Seducing Sarah - Book 1: The Shutterbug: Jimmy Read online

  Jimmy called for a cab. I wondered why he’d used his phone since we could easily have walked down to the corner where traffic was heavy enough to have hailed one. I was just about to suggest we do that when he took my hand. Before I knew it, he’d pulled me into the alley beside the bar.

  I should have said no, but nothing about the way my body felt would allow my voice to protest. He pushed me up against the wall, crushing his lips against mine. I moaned, clutching him against me. Inside me was so much need, so much pent up frustration. He would never know how much. And here he was, stoking it, building it higher, tapping into it.

  I gladly opened my mouth to let his tongue slip inside and thrilled at his erection against me. My body took over, and I rocked my hips against him. He groaned like an animal as the glorious friction built and built. One of his hands was on my butt, kneading me, while the other slid up and over the curve of my breast. I pulled my mouth from his, gasping for air.

  “Oh, yeah, babe…” he whispered, grunting and groping, rubbing his hard member against me. I moaned softly, tilting my head back so he could kiss more of me. He licked my throat, his breath burning my already hot skin. “So sweet… oh, babe…”

  His breathing deepened as his fingers dipped into the top of my dress. I gasped, fingers digging into his shoulders as he brushed against my sensitive flesh. I could have cried, it felt so good. It was more than just an ache, the desire in me was almost painful, my wetness growing. I needed him so much, I would have done anything he asked. I was breathless, grasping, clawing at him.

  “Yeah, babe. You feel so good. I can’t get enough of you.” He licked my earlobe, and I shuddered. “Give it to me, babe, give it to me, hard…”

  Babe. That tiny, single word made itself heard over the pleading of my body. Babe? That’s what he’d been calling the other women all night. Was I just another nameless Babe to him?

  Shut up and enjoy this! My entire body was singing, and all my mind could do was complain. But… I… couldn’t… help it. My mind won over. I wasn’t doing anything without knowing for certain he thought I was different from the others.

  “Say my name,” I whispered, reaching between his legs to cup him. “Please.” I closed my eyes when I made contact with his sizable length. Glory, hallelujah.

  “And… um, what was your name again, babe?”

  My eyes flew open. There might as well have been the scratching of a needle over a vinyl record. Everything stopped.

  “What?” I reached up and grasped his shoulders as I looked into his half-mast eyes. Instead of pulling him towards me, I pushed him away from me. Hard. “What did you just say?”

  He stood there, head cocked to one side, blinking hard like he was trying to focus on my face. “What’s the problem, babe?” He moved toward me again, but I held him at arm’s length.

  Now I was seeing him clearly. Yes, he was cute and fun. So sexy he made my panties melt. But at the moment, he was also drunk and shallow. He wasn’t interested in me as a person. I was little more than a diversion. A physical diversion who didn’t have an identity, let alone a name he could remember.

  Something about it made me wonder if we could ever really connect on anything of importance. While he seemed to understand what made people tick, tonight he’d been focused on himself and his own needs more than on mine. If this was any indication of the man behind the grin, I’d most likely be locked out of his real thoughts—especially if they went any deeper than what was happening at that exact moment and whether it would lead to sex.

  The taxi pulled up in front of the bar. “Come on,” I muttered, dragging him to the car.

  I realized that if I chose to keep this guy around, I might not be lonely, but I couldn’t count on much more than that. I knew that if I was going to be happy, then I needed somebody I could actually connect with.

  “Wha… wait! You’re not coming?” he asked after I bundled him into the cab. Alone. I shook my head and sent the driver on his way. Even after everything that happened that night, I couldn’t stop my heart from sinking as the taillights disappeared down the street.

  Almost as a reflex, I called Tammy and gave her the whole miserable rundown. “I was humping him in an alley, for chrissakes! Who am I?”

  “You’re human,” Tammy said. “You’re alive. You’re a gal on a mission, remember? Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

  “I should have known this was all a big mistake. What a waste of time.” I walked to the corner to hail myself a cab.

