Chapter Eight

Troy

I had to admit, sitting at a restaurant waiting for a woman felt kind of strange. I hadn’t been on a date in a really long time—Elsa was strictly sex, nothing more—and the thought that it might not end in hot steamy sex, more so the fact that I was okay with that, felt really strange to me. Regardless, I was there, and she was on her way, or at least I hoped she was; it was nearly seven thirty. In reality, I was pretty damn proud of myself. I had actually won the first round. It wasn’t so much that I thought of it as a game, but being my usual myself, I was pretty excited that I had stuck in there to see this through as far as it had come.

Now that the first part was out of the way, I couldn’t help but wonder how long or how hard it was going to be to get her into bed. I mean, she was a powerful woman, but if I stayed with the mindset of her being just like any other woman, minus the amazingness, I knew that it shouldn’t be that difficult. I fiddled with the silverware in front of me, hoping that I wasn’t going to have sit here alone much longer; people were starting to give me sideways glances. Just as I thought that, though, the front door opened and in walked Melinda. At first, I didn’t even recognize her but as she looked around the restaurant, I was left absolutely speechless. Yet again, she looked completely radiant and beyond anything I could have imagined when I’d thought about how the night would go.

Standing in the front, clutching a small black bag, she stood there, the lights reflecting off her shiny black hair. Her dress rested off her shoulders, revealing just the right amount of cleavage. It hugged her curves tightly and stopped midway up her thigh. She was wearing sheer black stockings and as she moved I could almost see the tops of each one peeking out from under her skirt. Her legs were long and sexy, and she stood firmly in her black six-inch heels, almost as if they were part of her body. Her makeup was deep and dramatic, but perfectly tuned with the rest of her. She was absolutely gorgeous.

The hostess nodded to her and turned to bring her over to me. Melinda smiled as our eyes met and made her way across the restaurant. I stood up and put my napkin on the table, walking around and pulling her chair out for her.

“Hi. You look incredible.”

“Hi. Thanks.” She didn’t compliment me back, and she smirked a little—which I, weirdly, loved—and nodded her head in thanks as she sat down, feeling me push the chair in behind her. The smell of her perfume filled my senses, and I stood there for a moment, not wanting to move even an inch away.

When I walked back around and sat down, the waitress arrived and filled our water goblets. We sat there for a moment looking over the menus in a slightly awkward silence. There was no way I was going to start out this date like that; I had gone to too much trouble.

“Have you been here before?”

“No,” she said, looking around. “I’ve heard of it, of course, but reservations are always booked out by the year.”

“Yes, well, the chef is a good friend of mine and makes sure I have a table whenever I need it,” I explained, honestly not trying to be showy, for once.

“That’s nice,” she said, not particularly impressed, by the look of it.

I ignored her lack of interest and ordered some wine, knowing that was just part of her personality. When the server left to put in the order I leaned forward and smiled, watching her look around the restaurant again. She glanced back at me and smiled, realizing I was staring at her.

“So, how were your first couple days in the new position?” I asked.

“Interesting,” she said. “Overwhelming, but still good. I just have to get ahold of everything and then I’ll be okay. Sorry I was late; I still have all my old responsibilities along with my new ones until they can replace me, so I’m doing two people’s jobs.”

“That does sound stressful, but I know Cartucci wouldn’t have put you there if he didn’t think you could do it,” I replied, smiling.

We fell into a comfortable conversation, just like at the bar. I was having such a good time that I almost forgot about the fact that I was trying to get her into my bed later. She excused herself to the restroom and I took a deep breath, trying to keep myself straight. I couldn’t fall for her charm, even though it was really difficult not to. I sat there giving myself a deep and thorough pep talk, reminding myself that I was not in this for any kind of long-term relationship. I was in this to fuck the hell out of this girl and get it out of my system. However, as soon as she walked back to the table and flashed me that beautiful smile, I forgot everything that I had just told myself. It was like she had some kind of crazy spell over me.

I ordered another bottle of wine and leaned in, starting to ask her questions about other things beyond just work. It was hard to get her to talk at first, mostly because all she did was work, but once she got going, I was completely enamored. She told me about her family, about her mom supporting her growing up, about her goals and how one of them was taking care of her mother. She was fascinating to talk to, and I was glad that she didn’t notice how late it was getting.

