Page 4 of Single Malt

“No.” She threw me a brilliant smile. “I want you to go to your party and have a great time. Don’t even think of coming home until well past midnight.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.” She waved a hand as she rummaged through the cabinet, looking for who knew what.

I wasn’t going to ask again. Instead, I did a quick check to make sure that I’d remembered to switch my keys from my everyday purse to my dress one. I already knew I had my emergency credit card and a couple condoms in there since I never took those out. Granted, I wasn’t attending in the hopes of a hook-up, but I believed in being prepared for anything.

Ninety minutes later, I was grateful Aline had chosen to stay home because I’d spotted an opportunity to make tonight even better.

I’d caught him looking at me once before and had gotten the impression that it hadn’t been the first time tonight. I was five-ten in heels, which meant he was probably about six feet tall, and if the way he looked in his tux was any indication, he had a body as incredible as his face. And that was saying something.

The man was drop-dead gorgeous. Sandy brown hair and light-colored eyes that were either blue, green, or a combination of both. A strong jaw that was not quite rugged enough to keep him from being ‘pretty.’ And I was fairly certain I’d seen a flash of dimples.

If he was a new professor, his classes were going to be packed no matter the subject, but since Dr. Ipres had personally invited a few of the college’s top donors, I couldn’t say for certain why he was here.

The clearly tailor-made tuxedo made me lean toward the latter, actually. As well as Stanford paid its faculty, even tenured professors wouldn’t spend that much on a tux made specifically for them. On the rare occasions they needed something that dressy, they’d rent one.

We danced around each other as the night progressed, with me always staying one step out of his reach, waiting to see if he’d pursue me or lose interest. I wasn’t looking for anything beyond a physical encounter, but I also refused to waste my time on someone who thought of me as interchangeable with another warm body simply because he had to exude some effort.

A man who was willing to accept whoever was easiest was the sort of man who’d care more about getting himself off than making sure I enjoyed myself too. Unfortunately, guys who were that good-looking often had the arrogance to assume that any woman would be so grateful to have them that she’d accept mediocre sex.

I was not that kind of woman. I’d rather take care of myself than sleep with a man who wasn’t going to make it worth my while.

By the time everyone congregated for the final countdown, I’d decided that he’d earned a kiss, at the very least. Where things went from there would depend on how he approached the midnight kiss. A poor pick-up line or conceit would mean things stopped there.

I really hoped he’d thought of something original because I had a few ideas of the things I could do with that body.

* * *

So far,so good.

Brody had invited me back to his hotel room but hadn’t argued when I’d said I’d drive there myself. All he’d done was ask if I wanted him to take a cab or if I minded him riding with me. I liked a man who knew how to take charge like he had during that scorching kiss, but who also wasn’t the kind of control freak who thought that having a penis meant he had to always be the one behind the wheel.

We seemed to be on the same page when it came to what tonight was. Sex. No last names. No asking why we’d been at the party or where either of us lived. The only sound in the car had been music, but it hadn’t been awkward. If anything, the relative quiet had built the tension between us so that, by the time I closed the hotel room door behind me, my panties were damp.

The heat in his blue-green eyes made my mouth go dry, and I watched in silence as he took off his jacket and tie, draping them over the closest chair. He toed off his shoes, and I did the same, never taking my gaze off him. The top two buttons of his shirt were next, and when he stalked toward me, the power and grace contained in that body made things low in my stomach clench. He had to have been an athlete at some point in his life because men didn’t just move like that.

I didn’t even realize that I’d taken a step back until I felt the cool wood of the door, and a thrill went through me. Without my heels, I had to tilt my head back to see his face.

“If you say stop, I’ll stop,” he promised, his voice a low rumble that slid over my skin like a touch. “Anything you want to tell me?”

So many things sprang to mind, but only one made it to my lips.

“Make me come.”

He gave me a cocky grin that made me think he was the type of man who could live up to the promise I saw in his body. “Gladly.”

Then his mouth was on mine, and I forgot everything but the feel of his lips, the taste of fine whiskey on his tongue. Heat shot through me, a straight line to the throbbing between my legs. He leaned against me, all the hard parts of his body fitting perfectly with the soft parts of mine. While my little sister was slender and delicate, more like our former-model mother, I’d taken after my dad’s side of the family. All curves and no apologies.

As he explored my mouth, his hands slid down my sides to my hips, squeezed them, and then began to pull up my dress. When his fingertips brushed my bare skin, I gasped. I felt his lips curve against mine in a smile, and I responded with a nip at his bottom lip.

The sound he made could only be described as a growl, and he pushed his knee between my legs, pressing against my mound. His mouth moved from mine down to my jaw, and I turned my head slightly to make it easier for him. When he sucked on my pulse point, I found enough presence of mind to issue a single command.

“No marks.”

I felt him nod, and then I allowed myself to fall back under the pleasurable spell he was casting over me. He rocked his knee, giving me the sort of friction that sent little zings of electricity through me, had me digging my nails into his shoulders through his shirt.

“Can you get off this way?” He grabbed my hips again and used his grip to drag me up his thigh.