Waiting For It

by Allyson Lindt

  Luke joined me, and Chase managed to wedge himself between us, to be by my side.

  “Same as yours, but with better amenities.” Chase squeezed my hand.

  Did Luke see that? Would he know? Did it matter? If Chase and I made this all official and long term, Luke was going to find out anyway.

  He and Chase really...? My mind was on other things on the flight, but now, with it flitting back and forth between the two men, I was imagining them together. With me. Without me.

  “What about you, Anne?” Luke asked. “Good flight?”

  Incredible. Hot. You should have seen us. There was so much possibility in that response. “It was good. The extra leg room was nice.”

  “Hmm. Cool.” Luke wandered toward a newspaper- and gift-shop, and we drifted that way with him. He didn’t dwell, instead falling into step on my other side and brushing his arm against mine.

  Was that on purpose? Had he always made casual contact with me when we walked side-by-side? No. I would have noticed.

  Then again, I’d convinced myself for years that neither of them was flirting with me. That Chase wasn’t interested. That Luke was just extra friendly.

  “Rumor is some couple up in Business Class was practically fucking each other. Did you see them?” Luke’s question was calm. Casual.

  If I’d been drinking, I would have choked. I could picture it in my head.

  Chase traced his fingers over the back of my knuckles. “Practically fucking isn’t accurate at all.”

  My body was on fire, and so was my face, but for very different reasons. I needed to find the closest hole to climb in and hide.

  “Hmm...” Luke was saying a lot of that today. “I hope the show was good.”

  Chase chuckled. “You like a good show?”

  “All depends on who the stars are.”

  “You would have loved this one,” Chase said.

  Forget the hole. I needed to yank both of them into a corner and do something hot enough to land us on a porn site. Embarrassment was fading, replaced with that rush I felt when the stewardess asked us to stop. The potential of both humiliation and someone else getting off to the sight of the three of us together lingered on my tongue. I could feel Luke’s hands gliding up my chest, his lips on my neck. All while Chase worked his fingers lower, sucked on my throat—

  “Annie?” Chase’s tone implied I’d missed something.

  I shook the fantasy aside. It was hard to walk and clench my thighs together at the same time, anyway. “Sorry—what?”

  “Sushi tonight? Chase knows a fantastic place.” If Luke was asking, was he going to invite everyone in the office?

  I was turned on by the idea of an audience, but that was different than dinner with co-workers I barely knew outside of video conferences. “Work?” Wow, that came out dumb. “I mean, I’m not sure I know how to deal with a night off.”

  Luke tickled his fingers lightly along my arm. “I’m ordering you to take tonight off, as your boss, and the three of us will go explore the city for a few hours.”

  Yes, sir. The sassy retort froze on my lips. “Yes, sir.” Maybe I shouldn’t have said that out loud. Too late to take it back.

  We reached the carousel for our bags, and Chase slid an arm around my waist.

  The gesture was warm. Comforting. Possessive. Was I okay with that?

  “I didn’t realize the two of you were more than friends.” Luke’s tone was impossible to read. Then again, I’d been misreading it for a long time.

  “We weren’t. Were?” And now I couldn’t speak. Did Luke think I’d been making out with him even though I was with someone else? “Just friends. We were just friends before.”

  “We had a conversation on the plane.” Chase’s emphasis was distinct.

  “Hmm.”

  I was starting to really dislike Luke’s non-committal grunt. Mostly because I couldn’t interpret it.

  “Did it go better than the conversation you and I had?” Luke asked

  Chase squeezed my hip. “She gave me permission to try to win her over.”

  “Then I want the same.” There wasn’t much room for misinterpretation in Luke’s words this time.

  That didn’t stop me from asking, “What?”

  Luke stepped in front of me and held my gaze. “I want permission to try to win you over.”

  Were they really almost-fighting over me? This wasn’t happening. There was no way. I held up my arm and pinched. Ow.

  “Anne?” Luke raised an eyebrow.

