Chapter 14: Luna

Corban led me to the penthouse suite, a luxurious environment made of smooth lines and bleached wooden floors. I click-clacked across them and toward the master bedroom, Corban tailing me, shooting off concerned questions every other step. If the shiny hardwood could open and swallow me whole, I’d be forever grateful. Sadly, even when I clamped my eyes shut and wished for it, nothing happened other than I got more flushed, stewing in a sea of regret.

I’d never been this embarrassed in my life. Never mind Trinity and her cronies laughing, I’d seen a flash in the midst of it all and spotted a photographer in the background. I’d bet my last Benjamin he knew exactly who I was, courtesy of Thorn, of course.

I entered the carpeted bedroom and stopped to catch my breath. The neutral tones in the posh room were accented by a comfy navy blue armchair and matching footrest. The white, puffy sheets on the bed called my name. I couldn’t exactly flop down on them with Corban behind me and cheesecake all over my dress. Too bad he’d no longer want to eat me for dessert. If he ever wanted to see me again, I’d be surprised. So much for my first date since the incident and the first man I’d been attracted to since Thorn.

“Thank you for doing this,” I said and met his gaze. “I’m sorry I ruined our evening. I know it wasn’t a date or anything, but yeah, I know I’ve embarrassed you in front of your work colleagues and… your clients… and…” I shifted the strap of my dress to one side, wishing I could turn back time.

Corban’s eyes widened. “I’ll give you some space.”

“No.” I put the strap back in place. Shoot, had I almost just undressed in front of him because I’d lost my mind along with my composure? “It’s okay. I’m not freaking out or anything. I just… man, that was humiliating just when I was having so much fun. The most fun I’ve had since… well, in a long time.” I wiped tears out from under my eyes and smeared cake in their place. Damn, I almost spilled the beans. I knew it would be all over City Pages by tomorrow, but I didn’t want to blow it up myself. If I did that, I’d have to witness the disgust in his eyes. If I waited, that was one humiliation I wouldn’t have to suffer in person. “Why do I always seem to do things to draw negative attention to myself?”

“It’s not negative. Everyone makes mistakes, Luna. This one was just a little more sugar laced than your normal pratfall.”

I loved the way my name sounded on his lips. It rolled off his tongue. It made me feel special. “I seem to make a lot of mistakes. I’m always falling over something or ripping my skirt off or acting like a total loon. Luna Faye, Minnesota state bird.” I massaged my temples and swallowed twice. The lump in my throat wouldn’t go down, so I whispered in a tone laced with regret. “I’m so tired of it. I’m so tired of myself.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said and crossed the distance between us. He drew me into a hug, not even worrying about the downfall of his expensive designer evening suit.

I resisted when all I wanted to do was to snuggle into him and accept the support he still wanted to offer me. “You’ll get cake all over you.”

“I don’t care.” He squashed me against him, and I melted into the embrace. He rested his cheek against my forehead. I reared back in shock when he leaned down and licked a blob of cheesecake off my forehead. The heat of his tongue almost caused my knees to buckle. In spite of my humiliation, wetness pooled in my thong. “Mmm… delicious. Almost makes me wish you’d fallen headlong into a vat of dark chocolate. By the way, I don’t think anyone downstairs is a paradigm of virtue. Don’t worry about those nimrods.”

“Yeah, I guess, but I do this too often. If I’m not breaking things, I’m almost breaking myself. I’m surprised you even hired me in the first place. I’ll totally understand if you’ve lost faith in me. If you want to cancel our contract.”

“Not in a million. Because I needed help, and you came highly recommended,” he said. “And I’m not easily scared.”

His words hummed in his chest and vibrated through me. I shut my eyes. It felt good to be this close to him. It felt right. I pushed back from his embrace though and stepped away shivering.

“Yeah, from my best friend,” I said. “She’s hardly unbiased.”

“I trust that you’ll make the right decisions for Unique. I trust you, Luna.”

“Thanks.” I wasn’t sure how to react to that. I liked that he believed in me, but it put a lot of pressure on me to perform. Not that I couldn’t knock it out of the park professionally. I just kept envisioning something going wrong at the last minute. And it wasn’t because I’d get it wrong, it was because of Thorn. He always seemed to sabotage everything important to me. Almost as if some wicked witch of baseball had placed a curse on my head. I could almost imagine her dancing around a bubbling cauldron while she pushed bat-shaped pins into a doll with my features and coloring.

