Auld Lang Sigh Read online

  Auld Lang Sigh

  Jennifer Conner

  Auld Lang Sign

  Copyright 2011

  By Books to Go Now

  For information on the cover illustration and design, contact [email protected]

  First eBook Edition –January 2011

  Printed in the United States of America

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without momentary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.

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  Ella Kelly shoved her hand against the outside door and ran out into the busy city street. She spent the whole afternoon telling herself over and over she needed to watch the clock. It was after nine in the evening. Shit. Who were those Paleolithic idiots who came up with the idea of time? Keeping track of it never worked for her, especially when she was knee deep in case files.

  “Come on, come on, stop!” she yelled, as she ran toward the bus.

  The back of the bus eased away. She took a swing at the rear taillight. Ella missed the bus, but managed to step into ankle deep water off the curb. Her heel caught in a water grate and twisted. Sharp pain raced up her leg.

  As she yanked her leg, her heel snapped off. Perfect. Happy New Year to me. Great way to kick off New Year’s Eve.

  “Need help, lady?” a man asked from the curb.

  Embarrassed, Ella lifted her muddy foot free. “No thanks.” Her leg burned as she tried not to stumble.

  That was the last bus home for God knew how long. The downtown was already swarming with people, and the streets were clogged. Ella read somewhere they were blocking off the streets for the New Year’s Eve festivities in about… she looked at her watch… now.

  She was screwed.

  Ella hobbled back towards her office building. Her heart pounded as she fished in her bag. When she left work, she remembered she’d grabbed her purse, turned off her computer, took out her wallet to check the bus time… and left her wallet on her desk.

  “No. No. No.” Desperately, she dug deeper into the bottom of her purse. No wallet. No pass key. No hope.

  She had to get back in there. She wasn’t going to hobble the streets of Seattle with no money and a broken high heel. Ella banged on the large glass doors with the flat of her hand. She knew there was no one there. Everyone had somewhere to be. Somewhere to go. Someone to be with.

  Ella closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to the glass. She wasn’t going to cry. She was a law partner, a strong woman of the twenty-first century.

  There was a thunk . Her eyes snapped up. It was the cute guy from the espresso bar in the lobby. He waved at her to take a step back and the front door opened.

  When the door swung wide, he looked down with a worried expression. “Are you okay? I saw you step off the curve by the bus. I thought you might have broken your ankle. I was ready to call 911.”

  “I’m fine. Damn bus.”

  “Come on. Put your arm over my shoulder, and don’t put any weight on your ankle.”

  She limped next to him, and followed him into the lobby espresso bar. He slid out a stool, and she sat down heavily.

  He reached and took off her shoe. “I think these have seen better days. The drain grate ate your heel?”

  “Like a bunch of left-over Christmas cookies.” She tried to smile, but winced when he wiggled her ankle. “I need to get up to my office and get my wallet.”

  He frowned. “They don’t let me out of the lobby. I don’t have a key for the elevator. Sorry, I can’t help you, Ella.”

  She cocked a brow. “How do you know my name?”

  “That is your name, isn’t it?”

  “Yes… but…”

  “I call you by name every morning when you come in. By the way, I appreciate the business.”

  She thought for a moment. Of course he knew her name. He was always there to start her morning off with a friendly smile, a cup of Joe, and a personal greeting. “Do you know the name of every customer?”

  “I try.”

  “You know how to make a girl feel bad. I don’t know yours.”

  “I don’t do it to make people feel bad. My name’s Lee.”

  Ella wiped her hand over her forehead in mock relief. “Something easy to remember. I’m terrible with names.”

  “I have a brain that remembers lots of little facts. I was in the military Special Forces for twenty years. They love little facts and details. Now, that I’m retired, I can’t help still doing it.” She looked at the dark mass of rich brown hair that tipped his collar, tinged with a little grey at the temple. “Is that what guys do when they retire from the military, they work as baristas?”

  “Yeah, as far away as possible from short hair, short tempers, and a long list of rules.” His smiled crinkled the corner of his warm eyes. “You sound like my parents. They thought I was crazy when I used a large chunk of my life savings to invest in this place.”

  “You own Mean Bean?”

  He chuckled. “In about thirty years. I think the bank owns every last coffee bean right now, but, I’m making a go of it. I feel lucky. Other places are struggling in the economy.”

  “It’s because of you and your staff’s friendly faces. Everyone seems to like to work here, and I hear all the people in the building say they come to the Mean Bean for that reason. I come in, like they do, to start my day off with a smile.”

  “Really?” he asked as he searched her face with a look to gauge if she told the truth

  “I swear.” Ella crossed a finger over her heart. “Plus, you make the best coffee in Seattle. Much better than that other place.”

  Lee covered his ears. “We do not speak that name here or you will be vaporized. How about a coffee on the house to warm up, and I’ll grab a bag of ice for your ankle?

  “How do you know what I want to drink?”