  Chase dipped his head near my ear. “It’s not a dream. I promise.” The heat of his stage whisper danced over my skin.

  “Dream-you would say that.” I refused to be stunned silent, even as I struggled to process what was going on.

  “There’s a dream version of me?” Chase trailed his nose along the shell of my ear. “What else does he say? Would you like me to provide him with some explicit dialog for his next appearance?”

  This was over the top. I loved the idea and the attention, but it was too much. Straight out of some imitation of an Alpha hero always gets what he wants romance novel. “You’re both yanking my chain.” That had to be it. Including those kisses? “There are hidden cameras?” The kind that land us on Smut Central? My brain needed to stop. “Will I see this on YouTube in the morning and have to pray it doesn’t go viral?”

  Chase spun me to face him, and cupped my cheeks between his hands. A whimper stuck in my throat at the intensity in his gaze and touch.

  “I would never do that to you.” He sounded hurt, but he wasn’t as sparkling good and innocent as that tone implied.

  “You told Sadie that Jax called her names, and you did it to keep them apart.”

  Chase dropped his hands, tilted his head back, and let out a frustrated groan, before looking at me again. “Ten years ago. Fuck. We all made mistakes in high school. I thought we were over that.”

  Luke grasped my hand, drawing my attention, and rested a finger under my chin.

  I was learning to like that as much as I disliked his generic hmm.

  “I don’t know what he’s up to, but I’m not willing to let you go that easily unless you tell me to leave you alone,” he said. “The only thing holding me back was I don’t want you to think—”

  “That my job is on the line. I get it.” That was the one thing I did understand. But this appeared to be exactly what the two of them said it was—these gorgeous men were fighting over me.

  A barking laugh escaped my throat.

  Chase and Luke stared at me, questioning expressions on their handsome faces.

  “Care to share the joke?” Chase asked.

  That was what I wanted to say to them. This was happening—except shit like this didn’t happen in the actual world.

  “Um... Okay. You can both try to win me over.” It felt ludicrous, saying the words, but at the same time, I was looking forward to the ride.

  “Good.” Chase grinned. Gripping my hips, he pulled me back to him and crushed his mouth to mine.

  A fresh wave of desire spilled through me. God, I loved everything about his kisses. How was this my life now?

  Chapter Nine

  My lips were still tingling when Chase stepped off the shuttle for his car-rental company.

  “Looks like I need to up my game.” Luke sounded more entertained than put out.

  I fell into step beside him as we headed for our car. “Please don’t.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I can only handle so much smoldering intensity.” I kept the teasing in my reply. We reached the car, and I set my bags on the ground.

  Instead of opening the trunk, Luke turned to me. “And you’re getting your fill from Chase?” Amusement overrode the hurt in his voice. He stepped toward me, and I backed up until I collided with a cement pillar. “You don’t want to be pressed against the wall?” Luke grabbed my wrists in a single swoop and pinned them over my head. His body molded to mine. “Devoured, until your legs are weak and your
voice is hoarse?” he growled against my skin.

  I didn’t fight my whimper. “I never said that.”

  “You sure?” Luke let go and put some distance between us.

  Did. Not. Like. I wanted his body fitted against mine again. “I just don’t want to lose the fun.” I could do this. Handle the flirting and be normal around him. I’d been psyching myself up to do that for more than a day now. It came more easily than I thought. “All I’m saying is, give me as much Ryan Reynolds as Gomez Adams.”

  “So... masturbating with a unicorn?” Luke winked before turning away to load our things into the back of the car.

  “I could get into it if that’s your thing.”

  “I don’t come in rainbows.”

  I laughed at the visual and his playful retort. “Probably good.”

  “Happy to prove it.”

  My brain stalled, but only for a heartbeat this time. I could do this. “Even better. Do you think if you ate a handful of Skittles first, I could taste the rainbow?”

  He sucked a sharp breath through his teeth and shook his head. “The things you do to my imagination...”

  Me? To him?

