OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE (14 page)

She pulled her hand away and grabbed for her purse, standing up from the table.  “Excuse me.” 

His tender smile faded away.  “Kelsie?”  He started to stand.

“No, don’t get up,” she implored with a soft smile.  “I just need to make a trip to the little girl’s room.”

Apparently satisfied with her answer, he settled back into his chair and watched her go. 

She made her way out of the dining room as fast as her white leather sneakers would carry her, needing to put distance between herself and the only man who ever made her think of hot sex, a house with a yard, and babies all at the same time.  Something that had never happened with Kyle.  At least, not all at once. 

And the sex with her ex had never been all that hot now that she really thought about it.  But something told her it would be with Cole.

She slipped into the bathroom and moved along the row of bright red stall doors, making certain she was alone.  Then she reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone.  Her fingers trembled as she punched in Nanci’s number. 

“Hello?”

“Oh, thank God, you answered,” she said with a sigh of relief as she paced the tile floor.

“Kelsie?  What’s wrong?”

“Everything.  Cole picked me up late for our date.”

Nanci laughed.  “Typical man.”

“And he was wearing these horrible fake hillbilly teeth,” she continued, ignoring her friend’s amusement at Cole’s antics.  “Then he had the nerve to suggest that bag of battery eaters you had me pick up for you at the office belonged to me.”

“What?” her friend gasped at the other end of the line.  “You let him look in the bag?”

“What bag?” a male voice repeated in the background. 

“It’s nothing,” Nanci told him and then whispered into the phone.  “I can’t believe you showed him what was in it.”

“I didn’t have to,” she said in her own defense.  “Your little goody bag slipped from my hand and spilled out all over the office sidewalk.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Oh, shit is right.  Remind me to strangle you for that little incident later.”

“Noted.”

“I should let you get back to your date with Joe.”

“
He can wait.  Now talk.”

“I
sort of need your help.”

“Don’t tell me you’re stuck in a tree again.”

“No, I’m not stuck in a tree again.”  She turned to see a woman standing beneath the restroom’s arched entryway, her questioning expression brought on no doubt by the tree comment.

She
smiled at the woman who immediately disappeared into a stall with a resounding click of its latch.

“Kelsie, you still there?”

“I’m here.”

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

She turned toward the mirror and lowered her voice.  “I had to get into that big truck of his all by myself and Cole hasn’t opened one single door for me all evening.”

“Like I said, typical man.”

Her friend was so wrong.  There was nothing at all typical about Cole Maxwell.  “He keeps looking at me like I’m about to be his next meal.”

“Why that jerk!  How dare he find you
sexy?”

“Whose side are you on anyway?”
she muttered in irritation.

“Sorry.  Where are you?”

“At this wonderfully romantic Mexican restaurant near downtown Columbus,” she replied with a sigh.  “It’s been the best date of my life.”

“Hold on a moment,” Nanci cut in.  “Are we still discussing the same date we were a moment ago?  The one you’re on with Cole?”

“Uh huh.”

“Now you’ve totally lost me.”

“Don’t you see?  He’s trying so hard to screw this date up so I’ll go out with him again.”

“Blame it on the wine Joe and I have been drinking, but I don’t get it.”

Kelsie leaned over to check her lipstick in the mirror and then fidgeted nervously with her hair.  “The last thing I want to do is fall for a guy who is the complete package.”

“When did a guy being everything a girl’s looking for become a bad thing?”

“Since my divorce.  I made that mistake once before and look how things turned out.  You know that’s why I didn’t want to go out with Cole in the first place.  Yet, here I am.  And I certainly had no intention of falling for another guy who seems to be everything I want in a man.”

“Whoa.  Back up a sec.  Did you just say had?”

“What?”

“You did.  You said you ‘had’ no intention of falling for another guy,”
she repeated.  “I can’t believe it.  He’s winning you over.”

“I think so,” she groaned, the realization of it washed over her like a tidal wave.  “Oh, damn.”

“Kelsie?” her friend said anxiously.

“I have to go.”

“Kelsie, wait-”

“No time.  I’ll call you later.”

Before Nanci could reply, she disconnected and shoved the phone back into her purse.  She had to get out of there and fast.

*
              *              * 

Joe stepped up behind the bar stool Nanci was seated on and slipped his arms around her.  “Problem?” 

“Yes and no.  That was Kelsie.”

He glanced at his watch with a frown.  “Trouble in paradise already, huh?”

She nodded, tipping her head to the side as he nibbled on the curve of her ear.  “Mmm hmm,”

“What happened?”

“Apparently, your buddy is doing everything he can to prove to Kelsie that he’s not a good guy and she’s all confused.”

