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  She gave him a wry look. “You’re kidding, right?” The waiter materialized asking for her drink order. “Margarita, please. Rocks, no salt.”

  “That ought to smooth out the wrinkles.” He smiled. “So are you referring to the Will and Janice bombshell, or did other things turn your day upside down?”

  Her laugh had a touch of hysteria in it. “Oh, every day is nuts for me, but yes, Will and Janice managed to top everything else. Can you believe it? They want to get married in three weeks? And they want me—well, with your help—to take care of everything? Like I can just make it magically happen with all the pieces in place.”

  “From what I hear about your business, if anyone can do it, you can.”

  “Well, thank you. I guess we’re going to find out.” The waiter placed her drink in front of her, and she took a healthy swallow before setting the glass back down on the table. “Okay, that helps.”

  “I know the feeling. Hey, before we get into the wedding, it’s my turn this year to take care of the firm’s Christmas party. I wondered if I could have my admin call you and set up a meeting.”

  Crap! Did that sound too lame? Too pushy? It was only January, for cripes’ sake.

  Avery burst out laughing. “Tanner, Christmas isn’t for eleven months yet.”

  One corner of his mouth kicked up in a half-smile. “I know. Just getting a jump on things. So can I?”

  “If you want. Have her tweet me, and we’ll set something up.”

  He looked at her curiously. A tweet? No verbal contact? “Not a phone call? Don’t you talk on the phone?”

  “When I absolutely have to. My tweets come in on a steady stream. I can just answer them without going back and forth, in and out like I have to with emails or texts. And phone calls are usually unsatisfactory.”

  He wanted to say that depended on who was doing the calling, but he wasn’t going to push it. Not yet.

  “Well, here’s to successful tweeting.” He lifted his glass to her and took a sip.

  “So.” She gave him a questioning look. “What made them think you could be the official taster/tester for this very important event?”

  Yes, what indeed? How could he tell her he saw this as a chance to be with her? For her to get to know him and hopefully…

  Tanner gave himself a mental shake and laughed. “Damned if I know.” He rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “But I do have excellent taste and a long history of parties. Will that do?”

  Avery gave him another searching look, followed by yet another sigh. “Let’s hope so.” She pulled her tablet from her purse. “So let’s start from the beginning. I made a list of things we have to do immediately. I hope your schedule allows for it.”

  “I’ll make it work,” he assured her. “But don’t you want to have dinner first before we get to the hard work?”

  She shrugged. “I can eat and talk at the same time. Let’s order, then we can get to it.”

  Okay, all business. He could go with that for the moment. He wanted to show her that he could be serious about this, that he hadn’t invited her here for dinner to soften her up for advances. That wasn’t the program to follow with Avery Kurtz. He hoped, by being a top-notch partner with her on this, he could show her a side of himself she’d never seen, which might advance his cause.

  The food was excellent, as always, and between that, the drinks, and the muted atmosphere in the room, he watched her visibly relax. Over dessert, an excellent tiramisu they decided to share, she summarized everything they’d talked about so far.

  “As I said earlier, I confirmed with The Promenade earlier today. They’ve given us the Tiara Room. I must say, Will must have done something spectacular for them to get that room. And for them to kick someone out to make it happen.”

  Tanner nodded. “You can ask him about it sometime. It’s his story to tell.”

  “Good, then. Day after tomorrow, we’ll meet there to review the table setup, the color cloths we want and to do a tasting of dinner samples to select the menu. “

  “I can certainly give my opinion on good food,” he told her.

  “Janice didn’t even give me a list of her preferences, but luckily I still had my notes from our long ago discussion. When the wedding was scheduled for June,” she said pointedly.

  “Hey.” He held up his hands. “Don’t put that on me. Not my wedding or decision.”

  “I know, I know.” She blew out a breath. “Sorry. I’ll try not to take out my frustrations on you.” She looked at her tablet again. “I’d like to stop at the candy store I use first, if you’ve got the time. I want to get the special order in quickly so there’s no chance of screwing it up.”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “Like I said, I arranged to make myself available whenever you need me. But candy? I thought, well, you know, candy is candy.”

  Avery’s laugh had such a nice musical sound to it, like her voice. “See, that’s why I asked if you were up for this. I need a special kind, three kinds actually, all shaped like hearts, and wrapped in foil with their names on it.”

  “I guess I learned something new. Okay, I’ll do my best.”

  She frowned slightly, as if still not sure he was going to be any help.

  “The day after we’ll be going to the florist and then the winery. It seems Montrose Winery is a favorite of theirs and they want the wine and champagne to come from there.”

  He nodded as she went down the list. He was doing his best to pay attention, but her voice was an instrument stimulating his nerves. His cock pressed against his fly with an urgent need to be freed, his balls ached, and he had an insane desire to drag her out to his car and plunge himself into her pussy. To fuck her until neither of them could breathe and then start all over again.

  Easy, easy, easy. You’ve waited this long. You can wait for the right time. Do it right, or you’ll never get another chance.

  “I took care of the invitations today,” she told him.

  “Oh? With limited time, I’d think you’d have to email them, and I can bet neither the bride nor the groom would be happy with that.”

