Chapter 7
“Ms. Markley is here,” his assistant announced.
Tim stepped back from the microscope and patted the lab technician’s shoulder. “You’re on the right track, but check on the endotherms with that formula. The properties aren’t reacting the way they should.”
Turning, he pulled his lab coat off, hanging it on the hook by the glass doors. He punched in the correct code, then hurried out of the laboratory, no longer thinking through the problems with the next product’s formula. Instead, he was wondering about the next round of candidates that Raven was going to bring him.
Was he going about this spouse-hunting thing all wrong? Should he…what? What would he do? Raven’s services were the only option he could think of that didn’t involve online dating apps or blind dates with women that his friends recommended. He shuddered at both of those ideas.
Instead of meeting yet another bland, logical woman, Tim had dreamed about kissing Raven every night for the past two weeks. Two hellish weeks during which he’d wondered what she was thinking about, what she was doing. Was she even in the city? Or had she left Philly in order to interview other clients or candidates.
He didn’t like the idea of dating someone who didn’t live in Philadelphia. What would be the point? One of them would have to relocate and he didn’t think he could move his laboratory to a new city.
So yes, the woman would have to live here in Philadelphia. The image of Raven, smiling as she pushed his spoon away and grabbed another bite of chocolate mousse cake popped into his head. He almost chuckled, then realized that several members of his staff were watching with confusion and curiosity.
Immediately, he wiped his features clean of emotions and walked out of the laboratory.
“Ms…” he started to greet Raven, reverting to the formality of her last name. But at the sight of her sitting in one of his chairs, her long, sexy legs crossed and the end of her shoe dangling from her toe…he was lost. In his mind, he was already bending over to flip the shoe off of her foot, kissing her as he stretched her out on that leather sofa and stripping off the rest of her clothing.
She wore a tight, red skirt today and paired it with a white, silk blouse. He remembered the white silk blouse she’d worn on their first meeting and how he’d seen the shadow between her breasts. This white blouse buttoned all the way up to her neck with some sort of frou-frou ruffle along the edge.
He wanted to rip that material off and find that dark shadow, to investigate every inch of her and find out what she liked and didn’t like. Where did she prefer to be touched? Did she like a firm hand or would she prefer his fingers to trail along her skin? With his fingertips? Or his mouth? Or both?
Slowly, Raven stood up and turned, her blue eyes daring him to use her last name. When he finally lifted his eyes from her legs to her breasts and then to her eyes, he nearly laughed out loud, delighted with that challenging glare.
He pushed his door closed…the slam not even breaking the tension that was now sizzling between them.
“Did you bring some chocolate cake?” he asked, walking towards her.
Raven laughed, shaking her head, which made her dark hair shimmer in the overhead lights.
“Not a chance.”
He thought about ripping that silk blouse off so that he could see what was underneath. He thought about wrapping his hand around those dark, silken strands and pulling her head back so that her beautiful neck was exposed and he could discover all of the places that would cause her to sigh with pleasure.
And yet, as he walked towards her, Tim had to remind himself that Raven wasn’t his woman. In fact, she was the complete opposite of “his woman”. She was literally in his life to find him another woman.
That thought irritated him and he didn’t stop until he was mere inches from her. He noted the soft catch in her breath and the way she leaned against his desk.
“Do you still think about that kiss from several weeks ago?” Why the hell was his voice so raspy?
She opened her mouth to reply, most likely to lie, because he could see the truth in her eyes. But instead of speaking, her gaze dropped to his mouth.
“I’m going to kiss you again, Raven,” he warned, his hands moving to her waist. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to pull her into his arms, or lift her up and set her on his desk. He’d never had fantasies about sex on his desk…until this moment. Now that the idea was firmly planted in his mind, he couldn’t banish the possibilities.
“I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
His eyes moved over her features, noting her husky voice and the rapid pulse beating at the base of her neck.
“You’re probably right.”
He moved closer. He could feel her soft breasts press against his chest. He could feel the warmth of her softness everywhere.
“Are you going to do it anyway?” she whispered, licking her lips.
“Most likely.”
She groaned and her delicate fingers gripped his biceps, clenching and unclenching, almost as if she were just as indecisive as he was. No, that wasn’t true. He wasn’t indecisive. He wanted her. That was an absolute fact. Hell, he’d wanted to make love to her ever since he’d first seen her in Sidrina. He’d wanted to change that confident, beautiful expression on her face to one of bliss as he touched her, as he moved inside of her. He wanted to have her clinging to him as he brought her to a climax so intense, she couldn’t remember how to speak afterwards.
“So, what’s stopping you?” she prompted, tilting her head back.
