The large room was teeming with her coworkers, their spouses, and other guests, everyone enjoying the free-flowing bubbly and the opulent spread. Three buffet tables held a dozen types of hors d’oeuvres, salmon, roast beef, side dishes, champagne, and the decadent desserts, all provided by one of Portland’s premiere catering companies.

  Tonight’s open house marked the move into the new larger space, but was also a celebration of the firm’s growth and success over the past year. It was wonderful that her boss made sure all employees felt free to share in that success, right along with many of the firm’s important clients. Amber thought again how lucky she was to be working there, and how dead wrong Charles had been about her coming to Portland. She vowed to take her irresponsible brother’s opinion with a grain of salt.

  And of course that led her thoughts right back to Dinitra again.

  She had finally reached her sister that afternoon, just before she started her shift at the dance club. They had only been able to speak for a minute or two, just long enough for Dinitra to tell her that she’d been staying with one of the other dancers, a girl who lived just three blocks from the club. The girls worked the same shift and walked home together. The news helped Amber relax a little, but her sister was still resistant to any thought of moving west.

  “Now that I’m making more money, I can easily afford a two-bedroom place,” Amber told her. “I could even help you get an associate’s degree. Or remember when you wanted to be a dental hygienist? I could pay your tuition to trade school.”

  There was a long pause at the other end.

  “I gotta get backstage and get dressed.”

  “You mean undressed, don’t you?” Amber had squeezed her eyes closed, immediately regretting the immature jab. That wasn’t like her at all. “Sorry,” she murmured.

  “Listen. I’m grateful and all,” Dinitra finally said, “but I’m not ready to leave Denver. I like my job. The money is good. The guys are friendly. Stop worrying about me, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  But that was easier said than done. She’d practically turned herself inside out this evening going over and over their conversation. Was there something else she could have said to convince Dinitra she was better off moving to Portland? She’d just have to keep working on it.

  Meanwhile, she was also struggling to come to terms with her feelings about Ray leaving. As of today, he was off the payroll, and his replacement as head of IT was a much more typical computer geek—short and balding with thick glasses. The guy even wore a pocket protector!

  Across the room a knot of people shifted and Amber finally caught sight of her quarry. Looking impossibly handsome in a charcoal suit jacket and black slacks, Ray was talking quietly with Saundra. Their heads were bent close together as if they were sharing a private joke. She made herself turn away as her boss slid her perfectly manicured hand up Ray’s chest and gave her signature throaty laugh. Obviously Saundra wasn’t upset with Ray for accepting the position at Gamble Electronics.

  Like everyone else at the semi-formal affair, Saundra Moon was dressed to impress. Her burgundy cocktail dress showed just enough tanned cleavage to be tastefully alluring. For the first time, Amber allowed herself to wonder if her attractive, forty-something boss and Ray were having a fling. Maybe that was the real reason he was leaving the firm. Since he would no longer be an employee, Saundra wouldn’t be breaking her own policy. The graphic images that popped into Amber’s head gave her a queasy feeling that was just shy of full-blown jealousy.

  She shook her head and took a big gulp from her champagne glass. What if it were true? What right did she have to be jealous? So she and Ray had made out for a few minutes one night more than six weeks ago. So his kisses still haunted her dreams more often than she cared to admit. And even though they’d spent that pleasant day together in Salem, and found some common ground, in truth she barely knew the guy. She really had no claim on him at all. If he wanted to flirt like crazy with Saundra it was none of her concern.

  And yet, at their last meeting on the day of the office move, it had seemed that something had sparked again between them. She’d half-expected him to call her after that, maybe even ask her out. But in the two weeks since then he’d kept his distance. She knew he had his hands full training the new IT guy and troubleshooting move-related network issues. Maybe he had just been too busy.

  Or maybe he had simply lost interest.

  Funny, but the opposite seemed to have happened to her. The longer she toyed with the idea of being with Ray, of being intimate with him, the more the notion occupied her thoughts and fantasies. Sometimes there was just herself and Ray, and sometimes a second man joined them. Just the thought of her favorite daydream made her body go all oozy.

