Excerpt From Diary of a One-Night Stand.

     “You’re here,” a deep voice said in front of her.

     Kara opened her eyes and beheld Scott Ellsworth’s handsome face. He was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and a pair of gray slacks. His dark, wavy hair looked a bit disheveled, as if he too had been anxiously weighing the pros and cons of their meeting. His deep-set gray eyes gazed up and down her slim figure.

     “I wasn’t sure you would come,” he admitted as he stood back from the door.

     “I told you on the phone I would be here.”
     Kara walked into the suite and took in the finely decorated living area. To her right she spied a gold sofa, coffee table, and two matching gold and mahogany chairs. Beyond the living room there was a small bar with a sink and mini refrigerator. Placed atop the bar were two crystal flutes, with a silver ice bucket sitting between them. In the bucket was an open bottle of Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame.
     She turned back to Scott. “Champagne?” She raised one blond eyebrow. “That’s rather cheesy, don’t you think?”
     Scott closed the door. “I figured it would help get you in the mood.”
     Kara tossed her black purse onto the couch. “In the mood?” Kara arched one eyebrow as she walked up to him. “That’s what foreplay is for, isn’t it?”
     Scott put his arm about her slim waist. “So, am I to skip all of my well-planned seduction material and just get right to it then? That’s rather a lot of pressure to put on a man, Kara.”
     Kara gracefully ran her hands up his white shirt. “I thought you were the kind of man who worked better under pressure.”
     Scott grinned. “Yes, I am.”
     He placed his other arm about her and pulled her close. His eyes drank in the aristocratic curve of her chin, dainty nose, exquisite cheekbones, and round, red mouth.
     “We’ve waited long enough,” he mumbled, and then he lowered his lips to hers.
     At first Kara was surprised by the intensity of his kiss, but then she found her body responding to his raw desire. This was not the sugarcoated kiss of a nervous lover or anxious beau seeking her approval. This was the kiss of a man wanting only one thing, without the trappings of a hoped for future together. When she was younger she might have been repelled by such a kiss, but now she reveled in it. She had done the “right thing” with the right kind of man, and for a time had found the experience fulfilling. But now as she noticed more lines on her face and a roundness settling over her hips, she wanted nothing more than to know an uncomplicated kind of mating.
     She eagerly started undoing the buttons on his shirt. Scott moved his lips away from hers and his teeth nipped along her pink cheek until he found her earlobe.
     “I want you,” he murmured in her ear. “All I have been able to think about for the past week is you.”
     Kara kissed the exposed skin on his chest as she hurriedly fought to finish with the buttons on his shirt. Scott’s hands reached around and pulled at the zipper on the back of her dress. She felt the cool air in the hotel room tease the skin along her back as he worked the zipper down. She kissed his neck and chest, and then bit down hard on his right nipple.
     Scott gasped and then stood back from her. She stared into his eyes, then at his mouth, and finally took in the smooth, tanned skin on his muscular chest. He grabbed her hand and led her to the bar, but instead of stopping, he picked up the champagne from the ice bucket and pulled her to a partially open door on his left. After shoving the door open with his foot, he took a swig from the bottle in his hand and nodded to the doorway.
     “Get in there,” he ordered in a husky voice.
     Kara casually strolled into the bedroom. Before her was a spacious room decorated in muted shades of gray, with a king-sized bed, love seat, and a large patio door that opened onto a private balcony. She looked back from the balcony to see Scott following her into the room, carrying the bottle of champagne in his hand.
     “Take off that dress,” he said in a commanding voice.
     Kara never removed her eyes from his as she slipped the dress from around her shoulders and let it fall to the floor.
     He took another long sip from the champagne bottle. “And the bra.”
     Kara removed the black lace bra from around her breasts and let it join her dress on the floor.
     He slowly moved toward her, letting his eyes wander over every inch of her body. He took another gulp of champagne. When he pulled the bottle away, Kara watched as the liquid glistened against his lips. She leaned forward and tasted the champagne on him.
     Scott pulled himself away and pushed her back toward the bed.
     “Lay down and take off your underwear,” he told her in a voice no louder than a whisper. “I want to see you naked on the bed.”
     “Yes, Mr. Ellsworth,” Kara replied as she sat back on the bed.