She opened one eye long enough to look at the screen again. “That's based on what you pay now, with a bump in rent for inflation. You probably don't need as big a space to start, so you should be able to make it work.”
“I'm not worried about that.” Zach knelt next to her. Heat flowed between them.
Scott sniffed and took a step closer.
Rae's entire body went rigid, and she sat up, pulling away. “Okay?”
Zach's frown vanished almost as soon as it appeared. “If we didn't have to pay rent, could we get another employee?”
She stood and moved aside, gesturing for someone else to sit in the chair. “Yeah, depending on what you wanted them for. But I already took into account everyone you told me you needed.”
Zach rested a hand on her arm and turned her so they were face to face. The only sound in the room was the whir of computer fans. A large explosion burst from the surround-sound system, and everyone jumped.
“If we set the whole thing up—oh, say—in my basement, could we afford you?” Zach asked.
Scott's eyes grew wide as he studied Rae. “Good call.”
She took a step back from Zach, looking between him and Scott. “I... I mean... Me?”
Scott's posture shifted, shoulders relaxing, hands resting in his pockets.
Good. No one was on edge anymore. Zach slid into the chair and began clicking through tabs and numbers too fast to be looking at them. “Of course you. This is your plan. You've got experience. Is eliminating the building rental enough to buy you away from contracting? Because we’d want you full time.”
“I can't— I mean, I didn't...”
Zach whirled in the chair and grabbed her hands between his. He told himself it didn't matter how delicate her fingers were or how soft her skin felt. That wasn’t what this was about.
She pulled away as if she'd been shocked.
He didn't flinch, but something inside snarled at the recoil. “You say we can do it, right?”
“Right...”
“You're confident enough in us, you'd let Chloe sign on again,” Zach said.
Rae nodded slowly.
“Confident enough you'd let both of us blow an early retirement on it.” Zach told himself it was all about proving her numbers. If she wasn't certain enough in them to take a job, they weren't solid numbers. It had nothing to do with keeping her around longer.
“Neither of you would have been happy retiring anyway.” The look on her face didn't give away whether or not she figured out the line of questions yet.
“That's not what he asked.” Scott must understand where the conversation was headed. “If the numbers are good, and you think we can do it, you don't have anything to lose.”
She stared at Scott. “Yes. There's enough there to buy me away.”
Scott grinned. “We'll have you an offer letter on Monday.”
Her smile was more hesitant. “Sounds like a blast. Do I get a spiffy title like the two of you have?”
“You want something better than—what was it Vance called you? Unemployed?” Scott’s tone was teasing.
“Chief Financial Officer.” Zach didn't know where that had come from. Even though they'd let Kelly invest back in the day, she'd always been a silent partner. Why was he willing to give this woman so much trust, less than twenty-four hours after insisting she was insane?
It was a bit much to prove a point, but it was too late to take it back now. Zach looked at Scott. “You're okay with this?”
Scott only paused for a second. “Sounds perfect.”
Zach was on his feet again. He grabbed Rae's hand. “So, listen. We have this friend, right?”
Rae stared blankly at him.
“And she just got this fantastic job offer, and we want to take her to celebrate.”
Scott laughed.
Rae's mouth twisted, but she didn't successfully hide her smile.
Zach ignored both. “That's in the budget, right? Because there's no way we're letting her pay.”
Rae ducked her head and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her reply was soft, laced with laughter. “I think it'll be all right. Just this once.”
Zach led her toward the door. He glanced over his shoulder at Scott. “That place downtown?”
Scott didn't hesitate. “The Italian one?”
Zach nodded. “Kelly always said they had good wine.” He expected something inside to cringe at the reminder, but the lingering hurt was gone.
ZACH GLANCED SIDEWAYS before turning his attention back to the road. As dinner had worn on, Rae grew more and more quiet, eventually pulling away from the entire conversation. When they'd said good night and Scott had hugged her, she'd looked like it was taking all of her restraint not to bolt from the room.
