Kahlen Aymes - Angel After Dark

Maybe she isn’t interested.

Alex stopped himself, sighing, and pushed at his hair as the hot breeze caused it to brush annoyingly over his forehead. Never before had he wondered if a woman wanted him. Although it felt mutual when they were together, he could see how much she was fighting with herself, and he didn’t like it.

The minutes ticked by, the sultry song speaking of secrets, sweat, and sex until it faded out and the syndicated overnight program began. His eyes searched the front of the station, willing Angel to appear.

When the door pushed open and she finally emerged with her assistant in tow, his heart sped up at the sight. The two women were talking to each other softly as they moved toward their cars. Angel was wearing a short denim skirt and layered tank tops. Alex’s hungry eyes drank in the sight of her bare skin, long legs ending in five dollar flip-flops, and the soft swells of her body calling to him. She looked good enough to eat.

“Angel!” he called out, just loud enough to reach her, and immediately her head snapped toward the sound. She stopped. Alex pushed off of his car and began walking toward her as the other woman got in her car and drove away. Both of them watched each other in silence until, finally, he was so close he could feel the heat between them rising and smell the salt and sweet that was her skin.

“Lurking in parking lots is beneath you, isn’t it?” Her eyes sparkled as they narrowed. His fingers itched to touch her. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you Sunday, I wanted to see you when I got back. You look amazing.”

Angel rolled her eyes and huffed. It was 2 am and she’d worked since 8 am. She couldn’t possibly look like she’d want to, given the man now standing in front of her. “Pfft. Flattery will get you nowhere.” Her heart thrilled at the sight of him, despite how she’d spent all day trying to squash her hope that he’d appear.

Alex chucked softly, unsure of her demeanor. “Won’t it?” he murmured as he moved closer, almost pinning her to the car. He was trying to calm his reaction to her nearness, even as he challenged himself with it. She was so fucking delicious and he wanted to taste. He concentrated on the tendril of hair that the breeze was messing with on the side of her delicate features. She stared up into his face, her brown eyes defiant.

A pout settled on her soft lips and her brows pinched.

“It’s dangerous out here. I don’t like this set-up. The few cameras are trained on the building and the lot is vulnerable.”

Angel ignored the comment. “You didn’t call,” she accused almost against her will as the soft fabric of his shirt found itself being rubbed between two of her searching fingers. Alex closed his eyes.

“Yes, I did.” His head bent toward hers and his open lips found purchase on her cheekbone and then moved to her temple.

Angel pushed away enough to look up into his face with challenging eyes. “No, you didn’t.”

His fingers closed around hers and his eyes smiled as he pulled her closer, up against his body, his other arm sliding around her waist and up between her shoulder blades at the same time his nose nuzzled her face. “Funny thing about those phones, they ring on both ends.”

He knew he shouldn’t take for granted that he could touch her, but damn if he could fight it.

Angel had the grace to flush. She had to admit it, as much as she’d wanted to, she made herself resist picking up the phone all week. Besides all the bullshit, he was always on her mind.

“I… I’m the woman.” She smiled at the ridiculousness of her statement and enjoyed the shivers his mouth and nose were creating. His face was clean-shaven and he smelled of basil and expensive cologne.

Alex smirked. “Really? How did that escape my oh-so-focused attention?” His hand slid into her hair as he tilted her head so he could place a feather kiss on the side of her mouth, teasing her to give in. She will give… I can feel her body humming, he thought. Finally, because he could bear it no longer, Alex kissed her mouth, soft and gentle, a slight suck on her lower lip as he pulled away.

It was ninety degrees outside and yet she shivered in his arms and his body answered hers, throbbing, even as he held himself in check.

“You know what I mean. And I didn’t think I should intrude. You were working,” she said against his mouth just as he repeated the kiss.

“So were you.” Another kiss…

She sighed, but remained silent, letting him kiss her, straining not to give in. Her hands clenched. Alex felt her frustration because it echoed his own. He could lose himself in this woman, his whole neat and tidy life would be fucked beyond recognition and he knew it; all of his carefully placed boundaries, flushed in a moment.

Angel was fighting the same battle, but for different reasons. He mentally shook himself. Were her reasons really all that different from his? He nudged her top lip with the tip of his tongue, their breaths mingling. Alex breathed hers in, wanting her essence.

