But what happens if that new man can’t get the job done?
I should be wooing financiers and figuring out the next round of layoffs at Sterling, not daydreaming about exploring the city—and more—with a woman I hardly know, no matter how incredible she is. I’m a C-level executive, for Pete’s sake, not some lovesick schoolboy.
My phone vibrates in my pocket just as I’m emerging from the leafy green park. It’s a text from Eliza, almost as if she could tell I was thinking about her.
Verity just sent me her newest pages, she’s written. Some real spicy stuff involved Thad and Leona on the hood of an Aston Martin car. Any interest in helping me make sure it tracks?
I smile, I can’t help it. Renting a classic sports car could be expensive, I tell her. Not sure it’s in the budget for this quarter.
True, Eliza concedes. Not to mention the potential cleanup.
How about dinner instead?
I could be convinced.
I want to do things right this time, so I text Jase for help planning a proper New York City night out. He’s able to get us a last-minute reservation at a trendy little Italian place in Brooklyn—a real throwback that somehow manages not to be kitschy, with heaping plates of freshly-made pasta and a small, carefully curated wine list.
“This place is so cute,” Eliza exclaims when we walk in the door, and I know, the extra planning was worth it. We’re shown to a tiny corner booth, a candle flickering on the wooden table between us, and start with a round of cocktails and some delicious breads and olives to snack on.
“I’d like to propose a toast,” Eliza announces, raising her glass. She looks luminous in the amber light, in a blue dress with skinny straps and a temptingly low neckline. Her hair is long and loose over her shoulders. “Antigravity chamber aside—and we’ll work on that—Verity’s new pages are… really good.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Is that so?”
Eliza nods. “I think you might even enjoy them,” she says.
“I’ll…be sure to give them a read.” I say tactfully.
“Somehow I doubt that.” She smiles. “But you can take my word for it. The important thing, for your purposes, is this: We’re going to make your deadline.”
All at once I sit up a little taller. “Really?” I check again. “Like, the actual deadline. That we talked about?”
Eliza laughs out loud. “That’s dirty talk for you, isn’t it?” she teases, popping an olive into her mouth. “Making the print deadline.”
“Maybe,” I admit.
She taps a finger against her chin in an exaggerated pantomime of thinking. “I wonder what else I can say to really turn you on.” She smiles, discreetly running one foot over the back of my calf under the table. “Spreadsheets, maybe? Merger. Bottom line.”
I laugh, self-conscious. “Am I really that bad?”
“It’s working, isn’t it?” Eliza retorts playfully.
It’s not so much her words as the sight of her lips closing around a morsel of bread that’s working, but the effect can’t be denied.
“I mean…” I reach for her knee under the table “It’s not not working.”
“Good,” Eliza says, looking pleased. Then, trailing her fingertip along the underside of my wrist, she whispers, “Corporate buyout,” and I can’t help but laugh.
The waiter appears with our pasta before I can reply, which is probably for the best. The food is delicious, but I can barely concentrate on anything but the woman in front of me, her voice and her collarbones and her skin in the candlelight, how badly I want to lean against the table and press my mouth against hers. By the time the waiter appears to ask if we’d like dessert it’s all I can do to string a full sentence together.
“We’ll take one of everything on the menu,” I tell him, eyes still on Eliza. “To go.”
It feels like the car ride back to my place takes forever, the city lights winking in the distance as we cruise across the bridge. Eliza’s fingertips are playing havoc on the inside of my thigh, and I’m just about wondering what counts as public indecency by the time we finally reach my building. We’ve barely made it through the door of my apartment before I’m yanking the dress down off her shoulders, freeing her breasts and ducking my head to lick and suck at her taut nipples. I boost her up into my arms, striding quickly in the direction of the bedroom.
“Wait a sec,” Eliza says breathlessly, even as she’s grinding herself against me, running her fingers through my hair. “This is my first time at your place. Aren’t you going to give me the tour?”
I look around, dazed and distracted, almost as if I’m seeing it myself for the first time. “Living room,” I tell her as we pass through it. “Dining room. Hallway.” I toss her onto the mattress without bothering to turn the light on. “Bed.”
“Gorgeous,” Eliza teases. She stretches her arms luxuriously up over her head, her breasts drawing up high and tight. “Love what you’ve done with the place.”
“I’ll be sure to pass your compliments along to the management company.”
Eliza laughs. “You are something else,” she tells me. She sit up again long enough to slip all the way out of her dress before helping me with the buttons on my shirt, reaching down to undo my belt with nimble fingers. “Get on the bed,” she says softly.
I swallow hard. “Why?”
“Why do you think?”
She reaches back and twists her long blonde hair into a messy knot before ducking her head and taking me into her mouth, licking and sucking and stroking until it’s all I can do not to lose it completely.
Damn, this woman is incredible.
I shut my eyes and open them again to take in the view, my hips arching up off the bed as I watch her until it’s all nearly too much. “Come up here,” I groan finally, reaching for her shoulders and hauling her up on top of me, then rolling us in one smooth, fluid motion. Eliza opens her hips underneath me as I reach down to line us up, both of us moaning aloud as I sink deep inside her.
“You’re amazing,” I tell her, even as we work together to find a rhythm. “You’re perfect, Eliza. I want you so much.”
“You can have me,” she whispers, head dropping back against the pillows. “I’m all yours.”
I’m learning exactly how to take her to the brink: The right combination of thrusts, and strokes, and touches to make her body tighten around me, make her moan against my mouth. When she comes, it’s with a cry and a whimper, and I follow her almost immediately, sparks exploding behind my eyes as I thrust one last time. I want to do this forever, I think dazedly, our limbs tangled together and my mouth fused to her neck. I want to do this with her forever.
And damnit, I’ve never felt like this before.
17
Eliza
The sun is streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Liam’s bedroom when I blink awake the next morning. My whole body feels loose and relaxed, and the tiniest bit achy in the way that follows a night of incredible sex. Liam is still asleep beside me, one arm slung up over his head, and I let myself stare at him for a moment, my gaze raking hungrily up and down his body. He’s hot, clearly, all disciplined muscles and smooth, tan skin. But even more than his many, many physical attributes, I’m struck by how peaceful he looks like this: his breathing deep and even, his eyelashes casting tiny shadows over his cheeks. It feels like I’m getting a glimpse at a secret version of him, one hardly anyone gets to see.