Chapter 36

Fifteen minutes later, Jasina pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex, stepping out and adjusted her dress, making sure her makeup wasn't mused on the drive back from Mark's. She shut the door and walked up the stairs, for the first time heading to Randy's apartment instead of her own, looking for his number. The butterflies erupted in her stomach suddenly and Jasina had to take a deep breath, finding some kind of courage to lift her hand and knocked on the door once she found it.

"Hold on!" Randy called from inside the apartment, just stepping out of the shower to wash off the scent of chemicals.

Since he hadn't had Arielle with him, Randy decided to do some investigating on a story that had landed on his desk. It was something about chemicals being released from a factory into water that was processed for drinking in a residential district. Pulling up his jeans and throwing his towel around his neck, Randy headed for the door, opening it and blinked when he seen Jasina.

"Hello." Randy greeted, realizing she had never been in here before and was glad his scrapbook was hidden safely away. He opened the door for her to enter, hoping she didn't freak when she seen the pictures of the very bad places he had been and things he witnessed. "Come on in."

"Hi."

Jasina wondered when Randy wasn't hopping out of the shower in a hurry, immediately shoving that thought out of her mind and stepped inside, looking around. He had all dark brown furniture with gaming systems and a big flat screen television. Definitely a bachelor pad. It did look a little...depressing though, but Jasina was keeping that to herself, walking over to admire some of his beautiful photography. She could stare at his pictures all day happily.

Randy took a moment to study her, taking in the little yellow dress she wore. Yellow was definitely his favorite color on her and might now be his favorite color, period. His admiring gaze swept her toned legs, having a sudden visual of them wrapped around his waist and hastily cleared his throat.

"Let me go put on a shirt and some shoes, then we can leave." He was going to need to watch the drinking tonight, having a feel under the influence he would act on some of these impulses, which he wanted only just sober.

"Sounds good, take your time."

Jasina slowly walked from one photo to the next, not touching them because they were still dripping, all the shades drawn for a reason with a red light on them. He was using his kitchen for a dark room? The man really was a workaholic. Jasina turned when he came back out and swallowed hard at the shirt he chose, which stretched across his chest, short sleeved and looked ready to bust off of him at any moment. She was probably a little overdressed and honestly didn't care, accepting his arm when extending it as they headed out the door.

"Okay, wait a minute..." Randy said before they had even made it down the hall, stopping her. He ignored the confused look on her face and took her hand, twirling her in a circle and watched the dress flutter around her thighs. "Sorry, been aching to do that when I seen you in it." He grinned down at her, wondering if she knew just what that dress on her beautiful body was doing to him. Or maybe it was just her period, probably since whenever he seen her lately he usually acquired a problem.

Jasina could feel she was blushing from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, seeing the pure adoration in his blue eyes and felt her heart rate increase slightly. "Thank you." She murmured softly, smoothing the front of her dress out where there wasn't ruffles. "I wanted to look nice tonight, I've been in office and lounge clothes around you since we met. I wanted to look...different...and I'm glad you like it, Randy. You look really nice too." He actually looked downright fuckable, but there was NO way Jasina was saying that out loud.

"I was aiming for handsome, but really nice is good too." Randy joked, walking down the stairs with her since neither lived on the first floor. There was an elevator, but walking never hurt and he did have to keep in shape, his mind straying momentarily to other things that made for a great workout. "Do you know where you'd like to go or that one place? Emerald City? Is that what it's called?"

"Yeah Emerald City is fine, I don't trust a lot of bars around here." For several reasons that Jasina refused to get into at the moment, knowing Randy would drive as they automatically headed toward his car. She felt so awkward about all of this and suddenly stopped, planting her feet so Randy would stop with her, releasing his arm. "Look, I thought this wouldn't bother me, but...I'm tired of the mixed signals, Randy. I'm tired of acting like friends one minute and then flirting the next. I need to know if we're going out as friends or if we're...I mean..." Jasina hated when her brain overloaded because her mouth normally ran away with her like now. "Is this a date? Did you ask me out for a friendly drink or did you really ask me out?"

