When I Dream of You: A Valentine's Day Romance Read online

  He pulled away and saw that her eyes were now closed, the kiss seeming to linger on her lips and in her mouth. Devon wasted no effort. He pulled away the straps of her dress from her shoulders and watched it fall to ground. He took her in again, letting the warmth of his breath wash over her as leaned in to kiss her neck. She moaned and he could feel her body heat, the excited cadence of her breath.

  She tried to speak once more but he smothered the word with a kiss.

  He then bent down and lifted her legs and carried her into a small supply closet at the end of the hall. There he consummated their raw attraction. It was untamed and desperate; two bodies not joined by desire as much as one penetrating, dominating another. Devon was relentless, like some kind of machine, as he claimed her. This is what he knew. There was a hunger, a ferocity in his powerful thrusts, penetrating her again and again. Her body writhed and she shook her head from side to side as she buried her hands into his back. His thrusting intensified into a frenzy. To view the coupling was to experience the carnal, the lustful, the hedonistic—and nothing else.

  After they were done, Devon retrieved her clothing from the hallway and put his suit back on. Immaculate as ever, he escorted her to the restroom, kissing her lightly on the cheek and staring into her eyes for a moment. And then he was gone, disappearing into the throbbing, undulating crowd. As she saw him leave, it struck her that he had never said a word.

  Chapter 1

  Aria looked around the restaurant before checking her watch. She was the one who was always late. She couldn’t fathom what was keeping her two best friends from showing up on time. She picked up the phone to text them both, when she spotted Tyler hurrying toward her.

  “I thought you were standing me up,” she said, scolding him slightly.

  He looked around. “Not seeing Marisa, so apparently we’re both late,” he said, cackling in dramatic fashion as he slid into the seat across from her.

  Aria laughed. “True, but I can forgive her. She has four kids and another one on the way. What’s your excuse?” Aria asked, feigning indignation. Even in jest, Aria was blown away. Marisa, her bestie from college, was on her fifth child. How could she possibly be pregnant again? Wow. Back then she’d considered her the sensible one, who played things safe. It was Aria who’d been wild, the party girl with the boyfriend of the week. But Marisa, once married, had gotten busy, popping out kids right and left. It was hard to comprehend, especially for someone who had in the last four years become something of a nun. A celibate nun.

  Aria took a swig of her mojito.

  “Well, just because I don’t have kids doesn’t mean that I don’t have a life. You’ve met Chris, right?” he teased. Of course, she had met Chris. Chris and Tyler had been dating for nearly a year now.

  “Yeah ... he’s a hottie.”

  Tyler smiled. “Totally. And a sex monster. Oh my god, did I tell you that he likes to do this thing where—”

  “—la, la, la, la, la,” Aria said, plugging her ears. “TMI... TMI...” She kept her ears plugged until Tyler started to laugh. He enjoyed watching her squirm as he knew full well that she didn’t want to hear about his, or anyone else’s, love life.

  “I’ll stop,” he said, grinning.

  “Thank you,” she mumbled. “So we now know that you and Chris were preoccupied and that’s what kept you, and I’m assuming that Marisa was a little preoccupied herself with the kiddos. We can probably just go ahead and order. I’m sure Marisa will be here shortly.” On cue, her phone signaled a text message.

  Marisa: Jamie is sick and Paul just got home from work. I’m on my way.

  Aria: No worries. Be careful and we’ll see you when you get here.

  “Is that Marisa?” Tyler asked.

  “Yep. Jamie is sick and Paul just got home, so she’s on her way now.” She browsed her menu and settled on what she wanted. The waitress took their orders and Aria glanced at her friend.

  “So, minus any talk about your sex life, how have you been?”

  Tyler laughed. “Come on ... my sex life is a hot topic, don’t you want to hear all about it?”

  Aria groaned. “I would rather not, but great that it’s so hot. At least someone is getting some.” She stuck her tongue out, which got a rise out of Tyler. “Moving on ...” she said. “How’s everything else in your life?”

