by Eden Bradley
So that left Keegan to stalk Jules.
And maybe he wouldn’t use the word “stalk,” at least not out loud.
Fuck it. He was going in.
He’d dressed for the occasion in a suit and tie, hoping he wouldn’t stick out and could move around without attracting attention.
Which would be almost impossible, he realized. He knew a lot of people in the room because when TinMan had hit the Fortune 500 list, the doors into the inner sanctum of Pennsylvania’s elite had opened to them.
Invitations to events like this, which weren’t much more than an excuse for people with a certain amount of money to get shit-faced, talk about politics and bitch about how the government was raping them over taxes.
Before the explosion, Erik had handled this crap. Keegan had been more than happy to be miles away in the lab.
After the fire, Erik had guilted Keegan into stepping in. Even though he totally sucked at small talk, did not want to bitch about taxes, and was in no way looking to hook up with a junior exec whose daddy had the last name of someone who’d signed the Constitution.
Jesus H. Christ. He had become a fucking pussy.
With a disgusted breath, he started working his way around the room again.
Jules hadn’t seen him yet and she appeared to be heading back to the kitchen. Good, that would give him enough time to grab a drink at the bar and scope out a place for them to have a few minutes alone to talk.
“Whiskey. Neat.”
In seconds, the bartender slid his drink across the polished mahogany bar. Keegan took a long swallow, hoping like hell the alcohol took the jagged edge off his nerves. He felt ready to bust out of his skin.
“Hello, Keegan. I was hoping I’d see you tonight.”
Fuck.
Showtime. Plastering on what he hoped was a pleasant smile, Keegan turned. “Allison, Katherine. Nice to see you.”
The women exchanged a look then turned brilliant smiles on him that made him want to run the other way.
They were pretty enough, both blond and blue-eyed. Everything about them screamed privileged, from their perfect hair to their expensive dresses and shoes. They looked exactly like the women Erik’s parents had tried to set them up with when the business had started to take off.
“We’re so glad you were able to make it. We’ve been wanting to invite you…”
And that was about all Keegan heard because Jules walked out of the kitchen with a loaded tray and began her circuit around the room.
As the women continued to talk, Keegan made sure he kept his eyes focused on whichever woman was talking at the moment, smiling when it seemed appropriate, nodding occasionally, but always aware of where Jules was in the room.
Her tray emptied before she got close enough to notice him and he was forced to endure more torture from two of the most eligible women in the state. They wanted him to join some board they were involved in. Something about theater or the arts. Something he’d probably think was deadly boring if he was really listening.
Not that he had anything against the arts in general but right now he had other things on his mind.
Namely, the beautiful woman who’d rocked his world to its foundation.
And even if Erik wouldn’t admit it, she’d done the same for him.
Keegan would get her back, no matter what he had to do or promise her.
With one eye on the door to the kitchen, he bided his time.
~ * ~
Jules’ heart threatened to pound out of her chest.
Keegan was here. Holding up the bar with Alli and one of her cronies on either side of him.
Luckily for Alli, he looked bored out of his skull. If he’d shown any kind of interest, she might’ve found herself yanking Alli out of the room by her hair then indulging in a good old-fashioned cat fight.
Which was stupid.
They hadn’t called.
And she was so totally pissed about that.
Seeing Keegan just made it worse.
He must have just arrived. She knew she hadn’t seen him before.
But now that she had, she didn’t know if she could go out there and pretend not to know him. Couldn’t act like he was a stranger when she’d shared one of the most amazing experiences of her life with him. And with Erik.
Was Erik here too?
No. He wouldn’t come out of hiding for something like this. Too many people staring at him.
She would’ve scratched out anyone’s eyes who dared look at him sideways.
And…she was being crazy. Absolutely nuts.
Obviously they hadn’t wanted anything more to do with her or they would’ve contacted her.
It’d been sex. Damn good sex, but still…just sex.
“Hey, Juli, everything okay?”
Two other servers stood behind her, trays loaded, frowning at her.
“Oh, yeah, sorry. Just…” She shook her head then pushed through the door.
She told herself she wasn’t going to pay him any attention.
It was total bullshit.
At least she could try not to cross his path. With this many people, no one would ever realize she was avoiding one man.
Drawing in a deep breath, she deliberately didn’t look in the direction of the bar and headed for the opposite side of the room. After making sure he was nowhere in sight.
She focused on not tipping her tray and not tripping over her feet but nothing seemed to be working right.
The tray felt unbalanced, her feet felt unattached. Her heart wouldn’t stop racing and her throat felt like she’d swallowed sawdust.
And her brain wouldn’t stop either.
Had he come here to see her? Had he known she’d be here?
No, that was stupid. Why would he come here to talk to her? Why not call?
Stop. Just stop.
With only a half hour to go until the mixer ended, people were drinking more and eating less. She couldn’t hide in the kitchen like she wanted to.