“Look who is here, begging like a dog. Are you going to kiss me back or what? You don’t want me to start humping your leg, do you?”

“Hmmph!” she said as a low laugh gurgled up from her chest. “You’re relentless.”

“More like defenseless.” He smiled against her lips—nudging, teasing—until her arms finally slid around him and into his hair, her eyes finally closed. He knew he’d won this battle, and his mouth finally took hers in the hungry kiss he’d been craving all week. Fuck, she felt good, his long fingers exploring her body: her back and hips, rib cage, and the luscious side swell of her breasts.

His tongue slid like silk against hers, hot and demanding, and Angel thought she’d die any second. They strained together, his hardness communicating his want as her hands wound in his hair, passionately pulling him closer. He groaned into her mouth as he kissed her deeply, their incredible passion igniting like spontaneous combustion. It was a living thing. Undeniable.

Angel wondered why this one man could turn her world upside down, clouding her judgment until she didn’t give a flying fuck about her lifelong convictions.

“You’re crazy. Don’t you have horrible jet lag?” she whispered as he pulled away and rested his forehead on hers, his strong arms still fully around her so that her breasts were flattened on his chest.

“Would you have come to me tonight?” he asked. When Angel hesitated, he lifted his head to meet her gaze. “Would you?”

Her eyes were languid, wanting to close, as she played with the silken strands at the back of his head. “No. Definitely not.” She said the words, but was left wondering how true they were.

“Right. So here I am. Woof.” His white smile flashed in the darkness and they both burst out laughing. Alex pulled her away from the car and lifted her in a bear hug, still chuckling. “I missed your voice.”

“Feels like you missed more than that. Down, boy,” she teased, even as her arms returned his embrace and her face turned into his neck.

When he placed her back on her feet and released her slowly, Alex wasn’t willing to lose all contact, keeping his fingers laced with hers. “I did miss you.” It was an admission; to himself as much as to her.

“Well, you know… it’s my sparkling personality.”

Alex’s eyes settled on her face. She was luminous and he couldn’t tear his gaze away. “Yes. Something like that.”

“So—” I missed you, too, she thought.

“Yeah. Uh…” Alex struggled with the scene from earlier. Should he tell her? He wanted her to be safe but didn’t want to worry her. “I’ll follow you home, okay? Just to make sure you get there safely.”

His thumb brushed across her hand as he brought her fingers to his lips. Alex towered over her and she loved it. So handsome, and so much man. So strong, capable, masculine; her body flooded with desire. Business suit or jeans, scruffy or clean-shaven, he was beautiful and so hot. Fucking unreal, she thought.

Angel’s heart swelled and her features softened. In that second, she wanted Alex to be real more than she’d ever wanted anything and wasn’t ready to get in her car without him. Her heart thudded so hard it hurt. She was in serious trouble and it scared her more than Mark Swanson. Much more.

“How was your week?”

“Long,” he said simply, his eyes intent, watching to see if she caught the hidden meaning.

“And why didn’t you call me again?” Her eyebrow quirked as she shot him a teasing look, his fingers still wound into hers.

“I did. Why didn’t you answer?”

“The damn phone did not make a peep. The brilliant guy who gave it to me forgot the charger. So, yeah.”

“Christ, I’m a moron! I’m sorry! But you didn’t program my number into your other phone?” he asked hopefully. “I mean, you have my number, I don’t have yours.”

“I’ll never tell.” Heat rushed under the skin of her cheeks in a becoming blush.

Alex smiled warmly, the extent of his pleasure surprising him. “Come on, babe. Let’s get you home.” He opened the door and her perfume wafted out of the car. “It’s hotter than hell out here.”

“You planning on tucking me in?” She could see his exhaustion as she slid behind the wheel. “Or are you too pooped to pop?” The dimples in her cheeks were visible as she bit her lip, obviously fighting the urge to smile.

“I’ll never be too tired with you. Stop tempting me. You don’t fight fair.”

“Who says I’m fighting?”

“Oh, you are. I know you are.”

Angel glanced in her rearview mirror as she waited for the door to her underground garage to open. Alex’s black Audi was behind her and it was dark. She couldn’t see him, but her mind imagined him with his arm leaning on the wheel, waiting; like she was.