Tweet Me (2 page)

Tanner Voss lounged in the plushly padded booth at Raquel’s and sipped on the finely aged bourbon he’d ordered. He’d thought about a glass of wine but decided he needed something stronger to settle his nerves. Nerves? What the hell did he have to be nervous about? He’d just had a successful conclusion to a major litigation case and brought in two new clients. He was quickly achieving rainmaker status in the firm.

Oh, maybe he was nervous because he stupidly told Will and Janice he’d be their taster/tester for their wedding that was now in three weeks instead of five months. He wasn’t sure he knew the difference between a truffle and a ruffle, nor did he really care. He would do his best for Will, because it was important and Will was a close friend as well as a colleague.

But the real reason he’d agreed to put himself in this stupid position was because of Avery Kurtz. Avery, with the lustrous, rich brown hair he itched to run his fingers through. With breasts that hands itched to cup and nicely rounded hips. With gold-flecked hazel eyes, a delicately pointed chin, and a dimple at one corner of her mouth. And to frost the cake, she was damn smart.

Whenever he was with her his brain went into overdrive and his cock demanded equal attention. She was the first woman he, the commitmentphobe, had ever met who made him think a long-term relationship could even be possible. And whether she wanted to admit it or not, they had some serious chemistry between them that was more than just physical.

He’d tried everything. Casual, intense, funny, serious, but he just couldn’t seem to make things click with her. She wasn’t exactly unfriendly. No, that wasn’t it. She was…remote. That was it. She smiled and chatted in a friendly manner, but she was always distant, as if the only reason she tolerated him was because he was Will’s and Janice’s friend. He couldn’t figure out why. He hadn’t been obnoxious, often restraining himself from saying and doing some of the idiotic things that popped into his mind.

She wasn’t just some female whose pants he couldn’t get into, either. He wanted more than that with her, which certainly shocked the hell out of him. He was the winner of the Mr. No Commitment crown in the city, a man very happy exactly as he was, thank you very much. All of which he’d happily give up if Avery would just give him a little encouragement.

He had laughed his ass off at this dumb idea of Will’s. What did he know about picking out stuff for weddings? He didn’t plan to have one for himself for a very long time. And throwing him with Avery Kurtz? He could smell matchmaking a hundred miles away. If the damn woman didn’t want to hook up with him, who the hell cared?

You do, idiot.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Here he was, a big shot successful attorney who could have his pick of any female in the city, maybe even the state, and the one he wanted didn’t want him. Talk about poetic justice. Well, he finally had a chance to put his best foot forward, and he’d better not mess it up. Avery had no idea he’d spent an hour with his secretary behind closed doors, grilling her about things for weddings, especially Valentine’s Day weddings. She offered to call a shrink for him but nevertheless answered his questions.

He’d arrived at Raquel’s early, so he could settle his nerves with a drink and plan his method of attack. No, not attack. That would kill things for sure. She wasn’t the kind of woman who would succumb to an overwhelming show of affluence and attention. She’d see right through that. No, he had to try something different, and maybe, just maybe, this would be it.

Slow and steady
, he told himself, taking another sip of his drink.
This is your one big chance with this woman. Don’t blow it.

As he was giving himself the stern warning, he glanced up and saw the woman in question heading for his booth. He put the glass down and stood up to greet her properly.

“Hey, Tanner,” she said in that musical voice that always got to him.

She held out her hand, and when he took it, he could swear electric sparks flashed in the air. Her eyes widened, a good indication she felt it, too, but she just withdrew her hand without acknowledging anything.

“Thanks for agreeing to drinks with me.” He indicated the booth. “Have a seat. Please.”

“No problem.” She slid in across the butter soft leather, settled her purse beside her, and blew out a gentle sigh. “I’d say it wasn’t necessary to pick such a high-end place, but right now, I need their relaxing atmosphere.”

“Tough day?” He tried to keep his gaze from the way the soft material of her blouse draped against her breasts. Involuntarily, his hands closed, as if cupping those mouthwatering mounds, and he had to give himself a mental kick. This wasn’t to seduce her, at least not yet, despite the fact he was seized with a need to peel her clothes off and run his tongue over every inch if her body.