  “Hang on. Just because he sucks at dating doesn’t mean every man does. Don’t let one royal Neanderthal spoil the whole thing. Give yourself more of a chance than that. You’re bound to run into some jerks out there, but there are good guys around, too. It’s the risk you take. I promise you, once you find a good one, you’ll agree it’s all been worth it.”

  “Yeah, maybe when I’m sixty. But right now, I’m all revved up with nowhere to go,” I muttered miserably. I was still aching from earlier in the evening, desperate for release.

  “I knew I should have gotten you a vibrator for your last birthday,” Tammy laughed.

  “You’re such a class act, my funny friend. Here I was, about to ask if you wanted to meet me for a late night snack. I need to talk to someone who loves me.”

  She laughed. “You wouldn’t be the first woman who decided food is the next best thing.”

  Chapter Eleven

  The next morning, I sat brooding at my desk. Every time I dug into my work, the memory of my humiliation at Jimmy’s treatment bubbled back to the surface of my thoughts. Even the hour or so I’d spent with Tammy cheering me up afterward, where we commiserated over bad experiences with crappy dates—even that couldn’t erase the painful blush of humiliation. He didn’t even remember my name.

  “Sarah?” Rhonda’s voice filtered through the speaker on my desk.

  “Yes?”

  “Jimmy Spencer is here to see you.”

  Holy crap! What the hell was he doing here? My mouth went dry, and my breath came hard and fast. A strange combination of dread and anger washed over me, I wanted to lash out and run away, both at the same time. I might as well have been back in that alley, feeling like a fool for letting myself get caught up by my aching hormones.

  “Sarah?”

  I swallowed, and took a deep breath, shaking away the moment of paralysis. Business. Professional. In control. I tugged at the front of my blouse, smoothed my hands down my thighs, sat up a little straighter. I was bigger than this. And besides, my self-esteem was at stake. “Show him in, please.”

  Moments later, a decidedly shamefaced Jimmy came walking through the door. In one hand was a large envelope. In the other was a bouquet of flowers.

  “Hi, Sarah,” he murmured, biting his lip. This wasn’t the joking, fun-loving Jimmy standing in front of me. This was the ‘I made a drunken fool of myself’ Jimmy. It was quite a change from the previous night, and in spite of my resolve, my heart tugged a little.

  I looked down at the flowers in his hand. “Those are for me?”

  “Of course.” He came closer, handing them to me as he bowed his head. They were a lovely arrangement of red roses, pink carnations, and white chrysanthemums.

  “Thank you.” I laid them on the desk, smoothed my pants again unnecessarily and looked back at him, eyebrows raised. “Is that all?”

  “Oops.” He gulped. “You’re not gonna let me off the hook for last night, are you?” His eyes shifted down to his feet, stricken. Then he took a deep breath and brought his eyes back to meet mine. “I thought you might like a few new prints from the shoot. In case you wanted to update my portfolio. I mean, assuming you’d even want to work with me again after the way… after what happened.”

  I took the envelope and looked inside. The images were just as beautiful as his previous ones. Sensual, evocative, yet fun and playful. I’d buy that chocolate in a heartbeat if I came across this image in my newspaper.

  “Thanks. You’re a very talented photogra
pher, and you did a fantastic job on these. I’ll have someone take care of it.” I drummed my fingertips on the desk. “Anything else?” I didn’t get to the top of my game by wimping out in tough moments. I knew how to play hardball when it was necessary.

  Still, the beauty of those shots—and the memory of how happy the client was with them when the ad went live—softened me a little. It would be hard not to continue working with a creative talent like his. But I’d have to be careful to balance my professionalism if our business relationship had any chance of moving forward.

  “One more thing.” He cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. I tried to avoid remembering holding onto that same spot when he’d kissed me in the alley, remembering that same hand holding me close to him when we danced. “I was hoping you’d give me a chance to make up for last night. I know you may be way too disappointed with me, but won’t you please let me take you to dinner tonight?”