  Steadying herself against the table, she forced her attention back to the party. Her eyes focused on the wealth of goodies spread before her. To her embarrassment, she discovered she’d already put almost a dozen little cream filled pastry puffs on her plate. How had that happened? A big smear of the white stuff had gotten on her thumb. She licked it away.

  “That looks delicious.”

  Even before she turned around, Amber knew whose deep, sexy voice that was at her shoulder. Her breath hitched. When she let her eyes move up to Ray’s face, he was wearing a teasing grin. He smelled of her favorite Polo cologne, and his proximity caused a whole new commotion in her midsection.

  “Hi, Ray.” Much to her dismay, her voice came out all breathy. She probably sounded as shook up as she felt.

  Now she saw that he wasn’t alone. Behind Ray stood his cousin, Cal. He had cleaned up nicely for the occasion and was better looking than she remembered, with his dark eyes, broad shoulders, and big, rawboned hands. He had a shy but hopeful smile plastered on his face.

  “You remember my cousin? Cal, this is Saundra’s talented and gorgeous admin assistant, Amber Jackson.”

  Amber felt herself blush as Cal nodded at her. Had Ray told his cousin about her book collection? Or about them making out? Of course he had. Men did that, didn’t they? God, she wanted to die.

  “Hi. Sorry again about scaring you that time.” He shuffled his feet a little as he spoke and his eyes didn’t quite meet hers before shifting away. He was obviously painfully shy. It must be hard on him to be here in this room full of strangers, Amber thought. She gave him an especially friendly smile.

  “You’re forgiven. Nice to officially meet you, Cal.” Amber set her glass down and held out her hand toward him. He took it somewhat awkwardly, but his palm was firm against hers, more substantial than she had expected. As she took her hand back, she turned toward Ray.

  He seemed to be studying her, his dark eyes smoldering with some unnamed emotion.

  “Actually, Ray, I just found out today that I got the promotion to assistant manager.”

  “Really? That’s great. Congratulations, Amber.”

  Pleased at his acknowledgement, Amber teased back. “Why thank you. Just think, if you were staying at Crescent, I’d be your immediate supervisor. Are you sure you aren’t having second thoughts about leaving?”

  “Well, intriguing as that scenario would be, I’m fully committed at Gamble.” His eyes roved over her. “But if I were going to have any second thoughts about leaving, it would be because of how hot you look in that dress.”

  Whoa! Where had that sudden rush of heat come from? Amber bit back a nervous giggle. Was it the close warmth of his body or the frank admiration in his gaze that made her feel like the room’s thermostat had suddenly gone haywire? Or maybe she should have stopped at just one glass of champagne? Her irritation at Dinitra had made it too easy to fill her glass a second and third time. She took a half step back. Immediately, his gaze sharpened. He leaned in close, his lips almost touching her ear.

  “You look fantastic tonight, Amber.” His breath skimmed her cheek as his hand closed gently around her upper arm, his thumb brushing a little circle on her bare skin. From that tiny spot on her arm, delicious gooseflesh rippled over her whole body. His gaze dropped lower, skimming over her revealing neckline with open approval. And just like that, Amber felt her nipples harden.

  “Th—Thank you.” The halter-style cocktail dress showed a lot more skin than she was used to exposing. That morning in the department store dressing room her reflection had seemed more glamorous than sexy. But Ray’s frank perusal made her want to tug the top of the dress up to her chin. She felt herself blushing to the roots of her hair.

  * * * *

  Ray’s cock sprang to life as Amber stared up at him, bright spots of color on her smooth cheeks. Did she have any idea what a knock-out she was in the form-fitting, low-cut dress? The tops of her magnificent breasts pushed up proudly, the dark blue fabric of the dress setting off to perfection the warm brown color of her skin. The waist of the garment nipped in, accentuating her curvy bottom. Silver-blue stilettos gave definition to her trim ankles and calves. And she’d left her hair down for once. The soft waves brushing her bare shoulders made her look younger, less severe. Even in the yellow tube top and short shorts last spring, she hadn’t looked as luscious as she did tonight.

