Bachelor Unleashed

He settled back against the cushions of the sofa and recalled the last time they’d been in New York together, the first week in June for Donovan and Natalie’s wedding. After the wedding he’d been invited to join Donovan’s six cousins from Phoenix, his godbrothers as well as another good friend, Bronson Scott, for a night on the town. But the only night he’d wanted was in Farrah’s bed, and as soon as the wedding reception had ended, he hadn’t wasted any time going to her hotel room. And then a week later she had ended things between them.

Now they were both back in New York, and he would give anything for a repeat performance of what they’d shared the last time, although he knew doing so would be asking for trouble. And speaking of trouble, he pulled the cell phone from his pocket to call Beth to cancel his late night visit. He really didn’t consider his time with Beth a “date,” so he really hadn’t lied to Farrah when she’d asked about it. As far as his mind and body were concerned, there was only one woman who had total control of his thoughts right now.

He leaned back and glanced around. This was a nice hotel, drenched in all kinds of history and decorated to the nines in elegance. He bet a lot of romantic trysts took place within these walls. He could see himself spending the night in one of those rooms upstairs if Farrah was so inclined. They would make love all night. He would make damn sure of it.

He reached down for his briefcase, and after placing it across his lap, he opened it up and pulled out a file. He might as well try to concentrate on something other than getting into Farrah’s body and then hearing her scream after pumping her into an orgasm.

Moments later, after reading over several reports, he glanced beyond the huge glass doors and saw it had gotten dark outside already. He had a private car at his disposal twenty-four hours a day, but since the restaurant was just a block away there was no reason for them not to walk.

He closed his files, deciding to think about the eleven months he and Farrah had spent together after all, since his concentration was at an all-time low. She hadn’t wanted a big deal made about their affair, so they hadn’t made one. Although neither had announced it or flaunted it, he had been aware that his friends and hers suspected they were involved. But not at first.

Of course her best friend, Natalie, had known, which meant Donovan hadn’t been clueless. And Cameron had known he was seeing some woman on a regular basis. His friend had never inquired as to whom, and Xavier had never openly shared the information.

His godbrothers—although they’d known he was sniffing real bad behind some woman—hadn’t officially met her until Donovan’s wedding. After that, they’d grilled him about why he’d gone to such pains to keep her a secret. And then he’d had to quickly spread the word at the wedding among the single men that she was taken after one of Donovan’s cousins from Phoenix had tried hitting on her.

What he couldn’t explain to anyone, least of all to himself, was the degree of possessiveness he felt toward Farrah. He’d felt the need to keep her all to himself and not share her or her time with anyone. Whenever he’d traveled on business, he’d found himself looking forward to returning to Charlotte to spend time with her. They had developed a routine and rarely ventured out beyond the walls of her house, preferring to remain inside—namely in the bedroom. That was the way they’d both wanted it. For some reason they’d enjoyed being detached from the outside world whenever they were together.

Showing up at her place, usually after eight at night, with his bottle of wine, had become the norm whenever he was in town, and they would often joke about it. He knew the wine was the reason she’d figured he was about to make a booty call tonight, and she had been right.

But what Farrah didn’t know was that he hadn’t been sexually involved with a woman since her, and Beth would have only been a substitute for the one woman he truly wanted. The woman he was sitting in the lobby waiting for at that very moment.

As if he conjured her, the elevator door opened, and Farrah stepped out. He blinked as he stared at her. She was wearing a long coat so he couldn’t see her outfit, but just seeing her made his erection spring to life. He was grateful his briefcase was still placed across his lap, and he kept it strategically placed in front of him when he stood, trying to get control of his mind and body.

“You look nice, Farrah,” he said, reaching for his coat on the sofa beside him.

“Thanks. If you’d like, you can leave your briefcase and wine at the front desk until we return, or I can take it back up to my room,” she said sliding her hands into a pair of black leather gloves.

He preferred her taking it back up to her room so he’d have an excuse to go up there when they got back. Or he could go back up to her room with her now to leave the items. But if he were to follow her up to her hotel room, that would be asking for trouble. Seeing Farrah made him realize just how much he’d missed her. How much he still wanted her.

“I can leave them at the front desk. That’s no problem,” he heard himself saying, knowing that was the best option.

“You sure?”

Yes, he was sure—if she wanted to keep her clothes on for the rest of the night. “Yes, I’m sure. Ready to go?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

Together they strolled over to the front desk, and he completed a claim slip for his belongings. Moments later they were walking through the hotel’s glass door to exit the building. The temperature had dropped dramatically, and the cold air seemed to blast down on them the moment they stepped onto the sidewalk.

“Wow, it’s freezing out here,” Farrah said, tightening her leather coat around her.

Instead of responding, on instinct Xavier wrapped his arms around her waist to bring her closer to his side. The moment he touched her, a shot of something akin to hot liquid fire exploded through his veins and he nearly groaned out loud. But he kept his arms around her to share his heat, grateful for his own wool coat. However, nothing could stop his reaction to the feel of her being plastered to his body.

