Bachelor Unleashed

“Yes. There are several restaurants around here. We can get caught up. I’d like to know how you’ve been doing since the last time I saw you.”

He really didn’t want to know, Farrah thought. He didn’t need to know. It was best if they didn’t go there. But, heaven help her, she would like to know what he’d been doing since the last time she saw him. “You sure you want to do that?”

“Why not? I see no reason why we shouldn’t. I’d like to think, although we’re no longer lovers, we’re still friends.”

Friends? Could two people go from being lovers to friends? After all, they’d shared a bed off and on for close to a year, longer than some people remained married.

She met his gaze, and the eyes looking deep into hers were robbing her of the ability to think straight. Instead she was overcome with memories of a satisfied woman, stretched out naked on a bed. And that woman was her. At least it had been her when they’d been together.

“So, since we’re here in New York together, the least we can do is share dinner,” he added in that resonant voice that could make her want to toss her panties to the wind any time and any place.

But then she knew that wasn’t all he could make her toss to the wind. Her ability to resist his potent male charm topped the list. He already had the wine, so all he needed was a willing woman to share his bed … or for him to share hers.

Farrah drew in a deep breath as she thought about his invitation. Didn’t she turn down Frank’s invitation to dinner less than an hour ago? Why shouldn’t she turn down this one as well? She really should, but for some reason, she couldn’t fix her mouth to do that.

Going to dinner with him wouldn’t be a big deal unless she made it one. And she wouldn’t. She could handle it. And there was no reason why she couldn’t handle him. He was just a man who’d been a past lover. And it was only dinner, and it didn’t necessarily mean she would do anything foolish like sleep with him again. No way. No how.

“I’d love to join you for dinner, Xavier, but I’d like to go back to the hotel and change first.”

“All right. What’s the name of your hotel? I’ll swing by and pick you up later. Let’s say within the hour.”

“I’m staying at the Waldorf Astoria.”

She tried to ignore the flutter in her stomach when he smiled and said, “It’s right up the street. Why don’t I walk you there now and hang in the lobby while you change.”

Farrah shook her head. “I can’t ask you to do that. I’m sure you—”

“I don’t mind waiting. I have some work I need to look over anyway,” he said, lifting up his briefcase. “That would be easier than for me to go all the way to my home on Long Island and then come back,” he added.

She knew in addition to the home he owned in Charlotte, he also had residences here in New York, Los Angeles and Florida. “You sure?” she asked.

“Positive.”

“Okay, then, give me a minute to buy my wine.”

“Sure.”

At least he hadn’t said anything about her sharing his, which meant after dinner there was still that possibility he would make one of his infamous booty calls to some woman. Why did she care? And why did the thought irk her?

She figured he would wait to the side for her to make her purchase. She hadn’t counted on him following her when she walked up to the counter. And when he stood directly behind her, she could actually feel heat emanating from his body to hers. She was sure she’d felt it … or was she just imagining things?

She shook off the thought. Just the very idea that she had run into him—in New York of all places—was enough to torment her in one way and make her giddy in another. It wouldn’t be so bad if she hadn’t thought of him often. She had missed him, and although she would never admit such a thing to him, she would and could admit it to herself.

After making her purchase, she turned around to Xavier and smiled. “Thanks for waiting.”

“No problem.”

As they left the wine shop to head over to her hotel, she silently kept reminding herself that her days of lusting after Xavier had ended six months ago. Still, every time she felt his gaze on her she couldn’t help but wonder if accepting his invitation to dinner had been a smart move after all.

Chapter 3

“I won’t be long,” Farrah said, giving Xavier a smile as she stepped on the elevator.

“Take your time. I’ll be waiting down here in the lobby.”

The elevator door slid shut, and it was only then that Xavier allowed himself a chance to breathe deeply. What were the odds of him running into the one woman he just couldn’t seem to forget? And in New York of all places. A place that held memories for them both. At least they weren’t back at the same hotel they’d been in for Donovan’s wedding, he thought, settling down on one of the sofas in the lobby. Had that happened, it would have been one hell of a coincidence.

Still, just the thought of her going up to her room and taking off her clothes was doing all kinds of things to his libido … as if it wasn’t out of whack already. The moment she’d bumped into him at that wine store and their bodies had touched, he had felt a frisson of heat consume him that could only be ignited by one woman. He’d known before looking into her face it was Farrah.

