Unexpectedly Yours [Private Relations 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  Last night had been pretty amazing. Elle was an intriguing woman. She was completely different than anyone he’d ever dated before. He was very much looking forward to getting to know her on a more personal level.

  Chapter Seven

  As Jim drove away, Elle went back inside. Once the door had closed, she leaned against it and grinned. Holy shit, she thought as she went over the events of the last twenty-four hours in her mind. Had that really just happened?

  She walked over to her purse and pulled out her cell phone. As suspected, there were several text messages from Sara. She scanned through them and laughed. They started with subtle prying like, “Hope your night went well,” but soon lost all subtlety. Her favorite of the bunch had been, “Details! Call me!”

  Laughing, Elle picked up the phone and dialed Sara. Sara immediately picked up the phone and said, “Hello?”

  “Holy shit,” Elle said without any preface. “Jim just left.”

  “Oh, really?” Sara asked.

  “Really.”

  “Um. I really hope you’re going to give me more information than that, Elle,” Sara said. “I listened to you agonize all week about this date.”

  Feeling suddenly closed in, Elle said, “Are you at the office or home?”

  “Office. Come hang out with me. I’m stuffing mushroom caps. That sounds fun, right?” Sara asked, her voice laced this sarcasm.

  “Not really, but I’ll come hang out anyway,” Elle said.

  Fifteen minutes later, Elle walked into the Edible Innovations kitchen. Sara immediately looked up at her and said, “Details. I need them.”

  Elle laughed and said, “So we went to the movie in the park thing that I told you about. We got dinner. It was Filipino barbecue. You’d have loved it. Anyway, we’re sitting there and waiting for the movie to start. He brought a bottle of wine, so we were drinking and talking. He said something about how it was nice to finally be out on a date and then suddenly we’re all over each other. I’m practically sitting in his lap. There’s lips and tongues and teeth and hands.”

  Sara raised her eyebrows but said nothing. She just gestured for Elle to continue with a wave of her hand.

  Grinning now, Elle continued, “Eventually we were forced to acknowledge that we were in a public place, so when the movie was over, he took me home. When he walked me to the door, I invited him in. I know it’s not my normal style but I couldn’t help myself. He’s so freaking sexy. So he comes inside and we end up in bed. A good time was had by all.”

  “I’m not getting any more detail than that?” Sara asked, obviously disappointed.

  Elle laughed and shook her head. Sobering now, she said, “Sara. It was absolutely perfect. He was perfect. I couldn’t have asked for more.”

  Sara’s face softened at that statement. She said, “I’m so glad, honey. All of your experiences should be like that.”

  Elle knew Sara was thinking about the stories she’d shared about her ex when they’d gotten drunk one night. He’d been pretty selfish. Back then, the big “o” had been a rare thing unless she was on her own.

  “Oh, no. This story takes a really fucked up turn. Don’t get all mushy just yet.”

  “Do I even want to hear this?” Sara asked, a leery look on her face.

  “Not that kind of turn!” Elle said. “We’re in bed this morning and things are heating up, all of a sudden guess who pulls into the fucking driveway!”

  Sara closed her eyes and said, “Not Earl and Irene. Please, no.”

  Nodding slowly, Elle said, “Who else but my mom and dad? Here I am, freshly laid complete with bed hair and they’re banging on the door. My dad actually asked me if I picked Jim up in a bar! A bar! Suddenly, Jim comes out of my bedroom and introduces himself. We get wrangled into breakfast at Pancake Palace. I had to pretend like Jim and I didn’t just have our first date last night. It was so fucking embarrassing, Sara. I thought I was going to die.”

  “How did he take it?”

  “Surprisingly well. My mom loved him. He even managed to charm my dad. I figured he’d take off as soon as we got back from breakfast. I kind of expected it to be a deal killer but he was fine with it. He even stayed for a bit after breakfast…” Elle trailed off, flushing slightly.

  Sara said, “I’m glad he didn’t freak.” She paused for a moment and then asked, “Making up for lost time are we?”

