Finally (Mature Men, #3) Read online

  "Sher? Will you?" Janine asked.

  "If I see him," I hedged.

  "If you go to lunch at one, you will. If he isn't eating at Charlie's he'll be reading a paper at one of the tables in the food court."

  I arched a brow.

  "Don't look at me like I've been stalking him."

  "Have you? You seem to have a handle on his movements already."

  "No, I haven't, but I can look down from my office and see him. You will help me with him. Won't you?"

  I nodded and then sighed inwardly. Why had I just agreed to do something for her that I didn't want to do? I'm the only child of elderly deceased parents with no close relatives in Philly. My friends are everything to me. Janine was a close friend, second only to Amber-Hunt Darkwater. Amber and I had seen Janine through several rounds of surgeries that had changed her from a full-figured, very average looking woman to a size five woman so stunning, sometimes it was hard to remember she was still the friend with whom I'd grown up.

  For her part, she and Amber had sat with, comforted, and sobbed their hearts out with me when a sudden massive heart attack killed Don Jordan, two months before our wedding. Years before Don, she had taken her turn crying with me when the damned Darkwater had been oblivious to my existence.

  So even though she now looked more like a supermodel than the friend I'd grown up with, mentally she was still like me; shy, full-figured, and only a breath away from being plain. She had my back and I had hers. I would keep my word but I promised myself this was the last time I'd play matchmaker for her.

  My thoughts turned towards those brief but electric moments when I'd felt as if Janine's crush was staring not only into my eyes but peeling the protective layers I'd built around my heart back, exposing my deepest and most lustful thoughts and aching needs; needs that distressingly still seem to center around Darkwater.

  At least until now. For the first time since my brief fling with Darkwater had ended as abruptly as it had started, I could imagine wanting to be intimate with another man. But why oh why did the man have to be Janine's crush?

  Such nonsensical thinking made getting any work done a challenge that morning. However, I needed to concentrate and do my best work as there were rumors that layoffs were coming. Accordingly, I struggled to keep my mind on work.

  Chapter Two

  Sherlyn

  Before I knew it, Janine was on my cell screaming into my ear that she was at her window and could see him sitting in the food court.

  Despite my reservations, I made a quick run to the ladies' room to make sure my hair was in place and my nose wasn't shiny. Then I took a deep breath and left the office.

  I was nonplused to find Janine waiting when I stepped off the elevator into the lobby. "Janine, what are you doing here?"

  "What do you mean what am I doing here? I'm going into the food court."

  "Why?" I asked.

  "How else are you going to point me out to him, Sher?"

  "Oh. Right."

  She frowned. "You look a little uncertain. Are you ready?"

  Hell no, I wasn't ready but I nodded. We walked into the food court together. She sat at a table on the other side facing him while I moistened my lips and walked toward his table.

  Almost as if he'd sensed my approach, he suddenly looked up from his paper and right at me.

  I froze, my heart pounding so hard I imagined he must surely hear it beating.

  He placed the paper on the table and arched his brow.

  Keep moving. He's just a man like any other. You can do this. My face felt hot as I forced myself to cover the remaining distance between us with his dark gaze locked on me. Why did he keep looking at me as if he were staring at my stark naked body and trying to decide if he liked what he saw? After a moment of indecision, I decided there was no reason why he shouldn't like what he saw. Don and Darkwater had.

  When I reached his table, he immediately rose and gestured to the seat opposite his.

  I looked into his dark gaze and all I could think of was sex. My throat muscles felt frozen and my legs weak with longing for sexual intimacy.

  He waited until I sat down before he resumed his seat. Then he sat watching me in silence.

  After what felt like an eternity, I realized he wasn't going to say anything. You can do this. You will do this for Janine. One last time. I moistened my lips. "I'm sorry to intrude on your time but I thought you might like some company."

  He inclined his head.

