Bachelor Unleashed

“Well, you’re the best damn mediator this firm has. I’m just glad you were able to change your schedule to accommodate us.”

Farrah smiled. “What woman would turn down a chance to come to New York, especially in December? I plan to do some major holiday shopping while I’m here.”

Frank chuckled. “Good luck. Forecasters predict a snowstorm by Sunday. Personally, I think it might be before then. If that happens, you won’t get much shopping done.”

Farrah stood, stuffing the file into her messenger case. “Hey, no problem. If that happens, then I’ll stay in my hotel room with a bottle of wine and a good mystery novel and be just as happy. Then I’ll fly out as planned and return next week to wrap up things when the weather is more cooperative. When I return I’ll just tack on a few additional days for shopping and a Broadway show.”

Frank smiled. “That sounds nice.” He leaned back in his chair. The look in his eyes shifted from professional to predatory. “How about dinner tonight, Farrah?”

Farrah shook her head. She should have known the moment she mouthed the word bed that Frank wouldn’t waste time trying to get her into one. He’d been trying for a few years now and hadn’t given up yet. The man just didn’t get it, although she’d tried explaining it to him several times—and not even mincing her words while doing so. She thought her ex-husband had been scum, but Frank—who’d divorced his wife for the younger woman hired to nurse his wife after a near-fatal car accident—was no bargain either. Professionally, he was a skilled negotiator who deserved every penny of the six figures he made. As a man, he was as low on the totem pole as you could get. The only satisfaction she took was in knowing that eventually Frank’s second wife had dumped him for a younger man, but not before cleaning out his bank account.

“Thanks, Frank, but I don’t think so.”

“Not this time?”

“Not ever.”

“I won’t give up.”

“I wish you would,” she threw over her shoulder as she moved toward the door. She was determined to prove she was just as stubborn as he was persistent.

“Will you continue to hate all men because of what your ex-husband did to you, Farrah?”

She continued walking, thinking his question didn’t even deserve a response. She didn’t hate all men because of Dustin. She just knew what she did or didn’t want out of a relationship these days. Where she had once been the happily-ever-after kind of girl, the one who believed in white picket fences and everything that went along with it, she now knew that nothing was forever, especially a man’s love. She refused to look at things through rose-colored glasses ever again.

A few moments later Farrah caught the elevator down to the lobby and exited the Stillwell Building to step out onto the busy sidewalk. She loved New York and thought there was no place quite like it. She tilted her head back to look up at all the tall buildings. Being here was always so invigorating.

Times Square. This was the heart of Manhattan. She could pick up the scent of fresh baked breads, see all the digital billboards flashing bright lights and watch people move so fast that if you didn’t keep pace they would practically knock you over. For the few times a year she had to come here on business, she not only put up with it, she loved it.

Deciding not to take a cab since she wasn’t too far from the hotel, she looked forward to a brisk walk. One of her coworkers had taken her out for a prime rib lunch. It was so scrumptious she’d even loaded the baked potato with butter and sour cream. She pushed guilt aside because this was December, the one month she ate whatever she wanted. She’d jump on the weight loss train like everyone else the first of the year. This was the season to be merry, so what were some extra calories now?

She thought about the case she would be working this week. She loved her job as a mediator at Holland and Bradford and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. And as long as there were disputes to be ironed out, she would always be employed.

The reason her profession would remain in demand was because mediation was definitely less expensive than litigation, and in addition to the financial advantage, there was also the time saved. You didn’t have to wait on court time, the worry of witnesses disappearing on you, or people not remembering facts occurring years before. Also, the sooner you could resolve a dispute, the sooner people’s lives could get back to normal.

Lives getting back to normal …

A lot could be said for that, including hers. It had been six months since she and Xavier had ended things, and she was still trying to work him out of her system. It was as if she’d become addicted to the man. No matter how many times she’d washed her sheets, she couldn’t get his scent out of them. After a while, she’d stopped trying and just went to bed each night breathing him in.

But that wasn’t good because his scent reminded her of what they’d done between those sheets. She often dreamed about him, and in her dreams he did every single thing to her that he’d done while they’d been together and then some. More than once she had awakened the next morning with the covers tossed haphazardly on her bed and feeling like someone had ridden her all night. But that had only made her crave the real thing even more.

Breaking things off had been the right thing to do. She had begun anticipating his visits, wondering what he was up to during those days and nights he wasn’t with her, getting antsy when he didn’t call or acting like a bubbly sixteen-year-old when he did. Bottom line was that she had begun getting attached, and she’d sworn after Dustin that she would never get attached to another man again.