  He found himself seriously rethinking his decision to leave well enough alone. He’d come here tonight with a well-laid plan—eat some tasty and expensive finger foods, flirt a little with Saundra, and say his brief goodbyes to the few people he would actually miss. He had specifically decided to avoid getting sucked into any kind of big scene with Amber. That was, until he spotted her in this damn, flame-blue dress.

  Lord knew he’d been over and over it in his mind these past two weeks. There was something about this woman that made him want to know more about her, spend more time with her, touch her, kiss her. Be with her. And that was exactly the problem. He had a hunch that starting something with her wouldn’t end with just a casual fling. And he really couldn’t afford the time or energy that he’d need to devote to a real relationship with her. His new job would demand all his attention for some time to come, and weekends would belong to Gran and Granddad. He’d have little to offer her, especially with the long commute between them. Besides, from what Amber had said, she was equally committed to learning her new job and helping out her sister. Far better to cut his losses now than to let himself get more fully involved.

  And then there was the other thing, the sex-with-two-guys thing. While he had to admit that the idea was initially intriguing, the simple fact was he was a traditional kind of guy in the sack. One man, one woman. No-holds-barred smokin’ hot sex. He wasn’t exactly sure he was ready to expand his love-making repertoire to include sharing his bed partner with another man.

  So, he’d come to the party tonight with everything neatly sorted out in his mind, planning to be completely immune to Amber’s charms.

  But after seeing her in that come-and-get-me dress and feeling the heat of her silky skin beneath his fingers, all his careful, sensible plans seemed to go up in a puff of flame-blue smoke.

  She had just popped some kind of little cream puff into her mouth, and ended up with some of the white filling decorating her full, crimson lips. The sight made him go weak in the knees. The urge to haul her up close and kiss her mouth clean surged through him like a tsunami.

  To hell with all his considerations. This might be his last chance to be with her. Maybe he could make her forget he was only one guy.

  “You look pretty good yourself,” she said, “and so does your brother. Er―cousin.” Her big eyes focused for a moment on Cal before she tipped her glass up and drained it dry.

  Ray noticed for the first time that she was leaning pretty heavily against the table. How much champagne had she had?

  He bent close again and whispered, “It’s a perfect evening for a stroll. I could use some fresh air. Care to join me?”

  Her little pink tongue flicked out and ran along her lips, licking the cream away. She cocked her head, looking uncertain. “I don’t know. I should probably stand by in case Saundra needs me.”

  “Everything’s going smoothly, Amber. You set it all up perfectly, and now your job is done.”

  “Oh.” She gave him a wide smile. “Really? Are you sure? Let’s drink to that.” She picked up her empty glass and made a grab for an open champagne bottle. He intercepted it, and then eased the stem of the glass from her fingers.

  “Let’s take that walk now. Did you bring a jacket?”

  She nodded and pointed toward the small office that was acting as a cloak room. “My wrap. It’s kind of a silvery color.”

  He took her by the hand and led her through the crowd, aware of eyes following them. He hoped to avoid having to stop and converse with any of Amber’s coworkers. Her being tipsy at the open house was hardly an auspicious start to her new position as assistant manager. Saundra, especially, would be disappointed.

  Two minutes later they had collected her purse and her wrap without anyone being the wiser. She let him lead her through the door to the lobby and the elevator. He could feel her racing pulse against his palm.

  Chapter 7

  Ten minutes later, they sat across from each other in a cute little all-night diner six blocks from Crescent’s building. Their waitress had just filled their coffee cups and Ray watched as Amber added a generous splash of cream and stirred it in with a bit too much enthusiasm. Creamy coffee sloshed over the edge of the cup. She didn’t seem to notice. Her wrap had slipped down behind her onto the booth seat. The fluorescent lighting in the place tinged her cheeks and shoulders a pale green. Even so, she was a vision in the blue dress. He tried not to stare at her cleavage.