If haters caught wind of the fact that I organized the event, Unique would be screwed. The entire event would be screwed. I could see the carnage now. Overturned glasses and laughter. Cell phone video uploaded to YouTube.

It would be typical of me to get myself into this type of situation. Was it selfish of me to take the job when it could put Corban’s company at risk? In the beginning, I hadn’t worried about it. All it meant was that I’d have to be extra careful, but now Corban was involved, I couldn’t help thinking that this could jeopardize his career. The last thing I’d ever want to do was hurt him. I didn’t want him becoming blow-by in the wake of hurricane Luna.

“You’re freezing,” he said and stripped off his jacket. “And you’re kind of just staring into space.”

I took his jacket but didn’t put it on. “I – uh, I want to–” I couldn’t tell him anything related to Thorn. I could probably tell him about our break up and that I was the most hated person in the city, but I just didn’t want to see him shut down where I was concerned. Not until later. Not ever.

Maybe, it was better left for tomorrow. I’d tell him in the light of day.

“What is it?” Corban asked, and a flicker of a frown crossed his brow. “Is everything okay?”

“As okay as it can be,” I said and gestured to my clothes. “I need to get clean.” I laughed at the smears of dessert down his fancy suit. “And you do too.” I blushed. I hadn’t meant it to come out that way, but I didn’t care all that much that it had.

It was a miracle I’d found the one sexy bachelor in Minneapolis who didn’t know I’d basically killed the Twins chances at success because of Thorn’s injury. It hurt to have to keep the real reason why we’d split up a secret, but it was what I legally had to do. And then the Twins had finished dead last in the entire MLB. And every diehard fan that bled red, white, and blue blamed me.

And it was why Corban and I could probably never be more than friends. Or friends with benefits? God, it ate at me using the same term that he’d used for that Trinity woman, but I couldn’t lie to a man I was in a relationship with, and I couldn’t tell Corban my truth without losing my job, my home, my car, everything.

Everything I’d received after the break in the engagement would disappear, and I’d have to live with Larissa and Ross. Maybe get a job as a waitress or a bartender. The same folks who served me tonight before I crashed into a table of creations tenderly crafted by an expert pastry chef.

“Okay?”

“Pardon?”

“I lost you there for a second. You’re white as a sheet.” He placed his palm on my back and walked me through to the en-suite bathroom, then sat me down in the chair beside the bath.

It wasn’t so much a bathroom as it was an oasis with taps and a claw-footed tub. Corban bent over that and drew a bath for me. He sprinkled in bath salts and foam bath products, then rolled back his sleeve and mixed it all up. The gentle swish of water soothed me.

“You’re going to love this,” he said, smiling back at me. “I’ve stayed here before, and the room service is fantastic.”

Pity we wouldn’t be staying overnight. I lowered my head so he wouldn’t see the blush creeping up my throat and onto my cheeks. I couldn’t help but admire his frame. He had a swimmer’s body. Corban was an enigma. A flawless man, but only because he wasn’t perfect and didn’t make apologies for it.

I wished I’d met him before everything with Thorn had gone down. Before I learned through the ignorance of youth that the sexy allure of fame and fortune didn’t matter one iota. Scratch that, I wished I’d never met Thorn. I imagined a universe where Thorn didn’t exist, but Corban did.

He turned off the faucets and went into the bedroom. “Call me when you’re done,” he said. “We can order up some food, and then I’ll call Lou and–”

I got up, trailed after him, and wrapped my arms around his waist, ignoring the inviting water for now. There was something I desired even more than to soak my troubles away. “And what?” I asked. I pecked his chin. “What will we do then?” I wanted this more than I’d wanted anything in my life. Even if it was short lived. God, even if it was super unprofessional on my part. Even if it ended up breaking me in pieces.

“Uh–” He swallowed, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “Whatever you want to do?”

“Whatever I want to do?” I bit my lip and met his gaze. It was my best attempt at seduction. I wasn’t exactly experienced in this department. In fact, I’d never tried to seduce a man before tonight. “What do you want to do?”

“Uh–” He stammered, losing his train of thought along with his facial expression.

“I can think of things we could do,” I said. “If you want to. I don’t – uh–” Okay, now I’d lost my words. Maybe the time for talking had passed. Why had I even thought I could seduce a man after all this time?

I slid my hands up his chest and placed them on his cheeks. He searched my gaze as if asking me for permission. Such a gentleman. He could be that way in the boardroom, but this was the bedroom. I kissed him as an answer. A light brush of my lips against his. My knees wobbled at just the feathery touch of his mouth on mine. It amazed me how weak this man could make me. And how wet.

