After Hours

“Yes,” she whispered. “Oh, yes.”

With one hand supporting the small of her back, he balanced the weight of her breast in the curve of his other hand as he nibbled and sucked.

“I can see us…in the glass of the picture,” she murmured.

He licked his way to her other breast. “The orgasm picture?”

She whimpered as he flicked his tongue over her breast. “Yes, that picture.”

“Do you like watching us?”

“Yes.” She trembled as he sucked her nipple deep into his mouth.

He could sense she was ready again. Nibbling lightly at her breast, he slid two fingers down through her damp thatch of curls. “Now you can watch yourself come,” he whispered against her dewy skin.

With a soft moan of assent, she opened her thighs and invited him inside. Slowly he stroked her, and she tightened around his fingers. He’d never been with a woman this hot, this excited.

He’d intended to give her the experience of a lifetime, and she was turning the tables on him. Making love to a woman like her was something he’d only dreamed of. She made him feel like the most gifted lover in the world, and yet it was her responsiveness making everything possible.

Increasing the rhythm of his fingers and using his thumb to massage her special hot spot, he gloried in every whimpered cry as she reached for another shattering climax. Within seconds, she found it, rocking her hips in time with his strokes and sending yet more papers to the floor.

As she gasped for breath, he eased her down until she was sprawled across the desk, her legs dangling off the edge. Moving between her outstretched legs, he leaned over her and braced his hands on either side of her head.

“I haven’t even kissed you,” he said, gazing into her heavy-lidded eyes.

She ran her tongue over her lips. “Kiss me…now.”

“Tell me your name.”

A spark flared in her eyes. “No.”

“Mine is—”

“Come here.” She pulled him toward her waiting mouth and into a kiss so deep, so erotic, that his hips began to move as his penis strained to break free of its confinement.

She drew his tongue into her mouth, sucking and toying with it until the urge to be inside her burned every other thought from his brain. Wrenching free of her suggestive kiss, he backed away long enough to get out of his shoes and shuck his jeans and briefs.

After grabbing the condom from the floor, he ripped open the package and rolled the latex over his aching penis.

She watched him, her chest heaving, her body shimmering with heat, her hair spilling over the far edge of the desk. Her gaze dropped to his groin. “Now?”

“Yes, now.”

Her breath caught. “Here, on the desk?”

“Absolutely. With your ankles wrapped around my neck and your sweet bottom sliding back and forth on whatever paperwork you’re lying on. You realize the ink will be smeared when we’re finished.”

Her chest rose and fell rapidly. “I don’t care.”

“I think that’s what you want. A souvenir.” He grasped her calves and lifted them so she could hook her ankles around his neck and he…oh, yes, now he could enter the beautiful pink gates of heaven. Hands splayed under her bottom, he watched the tip of his penis slide in, and that was almost enough to make him come.

With a low murmur of satisfaction, she propped her hands behind her head.

He looked into her eyes, and saw the excitement glittering there. “Remember this tomorrow,” he said, and pushed deep.

3

THROUGH A SENSUAL HAZE, Eileen watched her fantasy man, his green eyes sparking with fire as he entered her. The sensation was all she could have wanted—the satisfaction of being filled as he moved deeper, exciting her all over again.

She’d never been multi-orgasmic, and yet he’d made her come twice and would make her come again. She was already beginning to quiver.

He eased back and pushed in again, his jaw flexing. “Promise me you’ll remember this tomorrow.”

“I’ll remember.” She would remember this for the rest of her life. The desk under her back was hard and unyielding, but she didn’t care. With every thrust he brought her humming body closer to another orgasm, and she’d never had the depth of feeling that he gave her, never felt such quaking from the tips of her toes to the roots of her hair.

The fantasy must be heightening her reactions. She couldn’t have found a more perfect man to act out anonymous sex with her. Nameless, with no history and no expectations, he was completely of the moment.

He could be a Greek god who’d materialized to seduce her, with his dark hair falling over his forehead, his classic features and his powerful body. And from this view he could be a centaur, half-man and half-animal, taking his pleasure from a mortal. He was definitely taking his pleasure. Lust shone in his eyes as he plunged into her, his strokes picking up speed, his chest gleaming with sweat.

