Good Karma (17 page)

Her lips tingled…as well as other parts of
her body.

“If you wear that brooch, you want more of
this…” He drew her bottom lip into his mouth, let his tongue play
against her flesh, then nipped it with his teeth before releasing
it. “But I need you to understand that’s all I can give. I can give
you pleasure, I can give you fun, but I can’t give you forever. I
can only give you the months I have while I’m here. I don’t want
there to be any misunderstanding about that. The last thing I want
is to mislead or hurt you.” He fell silent as if letting the weight
of his words sink in.

She fell numb to everything but his arms
around her and the way bolts of lightning zinged through her body.
Mark delivered a kiss that not only sizzled but also scorched,
short-circuiting her ability to reason.

With a blink, Karma’s breath hitched as he
closed his lips over hers again. She moaned into his mouth as the
most incredible sensation of warmth spilled through her belly, into
private places as yet undiscovered. Her thighs felt like hot lead.
Damn, but Mark could turn up the heat.

She nodded against his mouth. She understood.
She understood implicitly.

He broke away again, but stayed buried within
her personal space, his arms around her, his forehead nudging hers.
“I like you, Karma. You’re sweet and innocent. I like that about
you.” He kissed her again. “But I also like that you seem to be a
woman ready for more. A woman who wants to lose some of her
innocence. I can give you that. I can teach you how to embrace your
sensuality but maintain the innocence that makes you so alluring.”
He paused and stared at her mouth. “So damned alluring.” He inhaled
slowly then blew the breath out his nose on a contemplative moan.
“I can help you discover what you like, what excites you, how to
touch and be touched, and what turns you on.

What he was doing this very second was a good
place to start, because she was definitely turned on.

He spoke quietly and more slowly than usual,
as if each word held meaning. “I want to be the man who unleashes
the sensual, sexual woman locked inside you. But only if you want
me to. If it’s too much and you’re still worried about anyone
finding out, I understand, and I won’t ask again.” He pressed his
palm to his chest, right over his heart. “I promise. But I think we
could have quite an adventure together. That’s what I’m offering.
An adventure. An opportunity for you to learn that you
are
good with men. You’ve just not been with the
right
men. What
you need is a new perspective. I want to give you that.”

She shivered, words escaping her. But then
Mark had said enough to keep her mind busy the rest of the
week.

He nodded toward her hand, still closed over
the brooch. “That will be my answer. Wear that tomorrow, and I’ll
know you want to move forward. Don’t wear it, and I’ll never bring
it up again.” He paused. “But if you say yes, you need to know that
I have rules.”

“Rules?”

Kindness and understanding washed over his
features. “Just a couple. Nothing crazy.” He offered a tender
smile. “Like I said, I’m not looking for forever, Karma. I’m not a
forever kind of man. No commitments. Nothing serious. I want to
make sure you know that up-front so there aren’t any surprises.”
His gaze dropped to Karma’s mouth then lifted to her eyes again.
“But I
am
loyal. And if you say yes, you’ll be the only
woman in my life until after my work at Solar is done, and I’ll
want to be the only man in yours. Understood?”

No problem there. It wasn’t like men were
lining up to take her out. “Yes.”

He brushed his thumb over the corner of her
mouth. “I don’t want to hurt you. I can’t stress that enough.
That’s not my intent. I want to spend time with you, make you feel
good, feel good in the process, have fun with you, but I can’t
commit to more than that.”

“I understand.” She had never expected him to
marry her, and she appreciated knowing now where he stood rather
than finding out later.

He held her a moment longer, and then he
sighed, smiled, and let her go. “So think about it, and let me know
tomorrow.” He tapped her hand with his index finger. “And just so
you know, there’s no harm in saying no. If you really aren’t
comfortable with the idea of spending time together outside work,
then I understand. So don’t feel any pressure to say yes just
because I want you to.”

When had she grown so breathless?

