His jaw clenched, and he closed his eyes, his fingers still hovering over the keyboard.
I’m going to sweep you off your feet, Lucy.
He returned to his computer screen and clicked into his calendar. He needed to find a time to see Lucy.
“Take off the gown, princess.”
Lucy froze. Her gloved hand pressed against the hallway wall. A thunderstorm had rolled in on their drive back from the late Sunday afternoon birthday extravaganza. The rain had passed, but the sky remained dark. And they hadn’t bothered to leave the entryway lights on. Plus, this deep, familiar voice came from inside the house.
“Jared?” she called. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming back until Monday.”
“I had to change my plans. The Tico marketing team needs me in New Jersey all day tomorrow.”
There goes my plan for a romantic dinner at City Place, she thought. But she’d had a feeling when she made the reservation that she’d be calling to cancel.
And he’s here now.
Suddenly, her feet, sore from a long weekend of parties and mock glass slippers, hurt a little less. She walked down the hall, past the doorway leading to their office and flicked the light switch. Jared stood at the base of the stairs with his right shoulder leaning against the wall. While she was still dressed for work, he’d traded his usual button down shirt for a faded grey t-shirt that read The Taco Bar First Anniversary across the chest. Either the shirt had shrunk in the wash or his biceps had grown since the restaurant’s first year. Not that it mattered why the fabric hugged his muscular arms.
“How did you get in?” she asked.
“Finn swung by and unlocked the door.” He nodded to her. “Now take off your gown.”
“Nicole and Emma—”
“Already drove away,” he said. “I spoke with Emma this morning and gave her access to my house. Don’t worry about the princesses. I sent Finn over to check on them. He’s out of earshot. Now Lucy, please. Take. Off. Your. Dress.”
She reached behind her and slowly drew the zipper down. “You really are a recovering workaholic,” she murmured. “Slipping out of the state between meetings.”
“I’m trying, Lucy,” he said. “I know this isn’t the date you planned. I still owe you a meal, but I only have an hour before I told the pilot to have my plane ready.”
“You flew to Florida for one hour with me?” She felt the gown loosen around her chest and ribs.
“I wanted to see you.” His gaze followed her neckline as the dress loosened and then lowered, revealing her strapless bra. “Beige underwear?”
“Always.” She let the dress slip down her body, past her abdomen. She carefully drew it over her waist and then released it. The gown fell to the ground in a blue heap. “No one is supposed to see Cinderella’s undergarments.”
“This is a first?” His voice was a low, seductive rumble that threatened to turn her unattractive, full-coverage panties into Victoria’s latest secret. And his blue eyes . . . he studied the tops of her thick, white thigh-high stockings as if he’d never seen anything like them. He probably hadn’t, unless he’d seduced a woman dressed up like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.
“Yes.” She slipped off the pseudo-glass slippers made of plastic and stepped over the gown. “This is a first.”
“I didn’t come here for Cinderella.” He reached his left arm out and ran a finger over the upper edge of her strapless bra. “Maybe you should take this off.”
“A good idea.” She reached behind her, released the hooks, and let the bra fall to his feet.
He trailed his fingers over the swell of her breast. Her nipples tightened, silently begging him to stay and play. But he ignored the request, instead drawing a line down her stomach. “No corset?” he murmured. “I thought it was part of the costume.”
“I gave mine up,” she said. “Too restrictive.”
His fingers slipped under the elastic band of her underwear. “I feel the same about these.”
She nodded and gently pushed his hand away. Then she stripped off the underwear she’d never planned to wear for him.
“And the stockings?” She raised her right leg and rested the ball of her foot on the bottom step. Her inner thigh brushed against his jeans.
“Leave them,” he growled.
He drew her against his body. His clothes felt rough against her bare skin, but her hips still rocked against him.