And she couldn’t stop looking toward the bar. She tried not to but it was impossible.
She caught sight of him out of the corner of her eye several times.
Then he wasn’t there.
Blinking, she took another, closer look.
Still not there.
A prickle of awareness made the hairs on her neck stand on end.
He was watching her. She could feel his gaze.
She refused to give him the satisfaction of showing she was rattled. Bothered.
Dying to talk to him. Touch him. Tear his clothes off.
She was pissed at herself for wanting more, for thinking there should be more.
They hadn’t called.
So why was he here?
Probably had nothing to do with her.
Put him out of your mind. Do your job. Go home and figure out why you haven’t decided what you’re going to do with the rest of the money.
Her smile had faded so she plastered it on again as she finished her circuit. Her tray was still half full by the time she got to the hallway that led back to the bathroom. Her hands trembled and she set the tray on the nearest table.
There was an alcove at the end of the hall just before the bathrooms that offered some privacy.
She needed a few minutes. To pull herself together. Get her game face back. No way did she want Keegan to know how he affected her.
They hadn’t called.
She blinked hard and fast at the burn in her eyes, glanced quickly over her shoulder to make sure no one was paying any attention to her then slipped down the dimly lit hall and into the alcove.
The alcove was darker than the hall and much quieter than the main room. She took a deep breath, trying to get her heart back to a normal rhythm. Force her brain away from thinking about that night.
Damn Keegan for showing up and ruining the tiny bit of calm she’d managed to hold on to.
She’d left that night without a single regret. Still didn’t have any.
Except th
at they hadn’t called.
She sighed. “Well, what did you expect? Total devotion in exchange for good sex?”
“I thought it was pretty damn good sex but I might be biased.”
Jules gasped and spun around to find a silhouette in the doorway.
She knew who it was right away. Even though she couldn’t see that his hair was dark brown with red highlights and just a little too long or that his eyes were a clear, almost navy blue. But she knew it was Keegan.
That voice held a slight Irish accent from his childhood. His family had moved to the States when he was twelve.
She’d looked up him and Erik online. Sue her.
They’d earned their first million by age twenty-six. Their company, TinMan Biometrics, made high-end security equipment for billion-dollar companies that wanted to keep their secrets secret.
They’d come up with some revolutionary development that had been way too technical for her to understand. But she understood how smart they were, how brilliant they had to be.
That night she hadn’t known much more than their first names and the fact that her friend Carol had told her she could trust them. And since she trusted Carol…
Her chin tilted up. “What are you doing here?”
Damn it. She wanted a do-over immediately. Her voice had sounded timid, shy. Almost hurt. And that’s not how she wanted him to see her.
Stiffening her back, she stared straight at him, although it was so dark in the little room, she couldn’t make out his eyes. Or his beautiful mouth. Or the cheeks that were covered with freckles.
Damn it, the man was gorgeous. And not as old as she’d thought. He and Erik were only nine years old than her, which made them both thirty.
“I was invited,” Keegan said, reminding her that she’d asked him a question. “And I knew you’d be here.”
Her racing heart kicked into another gear, and she swore her stomach flipped. That had almost sounded like he came to see her specifically.
She wanted to ask if he had but maybe she didn’t want to know. If he hadn’t then she’d make a fool of herself. But if he had…
What then?
He took another step into the room, letting the drape covering the entrance fall behind him, making it even darker than before. Suddenly the room felt about as big as a broom closet. With a lot less air than it’d had a second ago.
And that was so totally not how she wanted him to see her, panting because he was in the room.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she tilted back her chin, trying to see him through the shadows.
“Which doesn’t explain what you’re doing here. Right now.”
He took another step and another, until he was only inches away from her. This close, she had to tilt her head back to continue to hold his gaze, which she could barely see in this light.
Which didn’t stop her from trying to see his mouth.
She so wanted to kiss him. Wanted him to kiss her. Wanted to torment and tease the hell out of him before she let him kiss her because she was still pissed at him for not calling.
For making her want him to call her.
“I wanted to see you again.”
She bit back the words that immediately leaped to her tongue, knowing they’d come out wrong. She couldn’t ask him if the only reason he wanted to see her again was because he wanted to have sex. Because he’d turn the question around and ask her the same.
And in the mood she was in, she was afraid she’d say something really stupid, like ask how much he was going to pay her this time.
And what would you do if he quoted you a figure?
“I thought that was obvious. I came to see you.”
God damn him. He’d said the absolute right thing.
She fought back the smile that wanted to curve her lips. “It’s been two weeks. I didn’t think I’d hear from you again.”
She wanted to ask about Erik, wanted to know if he knew Keegan was here. Wanted to know if they had talked about her. But she didn’t want to be disappointed if that answer was no.
“We weren’t sure you’d want to see us again.”
Had they thought she was only in it for the money?
You had sex with two men you didn’t know for a half-million dollars. What were they supposed to think?