She had given single word answers to Zach’s questions on the drive to Chloe’s, and spent the rest of her time sliding her watch up and down her wrist. When she spoke, her soft request echoed in the quiet car. “Tell me something?”
Anything, as long as it got rid of the awkward silence. “Sure.”
“Why the change of heart?”
He hadn't expected her to dwell on his earlier reluctance to listen to her idea. She'd gone along with everything, so he assumed she was okay with it. He stalled as he tried to think of a reasonable response. “About?”
She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. “About my plan. You were almost violently opposed to it, and now you're treating it like it's the most precious thing in the world.”
What was a good answer? Shit. He shouldn't be stalling. Why couldn't he come up with something clever? Because he didn't want to lie. Not to her.
She shook her head. “So you really were doing it because of me.”
How did she know that? “No, of course not.”
“Really?” She flopped back, skull slamming into the headrest with a thunk. “So if Scott had come up with the idea, you would have been just as opposed. Or Jordan?”
No. “Of course.” He couldn't hide his cringe at the taste of the lie. “Look, I'm sorry. I just... We got burned once before.”
“By a different awkward little girl?”
“I realized I wasn't being fair to you. It's why I swallowed my pride. I'm glad I did.”
He parked in front of Chloe’s building. How was he going to make this better?
She twisted sideways in her seat, hands on the armrest between them, face inches from his. The coffee she'd had at dessert hung heavy on her breath, mingling with the strawberry shampoo he couldn't help but associate with her. Her lips were close enough for him to feel their heat, but she never touched him.
Holy fuck. He wanted her. The revelation struck him hard, throbbing in his head and lower down.
Her voice was a whisper. “If you think you can win me over by feigning interest in my ideas, if you think that’s how I tick... That it's the best way to get me into bed... You're wrong.”
He kept his expression impassive, eyes searching hers. It wouldn't hurt him to be a little honest. “They're two separate things.” The low tone of his voice matched hers, his lips hovering millimeters away. “How much I want you has nothing to do with whether or not you've got a good idea.”
When she pulled away, something inside him crashed and disintegrated.
She opened her door, and warm air wafted in to mingle with the air conditioning. “I can’t pinpoint why, but I’m not sure I believe you. Maybe it’s because you’re still not telling me everything.”
He wasn't letting the conversation end like this. He rested a hand on her arm. “It wasn’t easy for me to admit why letting you do this scares me. Give me some leeway.”
She sighed and leaned her head back against the seat. “Where do we draw the line? Are we colleagues? Lovers? You don’t want to lose everything, and I don’t want that either. But if they’re two separate things, as you keep insisting they are, how are we going to keep from clashing?”
He didn’t want to think about the questions, but he adored her for
asking. That didn’t give him any answers, though. “We figure it out along the way?”
“Do you think that’s going to work? What if we can’t figure it out? If our screwing ends with us hating each other, there are consequences that extend beyond us. That’s what you’re worried about, and it’s a valid concern.”
“So what do we do about it? You have an idea, I assume?” He didn’t want to let irritation leak into his question, but his frustration at not having answers had reached its limit. “We don’t see each other anymore outside the office? How well do you think that’s going to go?”
“We have to dial things back.” She slid her watch up and down her wrist, not looking at him. “The sex was about closure and stress relief, right? We got that. Can we figure out how to just be friends instead?”
It wasn’t that he disliked the idea of friendship with Rae, but he wanted that on top of everything else, including her. Except, she had a good point. “Yeah. Friends is a good idea.”
She climbed from the car, still not meeting his gaze. “See you tomorrow.” Her voice was so quiet, he had to strain to hear the words. She strode toward Chloe’s apartment without another glance back.
This was the right decision. So why did it make him clench his teeth and want to slam his fist into the dashboard?