She gave him a wry look. “You’re kidding, right?” The waiter materialized asking for her drink order. “Margarita, please. Rocks, no salt.”

“That ought to smooth out the wrinkles.” He smiled. “So are you referring to the Will and Janice bombshell, or did other things turn your day upside down?”

Her laugh had a touch of hysteria in it. “Oh, every day is nuts for me, but yes, Will and Janice managed to top everything else. Can you believe it? They want to get married in three weeks? And they want me—well, with your help—to take care of everything? Like I can just make it magically happen with all the pieces in place.”

“From what I hear about your business, if anyone can do it, you can.”

“Well, thank you. I guess we’re going to find out.” The waiter placed her drink in front of her, and she took a healthy swallow before setting the glass back down on the table. “Okay, that helps.”

“I know the feeling. Hey, before we get into the wedding, it’s my turn this year to take care of the firm’s Christmas party. I wondered if I could have my admin call you and set up a meeting.”

Crap! Did that sound too lame? Too pushy? It was only January, for cripes’ sake.

Avery burst out laughing. “Tanner, Christmas isn’t for eleven months yet.”

One corner of his mouth kicked up in a half-smile. “I know. Just getting a jump on things. So can I?”

“If you want. Have her tweet me, and we’ll set something up.”

He looked at her curiously. A tweet? No verbal contact? “Not a phone call? Don’t you talk on the phone?”

“When I absolutely have to. My tweets come in on a steady stream. I can just answer them without going back and forth, in and out like I have to with emails or texts. And phone calls are usually unsatisfactory.”

He wanted to say that depended on who was doing the calling, but he wasn’t going to push it. Not yet.

“Well, here’s to successful tweeting.” He lifted his glass to her and took a sip.

“So.” She gave him a questioning look. “What made them think you could be the official taster/tester for this very important event?”

Yes, what indeed? How could he tell her he saw this as a chance to be with her? For her to get to know him and hopefully…

Tanner gave himself a mental shake and laughed. “Damned if I know.” He rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “But I do have excellent taste and a long history of parties. Will that do?”

Avery gave him another searching look, followed by yet another sigh. “Let’s hope so.” She pulled her tablet from her purse. “So let’s start from the beginning. I made a list of things we have to do immediately. I hope your schedule allows for it.”

“I’ll make it work,” he assured her. “But don’t you want to have dinner first before we get to the hard work?”

She shrugged. “I can eat and talk at the same time. Let’s order, then we can get to it.”

Okay, all business. He could go with that for the moment. He wanted to show her that he could be serious about this, that he hadn’t invited her here for dinner to soften her up for advances. That wasn’t the program to follow with Avery Kurtz. He hoped, by being a top-notch partner with her on this, he could show her a side of himself she’d never seen, which might advance his cause.

The food was excellent, as always, and between that, the drinks, and the muted atmosphere in the room, he watched her visibly relax. Over dessert, an excellent tiramisu they decided to share, she summarized everything they’d talked about so far.

“As I said earlier, I confirmed with The Promenade earlier today. They’ve given us the Tiara Room. I must say, Will must have done something spectacular for them to get that room. And for them to kick someone out to make it happen.”

Tanner nodded. “You can ask him about it sometime. It’s his story to tell.”

“Good, then. Day after tomorrow, we’ll meet there to review the table setup, the color cloths we want and to do a tasting of dinner samples to select the menu. “

“I can certainly give my opinion on good food,” he told her.

“Janice didn’t even give me a list of her preferences, but luckily I still had my notes from our long ago discussion. When the wedding was scheduled for June,” she said pointedly.

“Hey.” He held up his hands. “Don’t put that on me. Not my wedding or decision.”

“I know, I know.” She blew out a breath. “Sorry. I’ll try not to take out my frustrations on you.” She looked at her tablet again. “I’d like to stop at the candy store I use first, if you’ve got the time. I want to get the special order in quickly so there’s no chance of screwing it up.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Like I said, I arranged to make myself available whenever you need me. But candy? I thought, well, you know, candy is candy.”

