Realizing that he was only a few short hours away from the start of his own new day, he lay down across his bed. They had tomorrow, he thought, as he reached for the light on the nightstand, sending the room into darkness. And tomorrow he was going to ensure they cleared the air and said whatever it was that needed to be said. Because the next time he kissed her, Alexander thought, he had no intentions of letting her slip out of his arms.
Chapter Eight
By nine o’clock the next morning Zachary had already run his first ten miles for the day. He’d spent an hour in the gym, working on his chest and triceps with a weight trainer handpicked by his brother, and was walking on a treadmill when Sarai came into the room. She had a client with her, and she stopped for only a quick minute to say good morning before moving off to the other side of the gym.
When Alexander entered the space and moved to his brother’s side, she was already a good twenty minutes into putting the tall redhead through her paces. He waved in her direction, his smile wide; then he moved to the empty treadmill beside his brother and engaged the unit to a modest run. His friend Dan joined them.
“We need to get your endurance up and work on your core. You’ve gotten spongy around the middle.”
“Spongy? Maybe a little soft but I’m definitely not spongy!” Zachary laughed.
“Says you,” his brother quipped. “You’re starting to look like your father around your midsection. Both of you look like you’re about to deliver any day now.”
Dan laughed heartily.
Zachary chuckled with them. “Your father’s been pregnant for a while now. I don’t plan to get that bad!”
“Then you better increase the speed on that treadmill because you’ve got a good ways to go!”
The three men all increased their speed, their low jog shifting to a moderate run. Dan changed the conversation. “I’m hearing good things about Dr. Montri. She’s becoming very popular around here.”
The two brothers both looked in her direction. Sarai was laughing, her head tossed back over her shoulders at something the other woman had just said.
Alexander nodded. “She is impressive. Beautiful and intelligent.”
Zachary snorted. He cut an eye in his brother’s direction. “So what’s going on with you two? How’d your date go?”
Dan tossed a glance toward Alexander. “Really? You took her on a date? Did we not have a conversation about you dating her? Specifically about you not doing that!”
Zachary leaned forward to stare at the man. “He cooked her dinner at his house!”
Dan shook his head. “I don’t know what we’re going to do with you. I swear!”
Alexander shook his head. “It’s not like that. Sarai and I have great chemistry. I really like her.”
“Don’t you have rules about dating your employees?” Zachary questioned, his breath coming in short pants.
“Yes!” Dan interjected. “We have rules!”
Alexander chuckled. “And because everyone knew I would break those rules is why I set up the hierarchy such that I have no influence over hiring or firing.”
“I know that’s right!” Dan said. “We already risk being sued with some of your brother’s stunts. There’s no way the advisory board would let him have control over personnel too. That would have been like throwing lighter fluid on a fire.”
“You say that like I have no moral compass or self-control.”
“He says it like he knows you,” Zachary joked.
Dan nodded. “So how did it go?”
“What?”
“Your date.”
“Oh,” Alexander smiled. “We had a really nice time. She’s really something special.”
There was a moment of pause. For a split second Alexander could almost see his brother’s mind shifting into overdrive. He met the look his twin was giving him. “What?”
“Sarai is special so don’t you forget it. If you’re looking to hit it and quit it she’s not the one.”
“Is that what you think of me?” Alexander asked. “You actually think that’s the only reason I’m interested in her?”
His brother shrugged his broad shoulders. “How would I know what to think? You’ve been chasing after her since you found out she and I were friends. For all I know you might just be chasing after her to get even with me.”
Alexander pushed the STOP button on his machine and came to an abrupt halt. He turned to give Zachary his full attention. “You really don’t want to go there with me. If anything I’ve been chasing her since she walked through the door, before I knew you two were acquainted. And I have never been that kind of man. I would never mistreat her or any other woman.”
“I’m just saying,” Zachary continued. “She’s my best friend and I won’t see her hurt by you or anyone else.”
“You don’t want to see who hurt?” Sarai suddenly asked, having snuck up on the conversation. Her presence startled both men, the tension between them wafting aimlessly with nowhere to go.
Zachary tossed his brother a look before lifting his eyes in her direction. “Me. Alexander is trying to work me to death and I don’t want to hurt anything. I was saying I don’t want to see me get hurt.”
She looked from one brother to the other, knowing a little white lie when she heard it. Whatever the two had been discussing had left them both twitchy. “Is that all?”
Alexander shrugged his broad shoulders, his expression smug. “Yeah, really, it was nothing.”
Sarai shook her head. “Are you free for lunch, Mr. Barrett?” she asked.
Alexander grinned. “I am, Dr. Montri. In fact, I kept my calendar open hoping you’d have time to spend with me.”
“Can I come?” Zachary asked.
Sarai tossed him a look. “You’re on a special diet, remember? They’ve got your meal prepped and ready for you in the cafeteria.”
“You’re going to do me like that?” Zachary pouted.
Dan laughed. “Dr. Montri, I’m going to need to see you in my office later. I really need you to sign some release forms absolving us of any liability should things between you and Mr. Barrett go south. I’m sure our attorneys would insist on it.”