He settled back onto the stool beside hers with a heavy sigh.  “I was afraid his plan to prove to her that he’s not perfect
might backfire.  That’s too bad, because Cole really has a thing for her.”

She spun on her stool to face her date.  “I didn’t say that her confusion was a bad thing.  For her maybe, but for Cole it’s a good sign.”

“I don’t understand,” he said, reaching for his glass of wine.

“She’s upset
, because despite your friend’s attempt to be a bad date, Kelsie is hot for him.”

“I’ll be damn, it’s actually working.”

She reached into the lined basket in front of her for the last remaining hot wing.  “Don’t get too excited.  I’m not sure even Cole will be able to break through the wall Kelsie’s put up when it comes to men.”

“
Sound like it’s a start.  And Cole’s never been a quitter.”

“I really hope not.”  She wanted nothing more than to see her best friend truly happy again.

“Her ex was a real jerk, huh?”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

“What happened?”

She paused to lick some hot sauce off her fingertips.  “Long story.”

“I have all night.  But if you keep licking your fingers that way we won’t be spending the evening here.”

She smiled at him and sucked one more fingertip.  “And the alternative would be?”

“My bed.”

“Tempting.  Pity that was
the last of the wings,” she said, wiggling her now clean fingers in front of him.

“Bartender,” Joe called out.  “Another order of wings.  Extra sauce.”

Nanci laughed at the urgency in his voice.  The same urgency she felt at the thought of him taking her to bed that night. 

“Make it to go,” she added with a grin as the bartender headed for the kitchen.

“My kind of woman.”

“I guess we’ll find out.” 

“Seeing as how we have to wait on your wing order, how about that long story?”

Why not?  It wasn’t as if Kelsie wanted her divorce from Kyle the shithead kept a secret.  “Okay, to make a long story short, Kelsie met her ex in college and he was everything she wanted in a guy - smart, attentive, career focused.  Only he focused a little too much on the career part after they got married.”

Joe listened intently.  “So they divorced because he worked too many hours?”

“It wasn’t the hours he was putting in, it was who he was putting them in with.  He was screwing the office cleaning lady.”

“Oh, hell.”

“It gets worse. 
She walked in on them during one of their after hour sex romps.”

His
expression hardened into one of anger.  “No wonder she’s so leery of relationships with men.  So where’s the asshole now?”

She
shrugged.  “I have no idea.  She hasn’t had a thing to do with him since their divorce.  Lucky for him.  Because if it were me, I’d have bought a voodoo doll and seen to it that Kyle’s dick shriveled up and fell off.”

Laughter rumbled in
his broad chest.  “Remind me never to piss you off.”

“Your order’s ready,” the bartender said
a few minutes later, placing a carryout bag on the bar in front of them.

“Thanks.”  Joe handed him a ten.  “Keep the change.”  Then he turned to Nanci.   “You ready?”

“I’ve been ready.”

“Then what are we waiting for?”  He grabbed the bag from the counter. 

“Joe...”

“Change your mind already?” he teased as they stepped outside.

“Not on your life.  I was just wondering if you’d mind going to my place instead.  There’s something I need to show you.”  Better he see her collection for himself than hear about it from Cole which he was bound to now that his friend had learned about her ‘hobby’.

“Don’t tell me you’re secretly a man,” he teased.

She laughed, hitting him playfully with her purse.  “This isn’t one of those crazy assed talk shows.”

Grinning,
he slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer as they walked.  “You’re so damn sexy when you get stirred up.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.  Now get me home and ‘stir’ me up some more.”

“Going somewhere?”

Kelsie froze, her hand on the cast iron handle of the large wooden door at the restaurant’s entrance.  Slowly, she turned around, offering what could only be perceived as a thoroughly guilty smile. 

“Would you believe I was just stepping out for some fresh air?”

The woman
was a pathetic liar.  “And a taxi, too?” Cole asked as he moved toward her.

“No.  I...well...”

“No need to call for a taxi.  I’ll drive.”

“But dinner...”

His experience where she was concerned told him to expect this very thing.  He held up the carryout bag he’d asked for as soon as she left the table.  “Is right here.  Come on, let’s go.”

Her shoulders sagged.  “How did you know I was thinking about leaving?”

“Thinking?”

“Okay, leaving.  How did you know?”

How could he not?  She’d taken far too long for it to be a simple bathroom break.  And given her track record on dates, he’d guessed right.  Here she was, trying to pull a date escape on him, too. 

“Lucky guess,” he replied. 

“Cole...” she muttered apologetically.

“It’s okay.”  He
offered a reassuring smile.  “That’s what they make carry-out for.”  Slipping an arm around her waist, he walked her out of the restaurant.  “Where to?”