Corban pushed me toward the bed, taking control. “If I do something you don’t want, tell me to stop. I only want to give you pleasure. To take that tortured look out of your eyes and replace it with passion.”

I felt my eyes widen because I’d never had a man say something like that to me. Put me first. I stared up at him, but his focus on me was so intense, I believed him. And in that moment, I surrendered. Body and soul.

“I trust you, Corban.”

The words were difficult to find after so many years of disappointment at the hands of men I trusted. But they were true about Corban. They were.

His expression turned to one of excitement, his eyes flashing desire. “I want you so much. Ever since the moment I first heard your voice.”

He pressed his lips to mine with gentle precision. As if I might bolt. But running was the last thing on my mind. I couldn’t imagine a better place to be, and a better man to be with. Wrapped up in forever seemed possible. And I wanted to revel in it as I savored every moment of something that felt so right.

Corban glided his mouth down to my throat, licking my pulse, and I relaxed into his touch. “I want you too,” I whispered. “I feel hot. Can you help me with this dress… the zipper?”

His deft hands moved to my back, caressing every inch of exposed skin he encountered on the way. In one move, the zipper ripped down, and Corban slid the fabric from my shoulders. I hadn’t worn anything underneath it except a lacy black thong. Even though I felt exposed and my hands itched to cover myself, I stood there and let him look at my body.

“God, you’re so beautiful, Luna,” he said, voice raw and raspy. “I’ve imagined you like this so many times. Too damn many to be appropriate. But I don’t care. Because you’re stunning. And you’re mine.”

“All yours,” I said as his hands slid along my sides, and my flesh erupted in tingles. Once they reached my full breasts, he cupped the mounds, his thumbs reaching my nipples. I wrapped my arms around this neck to steady myself because if he continued, I’d wobble.

Corban leaned down and sucked a straining nipple into his mouth, circling the bud with slow, languid licks and nips. When his teeth grazed the sensitive flesh, my pussy clenched. God. One suck from this man’s lips made my legs shake, and my body throbbed with need.

“The bed. Please, Corban. I need to sit down.”

He raised his head, and his mouth tugged up at the corners at my impassioned pleas.

“My pleasure.”

He lifted me as if I weighed nothing and laid me down on the plush bed with my legs dangling. When I tried to scoot up, he stopped me.

“No. I want you like this. I’ve been dreaming of this moment, Luna,” he said, staying me with his hand. “I want to taste you.”

Oh, God. No man had ever said that to me before. No man had ever done that before. I clamped my eyes shut, feeling shy and uncertain as I wondered what I should do. Thorn had been a selfish lover and what was gifted to him wasn’t reciprocated.

I kept my eyes shut tight because I didn’t think I could handle the dual sensations of touch and sight at the same time. Corban’s head drifted lower because I could feel the soft touch of his hair in sexy contrast to the rasp of his beard growth against my sensitive skin as he licked and nipped his way down. His rough cheek nuzzled against the skin of my belly and teased a trail even lower. Wherever his teeth nibbled, his tongue followed to soothe the sting.

Once he settled between my legs, I felt the whisper of his warm breath. “I want you to look at me, Luna.” I lifted my eyelids a sliver and held his gaze. Nothing but desire reflected back at me. He wasn’t judging or withholding. “Good. Now open for me.”

Without looking away, I allowed my legs to fall open, then nearly closed them again as he gazed at me. But I couldn’t. I was frozen. Not from fear but fascination. Fascination that he thought I was beautiful, even there. Until that moment, I didn’t realize just how much of my confidence Thorn had stripped from me. And his negative comments were always so insidious that I didn’t realize how hurtful they were at the time. Backhanded compliments or suggestions for improvements were what came so smoothly from Thorn’s lips. I was never good enough for him. Ever.

But I felt good enough for Corban.

I gasped as he nuzzled my pussy gently before stroking his tongue along the wet, heated entrance. “Oh god,” I said, not able to stop the words from tumbling out.

“So sweet,” he murmured against my body. “So beautiful.”

His words reverberated against my heated flesh, and I arched helplessly as he used his thumbs to open me and began to lick and suck in earnest. He drove me toward release, and I couldn’t fight it. Didn’t want to.

I thrashed against the pillows, fisting the sheets, and twisting as the pleasure built, surged and then exploded in a crescendo of stars and pleasure that put everything else I’d ever experienced to shame.

