Secret Designs Page 4

  "Invite me over to your place tonight, Ari," he commanded in a soft tone.

  Excitement and desire made her heady. "For what?"

  "For our second one-night stand," he answered huskily.

  "Okay," she said unthinkingly, her body answering for her instead of her brain .

  Dylan's lips tugged upwards. He tilted her chin with a finger and slowly brought his face closer to hers. Just as their lips were about to meet, the laughing voices of Kane and Jasmine floated to the big room.

  She jumped away from him and hastily walked to the kitchen.

  "Hey, guys," she said brightly, as the engaged couple appeared. "Do you want me to make some coffee or tea?"

  "That would be great, thanks, Ari," Jasmine said, glancing at Dylan before looking back at her. "I'll serve the custard tart Sam made for us."

  Ari busied herself with preparing the cups and the coffee machine as she silently ordered herself to cool down.

  "What just happened?" Jasmine whispered surreptitiously.

  She gave her friend a guilty look. "What do you mean?" she whispered back.

  Jasmine rolled her eyes. "You were blushing when we got here, and Dylan was staring at you with that look on his face."

  "What look?"

  Jasmine smiled widely. "The same look Kane has when he wants sex. Sometimes it's eerie how similar those two are in some things."

  Ari's face reddened and she looked away from her friend.

  "Ari? Tell me!" Jasmine whispered.

  "Um, yeah. They are...uh...very similar in some ways," she stuttered in embarrassment.

  "Why are you blushing again?" Jasmine asked suspiciously.

  "Uh...no reason."

  "Please, tell me," Jasmine pleaded. "I'm so intrigued."

  "Oh, God. This will be so mortifying," Ari muttered.

  "It'll only be between you and me," Jasmine promised, looking around to make sure no one was listening in on their conversation.

  "Okay. Brace yourself. This involves you and Kane," she warned her pal.

  Jasmine nodded in encouragement.

  "Well, I was on my way down this morning when I heard you and Kane making love in your bedroom."

  Jasmine's eyes widened.

  "I didn't mean to stop when I heard your noises but I couldn't help it. Kane sounded so much like Dylan when he's...when he's...you know." Her cheeks were in flames as she gauged Jasmine's response to her confession.

  Jasmine laughed. "Oh my God. Really?"

  She nodded, her discomfiture easing at Jasmine's reaction.

  "They're really brothers, aren't they?" Jasmine said dryly. "Now I know why you want more bedroom action with Dylan. If he's anything like Kane …"

  They burst out in giggles.

  "What's so funny, girls?" Kane asked as he and Dylan approached.

  Ari pinked again and looked at Jasmine. She'd let her handle this one.

  "Oh, we were just talking about a time when Ari heard something she didn't mean to hear. It was just a funny story," Jasmine replied with a nonchalant shrug. "What do you guys want with your custard tart? Something hot? Something cold?"

  "Coffee, please, babe," Kane said.

  "I'll have sizzling hot Ari, please," Dylan said cheekily.

  Ari gasped in horror. "Dylan!"

  Dylan chuckled. "I mean, coffee, please."

  Kane shook his head. "Ari, I do hope you understand what you're getting into when you allow Dylan to mess around with you," he said in a big-brother tone.

  "Hey, no need to warn her off me," Dylan complained.

  "Don't worry, Kane. I'm a big girl," Ari said.

  She gave Dylan a peeved look but was unable to hide her smile when he winked at her. Oh, God, she did so want to jump him.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Dylan awoke as Ari tried to carefully extricate herself from his embrace, easing away from his arm draped around her waist and his leg slung on top of hers. He held her tighter, his lips puckering to kiss her neck where his head had burrowed itself while he slept. Hmm. He could get used to this.

  "Dylan?" she whispered cautiously, as if testing if he was awake or not.

  "Hmm?"

  "I have to get up."

  "Why?" he asked drowsily, not moving an inch.