  “Same old, same old,” he said, “getting older, getting wiser, and getting cuter.” She couldn’t help but smile. Tyler was someone she could always count on to make her laugh and he was so confident and sure of himself. He always knew what he wanted in life and didn’t care what people thought of it. She admired that quality in him.

  “You forgot getting funnier,” Aria chimed in.

  His eyes widened. “What? Moi?” He laughed. “But what about you. You just finished casting another show. That’s exciting.”

  She nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.” She took another long drink.

  “Hmmm ... you guess so? That doesn’t really sound promising. You’re supposed to be shouting from the rooftops, ‘I’m a bigtime casting director’—not saying, ‘I guess so.’ You haven’t shagged a guy in ages because of your slavish devotion to your freakin’ career. Come on.”

  Aria snickered and tried to put a smile on her lips. “Have you ever wondered,” she asked, “if you’re missing out on something in your life?”

  He pondered that for a moment before finally nodding. “Yes ... I wanted these blue shoes when I was eleven years old. My mom took me back to get them but it was too late. They were gone. Dang, I wanted them. To this day I think about those shoes.”

  She frowned, staring at him, wondering if he was being serious. His eyes connected with hers and he started to laugh. She picked up a napkin and tossed it at him. “Be serious,” she said. “I’m not joking. Have you ever thought that maybe there was something in your life that you were missing out on?”

  He opened his mouth, but the waitress came back to their table with his Margarita, then left to take care of another table. Aria picked up her drink and clinked it with his glass.

  “Salud,” she said, downing the rest of her drink.

  “Cheers to queers,” Tyler said, crinkling his face as he tasted the salt on the lip of the oversized Margarita glass and slurped down some of the drink.

  After a moment of silence, he spoke up. “I think we all, at some point, feel like we might be missing out on something or we’re not doing something now that we’ll later regret having missed out on, but Ari ... I try to live a no-regrets life. Are you facing regrets? Or is it something else?”

  She considered the question and then shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s not exactly that I have regrets about something. I guess I’m just wishing there was more going on in my life.”

  He smiled. “More going on in your life? You have a great career, people that love you, amazing friends ...,” he let out his signature cackle, bringing a smile to her face. “What more could you want?”

  She could think of something else and Aria was a little surprised that he didn’t pick up on it. “You’re right. I have a lot that I should be thankful for. Just forget it.” She took a sip of his Margarita and tried to push the thought from her mind, but Tyler wasn’t dropping it.

  “Is this about a guy?”

  She looked up and met his gaze. “What’s that?”

  He had to cover his mouth not to spit out his drink.

  “Maybe,” she finally conceded.

  “Well, this is my specialty. If it’s about a guy, then you know that can be rectified. Go out there and get to looking. The market is super hot right now. And at 32, your ovaries are like a blast furnace.”

  “Please. Let’s leave my ovaries out of it. Marisa’s ovaries are enough for all three of us.”

  “True that,” Tyler deadpanned.

  “I don’t know. It was easy when I was 22.”

  “God, you make it sound like you’re so old that your back goes out more than you do.”

  “Uh, yeah. And yo
u’re point? I don’t know. I’ve made the sacrifices to get to where I am. I love my job and I don’t regret the decisions I’ve made. But I want me some manly man.”

  “Yum. Me, too.”

  “It’s not like going out there and buying a new dress, Ty. And I’m not 22 anymore. I don’t want just any hot guy with ripped pecks and a six pack. I have my ideas of what I’m looking for and I just don’t think he’s out there.”

  “Honey, there’s every breed of man out there,” Tyler said. “You just need to look in the right places.”

  It wasn’t that simple. At least Aria didn’t feel it was. She spotted Marisa walking their way. “And here’s Marisa.”

  He looked up. “Hey, Marisa. You’re right on time.”

  “In time for what?” she asked. “I’m so late.” She laughed and sat down. It was a little awkward for her, as she was seven months pregnant, but she finally got seated.

