Read Her Little Black Book Online

Authors: Brenda Jackson

Her Little Black Book (9 page)

BOOK: Her Little Black Book
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Her stomach tightened, and she could actually feel her navel tingle. This man was making chills and heat consume her all at once. She thought of turning and escaping to the nearest patio, but decided she'd never been a coward. No man had ever gotten this much of a reaction from her. She would handle it or die trying. And no matter what, she would not let him know the effect he was having on her. Even if it killed her. She inhaled, trying desperately to ignore the warm sensations overtaking her the closer he got.
And when he came to a stop directly in front of her, he stared at her a moment longer before extending his hand and saying in what she thought was a deep, sensuous tone, “Hello, I'm Lake Masters.”
At no point in his lifetime had there been any doubt in Lake's mind that he could appreciate a beautiful woman whenever he encountered one. But he was pondering the impact such a woman could have on his male senses. On every nerve ending he possessed.
He knew nothing about this woman other than the little he'd gleaned from Devin and Grey. Yet, up close and personal, she was doing things to him that no other woman had ever done before. She definitely was taking the art of physical attraction and sexual chemistry to an entirely different level. The thought that he could desire any woman so fiercely, and could experience such intense emotions so profoundly, definitely had him stumped. His response to her just wasn't normal, and hadn't been from the first.
During the time he was in Paris, knowing such a thing
had bothered him. But now he assured himself that everything was all right. She had been worth every thought that had passed through his mind, every memory. He was well aware that he still needed to get to know her, but in his opinion that was a given. Ultimately, she would discover the very thing that he now knew. There was a reason the attraction between them was of the degree that it was. And whether she accepted it or not, you couldn't change what was meant to be. As he continued to hold her gaze, he couldn't help wondering just what she was thinking.
At that very moment Courtney was thinking that she'd never encountered such an attraction to any man. She took a slow, steadying breath and finally forced her lips to move. “Nice meeting you, Lake. I'm Courtney Andrews.”
Speaking the words was an effort, especially when he was still holding on to her hand, and it seemed he had no intentions of letting it go any time soon. But she was enjoying the feel of his skin touching hers, the strong muscles in his fingers gripping hers in a way that sent a surge of heat through all parts of her body, while at the same time making goose bumps appear on her skin. The thought that immediately came into her mind was that although she had found Harper, Don, and Solomon attractive at first sight, none had made her think of doing naughty things with them within the first five minutes of their meeting.
Lake Masters had.
Images she couldn't control were starting to form in
her head, totally consuming her. It was as if she were being swept away by rough seas and he was the only way out of the storm. She tensed at the thought.
“Your glass is empty. Do you want another drink?”
She swallowed, thinking it would be close to impossible for any woman not to get turned on just from his voice alone. It was deep and throaty. But then, the total package was definitely worth writing home to Mom about.
She glanced down at her glass, mainly to break free from locking gazes with him. “No, thank you. I'm driving, so I believe I've had enough.” She braced herself, waiting for the customary pickup line most men would readily use, saying something really asinine about it being okay to fill her tank now because they would be glad to take her home and fill her tank in a different way later.
Instead she was surprised when he leaned close, nearly brushing his lips against her ear, and said, “I admire a woman who knows her limits.”
Spoken like the sophisticated and mature gentleman that he seemed to be, she immediately thought, feeling somewhat light-headed with his closeness. He was free with the compliments, comfortable with his approach. She would even go so far as to think he was sincere and wasn't just giving her a line to impress. No, this man wasn't a wet-behind-the-ears kid but a full-fledged man who probably knew how to appreciate a woman. Considering that, she was curious about his age. He had to be older than her by at least eight years.
“How old are you?” she blurted out, and immediately wished she could cut off her tongue for doing so when he
lifted his brow. For a moment he held her gaze before saying, “I'm six months shy of forty. Does that bother you?”
“Should it?”
He shrugged massive masculine shoulders, and a teasing smile appeared on his lips. “You tell me, since you're the one who asked.”
Which was probably a tacky thing to do, she thought, shaking her head, annoyed with herself. “No, it doesn't bother me. I'm three months shy of thirty. Does that bother you?”
His smile widened and in a low, deliberate tone, he said, “I can't think of anything about you that would bother me, Courtney.”
Her guard immediately went up. This Lake Masters was a prime male, and smooth as silk. But she was determined to find any hidden wrinkles. “How can you say something like that when you don't know me?” she asked, trying not to stare at him with the heated interest she felt.
Seemingly undaunted, he smiled at her and said, “You're right. I don't know you, but I'm a man who trusts my gut feelings.”
She didn't trust hers, especially when just being near him was causing supercharged emotions to run rampant within her. His smile alone caused a sizzle inside her. He had her conscious of everything about him—including the sprinkling of dark hairs on his arms, the cleanliness of his fingernails, and the way he smelled: real nice and sexy, robust. “You're Grey's brother aren't you?”
He simply kept smiling and confirmed what she'd
said. “Yes, I'm Grey's brother. And you're Sonya's cousin, I understand.”
“Yes, that's right,” she responded. “Are you here visiting?”
“No, I'm a resident.”
“Oh.” She wondered why their paths never crossed before. “Have you been living in Orlando long?”
“For about three months now. My primary home is in Boston. I recently expanded my business to open a branch office here.”
“And just what type of business are you in?”
“Advertising.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“It is. And I understand you're a pharmaceutical rep.”
“Yes,” she said, wondering how he knew that.
Something in her face must have given away her thoughts, because he inclined his head toward hers when he said, “I saw you one day.”
Courtney lifted a brow when it registered just what he'd said. “You saw me?” she asked to be sure she'd heard him correctly.