Avery’s laugh had such a nice musical sound to it, like her voice. “See, that’s why I asked if you were up for this. I need a special kind, three kinds actually, all shaped like hearts, and wrapped in foil with their names on it.”

“I guess I learned something new. Okay, I’ll do my best.”

She frowned slightly, as if still not sure he was going to be any help.

“The day after we’ll be going to the florist and then the winery. It seems Montrose Winery is a favorite of theirs and they want the wine and champagne to come from there.”

He nodded as she went down the list. He was doing his best to pay attention, but her voice was an instrument stimulating his nerves. His cock pressed against his fly with an urgent need to be freed, his balls ached, and he had an insane desire to drag her out to his car and plunge himself into her pussy. To fuck her until neither of them could breathe and then start all over again.

Easy, easy, easy. You’ve waited this long. You can wait for the right time. Do it right, or you’ll never get another chance.

“I took care of the invitations today,” she told him.

“Oh? With limited time, I’d think you’d have to email them, and I can bet neither the bride nor the groom would be happy with that.”

“Will said whatever it cost so I took him at his word. I had the original design Janice had picked. I stopped at the printer’s on the way here, had them revise the design for Valentine’s Day, and when they are ready tomorrow I’m having them hand delivered.”

Tanner burst out laughing. “You really did take him literally. I hope they pared down the list, at least.”

Avery nodded. “They cut it to fifty people, which should fit nicely into the room at The Promenade. Tomorrow, we start on everything else.”

He was fascinated watching her lips as she spoke, imagining how they would feel if—no, when—he kissed her. How they would taste. How they would—

“So are we good then? Tanner?”

Tanner blinked, aware that she was speaking directly to him. Had he missed anything important?

“Yes, Very good. All good.”

“For a minute there, I had the feeling you’d spaced out.”

No. Just imagining my cock in your pussy and my tongue in your mouth.

“Not at all. What time shall I pick you up?”

She frowned. “Pick me up?”

“For the tasting and the candy.”

“Oh.” She blinked. “No, I’ll just meet you. I’ll tweet you the time for the confection. If it’s a go with you, I’ll tweet you the addy and the time.”

Okay. He wouldn’t push it. This time.

“I’ll look forward to your tweets. Any and all of them.”

She stared at him. “Are you making fun of me?”

“Not at all. This will be a new experience for me. I don’t think I’ve ever had a tweet conversation.”

“You’ll love it when you see how easy it is.”

He gestured to the waiter for the check. “I look forward to it.” He gave her a wink. “And to working with you on the wedding.”

And just maybe some celebrating of our own if I can do this right.

Chapter Two

“You taste so delicious.” Tanner’s voice was rough with passion and desire.

Avery stretched and arched to meet Tanner’s very talented tongue, the slightly rough feel of it rasping against her sensitized clit. Sensation shot through the muscles of her inner walls, making them flex and pulse in response. His thumbs held her outer lips apart to give him full access to her entire sex, and he was taking complete advantage of it. He lapped and licked, swirling the tip of his tongue around her oh so sensitive bud before dragging it through her heated flesh again.

He had been at this for some time, no matter how much she urged him to get on with it and do more. She wanted some part of him inside her, and he seemed just as determined to make her wait until she was ready to lose her mind. When she fisted her hands in his hair and tried to pull him tighter to her pussy, he just laughed. Then he took her hands, placed them over her head, and locked her fingers around the spindles on her headboard.

“Don’t move,” he ordered. “If you do I might be tempted to deny your orgasm for even longer.”

Longer? Was he kidding? She was riding the ragged edge as it was, her body so tightly coiled she was surprised she hadn’t exploded already. Then, just as she was about to resort to begging, she felt the rough surface of his tongue as he thrust it inside her, scraping her sensitive inner walls.

“Ohhhhh.”

He pulled out, ignoring her cry of protest. “Like that, baby? Want me to do it again?”

“Yes. Yes, yes, yes.”

“Beg me.” His voice was raspy and thick with desire. “Tell me what you want me to do.”