Voluptuous Read online

  Voluptuous

  Natasha Moore

  When Meredith is stood up by another blind date, she hooks up with sexy coworker Sam at the local bar. She’s drooled over Sam for months, but getting to know him better in a back booth makes her wish guys like him want to stick around.

  Sam’s been attracted to Meredith’s lush curves, bright-green eyes and throaty laugh ever since he met her. Sharing drinks, bad-date stories and sexy innuendo makes him like her even more. But her lousy one-night stands have convinced her she’s not worth a second glance. Spankings and a little bondage just might help the voluptuous Meredith understand that not only can they share adventurous sex and pizza at midnight, but a future together as well.

  Inside Scoop: This book contains mild BDSM elements.

  A Romantica® contemporary erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

  Voluptuous

  Natasha Moore

  Chapter One

  Why did they make barstools way too hard and way too small? Meredith Larkin shifted her hips and tried to get comfortable. She wished they’d crank up the air-conditioning a little higher too. The place was getting crowded and bodies kept bumping into her as people tried to maneuver in the small space.

  This meeting place had been Evan’s idea. Another glance at her watch told her that her date was already fifteen minutes late. Why was she surprised?

  Her friend Lori had promised this guy was different. She’d promised he was a nice guy. One Meredith could trust if she wanted to get hot and kinky in the bedroom. One who liked a curvy woman. Meredith downed the rest of her drink. Evidently he couldn’t be trusted to be on time. Or even to show up at all.

  Meredith sighed. She was never going on a blind date again.

  She needed another drink. The bartender was cute and nice, but he didn’t hover around her the way he did the skinny, giggling group of women at the other end of the bar. That was okay. She didn’t want anyone hovering. She just wanted another drink. After several attempts at waving him down, he finally looked her way.

  “Another martini, miss?”

  “Please.”

  She was never going to be a size four. Not even a size twelve. That was okay too. She walked a lot. Ate as well as she could stand. Her blood pressure was good. She was just a big girl, as her mother liked to say. Although some people would just say fat. Meredith had accepted it years ago. And if guys didn’t like it, fuck ’em all.

  She looked around while she waited for Evan. Lori had said he was a golf pro at the local country club where she worked in the pro shop. She warned Meredith he used to be a player, but she’d heard rumors he was looking to settle down. He wanted to meet a nice girl who wasn’t shy in the bedroom. He didn’t mind a woman with some extra curves.

  Yeah, that’s what they all said at first.

  Guys just weren’t worth the risk. She didn’t know why she’d agreed to this date in the first place, except that she was just a little lonely. Her work at the lab kept her busy all week, but on the weekend, was it wrong to want a little fun? To want some satisfaction from something other than her vibrator or her own hand? Even a one-night stand was better than nothing.

  And now with those thoughts, along with the liquor in her system, her body was waking up. Longing for a man’s hands on her body. His mouth on hers. His cock buried deep inside her.

  Her nipples tingled. So did her pussy. Meredith moaned.

  “Something wrong with your drink?” the bartender asked.

  “No. Sorry.” She hoped her face wasn’t red. “My date is late and I’m getting a little pissed.”

  “I’m sure he’ll show up soon.”

  “Yeah.” Meredith took a deep drink. She wasn’t going to hold her breath.

  Sam Burrows shouldered his way into the bar. His cowardly buddy Evan hung back. Sam grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

  “What made you pick this place?” Sam asked. He had to raise his voice to be heard over the roar of conversations taking place around them.

  Evan shrugged, then pulled Sam to a stop before they reached the long bar that ran along the far wall. “Do you see her?”

  He couldn’t even see the barstools yet. “I don’t get why I’m the one looking for your date.”

  “I get burned on most blind dates,” Evan said. He paused as he checked out a couple of hot chicks with long legs and short skirts, then turned back to Sam. “There are a lot of fat and ugly women desperate enough to go out on a blind date. I want to know what I’m getting before I make my move. If I make my move.”

