A middle-aged woman wearing an apron opened the door. "Well, aren't you a breath of fresh air? Come in. I'll take you to his majesty."
Not sure what to make of that greeting, Melissa followed the woman down the hall to the stairs.
"One floor down, first door on your right." The woman walked off, whistling a pop melody. Melissa headed down toward the blaring seventies rock music.
Knowing a knock wouldn't be heard over the deafening music, Melissa let herself in. Her mouth fell open. JP was pumping iron in a fully equipped home gym with an incredible view of the ocean. A young woman was riding along the sand on a white horse, but even that beautiful picture paled in comparison to the impressive musculature of JP's upper body.
Melissa waited for a tingling sensation to start in her belly and between her thighs--the same inner buzz she got every time she saw Dominic.
Nothing.
Great. Just great. Any other woman would already have whipped off her panties and begged JP to do her. But no, not her.
JP dropped the heavy weight he was holding back on its rack and turned to her with a wide smile. His eyes moved from her face to her breasts to her legs and back up again in slow procession.
"Hallelujah, you are a luscious package. God must have heard my prayers."
JP was as big a playboy as they came, yet there was something likable about him.
"Save it for the press and your fans. And hopefully your new general manager." She held out her hand. "I'm Melissa McKnight. Your new agent."
He dried his hands on a clean towel before grasping her hand. She prayed for a frisson of energy-- but nothing.
"I was pretty upset when I found out Tom had fobbed me off on a new agent," JP admitted through perfectly white teeth, his blue eyes beautifully offset by his even tan. "But now I just might send him flowers."
If Dominic had said something like that, she would have blushed, gotten wet, and begged him to take her right there on the gym mat.
With JP, she felt only mild amusement.
"How about you wait until we make a new deal?" she said. "I'll wait upstairs while you get dressed. We've got a lot to take care of this morning."
He waggled his eyebrows. "I like the way you think, pretty lady."
She held up a hand, forcing away a budding smile. "'Melissa' will be just fine from now on, thanks."
She could feel JP's eyes on her ass as she walked out of the room, and she was flattered. But even though he was her age, he was too cocky. Too wild.
Dominic was the kind of man she wanted to be with. Mature. Quietly confident. And so gorgeous, looking at him made her eyes cross.
The next two hours flew by as she quizzed JP on his entire football career, starting from Pop Warner. She didn't ask him about his DUI; she didn't want a confrontation to rule their first meeting. Next time, though, she was going to push him up against a wall and be in his face about his poor behavior.
Every time JP made a pass at her that morning, she deflected it. Had being with Dominic transformed her in some way? She'd never been a target for such magnetic male attention before, especially not from a man like JP, whose looks could kill.
Honestly, it was kind of fun. She wasn't going to encourage him, of course, but a girl was allowed to enjoy feeling pretty.
She drove back to the office with a smile on her face. Although she hadn't seen JP on the field yet, he certainly was a charmer. But charm could take him only so far. He needed to be the real deal to attract a new team, especially given his past off-the-field antics. For the next few hours she was going to hole up in the film room with JP's game tapes. Once she had a handle on the type of wide receiver he was-- whether he had great hands, speed, blocking skills, or, best of all, a combination of all three--she'd make a list of potential teams to woo on his behalf.
From now on, things would start to look up. Not only would she do a kick-ass job with JP, she'd make herself get over Dominic. Maybe she'd take yoga classes or join a book club. And then she'd meet a nice guy who'd fall in love with her at first glance. They'd get married and have babies, and life would be perfectly normal. Boring, possibly, but that was okay. Anything was better than this roller coaster of emotions.
When she took the elevator upstairs, the cute girl behind the front desk squeaked with excitement. "Melissa, I've been dying for you to get back. Someone very special is waiting for you in your cube. Lucky you!"
The music in Melissa's head ground to a screeching halt.
He wouldn't. He couldn't.