  “Are you feeling okay?” he asked, reaching across to blot up the spill with a paper napkin.

  She took her eyes off what he was doing and nodded. “Better. The fresh air was nice.” She scrunched up her nose. “But these shoes aren’t exactly made for trekking around on concrete.”

  “But they look amazing.”

  “Thanks.” She ducked her head.

  “Do you want something to eat? Maybe some scrambled eggs?”

  “No. I think I must have eaten quite a bit at the party.”

  “You don’t remember?”

  A scowl marred her forehead. “I guess I was distracted.”

  “By?”

  A blush of color stole over her cheeks, creating an unfortunate contrast to the bad lighting. Her gaze shifted to one side, and she took a deep drink of her coffee before she answered.

  “Oh. Uh, I was thinking about Dinitra. My little sister. She and I had sort of a spat earlier this evening.”

  “What about?” He sipped at his own cup.

  She shrugged. “Same old thing. I want her to move out here and she’s not about to. Says she loves her job and I shouldn’t worry.”

  “You never told me her job.”

  She took another gulp before leaning forward across the table. “She’s an exotic dancer,” she said, sotto voce. “You know, a stripper.”

  “Ah.” That had to be a bitter pill for the older, more conservative sister to swallow. No wonder Amber wanted to take Dinitra more closely under her wing.

  “You see?” She leaned back and spread her hands open. “I’ve gotta get her outta there.”

  “I don’t blame you for worrying about her. But we really can’t force an idea onto other people. They have to come to it themselves.”

  “I know.” Her shoulders sagged. “But it’s hard. You should see this place where she works. It’s awful. What if something bad happens to her?”

  Ray was just thinking that Amber’s eyes seemed a little more focused when they suddenly filled with tears. He handed her a second napkin.

  “Thank you.” She dabbed at her eyes and gave a big sniff, then sent him a watery smile. “You’re a good listener, Ray.”

  Guilt pinged in his belly. What would she think of him if she knew that he was actually more of a good looker? And at the moment he was having a hell of a time not staring at her bare shoulders and the smooth rise of her breasts.

  “Well.” She sighed and sat back. “I guess we should probably get back to the party.”

  “Actually, we’re only about a block from my condo. I was thinking we could move the party there.”

  She blinked rapidly, her mouth making a perfect little “O”.

  “I’ve probably had enough to drink,” she murmured after several seconds.

  “I haven’t packed up my coffee maker yet.”

  She stared at him for several seconds, no doubt allowing all the possibilities and ramifications to sink in. He held his breath.

  She gave a small nod. “Okay.”

  * * * *

  He was holding her hand again, and it felt amazing, as if she were dipping her fingers in a jar of fireflies. She almost didn’t mind the ache in her feet as they left the café and headed down the sidewalk. They were going to his place! Did that mean what she thought it meant? Is that what she wanted it to mean? Her cheeks burned at the possibilities, despite the cool summer night.

  Over the last twenty minutes, the majority of the champagne’s effects had worn off. Now a slight headache was forming behind her eyes. She’d have to ask him for some ibuprofen once they got to his place, and a huge glass of water.

  He squeezed her hand and she looked up at him. The streetlights painted his features in silver. God, he’s handsome!

  “Feet doing okay?”

  “I’ll survive.” At this point, it was actually her madly-pulsing heart she was more concerned about.

  “We’re almost there.”

  And here they were at a double glass door, pushing through to a large lobby graced by low lights and neutral décor. He steered her toward the elevators.

  “I’m on the seventh floor.”

  “You must have a great view of the river.”

  “You’ll see for yourself in a minute.”

  Meanwhile, how was she going to manage to breathe in such a small elevator, standing so close to him? As the doors shushed open she felt his fingers on her back. Even through her wrap and the fabric of her dress, she could sense the heat of his skin. It made her remember that ride in the elevator with him two months ago, and his discovery right afterward of her naughty book collection. Would she ever be able to remember that day without blushing like a grade-schooler?

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9