“Yes. Dr. Devin Phillips and I play tennis together most Friday afternoons. I picked him up one day and was sitting in the parking lot waiting for him to come out and I watched you walk into his office.”
When he didn't say anything else, Courtney felt her heart start beating fast in her chest upon realizing there might be more. Something he hadn't said as he continued to look at her. That pushed her to ask, “And?”
“And I liked what I saw.”
She swallowed. A part of her felt she should say something. Lake Masters was being a little too forward. He was moving a bit too fast. He was too quick-witted for her frame of mind. Yet at the same time, that deep-rooted feminine side of her liked the fact that he had secretly checked her out one day.
“I asked Devin about you.”
His words pulled her thoughts back in. She tightened her fingers around her empty drink glass and met his dark gaze. She felt his heat. It was increasing her pulse rate. It had a lump forming in her throat. And on top of everything else, her breasts suddenly began feeling sensitive against the material of her dress.
“I hope he said good things,” she said, watching him take a sip of his drink and thinking she liked the decadent way his lips touched the rim of the glass.
“He did say good things,” he responded as his gaze circled around the room. It then returned to her, looked deeply at her, and he said, “And he also told me what I considered the most important piece of information.”
With an effort she tried downplaying the wave of sensations erupting in her stomach at the intensity of his gaze. “Which was?” she asked, staring back at him.
“The fact that you're not married, and as far as he knew, you aren't seriously involved with anyone.” He paused and then asked, “Are you?”
“No,” she confirmed, racking her brain as to why he would consider that to be of major importance.
“That's good.”
Courtney lifted an arched brow. He had said the words with such finality, with such a keen sense of decisiveness. “And why is that good?” she couldn't help asking.
He leaned in closer. She smelled his enticing masculine scent and could feel his tantalizing hot breath in her ear when he whispered, “Because, Courtney Andrews, I intend to be an intricate part of your future.”
“If you say so.” Courtney chuckled, evidently thinking he was teasing, giving her a line. Lake watched a smile spread across what he considered perfectly shaped lips—full, enticing, almost magnetic. The kind you wanted to connect with your own. Savor. Nibble. Get downright greedy and devour. He saw more than a trace of amusement in her eyes. The woman had no idea he was dead serious. In fact, he hadn't known just how serious he was until now. He wanted Courtney Andrews. All of her. And not just physically.
Oh, there was a high degree of lust eating at him, forcing him to keep his aroused body under control. But then there was something else, too. With spending less than twenty minutes in her presence, he'd felt emotions, the kind that were a telltale sign to a Masters. At least to those inclined to accept the inevitable. According to Brandy, Grey had tried being a hard case and hadn't accepted how things would be for them until he'd been hit right smack between the eyes. As far as Lake was considered, no one had to hit him with what he considered so totally obvious,
it wasn't funny. At least it wasn't funny to him. However, Courtney found his statement amusing, since she was grinning.
He adjusted his stance to lean back against a wall, appreciating the fact that they were standing in a part of Jessie and Carla Devereau's home that afforded them privacy, right next to French doors that led to the patio. The party was crowded, so they were unlikely to be noticed or singled out for any reason. Not that he cared. As far as he was concerned, he had just staked his claim. He had told Grey earlier to keep Brandy out of his affairs. That meant it should have been smooth sailing from here on out. Not so, if the way Courtney was handling what he'd said earlier was anything to go by. Apparently she'd never had a man tell her his intentions before.
“I take it you don't believe me,” he said, about to take a sip of his drink only to find his glass empty.
She simply smiled and said, “Of course I don't believe you. Why should I? You only met me tonight, so to claim that you're going to be a part of my future—an intricate part, at that—is kind of silly, don't you think?”
Personally, he didn't see anything silly about it at all. Some men go through their lifetime looking for the perfect woman, a woman destined to be their soul mate. He'd always believed that he would know the woman who would share his life when he met her. Something about her would give it away. So he had gone through life not really dwelling on such things, not caring that he was about to turn forty and wasn't in a serious relationship.
His career, his business, trying to keep his professional life on the upward swing, had taken up most of his time.
But it was time to focus on something else for a change. His future. He was a person who'd always believed family came first, which was why he shared such a close relationship with his brothers and sisters. And to him, his mother would always be a phenomenal woman. His father had died before he'd turned six, leaving his mother alone to raise seven kids. As far as he was concerned, she had done an outstanding job in making them God-fearing, law-abiding citizens.
“Lake?”
Seeing she was waiting for his response, he said, “No, I don't see anything silly about it.”
He saw a frown settle on those lips. “Well, I do. Look, I expected a lot more honesty from an older man. You're past the age of playing games, so why are you?”
He wanted to throw his head back and laugh, but the irritation in her voice kept him from doing so. He was being as honest with her as honest could get, and because he was an older man—past the age of playing games—he had moved from the small stuff to going straight to the big picture, making it clear as glass for her. It seemed he would have to use another approach. “I'm not playing games, and once you get to know me better, you'll see that part of my makeup, an essential component of who I am, involves being straightforward. I don't particularly like surprises and like to extend the same courtesy to others.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning I thought of all people that you should be the one to know that I want you. For all the right reasons. I'd even be cocky enough to believe the reason you're not involved with someone is because I'm the one you've been waiting for, just like I believe you're the one I've been waiting for.”
She crossed her arms over her delectable chest and tilted her head back to glare up at him. “I think you have me mixed up with someone else.”
BOOK: Her Little Black Book
2.05Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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