Jenny looked positively starstruck. "Dominic came by again to see you." Lowering her voice to a whisper, she said, "He's so sexy I can't stand it, but don't tell your father I said so. He fires anyone who thinks the players are cute."
Dominic walked around the corner, and Jenny's giggles filled the tense silence. "Oh good, Dominic, you've found her." She looked at Melissa. "He's been waiting over an hour."
"Have a good meeting with JP?" he asked in a voice that was as smooth as butter.
Remembering everything that had happened last night in the restaurant in vivid detail, she croaked, "Yes."
He smiled, moving closer, much closer than she was equipped to deal with. "I'm glad. I'll buy you a cup of coffee and you can tell me all about it."
He knew she couldn't refuse his invitation in front of Jenny, and she forced a smile. "Great."
Jenny beamed at her, clearly thrilled. "I'll answer your line, Melissa. Don't worry about a thing."
Melissa managed to keep her smile intact until the elevator doors closed. "What do you think you're doing?" she hissed.
Dominic was all innocence. "Taking a meeting with my agent."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, regretting it when she realized how good Dominic smelled. Her eyes flew open again.
"For the hundredth time, I'm not your agent, Dominic."
He nodded. "You're right: not yet. But since I'm currently agentless, I'd like to run something by you, if you can spare me a few minutes."
Melissa sighed. "I need to watch JP's game tapes this afternoon, but I suppose I could have a cup of coffee with you." What kind of danger could she be in, in a bustling coffee shop with dozens of strangers around?
The elevator opened at the garage, and she looked at him questioningly. "We can walk to the Peet's Coffee just around the corner."
"I know," he said, unlocking his car with his remote. "Hop in."
" I agreed to get coffee. Not get in your car."
"If you don't want to give me your opinion on a new business venture, just say the word."
What could she say to that, without sounding like she was afraid of being alone with him? She got into his car.
He pointed out several excellent restaurants on their drive out of Union Square, acting like nothing had happened last night. They wound through various neighborhoods, heading west of downtown into Golden Gate Heights.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked, unable to keep her curiosity at bay any longer.
"We're almost there." He made a sharp turn around a jagged rock face, then pulled into a dirt lot next to a building that seemed to be made entirely of glass. It wasn't a house, but it wasn't an office building, either.
She got out and followed him to the front door. "What is this place?"
He slipped a key into the lock and grinned at her. "It might be my new restaurant."
She blinked in surprise. "You're going to open a restaurant?"
He opened the door and she walked into the light-filled space. The view from the floor-to-ceiling windows blew her away; the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge and Alcatraz were spread before her.
"Wow, what an incredible view! I've never seen the city from this vantage point before."
He came to stand beside her, the heat of his body warming up the chilly space. "I agree. But I'm not going to make any final decisions just yet."
She turned to study his beautiful face. "What are you waiting for?"
He looked her in the eye. "
You."
She took a step back. He couldn't say things like that to her. Not when her brain took off and ran with it, mutating whatever he really meant into what she wanted to hear. She needed to clarify his statement, and fast.
"I'm happy to give you my opinion. But 1 don't know anything about restaurants."
His eyes were such a deep, rich brown that they were nearly black. It was too easy to get lost in them, and she forced herself to look away. A gleaming silver espresso unit sat on a chipped granite counter-top. He followed her gaze and motioned for her to sit down on a folding chair, dusting it off first.
"Try to imagine the place fixed up, full of people."
She settled into the chair as he worked behind the counter, making their drinks. Anyone could see that the building had great energy; all it needed was some TLC. He handed her a small, steaming cup, then sat beside her.
"How'd you find it?" she asked. "I like real estate. Keeps me busy during the off season, between workouts and charity events."
She studied him over the rim of her cup. "Have you run your idea by your friend Jason?"
Dominic nodded. "He gave it the thumbs-up. But I'm more interested in what you think."
A smile played at the corners of her lips. "Considering I don't know the first thing about opening and running a profitable restaurant, that's just dumb."
