"You pull away from me," he said, his voice rougher now. "You slide up onto the table and take the chocolate from me. Then you scoop some out and swirl it over your nipples. As soon as I lick it off, you wipe more on yourself, this time a little lower. I keep licking, you keep going lower."
Audra"s panties were off now. She carefully traced her swollen lips, letting the pleasure build as she let his words, his obvious delight in this fantasy, take her higher.
"With just my tongue and fingers, I get you moaning. You beg me for more, beg me to drive you crazy. I make you come. You scream out my name over and over."
"Mmm," she moaned. The pleasure was building, tightening. She"d be screaming his name, all right. Any minute now.
"Your screams die down, and you slide from the table. You take that syrup and do the same thing to me, nibbling your way down my body. Eating the sweet dessert off my flesh. I get harder, bigger. I feel like I"m about to explode as your mouth gets closer and closer to my d.i.c.k."
Imagining it, Audra used one, then two fingers to take her pleasure to the next level. Desire tightened deep in her belly, and she pressed the phone between her ear and the couch so she could use both hands on her body.
"Jesse?" she gasped.
"Yeah, babe?"
"I"m about to come."
She was. The tension had her back arching as she dug her heels into the leather couch, her pelvis thrust high in the air. She wished he were there to watch her. She imagined him standing at the end of the couch, his eyes hot on her body as she showed him how wet she was.
"Me, too," he admitted in a low voice. "But first I want to know how you like the taste of me. Imagine me in your mouth, Audra. Imagine me as you come."
The image of Jesse"s face as she pleasured him exploded in her mind at the same time the o.r.g.a.s.m ripped through her body.
From a distance, she heard his groan, and knew he"d found his own pleasure. A ghost of a smile flitted over her lips.
So much for him not having a wild imagination.
Audra felt too good to even care about her emotional warning alarm"s scream of caution.
Because if the guy could make her feel this good over the telephone, there was no way she was running away until she had his body inside hers. Until she"d had the whole package.
Even if she was in mortal danger of falling in love.
9.
AUDRA SMILED her goodbye to the last customer of the day and flipped the sign to Closed. She didn"t lock the door, since Jesse was supposed to pick her up here instead of at her apartment, but she did pull the blinds. her goodbye to the last customer of the day and flipped the sign to Closed. She didn"t lock the door, since Jesse was supposed to pick her up here instead of at her apartment, but she did pull the blinds.
Stress rippled across her weary shoulders as she turned off the display lights. What a h.e.l.lish week. She"d had less than twenty hours of sleep in the last four days. For a woman who deemed anything less than nine hours a night roughing it, this had been pure torture.
The only thing that was going right was Jesse. Oh. My. G.o.d. The man was incredible. He"d sent her flying with his chocolate fantasy, then proceeded to make her come three more times as he"d shared his shower fantasy, then listened to a few of her hot thoughts.
She couldn"t wait to try them all out with him for real.
Of course, who knew when she"d find the time? Even though she"d refused to give up her date tonight, she"d be busting her a.s.s as soon as Jesse dropped her off.
She"d managed to ship the completed design boards to China. They should have arrived by now. She was dying to know what Natasha thought about the slick little leather number she"d slipped in.
Audra wasn"t sure what was hurting more. Her fingers from the fine detail of the designs. Her eyes from strain. Or the crick in her neck from having to work while Natasha yammered in her ear to the tune of a hefty long-distance phone bill.
Like the call of the devil, the phone rang. She didn"t even have to look at the caller ID screen to know it was her evening China call.
"Hey, Tasha," she said in lieu of h.e.l.lo.
"Audra, I received the couriered designs today. I have to say, you really outdid yourself this time."
Audra wanted to grin at the words, but the tone made her hesitate.
"You don"t sound too thrilled," she said.
"I"m pleased with most of them," Natasha said, speaking slowly, as if she were choosing her words with extra care. "I"m a little confused why you"d send me this one, though. Leather? I thought we"d discussed this already and agreed to keep the designs in the tone Simply Sensual is known for."
Audra made a face at the phone. "It was just a fun idea I"d come up with. Remember we"d discussed that b.u.t.t-ugly tie and how it might inspire a design? Well that"s what I came up with, something a little kinky and a little crazy. You know, like the kind of person would have to be to wear that tie?"
She waited for Natasha to laugh.
She was met with dead silence.
Her own amus.e.m.e.nt faded, replaced by irritation. d.a.m.ned if she wasn"t tired of justifying her tastes, her choices and her hopes. It was a great design. Natasha should be excited her head designer had such insight. Not p.i.s.sy because it wasn"t covered in pink roses and foofy lace.