  "I have to go to work," she responded with a chuckle.

  "Already?" Disappointment stabbed him.

  "I have to get up or I'll be late," Ari said. "Don't you have to get up?"

  "No. I work from home and I don't have meetings today."

  "Well, I have a boss who won't appreciate it if I'm late."

  He sighed, still unwilling to let her out of his arms. Why did she have to feel so incredibly good?

  "One last round?" he asked hopefully, placing soft kisses on her throat as his hand wandered to her breast. He felt her pounding pulse against his lips and smiled, pleased with her reaction to him. "What do you think?" he asked huskily.

  "I'll be late for work," she said weakly but had abandoned her efforts to try to get up. Her hand had started caressing the arm that held her in place.

  He flicked a nipple with his thumb, thrilled that it had already pebbled. She angled her head to capture his mouth, and they kissed as his hand continued to play with her breast. He explored her mouth and let his tongue mate with hers. Intermittently, he let just his lips caress every inch of her soft ones.

  He'd never been a huge fan of kissing. Sure he enjoyed them, but not so much that he could go on and on. But, hell, he couldn't get enough of Ari's mouth. Simply kissing her aroused him swiftly.

  Ari moaned, and that was all the encouragement he needed to go further. He shifted so that his mouth could take over from his fingers that had been enjoying her nipple. He let out a soft groan as he put the hardened bud between his lips and laved it with his tongue.

  "Dylan," Ari whispered, arching her back.

  He let his hand wander slowly down to her belly then her thigh, stroking as he went, while his mouth went to her other breast to give it equal attention. Ari parted her legs, showing him where she wanted his hand to go. That was an invitation he simply couldn't resist.

  He trailed his fingers on the inside of her thigh and ever so lightly touched her feminine centre before bringing his hand up to her belly.

  He raised his head to look into her eyes. They were darker—hooded. Oh, yes.

  "So we're not getting up yet?" he teased.

  "No. Let's have a quickie," she suggested, reaching down to stroke his hard manhood.

  "Fuck," he grunted, loving her hand on his engorged length.

  "That's the idea," she said naughtily.

  He gave a throaty laugh. "How long do we have?"

  "Well, there really is no time for this, so technically speaking, we shouldn't even have started."

  "In that case, we better get on with it, huh?" he said huskily, bringing his hand back between her legs. A groan escaped him when he discovered how soaked she already was. He inserted a finger inside her and rubbed the heel of his hand against her swollen clit as he moved his finger in and out. Ari gasped and moved her hips in perfect rhythm against his busy hand.

  She was just incredible—so responsive—and he couldn't get enough of her.

  He felt Ari's hand close around his excited shaft and tug harder.

  Fuuuck. How did she do it? Until he met Ari, getting a woman to reach climax before he allowed himself release wasn't a problem. But with her, he'd had to call on all his self-control so he wouldn't come before her. Fortunately, Ari had gotten there quickly. Her passionate responses to him made his orgasms longer and harder than he could remember having.

  Lord, just thinking about it brought him to the edge. Ari's thumb was swiping the tip of his cock and spreading its moisture on its length. Ahhh…

  He pulled out his finger from her wetness and gave her swollen nub a couple of tender strokes before he got up and reached for the box on her bedside table. He tore open a condom packet, glad that he remembered to get them on the way to her p
lace last night, and hurriedly unrolled it on him.

  "Well, it looks like we will be quick," he said with a sensual grin.

  Ari's tender smile made his heart skip a beat, and he eagerly covered her with his body to kiss her thoroughly. Ari spread her legs and he arranged himself so the tip of his eager cock was at the entrance of her waiting core. In one accord, they bucked their hips and he was inside her. He groaned, loving the feel of her wrapped around him. He moved slowly, keen to make this last for as long as he could.

  But Ari seemed to have other ideas. He didn't know if it was because she was conscious of the time or if she really was just as aroused as she seemed to be, but she wrapped her legs around him and twisted her pelvis, encouraging him to move faster. His self-control deserted him every time she did that, so now he found himself thrusting into her harder and more desperately.