The rising tide of an orgasm gripped her, ready to fling her into the whirlpool again. She panted, wanting that wild ride one more time. But he clenched his jaw and deliberately slowed his movements.

She licked her dry lips. “More,” she whispered in a husky voice she barely recognized as her own. “Faster.”

“Not yet.” He stroked her with slow, lazy movements, holding himself back so he missed that magic spot he’d been stimulating so expertly before.

“You want…to make it…last longer?” Her blood pounded furiously in her veins, demanding a release he was denying her.

“Tell me your name.”

“No.”

“Tell me.” He teased her with quick, shallow thrusts that stopped short of giving her what she needed.

“No,” she murmured, easing her hands from behind her head as she gasped for breath and strained toward a climax. “Do you…do you think you can hold off…until I tell you? Is that it?”

“Maybe.”

“I won’t tell you.” Leaning her head on the desk and closing her eyes, she cupped her breast in one hand and reached between her legs with the other.

He swore softly. “Don’t do that.”

“I don’t need you to finish this.” She caressed her nipple and brushed her finger over her sensitive trigger point, right above where he was sliding back and forth. She was so close, so very close….

His hold on her bottom tightened, and with a groan he plunged deep, pinning her finger in place. In an instant, she climaxed, hotly, loudly, wildly. He erupted with her, his cries mingling with hers. Her writhing body sent the telephone jangling and crashing to the floor.

And then there was silence, except for the sound of their tortured breathing. When her world stopped spinning, she gradually opened her eyes and gazed up at the ceiling. She’d never had reason to notice the ceiling of her office before. Acoustical tile. Who knew?

She imagined the picture she must make sprawled across her desk, one hand clutching her breast and the other locked between her body and the body of the man whose penis was buried inside her. She must look like the sexual adventurer she’d always wanted to be. Crumpled and smeared papers lay under her and littered the carpet around her desk. Her phone could be broken.

She’d certainly nailed this fantasy.

He stirred. Then slowly he lowered her hips back to the desk and eased her legs down until they were wrapped around his waist. He stayed firmly connected to her, though.

She took her hand from her breast and tilted her head up to look at him just as he slid her other hand from between their joined bodies and lifted it to his lips.

“I’ll still give you credit for that one,” she murmured.

He glanced at her, a smile curving his handsome mouth. “I’ll take credit.” He kissed her fingertips. Then he leaned forward and gazed into her eyes. “But the round goes to you. I was so sure you’d tell me your name if I picked the right moment.”

She looked into his eyes and sadness erased the aftermath of pleasure. The fantasy was almost over. The way she had it scripted, they would never see each other again. That was for the best. Definitely. Their time together had been perfect. Even the little power struggle at the end had added flavor.

He braced his hands on either side of her and let his gaze roam over her bare breasts. “When does he come back?”

She didn’t have to ask who he meant. “It doesn’t matter.”

He looked into her eyes again. “You plan to marry him, right?”

“I think that’s what’s going to happen, yes.”

“And you’re going to be a good and faithful wife until death do you part?”

“Yes.” Put that way, it sounded beyond bleak, especially after the past hour.

“Then why not keep up our fantasy game until he comes home? One last chance to be wild before you turn into…whatever you’ll be then.”

“A grown-up?”

He smiled again, which made the corners of his eyes crinkle. “From here you look pretty damned adult to me.” He leaned closer. “So how about it? How many days would we have? Or rather, how many nights?”

She calculated, even though she had no business even thinking about it. Today was Tuesday. Benjamin would be home on Saturday. Three more days and three more nights to experience this incredible rush.

But even thinking Benjamin’s name made her feel guilty. She didn’t have to worry that he’d ever suspect, though. He would never dream that she was capable of what had just happened in this office. He didn’t operate in those terms, as he’d told her. And she hadn’t confided her innermost secrets to him.

