Body Rush (16 page)

He shrugged. “You’re a doctor. Tell them you need it for online conferences with your colleagues.”

“Yeah, right. I guess I’m not very good at the whole cloak and dagger thing.”

He knelt down beside her and Roni had the sudden need to reach out and drag her fingers through his black, silky hair. “Yeah, you’d make a lousy spy,” he replied with amusement.

“Good thing I became a psychologist instead then, huh?” She whispered. Oh God, she was nervous and she was never nervous. Damn, he was a virtual stranger and yet he seemed to touch her on a level deeper than any other man she’d ever known.

“Yeah, good thing,” he murmured, his gaze never wavered from hers as he pointed to the keyboard. “Type in what I tell you.”

Roni turned her attention to the monitor and placed her hands on the keyboard. “Ready.” Jake gave her a series of commands, but nothing happened. “Did I do it wrong?”

“No, you did it just right. Now the camera’s on and it’s recording.” He reached out and stroked her cheek, causing Roni to jump. “I had a feeling your skin would feel like satin. I was right.” Roni turned her head and his fingers brushed over her lower lip. “I bet you taste like pure sunshine too.”

“Jake, we really shouldn’t—”

“Shh, it’s okay.” He pulled his hand away and Roni suddenly wanted it back, touching and caressing. She was surprised at how gentle his large fingers were; she could well imagine how gentle they’d be stroking her to climax.

“Now type in this,” Jake said, as he gave her another series of commands.

Roni forced herself to turn back to the monitor, her hands shaking as she tapped the keys. A screen popped up that showed a thumbnail-sized video. “What is that?”

“Our video. Click it, Roni.”

Helpless to ignore the sensual tone in his voice, Roni moved the mouse and clicked the video. Their images filled the screen. She watched, mesmerized, as Jake reached out and touched her cheek. The surprise on her face was easy to see, as was the arousal on his. Roni felt her pussy grow damp when his thumb brushed her lip.

“You’re beautiful,” he growled.

She crossed her arms over her chest and attempted to quell the sexual tension rapidly filling the air. “Actually I look bloated.”

“You look good enough to eat,” he shot right back. He reached out and hit the escape key, then pointed to the screen. “The next time you type in the commands I gave, hopefully it’ll show us our pervert.”

Roni was so befuddled she’d already forgotten the damned commands.

“Don’t worry, you can write them down and keep them in your purse,” he said, as if reading her mind.

“Thanks,” she muttered. She felt like such a dolt. He had her coming and going. Well, not exactly coming, but close.

“Buy me dinner and I’ll waive the cost of the camera.”

She wasn’t surprised by his suggestion, but the idea that maybe he did this sort of thing all the time had her withdrawing. “Do all your clients fall for that line?”

He reached out and cupped her chin. “You aren’t another in a long line, Roni. I’ve never dated a client before. You’re the first.”

She moved back in her seat, forcing him to drop his hand. “We’re not dating.”

“Yet,” he corrected her. His gaze went to her breasts and held. Roni could swear her nipples hardened just for him, as if begging to be licked. Her body’s reaction didn’t sit well. Roni liked being in control, but Jake made her feel like a runaway train.

“You’re much too bold, Jake Cornick.”

“Dinner, Dr. Smart. Nothing more.” He stood and held out a hand. “What do you have to lose?”

She stared at it a second, before moving the chair back and standing on her own. “You don’t have a significant other?”

“I wouldn’t be looking at your polka-dotted breasts if I did.”

Her face heated and she crossed her arms over said breasts. “Just dinner?”

He held up three fingers and grinned. “Scout’s honor.”

“You were a Boy Scout, huh?”

He tilted his head to the side. “You sound surprised.”

She laughed. “You look more like trouble.”

He leaned close and murmured, “Trouble can be fun, sweetheart.”

Roni shivered and wondered if she was finally in over her head.

3

A
fter updating her virus protection, Jake gave her his jacket to wear, effectively covering her see-through blouse, and took her to a fast-food restaurant. Jake had insisted that everyone should eat a burger and fries from time to time. He’d winked and said it would be un-American otherwise. She hadn’t gone out for hamburgers with a man since high school. Fast food tended to be a solitary event for her. Watching Jake wrap his strong, capable hands around the cheeseburger and take a large bite shouldn’t have been a turn on. Jake made it seem sexy as hell. An image of him holding her breast in the same manner and nibbling on her nipple had her squirming in her hard plastic seat.

