“I was really out of line. I’m sorry,” he repeated as he made the two steps to the door.
He looked back at her again. She looked like a deer in the headlights, absolutely stunned. Not a reaction he understood. She must be shocked. He must have read her completely wrong. He bolted through the door and flew down the stairs. He couldn’t be trusted anywhere near her.
…
“Wow,” Sophie said to the empty room as the door slammed. She listened to his feet pound the stairs and heard his car start, the tires squealing as he pulled away. She thought about getting off the counter, but her legs were still jelly.
Even with her limited experience, she knew this wasn’t how it was supposed to end. But, wow, that man could kiss. She’d come right there, and he had only kissed her. Granted, there had been some serious grinding involved, but still. Wow.
It took a while before she dared slide off the counter, her legs balking at having to support her. Flipping off the lights, she made it to her bedroom and collapsed onto the bed. She had dreamed hundreds of times over the years of how it would be with him. It had never been that good.
She peeled off her sweats and yoga pants and climbed under the white down comforter. The smooth cotton against her skin provided such a blend of sensations that she was still reeling.
If only she hadn’t bonked her head. Silly, klutzy Sophie. She could be lying beneath him right now, feeling every inch of him inside her. Her body warmed again at the thought. She closed her eyes and wrapped herself around the idea.
It wasn’t fair, really. Daphne had told her he had a rule about only sleeping with women once. It would be awful if she had wasted her turn with David Strong for a few seconds on her kitchen counter. She rolled over, sinking farther into the feather bed.
It had been fantastic. Remembering the feel of his powerful muscles beneath her hands, his broad fingers pulling her closer onto his thick cock made her clench her thighs together. No wonder her body had exploded. Her mind grew foggy as she imagined what might have been. What would be, in her dreams.
…
David slammed the door of his condo behind him and threw his keys at the table in the entryway. He sank onto the couch and his heavy head immediately fell into his hands. There was something seriously wrong with him. Physically wrong.
When had he completely lost impulse control? He’d accused his father many times of thinking with the wrong head, but even dear old Dad had never been this out of bounds. Craig’s voice, tinny from the voicemail, echoed in his ears. I trust you. Yeah, right. Trusted him to act like the old man and nail everything in sight.
He knew he liked women a little more than most. But he controlled it well. He had rules so no one got hurt. He followed the rules, only dated women who knew the score.
Groping Craig’s sister-in-law in her kitchen was wrong on so many levels. He could make a list. Do a cost-benefit analysis. It was unacceptable. He knew better.
But he also knew how it had felt to be there. How she felt beneath his hands, as if she were molded just for him. Which was ridiculous. She was so small he would have split her in two.
He groaned as he got up and walked into the kitchen. It was nearly midnight, but he could maneuver about the condo with ease. The entire side of his condo facing the Willamette was walled in glass. The lights of the city and the docks reflected off the water and into his living room and kitchen.
He opened the fridge and selected from the microbrews inside, then slammed the top against the granite countertop so the cap went flying. Standing in the window, he drained the beer in one long draw.
She probably thought he was a grade A ass, the way he had run out of there. The way she’d looked at him had taken him completely off-guard. He couldn’t even say what it was about the look, just that it had scared him. Scared him because he’d liked it so much.
There was definitely something wrong with him, because the only thing David wanted to do right now was get back in that apartment and finish what he’d started.
“You are one weak bastard,” he told himself as he marched to his bedroom. He peeled off his clothes as he went, until he finally wound up naked in his bathroom. A cold shower, that’s what he needed. Then maybe there would be enough blood in his brain for him to think straight.
…
“Got a minute?” a familiar voice asked from behind David’s office door.
He glanced at the digital readout on his laptop. Nine thirty. He’d been here four hours already. Taking a deep breath, David prepared for the beating he was about to receive.
“Hey, Craig. We need to talk.”
Craig kept half of his body behind the door. “Are you still speaking to me?” David’s eyes widened. Craig must not have talked to Sophie yet.
“Seem to be.” He leaned back in his chair and tried to decide what he was going to say about what happened. He’d been trying to figure it out since he got home last night. “How’s Daphne?” he asked, stalling for more time.
“It’s not good, man.” Craig collapsed in the chair opposite David’s desk. “She says it’ll be fine, but I don’t know. I’ll find out more when we go to the doctor tomorrow. She has to stay in bed from now on.”
“All the time?” David asked, leaning forward. That didn’t sound good.
“Yeah, if this doesn’t work, she might have to stay in the hospital where they can monitor her more closely.” Craig seemed smaller, his gaze intent and yet lost, absolutely terrified.
“It’ll all work out, Craig. Daphne is in terrific shape. She’ll be okay.” He hoped it sounded convincing.
“She can’t handle it if it doesn’t. Neither can I, to be honest.” Craig shook his head. “I’m not here for sympathy. I wanted to talk to you about working from home.” Craig was the SGI corporate nutritionist. He worked out diet plans, wrote a column for the newsletter, and consulted with the personal trainers who passed the information along to the patrons. The Deliver-Ease program he designed, which delivered diet-friendly meals to clients, was a big hit in the area. It was supposed to go regional next month. Not a good time to be stepping back.