  Damn he was going to make this harder than it needed to be. Seated so close to him, I could smell his cologne and see just how handsome he was. And he seemed even more familiar. It wasn't because he reminded me of Darkwater. Although they were both big, attractive men, they didn't look anything alike. He was actually better looking than Darkwater though not quite as tall or as broad shouldered. And maybe not quite as sexy.

  Stop. You have to stop comparing every man you meet to Darkwater.

  He smiled suddenly.

  Damn he was handsome. A rush of raw emotion made marshalling my thoughts difficult and speech momentarily impossible. We sat staring at each other in silence until I finally got a grip on myself and extended my hand. "Sherlyn."

  "Sheryl Lynn?"

  "No. My name is spelled S-h-e-r-l-y-n and pronounced Cher Lynn, but it's one word."

  "Ahh. I'm Shane," he spoke in a warm baritone that danced along my senses, inflaming them before he took my hand in his. Then I felt a surge of emotion so strong, I had to struggle not to shiver.

  "I guess you're wondering why I'm here," I said.

  He shook his head, still holding my hand. "I assumed you'd come to ask me out."

  Apparently, he was used to women coming onto him. "I did."

  "I'm flattered," he said. "And I accept."

  "You are? You do?" I hadn't expected him to be such an easy sell. Relieved, I glanced over my shoulder and nodded at Janine. I saw her smile before I turned back to him.

  "I am and I do," he said. "When would you like to take me out?"

  "When would I..." That's when I realized he thought I was asking him out for myself. For several delicious seconds I allowed myself to savor the thought that this handsome, sexy man had just agreed to go out with me. Take that Darkwater.

  "And where are you taking me?" he asked. "I have to warn you that I'm not going to be a cheap date."

  "Where am I taking you?" The return to reality was abrupt and unwelcomed. "Oh. No!" I pulled my hand from his and shook my head. "I'm not taking you anywhere."

  "No? Oh. I see." He arched a brow and smiled. "So you want to skip the wining and dining and head straight for bed? It's not my usual style, but I'd be happy to make an exception in your case. I'm free tonight. Your place or mine?"

  I stared at him, briefly losing myself in the fantasy of tumbling naked into bed with him and feeling his hard cock pushing into my pussy. Noting his gaze locked on my breasts, I thought of Darkwater, who had obsessed on my breasts. Darkwater yet again? No, dammit! You can't keep going there. I swallowed hard and tore my thoughts away from sex and Darkwater. "That's not what I meant at all," I said quickly, looking away from his intense gaze.

  "Then what did you mean?"

  "I meant I wasn't asking you out for myself."

  "I'm crushed. Why not?"

  "I didn't ask for me." But Lord I wished I had. This attractive man was just what the doctor ordered to get me over the lingering remnants of my fling with Darkwater. And if I were honest, I needed a fuck rather badly.

  "Then who are you asking me out for?"

  "My friend, Janine."

  "Janine?" He frowned. "You have a friend named Janine?"

  I nodded, turning my gaze back to his. "Do you know her?"

  He seemed to hesitate slightly before finally shaking his head. "No, but tell me. Why would I want to go out with a woman who has to send her friends to do her dirty work?"

  "She's shy."

  "But you're not?"

  I shook my head. "Actually I am.
I would never have had the nerve to approach you for myself."

  "Although I flatter myself that I'm very approachable, I assure you I'm not the kind of man interested in dating a woman too shy to reach out and take what she wants."

  "Reach out and take?"

  He nodded. "Grab, actually."

  "Is that what you like in a woman?"

  He shrugged. "I'm open to most things with the right woman."

  Why did I want to feel as if he were implying I might be the right woman? Stay on target and stop allowing your imagination to run wild. "She's shy but she's very pretty."

  "Who is?"

  "My friend Janine is."

  "Oh. Her."

  "Yes. Her. She's very pretty."

  "Is she?"

  I nodded, eager to keep Janine as the focus of the conversation. "She's seated at the table near the burger joint. She's the one in the pretty white dress."

  He looked past me.