  He had me at a loss. On one hand, I was still smarting from the night before. On the other, my body was still full of the memory of what being close to him had done to me. I had so wanted to lose myself in the sweet abandon he promised. My skin flushed.

  He must have noticed my indecision since his mouth curved up in his trademark lopsided grin. “Come on. Give a guy a chance. I let the whiskey go to my head. And you… well, you’re far too tempting, Sarah.”

  My eyes narrowed a little when he said my name. Was he sending a message without coming right out and saying so?

  “Come on,” he cajoled, grinning wider. “We were having a good time, right? We get along great—provided I don’t get too nervous thinking about you and end up drinking too much. Give me another chance. I promise you won’t be sorry.”

  My heart skipped a beat. Damn him for undoing my resolve with his flirtatious charm.

  You haven’t dated in a long time, my libido reminded me. Maybe I was expecting too much. Maybe I was being too hard on him. He’d been drunk, nothing more. Maybe he was nervous. Maybe he hadn’t purposely tried to hurt my feelings. Maybe. He was certainly right about us having fun. Up until that moment in the alley, I hadn’t had such a good time in years. Sad, but true.

  “All right,” I said, only slightly grudgingly as I watched his face light up. “One more chance.”

  ***

  During dinner, I was glad I’d given in to his begging. The restaurant was tasteful, with just the right amount of romantic edge, thanks to the candles and flowers on each table. They were really playing up the Valentine’s angle, as it was only a few days out.

  He seemed a lot more real, a lot more accessible, too. Once he calmed down and stopped trying to charm my socks off, we actually connected more. This time he was willing to talk about his business, how he preferred freelancing because it allowed him to be his own boss. “If I’m a little short on cash, I pick up a client or two. If I want to take a vacation, I just schedule it. I don’t have to answer to anyone but myself.”

  “It helps when you have talent,” I added, raising my wine glass to him before taking a sip. It was exquisite, as was the food. I kept congratulating myself for accepting his apologetic offer.

  See, Sarah Jean? You can have fun if you let yourself.

  I smiled and sighed, sitting back and enjoying the light conversation, finally feeling as though there might be something real between us. I was glad I hadn’t been too hard on him, after all.

  As we finished the meal and Jimmy paid, he glanced at his watch. “It’s still pretty early. How about a nightcap at The Cellar? They have a great band playing tonight, and maybe we can get a dance or two in before heading home.”

  He was right. It was still early. But, after what happened, did I want to go back there with him? The small critical voice in my head kept trying to get my attention. Remember how he behaved in the alley, it said. And how he flirted with all the women in the bar—and even at the coffee shop. Do you want to put yourself through that again?

  Oh, shut up!! I told the voice. Stop being silly. This was not the same Jimmy I’d been with the night before. And it was time to re-learn how to enjoy myself.

  I smiled and nodded. “Why not?”

  Chapter Twelve

  It turned out I hadn’t been entirely silly after all. Jimmy still flirted with every woman within earshot. But for whatever reason, it was better this time. I kind of knew what to expect and didn’t let it bother me the way it had that night. I was his date. He was here with me, and I was out for fun—or so I reminded myself.

  When I kept that viewpoint, it was easier to relax and enjoy myself. And when he paid attention to me, which he did most of the time, we had great fun. I hadn’t laughed so freely in years. It was refreshing.

  A loud, raucous cheer from another table caught my attention. A group of six or seven twenty-something women were obviously here for a good time. I noticed one of them was wearing a headband with a white veil attached. My heart pulled a little. A bachelorette party.

  Jimmy glanced in their direction, too. Then he grinned. “Hey, I think I know one of those girls.

  Of course he does, I thought, fighting the temptation to roll my eyes.

  “Yeah, I did a wedding where she was a bridesmaid.” Really? Does the photographer always get acquainted with the bridesmaids? I know it wasn’t very nice of me, but I couldn’t help myself.

  Not too surprisingly, she recognized him also. I forced a smile on my face when she came over, giggling insanely, telling Jimmy her friend was getting married in a week. They chatted a little and Jimmy introduced us.