Sarai looked from him to Alexander.
Color flushed his face as he gave her another shrug of his shoulders. “He’s joking,” Alexander said to her as he moved to her side. He tossed a look over his shoulder, he and his twin exchanging gazes one last time. “We can revisit our conversation about your pain later,” he said.
Zachary nodded his agreement, his eyes narrowed, his brow furrowed. He watched as Alexander grabbed Sarai’s hand and pulled her toward the exit door. He and Dan had come to a stop. Dan shook his head as they cut an eye at each other.
“I really wasn’t joking,” Dan muttered.
* * *
“I don’t think Dan was joking,” Sarai said. She lifted a forkful of lobster ravioli in a sage butter sauce past her thin lips. “Have any other women at the gym had to sign disclaimers to date you?”
Alexander gave her a wry smile. “I haven’t dated any of the women at the gym.”
“Not even the brunette at the concession stand?”
He laughed. “I don’t know how that rumor got started! But no, I have never dated her.”
“To hear her tell it you two are well acquainted.”
“Don’t pay any attention to what she tells you. I assure you much of it has been greatly embellished.”
Sarai grinned. “How greatly? Because she spoke quite favorably about you.” She gestured with both her hands, holding them about a foot apart. Her eyebrows were raised. Her expression was teasing.
Alexander laughed heartily, a gut-deep rumble that brought tears to his eyes. When he finally caught his breath, his head waved from side to side. “Do you women really sit around talking about us men like that?”
“Women talk the same way men talk. And you know how you men do sometimes.”
He nodded, his grin still canyon deep. “I personally don
’t do those kinds of things but I know some men who do.”
She giggled. “Okay, if you say so!”
His eyes danced across her face. “I was worried about us,” he said, his tone dropping an octave. “I thought I’d done something last night that might have upset or offended you. You seemed out of sorts when you left my house.”
Sarai sat back in her seat, folding her hands atop the table. “You had me out of sorts. I had to wrap my mind around what I was feeling.”
“And what were you feeling?”
She hesitated for a quick moment, her eyes skating back and forth as she stared down at her plate. She hadn’t anticipated his questions, and the moment suddenly had her nervous. When she lifted her gaze back to his face, he was studying her intently, anxiously awaiting her response.
She took a deep inhale of air and blew the warm breath out slowly. She chose her words carefully. “You had me excited, Alex. When you kissed me I hadn’t expected to feel as intensely about you as I found myself feeling. I wanted to stay. I wanted to make love to you and if I had, I know that it would have been an incredible night.”
“And that would have been a bad thing?”
“It wouldn’t have been the right thing. I don’t want just one night of great sex. I really don’t do hookups. And you and I still don’t know each other well enough yet for it to be anything more than that. But I want more,” she said as she met his gaze evenly.
Still staring at her, Alexander reflected on her statement. I want more. When he’d repeated every word she’d spoken in his head at least a dozen times, he finally nodded his understanding. I want more.
Sarai took a deep breath, her eyes connecting again with his. “There’s something you should know also,” she said, her voice dropping to a loud whisper. She wrung her hands together in her lap.
His brow lifted, and his expression was curious.
Her gaze fell as she continued. “I have been with other men. Well, one other man. I am not a virgin.”
The comment surprised him, his eyes widening. His head bobbed up and down slowly, amusement dancing over his face. “I have been with other women. Many other women. I’m not a virgin either.”
Sarai shifted a quick look in his direction. “I didn’t know if . . .”
He forestalled her comment. “We’re adults. We both have history. I don’t need or want any details of your past unless it’s just something you feel a need to share and I don’t think you want details about mine. But if you ask I will be honest.”
Sarai smiled, looking as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
“Do you hike?” he suddenly questioned.
His swift subject change and question threw her.
“Excuse me?”
“I’d like to take you hiking. It’s one of my favorite things to do when I have some downtime.”
“In Thailand they sometimes take the tourists trekking. I think it’s much the same but I’ve never been hiking.”
“Great! Then I look forward to sharing your first time with you.”
She smiled, the light shining through the window shimmering in her eyes.
He continued. “Do you cook? I mean . . . can you cook Thai food?”
She tilted her head slightly. “I can cook, yes.”
“I’ve never eaten authentic Thai food before. It’s something I’d really like to try.”
“Then I would like to cook for you.”
“Then it’s a date. The minute we both have some free time we’ll go hiking, then we can go back to my place and you can cook. Unless you’d rather do something else?”
She shook her head. “No, that sounds like it would be a lot of fun.”
“Good. I think so too. Let’s push for this weekend or definitely sometime next week.” He reached across the table and dropped his large palm against the back of her hand. His fingertips teased her flesh. The look he gave her was soul deep, causing her to take a swift inhale, holding the air deep in her lungs.
“We can take this as slow, or as fast, as you want, Sarai. And when we make love you won’t have to worry about it only being a one-night thing. Because I want more too. I think what you’re feeling is what I’m feeling and I really want to see where we go with it. I really hope that’s what you want too.”
