Fool For You Page 5

  my brown leather boots and a baby pink V-neck blouse; my long hair curled at the ends.

  “Thank you Bailey.” She held out a coffee cup to me; I paused mid-step and she followed suit.

  “What is this?” My eyes darted from the coffee cup to her confused expression.

  “Coffee,” Bailey answered, as if it was a trick question.

  “For me?” Her head slowly moved up and down. I reached for the cup and took a sip; amazed to find the coffee was loaded with cream and sugar—just the way I liked.

  “How did you know this was what I liked?” Bailey opened her mouth to answer but I held up my hand to stop her. “You know what, it doesn’t matter. This is great, thank you.” She smiled at me and followed, as I entered my office.

  “Did you have a good weekend?” She asked, as I took a seat and powered up my desktop computer. Flashes of Oliver entered my mind and I cringed. Following that was a montage of images from my night with Corey, and my relaxing Sunday.

  “Yeah, I’d say it was pretty good. How about yours?”

  “Just fine.” I took a moment to look at Bailey and realized she wasn’t one for small talk. Watching her stare at me, waiting for her next , was quite unnerving.

  “What is the first thing on the list I need to do today?” This broke through Bailey’s unease and she snapped back into business mode. Her fingers flipped through the day planner in her hand, as she opened it to that day’s schedule, handing it to me.

  “First, is your meeting with the owner of the bar that provides the alcohol for our events.”

  “Good! I saw major issues with that; it will be good to get it taken care of right away. What time is that scheduled?”

  “9:30 this morning.”

  “Okay, well I’ll be in here going through my planner. You can go about what you normally do and send in the owner when they arrive.”

  “I will.” Bailey smiled and left the office, pulling my door closed.

  Spending the next half hour reviewing what I had to get done that day, made the time fly by. My calendar was relatively light. My agenda included a room review and a wedding consultation around lunchtime. That was where my focus needed to be. Events brought in the highest profit and with only an occasional wedding popping up—we were in serious need of expansion. The next question was what would be cost efficient for our clients but still highly profitable?

  Ten minutes before my meeting, I reviewed the files on our alcohol numbers; what sold best and what they were charging for those drinks. I wasn’t concerned about that, nearly as much as I cared about getting the owner to cover the wine and champagne expenses.

  A knock on my office door pulled me out of my notes. Bailey stood at the door to inform me the owner was there. “Send him in.” Bailey opened the door wider and motioned with her arm for the owner to enter. My eyes bulged out of their sockets, as Corey strolled in. At first I thought it had to be a joke, that’s when it hit me. Duh—he owned a bar, knew my Gram, why wouldn’t he be the one we worked with? While I tried to compose myself to a level of professionalism, my eyes slowly took in this deadly attractive man.

  He wore a pair of dark jeans, hugging perfectly around his hips. A black T-shirt that fit just right showing off—what I knew to be—incredible pecks; his tattoos standing out against his skin—calling for me to run my fingers up and down the hard muscles they covered. My eyes took in his dark hair gelled up, as it had been at the bar, making me want to grab stray pieces and pull him to me. Every day in New York, it was a normal thing to come across guys dressed in finely tailored business suits. Those men looked good and they knew it; they paid to look that good. Corey was nothing like them. Nothing about his outfit told me he’d spent hours getting ready, yet, he wore casual better than any of them wore their thousand dollar suits. From head to toe, this tattooed-bar owner was the definition of any woman’s fantasy.

  “Thank you, Bailey.” I finally muttered out; my gaze never leaving the amused look dancing in the blue of Corey’s eyes. Bailey said something that I didn’t hear and the door shut behind her. Corey walked with ease to take the chair placed in front of my desk, flopping down. A slow, sexy grin stretched wide across his face, bringing out the dimple I couldn’t get out of my mind. It took just about everything in me to keep the stupid grin off of my face.

