Barclay

The attendees for the Warwick Awards arrive in a steady stream. This is my first awards dinner as Hammond’s CEO, though I’ve been the prince in line to the throne for several years. I work the crowd and shake hands with rival publishers. Discuss the changing trends of our markets in the broadest of terms. Always putting a hopeful spin on what lies ahead.

Several of them congratulate me on Don Black’s latest hit, telling me he’s a shoo-in for book of the year. I graciously tell them it’s anyone’s guess, but their knowing eyes tell me it’d be a shock if he lost.

One thing’s for sure, every time I hear his name, I breathe a sigh of relief. He decided to stay with Hammond, and I have Tessa to thank for that.

Knowing Tessa should be arriving soon, I excuse myself from the gathering and make my way to the lobby to greet her. Don’s holding court at the bar. He has a drink in one hand and an arm wrapped around a brunette, who isn’t his wife. Old flirt.

My phone buzzes, and I answer.

“What’s up?” Tom Rogers, a fellow colleague, and his wife pass by me. I nod and raise my free hand.

“Sorry to bother you on the weekend, Mr. Hammond, but it’s rather urgent,” my head of marketing, Reece Young, says in a rush, though I can’t tell if it’s from excitement or concern.

“I’m at the Warwick and it’s getting ready to start, so make it quick.”

“There’s crazy buzz circulating on the street about the person I’ve set my sights on for millennial marketing. I need to get your okay for an out of the ordinary offer.”

“I discussed this with Mrs. Ratner.” Usually the exacts for any offer go through my human resource director. She works as a mediator between forces. “I gave my blessing for the title of junior marketing manager and a subsidized apartment. What more do you have in mind? The candidate did just graduate from college.”

“It’s the blog they started. It has an enviable audience in the millennial marketplace directed toward serious readers. Believe me, we need this person. Here’s what I’d like to propose. Seventy-five a year and we buy the rights to the blog with them continuing to grow it under the Hammond brand. Two other houses are looking to ask similar offers this week, but aren’t buying the blog. I say we strike first. Lay out the terms and ask for an immediate decision.”

Peering out the lobby’s door, I spot a blonde goddess with legs for days walking up the steps. “Make the offer, but keep the blog’s buy price at twenty-five or less. If anything, it will help them pay off possible student loans. Good luck.”

I pocket the phone, and stand in the shadows next to an interior wall, avoiding the reporters and cameras outside. They’re not allowed inside, so Tessa and I are safe past the entrance.

My smile grows with every step she takes toward me. Her dress hits mid-thigh with a feather hem showcasing her toned legs. The color is the lightest pink, like a chilled glass of rosé. A single strap around her neck holds up the dress. I bite my lip, imagining how little it would take for her dress to fall to the ground around her stiletto heels. The thought may drive me wild during the dinner.

The dress dips low between her breasts, revealing soft and ample cleavage. My eyes feast on all the exposed skin I can’t wait to explore.

The curve of her breasts. Delicate shoulders and neck. An uncovered back my fingers itch to touch.

Her outfit’s cut is daring, jaw dropping even, but classy enough for a black tie event. It fits her age, and will turn every head in the room.

Her blond hair is off her shoulders and twisted into a smooth knot, making her appear older, sophisticated, and perfectly formal.

Her azure colored eyes shine with curious excitement as she looks from side to side. She wears a stifled smile, as if she’s containing a full-blown grin. God, I want to possess those full pink lips of hers.

A man near the entrance leers at Tessa with greedy eyes, and opens the door for her. When she crosses the threshold, he ogles her from head to toe. Prick. It’s a call to action, so I step out of the shadows and move toward her.

When Tessa’s eyes find mine, a radiant smile lights up her face, leaving me breathless. Her beauty shines so intensely, I feel its warmth.

“You’re simply stunning.” I greet her, taking one of her hands. I hold it up and spin her around on her heels. She giggles quietly. When the quick twirl reveals all her luminescent skin, I act on impulse—or raging hormones. “Come with me for a minute.”

“Where are we going?” She turns a curious eye toward me, tilting her head to the side. I glance over my shoulder as I guide her a few steps away and around a corner.

“Trust me?” She nods, and I point to the closed door in front of us.

“The cloakroom?” she asks with a teasing smile.

“Shush,” I whisper, twisting the handle to see if it’s locked. It moves in my hand. I’m in luck.

I open the door wide enough for us both to slide inside, then leave it cracked a few inches so a sliver of light streams in. Aside from a few empty hangers on a rod, the room is bare.

“What are we doing in here?” Tessa asks, but her eager eyes give her away. She wants me as much as I want her.

“I need something from you before we join the others.” I lean forward and speak into her ear.

“What’s that?” she breathes.

“This.” I place my hands on her back. She shivers at my touch, following with a sweet sigh. My fingers trail over her velvety skin, lingering at the simple hook connecting her lone strap. If only we had more time. “Your skin’s so smooth and silky.”

I bend down and kiss her lips, and she returns it with a passion matching mine. Tessa links her fingers behind my neck, and we are lost in each other. Minutes later, when we both need to draw in a breath, I move my lips down her neck and over the exposed curves of her breasts.

“I want to taste all of you,” I say against her skin, and feel her pulse racing like mine.

Dropping to my knee, I bring my hands to the back of her toned legs, and trace the delicate skin behind her knees. Her muscles flex and release in anticipation. With a featherlike touch, I inch up her thighs, finding the lacy edge of her panties. “Has anyone touched you here?”