Mark started for the door. “Sleep well,
Karma, and good night. Thank you for a memorable evening.” He
stopped and smiled over his shoulder. “I’ll see myself out.”

Good, because right now her feet were rooted
in place. Too stunned to move, her body warm and tingling all over,
her knees weak, all she could do was watch him go.

A moment later, the front door opened and
closed.

Except for the specter of his fiery kisses,
which still lingered on her lips, she was alone.

She opened her fist and stared at the simple
metal circle. If she wore it tomorrow, everything would change. But
wasn’t that what she wanted? The prospect was both exhilarating and
terrifying. Breaking out of old comfort zones and habits was a
daunting idea, but as her father always said, if you want to change
some things in your life, you have to change some things in your
life. You can’t expect different results by continuing to do the
same old things.

Maybe it was time to follow Dad’s advice,
because she definitely wanted to change some things in her
life.

“Good night,” she whispered.

Chapter 17

In the
end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take, relationships we
are afraid to have, and the decisions we waited too long to
make.

-Author Unknown

The next morning, Karma steeled herself, stepped out
of her car, and marched toward Solar’s entrance. Mark was already
there. His BMW was parked in his usual spot.

With a confident yank, she pulled open the
door, sashayed past the deserted reception desk, and took the
stairs to her quiet space outside Don’s office. Mark’s voice came
from the conference room, deep and full. He was already on the
phone, even though it was only seven thirty.

After setting down her purse and draping her
jacket over the back of her chair, she strolled around the corner
to the coffee station, poured a mug, added one packet of sugar,
stirred it, and carried the hot mug into the conference room.

Mark faced away from the door, leaning back
in his chair with one hand behind his head and his phone to his
ear. “Yes, I know, Pat, but here’s the thing…”

She clunked the mug down on the table beside
a sheet of paper filled with doodles of faces. Looked like Mark was
a doodler, and a good one at that. Some of his doodles were of
celebrities.

Startled, Mark sat forward and spun around.
As soon as his eyes landed on her, his eyebrows lifted with
appreciation, and his gaze swiftly dragged down her body, all the
way to her black platform heels, then slid back up her legs, the
black pencil skirt, red V-neck short-sleeved sweater, all the way
to the gold brooch pinned to the red scarf tied in a cowl around
her neck. After staring at the brooch for a full two seconds, his
delighted gaze lifted to hers.

Jutting out her chin, she nodded once, spun
on the ball of her foot, and marched back to her desk.

Sure, she had misgivings and insecurities
about whatever
this
was between them. But if she said no,
she would regret it for the rest of her life. She would feel like a
coward, and she didn’t want to be a coward, anymore.

So, as with the deep end of the pool, she was
jumping in without a life preserver. She could learn to swim
later.

“Uh, no. I’m sorry, Pat. I was
momentarily…distracted,” he said. “Could you repeat that?”

She grinned at making him lose his train of
thought, but her knees still went weak. She tittered with
excitement, anxiety, the thrill of things to come, and a healthy
dose of oh-my-God-did-I-just-do-that? Adrenaline raced through her
veins, making her heart rate spike and her breath come in tight,
short bursts.

Reaching her desk, she collapsed on wobbly
legs. Her hands shook as she tried to type in her log-in. Three
attempts later, she unlocked her computer.

Damn it!
She needed to calm down. Mark
was just a guy. He put his pants on the same way everybody did. He
ate, drank, slept, and got sick just like the next guy. So then why
was he so friggin’ special? Why did he hold the power to make her
legs weak, her hands tremble, and her heart race with nervous
anticipation?

She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked
up. Mark faced her, phone still to his ear, his other hand behind
his head. That satisfied grin was still plastered on his face.
After a long moment, he brought his hand around, placed it over his
heart, closed his eyes, and slowly nodded his head in silent
gratitude.

She nodded back, albeit more covertly, her
eyes shifting to the side then down to her desk.

She turned away, took a steadying breath, and
willed her fingers to stop shaking as she started weeding through
her e-mail.