  “Will said whatever it cost so I took him at his word. I had the original design Janice had picked. I stopped at the printer’s on the way here, had them revise the design for Valentine’s Day, and when they are ready tomorrow I’m having them hand delivered.”

  Tanner burst out laughing. “You really did take him literally. I hope they pared down the list, at least.”

  Avery nodded. “They cut it to fifty people, which should fit nicely into the room at The Promenade. Tomorrow, we start on everything else.”

  He was fascinated watching her lips as she spoke, imagining how they would feel if—no, when—he kissed her. How they would taste. How they would—

  “So are we good then? Tanner?”

  Tanner blinked, aware that she was speaking directly to him. Had he missed anything important?

  “Yes, Very good. All good.”

  “For a minute there, I had the feeling you’d spaced out.”

  No. Just imagining my cock in your pussy and my tongue in your mouth.

  “Not at all. What time shall I pick you up?”

  She frowned. “Pick me up?”

  “For the tasting and the candy.”

  “Oh.” She blinked. “No, I’ll just meet you. I’ll tweet you the time for the confection. If it’s a go with you, I’ll tweet you the addy and the time.”

  Okay. He wouldn’t push it. This time.

  “I’ll look forward to your tweets. Any and all of them.”

  She stared at him. “Are you making fun of me?”

  “Not at all. This will be a new experience for me. I don’t think I’ve ever had a tweet conversation.”

  “You’ll love it when you see how easy it is.”

  He gestured to the waiter for the check. “I look forward to it.” He gave her a wink. “And to working with you on the wedding.”

  And just maybe some celebrating of our own if I can do t
his right.

  Chapter Two

  “You taste so delicious.” Tanner’s voice was rough with passion and desire.

  Avery stretched and arched to meet Tanner’s very talented tongue, the slightly rough feel of it rasping against her sensitized clit. Sensation shot through the muscles of her inner walls, making them flex and pulse in response. His thumbs held her outer lips apart to give him full access to her entire sex, and he was taking complete advantage of it. He lapped and licked, swirling the tip of his tongue around her oh so sensitive bud before dragging it through her heated flesh again.

  He had been at this for some time, no matter how much she urged him to get on with it and do more. She wanted some part of him inside her, and he seemed just as determined to make her wait until she was ready to lose her mind. When she fisted her hands in his hair and tried to pull him tighter to her pussy, he just laughed. Then he took her hands, placed them over her head, and locked her fingers around the spindles on her headboard.

  “Don’t move,” he ordered. “If you do I might be tempted to deny your orgasm for even longer.”

  Longer? Was he kidding? She was riding the ragged edge as it was, her body so tightly coiled she was surprised she hadn’t exploded already. Then, just as she was about to resort to begging, she felt the rough surface of his tongue as he thrust it inside her, scraping her sensitive inner walls.

  “Ohhhhh.”

  He pulled out, ignoring her cry of protest. “Like that, baby? Want me to do it again?”

  “Yes. Yes, yes, yes.”

  “Beg me.” His voice was raspy and thick with desire. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

  “Please, Tanner. Oh, god, please.”

  “Please what?” he reminded her.

  “Pleasefuckmewithyourtongue.” The words came out all jumbled together.

  He pressed his mouth to her again, his low laugh vibrating against her over sensitized flesh. But then he drove his tongue into her again, drawing it back and pushing it inside her, slowly at first then picking up speed. Avery gripped the spindles to anchor herself as she bucked up to him, planting her feet on the bed for better leverage.

  The moment she was sure she couldn’t stand it for one more minute, he drove in harder and pinched her clit between thumb and forefinger, hard. The climax that had been teetering on the edge exploded with a violent intensity. Tanner fucked her hard with his tongue, continuing to torment her clit as he did so, working her until the spasms shaking her began to subside.

  Slowly, she came down from her orgasm, the spasms fading to aftershocks and the aftershocks fading to tiny quivers and tremors. He never stopped using his tongue on her until she was completely spent, a quivering mass on the bed, her breathing uneven, her heart still hammering against her chest.

  Tanner levered himself upward and brushed his mouth against hers.

  “Taste yourself on me, baby.” His voice was low and guttural. “You taste like ten kinds of heaven. I could tongue-fuck you forever, and that’s the damn truth.”

  “I don’t know if I could take it.” She laughed but the sound was soft and thready.

  “How about if I slide my cock into you? Could you handle that?”

  “Mmm. I could sure try. I—”

  Bong! Bong! Bong!

  The noise pounded into her subconscious, startling Avery so she sat up with a jerk.

  What? Huh?

  The alarm on her phone continued to hammer the gong sound into the early morning stillness of her bedroom. She shook herself and shoved the hair out of her eyes. Her heart was racing, and her body was covered with sweat.

  The dream! Holy crap! The dream!

  She reached for the phone to shut off the alarm and flopped back on her pillows. Where had the damn dream come from? The dinner, that was where. The moment their hands touched she was surprised the air around them didn’t light up like it was high noon. She knew from the way his eyes widened for a brief second that Tanner felt it, too. She’d just have to do everything in her power to let him know it meant nothing. Nothing at all.

