“And?” he said after a moment of prolonged silence.
“Nothing really,” she said lamely.
“It’s okay, Susie,” he soothed. “I won’t laugh, no matter what it is.” And at this point, he was just about dying to find out what it was she’d dreamed that made her so uncomfortable that he’d stuff a log down his throat to keep that promise.
“We… umm…” she cleared her throat nervously, and he marveled that he’d never heard her sound so vulnerable before. “You made love to me. In the sand.”
“Really?” He sat forward in his chair, his blood kicking up a notch at the very idea. “That sounds… sexy. What did we do?”
“We were just standing there, kissing near the surf. Your arms were around me, and you were so warm. I… you slid my dress down my shoulders.” Her voice grew a little breathier with each word, and his blood began to pump a little faster.
“Were you wearing anything underneath?” he murmured, and Suzie shivered at the husky note in his voice. She’d been terrified of confessing this to him, had known it would eventually come to this the moment when she’d foolishly blurted out that she’d dreamt about him. But rather than being repulsed or shocked, he seemed interested… maybe even excited.
“You would think that I might’ve had a bathing suit on underneath or something, but no. I wasn’t wearing anything.”
His c*ck grew hard at the thought of her standing nak*d before him in the moonlight, even though he had no idea what she looked like. “Did I touch you? Kiss you again?” he prompted, wanting to hear more.
“Oh yes,” she breathed. “You kissed the breath out of me, and pushed me down into the sand, with your hands all over me.”
“Can you imagine me doing that now?” he asked. “My hands on you now, on your br**sts, teasing your n**ples?”
“Mmm, yeah.” She put the phone on speaker, then slid her hands up her shirt, beneath her bra, to do just that. “It… feels good.”
“Can you flick your thumbs over your n**ples for me?” He heard her breathy little moan. “Just like that, Susie. Like that. Can you imagine me doing that to you? Does it feel good?”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Suzie moaned as she reclined against the pillows on her bed. Moisture gushed between her thighs at every flick of her thumbs against her n**ples. She should have been mortified, should have changed the topic of conversation immediately, but she wasn’t, she couldn’t. Phone sex had always been a fascinating concept to her, and since she’d seen his picture she could visualize him perfectly as she touched herself.
“What color panties are you wearing?”
“They’re pink.” She fingered the lacy edge beneath the waistband of her pajama bottoms. “Pale pink.”
“I want you to dip your hand beneath them, and touch your p**sy. Can you do that?”
She sucked in a breath, and was just about to do as he wanted when her phone buzzed, signaling an incoming call. Yanking her hand away from the waistband of her pajamas, she snatched the phone up and checked the Caller ID.
“Damn it,” she sighed in frustration. “Can you hang on? It’s my work.”
“Sure.” He sounded slightly on edge, but she figured that was probably part and parcel of sexual frustration.
She took the call, and then with a somewhat heavy heart switched back to the other line.
“Ryan? I’m really sorry, but I’ve got to go. They’re slammed at the ER tonight and they need me back.”
“That’s okay.” He cleared his throat, and when he spoke again his voice had lost some of that huskiness. “I understand how important your job is. Go out there and save some lives, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart. She flushed from head to toe with pleasure—it was the first time he’d given her an endearment. She was going to say goodbye, but a thought struck her. “Are you… do you want to meet?”
The hesitation was back in her voice. “Do you need more time?”
“I… well… it’s not that.” She gave a little laugh. “I can’t give you that excuse after tonight.”
“Then what is it?”
“I just… I’m worried that I won’t be what you expect.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” He sat up straight. “Susie, I’m not looking for a “type”. I’m looking for a woman with a great personality who I feel comfortable with, and I certainly feel comfortable with you.”
“I know… it’s just…” She sighed. “Okay, what do you say we meet tomorrow evening?” She named a time and place.
“I’ll be there,” he promised. “Sweet dreams, Susie.”
“Goodnight.” She hung up the phone, and the slight tremble in her voice only firmed his resolve.
When they met tomorrow, he was going to do everything in his power to show her that she was as beautiful on the outside as he knew she was on the inside. And he was convinced that she was, no matter what she said.
****
Suzie sat on the waiting bench in the restaurant, fighting to keep from biting her lip and ruining her carefully applied lipstick. She’d arrived ten minutes early, not wanting to miss him, and now she almost wished she hadn’t. Her nerves were wrecking her from the inside, and she was terrified that by the time he arrived she’d be a stark raving lunatic and would scare him off.
Don’t be ridiculous. You can hold it together for one more minute. Buck up, girl.
She took a deep breath, tried her best to heed the advice. But it was hard, when she was putting herself into this vulnerable position. If he didn’t show, she was going to shut down her dating profile, quit her job, and join a convent. Yes, that was the solution to rejection. No doubt about it.