  "Ari...fuck...you feel so damn good, baby," he gasped as he drove into her with single-minded purpose.

  The sound of flesh meeting flesh blended with their sounds of pleasure as they strived to reach the crest together.

  "Oh, God, Dylan...don't stop, please," Ari said breathlessly, gripping his buttocks hard, urging him on.

  He gave out a grunt. Was she kidding? There was absolutely no chance of stopping. In fact, he couldn't help but move a little bit faster.

  Oh, hell. He was real close. Ari's lustful moans heightened the pleasure he got from thrusting inside her. He wet his thumb inside his mouth and reached between their bodies. He found her sensitive clit and rubbed as he continued to pound her.

  He felt her tense, her moans becoming more high-pitched as his own grunts came out uncontrollably. She just feels so fucking good.

  "Come for me, baby," he panted, increasing the pressure on her sensitive nub.

  "Oh, God, Dylan!" Ari screamed in ecstasy, as her inner walls pulsed around him over and over.

  That toppled him over the edge. With a loud groan, he exploded inside her.

  *

  "I'd call that a quickie, wouldn't you?" Dylan said as he lay on his back, catching his breath.

  Ari giggled beside him. "I suppose. Although we had a round last night that was a bit quicker than that."

  He chuckled. Their first one from last night was quicker. Ari had barely closed the door of her apartment when he pinned her against the wall and kissed her senseless. Before they knew it, they were naked and he was taking her on her couch.

  So, now, where should they go from here? This was supposed to be just another one-night stand—one they really shouldn't have had. But for the life of him, he didn't think he was ready to stop having her yet.

  "I really need to get ready," Ari said, kissing him on the lips before bolting out of bed.

  His eyebrows furrowed as he watched her run for the bathroom. That kiss was such an intimate gesture. It made him kind of nervous, but he had to admit, he liked it.

  He discarded the condom in the waste basket near her bedside table and lay back in bed.

  If he continued a casual relationship with Ari, would they be able to keep their friendship when they were done? Would she be different from the others? It was a big risk.

  But if they stopped sleeping together and made this their last time...

  He shook his head, not willing to accept they just had sex for the very last time. He was far from having enough of her.

  He rubbed his face with his hand. The two of them would have to talk and get to some sort of agreement.

  *******

  "Hey, sleepy head."

  Dylan woke up with a start. He hadn't even realised he had dozed off.

  "I have to go. You can sleep some more, if you want. You can let yourself out when you're ready," Ari said, bending over him.

  He smiled, comfortable in her bed. "Okay, thanks."

  Ari straightened, frowning slightly. "Don't you have to go to work at all today?"

  "I can start whenever I want," he answered, knowing he'd be working well into the night.

  "Really? Lucky you."

  They stared at each other for a long second—he feeling content and she looking perplexed.

  "What's wrong?" he asked.

  "Um, I guess I'll see you around," she answered. "Maybe we'll bump into each other at Kane and Jazzie's again."

  He sat up swiftly. "Ari...maybe we should talk about...this."

  "If you're worried about me, please don't be. I understand perfectly well this was just another one-night stand," she said with what looked like a forced smile.

  He gazed at her, momentarily lost for words. For some reason, he felt a pinching in his chest.

  "Well, I do have to go, Dylan. See you later." She turned to head off.

  "Ari," he called to her as she reached the door. "What do you think of a few more one-night stands?"

  She twisted to face him, her expression one of surprise. "A few more? How many more?"

  He cocked his head to the side at the tone of her voice. She sounded...hopeful. "Two? Five? Ten?" he replied with a shrug.

  "How can you call ten nights of sex a one-night stand?"

  "What would you call them then?"

  "I think friends with benefits would be a more accurate term for what you have in mind."

  He grinned. "So can we be friends with benefits then?"