"What"s the problem?" she asked. "It was just an idea. I didn"t send it to get your knickers in a twist. It was something I thought you"d enjoy seeing. It"s not like I ma.s.s-produced it and set up a display here in the boutique."
"No. But the designs arrived as I was on my way into the meeting. I didn"t have time to check them first, since I was running late. I had no idea you"d have a surprise in there for me."
Audra snickered. "You presented that leather do-me teddy to the Chinese distributors?"
She tried to stifle her laugh as she imagined the faces of a bunch of guys ready for bridal wear and presented with wrist cuffs.
"Let"s just say I don"t think we"ll be getting that particular account," Natasha said with a stiff laugh. "I guess it isn"t that big a deal, since I didn"t feel comfortable with them anyhow."
Audra winced, all laughter dying away.
She hadn"t intended to embarra.s.s her sister-in-law or do anything to jeopardize the account.
"Natasha-"
"Look, I know you didn"t mean it. It"s just, you know, one of those impulsive things you tend to do. And it"s not a major loss. This was that impromptu presentation we snagged after I got over here. I hadn"t even had a chance to check into the company," Natasha interrupted. Her words were obviously meant to rea.s.sure, but the underlying disappointment in her tone cut Audra deep. "I realize this design is probably a lot closer to your true style, Audra. But I thought you could balance that natural naughty bent with the kind of designs I need for Simply Sensual. Was I wrong?"
Audra started to deny it. But then she stopped.
After all, the naughtier designs were were her preference. They were a natural expression of her bad girl side. They were who she was. But that didn"t mean she could just shrug off Simply Sensual or what it offered her. Natasha had given her a shot, a career. Head designer, with her own lingerie line debuting in the fall. her preference. They were a natural expression of her bad girl side. They were who she was. But that didn"t mean she could just shrug off Simply Sensual or what it offered her. Natasha had given her a shot, a career. Head designer, with her own lingerie line debuting in the fall.
Tension pounded a beat at Audra"s temples. She had no idea what the right direction for her career was anymore. h.e.l.l, she didn"t even know what the right direction for her her was at this point. Ever-so-naughty Wicked Chick? Responsible businesswoman? Creative lingerie designer? None of them meshed; they were all in conflict. was at this point. Ever-so-naughty Wicked Chick? Responsible businesswoman? Creative lingerie designer? None of them meshed; they were all in conflict.
No wonder her head felt as if it were going to explode.
"Natasha-"
"Just think things through," her sister-in-law suggested softly. "We"ll talk when I get back, okay?"
"Yeah," Audra agreed. "But-"
"How"s business been in the boutique?" Natasha asked in an obvious change of subject.
Audra considered refusing to follow her lead. But knowing Natasha, she wouldn"t get anywhere pushing the confrontation. Even though it went against her personal preference, she sighed and let it go. Besides, she honestly didn"t know what she"d have said.
"We"ve been really busy, actually," Audra replied finally. A lot busier than she would have preferred, given that Sharon was sick, leaving Audra to work the boutique alone while trying to get the last batch of designs done. "I"m guessing there will be just enough profit to cover your long-distance bill."
"Seriously, is it going okay?"
Depended on what the day"s definition of okay was. Audra looked around the shop, unvacuumed, slightly disheveled and looking like a cla.s.sy dame who"d partied a little too hard.
"Has it really been that busy?" Natasha persisted. "How"s the inventory holding up? Do we need to reorder anything? You know Wednesdays are the deadline to order paper supplies."
Audra winced and averted her eyes from the empty hangers. She spied random threads strewn over the burgundy carpet and the empty boxes where the stock of gift bags were supposed to be.
Maybe she should do a little housekeeping before her date? She opened the storage cabinet and saw there were no more gift bags to stock. Maybe she should completely cancel her date?
If nothing else, this was a good distraction from the ident.i.ty crisis throbbing in her head.
"Audra?"
"It"s all good. Don"t worry. The boutique will be exactly as you left it when you get back."
"I knew I could count on you."
Feeling sick to her stomach, Audra pressed her lips together. She spent a whole five seconds trying to tell herself to let it go and keep her mouth shut. Then she gave up.
"Look, Natasha, I"m sorry you were embarra.s.sed by the design," Audra said. "I didn"t send it to hurt you. I"m proud of that concept and wanted to share it, you know?"