  “We should get going.” Luke opened the passenger door for me. “Otherwise, we may not make it to the office.”

  Responsibility warred with desire, as I slid into the car. “Office. Right.”

  We left airport parking and were pulling onto the freeway, when Luke’s phone rang. Just a few minutes earlier, and I’d think the damn thing was trying to interrupt us.

  He pulled it from his pocket and handed it to me. “Anyone important?”

  “Scott.” My gut sank. Did the company CTO regularly make casual calls to Luke? “Answering. Putting on speaker.” I swiped as I talked.

  “Hello.” Luke spoke loudly and clearly.

  “How far out are you?” Scott was usually friendly. Chatty. The way he cut straight to the point was less than reassuring.

  His abrupt tone kicked my stomach into my shoes. “Just left the airport,” I said.

  “Good. You’re both there. Something came out of Sacramento today.” Scott let out a long sigh. “Someone published the entire game plot, including our surprise ending, online.”

  “What? Why?” I knew why, but it was easier to ask than admit someone with access to that information—someone so close to this project—was trying to fuck us.

  “Next steps.” Luke had lost any hint of playfulness and was all business.

  Hot.

  “Chloe’s already released five other variations in the same forums, to confuse things. Yoshi is handling everything else public-facing,” Scott said. “Zane emailed you machine information. I need you to find out who this came from and deal with them.”

  “On it. We’ll check in soon,” Luke said.

  Dread hung heavy in my limbs as we disconnected from Scott. As if missed deadlines weren’t enough, now we were dealing with sabotage—espionage?—too. “Nice of someone to set up a welcome present for us.” My sarcasm came out with more bitterness and less teasing than I intended.

  “Yay.” Luke scrubbed a hand through his short hair. “When we get in, Mike and I are going to talk. I need you chatting with developers. Keep it informal. Fast. Don’t plan on getting a lot of your own coding done today.”

  “Right.” I hated the idea of losing a day of work, but this was important too.

  Luke rested a hand on my knee. The shock of heat was muffled by stress. “I’m glad you’re here.” He gently squeezed my leg. “No one else I trust more to get us through this.”

  It wasn’t filthy or sexy, but it did summon a ball of warmth in my chest that spread through me.

  We spent the rest of the drive modifying our plans for the week. I watched the scenery pass by in a hazy blur. I’d taken several trips out here, and always loved the scenery. Today, I couldn’t see a lot of it.

  Wildfires were tearing through the hills, not too far away, and the air was choked with smoke. We had summer fires in Salt Lake, but nothing this severe. I hated that so many of our programmers were dealing with the evacuation and the fear of losing their homes on top of a deadline and a visit from the boss.

  We arrived at the building and headed straight for the floor where the developers worked. My first few times here, doing this felt awkward. Like walking into a stranger’s home and making myself comfortable. But now, it was almost as familiar as walking into my own office.

  The location Luke, Chase, and I worked in was Rinslet’s international headquarters. Rinslet didn’t have the same kind of massive campus that some of the bigger tech companies had, but they owned the entire building downtown, and it was one of the taller ones in the city. There was a little of everything on-site—cafeteria, gym, gaming room.

  This was a satellite location for developers, so we only took up a floor. Everyone in the open-floor plan had their heads down and fingers flying over keys when we stepped into the room. A few people looked up, and then several more, and whispers fluttered through the air.

  Luke growled softly. “Mike was supposed to let them know,” he muttered.

  “He’s as busy as the rest of us.” My defense came instinctively. I preferred to think the best of most people, but in Mike’s case, I wasn’t so sure that was wise.

  “Hey, guys.” Speak of the devil. Mike strode from his office, meeting us halfway. “I hope your flight was good. Glad you’re here. Conference Room Gamma is set up for you to work in. You speak to Scott yet?”

  Luke nodded. “You and I need to talk.” He glanced at me. “You good?”

  “Yeah.” I was in my element here. There shouldn’t be any hidden surprises, like my boss and my best friend’s brother agreeing to compete for my affection.