“Consider it.” He dropped a soft kiss on her mouth. “I’m going to disappear for a few minutes. When I come back, we can decide.” He slowly withdrew. “Mmm. Sure hated to do that. You feel great.”

So did he, and she wasn’t happy that he wasn’t inside her anymore. But the fun had to end sometime. “It’s not a good idea to continue seeing each other,” she said. “The whole point is that we’re complete strangers.”

“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He rustled around picking up his clothes, and then he left the office.

Although she didn’t feel the least bit like moving, she forced herself to sit up and slide off the desk. If he planned to reappear all dressed and presentable, she wasn’t about to greet him stark naked. The room smelled of sex, and it looked like the set of a porno flick. She loved it. Exactly what she’d been aiming for.

As she pulled on her damp panties and located her bra, she allowed herself to consider, for just a tiny second, having more of this kind of activity. No, it would be a mistake. He wouldn’t be a stranger any more, and they’d never have as much fun as they’d had tonight. Tonight could never be equaled, let alone improved upon.

She stepped into her skirt and pulled it up over her hips. No point in bothering with the garter belt and stockings. She was just zipping the skirt, her back to the door, when he cleared his throat behind her.

“Maybe I should wait for you in the reception area. One look at you half-naked, and I’m ready to beg.”

She turned, her heart pounding in spite of her efforts to stay calm and rational about this now that it was over. No man had ever begged her for sex. With Benjamin, she was the one more likely to do the begging.

He stared at her, hunger in his eyes. “God, you’re beautiful.”

This was what she’d needed from Benjamin—a little sexual desperation. Yet that wasn’t fair. She’d never given him a reason to be desperate.

She cleared her throat. “I’ll…I’ll meet you in the reception area.”

He nodded, raked her with one more hot glance, and walked out the door.

She continued to dress, all the while reminding herself that she’d achieved her goal. By cutting the contact now, she could guarantee that this would be an isolated incident. Any more liaisons, and things could get messy.

Yet his intensity made her feel wanted in a way Benjamin never had. She remembered trying to tease Benjamin, pretending that she wasn’t sure if she felt like handing out the sexual goods. She’d wanted to stir him up, wanted to see his need. He’d turned away, telling her he didn’t play those games.

But this man would play. She finished dressing and straightened her office, shoving the smeared notes in a bottom drawer of her desk. She’d come in early in the morning and finish her work. Right now she had to figure out what the hell to do. Maybe her preoccupation with sexual fantasy only showed that she was still immature. For someone past thirty, that was embarrassing.

Putting on her navy suit jacket and grabbing her briefcase, she shut off the lights and walked toward the reception area. Déjà vu. He was on his knees working with the wiring, exactly as if nothing had happened between them.

But the look in his eyes was about four hundred degrees hotter than it had been when he’d glanced up at her an hour ago. All she had to do was say the word, and he’d go along with another three nights of fantasy sex.

But life wasn’t about fantasy sex, and she knew it. Life meant sharing a mortgage with a good guy, giving her mother and dad some grandkids, having the neighbors over for a Superbowl party. Except for the little problem twenty years ago, that described her parents’ life, and they still had each other, still had someone to grow old with. She yearned for that kind of security.

She wouldn’t move a single step closer to adulthood by hanging out with this hottie for another three nights in a going-nowhere relationship centered totally on sex. “The answer is no,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

Expectation died in his eyes. “So am I. I think we’re good together.”

“We were.” She deliberately put it in the past tense to keep herself grounded in reality. “And that was the idea—a perfect sexual fantasy that began and ended tonight.”

He sat back on his heels and nodded. “Yeah, I knew that was your plan, but if your boyfriend isn’t due back for a few days, I’d love to spend that time with you.”

“You don’t have a girlfriend?” She shouldn’t be asking questions like that, which only prolonged the conversation. But she couldn’t help wondering.

“If I did, I wouldn’t have accepted your invitation in the first place.”

As that statement sank in, she flushed. The implication was obvious. He believed in fidelity, but she’d been willing to have a fling while the guy she was dating was out of the country.