There was a soft lull in the conversation as she reflected on his comment. Sarai hadn’t held back to prove any point. She didn’t subscribe to a ninety-day rule nor was she holding out because of any sexual reservations or prudishness. For her, taking things slow was more about building a level of trust and comfort between them. A mutual respect that went both ways. Emotion that was between the two of them and had nothing else to do with his brother, or his family, or anyone else who had an opinion about them. She said so, her explanation moving him to pause as they strengthened the foundation they were building on.
When everything was said, Sarai’s expression was light filled, joy shimmering out of every pore. She nodded as she released that breath she’d been holding. “So, now will you tell me what Zachary was saying to you earlier before I interrupted?”
Alex chuckled. “He doesn’t want to see you hurt and he just wanted to make sure my intentions were honorable.”
She blew a sigh. “He shouldn’t have done that. He should not have said anything to you.”
“Yes, he should have. He’s your friend. And he loves you. And if there is ever a time that I can’t protect you I need to trust that my brother will.”
The comment widened Sarai’s eyes and lifted her lips in the faintest of smiles. She watched as he took a bite of his own food. The slow side-to-side gyration of his mouth and his tongue peeking past his lips fired a low flame deep in the pit of her midsection. She laid her own fork against her plate, her hand beginning to quiver.
For another hour the two talked, still sharing information. She learned that he liked to read, and he admitted to enjoying a good romance novel as long as it had a hint of suspense or mystery to it.
“That’s going to be our secret,” he said, chuckling softly. “How would it look if a stud like me was caught with a Harlequin under his pillow?”
She laughed with him. “You keep them hidden under your pillow?”
“No, I mean . . . well . . . you know what I mean! If anyone found out I’d lose my Boys Club card over some mess like that!” His smile was warm and endearing.
“Yes, but it would definitely garner you points in the Girls Club. We love men who are both rugged and in touch with their emotional sides.”
“I’m very in touch with all of myself,” he said. He leaned forward in his seat. “So I can trust you to keep my secret?”
She giggled. “I don’t know anything,” she said. “At least not until I publish my memoirs!”
The laughter between them was abundant, and Alexander liked how her eyes narrowed and her top lip quivered when he teased her. He enjoyed learning her likes and dislikes as they languished easily together, the conversation consuming.
“So, bugs don’t bother you but you’re afraid of birds?”
“Not afraid. They just give me the creeps.”
“All birds or just select breeds?”
“All of them, especially those beady-eyed crows. They make my skin crawl!”
“I like birds!”
“I like cats!”
“I’m not a cat guy. They’re too sneaky. You can’t trust anything that won’t let you pet it.”
“You can pet a cat.”
“On its terms. And they’re temperamental. You can’t trust any animal that will hiss at you when you’re trying to be nice to it. Dogs don’t hiss. Give me a dog over a cat any day.”
They were so enjoying their time together that Alexander had insisted they stay for dessert, ordering a slice of chocolate strawberry cheesecake for them to share. Their waitress delivered the decadent treat with two utensils. He tossed one spoon to the side as he picked up the other. Sarai smiled as he began to feed her, passing her one bite and then t
aking another for himself.
She hummed softly. “Ummm! This is divine!”
He nodded. “It’s good. It’s really good.”
“I wish I could eat like this every day.”
“You could as long as you’re burning off the calories.”
“Is that your professional advice?”
“We’re not having a professional moment. This”—he waved the spoon from side to side—“this is very personal. This is you and I having a very personal exchange.”
She smiled. “I like personal,” she said as she gently cupped her hand around his when he slid the spoon to her lips to savor the last bite of cheesecake.
Alexander leaned forward to press an easy kiss to her mouth, lightly licking at a drop of chocolate that clung to her bottom lip. “I’m liking it too!”
* * *
Back at the gym Sarai completed a stack of client assessments, delivered them to the office, then headed to the weight room. Inside, Zachary was in the newly constructed elevated competition cage, his hands taped as he sparred with someone she didn’t recognize. He was throwing good punches, a level of comfort returning as he dominated his opponent. Alexander peered through the side fencing, his arms crossed over his chest as he assessed his brother’s abilities. He was nodding his head approvingly, sometimes leaning forward to get a better view of the two men in a clinch. He would occasionally shout out a suggestion, but for the most part he was there as an observer, allowing his twin to do what he did best.
She watched as Alexander signaled for the two men to come to a halt. He moved up the short length of steps into the cage, going to stand before Zachary. He gripped him by the wrists, the duo in intense conversation. As he stepped back out, signaling for the two to go again, he caught her eye. His smile was slight as he gave her a quick nod of his head and an eye-wink just before turning his attention back to the brawl in the fight ring.
Sarai stood watching for a few more minutes before easing her way back out of the gym area. She headed to the employee room, grabbed her bag out of her locker, and ended her workday by punching the time clock. Minutes later she was still thinking about Alexander as she found her way back to the luxury neighborhood and the space she’d come to call home.
Guilty Pleasures Page 10