Let the adventure begin.

Chapter 18

Your
struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and
decide not to surrender, that is strength.

-Author Unknown

Tuesday night, Karma sat on her couch, finishing a
plate of homemade lasagna. The TV was turned to some random movie
she was neither interested in nor paying attention to. She simply
wanted noise to drown out the barrage of voices that echoed through
her head. So many questions, so much confusion. And no answers.

Mark had left the office with Don at ten
o’clock this morning to attend two off-site meetings and a client
business dinner. She hadn’t heard from him all day, and now that
they had entered into what felt like a covert affair, she was antsy
to see him.

At eight thirty, her phone dinged with a
text. Snatching it from the coffee table, her heart skipped. The
message was from Mark.

Are you busy?

She typed out her response.
No.

Less than thirty seconds later, her phone
chimed again.
Can I come over?

Her mind screamed,
Yes! God yes!
Instead, she typed,
Sure.

She stared at the blank screen, biting her
lip, eyes wide. Something about the fact that he was texting her
gave her a perverse thrill.

She actually jumped when her phone dinged
again.

Be there in fifteen.

She hopped up, quickly cleaned her dishes,
put away the leftover lasagna, rushed to check her hair, took a few
deep breaths, and returned to the living room.

A few minutes later, he arrived with a quiet
knock.

Butterflies took flight, angels sang, and
rainbows and unicorns danced around her heart.

“Hi,” she said, holding the door open.

“Hi.” He had changed into loose jeans and a
faded-blue T-shirt, and he held a small, gift-wrapped box in his
hands.

She waved him in and gestured toward the
couch. “I wasn’t sure I would hear from you tonight.”

“I would have called sooner, but dinner ran
late, and I wanted to pick something up before coming over.” He
held out the box as he settled into the couch.

“What’s this?” He was already buying her
gifts? She had never received a gift from a man before.

“Just a little something I thought might be
fun to help us get to know one another.” His devilish smile told
her this wasn’t just any ordinary gift. “Go ahead, open it.”

“Is this going to embarrass me?” She removed
the bow on top.

“I guarantee it.”

“Oh God.” She hid her face in her hand,
making him laugh.

“Oh, come on. It’s not
that
bad.”

She ripped off the paper, pulled out a four
by five box, and read the front.
Cosmo’s Truth or Dare: Our
Naughtiest Game Ever!
Dumbfounded and speechless, her mouth
flapped open, closed, and then opened again as she lifted her gaze
to Mark’s. Was he serious?

“Here, let me open that for you.” Mark took
the box from her and lifted the side, which closed magnetically.
The top opened like a book, and inside was a deck of cards.

“What exactly did you have planned tonight?”
She gulped and eyed the cards as if they were scary intruders. It
didn’t take a genius to figure out by the cover of the box that
this was a game for two consenting adults. And, yes, while she had
agreed to move forward with Mark, consenting to whatever the
dare
portion of this game likely entailed wasn’t what she
had in mind this soon in their relationship…or whatever this was
between them.

Mark thumbed through the deck—there had to be
at least two hundred cards—then set them on the coffee table.

“Don’t worry. I don’t plan on daring you to do
anything. I just thought we could go through some of the truths and
learn a little more about one another, and maybe have a little fun
and a few laughs.”

“Why do I get the feeling you just want to
make me as uncomfortable as possible?” She had felt the color drain
from her face the moment she read the game’s title.

“That’s precisely why I bought the game.”

“Huh?” Was Mark sadistic?

“What I mean is that, sometimes it takes
uncomfortable circumstances for us to find ourselves. The more
uncomfortable the better if change is what you want.” He took her
hand. “And I think you want change, or you wouldn’t have worn that
brooch today. Am I right?”

He made a good point. “Well…yes.”

“Trust me. I just want to get to know you.
That’s all. So I can take better care of you.” He searched her eyes
for understanding.