A Man After Midnight (5 page)

His free hand gripped her waist tightly as he thrust in.  He leaned his forehead against her neck. 

“God, I want this to last,” he growled.  “You feel so good wrapped around me, baby.”

Caroline pushed back, wanting him to move, and he quickly complied, pumping in and out of her with fast, hard strokes.  Their combined panting echoed around them, holding them in a cocoon of fast, furious fucking.  The pleasure was too much as her orgasm rose sharply. 

“I’m going to come,” she moaned.

“Yes,” he gasped.  “I can feel you clenching me.  Jesus Christ, you’re so fucking tight.” 

“Harder,” she panted. 

He obliged, thrusting as if he were out of control, and then suddenly Caroline exploded, stars bursting behind her closed lids.  Wren moaned a second later and his orgasm erupted, his cock jerking until it ran empty.  Then he bent his head and kissed her shoulder.

He let her leg drop but pressed her against the wall until she was able to stand on her feet without falling.  Caroline felt a moment of emptiness as he pulled out of her.  Her skirt fell down, concealing her still-throbbing parts, letting the lassitude of her orgasm wash through her for a moment longer. 

Behind her, Wren took care of his business, removing the condom and zippering himself back up.  She had a brief thought of what he planned to do with the used condom but didn’t really have the energy to dwell on it for too long. 

And then he turned her around and took her lips, kissing her tenderly.  His forehead dropped to rest against hers. 

“Wow,” she purred.

He grinned.

“Um,” came a hesitant voice from behind.  “May I help you?”

Wren looked over his shoulder, and Caroline’s eyes widened as the memory of where they were rocked through her.  A busboy held an empty tub in front of him, eyeing them with curiosity.

“My wife was feeling a little faint,” Wren lied smoothly.  “We thought the breeze would help settle her nausea.”

“Should I get my manager?”

“No need.” Wren slipped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her tight to his side.  “She’s about two months along … this happens quite frequently.”

The young busboy grinned.  “Congrats!”

“Thank you.  Can we exit this way?” he asked, pointing toward the gate at the end of the alley.

“Nah, that gate is always locked.  Sorry, man,” the kid said.

“No problem.  I just hope the smell of the food doesn’t make her sick again.” Wren walked, pulling her along, and all Caroline could do was bury her head in his chest and ignore the curious stares of the other patrons as they made their way out. 

Once on the sidewalk and away from the restaurant, Caroline pulled away, laughing.  “Oh my god, I can’t believe we did that!”

Wren took her hand and held it.  “So you have a little bit of exhibitionist in your system.”

“I’ve never done anything like that before,” she said. 

“It makes me want to find out what else makes you tick, Ms. Grace.”

Caroline didn’t answer as they walked back toward their hotel.  His words echoed in her ears.  What made her tick?  She honestly didn’t know.  For a long time she’d been merely surviving, making sure she stayed away from anything or, more importantly, from anyone who challenged the nice little safe haven she’d erected around herself.  The sex she had with Wren frightened her a little.  Fun, yes, and very satisfying … but the depth of completeness she felt with him threatened the walls she’d carefully constructed.  There were only two and a half days left on her mini-vacation, and then it was back to reality.  Back to her staid, safe existence, and that was okay with her.  Being alone hurt far less than trusting someone with your heart and your emotions. 

Still, Caroline wondered how to suppress the tiny flutter of happiness every time he looked at her.  Because there was no way she was going to fall in love with him.

Chapter Seven

“What the hell!”  Aldy exclaimed the moment Caroline entered their hotel room.

Aldy had her arms crossed over her chest and one foot tapping on the carpet, with a look of righteous indignation on her face.

“What the hell what?”  Caroline asked, nonplused.

“My boss?  You slept with my boss!”

Caroline blinked and let the door close behind her.  “Who’s your boss?”

“Wren Calder!”

“Wren is your boss?”  She thought he’d been one of those company figureheads who put their names on the letterhead but didn’t really get involved with day-to-day work.

Aldy shook her head.  “Are we on a hamster wheel or something?  Yes, Wren Calder is my boss.  And you slept with him!”