“Every day?” David asked, hoping the answer was no.
“I can get all my calls forwarded, and I’ll always be reachable. I don’t want Daphne alone in case something happens.”
He forced a smile. “Isn’t there someone else who could stay with her a couple of days a week? If not, we might have to push back the Deliver-Ease rollout in Washington and Idaho, which would stall the nationwide start date as well.”
“I could see what Sophie could arrange. I couldn’t concentrate unless it was someone I could trust. It’s just until she’s due.”
“And you are scheduled to take paternity leave.” He hated himself for sounding like such a hard-ass.
“You’re absolutely right, man. I know it’s not good. But I need this, David, or I wouldn’t ask. I’ll video conference with my team every day and come in when I can. I’ll make it work.”
“Okay. Keep me posted on whether or not Deliver-Ease can roll regionally.” He’d explain the delay to the board somehow, maybe start looking for someone to manage the program separately, letting Craig design the menus and have someone else supervise it day to day.
“Thank you, for everything.” Craig let out a loud breath and leaned back in his chair. Checking the cell phone on his belt, he turned his attention back to David.
“How did Sophie do with the class?”
“Great,” David said quickly.
“Good, I was concerned. I know it’s awkward. Were you okay with helping her?”
It had only been the most torturous experience of his life. “It’s a tough job.” He tried to sound casual.
“It’s a little out there, but Daphne swears it works better than marriage counseling.”
He snorted a laugh. He could see why.
“I know it’s a lot to ask, but would you be willing to finish it? You understand why I couldn’t ask someone else to help her, right? Ev
en if Daphne can find someone, I couldn’t trust some other guy to do it.”
There was no way he’d let someone else bend Sophie around. “Yeah, I’ll finish the class.”
“Thank you. I really owe you.” Craig checked the phone again. “Sophie was okay with you helping? She wasn’t too embarrassed?”
Embarrassed? That would be him. “No, she was very professional.”
“Good.” Craig nodded. “She’s so inexperienced I wasn’t sure she could pull it off. Daphne must have really worked with her.”
“Inexperienced? I thought she taught a bunch of classes there.”
“She does. She’s a wonderful yoga instructor. I just wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle the material.” Craig leaned in closer. “Sophie’s a virgin.”
“Sophie’s a virgin,” David repeated in disbelief. “Are you sure?”
“She was that convincing, huh? Well, good for her.” Craig arched an eyebrow slightly.
Alarm bells started to sound in David’s head. He forced himself into a poker face. Craig did not need to deal with anything else right now.
“She hasn’t had many opportunities for a social life,” Craig explained. “She insisted on taking care of both their parents long after Daphne wanted to have them in nursing homes, and then she worked crazy hours at her last job. She was working a hundred hours a week when she quit. And she was thirty pounds heavier, so guys probably weren’t asking her out as much.”
He felt his temperature rise. What was it with Craig and Sophie’s weight? She’d looked just fine at the wedding. He’d asked her to dance. She’d shot him down cold, but he’d asked.
“I know she dates,” Craig continued, “but she has the worst luck of any person I’ve ever known. She could have a standup routine. One guy was on his cell phone all through dinner.” Craig checked his own phone again. “Another time, she went out with the nephew of one of the women in her yoga class—the guy told her she was too short.”
“That’s awful.” He squared his shoulders. Sophie couldn’t choose how tall she was.
“And this from a man who only dates blondes over five ten.” Craig smiled. “Which is why I knew you wouldn’t read too much into the class. Someone else might take it the wrong way. Sophie’s book smart, but she’s naive. I don’t want someone to take advantage.”
David’s stomach turned sour. He’d done exactly what Craig was afraid of. Maybe finishing the class wasn’t such a good idea.
They both jumped as Craig’s cell phone chimed to life. It played “Here Comes the Bride”, or would have if Craig had let more than four notes go by.
David’s heart stalled. He knew Daphne’s ring.
“Anything else?” Craig asked, laughing. David relaxed the muscles he didn’t know he’d tensed. Craig turned hung up the cell phone and looked back at his friend. “Staccato Gelato’s tiramisu,” he explained.
David’s eyes widened. “That’s one specific ice cream craving.”
Craig shrugged. “If Daphne isn’t happy, nobody’s happy.”
Once Craig was off on his ice cream mission, David spun in his chair to face the wall of windows behind him. A virgin. He shook his head. Craig could be wrong. She’d worked him all through that class, and she’d been the one who’d kissed him in the kitchen. At least at first.
Maybe he’d done just what Craig had been afraid of, taken her actions in class as a come on and then taken advantage of the situation. Thinking about Sophie and the class sent images of her lithe body dancing across his mind. It made his head and groin ache in equal measure.
He jumped up from the chair, knowing exactly what he needed. A good hard workout, something so intense he wouldn’t have the energy to think. The best gym he’d ever built was only fourteen floors away.
“Mr. Strong, the architects are here. I’ve put then in conference room A.”
He glared at the phone issuing the announcement from his PA. “I’ll be right there.”