She went on the defensive. “Look, I’ve never promised Benjamin that I wouldn’t see other—”

“Hey, I wasn’t judging you.” He rose to his feet. “Not by a long shot. I don’t know what kind of understanding you have with this guy.”

“There is no understanding…yet.” She’d been very careful about that, wanting to leave the door open for exactly what had happened tonight.

Yet she hadn’t dated anyone else recently. Benjamin might assume that they had an understanding, which meant she’d been guilty of misleading the witness.

After all, she and Benjamin had a sexual relationship, such as it was. Some people thought that constituted an agreement. It might have, if the sex had been more exciting. Maybe once they moved in together, Benjamin would relax and have fun in bed.

Her fantasy man searched her expression. “But you expect there will be an understanding once he comes back, right?”

She nodded.

“That leaves you all of three nights to be a wild and crazy single girl.” He smiled gently. “Why waste them?”

Tempted by that smile, she tried to hold on to her arguments for not doing it. “For one thing, we’d have to destroy the anonymous nature of our—”

“Shane Nichols.”

She blinked. “Wh-what?”

“My name is Shane Nichols. I want you to know that. And yes, my parents are huge Alan Ladd fans, especially my dad. I was named after the character in the movie. Everybody gets around to asking sooner or later, so I’ll answer that one up front. I don’t even wince when somebody starts calling Shaaane! Come back, Shaaane. Feel free to do that if it gives you a chuckle.”

Now her fantasy man had a name, one she wasn’t likely to forget. As she’d known it would, the atmosphere between them changed immediately. Instead of an anonymous sexual partner, he was a guy with parents who loved an old movie enough to name him after the main character. She’d probably like his parents.

“And you’re either Eileen or Mildred. I’m going with Eileen.”

She felt like the person who’d just been found in a game of hide and seek. “How did you come up with that?”

He glanced at the receptionist’s phone. “Psychic.”

Well, of course. She should have realized he’d check the names on the labels next to each office line. She and Mildred were the only two women listed, and not many women her age were named Mildred.

She took a deep breath. No point in continuing the anonymity any longer. He’d be able to find out her last name without a whole lot of difficulty. “Eileen Connelly,” she said.

He held out his hand, his gaze warm. “Pleased to meet you, Eileen.”

She looked down at his outstretched hand and remembered all the interesting things he’d been doing with it recently. Her body remembered, too, and was reminding her of how much she’d liked what he’d done. Refusing to shake hands because she was afraid it would turn her on seemed childish, so she put her hand in his.

His handshake was firm and brief. “There. Was that so hard to do?”

Yes. “I didn’t intend us to become—”

“I know that. I completely understand your original intent. I’m just asking you to expand your concept.”

Her hand still tingled, and she tucked it in the pocket of her suit jacket. “And if I say no?”

Soft regret gleamed in his eyes. “Then I’ll say goodbye, Eileen Connelly. And thank you for one of the most exciting…no, the most exciting night of my life. It’s been an honor.”

She looked into his eyes and felt her resolve slipping away. No one would have to know, especially Benjamin. She’d keep it to herself. Her mother had invited her for dinner this week, thinking she’d be lonesome without Benjamin, but she could get out of that. She wouldn’t even confide in Suz or Courtney. Total secrecy would be the only way to go on something as reckless as this.

“You really have nothing to lose but a little time,” he murmured. “You’ve already made the decision to experiment while your boyfriend’s gone. Three more nights of experimentation will give you more memories to get you through the years of matrimony.”

“You make it sound like I don’t want to get married. I do.”

“To this guy?”

She hesitated only a fraction of a second. “Yes.”

“Okay.” He looked at her as if he didn’t believe it. “But why not have some fun between now and Saturday? Meet me again tomorrow night.”

She had to remember that seeing him again could be a fantasy-killer. That was one of the risks. “It wouldn’t be the same as tonight. This was—”

“I should hope it wouldn’t be the same! Been there, done that. Time for a new fantasy.” He paused. “Ever wanted to do it on the rooftop of a downtown office building at night?”

Her pulse leaped at the idea. Talk about a Batman-style adventure.

