Zahir leaned forward and tried not to come off as overeager. “Now what would that be?”
Addison opened her mouth and was about to reply when the main course arrived at the table. The distraction seemed to be enough to keep her from succumbing to her desire to blab again. Grinning broadly at him, she readied her chopsticks for the next course.
“Never mind. It’s all in the past, and this looks amazing. Let’s eat!”
“Yes, let’s,” he said, knowing for the time being that he’d missed his window.
***
Addison was very worked up as they made their way to the window. He’d had the sense not to order another sake, but the Buddha Bar had a generous-sized pitcher, clearly intended for a full table and double the size of normal containers, if not larger. He hadn’t stopped her from drinking, not wanting to upset her or seem overbearing, and yet she’d easily downed at least four cups over the course of dinner. She was lucid but had erupted into a flight of giggle fits as they got to the limo.
“That was really great. Thank you!” she said. “I didn’t know I’d ever like fermented cabbage so much, but that was some of the best food I’ve had in months. Definitely have to give you props on that one.” She giggled again and slumped into his arms as the limo started off toward her apartment.
“Are you alright?” he asked. “You seem very, well, comfortable.”
She giggled again, this time ending in a snort that he couldn’t help but find adorable. “You wanted me relaxed, and I definitely am. I think that if oranges actually tasted and made me feel like that sake then I’d eat my fruits and vegetables every day!”
“That’s true, but you seem also more friendly,” he said, nodding to where her hand was clutching his. “I just want to make sure that whatever we do tonight, that you know two things. First, I will want to work with you no matter what. You’re easily the most organized and one of the best assistants I’ve ever had.”
“Okay,” she agreed. “At least I don’t feel like I’m about to walk the plank any day at work. I love it here and Dubai’s gorgeous. I just wish I had more time to see all the sights. I just haven’t yet. I really was nervous moving out here from Boston, but it’s been great, and I’m talking too much again.”
He chuckled. Zahir definitely liked this playful and insecure side of her. When the sake loosened her tongue a bit and helped her shed her inhibitions, he could see that playful side of her—the girl who had to be so in love with spending her time creating whimsical outfits for those convention goers of hers. It was such a shame that she buried that away, that such an ass like Clayton had made her ashamed to be anything more than a meek mouse during work hours.
One day, he was going to enjoy buying the company out and bankrupting Clayton McDermott and everything he was.
“You’re not,” he said, reaching down and stoking her face, letting his fingers stray over those soft and delicate lips of hers. Addison’s sapphire-blue eyes looked back at him, and Zahir knew that he could lose himself forever in her gaze. “I find everything you do utterly fascinating. I just need you to know the rules. First is that we’ll still be working with each other, no matter what happens tonight.”
She exhaled and her breath was soft and gentle on his hand. “What’s the second rule?”
“If you want to do anything more tonight, then it’s your choice. I’ll do only what you want, Addy. I’ll do only what you feel comfortable with. If you want me to drop you off at home with only a polite kiss to the back of your hand, well, it’ll pain me to do that and to have that much restraint, but I’ll do it for your sake. If you want more, just tell me exactly what you’d like from me.”
“I want more than just a kiss on the hand,” she said, leaning up and kissing him. Her mouth tasted of the sake—like oranges with a good, slow burn. “I want you, Zahir. May I have you?”
He nodded and grinned back at her. “If you want me, Addy, then you can have me in any way you want.”
She licked her lips eagerly and started pushing a bit at the fabric of his suit blazer. “Then good, because I had naughty thoughts the second I saw you in this suit, and I want to explore you.”
Zahir nodded and once more looked into her eyes. “And you’re sure?”
She seemed to practically purr at him. “I couldn’t be more sure, Zahir.”
There wasn’t much talking after that, at least nothing coherent came from his lips. Addison stayed on her side of the limo, but he helped work with her, slipping out of his blazer and shoving it behind him. Then he watched, enraptured, as she slowly and teasingly unbuttoned each part of his shirt. When she was done, Addison spread the blue silk fabric wide and he shimmied out of that for her too.
Grinning back at him, she ran her hands delicately over his skin. Then she began to rake her nails over his chest and down over his abs. He hissed as her nails bit and played with the sensitive flesh around his belly button and idly wondered if any of that would leave a mark. He hoped it did and loved that Addison was working to claim him this way. His minx moved closer so that she could kiss him again, and he reveled in the taste of her, that citrus heaven on her tongue.
Soon her tongue was tangling with his, locking
it in a dance that was frantic and overwhelmed by need all at once. They continued their dance back and forth, his tongue stroking over hers, even as she worked to plunder his mouth. Every kiss was a promise for more things to come, for so very many things to be shared between them.
As she kissed him, her hands roamed over his body, down to his pants, and she caressed the bulge there. He arched his hips up toward her touch. He wanted her hands on him, wanted to feel her fingers stroking the length of his manhood. He knew that all of that would feel like the purest ecstasy if just her stroking him through the fabric of his pants was causing pleasure to roar through him like a fire.
“I can do whatever I want?” she asked, her eyes glittering like the clearest Mediterranean waters.
“Yes, oh assuredly yes.”
She grinned at him and then unzipped his pants. As she repositioned herself over him, he knew exactly what she was planning, and Zahir considered himself damn lucky that Addison was so willing to please him, that she wanted to taste him. His lover pulled his member from his pants—he’d always been a commando type of man since boxers often got in the way—and lowered her mouth, keeping her lips just shy of him.
He groaned as her warm breath caressed and teased his tip. Zahir felt his eyes roll back in his head. Then she actually began the fellatio. The tip of her delicate, pink tongue flicked over the head of his length. He groaned again and let himself fall to the pleasure, let his minx’s ministrations carry him away. As he closed his eyes, Zahir ceded every rational thought to sensation, to the sweet smell of her perfume, to the fall of her hair against his stomach, and to the soft suckling of her tongue and lips against his manhood.