“No one,” she blows out between labored breaths. She gazes down at me with eyes full of desire, but there’s a tentativeness in them I can’t ignore. My touches, and the promise of more between us, are new and unchartered territory for her.

I rise to my full height, changing our position. Looking down at her, I wonder if this beautiful woman is ready for what I want to do to her and what we can be together. I have to ease her into things, build her confidence. It should be her decision to freely give into the passion and trust me. Let me make her mine. I won’t push her from the base of the mountain to the peak in one night.

“I want to be the first. Are you okay with that?” I run my fingers over the curve of her shoulders.

“Yes, please,” she begs. “Can we skip the dinner and leave now?”

“If only I could whisk you away, but duty calls. We won’t stay a second longer than necessary.” I give her a quick kiss on the forehead. “We better get the evening started.”

We adjust our clothes and smooth errant hairs, trying to remove the evidence of our quick tryst.

“You look like you’ve been assaulted by a tube of lipstick.” Tessa pulls a tissue from her bag and cleans the lipstick from my face. I left a pink trace on the curve of her breasts with my stained lips, and return the favor, wiping away the mark. My fingers delve below the fabric, desperately wanting to feel what’s hidden to my eyes.

Sadly, I pull my hands away. Touching all of her will have to wait—something I need to remind my raging erection. I can’t walk into the ballroom full of fellow publishing professionals with tented pants. I try to think of something to distract me, but she’s too close for anything other than her to register in my lust-fueled brain. Giving up, I button my suit coat.

Placing my hand on the small of Tessa’s back, I guide her into the ballroom, gently rubbing circles across her exposed skin, though it does nothing to help my dick get under control. I’ve been in complete launch sequence since I saw her exiting the car.

Only a couple people remain standing in the ballroom. Everyone else has already taken their seats. Hammond Publishing has a table front and center since Don’s up for the prestigious book of the year award. We make our way through the room and find our place. Don turns in his chair. He looks at Tessa, then me with a sly smile, and gets up to take her hand.

“My dear. You look lovely. Doesn’t she, Barclay?” Don eyes me with a knowing air. The old man’s baiting me, and I don’t like it one damn bit. He brings her hand to his lips and kisses her knuckles.

The same rush I had when I saw Tessa at the bar with my cousin races up my back and elicits a primal urge. I want to pull her away from him, but I steel myself against it. This caveman reaction is something totally foreign to me. I never felt it before meeting her. I take a few deep breaths, trying to get my shit together.

“Hello, Mr. Black,” Tessa replies after Don finally drops her hand. I squint one eye at him, and he smiles back at me in amusement. He knows exactly what he’s doing.

“Good evening, Don. Enjoying yourself so far?” I ask in a more pointed tone than I should. I know he’s all talk and has never strayed from his vows, but still, I want her as mine alone. I wonder what it is about Tessa that makes me feel this way. I’ll need to examine these feelings later.

“I am, and will be having an even better one now that Tessa has arrived.” Don pulls out the chair seated next to him, and motions toward Tessa. “You’re sitting next to me, as I requested.”

We settle into our seats, and I introduce Tessa to everyone at the table. I start with my sister, Victoria, and her husband, Danton. She’s attending for my mother, who’s on the board, but wanted to give the spotlight to her daughter. She hopes Victoria will step into her role soon, leaving her to care for my father as he travels down a dark road with Alzheimer’s.

Dinner is served and drinks are refilled. Polite conversation buzzes around the table, and I don’t miss the curious stares from my sister and her husband—all aimed at me. Don lays down his claim for Tessa’s attention, and monopolizes her with conversation about the current book he’s writing. She claims to be his biggest fan, and will make the perfect audience for his big ego. But a happy Don keeps Hammond’s bottom line healthy, even if I grind my teeth while trying to ignore how close he’s moved toward her.

“I must commend you on your date. I like her,” my sister says, pulling me away from Don and Tessa’s conversation. “Tessa’s gorgeous and smart, and definitely younger than I’d expect. I’m guessing southern from her accent.”

“Yes, Alabama.”

“No kidding,” Victoria laughs. “Oh, how I wish Mother were here to see you with her. Tessa’s the young woman you were eyeing the other night at the Hammond, isn’t she?”

“She is.” I leave my answer short on purpose. I do hope my mother meets Tessa someday, but I don’t want my sister pestering me about it. She has a way of pushing me before I’m ready.

“She’s gotten to you, Barclay. In a good way.” My sister glances over at Tessa, who’s still engrossed in conversation with Don. “In fact, everyone seems captivated by her.”

“Seriously, I just met her.”

“Doesn’t matter. Something tells me this woman is different, apart from her age and background. I can see it in your eyes. The way you look at her.”

“And how’s that exactly?” I ask, wondering if I’m ready for my sister’s answer.

“In awe.”

I don’t have a direct response, or one I’m ready to say out loud, but I can’t deny feeling differently about Tessa too. I was curious to know who she was the moment my eyes landed on her at the restaurant. I wondered if she was waiting for someone else or eating alone. Mostly, I wanted to claw back ten years and be a different, younger version of me.

Then, she appeared in my office the next day wrapped in Mrs. Mackenzie’s coat. She’s a temptation I can’t seem to resist, even if I still hear her brother telling me to watch out for his sister. It’s futile to try to silence his words and my agreement. Instead, I’ll treat her like a fucking goddess. Tessa turns my way and gives me a slow, sexy smile. It makes me ache for her. When she ends it with a lip bite, I’m convinced she can live with my decision too.