Sweet Sinful Nights

That was his cue to move on. “I got you something else,” he said, handing her the bag he’d brought with him today. It had been next to him in the booth, since this one didn’t fit in his pocket.

A smile spread across her face—that was reward alone. She dug into the shopping bag, and took out a box, then opened the top. He catalogued her reaction. Her eyes seemed to twinkle with happiness, then she brought a hand to her chest, then she took out the pair of red leather shoes with a strap over the arch of the foot.

“You’re still a size six, I presume?”

She nodded as she slipped off her black heels, and tried on the new ones. “I can’t believe you got me shoes.”

He leaned across the table and lowered his voice. “The shoes looked hot, and you’re hot, and I always liked to fuck you in shoes, because you used to leave them on and that was insanely hot. Which pretty much describes you. Hot.”

“So let me get this straight. You think I’m hot?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Your understanding is right on,” he said, deadpan.

“And is this your way of trying to fuck me again, Brent? By buying me shoes and making me laugh?

“Yes,” he said with a nod. “Does it turn you on?”

“You know it does.” She stretched out her leg across his, and modeled the new shoe, then spoke in a smoky whisper. “Does this turn you on?”

He nearly groaned as he answered, “You know it does.”

“Do you want me to wear them on Saturday night? When you take me to Alvin Ailey?”

“Yes.”

All he could think about now was her in those shoes on Saturday, and what might happen later that night. Images flashed wildly before his eyes. Her legs on his shoulders. Her legs in a V. Those heels digging into his back. His tongue all over her naked body, spread out before him. Her spine curving in an arch as he took her once again, and sent her over the edge.

Damn, he liked the reel his mind was playing. Far too much.

“I’ll even let you pick me up if you want,” she said, and he nodded vigorously, thrilled that she was giving him her address finally. She reached for her phone. “I’ll text it to you right now, and then I’ll be wearing these shoes when you come get me,” she said in a come-hither voice that made him want to come hither that instant.

He wasn’t going to be able to get up for a long time because he was so fucking hard. Good thing his phone rang, and Tanner’s named flashed across the screen. Perfect boner killer when he needed it.

“Let me grab this for one minute,” he said to Shannon, then answered the phone. “Hey, Tanner. What’s up?”

The man wasted no time with hellos. “Here’s the deal. You need to meet the leader of the neighborhood association. Let him know Mr. Late Night Funny Guy can be a real businessman. Can you get to New York this weekend? I set up a meeting Sunday night.”

He cursed silently. Saturday night was his big date with Shannon. No way was he backing out. Not after the time he’d missed taking her to Alvin Ailey in college, and not when he was trying to do everything right now. But he could catch an early Sunday morning flight. “I’ll be there in time for a seven p.m. dinner.”

“Fine. I’ll send you details,” Tanner said in a gruff tone.

“Hey, I put in a few calls to the parks department in the city. I made a donation to have some of the parks there revitalized, like you suggested.”

“Good. Keep that shit up. You got a long row to hoe.”

After Brent hung up, he gestured to the phone. “The neighborhood association in New York is being difficult about my plans to open a club there,” he said, then caught her up to speed on the situation as he paid for lunch.

“Hmm,” Shannon said, tap dancing her fingers on her chin as they walked out of the restaurant.

“Hmm, what? You coming up with a perfect plan for me or something?” he joked.

“Actually, I was thinking. Even though your meeting is Sunday, I could record a rehearsal in San Francisco next week when I’m there with the dancers. You can show it to them after so they can see it’s more Cirque du Soleil than Scores.”

He stopped in his tracks, and raked his eyes up and down over the woman at his side. This time, though, he was admiring her business savvy. “That’s brilliant.”

As they left, he vowed to do whatever he had to in order to keep her in his life. Work had won his heart ten years ago. He had to show her that she was more important than work.





CHAPTER FOURTEEN


A pink and purple illustration of an animal stared at her.

“I don’t even want to ask why you’re buying that,” her grandmother said with a laugh, pointing to Shannon’s purchase as the cashier at the party store rang them up.

“It’s a surprise for someone,” Shannon answered with a wink and snatched the little gift and tucked it into her purse.

“That’ll be fifty-seven twenty-one,” the cashier said, bagging up the balloons, streamers, cups and party favors that Victoria had picked up for the birthday party she was throwing for her great-granddaughter’s third birthday—the granddaughter of Shannon’s aunt.

Before her grandma could stop her, Shannon slid her credit card through the machine to pay.