Unfinished Business (Erotic Reunion) - a SEXY romance short (6 page)

Hopefully,
she’d never get to that stage, she thought with a happy sigh as she arrived at
the apartment block. Only that day, she’d finally sent the finished copy of her
manuscript to a well-known local publishing firm. That’s why she was so happy;
she really had a good feeling about her latest work and somehow, she knew
this was it
. Now all she had to do was
wait and…

“Well
hello
honey, looking good,” said a
gruff, somewhat slurry voice behind her. She glanced round and saw two men, one
white and the other black, both grinning wolfishly and both looking less than
sober.

Choosing
to ignore them, she made to walk on. Only to have her arm grabbed as she was
twisted round sharply. “Ow!” she cried angrily.

“Hey!
My pal was talking to you, sweet cheeks,” the black guy said. They both looked
like unruly college students, who’d had too much to drink at the neighborhood
bar. She scowled up at both of them.

“Take
your hands off me,” she gritted, glaring up into the dark man’s face.

“Aw
come on, don’t be like that,” the guy said, as his friend smirked, walking up
to her and tipping up her chin.

The
white one, who had floppy brown hair, said, “So pretty. I always did have a
thing for the hot punk type chicks. See, green eyes, we just got stood up by
our dates and we’re feeling kind of lonesome. Why not make our night? There’s
this frat party just blocks from here. And don’t you mind if there’s two of us
baby, JT and I don’t mind sharing…”

As the
dark one called JT chortled in agreement, Hailey’s eyes darkened and she
forcefully shoved them away. “Get lost,” she snarled. Now she wished she hadn’t
lingered at the coffee shop instead of coming back home on time. But she’d been
prolonging going back up to the lonely
apartment which
,
though filled with all the luxuries, was still an empty room.

JT
glanced at his friend, before turning to Hailey, his tone ominous, “Now see,
it’s chilly enough out tonight without you going all ice princess on us. You
think you’re too good for us?”

Oh for
fuck’s sake, Hailey thought, settling for simply turning around and walking
away. Maybe if she kept on going and didn’t look back, they’d be at a loss and
just leave her alone.

“Hey!
Not finished talking to you!” the one called JT said, and this time when he
grabbed her arm, he twisted it high up behind her back, making her yelp in
surprise and fear.

She
turned, struggling helplessly, only to hear a resounding “crack”. A large fist
had come out of nowhere and landed in the black guy’s face. He toppled to the
floor without a sound, knocked out.

His
friend looked down in shock, and then turned to face the tall, broad shouldered
man standing there with them. Hailey heaved a sigh of relief when she saw it
was Ethan Wolf.

He was
looking threateningly at the guy still standing,
who
raised up both arms in the universal sign of surrender, before quickly reaching
down to hustle up his now groggy friend. “Hey JT, let’s get out of here.”

Hailey
watched the two guys stumble away into the rainy darkness before she turned to
face Ethan Wolf. Where the hell had he come from? What the hell did it matter?
He’d showed up in the nick of time. She gave him a warm, grateful smile. “Thank
you.”

*

Ethan
felt so mad he could break something. He really wished he’d actually broken
that dumbass’s nose, not just knocked him down. When he’d turned the corner and
seen Hailey getting molested like that, he’d seen red.

Now he
watched the two guys stumble quickly away into the rainy darkness. Only then
did he turn to face Hailey. She was looking up at him with a warm, grateful
smile. The melting glow in her face at that moment was enough to steal his
breath.

Jesus
Christ the things he wanted to do to her…

But
then he shook off those amorous thoughts. Now
was not the
time, considering how she’d just been in the process of being attacked by those
two goons
.

“Thank
you,” she breathed.

“That’s
okay. Those dumb kids – too much money to blow on booze and not enough
sense to know when a lady’s not interested. Are you alright?” he asked in
concern, brushing off a stray lock from her face. She looked damned hot that
night, whether she knew it or not. She was wearing a leather jacket, unbuttoned
to reveal the cropped grey sweater she wore underneath. There was just a hint
of concave belly before her thighs and legs – endless and slim and
encased in black and white patterned leggings – ended in a pair of knee
high black lace up boots.

He felt
a stirring in his loins and he wondered to himself why on earth she had such a
power over him. She was nothing like he was used to dating. She was different,
promising excitement and something fresh to a guy getting seriously jaded by
the same kind of women who never held his fancy for more than a few hours or at
best, a week. But this girl called Hailey…she magnetized him. For weeks he’d
had her fleeting through his mind, and every time he saw her he only wanted her
more. He wondered how long this would continue before he acted out what his
very soul wanted him to do.

“I’m
fine,” she said, nodding. Though he could sense she was somewhat shaky when he
gently took hold of her elbow.

“Come
on, let’s get inside, the weather’s getting worse,” he said, and she didn’t
demur or pull from his touch. She seemed grateful for his support and he
actually felt she maybe leaned on him a little as they made their way into the
apartment building.

“I’ll
see you up to your room to make sure you’ll be all right,” he said courteously,
then saw her eyes widen with...panic? What?’

“No,
there’s no need. I’ll be okay, really. Thanks.” They were inside the elevator
now, and he pressed the number to his floor as the door closed.

He
turned to her to say mildly, “Tell you what. I’ve got some fabulous Irish
brandy I’ve been dying to crack open but never had the motivation. But now,
I’ve had a rough day and I need some picking up. Seems like you do too. Why
don’t you join me up in my place for a drink? I’ve got a fantastic balcony
view.”

She
smiled, shaking her head and looking away. “Look, Ethan, I don’t think…”

“Or
hey, you can invite me to your apartment and offer me something to drink
– coffee, tea…anything to warm me up from the rain and chill. It’s the
least I can ask after fending off two irate hoodlums in defense of your honor.”