“Amongst other things,” Caroline answered, tossing her purse onto her bed.

“Oh my god, I don’t want to know that!”  Aldy put her hands over her ears.  “Ew, ew, ew.”

“Why are you grossed out?  He’s a great guy and sexy as hell.”

Aldy dropped her hands from her head to her hips.  “He’s.  My.  Boss.”  She enunciated each word carefully.  “It’s like learning your parents have sex.”

“Your parents
do
have sex,” Caroline told her.  “Remember that time when we walked in on them––”

“Enough!”  Aldy threw up her hands, sighing.

“What?  You’re the one who told me to indulge in a vacation romance.”

“Yeah, with some random stranger in the bar.”

Caroline cocked her head.  “Would you listen to yourself?  You’d rather I pick up some Joe off the street and fuck him than have a safe, casual weekend relationship with a man you know is decent and kind?”

“Yes!”

“Aldy!”
Her friend let out a puff of air.  “Listen, I know he’s drop dead sexy, like Norman Reedus, or…”

“Tom Hiddleston.”

Aldy snapped her fingers. “Oh, even better!  Yes. Like him.  Wait, what was I saying?  Tom distracted me.”

“I slept with your boss.”

“Right. I just don’t want to see you hurt anymore.  Wren Calder has been in the Fortune 500, like, forever!  He’s overseeing the office based in Paris.”

“What?  You don’t think I’m woman enough to handle a Fortune 500 man?”

“No, I don’t think you’re woman enough to handle
him
.  He’s a worldly type of man, Caro.  He’s used to women who are a bit … exotic.”

Caroline raised an eyebrow.  “Really?  Like how?”

“Ew, do you really want me to go there?”

Caroline nodded.

“I heard he has varied tastes.  Models, actresses, princesses … even a certain tattooed gothic hottie who has her own TV show.  He’s a player, Caro.  He’s not for you.”

For a moment Caroline let the warning rattle her, allowing her insecurities to run amok.  Aldy stood there, watching her, and the pity she saw in her friend’s eyes helped to push it all away.  There would be time for self-reflection later.

“You think I should get some tattoos?”

“Caroline!”

“Aldy!  I’m joking,” Caroline chided.  “I’ve been having a wonderful time with Wren, and the sex hasn’t been pervy at all!”  Caroline ignored the little twinge of consciousness that statement produced. 

Aldy’s lips twisted into an unpleasant frown.  “You’ve been hurt enough, Caro.”

“And that’s why I love you.  Always watching my back.”

“That’s what best friends do.  It’s in the handbook, you know.”

Caroline smiled.  “So, I’m meeting up with Wren around nine this evening.”

Aldy sighed.  “Did my talk go in one ear and out the other?”

Caroline hugged her.  “No, but I know that this is just a weekend affair.  I’ve got my eyes open.” She pulled back to smile at her friend.  “You wanna do dinner together?”

“Pizza?” Aldy asked.  “We can take the subway down to Little Italy and chow down on some
delizioso
Italian cuisine.”

Caroline laughed as she went to the closet.  “Let me take a shower first and then we can head out.”

“You’ve got fifteen minutes.  I’m starving.”

Caroline only shook her head as she closed the bathroom door behind her. 

****

“You’ve been staring at me like I’m a bug under a microscope,” Wren said warily as he downed the last of his B & B liqueur. 

Caroline had her chin resting in her palm as she studied him through the candlelight.  They had come to the Big Band Dance Hall for drinks, and it had presented the perfect opportunity to study him.

“I’ve heard a rumor about you.”

He raised an eyebrow. “From your friend Aldrin Crenshaw?”

“Leave Aldy out of this,” she said.  “She’s very protective.”

Wren inclined his head.  “All right.  Which rumor would you like to address, Caroline?”

“
Which
rumor?”

He shrugged.  “I may have appeared in several tabloids over the years.”

She blinked, then chuckled.  “Touché.”

“So, which rumor?  I can assure you, I’ve not fathered any children and I’m not secretly in the closet.”

