Page 107 of Tangled Up In You

“Don’t worry about it.”

The waitress appeared then and lingered at their table as she poured Ichiban beer from large bottles into frosty glasses.

“How are you today, then?” Conor asked her.

She was petite, with a mixture of African American and Asian heritage. Her hair was slicked back, showcasing beautiful light brown skin and ebony eyes. Her form fitting, high-collared black dress was long but had a dramatic slit up both sides to reveal smooth, shapely legs.

“Good, thanks. Can I make any recommendations?” she asked, clearly not recognizing them.

“Sure. What’s the best way for my friend here to get to take you out for a drink later tonight?” Conor asked casually.

The waitress glanced at Shay, saw his embarrassment and smiled. “He could ask himself,” she replied. “I’ll give you a minute with the menu and be right back.”

“Conor Quinn, you bastard,” Shay said mildly.

“Well, she’s a good-looking girl. Why not?”

“What about you, then?”

“Me? Me, I’m in trouble. I’ve only got one girl on my mind these days and that’s why I’m here in New York.”

“The model you were in all the papers with?”

“That’d be the one.”

“Rock stars and models—what a fucking cliché.”

They laughed and then made a toast to the lovely absurdity of it.

65

CONOR

“Conor?”

He opened his eyes to find Colette standing before him, a paper cup of coffee and a small brown bag in her hand. He’d been enjoying the morning sun on her stoop. There were two things he noticed that pleased him: she was bringing home coffee for one, and she wore jeans and a threadbare tee shirt, meaning she had changed clothes and wasn’t doing some sort of walk of shame from having stayed overnight at another man’s place.

“Morning, honey,” he said as he stood. He tried to kiss her on the lips but she turned her cheek to him, though he caught a hint of her pleased smile before she covered it.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “One surprise was nice, I’ll admit. But two times in as many days is a little pushy, no?”

Ah, so she was back to trying to play hard to get. What game was this, anyway? She’d pushed him away yesterday … until that weird thing of asking who the “unavailable woman” he’d been in love with was. That had come out of nowhere, but it did seem to spur her interest. Or, was it jealousy? She’d kissed him like she never wanted it to end.

“You did say to ring you,” he told her. “You know, yesterday? When you were kicking me out only moments after I’d given you more than one mind blowing orgasm, that is?”

She tried and failed to hold back a smile. “So, I did.”

Leaning toward her, he brushed his lips against hers but didn’t kiss her. Instead, he moved his mouth to her ear and said, “Invite me in. We can try for a new record.”

She pulled away to meet his eyes before turning and unlocking the door.

As he followed her inside, his mobile rang and he automatically checked it. It was Gavin. He hadn’t spoken to him in over two weeks, a rarity. But he figured a day or two longer wouldn’t hurt, and let the call go to voicemail. There were other things on his mind at the moment.

They didn’t makeit to the bedroom this time. Instead, he bent her over the back of the sofa and took her forcefully, talking dirty to her as he coaxed the first orgasm out of her with expert fingers massaging her clit. Afterward, she collapsed, folding over the sofa, and the sight of her luscious bare ass made him drop to his knees so he could taste and tongue her even as she claimed she couldn’t handle anymore. He soon proved her wrong, bringing her to another explosive peak. By then, she was left even more undone and he pulled her limp body into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. Gently placing her on the bed, he spooned her from behind, holding her generous breasts and planting slow kisses along the side of her neck. A teasing pinch of her nipples had her arching her back, her ass grinding into his ready cock. That would end in orgasm number three for her, one more than the day before, but still just the start, he thought.

He was still catching his breath from the last effort when his mobile rang again.

“Let me see who it is,” he said as he reached over her to grab the phone.

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