  Ha!

  Even now, heat consumed her as the dream flashed over her again. She closed her eyes, recapturing the last moments, her hand stealing down to her pussy, as if she could still feel Tanner’s tongue there. Oh! My! God!

  Guiltily, she yanked her hand back and squeezed her thighs together. Her first thought was that dream sex with Tanner was better than any she’d had in real life. The second was she had to get it out of her brain, especially since she was meeting up with him today.

  She threw back the rumpled covers and stumbled into the bathroom, determined to wash away every vestige of the dream from her mind as well as her body. But as she stood beneath the steaming hot water, snippets of the dream came back to her. My god, the man had an educated tongue. And didn’t he know just how to play her body like a musical instrument. Tuning it up for the finale. But just as her hand stole down to her pussy again, she managed to stop herself.

  No, no, no. Not good. Not good at all. There was undeniable chemistry between them, had been from the first time they’d met. She thought she’d been doing a masterful job of hiding it and suppressing it. Apparently, not as good as she thought. And now they were going to be thrown together in an intimate situation—

  No! Not intimate! No, no, no. Personal, but not intimate. She needed to remember that.

  She poured shower gel into her palm, rubbed it into lather, and began soaping her body. Why on earth was she even dreaming about sex with Tanner Voss? She did not do casual, and if what she’d heard was to be believed, that was all the man was interested in. She’d learned very early, after a couple of miserable failures, that if she did not have an emotional connection to the man she was with, sex was little more than an exercise. It left her feeling unfulfilled and vaguely disappointed.

  Nope, she was just one of those women who needed a solid relationship to enjoy the pleasures of sex to the fullest. Which, of course, put a severe crimp in her social life since, these days, sex seemed to be on everyone’s menu along with the appetizer and dessert. Not to mention the fact she seemed to choose very poorly where those relationships were concerned. The last two had crashed and burned, and she was still sweeping up the emotional ashes.

  She had about decided to put all of her energy into her business, which had taken a huge leap forward, and forget about looking for The Right Man. So it shocked her that on the heels of that thought an image of Tanner Voss flashed across her mental television screen. A naked Tanner Voss. What the heck? She had never seen him naked, nor did she even want to. Right? Right?

  You are so lying to yourself.

  The little devil that kept pushing her discipline was whispering in her ear, tempting her over the line.

  Except, Tanner wasn’t the man for her under any circumstances. She liked him, enjoyed his company when they were together, but dating? A relationship? Not when they wanted such different things. Which was why she’d always shut down any of his overtures to her.

  By the time she finished showering and shampooing her hair, she felt a headache building as a result of the argument with herself. She popped two acetaminophen, then set about blow-drying her hair, dressing, and applying her makeup. But the damn images from the dream just would not leave her alone. She’d better get over them before she met up with the man himself later today.

  I can do it. I can get through this for Janice. I can do it because I’m going to kill her when this is all over.

  The chimes on her phone had been ringing incessantly while she pulled herself together and dressed. Now she accessed her twitter feed and scrolled through all the tweets. She’d asked each of her suppliers to set up a separate Twitter handle to communicate with her, as she did with her clients and her staff. Some had grumbled but then discovered they liked the efficiency of it. Those who really fussed about it, she texted, but they were getting fewer and fewer.

  Both Shelby and Noelle had tweeted her with questions. The woman she’d run into at
Havva Cup during her coffee with Janice asked to schedule a meeting. Three of her other clients had questions as did some of her suppliers. Everyone always wanted something at the same time. She gave a mental shrug, reminding herself that was the nature of her business, a business, by the way, she loved. She fixed herself a cup of coffee from her wonderful single serving machine and sat down with the hot brew to tweet back to everyone. Finally, she checked her calendar again and headed off for her appointment with a new linen supplier.

  Hopefully, by the time she saw Tanner today, all those irritating feelings as well as her headache would have disappeared.

  ****

  Tanner parked in front of Sweet Treats, noted that he was a few minutes early and decided to wait outside for Avery. He’d thought of little except her since their dinner meeting. He considered himself a very disciplined person, especially where his work was concerned. But the last couple of days had really tested his self-control. With any other woman, he would have figured out quickly how to seduce her into bed, exhausted himself with sex, and been over it.

  With Avery, it was different. For one thing, he’d learned through what he hoped were subtle questions to Janice that Avery did not do casual sex. For another, Janice had managed to make it plain that when Avery hooked up with someone it wasn’t a sexually hungry playboy like Tanner. Okay, so his reputation preceded him. But this was his opportunity to show her he was serious, if he could just get her to give him a chance.

  While he was examining possibilities in his mind, her silver SUV pulled into the curb two spaces up from him. She climbed gracefully out of the vehicle, grabbed her ever-present messenger bag, and headed toward him. Today, she wore a navy sleeveless dress, which exposed her toned arms and had a skirt that swished around her knees in a way that made his cock instantly hard.

  Damn! It seemed everything about Avery Kurtz made his cock swell and demand attention. He shifted slightly and hoped by the time she walked up to him he’d be at least semi-presentable.