Caroline thought about the redhead for a brief moment.  “Fair enough.  Then let me ask you this, why are you with me?”

“I don’t think I understand the question,” he admitted, looking perplexed.

“I’ve heard about the type of women you usually go out with, and I’m just wondering how I fit into the mix.”

“Did you ever think that it’s because you’re unbelievably beautiful?  Or sexy as hell?” 

Caroline pursed her lips as she thought for a moment.  “No,” she answered truthfully.  “Those are two adjectives I wouldn’t think to use in describing me.”

“I thought you were quite elegant when I saw you sitting in the bar the other night,” he admitted.  “I pictured you wrapped in silk, red lips, a cigarette on the end of a long holder.  The outward shell displaying an icy, yet beautiful, temptress underneath.  And I was right.  Whether you admit it or not, you were made for sex.”

Caroline cleared her throat at the mental picture he gave her and tried to find enough saliva to lick her suddenly dry lips.  She strove to regroup her thoughts and steer the conversation back on solid ground.

“So, if you’re from New York, why bother sightseeing something you grew up with?  You probably missed something very important today at the conference.”

“I’m sure by now Ms. Crenshaw has told you that I’m CEO, and one perk of being boss is having your admin assistant sit in for you once in a while,” he said with a crooked smile.  “Besides, I’ve got limited days with you.”

Yes, very limited.  The reminder suddenly made Aldy’s fears seem inconsequential. 

“Then what’s on the agenda tonight, Mr. Calder?”

He studied her face, his eyes tracing over every curve.  She waited, and figured he had something big ready by the way his eyes darkened with desire.  Her stomach quivered a little with anticipation.

“Have you ever been to a sex show?”

Caroline cocked her head, not sure if she heard him correctly.  “Excuse me?”

“A sex show,” he repeated.

“What does that mean?  What’s a sex show?”

“The higher priced version of a backroom peep show.”

She sat back for a moment, studying his face, trying to determine if he was serious or not.  “Why would you ask me that?”

“Do you trust me, Caroline?”

This wasn’t the first time he had asked that question.  The first, however, had been superficial, just a way to experience a bit of fun from a weekend fling.  Now it seemed different, deeper.  His statement about different rumors suddenly made a lot of sense.

“There is a club called Perversions,” he continued, as if she hadn’t hesitated.  “It caters to eclectic tastes, of erotica.”

“Do you go there often?”

“I own a membership.”

“A membership?”

“It’s not the type of club that is available to everyone … only to a certain type of clientele,” he said in a dry tone.

“I take it a
rich
clientele.”

He nodded.  “That is one requirement.”

Caroline sat up straight, her mind racing.  “What exactly do they have at Perversions?”

“Doesn’t the name say it all?” he asked with a smirk.

“It could be a misnomer,” she reasoned.  “Like the funny bone.  Or Greenland.”

He laughed.  “I’m amazed at how you managed to mention Greenland in a discussion about sex,” he said, shaking his head.

“The question that comes to mind is, how do you find a club called Perversions?” 

He shrugged.  “I’ve never been embarrassed about what turns me on.”

“So you pay to have sex.”

He held up a finger.  “That’s not what I said.  I don’t have sex at Perversions.  But I do like to watch.  Occasionally.  And some clients of Troublemakers have, shall we say, sundry tastes.”

“Oh.”  She scrunched up her nose and shuddered.  “For some reason, that gave me a mental picture of Aldy that I really did not need in my brain.”

Wren grabbed her hand and rubbed the palm with the pad of his thumb.  “Want to explore something different?”

Caroline studied his slate grey eyes, seeing the challenge he presented to her. He’d asked if she trusted him, but what he really meant was if she was strong enough to accept a different side of herself.  He’d already blindfolded her and had sex in public with her, but did she really want to face what really turned her on?  Life with Greg had been simplistic and sex had followed the logistics of that life.  Now, finally free of that marriage, did she have enough courage to confront all of her fantasies?   

“Yes,” she said, so softly that he leaned closer to hear what she said.