  Aria shot him a look, hoping he didn’t mention the whole conversation they had started to have, but the look didn’t go far. “Ari wants to find a man and we need to help her,” he said.

  Marisa arched an eyebrow. “Is that so?” Aria looked away, instantly regretting opening this line of conversation. She wasn’t the type to discuss guys, unless she was complaining about the ones who were coming onto her at work.

  “Sounds like an interesting subject,” Marisa said. “But first ... I need to order food. We’re starving.” She patted her belly and looked down at the menu.

  Aria shot Tyler an annoyed look but he shrugged and smiled, like he had no clue what she was worried about. The silence remained until Tyler and Aria had received their food and Marisa had placed her order.

  “Basically, Ari was about to tell me her idea of a perfect man.”

  Aria frowned. “I was?”

  Tyler slowly nodded. “Yep. So, what is it you’re looking for and perhaps Marisa and I can help you to complete this missing part of your life.”

  She heaved a sigh and didn’t hold back anything. “You both know the type of men that I work with ...”

  “Gorgeous little hunky boys,” Tyler said, interrupting her.

  She nodded. “Right. I work with these guys that might have the looks and they’re great to shove in front of the camera, but they don’t have any kind of story. They don’t have the passion that drives someone. They aren’t real men.” The more she talked, the more she realized that her own passion was shining through. “I want someone that can be there for me, love me, and cherish me, but will still have some depth to him.” She shook her head, not sure that she was making any sense in her description. “I don’t know. I’m probably just looking for someone that isn’t even out there and that’s why I’m still single.” She chuckled lightly, twirling her fork in her spaghetti. “Am I just too picky?” she asked. She was speaking more to herself than anyone, but Tyler quickly answered.

  “No ... not in the least. I can’t speak for Marisa, but I think I know exactly what you mean,” he said.

  She looked up. “You do?”

  He nodded. “You’re looking for an alpha male and I can assure you that they are indeed out there.” He looked down at his own food and picked up a fry. He tossed it in his mouth and continued to speak. “In fact, I saw a few of those just last week.” He laughed.

  She didn’t think that was what she was describing, but the more she thought about it, the more she wondered if maybe it was precisely what she was wanting. “Tell me more,” she said. “You saw a few of those last week ... like what? Where?”

  “Chris invited me to some kind of work party and let me tell you ... he works with some real swinging men. In fact, I think his boss would be perfect for you. He’s tall, dark, handsome, and mysterious, the perfect real man.”

  Aria laughed and shook her head as she took another bite of her spaghetti. “I know what you’re trying to do and it won’t work, forget it,” she snickered, understanding right off what Tyler had in mind. He wanted to set her up with this so-called perfect real man. She was confident that perfect and man should not be in the same sentence together. She wasn’t going to fall for it.

  “What? You don’t even have a clue what I’m thinking,” he said.

  She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow, then laughed loudly. “I don’t? You want to set me up with this Mr. Prince Charming, so I have a happily ever after and start popping out babies.”

  “Hey,” Marisa exclaimed. “Watch it, sister!”

  Tyler and Aria laughed. “So, what were you thinking?” Aria finally asked.

  He paused. He shot a look towards Marisa who was giving him an amused look. “Yeah, Ty, what were you thinking?” she asked.

  He glanced between Aria and Marisa, then finally shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, fine...that’s precisely what I was thinking, but you have to admit it yourself and you have, you’re not finding the type of guys you’re interested in dating. I just might be able to help you out in that department. Come on, Ari, you know I love ya, girl, and I think that this might be the perfect solution. In fact, it’s almost Valentine’s Day. I’m going to set it up. What do you say?”

  She rolled her eyes and looked down at her food. She hated blind dates and this would be the ultimate one. This wasn’t even some guy that Tyler knew personally. He was only someone that he had just met recently. For all anyone knew, this guy could be a complete psychopath. As if Tyler was reading her mind, he went on.

  “Chris says he’s a great guy. One of the best bosses he’s ever worked for,” Tyler stated.