  "Do you see her?" I asked.

  He nodded. "It's a tossup as to whether she's just pretty or beautiful," he said.

  A surge of jealousy assailed my senses and shamed me. You're only here on Janine's behalf. Like Darkwater, he's probably the kind of man who likes a slender, beautiful blonde bimbo on his arm. That leaves you out on both counts but gives Janine a fighting chance to capture his attention. While aware that an average-looking, plus-sized woman didn't generally have an abundance of dating choices, I'd always felt secure in my own skin. I'd captured Don's heart and for a brief time Darkwater's sexual interest. If I were patient enough, I knew I'd meet another man I could fall in love with.

  Until that happened, I was more than ready to fall into lust but it could not be with the handsome Shane even though he made me feel as if I had his complete attention. "She's gorgeous," I said.

  He surprised me by reaching across the table to place his hand next to mine, almost as if he knew I had a thing for a man's hand.

  I stared at his. It was big with short nails and long fingers that would feel wonderful gliding across my bare flesh on its way to cupping my breasts or sliding down my belly to...

  I caught myself. During my fling with Darkwater I'd enjoyed nights of incredible passion. Without a man in my life, my body craved the sexual release and pleasure I'd gloried in with him. After enjoying wonderful sex nearly every night for six weeks, the ten weeks since our relationship had ended left me lonely and horny. But I couldn't afford to center my attention on Shane. He was already spoken for.

  "So what do you think? Isn't she beautiful?" I asked.

  "Probably."

  "So?"

  "The more I think about it she's probably pretty but not quite beautiful."

  I frowned. "What am I missing? Since when is being merely pretty a liability?"

  He shrugged. "I wouldn't exactly call it a liability, but I have to tell you that I think beautiful women are a dime a dozen. Pretty women are even more common."

  Oh damn. "What?"

  "Why should I want to go out with your pretty friend?"

  "Because she's as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside. She's a great person."

  "She must be to inspire such loyalty in you."

  I relaxed. "So you'll go out with her?"

  He shook his head. "No."

  "Why not?"

  "I told you. Women like her are a dime a dozen. Been there, done that with beautiful women. These days a woman needs to bring more than superficial looks to the table to catch and hold my interest."

  I stared at him, impressed. "A man who doesn't judge a woman strictly on her physical appearance is a rarity."

  "I'm flattered you think I'm rare."

  I shook my head. "That's not what I said."

  He smiled, revealing nice, but not artificially straight teeth. "Maybe not, but that is what you meant. Isn't it?"

  It was but I was not about to admit it. "No."

  "Now I'm crushed. What's your secret?"

  "Secret? What secret?"

  "It's a rare woman who can manage to both flatter and crush a man within a matter of minutes."

  "Are you calling me rare?" I teased.

  He nodded, his dark eyes seeming to smile at me. "I think I just did."

  "Are you flirting with me?"

  He shrugged. "Why not? You intrigue me."

  Call me delusional, but I believed him. Flattered, I smiled.

  His gaze shifted to my mouth. "You have an interesting smile."

  "Interesting as in strange or–"

  "Interesting as in very nice...sweet, yet so much more."

  I longed to ask how much more but decided I needed to remind us both why I was there. "You are flirting with me."

  He nodded. "Yes, I am, but I thought we'd already established that fact."

  "Why?"

  "You intrigue me. I thought we'd established that fact as well."

  Lord knew I wanted to run head long down the path that invited him to tell me more. But I couldn't. Janine had talked of little else but him for the last three weeks until I'd finally agreed to do what I'd done several times before–talk her up to a man she was too shy to approach herself. "It's Janine you should be flirting with."

  "I'm forty years old. I think that's old enough to determine who I want to flirt with. Don't you, Sherlyn?"

  I liked how he made my name sound exotic and sexy. "Yes, of course, but—"

  "There's no butts about it. I'm old enough. Now, have you considered the possibility that I have absolutely no interest in your very pretty friend?"