  “Do you still have my special pictures?” she asked him, winking broadly.

  “Well, of course I do, darlin’.”

  “And are they still…?” She leaned over and whispered in his ear. He laughed.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. My boyfriend wants to see them.” She giggled as she raised her eyebrows and placed her index finger up to her lips in a shushing gesture.

  “Just have him call, I’ll make the arrangements.”

  “Thank you, sweetie,” she said before planting a wet kiss on his cheek. “Nice meetin’ ya.” She waved at me as she stumbled back to her table in time to meet up with the waitress delivering another tray of shots.

  “Well, that was… interesting. You know somebody everywhere you go, don’t you?” I laughed.

  “If I don’t when I get there, I make it a point to by the time I leave.” He winked, taking a long drink of his whiskey. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who found him easy to get along with. He had a disarming way of getting people to relax around him—he even had me believing I could be carefree.

  “So, what, may I ask are those special pictures?” I was genuinely curious.

  “Oh, you know how girls can be.” He laughed, brushing off my question, and pulling me to my feet as the band started up a slow number. “But she’s just a random girl, and I’m here to be with you, Sarah,” he whispered gently into my ear as he danced me out onto the floor in front of the small ensemble.

  Pulling me closer, I felt the heat rise again between us. My body responded to him just as strongly as the last time. In fact, I yearned for him. None of that had changed. On some level, I’d already forgiven his previous behavior. That, or my lonely body was actively betraying my staunchly protective mind.

  As he rubbed his hardening length against me, I had a difficult time not tearing off his shirt right there on the dance floor and running my tongue over his chest. He slid his hand down my back, all the way down over my butt, and I gasped when he grabbed my flesh and pulled me even closer. My pulse pounded in my ears. I was having a hard time breathing.

  When the music stopped, we stood there an extra few minutes, holding on to each other, not moving back to our table. Then he groaned and stepped back, looking down at me with unfiltered lust in his eyes. At that moment, I was truly sorry we were in a public bar.

  I wobbled, weak-kneed, back to my chair. Jimmy ordered another round, this time a double for him, which he proce
eded to pound down and quickly ordered another. His hand on my leg moved up to rest at the top of my thigh. Occasionally, almost absently, he sent shivers through me as he massaged the area nearest to my core. I was getting so wet, so hot. It was delicious torture to wonder what might be coming next.

  Another ten minutes of somewhat less than idle chatter passed between us, spiked periodically with raucous laughter from the group of young women. But that was just background stuff. I was getting so turned on by his touch that I started having fantasies of dragging Jimmy back into that alley myself.

  We were staring meaningfully into each other’s eyes as we sipped our drinks when a nervous giggle caught my attention. Damn, Jimmy’s friend was back, drunker than before.

  “Can I borrow him for a minute?” She leaned forward, resting her hand on the table, giggling. “Purdy pleeeeease?”

  The question startled me, and I narrowed my eyes. After the conversation about ‘special’ pictures, I wasn’t sure what to make of this young woman. “Why?”

  “I need his help with something special for the bride-to-be.” She winked broadly and giggled again. “He’ll just be over there, and I promise to bring him back soon. But we need him.”

  I looked at Jimmy, feeling helpless. What was I supposed to say?

  “Well, if I can help…” he shrugged.

  “Okay, I guess,” I said, watching them walk away together. The girl pulled his head down, whispering in his ear before bursting out in mad giggles. I had no idea what she had in mind, but Jimmy didn’t seem to be bothered by it. In fact, he seemed in total agreement, laughing, nodding, letting her lead him away.

  I used the opportunity to go to the restroom and freshen up.

  My hair looked great. I’d managed to achieve the “beachy wave” I always saw on TV but never had the time to attempt. I touched up my lip gloss, added a little more mascara and headed back out. I was sure Jimmy would be finished with whatever the favor was by then, and besides, I was looking forward to dragging him out of the bar and into something more comfortable.