As Patti returned to herself, she became aware of Jon’s tender words. He feathered kisses across her chest, her shoulders, up her neck and finally, her mouth. He took her lips tenderly, taking his time with her, letting her know that he was still with her. Gently, he released her wrists and Patti felt her skin prickle as blood rushed back to her fingertips.

 Circling his arms around her waist, Jon supported her weight fully, and Patti sighed as she slumped forward, draping herself over his shoulder. She buried her face in his neck, placing lazy, wet kisses along the side of it.

 When he was sure she could stand, Jon set her back on her feet. Tipping her head back, that dazed feeling still swimming around inside her head, Patti stared up at him.

 A dark, sexy smile spread slowly across Jon’s face. He took a step back. And then another.

 “Are you going to come inside?” Patti asked coyly. She figured after what they had just done it was a done deal. He’d come inside, they’d have sex, and then they would see where they stood when dawn rose over the horizon. The fact that he was backing away from her was truly puzzling.

 Jon shook his head, stepping down off the porch. The rain had let up a bit, reduced to a drizzle. “I told you, I need to take off.”

 Realization grabbed Patti and shook her. She crossed the porch to stand in front of him. “You’re leaving?”

 “I’m afraid I don’t have a choice,” Jon smirked. “I wouldn’t be much of a tease if I let you have everything without having to work for it first.”

 “You’re kidding me, right?” Patti couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She’d given him an open invitation to have sex with her and he was turning her down? What kind of guy did that?

 Jon’s expression grew serious and he took her hand in his. His thumb traced over the tender skin around her wrist before he brought it to his mouth and kissed her. “Go out with me again.”

 It didn’t escape Patti that he hadn’t so much had asked her but told her, but his strong tone and heated eyes made her want to fall into his arms and submit to his will without question. “Okay,” she agreed readily, “but only if I get to pick the place.”

 “That’s fine,” Jon said without hesitation.

 “And I’m paying,” she added.

 Jon arched a quizzical brow and Patti prepared herself for an argument that never came. “A woman willing to wine and dine the man? My wallet thanks you, Ms. Jacobs.”

 Patti laughed outright. “Then it’s settled.”

 “It seems it is,” Jon agreed. “So when and where will you be taking me?”

 Patti pursed her lips. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. “How about I call you?”

 “Oh, spoken like a true player. Tell me now, should I wait by the phone to hear your pretty voice?”

 Patti’s heart sped up as he closed in on her once more. Reaching inside her purse, she found what she was looking for almost immediately. Jon’s brows furrowed as he reached into his pocket. Staring her straight in the eyes, he swiped his finger across the screen and brought the phone to his ear.

 “Jonathon speaking.”

 Her eyes never leaving his, Patti lifted her phone to her ear. “Definitely.”

 Catching the back of her head, Jon brought her face to his and kissed her hard. When he released her, they were both breathing heavily. “I’ll be waiting.”

 Patti watched him walk to his truck and climb inside before she let herself into the house. Turning, she paused in the open doorway and waved at the silhouette behind the wheel. She could feel his eyes on her just as she could still feel his scorching touch on her body. As he pulled away from the curb, Patti shut the door and flipped the locks. She released a heavy breath and pressed her palm over her thundering heart.

 Then it struck her.

 She couldn’t remember the last time she had ever felt this happy.

 Smiling, Patti walked through the house turning off all the lights and set about tucking herself into bed.

The office was curiously quiet, Jon decided. He sat at his desk, tapping his pen to a disjointed rhythm. He’d been busy all week handling business and scrounging for things to do to keep his mind busy.

It was not an easy task.

In the mornings, Jon jogged, taking his usual route around his neighborhood. He delved into his work, actively discussing contracts and accounts, which turned out to be far more interesting than he’d imagined. He never cared enough to bother with the details before, but now that he was forcing himself to pay attention, it was informative, and dare he admit it, mildly entertaining.

Every afternoon Jon spent his lunch hour with his best buddy, Travis. They ate great food, discussed women, and hit a few balls out on the range, but none of it could distract him from his own mind when it came to the lonely evening hours waiting for him at the end of a long day.

Jon glanced at his cell phone, an act that had become habit since leaving Patricia’s house last Tuesday night. He found the screen dark and lifeless, unchanging. When would she call? Would she call? He asked himself that question too many times to count over the last week. Even his own brain was becoming annoyed with its repetitive thoughts.

Just to be safe, he swiped his finger across the screen and pulled up his messages. Nothing.

Was this what the women he promised to call felt like, he wondered?

If so, it sucked balls.

There wasn’t one second that ticked by that wasn’t consumed with thoughts of her. Even the best distractions were weak. What was it about her that held his attention so steadfast? She was beautiful, but no glamor model. She wasn’t tall or stick-thin, but short and healthy looking. Absolutely nothing about her save her straight white teeth and contagious smile bore any resemblance to the women he usually dated. Or fucked, rather.

Perhaps that was the draw, Jon pondered.

All he knew was that he found himself smiling every time he thought about her, and that had to be a good thing…depending on the angle you viewed it from, anyway.

He twisted around in his chair to face the impressive view of the Chicago skyline. Visions of Patricia’s face, cast in shadows as she writhed in pleasure that he had inflicted on her, replayed in Jon’s mind. He could still feel the vice-like grip of her thighs around his hips and her fingers digging into his scalp.

Looking down at his hands, he flexed his fingers, recalling the way her inner muscles felt as they clenched around them. His cock jumped, straining against his pant leg. More than anything, he wanted to know what it would feel like to be buried in her succulent body, feeling the walls of her pussy milking him dry.

She was like no woman he had ever met before. Funny, witty, sexy, smart, and she knew her way around a car—she had it all. The total package.

He glanced at his phone again, willing it to ring. Again, it sat there in silence.

“Mr. Bradshaw? Knock, knock.” Jon looked up to see Poppy entering his office wearing her trademark friendly smile.

“Ms. Montgomery,” Jon said with a nod. “What can I do for you?”

Poppy strode across the room with confidence. Taking a seat in the chair across from him, she regarded him with frank, assessing eyes. “I want you to know that, while I appreciate you believing in my abilities enough to want me to find you a new accountant, I can’t accept the added responsibility at this time.”

“Well, you certainly don’t waste any time,” Jon commented. He pulled his chair closer, tucking his legs under the desk. “I like that about you, Ms. Montgomery.”

“Poppy, please.”

Jon tipped his head in acquiescence. “Poppy. While I appreciate your situation, I’ve seen how well you multitask and feel that you would, in fact, be capable of maintaining your responsibilities to Mr. Sinclair while also finding a smidgen of time to allocate to finding a much-needed accountant.” He inhaled deeply. “I’m sure I don’t need to impress upon you why having a capable accountant on the payroll is necessary.”