"What are you doing?" she asked huskily.
"Isn't it obvious?"
"I'm here to do a job—"
"—that just ended. You don't work for me anymore."
She tried again. "I'm a party planner."
"Yeah…and do you want me to spell out how you can really throw a party for me?"
A sizzle went through her.
"Incredible, isn't it?" he asked, his voice rough with arousal. "We've known each other, what? A decade? If I'd known kissing you would be this good, I'd never have been able to resist."
Her parched heart soaked up his words greedily. It was desperate for a shower of sincerity after Carter's infidelity.
"There was no resisting involved," she contradicted huskily. "You didn't like me."
"If only that had been true."
Before she could say anything else, he kissed her again, and the passion flared immediately.
After a moment, she tore her mouth from his. "Wait. We can't do this!"
"Why?" he asked. "You shed a fiancé, and—" he glanced around them as if looking for someone "—ah, yes, I never had one."
"This is such a classic rebound scenario!"
His eyes bore into hers, obsidian disks promising pleasure. "It's hard to give a damn about that right now, but yeah, okay. Do you even care?"
"I—"
Lord, she didn't. It was hard to care, to think even, at the moment.
Why not sleep with Griffin? There didn't have to be any strings attached. He could be her fling after Carter. A salve to her ego.
Griffin nibbled at her lips. "Carter was an idiot. He couldn't see past your bank account to the woman you are."
His hand found the zipper of her beaded top and tugged. "Just take the plunge," he said, his voice low and coaxing. "What have you got to lose?"
"You're not the wild and crazy type," she pointed out.
"I'm a real estate investor. That makes me a gambler by nature."
Funny, she'd never thought of him that way. He'd always appeared too staid and buttoned-down to be the adventurous type. But lately she'd seen an entirely different side of Griffin.
Her top came apart in back, the two halves of the zipper parting. With a little assistance from Griffin, the top slid off her shoulders and down her arms to pool at her feet. She was left clad on top in only her demi-bra.
Griffin's eyes flared. "You're lovely, Eva."
He put his hands on her waist and then stroked up and down her rib cage, the pads of his thumbs skimming over the sensitized skin of her stomach.
She was acutely aware of his every movement. Still, she fought for a sophisticated insouciance she didn't feel.
"No strings, Griffin," she said flippantly. "Tonight you're my consolation fling, and that's all."
Griffin's jaw hardened. "If that's what you want."
"It's what I want," she confirmed, her fingers going to the buttons of his shirt and undoing the first one.
"Then why waste any more time?"
And with those words, he picked her up and strode to the bed.
He sat her down on his lap, and kissed her thoroughly.
She cupped the back of his head and returned his kiss without reservation. If she was going to throw caution to the wind, then she was going to make sure to enjoy herself thoroughly.
His erection pushed against her, fueling the aching need beginning to build inside her. His fingers delved into her hair, and she felt the strong beat of his heart against her.
Her black mules hit the floor, one after the other, and a moment later, she found herself sliding to her feet between his legs, helped along by his pat on her rear end.
Griffin nuzzled her br**sts, and she drew him toward her, resting her arms on his shoulders as her hands cupped the back of his head.
With a flick of his wrist, he undid her bra and tossed it across the room.
He drew one nipple into his mouth, and lapped the peak with his tongue again and again, intermittently sucking gently.
Her knees went weak. "Oh, Griffin."
"Yes," he said thickly. "Enjoy."
He transferred his attention to her other breast, and she grew breathless, suffocated by passion.
When he finally lifted his head, she would have given him anything, but his fingers went to the waistband of her pants and he fumbled with the button and zipper.
Moments later, he pushed the pants down her hips, hooking his thumbs into the waistband of her panties along the way and taking those down as well.
He focused on the apex of her thighs and caressed it with the palm of his hand.
She went delirious with want. Tonight was so wrong in every way that the taste of the forbidden fueled her desire.
His hands went to her waist, and, in a surprise move, he lifted her and tumbled her back onto the bed beside them.
He stood then, and holding her gaze, popped the buttons on his shirt and tossed the garment aside.
She felt the breath leave her.
Beneath his Clark Kent persona, Griffin was every woman's fantasy. His chest was washboard flat, and it was clear that before or after his time at the office, he worked out.
His eyelids hooded, Griffin watched her as he slid off his belt and kicked off his shoes.
She licked her lips. "The doctor said the tests came back clear."
"I'm glad," he said deeply. "I just let them run the blood work during my annual physical. I got a clean bill last month, in fact."
He lowered his pants and briefs, his erection springing free.
She couldn't remember ever being so excited in her life. "I—Uh, I'm still on the pill. I never went off, even though Carter and I decided to abstain for a while before the wedding."
She lifted a shoulder. "I guess I wanted to be sure we were safe until we were ready to try…"
She let the sentence trail off, but she was sure he understood what she meant. Until they were ready to try to have a child.
Griffin nodded, and then he picked up her leg and placed a kiss on the sensitive skin of her inner arch. "Try to relax. Try to enjoy this." A slow, wicked smile touched his lips. "Try to let me know how I'm making you feel."
He grasped her other ankle, pulled her to the edge of the bed and then began to pleasure her with his mouth.
It all happened so fast, she barely had time to utter a startled exclamation of surprise.
She turned her head to the side and brought her fist to her mouth to stifle her moan.
Carter had never shown any interest in pleasuring her this way. She was stunned by the thrilling new sensations coursing through her.
Griffin grasped her arm and pulled her hand from her mouth, raising his head long enough to say in a smoky voice, "Remember, try to let me know how you feel."