He smiled. “I think that turns you on. Your eyes are going all dark and stormy again.”

“Again?” Her response sounded husky and intimate.

“The way they were in your office, when I was—”

“Never mind.” She couldn’t let him go into detail or she’d be over there ripping at his clothes. “I get the picture.”

“Do you? Do you see us up on that roof, with the city around us and the night sky above? It’s still warm this time of year…you wouldn’t get cold, no matter how much clothing you took off. Or I took off you.”

Heart pounding, she searched for the strength to resist the temptation he offered. She also wondered if he was throwing out ideas without considering the logistics. “If you were thinking of this building, I have no idea how you’d access the roof.”

“Not this building. It’s only four stories. Something higher. And you can leave that to me. I install telephone systems for a living. I can certainly arrange access to a suitable roof.”

She was getting hotter by the second. “You’ve thought of this before?”

“Sure. Just never had a woman wild and sexy enough to do it with.”

Reaction zinged through her, making her throb in anticipation. He was her fantasy man, somebody who loved this kind of adventure. Apparently he was as immature as she was in that regard. “I’m insane for even considering such a thing.”

“Come on, Eileen. You’re the one who started this. Don’t back out now. I’ll pick you up in a company van out in front of this building tomorrow at six. I’ll bring takeout and a blanket so we can have a picnic up there, as well as do….” He paused to grin. “Each other.”

A man who could tease her about sex. That alone was reason enough to take him up on his proposition. She would probably live to regret this decision, but she would regret even more living the rest of her days without spending three wild nights with Shane Nichols. She swallowed. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Excitement shimmered in his expression, but he remained standing quietly, as if waiting for her to make the next move.

“I’m going home now.” She took a step toward the door.

“And I’ll finish the system upgrade.”

“I’m not going to kiss you goodbye.”

“I don’t want you to.”

“You don’t?”

He shook his head. “What we have going is too hot for little goodbye kisses, and you know it. If you came over here to kiss me goodbye, we’d be rolling on the floor in two seconds.”

He was right. She trembled with the urge to go over and unzip those soft denim jeans one more time. Judging from the size of the bulge under his zipper, he wanted that, too.

“Good night,” she whispered.

“Good night.”

She turned and forced herself to head toward the door.

“Eileen.”

She paused, her hand on the knob.

“About tomorrow night…”

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him standing there, so obviously aroused. Heat sluiced through her. “What about tomorrow night?”

“Skip the underwear, darlin’.”

4

SHANE STARED AT THE carved mahogany door after it closed behind Eileen. Then he listened to the click of her heels echoing in the empty tiled hallway leading to the elevator. Sex on a rooftop?

He had no idea where he’d come up with that one. He’d had plenty of sexual fantasies, but they’d been pretty much confined to the bedroom. Okay, maybe he’d considered elevator sex, or doing it in an outdoor hot tub.

But on the roof? Not consciously. But desperation must have pulled this right out of his subconscious, and thank God for that, because rooftop sex had obviously appealed to her. He had a wild one on his hands.

Well, wasn’t that what he’d wanted? Eileen was the answer to his prayers, especially if he could pry her away from her plan to move in with the boyfriend. Logically he should need more time with her before he could possibly know she was the one, but instinct told him that time would only confirm what he already knew in his gut.

She was the woman he’d been waiting for. Maybe working himself to a frazzle all these years had been designed to bring him to this point, face-to-face with Eileen. At the very moment when he needed to add more play in his life, she’d appeared to help him do that.

The ding of the elevator bell, muffled by the closed door, told him she was leaving the building. That was his signal to get this new telephone system hooked up so he could go home, get some rest and figure out what favors he could call in to secure himself a rooftop for tomorrow night.

He’d even told her to skip the underwear. In fact, the command had been, Skip the underwear, darlin’. He’d never called a woman darlin’ in his life. Apparently she was bringing out his inner rogue. And he liked that.

He glanced over at the dolly stacked with boxed equipment. One of them contained her new phone, which was a good thing after the way her old one had hit the floor. He might as well take her new one in there and hook it up now. That office of hers was calling to him, anyway.