I was looking at Courtney with pleading eyes, hoping that somehow she could tell me that this was all nothing. That I would shrug this off, just like everything else that came my way, and then we could move on. That Callum Reid wasn’t the man who was going to linger in my mind like this.
But she didn’t tell me any of that. Instead, she smiled in sympathy, then shrugged her little shoulders. “Sorry, honey. We don’t get to pick who we fall for.”
“I am not falling for him!”
“You sure about that?”
No. I was definitely not sure about that, but he would be the absolute worst person to fall for. “I hope so,” I told her honestly. “Because if I do fall for him, it’s going to go bad for me. For my career and my personal life.”
She gave me a considering look, then said, “Maybe.”
“Maybe? What the hell is maybe supposed to mean?”
Sighing, she leaned forward a little. “It means that you never know. Maybe he feels a spark, too, and if you’re really attracted to him—and are worried enough about it that you’re talking about it—then maybe you should just bite the bullet and give it a try. You might be surprised.”
“I am surprised,” I deadpanned. “Surprised that you would give me advice like that. Usually you do so much better.”
She stuck her tongue out at me. “Oh, shut up. I’m just saying you shouldn’t write him off immediately.”
“What would we even base a relationship on? Sex?” I demanded.
“I think you guys have plenty in common.”
Narrowing my eyes at her, I folded my arms across my chest and fixed her with a stare. “Oh really?”
She nodded, smiling prettily. “Callum Reid is basically the male version of Marnie McKenna. Works for a publishing house.”
“Owns a publishing house.”
She ignored me, ticking things off her finger that were apparently similar between me and Callum. “Is stubborn.”
“Obnoxious, more like.”
She added an additional finger for obnoxious and winked at me.
“Ha ha, very funny.”
Grinning, she continued. “Loyal when it counts, devious when it works, a workaholic—I mean, you guys are ridiculously compatible.”
I frowned. I wasn’t sure if being compatible with Callum Reid was exactly a compliment, but I secretly acknowledged that she was right. We did have a lot in common, and not just that, we enjoyed having sex with each other.
“Yeah, well, there’s still one problem,” I told her seriously. “He thinks that this is just a one-off. Or, a two-off, anyway.”
“You slept with him twice? Damn! Way to end that dry spell.”
I waved her off. “Never mind that—would you focus, please?”
She shrugged. “Okay, so he thinks you were just a two-night stand?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Exactly. So all of this is a moot point, anyway. He doesn’t want anything more from me.” I tried not to sound so dejected, but I couldn’t help it. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, I was disappointed that Callum wasn’t an option.
Courtney gave me a sympathetic look, the third one in about ten minutes. “Maybe he’s just resisting, like you are. Honestly, I don’t know. But I think you should take a risk, otherwise you’ll always wonder if there was something there.”
“Don’t you have paperwork or phone calls to make?” I asked her ruefully.
She laughed at me, then stood up. Waving at me, she said, “Think about what I said.”
Right before she left, I called to her. “Courtney?”
“Yeah?”
“You sat in the chair where Callum’s naked butt was.”
She froze, and then she shuddered. “Ew, you are fucking gross. I need a damn shower.”
I laughed at her as she left, slamming the door behind her.
Trent
I’d put off making a decision for as long as I could. I needed to sign with someone soon, otherwise they’d have to fill up their quota for the year and I’d have to sit on my manuscript. Unless I wanted to do self-publishing, but fuck that. It was a pain in the ass, and while I appreciated how many self-publishers were out there these days, I didn’t want to deal with the hassle. My name was big enough that I could go with a well-known publisher, and damn it, I was going to. They could take care of all the hard stuff. All I had to do was write.
I had my phone in my hand. The number was already punched in, waiting, but I hadn’t quite made myself dial it yet. It sucked because I really was torn.
Not about my decision. I’d already decided I’d go with Tarvish. I’d been 99 percent sure from the get-go, and when it came down to the wire, I had to go with Callum. He had a good company, he genuinely thought highly of my work, and he was offering the same deals as Marnie was. In the end, our friendship was the swing vote, and it was enough.
Unfortunately, Courtney Hughes worked for Marnie McKenna and Marnie worked for S&W Publishing. So now I had to call Courtney and tell her I’d chosen not to go with them. It was the only shitty part of this deal. If I could snatch her up, I would do it in a heartbeat, but she still didn’t know I was Trent Parker. Instead she thought I was Malcom Resner, the agent.
Damn it, now I’m never going to get a shot with her, I thought sadly.
Sighing, I bit the bullet and called her. It took only two rings before she picked up. “Courtney Hughes, S&W Publishing, Marnie McKenna’s office.”
Something warm settled low in my gut at the sound of her voice. I could picture her sitting at her desk with her little vintage dresses and those wild, curling hairstyles. And of course the ruby-red lips. Gorgeous.
“Courtney, hello. It’s Malcom.”
“Malcom, good to hear from you,” she said, and it sounded genuine. “I was just about to call you.”
“Yes, I am available next Friday, but it has to be after seven,” I told her, grinning like an idiot.
