Fuck, this girl knew how to kiss. She wrapped her arms about my head and sucked at my tongue as if to pull it right out of my mouth. I hadn’t been this hard for a chick in months, but there was something about Sarah – about that quick, almost mischievous smile, about those all-seeing eyes. And when she’d stroked my arm like that – fuck.

I ravaged her mouth, reveling in the pure sex she promised as she ground against me in an unmistakable rhythm. This girl was going to be fire in bed. I could just tell.

To be honest, the buzzing startled me as well. It was in her pocket, but it was right up against my junk, and it buzzed three times in quick succession. It was like someone had thrown a bucket of cold water on the girl. She pulled her face away, and I stared down at her, pleased as fuck over her bruised lips and over the wild expression in her eyes. But as her vision cleared, she pushed away, and I set her down, backing up to give her space. Oh. This was so not over.

Sarah smiled apologetically and fished her phone out of her pocket. She stared at it a moment, looked suddenly troubled, and her fingers moved, sending a quick reply to whatever fucker had interrupted us. “Excuse me…” she said, smiling up apologetically, but her eyes didn’t reach mine. She turned and took a step away. Then she stopped and looked back helplessly. I motioned toward a door a few feet down, where the guest bathroom was, and she rushed toward it. She was clearly looking for a moment to compose herself. Hell, I guess we could both use a moment.

I took a deep breath and reached down to adjust myself so that my jeans weren’t quite so painful against an enormous and raging erection. Damn. I had not been expecting that. I’d only meant to pick her brain a bit. I wasn’t one of those guys who took advantage of any woman who entered his apartment. For fuck’s sake, I had four sisters. But damn, Sarah was a neat little package: smart, pretty, and damn fit, with a flirty side and these eyes that promised to blow your mind…

I stopped that train of thought because something was buzzing. My watch. I looked down to where my smartwatch indicated that I had a phone call coming in. Who was calling at this hour on a…Yvette? Yvette was calling. I moved quickly because I’d left my phone on the kitchen counter. Snatching it up, I hit talk.

“Hello?”

“Sauvage?” Yvette’s dark, sultry voice sounded just as sexy on the phone as it had in person. “I got your letter.”

My letter? The letter I’d left. How could I forget leaving the letter? I’d left it all of three hours ago! I smacked myself on the forehead, eyeing the bathroom, but Sarah hadn’t emerged.

“I’m glad,” I said. “I’m glad you called.”

“It was beautiful. So eloquent and open. I’d like to see you again, I think. Maybe I was too quick to judge that first night, yes? When are you free?”

She was asking me out. Yvette Delacroix was asking me out. Sarah picked that moment to walk out of the bathroom. She’d re-braided her hair and reapplied her lip gloss. She looked put-together, like we hadn’t just been this close to fucking.

“Sauvage? Are you free tomorrow night?”

“Tomorrow night?” I said, realizing I sounded like a moron, repeating her. Sarah paused a few feet away and smiled at me, looking completely at ease. She mouthed: Is that Yvette?

Dumbstruck, I nodded. And she flashed me two thumbs up. Was she kidding? Weren’t we just about to…

“Go for it,” she whispered. “She’s interested!”

“Burke,” said Yvette on the phone, sounding a bit impatient. “Tomorrow night? Oui ou non?”

“Yes, okay,” I said, staring at Sarah, looking for any hint of what she was thinking. But Sarah was heading over to where she’d dropped her purse. I had to talk to her. “Listen, I’ve got to run. I’ll pick you up tomorrow. Anywhere you want to go?”

“I’m flexible,” said Yvette. “Call Sarah, and she’ll help you set something up.” She hung up the phone.

I placed my phone back down on the kitchen island.

“Hey, that’s great,” said Sarah. “That must have been some letter.”

“I guess,” I said. Was she kidding? Had she not just felt what I’d just felt? “Hey, listen, we should talk…”

“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t tell her anything,” said Sarah, waving her hand as if the kiss had meant nothing. “It’s not a big deal. Dinner was delicious, thank you! I’ll get you a reservation at one of her favorite places. I’ll send you the info tomorrow morning.”

“Um. Thanks,” I said, starting to walk toward her, but she’d already hit the elevator button. “Hey, listen, wait, you don’t have to leave…”

“No, it’s late anyway, and I have to work early.” Sarah flashed me another smile. “Yvette’s great! You should go for it!”

Go for it? The elevator dinged, and the doors opened.

“See you around,” said Sarah, and the doors closed behind her.