He continued to lick me as the orgasm ripped through my body, then he kissed my inner thigh. After several long moments, Corban snaked back up my body so he could take me in his arms. “You still have your clothes on,” I whispered, still bemused from the most spectacular release of my life. I hadn’t known pleasure like that even existed outside an illicit fantasy.

“What should we do about it?”

I chuckled and found I was starting to like watching him. His sensual, cat-like movements turned me on. In the best way. “I think they have to go.”

Corban pulled us both up to a sitting position. As our mouths moved against each other, I began to work on the buttons of his dress shirt. His coat and tie were already gone, so his shirt was easily removed with a few flicks of my wrist. I peeled away the luxurious cotton and leaned back so I could look at him.

I’d admired him fully clothed, but nothing could prepare me for the sight of him without his shirt. His muscles rippled as he shifted and there was nothing soft or pampered about this corporate man. He could have been a personal trainer. My fingers twitched, so I reached out and traced his pecs, letting my nail drag across his nipple.

He let out a hiss and jerked me into his arms, so my waiting mouth fell against his. After a searing kiss, he tossed his shirt to the floor. Cupping the back of my neck, I arched my back into him, searching for his lips again, brushing my own bare nipples against the rough hair that peppered his sculpted chest. The friction evoked a moan from deep within my body. He stroked my sides as I went to work on his slacks, unfastening the button and then dealing with the zipper, ready and waiting for the hard cock beneath.

It sprang free, already fully ready for me. Apparently, Corban hadn’t worn any underwear underneath that fancy suit. Had he prepared for this intimate interlude? I smiled at the naughty thought. What a difference a few days made in a woman’s life after she met a quality man. I’d gone from nervous and uncertain to bold and adventurous. I leaned over, my long, thick hair brushing the head of his erection.

He tensed, sucking in a ragged breath. I jerked my gaze to his and smiled. I wanted him to know what lay in my heart. I couldn’t say it so I tried to show him with my body what couldn’t be articulated. I tilted my head, letting my hair brush back and forth over him. His breath hissed in and out, and he squeezed his eyes shut against the sight of my silky locks floating over his hardness.

Power surged through me as I pleasured him. I leaned over him and caught his hard cock in my hands, stroking his long length. I watched as he swelled even harder underneath the pressure of my fingers. I wanted to feel him everywhere. In my body. In my heart and soul. I wanted to mold myself to him until he didn’t know where I ended and he began.

Corban groaned and then removed my hands. “It’s too much, Luna. I want to be inside you.” He flipped onto his back, bringing me with him. “I want to see you.”

I shivered as I straddled him and maneuvered myself into position. My pussy was already slick with wet heat, and I glided right down onto his waiting cock in one powerful thrust. My pussy stretched deliciously as I arched my back against a wave of intense pleasure. I shifted until he was fully seated inside me, then stilled, wanting to savor the moment of connection.

I leaned back and watched his face as I began to ride him in long, slow strokes. I slid up and down, grinding my pelvis in small circles and gasping as my clit pulsed and throbbed in response.

He opened his eyes and stared, so I gave him something to watch, arching my back until my full breasts were on display, biting my lips as I tried to hold back the moans of pleasure that wanted to escape my dry throat. The excruciating pleasure started between my legs and spread to the rest of my body as the second orgasm built with every smooth stroke of my hips. I slowed down to hold off the explosion as long as possible, making it even better. I wanted to drag it out. I wanted it to last forever and ever.

But pleasure mobbed my every rational sensibility, crushing my intentions, urging me even faster. I gasped as the first spasms floated over me, careening forward to crush my mouth to his. In that moment, I wanted to be connected to him in every possible way. I sucked his tongue as he came right along with me, jerking my hips forward and back without finesse, struggling and straining. Wanting it all and taking it.

“Christ!” Corban moaned, and in an instant, he flipped me onto my back, driving into me so hard and fast that the orgasm that had just been beginning intensified until I couldn’t help but scream against the force of the sweet release.

Corban strained, his neck tightening as he dug his fingers into my hips. He was probably hurting me, bruising my tender flesh, but I couldn’t care less. All that mattered was this. Us. He wanted to claim me, and I wanted to be claimed. Pleasure overtook him, and his release poured into my body, my pussy clenching aftershocks in response.

I shifted beneath him to wrap my arms around him. When he tried to move, I stopped him, clutching his back and caressing its strength.

“I’ll crush you,” he whispered.

“I like your weight,” I answered. And I did. It felt like protection.

And in that moment, I wondered if I could start to dream of a future again.