God, everything was so fucked up. Money did that. It screwed up everything, whether you had a lot or not enough.
“And I guess you couldn’t be bothered to ask?”
As her eyes grew accustomed to the low light, she realized she could see him better.
And maybe that wasn’t a good thing.
Because now, she wanted to throw herself at him.
Forget the fact that she was supposed to be working. That she was pissed off at him and shouldn’t want him. That they had nothing in common.
None of that mattered as he came even closer.
She couldn’t stop remembering his gentleness that night, the way he’d made her feel like she was valued. And, oh God, the man made her seriously hot.
“We’ve been…busy.” She caught his grimace. “Things going on at work.”
Something in his tone made her think those “things” at work weren’t all good.
“Is everything okay?”
His head cocked to the side. “I’m not sure. But I want it to be.”
He wasn’t talking about work. And she was suddenly very aware that they were totally alone.
She sucked in a short, sharp breath. “And what exactly do you want?”
God, she knew what she wanted. Keegan naked, fucking her in this tiny little room, half-dressed, hard and fast.
And wouldn’t that just show everyone how much of a slut you really are?
No. Just no. Fuck that kind of thinking. What was with her?
He continued to stare at her. “I want you to come with me. Now. We’ll have dinner.”
So not just sex? “Will Erik be there?”
He paused. Did he think she didn’t want him if Erik wasn’t there? Or that she didn’t want to see Erik?
“He will be.”
Something in his voice made her ask, “Does he know you’re here?”
Again, Keegan paused and she wondered if she should’ve kept her mouth shut. Maybe she’d gotten the wrong impression. Maybe Erik didn’t want to see her again. Maybe only Keegan wanted to see her. Maybe—
“Yeah, he knows.”
Okay, now what? She absolutely hated the fact that she didn’t have the answer. Hated that these two men made her doubt herself. When her dad had left, she’d made a promise that no man would have the power to make her second guess herself ever again.
“Doesn’t he want to see me again?”
“He does.”
Then why haven’t you called?
She wanted to scream in frustration. And, damn it, she wanted to see his face. Keegan had been so easy to read that night and there was something going on here that she was missing.
Maybe it’d be better if she never saw either of them again. Just stopped this before—
Keegan wrapped one hand around her neck and pulled her forward, crushing his mouth against hers, making her head spin—and stopping the steady stream of doubts.
~ * ~
TWO
Oh God, she’d missed this.
She’d only had Keegan for one night but, apparently, that had been enough to make him an addiction.
Her body pressed up against his and every nerve ending got an immediate jolt of adrenaline that zipped through her like lightning. Moaning into his mouth, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, she clung to him.
As her nipples tightened into hard, sensitive points, she wanted to tell him to put his hands there. Wanted him to unbutton her plain cotton shirt so he could get to her skin.
But she didn’t want to break the kiss.
Instead, she shoved one hand into his shaggy waves and wrapped the strands around her fingers, curling around them so he couldn’t get away.
Not t
hat he seemed to be thinking about getting away.
He kissed her like he wanted to devour her. Like he couldn’t get enough of her. It made her lungs tighten and her head swim.
The hand on her nape was a solid weight, his fingers a hot brand on her skin. His other hand grabbed her ass and pulled her against his hips. The hard ridge of his erection pressed against her stomach and she rocked into him.
God, yes. Please.
She wanted to lift her leg and wrap it around his hip but her skirt was too damn tight so she had to content herself with rubbing her mound against him.
His mouth moved over hers like liquid fire as her free hand stroked from his neck to his shoulder, where her fingers dug into his tight, flexing muscles. She heard him groan deep in his chest, felt his mouth shift position as he forced his tongue between her lips to invade her mouth.
Heat and lust and only faint traces of whiskey. He wasn’t drunk.
She was the one who felt drunk, even though she hadn’t had a sip of alcohol. Who felt as if all of her constraints had fallen away.
She needed more, but their bodies weren’t aligned correctly.
Lifting onto her toes, she tried to get his cock at just the right position to rub against her clit. The several-inches difference in their height frustrated her, had her wanting to climb him like her own personal, lean-muscled tower.
She wanted to be closer. Needed to be closer.
As if he’d read her mind, Keegan shoved both hands under her arms and lifted her off her feet.
Yes. His cock fit into the vee of her legs and she damned the fabric preventing her from getting that cock inside so she could ride him until she came.
She hadn’t wanted to admit it but she’d been in a constant state of arousal since she’d left that night two weeks ago. Whenever she thought about it, her body responded with a rush of heat, her pussy grew wet and she could barely breathe.
She’d wanted—
With a jerk, Keegan pulled back and she gasped at the sudden withdrawal. But before she could protest, he grabbed the hem of her skirt in one hand and wrenched it to her hips. Cooler air caressed her bare thighs as her sex drenched with her juices.
Then he cupped her between her legs and took her breath away.