Chapter Four
David hadn’t called. Not that Sophie expected him to, really. She’d wanted him to, sure. But with the way he’d run out of her apartment, she knew seeing him again was unlikely. She wasn’t sure quite how she felt about the entire episode, but she’d gladly replayed it in her head the last two nights. In her new version, things didn’t end so abruptly. She sighed wistfully and snuggled deeper into her down parka as she stepped off the bus.
She checked her watch. Eight forty-five. She quickened her pace, wanting to get to Diprima Dolci Italian Bakery by nine. She hadn’t had zeppole in six months, and she was not waiting any longer. The bakery only made zeppole, a rich, yeasted ricotta doughnut, on the last Saturday of the month. She liked to get there at nine when they set them out and they were still warm. That way, she didn’t risk the bakery running out and having to wait another month for a taste.
She’d been abstaining, sticking to Craig’s latest set of diet rules. But she didn’t feel like denying herself anything right now. She’d been working hard. She’d already led two yoga classes today. And now Craig had her rearranging her schedule to sit with Daphne two afternoons a week so he could go in to work. Not that she minded lounging around with her sister. That was a nice break, actually. She just hated the way he had assumed she had nothing better to do.
That she didn’t was beside the point.
Her breath rose in front of her in little puffs as she made her way to the bakery. She didn’t care that Craig would say she was using food as a reward. She’d earned this. As she closed in on the shop, her stomach flipped. There was a line, but there was always a line. Only making zeppole once a month increased demand.
It wasn’t the line, or fear they’d run out of doughnuts, causing her nerves to sizzle. Even from behind and fifty yards away, she recognized David. Sophie shook her head. She could be the man’s stalker. Quickening her stride, she stood up as tall as she could manage in her cross-trainers. A nice four-inch spike heel would be good right about now.
Sophie sidled up next to him, ignoring the disapproving glare from the woman she cut in front of.
“I won’t tell if you won’t.”
David’s expression melted almost instantly from shock to a cocksure grin. “Sophie,” he whispered.
“Ah, you remembered. How sweet.” She stared up at him as she pressed her lips together and tried to read his face. Was he glad to see her or annoyed at the intrusion? She couldn’t tell. “I never would’ve guessed you had a thing for zeppole.”
“Who doesn’t like fried dough covered in powdered sugar?”
She set her fingers against the soft wool of his coat sleeve. “Craig.”
“Don’t let him fool you. The guy used to eat two dozen doughnuts a day trying to bulk up. It didn’t work, but he tried it. Have you had the pignoli?”
“Almond and pine nut cookies? What’s not to love?”
“I know. The cannoli is amazing, too.”
She bobbed her head in agreement. “That’s because they don’t fill them until you order. It’s essential to have them stay crispy.” She released the tension from her shoulders, thankful for the comfortable banter.
“Why don’t you grab that table?” He gestured to a spot being cleared in the back. “Coffee?”
“Chai tea would be great.” Sophie made her way over, sat down, and hugged herself in her coat. And to think she’d worried seeing David would be awkward. He made it easy. But then he made everything easy. There was an effortlessness about him she envied. She’d give anything to be that comfortable.
He came to the table loaded with goodies—zeppole, pignoli, cannoli, and three flavors of biscotti. She snatched a zeppole and moaned as the fritter dissolved in her mouth.
“I have waited so long for this.”
“A month is a long time,” David agreed as he reached for his second.
“It’s been six.” She raised her right hand. “I solemnly vow never to commit such a grievous sin again.”
They both laughed as he dipped an almond biscot
ti into his espresso.
“You are such a bad influence on me,” Sophie said taking a cannoli. “I like it.”
“About that,” David cleared his throat as he shrugged off his coat. “We need to talk about the other night.”
Sophie’s stomach flipped, not a good thing with so much fried dough inside. She set down her half-eaten cannoli. “About me kissing you, or you running away?” She might be terrified, but he didn’t have to know that.
He smiled as he shook his head, then looked her straight in the eye and whispered, “Craig told me you’re a virgin.”
Her eyes widened. She’d been scared before, but now she was mortified. Daphne would have her head for kissing David. “You told Craig that I kissed you?”
“God, no,” he said, leaning closer. “You’re not denying it.”
“I won’t deny it. Lying is too much work. I may omit from time to time, but I never lie.” She folded her arms over her chest and stared back at him.
“I don’t know what you thought was happening, Sophie, but you can’t play those kinds of games with men. If it weren’t for my friendship with Craig, I wouldn’t have stopped.”
“Really.” She grinned and slid her hand across the small table until it reached his.
He pulled away like she’d burned him. “That look. Don’t do that.”
“What do you mean?” she asked innocently.
“You know what. The big eyes and that smile.” He shook his head. “You don’t understand. I would have hurt you.”
“How?” He obviously had no idea how good she’d been feeling.
“What I had in mind wasn’t nice, or gentle.” His eyes darkened as he peered down at her.
She stretched her leg under the table until it found his. “I knew exactly what you had in mind.”
She could tell he was trying to keep away from her, but his legs were too long, and she quickly trapped one of his between her own. His gaze met hers, and she held it. She may not know how to get it, but she knew what she wanted.
…
Compromising Positions (Invested in Love) Page 4
