Chasing Love (Love Collection)

by Natalie Ann

  “Don’t even think about it,” he snarled when she opened his door.

  It was a tone of voice she’d never heard from him a day in her life. She turned around and noticed that his face was bright red. “About what?” It was just fueling her own temper right now.

  “About storming into my office and throwing out accusations of cheating, then walking away and not giving me a chance to explain.”

  She crossed her arms in front of her chest, sniffled a little and didn’t bother to clean up a runaway tear. “Explain it then.”

  “I don’t like your attitude,” he said.

  “Well, I don’t like what you had planned so that makes us even.”

  “Sit,” he growled this time, pointing his finger.

  She didn’t want to do it, but she figured she’d pushed more than she should have. “Fine. There,” she said, sitting on a couch in his office. “Start talking.”

  He took a deep breath, then another. “First off. I knew you had a temper, but I had no idea it was going to rival the color of your hair.”

  “Me?” she said. “Talk about tempers. Look in the mirror.”

  A third deep breath. “I’m going to assume you talked to Brian today?”

  “I did,” she said, not wanting to say more. She wasn’t giving anything away. He could come clean.

  “And?” he asked.

  “And you tell me about your double date on Friday.”

  “There is no double date,” he said firmly.

  “He told me there was.”

  “Brian specifically said I was going on a date with him and some woman—who I don’t even know the name of—in two days?”

  She stopped and played back the whole thing in her head. “He said you sounded interested.”

  “But did he say I told him yes?” Troy asked, narrowing his eyes.

  “No. But you didn’t tell him no either and that’s the same thing to me.”

  He shook his head. “What crazy train brought you here and when is it going to pick you back up?”

  “What does that mean?” she asked sucking in a gulp of air.

  “It means that I’ll talk about this reasonably, but not when you’re like this. When you won’t listen to me. When you’re so worked up I can tell by your face right now you won’t believe a word I would say.”

  “You haven’t said anything to me yet.”

  He ran his hands through his hair. “I’m going to say this once. Brian came over on Monday night. I did my best to avoid any talk about you or us. He told me he had a date and she had a friend. He asked me to go and I said I had plans.”

  “What plans?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I lied. I don’t like lying to Brian, but I figured I’d go do something just to make sure it wasn’t a lie. But he wanted to know what and I couldn’t tell him. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and finally told me to think about it and let him know.”

  “But you obviously haven’t let him know yet,” she said, which still made him guilty in her eyes.

  “I don’t know what to tell him,” he shouted. “You’re the one who told me not to tell him about us. You’re the one that said you wanted to stay in our little world for now.”

  “That was weeks ago,” she argued.

  “Yeah, it was. And you haven’t said anything else about it since. I was waiting for you to tell me. It’s your brother and I was trying to let you have the say.”

  Ah hell. “You could have brought it up at any point. You could have even called me on Monday after Brian left and you didn’t.”

  “Nope. I didn’t. And I’ll take the blame for that. It was late and I thought you’d be getting ready for bed.”

  “I’m not you,” she said. “I don’t need to follow a routine every day of my life. If you called me when I was in bed, I wouldn’t have felt like I needed Valium to calm down because my bedtime was disrupted.”

  She saw his eye twitch. She wasn’t playing fair and she knew it, but her damn temper wasn’t letting up. Too many times she’d been played like this. It hurt way too much to think the man she was in love with, the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with was putting her in a category the same as everyone else she’d dated in the past.

  “You know, Meena, I’m done justifying myself to you. I told you the way it was. I’ll take the blame for not telling you Brian brought this up to me, but it’s the only thing I’ve done wrong. Everything else is on your shoulders.”

  “Meaning what?” she said. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it was going to burst out of her chest and go running through the door and then down the hall on thin cartoon spaghetti legs.

  “I explained once. I won’t again. I’ve got work to do now.” He walked behind his desk and sat down. “You know your way out.”

  She felt the butcher knife going through her heart now. Or more like it stabbing her in the back as it ran out of the room on those spindly legs.

  With as much dignity as she could muster, she stood up and walked out, proud that she managed to leave without slamming one door and her knees didn’t even wobble.

  Say Something

  Troy tipped the beer back later that night as he pushed the recliner up and tried to relax.

  Talk about a shitty day.

  Before Meena had come storming into his office, he had to deal with some of his repairmen giving him grief about the new maintenance service plan that his sales manager talked him into pursuing. He knew that would happen. Most were okay with it, especially with throwing out the bonus incentive. But those that weren’t had felt it wasn’t fair.

  He’d been trying to listen to everyone, get their ideas and their thoughts. He wasn’t pushing it on people, making them do it. He was just giving them an incentive if they chose to. He thought that was fair. Not everyone did.

  The drawer was open on his desk and he’d been pulling out the aspirin when Nicole called and said Meena was up front. Then she came in like a tropical storm throwing all sorts of accusations his way.