“What do you mean?”

“We can’t very well eat in the parking lot and I’ve already given up our table here.  So it looks like it’s either your place or mine.”

“I don’t get it.  Why are you doing this?”

Why was he doing this?  That was a good question.  If any other woman had tried to walk out on him, he’d have let her keep on going and moved on with his life.  But with Kelsie it was different.  She wasn’t dumping dates to be hurtful.  She was running, no doubt afraid of being hurt by a man again, something he would never do to her. 

He
offered a tender smile as they moved toward his truck.  “Truth is I’m doing this because there are certain times when people need to be saved from themselves.”

“I don’t want to be saved by any man,” she said, a little too defensively to be convincing.  “Especially, by you.”

Setting the carryout bag on the ground at his feet, he pulled his truck keys from the front pocket of his jeans and unlocked the passenger door. 

“
Tell me something, Kelsie.  Are you trying to convince me of that or yourself?”

She said nothing.

He turned back around to face her.  “Fight it all you want, but you can’t deny what’s going on between us.”

She looked up at him, her eyes searching his.  “What is happening between us, Cole?”

He eased her against the side of the truck and moved in, bracketing his arms around her.  “I’m not sure.  What I do know is that you and I both felt the heat sparking between us back in that restaurant.  And that scares the hell out of you.  So rather than take the risk to see where things might go between us, you run.”

“I wasn’t running.”

He arched a challenging brow as he stood staring into those big, beautiful green eyes of hers.

“Okay, so maybe I was.  I just wanted...” her words trailed off.

He leaned closer.  “What Kelsie?  Tell me what it is you wanted?”

She shook her head.  “I can’t.”

“Then let me tell you.  Better yet, let me show you.”  He lowered his mouth to hers, giving in to the need to taste those sweet lips again.

She didn’t try and pull away.  Instead,
she rose up on her toes, curling her arms around his neck.  Her slender form pressed intimately against his as she willingly returned his kiss. 

He
ran his fingertips along the delicate curve of her neck.  “So sweet,” he whispered against her mouth.

She
moaned softly and tipped her head back, opening for his kiss.

His hand moved up to cup the back of her head. 
The silken strands of her hair caressed the back of his hand, the sensual feel of it eliciting a groan that rumbled deep in his throat.  He had never wanted a woman with the intensity that he wanted her.

Unable to resist, he deepened the kiss. 

Despite the intense fear she had of falling for Cole, giving him the slip was the last thing on Kelsie’s mind at that moment.

Nanci was right.  His kiss was going to burn a hole right through her thong’s miniscule cotton crotch.  Maybe even set the entire thing on fire and she didn’t even care.  She wanted to burn.

Shifting slightly without breaking the kiss,
Cole slid his hand across the truck’s rear quarter panel until it made contact with the door handle.  He opened it and then finally pulled away.

She
groaned her dismay.  “Cole...” her words were no more than a breathy plea.

Smiling, he reached up and ran a finger across her pouting lip.  “I think we’d better take this somewhere a little more private.” 

She nodded.  “I think you’re right.”

She had already caused enough talk around town with her tree-climbing escapade behind the strip club.  A few more minutes of locking lips with Cole in the parking lot and she’d be stripping.

Literally.

“Let’s get out of here,” she
told him with an urgency that she felt clear down to her toes.

His large hands curled about her waist, lifting her effortlessly up into the cab.  “You never did say.  My place or yours?”

Who was he kidding?
she thought as she settled onto the bench seat.  At this point, the parking lot was looking pretty tempting.  “Whichever’s closer,” she said, sounding slightly breathy.

“My place it is then,” he said, closing the door.

Pulse racing, she watched him make his way around to his side of the truck.  He was taking her home.  To his place.  His bed.

So much for self-control.

He settled behind the wheel and slid the key into the ignition.  Then he turned to look at her.  “You sure about this?”

“Yes.”  She had never been more certain of anything in her life. 

“I just don’t want you regretting this tomorrow.”

“Will you?”

“Hell, no.”

“Good.  Now stop being such a gentleman and take me home.  Bad boy you are tonight.”

“Into bad boys, huh?” he asked with a grin.

“Big time.”

“Guess it’s my lucky night.”  He started the engine and backed out of the parking space.

“You know, one thing about bad boys is they’re a lot safer to date.”

He pulled out of the restaurant parking lot and onto the street.  “You think so?”

“I know so.  The last thing they’re looking for is a commitment.”

“I see.  A bit commitment-phobic are we?”

He had no idea.

“Looks like you’re going to be living on the edge tonight.”