“You’re blushing,” he said as he picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth.

“I never blush.”

“Do too. You’re doing it right now. What’s in that pretty little head of yours, Roni?”

“You are,” she stated boldly as she swirled a fry in a pool of ketchup. It wasn’t her way to play coy with a man.

He chuckled. “You aren’t the shy type, are you?”

“Not usually. If I see something I want, I go for it. I see no reason to pretend.”

“And do you want me, sweetheart?”

Jake was turning out to be quite a surprise. Without realizing it, he’d stumbled onto her one real desire. To be with a man who didn’t feel the need to treat her like fine china. The bet she’d made with Lydia and Jeannette came to mind and she realized this was her chance to make her fantasy a reality. She wanted to get down and dirty with a man. Roni had a feeling Jake could do dirty really well.

“Yes, I want you,” she candidly replied.

Jake’s expression changed, turned dangerous, his gaze darkening as he pushed his hamburger aside. “You know how to push a man, don’t you, Roni?”

She kept swirling the fry in the ketchup and asked, “Are you saying you don’t want me?”

He leaned across the table and took the fry out of her hand, then held it out for her. Roni opened her lips and let him feed it to her. He watched in silence until she finished the deep-fried treat. “You want the bald truth, is that it?”

“Please,” she whispered, her throat suddenly dry.

“I want to strip you naked, taste every inch of you for about an hour, then fuck that hot little pussy until the sun comes up.”

Roni’s eyes widened in shock even as liquid heat pooled between her thighs. “And you think I’ll go home with you? Just like that?”

“You don’t strike me as the type to play games.” He paused, then murmured, “Are you afraid, Roni?”

“No, I’m not afraid. Should I be?”

“I’d never hurt you,” he promised. “I wouldn’t do anything you didn’t want.”

Trying to act nonchalant, Roni slid her hand across the table and touched his arm. She’d ached to feel his powerful muscles beneath her fingertips from the moment he’d sat at her computer. She stroked upward, teasing them both. When his gaze narrowed, Roni smiled. “Yes, I want you. But first I’d like to know more about you.”

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

Roni drew her hand away and picked up another fry, pointing it at him. “You own your own business. How long?”

“I opened my doors five years ago. It was tough going at first, but I’m doing well enough now that I’ve been thinking of opening another office up north.”

“Do you enjoy being a computer geek?”

He tilted his head to the side. “Do you enjoy being a shrink?”

Roni laughed. “Touché.”

He grinned, which had her pulse racing. “I can set my own hours, I don’t have a boss breathing down my neck and the money is good. All in all, not too bad. Every job has its drawbacks though.”

Roni knew too well. “Do you work long hours?”

“As much as any business owner does, I suppose.” He looked over her shoulder, then stood. “Do you like chocolate?”

“It’s un-American not to,” she replied, using his earlier words.

He winked. “Be right back.”

When he walked away, Roni was tempted to turn and watch him move. She stifled the urge and took a sip of her diet cola. She needed to cool down. It was dinner at a fast-food restaurant, nothing more.

“Dessert for two,” he said as he set a banana split on the table between them, two spoons sticking out of the vanilla ice cream. “Dig in.”

“Two?”

“I’m not eating it all by myself. You’re helping.”

Roni eyed the hot fudge drizzling down the sides of the rapidly melting dollops with longing. “No, I really can’t afford the calories.”

His gaze traveled to her chest and back up again. “A few bites of ice cream won’t hurt. Trust me.”

Roni grabbed the spoon and scooped up a large helping. “Who the hell am I kidding? I can’t turn down chocolate!”

He pulled out the other spoon. “That’s the spirit.”

Roni was mesmerized when a spoonful of whipped cream disappeared between his lips. She wondered what it’d taste like if she slathered him with whipped cream and went to town. Delicious no doubt.

“You really should enjoy the luxuries of life more often, Dr. Smart. It keeps a person sane.”