  “I didn’t know you were the liquor supplier for the Inn,” Was all I could think to say. Words and confidence in conversation during business situations were things that came naturally to me. Corey’s presence though, mixed with the intoxicating scent of soap and aftershave, made my mind cloud over; forgetting the whole reason he was there.

  “I sure am, Danielle 25.” My eyes flickered up from the delicious body I wanted to explore more than anything; only to find he was watching me scope him out, his smile grew wider—if that were possible. “So, this is why you moved home?”

  I looked around the office and nodded; thankful for the distraction to do something, other than salivate over his sex appeal. Taking in the swamped desk and bookshelves with files, overdue bills and past events that had resulted in epic failure; my fantasies escaped. Realization hit, and for the first time I felt guilty that it had taken my struggling family to bring me back. Maybe I should have made an effort to return to Serenity Cove, more than well… never.

  “This would be why.” My arms extended to either side, showing off the room before I took my seat.

  “Pretty nice surprise. Is that why you came into the bar Saturday night? Check out the place before our meeting?”

  Those piercing blue eyes never faltered from my face and I felt my body temperature heating up under them. “No, Saturday night was a personal thing. This is a business thing and I didn’t know The Underground was the place we worked with.” I answer honestly.

  “Saturday was definitely a personal thing.” There was a twinkle of mischief in his eyes that added a hint of color to my cheeks, as yet another memory of Saturday night flashed into my eyes.

  His eyes glazing over, as I lifted my hips to move with him. The feel of my teeth biting into his shoulder to suppress a moan from taking over.

  Corey softly cleared his throat, bringing me back to the present. The look he gave as his eyes lingered down my chest, told me he too was remembering our rendezvous. If I didn’t take control of this meeting—not to mention my hormones—I had a sinking suspicion this was going to head in a direction I desperately wanted to avoid. At least, I should want to avoid it. Especially being at the office, surrounded by people looking up to me.

  “So, the big issue I want to deal with today is the wine and champagne costs.” Corey sat up and placed his elbows on my desk. The scent that tickled my nose, was the same smell that covered his sheets and that alone was distraction enough.

  “Do anything fun yesterday?”

  I nervously swallow back the lump in my throat. Why was I suddenly losing control of my own body, like I was some 16-year old girl ogling her movie star crush? “Ordered Chinese food and went through information for the Inn.”

  He shifted in a tad closer and his voice dropped to a seductively low tone. “You know, I half wished you would have come into the bar yesterday.”

  My eyes remained on the documents in front of me, but my lips spread into a smile. I could tell Corey’s eyes were locked on me, but I didn’t meet his gaze. “Oh yeah, and why’s that?”

  “You were quite amusing, and it can get boring having the same conversation day in and out with the same people.”

  “Amusing?” That certainly didn’t feel like a compliment. “Like the way a dog amuses small children?”

  Corey threw back his head and laughed. “You are far from a dog, Danielle. You just happened to make my night pretty damn unforgettable. So when I was stuck with the same ol’ same ol,’ I became bored out of my mind.

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” Another smile grazed my lips; purposely deciding not to comment on the unforgettable night part. It wouldn’t be wise to bring that up, especially
since that night was already torturing my sane thoughts. “I wasn’t expecting you to up and leave Saturday night, by the way.” This time, I looked up to meet his eyes, leaning back in my chair. Putting some much needed space between us, before I jumped across the desk to maul him right there.

  “How come?”

  Corey shrugged his shoulders and leaned back, letting his arms sit on the arm rests. “Most girls want to stay and cuddle.”

  “Well, I’m not most girls.” His lips spread into a smile that could make a girl go weak at the knees. At least I was sitting, so I didn’t have to worry about losing the ability to hold up my own body weight.

  “Don’t think I didn’t notice that about you right away, Dani.”

  “Are you trying to distract me from my work, Corey 27?” He let out a laugh and shrugged his shoulders in mock innocence.

  “I wasn’t expecting to come in here this morning and see you. Now I’ll admit I actually enjoyed talking to you and not just watching you losing control with me at the helm.” My entire body flushed as a growing need for him pooled low into my stomach.