Chapter Fifteen
Rae lay on her mattress, staring at the ceiling. Sleep wasn't coming. Why did she have to go and apply logic to something like emotion? She promised herself she wouldn't let him get under her skin. That she could walk away. That, with enough distraction, he would barely be more than a flicker in the back of her mind.
So why can’t I get him out of my head? And why do I feel guilty for pushing him away the way I did?
Because she was so focused on not getting attached, she was ignoring all the important details: how much she enjoyed talking to him, the small gestures that made her pulse race almost as much as his kisses did, and just spending time with him. When had keeping their relationship physical become an all-encompassing motivation for her?
Without getting out of bed, she grabbed her phone off the nightstand. The glare of the screen was harsh in the dark room, and she winced until her eyes adjusted to the glow. There was no way she could say what she needed in a single message, but she had to tell him something. She couldn’t leave things the way she had. She deleted and restarted her text several times before settling on a simple message.
I was wrong.
He wasn’t going to answer tonight. She might as well get some rest.
The minutes dragged by. Her brain still wouldn’t shut up. Giving up on sleep, she climbed out of bed. She pulled on a pair of knit shorts, straightened her camisole, and then made her way into the kitchen. Chloe’s bedroom door was closed, and the flicker of pale light coming from underneath, but lack of sound told Rae her sister was gaming with her headphones on rather than having fallen asleep with the TV on.
A quiet knock filled the dark room, sending a tremor through Rae, and she paused. She swallowed and padded toward the door. Her heart flipped when she peered through the peephole. Zach stood on the other side, tugging on his ponytail.
She flipped the deadbolt off and opened the door enough to let him in. He took the silent offer and stepped inside, kicking the door shut behind him. He brought his hands to her face, cupped her cheeks, and then kissed her. There was hunger in his lips. It stole her breath as he held her close, and she gasped when they broke apart. He studied her, blue eyes hungry.
She didn't know what else to do. She pressed her frame against him and crushed her mouth to his. The sensations set her nerve endings on fire, and she stumbled back, pulling him with her. She hit the arm of the couch, lost her balance, fell backward, and landed on the cushions.
He laughed as he kneeled on the couch, straddling her, and brushed a loose strand of hair out of her eyes. “I couldn't sleep. I was out driving, and I got your message, and I... I don’t even know. I had to see you.”
“What are we doing?”
He shook his head. “Not talking. For God's sake, we've done enough of that.” He leaned forward, lips brushing her collarbone then tracing a line up her neck. “We can hash it all out later, I promise, but, holy fuck, I want you so bad right now—and we can talk if you want, but I don’t promise I’m thinking clearly.”
She arched her back and moaned as his lips roamed her skin. “Later is good for me too.”
He slid his hand down her side, under her shirt, and then back up her spine. He shifted his weight, pressing his rock hard cock against her hip.
A voice whispered in the back of her head. This is the other extreme end of the spectrum from the no-strings sex we’ve had up till now. Even though they were saving the conversation about details, after the words exchanged in the car she knew this meant more. Was more what she really wanted?
The only thing she’d ever gained from over-analyzing her relationship with Zach was a headache. She wanted this. She wanted him. An annoying inner voice wasn't going to take it from her.
She crushed her mouth against his. Their tongues danced around each other, probing and massaging.
His leg slipped, and he broke away long enough to find a new position on the sofa.
She slid from underneath him, enjoying the question in his eyes. Heat spread through her cheeks at her own boldness. She nodded toward the bedroom. “If you want, we could do this somewhere with a little more privacy and room to maneuver.”
He helped her stand, and his lips glided along her ear. “I want.”
She led him toward the bedroom, boldness battling doubt. Uncertainty took control for a moment, and she hesitated.
He didn't seem deterred. He sat on the edge of the mattress and pulled her down next to him. The hungry way he pressed his mouth to hers chased away her questions, and buoyed her emotion to the surface. This was incredible. He leaned her back, never pulling his lips away. Her heart clenched and skipped.