  He cocked his head her direction. “Are you kidding me? You order the same thing every day. A half-caf peppermint mocha, soy milk, a pack of raw sugar, no whip, and an extra chocolate covered coffee bean on the lid.”

  Ella laughed. “I never ask for the extra chocolate covered coffee bean.”

  “But, you like them, so, I give you one.”

  “Yes.” She turned to watch him make her coffee drink. He banged the grounds out, measured the coffee, and cranked it back in the machine. “So what else do you know about me?”

  He watched her through dark lashed eyes.

  “Come on, mister super secret ex-spy guy. Let’s see what ya got. Remembering my name and what I drink was just a fluke, wasn’t it?”

  “You work for Benson and Benson law upstairs. You’re a junior partner. You started with the firm right after I bought this place, three years ago.”

  “Pretty good.”

  “You live on Capitol Hill.”

  “Okay, that’s creepy.”

  “Bus.” He flipped his head to the large windows. “I see you come and go every
day. You wear sweater dresses almost every day in the winter and bright silk blouses in the summer.” He set the coffee in front of her. “You bring your own lunch from home. Money’s not an issue, so healthy eater. Vegetarian or vegan

  “You’re good at this.”

  “I know.” His hand trailed out and touched the pin on her lapel. “This pin has sentimental value. You wear it every day through the holidays, even past Christmas. You take it off at the New Year. It’s the only piece of jewelry you wear though the holidays.”

  “It was my mom’s. She died a few years back. The pin was hers. I think of her when I wear it.”

  “And you don’t have anyone special in your life right now.”

  Ella raised her hands in surrender. “That answer was too easy. Working till nine on New Year’s Eve when everyone else has somewhere to go. You caught me, hard up for the holiday, that’s me.”

  Lee tipped his coffee mug her direction. “You do realize that I’m here too. ‘Hard up for the holidays’. Guess that’s me too.”

  “Good looking guy like you? I find that difficult to believe.”

  “What about you? I’ve figured for months you would have someone special in your life. It wasn’t until Christmas Eve and I saw you work until eight, I started to think about it.”

  She had left at eight, but she hadn’t seen him. Too Bad.

  Lee shook the cubes in the plastic baggie of ice he’d filled. “In case there’s swelling. I had a little medic training with my unit. I think it’s going to be okay, but can you take this stocking off so I can get a look at your ankle.”

  He looked sincere and innocent enough. Ella raised the right hem of her skirt and released the tab on the garter. Reaching around her thigh, she flipped the other. She looked up in time to see heat flare in his smoky eyes. Okay, maybe he wasn’t that innocent. He was also handsome as sin, a volatile combination.

  “May I?” he asked. She nodded, and he reached for the top of her stocking. His fingers were scorching when they gently touched her chilled skin. This wasn’t all business. He took his time to roll the stocking down her leg, and caress her calf along the way.

  He slid it off her foot and draped the sheer black stocking over the counter. Ella bit her lip as her gaze drifted to the front of his pants. A sizeable erection pressed against his trousers.

  Not innocent at all, but who cared?

  His large hand cradled her ankle. “I’ve wanted to ask you out for… ever. But, I’m older than you. I’m forty-two.”

  She smiled down at him. “I’m honored that you think I’m ‘so much younger’. Does that really matter to you?”

  “I figured it would matter to you.”

  “You seem to know everything else about me, then why don’t you know I like men to be a little older? And, I do mean a bit. A woman never tells her age, but it isn’t as great of an age difference as you think.”

  He caressed the back of her ankle with his hand. “You’re so damn beautiful, I feel like a teenager when you’re here. Bumbling and usually hard as a rock. I have to wear my black apron the second you walk in, or the girls that work here would think I’m a pervert.”

  “I bet you say that to all women customers.”

  “No.” High color stained his cheeks. “And, I can’t believe I just said it to you.” Lee shook his head. “What an idiot.”

  Ella leaned forward on the stool. She was close enough to feel his breath on her face. His dark brown eyes met hers. “No, a nice guy. Anyone who would save a damsel in distress is not an ‘idiot’.”

  “You better put on the brakes and red light this fantasy of mine right now, because I’m getting pretty heated being this close to you.”

  She wound her finger into his shirt. “I think you’re being rather selfish. What if this was my fantasy first? I’ve wanted you to ask me out in for… ever.”

  “We haven’t been on a date yet.”

  “Formality,” she answered with a grin. “Are you going to kiss me? Or, do you have a check list in your brain of the order of things?”

  “Ella,” he quietly said her name and broke. He stood and tugged her to her feet, crushing her mouth to his. She tried to keep her mind clear, as liquid need raced down her spine. She sucked on his tongue and its intoxicating sweetness. He tasted like the chocolate and coffee he’d drunk. A growl rumbled deep in his throat.

  Harder, hungrier, the kiss raged out of control as his fingers pressed into the indents of her hips. As he pulled her tighter, there was no mistaking the hard curve of his cock. With one hand curled around the nape of her neck, he held her still as he slowly kissed a trail across her lips to her ear and back.