She was in the middle of a heated internal debate as to whether or not she should make a run for it when he walked through the door. The breath whooshed out of her in a rush, and she stood up at the same time the Maître de snapped to attention. His sandy hair had been tamed, and what she was sure was a lean and gorgeous body was jazzed up in a tux that had obviously been tailor-made for him. He dripped money, power, and sex appeal, and looked about one hundred times better than he did in the photo.
Yup. She definitely should have run. Eyes darting around, she judged the distance and wondered if she could make it past him and through the door without alerting attention, then scoffed at herself. With her bulk? Fat chance in hell.
“Mr. Marshall.” He stepped out from behind his little podium thing and actually sketched a little bow. “It’s a pleasure to welcome you back again.”
“Thank you.” Those deep brown eyes looked around, then smiled as they settled on her. “Suzie?”
She didn’t know how he was so certain of her identity, but she knew she would look like the biggest idiot if she tried to deny it now. “Hi Ryan.”
“My God.” He stepped forward, his eyes drinking her in. She was like a really, really sexy porcelain doll, with milky pale skin that was contrasted by the black satin halter dress flowing around some really great curves, and the vivid green eyes that were wide in her rounded face. Gleaming chestnut curls were piled on top of her head, but one or two were left to hang down and kiss the sides of her neck, where his lips were itching to be. The roses in her cheeks kept her paleness from being unattractive, and the halter-top showcased a pair of large, lovely br**sts that looked ridiculously edible. “You’re gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.”
Her mouth formed a small o. Grinning; he stepped forward and took her by the arm before she could say anything. “This is my date. Do you have the table I reserved?”
“Right this way, sir.”
They were whisked up to a table on the top floor, out on the veranda where they were offered a prime view of the sun ducking behind the skyscrapers as it slipped beneath the horizon. Champagne was served, along with a basket of rolls and butter. Suzie had almost convinced herself not to take one, as she had done the other dates, but remembered that she was supposed to be herself, and so grabbed one and slathered it with butter.
Ryan watched her eyes flutter closed, her lashes brushing against round, rosy cheeks as she bit into the buttered roll with such relish, such abandon. Her red lips provided a ridiculously sensual contrast to the fluffy white roll that it was all he could do not to yank her across the table and into his lap so that he could eat her up.
Susie noticed him watching her, the look in his eyes so hot she felt a blush spreading across her cheeks. Surely that couldn’t be lust in his eyes… could it? She wondered as she set the roll down.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
He grinned wolfishly. “I’m just thinking that I would give up just about anything to be in that roll’s place right now.”
She laughed, and some of the nerves dissipated. “You can’t be serious.”
The waiter came by, briefly interrupting their conversation as they ordered appetizers and entrees. “Why wouldn’t I be serious?”
She gestured with one hand. “Look at me, Ryan.”
“Believe me, I have looked at you. In fact, I can’t seem to take my eyes off you. I can’t imagine what you think I should see in you, Susie.” He leaned forward so she could see the sincerity in his eyes. “But what I do see is a beautiful woman, one who is just as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside.”
Tears shimmered in her big green eyes, and his heart clenched. He was worried he had said something wrong, but her red lips parted into a smile so dazzling that the words were knocked off his tongue just as he was about to ask.
“No one has ever said anything like that to me before,” she said softly. “Or at least no one who’s ever meant it.”
“Then you’ve been spending your time around a whole lot of blind people.” He grinned.
“Either that, or you’re just biased,” she told him as he poured the wine, but she was grinning too.
“Well, then here’s to biased men, and to beautiful women everywhere.” He lifted his glass to hers in a toast.
“I can drink to that.”
They clinked their glasses together and drained them. As the waiter came back with their appetizers, the warmth from both the wine and Ryan’s company flowed through her veins, loosening her up so that she completely forgot to be self-conscious about the fact that she was wearing a curve-hugging dress. It was true that the flowing lines and the black were far more flattering to her figure than any of those baggy outfits that heavy women sometimes wore to try and hide their paunch, but she’d still felt overexposed walking in, even with the shawl around her arms to offer a measure of protection and to try and hide the fact that her biceps were anything but lean.
But they were so busy talking about their lives, sharing the funny details of their day and swapping the most ridiculous stories that her attention was completely focused on him so that she couldn’t think about herself even if she wanted to. Instead, she was enraptured by how warm his brown eyes were; they lit up when he smiled, which was quite a lot, and also revealed to her a dimple in his left cheek that she wanted to lean over and press a kiss to. Her heart sighed in happiness—she had to be the luckiest girl on the planet, to be able to spend a night with such a handsome guy in a five star restaurant. And she didn’t have to pay him to do it either!