  Elle grinned, then said, “If the interrogation is complete, I’m going to work on some paperwork while I’m here.”

  “I’m about to make baby quiche. It’s your favorite. Wanna help?”

  “Not a chance,” Elle replied, heading back toward her office.

  She managed to immerse herself in paperwork for a couple of hours. She got payroll done early, took care of accounts payable and receivable. It had been pretty satisfying to bill JDC for the recent job she’d worked. Having done the kitchen work now, she had a new found appreciation for the billing process in general.

  Elle jumped when her cell phone rang. Picking it up, she scanned the caller ID. She wasn’t ready to have a conversation with her mom about Jim yet, so she sent it to voice mail. Feeling immediately guilty, she listened to the message and laughed. She had a new squirrel feeder waiting on her porch. It was for Jim. She supposed that was her mom’s seal of approval.

  She got up from her desk with a smirk and walked back toward the kitchens. When Sara looked up, Elle said, “Mom gave her seal of approval. She bought Jim a squirrel feeder for his yard. I hope it was the one that’s shaped like a horse head. I can’t wait to see the look on his face.”

  At Sara’s grin, Elle continued, “I’m going to head out. I’ve got laundry and stuff to catch up on. See you tomorrow.”

  “You’re sure that you don’t want to stay and help me? It’s almost time to make the rumaki.”

  “If I don’t do laundry, I’m coming to work naked tomorrow. Did you not see that I’m wearing a high school intramural volleyball shirt?” Elle asked.

  Sara scrutinized the shirt and then said, “Point taken. I’ll see you later.”

  Elle stopped at the grocery store on the way home. She decided she’d cook something tonight so she’d have lunches throughout the week. She looked over the meat and seafood counters, then settled on some farm-raised salmon. The ‘fresh’ stuff had looked anything but fresh. Grabbing a few other items, she paid for her groceries and made her way home.

  By 7:00, Elle had done some laundry, made dinners and lunches for next week, and called her mother back. She’d been grilled unmercifully about Jim until her cell phone battery had almost gone dead. At least that had been a legitimate excuse to get off the phone.

  Finally, she had been able to settle on the couch with a book. She was already a few chapters into a new romantic suspense when her phone rang. She moved to the table where it was charging and picked it up.

  Elle felt her heart speed up and a slow smile spread across her face as she read the caller ID.

  Grinning now, she said, “Hey, Jim.”

  “Hey, beautiful. How was the rest of your day?” Jim asked.

  A smile tugging at the corners of her lips, she said, “Not as lazy as I thought. I ended up going into the office and getting some paperwork done. Then ran some errands. I just now settled down for the laziness. What about yours?”

  “Pretty much the same for me. Didn’t get as much done as I would have liked though,” he said. “I kept thinking about you all day.”

  She could almost see that sheepish smile on his face at his latest admission. Elle felt her face flush slightly.

  “I may have had a similar issue,” Elle admitted.

  “I had a great time,” Jim said. Then his voice took on a slightly teasing note as he added, “Except maybe next time no parents, huh?”

  Elle groaned and said, “Oh jeez. Don’t remind me. That was so embarrassing. My mom called me this afternoon and grilled me some more. At least you weren’t there for that.”

  “Your mom wasn’t so bad. I though
t your dad might have been plotting my death at points though,” Jim said.

  “I think your life is safe. Oh, and speaking of my parents. When I got back from the shop today, there was a present awaiting me on my doorstep. Mom got another one of those horse head squirrel feeder things.” Elle paused a moment for impact, then said, “For you.”

  There was dead silence on the line for a moment and then he cleared his throat and politely said, “Oh. Uh, good. You’ll have to thank her for me.”

  Elle said, “It has installation instructions. Super easy. I’ll bring it with me next time I see you.”

  “Great,” Jim said with false enthusiasm.

  She laughed now and said, “At least it wasn’t a heart-shaped birdbath.”

  “Thank god,” he said quite fervently. Then he asked, “Seeing you again? When can we make that happen?”

