That’s not the real reason you came early.
No, the real reason was so that he could see her. Julie.
Who at that very moment was giving some poor delivery boy a firm talking-to about something. Her hands were on her h*ps and every once in a while, she would point to a nearby vase of flowers. The sight of her taking charge and setting whatever wrong to right made him grow uncomfortably hard.
Her brown hair was pulled haphazardly into a knot on top of her head. All too easily he imagined taking it down, running his fingers through it, giving it a sharp tug as he thrust into her needy body.
She turned and saw him. “Mr. Covington. ”
Thoughts of Julie’s hair and what he wanted to do with it faded as the woman in question walked toward him. He hoped she didn’t see the erection those thoughts left in their wake.
When she stood before him, he noticed several strands of hair had fallen from the knot. He reached out and tucked one wayward piece behind her ear.
“I thought I gave you permission to call me Daniel?”
“It seemed more professional the other way. ”
“Sir,” I want you to call me “sir. ” But he knew he couldn’t speak those words out loud to her. “As long as you call me Daniel tonight. ”
She nodded in response, a flush creeping up her neck. She cleared her throat. “Everything’s set up. Except for the centerpiece for the head table and that will be corrected in a few minutes. ”
&n
bsp; “Everything looks great. Your team’s done an outstanding job. ”
“Thank you. ”
He would look over everything in a few minutes. Though he really doubted he needed to. Julie and Sasha’s team really had done an amazing job. But for the moment, he had more pressing things to address. When he had asked her to accompany him, he’d forgotten something.
“Where should I pick you up tonight?” he asked.
She hesitated for a second. “We could meet in the lobby. ”
“The lobby? No. Tell me where you live and I’ll pick you up. ”
“I actually booked a room here tonight. My stuff’s upstairs, so I have time to change. ”
“You booked a room? Why? Oh. Oh,” he said as understanding dawned.
She tapped her pen against the clipboard in her hand. The pink polo shirt she wore had not only her shop’s logo on it but several smears of dirt and green stains of some sort.
“Julie, I’m sorry. I gave little thought to how hectic the day would be for you. ”
I only thought of myself. I wanted you on my arm for the night.
She waved her hand as if shooing away his comment. “You men. You put on a tuxedo and all is well. We women have to do our hair, makeup, and try to pull up sheer hose without messing up our manicures. ”
Sheer hose. Her legs.
His hands spreading her knees.
“Don’t wear the hose,” he said through clenched teeth.
“What?”
Idiot.
“I mean, if it’s that much trouble. ” His voice sounded coarse to his ears.
“Lucky for me, I didn’t actually bring hose. And”—she wiggled the fingers of one hand at him—“in any case, I have florist fingers. ”
“You see, I look at those fingers and I see the hands of a woman who’s worked hard to get what she wants. ”
“I suppose. But sometimes I think it’d be nice to have girlie nails. ”
“It’s all about sacrifice. ”
Her expression was thoughtful. Suddenly, he wished their date wouldn’t be shared by a hundred people. He wanted to get her alone and learn everything about her. Talk to her. Find out where she went to school, if she had any siblings, what her favorite food was.
Right. Because if you got her alone, that’s what you’d do. Talk.
Talk would be all they’d do, he reassured himself. The assumption had to be she didn’t live his lifestyle. Wouldn’t be interested in it. Even with that assumption, he was still drawn to her and wanted to spend time with her. What little he knew about her made him curious to know more. Plus, there was a certain look she’d had in her eyes that day at the coffee shop when she’d said she didn’t intend to be putty in anyone’s hands that indicated the exact opposite.
She was also Sasha Blake’s friend and business partner. Would she know about Sasha’s lifestyle? Had they talked about dominance and submission? Did that explain the sensuality she exuded? Questions for another place and time.
“Will you have time to get ready?” he asked.
She glanced at her watch. “The way I see it, I’ll need an hour and a half to finish up here. That leaves me plenty of time to get ready. ”
“Ms. Masterson!” A hotel employee ran up to them.
Daniel moved out of the way. “I’ll let you get back to work. Meet you in the lobby in three hours?”
“Sounds good,” she replied before turning her attention to the young man at her side.
• • •
He arrived back at the hotel, dressed, two hours and forty-five minutes later. Though he always tried to be punctual, he had another reason for not being late that night: he wanted to watch Julie make her entrance.
When he reached the hotel, he saw a few early guests had arrived. They lingered in the lobby, making small talk before wandering to the ballroom. Daniel waved at a few people, but his gaze kept returning to the elevator doors.