  He’d never been accused of cheating on a woman a day in his life. He could barely juggle one female—how the hell was he supposed to handle two at the same time?

  And though it was originally his idea to not tell Brian about the two of them, Meena was the one that really didn’t want Brian to know after they’d made love.

  In Troy’s mind, that was the time to say something. Now what the heck were they going to tell Brian? That they were not only dating, but they’d been doing it in secret for weeks?

  He knew how pissed off he’d be in Brian’s shoes and the guilt was piling on thicker than mud on a pig’s snout digging for the last scrap of food. He smiled just now when that statement popped in his head. Something his father used to say often.

  The whole situation was just wrong in his eyes though, making the smile fade.

  But it wasn’t as wrong as Meena’s behavior this afternoon.

  He tipped his glass back again, taking a big gulp, pondering if he wanted to make some food or just drink his dinner tonight.

  When his doorbell rang he hoped to hell it wasn’t Brian. Of course Brian would have just walked in.

  Rather than let it go, he pushed his chair back in place and walked to the door, opened it wide to see Meena standing there.

  “Can I come in?” she asked.

  It might be the most unsure he’d ever seen her. “If you’re ready to talk like an adult.”

  “You aim below the belt when you’re mad. I’m not sure if I’m shocked or impressed. I never knew that about you,” she said, moving past him.

  “I’ve never given you any reason to know that about me,” he said.

  “If you’re trying to make me feel guiltier than I am, it’s working.”

  “That was just a fact. If it affects your feelings, it’s not on me.”

  Water was brimming at the surface of her eyes and as much as he wanted to pull her in like the child she used to be when she was upset over being left behind—the child h
e never would have considered hugging back then—he wasn’t going to do it now either.

  He was fed up with being walked all over and taken advantage of by women.

  She took her jacket off and hung it up, so he had a feeling they were going to get to the meat of the matter. She wasn’t looking anxious like he was feeling, and he was wondering if this was goodbye when he was just getting used to it being hello.

  “I’m sorry, Troy.”

  “For what?” He wasn’t assuming anything. She came here, she could talk. He’d listen.

  “I overreacted.”

  “You did.”

  She looked around, then at him while they stood in his foyer. “Can we go somewhere more comfortable? Maybe the kitchen?”

  “That’s fine. I haven’t eaten yet. I’ll throw something together while you talk. That’s if you had planned on saying something and staying rather than throwing words at me and marching out.”

  Again, not assuming.

  “I’d like that,” she said. He heard the catch in her voice but pushed it aside. He wasn’t going to be weak for a woman anymore.

  He detoured into the living room, picking up his glass of beer, then opened the fridge when he got to the kitchen, looking around for something. “How about spaghetti? My mother gave me some sauce and meatballs the other day.”

  “That works,” she said, sitting at the island. “About today.”

  “Yes?” he said.

  “You aren’t going to make this easy on me, are you?”

  “Why should I? I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  She sighed after she wiped a tear from her cheek. “I know. I just heard what Brian said about you going on a date with someone and it set me off.”

  “I never said I was going on a date with anyone.”

  “No, you didn’t. But you didn’t tell him no yet either.”

  “I am guilty of that. I told him no the other day and he wouldn’t take that as an answer.”

  “Which is typical of Brian,” she said.

  He went about putting hot water in a pan and the sauce on another burner to warm up. “It’s an annoying trait of his. The question is, how do we tell him about us? And are you ready to, because this is only going to get worse the longer we wait.” At this point he was pretty confident there was still an “us.” She wasn’t acting like she was ending things.

  “I know. I thought of that too. I guess we should have talked about it more. I just wasn’t thinking much of it. You originally didn’t want to tell him and I just went along with it. Then the longer it went on the harder I realized it was going to be.”

  “Yep. You’re his sister. You’ll always have a place in his life. If he gets mad at you, it won’t be the first time and he won’t hold a grudge with you.”

  She laughed. “Brian has never been mad at you?”

  “Not that I can recall. He’s gotten annoyed before, but hell, most people do. We’ve never gotten into a fight though.”

  “So he’s never seen the side of you that you showed me today?” she asked.

  “He’s seen it, just not directed at him.”

  Brian had been around when past girlfriends tried to play games and Troy had enough. Brian had also been the one Troy confided in about what had gone wrong with Sabrina.

  “I don’t want to see it directed at me again, I can tell you that much. I’ve got a fast trigger. I saw red and there was no going blonde.”

  “Am I supposed to know what that means?” She was sounding like his father now, always making up funny sayings.

  “It’s a hair joke. Sometimes there is no going lighter. No easing up no matter how much you try or the bleach sits on your head.”

  He nodded. “Okay. The thing is, I know that about you. I just didn’t expect you to jump off the lunatic horse you were riding and come at me like you were starving for a carrot.”

  “I thought it was the crazy train I came to town on,” she said, grinning.