He followed the curve of her breast with his hand, fingertips trailing up to the rigid point. When he brushed his thumb across the swollen nub, she gasped at the pull that ran through her. He pinched the pink button, twisting and pulling. “Harder,” she pleaded.
He obliged. “You’re sexy as fuck. In case I haven’t specifically said that yet.”
The words mingled with his touch and raised her temperature. She dug her nails into his back when he found a sweet spot. Taking the cue, he shoved her tank top out of the way and lowered his lips to suck her nipple— alternating between a flicking tongue and light nibbles. Her senses flared to life, dancing around each new sensation. Everything she’d tried to force with Scott flowed to the surface now. Need. Passion. Desire.
His attentions left her head feeling as if it was full of helium. She took her camisole off and nudged his shoulders. She wanted to taste him.
“What are you up to?” he asked as he rolled onto his back.
“You’ll see.” She moved between his legs, spurred forward by the bulge underneath. The denim of his jeans was rough but pleasant against her thighs. She moved her lips across his chest. She said a silent thank you when she didn’t fumble too much with his belt or zipper.
She kissed down his chest to the newly exposed skin. He moaned when her cool fingertips found his warm member through the fabric. She met his eyes as she freed him, and wrapped her hand around his shaft. She flicked her tongue over the swollen head. He closed his eyes and inhaled sharply through his teeth.
“Later.” He reached down and drew her up to lie next to him.
“What guy doesn’t want a blow job?”
He propped himself up on his elbow and traced lines along her bare stomach. A smile played on his lips. “I do, trust me, I do. But honestly, I won’t hold out long with your soft lips wrapped around my cock, and I want to hear you scream first.”
A sharp stab of arousal filled her at the blunt confession, but she tried to stay coy. “Scream, huh? My sister’s in the next room.”
“Wear
ing her headphones, music all the way up. I know my people. Can we focus on us again?” His warm palm on her stomach and lips pressed to hers pushed the concern aside. His hand slid lower, brushing the outside of her thin shorts, and her hips shifted closer to his touch. He rubbed her mound through fabric with his fingers, and his erection pressed into her leg.
He trailed his mouth down her jaw and then back to her neck. His touch dipped under the elastic waist of her panties to the smooth flesh beneath. She bit her bottom lip in anticipation.
He dipped his fingers between her folds. “You’re so wet. You’re not enjoying this, are you?”
“Maybe.” Meant to be sultry, her reply came out as a shy whisper.
She sighed and tilted her head back when he found her clit. Her hips ground against his hand, and he pushed harder. Her breathing became shallow gasps, and she gripped the comforter. Pleasure spread through her body, filling her fingers, tingling in her breasts, clenching in her belly. When she let herself feel everything, not just the physical, but the affection and adoration—all of it—each new touch flared on a whole new level.
She thrust her hips up to get closer to his touch, and to keep from getting too loud, bit the inside of her check until it throbbed. Her eyes clenched shut at the swelling waves inside her, telling her she was close. Disappointment and hurt washed over her when he stopped just short of the finish line. Her mouth twisted, and she peered at him through one eye.
“Don’t pout. Well, maybe just a little—it’s cute on you.” He stood and discarded the remainder of his clothing before he grabbed her shorts.
She lifted her butt off the bed long enough for him to pull off her shorts and panties. He reclined next to her, cock pressing into her leg.
His lips hovered over her ear again, fingers tracing lines along her stomach and chest. “I want you on top of me.” He grabbed her wrists as he rolled onto his back.
She didn’t follow. She wanted to, but something stopped her.
It was his turn to look disappointed. “What?”
She hated responsibility. He’d always handled it before. Maybe she should have picked up condoms herself, but it wasn’t as if she’d expected to make this a habit. Hoped, maybe, but not expected. Did Chloe have any? Not in plain view, and Rae felt awkward about digging through her sister’s belongings. “I don’t have any condoms.”
His Long Shot Page 12