  “What? Do you mean to tell me you stand your date up if you don’t like the looks of her?”

  Evan frowned. “Don’t you?”

  “No. But I don’t go on blind dates.” His breakup with Tanya, his longtime girlfriend, had left a sour taste in his mouth. “Guess you must be one of those desperate people, right?”

  “Me? Desperate? No. I just like to explore all my options. I thought you were my friend.”

  “Yeah, well, right now you’re being a jerk. Why did you say you’d meet her if you don’t want to?”

  “Hey, she could be the next best thing. But Lori gave this woman my description, so in case she’s not, I don’t want her to see me first.”

  “Like there aren’t a couple dozen short, skinny guys with receding hairlines in the place.”

  Evan ignored Sam’s dig. “If she’s a hot babe, I’ll send you on your way and I’ll do my thing.”

  “Your thing?” Sam wasn’t sure why he hung around with Evan anymore. They’d had fun together for a few years, but Evan seemed stuck at twenty-one when he, like Sam, was actually pushing thirty. They pressed their way a little farther through the crowd. Sam was almost a head taller than Evan, so he had a better chance of getting a glimpse of the woman through the crowd. “Who am I looking for now?”

  “She’s got long, blonde hair, the same as half the women here, I see. She’s supposed to be sitting at the bar, wearing a blue dress with some kind of black shawl or scarf or something.”

  Sam thought it might have been her about halfway down the bar. The woman’s back was to him, but he saw shiny blonde hair spilling over the shoulders of a deep-blue dress and a black shawl draped around lush hips and looped over her arms. Long, bare legs stretched for miles before ending in strappy black heels. The toe of one of those shoes was tapping, as if she were bored. Or impatient. Or both.

  “I think I see her.”

  “What does she look like?”

  “I can’t see her face yet. We have to get closer.”

  Evan grabbed his arm. “Not yet.”

  “You’re an idiot.” But Sam inched a little closer at the same time as she began to swivel on her stool to look toward the door. Probably wondering where the hell Evan was. As she turned his way, the first thing Sam noticed was her generous cleavage. Lust hit him hard and hot.

  He’d always been a breast man. He didn’t apologize for that fact. And this woman’s dress wrapped around those luscious globes in a way that made his mouth water and his cock harden. He envisioned himself burying his face there and not coming out for days.

  “Can you see her yet?” Evan whispered.

  Sam dragged his gaze up from those magnificent breasts and caught a glimpse of her face. And choked.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He couldn’t take his eyes off her. “What did you say her name was?”

  “Mary something.”

  He swallowed. “Meredith?”

  “Yeah, that’s it. Why?”

  “I know her. She works at the lab.” He saw her every day. He went out of his way to make sure he saw her at least once a day, even if it was only in passing.

  “You and her and half the people in this town. So what does she look like?”

  T
he thought of Evan touching her, Evan fucking her, made his stomach twist, but she was his date. Not Sam’s. He’d waited too long to make his move. He had to answer honestly. “Hot. Sexy. Great smile. Really great laugh.”

  Evan pushed him out of the way. “Let me see.” Sam stepped as far out of his way as he could. Evan took a step forward, then backpedaled fast, pulling Sam back toward the door. “Her? Are you crazy? She’s a cow.”

  “What? No. She’s…” What was the word he wanted to describe her luscious body?

  “Fat,” Evan said with a sneer.

  “No. Shit. What’s that word?” He was a researcher, not a fucking English major. “Voluptuous. That’s the word I want. Those breasts. Those hips. Voluptuous.”

  “Fat,” Evan repeated. “I’m out of here.”

  Sam grabbed his arm. “You can’t just leave her sitting there.”

  “Sure I can. People do it all the time.”

  “She’s a nice person, Evan. Don’t stand her up.”

  “If you like her so much, you go have a drink with her. Do more than that with her if you want, though, ugh, I can’t even imagine.”

  “You’re an asshole.”