That was all it took. He pulled her into his arms, pressing her close as his mouth lowered to hers. Slowly, his body trying, and failing, to adjust to the softness of her breasts pressing against his chest, his mouth moved lower. “I want you,” he murmured, his lips hovering just above hers.
“I want you too,” she whispered, her voice strangled.
And then he kissed her. This time, it was more intense than the last. Perhaps because he knew what was to come, but Tim couldn’t focus enough to figure out the mystery of one kiss versus another at this point. Not with her hands sliding up his arms. Then there was the jolt of desire that hit him when her fingers touched the bare skin on his neck. Her touch electrified him and he groaned, doing what he’d considered earlier. Lifting her carefully, he set her down on his desktop, shifting so that her knees were around his waist and his erection was cradled against her heat. It was the best thing he’d ever felt in his life!
She was intoxicating!
Raven muttered a protest when he started to pull away. She grabbed his shoulders, silently pleading with him not to stop. But he was only shifting her so that her skirt was pushed up and out of the way, then he pulled her closer. She lifted her legs, wrapping them tightly around his waist. She tried to shift against him, tried to ease the ache in her core. But in this position, she was completely at his mercy.
Tim’s kisses washed her thoughts away and she gasped when he lifted her hips slightly, shifting her nub against his rock hard erection.
“Do that again!” she gasped, gripping his shoulders before demanding another kiss.
Tim complied, his big hands feeling solid and perfect as he slid them under her derriere and lifted her against him. He actually tilted her back and Raven couldn’t hold back the cry. She’d never felt anything like that and she glanced up at him, her eyes wide. “Again!” she whispered, trembling with anticipation.
He shook his head, and slid a finger under the satin of her panties. He did some twirling thing and her head spun. Raven wasn’t aware of her groan. All she knew was that she was closer to a climax, faster than ever! Faster than she’d thought possible!
“What are you doing to me?” she groaned, but held on tighter, her fingers digging into the fabric of his jacket.
“Tell me to stop if you are uncomfortable.”
“Don’t you dare stop!” she hissed.
He chuckled, then lowered his head and did something with her neck. It wasn’t quite a nibble, but it was sort of a nibble and a lick and his lips were somehow involved. Maybe the move was normal, but with his finger doing that…he was using two fingers now! Dear heaven, what was he doing to her? She couldn’t think! Raven tried to control her body, but his fingers and whatever he was doing to her neck was…!
“Tim!” she cried out, but he shifted quickly and captured her cries with his mouth over hers as her body exploded, shuddering with the most extreme climax she’d ever experienced. She was trembling, clinging to him with her mouth hanging open as he continued doing that nibbling-licking thing.
She was still shaking when he stared down at her. Raven suddenly realized that his fingers were still stroking her. For a brief moment, those fingers were soothing. But seconds later, he shifted his fingers, one of them pressing against her while his thumb…what the hell was he doing to her?
Never in her life had she climaxed twice in a row. But whatever he was doing to her…her body was already reaching for another orgasm.
“I want to be inside you this time,” he growled.
Raven wasn’t in any shape to help him, but she was one hundred percent on board. She might have shoved him back so he could reposition himself, but since she was still clinging to his shoulders, Raven knew she wasn’t much help.
The sight of his hands moving to release his shaft was the most amazing image. He didn’t even bother with his buckle, but moments later, he was free and gorgeous and…huge!
“Now!” she gasped, moving one hand from his shoulder to his erection, stroking him once, twice…then she pulled him towards her, needing him inside her immediately.
“I should…!” he started, only to groan as he pressed into her heat. “Damn, Raven!” he hissed, pulling her in closer. Slowly, he filled her up and she almost laughed with relief at feeling him within her. He was so large and so thick, she wanted to shiver with relief. But then he started doing that thing with his finger again, only one finger this time, because he was also thrusting into her, and she couldn’t even hold her head up. Every thrust came with a slide of his thumb against her nub and she was nearly incoherent with the pleasure every thrust brought her. It was too much, and not enough, and she wiggled, grabbing his hips and silently demanding that he thrust faster and harder.
“Come for me again, Raven,” he muttered, changing the angle of his thrusts as he continued with that sliding thumb and all she could do was cry out as pleasure overwhelmed her and she nearly fell backwards. It was only his strong arms wrapped around her back that held her in place. Moments later, she felt his shaft thicken and she almost climaxed again. But then she felt him shudder and…Raven laughed! A tear eased out from under her lashes as she continued laughing.
She could feel his warm breath caress her neck and the aftershocks from his body. It all felt so…perfect. This man who was so imperfect for her felt perfect like this.