  I headed for the conference room and set up my laptop. I was getting ready to talk to the first person on my schedule, when my phone buzzed with a group text from Sadie and Lyn.

  How was your flight? Sadie asked.

  Shit, I forgot to text them when I landed. And I needed to tell them what had me distracted, too. How was I going explain this to Sadie?

  Chapter Ten

  I’m here. I’m good. Sorry about the delay. I sent the message.

  In my mind, I added, I would have replied sooner, but I was lost in the afterglow of your brother fingering me on the plane. That wasn’t going to work so great. It wasn’t as though I intended to keep what was going on with Chase a secret, but Sadie, Lyn, and I shared all sorts of details about our love lives, and this one wasn’t going to be so simple to dive into.

  Did Chase already tell her? Probably not, but it was possible.

  As long as you’re all right, Lyn wrote.

  Was I? I was a little confused, but the adrenaline racing through my veins, and the way my pulse whimpered every time I thought about either man, said I was pretty fucking good. I am. And as soon as I get home, I have to tell you both something. What if Chase did tell Sadie first? It’s a good thing, and I’m not keeping it a secret, so if you hear anything before then, just remember this is a story told better face-to-face.

  Yeah, I was that friend who typed the mile-long single text messages.

  That’s not fair, Lyn said.

  Sadie’s reply was only a second behind. Especially with a lead-in like that.

  True. Hearing I had to wait for more info would drive me nuts, but I had to look Sadie in the eye when I told her. I know.

  When are you free? Sadie asked.

  No clue. Today is going to be nuts.

  Facetime us, Lyn said. First thing in the morning tomorrow. We’ll be waiting.

  Sounds fair. TTYL

  The rest of my day could go that smoothly, and I wouldn’t complain.

  I dove into work.

  A few minutes later, Luke joined me.

  There wasn’t much conversation. Deadlines called, and we both had a long to-do list that had grown even more with this morning’s security breach.

  Time ticked away, punctuated by the clack of fingers fl
ying over keyboards.

  Was Luke staring at me? I looked up to meet his gaze.

  “You’re adorable when you’re focused. Have you ever noticed?” He asked.

  How was I supposed to reply to that? The attention was amazing, but it also felt almost like too much. “Have I ever noticed how I look when I’m working? Can’t say I have.”

  “I’m pouring on too much, aren’t I?” He scrubbed his face. “It’s been killing me, to keep my distance.”

  I should be concentrating on my work, but I couldn’t turn away from this. “Why now? Not-that-I-mind.” I swallowed, trying to gather my thoughts. “But, why now?”

  “That kiss the other night undid me. Everything was right in that room.”

  “Including the broken code?”

  Luke’s smirk was worth the joke. “Maybe not that part. But when I saw you with Chase in the airport, I had to say something. This can’t be a total surprise. I’ve never completely held back.”

  Yeah, but thanks to my past, I didn’t trust the little voice in my head telling me, he’s flirting. I still didn’t completely trust it. I shouldn’t be bothered that Luke was laying the attention on so heavily, if I needed a flashing beacon to get me to listen. Then again, I’d seen such bold affection mean bad things in the past. “I wasn’t sure.”

  “And now?”

  I still wasn’t sure. How fucked up was that? “I’m looking forward to the discovery stage.” And I wanted to change the subject. If I lingered on Luke while I was in the middle of overthinking him, I’d say things I couldn’t take back. “We need to shift the QA schedule on the Groundrim final boss. We have before Sloth City, but the components won’t be ready first.” Work-talk—my trusty conversation fallback.

  “Where are you looking?” Luke pushed back from his laptop and came around to stand behind me.

  “Here.” I pointed at the project timeline and forced myself to ignore how close he stood. That with the dip of his head, he could kiss my neck.

  “Hmm.” He leaned in, resting his hands on the table and bracketing my arms. “Make the change. Let Ben know.” Ben was our project manager.