  “Yeah. Yeah. Are we still on for golf in the morning?”

  Sam turned back to look at Meredith, staring now into her martini glass. “Yeah. Golf. Okay. I’m going to go have a drink with her. You go fuck yourself.”

  “Yeah. Yeah. See you in the morning.”

  Sam couldn’t deny the relief that rushed through him when Evan left. Meredith deserved someone better than that jerk. This was the first time he’d seen her outside of work and he wasn’t going to miss the opportunity. He made his way through the crowd and was glad to see the stool beside her was empty.

  “Hey,” he said as he came up beside her. He put his hand lightly on her shoulder and he felt as if he were a teenager copping his first feel. She was soft and warm to his touch.

  Meredith eyes widened when she recognized him. “Sam! How are you?”

  “Good. Is this seat taken?”

  “No.” Her surprise was clear in her voice. “Be my guest.”

  His inner teen was still present as he brushed up against her thigh when he took the stool. She didn’t shift away, which he took as a really good sign. But she did look over his shoulder toward the door, still looking for her date.

  “I’m glad I saw you.” He should probably tell her about Evan, maybe even make up a lame excuse so she didn’t keep looking for him. But he couldn’t do it. He didn’t even want her to know he was aware she was waiting for Evan. Or that he even knew Evan. So Sam said the first thing that came to his mind. “I’m supposed to meet a blind date, but she hasn’t shown up yet. I saw you sitting here and thought, why drink alone?”

  She toyed with the stem of her martini glass. “Is this the hot place for blind dates or something? I’m supposed to meet someone too. And he hasn’t shown up either.”

  “Maybe there’s a black hole for blind dates somewhere in the building,” Sam said wryly. “Sucks bad matches out into the ozone.”

  Meredith laughed. He’d always loved the sound of her laugh, a little throaty, as if she’d just gotten out of bed. Or maybe that was wishful thinking. Either way, she’d never laughed at one of his jokes before and he liked it.

  “Do you think your date was a bad match?” she asked.

  His conscience prickled. “Probably. I haven’t had a good blind date yet.” Since he’d never had a blind date at all, it wasn’t technically a lie.

  “Me either.” She tossed back the rest of her drink, then turned to look at him. “Why do we do it?”

  Her bright-green eyes sucked him in. They looked extra big with the sparkly makeup she had on. “I don’t know. Ever hopeful we’ll find that perfect match, I guess.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t see that happening.” When she shook her head, her shiny hair bounced around her shoulders. Meredith always wore her hair pulled back at work. He loved the way the soft curls framed her pretty face.

  “Come on.” He brushed a stubborn curl away from her face and lightly cupped her jaw. “Don’t give up.”

  She studied him for a moment, probably confused at the line he’d just crossed. Her tongue darted out to moisten her pink lips and he dropped his hand before he gave into the impulse to brush her sweet lips with his thumb. Or his mouth.

  “I’ve had so many bad dates,” she said. “I could tell you horror stories…”

  “Me too.” He signaled for the bartender, who seemed to be spending all his time with a group of women on the end. “Why don’t you tell me one?”

  “One what?”

  “Story.” He turned on his stool to see her better and their knees bumped. He shifted so that one of his knees rested between hers. Her eyes widened slightly, but she left her legs parted, her dress riding a little farther up her thighs. He swallowed before he could speak. “I bet whatever you come up with, I can beat it.”

  “Oh yeah?” She took a deep breath and his eyes were drawn down her chest, to the long shadow between her breasts. “I’ll have to think a moment. I have a vast library of stories to choose from.”

  He chuckled. The bartender finally made his way over. Sam ran a finger lightly over her hand. “Can I buy you a drink?”

  “Sure.”

  “Another martini, miss?”

  She slid her gaze to Sam’s and a small smile lifted her lips. “Please. And make it extra dirty this time.”