Randy never clarified and Jasina wasn't going to beat around the bush, not after everything that happened with Mark. His answer was to bend down and kiss her, one arm drawing around her waist as he pulled her closer to him. After a moment, Randy pulled away.

"I asked you out for a friendly drink, as my date." He said softly. "You've been away from Mark for quite some time now and I'm fairly certain you no longer love him so..."

He was making his move since Jasina had made hers, hoping she wanted the same thing he did. Her lips were on fire from just that soft kiss, having been kissed by several guys before, but she'd only had sex with Mark. Jasina never felt anything like this before and couldn't help grinning, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I thought you'd wait forever before you asked me out." She joked, running the pad of her thumb across his lips before kissing him again, melting against him. They were co-workers and partners, but Jasina wanted so much more and buried her fingers in his soft black hair.

"Almost forever, but not quite." Randy replied with an easy going grin, bending down to press his forehead against hers. "Come on, beautiful lady, let me take you out to celebrate the end of waiting."

He feathered his lips against hers gently, deciding he could very easily spend the rest of his life just kissing her. She tasted like honey and sunshine, a combination he would have never said about any woman's lips, but this wasn't just any woman. This was his woman or at least Jasina would be, he would see to that.

Randy ended up taking Jasina out for a wonderful evening involving a delicious steak dinner and cocktails afterwards at Emerald City, both of them getting to know each other. Randy had been married one time when he was younger, before he found his passion in photography, so they both understood what it was like to feel love die. By the time they arrived back at the apartment, it was past midnight, Jasina leading Randy into hers since it was closer. They were simply holding hands and Randy hadn't kissed her since before they left, or rather Jasina kissed him, explaining to him during dinner that Arielle agreed to stay at Mark's as long as Gary could stay with her some nights, wanting to alternate places.

So they had the entire place to themselves.

It was almost too silent in Jasina's apartment. Randy had gotten used to Gary or Arielle always being there and usually around to quip jokes at him or ask him inappropriate questions, those usually came from Arielle since the girl had no tact. He almost didn't know what to do as he stared down at Jasina, knowing what he'd like to do, but at the same time didn't want to rush Jasina into anything she wasn't absolutely ready for.

"You going to be okay without them around constantly?" Randy asked softly, pulling her over to the couch and down onto it with him, instantly draping an arm around her, enjoying the feeling of her little body pressed snugly against his.

"Yeah, especially after coming home with my date." She smiled up at him with glittering teal eyes, fighting back the urge to jump him, remembering the chocolate syrup running down his chest. "Do you want some wine, beer?" Jasina was already up off the couch and padding into the kitchen, getting a glass of wine and pulling a beer out of the fridge, feeling incredibly nervous. She took the flower clip out of her hair and ran her fingers through it a little, taking a deep breath before heading back into the living room with the beverages. "Thank you for dinner, I haven't had a meal like that in awhile."

"Couldn't feed you salad, eventually, you're going to need to have stamina." Randy said bluntly, leaving absolutely no doubt to what he meant as his eyes raked her over hungrily.

Tonight would have been a good night, but he wasn't rushing her unless she made it clear she was ready and then all bets were off. He took the beer she passed him, standing up to reach out and run his fingers through her hair. It was the longest he had seen it since knowing her.

"I want you Jasina, in all ways." He admitted openly, not about to have anymore communication issues. "But I'm willing to wait for you."

"I want you too, Randy."

Jasina barely set her wine glass down before his lips captured hers, pulling her to straddle his lap to they were more comfortable, her dress riding up her thighs. The kiss instantly grew heated and Jasina moaned when his tongue slipped between her glossy lips, tasting her for the first time and she definitely enjoyed his flavor. When Randy broke the kiss and began moving his lips down her jaw to her ear, Jasina knew she had to pull back, using all the strength inside of her, her hands pressed against his upper chest.