Now she
hiccupped on a laugh, before rifling her fingers through her gorgeous long hair
with the buzzed side portion. He heard her sigh deeply. “I think that brandy of
yours sounds like a better idea.”

Ethan
grinned, and hoped he didn’t have too much of a gleam of triumph in his eye. He
vowed to keep his hands to himself and not frighten her off. But even with her
standing this close to him in the enclosed space of the elevator, he couldn’t
stop thinking of pulling her to him and kissing her. Only lord knew what he’d
feel capable of doing once he had her alone in his place…

*

It was
like walking into the tiger’s den.

Hailey
was no fool. The carnal energy was coming off him in waves. Heck, she was
probably reeking of it herself. Arousal, hot and thick, had swirled between
them in the elevator. Every nerve ending in her body had tingled at his
nearness and it was a good thing they’d had to spend only moments in there or
anything could have happened. The sexual detonator could well have already been
set off by now…

“Your
coat,” he said courteously, smiling as he stood behind her and helped her out
of her damp combat
jacket which
reached below her
knees. Now, in just her cropped sweater, tight skirt and even tighter leggings,
she felt strangely vulnerable. Especially when his gorgeous brown eyes swept
over her with such frank admiration.

“Thanks,”
she said, as he put the coat up next to his, then indicated that she proceed
into the apartment before him. Hailey walked in, and saw that his apartment was
at least twice the size of hers, and definitely far more luxurious –
which was saying a lot. There were a lot of wide, open spaces, the furniture
far from cluttered and screaming high expense. She peeked a grand piano
standing in the next room, which intrigued her as she wondered if he played.
One whole wall was just windows that seemed to lead outside to a balcony. Every
kind of modern contrivance designed for comfort seemed available in his ultra
modern apartment and yet, still managed to not look over-extravagant.
Classy, stylish, and simplicity at its best.

“Nice,”
she said, turning to him as he emerged from the elegantly appointed bar by the
far wall. He’d poured out the drinks and now held out her glass. She took it
from him with thanks, and cradled the tumbler as he smiled and went to the
impressive sound system and with a touch of a button on the remote, filled the
air with music. It was just the right touch to get her relaxed; there was no
singing, just instrumentals from a song Hailey recognized was by one of her
favorite bands.

He came
to stand right in front of her, his eyes watchful, his smile speculative. “So
tell me, Hailey; who are you? You’ve intrigued – and evaded me –
for weeks. And now that I have you, so to speak…”

Hailey
bit on her bottom lip to stifle a giggle. Quickly, she took a sip from her
drink and felt the warm, golden flavor smack into her senses almost instantly. Whoa.
It had a kick to it that was deeply sexy, rough and hot. She’d never really
liked brandy but with this, she could see herself becoming a fan.

She
took another drink, a longer one this time, almost finishing it off, till he
placed a hand to draw it down. “Hey, easy,” he said with a teasing grin.
“That’s some potent stuff.”

You’re
telling me, she thought, letting him take the glass from her grasp as he placed
it next to his on a nearby side table.

“So…I
take it you’d rather not talk about yourself,” he murmured, once more turning
to her. Hailey couldn’t register much right then, not when she was too busy
staring at his lips as they moved. The liquor had proved intoxicating enough
but it was nothing compared to the intense excitement she felt pumping in her
veins right then for this hunk of a man. She…
craved
him. More than she’d craved anything, ever. And now that
they were alone, now that it had boiled right down to it, she was ready to at
last discover how much of her fantasies could be brought to life…

Chapter
Four

Hailey
moved forward, closing the few inches gap it took to have her body
pressed
up against his. She heard him hiss in a shallow
breath through his teeth as he felt the soft push of her full, clothed breasts.

“You’re
right; I don’t really want to talk about myself; not tonight,” she breathed,
inching even closer and lifting her head till her lips almost grazed his. He
was tall, much taller than she’d first imagined, and it was a good thing she
had some good heels on her boots. It made it easy for her to feel each hard,
sinewy length of him evident even beneath the layer of his clothes. His tie lay
loosely tied around his throat, a button undone. Damn, he looked so fucking
sexy in that tie. She wrapped her fingers around it and tugged on it slightly.
His brown eyes darkened and became hooded with a lust that mirrored hers.

“And
I’m all for sharing great conversation, but I’m sure there’re better things we
could be doing other than talking. Am I right, Mr. Wolf?”

She
loved that low, growling sound he made deep in his throat. She loved how his
strong arms caught her up and crushed her even harder against him till they
were wedged perfectly together – two pieces of a jigsaw. And oh, she
loved his hot, sweet breath swirling around her nostrils as his mouth parted
and feathered close to hers. Instinctively, her tongue snaked out to moisten
her lips in sensual expectation.

“Baby,
you have no idea,” he rasped, still just keeping back from kissing her. “The
things I’ve done to you a thousand times in my mind…It’s tough enough for me to
not rip your clothes off right now and fuck you where you stand.”

Hailey
whimpered, her arms lifting to wrap around his shoulders, but he seized her
wrists, keeping them down in a powerful grip. She gasped, thrilled by his
strength and the sense of being suddenly, inescapably, in his control.

“Hailey…Hailey,”
he said again and again, dipping to press a kiss to one corner of her lips, and
then the other. “I’ve come to the conclusion that you’re dangerous to my peace
of mind. I
need
you – I just
hope you feel even an iota of the same.”

The raw
hunger in his voice made her heart pound against her chest like a drum. Heaven
help her she was ready to melt into a puddle right then. The sexual chemistry
in the air was impossible to either ignore or deny.
This man was lethal
. She’d thought so before and now, in his arms,
his lips just a breath from
hers,
she reiterated the
fact to herself.

But
this wasn’t going to happen.