"I can't think of the last time someone called me dumb." He grinned. "At least to my face."
She shrugged. "Athletes are some of the smartest people I've ever met. People are just plain wrong when they immediately assume you don't have brains to match your skills." She took a sip of the wickedly good espresso. "You've never given me any cause to doubt your brainpower... until now."
Dominic put his cup down on the counter, then gently removed her fingers from her cup and set it next to his. Her heart rate sped up as he scooted his chair closer to hers and reached for her hands. Initially, she'd been cold in the unheated, high-ceilinged room, but now that his large hands covered hers she was enveloped in warmth. And safety. Which was crazy, particularly since Dominic was such a threat to her emotional well-being.
"You're beautiful, you're sexy, you're smart. I value your opinion."
No one had ever said such wonderful things to her. And then he was moving even closer, and kissing her gently on her lips. "You've been on my radar for a long time."
She sucked in a breath, hardly able to believe him. Had he truly noticed her before the night at Barnum's? Or was he just buttering her up for another easy screw?
"I'll bet you say that to all the girls."
His incredible dark eyes held her captive. "I'm saying it to you."
She couldn't stop herself from taking what he was offering, even though she knew she would pay for it with her heart.
"You taste like sugar," he murmured against her lips, threading his fingers through her hair, "and coffee beans."
She plunged her tongue into his mouth and kissed him like she'd been wanting to by the elevator, in the office, in the front seat of his car. Dominic was a drug she couldn't resist. His kisses swamped her senses and his hands on her breasts--oh, God, she loved the way he rubbed his thumbs over her aching nipples--sent her reeling straight toward ecstasy.
Every time he kissed her, every time he touched her, he gave her such incredible pleasure. More than anything, she wanted to make him feel as good as he'd made her feel.
She wanted to go down on him and feel his erection hot and heavy in her hands, the smooth head of his penis against her lips. She wanted to taste his arousal on her tongue. Her excitement level ratcheted up another notch as she deepened their kiss. She pulled away, slowly running her hands over his shoulders, down his hard, muscled chest, stopping at the waistband of his jeans.
She undid the top button with steady fingers, feeling incredibly powerful as she dropped to her knees between his legs.
He groaned so softly she barely registered the sound.
"Melissa," he gritted out, his jaw clenched in an obvious attempt at self-control, "you don't have to do this."
She unzipped his pants. "I want to, Dominic. I want to touch you."
His erection jutted out at her even from the confines of his navy boxer shorts. She ran one finger down his hard length and his thick shaft twitched in response.
"I want to taste you," she said, bringing her mouth down onto his fabric-covered shaft. His cock was so warm. So hard. So big.
Greedily, she wanted him inside her, just like last night in the restaurant, when she'd ridden him with no inhibitions. But taking him into her mouth and down her throat was no hardship, either.
Dominic looked down at Melissa's naughty smile as she contemplated his cock and wondered how the hell he'd gotten so lucky. When he'd headed to the McKnight Agency that morning, he hadn't thought much beyond seeing her again.
And now, sweet lord, she was on the verge of throating him. He gripped the sides of the chair as she wrapped both hands around his hard-on. He closed his eyes to try to get a grip, but it was impossible to shut down the mind-blowing image of his cock in her soft hands, her mouth less than an inch from the tip. Then her tongue lightly swept over him, from the base of his shaft all the way to the throbbing tip.
He was going to come--there was nothing he could do to stop it. Please, God, all he wanted was to feel her suck him into her mouth. She did, and he couldn't stop himself from bucking up, forcing her to take him deeper. Instead of pulling away, she moaned against him, the sound vibrating against his cock.
He couldn't hold back another second. Roaring his pleasure, he shot down her throat in thick spurts, again and again, until his cock finally ran dry.
His heart pumped hard. After all these years of screwing supermodels and actresses, who would have thought that the one woman who could take him apart would be the smart, sexy daughter of his agent?
