She believed their initial deal had changed but if he said no, that they were still on a track to nowhere, then everything ended, and she could not let that happen. Not yet.
“I like what you’re wearing now,” he said.
“Because I’m not wearing a bra.”
That got his gaze bouncing up and down again. “For the record, as I’ve stated several times, I prefer you without clothing.”
She somehow knew he would say that. “I can only wear your tees for so many days.”
He rolled back his shoulder and dropped his keys on her dresser. “Again, you resolve that by not wearing anything.”
“Always the problem solver.”
He folded his arms over his chest and stared her down. “Is something else going on?”
Maybe if she circled back around, she could get there. Ask without actually asking. “Saturday through Monday I was with you, then had to run back here to get work clothes.”
“And Wednesday you stayed all day.”
Now that they had the calendar straight . . . “I think you’re missing the point.”
“We don’t live that far apart.”
The man couldn’t pick up a clue if it dropped on his feet. “It’s really not a mileage issue.”
“Do you want to sleep alone?”
Man, if he’d gotten there then they really were on two different pages. “No.”
“Okay then.” He threw up his hands. “What’s the problem?”
She debated, she really did. It had been more than a week since they’d gotten together but felt like a lifetime to her. A great lifetime. One she wanted to continue, so instead of fighting and hitting the issue head-on, she parried. “Nothing.”
“Of course, now that we’re here.” He glanced around her apartment. “And there’s a bed.”
“Subtle.”
He unknotted his tie. “And it’s late.”
“Are you undressing?”
He froze in the process of taking off his jacket. “I can get inside you with the suit on, if you prefer.”
Like that, fire ripped through her and worries about the status of what they were ceased to matter. Not when he stood there, looking hot, having made the trip over just to see her. Well, not just see, but he didn’t have to show up and he did.
That had to mean something.
She saw the wariness in his eyes as he stood there with his arms half in the jacket and half out. “Take it all off but the glasses.”
“You are consistent.”
“And yet I have to keep reminding you about the glasses.”
“I’ll make a deal with you.” He draped the coat over the chair and started on the buttons of his shirt.
“I’m listening.” And watching . . . and wanting.
“You take something off, I’ll take something off.”
She loved when he negotiated in the bedroom. “I’m wearing less.”
The tsk-tsk sound came first. Then he threw her a you-poor-thing frown. “That’s not my fault.”
“You’re the one who told me not to wear underwear.”
“My tie is off.” He hitched his chin in her direction. “Remove the shirt.”
“This doesn’t seem equal.” But she did it. Swept the material up and off, letting it float to the floor.
“My shirt for your shorts.”
She ignored the part where she seemed to be taking clothes off at a faster rate than he was. “Deal.”
She hooked her thumbs in the waistband and wiggled out of cotton shorts. Shifted her hips back and forth, taking a little extra time and stretching when she stood up straight again. If he wanted her naked, she’d give him naked.
He whistled. “Damn.”
When he didn’t say anything else, she continued to stand there. The air conditioner had cooled off the room but his heated stare kept her toasty warm.
But she was dying to touch him. If the growing bulge in his pants was any indication, he was ready, too. “You have to say what’s next. This is your game, Sebastian.”
“And I feel like I’m winning.” Right as she started toward him, he shook his head. “Get on the bed.”
Looked like her man was ready to play. Good, because she was ready to make him work for it. She sat right on the edge of the bed with her legs tight together. “Like this?”
“Turn over.” He stepped closer as his shirt hit the floor. “On your stomach in the middle of the bed.”
Her stomach performed a little dance. “One of your favorite positions.”
“How did you know?”
“You were pretty enthusiastic last time I was in this position.”
“It shows off your ass.” He signaled for her to get moving. “And when I’m behind you I can squeeze your tits.”
Her muscles refused to work but she somehow flipped over. Even as her rapid heartbeat threatened to kill her, she spread her fingers over the comforter. “You are a very naughty boy tonight.”
The bed dipped when his knee touched the mattress. Her body rolled slightly until it leaned against his. The material of his pants scratched against her bare side.
“I’m about to get naughtier,” he promised.
His blue tie came into her line of vision and the excitement pumping through her brought her to the verge of a full-body shake. “Whatcha doing?”
“Tying you to the headboard.” He slid the smooth silk over her wrists in a figure eight then slipped the end around the headboard post. There was a thwapping sound as he pulled the knot tight. “Problem?”
Need bubbled inside her and she could barely keep her head up. “No.”
“I love how you embrace your sexuality.”
Fingers brushed up her legs. Then she was on her knees with her upper body against the mattress and her arms stretched out above her.
He walked around and a zipper screeched through the room. “So pretty.”
She couldn’t see him, but she heard the shuffle of clothes and footsteps as he moved around. Moving her head back and forth, she swiveled, trying to get a good look. “Less talk, more action.”