She actually laughed, telling me that she was definitely warming up to me. “Very funny. Unfortunately, I am not available next Friday.”
“Damn shame. Any chance you can shuffle things around for me?”
“Not a one,” she answered amiably.
“Saturday, then?”
She paused. A thinking kind of pause. Like maybe she was actually considering my offer. “Well, I guess I could do Saturday.”
Yes! I did a silent victory dance, grateful to be alone where no one could see me make a complete ass out of myself. “Seven? We can meet at Tony’s. It’s a great little Italian place…”
“Sounds perfect,” she said, and I couldn’t believe she was actually going along with this.
“It’s a date.”
“Great. Now, I do have to ask you about Trent Parker…” She trailed off, switching to business mode in the blink of an eye.
I froze. Trent Parker. As in me. Oh shit. Did I just make a date with her as Malcom Resner, Trent’s agent? Sure as hell I did. Which meant she was going to be looking for him, not me, and she was not going to be happy about the truth when she found out.
Wow, I was an idiot. And yet… I didn’t cancel the date. And I didn’t tell her the truth.
Clearing my throat, I asked, “What about him?”
“Don’t play coy. Who is he gonna sign with?”
I let out a sigh. “Damn it. Don’t be pissed, but he’s going with Tarvish.”
There was a pregnant pause. I was worried she was going to tell me our date was off and that I was an asshole, but instead, she let out a short curse. “Damn. Well, okay. I’ll break the news to Marnie. Any chance he’ll change his mind?”
I shook my head, which she couldn’t see. “Not a one. He’s made his mind up.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“It is.” I hesitated, then just asked. “Are we still on for Saturday?”
She laughed. It wasn’t as bright as earlier, but it was real. “Yeah, we’re still on for Saturday. I have to go, but I’ll see you there.”
She promised to call
and tell me what she was wearing on Saturday, though I would have no problem spotting her. But she didn’t know that, so I agreed. I needed a plan for how the hell I was going to work this out with being Trent Parker, but I decided I’d jump off that bridge when I came to it. For now, I had someone else to break the news to.
Chapter Seventeen
Callum
Trent met me in my office. I was a little worried because he’d insisted on giving me his decision in person rather than over the phone, and I didn’t think that sounded like a good thing. You tell someone in person when you’re trying to let them down easy, not when you’re giving them what they want to hear.
But I agreed to the meeting, and now I was left waiting for him to get here. He was a little late, and my mind was wandering. I was thinking of Marnie McKenna, because my mind was traitorous like that.
I thought of her long auburn hair and the freckles that were speckled delicately across her skin in delicious places that I wanted to kiss.
Marnie was becoming a real problem for me. It was one thing to have sex with a woman, but to have it twice was starting to invite trouble. Especially since it didn’t stop there. I dreamt of her writhing beneath me. I woke up to a hard-on and thoughts of her. She invaded my mind at any given moment, and it took me hours to get her out again.
It was driving me fucking nuts.
It’ll be over with soon, I thought to myself. One way or another. When Trent makes his choice, we won’t have to deal any more with each other.
I frowned. The thought didn’t settle me like it should have.
About twenty minutes later, the door opened to my office and Trent walked in. He looked all smiles and very pleased with himself.
Irritation spiked and I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re late, you asshole.”
He laughed at me. “Such a charmer, aren’t you?”
“Honeymoon’s over, sweetheart,” I answered smoothly. “You’ll either choose Tarvish or S&W. No point in laying it on thick now.”
“Excellent point,” he agreed.
I waited for him to tell me already, but he milked it. He waited patiently in the chair, in no particular hurry, and basically watched me lose my fucking mind.
“Jesus Christ, Trent, just tell me already! Who are you going to sign with?”
Trent’s smile softened. “Tarvish.”
I slumped back into my chair. “Really?”
He nodded. “Yeah. That’s always been in the cards. We’ve been friends for too long, and I know how you feel about S&W. I couldn’t betray you like that.” He shrugged. “And I worked things out so I get what I want anyway. Theoretically?”
That piqued my interest. “What exactly was Marnie offering you?”
He smiled at me. “Nope. Still not gonna tell you.”
I sighed. “Clearly it wasn’t enough.”
“Like I said. I get what I want anyway.”
I let the news sink in. I’d won. Trent was signing with Tarvish, and Marnie would lose the contract. Victory should have tasted like sweet ambrosia to me. But it didn’t. Instead, I was left with a sort of hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Maybe it was that I didn’t earn it. Marnie worked her ass off to try and get Trent to sign, but all I did was get in their way and happen to have an in with Trent.
All’s fair in love and war, I thought to myself.
We went over the contract one last time, and Trent finally signed, the bastard. We agreed on a delivery date for the manuscript and a publication date for the final product. After that, Trent said he had plans to take Sara out to celebrate and invited me along.
I shook my head. “Thanks, but I’ll pass. Not feeling it tonight.”
Trent lingered at the doorway for a minute, then shrugged. “Suit yourself. Honestly, though. I think you should just tell Marnie that you’re into her. You’ll be a lot happier, and probably she will be, too.”
