Virgin's Lust

by Kayla C. Oliver

  “Yes?” I asked, looking back down at my desk—which I’d had to straighten up—so that I could pretend to be shuffling around important papers I was looking at.

  When Courtney didn’t immediately answer, I forced myself to look up. She closed the door behind her and walked into the room, but I was more interested in the sympathetic expression on her pretty face.

  “What?” I demanded, feeling my face flush.

  “Are you okay?”

  I swallowed thickly, then raised my eyebrows. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “The whole thing with Callum Reid.”

  I froze. Jesus fucking Christ. Did she hear us? Oh God, she heard us! I thought the room was soundproof, but we’d been loud. Maybe the door had been ajar. Or maybe she’d seen the shit-eating grin on his face when he left. Jesus, what if she just put it together because of my damn shirt?

  “I can totally explain,” I told her, the need to have her still think highly of me so intense that I felt like I was going to lose my damn mind.

  Her eyebrows jumped up high on her forehead. “What do you mean? There’s nothing to explain. Reid’s a jerk and Parker’s an asshole for not making it clear that it’s not okay for him to interrupt meetings like that. I know you’ve got a deadline to sign him, but there’s still some time, right?”

  I blinked.

  She wasn’t talking about me and Callum’s affair. She thought I was upset about Parker.

  The tension left me in a rush, though I admitted it would be nice to talk to her about what was going on. I didn’t have a lot of time for romance, and while she tended to be a little more cynical about the whole thing than I was—which was saying something, because I wasn’t exactly all unicorns and rainbows—she was also a little better versed in the language of love. I just didn’t have the time for it.

  Not that this is love, I thought instantly. Just a crush. Attraction. Desperation, maybe.

  “I… there’s really not much time left,” I admitted. “Parker’s going to make his decision in the next couple of days, and honestly, there’s not much more I can offer him. If I haven’t convinced him yet, that’s it. Game over.”

  Her red lips pushed together thoughtfully. “That really blows. What an ass.”

  I couldn’t tell if she meant Parker or Callum, but it didn’t much matter. I was pretty sure that it applied to both of them. I sighed, slumping back in my chair. “Yeah. Pretty much.”

  Courtney eyed me, her brows pinched, her head tilted slightly to the side. After a moment of scrutiny, she said, “So, can we talk about whatever else is going on with you?”

  I blinked. “What?”

  She gestured with her hand toward me and my desk and my office in general. “You’ve been a little weird lately—and Callum was in here a long time. Did he say something to you?”

  No, we didn’t say much of anything really, I thought but didn’t say.

  I felt a blush trying to crawl its way up my face, but I didn’t say anything immediately. I wasn’t sure what to say. I could lie, but Courtney had been friends with me too long not to catch it. And… I kind of needed to talk about this.

  I didn’t want her to know I’d been sleeping with Callum, but…

  Leaning forward across my desk, I paused half a second, then said, “Okay, so I’ve had an epic dry spell, right?”

  Her eyebrows shot up again. “Um, yes? You mean sex, right?”

  I nodded. “Yes. Sex.”

  “Okay, yeah, sure. So?”

  Taking a deep breath, I said, “Well, the other night I maybe broke it.”

  “Jesus, and you didn’t tell me! Good for you!” she squealed in delight, her eyes sparkling. “Why didn’t you tell me? Was he hot?”

  I nodded immediately. “Yeah, really hot.”

  “Damn. ’Bout time, lady. I was starting to think you just weren’t into guys anymore.” She paused a beat, considering, then added, “Not that that would be a problem. You just never seemed like a lesbian before.”

  I waved her off. “I’m not. I’m still into guys and he was really sexy and the sex was seriously good.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  I hesitated. “I think maybe it’s, um, starting to interfere with my job.”

  She blinked. I watched as her expression slowly went from confusion to one of dawning realization. “Holy shit. You slept with Callum Reid! He’s your sexy, new lover!” Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was left hanging slightly open.

  I thought briefly about denying it, but I didn’t see the point. Slumping back in my chair, I sighed and nodded. “Yeah, he is.”

  “Well, holy hell, honey! I didn’t think you’d get back on the horse with him, but… Jesus.”

  I nodded again. “I know, I know, okay? The man’s a total ass! And he happens to own the one company that Dorian would like to see burned to the fucking ground. I can’t be attracted to him, right?”

  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?”