That made him remember how it was being skin to skin with her while they made love, sliding in and out of her body, feeling her moist heat clench him in a way that could make him moan out her name.

She didn’t look over at him. Instead she stared straight ahead. He didn’t have a problem with that; in fact, he much preferred it. If their gazes were to connect now, he would be tempted to take her mouth and to tongue her right in the middle of the sidewalk.

He decided talking would be much safer, so he asked, “Warmer now?”

She nodded. “Yes and thanks. We have cold weather back in Charlotte, but this seems to be a different kind of cold. I’m even wearing an extra layer of clothing.”

Telling him what she had on her body wasn’t helping matters, he thought, especially when he was having visions of her not wearing anything at all. He always enjoyed seeing her naked. But then her clothing was known to be sexy as well. He recalled arriving one night when she’d worked late at the office and she’d been wearing a two-piece suit. She’d looked professional as well as sensual.

Even now he couldn’t help wondering what she was wearing underneath her long coat. All he could see was a nice pair of chocolate-colored suede boots.

“Is the restaurant far?” she interrupted his thoughts to ask.

He smiled, hearing the shiver in her voice. His woman was cold. He frowned. He’d never thought of any female as “his woman” before. That had definitely been a slip of the senses.

“No, in fact it’s right on the corner. Otherwise, I would have called for a car. However, I did call ahead and make reservations while you were upstairs getting dressed.”

“Good. I could eat a horse about now.”

And he could eat her. Pushing that thought out of his mind, he tried dwelling on what she said. One of the things he’d always liked about Farrah was that she had no problems filling her plate with the takeout he’d bring with him to her place. How she managed to stay in such fantastic shape was beyond him. She had the kind of curves that would make any man take a second look and moan, then take another look and wish.

“Here we are,” he said, opening the door to the Chinese restaurant. He knew how much she enjoyed Asian foods and had immediately remembered this place. He had eaten here a few months ago while in New York on business and had thought of her then. But to be honest, he’d thought of her a lot since they’d ended things between them.

“Nice place,” she said, glancing around.

He followed her gaze. Like them, several couples had braved the cold temperatures to eat out this evening.

After providing the hostess their names, they followed the woman to an area in the back where a fireplace had a blaze roaring, emitting plenty of heat. He assisted Farrah in removing her coat to hang it up on a nearby rack. When he saw her outfit, his heart began pounding in his chest and his body tightened in ways only she could make it do.

She was wearing a short tan-colored wool skirt, brown tights and a multicolor V-neck cardigan sweater. The way the sweater draped over her skirt emphasized her small waist and those nice curves he’d been thinking about earlier. His gaze traveled the full length of her physique, from the curly shoulder length hair, past a well-endowed chest, down her thighs and to shapely legs encased in a pair of knee-high boots.

While removing her gloves, she seemed not to notice the way he was staring at her. A muscle jerked in his jaw as he watched her slide into her chair. He felt sort of off balance, and he realized the depth of his desires for this particular woman was … well, getting exposed. Trying to get a grip, he moved away slightly to remove his own coat and proceeded to place it on the rack next to Farrah’s before taking the chair across from her.

“How did you find out about this place?” she asked, smiling, while picking up the menu a waitress placed in front of them.

He met her gaze, and a sensual shiver ran through him. He had been attracted to her from the first time they met, and over a year later he was still very much attracted to her now. “Cameron and I came here for a business meeting in September. Like you, he enjoys Chinese food, and not surprisingly, he knew about this place.”

She nodded. “And how is Mr. Cody doing these days? Natalie mentioned Vanessa’s pregnant and they’re expecting a baby in the spring.”

Since Vanessa was Donovan’s cousin, Xavier was aware Farrah had met Vanessa at a bridal shower given for Natalie last spring, but Farrah hadn’t met Cameron until the wedding.

“Cameron is fine, and yes, Vanessa is due in April, and they already know it’s going to be a little girl. He’s excited about that. I can see her wrapping her dad around her little finger.”

During one of their pillow talk sessions, he’d told her a lot about Cameron, and how their friendship began back at Harvard. He’d even shared with her how determined his friend had been to win Vanessa Steele’s love.

“It seems strange,” Farrah said, taking a sip of her water.

He arched a brow. “What does?”

“Being here with you. This is the first time we’ve ever gone out on a real date.”

She was right. By mutual consent, they hadn’t had that kind of relationship. From the beginning, they’d only wanted one thing from each other—a good time in bed.

“First time for everything,” he said, studying his own menu and dismissing her observation as nothing more than that and not a complaint.

“I know, but it just seems strange.”

He decided not to tell her what really seemed strange was them sitting at a table, instead of him having her naked body spread across it and eager to have her for his meal, or getting ready to thrust into her. Xavier shifted in his seat at the memories of both and felt his persistent erection press hard against his zipper.

He would be the first to admit he’d considered asking her out on a number of occasions but had changed his mind. He’d known from the get-go that she had a problem with any type of serious involvement, and although she’d never really gone into details as to what her ex-husband had done that had resulted in the breakup of her marriage, he’d gotten the lowdown anyway from Donovan, who’d gotten it from Natalie. And just thinking about what the man had done to her filled him with anger. No man should hurt a woman the way her ex had hurt her, and on that same note, no woman should intentionally use a man the way Dionne had used him.