When he lifted his head, Raven almost told him to put it back. His face against her neck was the perfect ending to one of the most glorious moments of her life. She wanted to laugh and cry. She wanted to pull his head back to hers so that she could kiss him and start the whole process over again.
“How did you learn to…?”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “A scientist never gives up his formula.”
She wanted to laugh at that, but his words…they reminded her that he’d been with other women. For some irrational reason, that hurt. She didn’t like thinking about Tim Armstrong, her Tim, her Doc, being with other women! It sent an ache deep down inside of her, in a place she hadn’t known existed.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, stroking her back without withdrawing from her body.
That was something, right? The fact that he wanted to maintain this intimate contact with her meant something significant, didn’t it?
Probably not, she told herself. It most likely meant that he was just a guy and enjoyed the pleasure of a female body. Any female body.
His phone ringing warned her that the world was about to intrude on this lovely moment.
She patted his shoulders and he slowly pulled out of her, then grabbed several tissues, handing some to her…and they both froze.
“I didn’t–” he started.
Raven gasped as the realization of what he “didn’t” do struck her. “Use a condom!” she finished. For a moment, both of them stared at each other. But the ringing phone was a intrusion into their stunned moment.
“Right,” she replied, pushing off of his desk. She ignored the tissues he’d been about to hand her, grabbing a handful herself. She turned her back to him, cleaning herself up and looking around for her panties. They were on the floor. Torn into shreds.
“Sorry about that,” he said, reading her mind as he bent to pick them up.
“I don’t think they are salvageable,” she told him. But when he started to toss them into the trash, she grabbed them. “Not there,” she hissed and wiggled until her skirt was back in place. Then she grabbed her tote bag and shoved the panties into the bottom. “I don’t want anyone else to know what happened in here.”
That’s when she saw the files. The files of other women. Women that she’d been hired to find for Tim! One of these women might be his future wife!
She grabbed the files and turned, shoving them at him. “Here. We were…um…!” Shaking her head, Raven turned, quickly grabbing her bag and clutching it to her stomach, using it as a shield against Tim’s potent masculinity. Even now, remembering that she was not the match for him, remembering that she represented everything that he didn’t want in a woman. Remembering that he didn’t believe in love, and that was her whole life, finding love matches for other people.
Other people and not herself, she thought miserably.
“I have to go,” she told him as she backed up, still staring into his eyes. Was that confusion in those blue depths? Impossible! Tim Armstrong was never confused! His world revolved around logic and science, provable hypotheses.
Raven knew that she would never fit into the logical mold of the perfect woman Tim had built in his head.
When he started to open his mouth to say something, she turned on her heel and hurried out of his office, nearly running in her effort to get away.
At the elevator, she pressed the button, but waiting for the elevator to arrive…no. She turned and noticed the stairwell. They were fifteen floors up, but she didn’t care. Pushing through the door, she started running down the stairs.
Her feet ached by the time she reached the parking garage, but that didn’t stop her from racing across the cement floor and flinging herself into her car. Starting the engine, she only took a moment to wipe her tears away before she drove away.
Tim stared at the door, wondering what the hell had just happened. He’d just made love to Raven and it had been better than…everything! She was so soft and passionate, sighing and begging for his touch. No woman had ever responded to him like she had. No one had ever touched his soul like she had!
Why had she run away? Looking down, he noticed several blue file folders in his hands. More candidates? Raven had literally shoved women into his hands only moments after she’d climaxed in his arms?
And he knew that she’d enjoyed herself! He’d seen the way she’d responded! He’d seen the way she’d climaxed, felt her inner muscles clench around his shaft. There was no way she’d faked that climax.
So, why the hell had she run away? Why hadn’t she stayed and talked to him? And why had she shoved women at him?
Tossing the files onto his desk, Tim shoved his hands into his pockets, straightened his glasses, and walked over to the window. Was that her sedan speeding down the street? Or was it some other random boring car driving away from him? He didn’t know and he honestly wasn’t sure what to do next. He wanted to call her, to ask her to come back to him so they could figure out what had just happened. They needed to talk.
Not just about the sex, which had been phenomenal, but also the fact that he’d forgotten to use a condom. He hadn’t protected her.
Was that why she’d run away? That seemed logical, but Tim had to look at the situation from a different angle. It wasn’t that Raven was illogical, but she probably didn’t see the situation in the exact same way he did.
He wanted to text her, but perhaps he should drive to her place and have the conversation that needed to happen face to face. There was no way to avoid the conversation now.
“Are you okay?”