*
              *              *

“Damn,”
Nanci swore, her fingers trembling as she attempted to insert the key into the lock of her apartment door.

“Here,” Joe said, taking the key ring from her hand
. “Let me.”

What was wrong with her?  She’d never been this way around a man before.  Oh, she’d been sexually aroused, but this was like being sexually charged.  Her entire body ached to have Joe’s hard, naked body beneath it.
  Above it.  Behind it

“Nanci...”

She snapped out of her lust induced thoughts to look up into his smiling face. 

“It’s open,” he said, motioning toward the door.
 

“Well,” she said, feeling like a nervous teenager, “I guess we should go in.”

He handed her the keys with a husky chuckle.  “Sounds like a plan to me.”

He
followed her inside.  “Can I get you a beer or another glass of wine?” she asked with a flirty smile.

“I’m good
for the night.”

She could just bet he w
ould be.  She’d already shared hot, steamy phone sex with Joe.  Seductive conversation that had left her squirming in her sheets and fantasizing for more.  This was the night.  Spending the night in Joe’s arms promised incredible pleasure.  

“Nice place,” he said, looking around.

“Thanks.”  She carried the Styrofoam container of wings into the kitchen.  “It’s small but it’s mine.”  She set the box down and poured herself a glass of wine, hoping it might ease this unexpected case of nerves that had come over her.  “You sure you don’t want any?”

“Are you referring to the wine or something else?” he teased with a grin
from where he lounged against the kitchen doorway.

“Wine, of course.”  S
he turned away from him with a smile and opened the wing box.  “Wing?”

“I’d prefer a thigh
or a breast,” he replied with the same seductively husky tone he’d used on the phone.

She
turned to face him.  “I’ll see what I can do.”

His gaze moved over her assessingly. 
“So when do I get to find out what your big secret is?”

“It’s not big, just a little unusual.”

His lips parted in a toothy grin that made her legs weak.   “Now you really have my attention.”

“And I didn’t before?” she teased.

“Babe, you’ve had it since that night you were bouncing up and down behind the strip club, waving us over.”  He pushed away from the doorframe and strode over to her, all six foot some inches of lean, mean, firefighting machine.

She
swallowed hard, her normally overabundant sexual confidence flagging as he closed the distance between them.  She tried to remind herself that she was a tigress when it came to seduction.  She controlled men, not the other way around.

He reached out to cup her cheek, stroking it lightly with his thumb.  “I promise you’ve got my full and undivided attention tonight.”

She reached back, dropping the half-eaten wing onto the open box lid.  Then she went to wrap her arms around his neck and stopped.

“Nanci?”

She leaned back and held her hand up between them, wriggling her fingers.  “Wing sauce.” 

Joe backed her up against the faux granite countertop
, taking her hand in his.  “Not a problem.”  He brought her fingers to his lips and sucked each and every one in slow torturous strokes.

She
groaned softly.  “Joe...”

“Mmmm.”

She squeezed her thighs together as a rush of desire moistened her newly purchased panties.  “I collect vibrators!” she blurted out.

He
lifted his head to look at her.  “What?”

She was in desperate need for some mental regrouping.
  “That’s my secret.”

His mouth curled up into a grin.  “Vibrators?”

She nodded.  

“Should I be jealous?”

“What?”

“Sounds like I have a lot of competition.”

She
laughed softly.  “Something tells me that if there was a competition my vibrators would lose hands down against you.”

He lowered his mouth to her
s, brushing it lightly over her lips.  “Just think of the money you’ll save on batteries having me around.”

She closed her eyes, waiting for the passionate kiss
his husky words promised.  Only it never came.  The pressure of his body pressed against hers eased.  She looked up at him questioningly.

“Let’s go see this collection of yours so I’ll know what I’m up against.”

There was no turning back now.  She took his hand and led him into her living room.  She pointed toward the curio cabinet.  “There it is.”

His blue eyes widened
and he let out a low whistle.  “Talk about an arsenal.”  He crossed the room, shaking his head and chuckling.

“I’ve been collecting
them for years,” she said, stepping up beside him.

“
Who knew they made so many different kinds?  Hell, most of these look more like torture devices than instruments of pleasure.”

“You sound just like Kelsie.”

He glanced her way.  “You aren’t by any chance into S&M are you?”

“Afraid not,” she answered
with a smile.  “I’m not big on pain.  And for your information, these vibrators are for display purposes only.”

He blew out a breath.  “Phew.  That
helps ease the performance anxiety.”

She smacked his arm playfully.  “Who are you kidding?
I’ll bet you’ve never had performance anxiety in your life.”

He
pulled her into his arms.  “No, and I have no intention of starting tonight.”