And now that he'd had her, he couldn't make himself stop.
Chapter Twelve
Dominic pulled Melissa onto his lap and kissed her hard. "You're incredible," he said, raining kisses down her throat, heading for her breasts. Desperate for her release, she rocked her pelvis against him, shocked to feel his penis grow thick again. He'd just exploded in her mouth and he was ready for more?
"I want to be inside you," he murmured, his breath warm against her earlobe, heightening her already intense arousal. He reached into his pocket for a condom and handed it to her.
"If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were superhuman," she teased.
He kissed her until her head was spinning. "You do crazy things to me."
She ripped open the condom wrapper with trembling hands, then slid the rubber sheath down his impossibly big second erection, and he lifted her over it. She took him in one swift stroke, then rose all the way, until his engorged head emerged slick and throbbing with need. Again and again she slid down, then up, flexing her inner muscles against him, reveling in the potent pleasure of loving Dominic. She'd never come before without direct clitoral stimulation, but she was so aroused by blowing him that she already felt the beginning of an orgasm.
Dominic rocked slowly and patiently inside her, and his steady motions were the final push she needed. She cried out as wave after wave of pleasure came over her, and when he climaxed inside her, his cock throbbing and pulsing in time to her release, she was no longer sure where his body ended and hers began.
They held on to each other forever, it seemed, and Melissa wanted never to let go. She didn't want to have to deal with reality. And she definitely didn't want to hear Dominic apologize again for making her feel so damn good.
The building creaked in the wind, and she jumped. Oh shit. If someone caught her with Dominic, her career could be ruined. How could she be taken seriously if she couldn't keep out of players' beds?
She jumped off his lap and readjusted her clothes, her damp panties a reminder of how strongly Dominic affected her.
"We're safe," Dominic said, instantly assessing her concerns.
"We need to stop having sex in public places."
Damn--she'd made it sound as if she expected their affair to continue in private. And he wasn't interested in another lecture about how they shouldn't even be having sex in the first place.
Dominic ran a hand through his dark hair and said, "I didn't intend to bring you here to seduce you. Again."
She shook her head. "And I didn't mean to let you. But I wanted it, I wanted you." Her lips curved up. "And it was wonderful. All of it."
He looked at her with surprise. "You're not angry?"
She forced a shrug, though she had no idea what they were doing. This was no longer a one-night stand, yet he hadn't stepped up to the boyfriend plate, either. Booty call?
Well, why not? She could have a sexy fling with the best of them. Especially when the man she was flinging with was as incredible as Dominic.
"How could I be angry? You're an incredible lover, Dominic. I'm sure I'm not the first woman to tell you that."
But if she really did want a professional relationship with him, she couldn't keep having sex with him. No matter how good it was.
Escape was the only option. She looked at her watch. "I'm afraid I need to get back to work for some meetings."
Without waiting for a reply, she let herself out the front door and waited in the passenger seat of his car, her heart pounding. She felt unbelievably brave. And desperately out of control.
A couple of minutes later, his footsteps sounded on the gravel outside.
His face was grim when he finally sat behind the wheel, and she could tell by the way his jaw clenched that he was angry. It was good to know that he didn't have any better grip on himself than she had. He sped back down the hill and came to a screeching halt in front of the agency, and she shot out of the car and into the safety of the building.
When the elevator doors opened, Jenny look relieved to see her. "Wow, that sure was a long lunch. I didn't know what to tell JP."
All the blood drained from Melissa's face. "JP is here?"
"He's waiting in the film room. 1 told him you'd just left with Dominic, but he insisted on waiting for you."
Great. She'd been so busy having sex with Mr. Off-limits that she'd completely ignored her one and only client.
She knocked on the door before letting herself in. JP was watching himself make a key block on the enormous screen. The lights were off, and even though he was a gorgeous man well known for his powers of seduction, she wasn't the least bit worried about joining him.