  "What if we start feeling funny about it?"

  "Then we'll stop sleeping together," he assured her. "And we'll just be plain friends."

  CHAPTER SIX

  Ari slinked into the large, modern office she shared with another designer, grateful yet puzzled that the room was empty.

  She settled into her chair and turned to power on her computer when she noticed the post-it-note stuck on her keyboard.

  Meeting with Penny in Boardroom 2. Join us when you get here.

  Her heart started pounding. The warm, fuzzy feeling that enveloped her on the way to work had totally evaporated. Of all the days for an unscheduled meeting to be called, why did it have to be the day she couldn't get to work on time?

  She checked her watch as she hurried to the other end of the floor. Late by fifteen minutes. Damn it!

  Her cheeks were pink and her hands were cold when she pushed the heavy door of Boardroom 2 open. Penny Radcliffe, their CEO, was talking but stopped when she noticed her entrance.

  "I'm so sorry I'm late," was all she could mumble.

  "Take a seat, Ari. Glad you could make it," Penny said.

  Ari smiled at her CEO, hoping she wasn't being sarcastic with her remark. But all the big boss had was a rather anxious smile on her face. Now that made her real nervous.

  She strode to the lone empty chair, surprised that the whole design team was there, including their admin assistant. None of them was smiling. Not one. In fact, they all looked like stunned mullets. Oh no.

  Penny cleared her throat. "Ari, I was just updating everyone on something that occurred last week," she said in a quiet voice. "Eros was sold to CB International, based in California. CB's long-term plan is to only have the finance and customer service divisions here in Australia. In the short-term, they will keep the current marketing team intact, though it will be absorbed by their head office eventually. Unfortunately, this design team is the first to be affected. I'm sad to say that you are all only here for another two weeks. That time is to be used preparing the design department for a smooth handover to CB."

  Ari stared at Penny as she digested her words. She couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. She and everyone else in the room would be made redundant and they'd be out of a job in two weeks. Two weeks.

  "Before the end of the day, you will all receive a letter detailing the redundancy packages that you will receive," Penny continued. "You are also offered the services of a career counsellor, should you want one."

  Their CEO sighed and swept her gaze around the room, making eye contact with each one of them. "I'm sorry about all this. The next few weeks will be incredibly busy for me, so please let me take this opportunity to wish you all
successful careers after Eros."

  *******

  Ari stared in dismay at the letter she had in her hand.

  Four weeks worth of salary. That was all she would be getting.

  As she hadn't been with Eros for one whole year, she was not entitled to any redundancy money. All she had was the two weeks leave she'd accumulated and the monetary equivalent of another two weeks, which admittedly was generous, as she didn't think she was eligible for that at all.

  Her eyes moistened. By her calculations, her cash would only last a couple of months tops, with her current regular expenses and financial obligations.

  She buried her face in her hands, the feeling of helplessness threatening to engulf her. Earlier that day, she'd taken an extended lunch break and spent two hours calling people non-stop. She rang her previous employers, industry contacts, and even cold-called other fashion houses to see if they had any job openings for designers. No luck, not even a promise of "We'll check." She also got in touch with a handful of recruitment agents, who advised that they didn't have a single job listed for a senior designer position. There were some roles at a more junior level, but she was told she wouldn't be considered for those, as she was much too qualified.

  Just the week before, the story of one big couture house folding and another one on the brink of collapse had hit the news. Finding another job for someone at her level in this economic climate would be extremely difficult. While she had an enviable reputation in the industry, current conditions had companies consolidating, rather than expanding. Senior design jobs were few and far between.

  She looked around her living room. Maybe she should move to a one-bedroom place, even a studio, to lower the cost of her rent. If she had to take a role that paid below what she was used to getting, she would need to make some sacrifices here and there. One thing that wasn't an option was to pull back on her financial support to her older sister Sylvie and her nephew Kenny.

  The musical ringtone of her phone startled her.