to make certain it was extra secure. "You come to my place. No spaghetti from a jar. Just you and me picking up where we left off. I don't need a yes or no. But now you'll know where to find me. And if you wear this green dress, I won't complain."
Raini took the paper off her breast and folded it in her fist. She walked out without a word.
Chapter Twenty-One
Raini
I walked through the glass doors of the apartment building. It was an old, well kept building that had far more character than the modern buildings it was sandwiched between. It was not nearly as high end as I'd expected and that made me smile. A snooty high rise with pompous decor would have disappointed me. It wouldn't have gone well with the image I had of Zane in my head. As successful as he was, he seemed anything but snooty or pompous.
I stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the tenth floor. I smoothed down the skirt of my green dress. It was a little summery for evening, but Zane seemed to like it.
An hour after I'd left his office and sat myself down in my studio to do homework, I'd convinced myself not to meet with him. The second he kissed me in his office, I knew why I'd shown up there in the first place. I had missed him. Everything about him excited me. The way he looked, his dry sense of humor, his intelligence and, of course, the way he had mastered my body in just one weekend. He knew what I wanted more than I knew myself.
I walked down the quiet hallway to the door of his apartment and stood in front of it.
Maybe sex was all this was about. Maybe I just wanted to be taken to the height of pleasure again. Or maybe there was more to it. My thinking was muddled on my motives, and my reasoning was muddied even more by the anticipation of a wild evening of sex with Zane.
I knocked and footsteps grew louder. The door opened. Zane's long hair was combed back off his face. The ever changing color of his eyes had settled in on a light brown. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, exposing the hollow at the base of his throat.
I opened my mouth to say hello but before one syllable had left my mouth, Zane had me in his arms. His urgent, fevered kiss assured me that polite, casual conversation was going to be skipped this evening, and since his kisses sent me immediately into the usual state of semi-conscious delirium, I was fine skipping small talk.
He ripped his mouth away from mine. I fell forward as if my lips had been magnetically attracted to his. His hand wrapped firmly around my wrist, and he led me down a short hallway and into his bedroom. The massive bed was positioned in front of the windows, which afforded a view of the entire city. Multicolored lights spread out far and wide below.
Zane spun me around in his arms so my back was to him. "New tattoo?" He kissed the koala tattoo I'd recently had drawn on my shoulder.
"Yes. Do you like it?"
"I like every inch of you, koala covered or not." He unfastened the knot on my halter top dress. The bodice fell down. The zipper on the skirt came next.
"Since you asked me to wear the dress, I sort of expected to be wearing it for awhile."
"I just wanted you to wear it, so I could take it off." The dress dropped to my feet, revealing a little surprise I had planned for him.
"I decided to go panty free tonight."
"Good decision." He stooped down behind me and lightly bit my ass. It was just a teasing nibble of my flesh between his teeth but it sent a surge of wetness through my pussy.
"I was hoping one of those boxes would be sitting on the bed. I thought it might be fun to give it a try."
"The box is under the bed. The contents are waiting at the bedside. Unless, of course, it was the box itself that excited you."
I laughed and spun around to face him. He was still fully clothed as he wrapped his arms around me. "What is it about standing naked in your arms that makes me want to melt into a damn puddle?"
"Then I guess I shouldn't let go. Although, I did have some fun things planned."
"I'll stay solid when you let go. I promise."
He lowered his arms, and I pretended to collapse in a swoon. His reflexes were sharp, and he grabbed me before I could finish my act. The momentary look of concern on his face made it impossible for me to hide a smile. He shook his head and released me.
He walked to the side of his bed and pushed off his shoes. The shirt hugged his wide shoulders and as my gaze dropped down to the small waist and tight ass bound in his jeans, I swayed on my feet. Only this time it was real. I was practically out of breath just thinking about what he had planned.
Zane picked up a satin bag off the dresser. My curious, anxious gaze followed him as he walked to a panel of switches next to the closet door. The building might have been historical, but there was plenty of technology inside of his bedroom. He flicked on some mild music, and the lights dimmed to a warm glow.
"I guess this is what they call the ultimate bachelor's pad," I said it lightly, but there was a hitch in my throat.
Zane peered sideways at me as he flipped another switch to open the closet doors. He disappeared inside and seconds later a strange looking chair rolled out that looked a bit like a tattoo chair. It seemed there were separate sections for each limb to rest on. There were wide leather cuffs attached to straps on the arm rests and on the feet of the chair, below the two panels where the sitter's thighs would rest. A small, nervous laugh escaped me, and I covered my mouth to silence it.
Zane fished through the satin bag and pulled out several items, including a satin blindfold and a smooth white vibrator. He stuck the vibrator in a hole that had been designed into the chair between the thigh panels.
My legs wobbled beneath me, and this time, it seemed, if I collapsed it wouldn't be an act.
Zane walked over and stood in front of me. He yanked off his shirt and slid off his jeans. Seeing his erection was all I needed to make the room spin. He grabbed my arm to keep me upright.
"Everything all right?" he asked. He touched his hard body against mine and lifted my chin with his fingers. "That time it was real, wasn't it?"
I could barely answer. "Yes."
He held up the blindfold. "Do you trust me, baby?"
I gazed up at him, thinking there was no other man in the world for me except the copper haired dream standing in front of me. "If I did, this wouldn't be nearly as much fun."
His eyes glinted with a smile. "Holy hell, woman, am I ever going to ask you something and not be totally stunned by your response?"
"I hope not." I reached down between us and stroked his cock. "Now, if you don't get this started soon, I'm going to come just standing here next to you."
He kissed me once, then his hand wrapped around my arm and he led me forward to the chair.
"On your stomach."
I straddled the chair, facing the long, narrow back. He placed my arms against the arm rests and hit a switch. The back of the chair lowered down so that my body was parallel to the ground. Another switch moved the arm rests so that my arms were straight out at my sides. Zane crouched down in front of the chair and watched me with a fevered gaze as he wrapped the cuffs around my wrists. Then he reached forward and slid the blindfold over my eyes.