We sat there talking and drinking wine for over an hour before I realized the restaurant was almost empty. I signaled for the waiter to bring the check, pulled out my black card and handed it to him, then looked back at Melinda as she continued to talk about the places she wanted to travel one day. She talked about the future like it was so far away, but with everything she had accomplished already, I knew that it wouldn’t be long until she was off exploring the world, running some crazy company all on her own. Until then, though, I was pretty sure I didn’t want to let her out of my sight. At the very least, definitely not tonight.

“The restaurant is about to close,” I said. “Why don’t we go across the street to the pub and have one or two more drinks? I’m not ready for this date to be over with.”

“I don’t know,” she said, glancing at her phone for the first time all evening and finally noticing how late it was. “I have to work in the morning.”

“So do I,” I replied with a smile.

“All right,” she said reluctantly. “But just one drink, and then I have to go home.”

“Deal,” I said, standing up and reaching down to help her out of her chair.

We walked across the street and I could tell she was a little tipsy from the wine. We walked into the pub and ordered a couple of whiskey and cokes and took a seat in the back. Our conversation started right up again, only this time it was a lot less serious, and a lot flirtier. Her hand slipped over onto my leg as she laughed, sending a shot of electricity into my chest. She was so sexy, and even more so when she loosened up and let herself give into a little bit of fun. We got so into each other during that time that neither of us noticed that time was flying on by. By the time last call rolled around, we were completely wasted.

I stumbled up to the bar and paid the tab, making my way back to Melinda, who was watching me with seduction in her eyes. I reached down and pulled her up, catching her as she tripped into my arms. I stared at her for several moments, wanting to kiss her, but for some reason holding back. Instead, I leaned forward and rested my lips next to her ears.

“Come home with me,” I whispered.

“Well,” she said, pausing for a minute. “Oh, hell. Why the fuck not?”

Not exactly the swoon I might have usually hoped for, but I would take it. I would take it, and then I would take her.

I pulled back and smiled, running my hand down her arm and grabbing her hand. I pulled her out of the bar and we jumped into the car waiting for us out front. It didn’t take long to get to my apartment, which was good, because I couldn’t wait to get my hands on her. We stood close in the elevator as we rode up to my penthouse.

Once inside, I saw her eyes start to move around, taking in my admittedly really nice home. But I wanted her looking at nothing but me.

Drawing her back to me, I cradled Melinda’s face in my hands, leaned forward, and kissed her softly on each cheek, then each eyelid, down to the tip of her nose, and finally pressed my lips carefully against hers. She was stiff at first but as our bodies aligned she relaxed and leaned into me. She was soft and beautiful, and at that moment I thought of her differently than I ever had before. Differently than I had any other woman, too.

I ran my hand up her thigh, stopping at the edge of her dress. Our kiss became more heated but still gentle to the touch and we turned our heads back and forth, kissing softly over and over again. I pushed the hair back behind her ear and ran my lips over her cheek and to her neck. She sighed heavily as I barely touched her skin, my hand running up her arm and meeting the edge of her bare shoulder. She placed one of her hands on my neck and the other on top of mine and turned her head, finding my mouth once again. She pushed in deeply, moaning as our tongues met and we explored each other’s mouths. She tasted like wine, but sweeter, and instantly I could feel the lust begin to take over.

I slid my hand around her waist and pulled her close, kissing her deeply and passionately. I could feel her breasts heaving up and down as her breathing picked up and her heart raced. My pants were extremely tight against my growing cock, and I wanted to get her out of her dress. I needed to.

I stopped outside of the door of my bedroom and took her face back into my hands. She stared up at me with beautiful wide eyes and closed them as I dipped my head down toward her, kissing her over and over again, feeling her breath in my ear as my lips moved down her neck. She grabbed onto the front of my shirt and pulled me close to her, pushing her hips against my hard shaft. I groaned slightly at the feeling and my hands immediately went down to her skirt where I gripped the material, wanting so badly to bend her over right there.

I took in a deep breath, seeking some kind of self-control, and walked her into the dark bedroom. The light from the city was shining in just enough to create a silhouette of her curves on the walls and I was seriously starting to lose my patience and control. I wanted her so bad, and I was going to make her realize why playing was just as important as work.