Sabrina stood up on shaking legs. “Of course,” she said professionally and followed him out the door.
The night was dark so she was able to hide her shaking hands behind her back as she followed him out the door. The rest of the guests laughed at a joke Bill was telling and she was glad no one was paying them a great deal of attention.
It was quiet and cool outside, the temperature only about fifty degrees at this time of the year. She walked beside him to his car, a magnificent dark green Maserati Spyder with camel interior. Sabrina loved cars. She’d found an old 1965 red mustang in a dump, with no engine and most of the parts missing. She’d had it towed to her house and had completely revamped the engine and interior. It now purred like a kitten but it was nothing compared to how lovely his Maserati probably drove.
“Nice car,” she said in the tense silence as he looked down at her.
“Thanks,” he replied and leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest. He watched her for a long moment, trying to decide what would be the best way to proceed. He could tell she was nervous and he didn’t know how to help her get over her nervousness around him.
To fill the continuing silence, she gathered up her nerve and smiled up at him. “Thank you for coming by. I think my friends really liked you.”
He smiled slightly, noting the way she could only look at his chin or hold his eyes for a few moments at a time. “Thanks for inviting me. Your friends are nice,” he said.
“Yes, a little nosy,” she laughed, wondering if any of them were peeking through the window.
Sid nodded, reading her mind. “Janice just moved away from the window,” he said, confirming her suspicions. “I think she wants me to kiss you again.”
Sabrina chuckled nervously, hoping the darkness hid her red cheeks as well as her shaking hands. She desperately wished she could be smooth and sophisticated around this man but it just wasn’t possible. He was just too…everything. “Well, she’ll just have to be disappointed. There’s no mistletoe out here,” she said.
“I don’t need mistletoe,” he countered taking her hands in his as he pulled her forward between his legs and into his arms.
“You don’t have to do this,” she said, trying to pull out of his arms. But his hands held her gently, firmly, slowly pulling her between his legs and closer to his muscular body.
“I want to,” he said softly. “I definitely want to.” A moment later, his firm lips touched hers gently, slowly coaxing her softer, trembling lips to participate. Sabrina instantly melted under his tender ministrations and succumbed to the pleasure of being kissed by a master. He nibbled her lower lip and Sabrina opened her mouth to say something, or pull back, she wasn’t sure which. But the moment she opened her mouth, the kiss intensified and his own mouth closed over hers, his tongue invading and exploring.
Sabrina moaned and felt her insides turn to jelly. She lifted her hands to hold onto his shoulders and moved closer to his warmth. No man had ever kissed her like this, the heat pulsing through her body almost made her knees give out. She gripped his shoulders tightly, stunned by the instantaneous desire that flared along her nerve endings.
He ended the kiss a few moments later. It took her several seconds before she realized that the kiss was over. Her eyes popped open and she looked up into his dark as sin eyes. Gasping, she released his shoulders and stepped back, wishing she hadn’t stumbled on the curb directly behind her. Grabbing the top of the mailbox, she quickly found her balance, and pasted a smile on her face. Oh, to be sophisticated and clever at moments like these, she thought to herself. She wasn’t sure why he kissed her but knew that he was very good at it. Lots of practice, she was sure.
“Have dinner with me tomorrow night,” he said as he stood up, taking the keys out of his pocket.
Sabrina took a deep breath and shook her head. She smiled to take the edge off her rejection when she said, “I don’t think that would be a very good idea,” she said. This man employed gorgeous women wearing barely nothing all day long. During the evenings, he escorted stunning women who flew in from all over the world just to be with him. How in the world could she compete with them? She must be a novelty for him. Perhaps a shy woman was more of a challenge? Women throwing themselves at him must be tedious.
He gently touched her cheek, his calloused finger causing a flame of heat to tingle down her skin where he touched. “I think it would be a very good idea,” he countered. “How about seven o’clock?”
“No, really,” she ran a hand through her hair, trying to think but her mind wouldn’t work well after his caress. “I can’t do that,” she said.
“Why not?” he asked.
Taking a deep breath, she considered all the reasons she could give as to why she shouldn’t, couldn’t, go out to dinner with him. She could lie and tell him she already had plans, or that she was going out of town. Maybe she should just shrug and tell him it was not her policy to date bosses. All of those reasons were good ones except for the fact that she couldn’t lie. She’d never been a very good liar but with him, it would be impossible.
In the end, she told him one of the most basic truths. “I’m not in your league,” she said and looked down at the ground, wishing her statement weren’t accurate but she had a mirror and she knew that she wasn’t one of the stunning beauties he usually traveled with. Nor was she sophisticated enough to deal with his kind of relationship. She was a forever kind of woman and he obviously preferred those who wanted just a few nights of his time.
“Why don’t we talk about it tomorrow over dinner?” he said and got into his car. “Seven o’clock. Meet me in my office and we’ll go from there,” he said and pulled his car door shut before she could deny him again. Within moments, he drove off down the road.
Sabrina stared at the car, loving the way it purred softly, just the way she felt like doing after his kiss.
After several minutes of staring at his tail lights fading into the night, she realized how silly she must look. Turning back to her house, she walked back in to hear the laughter of her other guests. Her feet felt as if they were walking on a cloud and she was floating above everyone else. Sid had always made her feel that way and she’d have to be careful not to get in too deep. Sid liked women and had more charm than any one man had a right to own. The danger surrounding him was also a powerful aphrodisiac. The two combined made women flock to him like moths. She would have to be careful she wasn’t the moth that got zapped by the blue light.