Before I could think of how to respond to that, he was out the door, winking and throwing over his shoulder, “You never know. It could be true love.” I heard his laughter echo until the door closed itself after him.
Marnie
Just before I was leaving the office to get officially shitfaced at the bar in the hopes of forgetting how miserable I was—Trent Parker had gone with Tarvish and I hadn’t told Dorian yet—the door opened.
“I’m headed out, Court. If anyone needs me, tell them they’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
When Courtney didn’t respond, I glanced up and saw that she wasn’t standing in the doorway. Callum Reid was.
My body did its thing, responding to him instantly. I felt hot all over, and liquid heat pooled between my legs. My heart hammered in my chest, and my nipples hardened at the sight of him. It was ridiculous, but regardless of what was going on or whatever other feelings I might or might not have had, my body still wanted him.
Badly.
“What the hell do you want?” I snapped, because I didn’t like how instantly I was turned on by him. “I thought Parker would have told you by now. He went with Tarvish. Now will you leave my office alone?”
Callum scowled at me, then closed the door behind him. I froze. Visions of us doing it on the desk—again—flashed through my mind, and the wetness between my thighs increased.
“Not yet,” he told me.
Sighing, I straightened and let my shoulders slump. “What do you want, Callum? We’ve had our battle. I lost, you won. What more is there?”
For a second, he said nothing. He just stared at me like there was more, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to admit it yet. Or maybe I was just misinterpreting it and he was trying to calm himself down enough to speak. Either way.
“I just wanted to inform you that Mr. Parker has had a change of heart.”
I blinked. “What?”
He nodded. “He’s decided to go with S&W Publishing instead of Tarvish.”
Although he was saying those words, my mind was having difficulty processing them. I was left with this odd sensation of surrealism, and I wondered briefly if I was dreaming. Sexy Callum was in my office, so it was possible.
“He… why would he do that?”
Callum lifted his shoulders casually, then shoved his large hands into his trouser pockets. “I told him to.”
And just like that, the old familiar anger was back in full force. “You son of a bitch. I don’t need handouts, okay? I do a damn good job, and I don’t need your fucking pity.”
“Jesus, it’s a damn gift,” he growled at me. I liked how low his voice was, the way it seemed to rumble around in his chest first. “Stop being so stubborn and accept it already.”
“Gift?” I demanded. “Why would you give me a gift in the first damn place?”
“Because you’re fucking sexy and I can’t get you out of my head and I like you, all right?”
We both fell silent. It seemed like neither of us could believe what had just come out of his mouth. He likes me. I felt like a schoolgirl with a crush, giddy and a little stupid.
Shaking my head, I laughed at him. “Jesus, you’re an idiot.”
He grinned at me. “You’re a pain in my ass.”
Although I tried, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. He liked me. It was such a stupid thing to be giddy over, but I was.
“Does this mean you’re going to fuck me on my desk again?” I asked calmly.
His eyes flashed darkly, and his mouth turned into a wicked smile. “I was thinking we’d get drinks or something first, have a real date, but I’m not going to say no to an invitation like that.”
He came to me then, his hands grabbing for my skirt immediately and jerking it up over my legs. I helped him out by undoing my shirt buttons and pulling out my breasts, yanking them out of my bra to give him access. His hand grabbed for my panties and tore them off me, his other hand going to cup my mound.
Our mouths collided and I blindly fumbled with the zipper of his pants. I undid them, reaching for his massive cock. He was ha
rd already.
We didn’t do it on the desk this time. Instead, he lifted me up by my ass and I wrapped my legs around his middle, putting my bare center against his hard member. Then he slammed my back against the wall. He pulled back enough to position himself at my entrance, then didn’t hesitate before sliding in.
I cried out, clutching at his shoulders. He entered me, driving toward his own release. The angle was perfect, putting friction on that little bundle of nerves above my pussy with each stroke.
His rhythm was hot and fast. This was about embracing what was between us, whatever that was, and just tossing caution to the wind.
It was glorious.
His hands alternated between holding my ass and massaging my breasts. His mouth kissed and sucked on my neck until I was pretty sure there would be a hickey later, and I cried out over and over again until we both tipped over the edge.
He lost himself in me, then slipped out. We were both panting, exhausted but sated. He once again stumbled heavily into my chair, but this time he jerked me down with him. I landed haphazardly across his lap.
For a while, we were quiet, but finally, I looked at him and said, “I just want you to know, I generally wear the pants in the relationship.”
He laughed, the sound rumbling low in his chest. “I’d rather neither of us wore pants. Or anything else. I like you much better like this.”
His eyes raked over my exposed breasts and dipped between my legs where my pussy was still visible.
“You’re impossible,” I told him, but I kissed him anyway. It was a real kiss, not fueled by anger or sexual drive. Instead, it was the start of something real. I didn’t know where it would go or whether or not it was a good idea, but I felt better for taking the risk.
When the kiss broke, he smiled at me. “A real date?”
I nodded. “A real date.”
“Maybe sex after?” he asked hopefully.
I laughed. “Nope, not this time. I don’t have sex on the first date.”
Virgin’s Desire
Touch Me Page 24