“How about this?” His hands skimmed over her ass and down to the back of her upper thighs. “And this?” One hand traveled farther and a finger slipped inside her.
“Your hands are amazing.”
“Is there any other part of me you like?” The front of his legs touched the back of hers.
She tried to say something but the outline of his erection, the way he rubbed it against her, stole her breath. All she could manage was a half-strangled sound.
He leaned over her until his stomach touched her back. “What was that?”
“All of you.”
“Good answer.”
The opened condom wrapper landed on the bed beside her head. She couldn’t reach for it. Could barely move. Bast had her pinned to the bed with his body. The tip of his cock slid along the seam from her ass down to her slick wetness. Back and forth, teasing until her body quaked.
She pushed back against him, straining the tie until the edges dug into her skin. “Deeper.”
“Oh, I don’t think so.” If anything he slowed the brush against her, dragging the tip through her a fraction of an inch at a time.
“Sebastian.”
“The way you say my name is so hot.”
When she tried to drag him in, he stopped her with a hand on her lower back. Pressing, he shifted her upper body back to her elbows and held her there with his palm.
“Please.” The way he built the pressure inside her had her fighting for breath. Her insides scrambled and her mind turned to mush. She wanted hot and fast and him all over her.
But he denied her that final release.
“We’re going to take our time tonight.” His hand traveled up and down her back in time with the gen
tle rub of his cock over her.
Her palms fell open but every other part of her clenched and tightened. “I’ll beg.”
“Yes, you will.”
“How can I make you go faster?” She couldn’t drive back into him because his hand held her still. She couldn’t grab him because her wrists were tied. She laid there open and vulnerable . . . and loving every minute of it.
“Not going to happen.” But his breathing picked up and his voice dropped sexy deep.
Guided by his hand, his cock slipped further inside her. He filled her halfway and stopped. Not moving turned out to be a new form of sensual torture.
This time she pulled on the tie, crushing the fabric in her fists. “You’re killing me.”
“We can’t have that.” He pushed inside her then with one long thrust.
The friction sent her body bucking and her mind reeling. He slid out, steady and slow, driving her insane with the slow speed. She needed him to pick up, to do something to break through the tightening inside her.
“I’ll say your name.” She would make any bargain, offer anything.
He leaned down until his chest touched her back. “I want you to chant it.”
When he pulled back again, she did.
TWENTY-ONE
The next night Bast grabbed Elijah out of his claustrophobic office and dragged him to the club for dinner. Eli never complained but he’d spent an unusual amount of time staring out the car window and grumbling. And now he sat in the booth with his back to the bar and the man behind hit.
A punch of guilt hit Bast. The trip gave him the opportunity to see Kyra for the first time since early that morning. See and admire. Eli, in full bodyguard mode, had little choice but to come along.
Bast glanced over at Kyra and caught a smile. Then he looked across the table and saw nothing but Elijah’s dark hair. “I know you’d rather not be here.”
“I have to eat.” Eli never looked up from the file in front of him. He studied it as if his life depended on it.
“Eli, I get—”
“Aren’t you going to say hello to your girlfriend?” Eli flipped a page. Then another. “Maybe drag her into the back for the few minutes.”
After a quick look around the dining room, Bast leaned in and lowered his voice. He hoped it would blend in with the mumble of voices and clanking of silverware and dishes. “Could you maybe keep it down?”
Closing the file, Eli looked up. “It’s still a secret?” His smile made it clear he knew it was.
Bast fought off the urge to fire him just because. “Yes.”
Taking his time, drawing out the moment for maximum drama, Eli took a long drink from the glass in front of him. “She slept at the house all weekend and at the start of this week. Then there’s last night when I got to sit in my car outside her apartment and wait for you.”
“I didn’t ask you to do that.”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s the job.”
This is what happened when you moved a former undercover operative into the downstairs apartment. He conducted surveillance. Bast understood the tendency but he didn’t appreciate being the target. “When did you get so fucking nosy?”
Eli’s frown suggested he wasn’t impressed with the outburst. “I’m watching over you, which right now means I’m looking out for her, too.”
Well, shit. He had a point. It was an angle Bast ignored. If someone wanted to get at him and saw her, she’d be in the firing line. And he’d be the one who put her there. That meant he had to do a full assessment of the danger to him. If it meant danger to her, he had to pull back. The one thing he absolutely did not want to do.
He’d handle that tomorrow. Right now he had another line to draw. “I appreciate that, but me being with her is not a topic for discussion.”
Eli frowned. “Why?”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re obviously into Kyra.”
At the mention of her name, Bast had to fight off the desire to look for her in the room. “This isn’t your business.”
“I’m just saying, you may as well spill. Becca knows.” Eli located her in the room and nodded in her direction. Then he pointed at Jarrett. “I’d say your best friend knows.”