He settled back against the cushions of the sofa and recalled the last time they’d been in New York together, the first week in June for Donovan and Natalie’s wedding. After the wedding he’d been invited to join Donovan’s six cousins from Phoenix, his godbrothers as well as another good friend, Bronson Scott, for a night on the town. But the only night he’d wanted was in Farrah’s bed, and as soon as the wedding reception had ended, he hadn’t wasted any time going to her hotel room. And then a week later she had ended things between them.

Now they were both back in New York, and he would give anything for a repeat performance of what they’d shared the last time, although he knew doing so would be asking for trouble. And speaking of trouble, he pulled the cell phone from his pocket to call Beth to cancel his late night visit. He really didn’t consider his time with Beth a “date,” so he really hadn’t lied to Farrah when she’d asked about it. As far as his mind and body were concerned, there was only one woman who had total control of his thoughts right now.

He leaned back and glanced around. This was a nice hotel, drenched in all kinds of history and decorated to the nines in elegance. He bet a lot of romantic trysts took place within these walls. He could see himself spending the night in one of those rooms upstairs if Farrah was so inclined. They would make love all night. He would make damn sure of it.

He reached down for his briefcase, and after placing it across his lap, he opened it up and pulled out a file. He might as well try to concentrate on something other than getting into Farrah’s body and then hearing her scream after pumping her into an orgasm.

Moments later, after reading over several reports, he glanced beyond the huge glass doors and saw it had gotten dark outside already. He had a private car at his disposal twenty-four hours a day, but since the restaurant was just a block away there was no reason for them not to walk.

He closed his files, deciding to think about the eleven months he and Farrah had spent together after all, since his concentration was at an all-time low. She hadn’t wanted a big deal made about their affair, so they hadn’t made one. Although neither had announced it or flaunted it, he had been aware that his friends and hers suspected they were involved. But not at first.

Of course her best friend, Natalie, had known, which meant Donovan hadn’t been clueless. And Cameron had known he was seeing some woman on a regular basis. His friend had never inquired as to whom, and Xavier had never openly shared the information.

His godbrothers—although they’d known he was sniffing real bad behind some woman—hadn’t officially met her until Donovan’s wedding. After that, they’d grilled him about why he’d gone to such pains to keep her a secret. And then he’d had to quickly spread the word at the wedding among the single men that she was taken after one of Donovan’s cousins from Phoenix had tried hitting on her.

What he couldn’t explain to anyone, least of all to himself, was the degree of possessiveness he felt toward Farrah. He’d felt the need to keep her all to himself and not share her or her time with anyone. Whenever he’d traveled on business, he’d found himself looking forward to returning to Charlotte to spend time with her. They had developed a routine and rarely ventured out beyond the walls of her house, preferring to remain inside—namely in the bedroom. That was the way they’d both wanted it. For some reason they’d enjoyed being detached from the outside world whenever they were together.

Showing up at her place, usually after eight at night, with his bottle of wine, had become the norm whenever he was in town, and they would often joke about it. He knew the wine was the reason she’d figured he was about to make a booty call tonight, and she had been right.

But what Farrah didn’t know was that he hadn’t been sexually involved with a woman since her, and Beth would have only been a substitute for the one woman he truly wanted. The woman he was sitting in the lobby waiting for at that very moment.

As if he conjured her, the elevator door opened, and Farrah stepped out. He blinked as he stared at her. She was wearing a long coat so he couldn’t see her outfit, but just seeing her made his erection spring to life. He was grateful his briefcase was still placed across his lap, and he kept it strategically placed in front of him when he stood, trying to get control of his mind and body.

“You look nice, Farrah,” he said, reaching for his coat on the sofa beside him.

“Thanks. If you’d like, you can leave your briefcase and wine at the front desk until we return, or I can take it back up to my room,” she said sliding her hands into a pair of black leather gloves.

He preferred her taking it back up to her room so he’d have an excuse to go up there when they got back. Or he could go back up to her room with her now to leave the items. But if he were to follow her up to her hotel room, that would be asking for trouble. Seeing Farrah made him realize just how much he’d missed her. How much he still wanted her.

“I can leave them at the front desk. That’s no problem,” he heard himself saying, knowing that was the best option.

“You sure?”

Yes, he was sure—if she wanted to keep her clothes on for the rest of the night. “Yes, I’m sure. Ready to go?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

Together they strolled over to the front desk, and he completed a claim slip for his belongings. Moments later they were walking through the hotel’s glass door to exit the building. The temperature had dropped dramatically, and the cold air seemed to blast down on them the moment they stepped onto the sidewalk.