  “Eager to get your hands on your squirrel feeder?” Elle asked, smirking now.

  “Among other things,” Jim said.

  “I must say, I like the sound of that,” Elle said. Thinking for a moment, she added, “I’m free Tuesday night.”

  “Hmm,” Jim said. “I’ve got a conference call until 7:00. Talking to a soccer team in Hawaii. We could do a late dinner if you don’t mind.”

  “I could meet you there if it makes it easier for you,” Elle said.

  She could hear him hesitate now. Finally he said, “That might be a good idea. You’re sure you don’t mind?”

  “I wouldn’t have offered if I minded. Driving into the valley that time of night is normally terrible. Traffic heading into LA will be much better. I can meet you at your office,” Elle said.

  “Thank you. That makes it much easier. The rest of my week is not great. I’m going to Kansas City on Wednesday and won’t get back til late Friday night,” Jim said somewhat grumpily.

  “What’s in Kansas City?”

  “Gavin Johnson,” Jim said. “He plays for the Kings.”

  “I know. Center fielder. Batting average in the .360s,” Elle said, enjoying the momentary silence on the other end of the line.

  “Holy shit. Marry me,” Jim said, mild surprise in his voice.

  Elle burst out laughing and said, “Whoa. Let’s slow it down just a tad bit, please.”

  She heard him sigh deeply, then he grumbled, “Fine. I guess.” A moment later, he added, “But seriously. I thought it was kind of hot when you would call out the plays during football season before they’d run them. Baseball too?”

  “Football, baseball, basketball, hockey. Most sports. Except racing. I can’t call driving cars around an oval a sport,” Elle said.

  “Because it’s not,” Jim said, snorting. He was silent for a moment and then said, “I didn’t realize you were that big of a sports fan.”

  Elle laughed now and said, “I was a daddy’s girl growing up. Total tomboy. I outgrew some of it, but not all.”

  “You never fail to surprise me,” Jim said, bemusedly.

  “How so?” Elle asked.

  “You just quoted me Gavin Johnson’s batting average, you own a butter churn, and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you wear sparkly hair clips in every color known to man. You’re a mass of contradictions. I never know what to expect.”

  “Pfft. I’m really an open book,” Elle said. “You just have to know what questions to ask.”

  Over the next forty minutes, Jim proceeded to ask her a ton of random questions. They ranged all the way from favorite color to more serious topics like religion and politics. He kept it fair by answering all of his own questions, too. Elle was pleased to see that they had quite a few of the major things in common.

  Eventually Jim said, “Hang on. I’ve got another call.” He paused for a moment and then regretfully said, “It’s my brother. I should probably take this.”

  “You’re lucky. He just called. He didn’t randomly show up at your house at 8:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning,” Elle said.

  Jim laughed, then conceded the point by saying, “That is true. I’ll give you a call tomorrow night. Talk to you soon.”

  “Okay. Night, Jim.”

  Elle hung up her phone with a smile, then put it back on the charger because it was dying again. Jim was genuinely a nice guy. The more she learned about him, the more she liked him.

  He was funny, smart, good looking. They had quite a bit in common with each other. The chemistry had been pretty amazing between them too. It was almost like hitting the dating lotto. It would be really interesting to see what the future held.

  Chapter Eight

  Jim stared at the corner of his monitor, silently willing the conference call to be over. Elle was supposed to be here in fifteen minutes and Kimo, the owner of the Honolulu Heat, was still rattling on about the summer league exhibition games. To be fair, normally Jim would be completely engaged in the conversation but his mind had been wandering back to Elle all afternoon.

  Subtly, Jim tried to steer the conversation back to the commercials with no success. Kimo continued on, speaking quickly and effusively about how soccer was beginning to catch on in the US. Jim agreed that it was gaining more popularity, but was a little worried that he’d be expecting results that were difficult to achieve, if not impossible.

  Seeing his phone buzz, Jim saw that Elle had texted him to let him know she’d arrived. He responded back quickly asking her to come up to his office. He got up from his desk and opened his office door. Texting Elle again, he said, “Just come on back to my office. I’m trying like hell to wrap up this phone call.”