  Man, he really was turning into his father. “That too. If this is going to work for us, we need to talk. We need to communicate better.”

  “Agreed. So the first thing we have to decide is when, how, and what to tell Brian.”

  “And if he isn’t happy about it?” he asked.

  “We stick it out and work it out. Brian’s opinion of our relationship isn’t going to change my opinion of anything. It never did before and sure the heck won’t now. The question is, what about you?”

  “I don’t have any intention of letting him sway my mind. I’m not changing my mind for anything or anyone.” Not now. Not ever when it came to Meena.

  “Are we good?” she asked. Her lip was quivering a bit and though she was trying to show some bravado, he could see for once she wasn’t all that confident. It should mean something, but he was afraid to hazard what it might be.

  “We are,” he said. There was no use dragging this out.

  “Good,” she said, walking toward him and turning the burners off. “I’m hungry for something else right now and it’s not food.”

  Her arms came around his waist, her head against his chest. If she listened hard enough she’d hear the rapid beats. “What’s that?”

  “You. And maybe if you could show that aggressive side again. This time in the bedroom. Don’t take this the wrong way, but it was pretty darn sexy now that I know the crisis is over with.”

  “I can do that.”

  Playful and Reckless

  It was almost an hour later when they made it to the kitchen to eat dinner. Meena was wondering what was going through Troy’s mind about having dinner later than normal. Surprisingly, he seemed pretty relaxed about it and she didn’t even have to pick on him about his routine being broken.

  Then she got thinking he probably would do it again if she distracted him like she’d done.

  She’d grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs to his room, then pushed him on the bed. She was feeling playful and reckless at the same time and decided to give him a little show.

  It probably would have been sexier if she had something else on other than navy leggings and a long sweater, but it worked enough, she’d seen.

  Her sweater was long enough to actually be a dress, so she’d discarded her knee high boots and leggings and pranced around his room in the sweater hitting her mid thigh. Lifting it here and there, swinging her hips, bending over and giving him some teasing glimpses.

  He’d sat there with more patience watching her than she figured he’d have, making her wonder if she was putting herself on display for no reason at all or making a fool of herself.

  There was one more thing she was going to try. She lifted her sweater up and held it with one hand, her hips swiveling around. Her other hand went down the front of her panties to touch herself.

  She wanted to close her eyes and just savor the feelings right now. Her body was wet and slick and she was trying to imagine his hand where hers was.

  But he was just sitting there staring at her. Sure, his gaze was a lot darker and deeper now, but he hadn’t said a word, he hadn’t made a move toward her in the room at all.

  She was just ready to give up and start to undress him and she moved closer when his hands reached out faster than she’d ever seen him move before. He flipped her over on her stomach on the bed, her feet on the floor.

  “I never thought you’d get close enough for me to grab you,” he’d growled in her ear. “Not that I didn’t appreciate your little dance, but you promised me something else.”

  “All you had to do was ask,” she’d said.

  “You told me what you wanted out of me and I wasn’t going to chase you around the room. I figured I’d wait for you to come to me.” It was the way he said it. She took it as if he’d been waiting for her forever, like she had been for him, but knew that probably wasn’t the case.

  “What are you going to do to me?”

  “I’m going to make you scream,” he whispered in her ear.

  Her body felt as if a thous
and electrodes were cruising through her. She hoped to hell he made good on that statement.

  She didn’t have much time to say anything else to him before his big hands slid up the back of her legs pushing her sweater up and over her hips. She wished she had a thong on today so that her cheeks would be presented to him so bare, but instead it was her pink lace panties with little hearts on them.

  “Do you know, I never expected you to be someone to wear hearts on your underwear.”

  “Why?” she asked, wondering where this question was coming from.

  “Because all your clothes and accessories make a statement.” His voice was rough and catchy, but he kept talking. “They say you’re a confident woman that knows what she wants.” His hand was roaming and caressing her while she stayed bent over like this. “They don’t say hearts and flowers.”

  “All women like hearts and flowers at some point in their life.”

  “Is that what you want now?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “Good. We’ll save that for another day.”

  That was all he said. Words weren’t needed when she felt her panties being pulled off.

  She tried to turn her head to look behind her but instead felt a little playful slap on her ass. “Whoa.” Talk about a sexy side to Troy!

  “No peeking,” he said.

  So she didn’t. Didn’t even turn her head to see what he was doing. She wanted the element of surprise right now. She wanted to keep seeing sides to him she’d never known about before. Then again, she was thinking she wouldn’t want to know this side of him if he was doing it with other women.

  No thoughts she wanted in her head right now either. It was just about the two of them.

  She’d told him she liked him aggressive. He was doing that now. And this was more than liking. This was loving it!

  She was tensing to see if she’d feel another light slap on her butt, but instead she felt his lips. A gentle kiss and she relaxed, which she shouldn’t have done, because then she felt his teeth and heard his chuckle after she squealed.

  “I think you like that,” he said.