  Meredith couldn’t believe she said that out loud. It was just that Sam was looking at her as if he wanted to eat her up and she’d never had a guy look at her quite that way before. It had made her stomach tickle. And then he touched her as if he wanted this evening to take an unexpected path. Her body agreed. Her nipples prickled. Her pussy clenched at the thought of spending the night with him.

  She couldn’t believe Sam Burrows came up and sat next to her. All the women at work sighed over his soulful brown eyes and thick dark hair and crooked smile. He had one of those perpetual five o’clock shadows that simply added to his sexiness.

  What was he doing on a blind date? He had to have the pick of any woman he wanted. Still, the look he was giving her at the moment said he wanted her. She’d heard he had a bad breakup a while ago. Maybe he was just getting back into the game. Those little touches had sent shivers along her skin. And she liked it.

  The bartender plunked their drinks down on the bar and Sam tapped his thick rocks glass against her more delicate martini one. “To friends.”

  “Is that what we are, Sam? Friends?” Before tonight she would have said they were merely coworkers, certainly less than friends. Now it seemed as though he wanted them to be more than friends. At least for tonight. She realized she was actually considering the idea.

  He took a sip of whiskey and looked at her over the top of the glass. “I hope so.”

  She tossed her hair over her shoulders and gave him a small smile. She hadn’t simply flirted in years. It was fun. “Me too.”

  “So?” Sam prompted. “Story?”

  Which one to start with? She plucked the olive out of her glass and popped it in her mouth to buy some time. “First off, I’ll admit this isn’t the first time I’ve been stood up. I think a guy sees all this,” she gestured over her ample body, “and heads for the door as fast as he can.”

  “All that,” Sam said, his voice low and slow, his gaze heated and heavy, “is seriously hot.”

  She felt her cheeks burn. “Oh, come on.”

  “Really.” He leaned back as if to get a better look. “I’ve never seen you without your lab coat on until now, and wow.” He slid his palm, cool from his glass, over her knee. “You have curves that won’t quit.” He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I like curves.”

  His breath was warm as it skimmed over her skin, his jaw rough and oh so arousing as it brushed against her cheek. Did she want to follow him in that direction? They had to see each other at work every day. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
She cleared her throat and leaned back just enough to break contact. He smiled as he settled back on his stool.

  “Have you ever been stood up?” she asked.

  “No. But there were a few times when I wished she’d never shown up.”

  She shifted on the hard stool. “What happened?”

  He lifted a brow. Did he know how sexy he looked when he did that? “I thought you were telling the stories.”

  She laughed lightly. “Oh no. We’re swapping, remember?”

  Sam looked at her for a moment, just held her gaze until she wanted to squirm. “Okay. Bad first date,” he said. “There was one woman who wanted to go to the Upper Limit for dinner.”

  “Of course, the most expensive restaurant in the area.”

  “Exactly. She ordered the highest-priced item on the menu.” When Meredith rolled her eyes, he said, “Really. I watched her skim her eyes down the right-hand column. Ordered that fast. Wanted champagne. Appetizers.” He threw back the rest of his whiskey. “Then she didn’t eat more than two bites. Didn’t drink her champagne. Talked about shopping for clothes the entire meal. She took all her food home in a box. I never heard from her again.” When he grinned, she noticed sexy little crinkles around the corners of his eyes. She wanted to press her lips there. “Of course, I never called her again either.”

  “Once I went out with a guy who ordered the most expensive meal, appetizers, drink after drink, dessert. Ate it all. Drank it all. Much more than what I ordered, you understand. Which would have been fine except then he wanted to split the bill down the middle.”

  Sam shook his head. “Maybe there should be a rule. First dates shouldn’t be to expensive restaurants.”

  “I agree. But maybe they shouldn’t be in crowded bars either.” Her ass was killing her. She shifted on the hard stool again and fanned her face.

  A loud group of guys pushed by and bumped into Sam, causing him to almost fall into her lap. Or maybe he merely used it as an excuse to grab onto her hips in order to catch himself. His face was so close to her breasts she could feel his breath on her skin.