He released her just as suddenly, and smiled to see the combination of shock and desire on her face as he drew back.
‘You’ve got no idea how much I’m going to need that debt paid when I see you at seven tonight,’ he said softly.
And with that, he turned to wink at the unabashedly staring Deb and sauntered towards the exit.
As he reached it he heard Deb’s voice. ‘That was some five minutes, Kate. So, what will it be? Chicken and mung beans? Or do you need something more substantial—a chunk of raw meat, perhaps—to get your strength back?’
RACING HOME AFTER WORK that evening, Kate was kicking herself for not going with her first instinct and simply supplanting Phillip with Scott at the bar. A quick twist of an arrangement already in place. Same bar. Same purpose. Just a different model.
She didn’t know why the invitation to her apartment had popped out of her mouth instead.
Although, thinking back to that hot scene on her desk—God, her desk!—she figured it was probably just as well she’d gone for a more private option. If she couldn’t control herself with Scott in her place of work, with Deb sitting just outside the door, how could she trust herself not to perform her payback sex act in the bar, on her knees under the table?
An image that got her so turned on she switched the water temperature of the shower to cold before getting under the spray.
Lust was still fizzing under her skin when she got out, so choosing something to wear took on a whole new meaning—because it had to be something that could come off easily.
Forgoing underwear, she grabbed a loose, tissue-thin shift in a rich russet colour. Very easy to take off when the moment came. And she hoped the outline of her body under the fine silk would drive Scott a little crazy in the meantime—payback for how crazy he’d driven her.
She left her hair loose. Put on a minimum of make-up. No lipstick—her mouth was going to be all over him, and she didn’t want to leave a trail over his clothes or his skin.
She was so full of nervous energy, she caught herself pacing the floor while she waited for him. At this rate one touch of his clever fingers would have her unravelling—and she was not going to unravel twice in one day! She poured herself a glass of very cold white wine and forced her fidgety limbs onto the couch, trying to summon at least a semblance of composure.
The intercom buzzed at six fifty-nine p.m. and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. This was it.
As she let Scott in she ran her eyes over his body—white T-shirt, jeans. Very cool, very gorgeous. Her eyes kept going. Down to his…
Oh.
Converse All Star sneakers.
Cool, gorgeous…and young.
Those sneakers were not something forty-year-old Phillip would wear.
Twenty-seven. Okay, wake-up call. What the hell had she been thinking? She forced her eyes away from his feet, up to his eyes, preparing to tell him the deal was off.
But the look on his face gave her pause.
Kate had never seen such taut grimness—and she’d seen some very grim faces in the courtroom. His look got more taut and even more grim as he ran his eyes over her dress, all the way down to her bare feet and back up.
‘Is something wrong?’ she asked, alarmed.
‘Yes,’ he said, and his voice was every bit as grim as his face. ‘I’ve been replaying that scene in your office in my head all afternoon, and I’m so desperate to get my hands on you I can’t think straight. So let’s skip the pleasantries.’
He nodded at the glass of wine on the coffee table.
‘I don’t want the drink you’re probably going to offer me. I’m not into mood music, so don’t bother asking me what I want to listen to. No need for a tour of the apartment—I can see it’s nice and modern and open-plan. Don’t give a rat’s about the view. And the only thing I want to eat is you. Again.’ Strained smile. ‘Now, are we doing the ground rules before or after I get my orgasm?’
‘Before,’ Kate said, any thought of backing away from their agreement obliterated by the heat of his words, the wild rush of desire that bolted through her.
‘Then let’s do it fast. Before I explode.’
The air was thick with lust as she guided him to the dining table, handed him the pages she’d prepared for their signatures.
‘So we’re—what?’ he asked. ‘Signing a contract?’
She nodded. ‘With a contract we’ll both know where we stand, what we can expect. It keeps things uncomplicated.’
Scott laughed, but didn’t refuse, so Kate started running through the clauses.
She didn’t even make it through the first one before Scott cut her off. ‘Katie—you want a contract, then a contract it is. But it’s a sex contract—not a pre-nup or a business merger. And it’s not even legally enforceable, as we both know. So can you just give me the basics? Then I’ll sign—there’s no way I won’t—and we can move on to implementing it. Because if I have to see your nipples poking against that dress for much longer without touching you, I am going to go freaking insane.’
The sudden throb between Kate’s thighs had her squirming on her chair.
‘I see I’m not the only one eager to get to the implementation stage,’ he said, and with an inarticulate I give up growl reached out to cup one of her breasts through the silk.
She felt her nipple tighten even further. He pinched it gently, once. She gasped, he groaned, and then he wrenched his hand away and shot out of his seat.
‘Going to need a drink after all,’ he said. ‘No—don’t get up. Faster if I get it myself while you start going through the rules.’ He headed for her kitchen, with a final prompt. ‘Come on, Katie. Get it done for pity’s sake. I can hear you, I can see you—go.’
‘Right,’ she said. Basics. Basics were good. Fast was good. The sooner they agreed on the terms, the sooner she could have him.
Cupboard opening…clacking of a glass on the kitchen counter.
‘Two nights per week,’ she said.
Fridge door opening…closing. ‘What if I want more?’
‘Two per week is the minimum. We can negotiate additional days as required.’
He was pouring. ‘Okay. Next.’
‘Any costs incurred in pursuit of mutual sexual pleasure to be split fifty-fifty.’
He was back with his wine. ‘I can live with that.’
‘No public displays of affection.’
He was sitting. ‘Done,’ he said. ‘Nauseating stuff, PDAs.’
‘No kissing unless it’s sex-related.’
Scott held up a ‘stop’ hand. ‘Hang on. When is kissing between an unrelated man and woman ever not sex-related?’
She was blushing—she could feel it. Because this was an embarrassing clause. It presupposed he would want to kiss her outside of sex. But kisses led to affection. And trouble lay down that road. So, embarrassing or not, it was best to have it covered in advance.
‘I mean no kisses hello, goodbye—that sort of thing,’ she said. ‘Only kisses that lead to or are the result of sex.’
Scott