She tightened her coat around her, glad she’d worn boots because her toes were beginning to freeze. Seeing a wine shop ahead, she decided to stop in and make a purchase. There was nothing like a glass of wine to take the chill off. Besides, if it got too cold to venture out tomorrow, she would make good on what she’d told Frank. She’d stay in bed and enjoy the wine and the book she’d already purchased from a bookstore at the airport.

Farrah quickly opened the door to the wine shop and bumped into the person who was walking out. “Excuse me.”

“No problem.”

She snatched her head up. The sound of his voice and the scent of his cologne sent shock waves through her body. She gazed up into the man’s dark eyes, recognizing them immediately. “Xavier!”

Chapter 2

It was quite obvious to Farrah that Xavier was as surprised to see her as she was to see him. Had it been six months since they’d last communicated? Six months since she’d had the best sex of her life?

She could remember, just as if it had been yesterday, the last time he had taken her—hard. And how the mouth she was staring at now had inflamed every single inch between her legs while she’d held on to his wide shoulders and cried out her pleasure.

She forced that thought from her mind, not wanting to go there, although her body was defying her and doing so anyway. As if on cue, the tips of her nipples felt sensitive against her blouse and a telltale ache was making itself known between her legs.

“What are you doing in New York?” she asked, and then felt silly for doing so when she quickly recalled that Cody Enterprises had one of their offices here. Damn, he looked good, and seeing him again unnerved her, had her remembering just how he looked naked. He was wearing a full-length coat, but he didn’t have to remove the coat for her to know the suit he wore looked as if it had been tailored just for him, and probably had been.

And there was his masculine physique—tall, well-built with a broad chest, massive shoulders and tapered thighs. Yes, she especially remembered those thighs. He worked out regularly at the gym which accounted for him being in such great shape. He was a man who took care of himself. He certainly had taken care of her.

“I’m here working. What about you?” he asked, as a smile touched his lips.

She wished he wouldn’t smile. Seeing his mouth stretched wide was doing things to her. Making her remember other times he’d smiled at her and the reasons he’d done so. Like right after she’d licked him all over before taking him into her mouth.

“I’m working as a mediator for a case I’ve been assigned.” She glanced down at the wine bottle in the bag he was carrying in his hand, and immediately knew what it meant. He was on his way to make a booty call. Whenever he’d done so with her, he’d always showed up with a bottle of wine. She remembered that oh, so well.

“How have you been?” she heard herself asking, glancing back up at him while fighting off anger at the thought he had probably reverted back to his old ways fairly easily, when she’d found it difficult to get back to hers. She hadn’t slept with another man since him. The thought of doing so had turned her body off for some reason.

“I’ve been doing fine,” he replied. “What about you?”

“Great. Just busy.”

“Same here. How long will you be in New York?” he asked.

She wondered why he wanted to know. Did he not think this city was big enough for the both of them? That thought annoyed her. In fact, if she were to be honest with herself, she would admit to being annoyed with the whole split, although it had been her idea. A part of her hadn’t expected him to agree to it so easily. When he’d left that night, not once had he looked back. She knew that for certain because she had watched him from her bedroom window until he’d gotten into his car and driven off.

According to her best friend, Natalie, who was married to Xavier’s good friend Donovan, Xavier hadn’t asked about her once. He could have, even if for no other reason than to inquire how she was doing. For all he’d known, she could have fallen off the face of the planet.

“I’m scheduled to fly out on Friday, but if the parties involved in the case don’t reach a resolution by then, I’ll be returning to New York sometime next week. At least I hope to return, but that will depend on the weather. A snowstorm is supposed to be headed this way on Sunday,” she said.

“So I heard, but I’ll be here for another week, so if it does come, I’ll be here with it.”

Farrah nodded. “Well, I guess I’d better let you go. I wouldn’t want you late for your date.”

Too late she wished she could bite off her tongue. Had she just sounded like a jealous ex? She hoped not because it shouldn’t matter one way or the other if he was on his way to see another woman.

“Who said I had a date?”

He asked the question in a deep, husky voice, which stirred something within her. She found the tone just as mesmerizing as his scent, which was all male. His signature cologne certainly knew how to make a woman hot and bothered. And then there was the way he was looking at her, with those gorgeous dark eyes of his, as if he knew he was making her panties wet.

She shrugged as she glanced back down at the wine bottle in the bag he was holding. “I just assumed you had one.”

“I will if you’ll have dinner with me.”

She lifted a brow. “Dinner?”