  A few minutes later, she poked her head in the door. He muted his headset and got up.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “Sorry about this. I’m trying to wrap up this call but he’s a bit of a talker.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It happens,” Elle said as she slid her arms around his waist.

  He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss, then said, “Have a seat. I’m almost done. Sorry.”

  She wandered over to the couch and sat down. He watched as she crossed her bare legs. She was wearing a black dress that reached to just above her knees. She fiddled briefly with the hem, then smoothed it down. His eyes traveled down her legs where he saw she had worn a pair of high heels.

  Realizing he hadn’t heard a word Kimo had said since Elle walked into the room, he had to turn away and refocus on his meeting. He managed to finish up the phone call about forty minutes later. Hanging up the phone, he removed the headset and said, “Jesus. He wouldn’t stop talking! I’m so sorry about that.”

  Standing up now, he moved toward her. He’d been watching her mess with the hem of her dress since she’d arrived. He’d been getting small, tantalizing glimpses of her smooth thighs for the better part of an hour now. She was driving him crazy and seemed to have no idea.

  She got off the couch now, smiling, and said, “I had almost given up on dinner.”

  He pulled her into his arms and asked, “Would you mind putting off dinner a few minutes? I’ve got something I need to take care of.”

  Looking at him curiously now, she said, “Oh?”

  He nodded and the leaned down to take her mouth with his. Nibbling her bottom lip gently, he mumbled, “Super important.”

  When she sighed against his lips, he deepened the kiss. As tongue swept into her mouth to tangle with hers, he stroked his hand down her back to press her even closer to him. His hands moved down to settle on the curves of her ass. He immediately heard a low moan in the back of her throat and felt himself harden.

  Breaking his mouth away from hers, he trailed his lips down the side of her throat, pressing soft, biting kisses against her neck. When he gently sucked on the patch of flesh where her neck and shoulder met, he felt her shudder slightly against him. She pressed closer and rolled her hips against him.

  Groaning, he pulled his mouth away from her shoulder and said, “Every time you messed with the hem of your dress, it gave me this overwhelming desire to bury my face between your thighs. Would
you mind?”

  He felt her sharp intake of breath, then a moment later she laughed and said, “Literally anytime you want to, I can make myself available for that.”

  With a groan, he captured her mouth with his again. The kiss grew wild, quickly. Her hands slid around his waist and up his back. She pulled him until he was flush against her. The only thing that separated them was clothing and he had every intention of correcting that particular issue very soon.

  He moved them slowly back toward his desk and sat her on the edge, pushing the skirt of her dress up. Standing between her thighs now, he pulled back from the kiss. Pressing his lips to her throat again, he began swirling his tongue against her skin.

  He cupped one breast in his palm and felt her nipple pebble under his touch as he moved his fingers against it. He continued to massage her breast gently with his palm until he heard her breathing increase slightly. He moved his hand lower to the damp heat between her thighs and discovered that the filmy lace was soaked.

  On a groan, he sank to his knees. Helping her shift, he pulled the panties down her legs and slid them over the heels she wore. He stared at her now and felt another wave of lust hit him. He could see the evidence of her arousal against the now bare lips of her pussy.

  He used his thumb and forefinger to spread her open and leaned forward. Running his tongue in a circular motion around her swollen clitoris, he heard her sharp intake of breath. When he slid two fingers into her tight channel, she gave a moan.

  Pumping them into her with a steady rhythm, he shifted his mouth slightly, making direct contact with her clit for the first time. He felt her flutter around his fingers as she cried out. Working his fingers against her, he rubbed the flat of his tongue in time with the press of his hand.

  She was whimpering with each stroke of his tongue and he could feel her tightening and fluttering around his fingers. When he increased his pace slightly, he felt her hips working against his hand and mouth now as she sought her release. Curling his fingers upward slightly, he sucked her clit into his mouth and nipped it lightly with his teeth.