A Man After Midnight Read Online Free

eyes.  “Hey, that’s not a bad idea.”
    Caroline blinked.  “What?”
    “Troublemaker Cosmetics,” he elaborated.  “This is our annual meeting spanning from fiscal information to finding the next idea, coming up with planned cosmetic lines to carry into an emerging market. The themes of mythic urban crossed with gothic dark colors and rhinestone glitter have been the prevalent trend driving the industry.”
    “But every non-haute couture line out there has that,” Caroline replied.  “I may not be an expert in the cosmetic industry, but I do shop at Sephora.”
    He nodded.  “Troublemaker has always gone with the tide of fashion, keeping an eye and ear on the industry’s leaders in Milan and Paris.  And we’ve always done okay. But I’ve been trying to come up with something that will separate us from the other cosmetic companies.”
    Caroline smiled and felt the groove of her dimples.  “I think it’s time romance made a comeback.”
    “That’s a great tag line,” he admitted with a smile.
    The singer came to the last line in the song, her hypnotic voice rising.  The couples stopped dancing to applaud.  She thanked the crowd before nodding to the conductor, who immediately started in on another song.  Wren took her back in his arms to resume dancing.  This song mostly featured a piano accompaniment to the song Baby . 
    “Do you play any instruments?”  Caroline asked.
    “Some piano,” he answered.  “You?”
    “My father thought music lessons were a waste of money.  I regret the only thing I know how to play is a stereo.”
    He laughed and their eyes clashed, held, and all amusement faded.  The moments stretched, even past the current song and into the next.  As their bodies moved together, his arms tightened around her.  Hip to hip, thigh to thigh.  His body heat enveloped her, the rich scent of his cologne wrapping around her in a sensual blanket. Her heart pounded with anticipation when his eyes fell to her lips.  She wet them with the tip of her tongue. His body went rigid and they stopped dancing. 
    “Come with me,” he said in a deep, guttural tone, taking her hand and leading her from the dance floor. 
    The darkness helped hide the redness staining her cheeks as Wren led her from the dance hall room toward the area marked with restrooms.  Behind the band platform was a set of stairs. Still holding tightly to her hand, Wren led her up them to a long hallway.  The women’s bathroom was to the right and the men’s toward the left.  However, Wren bypassed both to head toward the exit sign at the end of the hall.  He turned a corner and pulled her into a secluded enclave.
    Wren cupped her face, his breath fanning over her lips. Her eyes fluttered closed just as his mouth touched hers, with only the barest hint of pressure.  It was the most erotic chaste kiss she’d ever experienced.  A simple meshing of lips that held nothing more than a warm bond, and just when the longing for more became too much, he swept his tongue over the closed seam of her mouth. She let out a gasp, giving him the perfect opportunity to deepen the kiss.  When their tongues twined together, she tasted a hint of gin lingering from the martini.  Caroline wrapped her arms around his neck in an effort to get closer. 
    Wren ran his hands down her arms, over her hips, and finally to her rear.  He gripped each ass cheek firmly as he pulled her into the crook of his thighs to rub her up and down his hard cock. Need rolled through her at his domination.  God, how could she crave him so much, this stranger who had miraculously appeared when she needed him most? Never had she felt such instant lust for someone, not even her husband, and the raw compulsion for sex was something new and foreign. 
    He broke the kiss and eased back.  They stared into one another’s eyes, even though the only light came from the exit sign over their heads. 
    “I’ve been wanting to kiss you since I saw you in that