All evening her laughter had pealed like wind chimes in his imagination, light and free. Whenever she brushed against him, an uncontrollable surge of hormones deployed straight to his loins. And when he drew close to her, he smelled the exotic scent of her shampoo-a piquant blend of lotus blossoms and crystal ginger. It was all he could do to keep himself from burying his nose in her shimmering hair.
“Thanks for a wonderful time,” she said. “I know this was supposed to be a business meeting, not a real date, but I had more fun than I’ve had in a long while.”
“Me, too,” he said huskily.
She turned to slip her key into the lock.
He put his arm on the doorjamb over her head. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d wanted a woman this badly. “You’re not going to invite me in?”
“On our first date, which wasn’t even really a date?” She turned back, eyes dancing. “What kind of girl do you think I am?”
“I didn’t…that wasn’t…um…”
“Lighten up, silly,” she said, “I was just yanking your chain.”
“Oh.”
“But I’m not inviting you in.”
“Why not?”
“Because,” she said, “I’ve got something better in mind.”
His curiosity was piqued. “What’s that?”
She wagged a finger. “If I told you, it would take all the fun out of it.”
“You are a tease.” He couldn’t stop looking at her sweet mouth. At his perusal, her lips parted like petals opening.
“Guilty as charged.”
“And remorseless in what you’re doing to me.”
“Where’s the fun in remorse?”
She winked. He loved the way her conspiratorial winks made him feel as they shared a gigantic secret. She looked adorable-grinning up at him, hair tousled, dimples dug deep in her cheeks.
To hell with self-control, to hell with restraint. He’d spent too many years holding back where his love life was concerned. He took a step closer.
She reached up to tuck a hank of hair behind one ear.
“I’m going to kiss you,” he announced.
She placed her index fingers to her lips. “No, not tonight. Wait.”
“Wait for what?” Impatience tugged at him. He didn’t want to wait. He wanted her now.
“Our secret rendezvous.”
“What secret rendezvous?”
“The one we’re going to have on Monday afternoon during your lunch hour.”
“I usually work on my lunch hour.”
“But you won’t,” she said. “Not this Monday.”
“And why not?”
“Because I have something totally erotic in store for you.” She touched the tip of her tongue to her upper lip and arched against his body. “You’re going to meet me in front of the Town Crier Theatre in the historical district at noon.”
He was hard for her instantly, mindless with desire. He could barely take in air, much less swallow past the cast-iron lump in his throat. “And what,” he croaked, “will we be doing?”
“Come prepared-” she said the word soft and slow “-to do the forbidden.”
8
COME PREPARED to do the forbidden.
Katie’s scintillating parting comment echoed in his head. Did she have any idea how totally provocative those words were? Liam had lain awake all night, his brain conjuring a myriad of tantalizing possibilities. His curiosity was aroused, his blood stirred, his dormant sense of adventured stoked. His body prickled with heightened anticipation.
The woman had one hell of a creative imagination.
Just before noon on Monday afternoon, Liam paced the sidewalk outside the Town Crier Theatre wondering what delicious treats she had in store for him.
The theatre was running a weeklong retrospective of Clark Gable films. The movie du jour, according to the marquee, was It Happened One Night.
Fitting.
The title made him think of the one night he’d spent in the cloak closet with Katie. His mouth was dry from the memory. His hip pocket was stuffed with condoms and his anxiety was off the charts. She had him crazed with lust for her.
Five minutes passed. Then ten.
He checked his watch repeatedly. Eleven minutes. Twelve. His spirits plummeted. Had she stood him up? Or was making him wait part of her wicked game?
If that was the case, she’d won. His self-control-the thing he prided himself on most-was totally shot.
Just when Liam was about to give up and go to the office to try to get some work done, he saw her, strutting up the sidewalk toward him with the confidence of a runway model.
She was dressed all in black, which created an erotic contrast to her wheat-blond hair. She wore a tight black sweater cut so low it was barely legal and, clearly, she was not wearing a bra. The square of black leather posing as a skirt was barely bigger than a cup towel. She had on black patterned stockings and black stilettos so high it was a miracle she could walk in them.
Every guy on that Boston sidewalk was turning to stare at her.
Enthralled, Liam’s jaw dropped and his pupils widened. He was desperate to see more of her. Adrenaline mixed with testosterone. The combo blasted through his veins like a fiery virus, infecting him with a level of lust the likes of which he’d never experienced.
She passed right by him. At first he thought she hadn’t seen him, but then he got that it was all part of her erotic role-playing game.
Be prepared to do the forbidden.
She sashayed up to the ticket counter, bought her ticket and strolled inside without a backward look.
His cock turned to stone.
He followed suit. Buying a ticket and then following her inside the darkened theatre. At twelve o’clock on a weekday afternoon, they were the only two people in the lobby.
The theatre had been fully restored in the cinema heyday of when it had been built. The carpeting was colorful and lavishly patterned. The gold-plated lighting fixtures gleamed, polished to a high sheen. A black-and-white art-deco cat clock on the wall behind the concession stand ticked off the moments until show time. Three, two, one.
The smell of freshly popped popcorn filled the air. Katie stopped and bought a box of three-dollar jelly beans from the elderly woman behind the counter. She opened the box of candy and stood in silhouette so he could watch her pop one into her mouth and suck leisurely on it.
Liam quelled a groan.
“Would you like a sweet treat, sir?” the woman asked as Katie walked away.
“No, thanks.” He shook his head. There was only one sweet treat he wanted and she was escaping.
The woman nodded, went back to perch on her stool in the corner and picked up the romance novel she’d been reading. Liam went after Katie.
She did not go in through the main entrance. Rather, she made a beeline for the marble stairs leading up into the balcony.
Thick red velvet ropes stationed on either side of the steps barred access to the lofty seating. But Katie wasn’t allowing a measly stretch of cable to deter her. She winnowed around the rope, keeping to the strip of carpet running down the middle of the gray marble to blunt the sound of her high heels. She swept elegantly up the staircase.
Mesmerized, Liam flaunted the rules and tracked after her.
She pushed back the red velvet curtain leading into the balcony. He did the same, slipping past the rope. His heart suddenly was pounding so loudly he feared the noise of it would echo throughout the empty theatre and alert the staff to their clandestine rendezvous.
Once behind the curtain, he had to stop and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. The black-and-white movie was just starting, transporting them into a different era.
After a couple of seconds, he spotted her, on the back row of the empty balcony, up high, right underneath the projector, so they couldn’t be spotted from the projection booth.
Excitement twisting his gut, Liam sidled up the remaining steps and eased into the seat beside her.