  "That's only because you haven't met her. If you'll give her a chance, I know you'll like her."

  He lifted his gaze from my mouth to my eyes. "How sure are you of that?"

  "Very sure."

  "Then put your money where your delectable looking mouth is."

  My delectable looking mouth? Oh, God, I wanted so much to be able to go with the flow with him. "What do you mean?"

  "I don't have any one special in my life at the moment and I've been feeling a little lonely lately."

  He didn't look like a man who ever needed to be lonely. "I'm sure there are scores of women who'd love the opportunity to do something about that." Including me.

  "Possibly, but the days when I wanted to date several women at the same time are over. While I'm not looking for anything super serious I am interested in meeting one special woman I can build a possible long-term relationship with at some point."

  The lucky woman he chose would fall on her knees each night and gives thanks while she tried to capture his heart. "Janine is special."

  "So you keep telling me, but I'm not convinced."

  "You would be if you'd only give her a chance."

  "Tell you what. Let's make a deal."

  "What kind of deal?"

  "Why don't you join me for dinner tonight and convince me how special your friend is?"

  I blinked. "You want me to have dinner with you tonight?"

  "Yes. There's a new restaurant in Old City I've been meaning to try. I hear the food is great and the atmosphere is conducive."

  "Conducive to what?"

  "Have dinner with me tonight and decide that for yourself."

  Sweet temptation, stay away from me. "I can't go out with you."

  "Of course you can. You can spend the evening convincing me what a great catch your friend is."

  The thought of having dinner with him got my juices flowing in a biblical way. I knew I was with a man capable of doing what Don had done—remove all thoughts of Darkwater from my mind. In fact, the desire I felt for him was so powerful I couldn't refuse the opportunity to spend a few hours with him. I nodded before I could change my mind. "Okay, but you'd better be prepared for a full court press."

  He looked amused. "I'll gird my loins accordingly."

  I'd rather you bared them. Dismissing the thought, I nodded. "Well, see that you do because I'm determined to convince you of Janine's worth."

  He leaned forward slightly and looked directl
y into my eyes. "I look forward to your best efforts."

  My heartbeat quickened and my pussy pulsed. You have to stop imagining there's some hidden sexual meaning in nearly everything he says. Get with the program. He belongs to Janine.

  "No sassy comeback, Sherlyn?"

  I shook my head. "My friends call me Sher."

  He frowned. "Cher? Like the entertainer?"

  "They pronounce it Cher like the entertainer but we spell it S-h-e-r."

  He inhaled slowly. "Interesting. We have an endearment in my family that is spelled c-h-e-r but we pronounce it sha."

  I sighed, recalling the tone and look in my best friend's fiancé's eyes when he called Amber cher. One of these days some man was going to want to call me something special and sweet. Despite my best efforts, I thought of Darkwater calling me sweet girl when he was aroused and blushed.

  Shane studied me in silence for a moment before nodding. "I'll bear that in mind. As for tonight, I'll pick you up at—"

  "I can meet you there," I said, deciding that sitting in the confines of a car with him was probably not going to be a good idea. Not that he would attempt to do what Darkwater had done the night our relationship begin—finger fuck me to an orgasm.

  "I'm sure you can, but I'm old-fashion. I prefer to pick my woman up for a date."

  "You...your woman? Did you say your woman?"

  He nodded. "I'm glad to see you have excellent hearing. Yes, Sherlyn, I said my woman."

  Didn't I wish? "That's old-fashioned and charming, but I'm not your woman."

  "Where do you live?" he asked, ignoring my statement.

  "I'm not your woman and tonight won't be a date."

  He shrugged. "Call it what you like while you give me your cell number and your address."

  I hesitated before giving him both.

  He entered the information in his phone before glancing at his watch. "I'd love to stay and continue this conversation, but I have a meeting shortly."

  Just when things were getting interesting.

  "Have you had lunch, Sherlyn?"

  "No."