  Aria twirled a fork-full of spaghetti around the plate as she contemplated it. After a moment of hesitation, she looked up at him. “You know I hate blind dates,” she said.

  He shrugged. “I know that, live with it.”

  Aria heaved a sigh and turned to Marisa. “What do you think?”

  Marisa scrunched up her nose in thought. “I think I’m going to have to take Tyler’s view on this. Besides, what could it hurt?”

  Marisa was right about that. It couldn’t hurt to just go out once. Who was to say what could come of it. She glanced at Tyler and his eyes were hopeful. “You haven’t already set something up, have you?”

  He laughed and shook his head. “That would have gone against the friend code, don’t ya think? I wouldn’t do that to you, but thinking about it now, I can honestly say it’s the best idea I’ve ever had.”

  “I’m sure you do,” Aria said. She bit her lower lip, a little nervous to agree to it, but she wasn’t getting anywhere just sitting back and watching life pass her by. If she truly wanted a man in her life, she needed to do something about it. “Fine. If this guy agrees to it, then I’ll go along.”

  “Great,” Tyler said. “I’ll talk to Chris about it.”

  “This guy better be a freakin’ cross between Chris Hemsworth and Leonardo DiCaprio or else I’m coming to find you, Ty.”

  IT HAD BEEN CRAZY BUSY at the office for Devon. There were a million details to attend to with the merger. It was two distinct cultures, two separate operations that were suddenly one. Melding them would require a great deal of care. It was the kind of challenge Devon relished. He dialed his secretary’s extension. “Hi, Mr. Prescott?”

  He had told Jessica to call him Devon but she always went back to using the formal salutation. He hadn’t insisted. The fact was that he liked her professionalism. “Come into the office to take down a memo,” he ordered.

  “Sure, I’ll be right there,” she said.

  He hung up and a few minutes later Jessica was walking into his office with a notepad. She was beautiful and efficient. It struck Devon how much she looked like the woman at the Lion’s Den from a few nights before. He tried to shake it off. That was then but this was now. His secretary was the consummate assistant who could anticipate his needs. Her beauty was one thing and Devon would be lying if the thought of a liaison hadn’t crossed his mind, but this was business. He had a clear no relations with staff policy for himself and his executives.

&n
bsp; “All right, I need to send out a message to the staff. If you could prepare the email and send it to me. I’ll edit and then please have Pamela Garcia in HR review it. We’ll send it out this afternoon. Cool?”

  “Let’s do it.”

  Devon then rattled off the information he wanted in the email.

  “Is that it?” she asked. Devon smiled and nodded.

  “That’s it,” he said. “Thank you, Jess.”

  “Sure thing, Mr. Prescott.” She stood up and left. He watched her leave and then turned to his computer screen. He pulled up his emails and skimmed through them, easily discarding many of them and putting the others in a file, so that Jessica could reply to them. He was closing out of his email when his phone beeped, signaling a call from her.

  “Yeah, Jess.”

  “Mr. Jacobs is on the phone. He’d like to switch his meeting to two o’clock. Will that work for you?” He glanced at his watch. It was just thirty minutes away.

  “Tell him to make it two-thirty,” he said. He clicked the button to disconnect the speaker phone before she could even respond. He stood up from his desk and grabbed his briefcase, opening it up. He went through the paperwork and rearranged some documents. He was closing up his briefcase again when he heard a knock on the door. He looked up and saw Chris standing there. It wasn’t typical for Chris to come to his office.

  “Chris?” Devon asked.

  Chris entered, hesitation all over his face. “Uh ... do you have a minute?” he asked.

  Devon felt instantly annoyed. He was busy. Yet he throttled his emotions as he had always told his managers that he kept an open door to them.

  “Not really,” Devon said. “I’m running around all day. Is this important?”

  Chris shifted from one foot to the other. “Well, it’s like this, I guess it’s not important but it is important. Make sense?” He laughed nervously and Devon shook his head.