She forced herself to stop visually molesting the man and scooped up another heaping spoonful. She moaned as the sweet dessert hit her tongue. “Yes, I see what you mean.”

When they were finished, Roni swiped a napkin over her lips and sat back, totally stuffed. “There really is something special about hot fudge sauce and ice cream.”

Jake leaned over the table and pulled her toward him. With their faces only inches apart she could feel his breath on her cheeks. “There’s something special about
you
.”

Her heartbeat sped up. “You think?”

He nodded. “Mmm, definitely. I bet you taste even better than hot fudge, too,” he growled.

“Nothing tastes better than hot fudge. It’s impossible.”

“How about we go back to my house so I can see for myself?”

He looked her over, his eyes stopping for a heart-pounding few seconds on her heaving breasts where his jacket had parted, before meeting her gaze again.

“You don’t even know me,” she whispered.

“I know I’ve never felt so attracted to a woman. Tell me you’re feeling this chemistry, too, baby.”

Roni couldn’t seem to find her breath, she was panting so hard. Her body responded instantly to his seductive words. She wanted to tell him, yes. It would be so easy to yank him to his feet and drag him home where she could be alone with him. But she couldn’t seem to form the words. For the first time in her life, Roni was tongue-tied.

“Say something,” Jake ordered. “Either tell me to kiss ass or come home with me.”

With his face still so close, Roni could see his eyes darken and a muscle in his strong, hard jaw jump. It was time to make the fantasy real. “Yes.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll come home with you.”

“Good answer, sweetheart. Damn good answer.”

Jake gritted his teeth as he vied for control over his libido. He was usually content to take it slow with a woman, but with Roni he wanted to fling her over his shoulder and take her away to have his every demand obeyed. That sort of thinking got men into trouble.

He looked down at their dessert. “Done?”

She nodded, then put her spoon on the table and dabbed her lips. Every move she made was delicate and refined. Jake was anything but refined. He couldn’t understand why she was giving him the time of day, but he wasn’t about to question it. His cock hardened as he imagined her naked in his bed. He wanted to slam his dick into her sweet little cunt until they both begged for mercy. Christ, he was going to have to walk through the crowded restaurant with a boner. He tried to cool himself down by thinking of inane things. Rebuilding a computer, backing up a hard drive. The woman had the power to reduce him to nothing more than a throbbing erection. He should take it slow, romance her a little. Fucking a woman like a wild animal wasn’t his way. Usually.

“You’re thinking too much, Jake. Why are you overanalyzing this?”

He squinted at her remote tone. “Are you evaluating me, Doc?”

She sat back and frowned at him. “Of course not.”

“Yeah, you are.”

He stood and went to her. “Come on,” he urged as he held her chair, “you can study me while I drive.”

She looked at his hand and shook her head. “My car’s still at the office.”

It was a good area, her car would be safe for the night, but he had a feeling she wanted her own wheels so she could escape come morning. If it made her feel better she could have her car close. Either way it wouldn’t matter because he wasn’t about to let her slip through his fingers so easily. “We’ll pick it up on the way.”

His blood pressure soared when she placed her hand in his large palm. She was so small, so delicate. He vowed to remember that later, when he had her naked and beneath him.

Jake tucked her back into his car. When he took off the opposite way they’d come she balked.

“Where are we going? My office is the other way.”

“I thought we’d go to the park first. It’s still light out and there’s something I want to show you.”

She was silent so long Jake thought he’d done something wrong. He took his eyes off the road and looked across the seat at her. “What is it?”

“Nothing. You’re just…you’re quite a surprise.”

“You think all computer geeks spend their time at the computer, is that it?”

She nibbled at her lower lip and Jake thought he’d never seen anything more adorable. He went back to watching the road. “Have I rendered you speechless, Dr. Smart?”

“Somewhat, yes. And that’s a really big deal for me.”

Jake could well imagine. Roni wasn’t the type to keep her thoughts to herself; she’d proven that when he’d come to her office to fix her computer. He liked that he could surprise her though. “I want you, don’t get me wrong, but a quickie isn’t at all what I had in mind.”

“I should tell you, I don’t usually let my dates take control.”