"I've never had sex with any other man except Mark!" She blurted out, or yelled, immediately covering her mouth with her hand, teal eyes widening. "Shit..."

Randy blinked once and replied in a completely deadpan tone of voice. "I've never been with a man at all, you're one up on me." He honestly could not help himself, her shout had totally startled the hell out of him and then astonished him, wondering just how a woman as beautiful as Jasina hadn't been with at the very least a few men. Not that he was saying she was a slut -obviously not, but women this beautiful usually had their pick of men. "Just Mark? Ever?"

Jasina was a cherry right now and maybe even redder than that, not able to look at Randy right now. She hadn't meant to just blurt it out like that in a rush of words or yell it at him for that matter, but panicked. Now she felt like a complete idiot and rubbed the back of her neck, completely embarrassed. Here was her chance to sleep with him and she blew it with her panicky ass!

"Yes." Jasina whispered, knowing he probably thought of her as a damn virgin even though Jasina was anything but.

She'd just had one sexual partner in her entire life, a sexual partner that taught her absolutely everything, though she'd also taught Mark a few things too. A very male comment flittered through Randy's head, something along the lines of 'well, at least you're not overly used and a bat cave', but Randy didn't say it, his mind automatically clamping down on the thought and dismissing it. She was completely red from head to toe, and looking like she wanted to smother herself with the couch cushions. Deviously, he bent forward and gently nipped at her pulse point, chuckling huskily when she jumped.

"And you're worried because...?" Randy rumbled against her skin, his breath hot against her throat.

Jasina shivered against him from head to toe, every part of her body igniting with sparks that were soon going to turn into a full blown inferno. He was right. What was she worried about? He obviously still wanted her and Jasina wasn't about to deny her burning body anything, pressing herself closer to him while tilting her head back, giving him all the access he wanted, only to push him back against the couch, her mouth right by his ear.

"You wanna know a secret?" Her hands were already pulling his shirt from his jeans, beginning to grind against him. "I had to make myself cum last night because you couldn't do it for me. Think we can rectify that?"

"Fuck yes..." Randy hissed, his hands moving down to hips to pull her down against him while arching his own upwards.

Her words turned him on even more if that were possible. Jasina had to make herself cum, and she had definitely been thinking about him, that was hot. One moment Jasina was straddling him and the next Randy had flipped her so she was laying on the couch, drawing one leg up and kissing her again. One hand skimmed her inner thigh upwards until his fingers brushed against her panties while the other massaged her side sensually.

Jasina trembled against him with pure desire and kissed him feverishly, knowing her words had completely lit him on fire the same way she was. She broke the kiss and managed to escape from beneath him, slowly unzipping the side of her dress so he didn't rip it off her body. Jasina did it slowly, her teal eyes turning a dark turquoise, licking her swollen lips as she slowly backtracked toward the bedroom.

Randy began following her, letting the dress slip down to her waist, revealing a matching yellow strapless bra. When her back met the door of her bedroom, Randy's lips were on hers again as she finally removed his shirt, sliding it up his chest and over his head, their tongues entwining in a passionate toe curling kiss with her hand on the doorknob. Her hand was on the wrong knob as far as he was concerned, his cock practically screaming for attention.

Randy had been celibate his entire time in Houston, mainly because he hadn't been interested in anyone until her, not even the busty blondes like that Jillian gal from the beach who would have been easy. Too easy. Once they were in the bedroom, he automatically kicked the door shut behind him, his hands moving to her bare shoulders and running down her arms before dropping to kneel in front of her.

Looking up to meet her gaze, Randy began sliding the dress down the rest of the way slowly, sensually. Jasina stepped out of the dress before kicking it to the side, reaching behind to unsnap her bra as it fell to the floor, covering her breasts with her hands massaging them. Randy's thumbs hooked in the sides of her silk yellow panties, tossing them to the side, smirking when he saw she was smooth as a baby's bottom below.