  “Well, maybe I’ll stop in someday so we can talk a little more.” A should-be-illegal sexy smile appeared and his eyes bore into mine.

  “I’d like that.” I reminded myself that I had other things to do today, so I had to keep it together. Yet, it was nearly impossible not to look at his lips and think of how amazing they’d tasted. Then to see his tattooed arms as he crossed them over his chest, ignited a hot flash; as I pictured the way they flexed as our bodies moved together.

  Shit! Okay, so this was an absolute fail, and I knew I must have looked completely desperate.

  “Why is it that you supply the alcohol, but don’t supply the wine and champagne?”

  Corey laced his fingers together, resting one ankle over top of his leg, revealing his black work boots. I never knew simplicity could be so sexy, until Corey walked in. “People that come into my bar don’t order the stuff. If I were to purchase those items from my supplier, I would lose money on it. There aren’t enough weddings that allow me see a profit in those products, that’s why the Inn supplies it.”

  “But, it’s expensive and it is taking out a huge chunk of our profit.”

  “That’s exactly why I don’t buy the stuff, Sweets.” I looked back down at the numbers and the notes I made. In preparing for this part of the conversation I had a great argument for why The Underground should take over the costs, but I couldn’t think with Corey around. To make matters worse, he moved in closer and reached out, brushing back the curtain of my blonde hair. My eyes looked up and when I gazed at him, I saw the same desire he shown for me Saturday night. My need for this man rushed straight between my thighs as my body shivered with excitement.

  “How about showing me around the place?” Corey asked, without moving away.

  “You mean to tell me you’ve never seen the Inn?” My expression was dubious, but my voice was timid.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Not recently.”

  No—absolutely not, this is a business meeting! Well, at least that’s what I should have said. Instead I said, “Okay,” and stood up to walk around to the other side of my desk. Corey didn’t bother trying to hide it as his eyes scanned me from head to toe.

  “Nice legs.” The huskiness of his voice crept into my ear and the heat from his breath brushed against my neck, making my stomach muscles clench in response. My legs wrapped firmly around his waist as he thrust deeper inside of me.

  Shit—pull it together, woman!

  After he stepped through the door, I followed behind him. To begin the ‘tour,’ I showed him the main level, dining area and our new banquet hall. While we walked around, Corey used any excuse to put his hands on me. Whether it was just our hands brushing against one another, or his hand on my back or waist as he walked with me. Every time he did, I felt a flame of desire spread from the point of contact.

  We walked upstairs and I somehow convinced myself it was ‘important’ to show him a vacant room. The instant the door shut behind us his mouth was locked on mine. My arms wound around his neck as he walked us back against the wall. We stood that way for a few minutes, as our tongues explored each other’s mouths. Corey’s hands moved to unzip my skirt, as I found myself needing him to move faster. I could hardly believe I was okay with what we were doing; turned out I was more than okay with it—I needed this. My skirt was around my feet and my hands found his zipper before his jeans fell down. He pulled a condom out of his back pocket and slid it into place; letting his pants and boxers drop the rest of the way.

  Corey’s warm, firm hands grabbed hold of the tops of my thighs and lifted me against the wall. The next second he was buried deep inside of me, and the sounds of pleasure rang throughout the room from us both. Corey regained his self-control before he began to move. When he did, it was astonishing; better than I remembered. Our breathing was rapid and together we moved, craving more. My fingers slid under the material of his shirt; nails clutching onto his biceps. Corey’s mouth explored my neck and ear until we were close to exploding in ecstasy. Our release was near and when he pushed me over the edge, his body stilled as he too found his euphoric end.

  We remained still for a few minutes, our breathing slowed to a normal rate. Corey set me back on my feet; we got to work on replacing our clothing, so we wouldn’t look as though we just had, hot push-me-against-the-wall sex. Corey caught me off guard as he pinned me back against the wall, placing a kiss to my lips.

