It would make her life easier to be able to hide her thoughts from this man. Then she wouldn’t concern herself over whether he was giving her a shot because he thought she deserved it or whether he was thinking only of the powerful sexual pull between them and how best to capitalize on it.
Wow, Nina. Lump him in with all the other jerks you’ve known, why don’t you? Nothing like being tried and convicted based on your gender, she thought.
Okay maybe that was wrong to judge him like that, but what about Abby? What if something happened and her friendship with Abby was ruined. She didn't want to hurt someone who had always been good to her, and definitely not someone who had welcomed her when she had no one to turn to.
“Relax. You’re thinking way too much,” Julian murmured close to her ear. "You were the one who said you wanted to do this professionally"
"And I am doing this professionally," she replied.
He giggled. "You know, you are wound up tight. The Nina I knew from high school wasn't so uptight, she was more..... flexible"
She looked up and glared at him. "I am not uptight," she said.
He smiled at her. "Alright... If you say so, Red"
She forced herself to do as he’d instructed and gave herself over to the beautiful music and the sheer enjoyment of dancing with a man who took her breath away.
“So how is next week? I have Friday free.” Julian said, breaking the silence.
She jerked back to reality, and for a moment couldn’t for the life of her figure out what he was talking about. Some professional she was.
“I was thinking we could meet informally and you could go over what you have in mind. If I’m interested we could do the whole shebang at your agency. Maybe that’ll save us both a lot of time and hassle if I’m not loving your ideas.” he added.
“Sure. I can do Friday. Friday is good.” Nina replied.
He nodded, and after a few seconds, he said, "You know, you might not believe this, but I had a huge crush on you when we were growing up"
Nina smiled. "I kinda knew, though I wasn't sure," she said.
He looked a bit surprised, though he didn't stop smiling. "Oh really?" he said. "Wow, so much for my big secret. I thought you never noticed. I thought you just saw me as Abby's geeky older brother"
"I kinda did," Nina replied, and then she laughed.
Julian decided he liked the sound of her laughter. The music ended, and he held her just a bit longer than necessary, or maybe it was that long, but she was so affected by the intensity of his gaze that she couldn’t formulate a single objection.
“I’ll have my assistant call you with the time and location for the meeting,” he said.
He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. The warm brush of his mouth over the back of her hand sent a bolt of pleasure straight down her spine.
“Until Friday,” he said.
She watched wordlessly as he strolled away. He was immediately swallowed up by a crowd of people again, but he turned and found her gaze. For a moment they simply stared at one another and then the corners of his mouth lifted into a half smile.
Oh, yes, he knew. He knew exactly what her reaction to him was. He knew exactly what she was thinking. He’d have to be a complete moron not to. And he was anything but. The man was smart, she knew that. He was driven. And as she had learnt, he had a reputation for being ruthless. He was very different from the guy she used to know… in every way. And he was the perfect client.
She turned to walk toward the exit. She’d done what she’d come for. There was no reason to stick around and be social.
If there was any gossip over her dance with Nina, she certainly didn’t want to hear it.
On the way, she passed Evan and Camille, who were standing somewhat awkwardly to the side. Evan didn’t say anything. He just lifted an inquiring brow. Of course he would have seen her dancing with Julian.
Evan probably hadn’t looked at anyone but Julian all night. A shame, really, since Camille looked fabulous in her black sheath, Nina thought .
“Friday,” she said in a low voice. “I meet with him on Friday. No formal pitch. He wants to hear my ideas first. If he likes them, he’ll arrange a time for us to hit him with both barrels.” She said,
Evan nodded, and she saw the gleam of satisfaction light his eyes. She was happy.
“Good work, Nina.” he replied.
Nina smiled and resumed her path to the door. She had a lot to do before next Friday.
---------------------
Julian Martin loosened his tie as soon as he walked into his house. He left a trail of clothing from the door, where he threw his jacket over one of the chairs, to the bedroom where he peeled off his socks and left them on the floor.
The desk with his laptop and briefcase beckoned, but for once, the idea of work didn’t appeal to him. He was too preoccupied with thoughts of Nina Taylor
Beautiful, seductive, impossibly aloof Nina Taylor. She hadn't changed much, only gotten hotter with the passage of time.
His body had been on heightened sense of alert ever since she walked into his sister's apartment. He had thought that he was over that crush he had on her, but clearly he wasn't... Or maybe it had just come back. Was that possible?
He had been on alert in the ballroom, and though he’d known the moment she left, he was still tense and painfully aware of her scent, how she felt in his arms, how her skin felt under his fingers the one time he’d been bold enough to touch her.
He wanted to do a hell of a lot more than just touch. He wanted to taste her. He wanted her underneath him, making all those feminine, breathy sounds of a woman being pleasured.
He wanted to slide his hand between those gorgeous legs and spread her thighs.
He would spend all night making love to her. A woman such as Nina wasn’t to be rushed. No, not when he had wanted her for so long. He would get to know every inch of her body. Find out where she liked to be touched and kissed.