“He doesn’t.” Bast had no idea how Eli figured out the Becca information, but he got Jarrett wrong. The second Jarrett found out he would hunt Bast down and that hadn’t happened. Bast knew it was coming and tried to figure out the best way to get there and get it over with.
“If I can decipher your tell, he can.” Eli just kept drinking, as if they weren’t having the most infuriating, too personal conversation ever. “Then there’s the other thing.”
A voice in Bast’s head screamed for him to ask. “What?”
“The staring.”
That wasn’t true. He demanded secrecy and knew how to play his role. “I don’t—”
“You don’t drool, but you’re right on the edge.”
That hit a bit too close to the truth. “I can fire you.”
Elijah shrugged. “Go ahead.”
“You’re not an easy man to threaten.”
“Or kill.” Eli emptied the glass and put it back on the table with a soft thud. “You may want to keep that in mind.”
Kyra appeared at the side of the table. She wore her usual work uniform and a sunny smile. “Good evening, Mr. Jameson.”
Eli scoffed. “You make her call you by your last name?”
That just made him sound like a dick, and Bast didn’t like that one bit. “It’s club policy.”
“Makes me wonder what happens when you’re alone together.”
Kyra’s eyes widened as she stared at Eli. “Wait, you know?”
“About you two?” Eli shot her a get-a-clue look. “I would point out I live downstairs from Bast right now.”
“He knows not to talk.” Bast said it more as a warning for Eli than a fact for Kyra.
And Eli immediately blew it. “Who the hell would I tell?”
“I can’t even deal with this right now.” Kyra glanced around then bent in a little closer. “Could I have a word with you?”
Bast couldn’t think of a worse place for a so-called private chat. “How?”
“Want me to leave?” Eli was already shifting to the end of the booth to get up.
“You could go talk with Wade,” she said in a singsongy voice. “Yeah, you’re not the only one who knows personal things about people.”
Bast bit back a smile over the way the amusement left Eli’s face. “She has you there.”
He swore under his breath. “Your brother is an—”
“We use the word ‘difficult,’” Kyra said.
“Right. Excuse me.” Eli didn’t wait another minute. He slid out of the booth and headed away from the bar. In a few steps, he met up with Becca. It said something about how little he wanted to talk to Wade that he chose to go to her instead.
Kyra watched him leave. “I see what you mean. He’s clearly still into Wade.”
“Understatement.” If anything, Bast found Elijah even more torn up about Wade lately. He went from looking sad but hopeful to shutting down completely. “What’s up?”
“That was my question.”
Clearly he missed a step. Bast had no idea where. “I don’t get it.”
“About tonight.” She rolled her eyes. “You should see your face.”
He guessed she saw confusion because that was the emotion bouncing around inside him. That and a healthy dose of lust. “I’m trying to figure out where you’re going with this.”
“Am I invited over tonight or not?” She barely opened her mouth as she asked the question.
For a second all he could do was look at her and wonder how this part of their communication kept misfiring. He thought they’d worked that out last night when he went to h
er place and almost ordered her into his bed. “Of course.”
“You say that like it’s a foregone conclusion.”
Wasn’t it? “I figured you’d come over after work, or I can come get you.”
“Why don’t we meet at the corner and I’ll crawl in the trunk so no one can see us?” Her anger shot out and smacked him.
Her mood could change on a word and this time he had no idea why. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.”
A woman did not make that comment without trying to make a point. He had to be slow this evening because he couldn’t ferret out what lesson he should be learning. “I’m thinking something.”
“You just assumed I’d come over.”
Well, yeah. “Do you not want to?”
“You’re being obtuse.”
Before Bast could think of an answer, Elijah stood beside Kyra. Somehow the rest of the room stayed in motion. Except for Wade who all but ignored the server in front of him in favor of watching Elijah and the unexpected party at Bast’s table.
“Can I come back now?” Elijah looked down at Kyra. “Whoa. Are you okay?”
She kept her focus on Bast. “Your boss is annoying me.”
“Let’s not involve Eli in this.”
Elijah nodded. “That would be good.”
“You ask me, Bast. At the very least, you invite me.” Her voice rose as the sentence continued. By the time she got to the last word, a man at the next table glanced in their direction.
“I knew I should have gone outside,” Elijah mumbled as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.
Bast didn’t care about the show they gave the room or Eli or anything else. Kyra seemed to be laying some new sin at his door, and he refused to accept it. “Didn’t I do that when I said I was coming here for dinner?”
She shot him a you-will-pay-for-this-later glare. “You’re unbelievable.”
Then she was off. With a pivot, she walked off and more than one person moved out of her way as she stalked by the bar and kept going.
Bast had no idea what just happened. He knew he’d have to apologize but he’d be damned if he knew for what.
Eli took the seat across from Bast again. “I thought you were supposed to be good with women.”
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