  “That was amazing, Dani, I can’t believe we did that though. I don’t think I have ever been so turned on, that I couldn’t think of anything else besides this.” He ran a hand over his furrowed brows, I couldn’t help but smile.

  “Don’t worry, I wasn’t exactly objecting.” Corey smiled and reached out; smoothing down the front of my blouse. “We should probably get back out there; I have tons of work to do.” I exhaled; to keep round two from taking place; next time it would involve more than just the guest room wall.

  Corey nodded; pulling open the door. “After you.”

  We were only about three steps out of the room, when Bailey appeared in front of us.

  “Oh, there you are Danielle; I was looking for you!” She paused for a moment before continuing; her eyes shifted from Corey back to me. We might as well have been wearing a shirt that said, “We had sex,” because from the look in her eyes—there was clearly no way to hide it.

  “Well, here I am. What’d you need?” I asked, snapping her back to the present.

  “Oh yes! Your first wedding consultation showed up sooner than expected. Turns out they thought the meeting was scheduled at 10:30 not 12:30. What would you like to do?”

  “Well, we’re pretty much done here,” I said. Corey let out a snort and Bailey’s face reddened with embarrassment. I, on the other hand continued on like nothing happened. “I’ll meet with them now. Can you please bring them to the dining hall and offer them refreshments? Also, please let them know I will be with them in just a few minutes.”

  “Of course.” Bailey nodded at the both of us, and ran off to be the amazing assistant she was already proving to be.

  “Guess we will just argue more about this wine/champagne issue at another time.” Corey crossed his arms over his chest and cocked an eyebrow at me.

  “Are you giving me the boot?” He asked, astonishment not hidden from his voice.

  “We aren’t going to resolve anything else right now and you heard Bailey, a couple is waiting for me.” The piercing gaze of his blue eyes made my pulse speed. He knew how to make me nervous; no man had ever done that.

  “For a consultation, correct?”

  “Yeah?” I wasn’t sure what was up with all the questions. There really was no reason why the early arrival should be his concern. We weren’t going to make any more liquor decisions and we had a nice little recreational fun— what more was there?

  “Why don’t you let me join the consultation?”

  For a m
inute I stared at him, waiting for a punch line or some indication that he was screwing with me. “Why would you want to sit in during a wedding consultation?”

  “A few reasons.” Corey leaned his shoulder against the wall; legs crossed in a casual manner.

  “Which would be?” With hands on my hips, I waited for more.

  “First of all, during the consultation we could talk to them about what kind of bar service they want. Whether they want champagne, open bar, all that fun stuff.” Corey moved away from the wall, taking a step towards me. “Second, I’d like to see you in action in the bridal business your grandmother loves so much.” Our eyes locked, the smirk on his lips pulled an unexpected smile across mine.

  “Is there a third reason?” My breath caught, as he backed me against the wall, a hand on either side of my head.

  “I planned on our meeting taking longer than it did, and now I have nothing else to do this morning.” The answer seemed simple enough, but the way he was strategically pressed against me, made all innocence leave my thoughts.

  For a minute, I considered his request. Even though this was only our second time seeing each other, I enjoyed his company. Just like at the bar, before we moved the party upstairs; Corey was entertaining, knew how to make me laugh and was complete man-candy. The intensity staring back at me from those killer blue eyes, told me he was dead serious about his offer and all I had to do was agree. At that point, yes, was the only answer I had, but I might as well try to get something out of it.

  “What would you say to making a deal, if I let you join me for the consultation?” I moved my fingers to the side of his face, brushing along his strong cheekbones, jaw and down to his neck. He shuddered at my touch. There was something so sexy about making this testosterone-oozing man shudder.

  His eyes narrowed, sensing the direction this was going; ignoring my flirtatious behavior as best as he could. “This is going to get expensive, isn’t it?”

  I couldn’t help but smile, coyly shrugging my shoulders. “If they want wine and champagne, the Inn will do the ordering as usual. Except this time you split the cost in half with us.”