  “Did they teach you to kiss like that in the military?”

  He smiled against her lips. “No, ma’am. That is one thing I learned on my own.”

  Oh, did he know how to kiss. He stepped back for a moment and inhaled her with his gaze like she was the greatest thing on earth. She felt special. Ella loved the bottled up passion and hunger she saw simmer just below his calm surface.

  Ella’s head swam. She was planning on spending the evening with a pint of Haagen Daz and late night TV, not the hottest guy she’d feasted her eyes on in years. She grabbed him and pulled him back for round two.

  She relished in the hardness of his chest, his thighs, and in between. Had she ever been kissed so thoroughly? As he continued the kiss, he ran hands up and down her back. He eased the edge of her dress up her stockingless thigh, and over her bare hip to follow the ribbon of her thong.

  He smiled. “There’s something I have to do.”

  “Hot date?”

  “Oh yeah… way hot.” He stepped back and let the hem of her dress fall. She watched him move over to the lobby entrance. With a yank, he slid the large corrugated metal divider closed. A dark plastic lining covered the metal and shielded them from the lobby. Lee fished a pole from behind a plant and lowered the black blinds down each window. When he looked back she swore she could read what he was thinking. Her. Naked. Soon.

  He waved at someone he knew in the crowd gathering outside the building waiting for the New Year’s parade to start. Lee shrugged. “Customer. Bob. Works at the fifth floor accounting firm. Triple-shot. Five packs of sugar.” Lee grinned as he yanked down the last blind. Tossing the stick, it skittered across the floor. He crooked a finger. “Enough shop talk. Come here.”

  Ella raised a brow. “Security cameras?”

  “Not down here. They were too cheap to install them. Now, I feel fortunate. What I plan on doing with you I don’t want on a security feed. Come here,” he repeated his subtle command.

  Her heart raced as she moved closer.

  “Remind me where we were?” He cupped her face and ran his lips along hers. The faint shadow of his dark beard abraded her lips. She liked the rough texture. His arms were sure and strong as he hugged her close.

  When she attempted to move, he scraped teeth down the side of her neck. He took her breast in his hand and rubbed a thumb over the knit fabric until her nipple was pebbled stiff. He dipped his head and bit through. The sensation jackknifed through her.

  With the ease of a veteran lover, he easily released the other garter on her left leg, front and back. Dropping to one knee, he slid a hand up her thigh, and let the stocking puddle to the floor. “I didn’t think women wore garter belts anymore,” he said in a raspy breath.

  “They don’t. I’m a dinosaur. It makes me feel sexy under my stodgy work attire.”

  “Sexy is much too simple of a word. Libidinous, maybe.”

  “My… you like words too?”

  “They can be easily memorized… along with the feel of your body. That’s not something I’ll forget.” As he dropped his mouth for another soul stealing kiss, he traced the line of her thong, and dipped fingers into her wetness. He backed her acros
s the floor until her calves hit the padded bench that ran around the espresso bar. He tugged her dress over her head, and she shook her long brunette hair free. Ella sat on the bench and let her knees fall open.

  Lee stared down, as if mesmerized. “I thought Christmas was over, but Merry Christmas to me.”

  She giggled, as he dropped to his knees. He tugged the silk down and off her legs. He parted her folds and gave her a long slow stroke that brought her off the seat. Lee sucked and nibbled at the sensitive nub until she thought she’d scream. “God, you taste good,” he commented before dipping down again. When he added a finger, Ella knew she wouldn’t last.

  “I… can’t…” she stuttered as her inner muscled clamped.

  “This time is for me,” Lee said as he worked her closer and closer to the peak.

  For him. Was he kidding? He still had on all his clothes. She throbbed with each touch of his tongue. He was slowly destroying her with every caress. He latched on and sucked harder, her hips bucked. Ella pushed back against the window blind. She could hear the loud laughter and the crowd of people inches away on the other side of the glass. There was a band… music… angels… was it in her head. Oh God.

  With an arm draped over her middle, he pinned her. She would die if she couldn’t move. Torture had never been so sweet.

  She was at the point of pain as his expert tongue slid inside her. When he licked up and over her nub, she cried out, and shattered. Ella rode the pleasure that coursed through her body and filled her every nerve. It had never been like this with any man

  When Lee snaked up her body, his kiss didn’t taste like chocolate, it tasted like her. “Good gravy I need to snap a heel more often. I love your rescue strategy,” Ella said trying to catch a thread of breath.

  Lee turned off the over head lights and grabbed his coat. With a quick twist, he broke the heel off her other shoe. “There was no hope for repairing them. At least they’re even now. Come on.” He put his coat over her shoulders and offered his hand. “This evening is far from being over.” His sexy grin added a new tremor down her spine.

  “What do you have in mind… and I mean in a bigger picture way.”