"I know." There was a m.u.f.fled conversation on the other end, then Audra heard her brother"s raised voice. She rolled her eyes. She grabbed a piece of paper and pen, trying futilely to figure out which stock needed replenishing. She"d do better to list what she had on the racks, instead. It"d take less time.
"We"ll talk when I get home, okay? But for now, your brother wants to talk to you."
"Drew? Why?" Audra asked, puzzled. She and Drew had a nice enough relationship going on. They weren"t super tight, though, and she could count on one hand the number of phone conversations they"d had in her lifetime. Why waste money for a long-distance one now? Especially when he couldn"t be pleased she"d embarra.s.sed his wife.
Oh, man, he better not be planning to lecture her. Just what she needed, a kick in the b.u.t.t to make life decisions via long distance. Audra"s tension shot up another notch, this time slipping into anger.
"Why..." she trailed off as her brother"s voice came over the line.
"Hey, Audra. How"s it going?"
"Peachy. What"s up, Drew?" Her tone was probably more defensive than he deserved, but she couldn"t imagine this was going to be fun. She made her way to the stockroom and stared at the neatly labeled shelves of inventory. Inventory? Inventory? Natasha was always boasting how easy stocking was thanks to her computer program. Maybe that"d help. Natasha was always boasting how easy stocking was thanks to her computer program. Maybe that"d help.
"I need your help," Drew said.
"You in the market for some s.e.xy undies?"
Audra booted up the computer and glared at the inventory program Natasha was so proud of. She"d never tried to figure it out before. Then she remembered the carefully detailed instruction list, complete with color-coded bullet points. With a quick glance, she was actually able to punch a couple keys and get a list of what stock they"d sold that week and what they had in-house that she could restock on the sales floor. Neat trick.
Drew"s laugh made some of Audra"s irritation slip away. He sounded just like their late father when he did that. She heaved a sigh at the familial tug at her heart. She really needed to change her brand of water or something; she was getting all mushy lately.
"No thanks, I need a favor. Tash said it"d be a pain in your b.u.t.t, but it"s important to me."
"Sure, whatever you need." Even wallowing in her guilt over disappointing his wife, Drew was likely the only person on earth she"d give that open agreement to.
"Thanks. This is important. Remember old Joe? A regular at the Sports Bar? I think he used to buy you Shirley Temples and play Go Fish with you for pretzels?"
Audra grinned as the memory of the old guy flashed through her mind. "Looks like Popeye, right? Old sailor dude, tattoo of an anchor on his arm, always smelled like peppermints?"
"Yeah, that"s him. Perfect, I"m glad you remember. He"ll be glad, too."
"Will he? Why?" She took the computer printout into the stockroom and started gathering inventory to put out.
"Tonight"s his birthday. It"s been like a tradition since he started coming into the bar, back when Dad first bought it, that he comes in on his birthday for a drink. On the house."
"Okay? So what? You want me to call your manager and make sure she remembers his drink?"
"Nah, it"s on the calendar. That"s not the problem. The thing is, he always makes a fuss about how he"s been served his birthday drink for the last twenty years by a Walker in the Home Run Sports Bar."
Audra paused in the act of restocking satin chemises on their padded hangers. "Twenty years? How old is the guy? He seemed ancient when I was a kid."
"I think he"s in his eighties. So you see why this is so important to him?"
Audra squinted from the list in her hand to the phone. "I guess, sure. It sounds like this drink might be the highlight of the old guy"s year."
"Exactly. So you"ll do it?"
"Do what? I"m not following you, Drew."
"You"ll go to the Home Run and serve him his drink?"
"Tonight?" No way. The only thing getting her through this h.e.l.lish week was the fact that she had a date tonight to look forward to. She had to get the first of three dates with Jesse out of the way so she could get to the main event.
"Yeah, tonight. What? It"s not like you can ask a guy in his eighties to hold off a week or so, right? I mean, he might not last, you know?"
Her already tapped-out guilt meter flashing red, Audra"s lower lip poked out and she dropped the silky midnight blue nightie she"d been hanging. Not last? Now that wasn"t a pretty thought. Poor old Joe.
"Will you do it? You don"t have to do much more than be at the bar around eight. The bartender will get his drink ready, you serve it with a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday," maybe give him a kiss on the cheek if his heart"s up to the excitement."
s.h.i.t. As if she could refuse that? Not only was Drew directly responsible for any successes she"d achieved, but he never asked anything of her. And old Joe? He"d taught her to bluff. She"d be a heartless b.i.t.c.h to say no to handing the old guy a drink and singing to him.
But what about her date?