Tim turned around, his eyes finding Bailey standing behind him. She stood in his doorway, her hands on her pregnant belly and he shook his head. “ I don’t know.”
Those words caused her to step deeper into his office and she closed the door. Tim watched as one of his best friends waddled over to the sofa and she started to lower herself down. Tim rushed over, grabbing her hands to help her.
Bailey smiled her appreciation, then sighed as she settled into the cushions. “Okay, talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong?”
Tim sat down in the chair opposite, clasping his hands together between his legs. On the one hand, he wanted to ask for advice. But on the other hand, talking to Bailey, to anyone, about what had just happened, felt like a betrayal of Raven’s trust.
Shaking his head, he smiled at his friend. “I think this is something I need to work out on my own.”
Bailey nodded slowly, as if she understood. “I’m guessing this has something to do with the meeting you just had. Are the women Raven chose for you not working out?”
He nearly laughed at the idea. The thought of Raven choosing a woman for him to marry after what they’d just shared seemed…wrong.
However, his amusement quickly faded and he sighed. “No. None of them are going to work out,” he told her with absolute certainty. He hadn’t even looked at the new batch of women in the file folders Raven had shoved at him.
“I’m sorry,” she sighed, rubbing her belly as if she were in pain. Or as if she were soothing her unborn child.
“I’m not,” he blurted. At her obvious surprise, he chuckled, shaking his head. “I know that you only had my happiness at heart when you hired Raven Markley, and…” he paused, thinking about what he was about to say. Then shook his head. “Everything is going to work out.” And with those words, he knew them to be true.
And in order for everything to work out, he had to speak with Raven.
He’d been looking at the floor, but hadn’t really seen the carpet. When he lifted his eyes, Tim looked directly in Bailey’s eyes. “I need to get out of here for a few hours.”
He walked over and took her hands, helping her stand up. “When is your little one due to come into this world?”
“Not for another four and a half weeks,” she sighed, still rubbing her belly.
“Not soon enough, right?”
She shrugged and waddled towards the door. “I can’t sleep at night and I can’t snuggle into Matteo’s arms like I used to, but,” she smiled down at her belly, “I’m eager to meet our little darling.”
“I know that Matteo is as well.” In that moment, he wondered how he would feel if…when…Raven became pregnant with their first child. Or their second? Yeah, he wanted to have lots of kids with her.
Or maybe he just wanted to enjoy the process of making babies with her. He nearly laughed at the idea, but it held more appeal than he’d thought.
Today was a big day for personal revelations, he thought.
“Yes, he’s nearly as ready to meet our little person too.” She looked up at him. “But I’m also worried about you. You’ve been working longer hours lately. Was I wrong to hire Raven to help you find someone?”
He laughed again, then pulled her in for a gentle hug. “You did the right thing, Bailey,” he promised her. “She is the perfect person for the job.” He didn’t bother to explain that the matchmaker herself was his perfect match. He wanted to savor that information for a bit longer. It was too…personal…to share with anyone quite yet.
She hugged him back, then sighed as she waddled out of his office. “I’m glad that you finally figured it out,” she said over her shoulder as Bailey walked back down the hallway.
Tim stared at her, wondering if…had Bailey known about his interest in Raven? Is that why she’d hired Raven as a matchmaker?
At the elevator, she turned and gave him a smug smile. That’s when he knew! Bailey had recognized his attraction to the vixen from the beginning!
Chuckling, Tim turned away and went to his desk. The blue files were still where he’d tossed them earlier. He’d have to return them to her. With a grin, he figured that returning the files to Raven tonight would be an excellent reason to see her again.
Whistling, he went back to his lab, intending to speak with his team leads. They were going to have to pick up a lot of his slack now that he wasn’t going to work eighteen or twenty hours every day. Maybe he even needed to hire someone, perhaps a whole new level of management.
Where the hell was she? Mike was sick of waiting. Now that he’d chosen Vegas for his next adventure, he wanted to get rid of the one person who could identify him.
But the Markley bitch wasn’t at home! He knew that she normally worked out of her home office. So, where the hell was she?
He noticed several cars enter the parking lot in that moment. Two of the women glanced in his direction and one of them commented. She didn’t point towards his vehicle, but Mike knew, with every fiber in his body, that the bitch was talking about him!
He waited until everyone was tucked into their tidy, boring apartments before he finally drove away. Perhaps he’d been parked in the lot too often over the past several weeks. He would finish this damn job, but he’d have to get a rental vehicle. He’d switch out the vehicles every few days. Maybe he should stop by a store for a disguise as well.
And maybe those two women who’d talked about him while heading into their pathetic, boring apartments would get an interesting surprise tonight!