“See anything you like?”

He glanced over at her. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that yes, he saw what he liked and she was sitting across from him. There was so much about her he’d enjoyed during the months they’d shared a relationship. Even now he would love to go back to her place or take her to his and make love to her like he used to do, all night long.

There was something about being inside of her that would often make him pound into her almost nonstop, never to cause pain, only intense pleasure for the both of them. And during those times when she’d locked her hot lips around his shaft, gently scraping her teeth across his most sensitive flesh, his pleasure had been almost unbearable.

He picked up his cold glass of water and took a huge gulp, appreciating how good it felt flowing down his throat to cool his heated insides. But that only lasted for a little while. All it took was a glance over at her, to see the creamy brown texture of her skin, the long lashes fanning her dark brown eyes, the high cheekbones with a dimple in each and the shape of her mouth to know even after their separation, he was still very much in lust with her.

“Xavier?”

He then realized that he hadn’t answered. “Yes. I think I’m going to try the pepper steak with onions and white rice. I had it the last time I was here and thought it was good.” But not as good as you, he thought to himself. Nothing is as good as you.

“That sounds like a winner and I think I’ll have that, too.”

Moments later, after placing their order with the waitress, Farrah settled back in her chair recalling what had filled her mind when Xavier had removed his coat. His tall, muscular frame always excited her whether he was in a suit or a pair of jeans. Business or casual wear, it didn’t matter. He exuded an air of total masculinity in anything he put on his body.

And then there were his facial features—definite eye candy of the sweetest kind. His strong, sensuous jaw, full lips, sculpted nose and chocolate brown eyes. And the dimple in his left cheek, she thought, added the finishing touch.

What she’d told Xavier earlier was true. Being with him, sitting across from each other in a restaurant, felt strange mainly because they’d never actually gone out on a date before. Their relationship had been defined from the beginning. She’d told him the night they’d met at the Racetrack Café that the last thing she wanted was an involvement in a serious relationship. She’d been there and done that with her marriage and had no intentions of doing so again.

She had explained, and quite specifically, that all she wanted was an occasional bed partner, a lover who wouldn’t get underfoot and become possessive and be a nuisance. She wanted a man who would know and understand the only rights he was entitled to were the ones she gave him.

Xavier had agreed to her terms without batting an eye because his wants and desires from a relationship had been identical to hers. She didn’t know the whole story, since it hadn’t been her business to ask him. But out of curiosity she had asked Natalie, who had heard what had happened from Donovan. It seemed some chick in college, whom he’d fallen in love with, had done him in, and as a result he’d erected a stone wall around his heart. Probably similar to the stone wall she had around her own.

From the first, they’d gotten along marvelously. Since they both traveled a lot in their professions, there had been times when they hadn’t seen each other for weeks. That hadn’t bothered her since she appreciated her space and didn’t like overcrowding of any kind. He had, however, on occasion given her a call during those times to see how she was doing. She merely took those as him being thoughtful and nothing more. She had never returned the gesture, although he had given her his business card with all his contact information.

For some reason, she’d never felt inclined to hold a conversation with him outside of their pillow talk. It was only then, while her body had been recuperating from the effects of mind-blowing orgasms, that he had shared things about himself. He’d never said a whole lot, just enough to let her know he was an okay guy who didn’t have a lot of the issues that some men did. He had learned from his past mistakes the same way she had learned from hers. Emotional involvements weren’t what they were cracked up to be and were best left alone.

He had told her about his five godbrothers and the story of how their fathers had made a pact upon graduating from college. She’d met them at Donovan and Natalie’s wedding and thought they were really nice guys and admired their close friendship.

“So tell me about the case you’re here working on, Farrah.”

The sound of his sexy voice made her glance up, and immediately she wished she hadn’t. Intentional or not, he had a look in his eyes that stirred desire she hadn’t felt since the last time she’d seen him. The last time she’d shared a bed with a man. Just remembering made the area between her thighs ache like crazy.

She shifted in her seat before saying, “What I have are best friends from high school who started a cosmetics company together after college.” She filled him in on the details of the case, then explained, “The new husband wants her to sell her share at what the other partner sees as an outlandish amount since she hadn’t been involved in the day-to-day operations of the business.”

Xavier nodded. “Doesn’t matter. If she’s still listed as a partner, whether she contributed to the success of the company or not, she’s entitled to her share, usually a fifty-fifty split, unless it can be proven that such an oral agreement was made.”

Farrah couldn’t stop the smile that touched her lips. “Everything you’ve said might be true from a legal standpoint, but I’m a mediator and not an attorney. My concern is not who is right or wrong in this case. My job is to facilitate a process of resolution, to help them work through the issue and resolve it.”

“You enjoy your work?” He realized he’d never asked her that before.

“Um, I find it rewarding. The people I deal with usually can come to an amicable decision on most issues and I like helping them get there,” she said.

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